"Fire dragons are, historically, the most problematic breed of dragons, even worse than dark dragons, which is a surprise in and of itself. These fiery monsters blindly follow their instincts and the will of their Clan to the point of being considered zealots. Some speculate that they are led by some kind of 'Emperor', but every scholar worth their salt knows that no one would be able to rule this chaotic bunch."

-Sage Dolan, professor of the Beacon of Civilization.

Nashariel pov

So fricking heavy! The omnidragon thought, lifting the house-sized boulder. She strained under the tons of rock, then laid it nearby as delicately as she could. Perhaps this time we’ll get the surprise attack.

The rest of the group swarmed inside the cave. The Rangers knew the place and it showed. They guided the rest of them inside the smallest tunnels, those where no dragon could ever reach them.

Nashariel transformed into a dragokin, following them.

Mere minutes later, their guide, Garel, signaled them to stop. He sniffed the air, his ears twitched a few times. Suddenly, the wolfkin resumed moving, but at a much faster pace.

The rest of them had to jog to keep up the pace, but no one complained loudly.

Garel slowed down again, carefully peeking from a hole in the wall. He sharply took in a breath.

Nashariel could sense it too, now.

Other elves.

And the two dragons.

Slowly, the wolfkin backed off. He signed them to retreat to the entrance.

Back at the boulder, Nashariel listened to the Rangers arguing with each other.

Apparently, Garel recognized the city’s druid, Phillia, among the people in there. As for why a Warband took prisoners, no one knew. Which was the main discussion point, besides how to rescue them.

They had thought about collapsing the whole cave on the couple, but their find had… complicated the plan, to put it mildly.

"Why hasn't Phillia run away already? You said that she still has her staff."

Garel let out a grunt. “I’m sure she has her motives. Now, how do we bring them out?”

Althos frowned. “How did they look?”

“A bit ragged, but they seemed healthy enough.”

“Are we sure that they want to be rescued? Think about it: Fire dragons are known to despise us, yet they keep some close to their lair, temporary it may be. Isn’t it strange?”

The question made everyone in the group pause.

“What are you suggesting? That she sold our village?” Asked Garel, gritting his teeth.

Lophien stepped in. “Let’s not kill each other, please. Whatever the reason, she asked for help from Varastill,” he nodded towards the watching Templars, “I suggest that we ask her after this is done. Agreed?”

The Rangers nodded, and the rest of them modified their plans.

Nashariel stood in the main tunnel, impatiently waiting for the others. The chosen plan consisted of half the Rangers retrieving their villagers, then collapsing the cave repeatedly on the fiery pair until they died.

The angry roars following the scampering run of the people weren't promising in the least.

The elves approached, followed by a wave of flames. They didn't stop to question why a solitary dragokin stood in front of them and passed Nashariel without sparing her a second glance.

“Have fun!” Shouted Garel, loudly laughing.

‘Have fun’ he says. The girl snickered. A strange sense of humor, that one. She absentmindedly clutched the Torment-Core in her chest. With a little bit of luck, this little one will be re-fired in a moment or two.

From the flames, the pair appeared, looking greatly pissed. They focused their hateful gazes on Nashariel, unleashing a pair of fiery torrents together. Bathed by flames, Nashariel shifted in her fire form, and her True one.

The dragons, shocked, hesitated for a moment.

She decked them both, just to properly say hello.

They recoiled from the blow, some of the female’s scales broke.

Weaker defenses. I must focus on her first. Nashariel decided, shifting from fire to water. She charged her breath and aimed at the ceiling. The cave groaned, and rocks fell on the stunned duo, but not as much as she hoped. Cursing under her breath, she retreated in her dragokin form.

Nashariel vanished inside a tunnel, ignoring the dragons’ insults. Flames followed behind her, but a quick shift into her fire form let it wash over her without problems.

She exited not far ahead, facing the duo as her electrical self. Nashariel imitated the Burrowing storm’s tactic, playing hide-and-seek with the dragons. Stamina was going down, but [Omnidragon physique] enhanced her other passives, letting [Omnidragon might] regenerate her resources even faster. She was bound to be a wreck after this, but that was for later.

A moment before the next exit, a wave of extreme heat washed over her, going through her resistance. What the…? Nashariel had no time to think, as the stone above her started melting. Ignoring this exit, she darted ahead, zapping towards the next one.

Crimson flames enveloped the fire dragoness, much darker and deeper than what Nashariel herself could summon. Her companion was missing.

An amused snarl behind her notified his location.

