Path of Dragons

Elijah stared at the fantastic scene before him, unsure of how he was intended to react. He was perched upon a tall spire overlooking an enormous city of ivory towers, marble platforms, and domed palaces. Delicate bridges stretched between them, bearing countless tiny figures. A green haze hung in the air, while a half-dozen moons hung in the sky, each with a subtly different hue and brightness.

The air practically buzzed with atmospheric ethera so dense that it put even the ambient energy of his cultivation cave to shame. An enormous shadow enveloped miles across the city, and when Elijah looked up, he could only gape at its owner. The figure was truly magnificent, with glittering sapphire scales and wings that stretched for a dozen miles in every direction.

It was a dragon.

From its long, sinuous neck, claws the size of skyscrapers, and undeniable majesty, it was unmistakable. Before, Elijah had seen only two other dragons. Kirlissa had always appeared to him in a bipedal shape that resembled a human being, albeit one with intermittent scales and hair made of literal gold. Then there was Saraalinisa, the young dragon he’d rescued what felt like a lifetime ago. Ironically, even though he knew that Saraalinisa was far less powerful, she was closer in form to the majestic creature overhead.

Yet, even that felt like comparing a lemur to a Greek god. Sure, some of the parts were the same, and there was a chance that they shared a common ancestry. But the difference in power was so vast that any similarities were lost amongst the magnitude of the disparity.

When Elijah was buffeted by the wind from the dragon’s passage, he realized that he was no longer in a familiar form. With four legs, it was easy to assume that he’d somehow been pushed into the Shape of Venom, but he also felt wings like he was using his flight form. Only a second later, he realized the truth.

Like the creature far above, he was a dragon.

It should have been obvious – especially considering the power he felt coursing through his body – but it still took him a few moments to wrap his head around it. Once he did, it began to make a little more sense. His first core vision had centered on the origin of the first dragon, so this one would surely focus on another piece of draconic history.

No sooner had that realization struck him than two things happened in quick succession. First, the dragon overhead disappeared entirely, only to reappear as a speck in the vast and hazy distance. Second, the sound of heavy footsteps announced that Elijah was not alone.

“The universe will be ours!” came a guttural shout, and even as Elijah whipped his sinuous neck around, the din of thousands of responses washed over him. A second later, he saw the owners of those voices racing in his direction. There were thousands of them. Millions, maybe. And they were angry, each and every one.

In some cases, it was difficult to tell – Elijah was no expert in draconic expressions – but there was a universal language to unrelenting anger that he could read well enough. He had just enough time to recognize that they came in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and, apparently, races, before they swept past him.

Thankfully, they didn’t seem intent on attacking him. Instead, as they pushed past him, they leaped into the air, spread their wings, and flew toward the nearest bridge. For Elijah’s part, he tried to make himself as small as possible, but his actual size – in comparison to the others – made that virtually impossible. Inevitably, he found himself being jostled and pushed forward until he tipped over the side.

For the briefest of moments, Elijah felt panic grip his heart. Then, his long experience in the Shape of Sky as well as natural instincts of which he hadn’t even been aware took hold. His wings snapped out, glittering perfectly white in the green atmosphere, arresting his fall. He swooped down, the wind playing over his wings as he flew a few dozen yards below what he now saw was a horde of draconic beings.

Each of them had wings, though some were bipedal, while others went on four legs like him. They ranged from serpentine to lizard-like, with hundreds of variations in between. Scales were predominant, but there were also plenty of creatures with soft, moist skin like the amphibious Shape of the Master.

But what truly impressed Elijah was the sheer diversity of color. It almost felt like he was looking at a rainbow, though one with hundreds of non-primary hues represented as well. There were even a few creatures whose skin glittered like diamonds or precious metals.

Soon enough, he turned his attention to his own form, and he saw that his scales were alabaster, and his wings were almost metallic in texture. They didn’t feel any different than his wings in Shape of Sky, so he suspected they were still organic, regardless of how they looked. Whatever the case, they still held him aloft, working far more smoothly than the wings he was used to.

As Elijah watched, the last of the dragon-like creatures leaped free of the platform and followed the others, many of which had already landed on the bridge in the distance. Letting his curiosity get the best of him, Elijah drifted closer, and he saw a battle erupt among the people upon the bridge.

Many of the first victims were wingless, and they went down in a heartbeat. However, it only took a moment before other dragons – for that was all they could be – rose up to oppose the attackers. Soon enough, the battle encompassed the entire length of the bridge, which stretched for nearly two miles in both directions.

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More hordes of dragons soared in from above, while others came from below. Elijah looked down to see that the city’s orientation was just as vertical as it was horizontal, and he couldn’t even see the ground below. Instead, he only saw crisscrossing bridges and shorter towers.

Importantly, the battle wasn’t confined to the single bridge before him. Instead, it raged across the entire city. Millions of dragons fought and died in the space of a few moments, and Elijah knew that it was only beginning.

Suddenly, as the realization of what he was looking at swept over his mind, something collided with him. For a second, he spun out of control, but his instincts and experience served him well, and he quickly righted himself to find a half-dozen black figures circling him.

