Rise Of The Spatial Dragon

"Water Shaman, I greet you." Kendar's words startled many that were gathered around him. As an old lavel and a distinguished guest at that, he had to get the best. As such, under Badoo's insistence, Thea, the clan beauty, was given the task of taking care of his every need. She was there beside him tending to his food.

To this Kendar couldn't complain. One of the advantages of taking on a form of a living organism is that one also gets the instincts and other species specific qualities. One begins to think and act as the being they were. As a lavel, Kendar could appreciate the beauty that was Thea, as her form and appearance was extremely pleasing to his lavelian eyes.

Of course such a thought would not have entered his mind while he was under his family, as they were such human purists. Even how it was tacitly allowed to exist, not flourish. Anyway, he wanted to give off the image of a monk, but damn, a millennium long dry spell was beginning to play tricks on this once galactic playboy.

At his right side was the settlement head. While his charisma dwarfed everyone else, in front of Kendar, he felt like a child. Until now he didn't know how powerful he was, but he could still remember the sight of the dragon. That monster, which he felt was part of the reason for him to become what he was now, was not to be offended. That meant that the emissary of the order was to be treated with the utmost respect.

Behind the two heads were the jade team, being led by Hasilo and Maple. They were seated exactly where they were during the festival, as they were in the arena grounds.

At that time, many others were coming before the settlement and presenting themselves to Kendar to express their decision to take part in the test. The one who had just come was Krea, flanked by her father to the right and Arlos to the left. They still were the most powerful lavels in their clan, and the ones with the most charisma. It was to her that these words were spoken to, but Kendar wasn't done.

With effort, he actually rose to his feet and took her hands in respect, before inviting her to seat beside him. Instantly, Thea was pushed further away to make room for her. Many gasped as the sight. Who would have known that this mystery lavel would give Krea so much face?

The girl herself was bubbling with elation, but she was also just as shocked. What did she do to deserve such treatment?

"Kind sir, what is a water shaman?" She asked humbly.

In reply, Kendar swung his paw at Bamboo. The movement, the sheer speed was so imperceptible that before anyone could react, Bamboo had massively deep wounds on his c.h.e.s.t. He fell back yelling in anguish, stunned at what caused such an attack.

Theatrically, Kendar stood over Bamboo and looked at the now horrified Krea. He pointed at the lavel on the ground and said, "Heal him."

Krea closed her eyes. She could feel water elementary particles in the air. She concentrated on the wound that was now gushing with blood. As she concentrated, she felt as though the water was trying to tell her something, like a child was reaching out to her.

She had the image of someone shrouded in death. This was something common. Even the slightest of wounds leads to death of cells, and this death has some power of its own. As a water shaman, she had the power to release life, reversing the power of death that was on the wound.

While this power couldn't lead to the resurrection of the already dead cells, it lead to massive generation of new cells to replace the fallen, and as everyone watched, the wounds over Bamboo sealed themselves until there was not even a scar left to show evidence. It was like a zip closing up. Only downside was Bamboo had tried his all to scratch at his wounds, but Kendar had been powerful enough to prevent him from doing that, as it would have interrupted the healing process.

Seeing such power manifested, even Hasilo, who had had some reservations about Krea's power, was instantly convinced. This was not a lavel to mess with. What he couldn't know was that this was how she defeated him. Instead of throwing water at him, she had manipulated the water element in his body, bypassing whatever defenses he had.

Soon, everyone was seated and awaiting Kendar. It was at dusk, as this was the time when lavels usually gathered for communal functions such as these. The others had come to wish the participants well and cheer, but they didn't know what to expect. Every eye was on the lavel that was making his way to the center of the arena grounds.

Kendar was all about theatrics, so now he put on a show that many would remember forever. Raising his hand, there was sudden movement of the clouds, as though they had been mobilized or summoned by a master. In under a minute, thunder clouds had formed and there was even sound of lighting and thunder.

Next, the clouds started to do something no one had ever seen before. They were forming a funnel. It kept expending from the heavens until they turned down on the arena. Awe stricken, the lavels, who had never seen a tornado before, could only look on with fear in their eyes.

That was not just it, as the loud sounds of the wind blowing was enough to cause a chill among those watching. This was not just wind, as it was a summoning of a Grade B super. He could manipulate thunder elementary particles with ease.

With a loud voice, he said:

"Come all you who wish to join the order, and take your test!"

