8 Vs. the Sea Serpent

While River had been diving down to find Hydraxus, Adrion, Kai'sair, and their two dragons, were sailing towards deep water, where the sea serpent was mostly seen. Adrion stood at the front of the deck, watching out into the sea. He could hear the captain of the ship singing to himself and the two dragons higher up on the masts talking among each other. Then, he heard approaching footsteps, and turned to see Kai'sair walk up next to him.

"Scared?" the knight asked.

"Very." Adrion replied, "This is kinda my second major monster battle."

"ONLY your second?" Kai'sair asked.

"What? Is that a shock to you?"

"The fact that this is your second fight, yes. What else did you kill?"

"I killed a wyrm on the way to Port Town, that's how I met River. Technically, this could be my third monster fight if you count when I had to fight a fire golem back at Moonbeam."

"Wait, they let you fight monsters at Moonbeam?"

"Sometimes, yeah. Don't you guys too at Dragonsfold?" (Dragonsfold was the other academy where students trained to be guardian knights instead of wizards).

Kai'sair hung his head: "Unfortunately no. We used to with the previous headmaster, but that was when I was younger. The new headmaster care more about military discipline than fighting the dangers of our world. She believes that if we stick to the Knight's Code, then we should have no problem fighting the monsters."

"Well, that seems a bit ridiculous," Adrion replied, "At Moonbeam, we believe that experience is everything, so we practice against certain monsters, and even each other sometimes."

"Well, that certainly seems more appealing than what we got going on at Dragonsfold, and I'm not the only one who would think so; many of the students there aren't exactly content with the way the new headmaster is running things."

"Have they tried petitioning to instate their own changes to the system? I'm pretty sure students are allowed to do that; they are at Moonbeam."

"Not yet, but the option has been put out there among the students; we're probably gonna try it soon."

"You're still a student?"

"Yup."

"Then how did you get into a knights guild?"

"They let you select one any time before you graduate; helps you get a better grip of future plans."

"Okay, that is actually smart."

Just then, the captain called out to them from the wheel: "Look alive, boys! We're just about in the serpent's waters! I'll be having no part of this fight, so I'll be in the cabin if you need me."

"Will do, thanks!" Kai'sair called back, then shouted up to the dragons on the masts above: "Keep an eye out of anything in the distance! I want to know if that thing is gonna try anything tricky!"

"I'm on it!" Paletar called back down.

"So am I," said Rhogar, "That snake can't hide from our combined watch forever."

Kai'sair nodded in contentment, then turned back to Adrion: "Sorry, leadership kinda kicked in."

Adrion shrugged: "Not a big deal at the moment."

Kai'sair nodded, then asked: "So, you and River. How long has that been a thing?"

Adrion's face tuned beet red: "How long have you known?"

"Not long, I saw how you wished her luck when she left and how you blushed when Rhogar said something to you. I know when someone is in love when I see it, so it was pretty obvious to me after that."

Adrion sighed: "It hasn't quite been a thing yet. I have feelings for her, but I have no idea if she feels the same way, and I haven't been able to bring myself to ask her."

Kai'sair chuckled, then patted Adrion on the shoulder: "You should sometime. If you don't, she might never reveal the same to you. I've seen this happen before back at Dragonsfold, so I know how to handle it."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Adrion nodded, then looked at the sky; it was practically dark by this time.

"It's dark now," Adrion said, "You would think the sea serpent would have shown its face by now."

"Yeah," Kai'sair said looking around, "Something's not right."

Just then, Paletar cried out: "HIT THE DECK!"

Adrion and Rhogar dove into the floor as a massive, reptilian head shot out of the water and snapped at the air where they were standing. Adrion drew his sword around, while Kai'sair did the same. Then, both stabbed upwards, piercing the serpent's hide. With a shriek of pain, the monster dove back underwater. Adrion and Kai'sair quickly stood back up.

"Me and my big mouth." Adrion said, "That was WAY too close!"

"Agreed," Kai'sair said, "Let's make sure that doesn't happen again." Then, he whistled for Paletar, who promptly flew down and landed. As soon as the dragon landed, Kai'sair climbed onto his back and, pulling the visor of his helmet down, said to Adrion: "Stay down here and keep it distracted." Then, to Paletat: "To the skies!"

"Roger that!" Paletar said, taking off. Meanwhile, Rhogar flew down to Adrion and asked: "Need a lift too?"

Adrion shook his head: "Kai'sair says I should stay on the ship and try and distract it. Honestly, I think he might be onto something. I'll stay here, but you should fly up too and provide some extra firepower."

Rhogar nodded, then said: "Good luck then," before flying into the skies. Adrion drew his staff with one hand, and, holding the sword with the other, looked around the ship wildly.

