The Blue Mage Raised by Dragons

by Virlyce

  Tafel weaved through the lightning and raised her sword above her head. The runes lit up with a purple light as a green layer formed along the edge of the blade. Lindyss raised her arms, ready to defend herself from a wind-blade, but an explosion resounded above Tafel’s head, accelerating the blade downwards. The blade shrieked and the tip of the sword vanished, reappearing directly in front of Lindyss, connected by a portal in the air.

  Lindyss enveloped her arms with a black mist to block, but the blade vanished again, entering another portal. It exited from a portal behind Lindyss and struck her back, leaving a line of blood. Lindyss grimaced and tried to channel mana to her wound but failed. Silenced!

  Tafel teleported in front of Lindyss and swung her sword, using the flat of her blade. Lindyss exhaled and a sword made of light appeared in her hands while a white halo rose above her head. The white blade passed through the zweihander, freezing it in place, before stopping in front of Tafel’s neck. Tafel froze and swallowed. The blade of light disappeared a moment later.

  Grimmy smiled. “You used it after all.”

  Lindyss faced her head the other way, ignoring him.

  “How?” Tafel asked as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. “I thought I won when I managed to hit you with the silencing slash.”

  “It was a good attack,” Lindyss said and nodded as a layer of green light appeared on her back, mending the wound. The halo above her head dispersed. “But unfortunately for you, I developed an attack that works through all kinds of silence.”

  “You developed it? Stealing my credit,” Grimmy said and snorted. “Isn’t she mean?” He rolled his eyes towards Floofykins.

  Lindyss ignored him again. “I think you would still lose against Vur,” she said. “He awakened the dragon bloodline in his imprint. Magical attacks, like your silence, have minimal effects on him now. Your blade sped up by the explosion might be able to catch him off guard and injure him, but everything else was too weak. You could avoid him with your teleports, but you’ll run out of mana first.”

  Tafel sighed and sheathed her sword. She stuck her hand in a portal and grabbed Floofykins. The blue boar squealed as she struggled, flapping her wings, but Tafel snuggled her into her chest. “What class are you?” she asked Lindyss.

  Lindyss smirked. “That’s for me to know.”

  “And me,” Grimmy said as he yawned.

  34

  “Hey. These aren’t done yet?” A fairy with purple hair hovered above four writhing humans. She turned towards the fairy beside her. The other fairy looked like an identical twin except for her green hair.

  “Ah. We were short three worms, so I split one into four,” the green-haired fairy said and scratched her head. “Logistics error higher up in the chain, it’s not our fault.” She shrugged.

  “Ehhhh.” The other fairy grumbled and pouted. “That means we have to wait here for another twelve hours. I’m going to go check on the two primaries. Maybe they’ll be ready.”

  “I checked on them yesterday. They still haven’t converted,” the green-haired fairy said and grabbed the other fairy’s ankle before she could fly away.

  “Still?” The purple-haired fairy leaned back and sat on the air. “It’s been almost a decade.”

  “Yeah, well, their birthflower’s gone missing a few centuries ago,” the green-haired fairy said and crossed her arms. “It’s not too surprising that the process is taking forever.”

  An orange-haired fairy flew into the cave from above. “What’s taking so long?” she asked. She saw the squirming humans. “Oh. Did you misplace the worms again?”

  “It wasn’t me this time!”

  “Ah, whatever. I don’t want to track them down,” the orange-haired fairy said as she yawned and sat next to her sisters. “The queen’s too busy to notice. What’s a few missing worms anyway? We can let the tertiaries handle it.”

  ***

  A human guard marched through the streets. He looked up at the sun and sighed. Just a few more hours and I can watch the competition with my kids, he thought. It’ll probably be over by then. Man, no one would dare to rob the nobles’ houses anyway. Why am I even here? He hung his head and dragged his feet through the empty streets. A sobbing sound caught his attention, and he looked up while facing towards an alley.

  There was a girl leaning against a wall while hugging her shoulders. She was hunched over, and her body shook as strangled sobbing noises escaped through her lips.

