Once Rex had his heading, he dashed back out across the dunes, once Fafnir had approved of his heading, he had chosen a certain star to follow to keep his bearings, only having a short time with the relief from the sun he did not want to become stuck once more in the heat. ‘This place is shit’ Rex cursed, seeing more sand every time he reached the peak of the next dune. ‘Kadota used to be an oasis of water and life’ Fafnir said. ‘So what happened to it?’ Rex asked, glad to have something to keep his mind from becoming annoyed with the endless running. ‘This used to be where my palace resided, once I departed from this existence to the spirit realm, my magic that kept this place teeming with life deteriorated to what you see now, once you take the seat of emperor, I will bring you to where the true centre of power was in Dracoterrum,’ Fafnir replied, Rex could sense the sadness in his words when he spoke about it. ‘That’s IF I pass the dreaming, speaking of which, how will that eve
After taking a second to glare at Rex once more, the scorpion charged head-on, its pincers opened, ready to clamp down on Rex, it closed the distance quickly and in the time it took Rex to blink, it was towering over him once more. ‘You need to slow it down for your cowardly plan to succeed’ Fafnir growled while Rex was dodging around the scorpion’s attempts to grab him, ‘Think Rex, what does it need to follow you?’ ‘Ok ok, yep take out a leg or two and that should give me time to get away’ Rex agreed, sliding under the belly of the scorpion once it lunged at him again, gripping onto one of its middle support legs, while it thrashed around, attempting to trample him. ‘What are you?’ Fafnir started to ask as Rex took a deep breath in and gritted his teeth, applying pressure to the leg joint, after straining for a few seconds, he was able to snap the leg, the cracking sound echoing loudly, the beast howled, stumbling for a moment, blue blood gushing out, ‘You are barbaric, you could h
“So I just had a look, it is the same male from the nest, it must have somehow followed us here, we need a game plan to either kill it or draw it away,” Rex said, appearing next to the group, his brow furled. “I think it has come after you Rex,” Azulthaël said after a second, “You did invade its nest, and injure it.” “It gave me no choice” Rex replied defensively, “I wanted to sneak in, get you, sneak out without fighting.” “Well, it seems it is giving us the same option,” Al’ik said, watching the crack lengthen as the ward took another hit. “We barely fought it off before, Fafnir and I are still not anywhere near recovered enough to fight it alone,” Rex said after taking a deep breath in and exhaling. ‘Ask her to use some of the energy of the corificus stone, it will give us enough power to fully heal and have some spare for us to fight’ Fafnir said. “Fafnir asked if we can use some of the energy of the corificus stone, he said if we took half of what remains in it, we can fully
“About f**king time! This thing was kicking our arses!” Lacey called out, as everyone else sighed a breath of relief. ‘We are nowhere near full strength Rex, so do not be overly confident, it would be a formidable opponent if we were’ Fafnir warned as Rex continued to stride toward to scorpion. Once the scorpion saw its wanted target, it screeched loudly, releasing Minet and charging Rex, with only a few feet left, Rex leaped forward, using one leg to push off from the head of the scorpion, making sure to dodge the tail on the way past, landing safely behind it. “Enough showing off, let us slay this monster and see what damage you have inflicted on Al’ik,” Azulthaël said with a scowl, producing a green-bladed sword. “Where the f**k have you been this whole time? Leaving us to fight this thing!” Minet said loudly, pointing to the scorpion as it lined Rex up once more. “I needed time to tend to my wound, what I have done will suffice for the time being,” Azulthaël said, scowling onc
‘I am NOT a beast of burden to be joyridden on!’ Azulthaël complained, his mandibles clicking loudly in anger. ‘I can still feel a part of us connected from the beast mastery spell I used earlier to subdue it, you could pull on that string to make him more…compliant’ Fafnir snarled, ‘He IS, after all, a servant.’ “Due to our time constraints, I am sorry Azulthaël, but you can either help willingly, or I will be forced to make you, which I would prefer not to do, I would rather be appreciating your help, rather than cause you more grief,” Rex said with a loud sigh, making everyone look at him confused. ‘You cannot make me do anything...’ “KNEEL!!” Rex boomed, copying what Fafnir did earlier by allowing magic to flow through his voice, projecting it onto Azulthaël, who grudgingly yielded and kneeled before Rex, “I said I would rather have you help willingly, you are a valuable member of this team, please do not force my hand.” ‘What has been done to me!? I am a slave once more!?’ Az
‘What the f**k just happened there?’ Rex asked himself, instinctively reaching out, grabbing the cooked and still warm scorpion leg, biting the smallest piece off, in case it tasted bad. ‘Do not be scared, have a good bite, I want to be able to taste it!’ Fafnir demanded. ‘You are very determined just to eat a pest animal’ Rex said with a sigh, cracking some of the outer hard shell of the leg, exposing the cooked flesh under it. ‘Does that not smell like a heavenly meal?’ Fafnir said, using Rex’s senses to take in the scent. ‘Well, I’ll admit it doesn’t smell too bad’ Rex said with a shrug, truth be told, he had eaten worse, tearing off a small piece, throwing it into his mouth while he exited the cave, he had to agree, it was actually quite good. “You aren’t actually eating that are you?” “Huh? It’s actually not too bad” Rex replied with a shrug. ‘Is that one of this body's missing back appendages?’ Azulthaël said, seeing Rex holding a scorpion leg piece and chewing. “Well…yes
