"It's good to see you again, Paarthurnax!" Raki yelled as he made his way to the courtyard, Renee close behind. Both Odahviing and Sahrotaar were perched on the buildings, clearly bowing their heads to welcome the new arrival while Serana looked on from one of the tower windows. Above the courtyard hovered a golden dragon, a rather aged one given its tattered wings, chipped scales, and missing fangs, "Knowing you though, I know you didn't make this trip simply to say hello." Raki's voice lowered as the great beast did, gently shaking the earth with his landing.
"Drem Yol Lok, Indeed, I did not," His voice was rough yet wizened, a slight rumble as he spoke, "I have made this pilgrimage to warn you and your grah-zeymahzinne of the growing danger that has already made its way here."
"The dragons right?" Raki already figured a few stragglers would make their way here. It's not like dragons were simply exclusive to Skyrim, "They shouldn't be too much to handle... unless there's more than just a few."
"There's more of them here?" Renee nearly shouted, not liking this news in the slightest. She noticeably stepped back as the elder dragon glanced towards her. Paarthurnax didn't frighten her like the other two did but a dragon was still a dragon.
The elder drake shook his head, "There are more than just stragglers. They come in droves. Flocking to Alduin's other lieutenant."
"Daanlotfel! Tahrodiis!" Odahviing roared, fury brought on by the mention of that particular dragon alone, "He is here!"
"Odahviing, calm yourself." Raki sternly ordered and the dragon obeyed, "Daanlotfel? Who is this dragon exactly? What took him so long to show up?" If this was Alduin's other lieutenant, than why come out now? Knowing Alduin enough, he should've been one of the first to resurrect and come to his master's aid.
"Daanlotfel is a dovah whose thu'um at least rivals my own, if not, surpasses it." Paarthurnax explained before Odahviing decided to add his two septims.
"He's also a treacherous serpent. Tahrodiis Diiv. While his ambition is impressive, his lack of Midrot, loyalty, and Zin, honor, leaves much distaste in my mouth." The crimson drake spat. Raki figured they must not have seen eye to eye.
"Orin," Paarthurnax rumbled, a little displeased with Odahviing's interruption even if it was understandable, "He is here now and seeks to build an empire of his own, kroniid, starting with somewhere unaware of our existence, isolated from most of the world."
"Good luck with that," Renee muttered, gaining enough confidence to speak her piece loud enough for the dragons to hear, "The Organization wouldn't let that happen nor would the Abyssals."
The dragons looked at her questioningly and Raki decided to elaborate, "There are beings here called Yoma and Awakened Beings. Man turned beasts with incredible fighting abilities unique to them, a very small few with powers strong enough to even level an entire forest in less than a second. Then there's an organization made up of warrior women like Renee here, who fight these beasts with superhuman capabilities of their own. It's not that much to process."
"Ah, the dovfron kiirre, children of the dragon kin," Renee and Raki both shared looks of confusion at the naming of Yoma, "Dovahkiin, you should know better than to think a dovah would overlook such a problem."
"Or rather an insult." Sahrotaar muttered, giving Renee a barely noticeable glance of disgust. He was lucky Raki didn't hear him say that.
Paarthurnax continued, "Daanlotfel will see to their dinokke and you know few can match the might of dovve, especially fod mu los unified."
"That's true," Raki mumbled, "And no faction here could handle the forces of the dovve. At least not like the way they apparently are now." Then and Idea hit Raki, "Why don't I just call out to him? Challenge him one on one like I did with Odahviing?"
"Niid." Parthunaax answered sullenly, "All you will do is make your presence known. Daanlotfel will not heed your zul. His name would not resonate with you nor him."
"And that's because?" Raki asked, rather intrigued and annoyed by this information.
"It is not his true name. He trusts no one, Azhid. Only Alduin knew his true name. There was another, but they are long gone." Paarthurnax snorted a puff a smoke from his nostrils, "Faaz."
"Knowing him, if he must face you directly then he will order his followers to launch an offensive on the unsuspecting jorre and kipaarnaak while you are preoccupied," Odahviing spoke, growling more than usual, "I know you wish to mitigate damage, so that would not be a wise move to call to him until you have an established foothold on both him and his followers."
