A/N: EDIT: Well, that's not a lot of feedback. Don't know what else to say.
I busted my but writing this, despite having what feels like the flu.
Should I end this one early, too?
An update on my health...My leg's started locking up now, and I'm having trouble moving it. Doctor can't seem to figure out what's going on. I'm the picture of health, but for some reason, my leg is a mess and I'm STILL having trouble putting weight on that side or walking.
Well, that's mildly concerning.
Trying to get My Elden Ring updates done for the month, don't mind me~!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. Meaning folks don't like this, it won't be continued. If the story itself ain't popular/well-received...well, I won't be able to continue it. I'm working two jobs -taking on a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.
So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
No questions this time. Got some surprises in story for you all.
Alright, I've kept you waiting long enough. Here we go. Hold onto your hats!
As ever, I own no references, quotes, memes or themes. Not a wit or a one. They're merely tributes to those far greater than I.
I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.
Hope you're ready. Time to devour some gods.
Chapter title is DEFINITELY a pun.
Wonder if ya recognize it?
"Let the war begin."
~?
I am the Storm/That is Approaching
Dark clouds brewed on the horizon.
With their arrival, red lightning veined the sky of Farum Azula, heralding the approach of the coming storm. Raucous thunder chased its brother across the heavens, racing in hot on its heels to deafen dragons for miles around. Wind lashed at crumbling temples, howling through the ruins to batter those within. It was a typhoon unlike any other; a force so powerful that weaker wyrms were forced to land lest they find themselves torn from the sky entirely. Their angry cries rose through the air to echo the tempest. And with it, rain began to fall.
Naruto scarcely heard any of it. Felt even less.
He was the storm that was approaching. He was its eye. Its beating heart. Lightning raced in his veins. Even so he kept his eyes closed and remained kneeling, body fixed in meditation. Scarlet scales grew on his exposed forearms, only to flake away, unable to muster a proper hold such was the depth of his focus. Nearly a decade of training had led him to this moment.
Almost had it now...there!
A hand raised itself and a bolt of red light raced out the clouds to land in his open palm. He caught the spear and swept it forth, rupturing the air around him. His eyes creaked open to revel irises crackling with sparks off divine might. He slammed the spear it into the soil. It stuck there, a great terror looming...until he brought his hand smashing down on the base of his impromptu weapon.
The world erupted into a hail of death, obliterating his world in a stinging chorus of fire and smoke with such force that he physically flew backward.
Naruto stood and considered his handiwork as he dug a finger in his still-ringing ears. A far cry from Plaxidussax's signature move, but he felt he was getting the hang of it, at least in part.
Danger in the smoke.
He heard the telltale whistle of wind as a bar of blazing metal descended upon his head and twisted aside at the last instant; swaying out its path. In the same movement he stabbed back with his blade to skewer his would-be assassin. Steel struck steel as they pivoted away. An amused laugh reached his ears as he turned to face his would-be killer.
"Ah~!" An equally exultant cry rejoiced aways behind him. "You've gotten better at this, young master!"
Of course he had. His seventeenth birthday had passed only a fortnight before. Time marched on, as all things did.
The ghost of a smile touched the corner of his mouth. "What did I tell you about ambushing me, Tomoe?"
"Not to...?" He couldn't see her in the smoke, not even the most meager silhouette. His partner was hiding once more. "But you know what they say! Forewarned is forearmed! En garde!"
She lunged again. From the front, this time.
He whirled, caught her with a kick that blasted the air from her lungs and sent her flying a good nine meters through the air.
It also launched her clean out the smoke; her startled curse gave it away.
He was on her a second later and the battle was joined.
From there they flew into a flowing frenzy; slashing and whirling, pivoting and striking like the beasts they were at heart.
