With my daughter still twisting the roaring chainblade in the back of the Abyss Emperor, I floated downward on my way to congratulate her when a roar tore through the sky. Primal power, raw magic that reached in and plucked at my very soul carried through the air. Turning, I spotted Ari who'd been nearly to us when the roar had split the air.

Against the sky behind her was a beast I'd only caught glimpses of, through the heart of the storm.

No, not the same dragon, I realized. This dragon, while it had black scales and great white horns that glistened with a rainbow sheen as it circled, was a four limbed beast. Still sleek and powerful but not the flowing river-like one I'd spotted before.

Smaller, but still at least as large as Aeternia's Shield.

And it was flying straight towards us.

"Papa, is that…"

"A dragon," I confirmed reaching over to squeeze her shoulder.

"Fraying awesome," Bevel said, revving the chainsword once more before flicking it to the side and returning it to her storage space.

A dragon wasn't the sort of encounter I was prepared for. Not that I had any particular ideas for preparing for it anyway. It wasn't for nothing the Dragon-souled were named after these beings. Another roar shook the air and I could practically see the mana swirl in response. I suspected, were we over Mistvale Lake, we would've.

We moved up to where Ari had settled on the remnants of one of the peaks, a surprisingly wide and flat surface that looked almost as if it had been sheered free. By the time the dragon started circling, we'd been joined by Inertia, Tresla, Calbern, Nexxa and even Books. The former two had descended from Aeternia's Shield while latter three had arrived on a wave of crackling lightning.

"Hey sis, sure you wanna be here for this," I asked, chuckling nervously.

"Don't be stupid," Nexxa said, pushing my shoulder. "No way you're facing a dragon without me. Bad enough you wrestled that thing without inviting me."

"Wasn't planned. And I'd rather not face it at all," I admitted, not rising to her bait. To the side, I noted Vaserra joining us, courtesy of Henri junior and his eagle. Her fight with Arther hadn't even left her scratched. That or she'd finished healing.

"Once more, I find myself agreeing with your brother, Nexxa," Books said, arms crossed. "Even if everyone in Cape Aeternia worked together, I doubt we could muster the might to fell such a creature."

"Maybe it's a nice dragon?" Bevel asked, holding her hands out to the side. "And if not… I can take us away, really fast."

"I believe she is correct. If it simply wanted to destroy us, it wouldn't have allowed us time to gather," Ari said, resting her hand atop Bevel's head. "However, that doesn't mean it will not make such a decision if it learns something that displeases it. Best we all be prepared to escape, dear heart."

"Even if it proves to be a benevolent being, it threatens our people with its mere presence," Vaserra said, hand crisping as ice formed and broke apart between her fingers as she held her spear. "Whatever sacrifice it asks of us, we must be prepared to make."

"A threat most dire," Calbern said, inclining his head in her direction. "However, if we truly need to injure it, we can use young master Percival's head."

Vaserra stared at him blankly, the ice she'd been forming fading away.

"Missed you too, old man," I grumbled, shifting and bumping a loose stone, which rolled over to a stone at the edge, where it, in turn set off a small rockslide.

"Inertia would like to remind you that you have already knocked down two mountains today, so you're over your quota for the month," Tresla said, her voice carrying the musical lilt of her laughter alongside her words.

"Break," Inertia hissed out, holding out a hand with a stone in it and crushing it.

"I may have embellished her words ever so slightly," Tresla admitted, bobbing her cloaked head.

"I do appreciate you all coming to stand with me," I said, looking to either side.

"What's family for," Nexxa said, bumping my elbow.

"As the rather savage chieftain said, for our people, we must do as is required," Books said, nodding.

Inertia opened her mouth and let out a long whistle-hiss of laughter as she patted Tresla on the shoulder.

"Inertia would like to remind all of you that there is only one species on the planet that rivals her own," Tresla said, the musical lilt still in her voice.

