After returning to the small area aurelia had designated to be the rendezvous point but finding no-one there I had decided to go searching for her. Maybe she'd left a trail behind that I could follow, but for days I searched fruitlessly. Aurelia, Moira, tiffani and zach were simply gone. Almost as if they'd never existed.
My search even brought me to a rural and rundown community with only a few people as residents. But after questioning the ones who were willing to speak to me and making no headway I was left with a predicament.
She, Aurelia had promised to help me rescue master but with the wound she had gotten she would be in no position to help.
And as worried as I was, it was all I could do to hope that she was ok. Until I found her at least.
Soon enough though I made my way back to the town but even there, I had no luck finding her or any of the others. So I decided to keep the fact that she was missing to myself and took the soldiers under my direct command.
Temporary commander.
i had no intention of doing this at first but i couldnt bear the thought that she would return one day and after seeing how i'd left them leaderless... hate me for it...
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Two weeks later...
I sighed and brushed my hair from my face. I hadn't had the time lately to tend to myself. since i spent most of my time understanding the mysteries of my new realm of cultivation.
This lead me to constant sparring with the top ranking under my direct command under the guise of training.
I exhaled through gritted teeth and accidentally displaced a bit of the ki I had absorbed.
I grew more frustrated by the minute, the daily needs of the soldiers and residents of the town always seemed to be getting in the way of my cultivation and then even this constant need to be stronger gnawed at me, but I couldn't let it hinder me any longer.
Was I scared?
Of course.
My confidence almost got me killed and left Aurelia bleeding.
That was when something that master once told me resounded in my thoughts, "there's always a mountain behind the mountain, a sky above the sky. Never let your mind wane or your wit grow dull, only take risks you're sure you can overcome."
"Master."
The very thought of master being in that place confined and hurting made me sad and upset all over again.
No.
Master had endured long enough and it was time that I rescued her, with or without Aurelia.
I closed my eyes and paused the constant absorbing of hou that my mutated golden black core endlessly caused. My control had grown by leaps and bounds.
The air was serene and still, I could hear much farther than before and my sight had become so much better too.
"Do you really wish to challenge me again?" I breathed solidly without opening my eyes.
This aura belonged to one of the top lieutenants of my main squad.
Asher.
He paused and after a light chuckle "I wouldn't dream of it acting commander."
Asher had a head full of short white hair and proud black horns that grew around his head like a small crown.
Even though his build was mostly nonexistent, his charm and smile could probably win over any Dragonborn bachelorette but this was only a mask he wore.
This one was a full blown battle lunatic with ridiculous strength and cunning prowess.
If fighting was food, he'd be fat.
This comparison didn't really do him justice but it made me feel better imagining him fat.
But in all seriousness he's the only one of the soldiers who ever willingly challenged me. Even though his current state can't be called his peak he's still ridiculously strong.
I can tell though, he's never fought seriously with me before.
That thought is kinda trilling in and of itself but another spar was the furthest thing from my mind at the moment.
"Well then, have you completed your task successfully?"
"I have. Acting commander."
"And your injuries?"
"It's nothing a light round of training won't fix."
I paused before,
"Good, then you may take your leave."
His aura vanished.
Hmm, had he gotten faster?
.... .... ... ..... ...
I opened my eyes slowly to the amber and purple hue the sky offered.
"A few weeks ago I sparred with Aurelia here and lost. I had tried to subdue her but I wasn't being serious about it.
Neither of us were.
I breathed out again and allowed my core to rebuild its gathering vortex pulling hou strands from the air.
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My confidence in my newfound strength allowed me to steel my resolve. So what if I'm only at the profound ki gathering stage? If I get challenged I can always rely on my mutated golden core to devour any in the realm directly above me. Hopefully I won't be unlucky enough to meet anyone stronger again. Naruk was a nightmare I hope I wouldn't have to face again anytime soon.
As the days progressed I selected three other soldiers with the highest ability to manipulate hou and and combat skills. Then with only minor objections from the bunch set off to rescue my master.
Only, the truth I told them was anything but.
I had intentionally, kept my distance from them emotionally. If it came down to me needing to sacrifice them for master I'll gladly do it.
My obligations are to master. Everything else comes second.
But although they'd mostly already accepted me as their temporary leader and followed my orders without question, after what had happened before I could only use the excuse of a randevu with Aurelia as the incentive they needed.
——————————————————————-
We'd gathered at an inn near to the border of the region we had to enter to rescue my master. The three with me thought they were to be the lead squad to open a path for the captain, Aurelia who was allegedly being pinned down while pushing back the resistance.
I knew Aurelia worked for Jiya but I had no idea how convoluted the whole situation was…
Jiya worked under the monarch's, the flame monarch to be exact. And under Jiya was a mysterious figure who rarely showed his face in the dragon realm.
And under him, Aurelia and several others.
Many clans I'd yet to even hear about but what I couldn't understand was why Jiya who care so much for her people seem as though she was opposing the monarchs who could as easily as breathing wipe the entirety of the Dragonborn from existence.
Naruk was a part of her plan, I just know it.
So was I just a by product or was she planning something big that involved me?
Somewhere deep inside, somewhere that I'd like to pretend doesn't exist I still cared for Jiya.
Her deep black long and hair and majestic horns.
Her innocent and shy demeanor.
Her sharp gaze and gentle touch.
Her words and how she only seemed curious about making friends yet was on guard because humans were rumored to be devious.
And lastly how she'd surrendered herself to me.
Despite her actions I knew she felt something for me too.
I shook my head. Trying to shake out the thoughts that threatened my resolve and forced my thoughts back to the matter at hand.
The previous teams who had infiltrated the region before had brought us maps and valuable info.
But even comparing it to the maps we had they still fell short of the area master was held.
The region we were about to enter was infamous all round for being one of the cruelest regions. The iron region.
Not iron as in ore but iron as in unyielding.
This nation housed one of the strongest variations of Dragonborn.
Strength dragons.
These Dragonborn leaned almost fully in body tempering and physical martial arts.
And you'd think that this was a weakness since hou can also be used to strengthen the body.
That's true, But in this case it's wrong.
These Dragonborn have cultivated the true ancestral body non-stop since birth through a special kind of parental shared cultivation developed it to alarming extents.
The details of it are foggy at best but the end result is terrifying.
Let's just say you don't want to meet any above the second level.
And not only that, the ones who scouted ahead. Only one returned, badly wounded And that one was Asher.
Even though the iron and cloud were neighboring regions they didn't have peaceful relations at all. This iron region seemed to be the latest of the many regions who decided to act against the monarchs.
And it was all after Jiya with her accumulated power and amassed support of the people she so strongly care for had 'visited' the area.
The whole thing puzzled me and I couldnt help but feel like I was on the edge of her master plan being blindly led towards something she'd meticulously and painstakingly coordinated.
Even though I still felt for her, I hadn't changed my mind about her.
She hurt master, tricked Aurelia to siding with her and who known's just how many more she'd strung along?
I shook my head again, this was becoming an unpleasant habit.
This isn't my business, the dragonborn will clean up their own mess.
The area that master was being held at was to the northeast after passing one of the biggest and last cities in this area just before the border. Which was as I understood it the only way to pass the border.
The very tightly guarded border.
This wasn't gonna be easy.