Recap:
I wish these shadows were gone already, Storm told Thea.
You're like a giant cat! Thea said, Stom's mind flickered back to when he had fought the giant cat monster with Rolland and Igraine.
Storm shook his head, I am not a cat, he said just as a creature – the one Storm had seen with Zenith, in fact – ran past him.
End Recap
Thea's POV
I twisted on Storm's back to follow the path of the raccoon-like creature, the creature bounded towards Zenith before stopping at his feet. The lithe dragon bent his head to the ground and the raccoon easily ran up the dragon's head and down the neck to where Zenith's rider – Sly, Storm's memories told me – sat. Sly closed his eyes and seemed to mumble words under his breath before opening his eyes and locking gazes with the boy on the dragon next to him and nodding.
The boy – Erin – looked around before his dragon roared softly but loud enough that everyone could hear it. The dark purple dragon connected their mind to everyone else's. We have found a way out, Zenith can lead us out of the forest. The green-blue dragon slipped between dragons and reached Storm and I.
Storm nodded his head at the dragon and stepped back, Zenith seemed unsure as he moved forward. Run, bring us to our freedom, the purple dragon's voice said. That was all Zenith needed and he fled forward, Storm lurched after us however the swifter dragons were quickly in front and Storm was soon running beside Midnightfear.
For about half an hour we continued alongside the rushing river, at times the dragons were forced to slow down to how thick the trees are and some of the smaller dragons were able to fly slowly above the rushing river while the others bounded beside the water. In front of Storm, I could see that the dragons in front had stopped to get a drink. Storm leant down and got a quick drink himself before he moved forward once more, following the dragons with his back to the river.
For another hour and a half we continued going through the forest. It was hard going and I had to be aware of hanging branches at all times. Many times Storm stumbled before righting himself and continuing on with only a grunt. A few dragons dropped back and even the swift, thin dragons had trouble getting through parts. Storm's head was hanging low as he watched the ground knowing I would watch branches for him.
Storm's head jerked upwards suddenly, hearing something beyond human hearing. All around me I could see dragons doing the same. Storm roared softly and sped up, in fact it seemed like all the dragons had increased in speed. Storm lowered his head and rammed into a low hanging branch that others had avoided. The branch creaked and broke under Storm's momentum and we powered through, slipping around trees and charging through bushes and leaping over ditches and large roots.
I could now make out a row of dragons in front of us through the thick trees, I narrowed my eyes and tried to figure out why they had stopped. Storm snorted and the dragons quickly moved out of his way and we arrived at the front of the dragon group.
Ahead of us awaited a large area of grassland with a river doubling on itself and weaving away. Excitement of getting out of the forest flooded me before I figured out the problem. It was far too open, the dragons would stand out easily. I frowned, there would be some dragons who would make it through without being sighted however we all needed to get to the town.
Why can't we go out? Storm questioned me as I told him we needed to remain in the forest until we could find out a way to go out into the grassland.
With your scales you would easily be seen by any flying patrol. I told my dragon who flicked his tail in annoyance before telling the other dragons.
A red dragon stepped up to be beside Storm, Storm opened his mind to the dragon, the rider and I. Hail brother, you say you thought of something?
It was not I who thought of something but my rider, Fai, she has come up with a solution to our problem. The red dragon said.
I perked up at Fai's name, Fai, I exclaimed mentally, Fai waved at me shyly. So what's your idea?
There's mud in the river we can use to cover the dragons and those that can hide already can simply be dusted in dirt of the forest and the sand by the banks of the rivers. Plus if everyone spreads out it'd be easier to hide, maybe we can all go in clusters of three or four or so. Fai said, I thought over the idea.
No.
That's a great idea, it should work!
Storm and I said at the same time. Storm, why not? If it lets us leave the forest we should take it, it's our only option at the moment.
We are dragons, we do not hide ourselves in mud and dust, we shall fight if we must but we say no to hiding ourselves. We will not hide like prey from predators, everything should fear us and we should not fear our own. Storm said.
The red dragon groaned, I told you this would be a problem Fai.
It's the only way to go about it Camroth, Fai said.
I am sorry Camroth, I would say yes if it was just me however this is all of us. And many won't agree, I speak for the dragons not just me. Storm said, bowing his head to Camroth, the red dragon.
Storm! You are the leader, we will follow you whether we like it or not. We must do this! There is no other way about it, Camroth said a growl exiting his mouth.
Storm raised his wings slightly and let out a louder growl, I have only been leader for an hour or so. I have not gained everyone's love and so forth, not all will follow me.
We agreed to follow you, we said yes. We will do what you command and if one decides otherwise we shall force them to follow us. Camroth said flicking his tail to hit Storm in the side.
Storm stayed still but he snarled at Camroth who seemed to decrease in size but stayed still as well. Fine, Storm said with a short growl. Storm whirled around and faced the other dragons and in a moment everyone's mind was connected. Be quiet all, Storm said with a short roar that quickly made all the dragons quieten which, in turn, made all the riders quiet.
