Mark of the Dragon - The Dragon Mage chapter 5

Audrey and Agni make it out of the forest alive, but not without consequences they had not forseen....

Chapter 5 - Mark of the Dragon:

    Audrey and Agni trekked back to the river where they had first spotted the herd’s tracks. It was a long, arduous jog that eventually downgraded to a walk… which then turned into a limp. The adrenaline had worn off and the two of them had started to really feel their wounds. But they kept trudging as the rain continued to thin and thin, before stopping altogether.

    Audrey was breathing hard as they made it to the river. A large tree with an expansive canopy was situated not far from the banks, and she immediately beelined towards it. Agni didn’t immediately follow. He could see an odd color spreading across his red scales, and thought that something had gotten stuck to him. He slipped into the river, only to howl in pain as the cold water exacerbated his soreness. He swam around until he felt numb, then carefully pulled himself onto the sandy bank and shook excess liquid free of his body like a dog.

    Audrey collapsed against the tree, sliding down its trunk until she was sitting. Her bones ached, her tongue stung where she had bitten it several times, and the wound in her abdomen had reopened. It didn’t help that she had walked several miles in heels after expending all of her energy on a fight. She swallowed hard and tried to light her hands on fire.

    “Tüz…” she whispered, to no effect. She was drained of all her power, she’d need a good night’s sleep to get her Essence back. Without fire, she couldn’t re-cauterize her wound. “F**k,” she hissed quietly. It hadn’t opened up completely, and was only dribbling blood, but losing too much out in the forest could still be a death sentence.

    “You’re bleeding again,” Agni muttered as he limped closer to her. The color on his scales hadn’t gone away. It was only now did he realize it was a bruise. He hoped it would eventually fade, as it was quite prominent. Nearly his entire left flank had turned a purplish color.

    “I know,” Audrey said, unable to gather the energy to be sarcastic. “I don’t have the strength to close it again… we’ll have to patch it. I don’t suppose you have any cloth out here?”

    “Of course not… but I might be able to do something better,” Agni said, before scenting the air. His nostrils flared as he drew in all the smells of the surrounding area. Locking onto a series of particular scents, he headed deeper into the forest, passed Audrey. “Don’t die… I’ll be right back.”

    Audrey just winced, stifling a groan. She tried to adjust her position, but a shooting pain lanced into her hip where the knife had scraped against bone. She couldn’t even think about following him. Despite his injuries, he quickly walked into the forest and began sweeping the ground for the herbs and mushrooms he was looking for.

    A small patch of deep blue mushrooms he recognized as Aqua Reliefs were swiftly picked. He stuffed several of the mushrooms into his mouth and began chewing. As he chewed, he located a bush with several white berries decorated with pink splotches, suitably named polka-dot berries. He sniffed them to make sure they weren’t too ripe, before stuffing several into his mouth along with the mushrooms. The mixture in his mouth quickly formed into a paste.

    To the paste he added several purplish flowers with petals that curled upwards around a yellow bud. He smashed a single Dew Bulb in his paws, before spreading the sugary, dew-like substance onto two large, flat leaves. With the sticky substance coating the leaf, Agni carefully spit out the paste in his mouth onto both of the leaves. With the leaves completely coated, he leaned back and blew a short burst of fire into the air to clean out his mouth of the paste.

    Audrey was barely able to raise her head to see Agni trudging back to her. He carefully cradled the leaves in one paw, having to walk on three legs to do so. His injured side made each step agony. “Here, this should help,” he said as he pressed the first leaf against her wound. The moment the paste made contact with her exposed skin, Audrey let out a scream.

    “AHHH!” she cried out, wriggling pathetically to try and get away. But Agni just kept pressing the leaf against her skin. Once the leaf was in place, the dragon pulled back and made sure that it was stuck. Tears dribbled from Audrey’s eyes as she spotted the other leaf in Agni’s paw. “You can’t be serious… how is this supposed to help?”

    “It seals the wound to stop the bleeding, and encourages rapid healing,” Agni said, lifting Audrey just a bit to get access to the entry wound. Which he quickly pressed the second paste-covered leaf against.

    Once again, Audrey screamed in intense pain. “Are you sure this works on humans?” she groaned once the leaf was in place.

    “I’m pretty sure,” Agni shrugged. “It’s the only thing I’ve got, so it’ll have to do. Try not to move too much, otherwise you’ll cause the paste to fall off.”

    “I’m sure I won’t be moving too much,” Audrey grumbled as she relaxed against the tree. She shut her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, before letting it out slowly. “We survived…”

    Agni flicked his tail a few times, before picking the White Stag back up. He carefully stood up on his hind legs, using the trunk of the tree to help keep his balance. He then placed the stag into the tree where nothing could steal it while he slept. He then curled up near Audrey and closed his eyes.

    The forest was alive with the sounds of insects and nocturnal animals. The river lazily lapped against its banks as it slowly flowed west, where it would empty into the ocean. Opposite to the sounds of the forest, Agni and Audrey were silent. The two of them stared off into the distance, zoning out as they watched the river and the glowing butterflies that hunted around the surface of the water.

    Now that Agni was finally safe, it really hit him. He buried his nose in the dirt and covered his ears. He could hear screaming, but it seemed to be coming from within. He had attacked a living creature with the intent to kill. He even avoided harming insects, being careful not to crush any beneath him whenever he laid down. He struggled bringing himself to harm even training dummies, how had he managed to bring his strength to bear against a human? Even if Cinderella hadn’t died, he had still tried to kill her.

