《Crystalized》 The Hunt ? Faint smoke fouled the crisp autumn air, as I stumbled through the bushes. Sleep dragged at me and hunger drilled a hole in my gut, but something drove me on. A distant need for something I did not recognize. Pain brought me back to my senses as a scale was torn free by a thorn. Silently berating myself walking through the bush instead of around, my attention was caught by odd noises and distant rustling as something moved in the distance.
Torin "It''s fine dad, I won''t forget how to hunt just because I''m getting dragged off to some fancy academy." "Torin, you should know by now that is not what I am worried about, I am worried you will say something stupid in front of a noble and your poor mother will have news of your unfortunate demise delivered to our door." He said pointedly "Oh please, the kingdom is desperate for Warcasters, everyone knows the Selurians are preparing for war, they are not going to let some puffed up noble weaken the army." I countered "That kind of speech is exactly what I worry about, the nobles own the army, don''t provoke them or they will kill you!" He said forcefully "Way to scare away all the game." I grumbled "We weren''t going to get anything with the way you were stomping around anyway." He retorted before sighing "Let''s get back to the village, least we can do is give them the roots we found."
? Following the strange beings was almost comically easy, they would be lucky to catch even the most dimwitted prey with all the noise they were making. There was the tall one with a burly build and heavy fur on it''s face, and the smaller one with a similar build and missing the fur. What really caught my attention was the feeling the smaller one emitted, it almost felt like it was weakly tugging me as it walked. Was this how these strange beings hunted, draw in an unwary predator and strike? I was surprised when they picked up their pace a bit, did they know I was there? Were they trying to lead me into a trap?
Torin "Keep calm but move fast and stay alert, we are being followed." His quiet words sent a chill down my spine. We kept our arrows knocked as we walked, the village was not far but it paid to be careful in the woods and I did not want to be the next victim of a bear or mountain lion attack. Soon we came upon one of the paths worn by hunters leaving the village, spurring us on for the final leg of the trip. The low burbling of the brook near our village, brought me more comfort then I would dare to admit as we finally reached the outskirts. "Take these herbs to Old man Dunitz, he wanted to put them in the stew tonight." He said as he handed me a small sack. "Don''t have to tell me twice." I said with a slight shudder, he tried his best but after his wife''s passing last winter the quality of food suffered dramatically. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Delivering the herbs did not take long and soon I was free to practice the exercises I was taught during the Mage census. Taking deep breaths to steady myself, I tried to follow the feeling of mana entering through my skin and traveling from the rest of my body to rest just above the small of my back. With an exertion of will I coax the crystalized lump of mana to break up a bit working to limit the damage of uncontrolled mana growth. It was strangely calming just focusing on pulling small chunks away and carefully spreading them elsewhere. Stretching slowly to return feeling to my limbs, I noticed the dim light and bowl of cold stew sitting in front of me. Tiredly grabbing my bowl and forcing myself to eat the stew, I finally decided to head off to sleep, our region''s guardian would arrive tomorrow and I had to be ready to leave. The guardian arrived with little fanfare, a kindly old woman named Delia, she was the one who administered the tests for the census, and she was the one who would take people to the academy when they came of age. As I was preparing to climb into her cart my father walked up to me, for a moment we just looked at each other before he hugged me and said "Be careful out there, I worry for you." I smirked after pulling away and replied "I''ll be fine, I won''t say anything too stupid." He chuckled "see that you don''t" before turning and heading for the woods. I climbed up into the cart next to Delia, and we got underway. After sitting in silence for a few minutes She said "We are meant to be protectors, you know." "We are, aren''t we? I mean the Selurians started it, and we need our warcasters to counter their own." I said "It is rarely so simple." she replied "A caster''s purpose is to protect their people, not from others, but from mana itself. We used to have caster''s in every city to draw the mana to themselves and keep the people safe." "But what use is it protecting our people from mana if the Selurians kill them anyway?" I asked "They have lost sight of their purpose, and so for that matter have we." She said somberly We continued in silence for a while before she called a short stop. "Would you mind fetching some water for the horses and some tea if your able" she asked "There is a small stream not far in that direction." I nodded slightly before grabbing two buckets and moving in the direction she pointed.
? I watched those creatures and the strange structure those larger animals were pulling them along in for a while, eventually they slowed to a stop and the old one sent the other away. I realized that both of them seemed to be pulling on me, and the old one was pulling with more force than I would expect from her size. I was startled when she looked right at me and started making an odd movement with her hand, I got the feeling she wanted me to come out of hiding. As I started to emerge from the forest, she turned and began pulling something out of the back of the structure she rode. Moving closer I noticed the tantalizing scent of meat emanating from whatever she had grabbed. When I got within a few steps of her she turned and held it out towards me expectantly. I grabbed the meat greedily, and before I was even finished with the first, she was holding out another.