I’m trapped! She realized. The tunnels next to her were either demolished or melted through. The dragokin had forgotten that these weren't the monsters she was used to, but sentient ones. Brawn was just one of their sides.

“Finally!” Said the fire dragoness, “are you a dragon or a mouse? I couldn’t see the differences!” She snickered.

Nashariel remained silent, Identifying the two. She's higher level than him.

“Seems like Mother was right. And your idea worked, Shandra.” He said.

The other fire dragon grinned. “Of course it did!”

The omnidragon was confused. The dragon I faced talked about ‘Shandra’s idea, and he seemed to recognize me. “What are you two blabbering about? How do you know me?”

Shandra giggled. “Oh, no one told you. Let’s see… a dragon that can shift her elements? Check. A dragon that works with mortals? Check. A dragon whose awakening has alerted all of us? CHECK.”

“All dragons know about you, usurper.”

Nashariel stopped breathing. “What…?”

The female flared her flames. “Life after life, you always seek other dragons to massacre or rule upon. The Emperor cannot allow you to oppose him!”

“Better luck next life, Omnidragon.” The male growled, his flames more subdued, but equally hot.

Nashariel put aside the thousand of thoughts crossing her mind. She saw the fire dragons breathe in tandem, the flames becoming white-hot. The dragokin darted below the male, too fast for his swipes, running towards the exit.

She ran as fast as she could, ignoring her depleting stamina. The omnidragon came out of the cave without stopping.

The duo soon followed-

“Now!” Daras shouted.

As one, five ballistae fired. The giant projectiles sunk in the dragons’ chests, forcing them back.

From above, the same boulder that Nashariel lifted before fell on the pair with a sickening crunch.

The flames died down.

“Well, that was easy.” Said one elf near Nashariel.

The girl was about to punch him hard, when-

“No notification!!!”

The boulder cracked, Shandra lifting it with a snarl. She threw it on a ballista, smashing it and the startled people arming the weapon in a moment. The male incinerated another group with a single breath.

“Die like you’re supposed to, Mortals!” Screamed Shandra, flaring up once more.

Nashariel stared at the bodies. Suddenly, she was back at the bay, where a monster killed and fed on innocent sailors. At the time, the only thing she could do was watch, her body too weak to approach. No more.

The dragon shifted back in her true form, Taunting the pair. “Come and get me, Weaklings!”

Taunt or not, the dragons both snapped towards her. Nashariel fell into her [Fury], metal surrounding her. Steel danced around her, while she charged the duo.

[May these flames become embers!] Chanted Veliel from above. She sang, and Nashariel felt her body become tougher.

The omnidragon slammed into Shandra, biting her neck until she tasted blood.

The female snarled. She grabbed the Astillian's chest, then slammed her to the ground with almost no effort. She was about to bite her in turn, but a rhythmical, metallic bang distracted her for a vital moment.

Thanks, Dorel. Nashariel rolled on the side, then speared the other dragon with her tail.

Shandra reacted in time to twist out of the way, but a thin line of broken scales proved her lack of dexterity.

The male slammed his tail against Nashariel’s armored flank, the metallic sound echoing in the cave behind him.

The area around the three titans had grown to a literal inferno. Grass ignited and vanished in puffs of smoke. Stone melted and dripped on the uncaring dragons.

Despite this, an axe found its way into the male’s eye.

“Ah, finally!” Garel laughed, his eyes flaring red. He howled, dropping on all fours. He pounced on the dragon like a madman, caring not for his burning body.

An armor of vines soon appeared on him. The druid, Phillia, was wearing a heavy frown. Where her staff glowed, grass ignored the flames.

Nashariel ignored the man and focused on the dragoness in front of her. She swiped her metallic claws, but the other countered with one of hers.

Shandra slammed into her, sending them both to roll on the ground. Her aura scorched Nashariel even within her armor.

They tried to bite each other, but the other always avoided a vital hit. The fire dragoness was clearly superior in both power and strength, but Nashariel was better equipped.

Her wings easily won when clashing with the other’s, receiving little damage in return. Her spear-like tail managed to elude Shandra’s defenses, and sunk deep in her back.

The fire dragoness roared, slapping Nashariel away from herself.

The girl rose in an instant, retaliating with one of her charged breaths. The storm of razors dug in the other’s flank, until Shandra interposed her wing, avoiding mortal wounds, but sacrificing the limb in turn. She roared in agony.

Nashariel's body was fuming, and most of her armor had melted. She deactivated her skill since some of the liquid steel was burning her insides. She glanced at her health.

*7.893/13.000 *

Not bad, but better safe than sorry. Nashariel shifted into her Dark form, preparing another breath.