    He could still hear the crack of his tail against Cinderella’s body, the feeling of his tail hitting flesh. The realization that this was what his father wanted caused his scales to crawl. The screaming in his head got louder, causing him to dig his claws harder into his head. “I’m a dragon… I’m a dragon…” he whispered to himself, trying to get a hold of himself.

    Dragons were creatures of destruction, the perfect war beasts. They hunted, they killed, they waged furious, bloody wars. The First War was waged between the ten original dragons and a faction of elvish traitors. Their fires had volcanized the western part of the continent, fertilizing the ground for the great forest that now grew there.

    Agni ground his teeth together as he shut his eyes even harder. But just as he was about to let out a sob of defeat, he felt something touch the top of his head. His eyes snapped forward and immediately focused on Audrey. The human had shuffled closer to him as carefully as she could, so carefully that he hadn’t heard her at all. He looked up at her and swallowed hard as he saw her serious expression.

    A frown was set deep into her face and her eyes were sunken, though that could be due to blood loss. He suddenly looked away and down at the ground. How could he be any more pathetic? Here he was whining about hitting a living being… Audrey had actually killed someone. He couldn’t imagine what she was going through.

    And that was partially due to how well she was hiding it. If she was troubled, Agni wasn’t insightful enough to actually detect it. Once he calmed down and could no longer hear the screaming, Audrey let go of his head and relaxed back against the tree. She once more stared back out at the river, watching the gentle waves in hopes they would lull her to sleep.

    An hour passed with no results. Ucion was high in the sky, having finally broken through the cloud cover long after the rain had halted. Stygeon was just barely visible, though. Agni was fast asleep, softly snoring and drooling into the grass. But Audrey was wide awake, still staring out at the river. She was exhausted and every muscle in her body cried out for her to go to sleep, and yet… sleep wasn’t coming.

    She knew death was going to be in her future. Mages were the protectors of the Empire. If she was lucky, she would be assigned to a church to defend against those forces that would threaten the safety of the Empire. In a worse case scenario, she would be sent to fight in the war. If she was to be a powerful Mage like her father, then death would follow in her wake. She knew she would be killing sentient creatures, potentially even humans. So why did slaying Lariel make her feel so… hollow?

    A sudden flash of movement focused her gaze from the river to the bushes across from the river. A blur of red eyes and black fur was all Audrey saw before it disappeared. Audrey grimaced as she lifted her hand and attempted to bring a flame to her palm. “Tüz,” she whispered, but to no avail. She was still drained of Essence.

    She waited several tense minutes, wondering what had been watching them and worrying that it would be back. She hoped Agni’s presence was what scared it off, not the fact that she had noticed it. But as the minutes ticked by, she couldn’t see any more movement. She licked her lips slowly as her current weakness hit her once again. She needed sleep, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to cast any time soon.

    She laid her head back against the tree and forced her eyes shut. She focused on clearing her mind, banishing Lariel and Mei’s faces from her memory. She had to be strong, she had to get some sleep. She bit her lip and concentrated on her breathing. In… out… in… out… then darkness.

    The sound of snapping and breaking branches brought Agni back to consciousness in the very early morning. His eyes fluttered open, before they focused on Audrey, up and walking around carefully in the dim light. He watched her for a moment, breaking branches over her knees and building something a few feet away from the tree. She piled the sticks against each other so they formed a point in the air. She took a step back before pointing a finger at the pile of sticks, “Tüzvar.”

    A small bolt of fire erupted from her finger and struck the pile of sticks. Flames immediately caught on the wood, quickly creating a large campfire. Once the campfire was roaring, Audrey began picking up much longer sticks that she had sharpened on one end and stripped of its bark. She drove each stick into the ground, two on either side of the fire, in such a fashion that the sticks crossed near the top. She paused every few minutes, wincing and clutching her side, but kept moving moments later.

    “What are you doing?” Agni finally couldn’t contain his confusion any longer. “And you shouldn’t be moving around…”

    “I’m being careful,” Audrey replied immediately as she slumped back against the tree to rest. He could see that his paste was still stuck to her abdomen, covering her wound. She grabbed a long branch and began whittling the wood with her hunting knife. “And I’m getting ready to start breakfast… though it’ll be more like lunch once it’s finished.”

    “You’re making something?” Agni asked, cocking his head. He could feel his stomach rumbling, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten anything at all the previous day.

    “Yeah. We have a gorgeous buck sitting in this tree. It would be a waste not to eat him,” Audrey said, pointing at the White Stag. “Besides, you only need the pelt, right?”

    “Uh…” Agni blinked a few times. “Yeah, I guess so. But how are we going to eat it without destroying the pelt?”

    Audrey gave Agni the strangest look she had ever given anyone. “What do you mean by that? I’m going to skin the stag. And then I’m going to cook it.”

    “Skin? Cook? What does that mean?” Agni asked, blinking rapidly. She was treating him like he was stupid, but he really didn’t understand!

    “Skinning is a process where I take all the guts and organs out, then remove the pelt from the body,” Audrey explained as she finished sharpening her stick on either end. She checked to make sure it was free of bark and sturdy, as it would need to hold a lot of weight. “Cooking is done to make the meat safe to eat and to make it more nutritious. I’m going to roast it over this fire.”

    “Oh! We dragons do that too, though we don’t remove the pelt first,” Agni said, a smile spreading across his face. “We just blast our food with fire to burn off the hair and then dig in. Though larger dragons usually swallow their prey whole.”

    “You can stand the burnt hair smell?” Audrey turned up her nose at the thought. “Trust me, this will be much better.”

    “Well… how long will it take?” Agni asked as he slowly pushed himself up to his feet. His body ached and his bones groaned in protest. He checked his flank to see that the purplish color had receded slightly, but wasn’t gone.

