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Journey to the South

Avila had been in a journey before many times during her early adventures with reliable friends and trusted allies. Her travels gave her many insights of the world beyond her own imagination, and managed to open herself before she went down the path of destruction.

The twist in this journey, however, was that it's the longest trip she would ever did, and she was with not only a former enemy, but a fellow Argoon dragon, a race she thought was extinct. Avet, the other Argoon dragon slightly older than her, was a proof that her race survived. She wondered if this was what happened to the silver reds.

But it was also the first time that she was pretty much suspicious with her male companions. Xiciro and Avet got along pretty well and had somehow forgotten about their hostilities some hours ago, but for her, their presence was not helping at all. Xiciro was her enemy during the Siege of Pol Hain, the moment when her life got a sudden boost and new adventures, however horrific and traumatic they were. Avet was an enemy just five hours before they started flying towards the south from Qeveriyt.

After flying non-stop to the south (and watching the sunrise while flying), they took a rest in an oasis, still untouched by humans or any similar smaller bipedal race. It was like most of the oasis Avila had ever seen: a lake with some palm trees as a defining feature, while other natural decorations like rocks and such varied.

The three of them rested by a shade for a moment while Avet walked towards the lake to cool off and to find something to eat. This gave Xiciro and Avila quiet moments together, to which they silently looked around and discussed their route.

"Based on Avet's suggestion, we will need to take the longer way around instead of directly going to the south," said Xiciro. "With one of their bases, the Dragonsbane gained strategic watches throughout the region and could easily found us. The best way to get through those watches is to approach by the night."

"And used our scale color as an advantage, right?"

Xiciro nodded. "Also, between the three of us, you are the only one that can fly silently, like an owl. Those feathered wings help with that greatly. I've seen you fly, Avila. If we need to dispatch them quietly, you are the only one with the ability. Unless they have sensitive dragon watchers that could detect a change in air pressure, we can past around them silently."

"Right."

After that, Xiciro lay on the desert sand and watched Avet, and said, "I understand your reluctance to talk with us, Avila, and I respect that. You're quite hard to trust."

"That's what betrayal, deaths, and mind control can do to you," said Avila.

"But you trust him," said Xiciro, referring to Seraphor. "And your sudden approval of this covert mission is to find him, however slim that chance is."

Avila hesitated to reply. She did not want Xiciro to know, but in the end, she knew the dragon was just trying to be closer to her. She did not want to believe it, but he was actually trying to find a friend himself.

"I...am indebted to him, in many ways. I slaughtered his family, but he forgave me on the grounds that I'm not myself when I killed them in front of his eyes. I thought he was mad to accept me so quickly, after he had defeated me. I guess...the fact that he saved me is because of knowing that both of us...are rare beings."

"So, why can't you trust me?"

"Well...I'm trying to, but you don't seem to want it," said Avila, which surprised Xiciro. He had thought that she was the one that did not wish to be associated with him, but that was when he was wrong. Even then, he did not want to talk about their true relationship. He needed to be on the same level as Seraphor to be accepted by her.

"However brief our fight was, I can't help to see that despite your vile and shady personality, you are a good dragon at heart. Circumstances corrupted us, as do many dragons that had fallen from grace. I think...it's the shared fate of the Argoons, don't you think?"

Before Xiciro could answer, Avet approached them and said, "Did I interrupt an important conversation?"

"Not at all, Avet. I need to cool off, anyway," said Avila while standing up. Avet looked at her expression before she went out of view. The young male Argoon then approached Xiciro and said, "You two seems close."

"Not as close as you think it would be. We have...conflicted interests."

"Ah, is it personal, then? I won't pry you more than I should be..."

"No, I don't mind at all, young one. I...don't feel like I know her even though we have known each other for a very long time. It seems...our engagements as enemies had clouded her minds of what good I could give her."

"Why don't you try to prove yourself that she can trust you."

Xiciro chuckled. "Why shouldn't you? Unlike me, you were affiliated with them half a day ago. Don't deny me and say that you are not one of them. The fact that you give the letter to the red dragon still makes you our enemy, and she knows that better than I do?"

"Yeah, well...I thought taking you two to meet with my kin could help with that, but hearing you said that made me feel that it isn't enough."

"Avila became a powerful dragon feared by the Dragonsbane because of her reserved trust. She believed her life to be a curse, and still does not want to open up unless they have the capability of trust for her and 'similar' to her. Her friends from another world are the proof of that."

"She has some interesting friend," said Avet, watching her dive. "I can't say my life is similar to her."

That night, the three of them started their journey. Avet told them that the best way for the journey to be short would be as little rest as possible and to find the right time of the night, since they would absolutely need it when they reached the borders of the Southern World. It would also be necessary for them to rest while floating on the sea, but only during the day, and only for a moment to rest their wings. Only Avila, the only one of the three with mastery of wind magic, could effortlessly fly without needing any muscle power. She offered to help the other two, but Avet declined, knowing that it could cause their position to be found due to the change in air pressure.

