Seventh Talon_Dragonrider's Fury

by James Patton

  You have gained the title Matriarch.

  *Now do it.* Malinite wheezed with his final breaths, and blood poured from his eyes like tears. His time was short, and if she was going to commit to this course of action, she had little time to decide.

  *I— I will make sure everyone knows what you did. And I will destroy anyone that dishonors you.* Boh growled and felt Malinite laughing more than heard or saw it.

  *I do not doubt it. We will meet again, my Queen. I am ready.”

  The gun, Toil, was in her hand, and she raised it sighting down the barrel. It was the stillness that affected her the most. Things were happening so fast that she could not understand everything in motion, but she knew Malinite was dead either way. Her finger squeezed the trigger twice, and she momentarily felt like a mobster double tapping their victim. The worse part was the moment Malinite died.

  A dagger twisted in her heart. Each irregular heartbeat rocked her entire body. The calm that followed each beat felt like a lifetime of suffering and grief. The stillness was only broken by the next beat, like thunder in the still of the night. Then the notice finally appeared, and a wail escaped her, a keening sound that a grieving mother would recognize.

  Malinite has died. Your bond has ended.

  Affinity with Dark -5%, the Affinity is now 76%.

  Affinity with Light -3%, the Affinity is now 76%.

  Transfusion will automatically become a Secondary dragon skill when you bond with a new dragon. It will remain Primary until that time.

  You have gained a new class: Dragon Slayer.

  Dragon Slayer [Novice]

  At Novice rank you gain the following:

  - You learned a Passive Secondary Skill Dragonbane

  - Permanent 5% increase in damage to dragons.

  - Acquire an additional Passive Skill Slot

  One Time Bonuses:

  - Strength +2, Strength is now 6.

  Dragonbane – [Passive Secondary Skill]

  - Effect 1: Dragons will know you have killed their kind, and take threats from you more seriously.

  - Effect 2: You gain a bonus check to all attacks made against dragons, which will increase your critical modifier.

  - Effect 3: Any attack made against dragons with your teeth, nails or bladed weapon heals slower than normal.

  - Note: Each rank of Dragon Slayer will increase your auras effect, and this aura only affects dragons.

  Boh

  Chapter 74

  Oaths and Fury

  Beware the Dragonrider’s fury; even the gods fear its justice.

  -from The First Dragonrider

  “What have you done?” Heinrich was the first to speak.

  Vasia remained strangely silent and stopped moving.

  Boh existed in a void, a place where she knew what she had done, but had not yet accepted it. It was a place without emotion. Boh saw Malinite’s lifeless form still clinging to Vasia as if trying to protect her even in death.

  It was the thud of Malinite’s arm hitting the ground that brought her back to reality. Malinite was dead, and she had killed him. Vasia had extricated herself and pushed against Malinite’s dead weight. Vasia carelessly flipped the dead dragon on to his back, and the serpentine neck flopped to the ground at Boh’s feet.

  “You have no idea what you are doing,” Vasia hissed, her Shroud still failing to ignite. There was no hiding. The Dark Queen’s weaknesses were exposed before Boh like a buffet. Pride, envy, vanity, hate, and even jealousy were just a few of the sins that Vasia carried.

  Boh felt words coming from her mouth but did not recognize them as her speaking. Each word weighed to hurt the Dark Queen. “I did what you forced me to do,” she growled. “I made the choices you are too weak to make. You failed Malinite when he needed a Matriarch. You killed my dragon. You failed the Talons. You are a coward. You deserve death.”

  Each time Boh said ‘you’ she saw Vasia wince as if struck. Boh never moved, but after each accusation, her stature grew, and the dragon took a step back. The power of the Dragonrider’s Fury filled her with pure rage and hatred for Vasia, but the Fury wanted more. It wanted a target worthy of its power and found Vasia lacking.

  You suffer from Dragonrider’s Fury.

  Dragonrider’s Fury – This is a curse or affliction, and it occurs when a Dragonrider’s dragon dies.

  Symptoms:

  - Duration: Usually lasts until the target of the Fury is dead.

