The Kingdom Razed by Dragons

by Virlyce

  Alice buried her face in her hands. “I’m a traitor to the human empire,” she said. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier. No, I saw it earlier, but I wanted to deny it. I threw away the empire, let it be ruined by skeletons, because I wanted companions I could trust. But in the end, Tafel was abducted by phoenixes, and Vur was taken away by a questionable teleportation formation. All I’m left with is you!” She kicked Mr. Skelly off the leviathan skeleton and ground her teeth together.

  “Ah?” Mr. Skelly asked as he climbed up the massive skeleton. “Didn’t you say you wanted trustworthy companions? What part about me is not trustworthy?”

  “Everything!” Alice said and exhaled while closing her eyes.

  Mr. Skelly scratched his skull. “I think you should learn to relax a bit,” he said. “Surely it can’t be fun being such a killjoy all the time, can it? Weren’t you also stuck at a wall in your training? I’m willing to bet it’s because of that stubborn attitude of yours. Think of how much fun it’ll be to conquer the continent with me. I promise I won’t betray you.”

  “You know what? Fine,” Alice said with a sigh. “I’m already on this tiger, might as well ride it the whole way. It’s a good thing I don’t have any family; I’m sure they’d be very disappointed with me.”

  Mr. Skelly blinked. “Do you want me to bring them back to life?”

  “That’s impossible,” Alice said. “They’re buried in the frostlands. The holy dragons live there. If you get close….” She shook her head.

  Mr. Skelly slapped Alice’s back. “Don’t worry about that. I’m already dead; it doesn’t matter if I die again. I’ll bring your parents back. I swear on my dishonor.”

  ***

  “So…,” Tafel said while looking around at the makeshift camp she had set up. The baby phoenixes were huddled around her, making the campfire a bit redundant. Their body temperatures were enough to make her sweat just by being near them. “I know I told your mom I’d help watch over you, but how long was that supposed to be for?”

  “Until we’re grown up,” Emile said with a nod. “Lava, please.”

  Tafel’s brow furrowed as she manipulated flames, earth, and wind to create a massive ball of lava above her head. She carved out a shallow pool with a few flicks of her sword and deposited the lava within. The phoenixes cheered and crowded around the edges, dipping their beaks into the molten rock.

  “How long does it take for a phoenix to grow up?” Tafel asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Why? Are you abandoning us?” one of the phoenixes asked while blinking.

  “No! No, of course not,” Tafel said, shaking her head. “I just wanted to know, you know, out of curiosity.”

  “Oh,” the phoenix said. “The average phoenix becomes an adult in six hundred years.”

  “F—” Tafel stifled the curse that wanted to escape from her mouth. “Six hundred years?” she asked. “And I have to watch over twelve of you? I, I guess I can do it if I drink from Auntie’s fountain.” She sighed and lay down, resting her head against a mossy rock. The moon shone overhead, its light partially hidden behind the thick canopy. Dim light from the phoenixes and pool of lava illuminated the nearby trees with a blood-red glow. She muttered, “Six hundred years in exchange for a phoenix imprint, is it worth it?”

  A sigh escaped from Tafel’s lips as she closed her eyes. A golden rune appeared on her forehead, pulsing in time with her heart. Tendrils of light snaked from the rune down her body and up her horns, painting a golden web on her skin. She shuddered, and she bit down on her lower lip. Tears sprang to the corners of her eyes as she let out a small whimper. “Is this how Vur sees the world?” Tafel asked as she opened her eyes and raised one hand above her face. Particles of pure mana danced around her fingers, approaching but never touching her skin. “I never knew it was so … beautiful.” She pointed a finger at the sky. “Firebolt.”

  The phoenixes stopped drinking and stared at Tafel. Her hair fluttered as mana surged into her from everywhere, the golden markings on her body lighting up. As if she had fallen into water feet first, mana surged upwards from her toes to her hand until it accumulated in her finger. Like a lightning bolt, a pillar of jagged fire roared out of Tafel’s finger, splitting the sky, turning night into day while setting the treetops ablaze. A clear phoenix cry echoed through the forest for a few seconds. When the cry ended, the fire shooting from Tafel’s finger stopped, but the trees overhead still crackled and burned.