This! This was what it meant to fight; blood roaring in his ears, pulse pounding in his veins, nothing to concern himself with beyond the basic thrill of battle. For all their human forms they ripped through the arena like ancient dragons of yore; annihilating everything in their path with a smile. His dragonscale blade sang in his grasp as it clashed against her katana time an' time again. His most cherished weapon, carved from the very gravel stone of a dragon, precious beyond all measure, rejoiced int he fight just as he did.
His arms swung up. Ice blue lightning sparked on its edge, cold as night, to spark against scarlet light.
Until finally...!
There!
He saw an opening and struck in a singular sweep, disarming Tomoe in an instant. Her sword whistled free, spinning end over end into the void. She yelped and he took the chance to drive a clawed fist into her gut. His second folded with a grunt. A quick elbow to the back of her neck put her down hard. She pivoted to strike at his legs with her claws, but a quick kick on his part put paid to that. She landed on her back with an undignified squawk, bounced once, and sat there blinking up at him.
His sword tickled he throat when she tried to rise, stalling her advance. "Yield."
She blinked again, still somewhat startled. "You actually beat me...?"
"Sure did." he grinned. "Now give up."
Her eyes narrowed. He wasn't sure he liked the slitted look in her gaze. It stirred something dark in him. For if he had grown up, Tomoe had grown both up and out. Her full bosom heaved with breath as she rasped for air, her skin slick with sweat, legs sprawled beneath her in a manner that bordered indecency.
Nevertheless, he offered her a hand.
She took it and-
"Hey!"
Her fingers tightened around his and her palm became a vise against his own; now it was his turn to yelp as she dragged him down atop her.
"Always be on your guard, young master!"
Tomoe drew him into a crushing embrace with a triumphant laugh, latching on like a limpet to bind both arms at his sides. Her hands lingered a little too long, dancing over his muscles beneath his tunic as she drew away. Her forehead touched his in a feather's brush. Eyes inches apart, mouth closer still. Her gaze flitted to his. Down to his mouth, now.
She licked her lips. "After all, we wouldn't want someone to take advantage of you now, would we...?"
"Indeed."
A shadow fell over them before either could act on her words
Naruto turned his gaze to the sky.
Placidussax descended from on high and Lansseax with him. Uncle Fortissax wasn't far behind. Pride bloomed in his chest at the sight of them. He would be a dragon like them someday; he just knew it; able to change from man to monster at the drop of a hat, just like them. He was so close now; he could practically taste it. But as they drew closer, confusion soon overshadowed his excitement. Strange. Why would all three of them seek him out of the blue, unless...no.
Surely it couldn't be that. He wasn't ready yet.
He still had another year.
...didn't he?
Placidussax landed before the rest, choosing to remain at a distance in his true form. Not so, Lansseax. She rolled her shoulders and shooed Vyke off her back. The dragonknight had a strange wrapped parcel of some sort slung to his back. The moment her beloved landed she resumed human guise quickly, making inroads his way. Fortissax paid neither any heed and slammed down close to him -almost too close!- dark scales glinting in the gloom. Those keen, piercing eyes fixed upon his very soul.
"You have come far." It was he who spoke, and his tone immediately set him on edge.
They gathered around him and Tomoe, laying hand and claw upon them for reasons he didn't quite comprehend. They muttered words he didn't understand, spoke in a language he'd seldom heard befre. Yet for all that, there could be no mistaking their intent. Each looked upon him, each judged him, each found him worthy.
He saw the pride in their eyes and yet they seemed sad, somehow. Why?
And why hadn't Tomoe said anything? She was usually so chatty...
"You are ready." Placidussax intoned.
Three little words and yet they set fire to Naruto's very blood, excited him in ways he couldn't begin to explain. He'd never thought to hear those words. It felt like just yesterday he'd been training. And now...he found he didn't have the strength to speak. His throat closed. He made a hopeful noise, one he couldn't quite strangle in time as he pivoted to face them.
"Really?" his brow furrowed. "You're not messing with me, right?" anxiety bleated anew in him as he babbled on. "This better not be a prank! That's my shtick!"
Lansseax reached him a moment later and ran a hand through his hair. He found himself leaning into his foster mother's touch.
