Seventh Talon_Dragonrider's Fury

by James Patton

  “It does not matter. Strength is the biggest proponent to your survival. But, I will concede you may have a point on the shielding. Just understand the risk you are taking.”

  “I am not changing my selection.” She said stubbornly.

  “Mercury Elf it is. The Trials reward those who forge new paths. Choose how you wish to be known, and we can move to the next part.”

  “MsBoheme13.”

  “Sure, Boh it is. Now kiss me, and it is complete.” The elf licked her lips and pouted at her seductively.

  “What!?” Before she could formulate a thought, laughter came pouring out of the Mercury Elf’s mouth.

  “You should see the look on your face. Calm down, I was joking, but if you wanted to kiss me, I wouldn’t say no.”

  “You are a pig.”

  “No, I’m a dragon.”

  “Wait… were you controlling all those avatars?” Laughter met and answered her question, but it only left her emotionally confused. She was angry but also impressed, which caused her to hesitate in retorting.

  “Go ahead and choose your appearance. After that, your Trials begin, so take your time to get your head right. Assume everything outside of here is a test until stated otherwise.”

  She did not even get to argue the name before she was looking at the Mercury Elf face up close. She groaned as she realized the ‘head right’ bit was just a horrible pun.

  As she touched her face, she saw ways to adjust various bone structures, and whatever she did on one side it was mirrored on the other. She shortened her hair so that it barely brushed her shoulders, and then tied it back. She darkened the coloring until it was almost black, and on a whim, she changed a lock of her hair to a different color. With her hair pulled back, she could see the dyed blue streak that went the length of her head.

  Her face was similar to her usual look, so she raised the cheekbones up, and her face went from oval to more angular. She narrowed the face a little more and then adjusted her eyes to a dark silver color.

  Next, she moved down to her tall, lithe body and reduced the size of the breasts. The default size was ridiculous, and she intended to fight. She guessed she had pushed them down to an B cup, hard to tell with the slider, but it was enough that she would not be mistaken for a boy.

  Her appearance would not turn a lot of heads, but it made her look hard and sharp like a weapon. Even her pointed ears stuck up out of her hair like the tips of two small daggers. She was pleased with the look.

  Do you accept your appearance?

  “Yes,” she said and then had a sense of vertigo while she transferred to the next area.

  Boh

  Chapter 4

  Midnight

  My first day out of the egg, and a hatch-mate attacked me. It was hungry and was looking for easy prey. I came out fighting and have not stopped.

  -from Midnight, Audio Roll 0210

  The ground beneath her was hard, and Boh could smell the sea. Buzzing flies flitted from one dead fish to another, and the seagrass, left by the receding tide, baked under the sun. It was not the smell of a well-maintained beach, and while the scent of the brine was still present, it was not powerful enough to overcome the other scents.

  Gagging, she scrambled away from the shore and brushed the sand from her face and threadbare clothes. Sand scraped at the bottom of her bare feet, and she placed her feet carefully so she did not step on anything that might harm her.

  “Good morning!” A voice boomed above her, and she fell back on her butt looking up. “Thought you might sleep all day. Glad I was wrong.” It was the same masculine voice from her character selection spoke.

  On a cliff above her perched a dragon, with its wings curled up close to its body. Two large horns protruded from its head, and they wrapped back along his skull with the tips pointed outward. The scales were the color of a midnight sea, and the blacks and blues swirled together giving each scale a unique pattern. Scales covered everything except for the wings and the talons.

  It was the way it perched—leaning forward tail out behind it for balance—that caused her to pause. It felt predatory, and she thought it might swoop down on her any second.

  The dragon had powerful back legs, but its front legs were more like arms. Each limb ended in a talon with four long fingers, one of which opposed the other three. Its nails dug into the rock outcropping as if it was mud.

  Along the tail and most of the spine were rigid spikes, but overall the dragon was more aerodynamic than not. Every angle gave it a sleek shape and provided less wind resistance.

  The dragon was everything she imagined, and she wanted one of her own. “Good morning…” She said carefully and tried to create some distance between the two of them. “Where am I?”

  “Osprey Harbor. It is a bit of mess here, sorry about that. The Mayor should have had this area cleaned up regularly, and you can tell him I said that. My name is Midnight, by the way. The harbor is your home until you complete the Trials.”

  “Aren’t ospreys giant birds of prey?” She glanced at the sky nervously and did not want to admit that birds freaked her out. Some people feared snakes or spiders, but for her, it had always been birds.

  “You mean these things?” Midnight tossed down a bird that was almost as big as her, and she nearly fainted. It thudded against the sand with such an impact that she could hear bones snapping. She had no idea what an osprey looked like, but if this was one she hoped they did not hunt people. “I’d be careful of getting caught in the open, they normally just hunt fish, but you never know.”

  “And I live here?” She found herself pointing at the smelly debris covered beach, but her eyes never left the osprey.

  “Not here—here, as in this very spot. You need to head down the beach about a mile, and you’ll find the actual harbor and city. You are on an island, do not try to leave without passing the Trials.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I am not allowed to stay, none of the Drache are. I’m only here in a mentor capacity. As a Mercury Elf, your primary Drache is a dragon, which is why I am here. If you had been a Mer, then a wyvern would have this conversation with you.”

