Chapter 628: Flight of Dragons

Nix has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation.

Pon has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Banz has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Jun Li has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Sila has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Semmi has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Wind has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Gideon has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Sharl has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Donri has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Ronnie has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Chael has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Dalton has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Moki has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Darsi has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Pinky has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Tess has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Nezbit has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Nebs has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

Gypsy Rose has entered the Flight of Dragons Character Generation

"Hmm?" Nix squinted his eyes at the sudden brightness. He'd been walking back toward the exit when he was suddenly transported. "Reward time?"

"Greetings, Guild Leader Nix." A miniature dragon hovered in the air in front of him. "I'm Balto, and this is the character generation instance for the Flight of Dragons expansion."

"Balto?" Nix kept his face expressionless; Hara had mentioned that name before. It was the Virtual Intelligence in charge of NPC development. "Why am I here?"

Character generation was a small white room that was completely bare. The dragon moved toward one wall; as it did, a large hud appeared in front of them. "Do you have a sponsor?"

"A what? No, I don't. Send me back to my friends." Nix frowned at the dragon, his eyes glancing at the screen that seemed out of focus.

"Hmmm. You do have a sponsor; her name is Tai'Qui. Good choice, I might add. She is my favorite dragon."

"I didn't choose a sponsor." Nix felt irrational anger starting to build up. Surely they weren't going to throw him into the new expansion without his permission.

"Don't worry." Balto's voice was soothing to the ears. "You aren't going to be forced into the Academy. All players who finish the Everspire expansion pack must start a Dragonling character when they complete it. The character will be saved, and you will be returned to your friends. Your original character will not be overwritten."

Nix breathed a sigh of relief. "Back to Haven?"

"Of course... That's where the new expansion starts." The small dragon started to fade. "On behalf of myself and the Colonial Developers, thank you for all your hard work."

"Welcome," Nix muttered. Unsure what to say, he watched Balto fade away only to be replaced with another. He couldn't stop the smile that formed on his face. "You're my sponsor?"

Tai' Qui nodded, her smile brimming with warmth. She wore the simple clothes she normally did, complete with a red bandanna. "Who else could be?" She stepped closer and hugged him tightly. "Let's get started."

When she spoke, the blurred hud screen came into focus.

Name: Nix

Ancestry: Draconic Emerald

Element: Fire

Strength: 125

Endurance 125

Wisdom 125

Agility 125

Dexterity 125

Skills: None

Spells: None

[Innate Talents: Shapeshifter] Pure Rat

Tai gripped his hand in hers while he studied the hud. "What do you think? You can generate new stats and make changes to your name, ancestry, or element."

"Those are dragon stats? Aren't they a bit low?"

Tai nodded. "Dragonlings aren't much stronger than humans when they first start out. But, they improve quickly with use."

"I see..." Nix grinned at his innate talent. "Does everyone get one of those?"

Tai shook her head slowly. "As a Dragonling, your innate talents won't develop until you reach maturity. Your situation is somewhat unique. Balto chose these stats for you, they are quite rare."

"Let's go with this then. We got a party to start."

Tai made a few adjustments on the hud before glancing up at him. "If everything is good, go ahead and approve."

[Save current character generation?]

"Yes."

***************Author's Note*********

Nicholas, aka Nicky: Son of Hyai and Nix.

Lisa: Daughter of Mina and Nix.

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[6.43 years later]

The warmth of the sea world's early afternoon sun made for the perfect day to enjoy the beach. An aqua-marine-colored sea turtle slept peacefully a few meters above the surf line. Two children lay quietly on her shell; both of them looked up when the beach house door opened.

"Lisa... Are you supposed to be drawing on Soup's shell?" Mina spoke from the doorway, her arms crossed in front of her chest while she tried to put on a serious face.

"Mom... It's just chalk this time, I promise." The girl mostly looked like a typical Aquarion, her skin had a slight bluish tinge and her hair was the color of snow. But, unlike the rest of her people, her eyes were bright gold, like a sunrise. "Right, Nicky?"

The dark-haired boy nodded without looking up. His boyish face focused on his art.

"See?" Lisa stared at her mom for a moment, breathing a sigh of relief when the woman went back inside. "Besides... Didn't Dad draw on Soup when he saved the world?"

The boy nodded again, putting down the blue-colored chalk in favor of a red one.

"You should really start talking soon, Nicky." Lisa scratched her cheek, effectively turning it green with the chalk she still held. "Hyai is starting to worry."

At the sound of his mother's name, Nicky smiled slightly. Although he was born a week after Lisa, unlike her, he had never spoken.

