Invite her to my party?
She was curled up tight against me, wanting my warmth and comfort. I reached a hand out, the back of my fingers brushing her soft scales. She snuffled in response but didn't move, leaving me to think about the question blinking up at me from the screen.
I had always been a loner, preferring my own company over that of others. People were unpredictable, their motives unclear. But this creature, this Dracapod, was different. Her intention was pure… her trust in me clear as day.
It was an easy question, really. I accepted, and as soon as I did, something else appeared.
Her actual codex revealed itself.
My eyes jumped when I realized that accepting her into my party gave me full access to view her codex. She was an unnamed baby dragon, with some impressive stats for a creature her level. Then again, she was a baby dragon, with a built in breath weapon that'd make leveling up somewhat easier for her. I also noticed that she was capable of carrying currency, had no class and low rank, and also had very few skills to her name, all of which were innate.
"[Deadly Bite], a given, [Flame Breath], also a given," I muttered to myself. They seemed pretty useful, with increased level comes increased radius."
She didn't really have much else to her name, and then my eyes turned to an evolution chart. It had slots, three to be exact, and those slots were empty.
"I need more intel on that," I said, expanding the description icon to where a few paragraphs toggled down:
A dragon is the only race in Etheryn with the ability to evolve. Collection of evolution stones are required for the maturation of a dragon's life cycle.
Evolution stages are as follows:
Dracapod: the most vulnerable state for a dragon is its infant state. All dragon life begins in water. A dragon is born isolated, where its dragon parents leave them to fend for their own. Once their egg hatches, they are vulnerable, so they must adapt quickly. At this stage, a dragon has a tadpole-like appearance, and is about the size of an adult chicken. Some evolution types are born with stubby arms and legs.
Usually at this stage, magical affinity is set, and evolution phenotype will correspond to the element inherited.
Dracuna: At this juvenile stage, a dragon must strengthen its magical affinity to ward off dragon slayers as it is still considered a lesser dragon. For some evolution types, additional extremities such as wings, legs, and arms are grown. Usually, the dragon will have a round body and a long neck, and is about the size of a utahraptor (approx. 5-7 ft tall).
Dragon: At this stage, evolution is nearly complete. Depending on the elemental path, a dragon's full adulthood will vary in size and environmental preference. Being surrounded by its environmental preference will boost up stats.
Dragonoid: Also referred to as dragonkin. This is the last stage of evolution—the ability to transform into a humanoid being. Phenotypes vary depending on previous evolution stages.
So she had three more stages to go? I wondered if they all had three slots, or if they increased the more she grew….
I continued reading on, the details of her race more extensive than I thought:
As long as magical affinity is established, a dragon is born with a breath weapon and a resistance to the breath weapon type at no expense of mana. Elements naturally inherited are fire, frost, earth, air, and space.
There was another section here about phenotypes:
All dragons will inherit elemental magical affinity, but not all of them will manage to awaken it. Be it because of malnutrition, genetic mutation, or even natural selection. The evolution path of a dragon is based on the element they possess: Bastodon or Wyvern dragon for Earth, Hydra or Sea Serpent for water, Drake or Dragon for Fire, Caelym or Ether for air, and Cosmyrim for space. Evolution stones found in-world are essential to evolve, and they contain certain stat requirements for usage.
Okay, all of that was extremely informative. But the codex didn't tell me how we were going to find these stones so she could evolve.
There were no more description boxes to open up. This was it. I scratched the back of my head and figured this was one of the challenges of being in a place like this, where codices didn't like handouts.
I scoffed. "All right, you win. We'll do it the hard way."
I looked down at her and smiled. "So you are a fire dragon, huh? Can't go wrong with that. Classic really." I chuckled. "Heh, now that I've officially adopted you, I should probably give you a name." As I stared at her, sleeping peacefully against me, I thought through my options. This strong, brave little creature, barely out of her eggshell, had chosen to trust me. And now she was my responsibility. A name... yeah… she needed a name. But what?
I looked up to the darkness over our heads. As if on cue, a star shot across the night sky in a streak of luminescent silver. I watched as it blazed a trail across before disappearing just as quickly as it had appeared.
"Hmm, how about Starr? Short for Starrfire."
Yeah, that'd work.
