Mega Dragon: Harbinger of Death

PREMONITION

The night before the ball, Yeelva moved swiftly through the night. It moved so naturally, that even the wind failed to notice. And just as Alex walked into Adamas’s hideout, so did this figure.

Adamas stood before this figure as she dropped her cloak to reveal her purple hair.

“You’ve made quite a nuisance of yourself, haven’t you, Yeelva?” Adamas said.

“Is this what you look like these days? Life has not been so kind to you I see, Adamas. Or should I say, the mad wizard?”

Adamas smiled. It had been forever since anyone called him that.

“Relax my darling. We don’t want anyone else calling me that,” he said. “Where’s San?”

“He knows what he needs to do. He’ll be here, just as we planned. I can’t believe the King invited him. He really intends to unite the kingdoms. What a lunatic.”

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 has one of the four. The NE domain has 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. They needed to not cave in to the wishes of the intruders and be thrown 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.

“We will---”

“We? I made you four into what you are for this day. I might have lost the other two but I’ll have to make due,” Adamas said.

“You made us into freaks! We were barely a year old and you hit us with that much Nether mana!” Yeelva snapped. Of all of them, she was the only one who remembered. It wasn’t that they weren’t aware that the mad wizard was the reason they awakened their latent abilities. They had nightmares of them before Yeelva explained to them later on. Before she betrayed them of course.

“And with that, you two climbed the ladder to become the most powerful people on all of Maori. It’s a shame I lost my first shell. We would have ruled Maori together. But now, we have to get rid of the two troublesome pieces. Are you sure you can get the key?”

“I can. But I’ll need Ara and Zenon distracted for a bit. Ara will be with Aroha, but I don’t know about Zenon.”

“I’ll spike the girl’s drink. Ara will have to leave with her. As for Zenon, I have something planned for him.”

“And what might that be?”

“I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise,” Adamas grinned.

***

He checked her pupils and to his dismay, they were dilated. An enchantment! Her drink was spiked! But that should be impossible. To use magic without Jerome’s notice. Except that there was one that was capable of such – Adamas.

Ara turned to rush back to the ball to alert them, but Aroha held his sleeve.

“Stay,” she said. Her eyes were dreamy. A lot, unlike Aroha’s usual fiery look. But it was tempting. Tempting enough to distract Ara for a second, but that was just about it.

“I’ll be back before you even notice,” he said.

It was the first time that Ara focused his energy within himself. His skin hardened and fur protruded slightly from the surface of his arm. His eyes were slit like that of a beast. It was the lowest level of his partial transformation.

He laid her to rest, but before her head touched her pillow, Ara wrote a note, ran to the ball, delivered the note to Zenon, who received it just as swiftly and returned to Aroha. An astonishing feat it was. While a few of the guests present could tell from the draft of wind that followed Ara that it was his doing, Yeelva, Zenon and San saw him vividly. Yeelva frowned as she noticed the note in Zenon’s hand. Things certainly weren’t going as she hoped.

“Yay, you’re back,” she cheered. It was still weird seeing her that way, but it would pass. “By the way, what did you write?” she asked.

Ara was stunned. How did she see him? There were only a handful of people who could and she certainly was not one of them. “You could see me move?” he asked to be sure she wasn’t just blabbing. It would be an awkward coincidence.

“Of course. I was going to ask what you were looking for, but you left so fast.”

Ara had no words in response. But a thought came to his mind. They needed to take her to Jerome. The enchantment might have had some enhancing effects on her.

“Do you want to see a magic trick?” she asked out of the blue.

“Okay,” Ara responded. What surprise did she have in store for him this time?

“See!” she exclaimed. She waved her hand, channeling the wine stain and the water away from herself and Ara and onto a cup. An ability that should have died down a long time ago. An ability that only one druid human had ever successfully pulled off since the demise of the divine creatures – nature manipulation! In this case, it was the water element.

“Aroha, how did you do that?” Ara exclaimed. The only other person who could do that was Yeelva!

“I saw Yeelva manipulate the air to evade Zhiyi’s attack before I passed out. Wasn’t too sure how she did it, but somehow, I think I do now,” she said.

“Okay, I definitely need to take you to Jerome now,” Ara said.

“I’ll beat you to it,” she dared.

