The next morning came faster than I was prepared for. Eris had wanted to come along, but I had to order her to stay in case the worst case scenario had happened. She didn't like it but agreed. The swift strike dragon had returned at midnight with the response from Vesna herself, saying she was pleased and that the gift was unnecessary but appreciated. It would take up to four days to get there and return, possibly longer if she wished to speak with me. Daedalus joined me in case that happened, my adviser would be necessary at my side if we were to discuss anything drastic she would need me to do as part of her alliance.
Along with the armored transports hauling supplies, I had a few squadrons of battle dragons soaring overhead, watching for ambush. Hopefully they would be all the defense we needed on this trip. I wasn't planning on loosing a single soldier, I would fight myself if it came to it.
Two days later we had arrived at Vesnas city. I'll be honest I was intimidated a bit by the sheer size of it. The fully fortified walls dwarfed my own, it was humbling in a way to see how much stronger she was, and how much I had to go before I could catch up. The bridge leading toward the front gate was more than wide enough for all of the armored transports to be lined up sideways and still fit through. The battle dragons had to fly lower, some resting on the ground as we waited for the gates to open. Eventually a horn sounded and the large stone gate parted sideways. Behind the gate was someone waiting beside what appeared to be a Storm drake, covered in armor but with no helm. We moved forward with me at the front, I was a bit nervous but kept my outward appearance calm.
"We're here on the acceptance of the alliance, we come bearing gifts!" I shouted. They waved us over, as we got closer I could make out better details. A woman with long fiery hair, almost as red as mine. A general, one of extremely high caliber. Fitting considering who was the ruler here, power attracts power.
"Masterson correct? I'll be taking you to Vesna, your soldiers will remain until departure. They'll get to rest at a nearby garrison."
I nodded and once close enough, hopped off the transport, followed slowly by Daedalus. The older man wasn't too keen on breaking his knees from a risky jump. "Who might you be if you don't mind me asking?" I extended my hand outwards. She took it in an iron grip, a strong woman indeed.
"Nova, he is coming with you?" she pointed to Daedalus.
"He's my adviser, yes he will be joining us if that is not a problem." She shook her head and whistled. Two more Storm drakes appeared at her side, they were even bigger up close. You could see the muscles rippling underneath their scales, their armor was also captivating to look at. Green and dark blue, tougher than the armor the transports had on.
"I'm not much of a rider, I hope I don't fall." Daedalus mumbled seeing the saddles on the drakes.
"He'll be fine, they can carry eggs on their back without them falling off and breaking. As long as you don't try and jump off you'll be fine." She said with a smirk.
"Let's not keep her waiting then shall we?" I said moving towards a drake. It sniffed me before lowering itself. I felt like more of a child, hoping onto the large beast and admiring every aspect of it. It was so cool.
"Yah!" Nova ordered. The drakes took off at a speed that would make a horse look like a snail. I laughed giddily, enjoying the rush. I wasn't able to pay much attention to the city because of how much fun I was having, but from the few glimpses I was able to capture. It was much bigger than mine, so many shops and large buildings, people walking around happily, some watching as we whizzed past. Though there were a few traces of poverty, that or an orphanage was letting their children roam around the city. Either way everything was generally happy, it was such a bright atmosphere in this city. I was so caught up in my excitement I didn't notice we were already there, Nova shouted to get my attention.
"Sorry what?" I asked her, blushing a bit.
"We're here, off the drake please." I hopped off the Storm drake and realized something. We were all in a shadow. Looking up
I finally noticed the massive castle that was Vesna's home.
"Whoa." Was all I could say, dragons soared freely around the spire of the castle, a few walking or resting atop the huge building.
"Takes forever to clean the dragon shit, let's get in before a stray piece lands on us." She didn't sound like she was joking so we hurried in after her. The inside was extremely well furnished and decorated. Paintings of all kinds line the hallway, some portraits and other beautiful scenery.