    “Well if I do it right, then it could take hours,” Audrey shrugged. She grabbed another piece of wood, this one knotted and curled, and began whittling it as well. It was just the right shape for a crank.

    “What if you cooked it wrong,” Agni asked. “Would it be faster?”

    Audrey raised an eyebrow. “It’d be faster, of course… it’d be basically what you usually do, washing it with fire,” she sighed. “But I guarantee the right way will be tastier.”

    “Tastier? What do you mean by that?”

    “What do you mean by… what do you mean?”

    “Deer tastes like deer… how could it taste any different?”

    “Oh… Arkosh… I guess dragons aren’t exactly interested in the culinary arts, huh?” Audrey chuckled. She finished whittling the crank and set it aside. “Grab the deer and I’ll start preparing it.”

    “I don’t even know what that means,” Agni admitted, furrowing his eye ridges as he tried to work out exactly what Audrey had said. Something had been lost in translation. But he spread his wings and flew up to grab the buck from the tree nevertheless.

    “You’ve been eating burnt meat your entire life surrounded by the scent of scorched fur,” Audrey smirked. “You don’t know what flavor is. I might not have any spices out here, but I’ll show you how properly cooked meat is supposed to taste. Maybe I’ll come back and cook you a properly seasoned meal.”

    “Whatever you say,” Agni shrugged. He had noticed that Audrey seemed more upbeat than last night. It took him a moment to realize exactly what she was doing. When he was feeling upset, he always distracted himself by playing games with Apex. Audrey must be doing something similar with this… cooking. “So how do we prepare the stag?”

    “Just hold it still,” Audrey ordered as she grabbed a coarse stone that she had found near the river when she first woke up. It would do as a whetstone in a pinch. She quickly shored up the edge of her knife, before starting to take the pelt off the deer.

    She started a few inches above where the hooves ended, cutting all the way around the thin part of the leg. She did that for each hoof, before carefully cutting her way down a ‘seam’ leading down the buck’s back leg, across its flank, and down its corresponding front leg. She then repeated the process on the other side of the deer. From there, she cut down and across the neck and back up to the other leg.

    With Agni’s help, Audrey turned the buck around and pulled the pelt off the front of the carcass and down its back. She cut and popped the tail free, before easily removing the rest of the pelt. Agni watched in amazement as the pelt came free, antlers still attached, and not leaving behind a single hair on the carcass. Audrey hung the pelt over a low-hanging branch.

    Audrey checked the carcass over carefully. It was typically a good idea to butcher any kills as quickly as possible in order to prevent the meat from spoiling and decaying, but the buck was still in perfect condition despite having been killed the previous day. There was certainly something magical about this entire forest.

    She carefully gutted the buck and removed the entrails. It was a messy process and Agni gagged and groaned in disgust the entire time. “I thought you said you don’t butcher your prey, you just dig in,” Audrey teased as she buried the guts so they wouldn’t attract any undue attention. “Surely you’ve seen internal organs before.”

    “I don’t eat the organs, if that’s what you’re asking,” Agni huffed, glancing away from Audrey. “I avoid the organs as best I can… and if I accidentally dig too deep, I’m not actively looking at them either.”

    Audrey rolled her eyes as she cleaned her knife and sharpened it again. She decided to just cut the head off so it wouldn’t be looking at them while it cooked. The head wasn’t too difficult to remove, but it caused Agni to gag even more. With the carcass prepared, she pushed the spit into the body and set it on the supports she had put around the fire. She then attached the wench to the spit with some vines.

    “The idea is that you keep turning it to get an even cooking,” Audrey explained as she began slowly turning the crank. The contraption was shaky at best, but ultimately held together. The supports were just strong enough to hold the weight of the buck. “Now put your paw here and start turning nice and slowly. I’m going to take a bath.”

    “Huh?” Agni asked, blinking a few times, before scrunching his face up. “I don’t really want to do that…”

    “You want breakfast don’t you?” Audrey asked with a huff. “Well, I want a bath. My wound needs to be cleaned and I’d like to scrub this s**t off my arm.” She held up her right arm to reveal that it was still covered in black soot. Her sweat and the rain from the previous night had caused it to adhere to her skin. “Now turn the crank.”

    Agni let out a grumble as he grabbed the crank and began turning it. Audrey stayed to make sure that he was turning at the right speed, before turning around and headed towards the river. He couldn’t help but notice that the buck was already starting to smell good. He never quite realized how good deer smelled, probably due to the scent of burning fur that clouded the actual scent of cooked meat. He was still skeptical to believe that Audrey was right, however.

    A loud splash suddenly drew his attention away from the pig. Audrey had just leapt into the river, submerging herself under the gentle currents. She then stood up, flipping her hair back, and letting water cascade down her bare body. Agni watched her for a few minutes as she let out a musical hum, scrubbing her skin with sand. She worked the sand into her arm, breaking up the ash and black marks, washing them away.

    Agni turned away as Audrey began to gently wash her stab wound, grimacing. It seemed to have closed up nicely, the paste having accelerated the healing process. He turned his attention back to the buck, wondering if he stared hard enough at it would cause it to cook faster. His eyes followed the turning deer as it spun around and around, lulling him into a type of hypnosis. He was so focused that he didn’t notice Audrey pulling herself out of the river, drying herself off near the fire, and redressing.

    “Ah, much better,” Audrey sighed as she pushed a rock over to the crank, ready to take over from Agni. The dragon didn’t respond, however, continuing to stare at the stag. She raised an eyebrow, but set her hand on the dragon’s paw, hoping to get his attention.

