Azure Dragon

It twas not only our village that faced a flood, the whole coastline of Rajlina was at threat. The king sent soldiers and Magi to aid in the efforts. Whatever they could spare from service in the war. Massive walls of stone and sand were built along the shoreline. Men were sent into the woods, seeking protection from our god. They never returned.

We had been as prepared as possible. Those who could afford it moved deeper into the kingdom. We all expected the Tsunami to arrive any day, waiting with baited breath. But it did not come. Months passed, the shore continued receding. The forces from the kingdom withdrew. Many moved back to Ramorza. After a year, life returned to normal. Tis when it finally came.

-Excerpt from the recovered journal of Absalon Ramorski.

♕♛♕♛♕♛♕

CRUOOOOR

“DRAGON!”

The roar causes the ground to shake. The fountains' water sprays everywhere.

I move to hold up Manako, who was on the edge of falling over.

Following the dragon as it flies, it moves to the north-east, the direction of the Uniphon plateau. Once the dragon's serpentine body is completely obscured by the cliff, I breathe a sigh of relief.

“““““““““Haah-”””””””””” The crowd sighs in unison.

As if nothing had happened, the crowd returned to their previous routines. Merchants and customers haggling, children return to running, and parents talk amongst each other.

“Wha?!” Yoshida looks at the crowd, shocked.

Crack-

Suddenly, a large cracking sound is heard from above. I look back up.

“Hk-” My breath catches.

Rocks, the size of some houses, fall towards the city. The roar must’ve knocked the loos-

I see it. Behind one of the massive rocks, which falls out of the way at the perfect angle.

The dragon, its head just peering over the edge of the cliff. It's just… Looks. Staring at the town, it simply watches on as the crowd realizes what's going on.

It almost feels like it's staring directly at me.

Its eyes are oddly human. They have white sclera, odd for animals or monsters. Its pupils are a dark red. Its body is an azure blue, blending with the sky. They just look at me. Me. It looks at my soul.

It takes a moment for my mind to realize what’s going on. Rocks are falling, one heading our direction. I bring Manako, who’s still in my arms, beneath me. I can’t look away. I feel it in the bones, if I look away, that thing will be inches from my face.

It feels like forever as I stare into the dragon's eyes, the rocks filling more and more of my vision. I can feel Manako shaking in my chest, unable to console her.

Think. Think. Think. Don’t look away, just think. It doesn't matter if you get away, but don’t let this girl die. Don’t. Don’t. Magic. Pneûma. Anything. Damn my shitty luck. Come on. THINK.

Shvfuuu

Suddenly, a change occurs. Not from me. Nor from the Hero who I can see ready his sword in the corner of my eyes. Nor the dragon who continues looking downwards, staring at me. No, the change comes from the tree top, of all things. Golden tendrils appear from its foliage, like molten metal, they shoot towards the stones. The tendrils wrap around the rocks, stopping their descent. Small stones drip onto the pavement like rain. The tendrils slowly bring the stones into the tree's foliage.

The rocks, presumably the dragon's idea of a sick joke, had been neutralized. The dragon, watching the rocks be brought into the tree, begins to bring its head behind the cliff slowly. But just as its eyes are about to cross the boundary.

Shvfuuu

Once again, the golden tendrils shoot out, but this time towards the dragon. The dragon breaks eye contact and tries to escape the golden tendrils, but fails. The tendrils wrap around its body, attempting to drag it down. The dragon, in response, attempts to slither out of the hold. When that doesn't work, the dragon starts to fly upward.

The tendrils work to further incapacitate the dragon, wrapping around its mouth like a gag. The dragon continues upward, the tendril stretching. A moment goes by, then-

Kachink

The gold hardens, the tendrils stiffen, bringing the dragon to a complete stop for a moment.

Crunch.

The dragon closes its maw, the gold snapping under the pressure. Flakes of gold rain down. The dragon flies up above the tendril as it de-hardens.

Grrrr

A low sound reverberates. The dragon, gold filling its mouth, and still wrapped around its body, growls before slithering through the sky to the north-east, once again disappearing over the cliff's edge.

The golden tendril, once again liquid, waves back and forth, as if saying; Get out of here and never come back.

And so this time, I sigh, hoping the dragon has finally left.

♕♛♕♛♕♛♕

“What. Just. Happened?” Yoshida asks.

“What did it look like? A dragon flew overhead and dropped some boulders on the city.” Eris responds.

“Yeah, but why is everyone back to normal?! That was crazy!”

“Well, what are they supposed to do? That’s just how things work.” Eris says dismissively, while attempting to hide her shaking hands.

“Just how things work?! So those tendrils are normal?!”

“Yeah? Don’t you know about the God of Gold that lives at the top of the tree?” Eris asks.

“NO, because the person who was supposed to tell me, didn't!”

“Teehee,” Eris says, posing cutely.

“Not teehee,” Yoshida yells at Eris. “I thought I was gonna have to cut it! Like that one character that Arakawa told me about.”

“Okay, Okay. We have to get a move on.” I say, helping Manako stand up.

“So we’re just gonna forget about the dragon?”