"Where would Vesna be at this time?" I asked admiring her home.
"She should be eating right now, we'll be there shortly." Nova led the way to Vesnas dining room, where we found her indulging on a variety of exotic foods. Nova stood at her side, letting her know of our arrival.
"The gifts were not necessary, but I appreciate the time you took to meet me face to face." I nodded.
"It was my pleasure." She popped a piece of delicious looking meat in her mouth before motioning for us to sit. Daedalus and I sat without question, immediately two servants presented us with a meal, full of meats and exotic fruits.
"Eat, you must be starving." I gave her my thanks as I began eating. It was glorious, the exotic spices and seasoning mixed in to such a bold new experience! I was rocked to my core as I ate, struggling to keep my manners in check.
"These are very... Extravagant meals." I said taking a moment to drink. I coughed a bit finding it was alcoholic.
"That one not to your liking?" She asked.
"N-no! It's not that it's just... I don't usually drink and it caught me a bit off guard." She nodded.
"I forget how old you are, care to enlighten me?"
"Eighteen ma'am." Her eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"You were born into leadership yes?"
"Yes I was, I've been in charge for about half a year now."
"Quick learner. Let me get to it then. You are not all that powerful yet, but you will grow. It is my job, as well as the other members of this alliance to make sure that you grow until you can defend yourself, as well as provide troops for when battle appears. As of now I won't call upon you for very dangerous missions, aside from the occasional scouting. Your job for now is to get stronger. How many dragons do you have?"
"I have twenty thousand battle dragons trained and ready, along with ten thousand or so Swift strike dragons." She waved her hand.
"I meant in terms of your great dragon, do you have any others or simply your great dragon." I was a bit confused.
"I only have Scarlet." Vesna hummed in thought.
"Your army is fine for now, but work on acquiring the other elemental dragons, until you have at least three. Your army will have a large boom from then on." I nodded, unsure of how to get them but too afraid to ask. Thankfully Daedalus bailed me out.
"If I may ask, how are we to acquire these other elemental dragons? I have not come across any knowledge of this in my time."
"You can find their crests at wilds they once inhabited, get enough and they'll fuse together into an egg when placed on an alter. Once the egg is formed, a special... Surprise awaits behind your castle. If you care to see what I am talking about, follow me." Vesna stood from the table and motioned for me to follow.
I followed without question, my curiosity gaining a massive foothold. She led me deeper into her home, until we reached a large circular room, massive decorated curtains were on the far end of the room.
"Nova, if you would?" Nova went behind a curtain and pulled a rope, causing both to slowly slide apart. A beautiful sky was on the other side, it was so clear.
"Go right up to the window." I walked forward, unsure of what I was to see. But when I saw it, my jaw dropped. Behind the castle was a large body of water, it was the same for mine along with my parents, but what I did not have, was four other large islands jutting from the waters. In the center of each was a dragon, the islands matching their elemental type. Water, earth, fire... The last I was not too certain, it reminded me of a jungle.
"This is... Incredible."
"Takes hard work. But soon, your home will look like this too." I felt her hand on my shoulder and I looked at the older woman in excitement.
"I won't let you down." She smiled at that.
"I doubt you will. Feel free to explore, though I'm sure you'll be needed back soon."
"Yes, yes. I can't be gone too long, though I could spare an hour for... Research." By research I meant playing around with dragons for an hour.
It was time to return all too soon for me. But it was necessary. The ride back was spent in excitement, there was so much I needed to do! Here was so much I was going to do! We had made it back in the early morning, Daedalus was exhausted but I was too excited to be tired. Climbing to the very top of the armored transport I whistled as loud as I could.
"Scarlet!" I shouted. I heard her roar, a few moments later she appeared atop the wall. I waved to her, and she dived towards me, snatching me up in her large claws. I laughed as she climbed high into the air, flying over the wall, towards the castle. When she landed she started sniffing and licking me. I laughed hard.
