Ruach: Whisper of Dragons

There was no time to recover or even get up off the ground. The moment she propped herself up on her hands and knees, she felt the subtle tremors of the scorpion rapidly approaching.

Her vision was blurred, and a sharp ringing in her head prevented her from hearing or focusing. Her senses were dulled, and the situation was dire. Fortunately, the creature had also sustained damage and was in a compromised state.

With just that brief exchange of blows, the woman was certain she would be dead if the scorpion had been in peak condition. She was sincerely grateful that she hadn't drawn its attention before managing to impale it with her spear.

KiiKiKi

The pain had enraged the scorpion, which ignored its instincts entirely to focus on tearing the woman apart. It was utterly maddened but determined to end its foe.

Even with half of a nearly three-meter-long spear embedded in its abdomen, the scorpion still had immense power in its pincers. But unfortunately for its enemies, the pincers weren't its main weapon.

At the tip of its tail, which was over six meters long, a stinger shaped like a needle dripped with a yellowish liquid—a lethal venom stored in the glands within its massive telson.

KIIIII

Having some difficulty finding its target, the scorpion took a while to adjust its senses and locate her. Long enough for the woman's vision to almost return to normal, but not long enough for her movements to return completely.

With its tail, the scorpion began launching a flurry of successive strikes toward her.

Puff Whump Whump

With great effort, the woman managed to roll and fling herself away, narrowly dodging the scorpion's stinger as it struck repeatedly.

But the strikes didn't relent, giving her no room to breathe. The scorpion was in an all-out assault.

Kkiiiikkiiiiiii

When the tail strikes ceased, the scorpion used its pincers, trying to capture or crush its enemy, who miraculously evaded every attack.

KKIIIIIIIII

Perhaps frustrated by its opponent's agility, the scorpion suddenly changed its hunting tactic. As it unleashed one of its powerful crushing blows with a pincer, it didn't lift it back up. Instead, it opened the claw and began dragging it through the sand toward the woman.

Caught off guard by the maneuver, the woman, who had thrown herself backward to avoid the previous attack, leapt back again to avoid the scorpion's two claws, which were now about to close in and possibly cleave her in two.

One leap, then another, and another—several backward jumps were needed. Unfortunately, she soon found herself against the wall of the Canyon, with the creature's claws dangerously close. This left her with only two options:

Leap upward and risk being struck again by another surprise attack, or roll to the sides and hope the scorpion hadn't set a trap for her.

"Aura, please bless this hunt…"

With a quick prayer, the woman decided to take her chances and rolled to her left, the side opposite the scorpion's other pincer.

SHWOOOSHHhhhhh

Sadly, betting on luck wasn't the best choice.

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Far from the scorching desert, heading straight toward where the sun rises, the yellow, heated dunes give way to a vast, vibrant forest. The changing colors transform the scenery entirely, shifting from the monotonous yellow of the sand to the greens, yellows, browns, and countless hues of a forest in spring.

Large trees, small ones, saplings, and a variety of other plants cover the forest floor, providing shelter and sustenance for the many creatures inhabiting this place. Fruits and flowers abound, drawing the animals that feed on them.

It's a lively place, full of sounds and colors in every direction, seemingly endless. So vast that if a small bird were to fly across the forest from one end to the other, it would tire before even reaching the middle of this sea of trees.

While the vegetation on the forest floor is sparse, the canopy is dense enough to block most sunlight, leaving the forest dim. Thankfully, there are numerous clearings of various sizes scattered throughout, serving as sunlit gardens bursting with plants basking in the light.

Open fields or deforested areas are rare. Across the forest's entire expanse, only nine spots disrupt the endless sea of trees unnaturally.

Eight of these locations form a nearly perfect octagon, with equal distances between them and angles precisely aligned to the geometric shape. Each point aligns perfectly with a cardinal direction.

At these points, the forest is interrupted by small, meticulously constructed cities. Each city is strikingly uniform, interconnected by two straight, wide, well-maintained roads.

So precise are these roads that a resident of one city could see the next simply by climbing to the second floor of their home. The construction was so exact and meticulous that it's impossible to estimate the effort and energy spent on the project.

All eight points are perfectly equal in size and do not extend beyond the forest, giving the impression of islands in a green sea when viewed from above.

However, in stark contrast to the uniformity of the octagonal arrangement, the ninth point is entirely different.

Located at the exact center of the octagon formed by the other eight cities, this area is large enough to contain three of the smaller cities combined. Yet, despite its larger size, most of its territory consists of a vast green field.

This green field is also a perfect octagon, with each vertex aligned precisely with the cities that form the outer octagon.

At the center of this open field lies its most important feature: a residential area, also octagonal in shape.

Here, amidst a ground of basalt, granite, and limestone adorned with neatly trimmed grass and shrubs, stands an enormous palace surrounded by various auxiliary structures.

This is the home of Dragon Lady Inessa Crimmont. And not just the palace and its grounds—this entire network of small cities and nearly half of the forest is part of Nenvia, her domain.

A woman highly respected for her successful investments in Auroherbs, her diplomacy in resolving disputes between other Dragon Ladies, and her role as a defense representative for individuals wronged by Aura-related misfortunes.

A sage in Aura Geophysics and a Grandmaster in Aurogeology, she is also one of the three Dragon Ladies of her generation to earn the title Ingeniosus. Renowned across the continent and even beyond for her research and studies.

If asked to list the most popular and beloved figures on the continent of Bordium, Dragon Lady Inessa Crimmont would easily rank in the top five.

A dignified woman, surely someone who commands authority and respect with her mere presence—or so people say.

But at this moment, the said individual is lying face down on a couch in one of the reading rooms of her palace, the Crimmont Palace, wearing nothing but black training pants made of thick yet elastic material that clings tightly to her legs.

Her face buried in a pillow, a smile playing on her lips betrays her delight at receiving a therapeutic massage from a boy no older than five.

The boy, seated on her back, moves his hands faintly glowing with aura in broad strokes, pressing firmly into her back while faintly glowing with aura. He concentrates intensely, channeling energy through her skin.

Moving up and down with his palms, using his thumbs to ease the tension in her spine, squeezing and pushing her shoulders and trapezius muscles. Somehow, no matter how hard he tries, her skin rejects almost 99% of all the aura he tries to infiltrate.

"More to the left, Edgar… That's it, that's it… Focus on taking control over my aura and making it yours." While he relaxedly enjoys the massage, the woman also guides the boy in his training.

And so he does… He begins to look for new ways to infiltrate the passive aura defense that Inessa, like any other Lady Dragon, possesses. However, his movements become more aggressive, anxious and reckless until…

Clap

A violent rebound halts his infiltration, expelling the small amount of aura he had managed to channel into her body. The backlash sends the boy tumbling backward.

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