  - Intensity: Near the target, all attributes are doubled, spells are twice as powerful, and every attack is imbued with Radiance. This effect fades if the target is over a mile away, but the curse remains until the target is dead.

  - How to cure: Incurable. Only death, of either rider or target, will end the curse. The rider will achieve their goal and harm anyone that tries to get in their way. Separation from the intended target will make the Fury go dormant, but it is always there, waiting.

  - Historian Information: This is affliction is mentioned in the Dragonrider creed. Update: The original doctrine is as follows: “Beware the Dragonrider’s fury; even the gods fear its justice.” The First Dragonrider did not kill an Ancient as the texts say. He killed a god.

  A smile crept across her face upon reading the information her Historian skill provided. The Dragonrider’s Fury terrified her, but it turns out it scared the gods even more. It was the great equalizer, bringing balance to an unbalanced system.

  Boh gave her Fury the target it deserved. The power leveled off as she faced down Vasia. The Dark Queen had moved back about thirty feet away, and Boh could see her frantically trying to repair her wings and escape. Boh knew she was drunk on power, and the laugh that escaped her was both dark and sinister. She embraced it.

  “Osric lives,” Boh called out, and still the voice felt deeper, and it vibrated with authority. Vasia’s head snapped towards her. Uncannily the dragon’s empty eye sockets knew exactly where she was.

  “You lie,” Hisser said, and Boh smiled feeling the power in her surging at his presence.

  “Ask Heinrich, or better yet look at this.” In her hand was Osric’s Tear. Boh walked forward, ignoring the broken leg, knowing she would regret it later. The Fury would sustain her until she did what she needed to do. The most disturbing thing about the Fury is that it felt like the same power in the forest. Aila would know better, but the pixie had called it the ethereal. Could the Fury be part of that magic?

  “Boh, stop this before you get killed,” Heinrich said and moved the drake Matriarch forward to block Boh’s path to Vasia. Unfortunately for him, she was not going around.

  The fingers on her hand had a mind of their own and moved with frightening speed. An Ice Spear formed in her hand. It was thicker than the ones the nagas used. Steam poured off it in the warmth of the day, and it felt alive in her hands as if it was a part of her. An extension.

  The Matriarch opened its mouth to growl at her, and she rammed the spear through the drake’s open maw at an upward angle. The Fury provided so much strength that the spear did not stop until she felt it shatter against the top of the beast's skull. The broken ice shards were still connected to her as they tore through Matriarch’s brain.

  Heinrich was too stunned by the attack to react. The Matriarch had collapsed, pinning him to the ground. His silly hat bounced away, which was probably doing him a favor. It also exposed the central mass of tentacles through his transparent skin that Boh recognized as a brain.

  The Matriarch’s death did not bother Boh, but she was surprised by the spell choice. Ice Spear was not a spell she had learned yet. The knowledge was there, and it appeared that was all the Dragonrider’s Fury needed to cast it.

  “Last warning, Heinrich,” she said without looking at him. “Stay the fuck out of my way.”

  The red energy was still glowing around Vasia as her focus turned towards Boh. The vibration of the snapped bone was the only indication she had that her bones were getting targeted. She felt no pain nor did she slow down as she charged the Dark Q
ueen.

  “That is not possible,” Vasia growled trying to break more bones, but it achieved the same results, so she switched to hurling dark bolts of dark energy.

  Boh dodged them all, moving with the grace of a dancer. In some distant part of her mind, a song started playing. Midnight’s last song Soul Sender came to her, and she hummed it, feeling the song stabilize her mind and bring focus and clarity to her task.

  Vasia’s tail smashed down where she had been moments before, and Boh reacted by stabbing the tail with an Ice Spear— pinning it to the ground. The spear would not hold long, but she did notice each Ice Spear was changing based on her need.

  “I march, I fight, and I cannot die

  Faces haunt me in darkness and light.”

  She sang out loud, and for the next several minutes she became a blur of thrusts, slashes, and dodges. Vasia seemed to know where Boh was at all times, and she knew it had something to do with her bone spell. It did not matter, as quick as Vasia reacted, Boh was faster. The target of her Fury was in range, and it would not be denied. The source of all the suffering would die.