Once Fafnir had inspected the aftermath of Ipes escaping his prison, he returned to his place within Rex, ‘If we are heading into battle, rest must be taken.’ ‘I was already planning on resting up, at this pace we will be back in Dracones just after mid-morning if we leave before daybreak’ Rex surmised. ‘I have a feeling the moment you are alone, you will be ambushed once more, before that happens, I will be shutting myself out, I find your kind's mating rituals to be a disturbing sight’ Fafnir replied, a hint of disgust in his voice. ‘You don’t know that's what will happen for sure’ Rex replied, gazing over to where Lacey and Minet were helping Lizz pitch a tent, the moment they saw him looking, they both turned to each other, said something, laughed and turned away from him. ‘I have no desire to find out or see it, I will be resting and preparing myself for what is coming tomorrow’ Fafnir growled, going quiet a short time after speaking. ‘Getting ahead of yourself I think’ Rex s
The sound of screams and metal hitting metal echoed out soon after the soldiers reached Rex and his companion’s position as they cut through their first wave. Lacey and Minet had teamed up on Rex’s right side and were diving, dashing, stabbing and blocking each other’s weak spots, many dead and dying fae laying around them. Raz and Lizz were on the left front, Lizz was throwing fireballs at their enemies furiously, scorching two, sometimes three at a time, Raz was standing fast between her and the front line, cutting down any that made it through to ensure Lizz could focus on what she was doing. “Looks like we underestimated a group of children,” Douve said with a sigh and smile, “Looks like it is up to us to settle this.” “Seems like it” Rex replied with a shrug, he was a little curious, everyone knew the royal family had power stemming from dragons, yet Douve did not seem phased. Bowing to Rex, Douve took a ready stance, so out of courtesy, Rex nodded his head, not a second afte
As the enemy soldiers charged, they quickly spread out evenly across each squad commanded by Rector’s defence, ‘They are testing our weak spots” Rex heard Rector say to Markus, who nodded in agreement as the small number of soldiers were killed quickly by Rex’s and Ley’s squads, Markus’s and Gwayne’s a few moments later, the barrage of fireballs from the walls reached the enemies’ position almost simultaneously, hitting the barrier created by their warlocks, most being stopped, the more powerful fireballs made it through and scorched the soldiers they hit, dying a few seconds after impact. “Are you going to try a counterattack?” Markus asked quietly, leaning over to Rector. “Not directly, no” he replied, stroking his beard, the enemy had not made a move since their test of his defensive line and it worried him, “Something is going to happen, I can feel it.” “What are you thinking?” Markus said, “I think they are scheming since their test proved our defences are solid.” “No defence
Everyone got dressed in silence, they were all thinking about what was coming their way with the battle. After a half-hour, everyone was suited up and ready to go, they all headed out of the room, down the stairs and out through the gate, stopping outside. Saying their goodbyes to Marcia, she hugged everyone before calling out and departing on Ulna. “Time to go and see your troops I guess” Lacey shrugged with a sigh, the closer it got to the battle, the more she started to worry. “That would be wise, seeing as they are formed up and waiting for you by the gate,” Ley said with a smile. As they all made their way to the southern gate, the entire group was silent, they were all apprehensive about how close to battle they all were, Ley seemed to notice this, “I think if anyone will survive this, it will be you all, I sense something different, something strong has formed between you, use that and you will be a force to be reckoned with, that rumoured scorpion pet of yours would be of
The sun was an hour from even touching the horizon, Rex was laying in the middle of Minet, Marcia and Lacey, all sleeping soundly, Rex snoring quietly, “Rex, wake up please, but do not wake the others, I must show you something.’ Even while inside of his dream, he knew the voice belonged to Rector, his father, it was loud enough to wake him, but not too loud to startle him, as his eyes blinked and focused, he saw Rector sitting in a chair watching and smiling, looking at the women, they were all dressed, which he did not remember them doing. ‘I would not intrude on a view that is not for me, I made sure clothes found them before I came in’ Rector said with a wink. Carefully moving Marcia’s hand off his chest, he slowly sat up, standing at the same speed, stepping over the women carefully, not wanting to wake them, ‘Is everything ok?’ Rex asked. ‘Let us go, then we can speak more freely’ Rector said, holding his hand out to Rex, who took it. Once his vision cleared Rex was in a dar
