An unlikely bond- The Dragon Mage chapter 3

Audrey and Agni finally meet. Agni is distraught, but Audrey has an idea to help them both out, unaware of the collision course she sets them on....

Chapter 3 - An Unlikely Bond:

            The scarlet dragon reared his head back, mouth open with a fiery light flickering from the depths of his throat as Audrey stared past his gleaming teeth, eyes wide in terror. She raised her arms in instinct, shutting her eyes tight, flinching away, and covering herself as she ducked down, desperately trying to defend herself, but she knew it was no use. There was little that burned hotter than dragon fire.

A moment passed. And then another. Silence. A shiver passed down Audrey’s spine as she cracked her eyes open. The dragon was still growling and smoke was still pouring from its nose, but its mouth was closed. Her eyes opened fully and locked with the dragon’s, her arms quivering at her sides. The red beast stared right back at her, glistening eyes struggling to glare. It suddenly opened its mouth again, letting out another snarl. But this time Audrey didn’t even see the red flicker on its teeth.

A rumbling sound burbled up from the dragon’s throat before finally shutting its mouth for good. Audrey’s eyes widened in amazement as the dragon broke eye contact with her and looked away. She felt hope dancing around in her head with dangerous boldness, but that didn’t stop her from flinching again as the dragon stomped hard against the ground.

“… Forget it,” the red dragon grumbled as he turned away from Audrey. He whipped around so hard that its tail came swinging out towards Audrey. She was lucky that she was still prone on the ground, watching the spiny appendage sail right over her head. His tail spade sliced straight through the branch that had tripped her, giving her the opportunity to push herself back to her feet.

Audrey watched with wide eyes as the red dragon made his way towards the center of the clearing. A rather large mossy stone was embedded in the ground and the red dragon curled up on top of it. He buried his face under his paws, trying not to audibly cry while a human was watching him.

            An awkward moment of silence passed before the dragon finally glanced back at Audrey. His head snaked around his back as he once again made eye contact with the human. Tears twinkled in his eyes, threatening to pour down his face and run down his muzzle.

            “Get lost!” the dragon roared, baring his teeth. It might’ve been frightening, but his voice cracked audibly. The dragon appeared aware of it almost immediately. If not for his red scales, Audrey might’ve been able to see the dragon blush in embarrassment. “You… you don’t belong here! Humans don’t belong here!” he shouted, stamping a paw angrily again. “Do you even know where you’ve stumbled into?”

    Audrey only stood there, eyes wide.

            “Are you deaf or something?” the dragon stood back up to face Audrey, stifling a sniffle. He was barely able to keep his voice from quivering as he spread his wings, hoping to look as intimidating as possible. “I told you to get lost!”

            “Are you okay?” Audrey asked, blurting out the only thought in her mind.

            The question caused the dragon to rear back in confusion. “What?” he asked, blinking slowly.

            “I asked if you were all right,” Audrey repeated as calmly as she could. She took a step forward and held out her hand, hoping it appeared as soothing to the dragon as it did to the cows she tended to.

            “You-” the dragon’s mouth quivered. He looked away, again, on the verge of tears, the dam finally breaking, and he let out a sob. “Get away from me!” he cried out. The dragon let out an ashamed sob as he spread his wings and leapt into the sky. He streaked off, leaving Audrey standing in the clearing more confused than she ever had been before.

    Agni rose above the treetops, his wings beating madly as he flew away in embarrassment as fast as he could. His father was right, he was pathetic. Humans weren’t allowed inside their borders, and yet this one had slipped through their patrols. Only for him to find her… and to be unable to summon the courage to make her leave.

    He couldn’t help it, he’d never been able to. As long as he could remember, he’d been the black sheep. A dragon who never quite found his way around a spear amongst a kingdom of dragons brimming with armor. It had always been too grizzly for him, he preferred the comfort of his plants to anything else. He supposed a lesser dragon would have been forced to get over their pacifistic tendencies at a young age and join the barracks clutch. But as prince, he’d been allowed to get away with it for a long time, despite the intense disapproval of his father.

    Well no longer, it seemed. Alkam was right to throw him out. Prince of the Reaches of Hydrafell and the Ghoul Isles, and he didn’t even have it in himself to defend that birthright from a stupid, little human. Tears streamed down his scales, ripped off his face by the wind as he flew as fast as he could.

    What had she been doing here, anyways? He’d just wanted to find a spot to be alone for a moment, and she’d stumbled in there like she owned the place! He let out an angry sob, clenching his claws as his wings pumped up and down erratically. He kept glancing down to find another clearing to land in, but the thought of someone seeing him again was too much to bear. So he kept flying, unable to stop. Stupid human, stupid trespassing… he couldn’t even be pathetic in peace anymore.

    His wings grew tired, but he kept going until they were too sore to continue. He had flown as far north as he could, before hunting for a good place to land. Finally, he came down between the trees and ducked into the cover of darkness. He could be alone here, far away from some dogged little human who just came to interfere. Let some other patrol find her. Let them find her and tear her apart!

    He bit at his claw at the thought, a shiver passing through his wings as he tried to resist cringing. They would tear her apart, wouldn’t they? He’d never gone on patrol himself, but the dragons who did came in full armor with spears in paws. They were fiercely territorial and could be a nasty bunch, commanding all the respect he had never had from his father.

    “Arkosh… why am I like this?” Agni whined, slamming his paws against the ground. He was cursing that human’s name, though he didn’t know what it was… but left alone, she was doomed. She would die to the elements if she stayed hidden, or be undoubtedly found if she did not. He was so utterly pathetic that the thought of that human, who had given him that annoyingly sympathetic look, getting killed at the paws of a patrol…

    He let out another sniffle. What was she doing out here that was so important? Surely she knew of dragons and their kingdom… it wasn’t safe out here for her kind if they were not careful and stayed near the edge of the forest. Clearly, she was not the careful type. She wouldn’t last long if she kept pushing towards Dragonloft.

    He glanced behind him, remembering the look she’d given him. She was a stupid human… but she didn’t seem evil. And he detested violence, even on someone like her.