"This is not jest." The great thunder of Fortissax's voice reached his ears. "It is time."
Vyke clomped his way, and as he did, he got a good look at the bundle his foster father was carrying.
Armor.
Not just any armor, but gleaming red-on-black-with-silver, forged from the scales of the truest of dragons. He recognized the color.
Tomoe saw it and cooed. "Oooh~!"
Naruto's gaze snapped to Placidussax. Noted the old wyrm's scarred hide. He was missing more scales than usual. They'd come from him, hadn't they? On a whim, he looked to Fortissax as well. Sure enough he noticed a few pockmarked places in his uncle's hide. He suspected Lansseax had played a part as well, but she'd shapeshifted so swiftly he hadn't a chance to see.
"Here you are, lad." Vyke pushed the bundle into his arms.
Naruto accepted it numbly. Such scales would grow back in time, but the gesture would always remain.
"This is mine...?"
"Yes." Placidussax touched his head with a claw. "You have proven yourself. We would not send you into battle without protection."
"Okay...um, that's great." An embarrassed flush crept up the back of Naruto's neck as he squirmed free. "I'm only seventeen. Feels kinda sudden ya know?"
And it did! He hadn't had a chance to mentally prepare himself for this!
"We can wait no longer." His sire stretched his mangled wings to the sky, casting them all his shadow. "The demigods war amongst themselves. None have perished yet, but the tide is soon to turn. You must hunt them down before they go to ground. Make them see the light...or slay them and drag their bodies to it."
Tomoe made a pleased noise and touched a hand to her hilt. "When do we strike?"
"We do not know where all of them are at present." Placidussax favored her with a long, lingering look. "Such is the fog of war, but we have ascertained their last known locations. Morgott, the Omen King, rules in Leyndell. General Radahn prepares to take his troops and put the city to siege. In three month's time, he shall strike. Praetor Rykard has concealed himself in Mount Gelmir, while Godrick skulks in Stormveil. Malenia descends from the frozen wastes of the north, laying all to waste before her."
Naruto perked up. "I wanna go after the big guy."
He'd heard the legends. General Radahn! How could you not want to face someone like him?
A low rumble rattled the air. He knew it to be laughter." Yes, I suppose you would seek the most honorable of them. Still, be cautious. He is known to our kind and supposedly a man of courage, but war has a way of changing us all." With one claw, he sketched out a map. "You will find him near the plains of Caelid, preparing his troops. Retreat if he proves too much for you.
...I can recruit him, right?" Much to his chagrin, The old wyrm fell silent for a long moment. "Is that a no...?"
"If you feel yourself capable of such." he said at last. "But he must surrender his great rune."
"I can do that~!"
"Boy." Fortissax rumbled a warning. "Avoid Malenia if possible. Kill her if you can't. She is a danger to us all."
He Didn't much like the sound of that. "Why?"
"As an Empyrean, she carries the essence of an Outer God within her. One of rot." he paused to let the words -and their weight!- sink in with lethal finality. "You command great power, but neither you nor Tomoe have scales as we do. You will be vulnerable should see bloom.
Pity. He'd heard tales about her swordsmanship. "...do I have to kill her, then?"
"You may have to. She is not in her right mind; even if she were, we cannot rule over a land lost to the Rot.
He handed him and Tomoe a pair of pendants.
"I shall use these to bring you as close as I can without attracting the armies attention." he bid them hang them round their necks. ""It will fall to you to find Radahn. He's quite large, or so I'm told-
"Wait."
That little word cut through Naruto's warm thoughts, a hot knife through so much butter.
"Wait?" he rounded on the speaker, incredulous, all his joy turning to ashes in his mouth. "Whaddya mean, wait?"
Lansseax lowered her arm. "I don't think he's ready for Radahn." her gaze swept over him. "Let him face someone else, first."
Confusion morphed into sorrow, soon overpowered by anger. This was outrageous! Unfair!
