Find your taste for danger!(A-rank free form)

https://www.fairytail-rp.com/t41968-a-rank-free-form

“So Tetsukazu? What’s so special about that place?” Reina asked the hunched scholar, the wind keeping steady on the sunny day. It was rare for Reina to be at a place she didn’t intend to go, more so as a job for someone else that wasn’t dragon kin. The elder in front of her wasn’t scaly in the slightest! Just old and hunched over with wispy white hair on his eyebrows and beard, forming a white expression on top of his normal face. He cleared his throat, his expression fixed on the portal a few dozen meters away from them, “Tetsukazu is a land of unparalleled wilderness. Fact is very little is known about it even after as many explorations as we have had there. Recently though the portal has been sending people to different places than normal and has created issues for future explorers. Especially since they’re encountering far more savage and dangerous wildlife than we have expected.”

“So you need a dragon’s help to explore the land instead? I don’t mind, but what could be there that could cause any real issue?”

“Funny you should mention, as there have been sightings of a dragon-” Was all the elder managed to get out before Reina was gone. He already knew she was going to accept the task, why else come here prepared. But how eager she flew over to and through the portal was something unaccounted for, at least he had the rest of the details on a paper in her pack. Mage hand was such a useful spell, he wished the youth used it more often.

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Reina wasted no time as she went through the portal, wings dancing with aurora lights propelling her forward. When she crossed the portal she was blinded by a sudden light, shielding her eyes she stopped before they began to adjust. What laid before her was a collection of brilliant white crystals! Their lustrous shine caught the light and shone with such beauty that Reina was spellbound by it. Long enough for the shadow to paint its presence on her. She barely had time to move, feeling the sharp edges scrape on her arms, carving through her unprepared scales with ease. Turning around, she got a better look at what had scratched her, a creature similar to a bird but featherless, instead having tight leather skin and a long jaw with sharp teeth. It let out a mocking cry as if to celebrate its wound on Reina, which she clenched her teeth and charged forward, her Iserheim claw extended as she punctured through the chest of the creature.

It let out a death gasp, the air being let out of a balloon, as Reina looked down on it with displeasure. She let it drop to the mountainous terrain below as she took a breath, even if she was attacked the thing was hardly a threat, and should have chased it off instead of butchering it. Remembering that she was in a foreign place, she began to look around for the portal she had come through. Fortunately it was only a minute's travel away for her, and she took note of the surrounding landscape before leaving the area itself. The land it appeared was covered in a rock that usually formed after a volcano erupted, and she pondered if the crystals formation were from such a magma flow. Maybe, though there was something else about them, a humming in them that resonated with the dragon slayer on a deeper level than she expected. Curious, she would have descended from the air until she felt basalt beneath her. 

The area she had chosen to land in was a gathering of the beautiful crystal formations, they overarched and stretched to form corners of a roof with pockets of open sky to be available to be seen. Reina herself chose the crystals closer to the ground level, placing a hand on the formation. And she felt a dull humming in them, the crystal vibrating as she ran her hands across it. It was a soothing sensation, and one that she tried to get more out of, but it stayed at the same activity. Frustrated, she tried another patch only to find the same results, but just as she was about to move her hand it suddenly hummed to life. An audible humming that Reina could hear, it was almost…a song? It wiggled in her ears and soon it became irritating, Reina let go of the crystal as it came to a stop, which she sighed in relief. Until she felt the disturbance in the air, she looked up to see a group of the small winged creatures that attacked her earlier disperse from their roosts as something massive flew overhead. Reina was confused about what it could be until she let its scent travel downwards toward her and realized what it was, A dragon!

WC: 818

Reina soared upwards, eager to catch a glimpse of the mysterious creature, only to be met with disappointment as the skies remained clear. Not deterred, she would have followed the scent it left behind, leading her farther away from the crystal gorge that she ended up in. Utilizing the wind, she traveled on its flow, adjusting as she needed as the directions changed and maneuvered. She passed by rocky cliffs and jagged mountain sides as soon it began to give way to green. Soon she could taste the humidity in the air, and her eyes opened in awe of what was before her. A lush green landscape stretched out before her; canopies of jungle trees covered much of the land, and where they opened revealed rivers and plains of terrestrial creatures, none of them furry. Her nose was filled with exotic scents of the new landscape as she feasted on the new environment, a smile on her face as she moved through the air. So distracted that she failed to account for the flying creature crashing into her. 

