Mega Dragon: Harbinger of Death

YEELVA

“So, Aroha. What do you say? Would you accompany his awesomeness to the ball?” Ara said with one of his many poses.

There it was. Ara proposed. If he had done it less annoyingly, maybe she would have been flustered. But his dramatic acts snapped her back to her senses. She wanted to turn him down immediately but thought against it. What if Zenon didn't propose or was already taken? She wouldn't be able to go back to Ara. And even though she had the best options that Maori had to offer they probably were her only options. She would have to go to the ball alone or worse, not go at all!

Wait, why was she so worried about the ball? In the past, she would have cared less about a social gathering, but every bit of her wanted to attend. She was thrilled by the idea. How had the capital courier corrupted her so quickly? Maybe next time she would try to fight it. It was too late now. She could always try another time, but there was no way she would miss the ball.

“Yes,” Aroha replied. Vela and Zhiyi were stunned by her answer. She certainly preferred Zenon, so what changed? They expected that she would try to stall by telling him she would think about it or something. But she just gave a straight answer. Yes!

“I look forward to giving you a pleasant outing,” Ara grinned. It was at times like this that she remembered he was a prince. His chivalry and charm screamed royalty. And he was inordinately confident – arrogant. But not without reason. His was surely justified.

It hadn’t been long when Ara proposed that Zenon showed up. From how stiff the air was, he could tell something was up, but he decided against asking. It didn't look like they wanted him to know.

“I'm back,” he said. The air grew even stiffer. “What did I miss?” he ended up asking.

“Zhiyi asked me to the ball, I said yes. Ara asked Aroha, she said yes. I guess that's about it,” Kiro said with his usual disregard for awkward moments.

Zenon looked a little disappointed. He was going to ask Aroha about her believed he had time. He didn't want to distract her and he ended up losing her all together. Had he and Ara discussed this, he would have known his plans and they would have come to a decision before then. He was certain Ara was aware of his interest and he was aware of his. But why were they avoiding the topic? Not once had they brought it up.

Even Kiro could see the disappointment in Zenon’s eyes. “You need not worry. You're not the only one here who doesn’t have a date. Vela here is still single,” Kiro said innocently, but the scorn in their eyes should have been enough of a message to shut him up. Rather, he decided to try to fix the situation himself.

“Besides, a hotshot like could easily get a date. I was just lucky that Zhiyi decided to ask me. As weird as that is.”

“Kiro, you can stop talking now,” Zhiyi said. She finally saved him from his own self.

“I know you’ve already said yes to Ara, but I’ll take my chances. Will you go to the ball with me, Aroha?” Zenon said, but it was all in his head. He wanted so much to ask her, but he wasn’t sure how it would affect his relationship with Ara. The last thing he wanted was for a woman to come between the two of them.

Vela noticed the disappointment in his eyes. In a bid to console him, she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, if you can’t find anyone, I’ll go with you.”

Zenon slowly took her arm off his shoulder. “We both know that I will.”

Something caught Ara’s and Zenon’s attention. Instinctively, Zenon pulled out his sword and in one swift movement struck the air. “You’ve gotten even faster than I remember,” he said, noticing that a figure other than Vela now stood behind him.

“Hi, hi!” the lady behind him exclaimed. She had a small build. Her hair was purple but her eyes were grey. She could pass for a half-blood Renoff, but Renoffs did not move that quickly. It shouldn’t have been possible to move that fast – faster than Zenon could react. There was only one lady who fit that bill on all of Maori – Yeelva Aiwan!

“Long time no see, Yeelva,” Ara said. His tone and voice showed that he was wary of her. But why wouldn’t he be? She was ranked to be the second most powerful person on all of Maori. Stronger than Zenon!

“Didn’t you know? Croft kingdom invited Galan and Caldron kingdoms to their annual ball,” she said as she curled her long, purple hair. It was sort of a habit for her. A problem that arose from being too quick for her own good – she had to keep her hands busy most of the time.

The Galan Kingdom was located in the North-Western domain of Maori while Caldron was located in the North-Eastern domain. Both kingdoms bordered the Lo kingdom, which together with the Croft kingdom and the Aae kingdom, were located in the southern domain of Maori. Those were the three domains on Maori and they split as such after the humans betrayed the divine beings – the druids and the beasts. These domains formed three different territories that were at war with one another until the armistice was formed. The North-Eastern domain had the Caldron, the Solan, and the Legrange kingdoms while the North-Western domains had the Galan, the Estrul, the Marin, and the Bohive kingdoms. Although these regions no longer mattered, kingdoms were fondly described by them. It was easier to have a mental picture of where they were located this way.