"So what then?" Serena said as she made her way to the courtyard, "Raki can't exactly take on an army of your kind alone or with just us three. The man's charm already got him in trouble with the locals."
Raki had a faint blush to his cheeks, "Actually, we got along great. A little too great." He said as he scratched his cheek, trying to not notice Serena's knowing stare and Renee's tired glare.
The dragons, while perplexed yet again by the dovahkiin's nature and his interaction with the non-human females, chose to focus on the more important matters, "Whatever the case may be, Daanlotfel will use whatever means at his disposal to take this land and its denizens for himself. And once he knows of your presence, he will not stop until he sees you burned to ashes, dovahkiin."
"Don't they all," Raki chuckled lightly before his face developed a stern frown, "Guess that means I need to get going soon."
"You're leaving?" Renee asked, clearly a little distraught he had to go so soon, leaving her with a vampire and dragons she barely knew.
Raki nodded, "Later than a day at least, sometime during the later evening or early morning after I recuperate. On a dragon, it's probably only going to take a few hours to reach Rabona from here. My quest now consists of more than just finding Clare and I don't have much time," He put a hand on Renee's shoulder, "You won't be harmed. I swear on my life."
"Do you even have an exact idea on where you're going to go?" Serena questioned, hands on her hips.
"Yes. And Sahrotaar is gonna fly me near there. Right, buddy?" He asked, looking towards the serpentine. The dragon nodded though internally groaning. Raki particularly enjoyed using him for rides since his scales were smoother and he was faster than Odahviing.
Thousands of years and he was still a luxury ride, dammit. At least this dovahkiin knew to return the favor and pay proper respect. The boy's culinary skills with various meats were very much appreciated. He could almost consider Raki… a Fahdon. Of course, he would never tell Raki that.
""Fine."' Both Renee and Serana sighed, a tad caught off guard at the simultaneous begrudging verbal acceptance at Raki's future departure.
Paarthurnax released a deep rumble, "Be ready, Raki," The elder had only used Raki's name before he finally set off to face his brother. This indicated his immense worry for the warrior's life, "You will have a true war on your shoulders yet again and I know the damage will be worse."
Raki nodded. When he came back home, he was ready to fight but this had caught him off guard. So many questions and now so little time. "Come on then." Serena's hands gripped the back of his broad shoulders and started to push him in the direction of the main bedroom, "If you're going to leave that soon, you're going to get your rest," when they were near the door, Serena leaned up to whisper in Raki's ear and he looked as if he choked on air for a brief second.
Serena carefully glanced towards a very confused Renee and smirked. Great thing the guest room wasn't too close or too far away from the main chambers.
While Raki needed rest, the Claymore clearly needed a wake-up call.
Meanwhile, Sahrotaar made his way to Odahviing, nearly whispering, "What's the point if there's no spawn."
Odahviing shook his head, "Never try to understand Joorre."
()()()()
Renee took her sweet time to feel the fabric of the bed she was about to rest on, "So soft," she whispered. She never liked beds like this, she wasn't accustomed to it or really a good chunk of the luxuries she's received since meeting Raki. The organization was... kind enough as to keep her in peak performance but she knew why. She was a tool and good tool needed good care. "Your life belongs to us" were the exact words that The Organization's masters drove into her. Her very existence was for the soul purpose of being the Organizations tool, their set of eyes, and she was treated as such. With Raki, she was not a tool or even a Claymore, just a fellow human.
It was mind boggling. Even the vampire offered her free alcohol after she tried to kill her.
Something about Raki leaving her alone... upset her. Even if that vampire would show her kindness, she barely knew her like Raki. And those dragons, those monsters she never even really heard of before... she felt like they had nothing but contempt for her, at least one of them did. Only the elder looked upon her with indifference.
She wasn't too sure how to feel about all of this, how to handle it. No, that wasn't true. She felt something she was sure of. She felt...
Tingly... wait, what? Why was she suddenly feeling an aura of pleasure somewhat akin to yoki usage? It was new though, something never experienced before. It was causing her to latch onto her sheets and bite her lower lip. She felt warm, too warm, she had never felt so warm in her life, especially not in her nether region. Even her nipples were starting to stiffen!