"Ok! Ok! I missed you too!" I hugged her as best I could. She rolled onto her back and wiggled on the grass. I knew exactly what she wanted so I climbed on top of her, positioning myself on her chest. I started scratching around, causing her to snort smoke. I laughed at how cute she was being. We were like this for a bit until Eris came running.
"Blaze! Stop playing and tell us what happened!" Scarlet snarled but I patted her snout.
"It's ok, I'll be back later ok?" She nodded and waited for me to get off before rolling back to her stomach. "Everyone already there?" I asked.
"Yeah, except for Daedalus, he passed out."
"Of course he did. Come on then." We headed back inside the castle at a quick pace. She tried to pry at what happened, but I told her to wait like the others. Once there Torr and Sky stood.
"What happened!?" Sky shouted. Torr held out his hand to tell her to calm down.
"What she meant was, What happened?!" I sat down and smiled at them both.
"Thanks for worrying about me, everything went fine. We talked a bit, ate. We didn't manage to piss her off."
"But..?" Eris pried. I got a bit more serious as I explained what was expected of us, as well as the massive difference in military might. Eris' eyes widened at the mention of Nova, but I didn't think much of it. I also told them of how massive the city was, as well as the walls. Torr whistled at that.
"It was incredible, we need to improve." Torr and Eris nodded.
"How?" Sky asked.
"We do all we can to speed up production, training, and construction. When Daedalus wakes I'll have an assignment ready for him. We're going to expand the city as well." Sky's eyes widened.
"You don't mean..?" I nodded.
"You're going to bring me all of them, the sooner we advance the better. Eris, send scouts to nearby Anthropus camps, find which ones have dragon armor. Scarlet will be joining us on the front lines."
"Yes sir." I stood up.
"You all have your assignments, I will come by throughout to speed things up." The three of them nodded as they left. I sighed. So much to do. If Daedalus hadn't heard about the elemental dragons, it wasn't very likely we'd have anything on them. We'd learn as we gathered them.
However first things first, I needed a shower, and some fresh clothes. I'd have to look into upgrading the armored transports, they aren't very comfortable. Wouldn't want anyone having permanent back problems from traveling with them.
Once I was nice and clean with fresh clothes, I went down to the science center to check on Daedalus. Sure enough he was awake, but he wasn't tinkering. Instead he was talking to Alice. She was of a special kind, she had a strong connection to all types of dragons, as such she was head of the rookery. She had auburn hair with brown eyes, her skin was darker than mine. She wore minimal cloth clothing, instead preferring clothing made of dragon scales, which she makes herself.
"What's all this?" I asked joining them.
"Trying to get any information I can about the elemental dragons sir." Daedalus said. Alice nodded.
"They are spoken of in legend, one attribute of theirs can dwarf the Great Dragons'."
"Such as?"
"Well, the Earth Dragon, when mature, can become a mountainous behemoth which is neigh impervious to harm. The Fire Dragons' flames are so powerful they can turn mountains to puddles. Need I go on?" I shook my head.
"Do you know how to find their crests?"
"No, unfortunately I do not. However I do feel we'll know them when we see it, but there is also something else we need."
"Oh? What would that be?" I asked.
"Scarlet. We'll need her, with her we have a much better chance at finding the crests. Her sense of smell should be more attuned to them than the other dragons."
"... That could be a problem, especially if there are large amounts of Anthropus. I don't want Scarlet hurt."
"That is why you're having Daedalus research any possible camps that contain dragon armor no? With the armor she will have no concern with the Anthropus." My mouth felt a bit dry.
"Yeah... She'll... be fine..." I wasn't too keen on having Scarlet go to battle. She placed a hand on my shoulder.
"She will be fine. Ok? Scarlet is a big girl, and she can take care of herself, she's meant to defend the city. You can't shelter her forever." I sighed.
"Yeah... I know. She's a tough one her... Alright. As soon as Daedalus finds armor we're going to find those crests."
