The soft twittering of birds or occasional far-off sound caused Myra's ears to twitch as she rested under a tree. She was relaxed. Despite it being a relatively new environment, twenty-two years compared to over four hundred in the desert, she rarely felt threatened here.
It upset her more than anything. Such a lush, green environment just a few days away from their centuries of suffering. The creatures here were soft and gentle. So timid compared to the venomous beasts of the desert's unforgiving wastelands or the dark tunnels of the underground.
Tucking her knees into her chest, her expression contorted. One of the few hostile creatures here had been birthed from her own kin- the goblins.
Yes, there were harpies and titanic beasts that flew across the sky, but they belonged. The goblins, her fellow dark elf kin, did not.
'We are foreigners in someone else's paradise...'
Recently, she found herself away from her husband and children more often than not. She couldn't pin down the emotions as she toyed with the red energies dancing ominously in her palm, gently swirling out from the ruby gem in her forehead with hushed whispers.
The powers granted to her were great, she acknowledged, but they came at a price. The minor nightmares and hellish mental landscapes they had to battle out of in their youth to conquer this power while appearing normal were nothing compared to this.
During the day, she yearned for her family. But during the night, blackened hands in her dreams tried to drag her into an abyss. She knew if she succumbed to it at any point, it would be the end of her.
'If I ever slip up, my family will die... My people, my children, my husband...'
Tears formed in her eyes as the energy dissipated and she tucked her knees in closer. 'I have to leave them to keep them safe. From me...'
A series of deafening roars drew her attention upward, and she immediately rose to her feet under the shadow of the tree. Her ears twitched as she heard their angry conversation hundreds of meters above.
'These creatures, they can speak?!' she exclaimed internally, surprised. Her ears twitched again as she listened to the roars amidst the battle. What's more, she was surprised again to see the harpies assisting the assaulting dragon.
It was clear who was superior, and curiosity spurred her.
'The world is being threatened... There is more to this world?' Myra frowned. 'This... betrayer, why did he betray them? It is unthinkable to betray your kin. The only thing I can think of is...'
Her thoughts drifted to the woman who left, holding her twisted, corrupted child. The first of the goblins, the sin of their kin.
Again, her expression hardened, and she swiftly traversed the lush landscape toward the falling dragons. She aimed to blind the dragon so that she could communicate safely, should it be hostile. To discover more about this dragon, these dragons, the world.
What other threats were there? How much of a threat were they to her people? And could this be an opportunity, if there is more in this world, to learn how to control or restrain this newly gifted power from god?
Yet throughout the encounter, she was surprised. A pure energy that made her feel, by comparison, like the goblins, and broke her darkness spell. A fire that rivaled her god-gifted powers. Rage that could make the goblins quiver. Her overconfidence had forced her to expend more energy than she would've liked trying to subdue this creature for a simple talk.
But she also acknowledged, for she could see it on its expression, a similar bewildered feeling in the dragon. Overconfidence. Arrogance in its power.
Myra had a subtle feeling that their battle was shortened only due to its delayed reaction. Had they met each other all out from the beginning, not underestimating one another, this crater would've been one of many. The broken and splintered trees surrounding it would've been the entire forest, at least.
"Soft skin," the dragon growled. "Hiding in the shadows, waiting like a snake for its prey. If you've been listening, then you know as much as I."
"Your kin said 'world.' How much of the world is there?" Myra asked.
"This land is vast. One of many. You seem to know little, soft skin. Like a child."
"A child who has lived for hundreds of years, so mind your manners before I change my mind and kill you now."
A roaring laugh, with black flames trailing from its nostrils, erupted.
"Lived for hundreds of years?!" it mocked. "The dwarves know more than you."
"Show some respect." Myra's ears twitched as she unleashed another torrent of power upon the dragon, deepening the crater as it roared in pain. "What are dwarves?"
A moment of silence.
Ira, the Primordial she subdued, was raging internally. He acknowledged he was defeated in this moment. But he also knew the battle would have been exhilarating. Thrilling, if they hadn't underestimated each other.
Still, Ira respected this soft skin who had bested him. The outcome was of his own making.
"Release me, and we will talk."
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Atlas tapped his fingers on the console as Myra released him and they began conversing. Two creatures, overconfident in their own abilities.
"Compared to the humans," Atlas sighed.
"Wisp, how long before the first Weaver War?"
"Twenty years, Weaver Atlas," Wisp replied. "I am currently gathering information to best serve the Weaver."
Exhaling, Atlas zoomed out over the Summit, where swarms of dragons and Primordials flew across the sky and dotted the mountain sides.
"This would've been unsustainable for the Summit if they weren't dispersed," Atlas stated, watching as the wildlife was quickly being slaughtered by their appetite.
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-Warning: Wildlife population has been dramatically reduced by 2%!-
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He waved the notification away. The Primordials would only be there for a day, and the first scouts, consisting of lesser dragons, were already on the move.
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-Notification: Myra and Ira have joined forces.-
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"What?" Atlas said, confused.
The globe rotated back toward them, and Myra was atop Ira, flying toward the Summit.