    Agni suddenly flinched at her touch, jolting him out of his trance. “Hey!” he exclaimed, nervously shuffling backwards and out of her way. “Uh… sorry about that.”

    “Sorry to spook you, but you were just staring at the deer,” Audrey said as she sat down on her rock. She began the task of slowly turning the crank.

    “I guess I’m just hungry,” Agni admitted, fluttering his wings in embarrassment. They were incredibly sore, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to do much flying today. He cleared a small spot near the fire and laid down.

    “Be patient, I promise it’ll be worth it,” Audrey said.

    “Yeah, yeah,” Agni grumbled as he stared at the fire, avoiding watching the mesmerizing spinning of the buck.

    Audrey winced as she spun the crank a few times. “Hey, do you think you could make more of that paste? It seemed to have worked, and I’d rather not have to cauterize the wound again,” she said.

    “I’m sure I could find more,” Agni shrugged as he pushed himself up to his feet with a grunt. He trotted off into the forest, leaving Audrey alone. Audrey grunted as she shifted her weight, trying to get comfortable on her rocky stool. A sudden rustling caused her attention to whip around behind her.

    Once again she saw a flash of black and red, before it was gone. “Much closer this time,” Audrey muttered as she turned around to stare out into the forest. She continued to turn the buck while not looking. She scanned the forest line carefully, worried that Agni’s absence would cause her to be attacked. But she would be ready for it.

    Meanwhile, Agni began gathering the appropriate ingredients into his mouth, chewing it all into a paste just like last night. He had to go a bit farther away from camp than before, but he wasn’t too worried about taking too long. Audrey’s wound had healed nicely and wasn’t in need of immediate attention any more. So he spent time looking for the nicest and freshest ingredients. And after he had gathered all the ingredients, he looked for Gumroot, hoping for something to snack on while he waited for the deer to cook.

    “Agni!” a hissed voice caused him to jump several feet into the air, his wings spreading to take off. As much as it hurt, his instinctive action was to flee. But as he looked for his attacker, he spotted a black wolf with bright, red eyes.

    “Apex?” the red dragon asked as he landed with a soft thud. “What are you doing here? I thought I told you not to follow me.”

    “I don’t take orders from you,” the wolf snickered. “Besides, I knew you would need some help… though it seems you already got some.”

    “I’ve got the White Stag… well, the pelt of the stag. It should be proof enough,” Agni shrugged. “I don’t need your help after all.”

    Apex snorted and rolled her eyes. “Sure you don’t. Anyways, grab that pelt and get going. Don’t waste any more time with that human,” she said. “I’m itching to continue our game.”

    “You’ll have to wait a little bit longer,” Agni said. “The human was injured helping me, so I’m making sure that she won’t die before I go. And she’s cooking me lunch, so I’ll stay for that too…”

    Apex cocked her head as her brain processed what the dragon had said. Despite being able to understand and speak Draconic, sometimes things were lost in translation. “Uh… well, don’t take too long,” she said. A frown spread across her muzzle as she noticed the purple mark on his side, as well as several burn marks across his back. “And be careful… humans, especially Mages, can be dangerous.”

    “This human is fine, though a bit strange,” Agni chuckled. “Hey, how did you know she was a Mage?”

    “I… have to go,” Apex said almost immediately. She swung around and bounded off, leaving her draconic friend behind and confused.

    Audrey glanced up to see Agni walking towards her. He held up two leaves covered in paste, which Audrey quickly took from him. He briefly took over turning the spit while she applied the paste to her body. It was much less painful than the previous night, but it still got a gasp from her.

    Silence continued to reign between the two of them as she once more began turning the crank. Only the crackling of fire and the gentle sloshing of the river behind them created any sound. Agni laid back down and stared into the fire once again. Apex acting strange wasn’t anything new, but he couldn’t help but wonder what she knew about Audrey.

    He had to know more. Not to mention he needed to find some way to distract himself from his rumbling stomach. He hadn’t found any Gumroot. “So… what’s it like being a Mage?” he asked, breaking the ice. He tried to shift into a more comfortable, relaxed position.

    “I don’t really know,” Audrey admitted, not looking up from the spinning spit. “There hasn’t been a successful Fire Mage in my village in over nineteen years.”

    “Really? Because of this test you were sent out to do?” Agni asked.

    “Exactly. Everyone gets a different trial, so no one can prepare for it, and we aren’t allowed to talk about it at all,” Audrey explained. “The last one to complete the trial was my dad.”

    “And yet you don’t know anything about being a Mage?” Agni raised an eye ridge.

    “I don’t know my dad,” Audrey gave the dragon a weak smile. “He left for the capital before I was born.”

    “Oh,” Agni said, turning away from her to hide his embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

    “Don’t worry too much about it,” Audrey rolled her eyes. “I’m leaving Redwood as soon as I become a Mage too. Though I’m not leaving a pregnant girlfriend behind.”

    “He was just allowed to leave? Did he know that your mom was pregnant?” Agni asked, looking rather surprised.

    “If the timeline Tania gave me is accurate, then he left about a week before I was born,” Audrey said, a hint of bitterness in her voice. “At least he left us a house.”

    “Huh… it’s a bit different in these woods. The Successor King would be very upset if a hatchling was left to be raised by a single parent, especially if multiple eggs were raised in a clutch,” the dragon said.

    “Our Emperor doesn’t have the time, nor the power, to micromanage a couple in a backwater village,” Audrey chuckled. She paused for a moment, before picking the conversation back up with, “So what’s your situation? I mean, I’ve never heard of a dragon being able to do anything like this.” She gestured towards the leaves stuck to her body.

    Agni let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Oh that? I have interests in botany and medicinal plants specifically,” he said. “I’ve been testing and studying all my life to learn to make things like that paste.”