We have a plan to make it through the grassland to the town. However we shall have to hide our shining scales. Those who are just too shiny but have the right colour scales to camouflage just need to have dirt and sand rubbed into their scales, make them dusty as well. Those who are like me and will stand out need to be covered in river mud.
A bunch of voices were raised in my head and I closed my eyes as I concentrated on the voices. Shut it! I screamed, you're giving everyone a headache. You may not like the idea however if you want to be free you're going to have to go with it. I want to live, I don't know about you, but I want to and to do so I must do this.
There were a few grumbles however no one clearly said no and I dismounted Storm who walked over to the river. Curling his lip in distaste Storm unfurled his wings and scooped up mud onto his wings before tipping it down his back. I let out a laugh as I looked at Storms disgruntled expression. Storm glared at me before a slow grin covered his face, I backed away warily. Storm quickly spun so he was facing me and with a flap of his wings sent a wave of water towards me and those behind me.
Storm let out a cough-like laugh and I crept up to the riverbank. I made a fist-sized mud ball speedily before I chucked at Storm's neck where he hadn't covered himself in mud. Storm stopped laughing and narrowed his eyes at me, once again he scooped up mud in his wings but this time he somehow managed to throw some towards me. I went to dodge it but slipped in the mud and fell into the water luckily onto a soft dirt patch.
An annoyed roar sounded behind me and I turned to see Camroth with mud dripping from his face. I turned to face Storm who was looking nervously at Camroth. Camroth rolled his eyes and leapt forward and splashed Storm and I with water. I floundered in the shallow water, spluttering, before I got my feet underneath me and ran behind Storm for cover.
Beside Storm I made a few more mud balls and started throwing them at different people while rubbing mud into Storms scales. Storm got the idea and used his tail to pull some mud towards him, a dragon leapt towards him and Storm pulled back slightly and allowed the dragon to land in front of him. Storm quickly used the pile of mud to cover the dragon in mud. Stay out of the water, Storm said with a soft growl, that way the mud will dry quickly and stay on you.
Soon many dragons and riders were covering each other in mud, while others who were drying covered the other dragons in dirt, sand and dust. Storm and I were quickly covered in mud and we left the river and sat a few metres from the riverbank.
After the dragons, who needed it, had been covered in mud, I started speaking to Charlie about what creatures could be used to fly overhead and keep people informed. In the end we came up city six creatures one was Thessy, another was a winged wolf, two were large birds with abnormalities, and the last two resembled snakes with wings and a scorpion tail. Everyone was divided into groups of six led by someone who was connected with one of the creatures.
Storm and I were put in the group led by Erin who was paired with the winged wolf. The wolf seemed quite withdrawn, however the moment the others took up the brown creatures leapt into the air with one downbeat of its large wings. Erin motioned us to go and the dragons started walking. Our group had been told to take one of the longest paths that went in a large curve that would lead us around the path that led straight to the town, before entering from the back of the town.
After a few minutes of quick-paced walking my legs started to hurt slightly, I decided to talk with Storm to get my mind off the pain. However, before I started speaking Storm did. Thea, what happened after we were separated?
I hummed softly in thought, well I found myself in front of the Magician council.
Magician council? Storm asked cutting in.
I keep forgetting you don't know everything half the time, it feels like you've been with me forever. I said, now if you let me finish I'll continue. The Magician council is a council made up of Magicians, just as the name implies. There are five Magicians with one being the top Magician who is basically the king of Radon.
Radon? Storm asked, is that the name of your village?
No, my village is called Velox. This land we are on, surrounded by water, is Radon. It is the name of our world.
Is there anything outside of Radon? Storm questioned, straying from the topic.
There are small islands off the shore however any further and you would run out of supplies in the ships or become beached on a rock or in the shallows surrounding islands. However, I believe that there are other islands out there, ones with inhabitants just maybe not human inhabitants. I told Storm, I do think we've strayed from the topic though. So I said there were nine Magicians right including the top Magician, right? Storm nodded his dark grey head and I continued speaking, this small Magician council is part of a larger, more important council. The other council is made up of the five Magicians, I'm pretty sure they're the eldest Magicians or most powerful – something like that. There's also three Dragon Riders, the most eldest ones again I think. That makes the council a grand total of eight members, the council gets the ultimate choice in deciding whether to allow laws and rules to pass. That kind of stuff, however the top Magician is the one who thinks up the rules and laws. When he or she dies another top Magician is chosen by the council.
Anyway, Storm said bringing me out of my thoughts of life back home before I found Storm, you stood in front of the Magician council.
Oh yes, right. So I found myself standing in front of them, the top one said some things that I can't quite recall. Either way I somehow ended up falling as the floor below me disappeared. Upon falling I was seen by Spiritus on Fire Storm who then caught me. I was then shown around the caves they lived in, well the main ones, and I found Zodiac. A few things happened when I was being shown around, but nothing of great importance. After that I, I, I focused on trying to remember what happened when Storm suddenly froze.
Jerked out of my thoughts I saw Erin open and clench his hand in the air, Storm lifted his muddy wings and closed one over me. I could feel him shift slightly as he lowered himself onto the ground and got into an odd position so he didn't look like a dragon. Together we waited for two minutes hoping we wouldn't be spotted, then Storm stood and opened his wings once more.
