[rework] Minglings - Book 3 chapter 5: Predators

Mason soared through the cloudy, murky air, reveling in the fact that he wasn't growing calluses on his feet anymore. A sound like sales cracking in the wind came from beside him, and he looked to see Baudron, his wings spread out and a look of rapture on his dragon face as he flew beside him. The dark grey sand of the wasteland flew below them while the temperature continued to increase steadily, as it had for days.

The white desert was nothing more than a small glistening line behind them, and Mason found he missed the pristine and highly illuminated place.

A few days after entering this wasteland, gray and black interconnected clouds had appeared in the distance, and they had stayed put as if glued.

Stupid clouds, Mason thought as he glared up.

"Mason, I need to rest again!"

Baudron's deep voice was followed by more heavy wing swatting as the heavy-set dragon began its ungainly descent.

He is getting stronger quickly. One or two more days, and we can fly a full day, Mason thought.

He took a look at the massive mountain range ahead of them. Pillars, plumes, and trickles of smog rose from some of them constantly, adding to the thick cloud cover overhead. It seemed close, but that was just because the size was causing an optic illusion.

Banking sharply, he circled down after Baudron. His stomach growled loudly, something it had been doing more and more since leaving the desert. He wasn't sure yet, but he was starting to get the feeling that being in the desert had somehow sustained him. It couldn't be the heat, though, as it was hotter here. The thing was, it was also humid, and he was beginning to worry about how weak he actually was to water.

The dry earth cracked under his feet as he slammed into the ground, pelting grit everywhere. Some struck Baudron, but the other was already curling up on the floor, a content smile on his face.

"If I had known how great this place was, I would have come here long ago!" he mumbled as he blinked sleepily while his pupils seemed to follow something.

"Is there more mana in the air again?" Mason asked as he lay down, searching for small floating specks.

There were only a few that he could see, golden and glowing and almost appearing out of place. Nothing compared to the immense quantity he had seen in the desert.

I wonder if I am a desert dragon, Mason thought before he remembered the red mana he had seen in the volcanic crater after waking up. He could see two types, so perhaps he was a desert fire type? What else did he know that had a weakness to water?

Baudron didn't answer, and instead, soft snoring spread across the area they were.

With a tired groan, Mason got up and looked around.

"Sure, I'll take the first watch! How nice of you to ask," he rumbled, mock angrily.

He didn't get a response, but he didn't expect one. He had found out soon that when Baudron fell asleep, he turned almost comatose, and he'd have to poke him relentlessly for minutes before the other would wake. He didn't mind, though. The big lug needed rest. The growing of his wings tired him out immensely.

Mason stretched his wings, then curled them on his back, sat down, and stared at the mountains. He was pretty sure they were close to the Hounds eye, an odd name for a volcanic-heavy region. He thought back to the almost mythical stories Baudron had told him.

The possibility of an actual demon or monstrous entity running around with the sole goal of making people's lives miserable still seemed too biblical to him. It reminded him of his mom, always whining that the devil would pull him to hell if he didn't behave.

A slight movement from one of the plumes caught his attention. A dot flew through it, creating a long dark plume. It reminded him of the trails planes left in their wake back on Earth.

What the hell is that?

He focused, his eyes narrowing as he tried to see what they were. Before he could make sense of the thing, another group of dots rushed through the same plume, creating more stripes.

Four, five… what is going on? Are they chasing the other one?

He watched as the other dots caught up with the first one, which seemed larger. A screech, no more than a whisper, caused his muscles to tighten, and he rose to his feet. Something about that sound... was familiar.

They are attacking it!

The small dots circled the first, and he could almost see them swooping in. After a moment, one of the attackers plummeted down, then another.

He almost expected the others to drop, but then another screech echoed out, and the big dot fell while the smaller ones rushed after it like vultures. They dropped behind one of the far-off mountains and out of sight.

Was that a dragon? he thought as he felt a slight fear set in.

He had no idea what to expect from the area they were heading to, but it appeared it wasn't going to be some idyllic dragon country with giant lizards frolicking happily in the clouds.

He stayed on the lookout for hours, and when Baudron woke up, he could barely keep his eyes open.

Baudron stretched his long brown body, and his wings unfurled with a loud crack as he yawned.

"Did you sleep well?"

Exasperated, Mason shook his head. "No, someone has to keep watch, remember?"

Baudron sniffed. "You worry too much. What could possibly go wrong in this beautiful place?"

"Beautiful, my ass! Something was chased across that mountain ridge," Mason said as he pointed a claw in the direction he'd seen the dots.

Baudron stood on his hind legs. His neck outstretched, he seemed to want to catch a glimpse of something.

"Well, there's nothing there now!" he finally said before looking around.

