Standing at the stairs before the castle walls I readied myself and started my way toward the tower. Going full speed past the guards and entering into the tower until I reached the top. Reaching the only door on the top floor of the tower I slowly opened it peeking in to find a young girl with white hair and eyes sitting alone. She quickly turned towards the door and made her way over. She said, "My name is Priscilla Petalthorn. Are you here to save me?".
I said, "Nice to meet you Priscilla. My name is Rokuza. What do you need to be saved from?".
She answered, "The king makes me do horrible things. I can't control my ability very well so he makes me extremely distressed and forces it to activate. After returning to normal I don't remember what happened but I've heard about dragon attacks wiping out villages and leaving no survivors.".
I said, "That sounds terrible. How long has it been since the king has visited you? There hasn't been a report of dragon attacks in a really long time.".
She looked shocked, "It's only been a hundred years since he visited.".
Upon hearing this I realized she also had the lifespan of a dragon. She could live from anywhere from a thousand to ten thousand years depending on the lineage. Priscilla has been inside the tower forgotten by almost everyone. I said, "I can bring you with me but we're gonna be on the move for two years before we return to my home in Foract. Would you be willing to come with me?".
Her eyes started watering as she answered, "More than anything. You can be my new father. I'm looking forward to traveling with you.".
I was too stunned to speak. I'm too young to be a father but she looks younger than Helga so it could be a good cover story if we get stopped on the road. I said, "I don't know if I can pass as your father if we get into trouble so maybe you can be a friend's kid I'm taking care of.".
Her eyes started watering more and she started growing taller as scales started to form. She said, "If you're not going to be my dad then I'm going to make a scene and blow your cover.".
I spat out, "Fine, I'll be your dad just cancel your ability.".
She looked scared and said, "I don't know how. Please, help me.".
I told her, "As far as I know everyone's ability feels similar when activating it starts as a pulling feeling in your gut. You just have to focus on that feeling and force it to obey your will.".
I stood next to her as she closed her eyes and was sent into a trance. It took a couple hours but she finally opened her eyes and an excited look crossed her face as she hugged me and said, "I did it just like you said Dad.".
I don't think I can get used to this but I said, "Good job Priscilla. Now we need to leave Ventess as fast as possible.".
Picking her up I quickly stopped by the inn and grabbed my things before speeding out of the castle town. We're currently going in the direction of Xiege the kingdom with the coldest weather. I yelled to Priscilla, "Just make sure to keep a tight hold so you don't fly off. We'll stop in a few minutes for a break.".
She yelled back, "Will do but my arms are getting tired.".
After running for a couple more minutes we reached the halfway point. Luckily there is a small village close to where we stopped. Entering the village there was a sign that said "Welcome To No Name Village". That's a bit weird but then I noticed all the buildings including the stores had no name. I entered what looked to be a tavern but there was no way to actually tell until we entered. I grabbed Priscilla's hand and kept her close to me watching everyone in the tavern. I asked the barkeep, "What's the price for a room for the night including food?".
She turned around but she had no mouth. She pulled out a small board and chalk. She wrote, "One silver coin for a night including food.".
I asked, "What happened to your mouth and why doesn't anything in this village have a name?".
She answered, "The names were taken by the Hell Guardian. If you get too close it takes away your ability to speak.".
I asked another question, "What exactly is the Hell Guardian?".
The entire tavern's atmosphere flipped into an intense dread. She wrote, "It's an enormous undead dragon with a necrotic breath attack.".
I said, "Thanks for this information.".
I passed her a gold coin. I told Priscilla, "Let's drop off our stuff and explore a little more.".
Entering our room I asked, "Do you want to learn how to control your ability?".
Priscilla excitedly said, "Yes!".
Leaving for the forest I explained, "Just like you did before, you need to keep that feeling under control and not let it control you.".
Finding a clearing Priscilla closed her eyes and concentrated. She started growing taller with scales and a tail. She opened her eyes saying, "This is the best I can do right now.".
She was now around six feet tall with a six foot tail with scales covering her in patches. I said, "Good, now try hitting one of the trees around here. Dragons were known to be the strongest of all monsters.".
She crossed the ten meter distance in an instant before throwing a punch so hard it cleared fifteen yards into the forest. I was left in shock. I read about dragons in the history of the first ability users but seeing it in person is something else and she's not even fully in control yet. I said, "Good, let's go hunt the Hell Guardian.".