    He turned, paused, then jerked back around. No, he couldn’t do this… he had problems of his own. He wasn’t going home without that White Stag. But how was he supposed to do the deed? He couldn’t kill anything! Well, he killed plants all the time… but that didn’t count. Meat was all well and good, he needed to eat it to survive, but he couldn’t handle doing it himself. His stomach turned over as he sat there and fretted, feeling more and more stressed.

    And how was he supposed to solve this? Stalk a White Stag and hope it broke its bones by accident, waiting for it to die? That sounded terribly grizzly, even more so than just killing it himself. And while he waited for the stag, that human would be killed for sure. He’d be the last one to have seen her before a patrol found her.

    He dug his claws into the ground, stamping his tail in frustration. He was thinking in circles, making no progress. He had to be decisive.

    Spreading his wings, he climbed a tree to give him an easier time taking off. Which way had he come from? He wiped some tears off his muzzle as he oriented himself, suppressing a sniffle. He couldn’t handle this on his mind any more. At least finding this human would give him something else to think about instead of how he was going to kill a White Stag. His wings still ached, but he began slowly flying back the way he’d come, forcing himself through the pain.

    Atis began dipping in the sky by the time he found the clearing he last saw the human in. He quickly ducked into the woods and began creeping into the clearing to see if she was still there. Dragons weren’t naturally stealthy creatures, even when they weren’t purposefully making their existences known with loud armor, their scales were bright and often stood out against the greenery of the Hydrafell. But Agni had plenty of experience when playing games with Apex, and knew just how to slink along the forest floor to give himself as much cover as possible.

    He peered through the bushes surrounding the clearing to see that she was gone. With a whine of worry, he lifted his nose to the sky and scented the area. He filtered out the scents of grass and herbs until he was left with a smell he didn’t recognize. It certainly didn’t smell good, so it had to be the human. He put his nose back to the ground and began tracking the scent out of the clearing. As he feared… she was heading deeper into the forest.

    Her scent continued to get stronger and stronger, until he spotted a flash of red fabric. He quickly pressed himself against the trunk of an ogrewood, ducking down and pulling his tail against himself to make himself as small as possible. The sound of his scales scratching against the bark of the ogrewood caused the human to look over at the tree.

    Agni held his breath as the human stared for a moment, before turning back around. She trudged towards a tree not too far from her and began checking it over. Upon hearing the sound of crunching leaves and snapping twigs, Agni risked peeking out around the trunk of the ogrewood. She’s certainly not very stealthy, he muttered to himself. He had made the right decision to come back to make sure she was okay. She had clearly gotten lucky so far.

    She checked every inch of the tree, before letting out a string of curses and moving on. Agni cocked his head in confusion, what is she doing? he wondered. He waited until she was far enough away for him to move as well. Despite being much larger and heavier, he carefully made his way across the forest floor without snapping a single twig and only gently crushing the leaves beneath him.

    Atis continued to set, causing the Hydrafell to quickly grow dark as the immense canopy of trees blotted out the fading light. Agni could see just fine, his draconic eyes seeing perfectly even with very little light. The human, however, made a movement with her hand, twitching her fingers as she mumbled something. Fire suddenly erupted into the palm of her hand.

    Agni’s eyes widened as he leaned a bit closer. A Mage! He’d heard of humans like that. They used some sort of gift given to them by the Gods and harnessed their powers to cast spells influenced by their patron. So this human worships Arkosh? A pretty good choice, Agni couldn’t help but smile. It would be a shame for a human like her to be killed. But then again, he still had to wonder what she was doing out here. Surely a worshiper of Arkosh knew how dangerous the Reaches of Hydrafell were for humans.

    Once, dragons had worshiped Arkosh too as their creator, but that had been a long time ago. Alkam had outlawed any worship of Arkosh over a thousand years ago, when he’d still been young, long before Agni’s time. He only knew anything about the fire god from reading their oldest scrolls in the forgotten libraries of Dragonloft, which he’d found interesting, but not much more so than amusing curiosities. Arkosh was out there, but it meant little to Agni.

    Agni shook himself back to the present as the human almost left his sight. He went on the move again, carefully observing everything the human did. He noticed her stopping at certain trees every few minutes. She would check every inch of the tree, before moving on. She did this several times before Agni realized what kind of tree the human was looking at. An Alshams Tree.

    He blinked in confusion as he continued tailing her. He wracked his mind, trying to figure out what she needed from an Alshams Tree. Did she want the tree’s sap? If so… why travel this deep into the Hydrafell? These were the kind of questions only the human could answer. He would have to wait for the right moment to try and talk to her.

    Atis sunk below the horizon, washing the forest in pure blackness. Even Agni was blinded for several minutes until Ucion rose high enough in the sky. The moon shone with a pale light, illuminating the rings around the spatial body and the small, ruddy-red secondary moon, Stygeon, that also revolved around the planet. But the light of Ucion wasn’t enough for the human, as she continued to use her makeshift torch to see.

    At least until ember butterflies emerged from their slumber. They glowed something fierce, enough to light the way even for a human. She stopped and stared at a small pack as they slowly flew down from the tops of the trees where they slept and down to the ground where they would hunt. Smaller, buzzing insects flitted about, before suddenly changing direction towards the glowing butterflies. Despite being slow, they didn’t need to be fast when their prey flew right into their mouths.

    The human pressed on, before coming across a small clearing. The clearing was covered in rubble, chiseled stone cracked and broken scattered everywhere. Several crumbling arches floated over the clearing, moss draping from the stones. One particular structure still stood strong, four columns surrounded by strong walls and an intact roof. It was the only structure intact that was on the ground. The human quickly ducked into an open doorway and settled down.

    Agni could smell the magic from eons ago that remained within the structure. Preventing stone from weathering and collapsing. It was weak, but it would do as shelter for the human, no doubt. He watched her curl up, hugging her arms close to her chest as she dejectedly watched a glowing butterfly flutter past the doorway. It didn’t seem interested in going within the structure.

    He sat down on his haunches as he pondered his next move. He watched her a bit longer, but as he saw her closing her eyes, he knew he had to do something now. Abandoning his stealthy approach, he stepped into the clearing and into the open. The human immediately reacted to the noise.