  “Hey!” the guard called out and entered the alley. “Are you alright?”

  The girl continued to shake as her face snapped towards him. Her eyes were snake-like and shifting in colors.

  “Aren’t you that warrior girl? Stella?” the guard asked as he squatted beside her. “Did something happen at the competition?” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Ah, right. You had to fight the prince. It’s understandable to be scared after that.” The guard sighed while shaking his head. “But isn’t it too early for the ... eh?” His words froze.

  Stella smiled at the guard as his hand fell off her shoulder—along with his arm. The guard looked down. Blood gushed out of the stump that was once his arm. He shrieked and fell backwards, clutching his residual limb. A red blur shot out of his severed arm towards his face, but it stopped before it collided with him, revealing a worm wriggling in front of his nose, its body thrashing in the air.

  Stella chuckled as she grabbed the other end of the worm with her left hand. A hole, leaking black liquid, could be seen on her forearm. Her right hand was holding a sword that dripped with the guard’s blood. “So that’s why I felt like I was losing control,” she said as she lifted the worm above herself and ripped its head off with her teeth before swallowing. She continued to consume the remainder of the worm in a similar fashion. “Naughty little worm. Splitting yourself in half to try to overtake my body.” She smiled at her belly before turning towards the guard who was staring at her with wide eyes.

  “I think you’ve seen too much,” Stella said and smiled at him. “You did help me though. Promise me you won’t say anything?”

  The guard nodded his head as tears formed in his eyes. “I didn’t see anything,” he said as his voice quavered. “I swear. My arm just fell off on its own.”

  A crunching noise echoed through the alley. “Too bad,” Stella sang. “I don’t trust humans.” She smacked her lips and grinned. “I should play with the prince before they disqualify me. Wouldn’t want to be late.” She left the alley while licking the blood off her sword, oblivious to the two worm-sized holes left in the wall behind her.

  ***

  Rudolph waited at the center of the stone arena with his arms across his chest. Johann was lying on the grass behind him with closed eyes, a bubble of snot extending from his snout. The referee stood outside the stage, looking at the sundial on the ground.

  “She probably ran away,” someone from the spectator seats said and grumbled.

  “Just move on to the next match,” another person said. “We all know who’s going to win anyway.”

  “Stella still has two minutes to show up before she automatically forfeits the match,” the referee said, ignoring the murmurs from the crowd.

  “I’m here. I’m here,” a voice called out. “I just needed to get a snack to pick myself up.” Stella brushed past the crowd and walked onto the stage.

  Rudolph frowned. “Are you injured?” he asked, staring at her foot. It was covered in blood.

  “Ah.” Stella smiled as a strand of saliva leaked from her lips. “I must’ve stepped on a tomato in the market place. I’m perfectly fine.” Her figure blurred, and she appeared in front of Rudolph, staring into his eyes. “See?”

  Rudolph’s eyes widened as he took a step back.

  Stella giggled as she took a step forward. “Why don’t you call your dragon onto the stage?” she asked as she took another step forward.

  The referee cleared his throat. “Fighters to their positions, please.”

  Stella grinned and saun
tered back to her side of the arena. “I’m telling you now,” she said. “If you don’t call him up, you won’t have a chance to later.”

  Rudolph narrowed his eyes. “We’ll see about that,” he said and equipped his sword and shield.

  “The first person to force the other to surrender or renders the other incapable of surrendering wins. Soul destroying techniques are forbidden. Violators will be punished by death,” the referee said. “Begin!”

  “You aren’t going to draw your sword?” Rudolph asked as he raised his eyebrow.

  Stella’s body blurred. “Don’t need it,” she said from behind him as she launched him forward with a punch.

  Johann roared as his back flashed with a green light. His massive head glanced around as he rose to his feet.