Torin Trudging back with two heavy buckets of water was exhausting work, but I had done harder things before. Nearing the edge of the trees I began to wonder if I could get Delia to teach me about casting as we rode. I almost dropped the buckets in shock when I saw Delia calmly sitting on the cart handfeeding what must have been a 7 foot tall green lizard. Without even turning to look back at me, Delia called out "Don''t be afraid Torin, he is here for you." "Was that supposed to comfort me." I called back "I hope it did, the horse is thirsty, and I want tea." She replied After making my way back to the cart I set one of the buckets in front of the horse, and moved around the cart towards Delia and the lizard. With the better viewing angle I could now see large pieces of skin folded on it''s sides. Those are wings I realized. Delia was hand feeding a Dragon and asking about tea. The Road to Roseport ? Finishing off the food offered by the old one. I decided to investigate why the feelings I got from the two were so similar and yet so different. Looking towards the old one who was enjoying a container of hot liquid, I felt power, but it was hard like it was trapped and might never move again. The younger one was weaker, and while it still felt solid, it also felt almost eager to move and change, it felt right. While I was examining them, the younger one seemed to have lost all fear of my presence approaching where I lay while the old one made noises at him. When he got within one of his arm lengths of me, I could feel what I needed to do.
Torin "Loosen your control of your mana and stand just a little bit closer." Delia instructed Walking a little bit closer, I was about to ask her how to loosen control, when a massive force slammed into me. Falling to my knees, I could faintly hear Delia telling me to just breathe. "Easy for her to say" I thought, my mana was running wild and my body felt like it was on fire. With an effort of will I forced myself to take a single halting breath before falling forward as the darkness claimed me.
? Sensing the power within the young one respond to my presence, I mentally gripped his core as if I had done this a thousand times. Pull, Twist, Loop, Turn, Pull, Twist, Loop, ¡­ I came to moments later, feeling the immense satisfaction of fulfilling a need that had been driving me for so long. I noticed the young one appeared to be asleep. Had I really been working for that long? "well that was dramatic" The old one remarked. The meanings of the words came to me unbidden. I could understand her now? That was strange, I did not think anything had changed. The real problem was how to respond, I did not think I could make the same sounds as her.
Torin I coughed and sputtered as I woke to the feeling of cold water on my face. "Did you have to use water, that is really unpleasant." I grumbled while using my shirt to wipe the water out of my eyes. "Would not wake." a voice said "I would have if you had tried shaking me first." I said hotly while still trying to clear my nose of water "Will shake next time." "That would be nice" I said finally looking for the source of the voice, but I could only see Delia and the Dragon sitting nearby. "It''s good to see that the two of you can communicate." Delia said humor evident in her voice I wondered for a moment who else she was talking about before paling with realization. I turned to the Dragon and said "On second thought, please don''t shake me." This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "well as much as I would love for us all to stay here and chat, we still need to get to Roseport." Delia said "Lets get back in the cart, we can talk on the way." I nodded and moved towards the cart before pausing as something crossed my mind "Hey dragon, what should we call you?" "Known as Ozias" He said
Ozias The journey to what they called the city of Roseport was fairly short and I amused myself by asking about the names of things like their cart, horse and a multitude of other things, until I could tell that Torin was getting tired of it. Soon the great carved walls of Roseport loomed in the distance, intricate stone artwork depicting battles of the distant past. As we moved closer, one in particular caught my eye. The image showed a young man standing on the back of a dragon in flight as he used Warcastings on the armies amassed below. "Who they" I said trying to send the image I referred to. "Oh that''s Othelin and Umbris" he said "I don''t know much about them, but every kid has heard the story of how they singlehandedly broke the armies of Emperor Gendwic II." his expression darkened a bit "and how the Selurians betrayed them." Soon we reached the gate, the guards were clearly on edge at the sight of me, tensed as if preparing for a fight. Taking a large step forward I wondered if I could just push past them, they did not look strong enough to stop me. "Just let him through, I will vouch for his good behavior." Delia called from behind me The guards immediately backed away as they noticed Delia and snapped to a salute with their arms crossed over their chest "Yes Guardian!" they said respectfully Walking through the gate, I was struck by the smell, a disgusting mix of old fish, urine and other filth. That along with the constant sounds of chatter and rush of people overwhelmed me. I began turn and try to find a clear space as I picked out who might be a threat in the crowd that was starting to form around me. "Enough!" I heard from behind me, as Delia strode forward making the crowd back up several feet. "These two are my guests and are to be treated accordingly." She stated before saying in a much lower voice "Follow me and be quick about it, I may already have been gone too long."
