Tarragon

Chapter Five: Trial By Ice

-Mantis

I raised a small, focused shield of lightning, and braced myself as a bolt of fire hit it.

That bolt of fire was from Arvel, the fire mage of the team. He landed on the ground, manifesting a large spike of fire, and pivoting it around his hand, wielding it in a defensive manner. I didn't think I would be able to approach him, I had seen how skilled he was with a weapon like this.

I flowed Energy to my wrists, and turned it to lightning, storing it there for a quick burst I might want to use to sneak in an attack.

I shot off a small snippet of lightning, and he crouched down to dodge it. He put his hands on the ground, and launched himself off with an intense burst of both Energy and fire. This was his whole signature thing- Amplify with Energy, control the movement with fire, and use the staff/rod/weapon of mass destruction to attack.

I rolled to the side, putting up a small shield to block the attack. I pulsed it as he struck, and it bounced his arm back, knocking him off balance. I followed up with a lightning bolt to the chest. He vanished in a quiet flash, and I caught my breath. I sat down on the ground, with my arms around my knees, catching my breath.

Suddenly, I felt a small bolt pierce my side, before I was sent back myself.

"What was that for?" I asked Arvel, who looked smug about it.

"You can't just catch your breath after every fight. Whenever someone is hit, it sends out a ping of where they were to their team. If that was a real game, you would now be waiting thirty seconds before you get back into the fight." he explained.

"But this isn't a game, this is just combat practice," I gave my best rebuttal.

"True. Anyways, Aliya wants you at-" he started. A siren interrupted him.

"WARNING: HOSTILE DRAGON ATTACK! WARNING: HOSTILE DRAGON ATTACK! SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!" a robotic voice shouted.

I froze. I had heard that once before and nothing good had come from it. I wanted to do something, I wanted to go make sure nobody would be hurt, but the paralyzing fear that I would lose people again coursed through my veins, making any movement feel like I was trying to wade through solid rock.

"Mantis!" I heard Arvel shout, but I didn't really listen, "Come on! Follow me!" he shouted.

I didn't move. My mind raced with everything that could, or might happen, I just couldn't-

"MANTIS, COME ON! STAND UP! YOU HAVE TO MOVE!" he shouted, amplifying his voice. It was enough to break me out of the fear, if only for a moment. I stood up, my legs shaking, and ran.

A flame sparked inside of me.

Being paralyzed wasn't going to help anyone.

I had to act.

I sent Energy to my wrists, and converted it to lightning, "Where are they?" I asked Arvel.

"What? No! You aren't going out there." he stopped me.

"I'm going out there. I'm going to minimize the damage." I shouted.

"They save that siren for huge dragon attacks. Like the one Tykranaea led." he warned me.

"You saw the damage in its wake. I'm going out there, whether you want me to or not."

He seemed conflicted, but conceded after a moment, "I'll get the rest of the team. Meet us in the lobby in two minutes."

I ran over to the front lobby, and made small preparations while waiting.

Eventually, the team showed up.

Arvel was the farthest on the right side, with small flames dancing around him on the right.

Aliya was one to his left, with lightning crackling around her arms and legs.

Hester was one to her left. She had green eyes, dark skin and black hair. I knew she had plant magic.

Adrian stood in the middle. Water coiled around his tanned arms and legs. He had blonde hair. I guessed that he was 5'11".

Felix was one to his left, and had pebbles, rocks, and a number of small crystals floating around him. He had pale skin, green eyes, and brown hair.

Monica was one to his left, and had a few orbs of water around her, with small whip-like things stretching out from them. I knew that was her whole signature ability. She was the newest member, other than me. She had a faded blue streak in her black hair, and was really tall, being even taller than Adrian.

Finally, the farthest on the right was Hermes. His sleeves were flailing about from the little whirlwind he was stirring up. He was fast, he was stealthy. Before he had joined the team, he was an assassin for some government, but now he just played Tarragon with us. He was really short, at 5'1". He had jet black, curly hair, and an impressive (and concerning) number of scars on his tan skin. He didn't look muscular, but I knew that he could lift two hundred pounds fairly easily, without using magic.

"Mantis, for the record, I think this is a stupid idea!" Hermes shouted.

"This is genius." Adrian told him, "All of us get practice fighting actual dragons, which are kind of what Tarragon is made for. Doing one will get you better at the other. And the publicity gives us favor, favor gives us fans, fans give us money! Money! Do you hear me? Money!" Adrian pestered Hermes.

"I get it, I get it, money." He extended the word 'money' in kind of a superposition between understanding and mocking. Schrödinger's mocking, if you will.

"Come on, we can't waste any more time," I pushed them, "Let's go!"

We ran outside, to see the carnage plaguing the area. Leagues of ice dragons were breaking into buildings, flipping cars, and killing people. Everyone dispersed into teams of two. I was going with Monica, for the synergy with our magic. She could cover an area with water and I could pulse lightning through it, electrocuting everything inside.

I turned on my translation spell, and amplified my voice, "Leave this place!" I shouted, "We do not have to fight, but I won't give you any mercy!" I shouted.

I saw the attention of the dragons shift towards me. A snarling ice dragon, with a scar along her eye dropped onto the ground, and ran towards me. I unleashed the lightning stored in my right wrist, and punched forwards, firing it at her with an immense speed.

It slammed into her, and after some spasms, she went limp on the ground.

I sent more Energy to my wrist, storing even more lightning there to unleash later.

I saw vines descend from the sky onto the attackers. They were impressively thick, and moved around like they were being controlled by a titan. They had thorns all along them, and whipped into the ground, crushing the dragons which were attacking.

"WHERE IS HE?" I heard a booming voice ask.

Tykranaea. This is her doing.

I launched myself up into the sky, and grappled on top of a building we didn't like because it blocked the skyline. I amplified my voice once again, and shouted, "I'm right here!"

I saw her turn towards me. There was an unusual orange tint on her eyes. I brushed it aside as lighting, and rained down as much lightning as I could muster. I went from rapidly firing weak bolts, to preparing, and then launching incredibly strong ones. I saw her flinch, and burns appear on her scales, but no real damage.

She went from running, to sprinting, to rampaging across the land, crushing her own warriors beneath her talons as she ran. I leaped off of the building, and entered a freefall.

Time to do this.

A maneuver I had rehearsed so many times in lucid dreams. I had no clue if it would work in actuality, but how else was I going to learn if it did?

I hooked onto Tykranaea's horn, and swung around her, under her chin, and on top of her head. The string of lightning bound her mouth shut. I manifested a small dagger of lightning, and dug it into the top of her head, ripping a line into it. Her head flailed around as though she was a bull, and I barely stuck onto her head.

A shadow went over me, as I saw a towering, icy claw loom overhead. I took that as my cue to move, and dispersed the hook holding her jaw shut, and grappled down her back, dragging my dagger through her scales, splitting them as I pulled myself down her back, eventually onto her tail, where I launched myself away with almost as much Energy as I had left.

I flew a couple hundred feet into the air, and guided myself towards a skyscraper. I had lost enough momentum to safely get close enough to slide up. I created the small sliding mechanism I was used to using, and slid up the tower. Once I got to the top, I sat down. I was physically, mentally, and magically exhausted. I watched the rest of the chaos unfold from atop the skyscraper.

Vines erupted from the ground, slashing at Tykranaea, as someone moving around inside a ball of vines danced around her, moving faster than she was capable of.