    “Now it’s my turn to ask what you’re talking about,” Audrey returned the chuckle. “Whatever it is, it sure is effective.”

    “Thanks. But my father doesn’t think so,” Agni sighed. “That’s why I needed to bring back a White Stag, actually. I was kicked out of my home until I proved I could act like a dragon…”

    “So Dragons don’t care that you have a unique skill?” Audrey asked. “Being able to heal wounds like this must be useful.”

    “Not really. The dragons of Dragonloft rely on scale and steel to protect themselves. A wounded dragon is usually a dead dragon,” Agni rolled his eyes. “The Successor King doesn’t see my skills as necessary. I’m supposed to be an elite soldier, like Edet.”

    Audrey thought for a moment, wondering if Agni actually wanted her to be helpful, or if he was just venting. “Maybe this is a good chance for you to strike off on your own, then,” she suggested. “Perhaps your dad is just giving you an opportunity to leave without issue.”

    “You don’t understand,” Agni sighed. “Dragons don’t live outside of Dragonloft, at least not in this forest. Besides, I would be leaving behind all of my notes and experiments.”

    “Then maybe you should just leave the forest in its entirety,” Audrey said. “Get your notes and set up shop in some human city. Your talents would be respected there.”

    Agni frowned and a dejected look spread across his muzzle. “I can’t do that,” he muttered. He knew she had a point, but he couldn’t leave Dragonloft. “Let’s change the subject, I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

    Audrey gave him a sympathetic stare, before looking back towards the buck. “We can chat about whatever you want. The buck won’t be ready for another few hours,” she said.

    Agni cleared his throat awkwardly as he sought a topic he could talk about. “You said that you were planning on leaving your village after you passed your trial,” he said. “Where do you plan on going?”

    “You know… I’m not really sure,” Audrey admitted. “Redwood is the farthest southern Empire settlement. By a large margin. Moving anywhere means trekking through miles of wilderness. That’s why one option I had thought about was staying in Redwood until the next Caravan arrived.”

    “Caravan?”

    “Every year, each Church sends a Caravan all throughout the Empire, looking for talented Mages at the smaller churches to take back to the Capital for extra training and promotions.”

    “That sounds promising. Do you know when the next Caravan will be coming through your village?”

    “One came through just a few months ago, only to find there wasn’t anyone eligible to be taken back. There won’t be another coming for quite some time,” Audrey paused for just a moment. “But honestly, I’m not sure if I want to go to the Capital.”

    “But I thought you said you wanted to leave your village?” Agni asked, cocking his head in confusion.

    “I do, I definitely do… but maybe just a few towns over. Somewhere I’ll be able to train in peace,” Audrey shrugged. She definitely didn’t want to stay and train in Redwood.

    Agni looked even more confused. “Well then I don’t understand,” he said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with the Capital, but if you don’t want to go there and you don’t want to stay in Redwood, then you should leave immediately.”

    “I guess I’m in a similar situation as you, huh? Stuck between two impossible choices,” Audrey rolled her eyes. “I’d like to change the subject.”

    “Oh,” Agni frowned a bit. He hadn’t expected her to pull the same trick he did. “Well, then maybe we can just talk about the cities in your Empire.”

    “Sure, we’ve got time,” Audrey shrugged. “I think the closest town to Redwood is called Radhin…”

    Agni’s tail flicked back and forth as he listened to Audrey talk about the Empire. He asked questions about the great cities and towering churches within the Empire. Audrey admitted around every corner that she didn’t know that much, only what she had read in books. She had never been outside of Redwood before. Regardless, she did her best to convey the pictures she had seen.

    She spoke about Essence Crux, the capital of the Empire, its limestone streets and buildings made of marble. She recounted the magnificent churches at the capital, which put the churches in Redwood to shame. The Fire Church was made of beautiful obsidian and decorated with gold. The Lightning Church was made of solid steel, while the Wind Church was an enormous spire over twice the size of every other building in the capital. The Rock Church was made of a single, solid piece of emerald, decorated the the largest diamonds found anywhere in the Empire. And the Water Church was made of beautiful, polished stone, littered with shells and fossils, the building curling and spiraling in on itself.

    They talked and talked for hours, changing subjects as often as the winds change directions. Agni was secretive and not very talkative about what went on within Dragonloft, but Audrey was an open book. She had never had any friends to talk to, and spilled anything and everything that came into her head. The only time she shut up was when he tried to prod at her distaste for going towards the Capital.

    Eventually, they had begun to debate whether or not the Fire Pope would be able to beat the Successor King in a fight. Audrey had only read about Fire Popes that lived thousands of years ago, but had no idea how accurate the accounts had been and only knew of the Popes’ feats, not their actual magical power. Agni, meanwhile, had only seen the Successor King in action once, against a creature running away and cowering. Neither of them had enough data to create nuanced arguments.

    “Well it doesn’t matter in the end,” Audrey huffed. She crossed her arms, causing the buck to spin a few more times, before coming to a rest. It had turned a lovely golden color and had begun to smell incredible. “A Fire Mage would never fight a dragon.”

    “I suppose so,” Agni shrugged. He was quite pleased with himself, having held off Audrey’s arguments for hours. His nose flared as he took in the scent of the deer, unable to stop himself from drooling. “Is it finally ready?”

    The redhead poked at the buck in a few places, feeling how the meat reacted to her prodding. After testing a few places, she carefully removed it from the spit. “It’s ready!” she exclaimed.

    “Finally,” Agni said as he leaned over and grabbed the buck from Audrey.

