Seventh Talon_Dragonrider's Fury

by James Patton

Flaring her hand out once and then twice, she pulled up her Elemental Shield. She had no idea if it would stop an organic projectile, but it was worth a shot. Sheathing her knife, she started to use her gun instead. It was a waste of ammunition but maybe it would scare them off.

  It made a lot of noise, but there was little danger of waking something up. She was pretty sure the whole forest was aware of what was going on at the moment. She needed shelter, and fast.

  “Over here!” A voice urgently called, and she swerved towards it.

  Through the trees, she could make out what appeared to be a cave but there was a cobbled together wall and a door blocking the entry point. A small woman or child was waving her over and held the door open for her. The woman had the voice of a child, but her mannerisms were like an adult.

  Passing through the threshold of the doorway, the person started performing a series of hand movements. She watched, fascinated by the way the magic built up and the amount of power called forth. Even before the cast, she could feel the static electricity building in the air and knew she was witnessing a high ranked spell.

  Forked Lightning streaked across the sky in a zig-zag pattern, striking one of the lizard-birds. Then three more blots shot out hitting three more, and before long the sky was lit up by lightning and fried creatures. The rest of them scattered, trying to escape the spell.

  “What are they?” She asked the small woman.

  “Jaculus, otherwise known as a javelin snake, or ‘jacks’. Them nasty things are worse’n rats. Now, lemme get a look atcha.” The small person peered up at Boh, looking her up and down. “Ain’t seen no Mercury Elves in this area afore. Whatcha doin’ this far north?”

  “Looking for a dragon?” She said without confidence.

  Laughter erupted from the small being’s mouth, and it was thicker and more vibrant than Boh had expected.

  “Oh shoot, you weren’t tellin’ no lies were ya?” A frown creased her face. “Well met regardless, most people who pass through here call me the Lady or Witch of the Woods, but you can call this old lady, Aila.”

  “My name is Boh. Not to be rude, but what are you?”

  “I am a pixie.”

  “Where are your wings?”

  Aila laughed, and smiled good-naturedly at her. “Pixies ain’t got wings, least none like ya be thinkin’. We are fae, but also a descendant of a human. No wings for us, but we do look forever young, like small children. Admittedly, we live a very long life.”

  “I met a pixie once. How do I get past the Jaculus?”

  “Juss call ‘em jacks. And you kinda don’t, because this here is their forest. However, don’t go traveling at night and ya be fine. They are nocturnal mostly, but if’n you wake ‘em during the day, they are even more dangerous. Relax a bit, and I’ll get ya some tea. I got something for ya leg wound too.”

  “I need to get to Haase. Drakes killed everyone at Minot. I only escaped because a dragon sacrificed himself so I could get away.”

  “Strange, ya not lying, and yet it don’t ring true neither,” Aila said with her hand twitching. “Dragons ain’t that noble, but Drakes are. They wouldn’t destroy Minot.”

  “I know what I saw. They ran on four legs and had fur-lined scales, and their wings were not nearly as long as a dragon. They moved in a pack, more like wolves than reptiles. They were feasting on the corpses of the dead villagers.”

  Aila handed her some tea, and she tentatively took a few small sips. Then Aila opened her bag and took out a small vial. The tiny woman sat in a chair next to Boh applied some of the lotion to the wound in her leg.

  “Gah, that burns.” Boh’s hand went tried to get at the wound, but Aila slapped the reaching hand aside.

  “None of that. Now go on and look, the wound is gone.”

  Boh did look and the wound had healed over while her health ath climbed back to full.

  “It’s decided then. I’ma come with ya. Them jacks ain’t terrible if ya know how to handle em, and I can teach ya on the way. But we ain’t leaving until daylight. Now tell me everything from the beginning.”

  There was some hesitation, and she did not tell the woman everything. However, she did talk about the Trials, torture, the forced bonding, and Minot. The pixie looked genuinely horrified in all the right places.

