V

Ancient Red Monster

An excerpt from ‘A Brief History of the Sky’ by Torm Ba-Yel

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Since before the fall of the Elven Kingdom, dragons have been feared and respected by all who happen upon their imposing magnificence. Little is known about what kinds of lives dragons lived under elven rule, but what is known is that- like all other races and cultures- their systems and structures imploded when the kingdom fell. They were inevitably pulled into the unmitigated chaotic free-for-all that would be later known to historians as the “Desolate Age."

Because of the undocumented nature of the Desolate Age, it is unknown when exactly the dragons began inhabiting the sky- if they ever moved there at all. It is possible that they had always been inhabitants of the clouds, though it is almost certain that they spent as much time as possible in the air before Lyveria was founded in the Water District, as they would be the ones to note some great migration of dragon kind- and they haven't.

Regardless, when the Aarakocra- under the banner of the Heavenfell Militia- first began pulling up massive chunks of land and suspending them as islands in the sky, it was almost immediately that dragons began claiming these islands as their own. This was only natural, as it provided a means for dragons to sleep and rest without leaving the domain they were most comfortable in.

This, however, posed an obvious problem. While one can live on land or on the seafloor outside the confines of any one government, when every inch of land inhabiting a district has been possessed and personally placed there by a governing body, it is impossible to inhabit that district without being on that government's land. This is why Lyveria will occasionally mention itself separately from the Water District, as you can live in the district and out of the kingdom, but the "Heavenfell Militia'' is a term so rarely spoken that many Aarakocra believe themselves to be not just living in, but governed by the Sky District. The two are one in the same.

Thus, when dragons laid claim to any of the numerous sky islands, no matter how big or small, they were trespassing on the Aarakocra's property. Dragonkind, as intelligent as they once were, were also far too conceited and prideful to recognize the authority of some pathetic, bird-run government. So any attempts by the Aarakocra to force the dragons off of their home were met with a swift and merciless gust of elemental destruction.

Knowing they could never hope to win a war against all of dragonkind, they instead focused their efforts on learning how to best coexist with the dragons. They would divide their land, offering gifts to the dragons to help sway them towards accepting them as neighbors. They would worship them when absolutely necessary, but over the years, slowly began banding together and asserting their authority, bit by bit. Always just barely pushing the line of overstepping and angering the dragons, they ensured that, as Aarakocra civilization developed, they would be as mighty and imposing as they could be, to earn the respect of the dragons, and someday prove their equals should they ever come to blows.

The Sky District continued to expand, and with it, the militaristic Aarakocra continued to build their mighty nation around the dragons, designating more and more space and resources for themselves, and standing their ground in groups whenever a dragon would try to take advantage of them. They slowly learned more and more means to deal with the dragons, how to use their animalistic tendencies to quell their aggression, and even how to exploit their weaknesses to overpower them when one dared attack their citizens.

The dynamic of power slowly but surely shifted, and before long, dragonkind was forced to recognize its superior. As each generation of dragon was born, they became more and more compliant with the Sky District's way of life, as more and more of the older, more stubborn dragons died trying to put these inferior soldiers in their place. While this led to a more peaceful and subdued kind of dragon, such gradual, consistent taming took a toll on these creature's once remarkable intelligence. As they slowly became more accustomed to being controlled and treated like a dangerous animal, that is what they became. Unable to exercise their brilliance through subjugation of lower creatures, evolution deemed that higher thought processes were unnecessary for their survival, and after one thousand years of subtle taming, dragons born today were left with minds no grander in nature than that of a horse.

Such is the way of the sky. Dragons are animals like any other, left to roam freely throughout the clouds, or to be captured, trained, and bred as pets.

However, not every dragon of times gone was slain in this civil conflict with the Aarakocra. There now exist two Ancient Dragons, approaching three thousand years in age, who remember a time not so long after the Elven Kingdom had first fallen.

Those two dragons are known to all as Xemmier the Bronze, and Agria the Red. They watched their kind be degraded and tamed by the forces of the sky for a thousand years of torment and damaged pride, but whether through wits or sheer determination, these two managed not to lose their lives trying to tear the Heavenfell Militia apart.

That isn't to say they never came close, and it is through the great wit of multiple generations of Head Generals that such a grisly fate for both groups was avoided.

Should these two Ancient Dragons band together and attempt to slaughter the Aarakocra, they would surely not be successful, but the potential for lost life is immense. So, in their mutual interest, the Sky District contracted a pact, read to both Ancients.

Xemmier and Agria would be given a massive plot of land in which they, and many other wild animals, would be free to inhabit as they pleased. The Sky District government would make no efforts to interfere with the lives of either dragon, and they would be free to live, and to hunt, as they pleased, even if their prey were themselves citizens of the district.

