Zephyria opened her eyes to the dawn light and the morning birds as her only company. She got up, arched her back and then bowed like a cat stretching out her stiff joints. Giving her tail an experimental flick it smacked into a tree with a stinging sensation. That venom wore off, thank the old gods. If my tail got stuck like that- Zephyria let out a huff of annoyance. Getting a drink of water she admonished herself. The dragon's temper is as infamous as it is exploitable. Even hatchlings are taught to beware a dragons temper, though I'm sure for different reasons than mortals. Zephyria swung her tail about lazily, relishing having control over it again. My temper has gotten me in more trouble than anything else in my life, and this time it almost killed me. I.. I have no idea how to manage it. Zephyria paused for a moment, an unconventional idea springing to her mind. Maybe.. Maybe I can ask Asher how mortals master their rage and blood lust? They don't appear to struggle with it like dragons do, but- No. no. I won't ask a mortal for help with my own mind! I am a dragon not some pet to be trained.

  Zephyria looked to the rising sun, and pondered yesterday instead. Those spiders webs did nothing to me, even during a fight. Not only that but they only noticed me once I struck that web coated tree with my tail. They must use the web to sense things, but can't sense me unless I want them to. I can use this, but I still don't understand why. I need Asher to come back so I can ask him about this, surely the mortals know about this void cursed tree and know more about these magical spiders. As much as it pains me to admit I am not up to the task yet, the risks are simply too great. I'll explore somewhere else for now.

  Zephyria leapt into the air and considered the other two landmarks she saw yesterday. Extra dense forest, or suspiciously flat mountain top? Forest is too cramped, one mistake and I'm stuck. Mountain it is then! Surging her heart-flame to push extra wind mana into her wings she took off south east towards the suspicious summit. With more power in her heart flame than ever before Zephyria soared at speeds she could only dream of when she was a hatchling. Even still, she was weak for a dragon and the hours crawled by as she flew south. The dawn light growing steadily murkier as a gloomy cloud cover coated the world before her.

  As Zephyria got close enough to the mountain to see its summit she was frustrated to find a dense fog coating the summit and much of the sides leading to it. Through the fog she could barely make out a what could be generously called a sparse forest. A few obscured trees were scatted around but otherwise it was an open area. Confident in her ability to simply fly away if things got difficult she swooped down and noiselessly landed in the dense fog. The air was so thick that not even a single sound could reach her in this gray world. I'm not going to find anything worthwhile here like this. There could be another dragon within lighting bolt distance and I wouldn't know.

  Zephyria stalked forward, aiming for the center of the summit, clinging to the hope that this wasn't a waste of time. She couldn't tell if she was even going in the right direction. Getting close to giving up and simply going back to the spider tree she got even closer to the center, the fog growing thicker and thicker. There's no way this isn't a magical phenomenon at this point, any thicker and I won't be able to see my own muzzle. Something's causing- Zephyria growled in pain as something tore into the scales of her right hind leg. Whipping around she only caught a glimpse of whatever it was that attacked her. The wound on her leg was surprisingly shallow for such an unguarded surprise attack. Standing her ground Zephyria widened her stance, stoked her heart-flame and watched any direction she could. Moments later she felt something else strike at her other hind leg but fail to go through the scales. Whipping around she fired a bolt of lightning into the fog, missing entirely. The fog swirled around where her bolt struck but she was too distracted.

  Taking another claw to the leg Zephyria grew frustrated. Void curse the souls of whatever is attacking me. I'll get you, you weak little things. Spotting a feint blur of movement within the fog, Zephyria shot a bolt at it and was met with a muffled and distant whimper. Rushing forward she snarled and growled, eager to crush the weak little creature that dared to defy her. Rapidly catching up she found a limping large cat with a coat the same shade of gray as the fog around it. Standing over her prey and ready to finish it off, she noticed something interesting. Its coat isn't gray at all, its literally wrapped in a slowly shifting and flowing fog. Biting down on its neck, finishing it off she spoke aloud "Be honored, worthy prey, you lived and died well with a bright heart. May your soul jo-" Zephyria hissed in pain as her rear legs received yet another shallow cut. A moment later she received another, and another. Zephyria could feel the blood slowly flooding down her legs from a dozen shallow wounds. Nothing even remotely dangerous but extremely annoying. Of course they hunt in packs. It was never just one, and now that I've killed one they are furious. Blasted little beasts I'll roast all of you- Zephyria got cut again.

