The Sage's Vow

14.1 || Elemental Village

THE BOAR MONSTERS stood no chance. A wall of grey and brown energy specks dispersed into the air. The Soul-Bound's own attacks hadn't been enough to break apart the beasts before, but pure blasts of elemental energy from the three dragons provided more than enough force.

Josh's eyes drank in the pale-blue and yellow dragons. The blue one swept through the air, sending streaks of lightning after the boars. The yellow one, the only one grounded, swung its tail, sending a boar flying into the air, where the third of the group, an orange dragon with a long body, wrapped itself around the monster. Its head snapped forward, crushing the boar's face in its fangs.

The words Josh had cried came back to him as the same mix of pain and happiness seemed to flow through his very veins.

As Josh watched, his sunlit surroundings faded. Memories of the darkest night closed in on his mind, with violet flames that seemed to eat whatever light the stars above might provide. Where terror reigned and the howls of death replaced the typical song of the forest.

"Josh?" Mateo stood at his side and placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back to the present. The other Paladins and the Sages had returned to observe the slaughter, and they formed a semi-circle around them. Most still held their weapons, unsure if they'd found friends or more foes.

"Is he okay?" This was Kaitlyn, who stood on Mateo's other side. "Did he call those dragons...?"

Josh's very core lurched.

The wind gusted around them as the two flying dragons descended. While they did that, the blue one crept forward, her head swinging as she peered at the humans. The way she moved... It was so familiar, and not just because Josh saw it almost daily.

The yellow dragon caught up to the blue one quickly, with the orange one walking a slow perimeter. Their movements were cautious, postures curious, nothing to make them appear as enemies yet. Still, the other Soul-Bound around Josh hadn't relaxed.

But Josh couldn't have thought them a danger even if he wanted to.

The two dragons came to a stop ten meters away, their eyes growing more and more confused as they swept over the crowd. Then, through the bond, Boomer roared. It was a low, pitiful sound, full of mourning but fueled by rage at the unfairness of the world that Josh was there and not he himself.

And as if they could hear it, Boomer's parents focused their eyes directly on Josh.

You... The near-white dragon's eyes closed until they were near slits. You are not him, yet I feel... She turned her head back to her husband, though Josh did not know if that was the term dragons would use. He was but a dragonling. He was too young.

The yellow dragon hadn't looked away from Josh. His eyes were a deep gold, unlike his scales, which were closer to a bright sun color. Perhaps, but the ways of the soul have always been beyond any's control, and you feel him here with us as well as I do.

With a few steps forward, the yellow dragon stood at the front of the group, and he extended his neck, closing a good chunk of the gap between him and the Soul-Bound.

Mateo shifted a little closer to Josh, and a few of the others scrambled back a few paces, but Josh stood firm, meeting the dragon's gaze head on. It was because of this he saw the softening of the expression, the guarded curiosity giving away to a tentative hope.

Josh took a deep breath, nodded to the dragon, and said, "I think there's someone you want to speak to, and he wishes to speak to you as well." And he fully dropped any defenses around his mind.