“Thanks for helping me out, Aunty!” I rubbed my cheek against Fortuna’s belly. “I really didn’t want to lose that memory!”

“It would be in your interest to never let me find you trying to sell memories with me in them again,” she growled with a raised hoof. “What were you even thinking?”

“I,” my gaze flicked between her and the surroundings a few times, “I, well, I didn’t really have any control over what Charon was interested in.”

“And that resulted in you agreeing to let him have such a precious memory?” Her voice raised two octaves as she whipped the ground with her tail, leaving a crack in the grass and causing me to take to the air slightly. “I do not approve of such behaviour!”

That much was rather obvious already given everything she’d done and said in the last few minutes.

Flapping my wings a few times, I was able to land safely on my hooves and claws again. “I’ll try to remember that, Aunty! Don't you worry!”

“And you owe me a basket full of delicious cookies,” Fortuna added. “Not the normal ones, but those delicious dragon-cookies your mom knows how to bake.”

“Sure thing! Next time we have the opportunity, I’ll help mom bake you some, I promise!” I rushed to my godmother's front and rubbed my side against her chest as high as I was able to reach, purring all the while.

“Having a mortal godchild can be irritating sometimes.” Finally she let one hoof sink onto my head and fondled my ears. “Very irritating, you are so unpredictable when you are in the mood for it.”

“That’s what makes life interesting, isn’t it?” I stopped in my tracks and looked up to her.

“Attempting to distract from your misbehaviour will not work in your favour, Fiery. You are very lucky that I kept a close eye on you, otherwise you would have lost a great treasure.”

“Lucky me,” a little smirk crept onto my mouth. This resulted in Fortuna picking me up by my neck and holding me at eye level for her.

“Of every mortal that exists, you are the one with the most reason to say so.” Her left eyebrow raised a bit when my smile just became wider and I started to wiggle my tail like a happy dog. “But yes, you do make life more interesting.” She shook me slightly and I hung there, back as my kirin self again. “That seems better,” she commented before placing me back down.

“Soooo, now what?” I wondered after I’d taken a moment to look at my wings and flank. Secretly, I was hoping she would stay a while and accompany us on our way in this potentially dangerous area, though I was well aware that this was very unlikely.

I was proven right when she said, ”Like so many things, that is up to you. I would advise you to let Charon carry you over the pond and then go to find your friends. It will be far easier while you have the permission of Hades to roam around. He has been appeased for now with the cookies I’ve given him, but that will only last so long. You should hurry, my godchild. I would be rather irate if I had to come to your aid a second time in one day.”

“I will try my best so that doesn’t happen. And I am feeling very lucky today!” I added with a blink after Fortuna raised her second eyebrow. I could also hear her hoof tapping on the ground ever so slightly seeing as she was a kirin-goddess three or four times my size at this point.

“You inherited your father’s cheekiness,” she judged. I was unsure if she approved or not, seeing as she’d put up her goddess aura of mystery. “Be it as it may, you should go now.” She pushed me forward with her wing. “Charon is needed elsewhere, so don’t make him wait overlong.”

I was already walking in his direction when my gaze landed on Rythil. The poor guy had shrunk himself to what was possibly the smallest form he could take before lowering himself into the grass, unable to even look at Fortuna with how guilty he felt. With one claw hovering in the air, I hesitated before making my way back to my godmother.

“Aunty? What are you going to do with Rythil now?”

“I told you Charon is waiting, Rythil should not be your concern.”

“He was supposed to come with me.”

“I decide what he is supposed to do, Fiery.” Fortunas words had gained a more serious undertone to them, one that told me that I should be careful if I intended to press the issue.

“So, you’re going to decide to let him come with me then?” I asked in a cheerful, sweet voice.

“I’m considering throwing him into the depths of Tartarus or into a lava pit at the moment,” she replied with a growl. “Or maybe I’ll just set him on fire, the kind that can’t be extinguished by mortals for several months.”

Rythil, while still crouching on the ground, was now shaking in fear. Seems he was not so wrong about how my godmother would deal with him if I wasn’t around to help him out! Despite the ongoing problems I had with his attitude of trying to take the lead, I couldn’t let him take all the blame when it was as much his fault as it was mine!

I rushed towards Fortuna and placed my claws on her chest, looking up with the best godchild eyes I could muster. “You surely wouldn’t do something like that, Aunty! Rythil is a loyal follower of yours! And he’s really tried his best so far in helping me!”