This odd sensation felt like it was coming from a certain room not too far from hers...
*THUMP!*
"What the hell?" Did something hit against the wall? Was that grunting and moaning she could faintly hear? It sounded like a man and a woman… But the only two people who could be...
Renee flopped on the bed and hid her head under the pillow. Now she was feeling something else thanks to this adventurer, another feeling she couldn't truly let out or explain. She groaned into her pillow and did her best to cancel out what she was hearing... and faintly feeling.
"How is it in the span of a several days, I feel like years are being taken off my life... and yet somehow, I feel more alive than ever before?" She mused aloud. All this time she was feeling emotions alien or very rare to her. "More importantly, why am I suddenly so curious about those two and their... partnership?"
For the rest of the night, even as the moaning went on, she forced herself to resist the urge to act on her newfound urges and the need to see exactly what was going on in the other chambers.
Speaking of which, in the master bedroom.
"Didn't you say I needed to rest?" Raki asked the naked woman currently laying on his chest.
Gold orange eyes rose to meet his brown ones. "That's why I'm making sure you're properly tired first." Serana huffed dryly as she shifted a bit, bumping into something hard in the process. "Which still isn't the case. Damn you and your draconic stamina." she groaned.
"Being blessed by a goddess of carnal love might help a bit too." Raki said somewhat sheepishly before smirking at her. "Besides I didn't hear you complain. In fact I heard a lot of moaning, with my name mixed in it, and things like 'harder' and 'faster'."
The glare she threw at him would have terrified a Yoma. But he could easily see the warmth hidden past it.
"Shut up or I'll bite it." she threatened half-heartedly. "Plenty of blood in there right now after all. Maybe that will keep it down."
He knew she was joking, mostly, and managed to keep his knowing smirk from showing. Instead his hands moved south to squeeze her flawless bottom, making her mock anger melt into a pleased moan. Serana rose to a straddling position, adjusted herself and slowly sank down on his shaft.
"Seriously... I'm the one... getting exhausted here..." she grunted brokenly as she moved her pale body up and down. "Maybe I should... invite that Claymore... Could use... the help..."
"More like she'd chase me with her sword again." he replied. "Also, be nice, her life has been turned upside down already."
"Fine... I'll relent..." 'For now', she added to herself. "I'll sacrifice... myself to contain... your raging draconic desires... Oh yesssss…"
"By the way, you did soundproof this room, didn't you?" he asked with a bit of concern.
Serana smirked at him without breaking her pace. "Changed the... ah! Soul gem earlier."
He smirked back. "In that case," he suddenly flipped her over so she was under him, drawing a surprised shriek, "I guess I can thoroughly sate my raging draconic desires on you."
True to his word, he began ravaging the beautiful vampire in earnest, intent on making her scream. Serana's last coherent, and slightly evil thought before she lost herself in pleasure, was that she never specified whether the soul gem she had used was filled.
Shame this would be only for tonight.
In Renee's case, it would be a shamefully agonizing night.
A day swiftly passed by and the mismatched trio stood at the entrance of the fort. It was early morning, a bit before sunrise so Serana could be out without her hood.
"Weapons properly honed?"
"Yep."
"Armor repaired?"
"Yep."
"Fully resupplied?"
"Yep."
"Well fed and rested?"
"Yes, mother. Yeowch!" Raki received a tiny zap to the forearm for his mother comment.
Serena clocked her tongue, "I warned you about calling me mother in that context."
"Context?" Renee asked, perplexed since she only knew the word mother in one type of context. She was absolutely sure Serana was not Raki's mother.
"You'll understand when you're older," Serena told her in a teasing tone.
Renee wondered what she meant by that but decided not comment on it just like how she didn't comment on her peculiar limp this morning, and turned her attention to Raki, "You're positive I'm safe from Riful's grasp?"
"I don't think she'll find this place. And if she does, she has to go through Serena's magic and not two, but three dragons." Raki understood that abyssal one's weren't to be trifled with, even with a dragon's air superiority, but there was no way Riful would go out of her way to face three of these beings just for Renee. She didn't strike Raki as the reckless type.
