Slay the Dragon

CHAPTER 17 - MAVE

Her whole life, Mave had always been afraid of the curse inside her. Every time she panicked, her heart rate increased, causing her blood flow to speed up and forcing the curse to come out. She couldn’t control it. However, now, she understood what it was … or at least she had a hint.

“I still don’t get it. How in the world can you think my blood is an Empyreal Weapon?” Mave said as they traveled through the pine forest, going north. They took a quick stop at the village of Rath earlier to have their late noon meal before going on.   

“Look … I’m not a hundred percent sure if it is, okay?” Izan adjusted his glasses. “I’m just saying—it’s the closest one we can connect to in speaking about magic. You see, different Empyreal Weapons in this world exist too—like shoes, necklaces, rings, horns … even wings—“

“Wait … wings?” Mave looked at him with disbelief.

Izan smiled. “I bet you’ll have a funnier look than that when I tell you, I actually have seen one. In fact, the wielder of the Empyreal Weapon called the ‘Wings of Kaliss’ is from my country in Celestia.”

Mave fell silent for a moment as she walked. Ever since she was a child, she dreamed of flying high in the skies. She wanted to touch the clouds and experience what it would feel like, soaring above freely. It’s where she believed she could be separated from everything and everyone in this cruel world. How she wished to have wings like that. But what she got was a b****y curse, which also made her a curse to all people.

Mave glanced at her hands. “So if my blood really is an empyreal weapon … how do you think did I acquire it? Did they make me gulp all the blood of a demon when I was a kid?”

“Of course not,” Izan almost laughed, “You’ve got it from one of your parents … naturally.”

“So if I acquired it, can I remove it?”

Izan studied her for a short moment. “Why would you do that?”

“Why else?” Mave shrugged. “It’s a curse.”

“Curse? Is that how you see your powers? The same powers that helped you save us from that beast earlier?” Izan said. “You’re fortunate to have such an Empyreal Weapon, Mave.”

Fortunate … Mave snorted and said, “You don’t understand.” The curse was the main reason everybody feared her … despised her … and avoided her. This must’ve also caused her fear of fire, as it was the weakness of ice, she thought. She grew up lonely after Rakim died. She had not been accepted in the Dravalon Army because of the curse. She had accidentally killed people because of the curse. Faran, the only person who kept her and treated her as a daughter after Rakim, pushed Mave away because of the curse. After that … no one had ever accepted her … all because of the curse. Now, could he still say that she’s fortunate?

“I think it’s you who still don’t understand,” Izan argued, “Because as it happens, all Empyreal Weapons have their own specific purposes.”

“That explains it,” Mave said. “Now I know why it destroyed my life.”

Izan gave a long stare as if he’s trying to read her. “Mind sharing with me about it? Your world seemed so dark—“

“It had always been dark,” Mave cut him off.

His eyes widened and blinked twice. “I’m sorry … Mave.”

“Just … forget it,” she said. “You still haven’t answered my question. Is there a chance to remove it?”

Izan let out a huge breath. “From what I know, the wielder and his Empyreal Weapon are inseparable,” he said. “You can’t remove it. Once an Empyreal Weapon chooses to be compatible with a person—that would last ‘till he dies.”

Mave frowned. That would mean that the gods made her cursed from the very beginning. How could her father or her mother handle such a curse? Weren’t they despised by everyone during their time? How did they live with it, still interacting with people around their village? She wished she could talk to them now. She was so tired of all the suffering that she wanted to take it out of her body already.

They fell quiet while walking out of the pine forest. A high cliff, even taller than a three-story building in Ravareth, stood ahead of them—and then they found a carved path leading up to the highland. They climbed.

“You know what? Let me tell you an interesting fact to enlighten you a bit about your powers,” Izan said, lifting his round glasses. “Each weapon possesses a unique, hidden power called Empyreal Ability.”

“And what are these abilities for?” Mave sounded uninterested. Even if she would discover the hidden ability of her curse, it would probably kill more people than it had before.