"Alright, where are you, you stupid water snake?" he said to himself. Then, hearing a large splash behind him, he turned around to see a scaly head full of teeth the size of a small house, directly behind him, its neck frill fully extended.

Adrion slightly paled: "Well, you're way bigger than I thought."

The serpent hissed: "Who dares trespass in my waters and try to attack me?"

Adrion stayed silent out of fear for a moment, but the remembered why he was here to begin with, and who had his back; he took a deep breath then looked the serpent straight in the eyes.

"I am Adrion Highstar of Moonbeam Academy. I am here on a quest by the White King himself; a quest you are getting in the way of. Leave now or destroyed!" As he said this, he lit up the tip of his staff with a bright white light.

The serpent recoiled in anger at both the light as well as the mention of the White King, but then hissed menacingly: "An adventurer, eh? Well, now that you've told me who you are, I'll humor this and tell you a bit about me. I am Asnil the Plague, brother of the mighty Destro the Dismal, the mightiest of all sea serpents. I am here on my own mission from my brother to end this town as well as all who try to seek the hidden piece of the Light of Lunare, which we had found quite recently. Since I can only assume you are here for that piece, I cannot leave and let you take it, and I also cannot be destroyed by a mere boy with a glow stick. So, young Highstar, how do you wish to DIE!?"

With this, the monster rushed forward, mouth gaping, only to be cut short as Adrion quickly raised his staff, putting up a fire shield. The serpent's jaws clamped down on the shield, sending a massive burning pain through the monster's head, a pain only made greater when Adrion stabbed the roof of its mouth with the sword. As Asinil pulled back, screaming in pain, a burst of flame shot down from above, scalding the serpent's face. Writhing in pain, Asinil only had time to look up as Rhogar shot down onto his face and began tearing away with his teeth and claws.

Asinil began to shake his head violently, yelling, "Get off, you stupid lizard!" But Rhogar was more slippery than he looked, and managed to keep avoiding Asinil's jaws. Then, Paletar swept in from behind, Kai'sair on his back with his sword raised. Paletar then flew past the serpent's neck, and, with a cry of "For Pandreia!", Kai'sair thrust his sword to the side, slicing a gash in the serpent's neck. This only caused Asinil more pain, and he thrashed in anger, diving beneath the sea, which forced Rhogar to let go and fly back up.

"Thanks for the save, Rhogar!" Adrion called.

"Nice shot yourself," the dragon called back. Paletar and Kai'sair flew next to the ship.

"It was a good attack," the knight said, "But I fear we only succeeded in making it really angry. If River doesn't get here with those reinforcements, we won't be able to stand much of a chance."

"Well, what do you suppose we do?" Paletar asked.

Adrion tightened his grip on his staff and sword: "We keep it busy. Kai'sair, you, and the dragons should stay in the air, it won't be able to get you from there. I'll make sure he stays occupied down here."

"That's a ridiculous idea," Kai'sair said, "It will know we're in the sky now. It'll knock us out of the sky and then pick us off of the deck."

"Well, do you have a better plan?"

The knight thought, but then grunted in frustration: "No. Looks like we're sticking with yours."

"Relax, if the White King wanted us to do this, then I'm sure we'll make it out alive. He wouldn't have given us this quest if he knew we were gonna die before it was finished."

Kai'sair gripped his sword: "I hope you're right." Then nudged Paletar upward, Rhogar taking off after them. Back on deck, Adrion lifted his sword and staff again, ready for Asinil to make another move.

Then, Rhogar called down: "Watch out!"

Adrion jumped to the left as Asinil's head flew past, snapping where Adrion had been standing.

"Curse you, you annoying beast!" Asinil cried up to Rhogar, "Looks like I'll have to deal with you first."

Behind him, Paletar swooped in for another pass. As he did, Kai'sair made another gash in Asinil's neck. As the serpent turned to strike, Rhogar blasted his face with fire. This continued for a while, with Adrion shooting fireballs and other projectiles, but as Paletar came in for another attack run, Asinil was ready.

Angered, the serpent whipped it's head around and grabbed one of Paletar's wings in it's jaws. The dragon roared in pain as Kai'sair struggled to retain his hold on him, but it gave Adrion an opportunity to try a spell he had learned more recently; channeling energy through his staff, he pointed the tip straight at the serpent's head as a bolt of lightning shot out, hitting the serpent in the eye. Asinil, roared in pain, letting Paletar and Kai'sair go, both then falling to the deck and crashing onto it.

Seeing this, Rhogar swooped in to make another assault, but it was not as secret as he wanted it to be; Asinil whipped his head at the last second, clamping down on Rhogar's wing and throwing him to the deck of the ship as well.

"Rhogar!" Adrion cried as he ran over to his dragon friend, "Are you okay?"

Rhogar got up, his injured wing tucked in: "My wing's busted, but I'm still alive."