“His best was not good enough! He failed me, Fiery!” I was pretty sure she would have turned Nirik if it wasn’t for the fact that she was a goddess first and a kirin second. “It was his duty to look after you in my name, to make sure you are fine when things come along that I am forbidden from preventing! And now, here we are!” Her gaze fixed on Rythil again. “I only have this one Godchild!” she yelled in outrage, “and you put her in danger!” Ignoring me clinging to her, she walked over and, towering before him, picked him up by a horn. “Of all my priests, I trusted you with caring for my godchild, and this is the situation I find her in? What do you have to say to defend yourself?”

I too would have been very curious what he had to say to wiggle himself out of this situation, but he simply hung there in Fortunas hoof unable to speak a single word. If I had to guess, I would say her sheer presence at the moment was simply overwhelming him. I mean, meeting your goddess for the first time is something, but her being angry at you and considering throwing you into Tartarus or setting you on fire for months, months, that's its own level!

“Aunty…!”

“Silence, Fiery!” Fortuna shouted at me. And for the first time, I got a glimpse at what it meant for mortals to meet a god or goddess that they were not related to. My godmother sure is scary when she’s angry! Still, I couldn’t let Rythil hang in there alone! I switched to a better trick, I whimpered loudly at her side, rubbing my snout against her side.

This only earned me a push back from her wing though, not even taking her attention away from Rythil. Gods are not dragons, that much was clear!

“Aunty, you…”

I didn’t get any further as Fortuna’s wing pushed my head to the ground like I was a misbehaving bornling. She didn’t hurt me, but her wing felt like a mountain. It would have been easier to tip over Tailtip-mountain with my own claws than to lift her wing off of me.

“Be quiet!” She once more growled. “Rythil is one of my priests, I decide what to do with him!” She turned her gaze back to him. “Not only did you give her the nirandir to eat! You also talked her into trading a memory with Charon!”

“P-please, forgive me, Fortuna,” Rythil pleaded, his barely audible voice wavering with fear and trepidation. “I… I did-didn’t know it would be this-this bad. I… I… I was just trying to help.”

“You brought shame on you and your whole family! I can only name a handfull of one of my luck dragons that have disappointed me to this extent!”

“I am… sorry!”

“We must act now! If we don’t stop our godmother, we will lose one of our valuable allies!” Roary spoke up. “She is going to rip off his scales or worse if we do not interfere!

“And what am I supposed to do?” I retorted, losing track of what Fortuna was saying while focusing on my advisor. “There’s not much I can do from down here!”

“Fortuna is a goddess, she doesn’t think like mortals do! The gods act on emotions rather than cold logic, use that to your advantage!”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“He means,” Calmly piped up, “that she is enraged at the moment, she is not interested in forgiveness or letting this one slip! That’s not how god's work! You must go along with her mood and push it into the right direction!”

“Yes,” Roary affirmed, “go along with her rage and satisfy it!”

“Satisfying her rage? How?”

Suddenly, both my advisors went silent and I was back in the here and now, getting the tail end of what my godmother was saying.

“... should choose one of the classic punishments for you!” she yelled.

This was just perfect, I had to convince my godmother to not punish Rythil using the worst tortures she could imagine. By what? Using her anger to convince her to be less angry with him? Easier said than done! All she was interested in now was what punishment fit best for Rythil failing in his duties!

Suddenly, I felt her wing lift off of me, allowing me to quickly stand up again. The problem now though was that she had only freed me so she could turn around, Rythil still in one hoof, and make her way over to the pond of stygian water!

She was going to throw him in the pond!

“Godmother!” I yelled, flying up and in her way, “you can’t do this! You can’t throw him in there!”

“I do not intend on throwing him in there,” she growled while simply pushing me aside, “I will just submerge him for a few seconds, that should teach him not to disappoint me.”

Now panic crept up my spine. Only a few seconds? That would melt the fur and the scales off of his body! “Godmother!” I yelled once more, “please stop!” I even tried grabbing her wing to pull her back, to not the slightest effect of course. I tried the same with her tail, grabbing the tufft at the end and slamming my hooves into the ground, but all I archived was creating a furrow in Hades’ grass!

“If you weren't my godchild, you would share his fate for these actions, Fiery,” Fortuna growled. “I am a goddess, mortals shall not interfere with our will, Godchild or not.”

“I can’t let you throw Rythils in there, Aunty!” I pressed out while pulling at her tail as hard as I could. “Please! Show him mercy!”

Unimpressed by my begging, she made her way over to the pond and lowered her hoof to do as she said.

“The only thing she will accept is a suggestion of an even worse punishment,” Caustic Mercy, who had suddenly appeared by my side, mentioned. I didn’t have the time to process where he had suddenly come from or why his tone sounded like he was speaking about the weather, but he probably knew the gods better than I did!