Torin I could still feel the sharp edge of panic from Ozias as we quickly moved through the streets, and soon I could tell we were heading into the upper class district. With wider streets and far enough from the fishmongers to dampen the smell, it felt like we were in a different city altogether. Delia led us towards a small but well kept manor. As we entered the building I could feel the mana density spike, Delia practically bolted towards the nearest chair. The moment she was seated, I could feel the chaotic ebb and flow of mana start to organize and flow towards her. Beads of sweat began to drip from her brow as the exertion took it''s toll, and I realized she was trying control all the mana in the entire city. She gasped in pain for a moment before moving towards to the door with a slight limp. "The mana is resisting me, a storm is coming." She said with another gasp "Watch close, this is our true duty." Running back out the door to follow her, I watched as the world itself turned against us. Delia stood there alone drawing the worst of it towards herself. The skies going from clear to stormy and roiling, and the ground beginning to split and lift up. With a surge of power Delia shot a bolt of mana into the clouds before spinning to slap the rising earth back into place. The wind whipped around like a hurricane, small pieces of wood and stone ripped from houses stinging my skin like tiny javelins. Turning to look back at the sky Delia sent a dozen more bolts at different parts of the clouds before causing them to explode dispersing the chaotic mana holding them together. She raised a slow shaking hand and clenched her fist forcing the air itself to freeze for a moment before slowly releasing her grip. She looked back towards me with a weary smile "This is our burden." Aftermath Torin The street was covered in debris, here and there I could see places where small trees were uprooted and sent flying into walls or houses. Some houses had lost their roofs or even completely collapsed. As I stood in stunned silence people were beginning to leave their homes to survey the damage, or wander around in confusion. Before I could even think of how I might help, Delia took control of the situation. "I want teams of 4, focus on collapsed buildings there may be people trapped in the wreckage spread the word, we need all the help we can get." She turned to me "Torin I need your help, I lost control in my haste to stop the storm, and I don''t think my left leg can support me." Happy to given something to do, I moved to support her left side. "We need to get to the lower quarter, those buildings won''t have fared as well." she winced as we hobbled along. Nodding grimly as we moved down the street I noticed four people trying in vain to lift a large beam off of a young man as he wheezed weakly. I had an idea, Ozias did not talk to me normally, he sort of thought about what he wanted to say and I could hear him, could it go both ways? "Ozias we need your help" I called out in my mind as I helped Delia to sit near a broken wall. Running back towards the team of four, I braced myself against the bottom of the beam putting my full strength into giving the man even just a little more room to breathe. "Ozias Please!" I called again Struggling under the weight of the beam, I closed my eyes and focused on everything that I knew about the dragon, his brash confidence, the simple feeling of pleasure he got from asking endless annoying questions, even the feeling of panic he felt when we first entered the city, I sent all of that and more as I called out desperately "Ozias please help us!" This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. I stumbled as the beam suddenly began to lift, and I turned to see Ozias with his teeth locked on the beam near where I was gripping. "Heard you first time" he said as he pulled the beam a little higher. "It would have been nice if you responded" I called out loud as I ran around him to pull the man out. "Was not here yet" he replied "That is not the point" I said as I shifted the man out from under the beam. Sighing in relief as the man began to breathe more deeply. I turned to Ozias as he lowered the beam "Thank you" I said tiredly smiling at him. "Can''t let squishy break with such small stick." he taunted with amusement "Oh, I will show you squishy" I said before wrapping my arms around his head to try and grapple him. Ozias just lifted his head and soon I was left dangling several feet in the air. "Lighter than stick" he said smugly. Struggling to her feet with the help of the wall, Delia called out "Best admit defeat Torin, I think he''s got you, and we still have a lot of work to do." "I''ll get you next time" I smirked as I let go and dropped to the ground. I moved back to supporting Delia as we continued down the street Ozias following along behind us. The rest of the day seemed to pass in a blur as Delia gave instructions while me and Ozias helped where we could and the rest of the city reorganized itself. Despite my best efforts and hopes, we found more dead than living in the collapsed buildings. Eventually the pace of work slowed down and the other workers practically forced us to head to where injuries were being treated. I let a pair of workers take Delia as I was dragged off by a third. After a short walk he had me sit in a chair near a bucket of water and a piece of cloth, telling me to scrub at any cuts. I got to work, hoping the pain would let me escape the feeling of failure; I felt whenever I pulled another body from the wreckage. The man watched