“I already get plenty of blood madness fits at home and I’m afraid that under stress things will get much worse. I don’t want to screw up your perfect record.” Bytra said.
“All the more reason to bring you along. Blood madness is caused by the trauma that the memories of the other Bytra inflicted upon your mind when you assimilated her essence. You must embrace the good and the bad things of your previous life if you want to heal.” Xenagrosh said.
“I’m not that person anymore. It wasn’t me killing all those people for petty reasons. I don’t want and I have no reason to remember what the Original Bytra did!” Bytra said, acting childish for a woman her age.
“You’re not? Really? Then where that hammer and your Forgemastering techniques come from?” Xenagrosh pointed at Menadion’s Fury that Bytra was clenching with all her might.
“Even if you discarded her Abomination name, Korgh, you are everything that Bytra the Raiju was. You reap the fruits of her work, so you should also accept the consequences of what she did as an Emperor Beast first and an Abomination later.”
Xenagrosh’s voice was calm and held no blame, yet Bytra started to sob.
“Do you really think I’m a monster, Zor?” Bytra was the only one besides the Master allowed to use Xenagrosh’s human name, Zoreth.
“That would be hypocritical of me, Byt. I’m as much of a mass murderer as any other member of the Organization. I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m just saying that you can’t only take what’s convenient and hide the rest of your memories under the rug.
“It’s not healthy. Please, believe me. I speak from experience.” Zoreth said. They were so close that they used monikers whenever they were alone.
It took a while before Bytra managed to calm down and even more to get her to suit up for the occasion.
“By the gods below, Byt, we’re not going to a gala. How can you take this long to get ready? Wear your armor, store your weapons, and we’re good to go!” After waiting outside Bytra’s room for half an hour, Zoreth was almost regretting her choice already.
“Where are we going?” Bytra asked, hoping to stall for time.
She had been ready for over 25 minutes, but she had yet to find the courage to open the door.
“We’re headed to the city of Palaron, in the Gorgon Empire. The Griffon Kingdom is off-limits because both the Bright Day and the Black Night have been sighted there. The security is tighter than a corset and there are too many big players in the game.
“The Blood Desert is off-limits as well. Mostly because there is no black market except what Salaark allows for. Our treasury is almost empty and we need to fill it to the brim. Our mission is a raid.
“We are going to rob the local and very rich branch of the Dusk Court blind, seize their black markets, and their smuggling routes. Operation Hostile Takeover is a go as soon as you get the fuck out!” Zoreth said.
“Are we going to say hi to your father?” Bytra couldn’t delay any longer and walked through the door.
Her original nature was that of an Emperor Beast, so her human form was shaped according to how she imagined herself to be.
Bytra looked like a lovely woman in her mid-twenties about 1.75 meters (5’9″) tall, with golden eyes and silver hair. She had a pixie cut that emphasized her oval-shaped face and delicate features.
She kept her hair short because she was both a Forgemaster and a blacksmith.
Lava didn’t go along well with stray hair and washing the smell of sulfur away was hard. Her foundry was located on the mouth of a volcano, the only natural source of heat strong enough to smelt enchanted metals.
She was wearing a set of clothes very popular among the Empire’s adventurers. It was comprised of a khaki shirt and pants, a dark brown fur-padded leather jacket, and boots with a soft outer sole.
Two one-handed war hammers were hung to her belt and even though they were just for show, they clearly displayed how skillful the hand of the artisan was.
“Gods above, no. We’re going to the Gorgon Empire exactly because my old man is the Guardian who cares the less about his own turf. He clearly told me that the next time we face will be as enemies and I’m not going to poke the Dragon with a stick without an excellent reason.”
They alternated opening Warp Steps to save their strength until they reached the Empire’s borders. Between the observation towers and the powerful arrays set in place, it was impossible for a mage to pass unnoticed.
Luckily for the monster-Abomination hybrids, there was a third option. Xenagrosh shapeshifted into her Shadow Dragon form, allowing Bytra to sit comfortably on her back before taking flight.
As a Dragon, Xenagrosh could fly so high that she was outside the observation towers’ detection range and the air blocking arrays didn’t bother her. A Dragon was too big and heavy to fly without magic, but she could still glide the air currents until she recovered her magical abilities.
On top of that, a Shadow Dragon could alter their weight by turning part of their body into black smoke. There was a reason why Leegaain was known as the Father of all Dragons.
Each one of his descendants would be a species of its own and their bloodline would have unique abilities. Between the Dragon’s flight speed and dimensional magic, it took them less than one hour to cross the over two thousand kilometers separating them from the city of Palaron.
The Gorgon Empire had a harsher climate than the Griffon Kingdom and there were plenty of mountain ranges scattered throughout its territory. There was no such thing as middle-sized cities, only small villages and metropolises.
The extension of a city was determined solely by the number of cultivable fields in its proximity and how easy it was to get access to the already established commercial routes.
Winter and fall were harsh mistresses, so no city could host more people than it could reasonably feed. Relying on the imports was a prerogative reserved only for military bases.
Strategic geographical points, where it wasn’t possible to build castles, were presided by floating fortresses similar to the Gorgon’s empire capital, Manaron. The Empire had the most advanced magical development in all the three Great Countries, but cultivating clouds was still a myth, even for them.
Providing the magical fortresses with the resources they needed, made it mandatory for every city and village in the Empire to pay part of their taxes in gold and the rest in food.
It was a unique system that limited the development of urban areas and made fertile land almost more precious than gold.
The city of Palaron was an important commercial hub, located near the Dragon Plains, one of the most extensive and fertile areas of cultivated fields in the Gorgon Empire. After the defeat of Veeza the Lich, whose armies had conquered the Plains during the first days of the invasion, the province was undergoing a quick reorganization.
The servants of the Lich had destroyed the food reserves before running away and poisoned the earth, making the Empire lose two consecutive harvests. The food had become so scarce that the security of the fields had become one of the top priorities of the local governors.
