by Eden Redd
“Shego may have been premature in her assumption, but she did have the right of it.”
“We must court each other,” Nate smiled.
“You do remember my dreams!” Izzi grinned with sharp teeth.
Norrah let out a deep laugh before responding to Nate, “In a way. Like all bonding, we must see if we are compatible. Dreaming is one thing, reality is another.”
Nate stepped closer to Norrah and looked up to her oval green eyes. “I understand.”
The green dragon nodded to the man before her. “Nate, stay here for the night. Rest and make your way to the southernmost spire. We will be there. When you arrive, we can talk some more.”
Nate lifted an eyebrow, wondering what she meant when all three dragons stood up. Izzi and Shego made their way to the wide corridor that led outside. Norrah gave Nate a wink before following her fellow dragons.
Nate followed. He watched them as they walked along the corridor and reached the entrance. Shego kept her wings close to her body. She leapt into the air and dived down out of sight. A heartbeat later, she soared up into the sky, her blue wings catching the last of the daylight.
Izzi was next. The white dragon jumped off the entrance ledge, spun and fell. In a blink, she shot up with ivory wings.
Norrah lingered at the entrance as Nate stepped to her side. He looked up at the green dragon with inspired eyes.
Norrah turned her head and looked down on Nate, her snout only a few feet above him.
“You’re a lot cuter in person than in our dreams,” Norrah said with a serpent smile and leapt off the ledge.
Nate looked over to see Norrah’s wings flash out and catch a thermal. She turned and flew up like a spear.
Nate couldn’t take his gaze away from the three dragons. They circled above, each one following the other. Izzi glanced down and let out a small roar.
Norrah took the lead. She turned her body and soared toward the southern part of the island, a spire stabbing up to the heavens. It was painted in the golden light of the sun.
Nate stared as they flew to the spire in short order and circled it. For a time, they simply flew. Norrah dived down and disappeared behind the spire. Soon, Shego and Izzi followed her and were gone from sight.
Calm silence filled Nate’s heart. His senses were alive, drinking in the small breeze, the light of the setting sun, and the ocean scent drifting over the island.
“We both know I’m not going to stay here tonight,” Nate whispered to the wind.
The large man turned and began to make his way back down the tunnel to grab his pack and make the long climb down.
Three
His muscles burned as the lone man made his way down the thin mountain. The air cooled with the evening air, helping soothe his inflamed limbs and back. The last rays of sunlight were long gone. It took many hours to climb the mountain and it took many more to climb back down. Despite following gravity’s pull, the careful lowering and securing of fingers and toes into the rock used a lot of concentration, strength, and skill.
I could have slept the night and started fresh in the morning, but where’s the challenge in that?
Nate chuckled to himself as he continued his descent. The need to push himself consumed him at times. He enjoyed a good rest, but he enjoyed it more to push his limits. It was a defining trait he exploited for himself. Where most would give up or slow down, Nate pushed himself to break past such small, but draining limitations. For the most part, his body responded well to it. Other times, he paid the price in the short term of pain, blood, and broken bones. Those were badges of honor as he forced his body to heal by not allowing it to weaken from setbacks or difficult adventures.
Nate’s fingers grabbed onto a crack and he lowered himself down again. Memories filled the back of his mind. Life in the north was difficult, but the rewards were euphoric. Pushing his body to the breaking point and passing out into the best sleep of his life was satisfying to the soul. Meals tasted better and lovemaking caused his very soul to bask in the inner heat, lust, and joining of bodies. It all made the world worthwhile and pushed him to further adventures.
Nate glanced over his shoulder and smiled. He was forty feet above the jungle floor. With a hard push, he launched sideways off the mountain and fell. Bare feet felt the touch of the air as he fell. His legs bent slightly as jungle trees touched his falling body. When he reached the forest floor, his powerful legs absorbed the shock as he bent down a little. The kinetic energy vibrated along the ground and up Nate’s legs for barely a moment. It disappeared and the lone man stood up and surveyed his surroundings.