I had no choice, I grabbed every straw I was offered. “Wait!” I let go of her tail and flew between her and the pond, coming dangerously close to the surface of it. “I have an idea for a better punishment! One that is far worse than melting his fur off!”

Fortuna unfortunately kept lowering her hoof, the panicked Rythil helplessly squirming, trying to remain unmelted for as long as possible. She took a moment to reply, but when she did, she stopped the decent of her hoof and raised an eyebrow. “I am listening.”

“Well…” I hoovered there, desperately searching for an idea. “You could…”

“Yes?” Fortunas voice made clear she was losing interest incredibly fast!

I threw a look at Caustic Mercy, but the priest of Hades just looked back at me, seemingly unimpressed by the whole situation. Whatever his intention had been for telling me to come up with another punishment to save Rythil, he had said what he wanted to say and was now only mildly interested in the outcome.

“The best punishment for Rythil would be…” My gaze landed on him for a second again, he was trapped in Fortunas hoof in his tiny form, unable to escape, “...to curse him to stay in this tiny form and become a teddy bear for my brother Nightflame!” I bursted out. “He would hate nothing in the world more than being treated like a plushy!”

I was well aware that I was bubbling straight nonsense, I didn’t even know where the idea had suddenly come from, but I’d simply run out of options to save him!

“Make a plushie out of him! Yes, the curse of smallness combined with the duty to cuddle everyone he meets should they desire! That would be the perfect curse for your priest, Aunty!”

Fortuna just looked at me. Several seconds passed. It felt like an eternity for me, and given how fast a goddess can think, it may be one for her. Then, she lowered her hoof. I was going to scream in shock, but watched as she dropped her priest just at the edge of the pool.

“Yes,” she said, “that is indeed a better punishment for him.” I sighed in relief at being able to pull off the small miracle of convincing my godmother to drop her plans to melt Rythil’s fur, and probably his skin off, while he was alive and accept my suggestion. “Very well then. Rythil!” Her voice echoed through the dome. “You shall be cursed! Trapped in this tiny form of yours and bound to cuddle with everycreature that wishes to cuddle you!”

“Perfect!,” I yelled hastily and rushed over to pick Rythil up, holding him with one claw. “We should make haste now, Charon is waiting! Thank you, Godmother!” I rubbed my head against her chest once more before turning around and making my way over to board Charon’s boat. “You owe me one,” I whispered to Rythil on the way.

***

Passing over the pond in Charon’s boat had been a strange, but quick experience. I confess, I had imagined that it would feel more special, still, I was not eager to take another ride on that boat anytime soon. As Rythil and I rode across the pond with Charon, the rest of the gods took their leave. Fortuna had disappeared after she was satisfied with the punishment she had decided for Rythil, and Hades had levitated back to whatever it was that the god of the underworld did in his freetime. So, that left me, Rythil, who was now acting as a scarf around my neck, and Caustic Mercy as our guide back. Ryhtil would have preferred to sit on my back, but I wasn’t willing to allow him that.

“Meeting Charon was a pleasurable experience,” Caustic Mercy stated. He then turned around and pointed towards, what I assume, was the east exit of the dome. “Come now, I will show you the village.”

“Given his tone, I think he is starting to warm up to our presence,” I whispered to my scarf. “Seems I impressed him after all, despite being an azure-kirin.”

I waited for a reply, but my scarf remained silent.

“Hey,” I shook him a bit, “we are not done with our mission yet. I may need your help!”

He still showed no interest in responding, so I grabbed him by his tail, pulled him off my neck, and shook him like a wet towel that was supposed to be hung up. “Get your stuff together!” I growled. “We still need to rescue Bliz and Heat Wave! You can grieve and mourn all you want once we’re back at my merriment!”

“She hates me,” he mumbled, “she hates me, Fiery, my goddess hates me.” If possible, I’m guessing he would have shrunk even further.

“Nonsense, she is just angry at you, that's all. Give her a few days and help Mom and me bake the cookies for her and you will be fine. Besides, she’ll definitely be even angrier with you if you leave me hanging here!”

“I… I suppose,” he meekly said.

“I wouldn’t dare to be found wanting in my duties as a priest if I was you,” Caustic Mercy threw in casually, like him eavesdropping on us was nothing at all. “If I had been unsuccessful in protecting my god's godchild, I would do everything I could to eradicate that stigma and redeem myself.”

I was going to address my issue with him both eavesdropping and giving his two bits when it wasn’t being asked for when I noticed the effect his words had on Rythil. His ears became erect again and his look became kind of determined.

“Not to mention what my family would think of me if they heard about it,” Caustic Mercy added.

That seemed to do the trick completely. I don’t know that much about luck dragons, but mentioning the family honour brought some sense back into my scarf.

