The Gods of Dragons: Book 1, Fire and Ice by dragonshadow58 | World Anvil Manuscripts | World Anvil

Starting Out

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Autumn 4994, 14 Aoimoth 

Lily yawned, stretching with her staff held in both hands. Then, because she'd already started the motion, she let herself continue to arch all the way back until her fingers touched the ground. 

"What're you doing?" Tuth groaned, rubbing his temples as he passed.

She thought about answering, but instead yawned again. Master Velona squatted down by her head, "Are you going to finish the flip, or do you need help?" 

"Oh please," Lily scoffed, letting her legs flip over her head until she was standing properly again, "I'm not that tired."

"Tired enough you didn't run with me this morning..." Master Velona teased, starting off with her student beside her. 

The two ladies caught up with Tuth easily. The poor Mage stumbled in the early morning light and still cradled his head. He was trying to alternate between keeping his eyes closed and squinting, which caused him to zig-zag around the mostly empty streets. 

Lily didn't even try to hide her grin, beaming at Velona, "I could hardly sleep! There I was, annoyed with the Guild-"

"As usual," Velona chimed in, though Lily kept going, 

"-and wanting to drop everything to find him, then BAM! There he was! It was just the back of his head, and he's changed, taller and broader, but I knew right away-"

Tuth moaned, "Could you please stop yelling?"

"You probably saw Master Veon-Zih or Ryuuko. They are quite distinctive," The Monk tried to offer logic, but Lily was hearing none of it, 

"-and I knew if I surprised him, he would counter. It was probably really mean now that I think about it. But it's been over six years since we sparred, and that was before I met you, so I was curious how I'd fare unarmed in just a tiny bout-"

"Please, Lily... Your voice... It's like hammers..." Tuth whined. 

Velona snickered, weaving her voice around Lily's continued excited ramble, "Trying to go unarmed against a student of the Ryukyu Monistary is a bad idea, my flower. Know your opponent's strengths and weaknesses as well as your own."

"-but when I touched him, any doubts I had were gone. His cold is just as refreshing as before, and all my memories came flooding back in even more detail." Lily finally stopped to breathe and exhaled with a sigh. The others didn't try to interrupt this time, and she continued softer, "And he recognized me, I could see it in his eyes. Oh, Master Velona! I think I was actually afraid, and I hadn't even realized until it was gone!" 

Velona reached over to stroke her hair, but Tuth huffed, "You read too many romances..." 

Lily rolled her eyes, but she was too happy to be truly annoyed with him. He continued to sway and hold his head, and Lily sighed sympathetically, holding out her staff to his side to help herd him in a straighter line, saying softer, "I would think, after you threw up all the alcohol, that you wouldn't have a hangover," 

Tuth moaned, "It's not just the alcohol, it's the dehydration from..." He couldn't help but try to inform and correct her. It was in his nature. Lily rolled her eyes and ignored him, letting his voice become just another hum in the background of her thoughts. 

She had read a lot of really cheesy romance novels, most before she'd kissed Shon for the first time -back when she was still with the Mages Guild in Clearhelm. She hadn't been thinking about them, but now that Tuth had planted the seed, she couldn't help but let her mind stray back to those hours and hours of late-night reading. 

After spending her entire life -up until what they presumed to be her late teens- as a prisoner to a small group of Warlocks, Lily had no experience with some of the more nuanced social norms of the rest of the kingdom population. Modesty and tact were just abstract concepts to her, and she had embarrassed quite a few people with her blunt questions and observations. Particularly about sex. So Mage Vevi -Master Velona's niece- had given Lily romance novels to better observe, and direct her questions. She had devoured the stories like a starving woman, and though she did enjoy them -particularly the conclusions- she was also consistently annoyed by many of the genre tropes.

She put her thoughts into words, interrupting some long-winded thing Tuth was saying about the necessary balance of nutrients in the human bloodstream, "The problem with romance is that no one ever communicates. If people just talked to each other, there wouldn't be any miscommunication, and most of the drama wouldn't ever be drama." 

Tuth stuttered over his lecture. "What?" He squinted over his shoulder at her, trying to figure out what she was talking about before he remembered his own off-hand comment from before. He groaned, turning away from her but adding, "And you really think that guy is going to communicate with you? He said one word to our every ten, EACH!" He flinched at his own shout of indignation, grabbing his head again. 

But Lily had caught sight of the west gate and ran past the Mage. She got a few steps ahead then spun around to jog backward to address him, "Shon is very communicative. You just have to know how to talk to him." Lily grinned. You had to ask questions that required words to answer and be able to read expressions, which Lily could. Simple.

Tuth clearly didn't believe her, but he didn't have to. Lily spun around and skipped the rest of the way to the gate. Yua leaned against the gatehouse and waved to them as they drew closer. Veon-Zih was speaking to the gate guard and turned to smile at them. But Shon was already beyond the walls, his back to them, Ryuuko balanced on his sword and a large leather pack on the ground beside him. 

Lily waved at the Ranger and Monk, continuing past them. Part of her wanted to jump on Shon's back and wrap him in a big surprise hug, but -in a rare show of self-awareness- she thought better of it and instead slowed to a walk and stopped to stand next to him. Close enough that all she would have to do was shift her weight to lean on him. She didn't right away, instead following his gaze out to the endless grassland plains of Lenare. 

When she did finally lean, it was to find Shon's arm waiting for her. Apparently, he'd done the same. Lily smiled, resting her head on his shoulder, then giggled as Ryuuko climbed over his back and across her head and face, to perch on her opposite side. 

She could stand like this forever. The sun rising from behind and washing the golden grass of late autumn in early morning light. Shon beside her, the cold radiating from his skin calming her in a way she hadn't felt in years. Lily was so used to constantly moving, doing, that just being able to hold still and be was an alien feeling. But the others had caught up and were talking behind them, and Shon shifted ever so slightly as if to turn towards them. 