The creature was huge, so much so that she was sure it crashed one of its talons into her as she began to spiral from the air. Before she could regain her wings again she was crashing into the jungle tree line, branches snapping as a mixture of wood and vine covered Reina as she plummeted downwards. A silver lining was that by hitting said branches she was able to slow her descent down enough to land without too much issue, a rather ungraceful landing but she was still awake. She moved too quickly, and realized what she landed on was a hollow bent tree that now fully fell with Reina stuck inside. She braced herself as the tree fell a few meters before being pulverized on its impact with the soft ground, Reina splayed out on her back covered in jungle debris and wood. Even if her scales were pretty tough, the impact was hard enough that she vouched to stay laying down for a few minutes. Only after hearing the returning sound of insects and birds did she begin to move, slow but surely she stood up.

Rubbing her head, she took a look around her surroundings. She had seemingly landed in a clear patch of jungle that had been hidden by the canopy she crashed through. To her left she spotted a small stream trickling downward, and curious creatures around it that were looking at her. They were bipedal with tiny front arms and a large rounded bone head. She wasn’t sure what to make of them, and while she would have left that mystery alone there was a strong familiar scent coming from them. A draconic one? She would then have spoken aloud in the dragon’s tongue out of curiosity, “Hello?” The creatures bellowed in response to it, an irritated noise that traveled from deep within them. With disappointment she sighed, the cries were not any words she understood. And given how they were acting they had to be wild animals, or dragonkin? Deciding to save the mystery for later she would have turned around and looked for a path forward away from the creatures. Spotting light, she would have begun to walk up the incline made of thick roots toward it.

The sunlight shone through an opening made of tree roots pushed outward as she went through them, beholding a system of more vegetation. Giant tree roots grew across each tree, forming makeshift bridges of incredible sizes. Unfamiliar and familiar scents flooded her nostrils as she took them in, parsing through them before finding the scent she had been following earlier. Moving across the root bridges she followed the scent, first upwards onto a platform of wood, then traveling down again coming across a stream. Following it, she would had found herself in a clearing. The scent was strongest here, and for the first time today she felt apprehension. In her excitement to see a dragon, she realized that it was a dragon, and had no way if it would have tolerated her intrusion. Was it even smart enough to communicate? Or would it be viewed as a hatchling, maybe even less? She wouldn’t have had time to debate any further, the puddle in front of her began to vibrate slightly. With each shake it grew more intense, and she began to feel the ground itself move beneath her. 

WC: 743/1561

Too late she had realized the creature was coming the same way she had, and she turned to see its monstrous form. Bipedal, it stood three times Reina’s own height practically towering over the slayer. Pink scales covered its body with the top of its torso layered in darker feathers, two huge yellow draconic eyes looked down on Reina as it flared its huge nostrils, raining some mucus on her. She squinted as the gross nose juice speckled her, keeping her sight on the…dragon? It smelled like a dragon and certainly had some traits of one, but where were its wings? “Hello?” She would have grunted out in draconic at the unfamiliar creature, hoping that it would be forgiving for her intrusion. The creature perked its head with attention as if in thought, then making up its mind it would have roared aloud a piercing noise, the sheer volume of it enough to overwhelm the dragon slayer’s ears as she covered her ears in an attempt to tune out the volume. By the time it was done roaring she was able to regain her composure, the ringing in her ears muting out all other sound. 

Fortunately her vision hadn’t been affected, as she wasn’t caught off guard from the creature's giant leap on to her with its three toed talon feet. Creating a dull iron wing, she felt the massive blow as it knocked her back rolling on the ground. She rebounded just as the pink monster fired balls of mucus around it, Reina finding herself coated in it. “You absolutely disgusting excuse of a dragon!” She growled out at her new foe as dull iron scales coated her body. It charged her again, this time Reina was prepared for it as it swung its massive head to bite her, only for her to duck beneath and counter with an iron clad punch. A heavy thud sound from the move as the creature moved its body to charge her, Reina being knocked aside as she avoided the worst of the trampling. It didn’t even register my hit??? She grimaced as she decided her next step, watching the creature turn around to face her again. 

