Mega Dragon: Harbinger of Death

CONDITION

“That’s enough, Aroha,” Vela said with a chop on Aroha’s consciousness that saw her lose consciousness. “You’re just as terrifying as the grand healer said you’d be,” Vela said as she grabbed Aroha before she fell. She was completely unconscious. Vela had stopped her flow of mana temporarily, forcing her to fall asleep.

Ara helped to move Aroha away from the Lykan. But in the state it was in, it wasn’t going to be attacking anyone any time soon. It was absolutely terrified. It held its head as it tucked itself in the corner hoping that they take Aroha away from it as quickly as possible. And it felt a little respite when she was taken out of its cell. Only then did it breathe a sigh of relief.

Ara laid her upon a cushion in one of the rooms that existed in the Laboratorium. It was Ara’s room in fact. He came there enough to warrant him getting one. On a couple of occasions, he would pass the night there as well. Ara owned a room in most of the establishments that he visited, even the Healers Nest as well. And every one of them was furnished with only the best furniture. Ara laid Aroha’s head gently on a pillow before walking to Zhiyi.

“What the hell was that?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t know either. It happened once at home but since our father calmed her down, it had never happened,” Zhiyi said.

“Do you remember what triggered it then?”

“Well… I don’t. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not that unusual, but it's rare,” Vela interjected.

“You know about this?” Ara asked. He sounded a mixture of skeptical and surprised.

“Well, I wouldn’t be a top-class healer if I didn’t,” Vela gloated. She walked to sit beside Aroha before she continued. Gently, she stroked her forehead as if she was seeing into her memories. “It happens with healers with high amounts of druid mana and poor control. Why it is unusual is because the time when healers possessed this amount of druid mana is almost long past. The only healers in the capital with such amounts are your parents; Gero and Miya Renoff, the grand healer, me of course, Zhiyi over there, Alex Renoff, and Miya’s twin, Raya Renoff. She had the same problem that Aroha is having now. It can be triggered for different reasons. But with practice, they can overcome that problem and make that power fully theirs. With Aroha’s temper, I’m not surprised she’s having this many issues. The grand healer also predicted this as well. That’s probably why their parents wanted to come and train here,” Vela said.

Zhiyi was surprised that she knew that much. She knew about their aunt; Raya Renoff. She was the spitting image of their mother; Miya. But other than the fact that she died in the war, their parents never talked about her. She never really spoke about her cousin; Alex Renoff and he was her only living direct relative. They never really knew why but she spoke very little of her family. Their father; Gero was no different. He had a few family members alive as well, but they were mostly distant ones. Vela sure knew a whole lot about them. But she was the vice grand healer after all. She definitely had access to a ton of information.

“I see. Then I guess it’s nothing to panic about then,” Ara said. He had other things to attend to. He and Vela. So, they left Aroha with Zhiyi. Aroha looked so peaceful as she slept. That was the only time she looked that way. It wouldn’t be bad if her face remained that way. But she had to be awake or it was no good. How much she must hate human interactions for her to only be at peace when she sleeps. Zhiyi ran her thoughts through what had happened.

***

The Lykan scurried to the edge of the room in an attempt to escape from Aroha’s sight. They were all perplexed by its reaction. That was certainly a first. “Oh come on, she’s not that hideous,” Ara goaded. But even he knew that was an unusual reaction from the Lykan. It was one thing to be wary of those stronger than it, like Ara for example, but to be so frightened by a girl. That was quite the shocker.

Aroha didn’t respond to Ara’s taunt. She was by far too captivated by the Lykan. Not by its reaction but its appearance. She stared at it as if she could see into its soul. The Lykan trembled as Aroha took a step closer, but Ara grabbed her hand. “Forget the fact that it's acting scared, that thing is dangerous,” Ara warned. This time, he was serious. Vela agreed with him as well, but Aroha ignored his warnings.

She moved forward towards the Lykan. It was calling her. Zhiyi stood watch as she felt a heavy throb in her heart. Suddenly, she could see it. Aroha’s energy had changed again. It was no longer purple, it was closer to white. It happened one time when they were still at Juza. Aroha was acting strangely and that throb she felt just now kicked in for the first time. After that, she had an inner view of the mana that the people and creatures around her possessed. Prince Ara and Vela’s manas were ridiculous. Especially Ara’s. The Crofts was a family that descended from the first human beast. Just like the Renoffs, they had strong ties with the beasts. Ara was one of the few ever to possess that much beast mana. Zhiyi could see why he was so revered in battle. If he were to let his mana roam free, there wasn’t a mythical creature alive that could stand up to him. Aroha’s mana was serene as it was terrifying. Like the calm before the storm. Zhiyi knew that no good would come about letting Aroha approach the Lykan, but she was unable to speak. The last time this happened, their father Gero had to stop her. But he wasn’t there. And they all couldn’t see it. But the Lykan could. That was why it was so terrifying. But what triggered that state again?