“It varies a lot, Mave, depending on the weapon. I’ve even read books saying a weapon’s Empyreal Ability changes as it fits with another wielder. What’s more interesting is how it can be activated. It’s by using our—“

“Keep quiet.” Mave stopped walking on the carved path. “I can sense some presence above.” Her ears caught voices of men talking on the highland. How many were they up there? Two? Three?

Izan raised his head. “Who is it?”

“Hunters, I think,” she said, placing her hand at the hilt of her rapier.

“You want me to talk to them or …?”

“No …” Mave whispered. “Just have a peek. Tell me what you’ll see.”

Izan gave a slight nod before heading towards the highland. When he’s almost at the top—he carefully stepped with his forefeet, hands on the rocky walls, and lifted his head to see.

He blinked a couple of times, watching. Then his green eyes spread wide in surprise.

He returned to Mave and said, “Two hunters, one man, and … oh lords … Valen captives.” 

“Captives? Did you recognize any of them?”

“Dragon hunters … Valen of them are injured and tied up.”

“Wait, what do you mea—“

“Ahoy!”

A loud voice of a man came from above, breaking their conversation. “How long do you plan to hide in there?”

Mave and Izan quickly exchanged shocked glances. Those hunters must have very keen senses to easily spot their presence, she thought.

Without a word, they made their way up towards the top. The hot wind of the afternoon air blew against them as they reached the dry ground of the highland.

The first thing that caught Mave’s eyes was the Valen captives—dragon hunters indeed—some were unconscious, and some were struggling from their ropes.

Then she found a young man with curly hair, who seemed to be searching all the captives’ pockets. His double sheaths hung on both sides of his belt, and his dark skin showed bruises and cuts. Seeing their injured conditions told Mave that there had been a fight here recently.

Mave’s gaze shifted to the two hunters facing her. One was a middle-aged man with narrow, amber eyes and old silver hair. Standing beside him was another young man whom Mave had never seen before in Ravareth. He possessed some sharp features—jawlines, nose, and cheekbones. His black hair flailed with the wind along with his red cape, and his golden eyes shone even brighter in the afternoon sunlight.

Gold … amber eyes … Mave immediately recalled one of her sessions with Grand Arien Homeli. Such eyes were far different to be from humans. This couldn’t be.

She turned her head at Izan, who knew more about dragons than her. His slight nod confirmed exactly what she’s thinking. She couldn’t believe it. She didn’t want to believe it.

But it was right in front of her now.

“Ahoy,” the dark man spoke again, “Where’re you folks headed to?” It appeared as if he was done collecting the jewelry and bag of coins from their captives.

Those injured hunters tried to call her, begging for help, but their mouths were stuffed with cloth. “Oh, don’t mind them,” he said as he approached the two.

Mave tightened her hold to the hilt of her rapier. “Who are you and why are they tied up?” She gave him a glare. This dark guy and those beasts with him seemed like a huge trouble.

“You haven’t answered yet, mate,” the young guy said, stopping in front of her. “I asked you first.”

“We’re heading north,” Izan answered.

“Great. We’re heading south,” he said. “So why don’t we just head on our ways and pretend we saw nothing here, aye?”

“You haven’t answered yet, mate.” Mave mocked him, then gazed at the two suspicious beings. “What happened here?”

Her thoughts went wild along with her pounding chest as her hands grew so much colder in fear. She wondered if this human was a captive of those two dragons. What if they would blow fire at her all of the sudden? And there’s nowhere else to run.

“You don’t seem to get it, little lady. I didn’t ask your business of heading north, so don’t ask the same to us, hmm?”

“I know who you are,” Mave said. “And I believe it’s my business of knowing what in the world are these beasts doing in our lands.”

“What you’re asking comes with a price.” That smirk on his b****y lips only irritated Mave more. He raised a hand in front of her and said, “Five gold coins.”

“Are you mad? Five gold coins for just a—“

“I’m afraid we don’t have that kind of amount,” Izan replied, elbowing her on the side. “Calm down, Mave,” he whispered. “We don’t want to cause any trouble.”

