"Hey Euden", Notte floated up to the prince's face. We were still traversing the rather flat forest and saw the mist binding the trees up ahead. Conversation has ceased between us as our destination grew closer, "I forgot to tell you this, but I told ya Midgard would be a big awesome dragon!"
"Yeah, you were right, Notte. It was wishful thinking of me for him to be a small, cuddly drake", Euden admitted embarrassingly, "It's just that for my first dragon, I wanted one just like our plush toys back in the castle. They're adorable!"
"They're cute for sure, but this is the Windwyrm we're talking about," Zethia reminded her brother before clasping her hands together, "When I envisioned the mighty dragon, I thought of a mystical looking beast, surrounded by magnificent crystals. Turns out he's a little more rough on the edges"
"A little rough on the edges? He's almost exactly how I thought he would be!" Notte cried "Big, tall, imposing and awesome! Like a real dragon from those fairy tales!"
"You people have such wild imaginations," Ranzal flashed a light smile before looking up ahead, "Anyways, the dragon's den is not too far from us now. Watch your step and watch for fiends. Golems in particular roam this area. Seems like the Windwyrm likes having them around"
"Golems, huh? Their weakness is their core right by their waist, so it shouldn't be hard to dispatch them," I shook my head before turning to Zethia, "By the way, Auspex. I'd like to know something before we enter the Windwyrm's den"
"What is it, Adrian?"
"The Sacred Shards. What are they exactly?"
"Well… you already know that the Sacred Shards were made to stop fiends from crossing over to our world and wrecking havoc. To defend the world from the threat, the shards were placed all over the kingdom as a means of defense" Zethia began "Aside from warding off fiends, they suppress dark mana, energy that corrupts all life"
"Wait, did I hear that the shards STOP fiends?!" Ranzal jerked his head towards the Auspex, "That's fantastic! So if I strap one onto my chest, I can wade into a pack of those dirty dastards scot free. I'll take three!"
"That's not how they work, Ranzal!" Elisanne scowled "Only someone who is pactbound with a dragon can transport the Shards. That's why His Highness is forming his pact with the Windwyrm"
"Why? They're just shards charged with holy magic, right? What makes them so special?"
"Because the Shards shouldn't be moved," Zethia answered politely, "They're situated in the kingdom's most defiled regions. In order to make sure they aren't moved, the man who gave the world the Shards placed the pact requirement on them"
"Huh. And who was this fellow anyways?" Ranzal asked, scratching his head.
"Alberius. Alberius the Founder," Euden got a wistful look in his eyes, "Our initial king, the royal family's ancestor, and the first of his line to forge a dragonpact. He was a legend"
"Alberius the Founder?! I thought he was just some fairy tale hero!" Ranzal's jaw dropped with shock, "Is the saga really all true then?"
"Every word of the legend is true. Zethia knows the whole story" Euden turned to his sister and she nodded, taking over.
"To fix the broken world around him, Alberius shattered a possession of the Ilian Church and created the Shards," Zethia continued, "He then placed them across the land and made it so only those capable of forming dragonpacts, his descendants, could move them"
"Gutsy king. With the power the shards held, no wonder he didn't want people touching them," Ranzal nodded in understanding, "Okay, last question. You said the Shards are pieces of one'a the Church's possessions, yeah? What possession was that? A crystal? Some kinda bottle?"
"You know anything about it, Elisanne? Sounds like it would be right up your alley" I asked the Paladyn, but she was surprisingly stumped. Zethia looked similarly confused, pausing to answer Ranzal's inquiry.
"All I was told was that the Shards came from a divine armament that has ties to the goddess Ilia herself," The Auspex answered carefully, "Whoever wielded this armament held the power to conquer the entire continent in the blink of an eye"
"Seriously?! If it was so powerful, then why didn't Alberius use it himself?" Ranzal exclaimed, "He could of wiped out every last fiend in the world with that!"