"I can do this! We," he flung an arm out at Tomoe, who nodded, "Can do this!"
His mother unbent only enough to shake her head, setting her pale hair swaying. "No, you can't. You're not ready for this foe."
Her words were the purest of pain. He couldn't comprehend them. "Mom!"
Fortissax sighed. "You coddle the boy, sister."
"Bah!" She flashed her fangs at him. "You don't coddle him enough. He needs love and affection, preparation, not to be thrown at an invincible enemy straight out the gate!" when her sibling didn't falter, she sought out Placidussax himself. "Naruto isn't ready to face Radahn yet. Send him on a lesser trial first, let him blood himself before he faces the general."
Anger boiled in him. "I'm ready!"
She rounded on him, flashing her teeth. "Not yet!"
Placidussax stilled them all with a sonorous rumble, forcing them into silence.
...enough. perhaps Lansseax has the right of it." His twin necks craned to gaze upon him, ignoring the noise he made. "Thou art skilled, my heir, but you have yet to leave this place. Is it so wrong that we would seek your safety first?"
Tomoe nudged him with an elbow.
Naruto tried to cling his anger. Failed. Buried it deep instead.
"I guess not." he growled, scuffing his boot against the arena floor. "But the way she said it...!"
His foster mother sidled up to him and drew him into a bruising hug. "Its for the best. We just want you to be safe...
Even if it made him unhappy? Naruto stamped down the traitorous thought a moment later. He felt chagrined even dwelling on it. No, he shouldn't be angry. Maybe she was right. Maybe she wasn't. She had his interest in mind, even if he couldn't see them...didn't she?
"Very well." Placidussax allowed. "We shall amend your first task and not send you against that giant, jolly though he may be."
Tomoe grumbled a little. "Boo."
"Don't sulk, fragment. This is for the best." he drew his wings in with a contemplative hum. "Give me a moment to consider...
Fortissax heaved a sigh. "Stormveil would serve as an admirable foothold for our campaign."
Naruto felt his spirits sink.
"So it would." The Dragonlord agreed. "Very well. The two of you shall infiltrate Stormveil castle, where Godrick and his kin, Godefroy, dwell. They shall be your first task."
Naruto perked up. "Two demigods for the price of one?"
"Distant descendants of Godwyn the Golden." Lansseax waved a hand, conjuring red lightning that she shaped into images of them. "Each possesses a Great Rune, yet they are braggarts all the same. Runts of the litter as it t'were, their blood greatly diluted compared to their kin. They'll make fine practice for your claws." a hand swept through the figures, banishing them into sputtering sparks. "You and Tomoe should be able to dispatch them easily; they will be no match for you.
Easy to say, but still! General Radahn! Mightiest Demigod! How could you not get excited by that?!
By comparison, someone like Godrick and Godefroy...
"This still leaves a sour taste in my mouth." He mumbled crossly.
"I am aware." Placidussax shimmered into his human form and laid a hand on his shoulder."Unfortunately, what you are about to hear will worsen it. These two are known for the art of grafting."
Tomoe made a face. "That forbidden art? How unpleasant.
Naruto agreed wholeheartedly. He hadn't seen the ritual firsthand but he'd read about it; what he'd heard was nothing good. The ghastly gift of strength gained by fusing...parts to oneself. Still, while unpleasant, he failed to see how this would make things worse. Grafting only meant something when the recipient was powerful. Godric and Godefroy were, by all accounts, weak. No matter how many human parts they stuck to themselves, they would still be just that.
"They have acquired a great many lesser dragon corpses." Fortissax's words dashed his hopes with a plume of smoke. "I need not tell you why."
Scarlet scales shot up his arms as his temper -and his bile!- spiked to the fore. He forced them back down. "Is that so...?"
Tomoe gave him a half-lidded look. Her eyes were slitted, just as his. "You're sure of this?"
Vyke touched a hand to his helm. "Our spies have confirmed it."
