Not the Only One [ Part 2 ]

Emre was stunned speechless. Too? A dragon too? No, that made sense. A human could only use up to two elements and even two wasn't common either. This person had four, and with that strange black mana as well, five. Not to mention the massive mana pool. His aura was hidden to about the same as Emre's right now though. But even despite all that, Emre could just tell without the help of mana or aura. This person was a dragon.

His outfit reminded Emre of a hoodless assassin due to wearing all black, but of course, his fashion choice was not what was wraking Emre's mind right now. He was a dragon. A dragon, known to be the rarest creature on Erani. And here, one sitting, one standing, there were two in a tiny village that was about to be attacked by corruption.

"Ha!" Emre couldn't help but laugh out loud in his momentary stress. "What the hell?"

"Are you not?" The man's brows raised.

"No, I am." Emre responded, standing up and brushing the dirt off his pants.

"What are you doing here then?"

Emre let out a small chuckle. "I could ask you the same. But hey, we haven't even introduced ourselves." Emre reached out his hand. "I'm Emre."

The man's brows furrowed as he glanced at Emre's hand before grabbing and giving it a small shake. "Idris."

'I really didn't expect to meet another dragon here of all places.' Emre switched to Telepathy, there was no knowing who might be listening.

'Nor did I.'

Ragan had told him that dragons aren't usually ever seen together unless they were mates. And even then actually seeing one sent the land spiraling into chaos as to why a dragon had made an appearance. Usually, the sight of one made people think disaster was about to befall them.

While they weren't completely wrong, dragons weren't known to be violent toward humanoids in particular. They were always keeping themselves hidden so the type of assumption that a dragon might attack out of malice only came from people who didn't know any better.

They were also known to be the closest to nature, as well as the Gods, in turn. To see one was almost like the Gods saying that nature was unbalanced and needed to be fixed. Of course, most of this was just speculation by humanoids and their experiences from what Ragan had explained.

Emre couldn't help but chuckle to himself at the thought. The arrival of corruptions coming to destroy and slaughter humans and the appearance of two dragons. Perhaps dragons really did only appear where the world was unbalanced.

'So why did you approach me?' Emre asked.

'I wanted to know if you were here for the same reason.' Idris responded.

'Why? Do you want to team up?'

Idris's face finally changed from an uneasy look to a bit of surprise. Team up? The thought had barely crossed Idris's mind. But now that it was a question, he couldn't help but feel odd about it. Two dragons who had just met, teaming up? What sort of nonsense was this person spouting?

'Are you serious?' Idris asked.

'Is it that strange?' Emre responded with a question in kind.

'Dragons don't really… 'team up'.' Idris stated. 'Did your mother not teach you properly?'

Wow! Offensive! Emre's brows furrowed and he crossed his arms.

'I have been alone since I hatched.' Emre responded curtly.

Idris's expression changed again as he pressed his lips together for a moment. He looked uncertain now.

'I did not mean to be rude, it was a genuine question.' Idris responded.

'You have a strange way of sounding genuine.'

Emre decided to believe him though and uncrossed his arms. Seeing him relax, Idris realized he had been holding his breath for a moment.

'My mother taught me that dragons aren't usually friendly to one another. The idea was odd to me. That's all.'

'Hm, well, I don't see why we have to be unfriendly to one another. Especially not if we're here for the same reason.'

'You still haven't told me why you're here.'

'I'm here to protect the village from the dark creatures.'

Idris didn't respond right away as he seemed to be pondering something. Then he looked Emre up and down.

'You don't look very equipped for battle.'

Emre scoffed again and shook his head. 'Are you not going to tell me why you are here?'

'It's a… similar reason.'

'Similar how?'

'I came to kill the dark creatures.'

Emre slightly nodded. He came to kill the dark creatures, not to protect the village. Although, their goals did coincide, so it kind of worked out if Idris did end up wanting to team up.