It was about time the both of us got some sleep for the night; our itinerary for tomorrow was going to be busy, and we needed all the energy we could get to travel to the village of Grusnabi. So I stood up and started with making us a makeshift blanket with a bed of leaves. The forest wasn't short on supplies, making it easy to gather up large fern leaves for bedding. In a shallow dip in the earth, I checker-boarded them, piling several layers for added cushioning. Once satisfied with my crafty bedding, I gently lifted the baby dragon and cradled her.
"I'm upgrading you, Starr," I said with a wholesome smile. "I'm sure this nice little spot is more comfortable than my leg."
Her glossy eyes fluttered open at the sudden movement, looking up at me with an innocent curiosity. A soft whimper escaped her as she scanned her new sleeping quarters, her eyes darting about before she let out a big yawn. The thick-leafed barrier I'd assembled got no judgment from her—she was too tired to make a comment. But something else caught her attention, and she voiced her worries right away.
Instantly, she leapt off of me and began circling me defensively.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked her, short grunts escaping her snout. She was focused on something behind me, her small body tense. I turned around and braced myself, my fingers curling up into fists.
I didn't see anything. My perception wasn't the highest to see in such darkness, so my sense of danger was shot. For her race, she had a better chance of seeing something out there than I did. It also didn't help that the forest was so damn quiet. I squinted into the dense undergrowth, feeling vulnerable the longer I stood there without any idea what we were up against.
I strained my ears, the forest suddenly hushing even further. And that was when I saw something sharpening from the darkness. Instinctively, I froze. Between the thick foliage, my eyes caught a pair of gold glowing orbs staring back at us. We were being hunted. It let out a low growl that tanked my heart into my stomach, my body feeling the weight of its size instantly.
Suddenly the bushes rustled. I had to unlock my feet from the ground—they were welded down from the fear that was running up my spine. Anxiety mixed with a high dose of adrenaline got me moving, that and the overwhelming sense of fight or flight when the beast came out of the shadows.
I crouched over immediately and grabbed a wooden stick of fire from our flame pit with one hand, and scooped up Starr with the other.
She fussed and writhed in my arm, eager to fight. But when we finally saw the beast, we both stopped moving. With a snarl, the creature lunged out of the undergrowth. He was a massive behemoth, the biggest beast I'd seen in my goddamn life! In fact, he looked like a sabertooth tiger, with dense white fur, fierce eyes, and a chilling roar.
I ducked and rolled underneath him when he flung himself at us. From the other side of the fire, the sabertooth searched for us, but only for a second before he realized we'd switched places. Slowly, he turned around, his long fangs reflecting the firelight as he crouched down for another pounce. He broke his path and turned right, and I went left, the both of us circling the fire pit as we sized each other up.
His muscular back was arched in clear anticipation of an attack. The beast was a predator, and we were his prey; it was a primal situation that left no room for negotiation or reasoning. Even so, I felt the urge to [Inspect] him subconsciously, the subtle command revealing something interesting about the wild beast:
[Sabertooth Tiger, Level: 9]
Level nine?!
He wasn't even breaking double digits!
For a creature so savage looking, I was expecting a higher level. I had to imagine that his starter stats were high, where strength and agility were more impressive than that of a measly human.
Fortunately for us, we caught a break. Underneath its simple stats, I noticed that the beast was being affected by a condition:
Condition: Drowsy
-Agility and Accuracy Decreased-
He must have gotten himself caught up in something before he came our direction. This was a huge advantage for us.
That being said, coming out of this fight alive still required careful planning and precise strategy, two things Starr wanted no part of.
The baby dragon continued to squirm in my arm, her tiny claws impatiently digging into the fabric of my shirt. She was restless, itching to fight, but I knew she would stand no chance against a beast easily twenty times her size.
"Starr," I whispered urgently, "Cut it out!"
The Sabertooth's gaze flicked briefly to the dragon in my arms before returning to me. Everything hinged on who would make the first move. I clenched the wooden stick tightly in my hand, hoping beyond hope that it'd offer some form of protection, until Starr wiggled herself free from my grasp, all of her fussing finally liberating her.
I lost my breath.
"Starr!" I cried, chasing after her as the beast capitalized on her mistake.