"Yes sir, I will work with as much quickness as I can muster." Daedalus said with conviction.
"Alright, let's get to work. Thank you for your insight Alice, I appreciate it all." I said before leaving. I am worried about Scarlet, perhaps too much. But she's my baby, I've raised her ever since I first saw her egg. I don't want her hurt. But I know it's going to be a necessity, which I absolutely hate. But, if what they say is true about dragon armor, I know she'll be more than fine on her own. I wanted to be with her, I headed back home to spend the night with Scarlet.
Scarlet hummed, I was lying against her warm belly. I felt happy and content with her by my side. She was huge, and still growing. I was excited to see her in shining armor, it would be a sight to behold alright. I scratched her belly, causing her back leg to kick.
"Why are you so adorable Scarlet?" I asked looking up at the night sky. She simply looked back at me and let off a soft growl. I chuckled and enjoyed the clear night sky. "Excited to have new friends? We'll get them soon, you're gonna have to play the big sister role. You'll need to teach them what you know."
She roared lowly and breathed a bit of flame. Her body grew a little hotter, she was nervous.
"Don't be nervous, you'll always be my little girl you know that right?" She craned her neck closer, allowing me to rub her nose. She rumbled and lied back down. I yawned and cuddles with her, I would sleep out here tonight. It was a warm night, and if anything happened she would cover me with a wing to keep me warm.
"Night Scarlet..." She rumbled in response. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning I woke up next to scarlet. She was lying on her stomach, keeping watch over me.
"Morning, worried about me?" I asked yawning. She paws at the ground and nuzzles me. "I'll take that as a yes." I smiled hugging her back. "Well I better go get cleaned up, I'll see you in a bit alright?" Growling she stood up and shook herself, preparing for her morning patrol.
"Right, see you." I left her, heading back inside to get cleaned up. It was a quick shower, and once I had some fresh clothes on I was ready to get on with a busy day. Thankfully there was already food waiting for me, I needed to get out and around the city quickly today. The first stop would be at the vault, I needed a select few, 'resources' that would aid heavily in our building and research. I barely payed any attention to the food I ate, and before I knew it I was done eating.
Getting up I headed outside and whistled as loud as I could. Sure enough Scarlet roared in the distance, she was halfway done with patrol. She would be done by the time I arrived at the vault, hopefully Sky was ready.
As it would turn out sky was not ready in the least. She was not the only one working with the resource numbers and trying to help people get what they needed, but she was the best at what she did, which meant more wanted her for help. There were multiple crates filled with stone and metal moving out, all piled in a cart carried by two Bulls. There were probably a hundred or so people in Sky's line alone who were asking for more materials to build. Weaving to the front the shouts had quieted, I waved.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, I need to borrow her for a moment." There were a few sounds of complaint but Sky had opened the door and practically yanked me inside the small front office.
"Thank you! There are always so many!" She whined.
"I'm just here for pick up, did you have them ready?" I asked. Sky nodded and opened a new door to lead me deeper.
"You must be very serious to need to use these sir, I did as you asked but left the more... Unstable ones deep in the vault."
"Good, we don't need them anyhow. Not until we expand the entire city." She shivered as we passed more and more crates filled with resources, until we both felt the energy of what I came here for. She moved aside a large board of wood to reveal two leather cases, no more than two feet wide and six inches thick. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
"Careful, it'll give you a zap at first." I grunted and nodded, leaning down to grab one. It was a small zap, but it was enough to make my hand feel numb. I grabbed the second one, thankfully I was not shocked again.
"Thank you, you should probably get more helpers, or at least make a maximum number of people per line to lower the stress on you."
"I know but I'm always too busy!" She whined. "Be careful ok? Those things are dangerous."
"I know, but we need them. We need to grow fast right now." She gave me a weak smile before leading me back to the front, I would have gotten lost otherwise. Scarlet was waiting outside, idly waiting as she was watched by the citizens she protected.
