Zag stood and looked out over the city’s main road and the gate in the distance. The wind battered at his bare chest and back as it swirled haphazardly.

When Zag had made his way to the rooftop he had been surprised to find an old man lounging in a chair looking out in the same direction. He had been even more surprised when he caught the man’s smell and what he sensed from his aura.

“What are you doing here, no, how are you even here?” Zag asked him once he identified what the man was.

“Do you think that we are really locked away from the world, young dragon?” the man grinned and laughed in what seemed genuine good humor. “We stay where we are because we have no desire to see our children disappear regardless of how rebellious they have become.”

Zag snorted, an almost instinctive distrust showed on his face.

“As for what, our goals merely coincide at this point, and my little scion turned out to be clever enough to find her own way to escape.”

Zag turned and looked at the man surprised by his statement.

“Did you think Ifrit would be the only one to pass on his powers, we’re a competitive bunch after all.”

“What is all this about?” Zag asked, his impatience flaring up.

“We don't have time for that conversation,” the old man pointed out to the gate. “Just, at some point soon you need to take the little bird out there to see him, your mother and he will explain it all. You have some work to do.”

“You are as much of a pain to deal with as your children,” Zag complained.

“Is that so?” the man tilted his head with a puzzled look. “Well, anyway, I already agree with the path you’ve chosen so I won't say anything more, fare thee well young dragon.”

Zag had to shield his eyes as the wind gusted up a sudden dramatic amount. With the stirring of dust that resulted from it the old man was gone, no trace of his smell or aura remained.

“Troublesome…” Zag muttered to himself.

Zag turned his attention back to the parade sluggishly making its way down the street. He could hear the trumpets being used to elicit cheers from the crowd surrounding its path. He could see the giant platform with what looked like a giant birdcage constructed on top of it being pulled along in the middle of the military formations.

He scowled at the entire procession as he crouched forward on the edge of the roof. He grasped the edge with his hand as he shifted into a half-blood form and unfurled his wings.

He decided they were in far enough that the panicking crowd would lock them down and launched himself from the roof. He made no effort to conserve energy and his wings flapped, again and again, to gain speed.

Almost before anyone had bothered to look up he slammed into the platform. He landed hard enough that the platform split right down the middle and collapsed. Several of the soldiers that were acting as guards on top of it were thrown off and crashed into the street.

Zag stood up as the dust swirled around him. He fully released his draconic aura into the panicking crowd and confused soldiers which drove everything into chaos. The crowd and even some of the soldiers broke and ran around blocking off all hope of anything moving or reaching the scene quickly unless it could fly.

In all the commotion Zag walked to the birdcage. After he examined the material and construction he grasped two of the bars and with a grunt bent one to the side and shattered the other. He cursed the one that broke under his breath as he went about bending the remnants out of his way.

He stepped into the cage and finally had unhindered access to the phoenix inside. She was lying limp on the floor, nailed to it with some kind of large spear.

Zag reached out and grasped the spear in his hand. When he made contact he felt a jolt journey through his arm and into his very core. He could feel it drive his body to change and as hard as he tried to resist he was unable to reverse it. Even letting go of the spear didn’t allow him to regain control.

“Dammit,” he cursed as he tried to back away out of the cage.

He didn't quite make it. The bars and cage shattered as he grew in height and bulk and if not for having reached out to brace himself he would have fallen on the wounded phoenix underneath him.

Now that he was in his pure-blood form with his unrestrained aura bashing at the minds of the beings surrounding him the panic kicked up another notch.

He slowly raised himself up as he looked down through the dust which had renewed its swirling. Once he could see it well enough he grasped the spear in his claws and snapped it in two. Very carefully he wrapped his forelimbs around her prone form, his claws even having to gouge grooves into the floor underneath to be able to grasp her. He slowly lifted her off the remaining part of the spear, her head and wings hung limp. She was completely out of it.

The healing properties of her phoenix fire were able to take effect once she was free from the spear, all they had been doing before that was barely keep her alive. A low and angry growl rumbled out from Zag as he realized how cruel this imprisonment was.

He adjusted his arms as best he could and cradled her to his chest to shield her from whatever the response of the few rational soldiers and their reinforcements would be.

Zag identified who had to be the person in charge. They were trying to rally those with a rational mind. He saw runners take off that were not merely fleeing from his aura, he thought they must be messengers seeking reinforcements.

He bared his teeth in an approximation of a grin and then let loose a roar that shattered the few glass windows of the buildings in the immediate vicinity. It had the effect he wanted, the commander stopped trying to rally and started barking orders and some of the soldiers scattered to surround him.

