Song of ice and fire

The wyvern, infuriated by Orion's defiance, let out a thunderous roar that shook the very foundations of the ruined city. The sound reverberated through the skeletal remains of buildings, sending loose stones tumbling and unsettling the air with a sense of impending doom. Then, with renewed ferocity, the beast charged—its massive form a blur of obsidian scales and blazing fire, a force of nature incarnate.

Orion stood his ground, unwavering in the face of the monstrous onslaught. This was precisely what he had intended. He had provoked the creature, and it had taken the bait. Now, all he needed to do was keep its focus on him and away from the city's survivors hidden beyond the collapsed ruins.

With a surge of mana, Orion propelled himself backward, narrowly evading the wyvern's razor-sharp claws. His body moved with the fluid grace of a seasoned warrior, wind magic coursing through his limbs, enhancing his agility. While thunder magic would have granted him even greater speed and reaction time, such power required the precision of a Radiant Silver Core mage—something he had not yet attained. For now, he relied on his current abilities, conserving his strength, waiting for the right moment.

The wyvern belched forth another torrent of fire, its breath igniting everything in its path. Orion twisted through the flames, barely skirting their searing edge. He felt the heat lick at his cloak, singeing the fabric, but he ignored the pain. His focus remained on the wyvern—analyzing, adapting. He had already observed its attack patterns. For all its brute force, the creature was predictable. It relied on instinct and raw power, repeating the same patterns, leaving small but exploitable openings.

A smirk ghosted across his lips. *That will be its downfall.*

The wyvern lunged again, a massive shadow against the burning skyline. Orion anticipated the movement, sidestepping with a burst of wind magic, feeling the rush of air as the beast's claws missed him by mere inches. He retaliated instantly, conjuring a spear of ice and launching it at the creature's exposed underbelly. The projectile struck true, detonating into a burst of frost that spread across the wyvern's scales, eliciting a shriek of pain.

A guttural snarl rumbled from the beast's throat as it thrashed, shaking off the frost. Orion pressed his advantage, weaving between its attacks, hurling smaller ice shards at its joints. Each strike slowed the creature further, forcing it to stumble as its limbs grew sluggish under the biting cold.

The wyvern, sensing its disadvantage, spread its wings wide and took to the air. Orion's eyes narrowed. If it gained the aerial advantage, the battle would turn against him.

"No, you don't," he muttered.

Summoning a concentrated blast of wind magic, he aimed at the wyvern's wings just as it ascended. The force of the attack disrupted its flight, sending it crashing down into the rubble. A deafening impact split the air, dust and debris rising in thick clouds. Orion wasted no time. He conjured another ice spear, larger this time—its crystalline form glowing under the moonlight.

This would not be enough to kill the wyvern outright. He lacked the sheer destructive force needed for such a feat—not without preparation. But he didn't need to kill it. He only needed to drive it back into the forest where it belonged.

With all his strength, Orion hurled the ice spear. It cut through the air with a sonic boom, streaking toward the wyvern's heart. Victory was within reach.

Then the wyvern roared.

But this time, its cry was different—laced with an eerie cadence, its reverberations sending shivers down Orion's spine. The sound carried an unnatural weight, something ancient, something powerful.

"The Draconic Tongue," Orion breathed, eyes widening.

A language of power, one that shaped reality itself.

The moment the echoing words left the wyvern's maw, the ice spear—mere seconds from impact—disintegrated into nothingness. Orion's heart pounded as he leaped back, retreating to a safer distance. He had only rudimentary knowledge of the Draconic Tongue, just enough to recognize it when he heard it. But this… this was beyond anything he had encountered.

The air grew heavy, charged with arcane energy. Then, before Orion's eyes, the wyvern began to change.

Flames erupted around its body, but unlike before, they did not merely burn—they consumed. The fire twisted and writhed, wrapping around the beast's wings like a cloak of living inferno. Its horns elongated, curving upward like blackened obsidian spears. Its claws glowed red-hot, molten heat dripping from their tips. And its eyes—once filled with primal rage—now burned with something far more terrifying: sentience.

The transformation was complete within seconds, but the impact was immeasurable. The ground beneath Orion's feet cracked under the sheer heat radiating from the creature. Nearby structures, already crumbling ruins, disintegrated into ash. The very air trembled with dread.

"Shit!" Orion clenched his fists, forcing his breathing to steady. He had faced formidable foes before, but this… this was beyond a mere beast. It had transcended into something greater, something more akin to a force of nature than a living creature.

A monstrous voice rumbled from the wyvern, distorted and deep, its words rolling through the night like the sound of breaking mountains. Orion didn't understand the full meaning, but he recognized the intent: Doom.

Yet, despite the overwhelming presence before him, Orion's mind remained sharp. He analyzed, calculated. The transformation had made the wyvern exponentially more powerful, but power always came with a price. The extreme heat likely made its body more brittle—prone to cracking under precise, targeted strikes.

A plan formed in his mind. He would not face this beast head-on; he would simply make it suffer it flee.

With a controlled exhale, he summoned ice magic once more. A barrier of frost erupted around him, absorbing some of the suffocating heat. The contrast between the wyvern's fire and his ice created an eerie mist that curled between them, setting the stage for the battle's next phase.

The wyvern let out another earth-shaking roar and lunged forward, claws slashing through the air, leaving molten scars in their wake.

Orion met its assault head-on, weaving between destruction and survival, the song of ice and fire echoing beneath the moonlit sky.

And so the battle for Elsmere began.