Renee had the same thoughts but being absolutely sure is what keeps warriors alive, "Okay. I trust in those facts."
"And you trust me?" Raki asked coyly. Renee quirked a brow, withholding a groan, and Raki waved it off, "We'll get there."
"Honestly, I'd say you're there already. Someone just doesn't want admit it," Serena mumbled, hiding her smirking face from Renee's view.
The vampire's smirk turned into an expression of surprise as Raki pulled her into a hug. Her pale cheeks lit with a faint blush while she enjoyed her friend's caring embrace.
"I'll leave Renee to you. Take care of her and stay safe, okay?" Raki asked.
"Don't do anything too crazy." Serana replied with a soft, slightly concerned voice. "And if you need my help…"
Renee had mixed feeling at the pair's companionship but before she could start to analyze them, Raki released Serana and went to hug her too. She was too shocked to return it but Raki didn't seem to mind.
"You'll be fine here. My friends may be unusual, but they're all good people." Knowing Claymores were not fond of being touched, he released her quicker than he had Serana. "Or dragons, but you get the idea." he finished with a grin, blissfully unaware of the swirling emotions the hug had caused in Renee.
'That felt so… nice…' Renee thought, while all she managed to do outwardly was give a small nod.
"Sahrotaar!" Raki called out and the great serpentine beast answered him. Sahrotaar landed in the center of the courtyard, ready to fly Raki where he needed to be post haste. "I'll see you guys later. That's a promise."
"Damn right it is." Serena concurred haughtily to cover her slight embarrassment.
Renee likewise nodded, "Agreed."
Raki gave one last broad smile, a smile they swore shined with the sun's brightness, before he mounted Sahrotaar and the great serpent was aloft. Renee and Serena slowly turned towards each other with neutral faces. Then Serena smiled slyly and said, "So, let's say you and I have a chit chat over some wine."
Paarthurnax, resting atop one of the towers, opened one eye to view the pair of inhuman females. That particular Sosnaak always had something up her sleeves and he could feel the shenanigans brewing.
()()()()
"Alright, here is good!" Raki yelled. Being as high and going as fast as they were, even a dragon would have a hard time hearing a human speak.
"You're sure you do not want me to land closer?" The dragon questioned, a thin layer of concern in his tone.
"Positive. Don't want another Whiterun incident." Raki shuddered as he recalled that memory of when he flew back to Breezehome on Odahviing. Irileth's yelling, Balgruuf having to do damage control, Farengar's curiosity, and... much had transpired from his unexpected arrival and lapse in judgement.
"As you say," Sahrotaar descended into a relatively small opening in the forest. Raki dismounted him and nodded, a silent promise of a well-cooked cow. Sahrotaar gave the equivalent of a grin and went back towards the keep while Raki began his trek toward Rabona. A dragon such as Sahrotaar could close the distance rather quickly but from this place, Raki assumed it would take him a day or two to reach the city.
'Can't wait to see everyone again. Hopefully, they'll recognize me within a couple of seconds,' Raki knew his appearance was vastly different from the last time he was here. So small and childish back then. Maybe now he could beat Galk at arm wrestling without any of his powers. Sid would definitely be looking up to him now. Father Vincent would most likely ask him what he's been eating to get so big. And Clare, if she was there... he chuckled to himself, giddy to see everyone's reactions.
Having been deposited by Sahrotaar in a clearing a short distance from the road, Raki had made a short trek through the forest until he found the main path. The dragon would not go back to the fort right away, as he wanted to hunt a bit, so he would remain within calling distance for a while.
While the Voice could call a dragon by name regardless of distance, it would take some time for them to join a fight if summoned from the other side of the land, no matter how fast they could fly.
Nonetheless, following the road would take Raki to the next city by the end of the afternoon. From there, he would go from one settlement to the other till he reached Rabona. According to Paarthurnax, Daanlotfel apparently thought the Dragonborn was born in Tamriel, and had chosen this remote island to muster up a new Dragon reign away from prying eyes.
Such irony. He had brought him to Skyrim by chance or fate, and now that he was home, fate sent this new enemy to him. Go figure.