They were all bipedal and much smaller than him, with wingspans measuring only a dozen feet each, and from his perspective, they were no larger than dwarves. However, each one held a glittering silver trident.

“You do not fight. Why?” asked one, gently bobbing as its wings flapped. “Are you a Conqueror? Or a Caretaker?”

Elijah instantly knew two things. First, he had no clue what either of those terms meant, at least in the context of his current situation. And second, he was very well aware of which the black dragon preferred. Based on its tone, it belonged to the former group and clearly looked upon the Caretakers with some degree of disdain.

“Answer, White.”

Elijah opened his mouth, but before he could utter a word, a swarm of smaller creatures descended upon them all. The little things glittered with insectile wings, but they had the bodies of lizards. High-pitched screeches filled the air as they attacked the black dragons, and to Elijah’s surprise, the little dragon-flies were obviously winning.

At least for a few moments until the black dragons recovered from their surprise, and suddenly, the air was full of swirling black energy.

“Miskar!” came a hissing voice. “Come!”

Elijah looked down and saw another white dragon circling from below. His instincts told him to trust the newcomer, and in the absence of any other information, he chose to listen. Without a backward glance, he tucked his wings close to his body and dove. As soon as the other white dragon saw that he was on his way, they turned and dove as well. Soon enough, they’d left the black dragons behind.

Elijah followed as his guide led him among the lower towers, and they wove between them, dipping ever lower. Along the way, Elijah saw that his previous observation about how widespread the battle had become proved truer than ever could have expected. Everywhere he turned, there was fighting. Some of it was contained to the bridges, but much of it had spilled over into the skies.

Like him, more than a few singular dragons had been cornered by gangs of enemies, and many of the fights he saw proved to be particularly brutal. In one instance, Elijah thought he’d passed into a localized rainstorm, but when he looked up, he saw that a pair of building-sized dragons were fighting far above. And the rain was the blood from their many wounds.

As horrifying as that was, Elijah was more concerned with his own well-being, so he renewed his focus on following his guide.

Hours passed, and the truly expansive nature of the city was laid bare. The green mist never dissipated, and the lower they flew, the denser the ethera became. But with that climbing density came a deep sense of foreboding that Elijah could not explain.

Finally, after what felt like an entire day, they left the battle behind. The condition of the towers and platforms had long since begun to decline, and his guide soon led him to a particularly shabby example of the local architecture. They landed upon a rickety platform, and Elijah followed suit.

Until that moment, Elijah hadn’t even realized just how tired he was, but the moment his feet were on solid ground, he very nearly collapsed from exhaustion. The other dragon wrapped their wing around him, sheltering him as they said, “Be still. Rest. We are safe now.”

Elijah couldn’t have moved if he’d wanted to. His muscles simply wouldn’t work, so he had no choice but to do as he was told. Hours more passed, and Elijah dipped in and out of consciousness. At some point, he was moved inside – he didn’t even know how – and at some point, he overheard a conversation.

“We cannot!” hissed one voice. “It is not right. The Caretaker –”

“Will soon be challenged, and when she is, she will fall,” said the other. Elijah couldn’t open his eyes, so he just listened as that voice continued, “You know this. The Eldertalon is too powerful. He will defeat her. When that happens, everything will change. The Caretakers’ followers will be forced to surrender.”

“You can’t know that. Unless…oh, Ashar. No. Tell me you haven’t fallen for those lies.”

There was a pregnant silence before the other voice – presumably Ashar – said, “I do not believe they are lies. There is an entire universe out there. Multiple universes. We are the most powerful creatures in existence. As such, it is only right that we rule. We are born conquerors. We are dragons.”

“Our power is a responsibility. We are here to preserve the –”

“Enough. I have heard the Caretaker’s propaganda often enough. I reject it, as have most of our people. Or have you forgotten why we are out here in the abandoned reaches of the First City? Do you not feel the saturation? Your brother can barely stand it. Think of his –”

“I am thinking of Miskar. I hoped you would too.”

“Am I not? The Eldertalon will lead us to glory and prominence. All of the Empire of Scale will benefit, including Miskar.”

“This is the path of ruin.”

“I love you, Zaka. Please, see reason.”

“I love you too, but I cannot sanction your mistaken path. You must leave.”

“Zaka…”

“Go. Before my love gives way to disgust at what you have become.”

After that, silence stretched on. Vaguely, Elijah was aware of Zaka’s comforting presence, but he couldn’t hang onto consciousness for long enough to discover more. For some indiscernible amount of time, he dipped in and out of unconsciousness until, at last, he felt something around his neck.

That was when he began to recover. And finally, he regained full awareness to find the other white dragon looking down on him.

“I feared you would succumb to the saturation,” Zaka stated. “I am glad you held on long enough for me to acquire a talisman. But I am afraid we can no longer stay. The population of the entire city has been summoned. The Eldertalon has challenged the Caretaker. They will duel for control of the flight. We must go.”

Elijah blinked. He still wasn’t sure what was going on, but he felt an inexorable pull in a distinct direction. His instincts told him that he needed to heed that call, regardless of the consequences.

So, he bobbed his head, then pushed himself to his feet. “I am ready. Let us go.”

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