"Eh?" That drew a blink from Naruto, one enough to quell his rising temper and reverse his rising transformation. "We have spies?"
"But of course." Now it was Lansseax's turn to preen. "Many a dragon has grown weary of the demigods to be sure, but our allies extend to those of beast-blood and others as well. You will find such alliances commonplace in the Lands Between. The strong lead and the weak follow."
Naruto winced.
"You do not approve." It wasn't a question. "Speak your mind."
"I think that's a flawed way of looking at things." He looked away from Lansseax, scratching a whiskered cheek. "The duty of the strong should be to protect the weak, ya know. Isn't that why we're doing this in the first place?" Everyone looked to him. Heat speared through his face and he faltered. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
Tomoe tittered. "So honest. Then again, I don't dislike that aspect of you, young master."
"Indeed!" Vyke slammed a fist into an open palm. "It is just as he says."
"Well said." Placidussax granted a grave nod. "Are you prepared?"
Naruto looked over his shoulder. Vyke favored him with a nod.
"One moment!" Lansseax rushed forward and drew him into a crushing hug, rubbing her forehead against his. "Be safe! Don't take any risks!"
He saw Fortissax, still perched nearby. The black wyrm granted him a grave nod.
Naruto took a deep breath, firmed up his stance...and exhaled. "I'm ready."
Tomoe flicked him a thumbs up.
The world blurred.
(.0.0.0.)
Stormveil prepared itself for a siege.
Men and women ran hither and yon like chickens with their heads chopped off, barking orders; commands that fell upon deaf ears. What more could one expect from banished knights? Theirs was an disorganized lot at the best of times, their masters, even more so. Their castle stood in disarray, unprepared for the battle that was to come. A fresh tremor rocked the grounds even now. More screams echoed in the distance, and so too did the moral of the defenders fall yet further.
In all fairness it wasn't entirely their fault.
No one expected the intruders to storm the front gate.
They never do. Certainly not a young man and a young woman.
"Hello~!" The armored blond waved a hand toward the portculis. "We come in peace!
His companion grinned, red eyes flashing, green hair swaying in the wind. "But we're prepared to leave you in pieces~!"
"Tomoe!"
"What?!" came her happy chirrup. "Honesty is the best policy, young master. And this...
She drew her fist back with intent. Green scales flowed across her limb.
One punch and the gate shattered like so many matchsticks.
...IS WAR!"
(.0.0.0.)
Godrick ran.
He ran and ran and RAN as he'd never run before; not since he'd first fled from the capital in disgrace. That seemed a fever dream now. Fear bleated in his heart, blinding him to all else. His new legs -bearing the claws of a drake- sent him hurtling down the escape tunnel at speed, long strides devouring the distance between him and safety. Between him and his pursuers.
He struck a wall in his haste and bounced off, pausing to catch his breath.
They wanted his head. Him. Dead. There would be no mercy here, no parlay, no quarter offered and none given.
Dragons!
They were dragons!
He'd seen the fire and the flames! They wanted revenge for their fallen kin!
Godefroy had tried to fight that green-haired woman and paid dearly for it; she'd ripped his arm clean off, was still ripping into him when he fled. His kin would understand. He who ran away lived to fight another day. And besides the woman wasn't the real threat here. He didn't care about her. Nay, he dreaded that...that thing chasing him. It had already broken his ax. It would break him too, if it sank its claws into him.
"Godrick," a low, raspy voice echoed behind him. "Where are you going, Godrick...?"
The Grafted squealed like a struck pig, dragged himself up, and fled anew like the craven he was.
They were after him, chasing him, hounding him, and for what?! So he'd grafted a few dragons parts to himself. What of it? He was of the Golden Lineage! All were meant to serve him! They should feel honored that he'd deigned to use their corpses at all, rather than that of a troll! Oh gods, he could hear the voice again...
"Kinslayer...
No.
"Oathbreaker.
No, no.
Backstabber.
No, no, no!
