"Is that a dragon!?" Xayah asked as she backed away.
"Yes, but we call them drakes!" Qiyana had also gotten up and backed away from the dragon.
Lanius stood still and looked at the being. It had light blue scales all over its body, with a big blue snout and crystal blue horns. Basically it was...like true ice.
The ice dragon roared yet again, sending ice flakes everywhere. Its body irradiated cold, making a very thin layer of ice to grow on the nearby plants.
"The ice must have attracted it." Rakan exclaimed.
The ice drake then swooped down and with yet another thud, landed on the ground in front of the Winter.
Lanius stood still like a statue and observed the being. It was tall like the trees and its lenght was over 40 feet without the tail. One would describe it as magnificent...and the young man soon realised that it was also deadly, as it opened its jaws and spat out ice shards towards the four.
The young man snapped out of the sudden hault and summoned a temporary ice shield that blocked the sharp projectiles.
.
.
.
"Best advise I could give is to run towards Ixaocan!" Qiyana exclaimed.
"Not gonna happen!" Lanius yelled and rushed out of the ice shield and towards the drake.
"What is he doing?! Has he gone mad?!" Qiyana yelled. She couldn't believe in her eyes.
"If find his ways quite unorthodox and definitely won't use them. But hey, they work!" Xayah replied. "Babe, I need you to help me." she called out to Rakan as she darted towards the with her feather daggers drawn.
"But who's going to watch over her?" He asked. At that exact moment, the ground a few meters away from them split open like a watermelon and an muscular man with crimson hair and vastayan ears poke out of the hole, followed by a female and another male, who assisted him.
The other male from the hole, who was slimmer, with black hair looked dumbfounded the moment he saw the drake. "What is this?"
"Ice drake! Give us a little hand with it, won't ya?!" Xayah exclaimed and flung a few daggers at it, then got knocked away by its tail.
"Coming, keep her safe!" Rakan -apparently this was his name- yelled and charged in at high speeds, leaving behind a trail of yellow magic behind. Qiyana was suddenly moved further from the fight.
"Oh boy...beats me." The man with the black hair looked at the ice drake. It began spitting ice shards at Lanius and Xayah and would have hit them if Rakan hadn't swooped in last second and covered them with a shield.
"Kayn, a little help?" Xayah called out again for the man with the black hair.
Kayn looked at the large scythe in his hand. "Hey Rhaast...how about you give me a little bit of armour to fight this thing?"
A few seconds later, the scythe in his arm violently shook and a grey mass engulfed his whole body. The mass then began shaping out and changing colors, turning to red. Lastly, giant horns popped out of the head...and a red aura engulfed the body for a split second, then extinguished.
"Everyone, better watch out because the locks are off!" he exclaimed as he rushed towards the drake, followed by the other woman.
Wait, didn't the boy's appearance resemble...
"... A Darkin?" Qiyana couldn't believe in her eyes.
"Yeah, our team is composed of pretty quirky people, but we do the job straight." the muscular man came and sat next to her. "I'm Sett. Your name, sweetie?"
"You talk to the rightful ruler of Ixtal, Qiyana Yun Tal!" Qiyana replied with a formal tone. "I'm something more than a "sweetie".
"Ixtal? Aren't we in Shurima?" the man named Sett looked confused. "And by the way, your Highness, aren't you a bit...tied, to be using formalities?" he joked at her.
"That wouldn't be the case if your friends over there didn't ambush me after the Winter defeated me!" she exclaimed, turning red from the embarrassment.
"Now, if I recall correctly...you ambushed us first." Sett pointed out. He then focused on her ohmlatl. "Nice ring blade, where can I get one?"
"Don't call it a ring blade! It's not called a ring blade, it's called an ohmlatl! Stop calling it a ring blade!" she began yelling.
"Damn, girl...relax! I mispronounced your weapon...I didn't insult you." Sett looked speechless, prompting her to calm down.
They then looked at the direction of the fight. The Winter seemed to have a good advantage over the fight, but they still couldn't win, due to the sheer force and mass of the dragon. The Winter himself had a good coordination, synchronising himself with Xayah and Rakan more than the other two that assisted them.
She looked at him, the way he fought. Qiyana suddenly realised that he could be a very good ally of Ixaocan.
"You...Sett wasn't your name? Release me! I need to assist them!" she begged. Begging was not usual for her, but she had to swallow her pride if she wanted Ixtal.
"Really? Why should I trust you?" Sett asked.
"I swear that I won't run away! I'll actually help them! I need the Winter's aid to get Ixaocan from my sisters." Qiyana replied.
The young man sighed. "How old are you, Qiyana?" he asked.
"Is it really time for small talk?" she asked back, before she replied. "Twenty."
"I'm twenty too, how many sisters do you have?" Sett picked up her ohmlatl.
"Nine. Nine sisters, nine accidents." she said with a cold voice.
"Nine...I guess you were neglected a lot by your parents." Sett muttered and as she nodded, he muttered "I see." and cut off her restraints, then handed her, her weapon. "Don't make me regret it!" he warned her.
"You won't." she charged at the drake, confusing the other five.
"Best I can do now is further improve my impression on the Winter. I will allow my defeat for now, but he'll surely pay for it in the end." she though as she rushed past the Darkin. "Today is the day I start my schemes."