Chapter 68

Fight Fire With Fire

Nayali’s newly awakened mind allowed her to feel and merge with the spirit of the high wood elf priestess almost instantly. From this connection it was clear that while a connection existed for both parties, the amount of information Nayali was able to gain was superior to the information the helpful priestess was able to get. From the connection it was clear that the being who had been sent to help was none other than Octavia.

Not just any Octavia, but the Octavia. The very same ghost of a woman that Nayali had been compared against and found lacking since she first met Lykan.

Seeing her mind, it was clear why he had fallen for her. She was strong, fierce, and very loyal.

It was also clear that she was powerful, at least as far as high wood elf priestesses went, for how else could one send their spirit over such great distances to merge with her spirit.

There was a bit of fighting to maintain control over the body at first but feeling the spirit’s mind it was clear she only wished to help. Better there were ways she found that could save Lykan, though the name of the person she was saving never fully processed into Octavia’s mind.

Their connection was an odd one, while they could both share memories and thoughts with each other. It was clear that the connections on Nayali’s end were clearer. It was also clear that Octavia was nearly blind, at least in terms of being able to use her senses. Nayali chalked this up to her only being here as an assistant for this process. That somehow, she was only here to be able to sense enough of what was available and then act with what resources were on hand.

That was why Nayali was a bit leery about the actions and thoughts that Octavia was going to implement. There were clearly ways that could fix Lykan without the use for pain. But that would still leave the corrupted dragon, who could awaken at any point and kill them both if it happened at the wrong time.

This method would not only fix Lykan and the deformed dragon, but it would also incapacitate the dragon for the duration of the ritual.

This was the other thing about high wood elf magic it was powerful, but different. Or at least that is what Nayali was able to glimpse from the thoughts rolling through Octavia’s mind.

The ritual she chose to cast was a merge and purge form of magic. The concept of such a ritual was easy, both Lykan and the dragon were suffering from the same form of corruption tearing apart their bodies. This would merge their bodies together on a spiritual level and then cause the two different forms of corruption to fight each other for resources.

The actual way to implement such a ritual was extremely complex.

Singing.

Nayali was singing in some odd foreign tongue. While she knew the meaning of the words being sung from her merger with Octavia, it was still odd to hear the foreign dialect come from her lips.

Part of Nayali wondered how this could be? Octavia thought in crisp clear thoughts that were easy to understand. Only after thinking about, it for a second did it dawn on her that their connection allowed the merging of minds, which bypassed the language layer of the mind.

Nayali felt her mind beginning to flood with thoughts and ideas as she watched Octavia work through her body. She found that she was merely a passenger for this whole ordeal, despite the actions occurring within her own body. While Octavia moved her body, forcing words and syllables to form that she never thought possible, her mind was able to create a deeper connection to the mind of Octavia. She was also able to gain a deeper understanding of what it meant to be a priestess for the great forest spirit.

While the great forest spirit was powerful, her magic wasn’t about power. While her people were strong and constantly sought ways to improve, they were not about strength. To be a follower of the great forest spirit meant finding and then accepting the balance of the world.

There was a harmony of balance that was taught in the methods used by the followers of the great forest spirit. Seeing the balance, even the way the priestess dealt with corruption was about balance. Rather than creating a more powerful spell that would disperse the corruption, the method employed was the only way to get rid of most of the corruption.

The only problem, this method was extremely painful for those involved.

“ROAARR!” The dragon roared out in pain as magical bands of binding grabbed the corruption and pulled it out towards Lykan.

“Mph.” Lykan was clearly in pain if the slight grunt he gave was any indication. Lykan never complained, even when he was recovering from the aftermath of their own battle he would only grimace in pain when no one was watching. Or at least when no one other than Nayali was watching as he could not hide his true emotions from her. Which was how she noticed the occasional wince or pause to regain his focus, before pushing through the pain.

To see Lykan like this, defenseless against the magic they were wielding made Nayali want to stop the process. But before she could say or think a coherent thought through their connection the words of Octavia came through.

“Good. He is a little resilient. Now to turn it up a notch.” Octavia thought.

“GRAWHH!” The pitiful dragon wretched out in pain. A wave of psychic energy shot out of its mouth trying to attack the foreign energy that was causing it so much pain. Unfortunately, the magical bond was on a different plane of existence and therefore unable to be touched by such a mundane attack. The only problem was that Lykan himself was on the physical realm, meaning he received the full force of the beast’s attack.

Nayali wanted to cry out to go to him, but found she was still not in control of her own body.

“Uh oh.” Octavia said through their mental connection.