In return, not only would they not interact with any of the islands inhabiting the sky district, but they would never again step foot on Land or Water territory, for any reason. The ancient dragons would become the responsibility of the Sky, and the Sky alone.

The dragons agreed, and thus, through a new method of magic that condensed water enough to suspend it in place even while being stood on, the huge cloud range of Freefield was created. A hunting ground home to hundreds of species of animal, where rangers can travel as they please, at their own risk.

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It was here, pushing through layers of clouds held together by tons of man-made magical force, that Agria, the Ancient Red Dragon, had emerged. Spreading his massive, magnificent wings, and piercing through time with his brilliant, terrifying eyes, he looked for the nearest, weakest creature for him to erase, and consume.

Men Za-Hel and Kim Té-Ya trembled as this monster's gaze defiled them. The air itself seemed to heat as soon as it fell in his line of sight. Agria smiled as he realized that he happened to come across not one, but two Aarakocra soldiers, all alone with him.

"What do we do?" Kim froze in place. "Men, what do we do!?"

"S-stay calm!" Men said, already nervously twitching. "We, uh-"

Men's last second planning was interrupted by Agria- not in the mood to let these birds bore him with their strategies- charged towards them, extending his neck out to try to snag one in his teeth. Men and Kim stumbled out of the way, barely avoiding him enough to bounce off of his jaw instead of into it.

Men clutched his chain and shouted to Kim. "Fight!"

"FIGHT!?" Kim screamed. "TH- click- THAT FUCKING THING!?"

"We're not gonna out-fly him- it's all we can do!"

Agria, swooping around above them, looked at Men, and laughed.

"Wishful thinking to say you can fight, bird!" He said, his searing voice coated with the burn of embers older than Men’s recorded bloodline.

As Agria faced Men Za-Hel directly, and began charging again, Men threw his whip at his jaw. Though it surely would have bounced harmlessly off his scales if he let it, wanting to have a little fun with these two, he caught the weapon's blade in his mouth, and tugged the chain back against him.

Men, in a feat of strength impressive enough to surprise Agria, managed to pull back and resist Agria's force, if only for a moment. However, a second tug inevitably sent the boy careening towards the dragon. Men's back slammed against one of Agria's front teeth, and he fell onto his hands and knees, positioned between multiple razor-sharp skewers, ready to impale him at the spasm of a muscle.

Men tried to get up and fly out before Agria could snuff out his life, and while he was almost able to stand up completely, he was met with an unbearable piercing pain in his leg, stomach, and shoulder as Agria bit down. He shrieked in pain as his body trembled, and he felt his head get light.

Agria's teeth pressed deeper through Men Za-Hel's body, tearing his wounds apart further by the moment. Men desperately reached out towards the light of day, which now looked like nothing more than a blurry stream of bright, shapeless warmth. His unspoken prayers were then and there answered, when the sound of rushing metal tore through the ringing in Men's ears. A chain whip rushed through the gaps between Agria's teeth, wrapping tightly around Men's neck, before promptly pulling him away with reckless force. 

While his leg and shoulder were wrest free from their peril without much issue, Men felt the already excruciating pain in his stomach grow exponentially, as the tooth impaling his side tore through him, ripping off a sizeable chunk of flesh as Men was forced out from the monster's mouth.

Men was dragged through the air, and tumbled onto the cloud floor once again, by Kim's side. Men Za-Hel coughed violently as her chain whip unwound itself from his neck.

"Sorry," She said, whistling. "I tried t- fuck- to get your arm."

Bleeding profusely, and still choking, Men did not reply. Kim looked back up at Agria, who was glaring at her from above, burning her with his terrible gaze.

"Impressive stunt, girl." He snarled. "It bought him seconds."

"Seconds he didn't have." She glared back, readying her whip again. "I feel like cashing out."

Agria dove down towards Kim, who dashed forward to remain out of reach of his maw. Using the dragon's size to her advantage, she ducked through Agria's torso, and once his head was facing the floor trying to reach her, she swung her chain whip upwards, gliding it from the monster's neck all the way up to the bottom of its stomach, making a clear, concise cut down the middle of the dragon's softest, weakest point.

The wound itself was small, but by all means visible. As the blade of the weapon snagged off of Agria's stomach, it briefly caught itself on one of the scales by his hip- tearing it off, and sending it flying into the air with the blade. Kim caught the scale on her way up, still fleeing from Agria.

Agria grumbled from the minor sting she left, and twirled through the air to re-balance himself, whipping his tail straight through Kim, sending her crashing onto the clouds below faster than she could realize she was hit.

Men, who had just found the strength to stand back up, saw Kim hit the ground, and cried out as he felt the sheer impact of her body hitting ground. He rushed to Kim's side, and Agria landed back on his feet in front of them both.