Something slammed into her. She flew for a while, trying her best to re-orientate herself.

The male protectively stood near Shandra, who was taking in deep breaths. He looked healthy if annoyed.

The elves and Templars kept pelting the duo, but most of the arrows became ash mid-air, and even the vines conjured by the druid easily caught fire. Veliel kept singing, casting spell after spell on their allies. Garel was covered in deep burns, and he was held together only by the burnt armor that he wore. The villagers wore determined expressions, tightly gripping their weapons.

The dragon whispered at his fellow. She nodded, standing on her feet. The flames surrounding the duo intensified to an impossible degree. Instead of becoming more white, they shifted into a deep red. This time, the heat directly melted the ground. Even her companion looked uncomfortable from the heat.

Shandra screamed a primal roar. Her own body was set on fire. “Gaze upon our Clan’s might, Usurper!!!”

Nashariel, despite the distance she had put between her and the other dragons, still felt like she was breathing raw flames. What the heck is that skill?! The omnidragon had to stop her thinking yet again, as the living fireball that was Shandra launched at her. Nashariel shifted into her lightning self, zapping away. She had the distinct feeling that that attack was a league above the dragon’s capability to sustain it.

Where the flaming dragon passed, lava marred the grassland. Her powerful jets of flames seemed to loose none of their potency, even a moment before exhausting mid-air.

Nashariel zapped around, taking full advantage of her superior quickness. She hoped that she would last longer than the health of her opponent. The omnidragon spat a bolt of yellow lightning, against the maddened dragoness. Unfortunately, her breath weapon missed, harmlessly discharging against a patch of burned grass. Grunting in irritation, she took flight, counting on her altitude to counter Shandra.

The male once again came to the rescue of his friend. He flew above her, bathing her within his flames. Once Nashariel beat her wings to go out of the way, he fell on her, grabbing her wings and twisting them with a loud crack.

Nashariel screamed. She managed to turn her body to fall on the dragon’s belly, but the action damaged her wings even further. She managed to scramble away from the stunned dragon, but Shandra was upon her.

The fire dragoness cackled, even if some of her scales had vaporized. She chomped one of Nashariel’s legs.

Before her limb became the other dragoness’ lunch, Nashariel re-transformed in her dragokin self. She shifted into her dark self, consuming all the mana she was able to in a charged breath. The hungry mist gave her back some much-needed health. Glancing at her mana, Nashariel noticed that the other's flames were rapidly refilling her reserves, so she activated her fully powered aura too. She was still losing mana at a rapid pace, but her health was nice and steady. Ish.

The other dragon wasn’t amused. As if the heat around her wasn’t enough, she flared up her aura. The membrane of her wings vaporized, as did most of her broken scales. “Why won’t you die?!” She screamed.

Nashariel didn't reply. She dedicated all her attention to dodging every strike sent after her. The other dragoness feinted, but Nashariel failed to notice it. To her horror, the swipe that connected with her already bitten paw sliced cleanly through her bones, cooking her flesh in a moment. The damage had been so instant that she hadn't even felt any pain.

The male dragon too was feeling the heat. He panted heavily but refused to back down. He grinned at her, then unleashed his breath.

The three limbed Nashariel tanked the hit to avoid a tail-slam of the other's companion. The health she stole was helping her to regenerate, but her body needed time to properly heal, as [Omnidragon might] needed some time for regenerating a limb. The omnidragon kept stepping backward, each moment the scorching flames seared her more and more. In a flash, Nashariel remembered one of her deaths, the one where a multitude of crazy powerful fire dragons overwhelmed her. This heat felt very similar.

Panicking, the omnidragon shifted again into her lightning self, bursting away. The tip of her tail was chopped off, but she didn't care about that. Nashariel put herself as far as possible from the living inferno, heaving for breath.

She was soon in reach of Veliel's songs and spells. The priestess provided her with much-needed relief, if only for her body.

They watched as a golem made of dirt and mud stomped past them, slowly running toward the flaming pair. Phillia touched Nashariel’s body, wincing at the cooling heat.

The Astillian felt her body match her numerical regeneration, despite the limbs aching as if a press munched them. She muttered some thanks. What the heck is that golem?!

The golem kicked Shandra, but the fire dragon retaliated with a crimson breath, hot enough that the golem’s muddy parts cooked into clay in seconds. The giant construct ignored the stream of flames, grabbing and slamming her against her companion, before crumbling to ashes.

“Last push! For the Huntress!!!” The elves shouted as one.