There was a pause, as the two watched on. Fortunately, it seemed that Lykan had survived the blast, if only just barely.

The beast looked ready to continue fighting the connection.

“You need to form a bond with the dragon if you want to save your man.” Octavia said.

“What?” Nayali asked, not certain what was happening. In the end the only thing she knew was that now that this process had been started it couldn’t be stopped without one or likely both participants dying.

“Bond with the dragon. Use the first law of the great forest spirit.” Octavia spoke and as she did a whole myriad of moves and rituals came to mind.

“An old-world law?” Nayali said, as she wondered where and how Lykan had known to use such magics. Octavia for her part either didn’t hear or didn’t understand Nayali’s thoughts. This made sense as she was now working twice as hard to strengthen the ritual bond between the two parties.

Focusing her mind on the beast Nayali made the incantation. The words spoken weren’t all that important, what was important was the intent behind the words. Realizing that, the process was both simple and complex at the same time. She needed a strong Power base to be able to generate the energy needed for such a bond. Then she needed to connect her mind to the creature she wished to bond with, then she had to invoke part of the great forest spirit’s essence to form the bond.

It was so simple. No wonder Lykan could do the old-world laws so easily. He already believed in the old ways. Nayali had so many strands of clarity fill her mind that she was about to lose focus.

Shaking her head, at least mentally, she focused her entire consciousness on the psychic dragon and attempted to forge a bond.

“Pack of the shepherd.” Nayali said while focusing her entire consciousness on the beast’s mind. As she spoke, she felt the beast stop its pitiful cries of pain, as it turned its attention towards Nayali’s consciousness. Their two minds viewed each other, then using her newly acquired senses Nayali linked minds with the beast.

“You are in pain; I apologize for that. You are very sick and in need of healing. I…my sister and I are trying to heal you. But you are going to make such an act impossible if you keep flailing about.” Nayali said, then chastised herself for not being more concerning to the dragon.

Even in such a minor linking of minds it was clear that the dragon was in pain. Yet, through their linking of minds Nayali was able to take on half of the mental pain herself. Even such and act allowed the corrupted dragon to relax considerably.

With the dragon now mentally relaxed enough to hear her plea, she continued. “Will you form a pact with me. I know dragons can and do form pacts all the time. Though I hear their process is slightly different than what I am attempting to do. I am attempting to invoke the old-world laws. I want you and me to form a perfect bond. One where we both will succeed. With this bond both of our attributes will improve. I will even have a bonus applied to times when I try to heal or protect you. This would count as such a time, allowing me to fully remove the corruption from within you.” Nayali sent those thoughts and more to the beast.

Once again Nayali was surprised at how easy it was to perform mind to mind connections and how crisp the thoughts were able to be sent, without the confusion of language getting in the way. From their connection she could also tell how intelligent the dragon she wished to bond with was.

The dragon knew she would normally never give the time of day to such a proposal and felt trapped by circumstances. While the dragon did want to be cleaned of the corruption, it didn’t know if making such an unknown pact was worth being cleansed.

Feeling these thoughts, Nayali couldn’t help but agree with the beast. Opening her mind fully to the beast she tried to explain her thoughts. “Sorry. This is my first time doing this, and likely one and only time. I am Nayali Northstar, and you and my betroth…” She paused her thoughts as she tried to come up with the correct word to describe Lykan to the monster. Instead, when words failed her, she focused on the link. She shared every memory she had of Lykan, how she was filled with so much rage when they first met. How he slowly cured her of the corruption allowing her to become her true self once more. How he was so selfless to her, giving up going out into public so she wouldn’t be bothered by locals. How he had thrown away his entire military career to cure her.

Only now, seeing the methods being used by Octavia from within her own body did Nayali truly understand why Lykan’s meridians never grew back. He had purposefully severed them so he could consume the corrupted energy that he referred to as Qi. She let her memories play out as only a few days ago she had been pronounced clean of corruption.

Then thoughts filled her mind of how he would look up to the sky and sigh to himself. Only now did she realize that was due to his wishing to be up soaring and fighting in the heavens. The others of the team, well those who remained with the team once he was no longer able to be an officer, would speak of his prior training habits. How he would go to the Academy grounds and practice his sword work for hours.

At first Nayali thought it was their way of telling her how she lost. He was clearly more dedicated to training day in and day out than she ever had been. Even from their duel it was clear he had much more talent, while Nayali had more power at her disposal.

A shiver went down her spine as she realized he had given up his ability to fly, for her. With that thought in her mind she redoubled her efforts. Tears were in her eyes as she realized just how much Lykan meant to her.

With a shock, Nayali only realized later how she had left her emotional state open. Both the dragon and Octavia had seen those memories play out.

