Path of Dragons

After saying his goodbyes and cautioning Miguel to heed Kurik’s commands, Elijah gathered his things, double-checked that he had everything he would need, then used Shape of the Sky. The transformation came much more quickly, barely taking a second when, before, it had taken a couple. Soon enough, he’d launched himself toward the sky. He beat his powerful wings, rising above the grove as he quickly gained altitude.

There was something undeniably addictive about flight, about defying gravity to soar through the air. Not only was it a much quicker means of travel than going on foot, but it represented a degree of freedom that few humans had ever enjoyed. In his flight form, he could go almost anywhere, do almost anything. And that was a heady notion, especially given the breadth of miracles waiting to be discovered.

He’d seen a few such miracles since Earth had been touched by the World Tree. Some were large, like the presence of a skyscraper in the middle of an untouched and pristine valley. Or the deep ravine that rivaled – or perhaps even exceeded – the Grand Canyon in scope. But there were plenty of small miracles as well. The peaceful glades, the curious wildlife, the streams and waterfalls – the whole world was magical and miraculous, and though Elijah was wholeheartedly committed to his quest for vengeance, he couldn’t deny that a good part of him desperately wanted to fly off toward the horizon on a different sort of quest – one of discovery.

Elijah circled his island at an altitude of thousands of feet, and from that vantage, the entire landscape was laid out before him. He could see his island, small compared to the massive mainland. Ironshore looked tiny as well. A fairly well contained collection of buildings that seemed far too small to house the few thousand people Elijah knew lived there.

Then there were the looming mountains just beyond the town. The range stretched as far as Elijah could see, jutting much higher than his current altitude. At present, the peaks were wreathed in clouds and blanketed in white snow, making him feel even smaller than he really was.

Elijah had become powerful. According to the power rankings, he was the strongest person on Earth. However, when he looked upon those mountains, he knew just how little that title counted.

Before experiencing the touch of the World Tree and being transformed, Earth had seemed a lot smaller than it really was. Elijah blamed global communication, the ease of travel, and the internet for that perception. However, the moment all of that quit working, that view had shifted. Suddenly, a few hundred miles was a long way to travel – let alone thousands. Before, Elijah could have gone on the internet to see what was happening on the other side of the world. Now, he didn’t even know what was going on in Ironshore unless he physically went there and asked around.

And that wasn’t even considering the world’s transformation, which, according to everything he’d heard, was rumored to be as large as Saturn. Elijah had barely paid attention during lessons that covered astronomy, but he had some idea of the scope that size represented. The planet was at least ten times its former size, and filled with wonders and dangers to match its new stature.

Those thoughts flitted through Elijah’s mind as he circled his island. Then, he turned his attention to the ocean. From so high up, he could see dozens of miles, and when he used Eyes of the Eagle, he could see much, much further. And under the effects of that augmentation, he could see darkness on the horizon. It was hundreds of miles away, he knew, but he could see enough to suspect that that smudge in the distance represented an enormous storm.

Elijah couldn’t know. However, despite the rain-soaked climate of his region, the island had never experienced hurricanes or the like. So, he felt reasonably certain that they were safe from truly inclement weather. Besides, he also expected that the grove would survive any storm the world could throw its way. Sure, there would almost assuredly be damage. Maybe his coffee trees would be uprooted. But the ancestral tree would be fine. So would his and his sister’s treehouses.

For a while, he continued to circle until, at last, he decided to get a move on. Initially, he’d intended to use Roots of the World Tree to instantly teleport to Seattle, but overnight, he’d decided against that tactic. The ability to immediately jump thousands of miles was too valuable to use it just to save a couple of days. The last thing he wanted was for the spell to be on cooldown when he needed it most – like if he needed a quick escape. Another part of the choice to forego the use of Roots of the World Tree was based on his burgeoning skill at flying. He hadn’t used the form nearly enough for flight to feel instinctive, so he intended to use the trip to simultaneously work on his skills while also putting himself in the right mindset for the coming trials.

Because Elijah didn’t think getting revenge on Roman would be easy.

Perhaps from a physical standpoint, he could manage it well enough. After all, he was the strongest person in the world, according to the power ladder. That had to mean something. On top of that, he had a wealth of combat experience, and in a wide variety of situations, to draw upon. He’d recently killed one of the top three most powerful people in the world, too. So, Elijah knew he had the ability to do what needed to be done.

