Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 21 - Questions

Elijah sat on the cliff, his back against the trunk of a tree as he stared across the strait at Ironshore.  He remembered his first time seeing the budding settlement that would become a bustling city.  Back then, it was just a collection of wooden buildings, its people struggling to create something permanent. 

And now it was a real city, impressive by anyone’s standards and home to tens of thousands of people.  All of them went about their lives, completely ignorant of Elijah’s pain.  Of the many sacrifices he’d made so that they could prosper.  They’d rarely even acknowledged what he’d done for them.  They didn’t talk about the fact that, without his grove, Ironshore would have long since been conquered.  They barely even thought about the multiple times he’d rescued the city. 

In a brief fit of irrationality, he wanted to destroy it.

He wanted to topple those buildings and remind them that he was the one in charge.  He wanted them to feel the pain of losing what was most precious to them. 

Elijah sighed, pushing those dangerous thoughts away.  It was no different than a man seeking out a fight in the wake of a personal tragedy.  That destructive imperative that functioned as an outlet for pain, frustration, and anger.  But if Elijah gave in to it, the consequences would be far more serious than a little destroyed property or a black eye.  People would die if he lost control.

And besides, it wasn’t a serious desire.  Just an idle thought.  A psychological tantrum wrapped in a what-if. 

“You can stop hiding, kid,” he announced.  “I know you’re there.”

For a second, nothing happened.  And then, suddenly, a white fox streaked with red fur suddenly appeared.  Its markings were curious.  Almost like warpaint instead of a natural pattern. 

The shape shimmered, and over the next three or four seconds, the fox expanded into a young man.  He was tall and sinewy.  As if he’d spent years alone in the wilderness eating a diet primarily composed of meat and whatever else he could forage.  He was not a person who’d grown up taking advantage of the luxuries of modern living.

Elijah immediately felt a kinship that he quickly realized came from a strong nature attunement.  He didn’t feel like a natural beast, but he wasn’t that far off.

“Why have you been following me?” Elijah asked.

“I…I haven’t been –”

“You realize that all of this is my domain, right?  I can feel everything, all at once.  Guise of the Unseen is useless against me here.”

Not that his locus was necessary.  Elijah could have sensed the boy with Soul of the Wild alone.  Maybe even without it, given the discrepancy in power.  From experience, Elijah knew that stealth abilities were dependent on a person’s relative attributes as well as the strength of their cultivation.  If the gap between two people was wide enough, the effectiveness fell to nothing.

But he didn’t say as much to the boy.

“Answer my question.  Why have you been following me?”

“I came…I’m here to…I came to thank you.”

“Thank me?  For what?”

The young man’s eyes widened into an incredulous stare, but it only lasted for a moment before his expression relaxed.  Then, he said, “For what you did to those assholes that destroyed my home.”

That was when reality sliced right through Elijah’s self-pity to remind him that he hadn’t gone to Meridian Lux to free slaves or fight corruption.  He’d gone there to kill the people responsible for destroying a Druid’s grove.  But even then, he hadn’t done it as a favor for the refugees who’d eventually settled on his island.  No – to him, it was mostly a preventative measure.  A warning for anyone who might consider walking that road in the future.

A message that told them that if they attacked other Druids, he would destroy them utterly and without mercy.

However, as he looked at the young Animist, he saw the unintended consequences of his actions.  And it felt good, knowing the gift of revenge he’d given the boy.  The only thing that might’ve made it better was if the kid had been there to participate.  Not really possible, given the circumstances.  He wasn’t even an ascendent yet.

“You’re an Animist, right?”

He nodded.

“What’s your name again?”

“Alfie.  Alfie Simmons.”

“Good name,” Elijah said, nodding as he pushed himself to his feet.  Alfie was actually a little taller than him.  Sandy hair that needed to be cut.  The beginnings of a patchy beard decorating his jaw.  Despite the differences in ethnicity, he reminded Elijah of Oscar.  “What level are you?”

“One-nineteen.”

“Hmm.  Cultivation?”

“Body of Stone. Opal mind.  Novice soul.  Juvenile core.”