“Then I’m afraid you ain’t getting anything from me.” The man’s brown eyes went down and found Mave’s sword. “Ah, that’s a valuable accessory you have there, young lady. That will do.”

Mave pulled out her rapier and pointed it at the man’s face. “This is no accessory and I’m no young lady. You will tell me why you are here with these beasts.”

The man’s smirk didn’t fade—instead, it grew wider. “A match it is, then. If you win, you’ll have my word, but if you lose, the rapier’s mine, savvy?” He drew out one of his sabers and made his stance despite his injuries.

“Val, have you lost your head?” The golden-eyed beast called him before looking at Mave. “We don’t have time to waste on a girl—“

“And have you lost your ears, dragon?” Mave interrupted him. “I said it already—I’m no young lady.”

He pursed his lips as his golden eyes studied her.

Mave had chills. His stare felt weird—and different, like he wanted to eat her already, feast on her flesh, and burn it. She acted confident, but deep inside, her heart was about to burst. Their presence terrified her. She never knew she would be facing dragons at this very early. This must be her last day … or her last hour.

The man who was called Val spoke up and said, “Whenever you’re ready, mate.”

Mave made her serpent-stance technique—extending her rapier, pointed towards the opponent while her other arm reached straight behind. As for what Rakim had taught her, the two hands represented the head and the tail of a snake, and both arms acting as the body. The two must be in sync to maximize the power of her movements.

Val raised a brow in amusement. “Interesting stance.”

[Serpent Style] [Second Form]

Mave slid one foot forward, bent her knee; the next she charged.

“Triple Fangs,” she cast out—but all the three quick strikes of her rapier were only blocked. He’s faster than she expected. With each hit of their blades, the vibrating impact shook Mave’s arm right to the bones.

[Fiery Style] [Fourth Form]

Val countered with stronger blows of his saber. They moved a lot, their feet sliding on the dry ground and creating dust in the air.

As they clashed, Val’s heavy strikes slowly pushed Mave back towards the edge of the cliff.

Her arms fell exhausted from dealing with his blows. But she kept up, using her other arm as the tail to balance her aims and create momentum.

Her heart raced as they were nearing the cliff. It reached so low that a fall would cause Valere injuries. She had to exert more.

Mave could feel her blood raging through her veins—which was queer because it slowly gave her strength to fight back. So she managed to hold on to her position.

“You’re … good,” Val’s breath quickened as he continued attacking. He was using the Fiery Style Swordsmanship. Mave had never encountered such a technique here in Drava before. She tried to follow his patterns, but there wasn’t any. He was dancing like a fire—always changing—which made his entire movements unpredictable.

Mave needed to find an opening to cast her magic, now that her mind was in sync with her blood flow.

[First Form]

“King’s Tail!” With all her strength, she stomped her foot against the ground, swung her rapier, and struck with much power.

The impact forced Val to step back after blocking the attack.

This was her opportunity.

Mave visualized her weapon.

It all took a second when her other hand glowed brightly, with a frozen rapier instantly appearing.

Val’s eyes grew wide, reeling backward.

[Third Form]

“Snake Assassin.” Mave dashed forward in a flash and waved Gray Viper against Val’s neck—which was then only blocked by his saber.

The next, she gripped the ice weapon tighter and threw a plunge towards the chest—but Val was quick enough to pull out his other sword, blocking it barely. The ice blade slid aside, drawing a cut on the side of his chest instead.

“b****y biscuit!” Val cried out as he kicked her in the gut with brute force.

Mave stumbled back down on the dusty ground, wincing in pain. That was her only chance to end him, but she missed it.

Val touched the bleeding cut and glared at her. “A clever trick … but I thought you only wanted a match over swords … is it trump cards you really want?”

He extended his two sabers forward, forming an ‘X’. Then he closed his eyes.

- [Twin Blades of Agaski] -

Mave spread her eyes open as Val’s chest flashed a triangle, glowing in red light.

“Mave, watch out!” Izan warned her from a distance. “He’s activating his Empyreal Ability!”