Deciding she needed more oomph, she conjured her battle-axe into her hands, the great barbarian reaver. Its power hummed as she held it, as if knowing the foe was different from most she had faced. The giant monster roared again as this time it began to…spark? A curious lighting from its nose had begun as it charged forward, an odd organ flared up with spines in the back raised up. As it opened its mouth to chomp down on Reina, she swung the axe at its lower jaw, this time feeling the axe’s edge cut deep into flesh. Though if the creature cared about the pain, it did not show it, biting deep into Reina’s body as it shook her before releasing her. If not for her armor and her very sturdy scales she would have been hurt far more, but being flung was not a pleasant experience in the slightest. As she rose from the ground she was aware of the burning sensation on her body, quickly realizing she was on fire! She cursed as she began to put out the flames, noticing it was especially hot from where the mucus had covered her prior. 

She managed to deal with the worst of them as the creature renewed it’s assault, this time shooting out a torrent of twin beams of fire out of it’s nostrils, blanketing all it hit with both mucus and fire. Reina would have called upon the spirit of Drekka’s cloak, the crimson fabric making a surprisingly durable fireproof shield against the attack. As soon as the attack waned Reina surged forward, the rush of mana in her system fueled by the additional copper in her veins. She was better able to sidestep the hits she could not have taken, while toughing through blows as they came down on her. Finding her moment, she came at the creature with a flurry of swipes at its side, feeling the blade tear and cut away at the creature's durable scales. A part of her was happy now that the pink dragon had to acknowledge her, it was turning and rotating trying to locate the red head, trying to land blows with its jaws and massive feet. Finally, having enough, it would have suddenly angled low and spun, using its tail as a wide sweeping attack.

Reina shielded up once more, quickly regretting it as she felt her lose her balance from the attack and land on the ground. Trying to get up, she would have quickly been crushed under the dragon’s feet as it somehow managed to leap into the air and come down on her. Her iron wing took the brunt of the blow, but she still felt the air leave her body as the back of her head slammed into the ground. Struggling to stop the world from spinning, she would have been powerless to stop the creature as it came in for another bite. Fortunately this time it grabbed her shield arm, but it was clear it was trying to tear it from her body. Pain would soon register as one of it’s teeth managed to dig itself in her forearm, and blood would begin to seep out. She hit the thing in vain as she tried to get it to release her, adrenaline aiding her mind clearing up.

Pain and confusion would have soon gave away as she channeled her magic within her, bubbling to the top as her form changed. The scales on her body grew from a dull grey to a blackened steel, a reflective shine coating them, her brow became more pronounced as thick bone would have grown from underneath. Finally her fangs would sharpen, her eyes an angry dragon’s iris. With a bellow matching the creature's own, she swung the axe in her free hand at the creature's face, fresh blood spurting from the impact as the creature let go with a cry of pain. Its bright pink face now had a splotch of crimson red from around its eye as it looked down on the absolutely radiating dragon slayer. It roared out its anger at her and she returned in kind, both of their roars combined would have been loud enough to shake the nearby branches. The pink monster would have charged with its jaws opened wide to bite once more, and Reina responded by swiping at its face as she passed underneath, cutting at its chin. Not showing a sign of pain, it would have swung around again trying to catch Reina with its tail. This time with the jury’s favor, she focused the magic of the weapon into a fine point before coming down with it, cutting clean through the tail. 

The tip of the severed tail landed with a solid thud as the creature roared in pain, this being enough to send it in a retreat. Reina wanted to chase after it to repay it back for the sudden attack, but stopped herself. Her dragon force afforded her clarity where there wasn’t before, and the fact was most of her attacks didn’t seem to register on the enemy. Even in dragon force, blows that would knock humans aside only appeared as scratches and cuts on its thick hide. Not to mention the persistent stench of dragon on it, and it greatly concerned her. As far as Reina knew dragons were intelligent and wise creatures. Sure they may be aggressive and wouldn’t think twice about squashing someone like Reina, but they would at least speak! She looked at her arm as she exited her dragon force, the blood beginning to pool and clot in the fabric. With a sigh she would have begun to look for a safe spot to rest, dragging the tail from the pink creature as a prize for thrashing the thing so soundly. 

WC: 1335/2896

Reina had learned that wherever she was at, it was near an ocean, the cool breeze wafting into the cove she had decided to hold up in for the night. It was shallow, but far back enough that the shadows would have covered her. She wouldn’t have been so worried about safety, but fact was she had no idea what kind of creatures were here, what dragons could be here if they were the same dragons she was familiar with. As for why she hadn’t decided to retreat back to the portal, she wasn’t quite ready to leave yet. The land around her had a feeling to it, somehow here she felt right at home, the very energy of the land seemed to welcome her. With care she gently began to cut away at some of the cooked tail with her bandaged arm, while not a bad wound she didn’t want to risk infection so decided to be safe. The smoky taste of the tail was a silver lining of this place, the meat was incredibly delicious for what little she had to work with! She wondered if it was right since she wasn’t sure if the creature was a dragon, but then again it was trying to eat her, so just deserts? She pondered about what was so morally good about sweet foods as she continued her meal, soon after cleaning up and sleeping for the night.

