Dragon's Watch

by Strayed4194

Everything has changed. A threat greater than even Grima had come to their world, threatening everything they hold dear. It wasn't supposed to be like this. This was not suppose to happen... and yet it did. As a result, none of them knew how to counter this new threat. They were meant to face Grima and save their world from him, not from a divine dragon.

Chapter 1

Tyria

Humanity in Tyria has a deep history, originating back to the Kingdom of Orr, whose sons had founded their own kingdoms, Kryta and Ascalon. The latter unfortunately had been destroyed over two centuries ago. The final bastion of Ascalon lies in the heavily fortified settlement of Ebonhawke. The reason for Ascalon's destruction lies with the feline bipedal race known as the Charr.

Ascalon was actually once a part of the Charr lands until humans from Orr came in and conquered it. This started the Human-Charr Conflict that lasted for over 1,100 years, culminating at the end of the Third Guild War when the city of Ascalon was destroyed by Charr shamans using magical cauldrons provided to them by the titans, their so-called gods. This event became known as the Searing, leaving Ascalon a barren wasteland in the year 1070 AE.

Following the Searing, renewed Charr war efforts placed the remaining human population of Ascalon in ever-increasing jeopardy. While King Adelbern led a resistance against the charr, his son Rurik led many of the survivors to Kryta in search of refuge. Though Rurik himself was slain by the Stone Summit dwarves, the remaining refugees established the Ascalon Settlement and eventually the Rurikton district of Divinity's Reach. Thirty years after the Searing, Adelbern and his guard made their last stand during a siege on Ascalon City. Using the powers of his ancient sword Magdaer, the king summoned the Foefire which engulfed most of Ascalon, killing the charr in immediate vicinity but effectively killing all humans in Ascalon and transforming their spirits into vengeful ghosts bent on fighting the charr eternally.

In the two centuries since then, the once barren lands have slowly recovered and life has gradually returned, though scars of the Searing and ruins of the human kingdom still mark the landscape. On the site of Rin, the ancient capital of the human kingdom of Ascalon, the Iron Legion have raised their Black Citadel. Their war against living humans continued until recent years against the lone fortress of Ebonhawke which is now the last human settlement of Ascalonian heritage. The ghosts of Foefire continue to defend their ruined realm as defiantly as centuries ago.

The year 1320 AE was by all standards the most remarkable year in history of Ascalon; the elder dragon Kralkatorrik had awoken in the regions north of Ascalon, in the Blood Legion homelands. It flew south to the Crystal Desert, passing above Ascalon and creating a swath of corruption in its wake which became known as the Dragonbrand. Countless Charr and wildlife were immediately transformed into minions of the dragon known as the branded. This severely crippled the war effort of Charr against the last human stronghold, urging both participants to seek truce in 1324 which evolved into ongoing peace negotiations as of 1325. The credit for achieving the truce often goes to Queen Jennah's efforts to end the war, and the retrieval of the Claw of the Khan-Ur by Dougal Keane of Ebonhawke, and Ember Doomforge of the Ash Legion. Separatist humans and Renegade Charr still fight to keep the ancient war alive, preferring to fight their own people rather than accept peace with their sworn enemies.

The peace efforts are still difficult. Old sentiments are difficult to remove considering the damage that had been done over the years. Countless lives were lost on both sides.

Though the Kingdom of Ascalon is no more, there are still those who bear the blood of its last king. One such individual is a young adventurer who got more than he expected out of life.

"Can certainly say that it's been at least exciting." he muttered as he knelt before two gravestones in a secluded area. It was in an area hidden in the Darkwood of Kessex Hills, a region within the Kingdom of Kryta.

The first gravestone read: Three joys gave his life meaning: His wife, his country, and above all, his child. May the gods bless and protect our beloved son.

Then there was the second gravestone: Cherished Wife, Devoted Mother, Loyal Servant of Kryta. 'Our life's labor was to make a better world for children to live in. May our beloved Stryder find it so.'

He always wondered why he got such a strange name. It wasn't until later on when he found the meaning behind it. The old lady from the orphanage he grew up in said that a Stryder is a person who is naturally sweet and loving. A Stryder is an amazing friend and someone who would devote their heart to the person they choose to love. They are people who strive to make the world better. That is why his parents chose that name for him.