"Come on girl, to the science center!" I called to her. She snorted and held out her claw, allowing me to jump on as she spread her wings. "Hold onto any papers! Don't want the, flying away!" I shouted as Scarlet flapped her wings, slowly getting off the ground. I honestly hope they held onto whatever papers they had, or else it was going to take a while to find them. It only took a few moments for us to arrive at the science center with Scarlet carrying me there. She landed softly on the lawn surrounding the center, setting me down gently.
"Thanks girl, only two more stops then we can get back home ok?" I told her patting her leg. She rumbled and lied down on the grass. Taking both cases I made my way up the stone steps to the entrance of the center. There weren't any guards stationed at the doors, so I pushed the old oak doors open. Inside there were five guards positioned against the far wall, each guard standing beside a door. Without breaking stride I went straight for the center door. It opened on its own when I got close, and closed behind me when I entered. Most of the halls were white with the occasional dark blue hall. Every so often I passed a room with a few scientists and mages experimenting or trying to increase a certain trait on our troops.
Once I made it to the center, I found Daedalus looking over plans.
"Having trouble?" I asked. He grumbled and turned to look at me.
"I was hoping to be able to finish research without using them, unfortunately I could not."
"Don't worry about it, besides I brought them, and I have every intention of using them. So what's next?"
He sighs. "Fire mirrors. We need to increase the ability to attack from a range, and harness a bit of blue energy along with sunlight."
"How long would that take?"
"At worst, twenty days, at best? Fifteen."
"Make it at best, we've got a lot of work to do." He nodded and called an emergency gathering.
"listen up! We're going to be working fifteen days straight! We're going to be finishing our research so we can properly train fire mirrors! Worry not for your families will be fine. It will only seem as if you were gone for your usual shift." He motioned to me.
"Here's the situation, inside this case I have powerful artifacts filled with pure blue energy. With it the fifteen days will pass in fifteen minutes to others. I am using this because we need to hurry and match others in terms of our military might before we can expand our city further!" I opened the suitcase, its contents emitted a light blue glow. Grabbing the one I would be using today, I was shocked by the energy but stood tall as I revealed what looked like a golden snow globe, with a blue rock in the center. It emitted blue arcs of energy which made my arm tingle.
"We have all we need for these fifteen days, are you all prepared for this?" Daedalus asks his workers. They murmur a bit, a few sounding unsure before they unanimously agreed.
"Then get ready! It'll feel a bit weird." I said placing the globe on the floor. Extending my right arm towards the globe, kneeling, the energy arced away from it's glass confine, shattering it. The rock glowed brighter as a blue barrier began expanding outward, beginning to cover more and more of the center, leaving me outside the bubble. I had done this once before, with a smaller scale time jump, but on a much larger area. Once, I assumed, the blue barrier covered the science center, it turned a few shades darker, and instantly, Daedalus and his workers vanished, I could barely make out silhouettes zipping by every now and then.
Fifteen minutes later the blue stone had exhausted its reserves and disintigrated. I collapsed, exhausted. It took a lot more out of me than I thought, I could barely feel my right arm. Daedalus stood over me, some sort of bubbling liquid in a beaker was being offered.
"Is that going to kill me?" I panted.
"No, the opposite in fact." He smiled. Groaning I reached to grab it, before drinking it all down as quick as I could. It tasted awful, I felt like I was going to throw up. I stood up and wiped my mouth.
"I feel better, but now I feel nauseous." I said flexing my arm, I had feeling in it again.
"it's great for healing and refilling energy, I just couldn't quite get the taste down."
"Remind me to never let you cook. How'd it go?" I asked.
"The beginning was a bit hard to get used to it in the beginning, but after the first day, we were filled with energy! We were able to finish the research as well as start new on levitation! We should be done with that one within the month."
"Levitation wasn't one of my main concerns, but good, we'll be able to build faster and transport more. I'll be heading out towards the garrison, we'll need to speed up training, and if we can start on fire mirrors that would be great."