    Fire erupted into her hands as she lit up the area and revealed his red scales. “It’s you,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “It felt like I was being watched… how long have you been following me?”

    “A few hours, I think,” Agni admitted, plopping down onto his haunches. His tail curled around himself as he tried to look as natural as possible. “You should know it isn’t safe out here.”

    “I’m well aware of that,” Audrey said, relaxing a little bit. Fire continued to crackle in her hands, but she didn’t seem ready for a fight any more. “Why were you following me?”

    “I just said that it isn’t safe out here,” Agni replied. “You’re in my da… you’re in dragon territory now, can’t you tell? If a patrol finds you, they’ll tear you apart.”

    “They haven’t found me yet,” she said, narrowing her eyes a bit, wondering what he was about to say before he changed his mind. “And it doesn’t look like you’re going to try and kick me out.”

    “Yeah, well, I’m the exception,” he let out a little huff. He carefully scooted a bit closer to her. “What are you doing out here? I can tell you worship Arkosh, so you should know dragons do not welcome humans inside our kingdom. The Successor King keeps his borders very secure.”

    “Not secure enough, obviously,” she smirked. “Look, sir Dragon, I’m here because of Arkosh. I don’t have much of a choice but to trespass.”

    “My name is Agni,” he sighed, flicking his tail. “And what do you mean?”

    “I’m Audrey,” she replied. “I’ve been sent here by Arkosh to complete a trial. I’m looking for Blaze Crystals.”

    Blaze Crystals! he realized, suddenly recognizing why she was staring at those Alshams Trees so intensely. “You’re from that little human village just outside the forest, aren’t you?” he asked. “I’ve heard some dragons coming back from patrol talking about it.”

    “Redwood, and yes, I’m from there,” Audrey nodded. “What do the patrols say about it?”

    “Oh… mostly they just make fun of it. They talk about your puny, wooden walls, tease your soldiers and their little spears, and how a single dragon could probably smash the entire village with ease,” Agni rolled his eyes. “They beg for the day they catch humans trying to cut down trees in the Hydrafell, and wish the Successor King would just let them wipe the village out.”

    “Huh,” Audrey muttered.

    “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think it’ll ever happen,” Agni tried to give her a reassuring smile. “The Successor King doesn’t want a war with humans… he’s already busy with one further south.”

    “Well at least your King sounds smart,” Audrey sighed. “Redwood is very small, but there are much larger cities deeper in the Empire, all of them stocked with powerful Mages.”

    “We have a city too, Dragonloft. In fact, you’re heading right for it,” Agni said. “If you’re looking for Blaze Crystals, then the best place to find them is around the walls of Dragonloft.”

    “Then that’s where I’m going,” she sighed. “I need them to pass my Mage’s Trial.”

    “I thought you were a Fire Mage?” the dragon asked, arching one of his eye ridges. He didn’t know a lot about humans or how their churches worked. “And you definitely don’t want to go to Dragonloft.”

    “I will be after I bring back some Blaze Crystals,” she grumbled. “I’ve had no luck finding any out here, so if they’re more common around your draconic city, then that’s where I’m going to have to go.”

    “You definitely don’t want to. Blaze Crystals are harvested to power the forges there,” Agni said quickly. “The Successor King would be really pissed if you took them. And you’ll definitely be caught and either killed or thrown in a sweltering prison.”

    “I can’t leave this forest without those crystals,” Audrey said firmly. “I’ll just have to risk it.”

    An idea suddenly sparked within the dragon’s mind. This human seemed determined to get herself killed, but there was a way not only to save her, but also save himself. “I’m actually out here looking for something too,” he said carefully. “Like you, I’m not sure how I’m ever going to get it.”

    Audrey raised an eyebrow as she seemed to come to the same conclusion as the dragon. “You want my help, don’t you?” she asked.

    “In exchange for my help with your trial,” Agni replied with a little grin.

    “Hmm… well, I guess you’d be able to just stroll up to your city and just pick as many crystals as you wanted,” Audrey muttered. It was definitely much easier than walking around the entire forest, looking for Blaze Crystals.

    “Well… I actually can’t do that,” Agni admitted, turning away in embarrassment.

    “What? Why not?”

    “Er… because I would get in trouble too if I tried to take any belonging to the Successor King.”

    “Then how do you think you could possibly help me?”

    “I may not be able to just go and pick some, but I know how to make them,” Agni explained. “And the Successor King can’t get angry about crystals he doesn’t know about.”

    “Well I guess that’s something,” Audrey scratched the back of her neck as she thought about his offer. “What are you looking for out here? I need to know before I make any deals with you.”

    “I’m hunting for a White Stag,” the dragon explained. “I can find one no problem, as they stand out even in the air, but…”

    “But?”

    “I think you can tell by now that I’m not exactly the most ‘draconic’ ideal out there,” Agni sighed. “I’ve never successfully killed anything before. I can’t keep my stomach down doing it.”

    Audrey stared at him for a moment. A butterfly flew by and landed right on Agni’s muzzle. The dragon flinched, crossing his eyes to look at the insect sitting on his nose. Audrey couldn’t help but let out a giggle. “Laugh it up,” Agni sighed, gently guiding the butterfly onto his claw, then gingerly setting it onto the ground. “Everyone else does.”

    “Sorry,” Audrey replied, a hand over her mouth to cover her grin. “I didn’t mean to offend.”

    “I’ve heard everything you were thinking a thousand times over, so I don’t offend easily,” he sighed. “But I think you’re getting the picture, right? I need help to actually kill a deer so I can leave my troubles behind me. You need help so you can leave this place and pass your trial. Let’s make a deal.”

    Audrey carefully considered what Agni was saying, but knew she had little choice. If he was to be believed, then her time in the Hydrafell was limited. Now she was on a time crunch in addition to having to pass her trial. The flames vanished from her right hand as she pushed herself to her feet. She could no longer see, but she reached out with her hand regardless. “Then let’s make one,” she said, confidence brimming with every word.

    Agni had never seen such a gesture before, but quickly figured out what he was supposed to do. He reached out and clasped her hand with his much larger paw. The moment they touched, Audrey’s tattoo flared. Blue fire erupted from her left arm and quickly spread across her back and spiraled down her right arm.