  Tafel raised her hand, pointing her palm at the burning leaves. “Ice.”

  A chilly wind blew past, causing the phoenixes to shiver and huddle together around Tafel. “Is this what it feels like to be a penguin?” one of the phoenixes asked as ice crystals sprouted from the burning branches, stifling the flames in an instant. The forest fell dark once again, but the moonlight was unobstructed as it struck the forest floor. The pool of lava had a crusty layer of black rock covering it from the sudden chill.

  “Being raised in an environment like this since he was born,” Tafel said as the golden light on her body died down. “No wonder why Vur’s the way he is. This feeling is incredible.” She blinked at the phoenixes crowding around her before spreading her arms and hugging as many as she could. “But how far ahead is he compared to me? A lot of Fountain of Youth water and a ton of fruits of knowledge. Not to mention Stella’s imprint, which I’m still not sure of the effects. But that should be it, right? Unless he got more powerful? No, that shouldn’t be possible…, well, he does have to pick a subclass still. But I doubt he will.”

  “What are you talking to yourself about?” Emile asked, nudging her stomach with his head.

  “It’s nothing,” Tafel said and stroked his feathers. “I was just thinking of how close I am to my goal. I want to be stronger than my husband.”

  “You’re only close to your goal?” Emile asked. “After becoming my older sister?”

  Tafel grunted. “My husband is stupidly powerful,” she said. “That means he can be stupid and have everything go his way regardless because of his overwhelming strength. He was imprinted by a dragon.”

  “A dragon?” Emile asked, his eyes widening. “Our brother-in-law’s a dragon?” The other phoenixes chirped and stared at Tafel.

  Tafel bit her lower lip. “Err, do dragons and phoenixes not get along?”

  “There can only be one ruler of the skies!” Emile shouted as he puffed his feathers out. “And that’s us!”

  “Hush, Emile,” one of the phoenixes said and smacked his head with her wing. “Momma said we have to share that position.”

  Emile stuck his tongue out at his sister before deflating. “Well, that’s how it is,” he said to Tafel with a nod. “Friendly competition to teach the dragons their place!”

  A wry smile appeared on Tafel’s lips. “Does this friendly competition happen often?”

  “The last one was fifty years ago,” Emile said with a nod. “It was a cherry-picking contest. We won!”

  “That’s because the dragons’ claws were too big,” one of the phoenixes said and laughed. “They kept crushing the cherries when they tried to pick them.”

  Emile puffed his chest out. “I thought up the contest.”

  “A cherry-picking contest between phoenixes and dragons…?” Tafel asked. “Is that how two legendary beasts should compete? Wait! Before that, did you say fifty years ago?”

  “Yeah, fifty years ago,” Emile said with a nod.

  Tafel’s expression darkened. “How old are you?”

  “I’m one hundred and fifty-three,” Emile said. “How old are you, elder sis? Seven hundred? Eight hundred?”

  Tafel’s expression darkened even further. “I’m almost seventeen…. Wait, no, my birthday passed a few days ago, didn’t it? I’m seventeen.”

  “Seventeen … centuries?” Emile asked.

  “No.”

  “Millennia…?”

  “No! Seventeen years! Demons become adults at sixteen.”

  “Whatever you say,�
� Emile said. He blinked and chuckled. “Baby sis.”

  “I’m going to smack you,” Tafel said. “I’m definitely older in proportionate terms.”

  ***

  “You’re not coming with us, Your Gloriousness?”

  Vur blinked at the dwarf staring up at him. “Nope.”

  “But, but why?” the dwarf asked. “If you come with us, the humans wouldn’t stand a chance. There’s nothing they can do to stop you. Their defenses would crumble, and we’d claim their lands without any issues.”

  “I only came here to fight the phoenix,” Vur said, crossing his arms over his chest. “My wife says I rely too much on smacking my problems to solve them. Just follow my orders and you’ll win the war. It’s not that hard.”