"Of course. I await for your next order... after our research is completed..." I shook his hand as I grabbed case and left the science center.
Scarlet had carried me back to the main garrison, where Eris was still working on training giants, however their chief was not among them today.
Eris had paused the training for the moment, she would have to since Scarlet was inside the garrison as well, getting some attention from the guards and a couple of giants.
"So... I don't know if we should do this sir." Eric said with mild concern.
"Don't worry about me alright? Daedalus gave me a pick me up after I helped with his research. After I help with your training all I have to do is help Torr."
"I just don't think you should push yourself so hard, those things are dangerous. You passed out the first time you used one."
"Eris it'll be fine ok? I can handle it. Now stop worrying about me. Once it goes off I want you to focus exclusively on training Fire mirrors and giants, Daedalus figure out how to properly use blue energy mixed in with the sun. We still have the giant boars right?" She nods sighing.
"Just don't push yourself too hard. LORA! Bring in the boars and training equipment! We're gonna be busy for the next few days!"
It did not take long for everything to be ready, twenty giant boars were milling about, corralled by Scarlet. Each boar was as tall as I was at the tip of their shoulder. Repeating the process from earlier, I set the globe down. It sparked with energy as the glass shattered, the familiar numb feeling took over my arm as the barrier expanded over the garrison. Scarlet remained inside as the barrier changed to it's dark blue color. Time sped up inside the barrier, the occasional large blur passing in front of me as energy continued to surge from the blue stone. From time to time I could make out a really big blur, a mix of red and tan. Scarlet was helping the Giants and fire mirrors train against larger opponents, good girl. In a short time for me, fifteen days passed inside the garrison as the energy fizzled out and the son disintegrated. I gasped and fell to my knees, this time was worse than before. I was completely exhausted from it, my vision getting a bit fuzzy.
Scarlet was at my side in an instant, she curled up around me protectively. "Hey girl... Did you enjoy your workout?" I rasped. She rumbled and sniffed me.
"I told you not to push yourself too hard." Eris sighed. She was blocked from my vision by Scarlets bulk. I was only able to see her disapproving but concerned face when Scarlet moved her tail aside.
"Well you know me," I grunted using Scarlet to get myself to my feet, "I don't like taking it easy."
"I don't think the citizens would appreciate their ruler dying, even it it is to help protect them." She huffed.
"Yeah... Well I've got to get to Torr... Need to... Help him."
"I don't think you should do that, you're already close to passing out as it is, I don't think you could handle another right after this one."
"No... I can do it... I... have..." My knees buckled, I would have fallen on my face if Eris hadn't caught me.
"You need rest, you can't continue in this state."
"N-no... I can.. do it." She was practically carrying me at this point.
"You're going home. Scarlet! Take him back home and make sure he gets some rest!" Scarlet gently grabbed me with one of her huge claws.
"No... I... need..." The last thing I remembered before losing consciousness was the feeling of Scarlet lifting off into the air.
I woke up late at night, gasping and in a slight panic, not knowing where I was. I had woken Scarlet, and strangely enough an adolescent swift strike dragon.
"H-hey girl... Who's this?" I asked. The small dragon gave me a tiny roar before curling back against Scarlet. It was about my size, purple scales and an orange wing membrane. Scarlet rumbled a bit and licked me. "Yeah i'm fine girl, i'm gong to go inside ok? I need a shower." She licked me again before scooting me with her hand. Patting her nose and giving her a little kiss I left inside. After taking my shower, and feeling pretty fresh I plopped down onto my bed. My arm still felt a bit numb, there was always some backlash. looking up at the ceiling contemplated on what I was going to do tomorrow. If my arm was fine I would go to Torr and help them finish, if not then I would need to go to Daedalus for help. I need to stay in good condition to be useful. Sighing I closed my eyes and anticipated the day ahead.