    It moved so fast that Agni didn’t have a chance to pull back before the flames traveled onto his own arm. It raced up to his shoulder and seared a mark onto his scales, an identical mark to the one on Audrey’s own arm. The dragon let out a yelp of surprise and tried to back away, but Audrey clenched her hand and prevented him from retreating.

    “Hey! What’s happening?!” Agni exclaimed as the blue flames finally erupted out from the two of them, burning symbols in the grass. Then finally dissipating.

    “I sealed the pact with magic… I think,” Audrey explained, though she too looked a bit confused. She knew making deals with Mages would be cemented with magic, but she hadn’t expected it to be so visible.

    “Oh great!” Agni exclaimed. He tapped one of his feet nervously, fluttering his wings to try and get comfortable, but to no avail. The tattoo stood out against his red scales, anyone paying attention would spot it immediately! He had thought this would be a simple deal, a verbal contract. Now there was a magic tattoo on his shoulder! “I can’t believe I let myself be bound to a human. If my dad finds out… he’s going to kill me. This tattoo better go away after we’re done.”

    “I’m sure it will,” Audrey shrugged, making it fairly obvious she didn’t actually know. She crawled into the ruins once again and leaned against one of the columns. She made sure there was plenty of room for Agni.

    The red dragon slithered into the ruins, curling up against the wall opposite to Audrey. They locked eyes for a moment, but he quickly looked away, up at the elven runes littering the wall he was leaning on. Sleep wouldn’t come easy for him, not with the knot of worry coiling itself in his gut.

    Audrey, however, only stared at him for a few moments. She could barely make out his bulk in the darkness. Excitement bubbled from within her, she had made a deal with a dragon! She knew how rare and honored it was to make a pact with such a majestic creature. While Agni wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of his species, he was still a dragon. Surely he would be able to aid in her trial. However, a small mote of anxiety at the back of her mind began to form as she drifted off to sleep. Was it cheating to ask for Agni’s help?

---

    Audrey woke up at first light. Despite no rooster crow to rouse her, her body naturally awoke at that time. The redhead rubbed her eyes and pushed herself to her feet. She stretched momentarily before leaving the ruins. Only to immediately shiver as the cold morning air hit her. She immediately stepped back into the ruins and glanced at Agni.

    The dragon was still asleep. She could feel heat emanating off him, warming the small ruined room. That explained why she had such a comfortable night’s rest. She sucked in a deep breath, before stepping back into the cold. Now that she was prepared for it, it didn’t hit her nearly as hard.

    She unhooked her spell scroll from her side and unfurled it. She needed time to practice so she’d let the dragon sleep in. She didn’t know much about White Stags, but she had a feeling they wouldn’t be taken down easily. Most large herbivores needed more than a single firebolt to bring down anyways. This new spell would be a great help, as Audrey had figured out what it was supposed to do.

    It was supposed to be a condensed ball of fire and ash that traveled at incredible speeds, piercing into a target before detonating internally. It would be, above and beyond, her most powerful spell. At least, for now. But she had to actually master it first. Something that was still proving quite difficult.

    And so she practiced, and practiced, and practiced. She worked on her pronunciation and hand movements, trying to do it all together. Even speaking slowly and moving carefully, she could summon little more than a ball of smoldering ash. Atis was nowhere to be seen this morning, as it was quite overcast. But it would have risen high into the sky by the time Agni finally woke up. He let out a loud yawn and carefully got up, blinking a few times when he didn’t immediately spot Audrey.

    He glanced around, unable to help but feel a bit worried. But, as he poked his head out of the ruins, he noticed Audrey not too far off. The redhead was muttering to herself and was clearly practicing some sort of spell. He didn’t know much about magic, but he could tell she wasn’t doing it right. The little balls of soot that she was summoning didn’t seem to be her intended outcome.

    He carefully removed himself from the ruins, folding his wings against his back and shimmying his body through the doorway. If he were any larger, he’d just get stuck. Once free, he plopped down on his haunches and watched Audrey practice as Atis reached its zenith.

            If Audrey noticed Agni, she chose not to address him. So he watched as sweat dribbled down her forehead, which she quickly wiped away. Her entire body was practically glistening, except for her hands. They were covered in ash and dirt. Her dress, which had been clean and pressed when he had first met her, was now dirty and covered in soot. She looked like she had been out here for weeks, not two days.

    “You’re not very good at this, are you?” Agni asked, unable to help himself. She had made fun of him last night and couldn’t stop himself from returning the favor.

    She came to a stop, panting hard. She turned to glare at him, growling, “I wouldn’t go there, if I were you.”

    “I just hope you can actually help me… I wouldn’t want to have made a pact with someone who couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain,” he huffed.

    Her eyes twitched in annoyance. “You haven’t seen me in action yet. This is just practice,” she grumbled. “But since you have so little confidence in me, let’s see if you can put your scales where your mouth is and see you make some Blaze Crystals.”

    The two left the ruins behind and trekked back into the forest. It didn’t take long at all before they spotted another Alshams Tree. She rubbed her hands across the smooth bark, before pulling out her hunting knife. She dug the blade deep into the trunk of the tree at neck height. The moment the blade was pulled from the tree, sap began pouring out.

    “We’re going to have to do this a few times, I’m sure. I need at least a pound,” Audrey explained as she took a few steps to the side.

    “No problem,” Agni said. He stepped closer to the tree and began sucking in a deep breath. His throat began to glow with fiery power.

    “Hold on, I don’t think it needs your full strength!” Audrey tried to call out, but Agni was already breathing flames.

    Dragonfire washed over the Alshams Tree, reducing it to a smoldering husk in mere seconds. Any sap that could have trapped the fire had been completely incinerated. Audrey couldn’t help but gulp nervously as she watched his display of power. It was tough not to think about how close she had been to being turned to ash… and no doubt the patrols that flew around the Hydrafell wouldn’t hesitate to do so.

    “Too much,” Audrey said, before looking back at Agni to see him staring at the burnt out husk. The heat had scarred the bark of the other trees, but otherwise, no forest fire was imminent.

    “I really didn’t mean to do that,” the dragon said, blinking a few times, as if he was surprised.