His musings were interrupted as he spotted a trio of travelers walking toward him. The road was fairly remote, which was why he had chosen to land there. The occasional hunter or woodsman would take it, but those were scarce. Bandits seeking to make some coin?
Out of habit, he whispered to himself. "Laas Yah Niir."
He didn't like the readings he got nor did he trust those "friendly" faces. There were certainly more than those three not too far behind.
"Heyo!" a man with curly black hair and a scruffy beard greeted him with a smile. He gave the impression of being cunning and resourceful. A taciturn-looking sandy brown-haired man was with him, as well as a woman with long light brown hair. Their clothes were ordinary, shirts and pants for the men, a long dress for the woman. They carried no visible weapons.
They didn't need them, Raki knew.
"Hello." Raki replied casually. He was not casual enough however, as the man held up his hands in a placating manner.
"Now, now, why so cautious? It's just us three unarmed travelers. The name's Chronos by the way. These are Lars and Octavia." he introduced his companions.
Lars merely nodded and Octavia gave him a friendly smile.
Raki shrugged. "It's a secluded road. Plenty of bandits. You cannot imagine how often I'm asked to contribute a small fee. For all I know, you have friends waiting around." The best lie is ninety percent truth after all.
"Aww, look at us, no weapons." Octavia said cheerfully.
Chronos smirked knowingly. "True. You on the other hand are mighty finely geared, I'd say. Never seen stuff like this."
Raki groaned loudly. "I've heard that one too. 'Nice weapons you have, surely you could spare one for poor ol' us.'."
Chronos barked a laugh. "Yeah, we get those too once in a while. The result is often messy." He didn't miss Raki narrow his eyes. "Don't worry, we just wanted to investigate something a bit further and ran into you. We mean no trouble."
Octavia continued, "Did you see that beast flying overhead not long ago? That dragon? It landed near the forest nearby, and flew away."
"Yeah, I saw it. Maybe it was hunting for a meal, those things look like they could eat a bear in two bites." Raki suggested. He had actually seen it before, to be honest.
"You look oddly calm for someone who came close to a dragon. You're casually traipsing from the direction it landed, and you don't look like a woodsman. From your stance and balance, I wager you have muscles built in an interesting way, enough that this armor and greatsword are completely natural to you, yet you're pretty young." Chronos listed. "I'd say you're an oddity here."
Lars made a sound of annoyance. Unlike the other two, he seemed to be getting tired of this little dance, despite not saying it. Was he the lowest rank, deferring to the others? Or did he merely have the shortest temper?
"I don't know. Three people, unarmored and unarmed, yet casually going to check on a dragon? That's also pretty uncommon. As for being calm," Raki frowned slightly, "I've had encounters with Yoma and Awakened Beings, so I'm fairly jaded by now."
'Oh yeah, and vampires, werewolves, daedra, daedric princes, dragons and other things I'm probably forgetting.' he added to himself.
The way the trio's eyes widened in synch was actually quite entertaining. Raki's amusement was short lived however as he was forced to raise his left arm to deflect an extending blade. He instantly took a step forward, drawing and swinging his sword at Lars in the same movement.
It didn't connect either, for Chronos blocked the strike with an arm blade of his own, while his free hand was holding Lars back. Octavia had shifted her stance to interfere on either side, but did nothing else.
Chronos chuckled a little. "Now Lars, that wasn't very nice, we were having a friendly conversation after all." His voice was calm, but it held a faint undertone of warning.
Lars grunted but pulled his blade back. Raki lowered his weapon, but didn't sheathe it. Finally, Chronos morphed his arm back.
"Not bad." he praised honestly. "In a real fight, you'd do better against us than some low-ranked warriors back then. Speaking of which, we never got your name."
"Raki."
"'I'll remember it. You know, not many people know what an Awakened Being is."
Raki shrugged. At the very least, it looked like there would be no fighting for now. "I get that a lot. I used to travel with a Claymore when I was a kid. I know what happens when they go over their limit."
"Fair enough." Octavia smiled. "Allow me to introduce ourselves again. I am Octavia, former Number Two. Chronos, former Number Four, and Lars, former Number Six."
Raki raised an eyebrow. "Three former single digits, banding together? This is unusual. May I ask, what brought this up?"