"If he had all the time in the world, he might have done just that," Euden shook his head, "But no one lives forever"
"Ah, I gotcha. He knew the fiends would be back once he was in the dirt"
"Yes. He was thinking of Alberia's future," Zethia agreed, "Shattering the armament and binding it to the land was his people's best hope. His choices protect us to this very day"
"Mm, selfless fellow. I could see why he became a legend," Ranzal nodded before jerking his head to the side, noticing something lurking in the trees, "Hold on a moment, kids. Something's here"
"Something like what…?" Elisanne asked before heavy footfalls shook the earth around us, "Whoa!"
"Golems! Get back, everyone!" Ranzal called and we all scrambled backwards as two massive stone golems with red eyes beaming through their sockets fell onto our path, roaring in a low rumble from inside themselves, "Damn! Looks like the Windwyrm sent some company. I'm on defense! You guys focus on killing them"
"Aim for the core. That's their weak spot!" I cried before the golems curled into themselves "Scatter! They're about to roll!"
Everyone jumped out of the way just as the golems rolled towards us, rumbling the ground as they went. Elisanne leaped down from her spot and ran towards the golems from behind, aiming her lance towards their spherical cores. The golems turned and swung their gigantic rocky arms, swatting Elisanne's weapon away. The two fiends followed up with an overhead swing, but the Paladyn was already out of reach.
"It's hard to penetrate their defense one-on-one. We'll need to distract it from multiple angles to open their guard," Elisanne analyzed before turning to the rest of us. The golems curled into themselves, preparing to roll again, "After the golems roll, us melee fighters will fight the golems together while Auspex Zethia peppers them with light magic. That should swiftly take them down!"
"Alright, sounds good. Everyone go!" I called and leaped out of the way as the golems flattened the forest path, rolling back to where they were originally. We took that opportunity to all fly onto the fiends, attacking it from all directions. Ranzal and Euden took the front, slashing and defending against the heavy golems. Euden's sword sparked fire occasionally and helped repel the golems away. Me and Elisanne took opposite sides of the fiends, diving behind them to lunge at their core. However, both golems backhanded their fists onto us and smacked us away. Elisanne landed on the ground with a bloody nose while I had a painful bruise on my cheek.
"Elisanne! Are you alright?!"
"Focus, Your Highness! Their guard is open!" The Paladyn yelled and on cue, Ranzal slew one of the golems with a cleave of his axe. Euden lost his opportunity calling out for Elisanne, but Zethia's shower of radiant light magic brought the beast down. Me and the Paladyn staggered back to the group, injured.
"Auspex's Repose!" Zethia called before any of us could even speak, washing both of us in soft green light. Instantly, the bruise on my cheek vanished and so did the stream of blood running down Elisanne's nose. All that remained was the dried stains over her clothes.
"Ah, thank you," Elisanne bowed to the Auspex, who smiled warmly in response, "Now that that's taken care of, let us proceed. The Windwyrm's home should be right up ahead. Is that right, Ranzal?"
"Right you are. The golems must of been a security test" The mercenary nodded, shouldering his axe. We continued down the forest path again and I leaned in towards Euden, who was looking ahead with a look of determination and nervousness.
"Nervous, Your Highness?" I asked and the Prince nodded lightly, "Well, there's no turning back from here. Before we meet Midgardsormr though, I want to ask you something"
"Ask away, Adrian"
"Do you know of the Alberian force strike? Specifically, the sword version," I drew my own sword from my scabbard. It was customary to have both a lance and sword as a soldier, as fighting with a spear inside tight interiors was cumbersome. My blade was nothing to Euden's Knight's Grace however. Just a simple Soldier's Brand, "The technique is useful for cutting past enemy defense with the sheer power of your strike. Captain Leif should of taught you it"
"The Force Strike… Ah, right! I remember it," Euden stepped off the path for a second, drawing his own sword, "Leif told me that you can augment the strike with elemental power for greater damage. Maybe I can…"
Euden's sword went beside him as he tensed his right arm, focusing. Suddenly, he lunged forward and brought all the power of his weapon and dash into a single wide slash, cleaving a line of grass in twain. However, no sparks of flame flew.
