Author's Note: As always, thanks for the support that everyone has so graciously provided me. And welcome to new readers! In any case, let us resume our story in Life of a Zero Dragon!
A shout out to Snipern0sniping and his Fanfiction story I will summon a dragon! An entertaining story sharing similarities of the what-if scenarios with Louise summoning a draconic familiar.
Life of a Zero Dragon
Chapter 12: Clashes between Worlds
Louise Francoise Le Blanc De La Valliere had felt very handpicked amongst the citizens earlier before, but as she was possibly the only notable aristocrat among them it is not entirely unexpected. But still, her heart beats with a wild thump as she stood alone with Henrietta, in a privatized room. Just outside the door, surrounding the room were her highness's Royal Musketeers. Louise's familiar, Erisdar, stood on all fours just beside the girl, his lifted head only reaching her waistline while the back wings remained folded in. Henrietta, Princess of Tristain, Hexagonal Water Mage, and not to mention her childhood friend, stood in front of Louise with a warm, kind smile.
"It's so good to see you after so long, Louise!" Henrietta said, beaming with joy that took the Valliere noble off guard for a brief moment.
"Please, Princess, you don't have to be so informal," Louise replied back, wishing to bow again but prevented from doing so by Henrietta's request.
"I didn't expect to see you until the Exhibition. But by luck or the Founder's will, I've met you beforehand." Henrietta seemed pleased with this fact, "Oh, please don't view me with such formalities, Louise Francoise, instead, look at me as a childhood friend."
"Princess…" Louise trailed off with a smile on her face, "I'm happy to see you after all these years as well."
Henrietta's smile grew like a beacon of hope had ignited within her. "It brings me so much joy to hear that from you," she noticed the gray-hued dragon looking creature besides Louise. "Is that you're familiar, I've always known you were talented Louise."
The pink-haired girl flushed with slight embarrassment, "Yes, this is my dragon familiar, Erisdar."
Louise Valliere waited for Erisdar to properly greet the Princess, only for the dragon to tilt his head at Henrietta.
"You have a cute familiar," Henrietta commented.
"Erisdar, greet the Princess! I trust her and so shall you." Louise commanded the dragonet.
The dragon remained silently before opening its jaw, revealing it's sharp canines before speaking out loud in a child-like voice with a type of growl behind it.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, I am Erisdar."
Henrietta de Tristain eyes opened in surprise at the Chosen Dragon being able to speak the human tongue. All the while, Louise smiled grew at the acknowledgment of being able to summon not only a dragon but an intelligent one.
"Are you a Rhyme Dragon?" The Princess asked. Her blue eyes scanning along the horns, claws, and scales of the young dragon.
"I don't know what a Rhyme Dragon is, but I assure you that I'm not one of them," Erisdar answered the question given to him.
Louise Valliere decided to speak, her voice holding much pride and hints of joy in it. "Erisdar is a Chosen Dragon, my familiar will be just as strong as the extinct Rhyme Dragons when he grows!"
Henrietta looked back to her childhood friend, "I look forward to seeing you and Erisdar in the Exhibition. But I'm afraid while I had only the intention of seeing the show, my attention was drawn by the reports of this environment appearing out of nowhere."
"Orangebark Forest, Princess," The familiar have a name.
"My familiar has knowledge of it," Louise said, "And I have journeyed through it by accident and encounter strong creatures within it. But a proper mage should be able to defeat them easily!"
"What kind of creatures?" The Princess questioned.
"Ogres," Erisdar replied, continuing he further explained, "Tall, two men high, crude creatures with a taste for anything made of flesh they can get their teeth into. Man, Elf, Orc, Dragon, it matters little what it is. The blue skinned ones with one head hold limited magical spellcraft while tan colored two-headed counterparts have excessive strength."
Henrietta paid close attention to the Chosen Dragon's explanation as he kept going.
"They can take a huge beating, unfaltering by any injury caused against them. Physical weapons are only slightly effective, but magic attacks would bring them down hastily. The issue in the matter is that for all their size, they will quickly close the distance between themselves and any range combatant. This is the reason you send Melee units against them as a shield wall."
The dragonet finished speaking, taking a deep breath as his enclosed wings furrowed slightly.