  The entire time she rubbed the tip of her ear and tried to understand why she opened up so freely. It made no sense, especially after her run-in with the other pixie. However, once she started talking, she found it hard to stop.

  “Maisa…” Aila looked thoughtful and then glanced up at her. “More tea?”

  “No thanks, but I would not mind resting until the morning.” She said, laying her head back in the chair. Her eyes closed and she drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

  Boh

  Chapter 40

  Spark

  I never wanted the notoriety. I just wanted the skies. Those dragon’s sparked something dangerous in me when they stole my sky.

  -from The First Dragonrider

  Several times through the night she was startled awake, only to find Aila cleaning up. She was sealing her place up for the journey ahead.

  The locked door at the back of the house remained open at one point, but she only saw darkness. Part of her wanted to explore, but she had enough of dark caves. One of the rooms did interest her, and it had herbs hanging from the rafters, and a machine that might be for alchemy. It looked more advanced than a regular apothecary, and she saw steam coming from it at one point. The device reminded her of the farmer’s barn.

  “Not a lotta time or I coulda taught you that,” Aila said pointing at the device. “Here, put these in your bag.”

  She accepted the vials Aila gave her and accessed her inventory to put them away. Several were the same stuff that the pixie used on her leg, but she did not recognize the rest. She also took off her scarf and goggles and put them into the bag as well, and tied her short hair back exposing the blue streak running through it.

  “Now listen, girl. Without a mount to ride, we needa be extra careful. This forest respects and fears the big beasties, but not us. Jacks be the leasta our worries, but I know a coupla places along the way. They should keep us hidden for the night hours, but afta that we needa find a safe place for the resta the journey.”

  “Let's do this before the drakes catch up. I haven’t seen them, but I know they are coming.” She told Aila.

  Aila shook her head and was about to say something but closed her mouth. Instead, she walked to the door frowning and opened it letting her go first. After they were both out the door, Aila pulled on a lever, and they both heard the bar engaging inside. Then a screen of ivy fell into place hiding the entire cave.

  “People ain’t gonna find it, but beasties are crafty,” Aila said by way of explanation.

  There were still a few corpses on the ground from last night’s attack, and she went over to inspect the jacks in the light.

  Jaculus (Deceased)

  - Age: Adolescent

  - Aggression: High

  - Health: Low

  []Attacks:

  - Gash - Strikes with their pointed nose.

  - Dive Bomb - Flies high into the air and tucks its wings into dive at their victim.

  []Historian:

  - Nocturnal.

  - Not extremely dangerous alone, but they are rarely alone.

  - Also referred to as ‘jacks’ or javelin snakes

  Interesting, her Skills Book was recording her discoveries along with the basic information. Granted, some of that data came from Aila, but still handy.

  “Nasty things. Nevah eat one of those, bad stuff. Blood is useful, and the wings if you know how to work leather. Resta it is junk.” Aila informed her, and she could not help but smile at the witch’s drawl. The small woman’s accent was hard to place, maybe deep southern.

  Examining the jack further, she saw the entire head was narrow and pointed in a way to make their dive attacks devastating. She could not shake the idea of them go
ing after larger prey, like a dragon. They had no arms, but the wings had small spiked claws at the top of the arch. Its talons looked more like chicken legs than dragons, but they were reptilian.

  Aila had already started walking down the road, and she caught up quickly. There was no way she wanted to get caught out here alone. Neither of them said anything for several miles, and that was ok with her. The forest was gritty and so real she could hear the creaking of the wood as it swayed in the wind. It was a marvel, and she tried to take as much of it in as she could.

  “Here girl,” Aila said handing her a small hooked knife. “Use the backa that and scrape the dirt away from this plant carefully.”

  Boh took the knife and scraped the dirt away revealing a bulb like plant.

  You have discovered and looted a Radish.

  “Atta girl. Keep the knife but remember, it is notta weapon. I’ll take the radish, if’n ya don’t mind.”