"What do you think? The dragons of course." Chronos replied. "A few days ago, two of our comrades, Cecilia and Catherine, fought one near Mucha. It was a draw. And that's with two Claymores joining the fight against it."
"We don't like intruders on our turf." Lars growled.
"And here we meet a guy who could exchange a few blows with us. A guy with a sword and armor not made of metal, but bone and, looking closer, scales. Coincidence? I don't think so." Chronos pointed at Raki's gear.
"What, you think I'm a dragon in human form?" Raki laughed heartedly. "Sorry, I'm one hundred percent human. But you're right about my weapons. I once found a couple dragon corpses, not too long ago. Since I'm a fairly good blacksmith, I experimented a bit." He examined his left gauntlet, seeing a long scratch from Lars' blow. "But it's a pain finding new materials to fix it. I'm nearly out so I'm not thanking you."
The mix of half-truths combined with his honest expressions was apparently enough to convince the Awakened. Their suspicious looks lessened somewhat.
'Ah, who would have thought briefly attending the Bard Academy would make me a better liar.' Raki thought. Improvising a story on the spot and selling it to the audience with proper acting and intonations were basics, and the best orators could convince anyone of anything. Viarmo had managed to narrate the most outlandish version of King Olaf's Sonnet and gotten praised for it.
"I see." Chronos said slowly. "Though I have one more question. You claim to know about warriors, yet you didn't react to our ranks."
Raki laughed again. "Come on Chronos, no offense, but to a human there's no difference between a former Number Four and a former Number Forty. Also…"
"Yes?"
The human's smile got wider as he dropped the one piece of information that would shock those three for good. "I recently met Riful and Isley. As far as Awakened Beings go, you cannot top those two."
This gave the trio momentary pause. Such a bold statement to come from a human of all things was likely true and even if it wasn't, how could they really even fact check it? Most Awakened chose to stay out of Riful's way and Isley was nowhere to be found, though it wasn't like he and the other two males were really on speaking terms; they certainly couldn't go and ask "Do you know this strange man named Raki?".
Lars verbally announced his immense skepticism. "Are you really sure that was really Isley you met?"
"Yup. I mean, there cannot be many giant silver centaurs with wings around." Raki replied cheekily.
Now even Lars couldn't find any words to say. I mean, he wanted to blurt out Raki was full of shit but the better part of him knew that wasn't likely. The more level headed two of the trio thought alike, "Isley and Riful, huh? For you to have met those two and be allowed to go... interesting. Ah, in that case, I guess I have no choice but to butt out. It would not be wise to upset the Silver Haired King and the Witch of the West." spoke Chronos, walking away with the other two behind him. Lars was more reluctant to walk away, giving Raki one last glance before following the others.
Raki made sure the area was clear before letting out a faint breath of relief, "So many in one setting... no way I could have taken them all on if things had truly gone south." All those high-ranked Awakened in one large group... Raki knew the dragon's posed a massive threat but he didn't think the Awakened Beings would be on such high alert. But then again, this wasn't surprising.
Raki fought a myriad of dragons during his time in Skyrim and plenty could give an Awakened more than a run for their septims… or beras. A select few, who weren't Alduin, could even challenge those who were once thought above all other life.
Unknown to the Dragonborn, this statement was being proven right at this very moment.
()()()()
As a warrior and later an Abyssal, Isley had fought varied opponents in his life. Claymores could be very imaginative with their fighting techniques, and Awakened Beings came in all sizes, shapes and abilities. Be it Rigaldo's dreadful speed, Dauf's ridiculous durability, or Priscilla's utterly terrifying power.
This, however, was new. None of his enemies had ever breathed frost at him.
"FO KRAH DIIN!"
The giant centaur-like creature that was Isley dodged to the side. The lingering cold in the air was awful, almost burning his flesh despite the miss.
'Still not good.' he cursed as he looked up. The blackish-purple winged beast who had assaulted him circled around, its odd compound eyes looking at him. Bracing himself for the pain, Isley forced himself to create some arrows for his bow.
Slowly, so slowly the projectiles came from his arm. And so painfully. One, two… his sight almost blurred when he tried for a third, making him stop before it could come out fully. He glared at the luminous purple veins on his left side.