'So why are—' Emre was cut off.

"Oi! Idris!" A voice came from toward the village.

Jogging toward them were four people. One was wearing leather armor, two had half-plates, and the one in the front was in full-plate. The one in the front had a strong aura and had short brown hair. Unlike Idris's which was long enough to cover the top half of his ears, this man's hair was spiked up and just about looked shaved on the sides.

He actually looked quite young, probably in his late 20's while Idris looked a bit younger. It made Emre curious what Idris's age actually was. He didn't even know how long dragons lived. He had never asked Ragan. It was probably very long though.

A large sword adorned his back with a rather pretty silver hilt that glinted in the sun. He seemed pretty decked out. Emre also realized that this was one of the parties he had noticed in the tavern. He must not have noticed Idris because this group had been sitting in the opposite corner and was covered from sight by people.

"This is where you've been!" The next person who spoke was just behind the one in full-plate.

One of the ones with a half-plate, was a woman with shoulder-cut blonde hair. There was a slim sword sheathed on her waist and a dagger on her other side. The clothing she wore underneath seemed to have been dyed a purple color. Her blue eyes then flicked to Emre.

"Ah, you're the one that went with to talk to that army dude." Another person spoke.

It was a massive man with hair that was shaved almost all the way down to his head. He was also wearing a half-plate set of armor and a large sword sat on his hip. On his back, however, there was a large shield that would probably cover half of Emre's body. He must be the main defense of the party.

Then the last person peeked out from behind the large man. They were wearing dark brown leather armor that was similar in make to Idris's. Emre couldn't see any visible weapons on them, but they were wearing a black half-cape with a hood that covered most of their face.

"Yes, my name is Emre." He held his hand out toward them.

The one in the front shook it with a large smile. "My name is Killan!" He then turned to the woman beside him.

"I'm Nalia." She shook his hand but looked a bit apprehensive.

Emre didn't mind it as he went to the large man next.

"Gerrar! That's my name." He said with a laugh before placing a hand on the smaller person's head. "And this is Conin, although he is a bit shy."

Emre nodded and pulled his hand back as he looked at Idris. Idris cleared his throat and nodded slightly.

"This is the party I've been traveling with."

"Ah, don't say it like that!" Killan said with a wave of his hand. "Although I am surprised! Idris doesn't talk often, so it's strange to see him having a chat." The man looked to Emre and spoke without reserve.

"I can understand why. He doesn't have much of a filter." Emre responded with a smile.

Killan let out a laugh after noticing Idris's slight glare before speaking again. "Do you two know each other?"

"No, we just met."

"Oh?" Nalia muttered but looked away when Emre turned his gaze to her.

"I see! Did he tell you what we're doin' out here?" Killan asked.

"Not exactly."

"Ha! We're out here killin' those smoky monsters for a commission. We were surprised when the army popped up." He explained. "What about you? Do you live here?"

"Ah, I live in the forest nearby with my mentor. We ran across some of the dark creatures while hunting so we came to inform the forces of what we learned."

"Really? So that's why you went to meet the army dude, huh?" Gerrar interjected.

"Yeah."

"What was it that you learned?"

"The dark creatures are stronger than they were in the past. We wanted to warn them about it."

"Oh, we've experienced that! One of the bigger ones came at us the other day. Really surprised us." Killan popped back in.

Emre nodded. This meant that they were able to take on one of the bigger ones with little to no injuries. At least, none that he could see. He knew at least three of the bigger ones were coming, but like he told Carlowe, there were probably going to be more.

"Emre." Ragan's voice came up from behind the party. "Looks like you are making some friends."

They all turned toward the older man and Killan immediately placed his hand outward. Ragan grabbed it and firmly shook his hand.

"My name is Killan! You must be the mentor Emre mentioned."

"I am. My name is Ragan." He responded.

Killan quickly introduced the rest of the party and Ragan greeted them all. It seemed this area was getting a little lively.