“Be it as it may,” Hades priest went on, “we are here.” He stopped in front of a wooden double door. “This is the entrance to our village.”

My gaze wandered over the door, but there were no engravings or other forms of ornamentation. It was a simple wooden door, nothing more.

“When we enter, stay by my side. Your kind is not welcome down here, and my congregation may take issue with your presence. My authority will protect you,” he raised one hoof, “as long as you stay by my side.”

“I figured, given the engravings along the hallway.”

Caustic Mercy smiled. “You have no idea.” He turned around and laid his hooves on the door. With a loud squeaking noise, the door swung back under his pressure. As the door opened, a faintly moist and earthly scent wafted out from the area behind. When the door had fully opened, the three of us were greeted to the view of a ramp leading down into a bigger cavelike, well, cave. A huge cave, overgrown with the same blue moss that had been in the previous cavern.

Without further delay, Caustic Mercy stepped forward and began his descent. A moment later, after I let go of Rythil and he resumed his duty as my scarf, I followed, remembering to stay close. As soon as we were on the ramp, I was able to see much more of the cave's interior. Down there, near the centre of the cave, were several large mushroom-like structures, accompanied by several buildings made out of what seems to be roots or thin branches. It was a small settlement underground. I also saw a few kirins down there, though they were too far away to see what they were doing.

“Look, there are indeed more kirins down here! Though far less than you predicted.” I pointed at them.

“We see far less than I predicted,” Rythil retorted. “There could be a good deal more down here that we can’t see.

“Naysayer.”

We walked down for several minutes until we reached them, and when we did, their reaction was quite strong. At first they focused on Caustic Mercy, but as soon as their gaze landed on me, they started to hiss and their hackles raised as much as possible. The mares even picked up their children and brought them to safety, as far away from me as they could.

Now I know how Dad must have felt a few times!

“This one stands under the protection of our Lord, Hades,” Caustic Mercy proclaimed loudly, his staff now back in his hoof. “No one is allowed to harm her!”

A lot of growling and hissing was the reply. More and more Kirins gathered, attracted by the noise, and the reaction they had was all the same, hostility.

“ENOUGH!” Caustic Mercy’s voice rushed through the cave like a tsunami, I swear that I could hear his words spelled in capitalised letters! IF THE LORD HADES DECIDES THAT SHE IS NOT TO BE HARMED, SHE IS NOT TO BE HARMED!” Even the moss dimmed under his commandment. Instantly, the kirins cowered down in obedience.

“Looks like I am not the only one with the ability to enforce my will on others,” I whispered to Rythil.

“You should be happy about it,” he replied, “these kirins seem to be very upset with you being here.”

“Indeed, though, I have a biting scarf, that should scare them off.”

Rythil twisted around so he could look me in the eyes. His expression was priceless.

Unaware of our little banter, Caustic Mercy went on. “She has passed the test of our Lord, and she is also the godchild of Lord Hades’s peer, the goddess Fortuna! Whoever dares to harm her will have to answer to two of the gods!”

This seemed to do the trick, while there was still a bit of growling and they remained on alert, they restrained themselves from showing open hostility towards me for the moment. This also allowed me to take a closer look at them. They were runehorns, and like our new guest upstairs, they had painted their faces with greenish or brownish paint, they also wore feathers in their manes, the younger ones only a few, the older ones a great deal more. Actually, for a moment, the question arose in my head of why Caustic Mercy wasn’t wearing any in his mane, but I pushed that one aside for later. Also, most of them had attached some of the glowing moss to their backscales, causing them to emit a good portion of light around them.

“Fiery Leadership, you may proceed now and enter our village.” It took me a second to realise that Caustic Mercy was talking to me again. “You will talk to Calamitous Blossom, Defeater of Azures, leader of this village.”

“Defeater of Azures? Sounds very welcoming to me.”

“It is a title. It has been attached to every leader of this village, all descendants of Flaming Division, slayer of the first azure-kirin that came after our ancestors.”

I could feel Rythil curl around my neck, more tightly. “So they did kill that azure in the engraving,” he sharply whispered.

Placing two talons between him and my throat, I managed to loosen his grip a little. “No reason to try and choke me!” Instantly, he softened his constricting around my neck.

“This way,” Caustic Mercy said and trotted forward. The present kirins made room for him, though, they kept a very close eye on every movement I made, and behind us, the ring of kirins quickly closed again.

That didn’t mean I wouldn’t slow down to have a closer look at my surroundings.

Like the treehouses my people normally build aboveground, these mushrooms were covered in stairs and had little ropes or even small suspension bridges between them, though these ropes were made of that strange hairlike moss that grows on trees, only tightly braided. And just as I was wondering about this, I saw a few of the townsfolk climbing up the mushroom’s bark like they were secretly goats, watching down on us from up there.