The glowing triangle in Val’s chest suddenly released red energy, like an ethereal fluid in the air. The energies were slowly absorbed by the two sabers, their blades shining brighter… until it sparked into rage.

“What … what’s happening …?” Mave stepped back in fear as the two swords blazed into the fire. The steels turned into bright red like glowing ember, with flames covering its entire form. Mave froze, looking in horror. Her breath caught up in her throat as her chest tightened. She didn’t realize she dropped her two rapiers until they fell to the dusty ground.

“Val, what are you doing? You’ll kill her!” The golden-eyed beast shouted, but he was only ignored.

Val breathed deeply from the aftereffect, as if the ability had drained out most of his strength.

 “You still dare use your ice on me?” Val twisted a smirk as he walked forward. “You have nowhere to run.”

He drifted both of his burning sabers down, creating two lines of fire on the ground that instantly blocked Mave’s escape on both sides.

“Mave, you’re at the edge!” Izan called out. “Watch out for the cliff, you’ll fall!”

Mave panicked as she held her head. Tears blurred her vision as fire surrounded her. She shut her eyes, trying to wake up from her nightmares, but it wasn’t a dream. The sound … the smell … and the burning hot that hurt her skin … everything was real.

She continued stepping back … until her foot had nowhere else to step on—only air.

When she opened her eyes, she was falling. She felt light as if she was floating, with the wind brushing against her back.

Was she flying? If she was, then she would see the world running away from her, getting smaller in every second … but it was the sky and the clouds that she’s flying away from. Then she realized—she was indeed falling.

The orange skies were the only thing she could see now. Her eyes blurred … but she saw something above.

A golden figure.

It’s coming close to her …

And closer until she saw it clearer …

Two wings of shining gold, flapping at the back of the golden-eyed man she saw earlier. He went closer, reaching out his arms until he caught her.

Mave felt the heat as their bodies touched. His arms were like fire embracing her, but not burning. It was warm. His golden eyes pierced through hers, shining as if she was seeing the sun up close. Chills ran through her body. Her heart raced, but she could also feel his chest pounding hard against her. Mave lived her entire life believing that dragons have no heart—only corruption and dread filled inside them … but what was this she’s feeling from his chest? A heartbeat?

Mave didn’t realize they were already flying up until the man looked away from her and pursed his lips. She felt stupid. Did she just make eye contact with this … dragon? Her eyes fell to his neck, where the sharp lump went up and down as he swallowed hard. Why did he save her? Why did this beast save her? She wanted to ask, but she knew better.

Before they reached the highland, Mave cleared her throat. “Away from the fire …” she told him without looking. She had trouble breathing from his strong arms.

“It’s all gone now,” he spoke in a softer voice.

When Mave glanced, the fire already faded. They landed upon the dry ground before he gently let her go.

Mave immediately took a step back and caught Izan running to her.

“Mave … oh, lords … are you okay?” He held her shoulders and studied her condition. “Did that beast hurt you? I was so worried … I thought he already ate you when he also jumped off the cliff.”

Mave couldn’t say a word yet, so she only shook her head. Her heart was still pumping wild against her chest. When her eyes caught the frozen sword melting on the ground, she remembered Gray Viper. Where was it now? She came to look for it until Val called her.

“Looking for this?” He raised the rapier with a smirk on his lips.

Mave glared at him. “Give it back.”

“I won, mate. We had a deal,” he said while studying the weapon. “An ancient blade … I can sell this at a good price.”

“You cheated,” Izan accused him.

“No, she cheated first.”

Mave was about to say something when the golden-eyed man suddenly came and took Gray Viper out of Vahlyr’s hand.

“Hey,” Val turned to him with stormed brows. “That bounty’s mine now.”

“I’ve got more diamonds,” the dragon said. “I’ll pay for this after.” Then he turned to Mave and handed the sword to her.

Mave grabbed the hilt, but the guy didn’t let go, so she looked up into his eyes.

“I’ve got some questions for you in return,” he spoke, still holding the blade.