As for the top five strongest individuals on Maori, theirs were the stuff of legend. Although one of them was dead for about twenty years – Yuri Azar, the list was yet to be revised. It was simply a title after all. It didn’t mean much, they said. But of course, it did. The reason the southern domain was that strong was because they currently housed two of the five, now four. Yuri, the sorcerer who was better known as the mad wizard was from the Bohive kingdom. He terrorized all of Maori for the longest time and was rumored to be the strongest person at the time, but years after his death, it was decided that both Ara and Yeelva had surpassed the mad wizard. He is currently ranked as the third even in death. For some reason, some believed he was still alive. It was implausible for him to have fallen at the hands of a druid human – Raya. But ironically, Yeelva was just that. A druid human.

So, in the past, the NW domain had two of the five but now have one of the four. The NE domain have one – San Loku of the Solan kingdom. He was a beast just like Ara and was ranked third. Zenon was ranked as the fourth. The four of them have interacted a few times. They were all within the same group. The exception would have been Yuri had he been alive. These four currently keep Maori balanced as any of them could threaten the entire empire. Luckily, none of them seemed interested in dominating the empire. A repeat of the mad wizard’s antiques by either of the top two or more could lead to an even bigger disaster than previously suffered. So, King Reagan thought it best to invite Yeelva and her kingdom, as well as Caldron who bordered the Lo kingdom for two reasons.

The first was because they needed to make their border kingdom allies. The Croft kingdom and the Lo kingdom were basically one. There were the ones most at risk of an invasion, but Croft treated it as though they were the ones affected. With Croft kingdom being centrally located within the southern domain – between Aae and Lo kingdoms, it was most times, the host of the annual ball of the South, as well as the contest of champions. Occasionally, the other two kingdoms would host it as well. This year’s ball was primed to be the biggest of anything they had hosted. There were considerations for those two kingdoms – Galan and Caldron to be included in the contest as well. It would be the first of its kind. It was King Raegan’s idea of slowly breaking down the domain divisions. But he was well aware that it would take more than just celebrations to truly bond together.

These kingdoms would certainly come to scout the strength of Croft. It was important that they did not cave into the wishes of the intruders and be throw into a state of panic.

The second reason was that he wanted to create an alliance between the most powerful individuals. He and the king of Lo were very keen on avoiding a repeat of what happened with the mad wizard. They could hide under the guise of inviting Galan, but they could not do the same with San Loku. They were not in the position to invite Solan kingdom that stood at the top North of Maori, bordering the Bohive kingdom. In time they would get there. Solan would make a move if they felt like three of the current four – who also happen to each be stronger than San were teaming up. They would not want to be left out. that way, Legrange – the third kingdom in the NE domain would be forced to join them as well. It was well laid out and seemed like a perfect plan if it all went accordingly. But time would tell.

“Of course I’m aware. But why are you here so early? The ball doesn’t happen for another week,” Ara said. Neither he nor Zenon could be carefree around her. She was the biggest threat to them on Maori after all.

“Relax. I thought I’d come see my friends,” she teased. She hopped gleefully around which only further irritated Ara and Zenon. The other four – Vela, Aroha, Zhiyi and Kiro seemed a little less worried. There was nothing they could do anyways.

“Friend? Says the person that tried to kill us the last time,” Zenon riposted.

“And I told you it was an accident. Besides, if that had worked, then neither of you would be worthy of the titles you hold, right?”

That was how she was. Everything was a game to her and everyone were pawns. She stared at Aroha and Zhiyi with disgusts. She hated the Renoffs and the purebloods even more. They claimed to be the purest druid human bloodline but they didn’t produce the strongest one. Just like the Rales. They claimed to be the purest beast human bloodline but it was the Crofts who produced the strongest beast human – possibly the strongest individual on Maori since the divine creatures went extinct. But she liked Vela. She didn’t know her too much, but she loved that non-Renoffs were outperforming the Renoffs within the capital. Especially at that young age.

“Hello, Vela. Where did you pick up these two?” she said with so much disgust. “This one doesn’t look so bad. Yours?” she said staring at Kiro.

“We were in the middle of something, Yeelva. We will have an apartment prepared for you immediately,” Ara said. He never could stand the sight of her, even as pretty as she was.

“Faster than I can get there? We both know that’s not possible,” she goaded.

“Well, if you had announced your coming, yes.”

“It’s alright. I know you don’t like me being around you, but live with it. Your father seems to like the idea, as do my king. So, we will be seeing each other for the longest time,” she teased. She ran her fingers down his chest and unsurprisingly triggering Zhiyi, but surprisingly Aroha as well. But unlike Zhiyi, Aroha had no fear nor restraint.

She grabbed Yeelva by the arm and yanked it off Ara. “What do you think you’re doing to my date?” she snapped. Even Ara was surprised by her reaction. Were his feelings finally getting reciprocated?

“Oh, are you trying to pick a fight?” Yeelva teased. She knew that Aroha was no match for her, but she would be stupid to start a fight with Ara and Zenon around.

“Try me,” Aroha goaded. There was a fire in her eyes that made even Yeelva so cautious that she jumped a step back. It was the first time in a long while that someone made her retreat.

“What the hell are you?”