Queen of Ragnarok

by Dylan Keefer

  “Killon, you a genius!”

  “I need more trees to create netting, ho, is that city moving?”

  Alvain replies, “Yeah, I see it. Fireballs and Elemental attacks are useless against Dragons. Bain, we need you and where is Joshua!?”

  Killon scoffs, “Bain is busy, we have twenty Dragons here taking their time to kill us.”

  “Black Wonderful!”

  I hear a number of voices sounding off strategies. That is a good question, where is Joshua?

  I look up the map, while I am running. I know I have one Dragon behind me. The netting was in three places, I ran under another one as the Dragon tried to bite me.

  It hits its head snarling in pain, blasts into my back. I swoop right but hit my ankle against a rock and drop.

  “Bla…” I keep running as my status bar flashes its concerns at me, of all the times to run out of energy…“We lost Neil, Celina!”

  “She has no energy wait,” Valush said blandly.

  She was watching my status? I whip out the potion and drink it. Some of my allies are poisoned so I should deal with that first.

  “Black Miracle, Black Wonderful…” I stiffen. A Dragon’s head was right in front of me.

  “Damn it…”

  “Celina…Alice and Alvain,”

  The onrushing whoosh of air shuts out all my concentration as I feel weightless I could not move I was just swept within its might.

  “Ah! Uh…” I open my eyes, my hands shake uncontrollably. The Dragon was cut in two, its body blurred into the earth. I tilt my sight to see Joshua slashing at one Dragon’s neck, rebounding from a hit he kicks down another, two shoots its breath at him, but he merely turns the great sword reflecting the blast sending out sparks of electric energy.

  He jumped and cut through one neck finishing that one, down swung in the other Dragon sending it to the ground. Its tail swiped but he jumps over it and goes berserk hitting the Dragon while it was still breathing acid at him constantly. I heal him with Black Miracle and he kept at it. The Dragon was finally subdued. The other Dragons fly sneakily around us.

  He ran to me.

  “Celina you ok?”

  I still could barely move. But I can cast, I try to heal as much as I could but why could I not move so well. It was like I was fighting gravity or something?

  But Joshua stuck to me like glue. The Dragons came in droves. He took down one after the other with skill and poise I was not used to seeing.

  Status showed Fatigue, none of my spells can heal that.

  Killon arrives though and puts a potion to my mouth, drinking it. I shudder as my fingers twiddle with ease.

  “What…”

  Killon explains while looking around, “That poison can slow your movements and leave you tired,”

  “This is only temporary…”

  “Make it count.” He says.

  I clutch my fist. The map showed Valush around Medpack. Mom was with Opa and Alice. Bain was running with Xavier towards me and Joshua.

  Deabush was with J Ron, they were mostly running randomly, fight on the go huh?

  That city, there were Dragons still flying out of it. That city is the key. That city, I identified it. Everything was shadowed except for the title.

  Colossus the Maker…

  “Killon, I need you to scout that city. Wait for my assistance.”

  “Uh,”

  He shivered under the three sign seal, I shout, “Castomon!”

  He is sent far above the Dragons, actually they notice him and follow.

  “Killon, go before they are on you!” I tell him.

  He grunts and soars off from the boost given leaving the Dragons in their wake. He was higher than the floating city now.

  “Celina?”

  “Yes, report.” I run as Joshua engages another Dragon. I slip under a wire net and cast, “Seraph!”

  The seven sign seal under me, the shadows of all the surrounding rocks and trees converge to my very feet. The column surges upward and widens out into a wide column of dark light.

  Valush cries out, “Ok guys, you see that, rush these Dragons, we got healing for free!”

  I smile at this girl’s sick humor. But it should be easier now.

  Killon winced slightly, “ok there is this huge crystal, a swirling…I think it is a gate.”

  I see Bain and Xavier on the other side of the wire netting, “Like a gate to somewhere else?”

  “Yeah the Dragons are coming out of it.”

