The flight through the clouds had been somewhat of a dream, a dream that defied reality in a number of wars. Time seemed to not obey the laws of reality as the four were mounted on the back of the Imperial Dragon, holding onto spikes and scales as the Dragon’s wings glided through the air. It was as if they had left Regalia by the beginning of evening, and arrived in southern Hadaria when the sun had barely passed for half an hour, an impossible amount of space and time crossed for the short flight they had endured. The large wings produced a rhythmic motion and sound, the vast membranes catching immeasurable volumes of air and producing lift to keep the vast beast up in the air, yet the flight itself was almost calm and barely noticeable. One would expect Cazna Teken’rret, Kabili Drulvaar, Silver Swyftfurusat and Imara Al Qahtani to hold on for their dear lives, clinging onto whatever jutted out of the back of the Dragon, but it was almost as if their speed did not create wind, and the air had enough for them to breathe despite how high up they were. Imara’s hair gently danced in the wind as if she was merely taking a brisk walk while clouds sped on by faster than the mightiest race horse she might have witnessed in the Regalian arenas, a surreal experience for sure. Kabili theorized there might have been some sort of weather suspending bubble around them, which Silver agreed with, presuming that the Dragon took the simplest of measures to ensure his passengers would not be thrown off to plummet to their deaths several thousands of feet below. While it remained true for the group that they were not afraid of heights, to be among the clouds was another thing. Cazna and Imara stole a look of the surface down below, silhouettes of islands cast in orange maroon light as the sun was setting, a height that was so dizzying. They could not even make out the shapes of ships on the water, occasionally brushed with the freshness of dew from passing clouds in the face. It was true that the four were passengers, as opposed to riders. The Imperial Dragon was far too proud to allow itself to be ridden like a mundane mount, but it did not seem to bother the group, as they took in the sights, and tried to cautiously enjoy the experience that millions would never even get close to, the act of flight. Even if it came from the back of a giant flying lizard that shot breaths of lightning and had a notorious reputation for being a trump card called by Regalian generals during battles. Eventually, the Dragon and the four arrived at the intended location, the descent was calm and steady, and before long, their target came in sight. To the west were a dozen or so Sendrassian warships, their vast and brazen green sails with red markings of eyes gazing across the horizon to the east, where a single strange vehicle was approaching them. It had the shape of a ship vessel, but lacked sails with which to sail. In the middle of the ship was a single vast wheel that rotated with some notable speed, a paddle of sorts that seemed to be the main mode of transportation, while smaller paddles at the back of the ship seemed to thrust it forward with additional momentum. Imara could easily discern that it was Qadir, not only did the bronze and brass reflect harshly in the setting sun, the ship was also decorated with a number of azure and teal blue banners and covers that acted like tented roofs to what was presumably the crew sections. Puffs of steam escaped various pipes, and a fairly clear trail of smoke escaped one large vent towards the back, leaving behind a tracer of sorts that marked the rough trajectory of the ship as it clearly moved westward from the direction of Al-Alus. Imara even managed to just make out the crest of Al-Alus on one of the banners, just as the ship seemed to be getting into combat range of the Sendrassian vessels. It perhaps escaped the diplomatic or political understanding of those on the Dragon’s back, besides Imara’s, that the Qadir were loosely allied to the Regalians, and while they did not actually have an army worthy sending into battle against the Sendrassians, they did on occasion try out new field-technology in combat against the Qadir. The Sendrassians had already taken note of the ship and started their approach. Their ships deployed the additional sails, large wooden beams extending to the sides of the ships, unfurling additional sails like the hood of a cobra, brazenly facing a foe that was about to be pounced upon. The four passengers either thought the Qadir very well prepared, or very stupid indeed, for facing down over a dozen more ships by it lonesome self. They remembered however, what the Dragon had told them before they left, and braced to watch what was about to happen. The Qadir seemed very focused on the Sendrassians, not having taken note of the Dragon that was now high up in the air, holding position with its wings gently gliding through the air, giving its passengers