“Juvenile?  What rank is that?”

“Second.  I’m beast-attuned.”

Elijah nodded, though he quickly realized that the boy’s understanding of various ranks and other academic knowledge associated with progression probably exceeded his own.  That was probably a good thing.  It showed that Nara had instituted a good education system.

“Not bad at your level,” Elijah said.  “Show me your forms.”

Alfie grinned, immediately shifting into the fox form he seemed to favor.  Elijah suspected there was an emotional connection there, just like there had been between him and the panther that had inspired his first form. 

“This one’s predator,” the boy chirped, his voice much higher-pitched than it had been in his human form.  “Stealth and ambush focused.  I have to be careful, though.  It’s not durable enough to take hits.  But the next one, that’s its speciality.”

He shimmered, returning to his human form before expanding into something much larger.  In seconds, a stark-white bear stood before him.  It was slightly bigger than a kodiak, with a body meant to absorb damage.  Pound for pound, there weren’t many natural creatures that could kill a full-grown Alaskan brown bear.  And aside from the coloring, Alfie’s guardian form was almost identical to those beasts.  Fifteen-hundred pounds of tank-like killing machine.

“Shape of the Guardian,” he rumbled.  “This is the one I use most when I’m in towers.  Defenders aren’t that common.  Most people don’t like taking damage.  So, I step in and do the job.”

Then, he shifted again.  This time, he took on his flight form.  The snowy owl Elijah had seen upon his return to the island. 

“Shape of the Sky,” the boy said, alighting onto a nearby branch.  “I can hunt in this form.  You know, small rodents and stuff.  But it’s really only good for getting from one place to another.”

Obviously, Elijah already knew that, but the boy was so excited to show off that he was more than willing to allow it. 

“Which one do you prefer?”

“The fox,” he answered immediately.  “But I’ve spent the most time in my bear form.”  He paused for a moment, then asked, “What about you?”

“Turn back into a human,” Elijah said, with what he hoped was a welcoming smile.  “I don’t want to keep craning my neck to look at you.”

When Alfie dropped to the ground as a human, he was blushing.  “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize.  Now, you asked what my favorite form is, right?” Elijah asked. 

He nodded.

“How about I show them to you and you can guess?” Elijah asked.  Then, he looked around.  “Probably not here, though.  Not enough room.  Follow me.”

Elijah didn’t bother to transform.  Instead, he threw himself into the air, bounded off of Cloud Step, and crossed the island like that, using his human-form wings to glide between Cloud Steps.  Having the full Wild Revenant set had doubled the available number of charges, so he had plenty to spare by the time he reached the other side of the island.

He landed on a large, gravelly beach. 

There were a few people there, but they were far enough away that they wouldn’t be too disturbed when Elijah showed off.

In his snowy owl form, Alfie landed about twenty seconds later.  Decent speed for an mortal.  He resumed his human form, which displayed just how eager he was.

“Alright.  This is Shape of the Scourge,” Elijah said, using the spell.  In less than a second, he’d become a scourgedrake.  Nearly twelve feet from snout to tail, it still looked a lot like a velociraptor – at least in form.  “It’s venom focused.  Decent at stealth and ambush.”

“So cool,” breathed Alfie. 

“I could have gone a different route.  My first evolution offered an option that would’ve taken me away from stealth, but because I’m usually alone, and I often find myself in hostile territory, I figured that staying unseen was too much of a benefit to abandon,” Elijah explained.  “When the time comes, you’re going to need to make some decisions about your own progress, too.” 

Then, he frowned.  “But you’ve already had one evolution of that spell, right?”

“Uh…yeah.  It’s now called Shape of the Stalker.  But all my options focused on stealth.”

“Interesting,” Elijah said.  Apparently, the class system branched even before reaching ascendency.  “You evolved your guardian form, too?”

“Shape of the Ursine.  It was always a bear, but it just got bigger and stronger when it evolved.”

“I see.  I think you made a good choice,” Elijah said, already shifting forms.  This time, he used Shape of Spores.  Alfie took an involuntary step back, his jaw going slack.  Elijah wanted to laugh, but he refrained.  “This is called Shape of Spores.  I went fully into regeneration and control.”