It was the first time anyone other than Zenon had challenged him in a long time. She jumped to her feet. Her dress was as good as new, although the same couldn’t be said about her face. It wasn’t a mess. She was. And by default, she gave off the vibe of a drunk.

“You’re not scared, are you?” she goaded.

Ara grinned. “I love a challenge. Don’t disappoint me,” he grinned.

“In three, two, one!”

And she barfed all over Ara’s pants. Their first date was certainly not going as planned. On the bright side, the effect of the enchantment had worn off. A lot quicker than Ara anticipated.

“I am so sorry,” she said.

It felt like karma. Now they were even. Or she owed him since he was soaked because of her. She did dry his jacket for him too so maybe they were even. Whatever the case was, he needed a change of pants and it didn’t matter whether Aroha could remove it all or not.

“It’s alright,” Ara said. He swiftly returned to his quarters to get a change of pants. After that, a chariot was readied for him that took him back to the Renoff Manor and to the ball with Aroha.

The ball had gotten quite exciting. Every part of the hall was filled with excited people who were either dancing or talking. The king had long returned to his quarters. It was difficult for him to control his aura, unlike Ara and unsurprisingly, San as well. San’s aura might not be as ridiculous as Ara’s but it certainly was a lot scarier than king Reagan’s if he were to let go. But he was just as good at controlling it as Ara was.

Yeelva was shocked to see Aroha still wearing the same clothes. They were supposed to be ruined and more importantly, she should still have been enchanted.

“Did you make a thousand of these? Or do all your gowns look exactly the same?” Yeelva teased. She had rushed over to their side before her friends could.

Aroha wanted nothing more than to brag about her newfound abilities, but Ara had warned her to keep it a secret for the time being. They needed to understand what they were dealing with first. She said nothing as they both walked past Yeelva.

Yeelva was furious. But at that moment, something came to her mind. All the while, they all believed that the one they had to look out for the most was Ara. He was the strongest man on Maori after all. Her guts were telling her however to be just as wary of Aroha. She could end up becoming the biggest obstacle to their plan.

***

He checked her pupils and to his dismay, they were dilated. An enchantment! Her drink was spiked! But that should be impossible. To use magic without Jerome’s notice. Except that there was one that was capable of such – Adamas.

Ara turned to rush back to the ball to alert them, but Aroha held his sleeve.

“Stay,” she said. Her eyes were dreamy. A lot, unlike Aroha’s usual fiery look. But it was tempting. Tempting enough to distract Ara for a second, but that was just about it.

“I’ll be back before you even notice,” he said.

It was the first time that Ara focused his energy within himself. His skin hardened and fur protruded slightly from the surface of his arm. His eyes were slit like that of a beast. It was the lowest level of his partial transformation.

He laid her to rest, but before her head touched her pillow, Ara wrote a note, ran to the ball, delivered the note to Zenon, who received it just as swiftly and returned to Aroha. An astonishing feat it was. While a few of the guests present could tell from the draft of wind that followed Ara that it was his doing, Yeelva, Zenon and San saw him vividly. Yeelva frowned as she noticed the note in Zenon’s hand. Things certainly weren’t going as she hoped.

“Yay, you’re back,” she cheered. It was still weird seeing her that way, but it would pass. “By the way, what did you write?” she asked.

Ara was stunned. How did she see him? There were only a handful of people who could and she certainly was not one of them. “You could see me move?” he asked to be sure she wasn’t just blabbing. It would be an awkward coincidence.

“Of course. I was going to ask what you were looking for, but you left so fast.”

Ara had no words in response. But a thought came to his mind. They needed to take her to Jerome. The enchantment might have had some enhancing effects on her.

“Do you want to see a magic trick?” she asked out of the blue.

“Okay,” Ara responded. What surprise did she have in store for him this time?

“See!” she exclaimed. She waved her hand, channeling the wine stain and the water away from herself and Ara and onto a cup. An ability that should have died down a long time ago. An ability that only one druid human had ever successfully pulled off since the demise of the divine creatures – nature manipulation! In this case, it was the water element.

“Aroha, how did you do that?” Ara exclaimed. The only other person who could do that was Yeelva!

“I saw Yeelva manipulate the air to evade Zhiyi’s attack before I passed out. Wasn’t too sure how she did it, but somehow, I think I do now,” she said.

“Okay, I definitely need to take you to Jerome now,” Ara said.