Ignoring the flames, groups assaulted the stunned pair as best as they could. From behind them, arrows powered with skills and spells flew, finally hitting their targets. Rogues appeared and disappeared in a flash, debilitating joints and scoring critical hits.

The team looked at each other. They wordlessly charged together with the villagers.

Nashariel needed her regenerations at full power, so, even shifting into her Light form, limited herself to power her healing aura at a steady level. She and Dorel kept Taunting the fire dragons, thus limiting the casualties as much as possible.

The monsters were at the brink, but they locked their eyes on the omnidragon. They flared their aura in tandem, propelling their bodies towards her in their last assault.

Dorel darted in front of her. He summoned his enlarged shield, feeding it all his mana.

For a moment, it held, and the monsters’ momentum was stopped. Then it broke.

Shandra and her companion ignored the radiant light searing their scales and pounced on Nashariel.

The girl quickly swiped her paw at her friend, throwing him out of the way with little grace, then shifted to earth and summoned the armor. If I can’t outdamage them, I will outlast them!

With a thunderous roar, Nashariel stood her ground. The aura around her turned poisonous, then the gas was set aflame and turned into noxious fumes. The pair didn’t like that at all.

They slammed into the omnidragon’s form, forcing her to skid back a lot. [Earth armor]’s etheric nature wasn’t susceptible to the flames, preventing Nashariel from cooking inside it. With the added durability from the most stoic among the elements, Nashariel stood on two legs, avoiding the others’ bites and claws. She intensified the poison, hoping dearly that none of the elves was close enough to be affected, watching as her opponents coughed repeatedly.

As opposed to her, they hadn’t had the opportunity to heal, so their bodies were in shambles. Nashariel abused this.

She bit where their scales were broken, fought where the male’s eye was missing, and powered through their consumed muscles and broken joints with her might. The omnidragon was battered in turn, but the fear of the flames and her renewed vitality forced her to keep going on and on.

In time, Shandra’s flames extinguished. She fell on the ground, only a charred corpse. A notification ringed in Nashariel’s ears.

Her companion spared her a glance, then glared at Nashariel with utter hatred. He abandoned every pretense of defensive measures, giving his all to kill her.

The omnidragon endured. She waited for the perfect opportunity, then struck. As one of the other’s claws bounced on her protection, Nashariel exploited the rebound to lunge beneath his guard. She bit as hard as she could feasibly manage just below his skull, then twisted to one side.

Almost with no resistance, the bones broke, and another notification ringed in her ears.

Nashariel dispelled her skills, instantly dropping on all fours. She felt like vomiting from the fatigue, and the world became blurry. Later. Shaking her head, she blinked for a while, clearing her sight. She watched as Veliel was already at work, the poor siren still singing, while Dan helped Dorel, who was clutching his arm, twisted in the wrong direction.

The villagers were dropping one by one. The adrenaline that kept them on their feet was vanishing, and, with it, their ability to not faint.

Nashariel couldn’t clear the blur from her eyes, so she shifted into her Light form and used her healing breath on them, fully empowered by her mana. She tried to get up but failed to do so. The omnidragon glanced at her feet. They were charred, but not to the bone. Her muscles simply refused to obey. Resigned, she assumed her dragokin form. There was less mass to heal, this way.

As soon as she was approached by the druid, she managed to croak a word. “Heal?” Nashariel sent a nod towards the approximate location of the cave.

“Those who have yet to lose their fight against the Hunter are well,” the elf replied with a soothing voice. Then her staff glowed brightly. “Stand still for a minute, please.”

Nashariel felt a more intense wave within her body, slowly replacing her burned flesh with new tissues. It also repaired her nerves, allowing the omnidragon to feel all the pain. After the Torment circle, this was nothing.

Less than an hour later, Phillia sent the fallen within the earth, giving them the last goodbye.

There had been around two-hundred villagers when Nashariel and her team teleported here. Another hundred or so had been found in the dragons’ lair. Out of those people, only eighty survived, excluding the Templars.

Nashariel watched as the charred form of Garel sunk into the ground, together with Lophien’s and a Ranger named Orthal.

While the girl had kept the frenzied Shandra occupied for most of the time, her companion had wreaked havoc, before joining her.

The brave villagers had ignored the infernal heat to land just one more blow, one more chance to help the others in battle. They had paid dearly.

Nashariel stared at each of their corpses. My skills keep telling me that I’m a ruler, or above other dragons and such. She stared at the grass, where growing flowers decorated the tombs. I don’t feel like that. She had outlasted her opponents, survived, but the cost…

Nashariel clutched the Core in her chest so hard that her knuckles whitened.

I don’t feel like that at all.