"Ah, so you have dealt with the bigger dark creatures too, huh?" Ragan was asking as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah, it was quite difficult. Was it just the two of you?" Killan wondered.

"It was. I may be an old man, but I'm quite strong." Ragan chuckled out.

Of course, he couldn't tell Killan the truth. Emre had taken the beast out by himself, although not unscathed. Right now Emre's aura was reduced to just average. The one named Idris behind him was pretty average too. But the way he kept glancing at Emre every once and a while, and Emre doing the same made Ragan curious.

"Even without armor?" Killan asked with shining eyes.

"Ha! Naturally! I actually just bought some though so Emre and I will be well equipped when those damn dark creatures get here." He had to turn his attention back to Killan.

"So it's not just a rumor that those dark creatures are comin' here too, hm?"

"Can't be for sure, but it's very likely. This village is the closest to Flummon, after all."

"Damn, guess we'll just try and help out then. These men will probably handle the brunt though." Killan looked toward the soldiers.

"Yep. Emre and I are probably gonna sit back in the village and get any that slip through. Wanna join us?"

"What do you guys think?" Killan looked to his party.

They all nodded or spoke their agreements and Emre nodded as well. The more help, the better. Plus staying in the back would be safer for all of them. Even so, Emre was curious as to what Idris was thinking. His group just agreed to work together so there was time for them to finish their conversation later but Emre felt impatient.

"Why don't we head back to the tavern then? I have to make sure Emre fits the armor I bought." Ragan proposed.

"Sure! Nothing better than bonding over beer." Gerrar said with a hardy laugh.

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Ragan laughed along with him.

The party began to move back into the village but Emre hung in the back with Idris. Ragan seemed to be enjoying himself, and Emre thought he and Gerrar were getting along the best as they began to talk about the types of alcohol they liked the most.

'It seems like we are teaming up.' Emre spoke to Idris with Telepathy.

'Seems so…' Idris responded.

'After all, if you teamed up with humans, it would be odd not to with your own kind.' Emre added on.

'I only joined up with them for the trip. I thought it would go quicker.'

'Can you not fly?'

'I can fly…'

'Ha! Alright, well, do they know you're a dragon?'

Emre shook his head as he spoke. Idris probably just ended up liking these people so he stuck with them. Although he seemed aloof, he didn't seem like he disliked these people. No, in fact, he seemed a bit awkward. It was not something Emre had expected for a dragon.

'No, they don't know. Does your mentor know?'

'He does.'

Idris's eyes widened as he looked at Emre with shock. 'And you trust him?'

'I do. He's been teaching me wind magic. We're just now adding swordsmanship to the mix.'

'And what about learning other elemental magics?'

'I'm not sure, to be honest. I know wind magic and…' He trailed off.

'I can see it in your mana. It's golden. Radiant magic?'

'Yes.' Emre responded simply with a small nod.

'And yours has black.'

'It's shadow magic.'

Emre had to hold back a nervous smile. Crazy! This was crazy. Shadow magic was a holy element just like his own. Two dragons with holy magics. It was simply crazy. Holy magic was even rarer than dragons and here two dragons were who were able to use them.

'I don't know a lot of it though. I just recently started being able to use shadow magic.'

'Just all the sudden?' Emre's brows furrowed as he looked at Idris.

"Oi, you two are slacking!" Gerrar's voice pulled Emre's attention away.

He fixed his expression and smiled as he picked up the pace with Idris. They quickly arrived at the tavern and found a table that was large enough for all of them. Idris's party sat down first but Ragan led Emre up to the room they had rented the night before.

"I rented the room again for us. The armor I bought is in there." Ragan explained.

"I could have gone with you to get it, y'know."

"I wanted you to watch those soldiers. Didn't look like you did much observing though."

"Ha, yeah, I got distracted."