“I’ll beat you to it,” she dared.

It was the first time anyone other than Zenon had challenged him in a long time. She jumped to her feet. Her dress was as good as new, although the same couldn’t be said about her face. It wasn’t a mess. She was. And by default, she gave off the vibe of a drunk.

“You’re not scared, are you?” she goaded.

Ara grinned. “I love a challenge. Don’t disappoint me,” he grinned.

“In three, two, one!”

And she barfed all over Ara’s pants. Their first date was certainly not going as planned. On the bright side, the effect of the enchantment had worn off. A lot quicker than Ara anticipated.

“I am so sorry,” she said.

It felt like karma. Now they were even. Or she owed him since he was soaked because of her. She did dry his jacket for him too so maybe they were even. Whatever the case was, he needed a change of pants and it didn’t matter whether Aroha could remove it all or not.

“It’s alright,” Ara said. He swiftly returned to his quarters to get a change of pants. After that, a chariot was readied for him that took him back to the Renoff Manor and to the ball with Aroha.

The ball had gotten quite exciting. Every part of the hall was filled with excited people who were either dancing or talking. The king had long returned to his quarters. It was difficult for him to control his aura, unlike Ara and unsurprisingly, San as well. San’s aura might not be as ridiculous as Ara’s but it certainly was a lot scarier than king Reagan’s if he were to let go. But he was just as good at controlling it as Ara was.

Yeelva was shocked to see Aroha still wearing the same clothes. They were supposed to be ruined and more importantly, she should still have been enchanted.

“Did you make a thousand of these? Or do all your gowns look exactly the same?” Yeelva teased. She had rushed over to their side before her friends could.

Aroha wanted nothing more than to brag about her newfound abilities, but Ara had warned her to keep it a secret for the time being. They needed to understand what they were dealing with first. She said nothing as they both walked past Yeelva.

Yeelva was furious. But at that moment, something came to her mind. All the while, they all believed that the one they had to look out for the most was Ara. He was the strongest man on Maori after all. Her guts were telling her however to be just as wary of Aroha. She could end up becoming the biggest obstacle to their plan.

Zhiyi rushed over to them as they breezed their way past Yeelva. As much as she would have loved Aroha getting a piece of Yeelva, she knew that wouldn’t be happening any time soon. Or maybe even forever. Of all the people present, she was the only one who knew all of Aroha’s clothes. And she knew very well that the pair they wore was the only pair they had. Maybe even existed since it was made specifically for them while they were in Juza.

“How did you get the stains off your cloth?” Zhiyi asked. Aroha cringed. She expected that much from Zhiyi, but she was hoping they would settle in first so that she could pull her apart from the rest and explain. The ball was creeping with many listening ears.

“What do you mean by that? This is obviously a new dress,” Vela said. However, she thought differently when she noticed the pause between the girls.

“So, it’s not a new dress?” Vela asked.

“Can we talk about this later? This is far from an ideal place,” Aroha said. everyone understood that much, so obliged without any further questions.

Ara pulled Zenon to the side. “What did Jerome say?” Ara asked.

“Nothing. I showed him the note and he said we should do nothing. If the enchantment caused only drunkenness, it wasn’t a problem. We could handle that much. And I agree. Throwing the general public into panic would be far from ideal. But he went to inspect the rest of the food before they reach the guests. I don’t think we have much to worry about since we found this out early,” Zenon said.

He was right. They were lucky to have found out that early and they would have the chance to prepare better. How it went over their heads was still pretty disappointing, but they had the chance to prevent the issue from escalating. So far, the only one that had been affected was Aroha. He hated that she had to be the victim, but at the very least she was fine. It wasn’t anything too serious and no one seemed to be exhibiting similar symptoms. Was she a target? Ara had many thoughts running through his mind. So much that he didn’t realize that the dance had officially begun. It was a wake-up call for him when the lady across them was asked to dance. She had a date alright, but it was normal to invite them for a dance nonetheless. A harmless gesture it was. But everyone steered clear of Aroha, Zhiyi and Vela. Their dates were not the type of people that you would want to cross even by a bit. Of course, as usual, Kiro was riding on Ara’s coattails.

A rare occurrence, but it was becoming a lot more common as the days went by – Kiro making the first move before Ara. “May I have this dance, my lady,” he asked Zhiyi, almost as though he was imitating Ara, but not quite as dramatic.

