Path of Dragons - A LitRPG Apocalypse (BOOK TWO ON KINDLE SEPT. 2)

Elijah touched the Branch, navigating the messaging function, sighing when he saw one from Kaela.

One day. That was all it took. Though the message was expected, Elijah still had some difficulty processing it. She was already off-planet, probably on her way back to her home world, where her parents would hide her away. Maybe she would resurface someday, but for now, she might as well be in an entirely different dimension.

And not one reachable by traveling the void.

Literally, he could go to that world just as easily as any other. Kirlissa might even foot the bill. But from the message, Kaelari would not thank him for the visit. She probably wouldn’t even see him, even if he managed to get through her minders.

She was a prisoner as much by her own interpretation of what had happened as because of her parents’ dictate.

And it made Elijah want to punch something.

As he read the message, the nearby Envoy flinched away. Only then did Elijah realize that the entire room had begun to shake.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

It didn’t really help.

But it did allow Elijah to wrangle some of the more overt effects of his rage. If he’d been anywhere but next to a Branch of the World Tree, his anger would not have been quite so manifest. But he was an Emerald Archon, and with that designation came power and responsibility.

“I apologize,” he said, glancing at the Envoy. She was a deity, but that didn’t seem to matter much. Not at that moment, and not with Elijah. “Bad news.”

She nodded, which was the only acknowledgement he was going to get from her. So, after reading that message, he left the Branch behind. It wasn’t long before he was slithering through the atmosphere as a World Serpent. His appearance caused some alarm among the citizens of Ashakar, but at that moment, Elijah didn’t really care.

He was gone pretty quickly anyway.

As he soared above the forest canopy, he organized his thoughts, putting together his plan. It hinged on a match-up with Skahan in the tournament, but he suspected that was coming anyway. For one, there weren’t that many contestants left, and for another, he didn’t think the pairings were entirely random or based on seeding.

Corruption infected every society, and in that respect, the Empire of Scale was not unique.

It didn’t matter.

He wasn’t there to fix the world. He couldn’t even fix what had happened, and he certainly had no clue how to help a woman that had flatly refused him. But he could take revenge. He could send a message.

Elijah wasn’t so naïve that he believed it would make him feel any better. He’d gone down that road before, and he knew better than to bank on that. This wasn’t him lashing out against someone who’d invaded his island. Nor was it about freeing slaves or working out his own issues. Instead, Elijah just wanted Skahan off the board.

If he could have killed him, then that was what he would have done.

But that path was closed to him, so he’d come up with a different, likely more destructive plan. If Skahan knew what was coming, he’d almost have certainly chosen death.

Elijah considered that as he flew into the mountains.

He didn’t stop at any of the familiar landmarks he’d found over the previous year. Nor did he enjoy the magnificent view. Instead, he flew toward a location he’d subconsciously avoided during his exploration of Esik.

In all, it took him three hours to reach the edge of his destination.

Power, thick and claustrophobic, blanketed him as he plunged ahead. As he did so, he shifted out of the Shape of the World Serpent and into his dragon form. It was much slower, but he didn’t have far left to go. And he expected that being an emerald-scaled dragon might just save his life.

It wasn’t long before he felt the world stir.

The mountain shook, and the very atmosphere vibrated. Ethera swirled, and vitality closed in like a tidal wave, crashing over him with such power that he nearly choked on it.

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Then, one of the mountains unfolded.

Wings, dozens of miles long, spread across the horizon as a serpentine shape uncoiled. Dirt, rock, and trees fell in a cascade as a dragon slowly revealed itself. Its scales were mottled green-and-brown, forming a perfect camouflage, and its body was more than a hundred miles long.

Elijah tried not to flinch from the mere sight of it.

He failed.

Badly.

The dragon raised its head and stared a hole through him. A second later, Elijah felt an unfathomably powerful soul envelop his spirit and squeeze. He stopped mid-air, his every muscle contracting as a seizure tore through his mind and soul. The creature’s soul stabbed into him, forming a rough connection that felt so violating that Elijah couldn’t help but panic.

“YOU DARE ENTER MY TERRITORY, YOUNG DRAGON? WHY?”

The voice echoed in his mind, and though it produced no true sound, it sent ripples through the planet. Elijah felt the spores in his mind burst, one by one, until only a few remained. And making it even worse was the reality that the dragon hadn’t even issued a mental attack.

That was just the force of its focused presence.

If he could have moved, he would have shuddered.

“ANSWER OR DIE.”

“I come to you as a student seeking a teacher,” Elijah said. Or he tried to, at least. No words escaped his mouth.

“TEACHER. IT HAS BEEN LONG SINCE ANYONE THOUGHT OF ME AS SUCH.”

The response confirmed that the dragon could read his thoughts. A dangerous thing, but not an unexpected one. Kirlissa had told him of the great dragon of the mountains. He was a high deity, but she’d acknowledged that he understood the soul of a Druid far better than she ever could have.

What’s more, he guarded a treasure that would give him the kickstart he needed to put his plans into motion.

The only problem was that the Druid before him toed the line between dragon and wyrm. Some rumors suggested he’d passed it long ago, and even Kirlissa wasn’t certain which one he epitomized.

But he wasn’t aggressive. Not as such, even if his presence was enough to count as a weapon.

“THIS IS TRUE.”

“I apologize for the intrusion, great dragon Rijh es Gialle.”

“I LEFT THAT NAME BEHIND LONG AGO.”

“What do you wish to be called?”

“THE MOUNTAIN THAT LIVES IN THE SPLENDOR OF NATURE’S GRACE.”

“The Mountain, then. For brevity’s sake,” Elijah ventured.