  Whipping around and in a fury she fired several small weak bolts in the direction that she kept getting cut from. Naturally the blind shots didn't hit anything, but they did have a curious effect. My lightning is erasing the fog it passes through. In a flash of inspiration Zephyria channeled mana into her wings and tried her hardest to project it forward with a flap of her wings. Zephyria never had very good control over wind mana, but through the kind of magical brute force only a dragon can achieve she sent forward a large gust of mana charged wind that displaced or erased the fog that was obscuring the oversized misty cats. There, stood before her were six more mist cats with the most amusing look of surprise Zephyria had ever seen on a wild animal. With a Roar Zephyria leapt towards the surprised cats and landed upon one of them killing it instantly. Snarling, Zephyria looked to her next prey only to find them all gone.

  Zephyria stood over her kill and watched as the fog slowly closed in around her once more, the entire time she was on edge and ready to fight. But as the seconds dragged on into minutes, and the minutes dragged on into an awkward standoff with nothing. Eventually Zephyria relaxed, Those damn cats must have just run the moment they realized I was a real threat and didn't just get lucky with that first one. How infuriating. She dragged her two kills together and finished her prayer. "Be honored, worthy prey, you lived and died well with a bright heart. May your soul join the gods of old as your heart-flame burns through me." As large as the oversized fog cats were, they were still so much smaller than Zephyria. Instead of bothering to cut into them she opted to simply eat them in their entirety. Sitting there in the fog with a slightly bloody muzzle she let out a contented purr, That hit the spot. A good flight, a good fight, and good feast. Now, time to find what's causing this cursed fog. It probably wasn't the cats, they would have defeated a mortal easily but are simply too weak to cause this kind of effect. Zephyria got up and started to try to orient herself. Void curse those cats, I have no idea where I am anymore. Everything looks the same.

  Picking a largely random direction Zephyria resumed stalking through the fog, hoping to either hit the center or the edge again so that she can re-orient. With no way to see the sun Zephyria wasn't sure how much time was passing, but she was getting bored. I hate this. I'm just going to fly up and leave, this must be what its like to be trapped in the void. Just endless nothing. I wish the cats would attack me again, at least that was fun.

  The fog rapidly thinned as Zephyria entered a clearing. Zephyria looked at the center with wide confused eyes. There before her stood a great stone pillar, clearly fashioned by mortal hands. It was made of cracked bricks and covered in vegetation. The pillar appeared to be wide enough for several mortals to walk around the core of it comfortably, and widened at the top with some kind of platform. Zephyria had simply no idea what she was looking at. It must be a tower of some kind, but what for and why? Who would build a remote stone tower in the middle of nowhere?

  Walking into the clearing Zephyria noticed dozens of the fog cats, all of them staring at her but not attacking. Even the ever brave Zephyria was unnerved by the constant stares. Anytime she got close to a cat they dashed away, usually into the surrounding fog. Fed, and uninterested in provoking the dozens of large oversized magic cats, Zephyria simply circled the big stone pillar only to find her suspicions confirmed. There stood an old and slightly rotten wooden door in the side. Zephyria nudged the door with her muzzle and it swung freely and smoothly like it was freshly installed and maintained. Sticking her head in she looked around the dark room. She couldn't see much, and recognized less. Worse, she couldn't fit through the doorway. I might be able to get in, but I'd do so much damage to this strange tower I might just knock it down on top of me. No, I'll return with Asher and see if he wants to explore the place. I'm no expert, but it seems its undisturbed. Likely no mortal has ever come here since whoever built it left.

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  Zephyria pulled her head from the tower to find the dozens of cats still staring at her, some even getting close. Still unnerved by the strange fog cats, Zephyria turned and left. She took a small running leap and flew straight up through and then above the clouds. Basking in the bright sun above the clouds Zephyria just took a while to savor it after being stuck in that fog for so long. Her azure scales soaked in the suns warmth filling her to her core with comfort. Seeing that it was nearing the evening once more, Zephyria dove down below the clouds.

