Lilastraza 03: A test

I saw it falling onto me. I could feel the axe parting the air, making it whistle as it approached my head. But I wasn't afraid. I was never an athletic person in my previous life, but in this world I felt blessed.

A fraction of a second before the axe hit me, I could see the fourth lady, the horned one, preparing to hurl her chained blades to try to block the axe. The second lady, the wooden one, reached out and her arm turned into a long, branching lance, trying to do the same. The young one and the winged one just looked at it all happen. No one was fast enough to stop the weapon, but me.

I raised my hand —my claw—, and grabbed the blade of the axe. It looked heavy, given its size, but I could stop all of its momentum without much effort. I smiled, not to mock the giantess, but because I felt so alive.

I looked at the giantess in the eye, and I could see my iridescence reflected on her face. She smiled as well, as the chain and the branches immobilized her axe, a fraction of a second after I stopped it.

"Good!" She said with a deep but still feminine voice. "You're hella strong!"

"How dare you attack the Greater Dragon!" The horned lady yelled at the giantess.

"She's granted our wishes, why would you want to hurt her?" The wooden one asked.

"My name is Jolka!" The giantess claimed. "I'm undefeated in my lands! I cannot wed a man who hasn't bested me in combat! And I wished to meet someone who could! Haha!" I released her axe and she pulled it, forcing the other two women to let go as well. "I would've never imagined that that someone would be a Dragonlady!"

"And you risked hurting her for that? Curious." Vemoura said, chuckling.

"I will not stand idle as a brute tries to injure the Greater Dragon!" The tall horned lady retrieved her chained blades and readied another attack. "My name is Taki, my Lady!" She told me as she stepped between Jolka and me. "I am an oni from the east, from Mizuchi! I wished for you to make my Emperor as brave, fair, and strong as his father. If I find myself here with you... that means you granted my wish, right?"

"I... I think so. I heard your voice" I explained. "All your voices. And I said... Yes. I said yes to you five."

"That's why I feel renewed" The plant lady spoke, withdrawing the branches back into her arm. "I wished for The Sundering to be undone... My name is... My name was... It used to be Whiteleaf. But after The Sundering I was known as Blackthorn... But I think I ought to make a new name. Yes. Whitethorn. I am a mixture of my past and present. Your present as well. My Lady."

Whitethorn and Taki bowed before me. I felt a little awkward, as they probably knew much more about what was happening than I did.

"Yeah? Well, step aside, as I haven't been bested yet." Jolka continued. Taki, Whitethorn, and Vemoura now, stepped forward, but the youngest of the group spoke.

"Let her." Despite her youthful appearance, she sounded like an old woman, not in tone as her voice was very teen-like, but in attitude. "If she is truly the Greater Dragon, she will not have any trouble fighting a giantess. Am I right, Dragonlady?"

"Yes! The child is right!" Jolka chuckled.

"I am no child. I was ascended to Saintdom on my eighteenth birthday. I am Tiana, one of the Seven Sword Saints of Andea." The young one explains solemnly. I had no idea what any of those words meant. "I wished..."

"For the pilgrims' souls to be saved." I completed. "Yes. I remember it. You said you failed to protected, and wished for them to be taken from their eternal torment and back into life. Am I right, Saint?"

Tiana looked daggers at me.

"Yes. I did see their souls, their bodies reappearing before I was summoned here. You gave them... a second chance. As a Dragon Companion it must be my new duty to follow you. Our duty. But... I know what Greater Dragons are capable of. I have seen two already. So forgive me if I doubt you, Dragonlady."

Two? Asihlliel said Dragonfalls happened every thousand years. So that meant Tiana had lived for... over two thousand years? How could it be? That's why she sounds so... old.

"I won't let them fight!" Taki exclaimed, spinning her blades and ready to attack Jolka, but I raised my hand.

"Tiana is right. Let this be a test for me. I may not know much about this world, and I will depend on you to learn. But something I do know is... I feel strong. Give us space."

The four women took some steps back, and Jolka immediately swung her axe again. Now, I felt even stronger and faster. I stepped aside and let the weapon hit the ground. The giantess tried to kick me, but I jumped onto her. I opened my hand and felt my claws. I felt how hard and sharp they were. I was sure that, if I slashed at her, I'd decapitate her. So instead, I pressed my open palm onto her forehead, and with a strong beat of my wings, I propelled us forward and downward, so I slammed her onto the ground.

However, far from defeated, the giantess sprung back up with monumental strength.

"I like that!"

"What do you consider «to best you», Jolka?" I inquired as she punched at me. I raised my hand and her fist made a thunderous noise as it was stopped by my palm.

"Let's find out!!"

She punched again and again, and I stopped her attacks with my palms or with a swing of my tail. I didn't know where my confidence came from, I just knew I had the strength and speed to block her. She seemed to be enjoying it much, and so did I. Every movement of hers was beautiful to my eyes, and her scent soon made itself more present. In fact, I could sense their individual aromas. They were... Enticing.

She tried to raise her axe again, but I slammed it off her hand with my tail. I felt my throat tingling, as if it was getting ready to act on its own, and I launched a tongue strike at her forehead. My tongue was long and strong. It was fun to discover what my draconic body could do. Jolka lost her balance, and after a tail swipe, she fell on her back again. This time, I grabbed her huge axe, and I swung it at her, but stop my momentum right before the blade touched her neck.

"Does this count as besting you?" I said, smirking.

"I think it does." Tiana responded from afar.

I dropped the axe next to the giantess, who was starting to pant.

"Wait! I can keep going, Dragonlady!"

"Did you not notice, Jolka?" Tiana spoke again. She sounded exhausted, or irritated. She was looking around, as if trying to locate where we were. "She was holding back. How many of your kin have knocked you down? She did. Twice. And she made it look easy. I bet she could kill you if she wanted. Am I right, Dragonlady?"

"I'm... Quite sure, yes." I admitted. "So this is who I am... A Dragonlady." I told myself. "That sounds so cool. I would never have dreamed in my previous life..."

"And what do we call our Greater Dragonlady?" Whitethorn asked very politely.

For a moment I stopped. My name? My human name lied deep inside my conscience. If I made an effort, I could recall it, perhaps. But I... I was something new, something powerful. And I loved it. Asihlliel had called me something... Illithwey, yes. But that felt more like... a title than a name. Why not follow Whitethorn's example and pick a name for myself?

"Lilastraza." I said. "I am Lilastraza."