The jungle around him was dark and quiet. Nate’s ear twitched as he heard the people of Moon Cove laughing, dancing, and singing in the distance. Their good spirits caressed his senses as he turned and looked at the gloom of the forest to the south.
From the cavern entrance, Nate mentally mapped out his trek from what he could see of the island below. He noticed a large lake in the center of the island. He simply had to travel to it and either walk around or swim across it. Considering how late it was and knowing he had to climb another mountain, he planned to bed down by the lake and resume his journey in the morning. If he waited at the cavern for morning and with the size of the island, it would have taken three days to reach the dragons instead of two.
Nate grabbed the straps of his pack over his shoulders and pulled it off. He placed it on the ground and opened the flap. His hands reached in and grabbed his boots. He pulled them out and placed them on the ground. He undid the leather straps around his palms and put them in the pack. Next, he put on his boots. After closing the pack, he lifted it up and put his arms through the strap loops.
A cool breeze caused the nearby trees to move and wave to the man in the dimly lit forest. Moonlight and starshine created an ethereal glow along the tops of trees. Shafts of moonlight touched the ground in places, giving the jungle a fantastical atmosphere.
“I’m coming,” Nate whispered and wondered if the three dragons could hear him.
Nate stared into the jungle for a moment before taking one step and then another. He gently marched into the jungle and made his way through. When there was a break in the canopy, he used the three spires to help navigate his trek through the jungle.
Sounds of nighttime creatures began to fill the silence. The distant sounds of Moon Cove melted away to the sounds of nighttime birds, lizards, and other wildlife as Nate pressed on.
The burning along Nate’s muscles ebbed the more he walked. The ground was incredibly even, except for the occasional tree root. The sounds of the jungle turned into a natural symphony. It caressed Nate’s senses as he pressed on.
All of this will just make me stronger.
Nate’s mind wandered to the two times he was able to increase his Body Sphere. The first time was by accident, helping chop down large trees by his hometown. Something possessed him one early morning. He picked up an axe and strolled to the forest edge. He began chopping away at tree after tree. Each strike spoke to him, fueling his resolve to continue. After a time, his body cried out in soreness and pain, but it didn’t stop him. He pushed on, chopping at thick trunks to fell trees for firewood and building materials.
The day wore on and he worked faster. Pain tried to pull him back, but determination blasted away his reason. After several dozen trees and with the sun slowly setting, he carried on like a madman when a burst of energy filled every part of his body. It surged into every muscle and he felt stronger, tougher, and faster.
Vitality flooded him and he was refreshed and stronger. After that, he continued well into the night. Several axes broke from the abuse, but there were plenty more to replace them.
Finally, in the dead of night, he stopped. Bloody sores covered his hands and his body felt stronger than it ever did before. He remembered dropping the axe. He remembered shambling home and falling into his bed. He slept for two days and when he awoke, he felt like a new person.
Nate walked, the memory of
reaching the second degree in the Body Sphere fading and replaced with the next time he improved. Shadows filled his eyes as his legs propelled him through the dark jungle. The first memory was an exciting one. The second one was the opposite.
Like a haunting ghost, it whispered in Nate’s ear as he pressed on through the jungle. It was a year later. There was a tunnel collapse in the town’s iron mine. The whole town banded together to save everyone inside. Nate remembered arriving at the tunnel with many family members and people in town, ready to help.
Almost everyone took shifts to help remove fallen rubble, except for Nate. He powered through, hefting large stones and moving them himself. When people he knew began to fall to exhaustion, he would carry a large stone in one hand and his fallen friends or family in the other. Once they were outside, others from town would care for them while Nate went back in.
