Far from the glimpse of the heroes, Elenaris’s dome served as a guide to the sailing enemy. Tacking their sails to the whims of the sea, set only to reach the dark sand beach–one of the many chosen of Valcan, the dragon god–crashed their boats into the docks and dismounted on the wet sand at last.

"Empty the boats! We’re setting up our base here," ordered the half-dragon sage, Kledia.

Her eyes pierced the thick hide of the dragon beastmen soldiers, pinning them with her oppressive gaze as she ordered them about. The long voyage on sea had left her perturbed, and her hair in a wet and oily bunch. As a human descendant of a sage dragon, she was known to wane time on vanity.

Losing her comb in the sea had flared her nostrils and pricked up her pointy ears with the faintest hint of scales lining their edges. Being mostly human with dragonic powers and a few layers of scales here and there, she was perhaps the most arrogant of the chosen, for her beauty was unparalleled.

"Here," tapping her arm while the soldiers unloaded the crashed ship, Mesfer–the other chosen–held up a piece of wood carved with teeth similar to a comb. "Use this, I smoothed the pieces with my scales, it should work as fine as any other comb."

Rolling her eyes at the demi-dragon, she slapped the comb away. The woman scoffed at his helpful gesture, but the man only smirked, for he enjoyed the chase. Snickering to himself, the sharp-eyed, demi-human dragon grabbed her by the shoulder and whispered slowly.

"One way or the other, Kleida, you’re gonna be mine. Remember that."

With a jerk, the woman pushed him away. Her eyes glared on and met his golden green eyes. Neither of the two intended to back down, but with a flick of his golden hair, the poison dragon let out a chuckle and decided to move on, for now.

"Let’s finish this hunt, and then we’ll discuss the terms of our marriage."

"I would rather bite my tongue than marry my own cousin."

In silence, the soldiers kept working. When their fight blows over, their anger would be directed at them anyway. No reason to bring attention to them already, for the arrogance of the two often ended up racking up a horde of bodies. Shifting their attention instead to the last of the chosen, a beastman of dragonic blood–Horus, the beastmen’s shoulders turned to him for new orders.

Observing his surroundings came first for the dragon blood. Already, he could smell the lasting presence of other dragon bloods having been on the beach. The ash itself smelled of rot to him, unaware that the reason it was doused black was partially because of the many dragons that fell at the hands of the king of Eclanor.

Raising his hand over his shoulder, Horus knelt by a few markings on the ground. There was nothing particularly exciting about them, yet somehow he’d noticed the slightest shift in the sand grains as if someone was approaching them from the opposite direction.

"Stop and not a word," he ordered, his voice throaty and low.

For once, the duo of complainers on his back stopped talking, giving the man some time to observe the shifting grains and track even the slightest movement around the beach. Noting the changes when the waves crashed and the trees’ waves, even the wind, he separated them from the rest of the changes, and eventually, his head was lifted in a particular direction.

Standing up tall, the dragon grabbed his halberd from his back and held it diagonally in front of his body. Expecting an attack, he motioned his companions to lower themselves and wait for his mark. The soldiers did as he asked without question, but the other two instead reached for their own weapons.

"I know you’re there," his voice as grim as the reaper rode the winds and carried over to the enemy. "No point hiding. You already know why we’re here, don’t you? Not much time on our hands, so show yourself, or we’ll sniff you out with ease."

With a few rustles from within the forest, a woman appeared. Tall of stature and regal of appearance, she threw her right arm to her sides while pulling down the glove on her left hand with her teeth. Wiping her mouth, she looked on at the trio and their soldiers in silence, her cape fluttering in the wind.

"I should really start practicing the skills I’ve copied," having failed to use Raven’s shadow steps effectively, the queen of Elenaris, felt a bitter taste swirling in her mouth. "So, you’re the ones Elenaria warned me about?"

Glancing up at the skies, Mono smirked and pointed at a cluster of bright stars.

"The very stars that guided you here whispered every second of your journey to the mistress of this land." Setting her hand down, the queen confidently started walking towards the enemy. In response, the chosen squeezed together while Horus motioned at the soldiers to equip themselves with the unloaded weapons and armor. "Unfortunately for you, her first true order is for me to handle your little party while she prepares a counterattack."

"What? You alone? Pfft!" Mesfer cracked, his hyena-like snickering ringing in everyone’s ears.

Licking his dagger, the poison dragon descendant laced his blade while the other two started taking position for a battle. Moving up front, Horus huffed through his nose, and in a flash, his body burst into flames. Taking the rearguard with space between them for the soldiers to fill in, Kleida readied her wand to provide support and oppressive spells against the enemy.

Alas, soaking in her surroundings, Mono drew a deep breath and beckoned the dragons–the sworn enemy of her land and her people.

"I was never not fascinated by dragons. A shame, really, how we always end up as enemies." Eyeing the dragons, Mono whispered within her own skull as the trio and their soldiers began their assault.

’These three will be perfect material for Athenia’s body.’