Release Schedule: Once per week.
With no recollection of her past or even her own name, our heroine has merely been existing since waking in a place known as the Obsidian Terraces. Uncertain how to fend for herself or earn coin, she turned to protec...
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Blue energy rippled through the dark clouds hanging above me, accompanied by an unending stream of rumbling thunder. At first, I thought the dragons might have left me somewhere to fend for myself, but as I became more awake, I realized I was on a plush bed and there appeared to be a ceiling of glass of crystal between me and the sky.
This isn't the palace... I started to drift off again, until the large shape of a black dragon coiled through the sky. I would have recognized those red and violet eyes anywhere. What is that fool doing?! Flying through such a storm should be a death sentence!
I pulled myself from bed but only made it a few steps before I lost my balance and dropped to the floor. My vision swam as I clutched my head. Wherever we were, it couldn't have been too far from where we had fought the Blighted. Not if it was still night, and I still felt so weakened.
"Mingzh... What are you doing out of bed?" Yahui demanded icily. When I glanced his way, his face was a frigid mask aside from his eyes. Those shone with anger.
"I wanted to figure out where I am, but...nggghh." I winced, clutching my head again. "It's as if someone were using my head as a gong..."
Yahui released an agitated sigh. Before I knew what was going on, darkness engulfed me, lifted me off the floor, and dropped me squarely in bed.
"You shouldn't be taking so long to recover." Yahui crossed his arms. "As for where we are, we're at one of my villas in the mountains southwest of the wastelands. The refugees were too frightened of our encounter to continue onward."
"And why were you flying around in that storm?" I pointed up.
Yahui raised an eyebrow at me. "I'm a user of the dark arts. Umbral storms pose no threat to me."
I just stared at him for a moment. "A...what storm?"
"Umbral." Yahui shrugged. "Another thing you have forgotten? Or perhaps an indication that you are indeed from elsewhere... No matter. You need to rest. If the thunder is interfering with your sleep, I will aid you."
"It isn't." I let out a long sigh and looked away from him.
There was an intake of air as if he intended to respond, but instead there was silence aside from the faint rustling of fabric. I peeked in his direction, only to see his tail disappear through a doorway. That suited me just fine.
I closed my eyes and attempted to still my thoughts.
* * *
When I next awoke, it was still dark and storming. This time, however, there was the sound of a guqin. I glanced across the room, finding Yahui floating with his eyes closed. The soothing melody carried a tinge of melancholy with it. Shadows languidly coiled around the dragon and his intricate instrument.
