Nargash and Keagor had traveled across the Annuran region from one end to the other. He'd explored the forest, the desert, the mountains, and the tundra. The only thing he had been able to find was the left over results of a battle held in the Silver Fang. Strange liquid was left on the ground and mercury spikes shot up from the earth, staying solid due to the freezing temperature.
They had been traveling for three days without any progress at all. They could not tell which direction the group had gone after the battle, so Nargash found himself and his dragon searching the tundra for any sing of life, but other than animals here and there, he could find no trace of them.
*Damn it all.* Nargash cursed. *Where the hell could they have gone?*
*Master, do you think we should return to Serrakon? The king may-*
*Shut your damn mouth, Keagor, you worthless snake! I do not obey the king, he is a blind, weak, greedy fool. He has become an idiot with his age.*
*Yes.. of course, master..*
*I will become the undisputed king- no- I will become the ultimate god of this world, and nothing will stand in my way!* Nargash grit his teeth. *Hasten forward, dragon. We will find Gena… and kill her.*
— — —
The next day, Dagon woke up and ate breakfast. Gena had gone out earlier that morning and brought back another pair of boar to eat. The meat was tough and did not taste very good, it was quite bland, and Gena's impossibly hot talon flames scorched it. Charcoal did not add a good flavor.
"Boar again, huh?" Dagon asked, staring at the meat with disappointment.
"Eat. You need the energy and I will not have you wasting the precious food given to us by the death of an animal." Gena growled, swallowing her share of the food all in one gulp.
"Bleh.." Dagon groaned, taking a bite and struggling to rip off a chunk. When it came loose, he found his mouth full of hardly any meat and mostly just nasty tasting fat. He almost gagged as he tried to swallow it down.
"How do you feel, Dagon?" Sephtis asked.
Dagon stood to his feet slowly, flexing his body and moving about, shaking his limbs. Other than tinges of pain and soreness, he felt fine for the most part.
"I think I'm fine." He said. "I think we should go find that place."
"Place? What place?" Gena asked.
"Oh, i had a dream the night before. I saw a woman in white as well as a silver dragon with blue eyes. There was a blizzard and we were on some kind of mountain path, all I know is that it was high up."
"Sounds like the peak of Mt. Fang. Did you see any details of the woman?"
"No. But I have a feeling.. she was a Dragon Kin."
"It's not impossible."
"But the chances are low." Sephtis added.
"Yeah, but either way the silver dragon was there too. And the girl was approaching it. It would make sense. Even if the girl is not a Kin, we should find the dragon."
"And what makes you so sure this dream is real?" Gena asked.
"It felt real. Vivid. It didn't feel like a dream. It was like I could almost touch them.." Dagon flexed his fists, but had momentarily forgot his lack of an arm.
"Fine. We will look into it, but we are leaving tonight." Gena spoke.
"Why?"
"Because," Sephtis chimed in, "have you forgotten the kingdoms are after you? We need the cover of night to blanket us in shadow."
Dagon groaned staring up at the sky. It was early in the morning and he honestly did not want to wait until nightfall. He was too amped up.
"Use this time to practice your spells." Sephtis spoke. "Allow me to give you an idea."
"An idea?"
"Yes. When you lost control during Escalation, you created yourself, and I, an armor of mercury. That spell would be quite strong. It doesn't sound like much, but anything weak to poison would end up dying simply by touching us with that armor, and since it has a liquid form substance it can coat our entire bodies. You also made a long blade in place of your missing arm."
"You… want me to make an entire armor set for both you and me..?" Dagon asked.
"No, not yet. Start small. Try making a sword grow from your missing arm, or try covering your hand in mercury and making it solid enough to withstand and absorb impacts. It's also possible, due to its liquid like substance, that the armor could completely absorb attacks and impacts for you, nullifying any damage."
The more Sephtis talked about the spell Dagon had apparently done, the less he actually believed he could do it. The spells sound really strong, and he wanted to be able to use them, but he didn't honestly think he could. The strongest spell he had was mercury spikes, that or turning his opponent's blood to acid. Otherwise his spells were very limited and he wasn't very proficient, and he always ran out of energy really fast, leaving him exhausted.
He sighed. He had to get stronger, no matter how hard or challenging it was. He had to. For his father, and for every one else that depended on him.
"Sephtis." He spoke. "Shift to me."
Dagon felt the energy flow into him as Sephtis hummed. His eyes narrowed and he closed his eyes. He imagined a sleek, sharp blade in place of his arm, extending from the stump of his shoulder. He imagined how it would bend at the elbow joint, he imagined a spike at the elbow that would allow him to strike enemies from varying angles.
Then he opened his eyes.
A chunk of the stone wall became silver, turning to mercury that shifted and moved through the air before condensing at his shoulder. He focused it, bit by bit, starting by solidifying his upper arm and down from there. Eventually, he had managed to create the weapon he'd envisioned, though it was sloppy and curved and misshapen here and there, but for the most part, he'd done it.
"Well…" Dagon spoke, panting, "It's a start."
Then the blade dropped away to the ground, liquid. Dagon hunched forward, breathing heavily.
"It's progress." Gena said, "well done."