~Raize~
Everything is slowly returning to normal, thankfully, though I doubt it will ever be the same for me. I kind of deserve it though, after what I did... It's strange, ever since, well, that, I've been feeling freer, almost. Like my body is as light as a feather, and my fire doesn't have to be contained anymore. It's a strange feeling, I doubt I would be able to explain it to anyone, but I know one thing. Even after the destruction it wrought, I don't regret reaching equilibrium.
At first, the soul focus of it had been revenge, and anger, but now that feeling is... gone. I'm free of it. This power took it away from me and I can finally think clearly once again. Though clearly is a relative term. Before my father's death I was thinking clearly, and I'm different from back then. That much is obvious. Even my body has changed quite substantially. Silver said I looked somewhat similar to another dragon of equilibrium she had met on her trip. Firefly I think her name was. Maybe I should attempt to meet with this dragon as well; she might be able to help me understand why I feel this way.
I doubt that'll happen for a while now though. At the moment Sky Mountain needs me. A.O.D.H is mobilizing once again, and thousand of dragons, humans and their machines are conjugating on the border of China, ready for something. I am unsure what but the next couple of weeks will probably tell. My guess? They are after Silver, though what they hope to accomplish through this goal is beyond me. After all, she's only one dragon, even if she is the only one of her kind. And she is strong, very hard to capture and defeat. If I were the leader of A.O.D.H I would wait for her to have hatchlings and take them instead. Though that may unleash her wrath very quickly indeed. One does not simply steal a hatchling from its mother, especially if that mother is Silver.
Ha, with her recent announcement I don't think it will be long until she finally does have eggs. I'd look forward to becoming an uncle, depending on the dragon she goes with of course. I just hope she didn't come into this over confident. I know of a few far stronger dragons in the mountain then her; unless she has grown more then I think she has during the course of her trip.
Aah, Silver. You make me laugh sometimes. I know you went into this with a plan, and I look forward to seeing what it is. But for now I have something else to focus on. Finding the bug. I'm surprised Iraliene thinks we've been infiltrated, I mean, we have mind dragons everywhere, more mind dragons then any other haven in the world if I'm to be right, and with them constantly on the prow it would be extremely difficult. Of course a dragon could have learned to do what I do, and guard their mind from intruders. It's most likely another mind dragon though, as a powerful one could easily create illusion around themselves to make them seem like another one of us. If anything though, I need to keep an eye out for this dragon, and take them out when I can.
* * *
Silver slowly walked through the tunnel leading from the centre to the training arena. It was the day after her announcement; a day after her challenge had been set. Many dragons had come forward as well, and it would be a busy couple of days for the dragoness. She hoped this fight would dissuade some of them from trying to defeat her. The less of them there were the better. It made her slightly annoyed however that neither of the two dragons she actually wanted to be with had come forward.
When Zepos had heard about the challenge he had immediately come to her and simply said 'What are you thinking!?' It made her laugh thinking back to it. She hoped that he would be able to figure out what she meant this for. Retrix had had a similar reaction, though didn't show as much frustration as Zepos had. Instead he had frowned, as if trying to figure out why. It made her smile slightly. One of them would eventually get it.
Taking a deep breath Silver focused her mind back on the task at hand. Gravon. She knew how powerful he was; at least she thought she did. As a gravity dragon he would be annoying to fight, more annoying then a telekinetic dragon. She wouldn't be able to dodge any of his elemental attacks, no matter how fast she was, so in the end it would be who exhausted the other the quickest. She knew she would be at a slight disadvantage in this. But she knew she would win. She had to win.
Taking a step into the cave representing The Training Arena she was surprised to find a surplus of dragons waiting for her. A hundred at least, of all different species. Most of them were younger drakes, anywhere between eight and fifteen years old, and there were a few older dragons as well, such as Iraliene who was standing toward the back, her eyes following Silver as she walked.
She spotted Retrix among the group as well, his purple scales standing out amongst the others. Zepos still hadn't found out about what had happened between them, and she intended to keep it that way, at least for now. The two of them were actually reasonable friends, and she didn't want to break them up, though it would be inevitable eventually. She shuddered at the thought, before turning toward the one dragon that was her enemy that day.
Gravon was standing in the centre of the arena with his confident smirk and proud stance, his tail slowly moving behind him. He was extremely confident it seemed, and it made Silver a little uneasy but she shook it off. He was naturally an over confident dragon. The dragoness walked until she was a few metres away from him and sat down on her haunches.
It just made Gravon smile all the greater, "Hello love. I hope you're looking forward to this."
The gravity dragon stood up, "I am, very much so. I finally get the chance to give you what you deserve. For rejecting me, humiliating me. I'm going to make you pay, and then afterwards... oh afterwards."
He gazed hungrily over her body, causing Silver to snarl at him, shuffling uncomfortably, "You have to defeat me first."
"I will," he licked his lips before turning toward his mother, "Lets get this started!"
The life dragon nodded, "Merene will be the one to referee this fight. I'm sure you know the rules?"
