Path of Dragons

Book 9: Chapter 9: Extermination

Flying was a distinctly visceral experience.

The way the wind passed over his scales, the knowledge that he was thousands of feet above the ground, and the sheer sense of freedom that came from defying gravity – it all combined into something almost indescribable. Still, of his two travel forms – as he liked to refer to Shape of the Sky and Shape of the Sea – he knew which one he preferred.

And the first time he failed to dodge the raking talons of one of the enormous birds, he was reminded why that preference existed. His leviathan form was far more durable than the one associated with Shape of the Sky. Never was that clearer than when blood and bits of flesh spurted from his serpentine neck.

Still, it was only a flesh wound, easily healed with a couple of pulses of Wild Resurgence. The heal over time was much more powerful than Soothe – its predecessor – but it still wasn’t meant to mend grievous wounds. Instead, it was best as either a precautionary measure or as the backbone of a more robust healing strategy that included Nature’s Bloom as well as Blessing of the Grove.

Neither were possible in his bestial forms, hammering home the reality that he needed to avoid as much damage as possible.

To that end, he banked, narrowly avoiding another diving attack from one of the hundreds of fighter jet-sized birds that made their home in the skies around Chimera Island. They never landed – at least as far as Elijah could tell – instead using the turbulent winds to stay aloft indefinitely.

If they weren’t so aggressive, Elijah might have found their biological mechanics fascinating. But as it was, he just considered them annoyances. Pests that were both difficult to deal with and incredibly dangerous if left to their own devices. That was why he’d taken it upon himself to exterminate them.

That they were monsters certainly helped legitimize that resolution in his mind.

He followed his current maneuver with a swift dive that allowed him to narrowly dodge another strike that would have torn his wing to shreds. He returned it with a quick, passing attack that utilized his long, serpentine neck to great effect. Even as he plummeted toward the ground, the wound he’d most recently taken sealed, and the flow of blood ceased.

Despite his likely superior attributes, the raptors were still far better flies than him. Not surprising, considering they’d spent their entire lives in the air. Elijah had only had his own wings for a few short years.

Still, it rankled on his pride that he wasn’t better.

He climbed and climbed, eventually leveling off and maintaining a narrow lead from his pursuers. He could have kept that up almost indefinitely, except for two issues. First, the six monsters nipping at his tail were only a tiny fraction of the total number of creatures peppering the sky. He’d already gained attention from a much larger flock, and he could see hundreds of birds banking in his direction only a mile or so away.

The second problem was both more and less troubling. The wall of black clouds loomed before him, swirling like the angry maelstrom it was. He’d flown into that storm a couple of times, and he could safely declare that it was too much for him to handle.

At least if he wanted to go more than a mile or so in.

So long as he kept to the edges – coincidently, where the enormous birds were most active – he would be mostly okay. Of course, that was presupposing that a hundred little things – like an errant gust that could stall him out or a rogue wave that reached the clouds – didn’t affect him.

But he couldn’t worry about those sorts of things.

If they fouled his plan, he would just flee – either by sea or via Lightning Rush. If they didn’t, he could achieve his goal in a single decisive strike, rather than embarking on a prolonged campaign of slaughter.

The second he entered the storm, he regretted his decision. Certainly, he was still committed. He refused to turn back. But having to endure winds exceeding a hundred miles an hour while dodging lightning bolts was definitely enough to make him wish he could.

In an effort to fight the storm, he used Savage Strength, and the surge of power gave him just enough velocity to stay ahead of the monsters following in his wake. He continued on, skating along the outer edges of the storm until he encountered another large flock.

They flew directly toward him, flowing along with the wind at impossible speeds.

Clenching, Elijah used Tempest Swarm. A thousands tiny flies manifested around him, then harnessed the electricity in the air to produce a field of lightning that both empowered him and sparking conflicting winds that soured his enemies’ flight.

Of course, the birds quickly surmised the source of the impairment, and they soon embarked on a quest to slaughter the flies. The conjured insects stood no chance against the enormous predators, but every attack against them came with a swift reprisal in the form of a potent electrical shock.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The chaos that came from Tempest Swarm allowed Elijah to avoid the oncoming flock of birds, then take a considerable lead. However, the birds quickly recovered and threw themselves at him with renewed fury.

That’s when they started launching metallic feathers his way.

Elijah had no defense against the attacks, save to dodge as many as he could. That was the major problem with fighting the things. They weren’t just faster and nimbler than him. They also had a ranged ability that was more than capable of tearing him to absolute pieces.

Thankfully, he only needed a few more minutes to complete his first loop. Then, he’d thin the flock.

With that goal in mind, he pushed himself as hard as he ever had. He had no clue how fast he was going, but he could tell from the rate at which he circled the island that it was considerable. Not quite fighter jet speed, but more than an airliner and far more agile. ŗＡꞐȯ𝐁ƐŜ

Or that was how it felt. He had very little context for comparison.