    “Hey, don’t eat all of it!” Audrey yelled as she watched the dragon sink his teeth into the perfectly cooked flesh of the deer. She had to react fast, managing to reach up and grab onto one of the buck’s hind legs. She pulled hard against the dragon’s grip and managed to pull the leg off by the thigh.

    Agni mumbled something from around the body of the buck as he carefully chewed it up. The crunching of bone caused Audrey to flinch, before digging into her own brunch. She could tell it lacked seasoning, and could definitely do with a sauce of some sort, but it was perfectly cooked. And crisped up just right.

    “Ooh… mmm… I had no idea food could taste this good,” the red dragon groaned as he swallowed down the last of the deer, bones and all.

    “You’re welcome,” Audrey said, her eyes wide as she watched the voracious dragon polish off the buck in under a minute.

    “Are you going to finish that?” Agni asked a moment later, pointing at the leg Audrey had only taken a single bite out of.

    “Uh… yes,” Audrey said, turning around so that the deer leg was no longer in view of the hungry dragon. “I need food as well, you know.”

    “Well… maybe I could go and find another deer! Or maybe some boars. We could get them all going at once and, though it’d take a few more hours, there’d be enough for the both of us,” Agni suggested, a wide smile spreading across his muzzle. His eyes were practically shining in excitement.

    “You’d go and hunt?” Audrey asked, raising an eyebrow. She hadn’t thought the buck had been that good. It could be improved with seasoning.

    Agni seemed taken aback by Audrey’s question, before covering his mouth as if he was surprised that he had suggested such a thing. “Um… well… uh…” he stuttered.

    Audrey couldn’t help but let out a short laugh, before shaking her head. “It’d take hours to cook another buck, or boar, and I’d have to clean and gut each one,” she said. “But if you’re dying for some pig, then perhaps you could come back with me to Redwood. There might be some for sale there.”

    Agni shuffled in place, staring off into the distance for just a moment. “Are you sure I’d be welcome in your village?” he asked. His tail flicked back and forth.

    Audrey scratched the back of her head as she thought about that question. “They’re not… not welcome. There just hasn’t ever been a dragon in our little village before,” she said. “But as long as you stay with me, then you should be fine.”

    “Then I’ll be the first dragon to step foot in your village!” Agni declared. Bringing the pelt to his father could wait a little bit longer.

    Audrey couldn’t help but smile a bit. “Then let’s get moving,” she chuckled as she bit off the last piece of edible meat from the leg. She grabbed the White Stag hide and quickly cleaned the excess meat off the back. “If you’re willing to be patient, I could have this tanned overnight.”

    “Tanned? What does that mean?” Agni blinked a few times. He lowered his head when Audrey gestured and let her tie the hide around the back of his neck. “And that would mean I’d have to stay in your village for the rest of the day…”

    “Tanning is a process that cures the pelt and prevents it from decaying. You could mount it on your wall or attach it to your armor in some way,” Audrey explained. “And yes, you’d have to stay the night. You could stay with me, or you could ask the Fire Church if they’d house you.”

    “I’ll think about it,” Agni muttered. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay out of the Hydrafell for that long. “You still need my help navigating, right?” he asked, to which Audrey nodded.

    Agni easily helped Audrey navigate through the forest, though Agni could tell they were being watched the entire time. At occasional intervals, and despite his injuries, he would leap into the sky to get his bearings. Then he would land to continue guiding the redhead. Audrey came to realize, with each moan of pain Agni made after landing, that she shouldn’t bother asking him to carry her back. He wouldn’t be able to stay in the sky with her weight. But her injuries were slowing them down.

    With Agni’s guidance, they duo carefully made progress through the Reaches of Hydrafell. It took several hours, with dusk rapidly approaching by the time they reached the edge of the woods. Agni glanced behind himself to see a pair of red eyes watching him as he left the tree line behind. Redwood was still in the distance, and the two were desperate to reach the village before dark. They picked up their pace, but weren’t able to maintain it for long with their wounds.

    Just as Atis sank beneath the horizon of the planet Iphus, the duo reached the gates of Redwood. Audrey was shaking from the pain at this point, and called out to the guards just before the gates closed. The guards paused, but the moment Agni came into view, they panicked. The gates slammed shut, leaving Audrey and Agni out in the dark.

    “Oh… well, I guess my presence isn’t welcome,” Agni mumbled, before looking down at Audrey.

    The redhead’s eye twitched, before she called out, “If you don’t open these damn gates, I’ll blast them apart!”

    “Dusk has fallen, Initiate, the gates are closed!” one of the guards called out, a hint of fear in his voice.

    “Initiate?” Audrey hissed. “I hate this place, I hate this place, I hate this place…”

    “Oh, well… maybe we can come back in the morning,” Agni suggested.

    “You want food, don’t you? I’m not going to let some low-life guards stand in my way,” Audrey growled. “I’m going to make good on my promises.” She raised her hand and began performing the somatics for her ash torpedo spell…

    Only for Agni to put a paw on her arm and forcibly lower it. “Hey, uh, maybe violence can be avoided today!” he exclaimed quickly. “I really don’t want to be involved in another fight.”

    “It won’t be much of a fight, trust me,” Audrey grumbled. “But fine… there’s another way in.”

    “Great! Let’s do that,” Agni beamed. He followed right behind Audrey as they circled the village until they came to a section with slightly more weathered wood. Handholds seemed almost worn into the wall from repeated climbings.

    Audrey required a boost from Agni to help herself over the wall. She carefully and gingerly slid down the other side while Agni leapt straight over. He didn’t even need to flap his wings, before landing hard next to the redhead. Audrey held a finger up to her lips as she relaxed against the wall, gathering her strength. She double checked to make sure the leaves were still in place, which they were.