Reina always had one recurring dream since she could remember. There she would be, soaring high above the clouds looking down on the land of tundra where she grew up. Always the same dream, but she didn’t mind as it was always pleasant for her. This time though she dreamt differently, still soaring high above with the clouds but the landscape was different. Jungle canopies and wide plains as far as she could see. Looking among a herd of curious reptile creatures, she began her descent much like an owl finding its mark. The herd began to scatter, but it was for her benefit as she had her target. Limbs coated with black scales tipped with white talons dug their lethal embrace into the creature as she crashed her weight into the thing, granting it a quick death. Satisfied, she began to look around on the ground to ensure no rivals, spotting someone. She was confused briefly, its wavy form making it hard to discern details. Deciding to get a closer work, she realized she was looking into a remarkably reflected waterfall. The image before her was black, but a huge creature with horns. She would had ventured closer to get a closer view, the water hitting her head as she began to make out the image for what it was…

Reina would find her concentration broken at the recurring drops on her head, shaking her from her sleep. Groggily waking up to find high tide had occurred, the platform beneath her was soaked. Checking over her belongings to ensure none had been damaged by the salt water, she found a curious paper. Looking it over, she realized that it had been written by a silver wolf scholar, probably the same one she had been talking to yesterday by the looks of it. She unfurled it, revealing instructions of how she was to record every new thing she saw in the unfamiliar land along with observing wildlife without harming them, coming back when she had acquired enough data. She scoffed at that precaution, most things that she had encountered so far attacked her first, well they couldn’t get everything they wanted in life the damnable nerds. Getting to her feet and packing everything up(Finding her socks had been hit by the salt water), she ventured outside. 

The brilliant sun shone high in the morning sky as she stretched and basked in it for a few minutes, the soreness in her left arm the only sign it had ever been injured. She would had then made the questionable decision to go back to the same clearing from yesterday. Sure she may encounter the creature again but having a better understanding on it, she felt confidant she could beat it more soundly this time around. With that said she would had been cautious on retracing her steps, ensuring that she would at least be able to sneak up on it this time around. The path back there was uneventful save for the sighting of some birds that curiously smelled of dragon despite their appearance suggesting otherwise. 

The clearing from the day bore the battle scars of yesterday's conflict; scorched marks on the trees and ground, clear indents in the wood where the creature landed from it's jumps, a perfectly cut diagonal pattern in the trees. Yet the scent of the pink terror was faint, and she knew it hadn't decided to come back. What also was in the air though was the original scent she had picked up from crystal gorge! With caution, she moved slowly forward toward the source, her ears pricked for even the slightest noise that wasn't bird calls or insect chattering. Eventually she would had spotted a broken canopy, suggesting something had fallen through to the floor. She briefly considered if that was her fault, but looking on the ground, she had found her answer. There stabbed into the ground was a long white spike, organic as near the end it was blackened to suggest it was part of something else before. She approached it after examining the area around her, the scent of the dragon strong on it. How curious! She looked over it seeing if it was metal or bone, any elemental traces to suggest a favorable type, the size of it was as big as she was so the dragon clearly had to be huge, maybe bigger then the pink creature from yesterday?

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"Curious." The voice had startled Reina as she spun with her iron dragon's wing out and extended, expecting another attack. Though the area was clear of any observable threat, even the sounds of the jungle had continued on without pause. "Who's there?!" she demanded aloud, a response would had been given from above her "Up here." Her eyes scanned the root system before laying eyes on a human? It certainly would have been the shortest human she had ever seen besides children, standing at roughly a meter tall. He had an odd outfit on, resembling a mushroom with a webbed veil covering his entire face. “Please continue to speak the tongue of elders, english is not a preferred tongue.”

“You mean draconic?”

“If that’s what you call it, then yes.”

Reina remained speechless for a minute, clearly surprised by the new development. “I, who are you?”

“A First Wyverian.”

“What’s that?”

“Mmm, the first. Your name?”

“I’m Reina Darksteel, Daughter of Chalybe the living furnace. Can you tell me where I am?”