"Hm. It's imperfect, but you have the stance and strike right. It'll still serve it's intended purpose," I scratched my chin thoughtfully, "Work on trying to execute it more quickly though. For swordsmen, Captain Leif encourages a sequence of two strikes followed by a force strike for optimal offense against a foe. Such a combo needs a fast force strike or less it won't work"
"I got it. Thanks for reminding me, Adrian!" Euden grinned before sheathing his sword, "Hey… where are the others…?"
"What's the hold up, you two?! We found the Windwyrm's den!" We heard Notte and Ranzal yell from up ahead. Both of us ran to catch up just as they passed through the ancient stone doors and into a circular sanctum almost like an arena. Trees, vegetation and plant life bloomed all over the place, the building gradually being consumed by the earth.
"Well, here we are. Where's Midgardsormr?" Euden opened his hand, summoning the light green pactstone that he obtained yesterday. Suddenly, it glowed and vanished as a loud roar pierced through the air. The same roar that we heard when Euden shapeshifted into the Windwyrm.
"Welcome, Prince Euden of Alberia. I see that you have accepted my request to find me here!" The dragon's voice echoed within itself as the mystical green wyrm flew down from the ceiling, landing on the ground right in front of us. His voice was booming, commanding and regal all at once. It was impossible to ignore, "Now then, do you truly intend to form a pact with me?"
"I do!" Euden stepped up bravely, looking Midgardsormr in the eye, "I have come to claim the Sacred Shard and my place on the throne to protect Alberia. I swear on the dragonblood in my veins that I'll become a strong, wise and beloved ruler by my people. Just like King Alberius ages ago!"
"So you intend to emulate the Founder, do you? To find his qualities in you would take time," Midgardsormr spread his giant wings wide, "But one will only take one test: his strength. Battle against me, child of man. Prove that your feeble flesh can handle a dragon's supreme might!"
Instantly, Midgardsormr rose into the air, flapping his wings as if he was preparing an attack. A strong gust of wind blew and pushed us backwards.
"Scatter! Get around and stick to his sides or behind! Auspex and Notte, stick with me!" Elisanne cried and ran towards Midgardsormr's right with Euden while me and Ranzal took left.
"Trident Tempest!" Midgardsormr cried and three tornadoes blasted from his wings, miraculously not obliterating the stone wall behind us. Upon contact, the tornadoes exploded into violent bursts of wind. Despite that, we still continued our assault. Elisanne jabbed at Midgardsormr's leg while Euden hacked at his tail and backside with his sword. Ranzal slammed his axe with great force over the dragon's other leg, but Midgardsormr's skin was like steel.
"Enough of this!" The Windwyrm spun around in a circle, slamming his tail into Ranzal's face and knocking him down. The tail also clipped Elisanne in the shoulder and sent her sprawling. Only me, Euden and Zethia evaded the blow.
"Auspex, heal Elisanne! I'll get Ranzal out of danger for now!" I yelled, pulling the hazy mercenary away from the dragon, "Euden, keep his attention. I'll be back to assist!"
"Right! Hah!" Euden's sword whirled and swiped, carving cuts and gashes onto Midgardsormr's stomach. The Windwyrm responded by spitting a sphere of gales, but Euden rolled out of the way in time. Once the sphere hit the ground, it erupted in a small tornado, "Blazing Circlet!"
The prince's cyclone of flame slammed into Midgardsormr's thigh, leaving lingering traces of flame that winced the dragon. Midgardsormr countered with a swift headbutt, sending Euden to the ground, but the prince rose and continued going quickly. His innate fire spirit seemed to give him an edge over the wind attuned dragon.
"Auspex's Repose!" Zethia called from faraway, revitalizing Euden. Elisanne was already up and attacking Midgardsormr from behind, so I beckoned the Auspex to come and heal Ranzal. Then I joined back into the fray.
"Hiyah!" I stabbed my spear into the dragon's leg, but the scales were too hard to penetrate. Euden had his attention on the front, so I decided I had time to try something, "The stance went like…?"
I concentrated, anchoring myself to the ground as I drew my spear behind me, preparing my own force strike. My arm shook, but I grasped the lance tight before I leapt forward.