    After her breathing returned to normal and the pain faded, she led Agni through the backyard they were in and past a small, quaint house. They exited onto one of the many dirt streets of Redwood. The village was usually very quiet after dusk, but Audrey could see light coming from the marketplace, along with cheering and laughing. There was some sort of celebration going on, and no doubt there would be plenty of food for sale.

    Audrey thought for a moment, before turning towards Agni with a sigh. “Okay, I guess you’re not particularly welcome here. At least by the guards. Stay here,” she said, gesturing towards Agni to stay between the buildings where he’d be difficult to spot. Even with bright red scales.

    “No problem,” Agni said, shuffling back into the shadows. He was happy to get some rest as well.

    Audrey slunk through the streets, heading towards the marketplace as carefully as she could. The patrols didn’t usually start until later in the night, but if there was a party being thrown at the marketplace, then it would be crawling with guards. She just hoped none of the guards at the gates would be there.

    Audrey strolled into the marketplace, passing booths selling fabrics and large loaves of bread. The marketplace was packed with people chatting and enjoying each other's company. Despite the number of guards stationed on the edges of the marketplace, Audrey easily blended into the crowd. If anyone recognized her, they had no interest in talking to her, and she had no interest in stopping.

    She finally found a booth with several large pigs roasting over a roaring fire. It was the largest stand in the market, with four huge fire pits roasting not only whole pigs, but also multiple individual cuts of pork. While Audrey wasn’t sure if any of the cuts were from the pigs she had butchered a few days ago, nor was she able to recognize any of the whole pigs, but she did see Charles tending to the fire.

    One pit was flaring up as the juices of the cooking pork dripped into the fire. Charles was leaning over the pit with his hands hovering as close to the pit as he could handle. It looked almost like he was massaging the air, coaxing the fire back down to a manageable level. He stayed next to the pit for a moment, watching to make sure it wasn’t going to flare up again.

    “Charles!” Audrey called out while his back was turned. The sound of her voice caused him to flinch, almost sending him tumbling into the blazing pit.

    He whirled around, an annoyed snarl on his face. “Audrey!” he all but roared. “Don’t startle me like that!”

    Audrey couldn’t help but smirk. “You make it far too easy, though,” she chuckled. “You need to be more aware of your surroundings.”

    Charles’ glare hardened as he instinctively pressed a hand onto his chest as if he was trying to hide something. “I thought you were out on your trial,” he grumbled. “Did you give up… or did you fail?”

    “What do you think?” Audrey teased, putting her hands on her hips. She couldn’t help but smirk even more. “I passed.”

    “You passed, huh?” Charles asked skeptically. There was no reason to lie, but he knew Audrey wanted it so badly she was willing to lie for no reason. “Then you should head to the church and finish the trial.”

    Audrey snorted derisively. “I’m on my way there… I just thought I’d stop and get something to eat first,” she said. “And how could I ignore a party?”

    “The party isn’t for you,” Charles deadpanned. “And very well. What do you want?”

    “I’d like one of your pigs,” Audrey said.

    Charles’ eyebrow cocked as he crossed his arms. “An entire pig? Well… all right, that’ll be 25 scales,” he said.

    “Ah… I’ll have to pay you back tomorrow,” Audrey admitted sheepishly. “I don’t have any scales with me at the moment.” And she didn’t want to go home and get some.

    “My dad isn’t going to be happy if I just give a whole pig away,” Charles grumbled. “Why do you need a whole pig anyways?”

    “I’m good for it, I promise. And actually, I’ll need some help carrying it,” Audrey said. “If you give me a hand, I’ll show you why I need a whole pig.”

    Charles’ eyes narrowed, but curiosity got the better of him. Audrey wasn’t usually the secretive sort. “Fine, but I think my father would be more interested in having you work it off tomorrow,” he said.

    “I’ll think about it… I still haven’t decided whether I’m leaving immediately or not,” Audrey admitted. “Now come on.”

    Charles rolled his eyes, but helped Audrey take one of the pigs off the spit and put it on a platter. With her help, they began carrying it away from the marketplace. He let her take the lead, weaving through alleyways until they passed between a particular pair of buildings. Audrey came to a stop and quietly called out, “Agni!”

    The red dragon poked his head out of the shadows, his eyes lighting up as he spotted the glistening pig. “Is that for me?” he asked, struggling to get back to his feet. His side ached, but hunger kept him moving.

    “Audrey… is that a dragon?” Charles asked, almost matter-of-factly. He stared as Agni snatched the pig off the platter and began devouring it.

    “Charles, meet Agni. I met him in the Hydrafell,” Audrey explained. “He needed help and our goals just so happened to align.”

    “He helped you with your trial?” Charles asked, whirling around to face Audrey.

    “What? We’re not allowed help from humans, not from dragons,” Audrey shrugged. “Besides, I would think the Fire Church would encourage getting help from a dragon.”

    “Audrey?”

    “What?”

    “Please shut up,” Charles muttered. He glanced back at Agni to see him just finishing swallowing the pig whole.

    “Hey-” Audrey started, but was cut off again.

    “You need to go to the church immediately,” Charles said. “And bring the dragon.”

    Audrey frowned as Charles turned to walk away. “Hey, they’re not going to kick me out because I got assistance from a dragon, do you?” she asked.

    “I don’t know, you should go and see,” Charles grunted as he continued back to the market. He had left his booth long enough.

    “I feel like I could sleep for a thousand years after a meal like that,” Agni groaned happily. His forked tongue slipped between his lips to lick up the last of the remaining flavor of the pig. “I had no idea things could taste that good…”

    “Told you,” Audrey said, managing a small smirk. “Come on, follow me. I have to go to church.”

