As Arad flapped his massive wings, Rey and Ray held for dear life as they saw the ground getting far away.
Isdis screamed at the top of her lungs with a smile. This was the first time she flew like this and saw the world from above. “Arad! How fast can you go?”
“Faster than you expect, hold on tight.”
*******
Back in the castle, Eris opened her eyes as the night settled. She got out of her coffin and pushed it back under her bed. Arad had asked her to do something when he was out, and she had to start working.
She walked toward her bag and opened it up. Inside it, there was a large crystal orb.
An appraisal orb.
DING! The orb glows with white light, and Eris’s stats show in front of her, “Well, it’s working,” [They are at an auxiliary chapter at the start of the book. It’s free so look it up. Stats can fill a whole chapter, so I would like to avoid them here.]
“I better get moving,” She tucked the ball in her pocket and walked out of her room.
***
FLAP! FLAP! FLAP! Arad soared across the sky, piercing the clouds at a high speed. Isdis couldn’t get the smile out of her face seeing how fast they were flying.
She had heard of people riding griffons or pegasus before, but she was sure none of them reached the speed a dragon could. Dragon riders are rare and a force to reckon with.
“I’m going down,” Arad said, “Hold tighter,”
“Wait!” Rey gasped, “You’re fine! There is no…” SWOSH! Arad dived down toward the mountain range.
Everyone screamed as they saw him flying directly toward a cliff, “We will crash!” Ray cried, her tears leaving a line in the air.
BAM! Arad shifted his body weight and changed his direction. His claws touched the cliff wall as he started running on it at high speed. A dragon’s claws are long and sharp making them natural climbers, and it isn’t strange to see dragons run on walls or cavern ceilings like it’s the ground.
CREEK! Arad released his claws and slid across the wall, sliding beneath a massive stone archway in the blink of an eye.
CRACK! The moment Arad got out of the arch, a massive lizard emerged from the walls. “An earth wyvern!” Isdis shouted.
CLAP! Arad smacked the ground with his tail, causing his body to spin above the wyven. His jaw clenched on the monster’s neck as he ripped his throat apart.
The twins stared back in horror as Arad ran past the wyvern, a monster that could terrorize a city have been killed in the blink of an eye.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Arad ran on the ground for a while until he saw a cave entrance. The mountain was less than four kilometers wide, so he could do a small trick.
BAM! He jumped up and expanded his wings, flying one meter above the ground at an extreme speed as he entered the cave.
Everything went dark for a second before Arad ignited two flames on his horns, shedding light on the terrifying cavern they were flying inside.
“We’re going to hit a wall!” Rey shouted, seeing the ceiling and floor clench down on them as they approached a tight corner.
Everyone closed their eyes as the wall approached them rapidly. ZON! No impact.
Isdis slowly opened her eyes as she sensed wind racing around her head, She could see the stars of the sky as Arad flapped his wings. He used void steps to teleport them to the other side of the mountain.
“Don’t worry, we won’t crash into anything,” Arad said with a giggle, “I know how to fly, at least I think so,”
[Dragons can run on all terrains thanks to their claws. They can also fly at high speed with extreme control, swing and hold their breath for almost an hour, and burrow at high speed thanks to their powerful claws.]
Arad stopped his wings and fell back toward the ground. Just before the impact, he swung his claws at the soft dirt. Like a wooden plank falling into the water, Arad burrowed into the dirt to absorb the impact and then resurfaced immediately.
As Arad stood still, the twin maids lifted their heads, shaking like newborns. “That was…” Ray puked to the side, and Rey barely held herself.
“That was amazing!” Isdis shouted, looking at Arad’s head.
“That was just the beginning, look,” He pointed forward with his claw. Burning lands, smoke, and brimstones, lava dripped from the mountains ahead of them like rivers.
“Hold a moment,” Ray gasped, her hands shaking, “Can we rest for a brief moment?”