  Orienting herself towards her meeting spot she soared with none of the excessive speed or urgency of this mornings flight. She had hunted, found something interesting, and got to spend time in the sun. She was content with her day's productivity. The hours crawled by as the cloudy sky grew dimmer and duskier.

  Touching down at their meeting spot an hour or two before sunset Zephyria was surprised to see Asher sitting by the fire they had made the first night together, it was lit and Asher was roasting a leg of meat over it. He was clearly concentrated with his fire manipulation, the fire jumping and swerving unnaturally to perfectly coat every side of the meat at all times. Zephyria silently padded over to him and sniffed at his food from over his shoulder. Asher screamed in fright and nearly dropped his food. "By the old gods and corrupt horrors I've never been more afraid in my life." Zephyria purred in amusement and said, "What is it you are cooking? It smells delicious." Asher glared at her and with levity in his voice, "No! Zephyria how in the void are you so quiet. It's unreasonable! You're larger than any work horse I've ever seen and yet I've met house cats that make more noise as they walk! Its entirely unreasonable." Purring even more in amusement Zephyria preened under the accusations taking delight in the accidental praise.

  "Zephyria! Stop looking so obviously pleased with yourself, your smugness is excruciating." Asher spoke under his breath, yet Zephyria's dragon senses picked it up clearly. "I gotta buy a bell to stick on that dragon or she'll kill me with fright." Zephyria growled at him playfully but Asher's face blanched as he quickly backpedaled his words, "Shit, no Zephyria not like that. I was just joking, I wouldn't actually-" Zephyria cut him off, "Hush, little one. I did not mean to worry you, I was teasing as well." Asher calmed and adjusted his cooking dinner. "Right. Sorry. You're surprisingly easy for me to read. Your incredibly expressive with your body language and you make all these little sounds that relate to your mood. That deep purring you do clearly means your happy, for example. But growls? They just seem.. threatening." Zephyria looked at him curiously, "I did not realize you paid so much attention to me little one. Do not worry, as we travel you will learn them. Fear not, if I am ever upset with you there will be no ambiguity. There will be fangs, snarling, and much more violence." Asher looked a bit nervous speaking, "Can you maybe just tell me if your upset? Instead of resorting to violence? The dead don't really learn very well." Zephyria huffed, "I was mostly joking. I would not harm you for most reasons. You are valuable, useful, and I enjoy your company." Asher calmed and took his food off the fire, content with how it was cooked.

  "Thank you, Zephyria. Its re-assuring to know you genuinely like me, even in your own odd dragon way. Not a lot of people do." He took a bite from his food, speaking a moment later, "To answer your question from earlier, this is the leg of a sheep. The butcher said it was from an old ram so its of low quality, but that just means its cheap. Its tough, but with a little bit of spices its still a good meal." Zephyria's tail waved lazily as he spoke, "Zephyria, how have you been while I was gone. Do anything interesting?"

  Zephyria perked up and responded, "I have seen some interesting things. I desire your input on them, you may contain have useful knowledge." Asher gave her a little nod of affirmation, continuing she spoke, "Yesterday I flew east towards a massive tree. Within it I found odd giant spiders. Their web was everywhere, and I watched a boar was ensnared in it deeply. To the boar the webbing was impossibly sticky, and the spiders killed it seemingly instantly with an extremely potent paralyzing venom. What do you know of these spiders and this tree?"

  Asher looked at her in amazement. "You encountered Fae Weavers and survived? That's incredible. They are notoriously dangerous. I've read of that nest, its been left alone because Fae Weavers don't leave their territory except to expand it extraordinarily slowly over the course of decades. Supposedly that nest is centuries old." He took a quick bite of his food and continued, "Their webbing is heavily mana infused creating the single stickiest substance we've ever recorded. The only known counter is to have a mana shield protecting you as the mana in the webbing gets disrupted by the mana coursing through the shield. How did you not get stuck Zephyria? Can you make mana shields?"

