Author's Note: Aerena, if you're upset over the ending to Summer Flame, I
suggest you check out the War of Souls trilogy, starting with Dragons of a
Fallen Sun. Yes, I do read Dragonlance, I've read over 20 of them. Weis and
Hickman are still my favorite authors of the bunch, though.
By the way, I've been getting a lot of reviews concerning this subject, and the new Sea Dragoon WILL be female, although I don't know much else about her yet.
I also redid my bio, because the first one was just filled with quotes that were only cool when I first wrote them. The novelty wore off after a while, so I changed it. Now it tells a little more about me.
In response to ssp47's latest reviews, I did get Rose and Albert up to Dragoon Level 5, but I have to admit I didn't really pay much attention to their summons. .; I only really watched the Dark Dragon Summon once, and it looked to me like it had two wings, no arms or legs, and that claw that extended from the bottom that sliced that shining line. As for the Jade Dragon, I never really watched it, figuring it would just look like Ferybrand anyway. Besides which, Ferybrand was cool anyway! What's wrong with the Jade Dragon being like Ferybrand? In the battle scene, Rayen killed the Sea Dragoon when he had the pillar of fire erupt beneath him. That would probably kill a guy, and I also mentioned at some point that his opponent was reduced to a pile of armor and a skeleton. Kyra just warped there out of nowhere, which, judging by Lloyd, Winglies are prone to do. She came, she left, she came back, and then she smacked Sean with a fireball and took the Sea Spirit. I thought it was simple enough to understand, but I tend to confuse a lot of people. I hope that clears up a few things. I'm rambling again. *smacks self*
Chapter 33
Kyra made a swift mental count of the avian adversaries as her Dragoon transformation commenced. Eleven, she concluded as the violet streaks of lightning surged around her, forming the legendary magical armor of the Dragoons, and the largest in the center made twelve. Kyra had heard that during the Second Dragon Campaign, Dart and the other Dragoons had fought a similar creature. The original Fire Bird must have laid its eggs in the volcano, where they escaped detection during the Cleansing. Only a millennium could produce such a large group of these mythological monsters, for they were long-lived but slow to breed, and she could that all of the dozen Fire Birds were adults. She wondered dimly where the staff fragment was hidden, but that would come later.
Phil had been the first to recover after the eruption, and his transformation was already finished. He twirled his spear deftly between his fingers. "I don't you about you ladies, but this is certainly not my idea of a tropical vacation."
"I believe I told you earlier to save the sarcasm until after the fight."
Phil shrugged. "Since when have I listened to anything you've told me?"
Kyra sighed. "True enough."
With a brilliant flash of electricity, Kyra's transformation completed, and the three Dragoons kicked off the lip of the volcano and engaged the dozen Fire Birds, each heading for a different target.
Phil attacked the largest Fire Bird first, deducing that it would wreak the most havoc if left to its own devices. He lunged at it with his spear, only to meet a burst of flame from the monster's beak. Although the magical Dragoon armor prevented most of the damage, the sensation was still not pleasant.
"Man, I better be getting a tan from this!"
Dawn shook her head, ducking as a Fire Bird swooped low at her, attempting to seize her skull in its talons. It was so like Phil to crack a joke while being blasted by a jet of flame. She jabbed upwards with the thrusting tip of her berdiche, dispatching her opponent with relative ease.
Phil responded to the largest bird's attack by landing on its back. He shoved his spear through its spine, severing the cord and killing it instantly. Kyra fired a bolt of purple lightning at her opponent, splitting the unlucky creature's head in two. Dawn blocked another bird's talons with the wooden haft of her berdiche, and then she reversed her stroke, lopping off the monster's head with the weapon's broad blade. The remaining eight Fire Birds hesitated slightly, taken aback by the sudden death of their comrades.
But it was too late for them to retreat back to the safety of their volcano now. Kyra rushed forward, quickly slicing open another two of the monsters, while Dawn sent another two reeling out of the air with a searing flash of light. Phil gathered the wind about him, preparing a spell.
"Wing Blaster!"
He focused the air into a bird-like shape, and launched it into the space between the four remaining guardians of the staff piece. It exploded, sending speeding winds whipping around the Fire Birds, extinguishing the flames that wreathed their bodies and their lives with them. He touched down on the mouth of the volcano, his jade armor fading with a pale green light.
"OK, we've taken care of the flock of flaming chickens. Now what? We still don't know where the fragment is."