    “Let’s just try again,” Audrey said. She hoped that was a good reality check for the dragon. If it was that easy, then there’d be Blaze Crystals everywhere. They went deeper into the forest and eventually found another tree. Audrey repeated the process to draw sap and Agni stepped up.

    “This time, how about you try and breathe… less fire,” Audrey suggested. “Or maybe less powerful fire? Dragons can control how strong their breaths are, right?”

    “Well, kind of. We usually ramp up the power, not down,” he said. “I’ve never tried weakening my breath before.”

    “Well, uh… give it a shot,” she said. “You don’t have many other options.”

    The dragon squared his shoulders before opening his mouth again. That orange glow emanated from his throat as he concentrated on the power of his flames. However, when he actually tried to let loose his reduced-power breath, nothing more than smoke billowed from his mouth. The sap eagerly absorbed the dark cloud of ash and quickly turned the amber liquid into a black, muddy mess. Not even close to what Blaze Crystals were supposed to look like.

    A frown spread across Agni’s face as he glared at the black sap. This wasn’t supposed to be that difficult! He knew that Blaze Crystals were formed by accident all the time by dragons running drills around the fortress. How could trying to make some on purpose be any more difficult?

    Audrey tapped her chin as she observed the murky sap. “I guess this is going to take a bit of practice,” she said. “I just hope you can actually help me… I wouldn’t want to have made a pact with someone who couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain.”

    Agni felt his blood run cold as he heard the same line he had given her thrown right back at him. He clenched his teeth as he felt tears starting to come again. His claws dug into the ground, struggling to contain himself. “I can do this…” he growled. He refused to be that pathetic. “Open up another hole in the tree!”

    Audrey barely reacted to Agni’s tone, but did as he ordered. She chose a spot on the other side of the tree, away from the contaminated sap. Once the sap began pouring, she had to almost leap backwards to get out of the way. Agni opened his mouth and lit the tree on fire once more. He tried to control his flames, but it was too late. The dragonfire consumed the tree in seconds, leaving another burnt husk.

    “Um… let’s find another one! I think I’m getting closer,” Agni said, trying to look hopeful. “It’s less burnt than last time.”

    Audrey rolled her eyes, but didn’t respond. The two of them took off once more, leaving that tree behind, and quickly finding another. Yet again, Audrey repeated the process to draw sap from the tree. Only for Agni to burn the whole thing down. So they moved on to the next tree and tried again. And again, the dragon burned the tree down in seconds.

    For hours the two of them traveled throughout the forest, hunting Alshams Trees. Each time they found one, Agni would either poison the sap with ash, or blast the tree into ash. No matter how much he claimed to be getting a feel for it, he was no closer to actually making Blaze Crystals. A fact that was starting to become clearer and clearer to him.

    By the tenth tree, he was crying. By the thirtieth, he was nearing a complete breakdown. On his thirty-eighth tree, he once more burned it to a crisp and finally collapsed with a sob. Tears ran freely and he loudly sniffled and whined, covering his face with his paws. Even when trying to do something as simple and stupid as make some Blaze Crystals, he was still the most pathetic dragon in the Reaches of Hydrafell. After a few minutes of crying, he finally looked up at Audrey to apologize once again. Something she was no doubt tired of hearing.

    “I’m sorry, we can…” he started to say, but paused when he saw her glaring at him. He took a step backwards, gulping loudly at the same time. She glared just like his father, a realization that made his spine tingle. He tried to open his mouth to continue speaking, but was cut off before he could even get a word out.

    “Get up,” Audrey ordered. “And stop crying. We’re not done yet.”

    Agni licked his lips slowly as he pushed himself up to his feet. “O-okay… but what I’m doing isn’t working,” he said with a frown.

    “I’ve realized,” Audrey deadpanned. “I’ve been thinking for the past few hours on a solution, and I think I’ve found one.”

    “Really?” the dragon asked as he trotted after her. He wiped tears from his face and sniffled to keep snot from running out of his nose.

    “I don’t have time to wait until you master your breath technique. Instead, I’m going to try and use magic to help you,” she said.

    “And how would that work?” he asked, narrowing his eyes skeptically. But deeper down, he felt ashamed. He was supposed to be able to do this for her and then she was supposed to help him kill a White Stag. What was the point of the deal if she basically did everything?

    “I’m going to try and take control of your fire and weaken it myself,” Audrey said, though she didn’t look particularly confident. Agni just stared at her for a moment, an awkward silence pervading this small section of the Hydrafell. “Uh… I’m not particularly good at this either,” she finally admitted.

    “Oh fantastic,” Agni rolled his eyes. “I thought you didn’t have time to wait?”

    “Yeah, well, I’ve actually done this before, just not with dragonfire,” Audrey huffed. “So hopefully it should go quite a bit faster.”

    “We’ll see about that,” Agni muttered, still embarrassed that she needed to help him with this. “I’m a dragon that can’t hunt and you’re a Mage who can’t cast spells.”

    “Shut up,” Audrey growled as she began gathering dozens of small stones at the foot of the trunk of another Alshams Tree. She cleared a small area of undergrowth, digging a few inches into the ground to create a small fire pit. She dropped a few sticks into the pit and then gestured towards Agni. “You haven’t seen me actually cast any spells yet. So hold your judgment.”

    Agin rolled his eyes again, before he leaned over the little fire pit in disdain. He opened his mouth and engulfed the entire pit in his fire. Audrey watched with an annoyed expression on her face as the dragon pulled back, leaving behind a pile of smoldering ashes with just a few embers that flickered dimly from the pit.

    “I don’t know why I thought that would work,” Audrey muttered. “Okay, let’s try this again.”

    Agni groaned as he plopped back down. His motivation had been shot, and his belief that he could actually make Blaze Crystals was gone. While Audrey began digging another fire pit, this one deeper and surrounded by more stones, the dragon covered his face with his paws once more. He sat alone with his thoughts while she toiled in silence. The thought that he could help her never occurred.

    Atis had long since reached its zenith by the time Audrey finished. She had dug quite a large pit this time, almost five feet across. She filled the pit with stones, surrounding the rim of the pit with even more rocks. “Okay, let’s try this,” Audrey said, wiping the sweat from her brow.