“Did you end up killing it? Surely not even you could kill something THAT big” Lacey added in. “Hang on…so you like for real saw and fought a tentaculum? A fabled flesh-eating tentacled monster from the books of legend?” Marcia asked, still visibly skeptical. “No word of a lie,” Minet said, “Rex and Raz stayed behind to let us escape, next we saw them, Rex was covered in shit and Raz’s head was split open.” “Well yes, I didn’t end up killing it, but we injured it enough it must have thought us too painful to continue fighting, it ended up losing 3 tentacles and 1 eye, Raz was hurt after it ejected some black shit that shot us into the trees, Raz hit some rocks, I patched him up best I could and carried him to the shack,” Rex said, recounting the events, leaving out some in-depth gruesome parts he wished he could forget, “So why was that muscle-bound axe man chasing you into the shack?” “Wow this is so much drama in a short time, how you even got anything done, I’ll never know,” Mar
“Well, my place is the closest to everywhere we need to be tomorrow and is away from prying eyes, and I have half a bottle of yarak spirits, we can share that, you can tell me all about your trip in a shortened version and we can have some fun, get a little sleep and then head out to our posts in the morning,” Marcia said with a smile. “I’m sold,” Marcia said, clapping her hands together. “I just had a thought” Lacey started to say. “Yes or no?” Minet interjected. “Yes, sounds good” Lacey nodded, walking with the women, “We weren’t told who we are serving with tomorrow.” “I don’t know about you, but I’m sticking with Rex” Minet shrugged. “That was what I was hoping to do, what do you think? Where is Rex?” Lacey asked, looking around for him. “Odd he would sneak out on us, this was supposed to be our night together” Minet scowled, putting her hands on her hips. “Sorry, I’m here, was just trying out a bit of magic I was shown earlier, good to know it still works, it gave me an id
Rex, Minet, and Lacey followed Rector into the palace, turning away from the throne room and traveling down a hallway Rex had never been before, “I don’t remember seeing this here” he stated, looking back, then back toward a large wooden door at the end. “That is because I do not allow this area to be accessed unless necessary, the war room has not been used since the Blood War, it saddens me to even have to use it again,” Rector sighed, walking toward the door, it opening as he approached. As they all entered the room, there was already a handful of older men present in the room who were pointing to places on a table that was in the center of the room, it showed the walls of the city and the fields beyond, many black figures stood in the southern fields showing the invading troops and their positioning, the old men were all yelling at each other for what plan they thought would be best, Marcia, Ley, and Markus were all at one end, Marcia was scowling at the men yelling, Ley was smil
“So whoever has brought this army has one hell of a grudge against Dracones, or father” Rex guessed, seeing how much dust over such a large area was being kicked up, “What was the scout's estimate?” “In excess of 30 thousand strong” Marcia replied, “That’s three times as many as Ean’s last army.” “Holy shit, how many defend Hale?” Rex asked. “About 10 thousand,” Marcia said, doing some quick math in her head, “Would be 18 thousand if we could rely on general Chris’s forces, but word is, he is currently under assault as well, it is almost like this attack has been co-ordinated from both sides of the realm at the same time.” “Three to one odds, battles have been won with a lot worse before” Rex replied. “Yes, but human battles did not have magic and monsters in their ranks either,” Raz said with a grin. “Holy shit!” Looking over to Lizz, who had cursed, which was rare for her, she was now pointing out toward the field outside of Dracone’s southern gate, to where a massive force, a
“So, you’re saying we can be released from the deal to suicide, to serve under you instead?” one of the soldiers asked. “Correct” Rex replied, “Instead of your life being a waste, why not use it for something better?” “We cannot accept that” the soldier replied, saddened, “When we swore our oath to serve, we were branded, if we break our deal, the brand kills us, so either way, we are doomed.” “Who would make you do such a thing?” Lacey asked, she was not the only one who was shocked, the entire group was as well. “Our new leader ensured our allegiance with spells” the soldier replied, lining up his sword, ready to pierce the heart, the rest of the group following suit, “We thank you for the offer, you are not like they say you are,” he took one last deep breath to ready himself, closed his eyes and slid the sword into his chest with a groan, after a few gasps he fell lifeless to the ground, followed shortly after by the remainder of the soldiers. “I did not think they would have
The sound of screams and metal hitting metal echoed out soon after the soldiers reached Rex and his companion’s position as they cut through their first wave. Lacey and Minet had teamed up on Rex’s right side and were diving, dashing, stabbing and blocking each other’s weak spots, many dead and dying fae laying around them. Raz and Lizz were on the left front, Lizz was throwing fireballs at their enemies furiously, scorching two, sometimes three at a time, Raz was standing fast between her and the front line, cutting down any that made it through to ensure Lizz could focus on what she was doing. “Looks like we underestimated a group of children,” Douve said with a sigh and smile, “Looks like it is up to us to settle this.” “Seems like it” Rex replied with a shrug, he was a little curious, everyone knew the royal family had power stemming from dragons, yet Douve did not seem phased. Bowing to Rex, Douve took a ready stance, so out of courtesy, Rex nodded his head, not a second afte