Nagan raised his hand in time to cast a barrier above them, blocking the rubble raining down upon them. Aitor lowered Milora to the ground with shaky hands as gently as he could. Directly above them, they could hear the cries of Dockard as he desperately tried to reach his mistress.
"W-What h-h-happened?! Is she — she —" Aitor took a deep breath. "Is she ok?"
Nagan took a second to process what Aitor said, focusing his efforts on reinforcing the barrier as a larger branch fell. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Az and another medic, Khon, descending towards them on Kint who carefully crawled down the trunk of a larger tree, not daring to fly. "Go get Fai, then Nurse Marvi."
A quick nod and Gossamer flashed out of sight, the humming of her wings fading away. He heard a thud from his right and running footsteps approaching. Khon tapped his shoulder, signaling him to hand control of the barrier. Red rapidly waned to blue.
"What do you need me to do?" Nagan asked Az who was now kneeling next to Milora, his fingers hovering just above her brow with a green glow.
"Transfer," was all Az said.
Without another word, Nagan muttered the delicate incantation — he didn't trust himself to be focused enough to do it non-verbally — and placed his hand firmly between Az's shoulder blades as a red glare pulsed intermittently. Az flinched at it but didn't comment on the harshness. They both knew Nagan's magic was much more erratic and intense, even for a drakon, but Nagan tried to steady the flow regardless. It was proving to be more challenging as roars, shouts, and cracks continued to sound from above them.
"What's the situation up top?" Nagan asked, not able to tune out the noise. A particularly sharp throb of magic pushed through Az's circuits at Nagan's momentary lapse of concentration, and he hissed back at him to focus. Nagan quickly complied, the stream steadying once again.
"The last I saw was Carthadeus, Gath, and Iridella trying to calm or restrain Dockard," Khon replied. "I think other dragon experts were heading over to help, too, and I'm sure there are other medics heading down here."
"Good," Az said, moving his other hand to Milora's sternum. Another restless jump in energy, and Az sighed. "I'm monitoring her heart and keeping the swelling down in her head. Concussion, bruising, and a possible broken right leg, judging by the amount of blood clotting I'm detecting. It's best not to move her until Nurse Marvi gets here."
"But she'll be ok?"
"Nothing I haven't trained for," Az replied confidently. "But keep quiet and focus."
Nagan shut his mouth with a click. Luckily for Az, other medics soon began to arrive through the trees, having landed in a clearing farther away. Nagan willingly stepped away as one of them came forward to take over the transfer. Elvas were much better suited for these sort of delicate tasks than a drakon. Even dwarns were more preferred. No longer needed, he jogged up to Ravi and quickly mounted her.
"Let's go help the others." Without another word, Ravi took off into the trees, switching between flight and climbing, knocking branches out of her way as she went.
It was pure chaos up above.
Dockard repeatedly dived into the bowl-shaped barrier below him, conjured by the dwarns and any other specialty proving to be useful in the task of keeping the desperate wyvern at bay. He could even see the weavings of vines and branches just above the trees as extra reinforcement, no doubt the work of the nature affinities. The barrier flickered and rippled dangerously after every collision.
Seeing his efforts futile, Dockard gave a terrible roar as he launched himself into the air, attempting to fly around it. He let out another roar as a dragon above blocked his path, and he whipped his head into its side, nearly knocking off the rider. The dragon retaliated as an instinct to protect its own rider, swiping a claw across the wyvern's chest, but the rider pulled back in time to cause no serious damage to the grieving wyvern. They did not want to harm Dockard, as he was only giving in to his impulse to protect his injured mistress.
"Circle around him!" Nagan heard Carthadeus shout above the chaos. "Don't let him escape!"
Nagan joined the crowd without a second thought, nodding in Carthadeus' direction to alert him that he was there. For a moment it looked as if Carthadeus wanted to ask him something, most likely about Milora's condition, but he only nodded in return and focused on the situation at hand.
As a collective unit, they all whirled around the near-feral wyvern, ducking out of the way of sharp claws and horns while keeping him isolated, although slowly herding him further from the area. The barrier remained below.
No one knew how long they had kept the formation, magic running low and dragons becoming fatigued, by the time Nagan caught sight of a large shadow above them. Professor Fai's lung dragon hovered above, white mane and sleek black scaled wavering in the wind. Not far behind approached two dragons; emerald green and burnt sienna, Ximor and Qentor. Nagan didn't have time to sigh in relief as a red blur flashed past him.