Arad nodded, “Of course,” He lowered his wing for them to climb down and pulled a water barrel from his stomach. “Rest here for a bit. I will go hunt some monsters.”
Isdis and the maids watched Arad lung into the flames as if it were nothing. “No wonder he has all that strength,” Rey sighed, sitting on the ground as Ray washed her face.
Isdis looked at them, “Well, he’s a dragon,” She giggled.
****
Arad ran across the flames searching for something to eat. Humans’ food was delicious, but to him, it wasn’t enough. “I heard monster that lives in hot areas taste spicy, like salamander and fire cobras,” Arad mumbled with a smile. He hadn’t eaten a salamander since the incident in Alcott’s well. 𝘦𝘯.𝘰𝘳𝘨
ROAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR! Suddenly a roar filled the sky, shaking the ground as Arad stoopped, “This cry, a wyrmling?” Arad looked around.
[A metallic dragon would help if it was a metallic wyrmling and kill if it was a chromatic one. A chromatic dragon would kill and eat the wyrmling. And we void ignore it and leave.] Mom said.
Arad thought for a second, “Claug came nonetheless.” BAM! He rushed toward the roar.
****
In the middle of the flames, a wyrmling stood atop a pile of monsters. Her right arm was ripped apart and her tail was broken. No matter how many she killed, more kept crawling out of the ground.
She glared at the monsters, growling and ready to lung again.
BAM! A massive claw landed behind her, causing the ground to shake so violently that her body bounced up.
Arad opened his jaw, [Void Breath] The wyrmling’s vision went black for a second before she could hear a loud explosion.
She didn’t want to turn back as she knew it, an older dragon was behind her.
“You look injured, aren’t you?” Arad said, and she didn’t reply.
“I would have already killed you if that was my goal,” Arad nudged her with his claw, “Take this,” He threw her a large healing potion.
The wyrmling slowly turned her head, staring back at Arad. To her, he seemed titanic, “An adult black, why help me?” She didn’t know better.
“A green dragon came to my help once,” Arad replied, staring at the wyrmling, “I just wanted to do the same,”
The wyrmling stared at the healing potion, hesitant to bite it.
“You ran here thinking as a red wyrmling that you could dominate the place. It seems you were wrong.” Arad glared closely at the corpses beneath her. “They are resistant to fire,”
The wyrmling looked down, blood still trailing down her body. She hesitantly bites the potion to heal herself.
Arad thought about the wyrmling for a second. She’s a prime target for monsters and humans alike. Since most people know how powerful dragons can get, they target them right after birth.
“Come here,” Arad lowered his head down, licking the wyrmling. “Here you go. Monsters should avoid you if they smell me on you. But that won’t work on humans so avoid them.”
The wyrmling stared at him, “Why?” She growled. Dragons never accept help from anyone.
“This will only last for two or three weeks on you. If you felt it hard to survive on your own, head west, and you will find my domain in Alina. You can stay there till you grow strong enough.” Arad then turned to leave.
“Who are you?” The wyrmling growled. “Why is a black dragon helping a red?”
“I’m no black dragon,” Arad replied, staring back at her, “I’m a void dragon, one of the magic dragons. My domain is neutral, and everyone is welcome as long as they don’t cause trouble.”
****
Arad returned to Isdis and the maids after hunting several monsters for his dinner. “Where did you go? You took some time,” Isdis looked at him as he took more time than she expected.
“I found a red wyrmling on my way so I helped her,” Arad replied.
“A wyrmling? What a shame. Red is nefarious for causing forest fires, so her scales might have been more useful.” To Isdis, killing the wyrmling was a more sensible action.
“I thought the same as well, but it’s a waste even then,” Arad replied, “As a wyrmling, her scales and claws aren’t that developed, and she won’t have much of them either. It’s better to only hunt adult dragons.” He replied.
“You know better,” Isdis said, looking at the twin maids, “You two ready to go?”