The odd sentence had hit him during his transformation. He had heard it from a human before, it was more difficult to recognize from the vocal chords of a dragon, but he could now comprehend the full effects that 'Krii Lun Aus' had on its target.
The list included, debilitating nerve and muscle pains, weakened regeneration and hampered shapeshifting.
The last one hurt him the most, as it all but deprived him of his favored weapons. The pain was nearly as bad, as it dulled his reflexes and limited his agility. This in turn made his giant body an easier target, though his Awakened form prevented him from being physically outmatched.
Fighting this thing in his human form would be troublesome. About as bad as a middle-rank Claymore attempting to take on a high-level Awakened, with a wooden sword to boot.
He would actually feel sympathy for the previous batch of Feeders who had received it, if those things had any sentience.
More frost breaths rained down. The ground around him was getting increasingly frozen, forcing him to watch his footing. If he slipped on the ice, he knew the dragon would pounce on him. On the other hand, if he could get a good shot and make it land, he'd have a chance.
Isley carefully, meticulously aimed his arrows. Thankfully, he had a lot of practice at hitting moving targets. Some Awakened could even fly, though not as high. But nothing his vast experience couldn't compensate.
Observing his target, he fired his arrow as he saw the dragon shift its weight to veer. With the power of his Awakened form, it flew much faster than any bow could launch it, reaching the beast near-instantly. Still the dragon managed to avoid it.
Isley had expected this. He shot the second arrow even faster before the dragon had straightened itself in the air. That one was just barely dodged, which such haste the dragon was forced to sacrifice its balance to do it, almost flopping and frantically flapping its wings to recover.
Which was still within Isley's plans. With no hesitation, he yanked the third, half-formed arrow from his arm and notched it. The pain was like ripping off his bone while set on fire, and the arrow came out with bloody chunks of flesh attached to it, but it was usable.
And use it he did. While the dragon was still nearly immobile from attempting to right itself from its stumble, Isley shot this arrow even faster than the previous one.
Had it been half a second faster to recover, the beast would have avoided damage. As it was, the arrow punched a large hole through its left wing and tore a long, deep gash its side. The damaged wing made it impossible to stay in the air, causing it to crash thunderously to the ground. The impact made the earth shake and kicked up a large cloud of debris.
Isley wasted no time and ran to the downed creature. While this was a perfect opportunity to run his opponent through with a lance, he was still unable to shapeshift, and couldn't even morph his bow back into a hand. Instead he decided to make good use of his centaur-like body and stood on his hind legs, only to slam his front hooves down into the dragon's scaly back. The beast was only half as big as him, granting his the height advantage.
Much like a horse trying to stomp a snake, Isley brought down his front legs down again and again. The dragon roared in pain and fury, a haphazard frost breath tore through the side of Isley's lower body, but the Abyssal forced himself to ignore the icy pain. Thankfully, the scales began to crack visibly under the relentless assault, and Isley even managed shatter the injured wing fully.
Then powerful jaws snapped into his rear left leg. In a display of its own strength, the dragon swung its neck and threw the giant Awakened away. The impact shattered parts of his body, such as the wing-like appendages and the horns of his faceplate.
"GAAN LAH HAAS!"
A wave of dizziness and exhaustion hit Isley. Suddenly he felt he had been fighting for days. Pain shot through him and he saw his injuries worsen, the self-inflicted wound on his left arm suddenly getting deeper and wider, and the frostbite of the hole in his side spreading tremendously.
Conversely, he watched as the dragon's injuries healed noticeably in front of his eyes. The wing snapped back into place and the hole patched itself somewhat. Not enough to take off, but the clawed limb could once again be used to attack.
The dragon lumbered toward Isley who tried to lunge at it. Unfortunately, the Drain Vitality shout had weakened his injured rear leg further, making it snap cleanly when he shifted his weight to charge. Isley lost his balance, his rear end unable to support the load, and the dragon jumped at him. The beast stood nearly upright on its own rear legs, wrapping its forelimbs around his body to keep him still. The long neck extended to its full length so Isley had to look up at the odd compound eyes.