"I honestly don't know if I'm living up to that name." he said as he spoke to the gravestones. "I'm doing my best though. It's not just the White Mantle we have to worry about now. The rest elder dragons are waking up. Even after making several victories, the price… it was high."

He bowed his head in shame.

"I could really use your guidance right about now. Kralkatorrik just vanished into the Mists. And now I fear he's gone straight into another world, leaking all that volatile magic everywhere. Just when I thought I had elder dragons figured out..."

The elder dragons…

They are beings like no other, not even like the gods. They are primordial beings that, through the history of Tyria, have awoken and brought devastation, before falling back into slumber. These cycles of awakening, destruction, then hibernation, are several millennia-long, and are intrinsically tied to the levels of ambient magic to the world.

The elder dragons are possible as old as Tyria itself, and are a fundamental part of nature's workings.

Stryder and his people knew that, but they had to do something about them or countless people will die. So at the same time, they are trying to find a way to ensure the stability of nature, to find a way to have it not depend on the elder dragons.

Zhaitain's death did not stop its army of risen. Some of the elder dragon's energies had been absorbed by its champion, Tequatl the Sunless. Mordremoth's minions are still a problem within the heart of the jungles of Maguuma. And now, Kralkatorric had disappeared beyond the Mists. Heavily wounded, but recovering after a grueling fight. The situation had turned dire.

"Gods!" he swore. "Everything happened so fast. I just…"

He stayed in that cave for a little while longer, talking to the gravestones of his parents before paying his last respects and heading out. Through the magical waypoints that are all across Tyria, he arrived at a historical site that has been made the makeshift headquarters of Dragon's Watch and the newly created Order of the Crystal Bloom. The architecture of the large ancient spire was a mystery as it matched no known design, the top was hollow and was believed to either be incomplete or broken off.

"Still no sign?"

A young Asura by the name of Taimi shook her head. "No. Sorry, commander. We've been trying to triangulate where exactly Big Red went, but… his trail went cold the moment he disappeared into the Mists."

Stryder grimaced. "That means we'll have to go there ourselves and see if we can find the trail. Anything else of note?"

"So far, everything has been quiet, and that's disturbing." Taimi reported. "Marshal Logan and General Soulkeeper have been mustering whatever forces he can get and ensure that Tyria's skies are clear. There are still a lot of branded in Elona and Ascalon, especially with the threat of the Shatterers all over the branded areas."

"And now we have Kralkatorrik who knows where." the dragon champion muttered. "Has there been any records of different realms beyond the Mist? What about Dessa, she got anything?"

Taimi cupped her chin. "Realms beyond the Mist are something my people have been theorizing, that's something Dessa has been looking into for some time. I should be able to dig something up. What I do know is that, when it comes to the Mist, anything is possible."

Stryder sat down and pondered, his elbows on the table and chin on his intertwined fingers. "What could the possible damage be if Kralkatorrik is in a different realm?"

"Well we do know that other realms have their own ley lines." Taimi said as she read through the data. "And a single elder dragon having all that energy to itself? The possible damage would be cataclysmic. The worse part about this is… The energies WILL leak into the Mists and not just affect the other worlds, but ours. And we all know that if the energies keep leaking, Primordus AND Jormag will wake up."

"What's the worst case scenario should the two other elder dragons wake up?"

Taimi winced. "If my calculations are correct, reality will be torn apart. The Mists won't be able to handle all that energy leaking and clashing with each other."

And that was something Stryder did not want to hear. The magic of an elder dragon, especially two elder dragons that are completely opposite of each other, is extremely volatile.

"Pack your gear, Taimi." he finally said. "I'll let Rytlock and Braham know."

/-\

"This place is wonderful." the young blue dragon spoke as she looked at the magical waters in the center of the room. She had taken a liking to the magical pool of the Eye of the North, feeling the energies naturally converging. "I can feel the magic flowing through here."

"It is." came the words of her champion, Stryder, as he walked into the room.

"Has there been any word of my grandfather?" the dragon asked.

"We have reason to believe Kralkatorrik traveled to a different world through the Mists." Stryder informed her.

The young dragon nodded. "He will cause untold damage to that world, and the energies could possibly leak into the Mists."

Stryder's eyebrows were raised. "Well…"

Aurene made an expression that resembled mischief. "I have been hanging around Taimi a lot, you know. She's taught me so much."