Kyra activated her light wings and dove into the volcano, despite protests from the other two Dragoons.
Phil watched her dive down into the depths of the mountain. "Has she got a death wish or something?"
On the contrary, Kyra knew exactly what she was doing. During the fight, she had glimpsed a narrow shelf of rock on the inside of the volcano. Upon inspecting it, she did indeed discover the second piece of the staff, seemingly unharmed by the intense heat of the molten rock below. She flew out of the accursed mountain, the shard clenched triumphantly in her clawed fist.
She turned to the others. "Alright, where to next?"
Phil jerked his thumb at Dawn. "She's talking to the Dragon right now."
Dawn looked up to regard the other two. "The next piece is located in the Snowfield."
Phil groaned. "Wonderful. I hope the next piece is in an area where temperatures are between the boiling and freezing points. First I get chucked into a lake in the Undersea Cavern, and now this."
************************************************************************
Rayen finally finished narrating the previous events to Oraeus. "So that's why we're here."
The half-Giganto sat at the table; his chin rested on his hands, which were folded on the butt end of his axe. "Well, it certainly is an interesting story."
Shade spoke up. "It sure is. Plus, it passed the time. We're finally here."
Rayen unbuckled his seat belt. "It's about time."
Once inside the shrine, Rayen was somewhat surprised. He thought that a monument dedicated to a former Dragoon would be a place of order. But the shrine seemed almost chaotic, with mazelike passages and twisting slides. Rayen wondered what they had in mind when they had constructed this building. The trio slowly navigated their way through the labyrinth. The passageways were decorated with ancient murals engraved into the stone. After a long and exhausting trip, they finally reached the top of the shrine. There, on a round slab of stone, lay the shard.
"Weird. I wonder who brought it here," Shade mumbled as they all approached the area.
Suddenly, Rayen fell to his knees with a hoarse cry. He clutched his temples, occasionally yelling out incoherent exclamations of agony. Finally, after several minutes, he collapsed unconscious.
Shade rushed to the fallen Red-Eye's side. "Shit, it's happened again!"
Suddenly, Shade and Oraeus felt a strangely relaxing presence wash over them, and a look of peace came to Rayen's unconscious face. Shade looked up, and found himself staring into the eyes of Shirley, the Silver Dragoon who had been dead for over 12,000 years.
By the way, I've been getting a lot of reviews concerning this subject, and the new Sea Dragoon WILL be female, although I don't know much else about her yet.
I also redid my bio, because the first one was just filled with quotes that were only cool when I first wrote them. The novelty wore off after a while, so I changed it. Now it tells a little more about me.
In response to ssp47's latest reviews, I did get Rose and Albert up to Dragoon Level 5, but I have to admit I didn't really pay much attention to their summons. .; I only really watched the Dark Dragon Summon once, and it looked to me like it had two wings, no arms or legs, and that claw that extended from the bottom that sliced that shining line. As for the Jade Dragon, I never really watched it, figuring it would just look like Ferybrand anyway. Besides which, Ferybrand was cool anyway! What's wrong with the Jade Dragon being like Ferybrand? In the battle scene, Rayen killed the Sea Dragoon when he had the pillar of fire erupt beneath him. That would probably kill a guy, and I also mentioned at some point that his opponent was reduced to a pile of armor and a skeleton. Kyra just warped there out of nowhere, which, judging by Lloyd, Winglies are prone to do. She came, she left, she came back, and then she smacked Sean with a fireball and took the Sea Spirit. I thought it was simple enough to understand, but I tend to confuse a lot of people. I hope that clears up a few things. I'm rambling again. *smacks self*
Chapter 33
Kyra made a swift mental count of the avian adversaries as her Dragoon transformation commenced. Eleven, she concluded as the violet streaks of lightning surged around her, forming the legendary magical armor of the Dragoons, and the largest in the center made twelve. Kyra had heard that during the Second Dragon Campaign, Dart and the other Dragoons had fought a similar creature. The original Fire Bird must have laid its eggs in the volcano, where they escaped detection during the Cleansing. Only a millennium could produce such a large group of these mythological monsters, for they were long-lived but slow to breed, and she could that all of the dozen Fire Birds were adults. She wondered dimly where the staff fragment was hidden, but that would come later.
Phil had been the first to recover after the eruption, and his transformation was already finished. He twirled his spear deftly between his fingers. "I don't you about you ladies, but this is certainly not my idea of a tropical vacation."