"Nagan!" was all Carthadeus said as he ascended up further into the sky, fully expecting the other to follow. He was not disappointed when he saw Ravi's deep purple wings trailing behind him.
They soon flew before Professor Fai and were joined by the other two Dragonmages, ignoring the slight confusion below to their sudden absence. Gath and Iridella were quick to regain order, encouraging them to keep blocking Dockard's path.
"What do we do?" Carthadeus asked, his desperation bleeding through his tone. In any other situation, Nagan would've stored that small break of character as blackmail, but he was sure he would've sounded the same if he were the one asking the question.
"Qentor had a tranquilizer on hand," Professor Fai said quickly. "What happened?"
Carthadeus shook his head. "No time. Nagan, do you have enough energy to freeze Dockard?"
"Ten seconds at best, two seconds if being realistic."
"Luckily we only need one, assuming the lieutenant's aim is good." He looked at Qentor who gave him a nod of confirmation. "Good. Get as close as you dare, freeze him, tranquilize him, and the professors can levitate him and hope that those able to are sharp enough to do the same. Does this sound alright?"
"Good enough for me," Professor Ximor said, immediately diving down to get into position. The rest soon followed.
"Keep formation!" Carthadeus called out to the rest, staying near Fai and Ximor while Nagan and Qentor inched closer.
Sensing what they were trying to do, Dockard rounded on Ravi and Nagan, twisting in the air to swipe down at Ravi's wing. She dodged to the side quickly, screeching and snapping at Dockard's chest. It was a few seconds before Nagan regained control, stabilizing Ravi enough to keep Dockard in his sight. "Sor vak!"
The chime of a bell and Dockard's body seized, quickly plummeting to the ground. Holding his breath, feeling the wyvern struggle to break free, Nagan was too busy keeping the spell intact while Ximor caught the wyvern and Qentor shot the tranquilizer into Dockard's neck. Pain ripped through his head and body as Dockard broke free, and he tilted forward with a groan, gripping Ravi's saddle as she darted up to avoid Dockard's tail. Az isn't going to be pleased with this, he thought in sore amusement.
Dockard continued to struggle as Professor Ximor and others held him in the air, but soon the wyvern hung limply as the tranquilizer flooded his system. He would not wake for hours, and by then they would have him in proper containment in case he went on another rampage to reach his mistress. It took a few seconds for him to realize Professor Fai was speaking to them.
"Take him to the field over by the ground course," he ordered. "Keep the barrier below him, just in case. For those unable to contribute any magic, go ahead and head back to the start. Lieutenant Wyvet is waiting there with other medics for the injured, both human and dragon."
Carthadeus raised an eyebrow as Nagan didn't follow the others, instead contributing to carrying Dockard, but he didn't draw attention to it either. Once Dockard was safely on the ground and everything had settled, all turned their attention to Nagan with anxious eyes. Was Milora alright? Nagan ignored their looks as he slid off Ravi's saddle, stretching his sore limbs before answering their question.
"Aitor caught her before she hit the ground." Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief at that. "She was unconscious by the time we got to her, and Az suspects a concussion, but he sounded confident that she'll be ok."
"That's the best outcome we could hope for," Professor Fai said, but his eyes swept sharply over the crowd. "But how on earth did this happen?"
"It's my fault, Professor."
Nagan whirled at Carthadeus' voice, his head protesting in the process, but he was too dumbfounded by the other's confession to mind. "What?"
Carthadeus crouched by the unconscious wyvern as he inspected the saddle. It was twisted sideways, the strap that was supposed to be wrapped around the left-wing snapped in half. "We both knew something was wrong, but we couldn't find where it was. I should have insisted she changed saddles."
It all suddenly made sense as Nagan recalled the distant conversation between Carthadeus and Milora before they were called to the start. He sighed and walked over to inspect the saddle himself. "No one is at fault for something like that," he commented, rotating the leather strap in this hand. The strap...it was severed too cleanly to have simply snapped.
"Professor Fai," Nagan called back, the urgency evident in his voice. Carthadeus jumped to look at the other part of the strap, realizing something wasn't right as well. Professor Fai stood next to them within seconds.
Nagan handed the strap to Professor Fai to inspect. "Is it just me, or does this look like it has been cut by a knife?"
"But not all the way through," added Carthadeus, his eyes wide. "Only the underside was cut."