The fanged maw opened and came down to bite his head off. He managed to tilt his torso to the right and the fangs sank all the way into his shoulder and a large part of his upper chest. Isley roared in pain, his front legs kicked at the dragon's belly, his right hand clawed at its left side and his bow hitting the other.
Isley's fingers found a grip on the damaged scales which he gruesomely ripped off. The softer, vulnerable flesh was exposed and he shoved his hand in it, seizing, tearing, goring the beast. A muffled roar was heard, the clamping jaws slacked just a bit, and a mighty shove forced his opponent away, taking away a sizeable chunk of the Awakened's chest.
Both were grievously injured now. Isley's left shoulder was barely attached to his body, hanging by a strip of flesh and skin, and his rear leg was useless. On the other hand, the dragon's scales were cracked all over, blood oozing visibly, and a large hole in its left side was pouring more of the crimson liquid.
The reptilian face smirked evilly at Isley and spoke. "GAAN…"
Isley was moving as soon as its mouth opened. If both his rear legs had been valid, the gap would have been closed near instantly, but this was not the case here.
"… LAH…"
The dragon saw the injured Abyssal wouldn't quite make it in time. Victory was its.
Isley came to the same realization and did the first thing he could think of. He seized his mangled morphed arm with his good hand, ripped it off his body and swung it at the dragon's face. It connected, jerking the beast's head to the side just as the 'HAAS' was said, and the shout went astray.
For a split moment, the dragon's throat was exposed.
Knowing he had to finish this battle here and now, Isley shifted his grip on his severed arm, pushed forward and stabbed the sharp point of the bow into the vulnerable point with all his strength and mass. It punched through the softer, more flexible scales, the impact nearly bowling the beast onto its back. Isley pushed harder, forcing on its side to the ground, and kneeled with his front legs on the neck.
The dragon thrashed under Isley, its tail and wings lashing frantically. A clawed thumb stabbed Isley in his exposed side but he didn't relent and forced his improvised weapon further into the neck. A croaking gurgle was heard as it went deeper and deeper until it pierced all the way through, blood pouring from the dragon's mouth and soaking the ground.
Finally the monster went limp under the Awakened, its thrashing limbs falling lifelessly to the ground and no longer moving. Isley slowly allowed himself to relax, the tension leaving his body. It took several more minutes until he could shift back into his human form.
The naked silver-haired man remained kneeling in exhaustion. This had been the closest fight in his life. While hard-fought, his battle with Luciella had not come this close to his defeat. The Feeders had yet to grow enough to push him this far, though he knew it was a matter of time. And he was not proud enough to think he had ever stood a chance against Pricilla.
But this… teetering on the edge, being one step away from death… It was oddly exhilarating. It reminded him a bit of his time as a warrior.
He let out a small chuckle, which turned into a full laugh.
Still, his situation was not good. The previous encounter with the Feeders had left him with surprisingly few injuries thanks to the unexpected assistance. Therefore, for the first time in a while, he was actually able to greatly recover before the next fight, instead of barely hanging on. This unexpected battle however had left him with new injuries, so he would be at a greater disadvantage when the Feeders appeared again. That is, unless he could find a large amount of food. His gaze fell upon the corpse of his opponent.
"I wonder…"
()()()()
Another huge thanks to good ol' Dany boy for this chapter and beta-ing as usual! Dude wrote the Legendary Dragon Vs Isley fight and the encounter between Raki and the Awakened group. Speaking of which!
Dany's note : Working with Serendipitous in this is a lot of fun, so thank you man for taking up the challenge! And readers, please let us know what you think, reviews make fics go round… and seriously, Serendipitous deserves them after how much I bug him with details.
You're welcome Dany. Lol, "bug me for details" he says. That's one of the reasons this fic is so fun to write! Now, Translations:
Diiv – Wyrm
Fod mu los - when we are
Faaz - pain
Tahrodiss - treacherous
Azhid - Bitter
Orin - Quite
Thu'um - storm voice
Fahdon - friend
Drem Yol Lok - Greetings/peace fire sky
Dinokke - deaths
Kroniid - conquer
Zul - voice
grah-zeymahzinne – allies
Daanlotfel / Daan Lot Fel – Doom Great Ferocity