The shadows lengthened under Nate’s eyes. There were four miners trapped inside. No one knew the extent of the damage, or if they were even alive. All they could do was keep digging and removing rubble to find them and get them out. After the townspeople gained a headcount, they knew who the missing were. Nate knew them from town. He wasn’t close to any of them, but he knew he had to find them. It consumed him and his body refused to slow down.
After several days of digging, the four miners were found. They had perished during the collapse and had been dead for days. The cries from their families were enough to break Nate’s heart. In that moment, another surge filled his body. Nate remembered how it felt, pushing his body to the limit and then feeling the soul crushing pain of failure. It struck him like a hammer and he grew stronger because of it. At the time, he didn’t know he had reached the third degree in the Body Sphere. It wasn’t until he decided to follow the strange dreams, leave his town and find mages he could talk to that he discovered he had a natural affinity with the elemental mana spheres.
Nate lifted his gaze upwards, a beam of moonlight touching his eyes.
“It has all led me here,” the young man whispered as he looked at the spire to the south.
Rustling from behind touched Nate’s senses. He slowed down and then stopped. Turning his head slightly, he listened intently as he heard movement from the jungle behind him.
Gentle footfalls whispered with the sounds of the jungle. Nate almost wouldn’t have noticed it if his senses weren’t also enhanced, just like his body. He stood like a statue in the dark. The sounds moved closer. Each little rustle gave away the location of those following him. Nate counted about eight. They had formed a semi-circle and were carefully moving closer.
Nate focused. In the barest sense, he could hear their heartbeats. They were calm, but there was a hint of eagerness along their pulses. Nate remembered that kind of pulse when others challenged him, either in bars or on the road. They saw his size and felt they could challenge him to feel better about themselves. Nate loved an honorable challenge, but this smelled different.
They are actively hunting me. It’s safe to assume they’re not friends.
Nate turned around and faced the direction of his pursuers.
A good fight will only make me stronger. This might be what I need to increase my Body Sphere to the fourth degree. Climbing up a mountain and down it, marching on, and then a fight could help me achieve the next level.
A new excitement filled Nate as he shrugged off his pack and placed it behind a tree trunk. His thoughts danced, feeling that surge of energy and becoming more than what he already was. It would only help him if he and the dragons bonded.
The night symphony of the jungle abruptly stopped.
Here they come.
Nate’s senses sharpened to a razor’s edge. He stared at the inky dark jungle and shafts of moonlight scattered about. The breeze died and the world held its breath.
Nate spotted the gleam of an eye in the shadows before something shot through the air. Nate turned his shoulder away, the arrow missing him by an inch. It stabbed into a tree, the end of the arrow vibrating from the power.
Nate remained cool as he held his head high and several lizard people emerged from the dark jungle. Male and female subeks held maces and clubs. Moonlight gleamed off some of their scales. A menace filled their eyes as their chests rose and fell with contained violence.
Nate’s ears flexed as he heard others move around in the jungle to surround him. He kept his hands loose and his body primed as the remainder moved into place, cutting off all escape.
A subek stepped out from the jungle, a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. Nate took in his features, noticing it was the subek from the ship that was asking him questions.
“Come with us,” the subek said with a low hiss.
“Where do you want to go?” Nate said as he stood his ground.
“To your grave,” the subek smiled evilly.
Nate glanced at the other lizard folk surrounding him. Even in the dim light of the jungle, he could see and feel their eagerness for him to resist. It seemed at odds with what he knew of the subek in the Sapphire Sea. They were a simple people who enjoyed lounging in the sun and eating. They had given up their barbaric roots a long time ago.
These subek are not like others I’ve met on my travels. Something is compelling them.
“Is this because of the dragons?” Nate asked.
Not one lizard person turned their gazes away in confusion or misunderstanding. They functioned as one and Nate saw the dark intent in their eyes.
“Since I’m clearly outnumbered and not going to make it out of this alive, can you at least tell me what this is about?”
The subek lifted an arrow to his bow. He notched it and pulled back, the point aimed at Nate’s chest.