  “I, I don’t understand, but I hear and obey,” the dwarf said, hanging his head. “Men”—he gestured towards the dwarves standing behind him in neat rows—“we move out at once! We’ll seize the remainder of the forest and strike the humans where they least expect it.”

  “You’re really going to leave them to their own devices?” Lulu asked Vur, rolling her eyes up to look at him. As usual, he was standing on her head.

  Vur nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “They’ll be fine. One of them is supposed to be a leader, but I can’t remember who.”

  “Probably the one with the eyepatch,” Lulu said. “You know, the one who just spoke to you? Now, I’m no detective, but I’m pretty sure it’s him.”

  Vur shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter,” he said as the duo watched the dwarves march into their cars and drive away. A few went towards the east to deliver the captive elves back to the capital while the others pushed westwards. “The dwarves are supposed to be the strongest force on the continent, right? They should be able to take down a human city without my help.”

  “If you’re not going with them, then what are you going to do?” Lulu asked, tilting her head, causing Vur’s whole body to slant towards the side.

  “I want to go back to Auntie and see if she figured out a way to help me stay in my dragon form,” Vur said. “After fighting with the birdy mother-in-law….” He shook his head. “I can’t keep depending on your sketchy mana potions.”

  “Hey, what part about my mana potions are sketchy?” Lulu asked. “They’re just a teensy bit alcoholic. Nothing a dragon can’t handle. Besides, you’re not going to find any mana potion that can fully recover your mana without some sort of negative side effect. Everything has a tradeoff.”

  “That’s not true,” Vur said. “What are the negatives of being a dragon?”

  Lulu blinked. “That’s obvious,” she said. “Everyone else is super jealous of us and our easy lives. Haven’t you noticed?”

  Vur grunted. “People are more afraid than jealous of me,” he said. “But I get your point.” He sighed. “We live such tough lives.”

  “Mm, definitely,” Lulu said while nodding. “Can you believe my mom kicked me out of the house for no reason? That first explosion wasn’t my fault, but I’m the one she blames.” She rolled her eyes before sighing.

  The phoenix matriarch hopped beside the two. “Wow,” she said, her voice dry. “I feel so bad for you two. You two were planning on leaving soon?”

  Vur nodded. “I was going to wait for Tafel to come back, but it’s already been a week. How far away did you send her?”

  The matriarch rubbed her head with her wing. “I asked her to watch over my children,” she said. “I might’ve asked her to take them back to her home on the other continent. I don’t know if she actually went though.” She sighed. “If I knew you were her husband, I wouldn’t have asked her to go. I really thought she’d be back to check on the aftermath of our battle. It seems like I kept you here for a week for no reason.”

  “That’s alright,” Vur said and yawned. “I had nothing better to do anyway. Thanks for feeding Sheryl this whole time.” He glanced at his shoulder which was pulsing with a faint yellow light. “How’s she doing, Deedee?”

  “Please, stop calling me Deedee,” Diamant said with a sigh. “Sheryl’s still sleeping. I suspect she’s in the middle of evolving, but the aura she’s emitting is nothing like a volcano elemental at all.”

  “Phoenix flames are hotter than lava,” the matriarch said with a snort. “If she only became a volcano elemental after consuming all of my flames, she should just give up on being an elemental. After she evolves, she should be closer to the position of elemental ruler than you.”

  Diamant grunted. “We’ll see about that,” he said. The brown runes on Vur’s arm stopped glowing as Diamant stopped speaking.

  “Elemental ruler?” Vur asked. “What’s that?”

  The phoenix matriarch blinked. “You’re an elementalist and you don’t even know that?”

  “Should I know?”

  “Yes,” the matriarch said, staring into Vur’s eyes. “You should.”

  Vur stared back. “Oh. Okay.” He nodded.

  Lulu waited, shifting her gaze from Vur to the phoenix. Neither of them said anything. “So,” Lulu said while swishing her tail, “did you two just communicate silently or something? Did I miss something? Maybe I went deaf for a moment?” She picked her ear and wiped a glob of earwax onto the ground. “So?”