  Zephyria looked at him with pure confusion, tilting her head as she responded. "No, I've never made a mana shield, I did not know that they were real before now. The webbing simply fell off my scales. Even when one launched web directly at me it simply fell off. I walked around their territory for hours before I was eventually ambushed and forced to retreat."

  "That's incredible Zephyria! I wish I knew how that worked, do dragons have a natural mana shield? Perhaps your scales are so infused with mana it disrupts the webbing? Or maybe this heart-flame you spoke of works even more differently from a mana core than I originally thought? How interesting." Zephyria looked at him even more dumbfounded, unsure what to make of the mans sudden interest and excitement. Before she could speak up he continued, "I wish I could see it, but I can't make a mana shield because of.." He looked ashamed, ".. My inability to control mana properly. If I joined you to their nest it would just be an elaborate leap to my own death." Zephyria nodded at him and spoke, "I cannot return safely without support either. Their bites are still incredibly dangerous to me, and a single mistake would lead to death. I was hoping that you would have a way to assist me there, but if it cannot be helped then we will not return again anytime soon. As you said it is being left alone, we will return eventually."

  Asher looked at her with some surprise, ".. Alright. I wasn't expecting you to give up on it so easily. What else did you see while I was gone?" Zephyria nodded and spoke, "I flew south east to the mountain with a flat top. There I found something I wish to take you to see. An impossibly dense fog covers the top and large cats coated in mist hunt invisibly. But at the center the fog entirely recedes and within this curious clearing stands a stone tower with a door inside." Asher set the remains of his meal down and looked up at her, his eyes glittering, "You found an actual wizards tower!? An untouched Wizards tower!? This could be a gold mine, or hold secrets none know! Some mages will build a stone tower in a remote area to conduct experiments. Often times these experiments kill the mage and leave behind a zone of strange magics. This one must have been experimenting with something to do with the fog. If you can get me past the fog cats and into that tower we could learn something valuable, walk away with an artifact, or regular valuables and sell them. Our money issues could be behind us if we can find a buyer!"

  Zephyria perked up at the prospects of valuables and artifacts. "Then its settled, unless there is something you must do tomorrow then we will travel to the foggy mountain and you will explore the tower." Asher nodded excitedly, "No, nothing!" Noticing the late hour Asher changed the topic before it grew too late, "I did want to talk about what I learned in the city. It was frustratingly little, but I'll still share." Zephyria gave him a small nod, "In the city I was met with a lot of resistance learning any details about them. They all use fake names, they tell no-one where they are headed, and any nobility that does know won't talk to the likes of me. I did learn the alias of the leader, a fire mage named Sol. Also, curiously, nobody mentioned once that their support was missing. Either they replaced her without anyone realizing or they've kept your kill under total secrecy. That means we are only missing the name of the warrior, and potentially a replacement support mage."

  Zephyria nodded along, "It's unfortunate that we learned so little, but a name like Sol sounds unusual. Perhaps we can use that to find her later. I cannot rush to them regardless, so it is not much of a setback. We still must grow in strength." As Zephyria spoke Asher unrolled a compact bed roll out onto the grass, getting ready to sleep. When she stopped talking Asher responded, "I agree, we'll find out more about them later." He looked a bit embarrassed, "When I was collecting travel supplies I prioritized anything I can carry and no extra bits of comfort.. like a pillow. Would you mind if i used your tail again? It was rather comfortable last time." Zephyria purred in amusement, "Yes, yes, little one. You may use my tail again. I did not dislike it."

  As the sun dipped below the horizon the tired pair laid down around the fire. With a bed roll and a dragon's tail to sleep on Asher fell asleep almost immediately. Zephyria lay awake for a time longer thinking, I want to hunt those supposed heroes. I told Asher I am willing to be patient, but I'm not feeling it. Zephyria resisted the urge to lash with her tail. I want to tear them limb from limb, but Asher was right, if I rushed them now I would only die. With Asher joining me on the hunt, perhaps we can one day fix his faulty magic too. That would make the hunt far easier. With her thoughts turned pleasant once more, Zephyria basked in the warmth of the flames and the gentle weight resting on her tail. Resting her head, she too fell asleep. She was ready for whatever tomorrow may bring, because for once she knew she wasn't alone.