Agria watched as Men Za-Hel helped Kim up.

"I'm fine Men, you get out of here!" She assured him, her head still visibly spinning.

"Collect yourself, soldier! We're still in danger!" Men shouted, stepping in front of Kim to face Agria once again.

"Collect my… no, Men- I can stall him, you need to get to a cleric!" Kim said, her vision stabilizing enough to realize that Men, still bleeding and shivering, was holding his weapon and standing between her and the dragon.

"Not interested in your lover's diversion, boy? I admit, if she dances with me well enough, it might save your life." Agria teased, his voice crackling as something built up from within him.

"You… k- k- click- keep your r-rotting… bloody claws… off of her." Men glared, trying to suppress his clicks and trills with heavy panting.

Agria chuckled, and opened his mouth- breathing in, and fueling the hellish, boiling furnace that had been rising up his throat. Kim and Men felt a wave of intense heat wash over them as they stared in horror at the inferno of chaotic flame lashing and clawing out from the depths of this monster's core. Agria tightened his stance, and centered his head on the two Aarakocra- the red light nearly blinding them as the blast of flame came steadily closer to letting loose. Their portal to the Nine Hells was opening right before their eyes, feeling leagues more literal than they ever would have imagined.

It was then, as Men and Kim closed their eyes and turned their heads away from the blistering heat, that a majestic, mighty CAW rang out from the heavens above them. Suddenly, Agria reeled back, whipping his neck up in pain as a brilliant golden light shot through his veins, almost outshining the fire as it exploded out from Agria's mouth. The full force of a volcano's blast, packed with all the relentless, roaring fury of an army of screaming demons, raced out into the air, the weather itself seeming to bend and change to match the will of a monster more powerful than nature itself. An untrained eye would be unsure, watching such an event, if the heat was deceiving them, or if the sky itself had turned red in reaction to one puff of the dragon's infernal lungs.

While a majority of the dragon's breath was released into the empty air, Men Za-Hel, having not moved from his stance protecting Kim, still took a quick blast of searing flame, singing his feathers and sending him collapsed onto Kim, who barely reacted in time to catch him.

As the stream of fire cut short by the violent snapping of Agria's jaw, and the jolt of heavensent light faded away as quickly as it came, Rey Za-Hel leapt out from behind the dragon's back, flipping off of the monster's startled face, and landing in front of Kim and his son. His left hand stood protectively forward in front of his chest. In his right, wrapped around his wrist, he held the Celestial Bane. A glowing golden chain whip, marked from blade to link to link with intricate and illustrious engravings. It emanated a palpable magical aura that seemed to inject a sense of hope into Kim just from her being near it.

Agria lowered his tense neck back down until he was at eye level with the Aarakocra once again. Furious, he stared Rey Za-Hel dead in the eye.

"Za-Hel. You've interrupted my hunt, dog."

"Felt like hunting, myself." Rey grinned. "Unless you mind being my prey so terribly."

Agria nearly spouted flame again in pure frustration.

"Your militia would prevent my feeding- for these two children!? You would break our pact so frivolously, General!?"

"Our militia does nothing!" Rey retorted. "I come here as an individual, to face you of my own volition. If you wish to kill me on this field, that is your right, as it is mine. So come and slay me, beast! Unless you believe you cannot take this one bird, and his one weapon?"

Agria seethed with rage. His breathing shook as his claws dug into the ground, Rey not moving an inch despite sizing him up with his massive red wings. After a standoff that felt like it may never end, Agria growled, took flight, nearly blowing Kim and Men away in the process, and retreated into the horizon.

Rey sighed, and latched the Celestial Bane at his hip, turning around and kneeling to tend to his son's wounds, which Kim was already on top of.

"Thank God you were here!" Kim gasped, saluting the general.

"Thank God it was Agria you were facing." Rey responded.

"What?"

"Thank God Agria was hunting you, and not Xemmier." He explained. "Agria recognized my strength- Xemmier would have recalled that the Celestial Bane isn't my weapon, and belongs to the militia."

Kim nodded, still too much on edge to totally follow his logic. Her attention snapped down to her lap as Men Za-Hel groaned, and stirred lightly on the ground.

"Men!" Rey shouted. "Men, can you hear me?"

"Y-yeah…" Men whispered. "You're…"

"What is it, love?" Kim asked.

"...Father, you're crushing my stomach."

Rey looked down, and realized that, in his efforts to apply pressure to the wound on his son's side, he had lost control of his strength, and was only hurting the boy further. Rey backed off of his son, who slowly sat up, opened his eyes, and rubbed his forehead.

"What happened?" Men asked, looking around to confirm that he was still in Freefield.