  She handed the radish over, but she took careful note of the leafy part that was above ground so she could spot more of them.

  Aila was already moving again at a brisk pace, but the woman’s short legs made it easy to keep up.

  “Now that ya gotta handy class use it. Skills like Botany have other areas of study, like herbalism, but they all take time to master. If ya gonna be a Dragonrider, herbalism will be good for ya because it focuses on the medicinal properties of plants.”

  “Why are you helping me?” She asked, and did not mention that she already discovered the Botanist class.

  Aila said nothing for a long while, and she thought the pixie ignored the question. Part of her was mad, but another part was not sure the woman had an answer.

  Several times throughout the day, she spotted large creatures among the trees, but none of them approached. There were a lot of scaled beasts out here, and while the forest was not like soaring through the sky, it was the next best thing.

  “I’m not ignorin’ ya girl. Just don’t hava good answer,” Aila said finally. “Ya caught up in things ya don’t understand. Vasia was a great queen in her time, treated all sentients with equal respect. Osric was the monster, and she suffered for his sins. Now she is a prisoner of the Dragon Spire. If’n what ya said is true, she is a prisoner both physically and mentally.”

  “She did not seem like a prisoner to me. That evil dragon flew off after she got what she wanted.”

  “Naw. Ya is mistaken. Vasia left but did not fly, because the king had her wings removed.”

  “Why?” Vasia gave her moments to recover in between breaking her bones, and she shivered at the thought. She tried to recall if she had ever seen wings in her lucid moments, but the Shroud was always up.

  “She was Osric’s wife and queen, and she fought against the current king in the Usurper War. Our king is the usurper because he betrayed Osric, had him killed and stole his throne. Osric hid one of the Talons, or so it is believed.”

  “I’m confused. I understand the war and even some of the Sundering. I also know there are sixteen talons potentially, but how do the Talons work?”

  “Each finger provides a magical barrier and a high ranking City Core. Not gonna go into a lotta detail on a City Core, but if’n ya control the Talon, ya can redirect ambient energy to transform parts of the city. A Talon provides protection, and few would dare attack one head-on. The magic of a Talon is daunting.”

  City Cores were not unknown to her and usually operated as an interface to control different aspects of the city.

  “So what happened after Osric died?” The library did not contain information like this, and she hoped it would help her take down Vasia.

  “The Seventh Talon became abandoned, sealed, forbidden, and unclaimed. I felt the disturbance when the Talon fell, and don’t go believin’ the rumors. Atagon is strong, but not that strong. I dunno what happened, but I know it was not part of Atagon’s plan.”

  History of the Talons has updated with new information.

  Boh released her ear, not realizing she had resorted to rubbing it. Pieces of the history were coming to together, and something vital had revealed itself based on that message.

  “Haase is going to be at war soon. Midnight told me the army that is coming could crush them.” She told Aila, changing the subject.

  “I believe ya. Midnight is a warrior through and through, but he lost his rider during the Usurper War and saw Haase, his home, nearly destroyed. He lost faith in the dragon community, but he is a noble dragon, one of the few left. Best stay away from that one if’n he lives because he is only gonna bring ya trouble and heartache. But he’s not wrong, Haase is in a precarious position.”

  She sighed. The more she learned of this world, the more she was saddened by the wars that had torn it apart.

  “I know what ya been through, but ya gotta know that Midnight was once devoted to Vasia. One of the dragons that swore to protect her. It was his rider that betrayed that oath and gave up the queen. It is how Atagon captured her and eventually did the things he did. It is not my story to tell, but I see ya respect him. Ya need to understand the danger.”

  It was true she did not want to hear bad things about Midnight, and she sensed his torment. It is why she felt connected to him. All of it might be true, and she chose to trust the dragon she knew instead of the one he might have been.

  The trail ahead narrowed, but Aila seemed unconcerned about it. She brought up her shield anyway, but only used hand gestures so as not to alarm the pixie.