If Inertia had anti-dragon weapons… that wouldn't totally surprise me, though I doubted she'd brought them… ha, right, Aeternia's Shield was floating right above us.

No way that'd work twice, right?

As if deciding that it had given us enough time to talk, the dragon descended to the far side of the broken peak Ari had chosen.

I'd originally thought it the size of Aeternia's Shield. Turned out I'd underestimated a bit. When it drew close, and I was able to put it into perspective…

It was a lot bigger, though it was at that sort of size where it got hard to tell how much bigger, even with Eagle Eyes and my enhanced problem solving doing their best to figure it out. Around one and a half the size was what I figured immediately. Not counting its ridiculous wing span of course. That was easily four times the dragon's length.

Those wings cast the entire peak in shade for several long seconds as it alighted on the broken stone, aura pressing against ours, its very being shaping the flow of magic around us.

Drawing its massive head down, it swept its gaze once over our impromptu assembly, before focusing entirely on me.

I could feel the weight of its attention, pressing against my soul in a way not dissimilar to my oath.

For three long seconds that seemed to stretch into eternity, the dragon and I stared each other down. There were hints of things in those moments, of ideas and possibilities that threatened to crack my mind. Had I been the man who first woke in that oversized bed back inside the Aranor manor, I suspected they would've.

Yet Conflict and Tender's trials had forged me into something more, further reinforced by my ensoulment. Those impossibilities… they were the barest glimpse at the true depths of everything that made magic as I knew it possible.

"A Magus Protectus," the dragon's voice was another impossibility. While its roar had seemed ordinary enough, if unusually clear and laden with meaning, its voice was as though two beings spoke at once, in perfect synchronicity. "Long has it been since I have seen one of your kind with my own eyes. Yet that pales when compared to the ages that have passed since last I was called upon to assess a potential Citizen."

Despite every word from the dragon carrying weight, the word Citizen especially felt heavy.

"It is appropriate that such a being does not greet me alone," the dragon said, large golden irises flicking across my companions once more. "Tell me, Magus Protectus, do you feel as though you have kept to your oath?"

Despite pushing my mind to its limit to make sure I didn't miss anything important, it still took me several seconds to respond. "The spirit of it, yes."

"A good answer for an oath that thrives on being followed in spirit," the dragon said, nodding its massive head slightly, sending a powerful wind sweeping over us, the flap of my robes fluttering. "Perhaps this is a worthy endeavor. Though not yet. You are still too weak. The trial must wait until you are…" the dragon trailed off as its golden irises flashed with sparks of multicolored light. "Hmm, not so long, it appears. You follow a path not tread by any Magus before. When you ascend to the next tier, your trials will begin."

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"Are the trials mandatory?" I asked, somewhat amazed I was capable of speaking.

"They will allow you to better care for those you've sworn to protect," the dragon replied, tilting its head slightly to the side. "While you grow close faster than most mortals, it is apparent you are not yet there."

It spread its wings, flaring them wide.

I was prepared for it to launch into the air, hitting us with the backblast.

I was not prepared for the wings to turn translucent, the rest of the dragon following a few seconds later, the black scales shimmering so brightly that even with Aegis still running, I had to look away.

When I turned back, the large dragon was gone. In its place was a being roughly the size of Inertia, wearing armor that looked as though it had been crafted from its own scales. Their face and neck retrained the same draconic shape, the rest of them was now more humanoid, though only in the roughest sense.

It stepped forward, a staff of pure white wood appearing in its hands as it approached. It opened its mouth in a smile as it stopped just in front of us. "As I doubt it will be no more than a decade or so, I have decided now will be a good time to reacquaint myself with mortals. You may call me Bahama."

The voice carried far less weight, yet maintained its dual nature, now sounding distinctly masculine. Even so, I was more caught on its name. "Bahama… like the islands?"

The golden irises shone brighter for a second as they took me in again. "Oh, this shall be very interesting."

With the Panther lord defeated, Vaserra found herself in an unusual position.