Lily giggled again, and spun on her toes back towards their companions. Veon-Zih was standing across from Tuth, massaging his hands while the Mage moaned in a way that made Yua laugh and Velona shake her head. Shon slung the big backpack over his shoulder, stepping towards the group. 

No one else carried a pack, and the sight had Lily tilting her head at Shon's back. Skipping ahead of him, she turned to tilt her head to the other side -Ryuuko doing the same with a little chirp- "You don't have a bag of holding?" she asked. 

Shon pat the small belt pouch at his side, and Lily shifted her head to the other side, "Do you really own that much stuff? And I thought I was bad..." She grinned evilly at him. She actually had two bags of holding -one containing a five-foot cube of space and the other only two- but wasn't about to tell him that while she was trying to tease him.

Shon shook his head, his small, barely discernable smile lighting up his face like a thousand suns. Behind her, Veon-Zih called, "Shon carries all the heavy stuff in the pack for strength training." 

"Seriously?" Yua asked. Shon nodded. 

"It looks heavy," Lily added. Shon arched an eyebrow at her, then swung the bag off his shoulder and held it out to her with one fully extended arm. Lily reached out with both hands to take it, and it fell straight to the ground. Lily wasn't weak, but she still had to grit her teeth to pick it back up. "Ryuugen's planetary balls, do you put rocks in it?"

"Ryuugen?" Velona and Veon-Zih asked in unison while Yua laughed, and Tuth continued to moan, his head thrown back. 

"Sometimes," Shon answered, taking the bag back with one arm and swinging it back over his shoulder with ease.  

Lily shook her hands out but then stepped forward and rested them on Shon's muscular chest. He froze, and she could feel his heartbeat. She ran her fingers up to his shoulders, then down his arms and hummed, "Well, if this is the result -and I don't have to carry it- then I certainly won't complain." Shon swallowed, and Lily winked at him, letting her hands trail off his and turning back to the others.

Catching sight of Veon-Zih, she asked, "What's he doing to my Tuth?"

Shon cleared his throat and actually answered before the Monk, "Pressure points. Helps with a hangover." 

"It hurts so good..." Tuth groaned, and Veon-Zih shook his head, grinning. 

Yua stepped forward and clapped her hands, "Alright, so I read the orders the Temple gave, but all they said was that we were to escort you lot through the plains to find some Sorcerer among one of the tribes."

"Laughing Pony tribe," Tuth moaned as if he couldn't help but provide the missing detail. 

Velona took over the explanation, "The Mages Guild is testing a new device to detect Sorcerers and their movements. And since this power is strong enough not to be a typical newly awakened Sorcerer, they suspect it might be a kingdom citizen running from a tattoo." 

Lily scoffed, "AND they seem to think it's their duty to nose their way into the tribes' business and register their Sorcerers either way." 

Lily was pleased to see a small frown shadow Yua's face as the Ranger heard that bit, asking, "Don't the accords say something about the kingdom stepping in if we find a Sorcerer out of control even in the tribes? I didn't think they actually used that loophole."

Shon nodded, and Lily huffed, but then he added, "It's at the discretion of the Mage and Temple representatives sent to investigate..." he paused, and when Lily didn't look at him, she felt his hand move to her cheek, turning her to face him with a feather gentle touch. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, Lily."

Veon-Zih dropped Tuth's hands and wiped his palms on his pants while the Mage shook out his fingers and added, "I don't intend on poking my nose in tribal business if they don't want our help."

Lily shot Tuth a grateful smile but turned her eyes back to Shon. He could see the question in her expression and that small smile she loved so much returned, just barely tilting his lips but lighting up his pale blue eyes, "The tribes have been training their own Sorcerers since before the kingdom was formed. By Hengist's Honor, I have no intention of abusing the accords for anything less than a direct request for assistance." Ryuuko whistled its agreement, and Lily hopped in place to wrap her arms around his neck. 

"Thank you..." She whispered in his ear, choosing not to comment on his Paladin swear on Hengist's Honor. She had her own opinions on the gods, but now wasn't the time to voice them.

"Well, now that that's settled," Yua started again, "Where are the horses?"

Lily let herself slide down Shon's front, hunching her shoulders and hiding her face in his chest, Ryuuko twittering in her ear. She turned to see Yua looking around questioningly at all of them but everyone else staring at her.

"I'm sorry!" Lily whined. Tuth and the Monks all sighed, Yua looked confused, and Shon leaned down to whisper to her, 

"It's alright, Lily." 

Yua opened her mouth -still not understanding- and Lily rushed to explain, "Horses don't like me. They won't let me ride them, and unless they're really well trained, I have to stay far away."

"The Mages Guild provided a group teleport for us to get back if we need it." Tuth chimed in, patting his small belt pouch. 

"Oh damn," Yua exclaimed, "Those are worth a fortune," 

Shon must have read the sudden greedy gleam in Lily's eye because he shook his head at the Ranger's exclamation and stated, "If we don't need it, we'll turn it back in. It's a tool for the mission, not a reward or payment." 

He looked to Tuth -perhaps expecting the Mage to agree- only to find Tuth shrugging, "Then we should probably use it." 

Shon didn't argue, turning back towards the plains with a sigh. The others moved to walk with him, but Tuth also rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he reached into his bag for the magical compass that would point the way toward the Sorcerer. Mumbling, "Paladins..." like a curse. 

Lily saw Shon's shoulders stiffen and could've kicked the Mage. Instead, she ran ahead to catch up and walk beside Shon. He glanced at her, but she just grinned back, content to walk in silence with him. Ryuuko twittered and nuzzled her cheek as they moved out.

***

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