A Hero's Rebirth Ch. 06

She shivered. "The tales say they were the strongest and most vicious of the dragons, and that we must prepare for their eventual return... But as I said, they are just Legends."

Okay, but legends like that, even if they hold a fraction of truth, are the type of thing you don't ignore, and this was a magical motherfucking world, where who knows what shit could go down.

"Great... So, theoretically, how long ago would that have to be for the dragons who were defeated back then to be dead? Like how long do dragons live? Because I really would rather not have to fight a fucking ancient dragon with a grudge thousands of years old." I groaned, massaging the bridge of my nose. Nothing was bothering me, physically, in fact, I'd been in some of the best health ever since I got summoned, but stress like this back home would have had me needing the pressure point stimulation and I guess it had become a habit at this point.

And of course, the answer was not good news.

"Dragons can live until they are killed. They do not die of old age as we lesser creatures do." Tavorwen informed me.

"Well... shit." I groaned. "If there's going to be a dragon apocalypse, let's hope it waits for the shadow elf war to end and for us to get some more prep time."

The sun finished setting and I was extremely glad for the headband that gave me elven sight. The moons gave enough light I could see clearly and could even make out the details of the world below. I honestly didn't even miss night vision goggles with this. I glanced at the moons, grateful for the light.

There were four moons in the sky, confusingly in various stages of fullness, though the science part of my brain said that there was no way that should work. Having a full moon lapping a waning crescent moon, as the waning crescent moon slipped past a waxing gibbous... it just broke my brain to figure out how that would even work.

"Is everything in this world fucking magic?" I muttered.

"With few exceptions... Yes." Risavis replied to my rhetorical question. Then to explain her approach she informed me, "Sevrina was wondering if you were ready to take another turn at the helm?"

I walked over and I could tell the time at the helm had exhausted her. She kept one hand on the crystal as she leaned against her hiersver for warmth and support.

"Marvin lasted five hours... so I tried my best, but I'm afraid I cannot continue," Sevrina confessed, weariness etched into her body. "Forgive me for failing to last the full duty."

"Don't beat yourself up about it," I told her. I'd done longer shifts as a driver in my early army days, but driving for hours on end got exhausting, and that was with minimal steering and just a pedal to push. She'd had to maintain a strict degree of mental concentration for hours on end. Even on guard duty you could generally find a way to keep alert by shifting your attention around.

Sevrina dipped her head and relinquished the crystal to my care, quickly heading below deck.

I set my hand on the crystal and was immediately greeted by Dust Cloud.

[[Oh, finally.]] Dust Cloud groaned. [[The Pointy Ones are nice, but they are nothing for conversation. They just push and pull to get what they need done.]]

[[That happens when you can't speak to each other.]] I noted.

[[Surely they can do better than that though.]] Dust Cloud whined.

[[Well, they thought they were making progress on learning your language, but you know how when you got summoned the elf yelled 'fuck you' at you before sticking you in the crystal?]] I prodded.

[[Yeah?]] Dust Cloud acknowledged.

[[Well, that was her trying to greet you.]] I informed it. [[They really struggle understanding your language.]]

[[Weird.]] The elemental noted with some amusement. [[Come now, our language isn't that hard.]]

[[If it isn't that hard to learn a language, why don't you learn the elven language?]] I challenged.

[[... Okay, fine. Point made.]] Dust Cloud conceded.

We rose a little bit more to make sure we were high enough to clear the mountains cleanly, which made it a touch colder, but a small flame in my hand was plenty to keep me warm. Unsurprisingly, Dust Cloud said he couldn't feel a difference in the temperature.

As we crested the mountains and the other side was revealed... my gut sank. You could see almost with pathetic ease the extent of Kathra's reign. The land was torn up and desolate. You could see where trees were either ripped from the soil or small stumps remained from what trees had existed. The churned mud was absolutely wrecked from the army movement. The destruction reached and was slowly spreading into the beginning of the plains.

[[What happened here?]] Dust Cloud wondered.

[[Kathra.]] I responded. [[This is what we're fighting against.]]

[[Well, night dirt... Even the Earth Elementals would be disgusted.]] Dust Cloud griped.

Luckily, moving further to the Northwest, we were moving away from the destruction. I kept glancing at it as we flew away. It just reinforced to me... Even if Kathra won, they had no idea how to manage a country on the surface. You had to maintain a level of future planning, if you couldn't feed yourself afterward, it didn't matter who won the fight. The widespread destruction was not viable. And, while I wasn't sure how far west we were from El'Muth'Ran, I couldn't even see the tower in the distance, but I knew the destruction spread all the way to the shadow elf capital.

Beyond, we quickly reached the point where the land underneath us looked pristine and clear. The unpopulated plains beneath us stretched in waves of grass. Our destination was over another mountain range that stretched from the northeast to the northwest, as far as the eye could see. The thick, tall mountains look like the Himalayan mountains, reaching far into the sky, rough and broken, with snow caps and sheer rock faces. High above one of these mountains a massive cloud, or cluster of clouds, hung. Based on our current speed and progress, we'd arrive early in the afternoon.