"I believe I told you earlier to save the sarcasm until after the fight."
Phil shrugged. "Since when have I listened to anything you've told me?"
Kyra sighed. "True enough."
With a brilliant flash of electricity, Kyra's transformation completed, and the three Dragoons kicked off the lip of the volcano and engaged the dozen Fire Birds, each heading for a different target.
Phil attacked the largest Fire Bird first, deducing that it would wreak the most havoc if left to its own devices. He lunged at it with his spear, only to meet a burst of flame from the monster's beak. Although the magical Dragoon armor prevented most of the damage, the sensation was still not pleasant.
"Man, I better be getting a tan from this!"
Dawn shook her head, ducking as a Fire Bird swooped low at her, attempting to seize her skull in its talons. It was so like Phil to crack a joke while being blasted by a jet of flame. She jabbed upwards with the thrusting tip of her berdiche, dispatching her opponent with relative ease.
Phil responded to the largest bird's attack by landing on its back. He shoved his spear through its spine, severing the cord and killing it instantly. Kyra fired a bolt of purple lightning at her opponent, splitting the unlucky creature's head in two. Dawn blocked another bird's talons with the wooden haft of her berdiche, and then she reversed her stroke, lopping off the monster's head with the weapon's broad blade. The remaining eight Fire Birds hesitated slightly, taken aback by the sudden death of their comrades.
But it was too late for them to retreat back to the safety of their volcano now. Kyra rushed forward, quickly slicing open another two of the monsters, while Dawn sent another two reeling out of the air with a searing flash of light. Phil gathered the wind about him, preparing a spell.
"Wing Blaster!"
He focused the air into a bird-like shape, and launched it into the space between the four remaining guardians of the staff piece. It exploded, sending speeding winds whipping around the Fire Birds, extinguishing the flames that wreathed their bodies and their lives with them. He touched down on the mouth of the volcano, his jade armor fading with a pale green light.
"OK, we've taken care of the flock of flaming chickens. Now what? We still don't know where the fragment is."
Kyra activated her light wings and dove into the volcano, despite protests from the other two Dragoons.
Phil watched her dive down into the depths of the mountain. "Has she got a death wish or something?"
On the contrary, Kyra knew exactly what she was doing. During the fight, she had glimpsed a narrow shelf of rock on the inside of the volcano. Upon inspecting it, she did indeed discover the second piece of the staff, seemingly unharmed by the intense heat of the molten rock below. She flew out of the accursed mountain, the shard clenched triumphantly in her clawed fist.
She turned to the others. "Alright, where to next?"
Phil jerked his thumb at Dawn. "She's talking to the Dragon right now."
Dawn looked up to regard the other two. "The next piece is located in the Snowfield."
Phil groaned. "Wonderful. I hope the next piece is in an area where temperatures are between the boiling and freezing points. First I get chucked into a lake in the Undersea Cavern, and now this."
************************************************************************
Rayen finally finished narrating the previous events to Oraeus. "So that's why we're here."
The half-Giganto sat at the table; his chin rested on his hands, which were folded on the butt end of his axe. "Well, it certainly is an interesting story."
Shade spoke up. "It sure is. Plus, it passed the time. We're finally here."
Rayen unbuckled his seat belt. "It's about time."
Once inside the shrine, Rayen was somewhat surprised. He thought that a monument dedicated to a former Dragoon would be a place of order. But the shrine seemed almost chaotic, with mazelike passages and twisting slides. Rayen wondered what they had in mind when they had constructed this building. The trio slowly navigated their way through the labyrinth. The passageways were decorated with ancient murals engraved into the stone. After a long and exhausting trip, they finally reached the top of the shrine. There, on a round slab of stone, lay the shard.
"Weird. I wonder who brought it here," Shade mumbled as they all approached the area.
Suddenly, Rayen fell to his knees with a hoarse cry. He clutched his temples, occasionally yelling out incoherent exclamations of agony. Finally, after several minutes, he collapsed unconscious.
Shade rushed to the fallen Red-Eye's side. "Shit, it's happened again!"
Suddenly, Shade and Oraeus felt a strangely relaxing presence wash over them, and a look of peace came to Rayen's unconscious face. Shade looked up, and found himself staring into the eyes of Shirley, the Silver Dragoon who had been dead for over 12,000 years.