But killing someone in cold blood required a different frame of mind. That was especially true if he intended to bring down the city, too. Which was still up in the air, if he was honest with himself. On the one hand, from what Carmen had described, the entire city of Easton was rotten to the core, and the world would be a better place if that city no longer existed. However, on the other hand, Elijah knew that Carmen’s perception was tainted by her own mindset. Inevitably, there were still innocent people in that city. And even if there weren’t, there were degrees of guilt. Some people doubtless deserved execution. But others, even if they were in some way complicit in Alyssa’s murder, hadn’t earned that fate.

It was a complex situation, and one Elijah intended to ponder as he flew toward the city in question.

He beat his wings against the air, climbing ever higher until he passed through the clouds and into an entirely new world. Via One with Nature, he could feel things he couldn’t identify in and above the clouds. However, he saw nothing but a few shimmers in the air. It reminded him of what he thought of as the Predator effect, derived from the titular movie alien who could camouflage itself almost completely. However, when it moved, it created a barely visible shimmer.

The same was true of the things Elijah sensed through One with Nature. They represented a wide variety of shapes. There were things that felt like serpents, a few amorphous blobs, and humanoid variants, among many others. It took Elijah a few minutes to recognize that they were made of air, putting him in mind of spirits. Or elementals, perhaps.

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Fortunately, they were not aggressive. Indeed, they ignored him altogether, even when he came close. Still, it was an interesting discovery, and one Elijah would have studied closer if he didn’t have his mission to worry about. As it was, he quickly left the clouds behind as he soared toward the mountains.

As he drew closer, he recognized many other flying creatures. Some were recognizable species of birds, though they were typically much larger than they had been before Earth’s transformation. Yet, there were other beasts that could only be described as magical in nature. Elijah saw a flock of winged serpents in the distance, as well as an animal that looked strikingly like a griffon, though he couldn’t be sure, considering that it dove into the forested mountainside before he had a chance to study it.

Eventually, Elijah found the path through the mountains. He didn’t try to fly over them, instead targeting the pass he’d used before. As he flew through it, he saw that the remnants of the spiders had begun to fade. At last, the gossamer webs that had once coated the entire area had started to dissolve. There were other animals about, too, which boded well for the ecosystem’s recovery from the invasive monster’s presence.

He covered ground much more quickly than he had in his first few trips, and after only a few hours – some of which, he spent practicing flying through narrow valleys – he began his descent into the foothills. On a whim, Elijah decided to stop by Norcastle.

Mostly, he wanted to check on Jess and Essex, but he also wanted to make certain that Ironshore’s interests were protected. After all, they were his allies, and their fate affected his own. The stronger they were, the better they would be able to protect their territory, which was a good thing for him.

So long as they didn’t get any ideas about invading his island, that is.

But they’d stayed away so far, and Elijah could only hope that that pattern would continue.

After a while, he saw Norcastle in the distance, so he landed – badly – and, after using Touch of Nature to heal the resulting injuries, he shifted into his draconid form and continued on to the tree line closest to the city.

Once there, he settled down to study the situation.

The city itself looked much the same as it always had. The gate was guarded, but not by either of the people Elijah remembered. That didn’t mean anything, though. Perhaps it was just a different shift. Either way, Elijah couldn’t tell much from afar, so he embraced Guise of the Unseen before padding across the large, open field until he reached the wall.

Once there, he launched himself upward, using his claws to grab hold of the uneven stones so he could climb to the top. He reached his goal unseen, then crossed the four-foot-wide wall walk before leaping down to the ground on the other side.

And just like that, he was inside Norcastle.

After looking around a bit, Elijah could confirm that not much had really changed. Some of the people seemed to have higher levels, and the stench of corruption was gone. There also weren’t any corpse wagons to be found, so he felt confident that the plague had not returned. That meant that Essex and his people – or perhaps the mayor’s men – were doing their duty by periodically running the tower. Hopefully, the Reaver’s Citadel hadn’t resulted in too many deaths, though Elijah expected that there would be a few, regardless of his efforts.

He'd detailed the tower’s layout – at least what he’d seen – for Essex before leaving the first time, but even then, people would still have to do the work. And with the unforgiving nature of each tower’s challenges, it was inevitable that some casualties would occur.