The soldiers started to spark with electricity and one even launched a bolt which slammed into Zag’s leg. He ignored it since it wasn't strong enough to pose any serious threat without repeated strikes at the same spot.

Zag let loose his flame straight down at his own feet. It billowed out forcing the soldiers surrounding him to jump back. Some of them began to shift into their forms, qilins, Zag thought they looked like scaled dogs.

“Are you all weak puppies?” he shouted out at them. “Surely you aren't all bark?”

One of them, the commander, managed not to give into his provocations but all of the others just launched lightning at him.

The commander shouted at them to stop but was drowned out by the crashes of thunder. One by one the attacks let up as the qilins made themselves exhausted and stood panting with their eyes glazed over. They were barely able to express their shock when the smoke and dust cleared and they saw Zag’s undamaged figure shielding the phoenix in his arms with his wings.

“You couldn't even damage my wing membrane,” Zag taunted them through his laughter. “Look at you panting with your tongues hanging out.”

Zag kept up his taunting as the commander looked around helplessly unable to do anything besides wait for reinforcements. After going on about how the qilins forefathers he fought in the Forgotten Kingdom were at least three times stronger than them Zag quieted down and glared at a spot down the road towards the palace grounds.

“Little Huilie, that’s a nice trick but why sit there while your subordinates embarrass themselves?” he asked what seemed like empty air. “Or were you just afraid of being put on your back again?”

“Zaganursarrum!” an angry voice spoke as the air shimmered like it was suddenly in the heat of the desert. A hazy form coalesced out of it taking on the shape of a great celestial serpent with glistening dark gray scales and electricity sparking around him.

“Eloquently said,” Zag lauded him with sarcasm. “Now, are you going to let me take this lovely chick here or do I have to knock you down first?”

“You think you can still knock me down, lizard?” Huilei snarled at him. “I am not a child that you can easily bully anymore.”

“I don’t think taking down someone who threw me through a building counts as bullying though,” Zag laughed off what he said. “So which is it? Are those shadowy fellows cowering behind the buildings going to get involved?”

He could see Huilei flinch when the figures were mentioned which cause him to chuckle. He could tell the figures were in no shape to do anything as they were just as affected by his aura as most of the beings around him were.

“Were you depending on them? Were you afraid your power alone wasn't enough?” Zag continued mercilessly taunting the serpent. “You haven't answered me yet, I’m willing either way.”

“Damn you! Curse you into the furthest reaches of an abyss!” Huilei lost his composure. “You knew perfectly well I’d be unwilling to risk the city, but I am perfectly willing to shoot you out of the sky you gods forsaken lizard.”

“Are you, and you think you can finish me off before the city burns?” Zag gave him the best smirk he could with his draconic features, “That would be impressive, should I just assume you are going to do that and start letting loose right now?”

Zag thought he could hear Huilei’s fangs grinding together in frustration. Even if he was imagining it his mood was improved at the thought.

“Well, snake,” Zag said when Huilei didn't say anything, “I’m going now, do your worst or even your best, it won't matter much.”

Zag spread his wings, the wind from which stirred the dust-up once again. Huilei acted on instinct and directed the dust away from himself. Zag let loose a blast of flame and foul-smelling black smoke right into the mass of swirling air that surrounded Huilei. The heat from the flame created a small updraft which conflicted with the currents Huilei was creating around him and the cloud of smoke rose right up into his face.

Zag strained his wings as hard as he could, he threw his massive bulk into the air and flew with all his might to create distance in the short time Huilei was distracted.

Huilei managed to get one lightning attack off, however, in the end, he was left hearing the laughing voice of the dragon asking him to tell his sister he said hello.

**

Bron and Aisling were sitting at a table outside of a completely empty outdoor eatery. The establishment was empty even of the cooks and serving people since there would be no business in the area with the parade going on.

They were waiting for the woman who had given Bron the letter to make contact with them.

“Is your father going to be fine by himself on this?” Aisling interrupted Bron’s impatient fidgeting.

“The promagistrate could possibly take him down but it would end in the city being gone,” Bron replied with a shrug. “The thing is there are no winged beings who can catch a dragon, most of them would even struggle to keep up with me if I pushed myself. He can get away.”

Aisling turned her head as she heard footsteps and saw a serious looking woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, if she were human, approaching them.

“That’s her,” Bron told her.

“Will he help?” the woman asked as she sat down next to them.

“He will,” Bron smiled. “That’s what we’re here for.”