for a moment before saying "Thank you for saving my brother, he has bruised ribs but he will heal, and I know that look, you should think of those who you did save." he turned and was about to leave the room before he looked over his shoulder and said "When you did your best and it was not enough, all you can do is learn." He laughed sadly "My mentor always said that after losing a patient." Shenanigans Ozias I slowly woke up to the warm sun on my scales, the chirping of birds and one very annoying boy talking into my mind. I debated ignoring him and staying in my warm patch of sun, but curiosity and annoyance eventually won out "Awake now, what want?" I grumbled "Well I just wanted to tell you that earlier this morning Delia got us transport on a ship to the caster academy in Thorgen." He said Mention of this mysterious academy piqued my interest "When leave?" I asked eagerly "we leave in an hour or two, I wanted to let you get your beauty sleep." He laughed "Am pretty enough." I snorted "want food." "Delia asked the fishmongers to set aside a crate of fish for you, they are keeping it down by the docks." he said turning to leave, obviously intending for me to follow. Leaving Delia''s garden, I saw the most damaged structures getting torn down so new buildings could take their place. My wings began to itch as the slow ordeal of moving through the crowded streets was made worse by my nerves, and the constant rush of reconstruction. Soon we came to a clearer section of the road and a devious idea took hold of me. Torin sensing my sudden change of attitude began to turn around, but he was far too slow. I quickly grabbed him around the middle with my front claws and leapt into the sky in the direction of the docks. It took Torin a moment to realize his feet were no longer on the ground, and once he did, he wrapped his arms around one of my forepaws with a death grip. The spike of pure panic he felt was the first thing that let me know something was wrong, in a moment of clarity I realized my mistake, Torin as a creature without wings, could never feel as comfortable in the sky as I was. Feeling a pang of regret, I tried to reach the docks as fast as I could. From the air, the city''s damage was much easier to see. One section had been flooded, while the area next to it had burnt, and just across the street from them was almost pristine apart from a small fishing boat sitting on top of a roof a bit further down. Torin''s fear began to subside as we got closer to our destination, and soon after I was able to land on a less crowded road near the edge of the dock district. Once Torin was back on the ground it did not take long before he had calmed down enough to speak. "Just so you know, most people are not comfortable with the ground disappearing out from under them." he said unsteadily, before he amended "Then again most people don''t try to lead a dragon through a busy city." Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "Crowds nervous, wanted move faster" I said apologetically "Well we did move a lot faster at least, now follow me we are just around the corner from the warehouse they showed me." He said amused He turned and led me down one of the roads which had been cleared earlier in the day to the door of the large building where we could hear a pair of workers conversing as they moved stacked crates. " ¡­ why the captain had to make a point of the second ones large size, not like we ain''t never seen a fat noble or merchant." the first voice said "Who knows, if they payin enough, we may have ta carry em aboard and feed em peeled fruits." the second one said with gruff laugh as the other man joined in "I''m sure we can pick up one of those cloth stalls to shade them from the sun too." he said laughing I could see Torin trying to hold back laughter at the idea of them carrying me. I started to move forward so I could find the fish I was promised when Torin stopped me and shared an idea to prank the two of them. I slowly crept forward through a darker portion of the warehouse so I could get around the workers, trying to practice the grin Torin showed me. As soon I was where I needed to be, I let Torin know I was ready. Soon he walked out from behind a stack of boxes in full view of the workers and walked up to them. Seeing that he intended to talk to them, they stopped what they were working on and the gruff one asked "Watcha want boy, we got ta restack the crates since we''ve finished loadin." "Well I heard you two talking and I wanted to know your rates for peeled fruits and carrying people you see my large friend and I will traveling with you and he is feeling a bit peckish." The gruff one seemed to catch on quickly "Well I do na want ta overcharge, I''d have ta see him fore I could tell ya my price." Torin smiled and said "Well the good news is, he''s right behind you." Taking my cue I leaned closer and gave my widest grin, so that when the man spun around all he saw was a row of jagged teeth. The gruff man let out an undignified yelp as he fell over backwards and the other man jumped to the side, the only thing that stopped them from running outright was the sound of Torin''s laughter. "Well lad, ya definitely got us." He said warily as he picked himself off the floor "Now did ya actually need somethin or na?" "Yes, I was told there was a crate of fish for Ozias here." Torin supplied "Ah tha fish box, Jingles here can show ya where it is." he gestured to the side where the other man was nervously fidgeting with a pair of coins. Jingles shot him a look of betrayal as he was put