“The new world.”

“And where is that in regards to Tetsukazu?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Ok, do you know if any dragons roam these lands?”

“Mmm, dragons that smell like you and I?”

“Yes?”

“Then no, no dragons roam the lands. But elders and wyverns roam instead.”

“And are they different from dragons?”

“You and I? Yes.”

She huffed at the response, despite the welcomed surprise of meeting someone to speak to her patience was wearing thin from his answers. “Well, I’m going to figure out where this spike came from.” and would have turned her back on the figure.

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why search?”

“Because I’m looking for dragons. And no, not like you and I. Majestic creatures of wisdom and incredible power.”

“Why do you search for such creatures, Darksteel?”

“Because I want to???”

“Humans don’t often search for dangerous creatures.”

“I am a dragon slayer and the daughter of a dragon, Wyverian. So I am more than suited then any mere human.”

“I see.”

“Good, now if you excuse me.” Reina would had returned her examination onto the spike. Only a few minutes would had passed and she detected that the First Wyverian had not leave yet. Annoyed by this point, she would had turned back around, “Why are you still here?”

“Wanted to know what you were wanting to learn from that Nergigante spike.”

“I told you I want to know- wait you called it what?”

“Nergigante, it was what the others called the elder.”

“Nergigante…It must be huge to have spikes like this! And if it’s a dragon, ooo must be ferocious. Especially with a name like Nergigante.” She became briefly lost in her head for the moment at wondering about the namesake. 

“Did you not see it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You came from where it lives, the Crystal Gorge.”

“Oh! That makes sense. Uhm, Nice talking to you?” She awkwardly finished as she scraped a bit of the spike before sprouting her Aurora wings and took off with them, having the courtesy to float high in the air before flying at full speed.

The First Wyverian nodded, accepting her gratitude, “May you find what you search for.”

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“So this First Wyverian, did he mention anything else about this prior group of people?” The lady scholar asked with urgency as two other scholars behind her were in the middle of taking notes and examining some of the materials brought back. Mainly it was crystals and animal scales, Reina having no intention to bring back a wide variety of things. She herself was being as patient as she could be with the questions, fresh back from her trip and annoyed she had to end it on her third day on account of the scavenger assholes that raided her food supply. The worst part? The portal didn’t take her back to the same location! So now she had no idea if she was ever going to return to such a glorious place. 

“Nope, that was the last time I spoke to him. Honestly he was pretty annoying not giving me clear answers. Are we done?” The scholar nodded as she gave a rushed thank you before retreating to the counters to join her colleagues, ever absorbed with the foreign material. That was fine though, most of it was just junk she collected and decided they weren’t worth keeping around. Besides, her main prize still awaited her. 

Returning to her room, she went over to the desk where sat at first appeared to be a large crystal formation. However Reina recognized something buried beneath the crystal, as if it formed around the object within. Though her efforts have been for naught, she couldn’t risk shattering whatever was inside and any small efforts to chip away the crystal had been for naught. She held the large formation as she glared at it, as if doing it will release the sealed object within. She pondered for so long that she began to hum to herself, as if singing along to a song being played at that moment. Actually…

She focused back on the crystal as she tested a theory. She hummed, and the crystal responded in kind. Curious, she hummed a tune for longer, and the crystal began to visibly vibrate. Confused, she suddenly had a realization. The crystals she found grew most when around volcanoes and the strong scent of dragons. And given that dragons were creatures of incredible magic and might…She began to focus mana into her fingertips, not aiming for a specific spell but just enough to radiate it. The odd combination of elements mixed and melded together as they spread across the crystal, causing it to shine with different colors. Increasing the intensity, the elements began to show more potent; Ice frosted, shadows and light shone brightly, and it overall began to take the texture of a shining metal. Pushing through, it all came to a crashing point as the crystal suddenly cracked down the middle. Absolutely confused, she looked at the two halves in each of her hands. 

Encased in the crystal appeared to be a sword as it had the shape of a single one handed longsword. Carefully, Reina dug around the hilt to better hold it, finding the crystal around it to crumble to dust as she held the weapon in her hand. The odd weapon shone in the light of the room, no it wasn’t reflecting the light, it was glowing. With confusion and curiosity she watched as the object grew to a fever pitch, the light shining out the window as blinding as the dawning sun from a pitch black night.

As she looked at the weapon’s new form, all she could think about was a desire, no, her wish to return to the New World.

WC: 1138/5010