Her champion smiled softly. "It only feels like yesterday, watching you hatch out of that egg. Teaching you right from wrong… stopping you from eating all the fish we made during that bonding session…"

Aurene tittered and shifted her body, as if she was blushing. "W-Well… that was one time."

"That was more than one time, baby girl."

If Aurene were blushing, she didn't show it. Being called that by Stryder was… she loved it. Taimi once told her that she could be what humans call a 'daddy's girl'.

The elder dragon lowered her head, grumbling a little at the truth that came out of the champion's words. Stryder was more than just her champion though. The man, along with another, raised her. Stryder had been a father-figure to her.

"We're going to a whole different world." he told her. "We don't know what's going to happen once we're in."

Aurene nodded. "I know. But there's also something you need to know."

"Oh?"

"When we were in the Mists fighting grandfather, I felt another powerful presence. It felt like another elder dragon."

/-\

"Aurene's senses are never wrong." Stryder said as he paced back and forth. "But it makes sense. Primordus sensed the energy of another elder dragon."

"That's not good." Braham lamented.

Rytlock grunted. "Bad enough we have to deal with two elder dragons… now you're saying there's another elder dragon out there?"

Taimi hummed. "I've read about the legends of a sixth elder dragon sibling back in college. The name seems to have been lost though. There's just been no sign of that sixth elder dragon here in Tyria. At least now we know why."

Stryder tapped his fingers onto the table and let out a sigh. "Things got harder for us, I won't deny that. But I have faith that we WILL win. That is why we are going into the Mists to pursue Primordus. General Soulkeeper gifted us an airship so we can traverse the Mists. We're gonna use it."

Braham whistled. "You actually got an airship?"

"Simply called in a favor." Stryder shrugged. "The good general was more than happy to give us a ship AND a crew."

"The Eye of the North is also the perfect place for us to go into the Mists." Taimi added. "The entire spire is connected to the Mists. I'll get a gate open in no time! I'll need Aurene's help with this."

Taimi didn't waste any time and went into the chamber where Aurene resided and got to work. As everyone got ready for their expedition into the Mists, Stryder looked around saw Braham sitting outside at the steps, overlooking the cold valley of the Shiverpeaks.

"Copper for your thoughts, Braham?"

The young Norn chuckled and let out a breath. "Just thinking how things could have been a lot worse. When Aurene died and came back.."

"I know." Stryder nodded. "She's my daughter, Braham. When I saw her with those branded spikes on her… something in me just completely shut down. I just couldn't stop thinking that it was my fault."

"So we're going to a different world now, huh?" the Norn asked.

Stryder nodded again. "That's the idea. I'm actually kinda scared."

Braham looked at him with disbelief. "You? Scared?"

"Always." he said. "Every time I go into battle, I'm scared out of my mind. Admitting that you're scared means that you're not stupid, Braham. That's something that the best of warriors out there often forget. Never forget that."

Braham looked down for a moment and then looked up into the sky. "What do you think my mother is doing now?"

"Probably fighting alongside Snaff and the other spirits in the Mists." Stryder shrugged. "And we'll probably meet up with them again once we enter the Mists. Kralkatorrik must have done a lot of damage."

"I certainly hope that you two are not getting all ridiculously sappy there."

The two men turned to see a rather prickly male leaf-green skinned Sylvari, a member of a race of what is essentially tree people as they were born from the Pale Tree. Canach had been a long time friend of Stryder and they had fought alongside each other against the enemies of Tyria. His personality though made it hard for many to get along with him.

"Canach." Stryder greeted. "Didn't expect to see you here. I thought you'd be on your back to the Grove."

"I could not in good conscience pass up the opportunity of traveling to a different world." said the Sylvari. "And besides, you'll likely need an explosives expert again. Who knows what horrors we could face on the other side? Aside from a rather angry elder dragon of course… and now I hear there's another. You really do know how to make things exciting, Stryder."

And just on time, an airship pulled up and anchored itself at the spire.

"Stryder!" came in Taimi on her golem with Gorrik just to her left. "I got good news! We can use the upper parts of the spire as a giant gate into the Mists!"

"It's incredible!" Gorrik stated with equal excitement and enthusiasm. "The entire spire was built using the exact same material we use to make Asura gates!"

"How soon can we leave?" Stryder inquired.