And she didn't mean her precarious footing atop the rocky ridgetop where she and the son of the Ten Feather's chieftain stood as Percival and his people left with the twice-frozen dragon that had descended upon them.

No her concerns were of the more immediate sort.

Instead of being a member of one of the weakest clans in the Frigid Peaks, she now stood at the head of the strongest.

It was not her strength alone, either.

Below her, moving through the valley as they tested their new strength against the body of the fallen Abyss Emperor, were her pack. Every day, those who had been closest to her, who had taken the vow beside her, grew stronger.

All in exchange for doing what Vaserra had always known was right.

Moving away from the butchery below, her eyes moved towards the second broken peak. Together, they'd separated her lands from those of Percival's. Then her gaze moved higher, to the shimmer that hung over the entire range, faintly visible. His work. As was the death of the Abyss Emperor her people had been given as a prize, in exchange for doing the work of returning only the most precious components.

It had not been so long ago that she told him the winds of change were upon them. How blind had she been to miss that he had been at their center?

That had not been her sole point of blindness. The fact her father had hidden something so vital as the oath from her had led to her investigating his belongings more thoroughly. Within she had found many old writings and objects that carried distant memories. Including the oath Percival had brought her, alongside the carved idol of the devil upon which it had long been sworn.

Such simple things, yet she had missed them both.

Even when she dedicated her entire being to her task, it seemed she was incapable of leading properly.

Vaserra shook her head.

No.

Leading had nothing to do with it. It had been as simple as wanting to divorce herself as thoroughly from who her father had been as possible. The problem with that was… not everything he had done was a mistake. It would take her time to reconcile that simple truth.

Instead of east, Vaserra's gaze shifted west to Rivenkeep and what lay beyond. The refugees were no longer coming. The last had spoken in fear, of what was making its way east. Monsters without end.

Henri stood in front of her, head bowed slightly. A sign of respect, not deference. The Ten Feathers served Percival, not her.

"We've confirmed it, chief Vaserra. They grow thicker the farther west we fly. It is impossible to reach the Front, no matter how high or how fast we soar," Henri said, shaking his head. There was a tremor there. She'd seen him at the feast, when he'd almost gone through with his attempt to poison her.

Vaserra admired the young man's bravery. Not for the poisoning, that had been ill-advised, though amusing. No. It wasn't a second hand report he gave, but what he'd witnessed with his own eyes. It was amusing that he had so little faith in his self, after repeatedly proving his worth. When he'd been brought to her, she'd made that clear, though the man had yet to accept it. "And the clans? Have none rode out?"

"There are a few," Henri said, making a sign she didn't recognize as he straightened. "The followers of Tillan return to defend what they can. From what my mother has been able to discern, they intend to do their best to shelter all they find. However, they are not prepared for this calamity. She expects things will grow desperate before long."

"And the others? Nothing?"

"Several have approached us, asking us to relay messages to their lands, telling those who remain to make their way here with all haste. Vergel has also rallied a number of clans to him, saying he intends to escort those who need it back. He's having some issue with getting support. Few of the other clan chiefs trust his new dedication, for some reason," Henri said, not bothering to hold back his snort this time. He moved over to stand beside her, following her gaze to Rivenkeep. "It is a sturdy building, but little more."

"It has never been walls that kept our people safe from the monsters," Vaserra said, deliberately not looking behind her at the mountain range and shimmering barrier that stood to do exactly that.

"Do you think he will do it?" Henri asked, voice barely loud enough for her to hear, despite the fact they were alone. "Run his lines north, with his forged beasts upon them? Bring all who wish to follow back to his lands?"

"He will try," Vaserra said, nodding. "And it is possible he will succeed, though I do not know where he might hope to put them."

"And the other clans? Will he take them in? Or will you accept them?"