No, not us, me.

Ignoring them, but keeping my gaze pointed up there, I spotted what I thought were their actual houses. Below the mushroom’s gills on the underside of the caps, there were several wooden structures. They kind of looked a little bit like one of Grünchens nests. “I wonder how they reach them,” I asked to myself.

“Maybe the caps and stalks are hollow? If there are stairs in the stalks, that would allow them to reach the upper levels. With how big these mushrooms are, there could even be hubs or marketplaces in them. And with all these bridges and ropes between them, a whole town could be up there.

“Could be.” I directed my gaze back at the kirins following us up there. “I doubt that they’d be up for showing us around though.”

“Probably not.”

“You are not here for sightseeing, Fiery Leadership,” Caustic Mercy reminded me. “You better focus on what you want to achieve rather than lingering around, pestering my people with your curiosity. Hades may be a patient god, but once he decides you are no longer welcome here, you will find out what awaits an azure without his protection.”

“I am just wondering about your place, I’m not pestering anyone. Well, unless just being here counts. It’s not like I am a threat to your people.”

“Thanks to Lord Hades that is, without him, you would have already tried to claim them.”

“You sound like that’s a bad thing. I am not some kind of tyrant, or somekirin that throws their merriment into danger carelessly.”

Now he took a moment to look back at me. “Intention and result may lay far away from each other, regardless of your efforts. You are young,” he turned back to facing forward, “you may believe in what you say. Still, you are a threat to my people and their freedom of will and choice.”

“Since you are under the protection of Hades, neither I nor Bliz are a threat to you. Where is she by the way?”

“Who?”

“Blizzard Silence, another azure-kirin of my merriment. You should know, since it was your people who…”

“May have had a misunderstanding with them,” Rythil interrupted me. “She is one of the friends we were looking for of course.” He gave me a pleading look.

“If you don’t stop that, I…” I had already started to growl when a far better idea came to my mind to put him back in his place. Softly I stroked over his head and began scratching him between his ears, right behind his horns.

“Calamitous Blossom will answer any questions regarding the other azure, once the imminent danger they presented was over, the matter of how she would be dealt with fell to her,” Caustic Mercy dismissed while Rythil squirmed under my affection.

“Could you please not do this?” he asked with this hopeless expression on his little face.

“You are a plushy now, remember?” I asked sarcastically while grinning ever so slightly as I intensified my petting. Looking back towards Caustic Mercy, I said, “Heat Wave isn’t an azure-kirin, he shouldn’t have posed a threat to you in the first place.”

“A kirin enslaved by an azure has not much of a choice about his action, as long as your fellow azure was in charge, he was a threat.”

“And now? When he is no longer under my or her command…? I let the words linger in the air.

At least I earned a raised eyebrow and a second of hesitation from Caustic Mercy. “You will see,” was all he was willing to reply.

*

“I will not stand idle with her kind in these halls!” Calamitous Blossom yelled in outrage as she stepped down from her throne, but not without grabbing an axe from the wooden wall behind her with her magic. “I am the protector of this village, no azure is allowed to roam these halls while I draw breath!” She came to a halt at the bottom of the marble stairs leading up to her throne.

While I was still recoving from astonishment at how warm this welcome was, Caustic Mercy slammed the end of his staff onto the ground three times, gaining everyone's attention. “She has passed the test of our Lord Hades, she is allowed to come here by our tradition. Despite being an azure,” he added with audible displeasure.

“Don’t lecture me about our laws! It was my ancestor who wrote them!” She swung the axe widely in front of her, intimidatingly. “She may be spared from the erasing blessing Lord Hades granted us, but I can challenge her to a duel, leader to leader, at any time!” She reared up and roared loudly, causing the kirins around us to clear the hall and climb up the bleachers embedded into the walls. “And I do so now!” With these words, she lowered her stance and gave me a challenging hiss.

“Hades will not approve of this,” Caustic Mercy stated but did nothing more. He then turned around to face me, his expression still as inscrutable as ever. “I told you of the reputation your kind has among my people. Seems Calamitous Blossom is not in the mood today to let your presence go unchallenged. You either have to face her, or, you can return to the surface having wasted your time and effort, only accomplishing earning a, as far as I can tell, severe punishment for one of your followers.” His gaze demonstratively wandered to my new scarf.

“Can’t we just talk about this?” Without the call influencing me, I was far less willing to fight other kirins for dominance. “I didn’t even bring a weapon with me!”

A spear landed right next to my claw, crashing into the marble floor tip first and somehow even managing to stay upright.