    Agni grumbled quietly as he removed his paws from his face. “What do you want me to do this time?” he sighed.

    “This time, I’d like you to breathe a constant stream of flame,” Audrey explained.

    Agni scoffed, but leaned over the rather deep pit and sucked in a breath. Once he took in as much air as his draconic lungs could handle, he let loose his fire. It blasted into the rock-covered pit, immediately scorching the stones. But the pit contained the flames nicely, which was exactly what Audrey was looking for. She cracked her knuckles, before getting as close to the inferno as she could handle.

    She reached out her hands and shut her eyes. “Tüzvez,” she whispered, reaching out with her Essence. It was one of the first spells taught to any Initiate and was a good way to practice handling fire without getting burned. But dragonfire was on a completely different level to a simple candle.

    The flames were slippery and it felt like trying to tame a raging bull. The fire was wild, it raged and wanted to scorch, melt, and burn everything around her. It was an incredibly Essence-laden form of fire, and imposing her own will upon it meant being able to push out Agni’s Essence and inject her own. Normal fire had no will of its own, and it was easy for her to smother a flame with little more than a flick of her wrist. But this dragonfire was fueled by Agni’s will, meaning Audrey could only succeed by proving that her willpower was stronger than a dragon’s.

    Audrey steeled herself and exhaled, pushing down all her doubts. She repeated the words for her control flame spell and forced as much of her Essence towards the blaze as she could. Her Essence wrestled with the flames, trying to wrap around and grab a hold of something tangible. It was just her and the dragonfire, the sounds of the forest and melting stone vanished into the background. Not even Agni registered in her mind.

    It happened in an instant. She felt herself latch onto a single strand of his fire, pulling it free from the inferno with a jerking motion. Agni immediately halted his breath, his eyes widening as he watched Audrey attempt to work with the fire. She pressed it into her hands, condensing it into a ball as she tried to literally smother it. Tears formed in her eyes from how hot and violent the flames were.

    “Audrey,” Agni warned, but a moment too late. The fire suddenly grew out of control, expanding in Audrey’s hands before exploding. The blast knocked Audrey onto her back, scorched the bark of the Alshams Tree, and coated Agni’s muzzle in soot. The sound of the blast echoed throughout this section of the Hydrafell, silencing all the insects and creatures of the forest. They were quiet for only a moment, before resuming their cacophony.

    Audrey sat up with a pained groan. “Damn it,” she muttered, before checking herself. Her uniform was intact, though covered in soot, and it seemed like she wasn’t hurt too bad. A little bit of blood leaked from her nose and ears, and her body ached. Her hands and face were completely covered in ash, but she had no visible bruises or injuries. She carefully got back up to her feet, looking at the Alshams Tree to see it had suffered heavy damage from the blast. It would make more sense to find a different tree.

    “I’m not so sure I like your idea anymore,” Agni groaned as he watched her stand up. He just stared at her, not even offering her a paw.

    “We don’t have a better option,” Audrey said, cracking her neck loudly. It caused the dragon to flinch and grimace. “I was close, I could feel it. Let’s keep trying.”

    Agni blinked a few times in surprise. She wanted to try again so soon after getting knocked onto her a*s by a blast of flames? Despite what she said, he could tell she was nowhere near success. She’d have to take several dozen blasts before she even had a chance at succeeding. There was no way her frail human body could handle that.

    “No, we’re not doing that again,” he said, putting his foot down quite literally. “You’ll just end up killing yourself.”

    “I don’t care what you think. I don’t care if it keeps exploding. And I don’t care how close I come to death,” she growled.

    “You’re crazy,” he muttered. He took a deep breath, before letting it out slowly. “If you’re that deadset, then we can continue. But not right now. Right now, we need to get as far away from here as possible.”

    “Why?” Audrey asked. Her fists were clenched and she was giving Agni an intense stare. Taking that sort of explosion had gotten her blood pumping. She was even more determined than before.

    “That blast echoed throughout this entire sector. A patrol is probably coming to investigate immediately,” Agni explained. “Thankfully, the smell of burnt trees is stronger than your scent. Let’s hope whoever comes won’t be able to track you.”

    Audrey shut her eyes and scrunched up her face in annoyance. But she knew he was right. “Fine. Let’s move… how far do you think we need to go?” she asked.

    “At least the next sector over,” he replied before bounding off. Audrey stumbled in her heels trying to keep up with him, but was swiftly getting used to them.

    Audrey flinched as she heard the sound of several heavy bodies in clanking armor slam into the ground only a few hundred feet behind her. She tried to pick up her pace, but couldn’t help but glance behind herself to see if she could see anything. She saw a flash of yellow scales and gleaming golden armor, before she tripped over a root and fell face-first onto the ground.

    Agni whipped around and hissed, “Get up, we have to move!” He then saw exactly what Audrey had seen, the gleam of armor catching his eye quickly. “Oh no… the royal guard. How could things get worse?”

    “We could get caught,” the redhead pushed back up to her feet and took off again. She resisted the urge to look back to see if the yellow dragon had heard her trip. Thankfully, she didn’t hear the sound of something heavy pursuing her through the forest or the sound of furiously flapping wings.

    Agni took the lead, weaving between trees and passing several more ruined structures. But he didn’t stop until they reached a large, slow-moving river. By the time they came to a stop, Audrey was even more dirty than before. She had ended up tripping several times and ran through a few bushes. A twig stuck out of her auburn hair, which she swiftly removed.

    “We should be safe here… for now,” the dragon said. He wasn’t nearly as winded as Audrey was.

    “You dragons divide the Hydrafell into sectors?” Audrey asked. She had been wanting to ask that since they had started running.

    “It makes it easier to divy up patrols,” Agni explained with a shrug. He dunked his muzzle into the river and shook it around wildly to clean the soot that clung there. “The different sectors was one of the first things I was forced to learn.”

    “That would definitely make things simpler,” Audrey deadpanned as she drove her arms into the river to do the same thing. She scrubbed them with sand, before splashing water onto her face to clean it as well. “But it does leave a slight problem when trying to make Blaze Crystals. If I cause another explosion, we’ll have to leave the sector again.”

