1 - Daughter Of The Storm

05 - Elusive Shadow

41st day of the sun season 2447

The Red Forest was vast, dense and rich. Azéna was seriously beginning to wonder if she would ever get out of it. Dusk was falling and the sky was becoming as warm as the leaves of the towering trees. The breezes gently swirled the dead and fallen ones. The clouds grew and darkened. The air felt cool on the skin.

The Kindirah sniffed the humidity around her. She looked up and squinted.

"It's going to rain. Where are we going to take shelter?"

There was no answer. So she just watched the dark dragon silhouette that followed them, still high in the sky, disappearing into the clouds from time to time. It was slowly flapping its wings. Its intention was not hard to guess: it was trying to keep up with the slow pace of the group of companions.

"Fuck, he's been following us for a long time," complained Azéna. "We should send Tyrath to investigate."

Leith pondered for a moment before replying.

"Ignore it. It's not doing us any harm at the moment, and we might not be able to defeat it in battle."

"But we can't ignore its presence. It's suspicious and not to mention dangerous."

Leith replied with a brief nod. Tyrath's face hardened. He turned his head toward his rider and waited. The rebel felt her instinct telling her to be wary and shivered under his amethyst gaze. She pulled herself together, reminding herself that there was nothing to fear.

"Why does he look so serious?" she asked Leith.

"I think he wants to go on a scouting trip," the healer replied. "He's probably waiting for your approval to do so."

"Why is he asking my permission? He's free to do whatever he wants."

"You are his dragon rider. He consults with you, as you should with your plans in general. You are a team now."

So she offered a nod of approval to her partner.

"You can go, but approach with diligence."

Shaking his head vigorously, Tyrath flew towards the figure. He tried to approach it diplomatically and calmly, but the black dragon proved to be aggressive. Gritting its teeth, it threatened Tyrath. The silver drake kept a safe distance from it. He wanted to talk to it, simply, but the suspicious stranger disappeared. In his place floated a thick cloud of shadow. With a dull growl, Tyrath dashed off to find it. He explored every corner of the ebony cloud, but failed in his endeavour. Confused, he circled for a long time. Finally, impatient, he blew several breezes to disperse the shadow.

Nothing. There was no one there.

Frustrated, Tyrath swooped toward his rider. He opened his wings to slow his descent and hovered over her. He let out a dry growl and snapped his jaws. Fayne gasped, frightened by his aggressive behavior.

"Something's wrong," Leith worried, squinting her eyes. "This dragon doesn't want to make direct contact with us. It's avoiding us by using its powers to hide."

"Does that mean it can create shadow clouds at will?" Azéna asked with an interested glance at the traveler.

"Yes, it does. Depending on its color, a dragon controls a specific element. For example..."

"Tyrath is gray, so he controls the wind!"

"Yes. I see you've been watching your companion."

"So that black dragon controls shadow?" Fayne guessed.

Her friend was startled too. She had completely forgotten the brunette who had been particularly quiet for a while.

"Mhmm," Leith replied, nodding. "The proper term for a shadow elementalist is 'umbrancer'. Every element has one; I'll teach you about them on the way to the academy."