  “Then you are my mentor when I leave?”

  “More like a babysitter—”

  “No.” She snapped, pulling down the tip of her ear and massaging it. It was a strange thing to do, but it halted her growing anxiety. She saved that bit of information for later.

  “No what?”

  “You don’t get to be a prick.”

  Laughter boomed down from on high, and rocks started shifting and falling from where the dragon perched. His body shook as he laughed, which in turn caused the entire cliff to shake.

  Midnight extended his wings outward, and she saw the thin leathery material stretching in the wind before he dropped from the cliff and swooped past her. He ran a few steps to stop his momentum and turned back to face her.

  The entire movement had taken less than thirty seconds, but she was awed by its sinuous movement and the grace with which he did it. He then squatted down in front of her and tried to get as close to eye level with her as he could. His head was almost as large as her, and she saw a scar above his eye and several missing scales along his face.

  “I like you girl, and we are going to have fun together. I am going speak to you as if you aren’t a complete idiot, and you can treat me like I am.” He chuckled at his joke, and she felt herself laughing with him. “Good. Now, the first rule is to stay alive. Champions have this absurd notion that they will resurrect, but they do not. At least not here within the Talons. And if you do die or leave this world, you will not come back.”

  That did not sound good, and she knew of worlds that had some hardcore rules like this. The difference was they at least allowed you to create a new character. Leaving was not an option, and if the dragons all looked like the one before her, then this was her new home for the foreseeable future. She just needed to get a dragon of her own.

  “You will get to cho
ose a class, but I’ll come back—”

  “Dragonrider.” She told him without hesitation.

  “Is this going to be a thing? I talk, and you interrupt me?” She felt her hair fly back as the dragon snorted in her face. “It is. I can see it on your face.”

  “I just don’t see any reason to dance around it. I choose Dragonrider.”

  “As your mentor, may I make another recommendation?”

  “You may, but I won’t listen to it.” Her face felt like it was ready to split, as a smile sliced across it.

  “Listen anyway. You will have a hard time getting a dragon to bond with you. The main reason is you lack strength, which you already know, but some others things working against you too. I suggest starting off as a Dragon Breeder—”

  “No.” The grinding of her teeth sounded loud in her ears, and she was sure the dragon heard it too. Once more, she found herself massaging the tip of her pointed ear, which was oddly calming.

  “Woah, slow down Scary Spice. I really do have your best interests in mind, but if you are going to be stubborn about it then fine. Be a Dragonrider! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He growled at her, and she could feel his wet breath spewing from his maw. “Now I understand why dragons don’t usually bond with women.”

  “What!?” The muscles in her shoulder grew taut as she pulled her arm back, and then all the tension in her shoulder released as her arm snapped forward. Her fist collided with Midnight’s face, and she felt something give, but the dragon was immovable as a mountain.

  “Shit!” She screamed as the pain shot back up her arm and she held her busted fist with her other hand.

  “You done?” He asked.

  Staring at him through tear filled eyes, she could have sworn there was a grin from ear to ear on his short-snouted face. She did not notice it before when he was on the cliff, but his face was not elongated like a crocodile, but short and rounded like a lizard. And he was smiling.

  “Give me a second. I’m sure I can find enough strength to kick you in your balls—if I can find them.”

  This time he laughed hard, and sand blew back from his bellowing laughter.

  “You really are an insane girl. You know I do this often enough that I can pick out those that will succeed and those that end up living here. I am sure I will see your crazy ass soon.”

  “What did you mean by women aren’t selected?”

  “There is a faction of dragons that believe bonding weakens a dragon. Then there are some who believe female two-legs are too weak to fight with them. Before you get mad, I’m one of the progressive types. A two-leg is a two-leg, and the bond brings with it more strength than not. I meant no offense, just trying to get under your skin.”

  “It worked.”

  “I know, I can honestly say I have never been punched by a Champion before. You have a wicked fast cross, and I almost did not see it coming.”

  “Thanks. I think.”

  “Before I grant you this Class, please listen to me one time without interrupting me. There are few dragons like me, but almost every other dragon judges a two-leg by their strength. You don’t have it, not yet and you know it. Dragon Breeder—” She opened her mouth to interrupt and Midnight saw it. “Shut up! Let me say this, so you understand and believe me when I tell you I am suggesting it for you. A Dragon Breeder will expose you to a lot of younger dragons before they are old enough to bond. You could work on building up your strength and then possibly imprint on one of them. You can get someone to teach you the Dragonrider class later and then you are set up to get everything you want and more.”

  “No,” she replied. Midnight’s sigh washed over her, and she understood what he was saying. Logically it made sense, and it was a good plan. “It is not that I do not agree with your reasoning. I just know that it is not the path I need to take. You ever get that way, where you just know something is meant to be, and nothing can convince you otherwise?”

  “Yea, I knew you were going to be a pain in the ass before you even woke up,” he growled at her. She felt the huge grin spread across her face. “Fine, you are a Dragonrider, yay for you.”