on the spot before resigning himself "follow me." he sighed We were led on a winding path through the rest of the warehouse to the other entrance where he pointed out a crate off to the side "That''s your fish crate, if you give me a minute I''ll get the crowbar." He turned to leave but before he had even taken a few steps, I had already used my claws to pry the top off, so I could dig in. The smoky flavor of the fish tasted divine and soon I had emptied the box of all but small scraps. Seeing that I was finished Torin asked Jingles to show us where the ship was moored. Heading out the near door we walked along the pier for a few minutes before we stopped in front of a large ship bustling with activity. A tail of Boats and Dragons part 1 Torin "That is a big boat." I said "You aren''t even looking at the right one." Jingles said with a laugh "Well what is the right one?" I said with annoyance "Well, the boat your looking at is a lighter it just loads and unloads real ships." Jingles said before pointing further out. "That is a real ship." The large ship cut an imposing figure, towering over the rest of the ships at port as it sat at anchor in the protected bay. From where we stood, I could see three large masts reaching skyward with a few tiny figures scurrying among the rigging. I turned to Jingles "How many people live on that ship." I asked in awe "Trigin''s Pearl houses 68 souls including my father who is the first mate and my mother Vessa the ships cook." he replied before adding with a smirk "Don''t make her angry, everyone knows who really controls the ship, captain just pays them, she feeds them." "How get there?" Ozias asked and I relayed the question "Ozias want''s to know how he is supposed to get there, the lighter looks too crowded." "He can speak?" Jingles said looking at Ozias with surprise. "And you can understand him?" "Sort of." I said before continuing "I mostly get feelings but if he wants to say something, it changes. I don''t know how but I understand the difference and I know what he wants to say or do." "That sounds confusing." Jingles began as he pulled out a pair of coins "Either way there is plenty of room on the lighter, it''s actually less crowded then normal." Jingles said fiddling with the coins "I still don''t see how we are supposed to get up there." I say in confusion "Well ya just had ta wait fer me." The gruff mans voice came from behind, I turned to look at him but he was already shouting up at the people onboard "Wake up lads, we have our passengers!" Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Soon an older man came to the side, and I noticed him glancing between the gruff man and Ozias with a questioning look. The gruff man added "Ya, we bring ta scaly one too, make room ya blatherin old coot!" "I thought I smelled somethin rotten Einvar, which latrine did ya crawl out of this time!" The older man shot back with a grin "We both know ya showed me all ta best places ta dive pa, now get ta board fore I have ta drag em up ta side!" "Don get yer knickers in a twist boy, they are gettin it!" He called as a thud sounded out behind him Before long a thick plank was lowered to rest against the pier and Einvar motioned for me and Jingles to go ahead before he followed us up. As I started to look around the boat. Soon I began to notice Ozias''s increasing frustration, and turned to see why. Ozias had waited patiently until we were all finished climbing before he began to test the plank, and the way it was bending under the weight of only one of his paws led us both to the same conclusion, it would not hold him. After a moment of further testing I could tell he had decided on a course of action, backing up and reading his wings. With dawning horror I realized what he was doing and shouted a warning. "Everyone back, he''s going to jump!" Taking my own advice I leapt off to the side as chaos reigned on the rest of the ship. My position on the deck gave me a perfect view as he gracefully soared straight from the pier onto the ship using his wings to slow his fall, a soft thud and slight rocking were the only indications he had landed. "Well that was anticlimactic." I said picking myself off the floor "Be glad it was." Jingles says shakily "A capsized ship will pull you down as surely as a kraken." "Please tell me we won''t meet one." I pleaded "Lucky for you the route we are traveling is shallower then they tend to like, and we are unlikely to see any." Jingles replied with a laugh Soon the shock wore off and the crew got to work untying the mooring lines holding us in place while directing Ozias and I to a relatively clear area where we wouldn''t get in the way. Almost as soon as the last line was removed, we started moving towards the larger ship under the power of oars. The trip did not take too long and the closer we got to Trigin''s Pearl, the more imposing it looked with it''s dark wooden hull glistening from the sea spray, and myriad ropes stretching from the sides of the ship up to where they were tied to one of the three mast''s. Einvar came up to me as we neared the side of Trigin''s Pearl, he stood in silence for a moment before saying. "We are going ta be receivin ropes from em soon, an we want ta use the freight pully ta lift yer scaly friend here so he won''t get tangled up in ta rigging." "Does that sound good Ozias?" I asked as he lazed about on deck and all I got back was a mixture of nausea and annoyance. "Well I think he''s seasick but I don''t think he''s against it." I told Einvar as the first ropes started to land and get tied off.