"Take this!" I cried and drove the weapon into Midgardsormr's leg before pulling back and stabbing it another three times for good measure. This time, the strikes made actual punctures, "That's it! Euden and Elisanne, use force strikes!"
"Brave Bastion!" Elisanne blessed Euden with strength before nodding to my command, thrusting forward in a drill rush onto Midgardsormr's other leg. The prince force struck onto the dragon's stomach, delivering a lethal blow that actually staggered Midgardsormr, "There's our chance to strike! Don't let up now!"
"Blazing Circlet!" Euden blasted a shockwave of flame from his sword and sent Midgardsormr crashing against the wall with a growl. Ranzal and Elisanne joined in with their own skills, decimating the Windwyrm.
"Grr… It's not done yet. I shall rend you asunder!" Midgardsormr rose into the air again "GRAND TEMPEST!"
"Get away!" Elisanne yelled and all of us scattered away as eight tornadoes rocketed out of Midgardsormr's wings in all directions. Euden however, stayed put, "Your Highness, get over here!"
"One, two… NOW!" Euden's sword burned ablaze again as he leaped into the air, evading the incoming whirlwind somehow, "EXALTED FIRE!"
"GARAAAHHHGHH!" The Windwyrm roared in agony as the fiery wave struck him, drawing a massive line of burnt flesh across his chest. Midgardsormr breathed once before collapsing onto the ground, soundly defeated, "Well… done…"
"Lord Windwyrm, it'll be alright! I'll heal you" Zethia approached the fallen dragon, but he shook his head, rising from the ground.
"Be at ease. Us Greatwyrms can regenerate quickly" Midgardsormr closed his eyes and a miniature whirlwind swirled around him briefly, washing the dragon in healing magic. Instantly, all of the Windwyrm's wounds were gone, "Ha ha ha! What a thrill that was. The dragonblood runs strong within you, man child"
"I take strength from my friends, not my blood," Euden gestured to the others, particularly Elisanne and Zethia, "You should remember that, dragon"
"Hm… True. Very true. A king's power is oft found lurking behind the throne" The Windwyrm rose to full height, towering over the rest of us, "And you do have the makings of a king, for you have been tested and found worthy!"
"Does that mean… you'll form a pact with me?" Euden asked, lowering his sword and Midgardsormr nodded.
"Euden... My king. I hereby cede all of my power to you and your chosen. I am Midgardsormr, lord of maelstroms, master of this land, and the storm that shall keep you from harm!" Midgardsormr roared, loud and proud. The verdant green pactstone reappeared next to Euden again, except it glowed with a more constant, vibrant light. The entirety of Midgardsormr was in Euden's hands now.
"The prince's "chosen"? Does that mean any of us could potentially shapeshift if His Highness wills it to be so?" Elisanne asked, but the Windwyrm shook his head in denial.
"I simply mean you can summon me to your aid using the pactstone at any time. Only people who carry dragonblood in their veins can assume a draconic form," Midgardsormr replied, gesturing to Euden, "This applies to other dragons across the land as well"
"Mm. Disappointing, but it makes sense," I looked between Midgardsormr and Euden, "Although… don't your elements clash against one another? Euden has a fire elemental spirit and Midgardsormr's well… the Windwyrm"
"Indeed. Me and the prince together don't bode well elementally," Midgardsormr confirmed and Euden frowned, slightly miffed, "However… should he find a dragon attuned to his spirit, his draconic form will be much stronger. The same logic applies to people without dragonblood"
"Attuned or not, you have a pact now! And with one of the Greatwyrms, no less!" Notte cheered, "Now all we need is that Sacred Shard"
"The Shard you seek lies deeper in the forest," Midgardsormr stated, "And who better to show the way than a child of the wood? Cleo! Step forward"
Out of the doors behind the dragon, a short girl with gigantic twintails of purple hair walked towards us, carrying a short rod tipped with a quartz crystal. Her headgear gave her the appearance of tall black ears atop her head and the sound of bells rung through the empty arena. I looked down and saw two bells strapped around her legs, along with another two apart of her headgear.