“It was worth an attempt,” Nate smirked.
Time slowed down as the subek let go of the arrow. The bowstring snapped into place and launched the arrow. The subeks around Nate began moving too, charging at him and raising their maces and clubs. An arrow shot past moving bodies as they screeched for blood.
Nate’s heartbeat remained calm as his body and limbs began to move. The arrow crossed the distance and Nate was already moving. The air pushed at the skin of his neck as the arrow passed within inches of it. The moment Nate knew the arrow missed him, his large hand shot out at a charging subek. Time sped up and chaos clashed.
Nate’s hand clamped onto the charging subek’s neck as it swung down a mace. Nate was already sidestepping, his fingers squeezing the lizard man’s throat and picking him up. Nate’s strong body and shoulders turned as the mace flew from the subek’s hand and their clawed feet were off the ground. Another subek rushed in, only for them to miss a step, shock filling their eyes as their fellow lizard folk came crashing down on them. Two bodies fell into quivering limbs from the brutality of the move.
Nate was still moving, lowering his center of gravity as three subeks rushed him. Fingers curled into hammer-like fists. Nate’s brow showed no hint of emotion as he pulled back and slammed his fist into an unguarded chest. The subek let out a horrific cry as his ribcage cracked and his chest caved in. While the subek fell back from the blow, another one raised their club and swung it across, aiming for Nate’s head. The large man turned and caught the club mid-strike.
The subek tried to pull back when she was pulled off her feet with her club. Nate moved in a blur, throwing the club and attacking subek toward a tree. She screeched as the club banged into the tree and her face crashed into it next.
The third subek swung their mace and Nate sidestepped it. The metal mace hit the ground. The lizard man tried to lift it up when a fist struck the side of its head and sent him crashing to the ground.
Muscles and senses glowed along Nate’s body. Time moved in instances as he turned. The rest of the subeks charged as one. The one with the bow was notching another arrow. Nate turned into the incoming four subeks and crossed his arms just as they crashed into him. The force of the blow was strong enough for his boots to slide back two feet.
The sube
ks growled as they pushed as one. Nate twisted his body and struck out with his elbows. Lizard people were scattered in a flurry of elbow strikes. Collar bones cracked and bodies fell. The last one falling was screaming when Nate’s hand clamped on his throat.
The subek with the bow, aimed and let the arrow loose. It shot across the small distance in a blink and sank into another subek’s back. The leader’s eyes widened as Nate stood with a subek in his hand and used it as a shield. The subek cried out in tormenting pain before Nate threw him aside like he weighed nothing.
“Want to tell me what this is all about?” Nate said as he stalked toward the last subek.
The leader threw their bow aside and drew a dagger. Nate glanced to the dagger, but didn’t slow his approach.
“Hexnia, give me power!” the subek screeched and charged.
Nate’s body shifted as the dagger stabbed past him. His hand blurred down, reaching for the subek’s wrist. When he nearly grabbed it, the lizard man shifted his body and moved in a blur. The dagger flashed in small arcs as Nate changed his stance and backpedaled. The flurry of dagger attacks filled the space between them. Nate’s body moved with defined precision, the dagger missing him by half-inches. The ferocity and speed of the attack was enough for Nate to take another step back as the subek roared.
The demon goddess is granting him power.
The dagger moved in blurry strikes, the subek’s reptilian eyes focused on the man before him. Nate’s body shifted and dodged attacks, looking for an opening to change to the offensive. When the subek’s aim targeted Nate’s side, he twisted his body as his hand clamped down on the subek’s wrist.
Fingers curled around the lizard man’s wrist. Strong fingers squeezed like a vice and turned. The subek grunted as wrist bones snapped and he let go of the dagger. Nate watched as a madness filled the lizard man’s eyes. The dagger fell and Nate was about to whip the subek away when another scaly hand shot forward and grabbed the falling dagger right out of the air.