“Of course, my lord,” Zhiyi said, matching Kiro’s energy. Of their group, they were the only couple who seemed to be enjoying themselves. While they were on the lookout for danger, Kiro was enjoying his newfound manners while Zhiyi was certainly impressed. He was getting more charming by the minute.

Zenon saw this as a chance to help Ara loosen up. They would end up ruining the night for Aroha – something Yeelva would delight in. “It would seem the student has become the master. You’re getting slow, prince Ara,” he teased. Zenon never called Ara prince Ara except it was a tease. He was letting him know well, the intention for his statement. He needed to relax. There were other things to focus on.

Ara took the hint as quickly as he dashed back and forth the royal hall earlier. In what was possibly the most elegant move all night, he offered his hand to Aroha, who wasn’t sure whether she would be dancing or not. “Would you give me this dance?” he asked. His voice was calm, soothing even. Like all her worries had just been washed away. The party had been looking forward to that moment and only a few were unhappy with it. Unsurprisingly Yeelva, but Zenon and Vela felt a sting they wished did not exist – the one they had feelings for was being taken by another. It was only befitting that they would accompany one another.

The party went on smoothly. Zenon and Vela eventually joined the dance as well. Even Yeelva. She found herself a handsome young man who was dressed prestigiously as well. Neither Ara nor Zenon had seen him before, but he had to be among the invited guests for him to be inside.

“Hey, what are you thinking?” Vela asked Zenon as they danced. Even though he was dancing with her, he spent more time staring at Aroha than he did her. She didn’t mind. She wanted to be with Ara as well.

“How about a trade?” Zenon asked. He knew they were thinking the same thing. It was normal for dancers to switch partners on the dance floor. That was, they could both get what they wanted. But unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones plotting such a mood. A little earlier and they might have arrived faster than Kiro and Zhiyi.

“I’ll be taking him off your hands, thank you,” Zhiyi said as she took Ara and Kiro took Aroha.

“So, you and my sister. Who would have seen that coming?” Zhiyi teased Ara.

“You and my student. Who would have seen that coming?” Ara teased right back.

“Smooth. Just don’t break her heart. I can’t threaten you cause it would amount to nothing, but I can be pretty scary when I’m mad.”

“Pretty, but not nearly scary enough,” Ara chuckled.

It was nice to see Aroha happy. If Yeelva and Adamas weren’t causing so much trouble, she just might have been having the time of her life. “I got my eyes on you, mister,” she grinned. In a few moments, Ara had switched partners with someone else. Many ladies wanted nothing more than to have a dance with Ara and Zenon and they would often get lost on the dance floor. But both Zenon were determined to work their way to their targets.

Kiro had nothing to say to Aroha. All he did was smile awkwardly at her. Ara had told him to smile if he had nothing to say. It was a lot better than his bland face. Unfortunately, it was creepier than it was comforting, but it amused Aroha nonetheless.

“Sorry about how we met. I misjudged you,” Aroha said.

“You’re just figuring that out now?” Kiro replied.

Aroha held herself from hitting him. He did have a special way of getting on her nerves. “My sister, do you like her?” she asked.

“She’s nicer,” Kiro replied blandly.

Aroha was getting closer to hitting him by every word that came out of his mouth, but that would only be proving him right. Besides, he wasn’t wrong, as annoying as that was.

“In a special way,” she added.

“I don’t know what you mean by that, but if both of you were drowning, I’d save her first.”

“Then that means you do?”

“Because master and prince Zenon would try to save you first. I certainly do not want to see her hurt because they forgot about her,” he added.

“You think I’m a burden?”

“I think Zhiyi needs someone to care for her as those two care for you. I don’t know why, but a part of me wants to always keep her safe.”

“So you do like her!”

“I still do not understand what you are getting at.”

“You do!”

“I’ll be taking her off your hands as well,” Zenon said as he took Aroha’s hand. “Finally,” he chuckled.

“Was it so hard to get past the horde of ladies back there?” Aroha goaded.

“You noticed?” Zenon asked.

“Who wouldn’t? Even Ara is getting lost. I wonder if Vela will make it.”

Zenon chuckled. It would seem that they were paying as much attention to he and Vela as they were paying to them.

“I have something to ask. Do you like Ara, or do I maybe have a chance?” Zenon asked.