"Same here," Paletar said.

Kai'sair stood up, his sword and shield still in hand: "Well, we just lost our air support. Now what?"

"We can't give up now!" Adrion said, "We have to keep fighting while we can!"

The serpent hissed in pleasure, sensing their growing despair: "It's hopeless, no one has ever bested me in a duel; you will only be the newest in that line of defeats. However, you did give me a bit of a challenge, I will admit. So, now tell me this: where is your White King now?"

Just then, a figure jumped out of the water behind Asinil and threw two small objects at the back of his head. The objects were quickly revealed to be knives as they stuck into the serpent's neck. As the serpent cried out in pain, the figure landed on the creature's neck, ran up it like a ninja, then jumped off and onto the ship, taking the daggers with her. As she landed on the deck, Adrion and Kai'sair recognized the blue dragons tail and scaly jumpsuit.

"River!" Adrion said, lighting up.

"Now there's a sight for sore eyes." Kai'sair said.

"And there's more where that came from too," River said, "Cavalry has arrived."

Asinil recovered from the sneak attack, saw the newcomer, and snarled: "Girl, you've made a big mistake attacking me."

"Actually," River said casually, "YOU are the one who made the mistake, I'm afraid."

"And what mistake would THAT be?" Asinil snarled, his eyes narrowing in rage.

River casually pointed behind the serpent. As Asinil followed her gaze, he saw a massive wave forming behind him, storm clouds gathering above it. Through the flashes of lightning, a massive shape with glowing yellow eyes could be seen. Adrion, Kai'sair, and the dragons took a step back.

"What…is…that?" Adrion asked, his eyes widening.

"No…" the serpent softly said, fear becoming evident in his voice, "It can't be…" then, turning back to River, "What have you done?!"

River simply smirked back: "I brought in the cavalry."

Terrified, Asinil tried to flee, but found he was held in place as multiple water dragons swam around him, trapping him. Then the wave surged forward, slamming into the serpent. Recovering, Asinil looked to see the figure that still remained: a massive deep blue dragon.

"Boys," River said, "Meet Hydraxus the Wise."

"So," Kai'sair said in awe, "The legends are true!"

Even the ship's captain had looked from a window in his cabin and was in shock t what he had seen.

Slowly, Hydraxus lifted his wings, pointing them to the skies. As he did, lightning began to strike the wings, but it did not hurt him, instead channeling its power to build up in his mouth. Asinil struggled, throwing multiple water dragons off of him, but it was all in vain as more kept holding him in place. Adrion even used a holding spell, creating a collar of light around the serpent's neck.

After a few seconds, Hydraxus finishes charging up, says, "Your time is over!" before blasting a massive blast of white hot lightning at Asinil. The other dragons ducked out of the way fast enough, and the three heroes and the two dragons had to shield their eyes from the light, but Asinil wasn't so lucky and was fried immediately. As the light died down, the heroes slowly looked to see the ocean made calm again, Hydraxus hovering on the water with his water dragon army surrounding him; the serpent was nowhere to be seen.

At the sight of triumph, Adrion and the others cheered, while the dragons roared in victory; Adrion, River, and Kai'sair even hugged for a few moments.

"That…was…epic" Adrion said, "Talk about a last minute rescue."

"Yeah," River said, "Sorry I didn't come sooner. You guys look like you took a heck of a beating."

"Well, the good thing is we're still alive, and you came soon enough for that to still be true, so all is well." Adrion said, chuckling.

"Agreed," Kai'sair said, "But there's still the problem of getting the piece of the relic."

Hydraxus leaned down to face the heroes, saying: "Perhaps I can help."

"You know where it is?" Adrion asked, only to blush in embarrassment as he remembered that Hydraxus was the one to hide it in the first place from his history classes: "Oh, wait, sorry. Of course you know where it is."

Hydraxus chuckled: "You are an interesting one, Adrion Highstar. I look forward to hearing more of you from the waters."

"So, you'll get the piece of the relic for us?"

The dragon nodded and dove down underneath the waves. After a few minutes, he came back up, holding something in his claws. As he placed it on the deck, the heroes saw that it was half of a glass sphere rimmed with gold.

"Under my authority, and that of the White King, who sent you to clam this," Hydraxus said, "The first piece of the Light of Lunare is yours." Adrion picked up the piece, then looked at the dragon and said, "Thank you, Hydraxus. How can I ever repay you?" (It is polite to say this to dragons as it shows that you are genuinely grateful for something).

Hydraxus simply smiled: "You want to repay me, then finish your quest and save the knights in the canyons."

Adrion nodded his thanks, then turned to the others, saying alright guys, let's get back to shore. This quest isn't over yet."

Kai'sair and River nodded, and Rhogar grunted, saying: "Good, cause it was just getting interesting."