Seconds seemed to stretch as no one made a move. No one even seemed to want to make a sound as they might draw attention. Get into that? What a joke? Who would honestly be foolish enough to even want to try that?

Kendar retained his posture, oblivious of the fear of those around him. Even those in the jade team were celebrating as their test did not involve that! How could he expect someone to get into such a vortex willingly, was he brain dead? Maple wondered.

"Water Shaman, wouldn't you give it a try?" Turning to the one he had spoken to, Kendar beckoned Krea over. Husna, Krea's mom, felt like taking the biggest stick she could find and beating that old lavel senseless, but like always her opinion was overruled.

Everyone watched as the small lavel stood up. Something about Kendar's eyes told her that she was perfectly safe. She hadn't known many male lavels in her life, and those that she did always seemed to disappoint. This old lavel felt like a friendly old person that would interact with and completely trust. Since she'd never had a grandpa, she didn't know what that feeling was, but she loved it.

In Kendar she saw a father she never had, and their brief moment of interaction told her that this was someone that would never disappoint. If he had invited her, then he must know that she was safe, and that there was nothing to fear.

As the crowd watched, the lavel made her way to the swirling clouds. The scene was so scary that made were even afraid to watch, yet she walked on, undeterred. Approaching the heart of the storm, she noticed that as she drew nearer, the winds were actually dying down.This was not a normal storm thing, but Kendar had added a little flair to make it more interesting.

Reaching forward, she managed to enter the vortex. Whatever she expected to find when she entered was the complete complete opposite. She had thought that she would be battered by extreme winds, but the air inside was so calm that not even her mane fluttered.

Looking around, she noticed that she was no longer at the arena grounds. Somehow, she had entered hallway that led to a winding staircase. She took a deep breath, letting off some of the fear she had in her heart. She still didn't know what to expect, but for now, it was much better that she had feared. She couldn't afford to be complacent, but the sound of water up ahead made her feel calm.

Outside the arena, Brom had watched the whole thing. The girl had fearlessly walked into that nightmare without any fear in her eyes. He cursed himself for not doing that, and deciding not to waste a second, he too made his way forward.

Seeing this, many of those who were previously scared also stood up and made their way, and before long, a chain reaction had began that made them everyone was rushing in. At that moment, Dane had a thought, another leader had been born in the settlements.

It was then that she did it. All her life she'd always been treated as some sort of ornament, some trophy for her clan, and quite frankly Thea was tired. It wasn't the unintentional misogyny that got her thought. It was sight of the little lavel, boldly matching into a storm without a second thought. Not even those big tough lavels had done it.

She avoided public gatherings because all the male lavels did was ogle at her. Yeah it was fun and games but at some point you got to get over it. Thea felt like she was always going to be receiving the short end of the stick. She wanted more than just being the clan flower. Maybe this order thing could just be the thing.

Thea was well known across both in the clan and in the settlement. It was fair to say that she was the most attractive female in the entire settlement. So when many saw her boldly step up and actually enter the storm, they couldn't hold back.

In truth, up to this point, only the braves had dared enter. Those who were considered champions, the mighty in the clans. The rest had simply watched on with envy or even disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e in their eyes. They felt that this was yet another thing that the elites got to enjoy while they looked on, as usual. They had neither the power nor the reputation to claim such glories, so they stayed back.

Yet they all knew Thea, and while she couldn't be said to be at their level or status, she was certainly not among that lot. She had risen, and she too had taken action despite not belonging in that clique. Before many could react, even those that were considered weak in the community were rushing in, and to Dane's joy, he saw the little Karri also go in. These were exciting times indeed.

***

"You know, many would call that being rude!" A female voice came from behind him. Kedan was looking up at the moon, enjoying the serene environment the light it brought. The moon was quite far from the planet, so the scene wasn't all that majestic, but he enjoyed what he got.

Turning around, he saw the one who had spoken was the same lady who was giving a speech before. He realized that the Resistance had started gawking during her speech, and maybe she hadn't been done yet. Well, oops.

"We haven't been properly introduced, I am Kedan." He said, looking at her. She had a beautiful face but what got you about her was her regal toughness. She had the look of bravery, someone not to be messed with. She also had all the trappings of a ruler, rather a general. Someone used to commanding soldiers.

"So tell me, what are your intentions? What happens after you complete the Quest?"