  Rudolph tumbled through the air as he struggled to orient his body. Stella appeared above him with one leg raised. She whipped it downwards, smashing her heel into Rudolph’s back like an axe, sending him straight towards the floor. The impact cracked the platform, and a green ripple of light flowed through his body. Johann let out another roar and scrambled onto the stage as two green marks shone on his back and belly.

  Rudolph snorted as he lifted himself off the ground. There wasn’t a single scratch on his body. He narrowed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

  Stella cocked her head to the side. “Sturdy aren’t you? I wonder what would happen if I killed your fake dragon first.” She smirked and dashed towards Johann, her body turning into a blur. Johann swung his paw outwards and smacked Stella head-on. She flew backwards and rolled a few times before standing back up. A thin line of blood trickled through a cracked scale on Johann’s claw. Stella coughed out a wad of coagulated blood, containing miniscule green orbs, into her hand and dashed at Johann.

  Once again, Johann deflected Stella with the same motion and Stella repeated her tumble before climbing to her feet. Rudolph and Johann closed in on her from her left and right sides. She ran two steps towards Johann before changing directions towards Rudolph and kneed him in the head before he or Johann could react. Rudolph fell onto his back, and Stella stomped onto his nose, but she was unable to leave a mark. A green light flashed on Johann’s snout, causing him to bellow and lunge at Stella. She spat on Rudolph’s face. “Coward.”

  Rudolph’s face contorted as he swung his sword, but Stella raised both of her hands, retreating backwards. “I surrender,” she said and kicked Rudolph towards the charging dragon. Johann dug his claws into the ground and caught Rudolph with his mouth before glaring at Stella who stuck her tongue out at him. The spectators, who had been silent since the first punch, broke out into a commotion.

  “The prince won, but it feels like he lost…”

  “What was that speed?”

  “Honey, you should recruit her as a bodyguard.”

  Stella whirled around on her heels and stepped off the stage. Her body blurred and she disappeared before the referee even announced her loss.

  ***

  A student was sitting on a balcony, overlooking the arena. He held a cup of tea in his hands. Beside him, his greatsword was propped up against the banister’s rail. His metal helmet rested on the hilt. If I were in Rudolph’s position, he thought and shuddered. He shook his head. No point thinking about it. She’s out of the contest.

  “Hello, Trent,” a feminine voice said from behind him.

  The student stiffened and whirled around. “You,” he said with wide-eyes and glanced at the arena before turning back towards the girl. “Weren’t you just there?”

  “I was,” Stella said and stepped forward. “And now I’m here.” She placed her hand under the student’s chin and tilted his head up. “Let me borrow your body for a bit,” she whispered and locked lips with him. His eyes widened before he relaxed and lifted his hand to her face while moving his left hand to her waist. His body stiffened mid-motion. Seconds later, his eyes shook in their sockets as his body twitched and thrashed about.

  Stella collapsed on top of the twitching student. His eyes closed as a shudder ran through his body. When he opened his eyes again, they were serpentine and swirling with a myriad of colors. He stood up and wore the helmet that was on the sword, lowering the visor. He snapped his fingers, and a black fire enveloped Stella’s body. A few moments passed and only an ashy residue remained.

  35

  Vur walked alongside Paul who was holding onto Lillian’s left hand. Lillian’s right arm was linked together with Michelle’s by their elbows. “You have a pretty high tolerance,” Paul said to Vur as he led the girls around a signpost. He shook his head as the girls giggled.

  “Isn’t their tolerance just too low?” Vur asked. The four of them were following a sentry towards the temple.

  “Hey,” Michelle called out. “Hey. Mr. Sentry. Hey. Who won the warrior competition?”

  “The prince won first-place. Trent won second-place,” the sentry said as he continued marching.

  “Ah, that stupid egg. I was hoping someone would kick his ass,” Michelle said and stumbled. She giggled and looked at Lillian. “You did a pretty good job.”

  Paul sighed. “I can’t believe she only had two glasses of wine. Has she never drank before?”

  The sentry cleared his throat. “She is the pope’s daughter,” he said as the group arrived in front of the temple. The sentry nodded at the two guards standing in front of the door before he turned around and speed-walked away.

