by Ryan Johnson
Then Vaeludar rolled his eyes, seeing how Marina only wants to be held by the hybrid. Vaeludar knew again true love had no bounds, even between two different species or two-and-a-half since Vaeludar was half dragon and half human that was two different species and Marina being a Siren. So crosspieces romance seemed to have no bounds, no matter what species they are.
After a long while, Marina released Vaeludar and walked back into the bed, with the necklaces around her neck.
Vaeludar gazed upon the bed Marina had laid on. The blankets were old and torn. The mattress looked ancient like prehistoric ancient. The wood holding the mattress was ready to fall apart. How could his future mate, bride, or wife whatever the Siren wanted to be called sleep on outdated furniture?
Since he happened to be the son of a witch, Vaeludar stretched out his arms and widened his hands. His thoughts began to channel heatwaves in his figures. A blue pulse melted from his hands and he softly pushed some light puffy fog around the bed. He moved his legs and waved his hands in a figure eight style. He spun one of his wings, creating a wavy wind that made the fog spiral slowly around the bed. Then Vaeludar raised his hands in the air and hastily motioned his hands downwards.
The bed looked new in a very expensive taste to it like it was made for royalty.
Vaeludar’s magical abilities and the powers of a Dragon could really size up against a rematch against Lusìvar.
“Having fun with your magic?” asked Marina.
“In a sense, yes,” replied Vaeludar. Vaeludar placed the sword and armor hand in a corner of the room and gazed upon the beautiful Siren, who seemed to be waiting for the hybrid to say or do something. “You really want to see the magical abilities and the unique stamina I have?”
“I’m a Siren. Surprise me!”
“Oh, I will.”
Marina smiled big. Vaeludar moved over to Marina and he sat right beside her. They touched each other’s foreheads and both were about to press their lips together to kiss and show what they could be made out of. Suddenly, Vaeludar pulled his head away.
“But when we get married first. I won’t show much stamina before we are married, even if you are ready for it right now.”
“Er, so close.”
“You keep forgetting: Dragons aren’t easily seduced like humans. I’m half of both so you have a 50/50 chance of seducing me completely. Once a Siren gets her man, she always ends up luring him into something the kids won’t understand.”
Vaeludar and Marina both shared a kiss, before Vaeludar walked to the window and gaze at the starry night sky. After he mysteriously placed the Crystal Hand on his hand, an exact location was inserted into his mind and knew where to find the second Crystal Armor: the Greenwood Forest.
He knew once he inserted the armor on, it showed him visions of other places to find the next armor artifact, while the map he remembered being stolen by the twin boys had wrong labels where to find the next two such as the gauntlet armor was thought to be found in a castle, but it turned out to be in a cave.
Vaeludar now had to find the next two armor artifacts before Lusìvar returned. It was only a matter of time before he would strike again and in full force. Vaeludar would have to be ready to face against Lusìvar again. He had managed to win against the Shadow King, but at a great cost: the life of a White Knight. He could now only wait for what she meant of a “girl from his long-lost past” would be coming to his aid.
And time would only tail of what will have happened next between now and Lusìvar’s next attack.
TESTS WITH NEW POWERS AND TRAVEL BACK SOUTH
V
aeludar was awakened by a loud bell echoing through the open window. Like the old room he lived in back in Geraldus’s village, he leaned against the open view of the window, which didn’t have any glass. He felt his right shoulder twitching at the sound of the bell ringing as a way to wake up people who were still sleeping in the village he saved from being extinguished by a dragon with five heads.
He turned toward Marina who remained asleep. The face he saw during the night changed again. The night before showed Marina’s skin was darker, but the light of the sun turned her skin color back to a lighter blue.
Vaeludar looked away and stared out the window. He could hear a rising sound growing from the altitude he was at. It was a low hum of a single hummingbird and loud noises of human voices. His ears could pick up the sounds of people walking from their night slumber and coming out in the middle of the morning.