“We have to. We only have so much time. It's about 12:30 right now.” I say, looking at a clock tower present on the large ornamental building behind the fountain.

“Okay, fine. Let’s go.” Yoshida says, walking to the left of the fountain.

I walk up to a stall with a gruff-looking man. His stall has a large sign that says kebabs.

“What can I get’cha, Missy?”

“I'll get one pork kebab. Also, I was wondering about-”

“The dragon? Stupid things’s been coming around and picking a fight with Chrysus.” The man explains, while grabbing a kebab off the grill in front of him. “If you ask me, the thing likes getting its ass handed to it. Heard those Dracofolk worship those monsters… Must have a screw loose, Zehahahaha.”

The man hands me the kebab while laughing.

“Actually… I was wondering about something else.”

“Oh? Sorry about that! Zehahahaha.” The man says. “Kebab’s 3 jaunes.

“Do you happen to know if anyone's got train tickets? For the Delphoscere one tonight.” I ask, handing over 3 copper coins. In the center of the coins are embedded yellow crystals.

“Tickets? Nope, sorry.”

“All good. Thanks.”

I move away from the stall while the man wishes me a good day. After a few steps, I see Manako come up towards me.

“Any luck?”

“No…” Manako says, her eyes drifting to my kebab.

“You want it?” I ask.

“Yeah… Why do you look surprised?” Manako asks.

“I thought you were pescatarian…”

“Why? Because I'm an elf?”

“No…” It’s because you only ate salad and fish before… But that's just one meal…

“Sorry,” I hand her the kebab.

“I accept your apology, and your kebab,” Manako says before leaving to find another stall. I continue asking around as well.

-

After 15 to 20 minutes of going from stall to stall, I eventually ran into Yoshida and Eris, both at the same stall.

“Come on up, Clewes for sale!” A young gentleman calls out.

“Clues?” Yoshida looks at Eris. “Like hints to a mystery?”

“No… I'm not sure why we called them that, but Clewes refer to magic items.” Eris points to a knife on the young man's table. “That there is a Clewe, though it's just a basic tool. Can barely be considered an actual Clewe.”

“Listen, Missy, don't go talkin' about my product like that.” The young-looking man spouts, placing his hand on the knife.

“Then don’t sell crappy stuff.”

“You-!”

“Okay, Okay!” I jump in-between Yoshida and Eris. “Sorry about her. She doesn’t mean it.”

The young man and I look at Eris. She clearly means it…

“A-anyway… I was looking to ask you a question?”

“You really think I’ma answer your question?”

“What if I buy this here?” I look at the table. Aside from the shoddy knife, a locket, a gem, and several other things dot the table. I point to the locket.

“Fine, what's your question?”

“Do you know anyone who may have a train ticket? One to Delphoscere tonight?”

“Nope, sorry, Miss.” The young-looking man pauses for a moment. “ But Pavel might know. Guy’s obsessed with those trains.”

“Thanks.” I thank him and pay the one Jaune for the locket. He then tells us where to find Pavel.

-

A few moments later, we arrive at Pavel’s stand. His stand is colorful, colored in flowers from head to toe. A yellow tarp hangs on wood pillars. A sign at the top reads: Flower King.

“Hey, isn’t that Manako?” Yoshida says as we approach.

As he said, Manako is standing at the stall, she isn't interacting with the man, Pavel, behind the counter. She simply stares at a yellow flower in her hands.

“Hey.” I tap her on the shoulder.

“Huh!?” She jumps up in surprise.

“Sorry… What are you doing?”

“O-oh. I was just looking at this flower…” She looks down at the one in her hands. “I thought I heard it talk…”

“Wha!?”

“Just kidding.” She says, sticking out her tongue.

“She’s been standing there for a few minutes.” The man behind the counter says.

“Are you Pavel?” Yoshida asks.

“Yeah, what can I help you with?”

“We were looking to ask a question…” Yoshida begins to bring out his wallet. Not every stall had made us buy something, but there were more of them than fewer.

“You're good, I'll answer free of charge cause that girl enjoys my flowers so much.” The man says.

“Thanks. We were wondering about tickets…”

“The ones to delphoscere? They all sold out?” The man asks.

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“I’ve got a special interest in those trains, spend my free time watching them come and go…” Pavel tells us. “But tickets, huh? I don’t know… Ah!”

“Do you know someone?”

“I might… But…” The man hesitates to say.

“Please, it’s really important.”

“Haah. Okay. The apothecary is a little way up the North-west street. They may have a couple you can use.” Pavel says, a gloomy look appearing on his face. “The old lady came by earlier and told me she bought some.”

“Thank you so much!” Yoshida thanks him.
“No problem, kid… Just bring these with you.” Pavel hands him a bouquet of flowers. Most are white, but mixed in are red roses.

We thanked the man and set off for the Apothecary. It takes us ten minutes to reach it, going up one of the main streets. On the third level is a quaint building, the roof covered in plants. The building itself is old and cracking. On its face, a large sign simply reads Apothecary.

As we reach the storefront, an old lady becomes visible. She’s standing in front of the door, her head looking into the sky.

“Wait…”

“Isn’t that..?”

Manako and I recognize the old lady.