Chapter 4.5: Necessary Backstories P2

IN VIENNA’S POV

30 minutes before Luna rudely barged into Vienna’s room, Vienna was having her average recurring dream.

“You are a drakaina of age now, and as my daughter you must compete in the trials of Highpoint. This is the most important competition you will ever partake in, you understand that right."

Yes mother but I don't think I'm as strong as you were, I don't think I will qualify to be one of the queen's soldiers let alone, the next Queen of the Thunder.

"Nonsense darling, you are my daughter, the daughter of the Chief of the Queen's guards. If anyone is strong enough it's you."

Thank you mother, but you know that the person chosen to be the Queen's successor must be wed to the prince. I don't feel that way for him and never will.

"Girl, if that's what you're worried about it doesn't matter, you've known him since you were kids, you will have a bond that no one else will be able to have with him. The only problem is him giving you a son but you can deal with that later."

Ok, mother. I will make you and my brothers proud. I shall prepare for tomorrow's trials.

"I know you can do this darling, you are strong. Believe that."

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Knock Knock

I wake up, from the sound of Luna knocking on my bedroom door and instinctively, I grab the knife I keep under my pillow and throw it in the direction of the door. Realizing what I had done I looked in her direction and saw how frightened she was and then she was gone.

“Ah fuck, I’ve done it again,” I rub my temples as I feel a splitting headache forming, “I can’t keep doing this, she’s scared to death of you Vienna, you have to do better.”

'On the contrary, darling, you must stay alert, your instincts are what keep you alive. She needs to understand that.'

“Goodness ma, I don't need to be that alert, SHE COULD HAVE BEEN INJURED” I punch the wall and it leaves a large crack, “ Sigh, I’ll have to ask Jason to fix that.”

I should probably go eat, it’s gonna be a long day.

I stand up out of the bed and walk over to my wardrobe. I grab some comfortable tight-fitting black leggings, a black sleeveless crop top, and my black combat boots. Can’t go anywhere without combat boots. As I walk out of my room I grab my cloak and head to the dining room. I can already smell the fresh cinnamon rolls that Luna has prepared for us to enjoy. As soon as I get to the dining room I can see that Luna and Yuri are already seated. Yuri is completely smashing her cinnamon roll and is having crazy eyes for the omelet next to it. Luna is calmly eating and acknowledges me but doesn't look me in the eyes.

I've done it again… I should apologize.

"Morning Yuri, Morning Lu'… Sorry about earlier hun, you know you shouldn't come in my room in the mornings," I say as I take my seat next to her.

I think to myself, that's not how I wanted to apologize but oh well.

Luna blushes from embarrassment. Finished with her food, Yuri speaks.

"Sooo, what are we gonna be doing today? I'm sure it'll be something interesting."

Luna chirps up to that question, "That is a wonderful question, as me and you, we will be touring both the human and elven islands. You are sure to learn a lot about both islands from that. As for Vienna, I don't really know, I mean she's free to join us if she wishes but I know how she is about crowds."

I felt a pang in my chest from that. I did want to hang out with Luna but I wouldn't be able to function around a lot of people anyways. Don't want to ruin the mood.

"Oh no, you guys are fine to go on your own. Our food is getting kinda low so I'll go do some hunting and buy some things straight from the north. Have fun," I reply with a smirk.

Luna looks at me with a bit of worry but she is quickly distracted by Yuri's excitement. Somewhere along the lines I heard them talking about what Yuri would wear to town. I wasn't paying that much attention, I was far too lost in Luna's smile to hear much else. I was only snapped out of it when Jason walked into the hall, completely shirtless only wearing sweatpants. Even I can admit that he is a fairly attractive guy. Nicely tanned with dark tattoos covering his arms and chest, and very muscular and strong for male standards. Probably one of the very few men that I can respect in combat. He doesn't say much apart from the usual morning greetings and sits to eat his breakfast. I look over to Yuri and smirk as I see how mesmerized she is with this half naked man sitting at the table. However, the sight was short lived when Luna grabs Yuri's hand and pulls her towards her room to get ready for the days activities.

I head out as well to gather some supplies from the basement for my hunt. It's quite convenient that other than the ocean that surrounds the island, there is an expansive forest behind and around the mansion. I go into the forest and let my instincts take over. The quiet of nature rushes over me creating calm, all of my senses are heightened. I can hear the wings of birds flying high above the trees, the crunch of the leaves under my feet, and the chewing of berry's by a deer nearby. There it is the hunt of the day. I make my way slowly towards the deer, quieting my steps so that it doesn't hear me approaching. Once I get within 5 meters of the deer, I draw my bow.

"I know you can hear it, the beating heart of your prey. Focus on it. Shoot to kill, end its life quickly and painlessly. We must respect our prey for their life force is what allows us to strengthen ours."

Mother always was the strongest drakaina in the Thunder, I learned much from her even if she could be harsh. Even if her soul is now bound to my mind.

This isn't my first hunt, mother, you don't need to remind me.

With that I conjure up my mana into powerful arrow of wind. I release my bow string and the arrow zips towards the deer and strikes it in the heart. I can hear it's heartbeat being snuffed out by the power of air. I approach the deer corpse and offer it's soul back to the Ethereal goddess who once gave this deer life. I pick up the body with ease and head back to the mansion. After dropping the carcass off in the shed, I enter the mansion to an alert coming from Luna's mirror. I quickly run over and channel my mana through it to answer.

"Luna what's goin on, are you and Yuri ok?"

"We're fine but some nightmares have made their way from the west and are attacking innocents. I'm doing what I can from here but Yuri is a sitting duck out here and I can only do so much without my mirror."