It was common Warcraft III knowledge, all units had an armor type. Each armor type had its own strengths and weaknesses. Only Hero armor type reduced a majority of attacks against it with no notable weakness of its own outside of Chaos Damage.
Ogres have Large Armor type, which meant that they took standard damage from all attacks with the exception of Magic, which it held a weakness against.
Not that Louise knew this, but her familiar sure did.
"How do you know all this, Erisdar?" Louise asked.
This caused the dragonet to fidget, his eyes looking around the place.
"Ah… I'm a Chosen Dragon from Kayla. The Orangebark Forest is from my world."
That raised only questions.
"Lok'Tar Ogar! For the Empire!"
"For the Warchief!"
"Blood and Thunder!"
"Grrah!"
"Let none survive!" Grom exclaimed as he raised the long katana blade from his arm, pointing it at the largest fake Orc encampment since he had arrived in this strange new world. The human mind and soul inside barely keeping the orcish instinct for battle from controlling his thoughts. But in comparison to what Blizzard Entertainment's lore said for the Orcs, the orcs of the Fel Empire had a lesser blood desire for battle.
But in no way was it a foreign concept.
The Red warriors of the Fel Empire charged forward in formation, dozens of battle axes raised as braced themselves for conflict with the orcish regrets that returned their battle cries. The Halkeginia orcs charged at them, spread apart, fat around their bodies bouncing uselessly in contrast to the toned muscles of the Fel Empire's own warriors.
As mortal armies charged blindly towards their doom, the burning warlocks above the cliff side next to a band of shaman both conjured forth their respective magical prowess, raining down fire and thunder upon their foes.
A rain of fire bolts hurled themselves through the sky, homing on to the Halkeginia orcs, blasting and charring flesh as they were knocked down, stunned by the force. While lightning coursed through them, electrifying their bodies and any allies around them.
The four dozen Fel Grunts of the Empire clashed against the superior number, stone hatchets and clubs deflecting against solid steel. While the Fel's own weapons chopped and tore through the cloth, fat, and bone. Grom, the Fel Warchief, slashed clean through a fattened pig of an Orc with little resistance. He and his army tearing apart the opposition in a glorious battle between two different orcish species.
"Grrah!" Grom yelled, teeth baring as the blood of his enemy splattered across his face. His body followed through, muscle memory guiding the blade as it pierced through another green skinned excuse.
He retreated back, allowing his warriors to cover his front as he raised an arm, signaling the next phase of the attack.
"Bloodlust spells, Shaman!" Grom yelled towards the supporting spell casters on the elevated cliff top.
It was one the first upgrades he did before attempting anything else, his army may get powerful if upgrading weapons and armor, but the usefulness of magic would increase tactical options in battle.
Bloodlust, a Warcraft III Shaman ability, it's a buff that increases Attack Speed by a large margin for a short period of time.
It could be devastating.
And it was.
The frontline grunts muscles were surrounded by a furious red energy, their movements quickened exponentially. The defenses of the Halkeginia orcs faltered immediately, and they retreated back to their home encampment. The Fel Empire's forces were about to give chase but their Warchief halted them.
"Grunts, form a wall!" Grom yelled, the ninth player watching as the Grunts scrambled into position. They knew better than to disobey their Warchief, they did not beat back the demons by not utilizing tactics. "Crossbow Orcs, behind the wall!"
"Now, load bolts and push forward slowly! Once within range, let loose!"
There were no Trolls, Goblins, or Tauren within the Fel Empire. It was purely Fel Orcs, any units removed were replaced with custom models. The Troll Headhunter, the primary range unit for the Warcraft Orcs, was replaced by Fel Crossbowmen.
The native orcs of Halkeginia were doomed from the beginning, these new Orcs were strong, advanced, and held intelligence much greater than their own. The humans had always been better, but it was their otherworldly cousins that would wipe them from existence. It mattered little, for the Halkeginia orcs were creatures with no morals, no honor, and rudimentary intelligence. They would not be missed.
The following hour fires burning while smoke pillared into the skies. The largest and last encampment of the now extinct Halkeginia orcs pillaged for its resources and previous inhabitant's remains scorched, nothing but blackened bones and ash. Grom held little remorse of pity for them, the creatures these sorry excuse for orcs ate were but human infants.