Before Mason could snap that, of course, it was gone now, Baudron's stomach rumbled like a diesel engine.

Mason's sighed as his own stomach seemed to see it as a challenge and began grumbling back. Gritting his teeth, he rubbed his belly.

Seeing Baudron stare at him with a stupid grin, he couldn't hold back his own.

"So, hunting?" Baudron asked with childlike joy.

Mason suppressed his won excitement and shook his head. "We won't find anything. We haven't found anything since leaving the desert!"

"Well, let's try! Who knows, we might have more luck this time. Let's go!" Baudron roared as he jumped in the air, his wings thunderously flapping as he gained altitude.

Mason sighed. Since leaving the desert, he felt a lot less energetic, and every action cost him effort again. He was pretty sure it was due to the lack of golden mana. Apparently, when it was around, he'd been able to do whatever he wanted all the time. Now? Now things were back to normal.

I wonder if this is what Jake felt when he was in the sea, he wondered.

A shout came from above, coinciding with another rumble from his stomach.

"God, I would kill for a hamburger," he groaned, imagining one the size of a dish bowl as he jumped after the other.

--

Half a day later, they were gliding towards the mountains, a more hilly landscape streaking by below them.

Trying to ignore the gnawing sensation in his stomach, Mason turned his full attention to the mountains. They were so much bigger than he had thought that he still wondered how they could even be real. As it was, they stretched from left to right, covering every part of the horizon like cracked shards of black ice sticking up from a pond. The central part was so high the tips disappeared into the perpetual cloud cover.

In a few hours, they would arrive at the first part, an enormous precipice with barely an incline at the bottom. It bordered the cracked hillside, towering over it like a barrier into another realm. The mountains' bases started straight at the top edge of the barrier as if some giant knife had sliced across the landscape, cutting away the slope of the mountains.

As they closed in, he could see more details and groaned at the prospect of going inside.

A chaotic labyrinth of winding passages, canyons, and steep overhangs stretched far into the distance. Yellow and dark gray plumes of smoke rose from between cracks while small and large volcanoes rumbled and burped out whole cloud covers of ash.

It's like what dwarf hell would look like, Mason thought, continuing forward.

When they were almost there, they landed on a hill that was tall compared to the others but dwarfed by the wall a few hundred feet ahead of it.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Baudron asked, staring at the grey rock with distaste and slight fear.

Mason didn't answer. He was wondering the exact same thing as he stared at the rockface, his long neck curved so he could stare all the way to the top edge. Still, as bad as it all looked, there was one thing that he was looking forward to.

Even from this distance, he could see the red energy that drifted between the cracks and down the slopes of a nearby volcano. It almost looked like glimmering lava. It wasn't the same as the golden energy in the desert, but the prospect of getting a boost of energy, especially now he was so tired and hungry, made him feel like a druggy that was looking at his next fix.

Besides, he tried to convince himself, there might be a population of dragons hiding inside the mountains, and they needed a place to stay. The idea of flying back to the desert, hungry as he was, and then dodging Kobold hunters didn't seem fun at all. There was also the fact that he needed information, a map or directions, anything to find out where the Antraci had come from and had gone to. That was the only way to find his way back to Jake! He was going to retrace the Antraci's path.

"I don't know if it's a good idea, but going back to an entire country filled with Kobold's intent on enslaving or killing us seems like a worse idea," he finally said. "Let's just take a look and..."

He trailed off as he noticed some spots of dark red bushes, leaves like tridents with sharp tips, and all of a sudden, his mouth watered. Plants meant wildlife, which in turn meant food!

Turning to Baudron, he swallowed and forced a grin on his face. "Besides, there might be food up there!"

As soon as he said it, Baudrons eyes widened as he licked his lips. "You're right! Even if we go back, we can at least do so on a full stomach! Let's go hunt!"

They jumped into the air and flew up along the steep rocky cliff. In passing, Mason saw a few familiar-looking patches of yellow grass. When he arrived on this continent, he had seen many of them, and they were the prime food source of the tasty, purple one-horned goats. Now that he thought about it, that had been a volcanic, rocky area as well!

His anticipation enhanced his already enormous appetite, and he flapped harder, quickly outpacing Baudron. It still took them almost ten minutes to fly up the deceptively tall cliff, and Mason realized one thing when they arrived at the top. Where they were now, they were not the biggest nor the baddest. Everything he saw made him feel small and insignificant, from the towering mountains and the enormous boulders lying around to the scrubs and bushes that seemed to cover stretches as big as football fields far in the distance. Even the plumes of smoke were so large he guessed he could dunk an entire skyscraper into the chasms from which they erupted.

In front of them was a chasm that split the mountain directly ahead of them. The tips high up disappeared into the ash clouds covering the sky, while the jagged sides obscured what was beyond.