  A talon descended, and she slashed the soft underside of it with her frozen spear before jumping between the fingers. Boh’s hand glowed with a harsh white light as it struck like a cobra, even the Shroud recoiled from its glow. Within her hand, dark energy tried to escape.

  Creation magic, the ethereal, was coiling around her hand, and not even the growing darkness would provide the Shroud enough power to stop her. Nothing was safe from the magic she was currently wielding.

  “What are you doing? Releassse me.” She heard Hisser scream but could not tell if it was in her head or out loud. The Dragonrider’s Fury built up so much energy that light flooded the area like a tsunami.

  The screeching sound of Hisser dying brought a feral light to Boh’s eyes, and Vasia stopped fighting. Everyone was stunned except for Boh who understood the choice she had made. Her target was the Shroud and by extension Vasia. She would destroy them all.

  “I am the Soul Sender.”

  Boh sang the final verse and saw the talon coming too late to stop it. She felt the nails of the three front-facing fingers slice across her face, and knock her to the ground. Then the talon pressed her to the ground, pinning her in place. Destroying Hisser had weakened the Fury, and it would not have the power to help her get free. The slash across the underside of the talon was soaking her bomber’s jacket with Vasia’s thick cold blood, threatening to drown her.

  “Fleshling not funny. Fleshling hurt us. I hurt fleshling.” Gobber said, and this time Boh could sense true malice and hate.

  “Don’t worry Gobber. You are next,” Boh laughed maniacally. It felt like Vasia torturing her all over again; Boh was not sure she was in her right mind at this point. Whatever she had said scared Gobber enough that he fled and the Shroud disappeared altogether. Vasia staggered, and Boh was sure the pressure broke some of her ribs, but the Fury was still holding her together.

  “What did you do?” Vasia’s slobber splashed across Boh’s face. The dragon was snarling with pure hatred, and she grew concerned when none of the Shroud was visible. The target of her Fury had escaped, and the pain was flooding her body at an alarming rate.

  Boh screamed until her voice was raw, as her Fury went into dormancy. Vomit filled her mouth, mixed with Vasia’s rank blood, which caused her to puke even more. She turned her head to the side to avoid drowning and knew what she had to do before she lost consciousness.

  Malinite deserved the callsign Wildcard more than she did because his plan was beyond insane. Laughter bubbled out of her blood and vomit filled mouth. Her uptight dragon had somehow out crazied her, and that alone deserved respect.

  The knife, Trouble, was in her hand and she held it up. “You know what the irony of this knife is?” Boh asked Vasia, still laughing. “Midnight gave it to me, and because of it, your every waking hour is going to be midnight. You wanted the darkness, well you are welcome to it.”

  Hysterics had set in, as she dragged the knife blade across her palm and watched as the skin split, fascinated with her silver blood. She expected the blood to be red every time, but the silver substance was still there and flowing between her fingers. Her blood flowed much faster than Vasia’s thick cold blood.

  “What is wrong with you?” Vasia said shifting her talon, but refusing to let Boh free.

  “You. You could not just let me enjoy this world. So you are what is wrong with me, and now I’m on a course of action that only ends when one of us dies. You took everything from me, and now I’ll take everything from you.”

  “Kill her Vasia, do it now,” Heinrich called out, limping towards them. Boh knew he had glimpsed part of her plan, so she had to move fast.

  “Stay out of this you foolish creature. If the King No More does still live, then you will die after I have finished with Boh, and I will hunt my beloved down and finish what I started.”

  They argued while Boh pressed her sliced palm against the slash on the underside of Vasia’s talon. The words rose unbidden from the depths of her memory, spilling forth from Malinite’s final gift, the memory of her torture and the oath that followed.

  “A bond is formed through blood,” she started to intone softly. “A dragon’s bond ignites the dragon’s second heart. The heart pumps with the blood of his or her rider and will let the dragon know where his or her rider is at all times. If the rider suffers pain, the dragon suffers pain. If a rider suffers the true death, the dragon may follow not long after.”