When he looked back, he saw an enormous flock of birds hot on his trail. Hundreds of them, at the least. Maybe as many as a thousand. That was probably enough.

Elijah swung out wide so he could loop around for the first pass, then dove. Once again, he waited until he was only fifteen feet above the ocean before he snapped his wings out and leveled off. The birds followed his exact path, furiously beating their wings in an effort to catch up.

Elijah skated across the water, leaving the storm behind on a direct line for the island. Using Eyes of the Eagle, he found one of the orange markers Kurik had laid out to mark the first strip of traps. He passed it in a split second, the birds only a few dozen feet behind.

He skimmed the island, barely even feeling the bundles of ethera that marked Kurik’s traps. And then he was on the other side of the island.

One second passed.

Then two.

Finally, on the third beat, an enormous explosion of ethera announced that Kurik had triggered the first set. Elijah didn’t need to look back to know it had devastated the flock. Instead, he focused on his own task, which was to stay ahead of those still chasing him.

When he looped around for the second pass, he saw that the number of birds had been reduced by at least a third.

The plan was simple enough. Elijah’s task was to lead the birds in a straight line across the island. Meanwhile, Kurik was supposed to wait until the tail of the flock passed into range of his traps, then set them off. That way, the ones in the front wouldn’t know what was going on.

A simple plan, but its success depended on execution.

And preparation.

They had both. Elijah circled the island for the second pass, and when he was certain the birds were in proper position, he began the next run. It went very similarly to the last, though Elijah did nearly get caught when he banked a little too steeply. He was forced to dive, then reset before resuming the pattern.

Like that, Elijah kept going for five more passes. With each one, he saw the devastation Kurik’s traps left behind. None of them were quite enough to kill the birds, but they did bring them to the ground where Gorank’s people fell upon them with ruthless violence.

It was probably great experience for them, though Elijah only got a trickle. Partly, that was because he really wasn’t doing much. Sure, he was a big part of the strategy, but the system clearly didn’t think much of flying in circles. But it was also because the birds, for all the danger they represented, were only a problem for him because there were so many. One on one, he would have killed any of them without issue.

Such was the case with most of the creatures on Earth. Certainly, there were plenty of monsters and guardians that could challenge him. However, they were the exception, rather than the rule. If he wanted to keep leveling – and he very much did – the best way to do so was either via towers or Primal Realms.

And he wasn’t quite ready to throw himself back into one of those. He would have gone to help Sadie if he could have, but for now, he had other issues that needed his attention. Like setting up the outpost.

Or his next project, which he was still planning.

Was it all just a distraction, though? He wasn’t so self-deluded that he didn’t think there were psychological issues that had come from fighting through the Chimeric Forge. There obviously were, as evidenced by the fact that he could scarcely sleep without keeping one proverbial eye open for danger.

But he wasn’t sure if that was why he was so focused on everything else or if he truly needed to get these things done.

Not that it mattered. He didn’t even know where to find another Primal Realm, and he had no intention of going to Seattle to beg Isaiah for intelligence.

Regardless, when he finally landed, the island was absolutely covered in bird corpses. Already, some of the Rangers and Tradesmen had begun to harvest anything they could. Likely, their feathers would be useful, and their meat certainly wouldn’t go to waste.

Elijah shifted back to his human form and approached Kurik, who stood nearby, his arms crossed and a slight smile on his face.

“Was it everything you hoped it would be?” he asked, forcing a grin of his own.

“It was acceptable. Despicable things. Never did like birds,” Kurik said.

“What? Since when?”

“Always. Don’t trust anything with feathers,” the dwarf answered. “And did you know birds ain’t got teeth? What kinda animal don’t have teeth? It’s unnatural, I tell ya. Even worse ‘cause they defy gravity. Flyin’ ain’t natural.”

“I fly.”

“Proves my point. You ain’t natural neither,” Kurik said.

Elijah opened his mouth to reply, but he quickly thought better of it. After all, he didn’t really have a retort. Still, he did say, “At least my forms have teeth. Except the turtle.”

“Ain’t got no problem with turtles. They’re some of the good ones.”

“So, you hate birds, but –”

“I don’t hate ‘em. I just don’t trust ‘em.”

“Right. But you just said…”

“I know what I said.”

Elijah sighed. “Fine. Birds are untrustworthy.”

“That all you brought me here for? Not that I’m complainin’, mind you. I got almost two levels outta that. Just makin’ sure you ain’t got no other plans. Not gonna drag me into a Primal Realm or nothin’, are you?” Kurik asked.

“I don’t plan on it,” Elijah said. “But then again, I didn’t really plan on going into the last one. It just sort of snatched me.”

“Bah. You wanted it,” Kurik argued. “If it was anybody else, maybe I believe they were dragged in. But you? Sounds a mighty lot like an excuse to me.”

“I can show you –”

“No need. How ‘bout you show me where these harpies roost, eh? Wouldn’t mind killin’ a few of them before the boat comes ‘round to take me home.”

Elijah shook his head. “Follow me.”