I wonder what kind of shittelly large monsters roam here, Mason thought.

As they carefully flew forward, the world darkened. The light turned brownish red, casting dark, looming shadows everywhere, and a far-off rumbling came from somewhere ahead of them. Lonely purple bushes and enormous patches of dark red bushes dotted the jagged and crumbling sides of the cavern. One-horned, purple-skinned goats moved between them, constantly looking up and around after every bite.

Dinner!

--

Lady Talia Firstborn strode through the pearlescent corridors deep below Azurill. It was a place only those who were able to return to their Kobold shape were allowed to come. As there were barely a dozen of those, it was quiet and peaceful, just like it had been for over a hundred years.

She had dropped her congenial smile when she arrived, no longer having to keep up a front, and was staring ahead without seeing anything.

First those rumors about millions of beings appearing all over the nearby landmasses, then Emma, and now... a frost dragon!

The corridor widened as the walls seemed to angle away into the darkness while the ceiling rose and rose until her footsteps echoed in the massive hall she passed through.

In the distance, a door the size of a building appeared, and Talia blinked awake from her worries. With a grit of her teeth, her form warped and grew, the gown she wore slicing at the back as it remained around one of her rapidly expanding wrists. Within a few moments, she flexed her massive wings, the room no longer looking as big as before.

Talia placed her scaled and clawed hands on the door and shoved it open with barely any effort. The room beyond was more like a giant cavern dug out into the stone below the city. It was one of the city's oldest parts, and if none were allowed in the noble's district above, any found here would be severely punished. Not that they could enter without the help of one of the massive dragons that lay around in the steaming pools and streams. Thick clouds of fog rose up from the water, lingering on the ceiling, while a set of massive jewels hanging from chains cast a soft blue light on everything below.

"Talia, why so angry? Did one of the youngsters ask you to mate again?" a deep voice rumbled as a dragon, so blue he was almost black, rose its head up and stared at her. The scales around its face were cracked from age, and one of its eyes was gray, blindly staring into infinity.

"No, Gaugurim," she said loudly, knowing the other wouldn't hear it otherwise. "Something... has happened."

A rush of water and movement came as six dragons, each too big to move through the city in their natural form, stopped what they were doing and stared at her.

"Little Talia, what is the matter?" a light blue dragon with patches of green scales across her back and head asked. Her voice was cracked, and both her slow, careful movements and the cataract in her once beautifully crystalline eyes showed her incredible age.

Talia took a slow breath, calming her mind. Compared to those above, she was old and wise, but here, she was the youngest by a hundred or more years. In some cases, a thousand or more. Normally it didn't bother her much, but this time?

"Lady Aegeana, it seems the stories that the young one Emma told us are more than just odd dreams and nightmares from her strange awakening," she said. "One of our scouts found a young dragon wandering the shallow waters south of Azurill. When I was there to welcome him, he... got startled and drew upon the mana of ice."

"Impossible!" a dull roar from one of the younger of the ancients caused a torrent of hot steam to scatter before it settled.

Talia looked into Ga'ulinder's pale silver eyes, unable to resist the shiver she felt at the barely veiled aggression in them. Even after a hundred years, he still can't calm down, she thought as she stared back.

"I have seen him with my own eyes, and-"

"Bring him here," Ga'ulinder snapped. He moved forward, pulling his heavily scarred indigo body out of a pool. "You all know the legends. If frost dragons are really reappearing, this might be the beginning!"

"Ga'ul, calm yourself," Aegeana said, her blind face turning to look straight at Ga'ulinder.

One ice dragon does not mean those mad stories are true, Talia thought.

The combative dragon snorted, and for a moment, she thought the old warrior would continue. Then his face contorted, and one of his hands gripped the side of his neck. For a moment, his eyes flickered dully, then he let out a deep breath. There were worried shouts from the others, but he bruskly waved his hands to show he was fine.

"See? You need to stay calm before you kill yourself," Aegeana said.

Talia looked around to see that the other old ones were ignoring Ga'ulinder, staring at her with unveiled interest.

"Talia," a pale teal dragon with a clear voice said. "Let the young one rest, then bring him to us. If you are right, this means the other rumors may also be true. We will need to find out soon because if-"

"Don't get worried over nothing," Ga'ulinder grunted. "It's probably just some trick or a fluke."

The others didn't respond but slowly returned to their streams and lakes. Only the pale dragon remained, and she carefully moved closer to Talia, towering over her.

"Have the scouts brought more news from the continents?"

"No, Lady Libuxeria," Talia said, giving her mentor a sad smile. "All we know is that war has erupted in many places, and the Goblinoids are on the move. Furthermore-"

She continued bringing Libuxeria up to speed on the latest news before leaving. As the door closed, she saw Ga'ulinder stare at her with cold eyes.