  Bain distracted and tried to draw off a Dragon from near the netting. Xavier bounced around watching for anything as Joshua went on a rampage against three Dragons.

  “Hey….this crystal…..it has a life bar….” Killon said, but I wasted no time.

  “Valush!”

  “I hear you Celina, you don’t have to shout.”

  “Get your behind up there and blow that city to the ground! Use that spell, do not hesitate! Medpack gate her there.”

  “I still need a Tank to prepare it, I need to charge that spell, you know.” Valush complained.

  “Take Opa and Alvain! And Alvain, use Onclash, when she uses that spell, use Onclash!”

  “Got it.” Alvain says.

  I could see ALvain and Opa in the same spot as the city, two seconds later I see Valush. I hope this works. Now, to organize things, but why is J Ron’s life bar constantly low?

  Alice and Deabush are beside him. Not good, where was Mom? Mom was some ways away, she was fighting and it was not looking good. Medpack was by herself now that she sent the others off but she was running towards me.

  “Forever Flair get to Alice and assist them.”

  “Oh, ok got it.”

  I cannot cast another spell while using Seraph, they have to manage on their own.

  Valush’s voice was soft and endearing almost, “Hope…”

  The dark sky opened up, revealing the surging static electric sparks that sparkled like a kinetic blaze. I see a rush of light hits the top of the so called castle literally pushing it down.

  Rabid screeches and cries of Dragons overpower the area.

  Alvain and Opa’s life bar shoot down fast even with my healing. The light is so blinding, I almost feel the pressure on my mind to keep the spell up. Come on Celina do not lose so easily to a flicking light, focus!

  “Onclash….”

  Alvain died, damn it.

  Silence, this deep booming sound reverberated in my ears, then a explosion erupts.

  The city is falling, engulfed in a massive black storm of smoke, that drifted high into the atmosphere. The city was finally falling, shards of crystals fell like rain, the shattering clank against the brittle earth was resounding.

  The city’s bedrock, broke down the center and fell in huge chunks, a stream of dust.

  I look at status, Opa and Valush died. She is going to stick me about that later I am sure.

  Chapter 21

  “Celina,”

  “Alice?”

  “I am identifying another life bar….something is in that smoke, it says….God Earth Dragon….”

  Before I could speak, the wings come out four of them, they were huge. The crane of its neck, twisted upward throwing off some of the smoke, a crystal on each side, they glowed. There it was, the big crystal was on its back, it was not glowing, a huge crack down the center. I decide to snapshot it, I know Valush would love to show off what she did to it.

  Its eyes were ghostly white, its skin was serrated and black, actually the scales were sloughing off in sections.

  It was ten times the size of these adult Dragons, who ran off like children at the sight of their mother Dragon.

  It screamed. I felt a shockwave hit me instantly. I shake my head. No, I lost concentration, the spell.

  “Celina, its life is low, it is dying.”

  I move out of the net, “Everyone Move Qui,”

  It blew a wide breath at the earth, lifting whole boulders and fifty foot wall of dirt. He turned with it, crushing ever
ything under the weight of its power on the ground. I run, but the breath is too fast.

  “Damn it.”

  I see Killon surge past me, if only I was that fast. He turned looking at me expectantly, shot down one of those wide crevasses in the earth. Of course, I jump down into it with him and squish up to the wall waiting for the worse to pass.

  It did.

  “Joshua, the others, use the crevasses to avoid the breath of this Dragon go!”

  By the time the Dragon runs out of acid, only me, Killon, Alice, Joshua, Bain, Xavier, Medpack and Mom remained.

  “Alice said it was dying, we need to find a way to reach it.” I tell everyone over the mental connection.

  Joshua sighs, “Actually that life bar is going up…”

  “What?!”

  I rush out of the hole and see the smaller adult Dragons flying towards it and becoming white as snow then separating into sparkles that go to the God Earth Dragon himself. He was now on the ground, tiling his majestic head upward, a light gale of dust had gathered around him.

  “He is adsorbing their life?” I whisper.