It was a few days ago the village was a ghost town. Now the hybrid could hear the sounds rising from being dead-quiet to breathing-alive like a two-year old child running up and down the hall of its parents’ home.
But if he was a full human, he could only hear a wind sound coming from the window. With the distinctions of dragon hearing from his hybrid hears, Vaeludar could pick up on the sounds of a bird flapping its wings from half-a-mile away.
He knew Marina would only be able to hear the sound of the wind blowing into the room from the window. Vaeludar was tempted to leave the room and let Marina keep sleeping in the bed.
However, seeing how sound asleep she was, he wouldn’t leave the room until the Siren was up and fully awake. He wasn’t going to abandon his now-future wife alone in a foreign village.
To him, the village’s people were strangers and he didn’t have enough knowledge about them. He only knew one thing about the village he and his companions were in and that was how he saved them from being enslaved for many years. He didn’t know of any other villages or any other clans in the matter.
It was all strange to him, and he thought a few people could be working for the Shadow King and could be playing the innocent victims. It was just too early for him to trust the villagers he’d just come across.
He stood by the window for some time and the sun came rising higher in the east, and he felt the great warmth the dawn was bringing, which was usually cold during the autumn season. Unlike other dawns Vaeludar witnessed, this dawn was more special for him. He battled during the night, and as this dawn comes a new life was springing in this village he was visiting.
Vaeludar sensed this dawn was the dawn of a new age and the beginning of a new life for the hybrid. He felt this dawn wasn’t rising for the entire island, the village, or the people; he felt this dawn was rising for him, the awakening of a special hybrid.
Just as he watched aimlessly at the sun rising its bright light over the dimmed dark blue sky with its pink flare reflecting on the clouds, Vaeludar felt softness of skin touching his shoulders.
“Thinking of leaving me behind instead of taking me with you?” whispered Marina.
Vaeludar felt Marina leaning against his back while he was standing. He also felt her hands touching his shoulders. This caused him great worry because a column of dragon spikes ran down his spinal cord. Those spikes could impale through her delicate skin like a hook catching a fish.
But the way he felt Marina was leaning against him made his spikes sink into his skin as if they were bugs eating into Vaeludar’s body. “No, why would I leave the girl I love behind?”
“To go exploring the village without me? What kind of hybrid would leave an innocent Siren like me behind and go someplace unknown?”
“A ruthless, cold-blooded, brutal, cruel, evil hybrid that doesn’t have any love for any Siren. The kind of hybrid Lusìvar would consider his ally and friend. Am I that hybrid, Marina?”
“No, you’re the opposite of what you defined: lovable, daring, caring, kindhearted, and downright sympathetic. You risked your life to save these people and their future. You fought with a Five-Headed Dragon and managed to kill the beast. No one could have pulled it off.”
“But I wasn’t the only one, I had help. The White Knight we briefly met died during the battle. She was a big helping hand for me to fight the beast. Even with this new strength I have, I don’t have enough to go against that beast, and it shows you how strong the Shadow King is.
She would have been a big help for us, but she’s dead now. This just means I have to go find the next armor artifact before Lusìvar stages another attack.”
“Then you’ll have to go fast and find it as quickly as you can. Surely you can find it before this long dead king from ancient times starting to attack another harmless village. But for now, let us celebrate with the villagers and the freedom you gave them.”
Vaeludar twirled his body around and faced Marina. He saw the Siren walking away as he was turning around. “Isn’t it a little early to be celebrating for victory? We have just got up and celebrating in the morning is just…”
There was a loud horn blowing through the window. It was loud and there were screams crying out all at once. It was hard to tell if the screams were scared or cheers of joy.
“See, darling hybrid,” said Marina, walking over to the window. “The people are doing early partying, which means they must have been partying all night. We should join the fun, too. After all, you managed to drive the Shadow King away, so he’ll be gone for quite a while now. Let’s go join the fun.”
