Chapter 347: Unildyr
…As Undergrowth’s final tourney match came to a close, a clash of ancient powers unfolded in the southern hills of Dusk Valley…
In the dark hours of the night the dragon goddess, Zavinti had flown to a small campsite near a rushing river. Her prey, a delusory fox goddess, had escaped and in its disappearance, Zavinti had met the mysterious god Caligo. Yet the ebon god had no answers regarding her prey, the only answers he gave Zavinti were the names of her lost fellow dragons and the ways he had murdered and tortured them.
The azure dragon had roared in righteous anger and attacked the ebon god. Their battle shook the air itself in a maelstrom of magic. The skies above the hills had twisted and turned into the dark eye of a storm. What had been hills of lush green grass had transformed into barren scorched earth with deep craters sprawled through the land.
Jade lightning crackled throughout the darkened sky and clashed with prismatic dragon fire. Boulders the size of small houses flew through the air in a tornado of ruin, colliding with true chromatic grey halos of destruction.
Magic that had not been unleashed in centuries poured over the hills. The ground trembled and broke underneath the gods’ powers as if crying out in agony. Their divine duel stretched throughout the night and into the early morning hours, until a single seed of pure energy erupted from the ground in a spiral of jade light stretching out like the branches of a colossal tree into the night sky. The branches of light coalesced around Zavinti like a hundred spears piercing into her azure scales. Her magical defenses collapsed. She roared in pain as her flesh was burned and her wings were torn apart.
Caligo watched her tumble down from the sky with cold indifference. She crashed into the remnants of the campsite with a resounding bang like the sound of a hammer striking stone.
Caligo folded his pale leathery wings and dived straight down like an arrow. Just as he was about to smash into the ground he opened his wings wide and landed softly on his bare feet. His breathing was rough and sweat speckled his brow, but his ever-changing eyes were clear.
His wings melted away in a blur behind his back. He slowly walked around the wounded dragon and looked her over with a focused gaze. Blood oozed all over Zavinti’s body from where the jade lightning had burned through her sapphire scales. The bones of her wings were broken on several points and the leathery webbing had a multitude of scorched tears.
She opened her deep blue eyes weakly and groaned in anger, a deep rumbling sound.