“He's not going to directly help?” right after she said this they heard loud crashed coming from where the parade should be. “What is that?”

“That would be the old man,” Bron explained. “As for helping directly, we’re better suited for doing this than he is.

“What is he doing?” the woman was clearly distracted by the disturbance.

“He took an interest in the centerpiece of this parade,” Bron explained. “Now, we’ll need something from you and your mistress.”

“What is your plan then?” the woman still didn’t look too sure.

“I am going to summon both of you at the same time using spirits,” Aisling explained. “I need a medium for that, however, scales or claws something from your bodies that isn't perishable since we have to travel a ways before we can do the summons.”

“A witch?” the woman asked as an expression of disgust flashed across her face.

“Is that a problem?” Bron responded defensively.

“How does it work? Does the size of the target matter?” the woman moved back to the main subject.

“She summoned my father using my blood as the medium, I think she can handle you and your mistress when she has something actually from the target to work with,” Bron was almost boasting.

“It won't be a problem,” Aisling added while giving Bron an annoyed look. “My name is Aisling by the way.”

“I am Chouyan, Personal Attendant to Lady Liangfeng,” Chouyan bowed slightly with the introduction. “Where do you plan on summoning us?”

“If we can catch up with him, it’ll be wherever the old man is, if not, his lair,” Bron replied. “How much time do we have?”

“No more than a month,” said Chouyan. “I will check with my lady and if she gives her approval to the plan I will return here with the material you need within an hour.”

“We will wait here then.” Bron nodded.

The three of them looked over toward the commotion that Zag was causing and saw black smoke rise over the rooftops. Soon they saw Zag’s figure rise above them as well and watched as he flew into the distance after he brushed off one lightning strike.

“That lightning had to be the promagistrate,” Chouyan claimed.

“If that is the case you should hurry, the old man probably taunted him and I don't want to face any retribution for that,” Bron hurried Chouyan along.

“Right,” she took off running at a speed that was well above human capabilities.

**

Chouyan entered her mistress’ chambers panting from the run. She admonished herself for being out of shape before she straightened up and went deeper into the chambers.

“I saw him fly away through the window, Chouyan,” her mistress said from inside. “What happened?”

“Mistress,” Chouyan respectfully greeted her. “He sent his son and a witch to help us. They plan to summon us using scales, a piece of claw or horn as a medium. I came to relay that to you.”

“Could the witch even handle that? Oh, she must be how Zaganursarrum wound up on the battlefield with the phoenix legatus,” Liangfeng connected the dots almost immediately.

“That was what they told me as well,” Chouyan informed her.

“Where will they summon us?”

“They said they would either summon us where the dragon is or the dragon’s lair.”

“Then that is what we’ll do. Shift to your pure-blood form and we will help each other remove something.

Shortly afterward Chouyan was once again sprinting along the streets, this time carrying a bundle that amounted to her mistress’ only hope.

**

“Be very careful and do all you can to mask the smell,” Chouyan warned Bron and Aisling as she handed over the bundle that contained a piece of her antlers and a scale from Liangfeng. “If you are caught with these most beings will just attack you, especially if it is another qilin.”

Aisling muttered something and the bundle flashed with a green light. Chouyan could no longer smell the contents inside.

“How is it now?” Aisling asked them.

“I can smell nothing,” Chouyan sighed in relief as one of her worries were removed.

“We will be in the air most of the time anyway,” Bron said. Aisling groaned when she heard it.

“Just make sure to accomplish this as soon as possible, I am not sure the dragon’s actions will not cause the promagistrate to grow impatient. Those humans he has around seemed to be pushing for that as well.”

“Understood,” Bron snapped a military answer. “I hope to see you again soon and meet your mistress as well, stay safe.”

“Try to stay close together as often as possible,” Aisling added. “It will make the summoning easier. Farewell.”

“Yes, you both stay safe as well. My mistress and I have a lot riding on this, more or less her entire life.”

They parted ways after the farewells. Chouyan went back to the palace, this time not at a run. Bron and Aisling dodged the soldiers who were running around trying to restore order to the panicked public. They slipped over the wall by Bron grabbing Aisling and jumping them over with an assist from his wings.

Aisling dug through the pack they had brought with them and they rigged some straps that they used to lash themselves together. Once secured Bron took off and they flew away with Aisling complaining to herself about the condition she had just put herself in while trying to not look at the ground.

Every once in a while Aisling would close her eyes and open up a channel to the spirits tied to Zag. She would point to the direction Bron needed to fly and he would change course accordingly.