  She patted his snout and saw him flinch which got a full belly laugh from her. “Don’t be a big baby.”

  Congratulations you have gained the class Dragonrider!

  Dragonrider [Novice]

  At Novice rank you gain the following:

  - Acquire an additional Active Skill Slot

  - Acquire an additional Passive Skill Slot

  Primary Drache Bonuses:

  - Automatically learn either your Dragon’s Primary Active or Primary Passive Skill. Skills are transferred by touch.

  One Time Bonuses:

  - Agility +1, Agility is now 5.

  - Speed +1, Speed is now 6.

  - Affinity to Air +5%, Air Affinity is now 80%.

  Dragonrider is now your Primary Class.

  Primary Class - This is the class that everyone sees.

  - This impacts interactions within the game.

  - Clothes you wear will adjust to something more suitable to your class.

  - The primary class ranks up 10% faster.

  - Your Skill Book allows you to change your Primary Class at any time, but it will take up to twenty-four hours before all changes take effect.

  “How do I get my skill book?”

  “I’m afraid I cannot help you with that. But find a man named Richard, he is a farmer that can help you out. Just don’t get on his bad side. My last gift is this.” Midnight dropped a bag on the ground in front of her. Inside she found a knife, a handgun, and a few rations of food and water. There was also a pair of cheap boots which she put on right away.

  Starter Knife

  - Brand: Generic

  - Type: Blade [1H Piercing]

  - Speed: Fast

  - Damage: Minimal

  - Requirements: None

  Starter Pistol

  - Brand: Generic

  - Type: Revolver [1H]

  - Speed: Fast if Agility is high.

  - Damage: 5% of opponent’s Base health.

  - Sight: Iron

  - Clip: Ammunition is manually loaded. This gun holds six rounds in its cylinder. Currently, this weapon uses .44 cartridges.

  - Requirements: None

  Starter Boots

  - Brand: Generic

  - Type: Hiking Boots

  - Armor: 5 Armor

  - Resistance: 5% Water Resistance

  - Requirements: None

  The pistol looked like a Colt replica from the wild west. She loaded the thick cartridges into the cylinder and felt a big difference in its weight. There was a belt in the pack that was nothing special, but it contained a sheath and holster for the weapons. There were some slots for ammunition, most of which were empty. She strapped it on and slid the weapons into their appropriate spots.

  “I am not supposed to do this, but I like you. So take this too.” He handed her a dull looking book, but the moment her hand touched it, she felt a tingling.

  Opening the book, she found pages with unintelligible writing on them. At least they were unintelligible until they were not, and then the pages started turning on their own filling her with their knowledge. One by one the pages turned to ash and drifted away. Before she was done absorbing all the information the spine also began to turn to dust until nothing was left.

  You gained knowledge of the spell Sparkles.

  Sparkles - This spell is a stand-alone and not part of a spell line. It creates sparkling lights and makes people happy. By default, the targeted area has a five-foot radius from targeted spot.

  How to cast Sparkles:

  Hand Cast: All spells start with a closed fist.

  - Drawing Phase: Spread your fingers wide from the closed fist while crossing the middle two fingers. This will open the drawing of energy.

  - Forming Phase: Uncross your fingers and spread your fingers wide while making your middle finger and thumb touch. The gesture will start the forming of th
e spell; you must hold this gesture until the spell is clear in your mind.

  - Casting Phase: Spread your fingers wide pointing your palm towards the target of the spell. If you drew enough energy and formed the spell correctly, they should merge, and you will feel the spell leave through your palm.

  Voice Cast: You may only use this once you have successfully performed the hand cast. Make a fist and then spread your fingers wide with palm pointing towards the target and say ‘Sparkles.’

  The Hand and Voice Cast information will not be displayed when you gain the knowledge of future spells. All of that information is found in your Skill Book. Every extra detail you learn about a spell will also be found in the Spells tab of the book. You may change this configuration at any time.

  She could see the dragon was trying hard not to laugh, and she was about to berate him again. However, she wanted to learn magic, and this was her first spell. Instead, she felt laughter overtake her, and it came from deep in her belly to the point she was gasping and holding her sides. Midnight’s laughter was shaking the ground around them.

  “I want to punch you again.” She said between laughing and gasping for air. “But I’m excited about learning my first spell, even if it is Sparkles. I forgive you.”

  “Sure.” Midnight paused in the lull of their laughter.

  Wiping tears from her eyes, she found herself shaking her head. “This spell is beyond useless, and yet you managed to give it an actual purpose.”

  “Alright Boh, its been awhile since I’ve laughed like that, but I really must be going before one of the gods decides to remove me forcibly.” Midnight looked towards the sky and shook his head a few times. “Last few bits of information. None of the Drache are allowed to ask you about your Trials, ever. The Mayor will explain the Trials, just be careful. I hear rumors about this place, and none of them are good lately.”

  She was tugging on the tip of her ear again and felt some of her anxiety dropping away. The dragon might be an ass, but she did not want him to leave. Despite their rough start, she found a kindred spirit in the beast. “Any advice?”