"So you wouldn't have been able to see it in the first place," Nagan concluded, looking up at Professor Fai. The professor's fierce gaze was all the confirmation he needed, and the students whispered among themselves as they began realizing what might have happened.
"The teachers and I will investigate this. It could have been an honest accident," Professor Fai said at last, handing the strap over to Professor Ximor to inspect next. "Can you take me to Milora?"
Nagan nodded and headed back over to Ravi.
"Everyone else, stay here with Professor Ximor," Fai said while jogging over to his own dragon, adding to Ximor as he passed, "Layleigh, I leave them in your hands."
She replied with a nod. "I'll take care of this."
Both he and Nagan took to the air soon after, as both dragons were thin enough to weave through the trees. It wasn't long before they spotted the small crowd below and descended down. Nurse Marvi attended to a still-unconscious Milora as the other junior medics hovered around, either doing what they were told or staying out of the way. Nagan settled next to Aitor who nervously tapped on Gossamer's scales.
"How is she?" Professor Fai asked, dismounting his dragon, Nagan following his lead.
"She will be fine." Nurse Marvi smiled up at them, going from kneeling to standing and dusting off her dress. "Her leg is indeed broken, but not as bad as it could have been if she had fallen the full way down."
Nagan felt the hairs of his neck rise as he heard something approach behind him. He glanced back sharply, only to see Qentor silently joining the group. He was unaware he had followed. Professor Fai nodded his acknowledgment to Qentor's presence.
"It's all thanks t-to Nagan," Aitor said.
"You're giving me too much credit," Nagan scolded mildly. "I wasn't the one who caught her."
"Y-yes, but if — if you hadn't stopp-ped time, I wouldn't h-h-have been able to c-catch her," the dark-skinned boy said with a grin.
"I say we have all of you to thank for this," Nurse Marvi commented warmly. "If it weren't for your quick thinking and quick actions, this could've ended much worse."
Qentor nodded in agreement, looking mildly impressed. It was the most emotion the students have ever seen from the stoic lieutenant.
"Well, let's not wait here any longer than we have to," Professor Fai said. "Is she safe for transport?"
"She is stable enough to be moved, yes. But we may need to carry her since none of the dragons have the right equipment for her to be flown back."
Ravi nudged Nagan, staring at him with onyx eyes, hoping he understood what she was trying to tell him.
"Ravi can carry her back. She's able to use magic to hold things touching her in place." Nagan quirked a grin. "I don't call her clingy for no reason. The only thing that might be a concern is that Ravi is only large enough to take one person on her back."
Nurse Marvi considered this. "If you truly believe Milora will be safe on the back of your dragon."
"I do. She will be completely safe." Ravi may have the reputation of being rowdy, but he knew she wouldn't do anything reckless in this situation. She knew when it was time to play and time to take things seriously.
"I can take Nagan back," Az added. "Kint can carry a second person, and it would be the fastest way to get Milora back to the hospital wing."
"Then that is what we will do," Nurse Marvi agreed.
It took a bit of effort and settling to make sure Milora laid flat, the saddle adjusted accordingly, and soon they all headed to the clearing where the dragons were waiting. Each person settled on their own dragon, a few with extra riders. Nagan with Az, and Nurse Marvi with Qentor.
Nagan held on for dear life onto Az's shoulders as they took off into the air, realizing very quickly that dragons take off harsher than amphitheres. The added weight didn't help, but Kint managed fine once they were gliding above the trees, Ravi trailing beside them. Exhausted and his head still pounding, Nagan rested his forehead on Az's back.
"By the way," Nagan said loud enough for Az to hear him, "my circuits need to be realigned if you're up to it."
"Of course they do," Az replied dully. "I leave you alone for five seconds, and this is what always happens."
Nagan snorted, not bothering to retort.
•___________________________•
I am the stupidest person alive. For the longest time, Warfire was labeled as book one on the cover. And no one thought to tell me? :(
Jk, it's 100% just me being an idiot XD
Anyways, carry on. Nothing to see here XD
Actually wait I have a question lol
Do you guys like the longer chapters? Not saying they're always gonna be this long from now on, I kinda just write until the scene is done(ish), but I've noticed my word count for each chapter have progressively grown from ~1,000 to ~2,000 (Take this chapter for example freakin 2,500 words geez XD). But yeah, leave a comment if you like the shorter or longer chapters more XD