"I believe they shall be spread amongst our territories. And the Great Horn clan's lands will need new protectors, now that they've been so thoroughly depopulated," Vaserra said, a vicious grin stretching across her face, one shared by Frost Lily, who lay atop the broken mountain near her feet.

"It was their own foolishness and greed that led to their destruction," Henri said, his own smile a near match for hers. It looked good on him, she thought. "Do you not have new members of your own clan who need hot springs. The Great Horn's lands are full of such, though it seems the paths were destroyed to keep their sheep from enjoying them."

"A problem easily remedied, these days," Vaserra replied, hand drifting to her belt. Despite being horribly inefficient, the device Percival had provided her allowed her to work stone, as she'd asked. The blasted man hadn't even asked for anything in trade, insisting it was just a prototype.

Instead he'd told her how much it would cost to have more. At prices that were so low she thought him mad. Except every one of her people now carried a similar tool upon their own person.

"He will be a good Emperor, when the time comes," Henri said, hand curling into a claw.

"Is that the stance of the Ten Feathers, or your own?" Vaserra asked, a shudder running down her spine at the words. The last empire to rule any part of the Frigid Peaks had been the Alvian Empire. And it had been far from kind.

"My mother respects him, but she doubts he has the spine to rule. I witnessed what he did to Vergel," Henri said, voice low. "He didn't even hesitate to use the man as little more than a tool to crush rock."

"Was it truly so worthy of note?" Vaserra asked, thinking back to her fight against Arther. The panther lord hadn't been the most skilled, but his durability had been formidable.

"It wasn't what he did, it was how calmly he made the decision," Henri said, shaking his head. "There wasn't any hesitation. He simply chose a way to ensure the impact would benefit his people."

"I see," Vaserra said, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Perhaps you are correct."

"If you talk to his people, they'll say the same. Whether he likes it or not, they're moving in that direction," Henri said, holding up his hand towards the sun overhead. "Sure as the sun rises in the east, he will move west."

"So he will," Vaserra agreed. It wasn't just the now undefended lands of the clans he'd told her he wanted to save. For every refugee who'd come running, three had chosen to stay, to defend their homes. And to reach them, he intended to run his trains through her lands. If she allowed it. Vaserra was not so much a fool as to deny him.

"It's a good thing too. Hard to believe he's not even a Hydra-souled. Reminds a man that there's more to life than raw power," Henri said, taking a step away from her, holding his hand out towards Frost Lily, gaze meeting Vaserra's in silent question.

As Frost Lily sniffed him, Vaserra nodded her permission and the young man stepped closer, scratching her wolf behind her ears. A sign of trust they extended to few.

He seemed to have a knack for it, for Frost Lily soon flopped on her back, drawing a smile out of both Vaserra and Henri. But the time for such things drew to a close as Vaserra saw her people finishing what work could be done with so few tools.

"And where are the Dragon-souled, in all this, I wonder," Vaserra muttered as Frost Lily retook her feet and Henri moved up to stand beside Vaserra.

"Off playing their games, no doubt," Henri said, barely holding back his disgust. "Ten minutes and they'd be able to wipe the horde from the face of Ro'an."

Vaserra's gaze drifted back towards the missing peak across from her, then to the sheer stone at her feet. Mountains that had been part of the skyline for her entire life, brought low to hinder a tier five beast.

"Or perhaps… they are afraid," Vaserra said, the wind circling her once more. Yes. Change was upon them.

"Afraid? Afraid of what? Those monsters can't hurt them," Henri said, gesturing vaguely towards the west.

Vaserra took a deep breath, drawing in the cold mountain air that had defined so much of her life. It felt different since she'd sworn the oath. More clear and pure and full of promise.

"Many old things stir. Threats they thought buried and ideals they thought crushed. I do not think it was an accident that so much of our past was lost. Not when so many efforts were once made to preserve it. They are not afraid of the monsters," Vaserra said, nodding to herself as she came to an important realization.

Percival wasn't the only one at the center of the winds.

"They are afraid of those who will tear the monsters down."

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