“The respect for your god is kind of lacking among your people,” Rythil commented. “They could have hurt Fiery on accident, and they knew that.”

“The gods work in mysterious ways.” Caustic Mercy just smiled at Rythil.

“They do indeed,” he retorted, his voice was filled with sarcasm, “their ways are unfathomable.” He then turned to me. “I know you will ignore my advice anyway, but you don’t have to do this. You can retreat, safe and sound to the surface, and, Fortuna wouldn’t feel the desire to throw me in the styx because you died down here.”

“Your trust in me winning is not very high,” I snorted. He, in return, gave me his best innocent smile. “I’ve been able to stand my ground so far, you know? I may not want to fight, but I am not a lost cause!”

“You don’t even know the rules!” he yelled. “I told you, you could die! This could very well be a fight of life and death given the weapons! Just look at that axe! Tell me that it’s just meant to give you a bruise!

“What are the rules?” I shouted over to Calamitous Blossom, ignoring Rythils worry.

“First one to die, loses!”

Now concern did start to grow in my mind.

For a moment, Calamitous Blossom’s voice turned a tiny bit ceremonial as she recited the rules. “No magic, except levitation of your weapon of choice.” Her tone got a bit more disapproving for a second, “not that you could use magic anyway! No items, potions, or any other shenanigans! Only the clothes you are wearing are allowed in the ring!”

I threw a look at the feathers in her mane as well as the mask Caustic Mercy was carrying. “Makes sense. What about flying?”

“Fly around this hall as much as you want, it will not save you!” She spat on the ground between us. “Now accept my challenge or be gone, daring never to return!”

“What about…” I started, but she just roared at me.

“Accept or flee!”

“Fiery, please, don’t do this!” Rythil grabbed my cheeks with his tiny claws, “let’s just retreat to the surface and let your Dad, Fortuna, or your merriment handle this, please!”

I hesitated. I was just so eager to rescue Bliz. It was only a matter of time till Dad found a way down here, and I had no doubt about how a confrontation between him and Calamitous Blossom would end. I scratched the ground indecisively, fighting my pride. My whole azure-kirin heritage told me to stay and accept that challenge, influenced by the call or not. And that wasn’t even mentioning my advisors, who were piping up in the back of my mind. Slowly, so very slowly, I placed one claw to the side to turn around and leave this place.

It took me too long, taking my hesitation as a direct challenge to her, Calamitous Blossom stormed forward, her axe held tightly in her magic grip as she swung it around and towards me. I tore the spear out of the ground, grabbed Rythil, and was going to throw him into the crowd when it clicked in my head. Just the clothes you wear! That was it! “You are part of my clothes! You are my scarf!” I swung Rythil back around my neck and stormed forward.

“Wait! What?!” The little luck dragon didn’t know what hit him. “You can’t be serious!”

I had to spare him a reply since the sound of clashing metal filled the air when I deflected my opponent's axe, letting it harmlessly glide past me. I was going to use my momentum to hit her with the other end of my spear, but before I could begin, she was already bounding forward, using her shoulder to ram me.

I hadn’t expected her to do something like that, so it hit me quite hard, forcing me to roll back. By a feathers breadth, her following swing missed me as I flared my wings and began hovering up into the air.

“I told you your flying wouldn’t save you!” She then threw her axe directly at me. Not that it was of any danger to me though. I simply evaded with a flap to the side. Unfortunately, I had underestimated Calamitous Blossom’s skill. Midair, she changed the direction of her axe so that it was now coming right back at me like a boomerang!

No wonder magic was forbidden in a ritual azure-kirin fight! This placed cheating on a whole new level!

Unable to dodge it completely this time, I did my best to let it hit me at my most protected spot, my back scales! Luckily for me, the axe hadn’t had the time or space to really build up enough momentum, still it left a scar on my back and even cracked some of my scales. Not to mention the pain!

“Just throw the spear at her like Mom taught us!” Calmly threw in. “Aim for her chest while she is distracted with redirecting the axe!”

“That would kill her!” I mentally yelled back. “Are you crazy?!”

“That’s kind of is the point,” Roary added. “It is either her or us! And we don’t want our legacy to be that we were killed by a runehorn! A runehorn that isn’t even a fellow azure!”

“Specifically the being killed part!” Calmy clarified.

“Evade!” The crystal clear command of Rythil broke through my inner dialog and barely allowed me to do as he told, letting the axe fly past me one more time. “Thanks,” I hastily yelled and bursted into full flying speed as fast as I could. Maybe I could outfly Calamitous Blossom’s magic!

“You can fly, but you cannot escape!” She yelled, doing her best to match her axes speed with me. Well, I could at least try! The space in the hall may be rather limited, still, I did my best to lose that axe on my tail!

