The mountainous region Dorian was in was known as the Nebra Mountains. The large forest to the south was called the Thousand Oak Forest. The mountains stretched for several dozen miles, while the forests stretched for nearly three hundred miles, taking up huge tracts of land, all of it filled with beasts.
The location Dorian had originally spawned in at was found roughly twenty miles from the Nebra Mountains, in a small, nondescript clearing near a river. A rough dirt crater marred this otherwise picturesque locale, a crater which grass and plants were just now starting to reclaim.
On the brook of this river, a young salamander with green scales, roughly three-fourths of a meter long, was slowly moving about, looking down carefully. Its claws gleamed as it prepared to pounce on any unfortunate fish that came near it. The river shined a brilliant pearly blue, the morning sunlight reflecting off of it.
Just as the salamander was preparing to pounce, a figure blurred into existence behind it and stabbed a hand through its back, directly piercing the salamander's heart. A heavy aura of blood surrounded this figure, giving it an ominous appeal.
The salamander died instantly, red blood spattering on the ground and dyeing the nearby stream pink for a few seconds.
"Crude as always Brutus." A smooth, enthralling voice rang out from afar as another figure shimmered into existence.
A petite woman that looked like a human, except for a very faint grey tinge on her skin. Her face was one of beauty, perfectly proportioned lips and gorgeous violet eyes. A small, petite nose complimented her dainty smile, while her long red hair swayed lightly in the breeze, making her appear like some sort of ethereal fairy. She wore a tight set of black leather that did nothing to hide her curves.
"It's the first time I've seen this world, Gaia." The speaker shrugged, tossing the dead salamander corpse to the side.
He was a big, brute of a man, bulging muscles barely covered by the loose black shirt he wore, and a pair of black leather pants, standing roughly two meters tall. He had short, red hair, with a rough looking face that carried a hint of handsome charm. A strong chin and near perfect proportions were marred by two very large red scars, crossing his face in an X pattern that started at each ear, and went across his cheeks, nose, and down to the sides of his neck. His skin was of a similar shade, very faintly grey.
"Blood Magic: Arise." Brutus said, clapping his hands together. A few small golden rings on his hands glinted, clinking quietly as they collided.
Immediately, the dead salamander's body twitched. A glowing red light appeared around it as it stood up, slowly turning to face the muscular man.
Brutus turned to look at Gaia, giving her a leer-filled grin, revealing a set of perfect white teeth. The only oddity in his smile was the two pairs of pointed teeth, two on top and two on bottom, that appeared in his mouth, glinting softly.
"After you, milady." He bowed crudely.
Gaia rolled her eyes, making even that look beautiful as she stepped forward. She waved her hand casually to the side.
From out of seemingly nowhere, a long, red staff with a glowing white crystal shaped like an eyeball appeared, giving off a faintly demonic aura. Gaia held the staff before her, turning to focus on the Arisen Red Salamander.
"Blood Magic: Drawing Fate." She closed her eyes as she spoke, concentrating fully on casting her spell.
Faint red lines began to rise up from the Salamander, slowly connecting with the glowing crimson staff. Red symbols appeared in the air, and vanished mysteriously.
After a long moment, Gaia opened her eyes again.
"To the north, the disturbance in fate is to the north. The reverberations are getting fainter, and fainter, however. After a few more weeks it will be impossible to track." Her voice rang out, tinged with a hint of excitement.
Brutus shrugged,
"As long as we can find it before the humans or shades do, Highlord Marcus won't care. It's a shame none of the disturbances appeared in any of our worlds. We were lucky to be on a connector planet nearby." Brutus's voice was filled with reverence at the mention of the name Marcus.
Gaia simply nodded her head, and then waved her hand casually. Immediately, a pool of red blood began to appear, tentacles of red blood whipping back and forth, forming into the shape of a huge, 3 meter tall wolf.
"Salum," She whispered as she softly stroked the side of the Blood Wolf, her eyes filled with gentle love and care,"Lead me to the one that disturbed fate."
..
Dorian grinned cheerfully as looked down at the meat in front of him. Today really was his lucky day.
After he got up, he'd set off to go hunting. His goal today was mostly just to loaf around till he was able to evolve to a stronger form. His current form was fast, but not very strong.
Therefore, to fill his stomach, he'd decided to hunt some fish from the river, and then go looking for some Magic Herbs.
When he left his hidden cave, however, he found a small group of Mountain Deer grazing by the river.
According to Ausra, most of the Mountain Deer were either Earth or Mortal Class. Even as a Myyr Wyrmling, he should be able to handle something like that.
Especially with his Flame Claws ability.
According to Ausra, every Ability he learned would stick with him, no matter what physical form he had. It was a very useful benefit that he absolutely would take advantage of.
Dorian had stalked the deer, slowly crawling up a tree to the side of the valley. He then quietly leapt from tree to tree, focusing on the deer down below.
Soon he reached one of the paths that led to the valley river, worn away by thousands of beasts moving over time.