  “What are you doing!” Vasia flinched back in horror. Boh was released, not that she could do much. The Dark Queen tried to flee but stumbled on her lame leg. It did not matter she was too late.

  “I accept this bond of my own free will!” Boh’s voice rang out clearly and loudly.

  Nothing happened at first, and Vasia started laughing. “Foolish girl, for that I am going to devour you. A bond only works if I give my blood freely.”

  “Rune, save us all,” Heinrich said softly. “You and Malinite are fools, do you even understand what you have done?”

  “No— how?” Vasia said and staggered. They could feel each other now, and Boh knew that Vasia’s second heart started beating. Its power pumped blood into her elvish veins, and unlike with Malinite, it was cold. Deathly cold.

  “In the sky— you told me to take all your blood.” It hurt to laugh, but it felt good to kick a dragon while she was down.

  “That is not what I meant! No— no this is not right,” Vasia blubbered, trying to fight against the bond.

  “This is Malinite’s final revenge on you. Now die.” Boh said and started sending Ice Spear one after the other at Vasia. Several struck but it was not going to be enough. Vasia was fleeing.

  Boh’s pale arms started to turn blue, and her blood felt like it was freezing. She could see her breath coming out in a fog and even see little ice crystals within it. The change was moving too fast, and the cold made it feel like she was moving at glacial speeds. No amount of willpower was going to make her body move, to complete her task, to kill Vasia.

  Congratulations Dragonrider!

  You have formed a Drache Bond with Vasia

  Vasia [Dragon Bond]

  Drache Type: Dragon

  Dragon Affinity: Dark/Dark

  Dragon Age: Ancient

  Empathic Connection: None

  Telepathic Connection: None

  Trust: None

  Affinities Impacted:

  - Affinity with Dark +10%, Dark Affinity is now 86%.

  - Affinity with Light -5%, Light Affinity is now 71%.

  Shared Ability:

  - Dragon Primary Active: Bone Doctor

  - Dragon Primary Passive: Shroud

  One Time Bonuses:

  - Charisma +1, Charisma is now 5.

  - Faith +3, Faith is now 10.

  - Magic +2, Magic is now 18.

  Transfusion [Updated]

  - This is now a secondary skill.

&nbs
p; - This spell no longer heals secondary targets. It can only heal the caster.

  Shroud - [Dragon Primary Passive]

  - Affinity: Dark

  - Effect 1: Darkness hides things that should remain hidden, use with caution. Not that you have a choice.

  - Effect 2: You have gained the audience of the Shadow Council, do not fear, the voices are real. If you let your guard down, they will take over. Try to hold on to your sanity, or embrace the loss of it.

  - Effect 3: Darkness is a weapon, within your Shroud, you can shape and mold the darkness to your whims. It will serve you.

  - Effect 4: Darkness oozes from you, giving you a dreaded visage, and all those who see you will know fear.

  - Caution: The Shroud feeds on emotion and is at its strongest in moments of stress, anger, or grief.

  Bone Doctor - [Dragon Primary Active] - You have never known a bone that you could not fix, nor a bone you could not break.

  - Affinity: Dark

  - Restrictions:

  - Damage: Minor to Mortal

  - Range: Must be closer than 10 yards to break or heal bones. The caster’s natural vision only limits the visual component.

  - Feedback: 7-25% per bone - Depends on whose bone it is, dragons have the higher cost

  - Effect 1: X-Ray: Activating this ability gives your eyesight 3D imaging. All bones in your vision will glow red. This is considered a Seer ability.

  - Effect 2: Bone Doc: You can mend broken bones. This is not a healing spell; it only fixes bones. Bones that tear through flesh and muscle need a healer.

  - Effect 3: Bone Breaker: You can break bones. This is a dark ability and using it can decrease your Light Affinity. If your Light Affinity reaches 25%, your Dark Affinity will move to 100%, and both Affinities will lock.

  - Effect 4: Bone Grafter: You can use bones and graft them on to yourself, which would make you an abomination. A bone graft uses Committed Feedback to keep the graft in place. This means until the graft is released or permanently healed, this Feedback will not recover.