  I see a Dragon get grabbed out of the air and thrown down.

  Bain smartly says, “Over my dead body.”

  “Nice going Bain, we have no time to waste, kill that Dragon! Medpack get the Bow!”

  Mom is closest and wastes no time.

  “Remember…Radiance!”

  A six sign seal appears under me as I was running. A three sign seal, envelops her making her sparkle.

  “Mom what is this?”

  “Remember restores magical energy…I will deal with the Dragons.”

  Mom jumped, punching one Dragon wide, kicking down another. The Dragons get agitated and converge on her. The water from the air rushes forth, hits the Dragons. But they merely push through.

  Bain grapples one causing it to topple over. Bain and Mom drew off a good number of Dragons.

  I call out, “Alice?”

  Got it, she reaches the top of the hill, tattered and quite bruised. Joshua jumps off sprinting back into a run.

  Alice casted an eight sign seal in front of her, she breathes in, “Hellblaze!”

  A small fireball the size of a pebble shoots out fast, it lost altitude.

  I reach beside Alice, “Wait for it, wait for it, Bain get out of there.”

  Joshua grabs Bain and pulls him, the fireball drops on the Dragon’s head. A huge explosion which surges out, Bain and Joshua guard with their hands. It freezes, right in front of them, they breathe out in relief. I call to Medpack, “Your move.”

  The rumble starts as the fire that surged out, decreasing in width slowly slapping away at its life, as it sinks in on the Dragon. The God Dragon opened its eyes, it shakes as the fire rushed upward lifting the dust and small stones into the very sky incinerating them, a tall column of razing fire.

  The God Dragon starts moving about erratically, wheezing as part of its scales break apart falling to the dry earth. It drew back its head and roared, I shudder from the sound. I lose focus again, we all did.

  Alice stepped back, “No, it might attack…”

  I regain my composure, “Forever Flair!”

  “I’m coming!”

  She slides, and draws an arrow aimed at its now open mouth.

  The Dragon breathes sending a blast at her. The breath explodes suddenly, shooting in a ballooning blast coupled with big rocks that shoot past me. I pull Alice back over the ledge before she gets caught in its range.

  I breathed easier as it became silent. When it stopped, I checked status.

  Mom was near death, but it was only her. Me and Alice look at each other, then at the Dragon now twirling its head as if stretching. It was still moving?

  We came this far, but it was over. I hate getting this close and losing.

  A thud, my feet lift off the ground and touch down again.

  Alice started jumping up and down like a giddy schoolgirl. With arms outstretched. “We did it, its health is zero.”

  We walked up the ledge. I smile and shake my head in satisfaction to see the Dragon motionless with my mother on top in a yoga sitting position.

  Yes, we did good.

  Chapter 22

  "Yo seriously though Joshua was amazing, dude was like, nngh!" acting out a swing, "and pow...!" a upswing. I groan, "Ron stop, you uglier than him when he swings."

  "Ohhhhhhhh!" Victor guffaws on the floor, everyone was laughing out loud. J Ron tried to smile through it. Except Joshua and Valush, Joshua looked like he was trying to flirt with the Queen of Pain but Valush was more peering at what caused the joke.

  I wish him good luck with that.

  I continue, "Oh speaking of performance. You lasted long though."

  "It was because you and Alvain were there, I could not do that much," his head slowly going downward. I get up off the makeshift wooden chair with my lemonade drink.

  "You used an axe back then right?"

  "Huh? Yeah it was something Neil gave me, I can give it back."

  "No, no, you can keep that, it is just there was this other axe we found in the chest that appeared. It has no Prestige limit but it is way better than the one Neil gave you and lighter too."

  Victor slipped out from his back, a white axe, even the handle is white, the outside had three green gem like slants embedded around the center which had three sleekly cut holes. It almost looked like a car rim.

  Alice eyes widened, "Wooo this is..."

  I saw the blurb popup instantly with a rain of confetti.

  Bain started reading it, "Serene Axe.....So soft you sleep on it...the hell?"