But it didn't matter anymore, while a small part of him relished in getting a vague amount of vengeance, the main goal of establishing a forward hold in this world had been accomplished. The large encampment they had just taken over had been stripped of useful material and once the fires died down, would be a new construction site for the first Fel Orc civilization. All the territory of the fake orcs is now their own, farms would be established, possible mines evacuated for gold, and military presence secured.
"Warchief, the last of the Scouts as returned." A Fel Raider stated.
"Excellent, what news?" Grom questioned the scout that has entered his view.
"It is those creatures you told us about, Humans. We discovered a curious few that had seen our operations against the fake orcs. They don't appear to be warriors, and seem fearful of us." He answered.
"Mmmh, very well. I shall deal with them, the knowledge they hold could prove useful in establishing our presence in this unknown realm." Grom said. "Take them into a Fel Burrow after its construction, it'll serve our purpose for now."
The Fel Orc on the large wolf beat his chest with his fist in acknowledgement, "Yes, Chieftain!"
The Map Maker stood in front of the screen, the underside of his eyes holding a purple hue that could only a sure sign of sleep deprivation. But, really, how could he sleep with he now had so many responsibilities and with such a great time difference? A lone minute of dozing off would spell five crucial minutes of action occurring in the world of Kayla, or was it now whatever the natives called the world?
His knowledge was limited, but it seemed whatever the Players learned added to the notepad he had on hand. So far, the large European-like continent was named Halkeginia. It held various human nations, one Elven, and a large spread encampments of other lesser races. The Halkeginian Orcs no longer counting with their extinction.
Their extinction was inevitable, eighty percent of the population was wiped off the map. With their reputation, they will be hunted down one by one with little remorse.
The Map Maker simply didn't care, what he did care was getting some sleep right now… Hunger hadn't been a problem yet, but he needed to restore his 'mental batteries' so to speak.
He shook his head, first, a recap.
The Chosen Dragons have all grown into the Non-Elemental Dragonet Stage. Now they all needed to find their elements.
Unfortunately all the Dragon Nest locations were scattered about all over Halkeginia, strangely only across that Continent. This will make is difficult for four of the five Chosen Dragon players to find a color for their scales.
The Dragon Slayer seemed to be handling this quite well, in fact, he seemed a bit enjoying it. It unnerved the Map Maker but it seemed little harm.
The Dragon Catcher had been caught up in a rebellion of sorts, with her level it would be disastrous. He'll have to do something to help out.
The Human Kingdom is beginning to have increased tensions with their new neighbors. The northern kingdom, Germania, remains unaware. But Gallia has taken notice and soon Romania as well.
The Fel Empire is expanding nicely, their little war with the Halkeginia Orcs proved very beneficial. The Map Maker believed that the player for that hero must have been a Veteran of some description back on Earth.
The Mercenary is still safe and sound in the Kingdom and is getting equipment which increases her chances of survival out there in the unknown.
Sleep… He needed to sleep.
A bed appeared behind him, little explanation, but it replied to his thoughts. The room's ever bright halls dimmed down.
He bit his lip, every minute is five, every hour is five… If he has, at least, six hours, then only a day will pass.
Well… No use in over worrying, he's sure they can last at least one day.
Current Status:
Chosen Dragon Player 1: Saito Hiraga - Alive - Dragonet (Agility) Level 5
Chosen Dragon Player 2: Alex Storm - Alive - Hatchling (Strength) Level 2
Chosen Dragon Player 3: Asuna Godiva - Alive - Dragonet (Strength) Level 5
Chosen Dragon Player 4: Artos Archway - Alive - Dragonet (Agility) Level 7
Chosen Dragon Player 5: Cora Rune - Alive- Dragonet (Intelligence) Level 7
Dragon Slayer Player 6: Celdrahil - Alive - Slayer Level 7
Dragon Catcher Player 7: Rosina - Alive - Catcher Level 8
The Human Kingdom Player 8: Aylmer and Abigail - Alive - Royalty of Human Kingdom
The Fel Empire Player 9: Grom - Alive - King of Fel Empire
Mercenary Player 10: Elizabeth Loyal - Alive - Sorceress Level 2
Observer Map Maker: Map Maker - Alive - The World Editor