"Crap... Red Alert, Nicky!" Lisa stood suddenly, scooping up the chalk before throwing it in a nearby bucket. "Quick, Soup! Go hide behind the house!"

The sea turtle opened one eye lazily before scanning the area. When it noticed the newcomer, she morphed into a near-human form.

"HEY!" A cheerfully, friendly voice called out to the trio.

"Hi, Uncle Gil." Although the words were polite, the young girl's tone was absent of any warmth. "Soup is busy... Come back another day."

Gil's roundish face smiled at Lisa. "Who says I've come to visit Soup? Maybe I'm here to visit my best buddy, Nicholas." He wore faded brown leather clothes and carried a large picnic basket in one hand.

"Nicky doesn't like you. Go away." Lisa quickly dropped any semblance of politeness since she already fulfilled her duty of politely greeting one of the elders.

Gil's smile widened even further. "Crazy talk. You like me, right Nicholas?"

Nicky shook his head and pointed back to the Sea-World portal.

Lisa laughed at the gesture. "He wants you to go away."

Gil shrugged slightly, his mood not affected by the two youngsters. "Since you're going to be that way, I guess I'll share this basket of goodies with Soup then."

Soup nodded happily and accepted the basket. She waved at the two kids before following Gil. "Nom, nom..."

Lisa frowned at Gil. "Feel free to eat him, Soup."

Nicky waved at the Turtle Titan when he glanced over his shoulder. Gil responded with a friendly smile, surprised that Nix's boy made an effort. "Starting to warm up to Uncle Gil?" However, his smile froze when he faced forward and saw the breach; unable to stop in time; he stumbled through it.

Nicky waved again, causing the breach to close. Soup stared at the spot where Gil had been, unbothered by his sudden disappearance, she sat on the sand and opened the basket.

"MOM!" Lisa's face showed a small amount of concern.

The door to the beach house opened wide; Mina was carrying a kitchen knife in one hand and a tomato in the other. "Clean up for lunch... What's wrong?"

Lisa pointed at her brother. "Nicky may have opened a breach... Gil may have accidentally walked through." She knew what breaches were; her dad opened them for her all the time. "Of course... These were all accidents."

Mina sighed heavily. Nix's son seemed to inherit a large number of the Inferno Leader's abilities. She gestured for the boy to approach, opening a hud map when he stepped closer. "Can you tell me where Gil is?"

Nicky shook his head, hugging the Aquarion woman.

Mina smiled and ruffled the young boy's dark hair. He was too much like his father. "Please. Otherwise, I'll have to get Hyai."

Nicky pulled away, his arms crossed in front of him. Then, after shaking his head again, he bolted down the beach.

"Nicky!" Mina chased him down, nearly catching him before he morphed into a flaming red bird and took to the sky. The Aquarion skidded to a stop, her eyes wide in surprise. "Soup!"

Soup placed her sandwich in the basket and immediately changed into her Osprey form. The Phoenix was somewhat small and not in a hurry to escape.

Mina watched the two birds from the shore. An instant later, a breach opened in front of the Phoenix; without pausing, both birds flew through. "Oh... Wonderful."

********Author's Note**********

Dune: Deidra's Dragonling.

Bai'Qui, aka Baker: Tai'Qui's Dragonling.

Zinfex: Sinfaya's Dragonling.

Siyan, aka Sigh: Dralamander descendent born through a combination of Shae's meta origin flames and Deidra's dragon egg. Nix later infused the egg with his elements. She lives in the ranch house and only recognizes Shae and Nix as her parents.

*****************************

Three emerald dragonlings circled their target warily. The iridescent dralamander seemed unconcerned by the turn of events, even going as far as to yawn widely before turning on her back.

An instant later, they struck! The ground where the dralamander had been lying was suddenly bathed in fire. The figure could be seen through the flames; she stood up slowly before making a gesture. Lightning erupted from her extended hand, striking the three dragonlings, instantly causing their flames to drop as they howled in pain.

"Cheater!"

"She used Lightning, Chevalier!"

"I'm telling my Mom!"

The large black bear slowly climbed to his feet, waddling toward the group. Morti stopped in front of the dralamander. "If you're going to attack your brothers, use fire, so no one gets hurt."

The dralamander changed suddenly, morphing into a red-haired girl with warm brown eyes. "Who told them to stalk me? Hmph!" The girl stomped away, heading toward the river bank with her nose in the air.

The largest of the dragonlings clawed the ground angrily. At three meters long, he was already more than double the dralamander's size. "We aren't done yet, Sigh!"

The girl stopped in her tracks smiling sweetly. "Want me to thrash you again, Dune?" She held up one hand as electricity crackled around her.