Both dragons nodded. They were simple. The fight ended when one dragon yielded or was deemed unable to continue. And it was a fight between two dragons, so any efforts at cheating from within the crowd would be met with disqualification of the offending dragon. It was the reason Silver had chosen Merene to be the judge. She was a trustworthy mind dragon that the dragoness knew to be both unbiased and make sure everything went well. She could read the minds of both dragons fighting and deem whether one was cheating or not. The fight would also last for a maximum of thirty minutes, and if the challenging dragon hadn't defeated Silver by then, they would loose. Time was in her favour, and in a fight with a gravity dragon that was a huge advantage.
The mind dragoness stepped forward from within the crowd. Silver gave her a small nod, and she replied in turn. Gravon merely snorted his contempt before turning toward Silver once again. '
"Ready?" Merene said to them both.
Silver rose from her seated position and crouched low to the ground, spreading her wings for both balance and creating a more fearsome look. Her metal on her back ripple slightly as she got ready to morph it at will. Her tail grew sharp and the edge of her wings creating blades that could cut diamond. Gravon took a similar stance, his tail moving in eager anticipation for the fight at hand.
"And... go!" cried the mind dragon from the sideline.
The metal dragoness moved, hopping slightly to the side, causing Gravon to follow her movement, then leaping forward with a sweeping wing, aiming to end the fight in a simple attack that would render the other dragon's foreleg useless. She wasn't fast enough however, and a large force seemed to slam into her back. She grunted as she stopped in midair and forced into the ground. She managed to land on her legs at first, holding herself up barely, the weight pushing down on her far greater then she had ever experience before. The gravity dragon's tail suddenly whipped around, striking her neck with enough force to cause her to stumble, and then fall. He laughed, holding her down with his power.
Slowly the drake walked over to her, deliberately taking his time. Silver struggled to get up, but the amount of force Gravon was applying seemed to be almost crushing her. She began to gasp in effort, but she simply wasn't strong enough to overcome the crushing effect.
"How does it feel, ha? To be where you rightfully belong," chuckled Gravon as he looked down at her, "I hope you know how pointless your little challenge was now, because, you see, even your armour can't protect you against the force of gravity. That's how it works. Mind over matter. Mental over physical. I'm a mental type dragon, you're a physical. You will always loose to dragons like me, not matter how strong you are, or how powerful. That is the way this world works."
She growled at him and struggled to rise again, before falling to the floor.
"Yield Silver," he said with a smirk, "I've already shown that you can't beat me. Now all there is to do is to make you mine."
He began to walk around the struggling dragoness, tracing a claw over her shell and causing a rasping sound to echo throughout the stadium. The dragons on the side watched silently as it seemed as though Gravon dominated the dragoness. He may very well be right. There was no way Silver would be able to win this fight.
"You know, tonight, when we finally come together, I'm going to make you beg. I'm going to make you cry," he placed a paw on her head, shoving it into the ground and hissed, "I'm going to make you scream my name."
Silver smiled slightly, "You're a fool."
Gravon frowned not expecting that answer. The metal under his paw ripple, before he screamed out in pain, a metal spike shooting upwards and piecing through his palm. The gravity holding Silver down instantly disappeared, and she moved, not wasting the moment she had made.
She leapt upwards, knocking Gravon aside with one of her wings, before slashing with the other one. The tip of the razor edge cut a line of blood through the drake's chest, causing him to stagger backwards with a grunt. She then swung her tail around, a row of spikes forming on her tail, and she slammed them into his flank. Blood shot out from his wounds as he staggered, Silver's tail still embedded in his muscle.
The dragoness wrench it out, causing him to grunt in pain again, and went to attack. Gravon managed to recover quickly however, and flung up his wings. Gravity shifted once again, but instead of downwards everything suddenly became sideways. Silver snarled in surprise as she fell to the floor, and began to slide backwards toward the far wall. She let metal run down her body and leg, encasing her claws, and stabbed them into the stone, preventing herself from sliding any further. She then beat her wings, trying to fight against the sudden shift.
Again, gravity changed, and she began to move upwards, her claws unhooking from the ground. She let out a growl and tried to fly toward Gravon, and managed to get air under her wings, launching herself forward toward him. She opened her maw and shot a stream of metal toward the other dragon. He growled and shifted gravity again, causing the metal to turn in the air and miss him.
"Gravon!" cried out Iraliene, slightly worried for her son.
Silver crashed into the sidewall, and was held their, panting with the effort it had taken to just make the wounds she did. Gravon was bleeding badly from his side and chest, the blood now dribbling down his legs and creating a pool under him. He staggered slightly and shook his head, snarling with anger. He was growing weaker, and Silver managed a small smile. She may not have done much, but it was enough to win this fight.
"You... little... Aargh," he growled, placing his injured paw on the ground before lifting it up again quickly.
The gravity around Silver weakened, and she pushed herself up once again, flapping her wings and managing to actually move away from the wall, hauling herself upwards as fast as she could go. There would be no way she would loose to him, and she would do everything she could to make that happen.