My gut tightened a bit. We would be trying to win over the Cloud Elves within the day, but what would that require from us? On the plains, I'd had to fight enormous crab insects, then slip in undetected and kill the queens of other hives... I had no idea what would be required to earn the trust and cooperation of the cloud elves. The odds of it being easy were slim to nothing.

Then there was the matter of their counter demands for their corporations. Taking Laliera as my matron had been the requirement the Wild Elves had demanded, which honestly wasn't a real sacrifice for me. She was wonderful and beautiful and I was growing quite fond of her. But... could I keep just taking matrons? Was it sustainable? Would that even be the demand? The odds seemed high since a lack of males was one of the biggest issues that all elven societies seemed to have just accepted. With the boon of endurance, I could keep up with a large number of matrons wanting action in the bedroom, but... eventually, I'd just be moving from matron to matron in the bedroom all day long. While I enjoyed sex as much as the next guy, you wanted to come up for air regularly. And the worst would be if it reached the point where sex wasn't fun and pleasurable anymore.

Nothing to do but see what ended up happening.

I looked again at the enormous cloud in the sky. I realized, with some concern, how big of a city would require such a massive cloud to support. Would it finally be an elven people who weren't so decimated that their city, or cities, were left in ruins?

Luckily, the night passed uneventfully. I had done guard duty and enough similar tasks that staying alert wasn't terribly hard. And I wasn't tired, so it was just me on the deck.

The night sky of Elendel was breathtaking. The assortment of moons passing from horizon to horizon, like silent guardians passing overhead, was as spectacular as the array of stars which formed their backdrop. The only light, besides the moons, was a faint green glow from the elemental ring at the back of our airship, so no light pollution ruined the view. If you've ever seen the Milky Stream for which the Milky Way Galaxy was named, imagine that, with a streak of green through the center, though it seemed twice as wide as the Milky Way had always been. Then about three in the morning, a second stream of the galaxy became visible, perpendicular to the first and thus one with more blue at its core, and it traveled slowly across the sky until the approaching dawn bathed the sky in light, cloaking the mysteries of the cosmos until the night returned.

With the dawn, my companions emerged from below deck as well, their layers and make-shift cold weather gear struggling to keep them warm.

The distant cloud that concealed, hopefully, the cloud elf city was still hours away, and Mavrin insisted I rest before we arrived. I wasn't feeling tired, but I didn't want to push how far the boon of endurance could carry me. I'd had to use stimulants before, to stay awake for days for special engagements, but things like that always came at a price. I'd rather not experiment with what kind of consequences could come with abusing my boons when I could just sleep instead.

I'd never been a big napper, but the military taught you to sleep when you could as well as techniques to fall asleep quickly. The darkness in the cabin helped as I quickly and peacefully fell asleep.

I had no idea how much later it was when I bolted from my sleep. Something was off, and my instincts were on high alert. I quickly dressed, shouldered my weapons, and ascended to the upper deck.

As I emerged, the first thing I noticed was how close we were getting to the enormous cloud that had been our target destination this whole time. We were starting to fly over smaller, unconnected clouds on our approach to the great cloud.

"Master, you've awakened," Tavorwen noted. "We were about to rouse you. We expect to reach-"

What she expected was abruptly cut off, as a thrilling warcry sounded, and a flurry of wings burst from the clouds around us. Even with my elven sight, it was hard to track what was going on. Every which way you looked it was a flurry of white, brown, red, and black feathers. They flew circles, loops, and swirls around our vessel, like bees swarming a hawk.

"This is not good," Tavorwen muttered, her hand going to her bow.

"No!" I ordered. "We come in peace, no one is to draw weapons."

"And if they destroy the ring? Or the wings?" Creadean demanded, obeying for now.

"Then we figure that out then." I snapped. "Assuming diplomacy will fail only guarantees it fails. Do not draw weapons."

"Bold words for a Betrayer." With cat-like grace, one of the white-winged beings landed on the rails.

It was unmistakably a Cloud Elf. She was the smallest full-grown elf I'd seen. She had one hand raised, moderately threateningly, though perhaps just for balance as she perched on the rail like a cat, or maybe a bird. She carried no visible weapons, though she didn't seem concerned or threatened by us. Her hair was a sun-bleached blond, and her skin was fair, borderline pale. Her long elven ears swept out from her head, though the way they were bouncing as she landed told me wind pressure could easily push them against her head for better aerodynamics. She was barefoot and appeared to be wearing nothing but a singular garment, a white piece, that looked like a robe or toga, but either it had individual legs, or it just clung to her legs well enough that it might as well have had legs, keeping her covered to her knees.

The combination almost made her look like she was sculpted from marble, though the insane whiteness of her garment gave contrast to her skin, rather than washing it out, and made her unmistakably living. With my elf sight, I could see the callouses on her hands, the calluses of a fighter. Her bare feet had long, talon-like nails. Her eyes were a piercing silver color, something I'd never seen before. Her long white wings were spread wide, ready to lift her to safety should we engage.