“Shake it off!” Rythil yelled. “It’s gaining on us!”

“I’m trying!” But that cursed axe was following every one of my evasive manoeuvres, it was a bit slower in changing direction than me, but it alway gained on me when I flew straight!

“Just a question of time, azure!”

“A question of time till I beat you!” I retorted. Easier said than done though! It was at this moment that Fortuna came to my aid! No, not literally again, but my luck played its cards! When I took a sharp turn next to one of the walls, the axe sliced into the wood, unable to follow my path as good as I flew it! Whatever skills Calamitous Blossom may have on the ground, she lacked maneuverability with her magic!

The next time I reached one of the walls, I flew upwards as fast and as hard as I could in order to make as tight of a loop as possible. As my back hooves scraped against the wall as I began to fly back in the direction I had come from, I felt the blade of the axe pass through the hair of my tail just before the heavy slam of it embedding itself into the wall resonated from the wood behind me.

“Now! She is defenceless! Fly straight at her and impale her!” Calmly’s voice suggested forcefully in my head. “You will not get a better chance than now!”

“How about I just hit her unconscious? Am I the only one lacking a sense of bloodlust here?!”

“Even your pony side is supporting it,” Roary roared. “What are you waiting for! Spear fighting is something you got from your mothers pegasi heritage! Use it!”

It was not like I wasn’t aware of the seriousness of the situation, still…

“Alright!” I flew straight at Calamitous Blossom, but not to impale her, to threaten her with my spear. “It’s over, Calamitous Blossom!” I pointed the speartip right at her face. “Give up!”

“In your dreams!” I could see her horn begin glowing even more and heard the sound of cracking wood behind me. She was freeing her axe! She didn’t wait for it to arrive though, instead, she stormed forward, right at me! With wide eyes I watched her suicide attack, but I was wrong, before she even came close to my spear, she did a somersault and used her momentum to fling her tail at my spear, slapping it to the side. Still, I had been trained by mom, so instead of losing my weapon, I turned the swing against her, hitting her in the leg she was trying to kick me with with the blunt side of my spear.

“Watch out!” Again, Rythil made me aware of the danger I was in. I deflected the incoming axe and instantly returned to a defensive position.

“Not bad for a child!” Calamitous Blossom mocked, catching her axe with a hoof and starting to circle me. She couldn’t know, but this was a situation that Mom and Dad had unintentionally prepared me for. Watching an attacking animal, with my spear in claw, waiting for the subtle clue of an imminent charge. And it wasn’t any different with an intelligent opponent. Well, the difference was that it wasn’t subtle. Calamitous Blossom just shifted her weight onto her back hooves, reared up, and let her magic flare up as she swung her weapon backwards to gain more momentum for the blow.

Not a good idea if your opponent has a spear!

With a roar, I stormed a few steps forward, my spear aimed right at her belly. However, I still wasn’t willing to kill her. I was sure she would back down and either evade or try to deflect my spear. My real goal was to injure her front legs, or at least give her a good scratch over one of her sides. “There!” I yelled as I thrust my spear forward.

“Fool!” Too late, I saw her smile. She didn’t even back down, instead, she rushed forward on only two hooves, evaded to the side, and grabbed the speartip! I wrestled with her for a second for control of the spear, until her axe flew straight at me and I had to let go in order to not get beheaded! With a triumphant smile, Calamitous Blossom now stood before me with my spear in her hooves and her axe circling her!

“You are as good as dead, azure!”

Without any further delay, she stormed at me, the spear raised and pointed at my chest!

“No!” Rythil screamed in horror, shifting from his position around my neck so that he was now in front of my chest, doing his best to catch the blow for me. Not that it would help all that much if he did ‘block’ the hit, I thought. Not seeing a better option, I just grabbed the speartip in desperation! I wasn’t nearly as skilled as Calamitous Blossom though, and cried out in pain when the iron sides scratched over my claws. Only the knowlage that she would impale me the second I let go gave me the strength to hold on!

“Just give up!” Calamitous Blossom roared, putting all of her weight into the push. “You only make it harder for yourself!” Looking at her and seeing her glowing horn, I was reminded that there was another problem that would be coming at me any second now!

“Rythil! Watch out for that axe!” He didn’t need to be told twice. Like a squirrel, he climbed over me and onto my back.

“It’s coming!” He shouted a second later.

“Any last words?” Calamitous Blossom pressed out, groaning from her effort.

I didn’t have the breath to reply. Slowly, the speartip began inching closer to me.