Ahead of us Erin cupped his hand and moved it forward, at once the dragons launched into a slow jog as their riders jogged quickly beside them – Strom and I included. With sore legs I decided I'd focus on talking to Storm once more, what happened to you when we were separated?
Storm looked down at me and stumbled in his running as he lost concentration, some things are better left unsaid.
I brushed over details I felt were better left unsaid, but we are partners-of-mind-and-heart we should not need to hide things from each other. I told him.
You are speaking more like a dragon now, Storm said quietly and I simply smiled at him in reply. And you forgot to finish as well, I let out a soft laugh.
Oh, I didn't finish, I forgot about that. Basically after that stuff went down, I found an escape route with Fai. Someone was planning to kill you, we attacked them back and they ended up dying. I shuddered as an image of the rider and dragon went through my head. Storm didn't say anything but softly nuzzled my arm, I gave him a soft smile and persisted on with my story. After that the others told me about their plan to escape and I helped out a bit, we escaped and then found you guys.
Sounds like it was almost easy, Storm said, humour in his voice.
I shook my head, it was quite hard. I told him as I thought about the monsters we had faced and the difficulties we had gone through to escape and even then a few had died.
Storm looked to be thinking but after a few minutes he spoke. My story is... action packed as well to say. The last time we touched minds before we were separated you saw me in chains correct? Or at least you were pretty sure I was in chains, in that moment you were correct. From there I was put somewhere where there were many dragons. Quite often thoughts were projected into our minds, trying to bend our will to that of another's. I met Rolland and Igraine there, Rolland I met when I gave him hope as I tried to understand the situation. Igraine stood up for herself and was almost killed. I helped out there.
Rolland is the dark grey dragon of Ademar's, right? Storm nodded, Igraine is the green-blue dragon of Ala I know that much.
You are correct, Storm said, now as I was saying. Once that happened I was knocked out either by magic or by the use of energy I made myself faint. I woke up and fought a dragon and was knocked out, this time I know it was magic. When I came to apparently quite a number of days had passed and found myself in chains. Then a bunch of things happened and next thing I know I was fighting Midnightfear and Ademar before we attacked the Magician there. Other stuff went down and we were free.
Did anything ever happen with a giant cat thing? I questioned remember my vision that seemed so long ago.
Storm sent me an appraising glance, how did you know that?
I had a vision of sorts at one point.
Right, something did happen with a giant cat though. It was in a combined mind land just after I had met Igraine and Rolland.
I stopped as Erin raised his hand in a stopping motion, no one made a sound as we crouched closer to the ground. The town is nearby according to Erin's wolf, Storm told me relaying information to me, so far two groups have entered. It is safe for us to enter so we're going to be going full out as we'll be entering a grassier area which is harder to hide in even trying to act like a boulder.
What do you mean full out? I questioned.
Get on my back, Storm replied, I followed his instructions and tightened my grip on him. Storm shook and then stretched his wings to the sky and head forward. The feeling of comfort took over me and I relaxed on Storm's back. Storm leapt forward and I grabbed the horn in front of me to hold up. The unusual feeling of scales moving and shifted under me caused the tiniest bit of comfort however I ignored it and focused on the growing town in front of us. It was only now I realised the growing pain and weak feeling in my legs, how long did we speak for?
A good half an hour or more, Storm replied as he took another plunging leap forward. I rocked my body back as Storm landed his leap before taking another stride forward. I loosened my grip on Storm as I got the rhythm of his stride. I closed my eyes and focused on the feeling of calm and just enjoyed being with Storm once more.
Storm slowed down as he reached the town, the dragons all crowded with each other as we entered the town. The buildings were quite different compared to my hometown. The buildings weren't as close together like around home, and the roofs connected above many different, wide alleyways allowed the dragons to be hidden from sight as we wandered down them. Erin seemed to know where he was going as he led us through the maze of streets.
Erin led us out into a large area that had many roofs reaching out towards the middle, before stopping about two metres short of the roof directly ahead of us. This made a circle in the middle of the almost-fully enclosed area, underneath the circle was a giant mirror which reflected the light and made the area light up.
What caught my attention was the sheer number of dragons and riders in the area, Storm however looked at something on the wall. I followed his gaze and saw a few wanted posters. I wonder what that's about, I murmured to Storm.
Something's off, Storm said in reply.
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Not the best ending, but what can I say? This chapter could've gone on and on for a while longer but I needed an ending so it was best to stop there. This was about a 3.4k words chapter, almost a thousand over. I had a bit of writers block with it as well, especially just after the mud fight. I had to figure out what to say afterwards and I followed the journey on a map as well. That's right, this world has a map!
AHH YES I LOVE EXAMS, BLOODY THINGS NEXT WEEK!!! Reason why the late update... Along with a few other things. This is an updated author's note as I wrote this a few weeks ago in reality.
So how are you all anyway?
I'm going to introduce another character next chapter, and I'm so pumped. I like the next character, he's so cool.
This is Gabby/SilentSilverSlip signing off. Currently in need of a procrastination-stopper (comments help me write chapters quicker as well).