"Greetings, O Alberian prince and heir to dragonblood. I have been waiting for you," The girl said to Euden. Her voice has an air of sereneness, but also professionalism, "My name is Cleo. I have guarded this land of mist for uncountable years in preparation for this day"
"He called you a child of the wood. I take it you're a sylvan, then?" I saw Euden's eyes trying to discern where Cleo's bunny ears were atop her head to no avail, "And what did you mean when you said you've been "waiting for me"?"
"Exactly that, my prince. You are to be my new master. You are the one who will grant my greatest wish" Cleo replied simply and Euden stepped back in slight shock.
"And… what is that?"
"To see the mists banished. They hang over this forest, clouding both the landscape and my mind," Cleo gestured behind her to the mist laden woods behind her from the doors. I could barely see anything in the fog "I chronicle as much of my memory as I can in words and pictures, but time's cruel flow has washed most of it away. I cannot even remember the face of my previous master"
"So when you said "uncountable years," you meant exactly that," Zethia realized, "As a sylvan, you must of been here for a long time…"
"Yes. But now my wait is over. Together we will banish the mists between past and present. I believe in you," Cleo turned her back on us, walking towards the doors, "Allow me to accompany you deeper into the forest, where you will find what you seek"
"Thank you, Cleo. I can't imagine standing guard over a land for so long, and I'm excited for you to show it to me," Euden said, walking to catch up with the sylvan. Cleo smiled lightly at his tone.
"Hm. It is...strange. I can no longer recall his face or voice, yet I feel certain you have his spirit" Cleo cupped her hand under her chin, examining Euden closely. The prince looked away in slight embarrassment and Cleo smirked.
"Uhm… whose spirit?"
"My former master lost to the mist. Now come, Prince Euden. I'll show you the way" Cleo stated decisively and marched out of the Windwyrm's chambers. Midgardsormr dissolved, turning into glowing green mana that flowed into Euden's pactstone and the rest of us followed the duo into the misty woods.
"I trust you are all prepared? This wood has fiends prowling about, due to the weakening shard," Cleo cautioned, "I can keep you all topped off, but don't be reckless"
"Do you know the way through here?" I asked and the sylvan nodded.
"Of course. I'll guide you through, but do cover me if fiends approach" Cleo took the lead with us following behind her and Zethia in the middle with Notte. The mist was so thick that it was impossible to see five feet in front of me, but Cleo seemed to know where we were going. Luckily, the fiends we encountered along the way were blindsided by the mist as well, so they were easy prey.
"Hey, hold on a sec here!" Notte cried, flying off the beaten path to some stone monument between a pair of trees. It looked like a gravestone, but instead of a flat-sided wedge, it was a longsword like a cross-marker. Over the crossguard were words chiseled in marble.
""In Memory of King Alberius the Founder"" Notte read aloud.
"He was a great leader. Such monuments are erected across the entire kingdom to remember his deeds" Cleo reminisced, gazing upon the marble gravestone with a hidden expression of sorrow. She hid it well however.
"Okay, so I know he founded Alberia, but what else did he do?" Notte asked, fluttering up to Cleo's face and the sylvan sighed.
"Has so much time passed that even faeries don't even remember?" Cleo brought her hand up to her forehead, "King Alberius did a great many things. Most notably, he was able to forge pacts with multiple dragons. You know the Six Greatwyrms, yes?"
"Midgardsormr, Mercury, Brunhilda, Jupiter, Zodiark and uhh… I never remember the sixth one," Euden admitted and Cleo shook her head.
"Understandable. Chthonius is the more elusive of the Greatwyrms, as he doesn't directly control an element in the world," The sylvan shrugged before continuing "In any case, King Alberius led all of them in battle against the Dyrenell Empire"
""Dyrenell"? Seriously? Why didn't they just name themselves "Evildudes" and be done with it? Why such a complicated name?" Notte grumbled, crossing her arms, "Okay, so they're bad guys. Got it. What did they do? Ravage the land and pillage the people?"