It was a risk, but one Elijah was comfortable taking. The dragon’s soul was connected to his, which meant that there was a certain degree of understanding between them. Certainly, it was buried beneath a mountain of power, but Elijah needed to believe it existed.

The dragon snorted. “VERY WELL. I SEE WHAT YOU SEEK AND WHAT YOU INTEND. I AM WILLING TO ALLOW IT. OVERSTEP, AND YOU WILL NO LONGER EXIST.”

“Why?” asked Elijah.

“I WILL NOT ABIDE DEVOURERS.”

“No. I mean, me neither. But why are you letting me do this?” Elijah asked.

“YOU ARE A DRUID. I STILL REMEMBER A TIME WHEN THAT MEANT SOMETHING IN THE EMPIRE OF SCALE. YOU FOLLOW THE OLD WAYS. THE WILD WAYS. THE NEW GENERATION UNDERSTANDS ONLY POWER AND CONTROL, NEVER SEEKING HARMONY. YOU ARE DIFFERENT. BETTER. TOLERABLE.”

It was a situation Elijah had observed for himself. For all that draconic Druids were capable of incredible feats, they also seemed to miss a good part of what nature represented. Instead of guiding and protecting it, they sought to control and corral something that should never be treated that way. Even if they succeeded, the result was so altered that it irrevocably changed.

He had seen it in Ashakar, and he’d felt it elsewhere as he explored the planet.

“THEY ARE GARDENERS. NOT STEWARDS OF NATURE.”

“I agree.”

“I KNOW,” said The Mountain. “GO. FIND THE TREE. DEVELOP YOUR SOUL. YOUR INTENTIONS HAVE MERIT.”

“Any advice?” Elijah asked, still entirely incapable of moving.

“TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS.”

With that statement came a price, and one that Elijah was more than willing to pay.

Then, suddenly, The Mountain released him. His soul retracted, and over the next couple of minutes, he settled back into position. Even as he did, more trees and flora sprouted across his massive body until, by the time he’d finished, he looked no different than any other mountain.

But Elijah could still feel the claustrophobic pressure. It was weaker, but only enough that it allowed him to move.

He let out a long breath.

After that, he flapped his wings and headed closer to The Mountain. The impression the dragon had imparted upon him gave no room for misinterpretation, so he had no difficulty finding his destination.

It was a barren patch of forest, ravaged by disease. Maybe two or three acres. But to a creature like The Mountain, it was a blight that could not be tolerated. And despite the dragon’s immense power, it was one he couldn’t remedy. For even as a Druid, he lacked something that Elijah had long taken for granted.

The Breath of Life.

Elijah took another deep breath, then released a torrent of vitality infused lightning. It spread across the barren patch, accompanied by a sudden rainstorm summoned by Blessing of the Grove. Elijah didn’t dare use Nature’s Design. Not in the dragon’s sphere of influence. The Mountain could provide all the direction necessary. Elijah’s role was to supply the fuel.

To his surprise, Breath of Life was far more voluminous than it had been on Gorveth. Was that because he’d gained some levels since then? Or was there another reason? Elijah had no idea, but he managed to cover the barren patch with only two applications. It took most of the day to do so, largely because he had to wait between breaths. But he used that to solidify some of his plans.

In that respect, he felt more prepared than he had before any other cultivation attempt. He knew what to expect, and he knew what he intended. Most of that was because of Tura’s lessons, which had given him quite a lot of insight into how magic was supposed to work.

But he’d also had time to internalize some of the lessons he’d learned from Treebie’s growth. He suspected that he would be reaping the rewards from his time on Gorveth for decades to come, because every time he experienced a breakthrough in knowledge, it reframed some of the things he’d done, most of it by instinct rather than intention. In turn, that revealed many answers to questions he’d never thought to ask.

For good measure, Elijah gave the barren spot one more pass. When he’d finished, The Mountain’s voice echoed in his head, “ACCEPTABLE, YOUNG DRUID. CULTIVATE IN PEACE.”

Elijah thought back his thanks, though he wasn’t certain if it went through. After that, he headed past the dragon, following Kirlissa’s directions to a small, secluded vale. On the surface, it didn’t look like anything special. However, when Elijah landed next to a scraggly tree, he felt a wave of power unlike anything he’d ever sensed before.

It was gentle. Potent. And it seeped into his soul, suffusing him with ethera, vitality, and something far more important than either.

Elijah recognized it as nature given form.

And he intended to use that power to reform his soul. He shifted into his human form and approached the tree. It was only ten feet tall, its branches almost entirely barren of leaves. Dense thorns covered every inch, and a single, yellow fruit dangled from one limb.

Elijah ignored that, even though his every sense told him to pluck it and run away so he could consume it in peace. Many beasts would have done just that, had The Mountain allowed them to get too close.

He had once been a Druid, but now, he functioned as a guardian.

And if Elijah laid a single finger on that fruit, his life would be forfeit. Such was the trust he’d put in the dragon, and the faith the dragon had bestowed upon him.

He took a deep breath, the dense vitality suffusing his lungs.

One step followed another until he found himself at the base of the tree’s trunk. He could feel its root system descending hundreds of feet below the surface and spreading to the limits of Soul of the Wild. A lot like Treebie’s roots, though far more intricate.

Elijah spent a couple of hours memorizing the patterns, which gave him some ideas he intended to relay to Treebie at their reunion. Perhaps it would push the tree over the edge and into a new level of power.

But Elijah was on the clock.

Three months.

That was how long he had until the next round. And in that time, he needed to map out the new shape of his soul, then put that plan into action. There was no telling how long it would take, but Elijah was committed to seeing it through.

Because his soul was the key to his ultimate plan to deal with Skahan, and it needed to be as powerful as possible. Anything else, and the message might not be received. And Elijah couldn’t abide that.

So, he closed his eyes and got to work.