For Octavia she felt sorrow, as she looked to the bonds both the dragon and Lykan were sharing and wished she had gone with the easier method.

For the dragon she wanted to be cleansed of the corruption. She saw how it clouded the judgment of Nayali. How it caused her to have blackout moments of rage. How it wasn’t quite her in those moments. A faint chuckle went through their mental connection.

It took Nayali a moment to realize the dragon laughed.

“What, what is so funny?” Nayali asked.

“This man, your mate. He appears to be in the process of saving us both from the corruption.” The dragon stated.

With a start Nayali realized there was something to fact that they were now linked by fate, and by Lykan.

With that thought, Nayali too laughed.

“Florijma.” The dragon said. The word was so random that Nayali for a second had a hard time keeping up.

“Sorry, what?” Nayali asked, from their connection it was clear that this word had some value.

“My name, it is Florijma. If we are to be bonded as a Shepherd and Flock, we should at least know each other’s names. Don’t you think?” The dragon, no Florijma, asked with a chuckle.

Hearing that a faint smile filled her face as she sent her emotional state at hearing those words. She sent joy, hope, and relief.

With the initial steps of the bonds in place. Words and thoughts of what the bond should entail for both parties began flowing through their minds.

“I will heal you and care for you when you are weak.” Nayali began.

“I will hunt for you and provide protection for you.” Florijma, the psychic dragon, thought back.

So, it went. The two exchanged vows to each other, not of love or of demanded obedience. Instead, the two exchanged ways to better care for and look after each other. The dragon would gain Intelligence, and Power from this relationship constantly. Nayali would gain Power when defending or protecting her dragon. These thoughts and promises were exchanged at the speed of thought, which is to say incredibly fast.

With their oaths to each other complete, the seal was set, and a golden hue encompassed both Nayali and Florijma. Being at the center of the spell, Nayali could feel how this was a linking of fates. Until this pact was broken by either side, the two would forever be bonded.

As Nayali’s thoughts slowly released from their view of the dragon, she soon found that things had escalated quickly with Lykan.

Looking over at the form, Nayali realized that something had gone wrong. First there was a glowing mist of black smoke rising from Lykan. Second, Lykan’s normally golden eyes now glowed with a deep red hue that spoke of corruption.

Nayali looked to Octavia who had been so in control at first, but now when she looked at the elder priestess, she felt confusion and worry.

“What have you done?” Nayali demanded.

“I, I don’t know. I didn’t know he was already so badly injured internally. I didn’t think that…” Octavia rambled on. Her thoughts and fear were palpable to Nayali’s new and improved senses.

Nayali looked on in horror, as the black smoke poured out of Lykan and began burning and corrupting the ground around him. Only after a second did the cause of the black smoke make sense. The corruption that had been fighting each other from the two connected beings, Lykan and the dragon Florijma had been burnt to eradicate it. Such a process would only work if the two souls of both Lykan and Florijma were complete. The only problem was that Lykan’s soul was damaged, because of his duel with Nayali.

Only now with her heightened awareness of minds and ability to read minds did she read the truth from the unconscious Lykan’s mind. The fact that he had purposefully avoided healing himself to help rid Nayali of her own corruption.

“What can we do?” Nayali asked, a desperation in her voice.

“I, I don’t know.” Octavia answered, then there was a flash of a thought and a shutter as something clearly went through Octavia’s mind. It was something too fast for Nayali to understand but she did sense that it could work.

“What was that.” Nayali demanded.

“What was what?”

“That thought you just had, what was it.”

Sighing Octavia slowly brought up the thought. It was rough and crude, but there was a chance it could work.

“What would happen if we did this?” Nayali asked, seeing that the life force within Lykan was burning away slowly.

Octavia paused before continuing. “Best case. He lives but is forever sealed off from mana.”

“And the worst case?”

“He dies in more pain than he is currently experiencing now.” Octavia answered. Then guilt filled their bond as Octavia realized this was all because she wanted to make Lykan pay. She wanted to make him pay for not treating Nayali with the dignity and respect she deserved. Now, her actions would cripple or kill him. Or cripple him then kill him.

What she was suggesting could work, but the cost would mean Lykan would never be able to fly again. Even now, that had been a hidden dream for Lykan, that once he had cleared Nayali of her corruption, he would slowly be able to heal and thus fly once more. Now, they would need to forever deny him flight if he was to live.

Nayali didn’t know if she could do such a thing to Lykan.

Feeling her thoughts through their link, Octavia decided to do it for her.

“Wait, no.” Nayali cried out, but it was already too late, Octavia began enacting her wild plan.