Aroha moved towards the Lykan, disregarding Ara and Vela’s warnings. Ara followed her closely just in case the Lykan tried anything funny. He would be able to react to it at that proximity. The Lykan’s shivering intensified as Aroha got closer. It howled in panic and all the other creatures in the Laboratorium reacted to it. They howled at the top of their voices. Ara couldn’t understand why they were reacting that way. He could feel their fears, but was it really because of Aroha?

“Hey, be quiet,” Aroha said coldly. The Lykan froze up. It was so terrified that it couldn’t move and seconds later, it passed out.

They were all so shocked. It was nothing like they had ever seen. “Hey, how did you do that?” Ara asked, but reflexively, he jumped back by a step when he saw Aroha’s cold eyes. What did he just sense that made him react that way? He could tell that that was the same thing the Lykan felt. A truly menacing aura.

“That’s enough, Aroha,” Vela said with a chop on Aroha’s consciousness that saw her lose consciousness. “You’re just as terrifying as the grand healer said you’d be.”

***

It felt a lot different than the last time. Was it the same as what happened with the Wyvern? What was happening to her sister Aroha?

***

Ara made sure they had walked a considerable distance before he dragged Vela into a corner. The people around were wise enough to give them some space. Ara wasn’t looking pleased. The sternness in his eyes gave Vela a fair idea of what he wanted to ask. He knew she was hiding something.

“What part of that explanation did you leave out?” Ara snapped. He had known Vela long enough to know when she was hiding something. She was good at it so unless you knew her well, it was easy to miss. But there was no one that knew Vela better than Ara.

“You always know, don’t you?” Vela sighed. She wasn’t sure whether telling him was a good idea but he was smart enough not to blabber about it. It was sensitive information after all. If it was released too early to the girls, it could trigger a dangerous reaction from them. Especially Aroha since she was the one directly involved.

“It only occurs in people that have as much druid mana as the druids themselves. Normally, it shouldn’t even be possible, but the first druid human born was like that. So, very sparsely, one of his progeny inherits that ability. Her human body can’t maintain it. That’s what caused her episode. I merely reset the flow of her mana but it will continue to build up and her next episode will only come faster. I suspect that Master Gero did the same as well. If she doesn’t master that power, her body might give out. She’ll die,” Vela said. There was a glint of sadness in her eye as she spoke.

“How long does she have?” Ara asked.

“I don’t know. It differs. But she should have a couple of years on her belt. Unless something speeds up the reaction,” she said.

“Something like what?”

“I don’t know. Something.”

“Vela, did Raya Renoff ever master that ability, or was that how she died?” Ara asked. He had that suspicion from the start but now, his hunch only felt stronger.

“Oh, she did. She was actually the first healer to first on the fronts before Miya and Gero. But she died before she could write her name in the history books. Other than all I have said, I know nothing about her. For some reason, she’s a ghost. There’s no real story about her in any of the books as well,” Vela said. She had read everything there was to read about the Renoffs. Even about the less significant ones. But no knowledge is wasted knowledge. She gathered as much info as she could and she could easily discern the real from the fake. Her healing style and her fighting style were a replica of Gero Renoff. She was more of a Renoff than most of the Renoffs in the capital. But that wasn’t her goal. Her goal was set on being the best healer there was. It just so happened that her idols were Renoffs, even though she hated the majority of them.

Ara could see anything suspicious in her eyes nor was there anything suspicious in her voice either. Perhaps she was telling the truth. There was no reason to doubt her. And if the solution was for Aroha to train, then she must brace herself so the journey that is to follow. Telling the girls about Aroha’s condition might only make it worse. The flow of mana is greatly influenced by the wielder’s emotions. Telling the girls would only make them uneasy and that might just hasten the process. Ara knew this of course, so there was no need to reiterate that point. They went on to do what they came to do in the first place.

***

Aroha awoke minutes after Ara and Vela left. Zhiyi was right beside her. “You looked really peaceful you know,” Zhiyi teased.

Aroha on the other hand woke up with a headache. She didn’t feel as peaceful as Zhiyi implied. In fact, she felt the urge to smash something even more than usual. “Hey, where did everyone go?” she asked. Everything was still a blur. She couldn’t recall the incident that led to Vela having to knock her out. It was the same as last time. she remembered eventually, but only after some time. This time, however, she recalled the incident a lot faster than the last.

“The Lykan!!!” she exclaimed as her memories came rushing in.

“Relax, it’s alright,” Zhiyi assured her.

Aroha could rest, but the thought of causing so much trouble for the others haunted her. If she was going to prevent something like that from happening again, she would have to improve her mana control. Deep in her heart, she vowed to better at it than anyone else.