Lilastraza 04: The elven princess

I could finally pay attention to our surroundings. We were in a glade in a forest, and there was a creek nearby. It was a warm day, probably the middle of the morning. A big part of the ground was charred, probably where I hit, but the burn wasn't spread much. There were large fragments of a very hardmaterial scattered all around us.

"Greater Dragons are born from a Dragonite egg" Vemoura said when she noticed my curiosity about the fragments. "It is the hardest material ever, although it's a pain to treat it and make it... Useful. Greater Dragons are also born with exceptional, unique abilities. Yours seem to be more on the physical realm, rather than the magical."

"And you can do magic." I replied.

"Of course! I'm a demoness of curiosity, and magic opens a whole world of new discoveries."

"A demon." Tiana scoffed. "What else do we need?"

As she spoke, a nearby tree bloated, and it broke in tens of branches, which opened and displayed a shining hole. A portal, maybe? From it emerged another woman. As the tree closed and turned back to normality, I managed to see the woman. It was an elf, almost identical to Asihlliel. She had long, wavy, blond hair decorated with a wreath of silver and flowers. She was wearing what I would call a tight, long-sleeved crop top, and a long skirt, both shining like the finest silver. She held a long metal rod with an ornamented end. I realized then that it was a spear. She was beyond gorgeous.

"So here you are, Dragonlady." The elf said and knelt before me.

"You are... Ashiielwyn, right?"

"That is correct. My mother, the Queen of Elves, is free to walk these lands, and I have been woken from my slumber thanks to your doing, my Dragonlady. Allow me to dedicate my life to you, and your goals." She stood up and looked at us all. "What a quaint group of maidens you have summoned."

"Says the elf" Tiana scoffed again, folding her arms.

"I recognize you. I remember you. You are one of the Sword Saints." Ashieelwyn tilted her head and smirked.

"That's the second time I hear that. What are Sword Saints?"

"We are a group of seven ladies" Tiana replied to me. "We were anointed by our goddess, Andea, to fight for her and do her divine will. Our lives are tied to and fueled by her grace. I am the oldest of the current Seven Sword Saints, but... Now that the Dragonfall has tied me to you..." She didn't complete her idea, but she sounded so disappointed and upset.

"What a conundrum." Ashiielwyn said, although it sounded a little mocking. "Dragonlady..."

"Lilastraza."

"My Lady Lilastraza. My Mother has bestowed you with her Ethereal Beauty. You will be the most graceful, the most gorgeous to walk Elderia. And I am her second blessing, a Companion to walk beside you and guide you. But you, my Lady, must swear you will fulfill your duty to Mother."

"A Dragonlady enslaved by an elf queen. How powerful." Tiana chuckled sarcastically, but Taki hurl a blade at her feet.

"Silence! For a Saint, you are very disrespectful!"

"Silence, both of you!" I raised my voice. If I were to be a new Dragonlady, I had to make my presence felt. "I may be strong, but as Vemoura and Ashiielwyn said, I do need guidance. In my previous life, dragons were often synonym of disaster, but also of wisdom and power. I..." I looked at my hand, at my claws. I did have the power. "I'm not a tyrant. I won't be one. So help me learn about this world."

They all nodded, except Tiana, who turned her head. Ashiielwyn seemed very satisfied by my attitude. Taki seemed serious, and glared at Tiana. Jolka seemed just... glad. And Whitethorn and Vemoura looked eager.

"Let's start with you, Ashiielwyn. What does your Mother request?"

"Elves don't have the glorious reputation the once did." She started. "After the Sundering, after they were driven away from their home, after the campaigns or hatred in Anduvia" when she said this, she glared at Tiana. "They did what they had to do to survive. Some of those things were... Atrocious. But it was all for survival. Most people fear them now. Her first request, Dragonlady, Illithwey, is to aid us in restoring our reputation."

"What is that? Illithwey."

"A title given only for those we hold dear. It means «Friend of elves»."

"I like it." I said and nodded. "That sounds like a complicated thing to achieve. But I will do it."

"So." Tiana drove her blade into the forest ground and took some steps towards me, slowly, but as she mentioned everyone present, she looked at them. "We have a Dragonlady —a naked Dragonlady—. A dryad. A giantess. An oni. An elf. And a... demoness. What an unholy congregation. You won't get far. Maybe a little in Cendor, but in Anduvia... You'll get crushed."

I had to learn what Cendor and Anduvia were, but I felt something stirring inside me. Hunger. An immense hunger I had never felt.

"Good thing" I replied. "We have a saint as well."

Tiana glared at me as if she wanted to strike me dead, but she walked back to her humongous sword.

"So be it. We walk a doomed path."

Taki readied her blades once more, but I raised a hand to stop her.

"There are more important matters at hand."

"What is it, my Dragonlady?"

"Food."