    “Definitely… and at some point, the patrols will get wise to what we’re doing. Or at least they’ll realize something’s wrong,” Agni said.

    “F**k… that’s a problem,” she sighed. The adrenaline had left her system, allowing her to think more rationally. She began rubbing her temples, trying to concentrate. “We’ll have to come up with a different solution.”

    He only nodded, looking down at his feet as he tried to think of something. His mind raced with different ideas… and unfortunately, there was only one solution he could think of. He was definitely regretting lying to her earlier. It would make convincing her of his idea much easier.

    As he looked down, he suddenly spotted something imprinted into the sandy beach of the river. Deer tracks. His eyes widened as he shuffled to the side and followed the tracks back into the forest. Leading in the opposite direction from where they had come from. He leaned down as close as he could to the tracks, taking in their scent and analyzing their size. One set of tracks was much larger than all the others.

    “There’s no way,” he muttered, his tongue flicking out to taste the tracks. They were very fresh, less than an hour old. He had heard legends that White Stags were much larger than any other type of deer. With tracks this size… it had to be one.

    “What?” Audrey asked, looking up from her contemplative silence.

    “We seem to have stumbled upon some deer tracks. And it looks like there could be a White Stag amongst the herd,” Agni said.

    “Then let’s get moving,” Audrey replied, giving him a small smile. She wasn’t unhappy at all to leave her task behind. Besides, if they waited a bit longer before trying again, it was less likely the patrols would become suspicious.

    “Hey, I did have a thought,” Agni said as he began following the tracks. Audrey right behind him.

    “Yeah?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

    “I know I said that I couldn’t just go to Dragonloft and pick Blaze Crystals from there,” he said. “But once I get that White Stag, I might be able to convince my father to help. He has uh… a bit more sway with the Successor King than your average dragon.”

    “Oh?” she asked, still just as skeptical as before. “Do you really think your father would help?”

    “Maybe,” he sighed. A loud thunderclap drew their attention upwards. Atis was still high in the sky, but it was swiftly becoming difficult to tell. Clouds quickly began floating over the forest. “But it’s our best shot at getting Blaze Crystals.”

    “It won’t hurt to try… I hope. But I can’t worry about that now,” Audrey muttered as they kept moving through the forest. Audrey immediately recognized that the storm gathering overhead wasn’t natural. She could feel the Essence buzzing throughout the air, a very different feeling than from a natural storm. They were moving slower than before, trying to be stealthy in case they stumbled upon the herd, but not too slow where the storm would wash away the tracks.

    They stalked through the forest as the clouds finally covered Atis. While the forest wasn’t nearly as pitch black as the previous night, it was definitely darker. But Audrey didn’t dare try and light a fire in case the deer they were tracking realized what was going on. The tracks were getting fresher and fresher, and they knew they were getting close. With the low light, Audrey had to rely on Agni to guide her.

    Agni suddenly came to a stop, skidding to a halt and ducking down low. He had stopped just below the bush line of a rather large clearing. Audrey followed suit, kneeling just enough to where she could poke her head above the bushes and into the clearing. The deer herd they had been tracking was gathered in the clearing. They might have stopped for some grazing, but whatever their plans had been, they were currently on high alert.

    The herd formed a circle around the does and their fawn, protecting them as they scanned the edges of the clearing. The White Stag Agni had been looking for was on the outside of the circle, facing north. He too was on high alert, pawing at the ground with his hooves and snorting loudly. Attempting to intimidate whatever was hunting them.

    Audrey held her breath, curious if something was about to do their jobs for them. Probably a wolf pack, she thought to herself. Little did she know, Agni was thinking something very similar. Though his thoughts were turned more towards his only friend.

    I hope she’s not doing something stupid, the red dragon pondered. Apex didn’t have a pack of her own, but she was a successful hunter nonetheless. Significantly more successful than himself, at least. A single wolf trying to take on a deer herd was suicide, however. Only a dragon would be able to get away with such a thing. He really hoped she wasn’t trying to help him.

    Moments passed in tense silence. Only the White Stag made any noise, continuing his attempts of intimidation. The rest of the herd was beginning to grow restless, however. They shuffled in place, doing their best to hold the line and not bolt. Only the presence of the does and the young needing their protection kept them in place.

    It was getting darker, though, making it particularly hard for Audrey to see. But a flash of lightning illuminated the clearing just enough for Audrey to see what was hunting the herd. BOOM! A thunderclap rang out throughout the Hydrafell as a pale, blonde woman made her way into the clearing. Lighting crackled around her body as she pressed her hands together.

    The herd could tell something was wrong and began bleating and shuffling even more. The White Stag, however, held his ground, lowering his head in a ramming position. His glorious antlers would do serious damage to the blonde human, but she didn’t flinch. She spread her hands apart, lightning leaping and jumping in between her palms as she spoke in a loud, clear voice, “Semmis Vilámlánc!”

    The White Stag charged, but it was far too late. The spell was complete and the blonde threw her hands forward. A tremendous bolt of lightning blasted from her palms, striking the White Stag head-on. The stag howled in pain as electricity jolted throughout his body, stopping his heart and causing his eyes to burst. The buck dropped dead mere microseconds later as the bolt of lightning blasted out of his body and leapt to the nearest deer.

    Chain lightning, Audrey realized as she watched the single bolt continue to arc its way throughout the herd. The deer barely had time to process what was happening, and certainly didn’t have enough time to flee. The lightning was merciless, electrocuting each and every single member of the herd just as horribly as it had the White Stag. Thump, thump, thump, Audrey’s heart beat rapidly, in time with the sound of the deer dropping to the ground. Dead. All of them.

    “Who is that?” Agni hissed, looking down at Audrey. The redhead continued to stare out over the bush, though she wrapped her arms around her body in a soothing gesture.

    “Cinderella Astrapi… a Lightning Mage,” she replied breathlessly, her voice merely a haunted whisper. Why is she out here? she couldn’t help but wonder. “This is bad… really bad.”

    “Come on out!” Cinderella called out, glancing behind her. Her four goons carefully made their way out of the woods. None of them carried themselves with the same confidence Cinderella did.