Opening her maw she creating a metal ball in her throat and fired it at the gravity dragon. The ball suddenly turned into the ground, slamming into the stone with enough force to create a crater. The gravity manipulating Silver changed and she crashed into the ground with a grunt, her forward momentum taking her forward a couple of metres and ripping out a number of scales from her underbelly.
Instantly she was on her feet again, ignoring the pain caused by the movement. She flung her tail, launching a volley of spikes in Gravon's direction. The drake shifted gravity again, causing the spikes to change course and fly upwards, not doing any damage. With a snarl he focused his power on the silver dragoness, and the massive weight she had felt before crushed her into the ground. This time however it was far stronger, and far more powerful. She grunted under the pressure.
"I won't let you defeat me, you damned dragoness. You will be mine! You will be mine!" he roared at her, though stayed where he was standing, not allowing himself to get any closer to her.
Silver growled in response and struggled to haul herself up, but a new layer of weight crashed into her and she grunted. The floor began to crack beneath her, the stone below struggling to support her. She was finding it hard to breath as well, the force squeezing the air out of her lungs. With a small cry of rage she tried to stand up, but her legs simply couldn't hold the weight and she collapsed again, breathing heavily.
Gravon was also struggling to keep it up. The amount of blood he had lost was beginning to make him dizzy, the world slowly started to spin. He shook his head and forced himself to focus, making his gravity as strong as he possibly could. He focused on her, and wouldn't let himself be defeated. Not by her. The same thoughts were going through Silver's mind as she struggled again him. Stars began to dance across her eyes, causing her to blink in confusion. Her breaths were becoming shorter and more ragged, less and less oxygen making its way to her lungs.
In the crowd Zepos watched, slightly horrified. There were ripples in the area where gravity was being changed, bending light around it and creating almost a blurry effect. A small crater was being formed where Silver was being crushed into the ground, stones cracking and splintering.
"It's a battle of will," muttered Raize, causing the lightning dragon to turn surprised.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said," the fire drake sighed, "Gravon is struggling nearly as much as Silver is. Blood loss is making him weaker by the second and with the amount of power he is using he won't be able to last much longer, and is only pushing himself on reserves. Silver is much the same. The force of gravity on her is almost a hundred fold, and its crushing her, forcing the air from her lungs and making it hard to breath. But she is holding on. In the end, it will be who can last the longest under this pressure."
"But Silver's will is unbeatable, I've seen it," Zepos said, turning toward the struggling dragoness.
"I know," Raize said, with a small smile.
Back on the battlefield the silver dragoness growled. Her vision flashed black as unconsciousness began to wash over her. With a roar she mentally shoved it away. She couldn't loose this. Not now. She wouldn't loose to such a dragon as him. She would show him that she couldn't be defeated by something as small as gravity. With a roar she pushed her legs underneath her and forced herself upwards. At first she struggled, pain blistering through her legs and back, but she ignored it, forcing herself upwards against the weight holding her down.
She staggered, spread her legs to gain support, the ground cracking further under her, the gravity dragon desperately trying to force her back to the ground, but she wouldn't let it. No matter what she wouldn't let it. With that in mind, she moved, taking a slow step forward. It felt like she was holding Sky Mountain on her back, and every step was agony. The joints in her legs cracked slightly, unused to holding such a weight, and she grunted in pain, but instead of falling, she pushed forward.
Gravon's eyes widened as he struggled to force even more power onto her back. She nearly fell again, swaying slightly. The pain, the weight, the power. It was becoming unbearable for the dragoness. But she forced herself onwards, determined. She wouldn't loose. Not matter what the other dragon threw at her. No matter how powerful he was. She would not loose.
She gathered all her left over strength, and took another step forward. The ground cracked beneath her paw, and she nearly tripped again, but instead she moved forward. Metal ran from her shell and down onto her legs, reinforcing the injured limbs and reducing the pain slightly.
"I... will... not... be... defeated," she snarled, "I... will... not... loose... to you. Not... ever. Not... now."
She repeated those words as she took another step forward. A strange aura began to radiate from her, causing the dragons watching the fight to step back in fear. It began to grow, power building up within her with every step and with every word. Gravon moved backwards, his eyes widening in fear, but still Silver continued onwards, not even noticing. Her eyes were focused entirely on Gravon, on the dragon she was going to defeat. The powerful aura pulsed through the room. Merene's eyes widened as she took a step forward, about to stop the fight. However the gravity dragon did it for her.
The gravity holding Silver down suddenly disappeared, causing her to stagger forward with a grunt. She held her feet, her legs shaking slightly. Without the weight to push against her aura began to fade, and the power dying along with it.
"I yield! I yield!" cried the drake, taking a step backwards and begging, "I yield, please."
Silver watched him with narrowed eyes, before letting out a relieved sigh. She swayed slightly, and fell to the ground, breathing heavily as the pain in her legs began to build. She didn't remember much after that, only being lifted away and the power of a life dragon flowing through her, healing her wounds and returning her energy. But there was one thought that continued to run through her mind. She had won. It made her smile.
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Hey guys! New chapter! I hope you enjoyed. Vote if you did and comment what you thought. Next chapter will be out soon. See Ya!
Pennator^^