"Yeah, that makes sense. I'll be right there, then you can bring Yuri back and continue the fight from here."

"I knew you would understand Vie, thanks see yah in a bit. Mwah."

I felt my heart skip a beat just before she hung up. She is so cute. She does those little things and doesn't even know how much they effect me.

"HEY hey, wake up, you've got a job to do…"

You're right, let's go.

I arrive and realize just how bad the situation has gotten. Buildings are on fire from the goblins that are causing chaos. There are demons flying around high above, darkening the sky. If we don't do something now this can get a lot worse. I ran over Luna to discuss a plan to fix this situation and prevent something like this happening again.

"LU, ARE YOU AND YURI OK, HOW DID THE SITUATION GET THIS BAD? IT'S NEVER GOTTEN TO THIS POINT BEFORE." I yell so that my voice can be heard amidst the screaming citizens.

"I DON'T REALLY KNOW VIE, THIS ISNT MY AREA OF EXPERTISE THIS IS NORMALLY SOMETHING JASON WOULD KNOW ABOUT BUT I CAN'T SEEM TO GET A HOLD OF HIM. ANYWAYS, I'VE ALREADY SENT YURI BACK TO THE ESTATE, SO WHAT'S THE PLAN TO DEFEAT THESE FOES."

"THE PLAN IS PRETTY SIMPLE, I'LL TAKE CARE OF THE SKY. YOU HAVE TO MAKE A BARRIER AROUND THIS ISLAND TO PREVENT ANYTHING FROM GETTING IN OR LEAVING OUT. I WILL ALSO NEED YOU TO DEAL WITH THESE GOBLINS WITH YOUR GOLEMS. CAN YOU HANDLE THAT?"

"YEA, THESE GOBLINS WILL BE A PIECE OF CAKE BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW STRONG OF A BARRIER I WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE, I HAVEN'T WORKED MUCH WITH THE CELESTIAL ENERGY JASON GAVE ME."

"JUST DO YOUR BEST, THAT'S ALL I NEED."

"OK, VIE. I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT."

With that Luna left from my sight, and I was left with my task. Clear out the sky. It's been quite a while since I've had to change into my dragon form. As I transform, the memory of my first change reoccurs in my mind.

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"Welcome to the trials, young drakaina's of the Thunder. As your queen, I am very proud to choose a select few of you to become a part of my elite guard force. As well as choose one of you to be wed to my son and be the next queen."

I look around after the queen's speech and notice that there were about 13 candidates in this year's trials. There will only be four that pass, three to be guards and one the new queen.

"There will be 3 events. The first a hunting rally, the fastest 10 that get to 20 points worth of game will move on to the next round. In the second round will be a show of magical expertise. Many things will be tested in that regard. The final round will be a test of form. This is when you will be transforming for the first time and revealing just how strong your dragon truly is. Without further adieu, let the first round commence."

I quickly make my way into the forest, bow in hand looking for the best game. Scoring is quite simple. Small game such as rabbits or birds and one and two points respectively. Elk or boars are both five points. Wolves are 10 points. Then the toughest game. A bear is 15 points, however they are fairly rare so it's best to aim for elk and boars from the beginning. I find a good area that me and my mother tend to frequent when hunting and as I thought there is a boar munching on a bush with berries. I take a moment to quiet my breathing and draw my bow. However, by a stroke of misfortune, an arrow strikes the boar from a different direction and someone else pops up and charges towards the game that should have been mine.

I was too slow. It's fine I'll get the next one.

I hear movement south of my area and head that way. There is a deer prancing around unknowing of the fate that is soon to befall it. Without a second thought, I load an arrow and pull back my drawstring. Aiming a bit in front to get a clean kill. And then, release. The arrow zooms through the air and strikes the dear directly in the heart. I rush over quickly, happy about capturing my first piece of game in the trial. I threw it over my shoulder and heard a horn sound, stating that the first contestant had completed their trial. As I made my way to bring in the deer, I heard the horn sound twice more. Only seven left. While searching for another hunt, I was reminded of something my mother once said.

"Listen for running water, you are likely to find a large hunt nearby."

So, I stop my trek and listen. Using my heightened hearing to the best of my ability and heard a river on the east edge of the forest. I made my way there and just as mother said there was a big hunt. The biggest hunt. A black bear hunting for fish in the river. I stall in my tracks.

Can I do this? What if I miss? It will come for me. If I don't succeed in this hunt I won't have time to search for something else. This is dangerous- BRRRRR.

The horn sounds yet again which snaps me out of my thoughts. I take a deep breath and with hair still standing on end, I draw my bow. I shoot and it hits the bear right in the side. However to my dismay, It doesn't go down and rather it growls and turns in my direction. It starts running towards me and I brace myself for a fight. I throw down my bow and take out my knife and just before the bear gets to me I jump up over its head and onto its back. I drive my knife deep into the back of its neck and yell even louder than it's growl. It tries to throw me off using all its strength but I hold well and continue my assault on its neck. The fight only lasted for a few seconds however it felt like I had been hanging on for hours. I grab the bear and make my way to the starting point and complete the first trial.

The second trial was easy to complete as if mostly focused on the control of the elements. The three with the least control over the elements were eliminated. I didn't struggle at all with this as I spend a lot of my time exploring ways to incorporate my magic with everyday life.

It was the final trial that changed the life that I had always known.

To be continued in Chapter 4.9 Necessary Backstories P3

So that there is no confusion sentences like this, are Vienna's thoughts but sentences like "this" are her mothers voice in her head.