Vaeludar sighed. He placed an arm around Marina and nudged her tightly close to him. The Siren was caught by surprise by Vaeludar’s tight grip and it made her feel quite happier when she was this close to him.
The hybrid flew out of the window, into the sky, and soared back to the ground. Vaeludar headed for the village’s central street. He saw the crowds running and in a complete panic. People were running into their homes and Vaeludar and Marina were the only people out in the open.
“Ah, did we miss a firework show?” asked Marina.
“There you are,” shouted Flavius’s voice.
Vaeludar saw Flavius, Wonomi, Monico, and Galvin running up to him; the Griffin was flying overhead. His companions were joining up with him with their weapons at the ready.
“What’s going on here?” asked Vaeludar.
“What do you mean?” asked Flavius. “There’s a raiding party coming from the south. What have you been doing all morning?”
“Staying close to the sleeping Siren,” answered Vaeludar. “I didn’t want to leave my future wife hanging on a bed alone.”
“Then don’t dangle when there’s a horn blowing… wait, what? What did you say?”
“I’ll tell you more when this raiding party is annihilated and out the door.”
Vaeludar looked to the south entrance of the village and saw a large dust cloud rising in the air like smoke rising from a burning fire. He flapped his wings and soared into the sky and looked to what was coming. With his hybrid eyes, he saw a horde of Hobgoblins coming to the village. He gasped at this sight. From what he saw, the village had no soldiers defend the villagers.
Vaeludar thought they had lost the Hobgoblins through the mountain border. It seemed the Hobgoblins were right on their trail and a small army of them were coming and they were ready to fight. He and his companions were outnumbered; they would be killed in a heartbeat.
However, with his new profound power, he could wipe them all out before the village could suffer a massacre. Having new power at his side by slipping the gauntlet on in the crumbling cave, Vaeludar would be able to stop the hobgoblins way before they could reach the village. And from the looks, there came at least two hundred of them.
After taking a quick observation, Vaeludar soared back to the ground to rejoin the others on the ground. “Well, remember the Hobgoblins we met back in the mountains? They have managed to follow us here for some reason. And it may have been Lusìvar who had lured them here.”
“Then we must ready for battle!” shouted Flavius.
“No one will need to do that!” shouted Vaeludar.
“Wait? No one? No one!? There is a large horde of hobgoblins. I thought we would lose them on the mountain borders, but they do have a reputation of having strong noses picking up the smells wherever they go. And you’re ordering us not to fight?!”
“Did see what the villagers are now? They don’t have any soldiers here, and they aren’t military trained like you guys. This would end up becoming a massacre before they could kill a Hobgoblin. And we are outnumbered, Flavius. Just leave everything to me.”
“Wait! You’re going off alone?” asked Marina.
Vaeludar nodded.
“If I can fight a giant monster with my own power and help from a now-dead White Knight, I’ll do this on my own. And this would give me a chance to see what new strength I have at my command, my lovely future siren wife.” Vaeludar turned and placed the Crystal Sword in his tail and gave it to Flavius to hold on to. “And hold onto this for me, will you, Flavius?”
“Wait! What do you mean by ‘future Siren wife,’ Vaeludar? Do you mean…?”
Before Vaeludar answered, he made a dash toward the horde of Hobgoblins, leaving behind a cloud of dust rising into the air. His strength of his take off made him jump forward in one step on the ground. The hybrid placed his right hand in front of him and it ignited a marvelous bright, crimson flame. He flapped his wings and began to lift his feet from the ground.
His flying took him off the ground and he aimed for the center front of the Hobgoblin horde. Through his takeoff speed at the blast of one foot jump, Vaeludar plowed through the front ranks of the evil creatures. He buried his feet into the ground and stopped dead center of the horde.
He took out a large amount of Hobgoblins while he was flying through the front ranks. He estimated he took out about fifty of them.
Now he was standing in front of a bunch of them pointing their spears at him. They surrounded him like a pack of wolves cornering their prey. However, they didn’t have the knowledge of Vaeludar’s new strength let alone that his skin that couldn’t be pierced.