Something stirred in the shadows behind him. He spun, rounding on it. The massive dragon head that was his right arm sparked to life with a hollow roar, consuming the corridor in fiery napalm. Darkness burned away in the face of the light. Something came loose in him and he cackled at the sight of it, rejoicing in his newfound power, the death of his pursuer. Would that he'd grafted this beast sooner! He had power now! Strength! He felt invincible! Untouchable! Unstoppable! Dare he say immortal?!
"Ha!" He sneered into the haze that rose in its wake. "How do you like that, worm?! Great Godfrey, didst thou...witness...?"
A russet-red wing burst through the smoke.
"Fire cannot burn a dragon...
As he looked on aghast, a figure stepped out of the alcove. A blond boy with blue yes, but his skin was all wrong. Red. He gleamed in the low light. Scales, he realized. The boy was covered in scales. That was a dragon's wing jutting out his shoulder. It must've shielded him from the inferno. The sight of it had his courage plummeting to new depths.
...don't you know that?"
Scarlet scales crept across his tattered forearms, swept up his exposed chest, his neck, then his face, twisting his body into something monstrous, a mad blend of man and dragon, so unlike his own. Horns sprouted from his skull as he tilted his head to regard him, growing larger and taller with each passing moment. A hybrid, he realized. He was looking at a hybrid.
It looked back at him and stalked forward, still changing.
"There really is no saving you."
A heavy tail splintered the the stone behind him.
"But that's alright, little Godrick."
Another wing erupted from his back, mirroring the first.
"You were always meant to die here anyway...little runt."
Godrick scrambled backward like a drunken crab. His back hit a wall.
"They were just corpses!" He screamed at as the beast's shadow fell over him. "I am the lord of all that is golden! It was my right-urk?!
Cruel claws closed around his neck. Hoisted him upright, grafted body and all.
"If you kill me it will never end!" He rasped, clutching at the hand choking him, gasping for air. "My kin will come for you!" his vision dimmed, the colors of the world fading to grey. "All the armies of the Shattering will turn upon you! You shall perish beneath a storm of bodies!"
"I am the storm." Clawed hands closed around his face. "And you idiots...can slaughter one another."
Red lightning crashed through the corridor.
The storm consumed Godrick utterly.
He knew no more.
A/N: Don't wake the beast, folks.
If you need a comparison, think Slyvion from Dota: Dragon's blood cranked up to TEN.
Well? Should this remain a story? Yay or nay? Your feedback matters! That's no joke. Reviews keep me writing.
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular story, and others. If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular...well, I'll not be able to continue it. I'm working two jobs -taking on a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.
So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly? And have some previews.
Warning! SPOILERS AHOY!
Sorrrrrrryyyy~!
(Previews)
"So this is a great rune. Huh. Lighter than I thought it would be-HEY!"
Tomoe leaped into his arms. Laughed now, as he caught her by the wait and spun her around. "We did it~!
Forget about tomorrow. Tomorrow is today. You were born a dragon, and a dragon you shall stay.
He spread his arms wide. "I've come to negotiate~!"
"With what?!"
Friendship and lightning...if necessary."
"Oi, now!" A guard raised their halberd. "I don't see any-
THOOM.
His smoldering corpse struck the soil.
Naruto beamed, the very picture of innocence. "Any questions?
"You need only take me with you. Be assured, I am not your enemy."
...no."
Here at last, that got a reaction from her. "Whyever not?!"
"You. Can't. Save them."
...doesn't mean I won't try. Now scram. I've heard what you have to say."
"I'm sorry!" He pulled his hand free fro their chest with a wail, tearing their Great Rune out alongside it it. "This isn't what I wanted! But I can't die here! I'm so sorry!"
EDIT: Hey, you made it!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. Meaning folks don't like this, it won't be continued. If the story itself ain't popular/well-received...well, I won't be able to continue it. I'm working two jobs -taking on a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.
So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Looking forward to chatting with you all when I get back from work!
Hope you all have a great day~!
R&R~!