The Fiery Crown Cycle: A Dragon's Rebirth

Chapter 88

“A stag bolted this way,” Garruk lied, his voice raspy. “I'm tracking it.”

The gnoll warrior's suspicion vanished. “Ah. Well, you'd better be quick, then,” he said with a gruff chuckle. “I'd help, but you know I have my duties.”

Garruk nodded. “I understand.”

He began to move past, eager to put distance between them.

“Wait a moment.”

The voice behind him made Garruk freeze, his body going rigid. A ferocious glint flashed in his green eyes as he slowly turned back.

“I can't help you hunt,” the warrior said, “but perhaps this will.” He unslung the bow from his back. “You should know how to use one of these.”

Garruk's eyes widened in surprise as he caught the bow that was tossed to him.

“If you find that stag, put an arrow in it,” the warrior said. “Good luck, Garruk.”

Garruk nodded his thanks, then brought his clenched left fist to his chest and thumped it once—the highest salute of respect for a warrior in their clan. The gnoll returned the gesture, then crouched and sprang back into the treetops, vanishing among the leaves to resume his watch.

Once the warrior was gone, Garruk let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He slung the bow over his back and settled the quiver at his waist.

Then, he dropped to all fours and began to run, his powerful limbs eating up the ground. His long years of solitary training had made his crawling gait nearly as fast as any other gnoll's upright sprint.

*****

They flew until nightfall. Finally, on the distant horizon, the silhouette of a mountain range appeared. The climate of Aethelgard was remarkably stable; even as darkness fell, the air remained pleasantly warm.

One peak, in particular, dominated the landscape. It was immense, both in height and width. Aiden banked his wings, guiding them toward it. As they drew closer, he slowed to a hover, craning his neck to look up the sheer cliff face. It was easily six thousand feet high.

He beat his wings, ascending along the rock wall until he reached an altitude of roughly eighteen hundred feet. He stopped, his eyes fixed on the expanse of solid stone before him. This will do.

Having made his decision, three rings of crimson energy began to form before his snout, the air around them shimmering and warping from the intense heat.

“Flame Pillar,” he intoned, the Draconic word both young and ancient.

The fire magic, already straining for release, coalesced and erupted. A pillar of flame six feet thick shot forward, striking the cliff face. The stone melted instantly, turning to molten slag under the onslaught.

Aiden narrowed his red eyes. It's bigger, thicker, and hotter than before. The rock is melting much faster. He could feel his mana reserves draining steadily, but the control was exquisite, more refined than it had ever been.

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For five minutes, the pillar of fire bored into the mountain. When his mana dipped low, he judged it was enough. He cut the flow of power, and the Flame Pillar ceased. The three magic rings before him shattered into motes of red light that drifted upwards and vanished.

Where the solid cliff had been, there was now a cave entrance one hundred eighty feet wide and ninety feet high. This lair was far larger than his previous ones. He decided this would be a long-term residence, a place to grow until he reached adolescence, at least.

On the flight over, he had noted the richness of the forest below. It teemed with all manner of beasts, both mundane and magical. Food would not be a problem.

He turned his head to the right. Bianca was hovering on flattened wings, her wide white eyes staring in awe at the newly created cave. From the side, he noted, she almost looked normal.

“Bianca.”

“Aow?” She turned her head, and the familiar, bubbly, foolish look returned in an instant.

“Use your Ice Burst to cool down the cave.”

“Okay, aow!” Bianca replied obediently. She faced the glowing red entrance, and two white rings of power formed before her.

“Ice Burst!” The crisp, childish word echoed against the cliff face as a volley of ice shards shot into the darkness.

“Ice Burst!”

…

“Ice Burst!”

“Ice Burst!”

After the seventh cast, she stopped. She turned her head, her shining eyes looking at Aiden. “Aiden. I'm out of mana, aow.”

Aiden looked at the cave, from which a thick, white mist was now billowing. “I'll go in and test it,” he said, and with a sweep of his wings, he flew inside.

His claws touched down on the stone floor. He folded his wings and stood for a moment, sensing the temperature through his feet. It was perfect. A pleasant, deep warmth, ideal for a dragon's slumber. He turned and looked at the two figures still hovering outside.

“It's fine. You two can come in.”

Whoosh… whoosh…

With two sets of wingbeats, a white and a blue shape landed beside him. The instant their claws touched the ground, their eyes went wide.

“SO HOT, AOW!” Bianca shrieked.

Aiden felt a weight land on his back, followed a second later by another. He looked behind him. The two of them had scrambled onto his back, their claws digging in for purchase, their tails held high to avoid touching the floor.

He scraped the ground with his own crimson claw. Hot? It didn't feel hot to me. Was it because I'm a red dragon?

Bianca's shining eyes stared at him, looking pitiful and aggrieved. “Aiden, it's so hot in here, aow.”

Aiden glanced at Azure. The blue dragon said nothing, but her silent, steady gaze conveyed the same message. He sighed. Very well, perhaps for them, it really was too hot.

He looked at Bianca's pouting face. “Do you have any mana left?”

The white head shook from side to side. “None at all.”

“Fine,” Aiden said, a wave of exhaustion washing over him. “This will have to do for tonight. You can just sleep on my back.” He was too tired to deal with it anymore. They could make do for one night.

He lowered his body to the ground, rested his head on the warm stone, and closed his heavy eyelids and nictitating membranes. The temperature was perfect for sleep. Within seconds, the deep, rumbling sound of a dragon's snore filled the cave.

Seeing him fall asleep so quickly, Bianca didn't dare try to wake him. Aiden was now twice her size; even a fool like her knew better than to provoke him.

A blue tail poked her in the side. She turned to see Azure looking at her. The blue dragon lifted a claw and pointed at the ground.

“Try using your breath weapon on the ground,” Azure said in Draconic.

Oh, right! Bianca's eyes lit up. My breath is cold, too!

She aimed her snout at the floor and unleashed a torrent of white frost. She kept it up for a full minute, until a faint, stinging pain in her throat told her to stop. A patch of the floor was now coated in a thick layer of rime. She tentatively poked it with the tip of her tail.

It was cool!

Her eyes shining with triumph, she scrambled off Aiden's back and onto her freshly chilled patch of floor. She snuggled up against Aiden's warm side. I'm not sharing with that mean Azure, she thought smugly, and her heavy eyelids drifted shut.

Watching the fool fall asleep, Azure's maw split in a silent, draconic smirk. With Bianca gone, there was much more room. She sprawled out comfortably across Aiden's broad back, closed her heavy eyelids, and surrendered to sleep.

Hoooo…

Hoooo…

Hoooo…

Three sets of familiar snores, deep and resonant, once again echoed in the darkness.