ample viewing space from its neck and back. Suddenly, a large brass lance-like decide was deployed, sliding out of the front of the ship. It was curved with a swirl of grooves running in a pattern towards a sharp tip, reminiscent of the spikes on top of Songaskian palace domes, yet fixed in the front of the ship. Before long, whatever the device was meant to do, it started activating. Those on the back of the Dragon felt the very air become hostile, a slight prickling of pain on their skins like being gently tapped by very sharp objects yet not quite pierced. The very light and color seemed to drain away from around them as white dust started collecting around the lance. Silver’s eyes were not on the vessel, but rather the air around it, as his Isldar eyes allowed him to see the Soulrivers that were contorting and writing, like a snake whose head had just been cut off, a clear flow of them being drained into the weapon affixed to the front of the vessel. Then suddenly and quite unexpectedly, a bright flash erupted from the lance, and a single thin pure and white beam ejected itself in a straight line across the horizon, sweeping past the ships in a horizontal fashion. It was as if the eruption of the beam muffled all sound around it, even as far away as on top of the Dragon, all sounds ceased. The wind no longer rustled in the Dragon’s scales and spikes, the Dragon’s own wings and breathing ceased to be heard, all sound suddenly coming back with the ear-splitting drumming noise that could best be described as ten thousand horses trampling on the dry dirt. A mere split second after the beam had coursed through all the Sendrassian ships, it dissipated and the white dust disappeared. For several seconds nothing happened, until screaming could vaguely be overheard from the Sendrassian vessels which started collapsing in on themselves. It was as if their whole materials were being sucked into a small opening or funnel, wood creaking, bones snapping, ropes unfurling and all being pushed down the tiniest of holes as it was all being compacted together. Just seconds later, the Sendrassian ships were nowhere to be seen, just leaving behind some flotsam and drowning Sendrassians that had jumped off the ships in time for whatever happened to them to occur. Silver was again far too distracted to watch the carnage however. His eyes remained trained on the Soul Rivers around the vessel which looked like something he had never seen before. The white essence that was normally like a dusty liquid flowing through the air had seemingly hardened into white glass, and fractured. There was a break in the Soul Rivers, and splinters of glassified essence blew in all directions, no doubt something only Silver and the Dragon could see, as none others possessed the ability to see Soul Rivers. Moments after the group had collected themselves from what they had just witnessed, the Dragon descended further, finally being noticed by what they presumed were the jubilant Qadir. There was no immediate apprehension, as the Qadir assumed the Imperial Dragon was nominally allied to them through the Regalian State, but they figured before long that it wasn’t here to congratulate them on their victory moments later when Imara spoke to them in Faraddi to explain that the Dragon would destroy their vessel, and that they should evacuate it while they were given the chance to do so. The Dragon backed off again, waiting for the Qadir to orderly abandon their ship, before it opened its mouth and unleashed a wild torrent of blue and white lightning onto the ship that seemed to cut through it, splitting it in half an causing it to sink in mere seconds just as the Qadir had gotten out of the way. Some of the Qadir continued to protest loudly on their smaller escape vessels, with larger Qadiriq vessels approaching on the horizon with their sails up, giving the implication that this was an experimental testing vessel that had been sent ahead of a spectating fleet that was now approaching to pick up the stranded Qadir sailors. Many of them would have wanted to save their invention, but they likely knew the futility of refusing the demands of a Dragon. The way back to Regalia was equally quick, though a lot more quiet, as the group tried to process everything they had witnessed, in whatever way they had witnessed it. An odd group indeed, a Qadir, two Kathar, and an Isldar Dragon Warden dismounted just outside of the city walls of Regalia, where the Dragon returned to humanoid stature, bid them farewell, and walked off with a whistle and a prance that almost made it as if he hadn’t just done or gone where he had, and as if he was a wholly different person all of a sudden, leaving the four behind to continue where they had left off before he had so suddenly appeared to whisk them away.
Note: info is only available to the players involved, but I'm sure it'll become public knowledge soon enough with how little people keep secrets :' D