    “Cindy, how much longer are we going to be out here?” Lariel whined, clutching a knife by her side. “The forest is really dirty and-”

    A slap echoed throughout the clearing as Cinderella suddenly jumped back to the edge of the clearing faster than Audrey could comprehend. In her mind, she had teleported halfway across the clearing to smack her crony across the face. “Shut the f**k up. This is for you, remember?” the Lightning Mage hissed. “You want to pass your Mage’s Trial, don’t you?”

    “Well, yeah… but if you’re going to do all the work, then I don’t know why I even came,” Lariel muttered, looking down in shame.

    So that’s how they’ve been so successful! Cheating, Audrey realized, her eyes widening as she strained her ears, trying to hear more. Another flash of lightning illuminated the clearing and Cinderella had moved again, plopping down on top of the dead White Stag.

    “Like you could ever kill a dragon alone,” the Lightning Mage rolled her eyes. “Now start piling the bodies. We should be far enough out that our little trap should lure only a single dragon instead of an entire patrol.”

    “Yes ma’am,” the four younger women nodded and went about trying to move the bodies of the deer. They were very heavy and even working together, the four of them could do little more but roll them over.

    Cinderella’s face suddenly scrunched up in disgust.. “It smells like fire b***h here,” she grumbled, looking west towards where Audrey and Agni were hiding. The redhead barely had time to duck down as the clearing was illuminated once again by a flash of lightning. Her heart was beating even faster, causing her to bite her lip.

    She had never been scared of Cinderella before… but that was because she had always encountered the Lightning Mage in Redwood. Too many witnesses and any violent encounters between the two of them were always defused. But out here in the forest? No one would be able to stop them if they clashed.

    “They’re hunting a dragon, Audrey,” Agni whispered, sensing the sudden change in temperament from Audrey. “What if they find me?!”

    “They won’t, we just have to be quiet,” Audrey said through gritted teeth. “And look for the right moment to run away.”

    “Y-yeah, that’s smart. We’ll find another White Stag,” Agni whimpered as he resisted the urge to look over the bushes to see the buck again.

    “I think that’s the least of our problems now,” Audrey bit her lip again as she too had to resist the urge to check over the bush, just in case Cinderella was watching them.

    A loud roar echoed overtop of yet another thunderclap. Audrey flinched, but Agni whipped his gaze upwards. A large shape passed overhead, flying straight down into the clearing. “Oh no,” he whimpered. “Not Edet.”

    Audrey didn’t have time to ask as a yellow dragoness, slightly larger than Agni, touched down in the clearing. She was brimming from head to tail in golden armor and a sheathed sword was on her back. Audrey recognized the armor from earlier… had this dragoness been tracking them this entire time?

    Edet’s nostrils flared as she glared down at the blondes. “What’s going on here?!” she demanded.

    But Cinderella only heard random growling. “I never thought it would work so fast,” she chuckled. “Now then… let’s get this over with.” She held up one of her hands, which crackled dangerously with electricity.

    Rage filled Edet’s eyes as she reared back. “Lightning? How dare you disgrace the Reaches of Hydrafell with your filth!” she roared. She reached back and grabbed the sword off her back with her teeth. Smoke and fire spurted from her nose as she swung her sword as hard as she could at the Lightning Mage.

    But her sword just passed through empty air. “Far too slow,” Cinderella chuckled as the yellow dragoness whipped around to see where her voice came from. She was now standing several feet away from Edet, behind her. The dragoness didn’t have a chance to respond as Cinderella pumped her body full of paralyzing lightning.

    Edet’s body spasmed and twitched as she screamed in pain. The armor she was wearing did very little to stop the lightning. She keeled over, her eyes spinning uselessly as drool ran from her mouth. Every time she attempted to move; her muscles did little more than twitch in response. She was well and truly paralyzed. And losing consciousness quickly.

    “Lariel,” Cinderella ordered, sending a glare towards the shorter blonde.

    “Y-yes ma’am!” Lariel sputtered out. She pulled the knife out of its sheath. She held it up and whispered a few words that Audrey couldn’t make out. The blade came to life with lightning, practically vibrating from how much energy was flowing through the blade at the moment. Audrey had no doubt it would be able to pierce right through the yellow dragoness’ scales as long as it could find a gap in her golden armor.

    “Oh Arkosh… Edet…” Agni muttered, covering his face with his paws. “There’s nothing we can do to help her… we have to go now!”

    Audrey ground her teeth together, knowing that running was the right answer. But she detected a hint of regret in Agni’s voice. The cowardly dragon didn’t actually want to run away… he wanted to do something to try and save Edet. But what could they do? Audrey’s mind raced as she risked a glance over the bush again. Cinderella had her back to them… now was the perfect time if they wanted to run.

    But Audrey couldn’t force herself to move as she watched Lariel approach Edet with a raised knife. Lightning flashed, thunder rang out, and a droplet of rain hit Audrey right between the eyes. She reacted the moment Lariel plunged the knife downwards, leaping to her feet in a single smooth motion. She reached out her hand and opened her mouth, her fingers twitching in just the right way.

    “Hamuég Tüzégetövar!”

    Soot and ash coalesced in her palm, forming into an ogive shape. Fire sprung around the projectile in an instant, before the dark was launched from her hand at an incredible speed. It screamed through the air, before impaling itself into Lariel’s back. She let out a cry, which was cut silent as the projectile exploded, ripping her back open.

    Lariel dropped the knife, the blade falling silent the moment it left her hands. She then crumpled across Edet’s neck. Whether she was dead or alive, Audrey couldn’t tell in the low light.

    Cinderella whipped around, lightning cackling around her even louder. “I thought I sensed you!” she snarled as the other blondes did their best to ignore their fallen comrade. Fei, Mei, and Nirin took up aggressive stances to back up Cinderella.

    Audrey gulped as more rain began falling onto the forest. But she took a deep breath and pushed through the bushes and out into the clearing. She forced her brain to skip over the excitement of casting ash torpedo for the first time and instead focus on the fight ahead of her. Four on one wasn’t good odds, but it was better than five against one. “I’m not going to let you harm another dragon, Cinderella!” she called out, striking a fighting stance to let them know it was on, trying to look as intimidating as she could.

    Though she had a feeling these dress robes didn’t help too much.