Flying is the dream of every earthly creature, though this superb ability is only available to a select few, making them feel full of pride.
Strangely the aforementioned is not happening in this situation, but rather the mighty ancient dragon flying above the clouds does so with his head down, as if he feels ashamed of something.
"Was it necessary to parade me through the middle of the camp..... Aldrich?"
Speaking in a voice that denotes incomparable beauty, the dragon turns her scaly neck and stares at the young man currently riding upon her.
He has shoulder-length silver hair that looks freshly cut, golden eyes matching the dragon's, and a height of 5'7" with a simple musculature.
All that unearthly appearance is wrapped in armor that appears to be made of copper, more accurately it's the crucible knight outfit without the head helmet.
"It was, Lansseax. Just think about it, basically a dragon appeared in the middle of the camp, this one wiped out a city completely, and almost crashed into the camp."
Maintaining a monotone, Aldrich brings up a huge black iron bow with a flash of golden particles, then begins to draw the string.
"Whew, that's nice, I almost thought you were mad about that hair thing. Haha, now that I'm calm, let's pick up the speed!"
"Lansseax..."
Enduring what seems to be the urge to make another weapon appear in his left hand, Aldrich simply rearranges his stoic face, and remains static over Lansseax's body for the rest of the trip.
...Lansseax pov...
Aldrich was angry for the entire rest of the trip, though he never showed it, except for the times he would hit my head with the bow... How fortunate that the mutant crows attacked us and got his attention for a while.
Trying to nod at the genius of my inner thoughts, I notice how the clouds disperse and let me see the target Aldrich told me about.
It is a high walled building and worn to a great extent, not to say on the verge of collapse, yet it appears to still be used by a good group of people.
"Fort Haigh, it really has seen better times.... Little does it matter, though. Burn everyone inside, Lansseax."
Listening to the monotone voice of Aldrich, who finally seems to have gotten over the snag with his hair, I feel the weight shift on the surface of my head.
He's obviously put away the huge bow he had on hand with which he's taken down a few crows, leaving the way clear for me to satisfy my desires... HEHEY, let's see how they scream as they go up in flames.
"You don't need to say it twice!"
Letting out a roar out of pure instinct as I finish my words, I retract the pair of wings holding me in the sky and begin to swoop down towards the human castle.
I could hear the warning bell ringing continuously, see the sheer terror in the facial expressions of the soldiers, and even smell their fear of death... A beautiful sight indeed.
"Dra, Dra, Dragon in the sky!"
"Bring the crossbows!"
"There, there, that's it. Aghh!"
Everything should have been reduced to complete ashes in front of my mighty breath, but yes melted even the castle, Aldrich will surely get angry again.
It's not that I'm afraid of him or anything even close, it's just that. he just jabbed me with a sword. Crushing the little daredevil with one of my paws, he lifted my neck, and with a roar, managed to cause red lightning to strike the surrounding area.
The first thing that filled my senses after the lightning strike was the stench of burning flesh, then giving way to the absolute silence of the whole place, forcing me to realize that the fun was over.
"Well done Lansseax, are you tired?"
"Not at all, this was child's play compared to what I was doing before!"
Spreading the pair of wings to give more weight to my words, although I don't think Aldrich will mind, I look forward to the continuation of this conversation... Hehe, he admires my incredible power.
"Perfect, then you can start going after the soldiers now."
"... What?"
Slowly turning my neck to look at Aldrich who had moved to my back, I start to consider if it's time to rebel or die with honor... I don't plan to let just anyone ride on my dragon body!....
"Relax, they will stay inside the burnt wreckage of ships, you just have to grab that wreckage and fly them back... No one will travel over your body, how could I allow that, Lansseax?"
"Really?"
"Sure, you have my word for it."
Ignoring his hand that strangely starts to caress my scales, I stop looking at Aldrich and let out a snort, then set him down on the ground with a gentle tail flick.
With him already on the ground, I take one last look at the ruined castle and open my pair of wings fully, before flying into the sky with ease.
...Aldrich pov...
Watching the midday sun through the window, more precisely the window marker because the glass is broken, I notice how from the horizon a huge figure becomes visible.
Clearly it was Lansseax, who had been working as an airliner, although perhaps more accurately would be an airship, as she flies calmly while with her hind and front legs gripping a ship's hull without sails.
"My lord, the troops have already completed the final preparations, plus we have received a message from Mistress Sellen via hawk."
Accepting the parchment handed to me by the soldier with reverence, I feel how it seems to be surrounded by a light layer of magic, making it very clear that it comes directly from Sellen.
The parchment explained everything in a few words, very much in the style of a magician, although it was understandable. The first is that Leyndell's troops positioned on the peninsula have already begun to march, second is that she has had to take care of some dissidents, and lastly, that Kristoff has encountered certain problems.
"Do you have any messages from Kristoff?"
Rolling up the parchment sent by Sellen, I hand it back to him with a soft toss and ask him a quick question, as I watch him juggle all the documents he has on hand.
"Kristoff, Kristoff, Kristoff, Kristoff... There's nothing with his name on it, nor anything directly from Leyndell. I'll go check to see if the newly arrived soldiers have any messages."
"Don't worry, if it hasn't reached you, it must not be anything important."
Avoiding the man running off to look for that possible message, I stopped looking outside and started traveling towards the outside of the fortress.
It's time to do as planned, whether it's making a pincer attack on the wave of beasts coming from Caelid, investigating the state of the burning wall created by Radahn, or observing the state of the Nox in Nokrom city.