  “Vasia taking ya ability is notta coincidence. She’s been waiting for a Seer all these years. That she forced a bond outta ya shows how desperate she is.” Aila paused for a few minutes. “Anyway, I joined ya because my strongest Affinity is Air, and I sense I’m needed.”

  “In that case, can you teach me lightning?” She asked hoping to gain an actual offensive spell, unlike Sparkles.

  “Canno’ teach ya the spell I used, but ya might be able to learn the Novice lightning spell, which is called Spark.”

  You gained knowledge of the spell Spark.

  Spark - This spell is the Novice ranked spell of the Lightning spell line. It creates a surge of electricity from your hand but requires contact with your target. Your Skill Book will contain knowledge on how to hand cast.

  Aila started with her fist and then with her last two fingers curled down, which opened her up to the energy. Next, she bent her thumb and two fingers so the tips were close together and they were all pointing in the same direction.

  “Ya gotta pay attention to this spell. Most spells require ya to spread ya fingers wide, so the magic flows outta ya palm. This one the fingers stay in this form, and when ya cast the electricity flows from palm to the tips of ya fingers.”

  Sparkles had done her well up to this point, but the spell could not compare to the excitement of learning a spell like this. She made the hand gesture and jabbed at a nearby plant.

  “Not quite right, shape your fingers like so,” Aila said showing her, and she raised her hand up in a claw-like gesture. The next half hour they walked while she practiced the gesture until she finally succeeded.

  You have learned Spark.

  Spark - Lightning Spell Line (Novice)

  - Affinity: Air

  - Damage: 1% to base health

  - Range: Touch

  - Duration: 10 seconds

  - Cool Down: 30 seconds

  - Feedback: 3% per cast

  - Effect 1: Disables target, duration increases based on amount of energy supplied to the spell.

  - Verbal Incantation: Spark

  - Caution: If you do not have a target for the spell, then you are the target.

  Boh

  Chapter 41

  Ethereal

  Chaos nurtures my kind, and because of it we are sensitive to change. Drawn to the extraordinary.

  -from Aila, Audio Roll 0012

  “Foolish elf!” Aila hissed at her while she twitched on the ground twitching and unable to speak. “Ya can form a spell without casting it. Ya ju
st needa prevent the magic from escaping ya. The advantage ya have with ya magic sight is huge, do not waste it.”

  Shaking and twitching, she stood on wobbly legs and looked at Aila sheepishly. Her cheeks flushed, and Aila gasped at the sight.

  “Gah. Blushing makes ya look like a ghoul.” Aila would not look directly at her, and she had no idea her face had gone almost translucent and that her recessed eyes were even darker. “Anyway, to finish ya lesson, if’n ya shape the magic, ya can hold on to it for as long as needed. Like ya shield, its just there.”

  “Won’t the energy keep growing?”

  “Nope. If’n ya hold the first gesture, then yes. If’n ya hold on the second gesture, it remains until ya cast or cancel the spell. Canceling will take back ya energy and no Feedback.”

  “So I can ready a spell by holding onto the second gesture?” Boh’s voice registered surprise, but her face betrayed none of it.

  “Aye, ya can. Itsa good tactic.”

  “Why did my spell backfire?”

  “It did not backfire. A touch spell requires a target, and if’n ya don’t have one, then ya are the target. Also, spells with a residual effect will continue to raise ya Feedback. Lightning and fire, for example, continue to damage ya target after the initial cast.”

  They continued their brisk walk, and Aila kept an eye on her while she practiced. She formed the spell many times and released it without harming herself, but she felt uneasy. Every time she shaped the Air affinity based spell, she could sense danger coming.

  The tip of her ear must release endorphins into her brain because every time she rubbed it her anxiety and stress just faded away. It had already become a habit, and she kept rubbing her ear as she worked the spell over and over again until she could do it on instinct. Then switched hands. Did it until that too became second nature.

  “Any other spells?” She asked Aila, who kept looking back behind them.