  “Well, he seemed to be in an awful hurry to get away,” Michelle said as she staggered up the steps, supporting herself with Lillian’s arm.

  “It’s because you’re embarrassing,” Vur said and shrugged.

  “You’re embarrassing!” Michelle pouted. “Everyone was only staring because of your mask.”

  The two guards looked at each other before opening the door and stepping aside. Paul passed Lillian’s hand to Vur and nodded while saying, “I’ll be waiting right here.”

  “What? You’re not coming with us?” Michelle asked as she struggled against Lillian. “Come ‘ere.”

  “Only winners are allowed to enter the temple,” the guard to their right said. “He can’t enter.”

  “That’s not fair,” Michelle whined. “He’s a good healer; he just couldn’t compete in the main competition because the preliminaries weren’t fair.”

  “But then I would have lost to you,” Paul said and scratched his head as Vur tugged the two girls through the door.

  “Oh. Right.” Michelle giggled.

  The guards closed the door as Paul sighed and shook his head.

  Inside the temple, the pope was waiting in front of an altar, facing the six winners of the competition as they approached and came to a halt in front of him. A golden fire burned in a bowl on the altar, emitting a thick yellow smoke that converged towards the ceiling of the temple.

  “The six of you have proven yourselves worthy of receiving the blessing of our god,” the pope said and spread his arms.

  “God?” Vur asked while tilting his head. “I thought we were here to be blessed by spirits.”

  “You are,” the pope said as he raised an eyebrow. “Did you not know that our god is the collective whole of our spirits? When we leave our mortal coils for the last time, we become one with our god and our god becomes one with us.”

  “He was raised in isolation, Father,” Michelle said and sniffled. “Can you imagine not living with other people? He must’ve been so lonely.” She sobbed and hiccoughed, burying her face in her hands.

  The pope’s brow creased, and he frowned at his daughter but kept his mouth shut. “I understand now,” he said to Vur and sighed. “You poor soul. You’ve never been enlightened or baptized by their aura before.” The yellow smoke behind the pope thickened and swirled in the air above the group. Rays of golden light shone down from the yellow cloud and bathed the seven people in the room with a soft glow.

  Seven gasps sounded out at the same time as the group shuddered. Vur lost feeling in his legs and his knee
s buckled, but he managed to stay standing by taking a step forward. The pope fell to the floor and prostrated himself. Michelle fell next, followed by the prince, and then Roy. Lillian let out a moan and also prostrated herself while Trent shuddered and panted, still standing with his hands on his knees. A line of saliva dripped out of his mouth before he fell to the floor on one knee. Veins bulged outwards on his forehead.

  Chills coursed through Vur’s body, eliciting goosebumps all over his skin. His muscles relaxed, and his shoulders drooped. He was about to fall when a roar rang through his head, causing his whole body to tense. Underneath his mask, a dark rune appeared on his forehead and a black aura rushed through his body, devouring the golden specks floating in his blood.

  A DRAGON DOES NOT KNEEL!

  Vur’s eyes narrowed underneath his mask as he straightened his back and crossed his arms, sticking his chest out. He raised his head and glared at the glowing cloud, letting the waves of light wash over him. A smile appeared on Trent’s lips when Vur’s posture changed, but everyone else remained prostrating on the ground with their eyes closed, oblivious to their surroundings.

  Time passed and the light dimmed before fading away. Trent wiped his hands on the back of his pants as he stood up. Lillian’s body shuddered as her eyes opened. She climbed to her feet and glanced at her palms, an odd expression on her face. Roy rose at the same time as Rudolph. Michelle stood up next, her steps no longer unsteady and her face no longer flushed. The pope stood last. He smiled.

  “Did you feel that? Our god coursing through your bodies,” the pope said. He made eye contact with everyone, but his gaze stayed on Vur. “Would you like to become a member of our church? The same pleasure runs through your veins every time you follow their will. This is only a small fraction of the true god.” He gestured at the cloud above the group.