A dozen more, very similar-looking elves, most commonly white or brown-winged with a few black-winged and one red-winged, landed on the railing around the ship. Most of them were blonde, like the first, but some were dark enough of a blonde that could be considered a light brown. Their skins were all the fair tone on their apparent leader, and all wore the same white garb. Their silver eyes were piercing and intense.

The female warriors were all empty-handed but assumed a similar stance. With a dozen of the cloud elf fighters, there were still at least three dozen flitting around the ship.

For a moment, I thought they might be spellcasters, but the calluses were not that of spellcasters, so I dismissed that. Additionally, a caster could fly around the ship, and launch spells from that position, but a fighter, especially a close-range fighter, would be advantaged. So despite an apparent lack of weapons, these must be Cloud Elf warriors.

"We come in peace," I told the first cloud elf to land. "We come as emissaries of peace from Ealphamir, and from the Wood Elves."

"Good enough for me." The Cloud Elf declared, and her legs flexed as she prepared to launch herself at us.

"Fuck." I spat. The last thing I wanted was a fight with the Cloud Elves.

Like a flash of lightning, a white streak shot from high in the sky, landing between us and spreading her wings wide a cloud elf interjected herself between us.

"STOP!" She commanded. "Captain Zynrin, you are out of line."

"GRAH!" Zynrin growled in frustration. "Out of my way! The Betrayers must PAY!"

"You know the dictates of the Gods as well as I." The newcomer declared. "You know your orders. Now obey them."

"My orders-" The first cloud elf began.

"Did not include an unprovoked attack on the travelers... and make no pretense of provocation, I witnessed the entire thing." The newcomer cut her off.

With a growl of frustration, the first cloud elf dove off the side of the ship, and the rest of the warriors followed suit. The swarm dispersed and the skies were clear once more, except for now there were cloud elf warriors making long sweeping circles around us.

The Cloud Elf that had stood up to Zynrin on our behalf lowered her wings. Watching the great wings fold up and settle on her back was fascinating. She turned to face us. She was blonde like Zynrin, with the same majestic silver eye, and had close enough features I almost thought I was seeing double. Her figure was that of a maiden, small of breast and hip, but the way her toga thing clung to her it did let what curves she had show through. Two symbols hung on straps from her shoulders. One was a bow, leaves, and flowers sprouting from the wood of the bow, with an arrow nocked. The other symbol was a wheel, like a wagon wheel, with some sort of arm attached to the center of the wheel that connected to a spike with a swirl around it.

"Forgive them." This new Cloud Elf begged with a bow. "Many of them are proud old warriors and remember the Day of Turmoil."

"No harm done," I told her. "Day of Turmoil? Do you mean the day of the Great Massacre?"

"Is that what the surface people call it?" She asked sadly. "It is a fitting title as well."

Her eyes widened, and she bowed again. "Forgive me, I have forgotten my manners!"

She straightened and saluted. "I, Othica, Priestess of Drukalir and Evenshtrara, have been sent to welcome you and guide you to Queen Ethcovir."

I bowed in return. "I am Thomas Nord, summoned by the Wood Elves to help turn the tide of the war against Kathra and the Shadow Elves."

Othica cocked her head in curiosity but didn't say anything immediately. "Please, allow me to guide you to the best place for you to lay your vessel to rest."

"Come this way," I told her.

I could feel the doubt and suspicion of my matrons, but I knew that even if you didn't fully trust someone, an olive branch was an olive branch. I took control of the ship and followed Othica's direction. We rose above the clouds and got our first look at the city. Towering structures of white, like marble, with spires and towers reaching from the cloud into the heavens.

"Welcome to Uonavear." Othica declared.

We descended down to what looked like a courtyard, with the swirling mists of cloud around us. A single walkway, seemingly made of cobbled marble, reached out into the mists, and we pulled up to it like it was a pier.

"How's that, Dust Cloud?" I asked, putting a hand on the crystal to let him respond.

[[This is fine. Just floating like on a thermal.]] Dust Cloud assured me.

I wasn't about to have one of my matrons be the one to test the firmness of the ground, so I stepped over the edge and my feet landed with a 'thump' on the walkway. There was no give or anything. It felt like I was on solid ground.

A single flap of her wings, with a wingspan probably ten or twelve feet wide, helped Othica leap over me and land with grace in front of me.

"Please come this way, the Queen has been expecting you, and is awaiting your arrival with great anticipation." Othica declared.

I swallowed. I'd seen a lot, but this was the strangest and most majestic of the elven societies I'd ever seen. What was to come? At least it seemed that the Queen was looking forward to our coming. But that could be anticipating our request so she could reject us and send us packing. I'd only seen a few dozen of the winged elves and so far one seemed friendly, and the rest had been ready to throw hands.

I set my shoulders and followed Othica as she led the way into the heart of the city.

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To be Continued in Chapter 07