“It’s…kind of…uh…terrifying.”

“That’s the point, kid.”

Then, Elijah transformed into an emberkin saint.  It was the second-most blatantly magical beast form in his repertoire, especially with the glowing embers decorating its shoulders and back and the cloak of ashes flowing in the wind.

“Wow.”

“Shape of Embers,” Elijah informed him.  “It’s an evolution of Shape of the Master, which you should get pretty soon.  It is far and away my most damaging form, based on fire, ash, regeneration, and regrowth.” 

Then, he explained the mechanics of Seed of Ash, Wildire, Flames of Renewal, and Herald of Regrowth.  He was pleased to see that Alfie was suitably impressed.

“Next up is another form you’ll get soon.”

With that, he transformed into the Shape of the Sea.  That got the attention of the others on the beach, probably because he’d taken on the form of an enormous sea turtle.  Because he was on land, he didn’t experience the same influx of attributes that normally came with the transformation.  And in fact, when he looked at his status, he saw that they’d decreased.  Such was the nature of his seagoing form.

Great in the water.  Terrible on land.

But it was still an awe-inspiring sight.

“Shape of the Sea.  Huge increase of attributes when in the water.  Great for aquatic exploration, and more than capable of handling itself.  But when you get your version, don’t push things too hard.  There are some truly terrifying creatures in the ocean.  Wondrous things too, but it’s far more dangerous than land,” Elijah advised.

Alfie nodded along.  “I went sailing with one of the whalers last year.  I used Shape of the Sky to act as a spotter,” he said.  “Believe me…after what I saw, I won’t ever underestimate the ocean.”

“Good.”

Then, Elijah took on the Shape of the World Serpent.

Everyone on the beach stopped and stared.  Alfie had obviously seen the form before, but even he was transfixed.

“Shape of the World Serpent,” Elijah explained.  “My newest form, evolved from Shape of the Sky.  I’ll be honest kid – I don’t even know if you’ll get anything like this.  The circumstances surrounding the evolution were…unique.  It’ll do everything Shape of the Sky could do, but better.  And it allows me to travel the void between dimensions.  It’s the only reason I made it home.

“I also think it’ll deviate from the original purpose of Shape of the Sky.  I think it’ll be more than just transportation, but only time will tell.”

Alfie didn’t say anything, but his expression was all the response Elijah needed.

He shifted back into his human form.  “That’s the last Druid form, but it’s not everything.”

“There’s more?  How?”

“I’m a dragon,” Elijah said, expanding into the appropriate form.  His emerald scales shone in the light of the afternoon sun as he loomed over the young man. 

Alfie took a step back.  “I…they say…I thought they were just stories.  I thought people saw your flight form and…they just assumed.”

“Nope.  Full dragon.  Physically, much stronger than my human form.  When I cast spells, they’re a lot more powerful too,” Elijah explained.

“Then why not always use it?”

“Stamina.  It can pack a punch, but it uses a lot of ethera.  A lot of energy.  Not great for long fights.”

“Most of my fights are over in a couple of minutes.”

Elijah nodded, his serpentine neck flexing.  “That can change.  I think the longest fight I’ve ever had lasted for months.  Giant flesh tree.  I definitely don’t recommend it.”

“F-flesh tree?”

“Not important.  My point is that you’ve got a bright future kid.  Don’t ever let anyone tell you that the Animist class is weak.  We might not be able to do anything as well as specialized classes, but we’re versatile.  And if we do it right, we can survive things nobody else can.”

Elijah shifted back into his human form and laid his hand on Alfie’s shoulder.  “If you need anything from me, all you need to do is ask.  I won’t coddle you, but I’m here to offer advice.  Just let me know.

“Oh.  And I’ll leave it up to you to figure out which form is my favorite.”

And with that, he leaped into the sky, touched off of Cloud Step, and headed toward the center of the grove.  As much as he still hurt from what happened with Sadie, the brief lesson with Alfie had made him feel a lot better about things.  Maybe it was just a distraction, but that was okay.

And maybe it meant that he would be okay, too.