But Vaeludar wasn’t planning on being cut by their sharp blades; he couldn’t take his skin being impenetrable for granted.
He knew well enough weapons were forged from different metals. There could be a potential metal that could penetrate through his dragonlike skin, and he wasn’t going to find out. Vaeludar snapped fingers once on both hands and two explosions erupted in front of the little creatures pointing their weapons at the hybrid.
Smoke clouds rose from the two exploding surprises, making Vaeludar himself disappear in the rising clouds. He used this to his advantage and jumped to a different spot. He pounded hard on five more Hobgoblins and whipped his tail four feet outward. He spun his tail in a full complete circle, whipping any hobgoblin in its path.
Then after he was done spinning his tail, what creatures he didn’t whip went dashing toward him. Before Vaeludar could have himself be bombarded, he sent out a bolt of lightning from his hands. This bolting power blazed into the crowd of the small hobgoblins. Heart pounding, Vaeludar sent out a blaze of sapphire lightning to all his surrounding enemies.
After some electrocuting, Vaeludar withdrew his hands and made fists out of them. He pounced near a Hobgoblin and pounded it with a single fist. This sent the Hobgoblin backward, mowing through a whole bunch of others.
After he punched and sent the evil creature flying through the ranks, Vaeludar moved through swirling and lightly spinning in the hobgoblin horde. He punched, whipped, and plowed every single Hobgoblin he came across. While there were hundreds of these creatures, they were getting beaten by one powerful specimen, despite the fact that they had the numbers and the weapons.
The Hobgoblins were now in disarray; the hybrid had managed to strike through their ranks and take down about a hundred and fifty of their units and the rest of them were falling by the second.
It appeared they had no leader to lead them or if they had one, Vaeludar already did away with them. After seeing many of their kin being slain by one hybrid creature with such brute strength, they dropped their weapons and retreated. Dozens of them retreated from the battle and ran back to the place they charged from.
After Vaeludar kicked down two more Hobgoblins, he flew into the air and saw the remaining of the Hobgoblin
s running away. For creatures famed for having small brains, they were smart enough to know when it was a good time to retreat.
However, the hybrid wasn’t going to allow these enemies to retreat; whatever remained of the horde Lusìvar would just recruit back and send the Hobgoblins back to attack.
Vaeludar inhaled a large amount of air through his mouth, guzzled down his throat, and spat a large fireball toward the retreating horde. The fireball flew fast like a diving falcon. It went from the hybrid’s mouth and met with the horde of Hobgoblins. It exploded upon impact and sent out a large mushroom-shape cloud.
It sent out a large shockwave of a fire igniting any hobgoblins in its way. The fire was hot enough to vaporize any flesh, blood and bone to a pile of ash and soot in a matter of seconds.
After vaporizing what was left of the Hobgoblins, Vaeludar waved his hands and a strong wind gashed to his will. With this newly discovered power of him controlling wind at will, he raised his hands up and the mushroom-shaped cloud rose from the ground and into the sky.
All the smoke and ash he saw went from the ground and straight up into the sky, which would mean the people living in the village won’t smell any polluting air that could kill them.
After several seconds of gushing the cloud into the sky and seemingly purifying it and making it into a real raincloud, Vaeludar smiled to see his small work was done and was surprised he got it done so fast. He thought of it because of his fight with the Five-Headed Dragon was a challenge; fighting the Hobgoblins was now looking like he was playing with a crowd of rowdy children.
Now he was done and he flew back down to meet with the others, who had such priceless faces on because he managed to take down one small army of hobgoblins.
“You… how did you… how did you know you could use all that odd power?” asked Monico.
“I didn’t, Monico, I never knew I could wield such power. I guess it was mere luck or strangely enough the power I now wield came from a single armor artifact that was hidden away in a cave. Of course, I am the son of a Dragon and I just learned my mother is a witch. Who would have known the son of a witch and a dragon would be so powerful?”