“Fiery! The…”

I didn’t wait for Rythil to finish his sentence. I just gave up my resistance and allowed Calamitous Blossom to push forward. Not into my chest though! Instead of pushing back, I pulled the spear while rolling backwards. Calamitous Blossom reacted too slowly and was pulled with it. I guided the speartip aside and gave her a heavy kick in her belly, throwing her over me and into her own weapons path. Or so I had planned. Midair, she did a barrel roll and caught her weapon! It was unbelievable! She should have been unable to change the course of her axe that fast! And she hadn’t! She had just turned it so the handle was pointed at her as she flew by, and all she had to do was grab it! The rest had been physics!

Seeing my shocked face, she smiled. “That was a lot more fun than I had expected,” she laughed. “No wonder my ancestors fought the azures, it is a real pleasure!” Unfortunately this little bit of banter came at the same time as her storming back at me again! Sharp pain shot through my claws when I grabbed the spear tighter to block her attacks. I didn’t dare look at them, it was already enough to see the fine red lines on the wood wherever I touched it. The near deafening sound of clashing metal echoed through the hall when our weapons hit each other over and over again.

“We can still end this! We don’t need to fight this till the end!” I yelled. My claws were beginning to feel like they were in lava due to all the vibrations the clashing weapons sent through my spear. Each of Calamitous Blossom’s blows were like hammer strikes against an anvil, sending waves of pain throughout my claws and forelegs.

“You’re dreaming! I already have the advantage!” she retorted.

Sadly, she was very much right about that! I had to come up with something, and fast!

My mind raced ten miles a second during this point, all the while Rythil was scurrying around on my back and neck to avoid being hit or falling off.

Rythil! That was it!

“Get on my back!” I commanded, trying to sound like he was in the way. I had to deflect two more hits before he was in position. I could feel his claws on my spine, his tail restlessly sweeping over my scales. It was at the moment when his tail was on my left side and Calamitous Blossom’s axe was on my right that I grabbed him by the tail and tossed him at her.

“Bite her! Scratch her eyes out!” I yelled.

Both of them were confused for the split second it took for them to collide. Immediately, Rythil got to work biting into her cheek and scratched her with his claws. Despite being small and a priest, he was still a dragon! He knew how to get into a frenzy! Roaring out in anger and pain, Calamitous Blossom dropped her axe, reared up, and did her best to get rid of the little pest on her face. That second of inattention was all I needed!

“Now impale her!” Roary demanded eagerly! “Show her who is the dominant!”

“Kill her to save us and Rythil!” Calmly supported.

I did neither of this! I threw my spear forward, right into her left hindleg, and sprung forward with my claws and fangs ready! She didn’t stand a chance! Her leg gave out under the force of my impact and we both rolled over the floor. It was no longer only my blood on my claws! She screamed in agony, but still tried to punch back, bite me, and get rid of Rythil. Without claws though, it was in vain. Finally, I had her throat between my fangs and forced her on her back, growling menacingly. She tried to force my snout open with her hooves, but that only left her vulnerable to my claws, as well as my scarf!

“Give up!” I mumbled as I placed my talons on her chest and throat, slightly piercing her with them. “It is over!”

“Never!” Her attempts to open my snout became more desperate. “I would sooner die than submit to an azure!”

“I don’t want to kill you!”

“Then give up and perish!”

Ponyfeathers! What should I do? I had her there, between my fangs, but I couldn’t do it! And she wasn’t willing to submit! Ponyfeathers, ponyfeathers, Ponyfeathers!

“You must kill her!” Roary piped up. “Kill her, or she will kill us, there is no other way!”

“I don’t want to!”

“You have too!” His tone became darker. “And you want to! You want to show this runehorn who is the dominant! Her and all the kirins!”

“I…”

“Surrender! Surrender you stupid fool!” Rythil yelled. He was still on Calamitous Blossom’s head, and from what I could see, his fangs and claws also were no longer clean.

“Don’t mind him! Kill her! Sink your fangs in her and claim her territory and all her subjects! Do it! All that is hers will be yours!”

Slowly, I started to close my jaw…

“Mom! No!” A younger mare emerged from the crowd, jumped down from the bleacher, and stormed right at us. I don’t know who was more surprised, me or Calamitous Blossom. I did realise though how Calamitous Blossoms eyes widened in shock, right before the younger mare shot something at me. Despite my attempts to kill her, Calamitous Blossom tried all she could to roll around, my fangs in her throat be damned, to get me out of the line of the shot.

I, on the other claw, was too stupid to even react, and so the bolt of magic hit me anyway. Surprisingly it didn’t hurt at all, not like it was displayed in the engraving, still, the world faded into darkness quite quickly.

Author's Note

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Schattendrache : Edits and Pre-reading
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