Taimi gave them a grin. Everyone could tell she had been working nonstop on this task. "I can get the gate opened in a few hours. With Aurene's help, I can triangulate where exactly Kralk went thanks to her sensing that new elder dragon."

Stryder stood up and took a deep breath. "Then let's get to it. Everyone, prepare to depart!"

/-\

The screams hadn't stopped as that corrupting purplish energy encased innocent people in purple crystals, being transformed into those abominations.

"Gawds!" a red-haired young woman exhaled as she brought her sword down on one of the abominations that came at her. "What the hell is going on!? This never happened in… This was never supposed to happen."

She spotted fleeing villagers and motioned them to follow her. "Come on! Chon'sin is that's way!"

She needed to get to the coast and leave Valm. Whatever this was, it's spreading.

ROAR

She turned to see where that roar came from and spotted a dragon made of metal and that same purplish energy. Its breath wasn't fiery, just more of that purple stuff that turned any living thing it hit into whatever those abominations were. She watched as people that got caught in dragon's cone of fire immediately turned into those things. She gritted her teeth in anger, frustrated that she couldn't do anything to help them. If she tried, she would have probably ended up like them.

She needed to stay alive. It felt a little callous to leave them but… she didn't have a choice.

"Dammit!" she cursed as she led the survivors away from the devastation.

It felt like an eternity as she brought the survivors further east towards Chon'sin, some died along the way from untreated wounds, dehydration, starvation, or all of them at the same time. The further they went, the safer they felt. It's as if this blight terrorizing the continent was only affecting the western part of Valm.

"How much further to Chon'sin?" one of the refugees asked as they found an abandoned settlement with supplies, carriages, and horses nearby. They quickly put them to good use, not wanting to continue traveling by foot.

"With these horses?" another spoke. "Probably a couple of days to a week. The blight is all behind us now at least."

"Wonder what happened to the people here." the red-haired young woman muttered.

An old soldier grunted. "Must have left in a hurry for fear of the blight reaching here. We should arm some of the people, at least those who know how to fight. The blight may be behind us, but brigands aren't. You fought well back there, what's your name?"

"Severa." she answered as the grip on her sword's pommel tightened. "Just… Severa."

The old soldier grunted and nodded. "Wish we had more like you. Then again, doubt it would have done well against those dragons. Doesn't make any sense. One day, the skies were clear, and then the next, cataclysm."

"I saw something even greater than those dragons!" one of the refugees said. "A great dragon that seemed to command it all! A great crystal dragon! It was the cause of it all! Like the legends of old!"

"Legends?" the old soldier inquired. "What kind?"

"The legends speak of the divine dragons." an elderly woman spoke. "Naga was the youngest of six. Her older siblings, once benevolent, had gone mad with power. The one we saw… I am sure it is one of Naga's elder siblings."

Severa grimaced as her body shook. A divine dragon? Gawds, bad enough we have Grima to worry about! Just what in the hells is happening!?

They all stayed the night in the abandoned settlement, all happy with full bellies thanks to the abandoned supplies that had been left behind. By next morning, they took what they could load up into the carriages and on their backs and continued their journey east.

And just like the old soldier said, they encountered brigands. There were only a dozen of them whom foolishly attacked a modest-sized caravan with determined guards. By the hour's end, all brigands were on the ground, dead with their blood and guts spilling out.

Severa grimaced as he wiped the blood off of her blade. "Gawds… even with the cataclysm at their doorstep, they'd still do something like this."

"You can't fix stupid, lass." the old soldier said as he sheathed his sword. "That's just how brigands work nowadays. They'll prey on whoever they want even when the world's ending. Nice work out there, lass. I can see that this wasn't your first time in battle."

"I'm an adventurer." Severa said as she put her sword away. "Been around for a while. Was just unlucky to be where the blight hit. Thank Naga it isn't spreading east."

"Naga…" the old soldier's brows raised. "You're Ylissean"

She nodded. "I am."

"You're a long way from home, lass."

Upon hearing those words, she looked away. "I am."

There weren't any more bandit encounters for the rest of the journey. The group they took down seemed to have been the last one as the others either died or had given up. Everyone breathed collective sighs of relief the moment they saw the gates of Chon'sin in the distance. Passing through it, some even cried. Chon'sin was beautiful with its wooden structures and curved scaly roofs, and the beautiful gardens that decorate their surroundings.

Severa sat down on a rock and breathed out a heavy sigh.