Emre wouldn't tell Ragan about Idris. It wasn't his place to say anything about it. Plus Emre barely knew Idris. While he might feel a bit closer to him simply due to being a fellow dragon, he still didn't know if he could trust him yet. Shadow magic and radiant magic… He felt like he would never stop getting surprises.

Entering the room, there was a set of armor sitting on their respective beds. On Emre's was a set of black studded leather armor with bracers, and long black boots that reached up to the knees to work as a shin guard as well. Ragan had also bought a set of clothes that looked a bit smaller than the baggy clothes he was wearing right now. The tunic was dark blue and the trousers were dark brown. He felt he would probably look almost as edgy as Idris currently did.

On Ragan's bed was a set of dark iron half-plate armor with the respective components.

"How much did this cost?" Emre couldn't help but be amazed.

"Quite a bit actually. I'm lucky that I get retirement funds, ha!" Ragan laughed as he started to get his armor on. "Try it on! Make sure everything fits."

Emre got right to it. He quickly changed into the new tunic and pants first and felt much better as they fit properly. Next was getting the armor on. It took a moment but once it was all on with some help from Ragan, he felt nice and snug. Of course, it wasn't tight enough to restrict his movement.

"It fits well!" Emre said.

"Good!"

Ragan looked more menacing with the half-plate armor. He had also put his hair up in a similar half-tie with the rest of his hair touching the top of his shoulders. With his sword on his hip, he definitely looked like a war veteran to Emre.

"Shall we go show off?" Ragan asked with a smirk.

"Absolutely."

They started to head down the stairs right away. Emre felt quite nice in this armor. It made him feel a bit stronger even if it wasn't actually making him stronger. Stepping into the main room he brought his arms up as he walked toward the party with a grin on his face.

"How do I look?" He asked.

Killan clapped and let out a laugh before responding. "Absolutely dashing."

"Much better now that you aren't wearing those baggy clothes." Gerrar added with a nod.

Nalia nodded with a small awkward smile and Conin who had clapped a little with Killan also nodded with a bit of a small smile. In the end, Emre found his eyes landing on Idris as he reached the table.

"It looks fine." He said nonchalantly but was quickly drowned out.

"Whoa! Mr Ragan, you look ready for battle!" Killan then noticed Ragan behind Emre.

"Well, I have to look a little cool, don't I?"

"Of course." Gerrar nodded alongside Conin.

Emre and Ragan took a seat with them and several mugs were soon brought out for them to drink. Gerrar and Ragan quickly started back on the subject of alcohol and Nalia was muttering to Killan. Conin was testing the waters of how the drink tasted but seemed to not like it due to the grimace on his face.

Emre's eyes then flicked to Idris who wasn't even touching his drink. Idris was looking around at the party before their eyes connected from across the table.

'We keep getting interrupted.' Emre noted.

'We do.' Idris responded.

'Idris, do you think that it is a coincidence?' Emre looked away so it didn't seem like they were just staring at each other.

'That we both have holy element magics?'

'Mhm. And that we're both here too.'

'It's hard to say.'

'I don't think it's that hard.'

Idris's gaze became sharper as Emre looked back at him. 'What do you think then?'

'I think there is a reason.' Emre lifted his cup and took a drink.

Idris grew quiet as he glanced at his own mug but still didn't take a drink of it. His eyes then flicked to Gerrar when he loudly burst out laughing before he looked back at Emre. It was obvious that they were both tiptoeing around one another, uncertainty laced around each of their words.

It was like they were both trying to glean information from each other without revealing the whole truth. To be honest, Emre didn't think it was entirely needed. They were both dragons with the holy element. For some reason, they had ended up in the same spot. What was the possibility of it being a coincidence?

Emre knew this despite his previous words, Idris was probably thinking the same.

'Idris, I'm willing to work together with you.' Emre finally spoke up. 'I honestly don't know what is going on exactly, but it doesn't really seem like this is a coincidence.'

'I'll consider it...'