"Of course. That's what all evil empires do," Even Cleo sounds exasperated by Dyrenell. How could an empire like that even exist and flourish if they doomed all their citizens to death? People make the country and if there's no people, the kingdom rules naught but hills, "But the people of Dyrenell were also worshippers of demons. And their greatest sin was resurrecting a terrible demon that has haunted this continent since antiquity"
"So they were occult cultists. Creepy…" I mumbled. I tried to dig into my memory from Alberian soldier training about any demons. The Alberia Historia should of had it somewhere, but my mind was hazy.
"They revived a demon?! Oh man, that's never good," Notte shivered and Zethia cradled her gently, soothing her silently while Cleo nodded in agreement.
"It most definitely was not good. But King Alberius fought against that demon with all his might," As the sylvan told the story, her expression turned dark and sorrowful, as if she was in the conflict again, "The war raged for a very long time. But finally, the king managed to bind the demon's power once more. The struggle later became known as the Second War of Binding"
"The Second War? When was the First War of Binding?" Ranzal questioned.
"That is a much older story, one from the age of myth. The First War of Binding was when the goddess Ilia and the sacred dragon Elysium first sealed the demon's power," Cleo replied as we stepped away from the monument and continued moving along, "And then Dyrenell cultists attempted to bring the demon back, but as I said earlier, King Alberius vanquished it"
"It took a goddess AND a dragon to win? Cripes. This is one powerful demon," Notte said with awe, "But that means King Alberius was really powerful too, right? I mean, since he was just a normal mortal guy and all"
"Nothing about him was "normal", but yes," Cleo nodded, "Binding a being of such immense power was an incredible accomplishment. None are quite sure how he did it"
"Hey, maybe the Sacred Shards we're looking for have something to do with it. Maybe it was the original holy relic from the church!" Notte suggested and Cleo shrugged.
"I suppose that's a possibility However, the binding occurred in a single location, and the Shards are no longer there" The healer rose her rod, blasting a floating eyeball fiend to bits with dark magic without missing a step, "So I suspect there was more to it than that. We do, however, know the name of the ritual King Alberius performed"
"What's it called?"
"The Blood Casket"
"What?! That sounds terrifying! What's in the casket? And why is it BLEEDING?! Are you trying to give me nightmares?" Notte screeched in horror "I'm already afraid of the dark! Whenever I wake up at night to tinkle, I always make Zethia come with me"
"You… tinkle? I've learned more about faeries than I wished to today" Cleo muttered and the rest of us grumbled in agreement. Conversation ceased between us as we continued deeper into the misty woods. Just up ahead with the Sacred Shard.
And unbeknownst to us, this course of action would change our fates forever...
Our team:
- Euden, Dragonblood Prince - Fire sword. Level 7
Equipment: Knight's Grace (Weapon), Mana Fount (WP) and Midgardsormr (Dragon)
Skills: Blazing Circlet and Exalted Fire
- Adrian, Yearning Freedom - Shadow lance. Level 5
Equipment: Battleworn Lance and Soldier's Brand (Weapons)
- Zethia, Holy Auspex - Light staff. Level 10
Equipment: Astrolabe (Weapon) and Auspex's Prayer (WP)
Skills: Auspex's Repose, Holy Heart and Astro's Protection
- Elisanne, Anointed Lance - Water lance. Level 11
Equipment: Azure Jewel (Weapon)
Skills: Brave Bastion, Hallowed Waters and Azure Whirlwind
- Ranzal, Arc in the Storm - Wind axe. Level 10
Equipment: Warrior's Axe (Weapon) and Together We Stand (WP)
Skills: Tornado Bash and Storm Wall
- Cleo, Belle Healer - Shadow staff. Level 9
Equipment: Staff of Grace (Weapon) and Halo (WP)
Skills: Elder Cure and Ancient Aegis
Damn, I forgot how fast Dragalia's story goes once you take out all the random battle-only story missions. With the Sacred Shard and the mist being lifted in the next chapter, the novelization will move to the in-game Chapter 2. All that in three chapters. This might take less time than I thought. Anyways, I hope you all are enjoying the story so far and stay tuned for more! If you want to be notified of when a new chapter comes out, favorite and follow. If you want to leave constructive criticism, leave a review. Until next time!