  The matriarch sighed. “I thought one of your elementals would explain,” she said before shaking her head. “Like how a common human wishes to become king, all elementals want to become the elemental ruler. It’s their goal. You think they make contracts that enslave themselves out of goodwill?”

  Vur nodded again. “So in the end, it doesn’t really affect me,” he said. “Why did I need to know?”

  “Tafel seemed like a really responsible person,” the matriarch said and furrowed her brow. “Why did she marry such a carefree soul like you? You two don’t seem compatible at all. Are you sure you’re my son-in-law?”

  “As sure as the sun rises from the west,” Vur said.

  “The sun rises from the east,” Lulu said.

  Vur snorted. “You know what I meant.”

  The matriarch sighed and shook her head. “Well, I guess I should give you a parting gift as your mother-in-law,” she said. “You’d probably explode if I gave you an imprint….” Her feathers fluffed outwards as she shivered. “And phoenixes don’t hoard treasures like dragons….”

  “You don’t need to give me anything,” Vur said and opened his mouth. A stream of blood-red flames that resembled phoenix fire billowed out from his lips. “I already learned a few things from you.” A ball of flames appeared above the matriarch’s head. Vur’s body dissolved and reformed atop the matriarch, falling onto her back. “Like this too.”

  The matriarch’s eyes widened as she froze.

  “That ability’s a cheat,” Lulu said, pawing at the ground. “Why can’t I be a blue mage too? Then I can swoosh and swish my way to breathing out phoenix fire.”

  “Phoenix flames are more of a haa, hoo, and bang!” Vur said as he hopped off the matriarch. “It’s totally different from polymorph.”

  28

  “Oh, this one looks pretty good,” Lindyss said and scribbled into a small notebook with a pen. She had asked for a quill and inkwell at the front desk of the library but was pleasantly surprised by the dwarves’ innovation.

  “Which one?” Erin asked in a nasally voice. She was lying on her back beside the book in front of Lindyss, her head hanging upside down off the edge of the wooden table. “Can we go outside and play? You haven’t left the library a single time in the past two to three weeks. You’re starting to smell funky.”

  “I smell fine,” Lindyss said with a snort. “It’s your nose that’s broken. And this method of increasing mana regeneration is really feasible compared to the others.”

  Erin sat up and rubbed her eyes. “What is it? Why do I always have to ask twice before you answer my questions?”

  Lindyss rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure why you’re even asking me any questions,” she said and put her pen down. She read ove
r what she wrote before nodding and flipping the page.

  “You’re ignoring me again!” Erin said and kicked her feet against the tabletop. “What’s the method?”

  “A sacrificial ritual and absorption of souls,” Lindyss said as she leaned back and placed her feet on the table while placing the book onto her lap. “It’s much easier than finding an herb that’s been growing for thousands of years. Humans are everywhere.”

  Erin blinked twice and tilted her head to the side. “You’re joking, right? I know you’re a bad person, but even you wouldn’t resort to human sacrifices, right…?”

  Lindyss let out a dry laugh. “Yeah, sure, just a joke,” she said and closed her notebook before Erin could check, placing it into her pocket. She flipped the page of the book on her lap and placed her finger down, stopping the fairy from flipping it back. “Calm down, I’d resort to making tea out of fairies’ birthflowers before human sacrifices.”

  “That’s even worse!”

  Lindyss ignored her and snapped her fingers. An earth elemental popped out of the ground, taking the shape of a formless blob. Lindyss pointed at it, and a drop of blue light formed on the tip of her finger before falling onto the elemental. “Tell E I need some goat’s blood, a horsetail brush, a sacrificial knife made of a heifer’s skull, and some manacles to prevent people from squirming.”

  An arm appeared in the center of the formless blob. “Understood,” the elemental said and saluted. “The mana you’ve given me is more than enough to send a message. Is there anything else you’d like to request?”

  “A cup of hot water,” Lindyss said.

  The elemental saluted again before melding back into the floor.

  “Hey,” Erin said, staring at Lindyss with narrowed eyes. “You said the human sacrifice was a joke.”

  “Yes,” Lindyss said and closed the book in her lap before swapping it out for another book that was on the ground beside her. “Yes, I did.”