"The general arrived right as Agria was about to kill us both! He scared him off, Men- the dragon's gone!"

"You…" Men turned to look at his father, confused. "How did you know we were here?"

"I was already looking for you." He explained. "When I asked around, Sha-Hid told me you had gone hunting. As soon as I realized Agria was active as well, I had to check just in case."

"Of course." Men palmed his face. "And what exactly were you looking for me over?"

"You'd been gone from A’rôkell for hours already, boy- I wanted to see what you had gotten yourself into! Besides, I wanted to take you with me on a trip to the Water District, to educate you on their way of life."

"I wasn't aware I was on a curfew, Father." Men complained.

"Men, don’t be like that!" Kim snapped. "Perhaps you should be supervised, the general just saved your life."

"As I've saved his ass times in return." Men replied. "In fact, if we're counting, I believe the debt is still in my favor."

"Hah!" Rey laughed. "It'll be a cold day in Hades before I'm indebted to you, whelp."

Men Za-Hel stood up, and brushed himself off, stumbling lightly on the way up. Kim rushed up to his side, and held onto his arm.

"We should take you to a hospital, Men. Can I carry you?" She asked.

"I'm fine, I'll take myself in a minute." He replied. "Just… let me collect myself a little longer."

"I'm proud of you, Kim." Rey said. "You've done your country a great service, standing by my son in the face of death."

"With all respect sir, I didn't do it for my country." She said, smiling.

"Then as this fool's father, you have my sincerest thanks, and my deepest respect."

Kim bowed, humbled. Rey leaned in, to get face-to-face with his son.

"Loyalty like that is to be cherished, son. I hope you realize just what you've stumbled upon."

Men laughed, and straightened his posture. He turned to Kim, a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"Kim… first of all, thank you. You have no idea how grateful I am to have had you by my side just now."

"You can make it up to me by running next time I tell you to, moron." She scolded, not breaking her smile.

"I… right." Men stuttered. "Kim, you… you display every trait our people strive for, to a degree the rest of us fantasize of ever achieving. A woman as virtuous- as dependable- and as desirable as you should get to live and love as freely as your whims beckon you to."

"...What are you saying?" Kim asked, apprehensively.

"I mean… I mean you shouldn't tie yourself down with me, Kim. So many men would-"

"Oh gods, this again!?" Kim whined. "What is with you, Men? Why are you trying so hard to keep me out of arm's reach?"

"Because of what I am!" Men responded. "All of you are allowed to flirt, marry, or have families with whoever- or however many people you want! But I'm going to be General one day, and with that, there are exceptions. If we marry- Kim- if you become mine- you will be only mine. I don't want to be the one to take that part of your life away from you, especially if I won't be put under the same restrictions!"

Rey shot daggers into his son's neck from behind, as Kim scoffed, in disbelief of what she was hearing. She shook her head, and kept from slapping him then and there.

"You seem just fine being the only one to decide that my choices don't get taken from me. Do you think I didn't know about polygamy when I first started talking to you? Do you think I kissed The Soldier Prince thinking my actions had no consequences? I'm not a fool, Men. I know what I'm signing myself into, even if you don’t seem to."

Kim held Men's cheek with her right hand, stepping closer to him and taking his hand with her left.

"I don't want anyone else, Men. This is the future I see for myself, and I'm happier for it. I want to keep flying- keep fighting- keep nearly dying by your side. And when the time comes, I want to raise this district's future leader with you, and whoever else you may bring into our lives."

Rey finally jumped in. "I hope you weren't expecting to turn every girl away like this, boy. I hadn't realized I let you grow into such a coward."

"Coward's a word for it." Kim chuckled. "If you're too afraid to take me as your own, then I'll do it myself."

Kim took a step back, and got on one knee. Men stared at her, trying desperately not to let his ticks take him again. Kim reached into her satchel, pulled out the large, shining red scale she had sliced off of Agria just minutes ago, and presented it to him.

"Men Za-Hel of the Sky. My heart, body, and mind have dedicated themselves wholly, not just to this country, but to you. I would walk thousands of miles by your side, to see the future you would bring about for the people of Solevi. Will you take my hand in marriage- and show me that future?"

Men Za-Hel stood there, frozen still, terrified for reasons he could never articulate. The wind whistled around them, not a sign of life in sight save for the three of them, standing together in this captured moment in time. Finally, he reached for Kim's hand, took the scale, stood her up, and pressed her chest up to his.

"I will show you everything I have to bring. Hand in hand, I promise a perfect future for the world, and promise that world… to you."

Men Za-Hel kissed Kim Té-Ya, and the two embraced. Battered, bruised, and bleeding, the Soldier Prince engaged to his first lover, a milestone for the history of the Sky District- and eventually, all of Solevi.