  "Man the flavor texts for these items are getting weirder." Joshua said.

  "Rare Gear...good additive to speed. Terrible attack power compared to the axe I gave him, Market value is half a million...why don't you sell it?" Neil asked curiously.

  I could understand that, most rare items do not sell in NPC shops. Only players would find it and sell it. But I had to ask, "For what?" I cry. I shrug, "we do not need that money, we hauled twenty million beating a God and besides, I said I was giving it to him. I am giving it to him, you did talk highly of how he helped you guys back then.”

  Neil shrugs, “He kept preventing us from being targeted by too many. So he was doing as we told him, distract at least one Dragon and run like hell.”

  The men laugh nudging Ron whom smiled more forcibly. I frowned at them saying, “Good work gets a good reward."

  J Ron nodded with a wide smile at me.

  "Here," Victor thrust the axe in his direction, he took it gingerly.

  Deabush shot up, "I did a good job, so that,"

  I cut him off, "No,"

  "I,"

  "No,"

  "I have not even asked anything yet."

  I gulp down some lemonade, "Ok ask."

  "Can I get the bow as an reward for,"

  "No,"

  "Oh come on!?"

  "No,"

  Deabush throws his arms upward and slumps back down to his seat. The others laughed out loud. "You got one million, buy a bow or something but you will not get this one. Think of it as a political party seat, you are borrowing it for the people by the people. The people being me, myself and I." I tell him.

  Joshua bursts out slipping off the bar chair laughing. The others join as Deabush nods swelling with brood.

  “What about this one now, who is going to wear this?” Bain asked.

  His hand was gesturing towards the black suit of armor, fashioned in the form of cuirass with red painted outlines and bolts fastened to the ends of Slides from the top, a Gorgot and overarching Bevor and the bottom, a Faulds. With a short roundish Pauldron, it looked complete as an heavy armor.

  I saw the blurb popup instantly, more confetti.

  I look at Alice, “you need to stop that.”

  She quirked a smile at me, “I prefer it like that you know.”

  Armor of Black Flames-‘A armor that once belonged to the Underdark God Colossa
l…’every stat was zero, but other than ‘Cannot be stolen, only won by single ordained combat.’ I see this, ‘Any damage taken gets added to Magical Resistance and Defense for a period of one day. All damage added is cumulative.’

  “Ah…?” Joshua uttered but Victor beat him to it. “The longer the battle or the more battles you get in, the better this armor is.”

  Neil nudges Medpack next to him, “Sounds neat.”

  Alice scratched her head, she waved her hand towards me, “I’ve seen something like this before. There is this really rare head gear called, the Helm of Discord. I think it was twenty five percent of damage you take gets added to your life points.”

  “I know the helmet, people would sell their left leg to get that gear.” Neil replied.

  “But this…” Alice wagged her finger at it, “Might be bad and good.”

  I get curious, “What do you mean?”

  “You still take damage either way, even if the armor gets the added defense. The thing about the helmet, it is convenient since it is only a helmet, your main defense is usually a person’s torso armor.”

  That was true out of all the armor you wear, the torso gives you the most defense against damage. There were other ways and things that can increase defense but they were not ideal for consistent protection.

  “This armor has zero defense, you would pretty much be walking around at level one.” Alice finishes soberly.

  There was this concept that when you first start a role-playing game, you start at level one. Which means me being a level one hundred player staring at you was enough to kill you.

  Even though Everscape was more balanced than that, it did not have levels. When you first start out in this game, beating an experienced player was mostly lucky. Beating a powerful player was impossible really.

  Even I wore armor, it was an enchanted plate armor but I still wore it. I had to.

  “Best to give it to someone with good base defense…” Neil said, then he looked at Victor, actually everyone looked at Victor.

  Victor flexed, “Why me?”

  Mom said it, “you are a Lupine…”

  Lupine’s were a feared race for a reason, they already had stronger strength and defense compared to most races. Put a armor and a axe and they would easily outfight better players using strength alone.