He hid on a tree branch, remaining absolutely still as he watched the deer.
Mountain Deer were large, but not too abnormally large. They were just a little bigger than regular deer, back on Earth, with tougher brown leather hide, and very solid black hooves.
Eventually the deer began to leave the valley, having drunk their fill. There were roughly twenty of them, a sizable group.
They began to head towards the path Dorian was hovering over.
Dorian hadn't picked this path by chance. After observing the deer before, he knew their type were skittish, and would stick to routine. This path was not only one that was decently open on all sides, with only a few trees blocking one's vision, but the most well worn path in the valley.
As the deer began to travel under him, Dorian bided his time, picking out his target. A large, meaty dear at the back of the pack.
He'd considered going for a weaker looking one, but decided against it. With his current capabilities, he should have no trouble taking out a deer of this stature.
Tense seconds went by, and soon that large deer was right below him.
Moving quickly, Dorian jumped down from the branch he was on, activating his Flame Claws ability as he attacked. He had practiced the Ability often enough that he could use it instantly now.
His claws glowed a fiery red white as they plunged into the flesh of the deer. A split second later the herd of deer scattered, panicking at the sight of a predator. The smell of cooked meat began to drift, sizzling.
The meaty deer Dorian had attacked leapt up into the air and struggled, trying to throw Dorian off. Its muscular shoulders made its movements much stronger than that of any regular deer on earth, each stomp exerting hundreds of pounds of pressure.
Dorian was relentless in his pursuit, however, and plunged his claws deeper, feeling the struggles of the deer weaken.
A few seconds passed, and the deer collapsed, its body lying still as it passed on.
Dorian blinked as he looked down, finally noticing something.
The smell of cooked flesh in this body… it smelled… delicious!
When he was in his Red Salamander form, he hadn't cared whether the flesh of an animal he hunted was cooked or not. The rich, raw taste of blood had been a delight to his tongue.
In this body, however… Dorian wasn't sure if his taste buds had changed, but the smell of the deer in front of him was mouth watering.
He frowned as he looked down at his hands, however. The fire from his claws was a bit too hot. The flesh of the deer where his claws had landed had charred black. If he wanted to roast this deer, he'd need to figure out a way to tone down the heat on his claws, or use some other method.
As he thought about this, he turned to the side, eyeing the tree next to him. In particular, a set of long, two inch thick branches, an idea running through his mind.
..
"Space Magic: Blinking Ship!" Royal Wizard Aymon's voice quivered as he clapped his hands together, drawing energy from his Soul Spell Matrix to power the spell. He made several confusing motions with his hands, a stream of glowing white symbols forming in the air.
After a few moments, the vague outline of a small, floating white boat took shape in the air. It gave off faint reverberations that shook the air, mystifying energy waves that were almost impossible to understand.
William looked on in awe at the transparent, floating ship, his eyes curious.
They were currently standing outside of Yor City. The city itself was around 3 and a half miles wide, one of the largest cities this far west in the Obsidia River Empire. The walls of the city were one of its centerpieces, huge 10 meter high stone walls, enchanted with spells to reinforce them. The city was a powerful stronghold, once used as a frontier city to clear out various beasts.
The Obsidia River Kingdom was still in the process of expanding and conquering new territory.
After touching base with the Robel Family, the de facto rulers of Yor City, the Department Wizards had stayed over at the Robel Family compound. It was currently the morning of the day after.
One of William's spells created a transport vessel like this. But just by looking at the floating ship, William could already tell this one far outclassed his own.
"Excellent magic!" The talkative Fate Wizard Oblong said cheerfully as the floating ship began to land, ready to be boarded.
"Let's get moving." Oblong turned to look at William, grinning happily. The Fate Wizard was extremely pleased with the results of his Foretelling. He had already sent a message to the Fate Wizard standing with Lord Hadrion. If things turned out well, this might be the lucky break he needed to get his name out there and gain the resources he needed to step into the Grandmaster Class.
"Yes sir." William said, quickly stepping forward. Behind William were several Robel Family Sky Class warriors, sent by the Family Head to protect him.
After the Department Wizards had left to rest, the Family Head had pulled him aside, urging him to cooperate fully. If he could make a good impression, it was entirely possible he could attend one of the Department Academies. There was, after all, a Wood Magic Department.
Any family that had a Wizard in one of the 108 Departments was a family destined for greatness far beyond ruling a small tract of land in a minor world like Hasnorth.
William eagerly jumped on board, walking carefully. With his magic sensitivity, he was able to clearly make out the outline of the ship, but the transparentness of it was disorienting.
Behind him, the Black Lightning Grandmaster Wizard Graxital stepped aboard, followed by the Black Iron Guards the Obsidia River Empire had provided. These powerful warriors were some of the highest ranked fighters in the entire nation, members of the 5,000 men strong Black Iron Battalion.
Oblong and Aymon boarded last. As they get settled in, the Space Wizard Aymon raised his hands, fluttering them in the air before him before turning to face William expectantly.
"Now, please direct my course, young wizard."