After less than a day travelling, the desert plains started to give way to scarce grassy plains, with dried grass and spiky bushes. It was a common sight around there, somewhere they did not think would be possible. Avet then declared, "My fellows, welcome to the Southern World."

"Hmm...rockier than the Center," commented Avila.

"The land is arid with less underground water, unlike the desert in Center," said Avet. "But don't worry. The more we go outwards, towards the sea, the more we get..."

"You two, stop talking and follow me. Avila, stop using the wind and glide down slowly."

"Enemies?"

"Three miles west of us. I don't think they've sensed us. Could be Southern locals."

"Don't trust any dragons in the South, Xiciro, even if it is from our race. The moment we reached our settlement is the moment we can relax," said Avet while gradually descending.

Both Xiciro and Avila followed as they looked towards the sky east of them. They could faintly see the features of two dragons approaching them. They were patrolling and looked around, even on the ground. But when they passed through them without even reacting, Avila knew Xiciro had done something to block their view.

"Illusion camouflage," said Avet. "Neat trick."

"How do we proceed from here, Avet?"

"Their presence here is enough to convince me. There is a Dragonsbane outpost around this vicinity with their...slaves. I recommend finding a way to reach the sea."

This was the first time Avila needed to stay covert. With her powers, it could be easy for them to go through things, but they could not attract more attention than what they had. In fact, they needed to be a ghost.

After travelling towards the sea, they reached a cliff overlooking the sea. The sea looked so calm and serene, especially how there was a village overlooking it. The dragons could not watch the humans, but they could see the sunset happening for that day. Xiciro and Avila looked at it while Avet flew to the sea to find something to eat. They never saw it looked so pristine and clean. Aside from the sunset memory at Pol Hain, which was clearly filled with death and conflicts, this was the only other memory Avila could remember seeing a sunset by the sea.

Xiciro looked at it and contemplated its beauty. He had never seen such beauty of the nature. His life had been spent inside a giant building, doing his own experiments, and seeing it and feeling its warmth made him remember good memories with his mate. Avila looked like her namesake when Xiciro looked at her, imagining her.

"Are you okay?" said Avila, confused as to why Xiciro looked towards her. He snapped back to reality and said, "Yes. Don't mind me."

Avila looked towards the sun and said, "We might be able to see this beauty again after we won, but we won't know when."

Xiciro did not answer. After a while, when Avet was behind him, he said, "Avila...what will you do when you've found Seraphor?"

"To be honest...I feel awkward. I mean, we haven't seen each other for 10 years. It's not that long for us, but for me, it's long. He may have changed."

"I don't know him personally, but I think you two can get along fine."

"Look at that. It seems you've changed a lot," said Avila. "Well...I should get going."

"Where?"

"To find some shelter, of course. It's getting late, and I don't think it is wise to fly tonight. We are all tired."

The night went on without any meaningful event. Avet and Avila slept first while Xiciro on the watch. He wanted to know the geography and anything related to the south, but he needed this mission more than his personal desire. Still, it may have been because he had been in so many faces of danger before, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. He was at the heart of the enemy's territory, and aside from the clearly hostile dragons, there were no other attacks. No traps, no dragons, not even outposts. Avet seemed to know his way around the South, but it was still out of ordinary.

It was then Xiciro found his answer in the form of a light. The light did not approach them, but he could clearly see some dragons flying above them. He used his illusion trick again, and it worked, except the dragons did not care about them. They were attacking the harbor town.

"Hey, Avet, Avila, wake up," said Xiciro. When the two younger dragons woke up, they saw the carnage. Avila, heroic as ever, wanted to go there and help the inhabitants, but Avet stopped her by saying, "We can't risk exposing ourselves here."

"But if we succeed, that place will become our ally!"

"We are not trying to find more allies, Avila! Don't think about war for a moment and focus on finding your mate. We survive in the south because we don't trust each other. It is a hostile badlands full of dangerous creatures, not just dragons. If we engage them, our cover will be blown and we lose our chance to find that prison!"

"But..."

"Avila, how many dragons can you see attacking the town?"

Avila looked at Xiciro, unsure on what he was thinking. She said, "Around three, maybe more. What are you..."

Xiciro quickly opened a portal and appeared just behind the village, to both Argoons' surprise. Before they could react, though, there was a faint roar coming from the village. Avila, with his inversed contrast vision, could see what happened down there. Xiciro was slaughtering the dragons without being seen. A swift move and they lost their heads. It was over before it even started. He quickly returned and closed the portal.

"Now, that settles things," said Xiciro.

"You idiot! We will be discovered!"

"It will take days for them to realize that something's wrong. By the time they realize it, we're already gone. In fact, let's get away from this place before anyone got a chance to realize there's a 'savior'."

They quickly opened their wings and flew away, with Avila wondering what got into Xiciro lately. He usually did not care about the lives of humans and other's affair. He tended to concern himself, but now...somehow he changed. The mission seemed to give him a way to change himself. Yet, Avila was still conflicted if Xiciro did it for pure heroism or simply to save his skin.

They would only know it when the travel continued...