Regardless, Elijah was satisfied that his efforts hadn’t been wasted, so he moved on with the first task, which was to ensure that Essex was still around. A quick trip to the man’s office told Elijah that he was fine – if a little overworked – but he didn’t bother emerging from stealth. That would only cause the man problems.

So, he moved on to the next – and more important – task.

The hospital was a lot less crowded this time around, so it didn’t take Elijah long to find Jess. She looked much the same as always, wearing purple scrubs and a pair of sneakers, though she felt a little stronger than before. That was probably inevitable. After all, she gained experience through healing, which was her job.

Elijah followed her for about an hour until she went to an office that would provide a bit of privacy. Once inside, he dropped Shape of the Predator and, even as he resumed his human form, asked, “Miss me?”

She gave a start, nearly falling out of her chair. Then, she patted her chest, saying, “Jesus – you scared the hell out of me, Elijah!”

“Sorry. I was trying to be spontaneous and romantic.”

“By popping up out of nowhere? You have a weird idea of romance.”

“Mostly derived from romantic comedies. So…yeah. You’re probably right. But I was just kidding. Sort of,” he said. “I didn’t leave under the best of circumstances, so I figured it wasn’t a great idea to just come strolling in here. Hence the stealth.”

She let out a deep breath. “That was probably a good idea. There was someone looking for you a couple of months back,” she said. “Big guy. Really strong. I don’t think you want to let him find you.”

“Oh, him? I crushed his skull,” Elijah said, picking up a knickknack off the desk. It was a little bobble-head of a baseball player. “But in my defense, he didn’t give me much choice. He stabbed me in the heart. And in the back. A couple of times, if I remember right. Plus, he was all like, ‘I’m a mighty Viking hunter, and you are my prey! Raa!’. Or something like that. He wasn’t a nice guy is what I’m saying. Had a nice water bottle, though. Really useful.”

“What?” Jess asked, clearly struggling to follow Elijah’s interpretation of the fight. After only a second, she just shook her head and said, “You haven’t changed.”

“More than it seems,” Elijah said, his tone suddenly serious. “Probably not as much as I should, though.”

Indeed, most of the time, Elijah felt like the same person he’d been the last time he’d visited Norcastle. But so much had changed that he knew that wasn’t the case. Even his conversation with Jess felt forced, and not in his normal, nervous way.

“Are you okay?” she asked, reaching out to touch his arm.

Elijah shrugged. “I don’t know, honestly,” he admitted. “I found out my sister died. It…I haven’t taken it well. It happened years ago. But…I still feel guilty that I wasn’t there for her.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Elijah gave her a small, sad smile. “You don’t know that. Neither do I. Chances are, I’d have ended up the same as her, even if I had been there. But the not knowing – that’s the worst,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m fine, though. I just thought I’d stop by to see if everything was okay here.”

After that, Jess explained that Essex had made a deal with the mayor to send joint teams into the tower. That had proven a success, and since then, the captain of the guard had worked to gradually gain more freedoms for the people. The mayor had acquiesced, especially when Kurik had appeared and offered an ongoing trade deal. After that, his attitude had shifted, and the corruption that had been so prevalent the last time Elijah had visited had faded into the background.

“I mean, he’s still a shady figure, but it’s a lot better now,” Jess stated. “We all have full access to the branch too. So long as we pay a few copper ethereum, we can use it as much as we want.”

“That’s great, Jess. I’m glad I didn’t kill him last time,” Elijah said. He’d considered it after the man had sent some thugs to his inn. Back then, he hadn’t known if their intention was to simply collect him, rob him, or murder him, but he’d chosen to interpret it in the worst way. As such, the only reason he hadn’t gone to teach the mayor a lesson was because Jess had asked him not to.

Plus, back then, he’d maintained an aversion to kill humans. That still persisted to a certain extent, but if Elijah felt justified, he wouldn’t hesitate.

“Either way, I’m glad you’re okay. That’s a load off my mind,” he said. “But I’m going to be on my way.”

“You don’t want to stick around? Maybe have a meal?” she asked, hopeful.

Elijah was tempted to take her up on it, but he shook his head and said, “No. Rain check, maybe.”

Then, he left the room, shifting into his draconid form the moment he entered the hall. Once he was out of sight, he once again adopted Guise of the Unseen before heading toward the wall.

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