Both Reia and Adalaya had been traveling for two days, the journey had been filled with new wondrous sights and sounds. The young Princess had never traveled so far from her birthplace, deep down, she thanked her sins for such an opportunity. The pair had come to enter into the vast city of Trinos, a desert land that was home to the dragon Reia claimed as her own. Unlike most, her wyvern was allowed to roam free, allowing his size and magic to continue growing as he did. From the tales her aunt had come to tell her, Adalaya knew the beast to be over three thousand feet long, with a wingspan of nine thousand feet. She often came to wonder how a woman as small as her aunt, could command a creature of such size and strength. After a much-needed meal, the two women came to set foot before a large cave. Inside rested Akar'gamon, the dragon she had come to learn so much about. The cave opening was nearly a mile wide, what laid inside it, beyond the knowledge of the dragon, was unknown. Reia had yet to see him in almost a year, even she was left to guess what treasures and bones had come to collect with the cave.
"I will meet him today then?" Adalaya came to say, her body becoming ridden with goose flesh. She was uncertain if the dragon would take to her, or if he would favor her as his next meal. The young girl felt fear, not only for herself but that of her unborn child. She no longer had just her own well being to tend, but that of an innocent and helpless life, unknowing of the dangers of their world. "Yes, you shall. If he slumbers beyond our view that is." Reia dismounted, leaving the reigns of her Pegasus in the hands of her niece. She walked forward into the cave her voice coming forth in songful ribbons. "Akar'gamon, my trusted friend, are you with us?" The sound of stirring rock and dust came to fill her ears. Suddenly, the ground began to shift and rumble, he was there. "Akar'gamon, I have come to ask a great favor of you. I have found my niece, Adalaya. I wish to present her to you, we both seek to free your people from our races chains. Please, will you share words with me?"
The ground came to still, soon after allowing the dark and hissing voice of a serpent to come forth. "Why should I show my face to an outsider? She bears the blood of those who betrayed you, I can smell her festering lineage from here." Reia came to kneel within the dark chamber, her head bowed softly in respect. "I humbly ask that you remember all that we have done for each other. I beseech that you fall onto our bound and know that I would never enter your home with another who had the intent to bring you harm." The ground came to quake, and suddenly, the dragon's nostrils could be seen. He walked forward, at last revealing himself to his rider as well as her guest. His scales were a gleaming shade of malachite, his underbelly claiming the hues of sorrel. The left eye of the reptile beamed in the darkness in the brightest shades of gold while the right rested in his skull a soft shade of evergreen. Unlike most dragons in captivity, this male bull bore no mane of hair. Instead, his face and neck sat adorned with leather crests of brown that birthed horns of sharpened weaponry. Akar'gamon slithered forth, his weight resting upon his wings as he walked. He was large and held many different battle wounds of all shapes and sizes.
Reia stood and moved to him, placing a gentle touch upon his snout. His flews sat mangled with scars that would never mend. Warriors had haunted him for decades, leaving their marks on his body before they came to perish in his flames. A soft coo came to part his jaws at her touch, his eyes now coming to rest upon Adalaya. "So, what could a fragile little doll like you, do to aid my race?" The Princess followed the actions of her aunt, her body folding into a humble kneel before the dragon. "I wish to free your people, in hopes of gathering unity. I have grown tired of the ways human men degrade and use their women. My entire life I have been under the foot of the rule of men, the same men who enslave dragons. I believe together we can reset the balance, and for once, have the odds swing in our favor."
The bull came to move past his rider, his head dropping low to meet the girl eye to eye. "I admire your courage, but hope will never secure promise. It is something that can aid you in a fight, but that does not mean it will give you what your heart desires. You will suffer the pain of loss, you may even come to die in order to achieve your goal." Adalaya nodded. "I just, I want more for us both. I desire a life of freedom and justice if I have to die for it then so be it. Let Dovium come and claim what is rightfully his. I would rather die knowing my life made a difference in this world, that have it hold no meaning at all." Reia smiled, her pride coming to burst the seams of her heart. Her niece was bold she held no fear of her mount. Instead, she seemed comfortable around him.
The aerial serpent came to turn his attention back to the witch. "What do you need of me Reia?" "I need you to carry us to Vermillion City. There is a race there soon, I plan to let Adalaya ride Cartumon, in hope to win and set free a female they hold captive there. I hear she is quite beautiful, she could make an excellent mate for you in these lonely hills." Akar'gamon came to squint. "I suppose I could, it would not take me long to get you there. Though I must warn if you lose this race, I could be enslaved." "I hold faith in the girl, she holds the same way with horses as my sister once had. My stallion has the speed, he just has no handler. They will not lose."
The dragon came to lower himself to the ground, his chin flush with the soil below him. "Come, let us travel to the land of Mauraders." Reia urged Adalaya to mount him, to her surprise the girl had already begun to make her way up his head. Following her stride, the witch took a seat behind her niece, her hands turning to fists around his horns. The might of his wings came to lift them upward, the force behind each revolution of his wings caused the dirt below to stir and circle. "Aunt Reia, what of your horse?" "She will be fine, she may follow us, if not, she will be here waiting when we return." The trio moved at incredible speeds, the abilities of the wyvern unmatched by those held captive. Despite his size, he moved with a fluid and graceful gate, his wings shadowing the land as they flew past. Adalaya took a moment to admire her stomach. It still remained flat, but she knew she only had so much time before she began to show. Her wishes had to be granted before her child's birth, and she was certain she had the ability to turn her hope into reality.
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