    “Did I get you in trouble?” Agni asked as he trotted after her. They stuck to the shadows and back allies, avoiding a patrol passing through one of the larger streets in the village. “You told me to help you…”

    “I’m not blaming you,” Audrey said. “But I’m going to fight this. Arkosh himself will have to descend from the Astral Sea to kick me out of this church.”

    The Fire Church stood quietly behind its gate, contrasting to the celebration happening in the marketplace. The bronze bowl that acted as the security system for the church was missing from its perch. Only the faintest light could be seen through the windows of the church, the only indication that there was someone inside.

    Audrey popped the lock off the gate and led Agni inside. Without the defense system, they were able to walk across the grounds of the church with impunity. But they headed straight towards the large, double doored entrance. Audrey threw the doors open to see pews filled with veil-wearing assistants. They didn’t react to her entrance at all.

    All the way at the back of the chapel was the raised platform and podium. On top of the podium was the enormous bronze bowl that usually sat on top of the church, the flames not even peeking over the edges of the bowl. Deacon Harold stood behind the podium while the three other Mages of the church stood next to the altar behind Harold.

    “Audrey Caminus!” the Deacon shouted. He was in full vestments, a white and red robe with a sash.

    Audrey immediately straightened her back and sucked in her breath. Her mind raced as she tried to remember what she was supposed to say. “Deacon Harold! I have come to complete my trial!” she called out. Her voice echoed throughout the church chambers.

    It was silent for a moment, with Audrey trying her best to look confident while Agni just stood behind her, completely confused. Deacon Harold returned her stare, before gesturing with his fingers. The double doors suddenly slammed shut, preventing either Audrey or Agni from leaving. “Approach and present your tribute,” the Deacon ordered, his mouth set in a hard line.

    Audrey let out her breath slowly, before taking a step forward. Thump. Step. Thump. Step. Thump. Step. She had thought at first that it was her heart that was beating loud enough for her to hear, but it wasn’t. Thump. Step. Thump. Step. With every stride, the assistants in the pews slammed their feet against the ground, creating a rhythm for Audrey to walk to.

    Agni sheepishly followed behind Audrey, flinching with every stomp of the assistants’ feet. Audrey made her way up onto the platform and towards the podium. She unbuckled her pouch and reached across the bowl to hand it to the Deacon. Harold accepted the offering and slowly unzipped it. Audrey stood at attention as the contents of the pouch were examined. If the Deacon noticed the dragon behind her, he chose not to comment.

    “Present your trial scroll to the fire,” Harold commanded. The rhythmic stomping continued, slowly picking up pace.

    Audrey unclasped the scroll from her side and threw it into the fire. The blaze suddenly turned blue and she could feel the tattoo on her shoulder starting to tingle. The beat of shoes on stone continued to pick up pace as the Deacon pulled out the first Blaze Crystal. He dropped it into the bowl, causing the flames to suddenly flare up.

    With each crystal, the fire climbed higher and higher. It went from barely coating the bottom of the bowl to becoming a roaring bonfire as the ninth crystal dropped into the brazier. Harsh, blue light filled the church, creating a glow that could be seen all throughout the village. Even those gathered in the marketplace could see the light show. It had been nineteen years since they had seen anything like it.

    One by one, the Blaze Crystals were tossed into the brazier until ten had been counted out. Audrey had collected a few extra, but they were unnecessary. The Deacon suddenly took a step back as the fire flared up even brighter. The blue light became blinding, forcing everyone, even Audrey, to shield their eyes and look away. Only Agni was able to stare into the flames.

    The stomping suddenly stopped, leaving only the flickering of flames filling the church. Audrey may have been blinded, but she could hear the fire just fine. They sounded almost like whispers to her. Congratulating her, promising her glory and power. She thought for sure they were some trick of her mind, but one particular phrase sounded crystal clear. Your destiny awaits.

    The glow subsided several minutes later. Audrey’s eyes opened first, seeing that the fire in the bowl had returned to a red color. It was burning strongly, but not nearly as high as it had moments earlier. The tingling feeling in her arm faded, causing her to twist her body so she could get a look at her Mage’s tattoo.

    It appeared to be a small dragon, seen from below, with its wings spread nice and wide.

    “Audrey,” Deacon Harold’s voice was calm, yet serious. She tore her gaze from her arm and looked up to see that the Deacon was no longer standing behind the podium. Realizing his voice had come from behind her, she whirled around to see the Deacon holding onto Agni’s arm.

    The red dragon looked very uncomfortable, but he didn’t shove Harold away. The Deacon stared at Agni’s shoulder, causing Audrey to take a step closer to get a look. A tattoo identical to her own was present on the dragon’s arm, replacing the bond mark that he had gotten after making a pact with her. Audrey’s eyes widened as Harold turned slowly to face her.

    “What did you do in the Reaches of Hydrafell?”

Reviews

[TamsinDaya]

This is an amazing story, so thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing it with us.

I adore Agni, he's such a gentle soul, which contrasts nicely with the fact that he's a dragon and all the connotations we have of dragons. I also love Audrey. She's tough and fierce, but there's loyalty and kindness in her as well. I really want to know more about her backstory, her father, why she wants to leave the village. . . .

I also want to see the friendship between the two develop.

I see now that this is chapter 5, so I'll be reading more chapters very soon!

[TheDragonMage]

Hey! I know this is kinda super late, but I really appreciate the review! It's nice to read your kind words.

If you'd still like to read more, you can find the story on Wattpad or Deviantart (if you'd like to see art of these characters) I can drop you a link if you like :D