“I stand corrected. It does come easy to him and I hate Morok for that.” Faluel said, receiving a nod from Nalrond. “Wings upon the deep violet? Life is really unfair.”
All creatures dreamed of developing something like Dragon Eyes, but to Hydras, it was their lack of wings and Origin Flames that hurt the most. Especially because Wyverns and the rest of the Lesser Dragons never ceased to remind them of it while flaunting either gift.
“I hear you.” Ajatar’s pride and envy for his disciple fought to a standstill. “Now let’s move.”
“We are going first.” Nalrond made sure that even though the communication amulet was cut off from those on the outside, it still worked for those inside the Fringe. “You stay here while I bring the others to the site of the ritual.
“Once we are safely inside the caves, I’ll give you a call and you can look for the elves. This way, by the time we are done with the preparations, the attention of our hosts will be focused on you and they won’t notice the surge of world energy. Hopefully.”
Solus, Quylla, Friya, and Morok followed Nalrond in a low-altitude flight meant to reach a place he recognized as fast as he could while also avoiding being seen by the inhabitants of the old and new Fringe.
After the Rezar tribe’s slaughter by Dawn’s hand, a second Fringe had fused with the original. It had expanded the borders of Nalrond’s birthplace and he was unfamiliar with the areas that had materialized along with the elves and the Dewan.
“Gods, this place is amazing!” Solus had never been there before and found the natural beauty of the Fringe to be breathtaking.
The high-density world energy of the place affected everything that grew, blessing them with elemental affinities. The ground was covered in tall grass with orange streaks, rustled by a gentle spring breeze that carried the gurgling of water from a nearby river.
It flowed into a silvery lake inhabited by fish with yellow-streaked scales and was surrounded by several fruit trees with blue streaks running all over their brown bark. Their branches were filled with ripe fruits whose delicious smell made Solus hungry.
Silver-furred chinchillas, black-streaked brown rabbits and squirrels came out of their burrows to look at the newcomers. The noise made them curious rather than scared because they had never met humans before and mistook the newcomers for some kind of birds.
So did many bright feathered actual birds that followed the group for a while, squeaking at them to assert dominance over the territory.
“So much for discretion.” Nalrond cursed, Hushing the birds as fast as he could. “Finally!”
After identifying an area he was familiar with, the Rezar could find his way toward the ritual’s site. One Steps lost them their noisy honor guard and less than a minute later they reached their destination.
Friya well remembered the place and opened the secret access to the caves with an earth magic spell while the others checked the surroundings for witnesses. Once inside, the Rezar gave the all clear to the second group.
“You heard him, Aalejah.” Faluel said. “You can now guide us to your people.”
The elf connected them all with a mind link to be capable of speaking and guiding them while moving at high speed. She flew low as well, but moved fast as if she was following a road instead of what looked like a random path.
She would often make sudden turns or take a roundabout route but the never seemed to be lost.
‘Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.’ She said. ‘My people explored the area thoroughly and left behind many signs that I can identify easily.’
She shared with them the images of partially pruned branches and claw marks in the trees that were actually elf-made.
‘We are following the guest route. I could have taken a more direct path, but that would mean that either I didn’t pick the real signs or that I’m ignorant of elven traditions.
‘The longer detour allows our guests to recognize our friendly intentions and gives them the time to prepare for our arrival. Which means either an ambush or a banquet.’
‘What the fuck?’ Lith blurted out in surprise. ‘And how do we know which one we have to expect?’
‘We don’t.’ She shrugged in reply. ‘We are putting our lives in our hosts’ hands in a sign of trust and submission. Elves rarely move from their homeland and are very protective of their land, especially after the War of the Races.’
‘We can get in spells blazing but that would be as good as a war declaration.’
‘Elven customs are insane!’ Lith replied.
‘Yeah, because being interrogated by guards, being patted down, and losing your powers due to the defensive arrays every time you enter a human city is such a friendly experience, instead.’ Aalejah replied with mockery.
‘Point taken.’ Lith had to admit that for a foreigner without his fame and the authority that his ID carried, entering the Kingdom would have been much more dangerous than what the elves required from their guests.
Quarantine, interrogation, and a thorough search of their body and its cavities at minimum.
The signs lead them to an ample clearing surrounded by thick bunch of tall trees. Those standing in the clearing had no cover whereas the trees could hide hundreds of people and offered solid protection against physical and magical attacks.
The whole area had been warded with permanent arrays that would interfere with spells going out without affecting those coming in.
“Good job. This is the deadliest welcome I have ever received.” Lith looked around with Life Vision, spotting several humanoid figures all around them who believed themselves to be hidden by the trees. “Now, if we are done playing hide and seek, come forward.
“I have better things to do than staying here the whole day. You know I’m here and I know you are there, little mice.” He lit up his eyes with mana and pointed at the nearest elves while unfurling the black-feathered wings and covering his face with the red scales of his Dragon form.
Lith’s magical senses allowed him to follow their movements and even take a look at their equipment and the spells they were keeping at the ready. During the ritual, Solus had no need for the Eyes of Menadion so he was wearing them at their lowest output, hoping they would be enough to mimic Dragon Eyes.
‘Lith!’ Allejah scolded him via the mind link while Ajatar and Faluel telepathically piled up on him.
‘What?’
‘Have you ever heard a Dragon talk like that? You are supposed to be a noble creature, not a street thug.’ She replied.
‘First, I’ve heard Dragons say much worse.’ Lith replied, even though he had to admit that they would have used less rude phrasing. ‘Second, I wanted to let them know that I’m aware of what’s happening.
‘Instead of making us wait, they might as well come forward and do whatever they have to.’
‘I won’t comment on your first point, but you must consider that maybe they are buying time simply because they don’t know what to do themselves.’
