(Hey there guys, so blown away the response this story has received. Rest assured I will correct the spelling mistakes of the first few chapters, also feel free to check out a map I whipped up of the Jagged Isle - art/The-Jagged-Isle-658516071)
Light flooded her vision as she broke the surface of the water, Granberia thrashed her sluggish limbs as the water churned around her. Through the haze and foam she could see that she was being swept down a very large river, its banks both about a good twenty feet from either side of her. She kicked her legs trying to fight the current, but try as she might the river was too much for her battered body. She tried to conserve her energy to keep above the cold surface of the current, she moved her arms in small ripple motions to attempt a lifting motion.
The merciless river responded to her attempts by steering her path directly into an oncoming rock, the high speed impact knocking the air of Granberia's lungs. She gasped and coughed water as she reflexively clung to the cold stone, the force of the water trying to pry her free felt like it would tear her arms off. Opening her eyes gain weakly she tried to make out the surroundings through the foam, she was closer to the bank then before but still too far to make it herself. Cursing her situation she was about to resign to being sent spiralling down the river for another undefined length of time when the rock moved. The subtle shifting to the side of the structure she clung almost unnoticeable above the shifting waters until it shifted a good foot or two dragging Granberia along with it.
Granberia opened her eyes wide in surprise as she felt herself being dragged through the water once again, but this time by the "rock" pulling her against the tide slowly towards the shore. Clinging to the formation like a barnacle she felt her feet leave the churning rapids and begin a seemingly ever rising journey into the air. Now hanging in the air as she rose the Dragon looked around desperately for anything to grab on to, the trees were still pretty far out of reach, the things were absolutely massive much higher then any other form of plant life she thought possible. She twisted around to try and grab onto her only perch better only to feel the blood drain from her face. When she actually looked down she noticed that there actually seemed to be a platform of sorts beneath her...that is a platform in the sense of the head of a creature who's large eyed stared back at her. The chilling sea blue eye easily bigger then a large wagon wheel seemed to stare right into the dragonkin's soul, as she quickly scanned the area immediately around her she came to the obvious conclusion that the creature she was standing was absolutely massive. Over the mountain of the creatures back, past the large sail and rows of spikes that adorned it she could see its tail still leaving the river. A fear she had yet to know in her life filled her as an earth shaking growl escaped from her living platform, knowing she had little choice she let go of the horn and plummeted through the air.
The cold air would have stole her breath away if she had any to give from her dip in the large river, the impact of the ground painful but not crippling thanks to her armour. She rolled for several yards before rising and making a dash for the tree line. Her panic rising as the sounds of enormous footsteps began to found after her, the same echoing shriek from the raft invaded her ears this time so loud she was sure her eardrums had burst. Pushing the last bit of energy she could muster into her legs she made it past the trunks of the first few enormous trees, their ancient and scarred texture holding her attention before he mind returned to fleeing from the monster behind her. She kept running until she heard the footsteps come to a stop, kept running as she heard the massive animal slam into the trees in an attempt to break through. Kept running as the calls of fury became distant then gone entirely. Drawing to a stop in a small clearing she collapsed amongst a patch of odd ferns and mosses, she flopped onto her back to stare at the bright sunny sky above her. What had that monstrosity been and what kind of messed world was this island? The creature in the snippets she had seen seemed to be reptilian in some nature, aquatic and terrestrial at the same time from the fins and speed it showed on land as well. The very aura of the creature she had sensed seemed almost alien in nature...like something that shouldn't exist but simply does.
Laughing in complete exhaustion she nearly had a heart attack when she heard the bushes rustling to her left, her hand flying to her waist where her sword would be normally she remembered it was lost on the raft. Her panic turned to confusion when the rustling turned into giggling coming from the wall of vegetation all around her. "Who's there...show yourself" she said shakily trying to sound authoritative despite being completely exhausted, the voice that reached her was all too familiar and she relaxed. "Geez Berry you are still no fun when it comes to scares...or teasing in general" the Succubus Queen said as he stepped clear from the line of man height foliage, she looked not much better then Granberia herself. Alma Elma's usually attractive attire was cut to near ribbons and she was sporting a pretty nasty looking burn on her left leg. The dragon frowned and stepped forward as the succubus painfully sat down on the edge of a fallen log, Granberia knelt down to take a better look at the oddly textured wound on her fellow knights calf.
"See anything you like Granberry" The succubus said playfully before coughing painfully, her lungs probably singed in the same incident that gave her the burn. "Would you be quite for a second wile I check you" The dragon said quietly while blushing furiously as she she examined the wound, being a dragon she had a pretty good idea of how to deal with fire damage and how to treat it. The burn while nasty on the surface would be fine in a few days without much treatment, part of being a monster was the perks it gave in the form of supernatural regeneration. "So what happened to you anyway" Granberia asked as she sat down next to Alma Elma, the succubus rubbed her neck in tired thought before chuckling.
"When we hit the cave we lost a few of you, you were thrown clear of the wreckage and Erubetie was pulled along as well stuck to the wood from the impact. Me and Tamamo did our best to keep the group together while we looked for you guys, we made our way into a large volcanic area north of hear I think" she said as she began to rub her injured leg. Alma Elma continued with a grim expression " We were set upon by a group of these large lizard like fire monsters, they were so fast and vicious that we could do little to keep them at bay. Me and Tamamo got the worst of the damage, it would have been funny watching Tamamo run around with her tails on fire in another circumstance".
Granberia actually chuckled at her sisters last comment before she settled back into listen, "They managed to force us back to a volcanic vent and I think they were trying to force us in, probably would have succeeded if not for the big one coming". Granberia immediately thought to the monster in the river before Alma Elma continued "It was a massive monster, so red it almost looked made out of magma. It drove the smaller ones off and then turned its attention on us, Tamamo told us to fall back and she would keep its attention. We ran and and well...I was flying while the group rested below and that is when I spotted you" she finished with a shrug before wincing in pain.
Granberia folded her arms as she pondered Alma's story, Tamamo was last seen facingdown a different super sized monster, Erubetie was Alipheese knows where...and they had to look after a battered and scared group in an alien land. She slammed her hand into the ground in anger startling the pitifully moaning succubus, "Its not fair! This was supposed to be our safe haven...our new home. Now we have to contend with monsters we have never seen before and the others could all be dead"! She fumed until she felt the other women lean her head against her shoulder, the blushed crimson as the soft voice of the succubus soothed her tension "We will be alright Granberry...we will find the others, we will make a living for ourselves here. Everything will be alright". The dragon sighed as she felt some of the tension drain her body, she leaned her head atop Alma Elma's and let her eyes close for a moment. The two of them enjoying the peace of each others presence in this hostile new land.
That peace was shattered when the sounds of enormous footfalls reached theirs ears from further into the trees, the two heavenly knights surged to their feet as the sounds trees being knocked over continued to move closer to their clearing. Too tired and battered to be able to run and not exactly equipped to fight either the two could only wait for their stalker to show itself.