"Hail, warrior!"

The redhead looked up and realized she was being greeted by none other than Say'ri, princess of Chon'sin. She was certainly beautiful with her long black hair and oriental attire. She bowed to the woman.

"Princess."

"Well met." the princess spoke. "It has been a while since Chon'sin hosted an Ylissean. Though you came from the west, not the east."

"Adventuring." Severa explained. It wasn't a complete lie of course. "And then the blight came."

Say'ri nodded in understanding. "I spoke with one of the refugees. They say a divine dragon gone mad is responsible."

"I haven't seen the dragon myself, princess." the redhead said. "But it does seem that way. Only a divine dragon would be capable of something like this."

"Fie!" Say'ri cursed. "Though perhaps we should be thankful the bright isn't spreading towards here."

Severa bobbed her head in agreement. "The dragon seems to be content with the west side of Valm. I don't think the empire survived."

"Good!" Say'ri spat. "Those treacherous, murderous vermin do not deserve any sympathy."

"There's more." Severa continued. "The divine dragon that devastated western Valm turned any living creature into… crystal abominations… mindless minions."

The Chon'sin princess looked at the redhead before letting out a sigh. "I see… a fate worse than death. Then that means my brother…"

"Princess?"

Say'ri shook her head. "Nothing. Thank you for telling me… uh…"

"Severa." she told the princess. "My name is Severa. I was hoping I can board a ship bound for Ylisse. After everything that has happened, I think it's time for me to go home."

"There is a ship leaving for Ylisse in a few days." Say'ri informed her. "You can board that one. For now, I believe a bath and a hot meal would do you some good."

Severa bowed. "Thank you, princess."

More refugees fleeing from the blight came to Chon'sin as time passed. While many planned on boarding the ships bound for the other continent, others decided to stay and form settlements in Chon'sin's territory. With the Valmese Empire destroyed from the blight, many of them are enjoying their freedom. But the uncertainty of the blight that now plagues most of western Valm was in their minds.

"A divine dragon." muttered Severa as she watched the refugees mingle with the people of Chon'sin. "Gawds…"

The tale of Naga having five older siblings had never been spoken in Ylisse. Severa didn't know why. None of her friends knew much either. But they at least knew Naga wasn't an only child. What worried her greatly was that Naga came here to this world because of her siblings. And that meant her older siblings are far more powerful than Ylisse's beloved divine dragon.

"Once I get to Ylisse, I need to find Lucy."

Severa already knew that the arrival of this crystal dragon had changed everything.

/-\

"Commander!" the helmsman of the airship Havoc's Heir announced. "We're through the gate!"

"I can see that." Stryder said with a smile as he he smelled the fresh air. Stepping outside, he joined his companions.

"Well it certainly smells like a different world." Canach drawled. "Lovely view… and then there's that."

All eyes turned to the large landmass in the distance. And then further in, they could see the massive clouds of purple with lightning storms and massive crystals.

"Our elder dragon has been quite busy." the Sylvari spoke. "It looks like he's claimed a large part of that continent already."

"What's the plan?" Rytlock asked.

"Kralkatorrik's already gained a foothold." Stryder grimaced. "Dammit."

"He's surrounded himself with his minions." Braham spoke. "We can't just go in without a plan, Stryder."

Stryder nodded. "I know. We're gonna need a base of operations." he looked to the right and a massive landmass to the east. He then turned to the ship's crew. "Get word to Pact Marshal Thackeray and Caithe that we will be establishing a base of operations on the continent to that continent. It's close enough to the front, but far enough from Kralkatorrik's reach."

The ship's crew nodded. "Aye, commander! Making course for the continent!"

"Stryder!" came in Taimi's voice, sounding panicked. When the commander turned, a bright flash of light came from the lower deck of the ship. "It's Aurene! Something's happening to her!"

"Champion!" cried out Aurene, clearly in pain. "Help me!"

Stryder came running back into the ship. When he got there, the bright light disappeared and… he saw something he did not expect to see. Everyone's eyes were wide at what they are now seeing.

"By the gods…"

On the floor lay a girl with long light blue hair and long pointed ears. Her eyes were as gold as the dragon that was previously there. She looked up and gazed at Stryder.

"C-Champion? What… what happened to me?"

"Aurene?"

Author's Note: And there we have it for the first chapter!

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