Savage Awakening 525. Last Minute Breakthroughs (I)

Evan and Avery were both quite eager to be there. Reina had a few reservations about the fight, but she was determined to be in the stands too.

In the meantime, she planned on hashing out a broadcasting deal with Elias.

The venue hadn’t even been officially announced yet. Work on the stadium had broken ground just a few days ago. It involved a team of some of the Deep Earth Hall’s Grand Architects, alongside the Steelheart Conclave’s Grand Artificers, hammering away at that dead star core night and day. Reina told him Elias meant for it to be an arena for the ages. Something worthy of the battle.

The rumor mill had started churning in taverns and council-rooms alike across the Great Factions.

Haxorax was a household name, a massive draw by himself. He was the First Prince of Dragons, after all, the great hope of their kind. Then there was Zane, who needed no introduction. By now, all of Dragonspire knew who he was.

Add to it rumors of serious beef between them, and the drama with Haxorax’s recent ranking boost—dethroning Zane for the first time in decades…

Ticket presales were frothy already. An upper-deck seat went for 7 peak Primordial stones. The viewing booths up close were rumored to go for ten times that.

The battleground itself had just been excavated when Reina made her trip there. She was meeting with Elias in one of the newly constructed booths, where she’d get Zane a deal that reflected what she felt he deserved.

…She was definitely going to take Elias for all he was worth. Which sounded like quite a lot these days, Zane was pleased to hear. 

He’d find out what went down there later. Right now it was time to make for his residence in the Azure Flame Faction, where he’d stay for the lead-up to the fight. He still planned on teleporting back every weekend or so. But for the next few weeks he did need to hunker down a little.

There were a few breakthroughs he had to take care of.

***

It was a little strange teleporting into a Faction ruled by Haxorax’s father. But he didn’t face any trouble, which was a pleasant surprise. A few Inner Disciples at the teleporter hub even cheered him on. 

From what Zane had heard, Patriarch Azure Flame had nothing but praise for him in public. Maybe that way it’d look better if his son won. In the Faction, at least, it seemed the bout was being regarded as a friendly showcase of Azure Flame strength.

He still wasn’t sure what that guy’s game was. 

While he was waiting for his teleporter to load, a young master-looking fellow came up to him. He introduced himself as Yarrow of Elistria. It was hard to put a finger on what exactly made someone young master-looking. Some combination of fancy robes, quite delicate, clear skin, and a pretty face, Zane thought. There also had to be a certain punchability to that face.

In any case, this Yarrow wasn’t looking for a fight. He came off quite friendly, actually.

At first Zane had trouble placing the guy, but Yarrow recognized him instantly. Yarrow claimed, quite cheerfully, to be one of the first Azure Flame young masters Zane had beaten when he’d first come to the Faction.

He did look familiar, now that Zane got a closer look at him. Apparently their duel had been a rather profound experience for the young master. He’d taken a long, hard look at things, humbled himself, quit drinking and womanizing, and committed himself to a lifetime of martial arts.

“Nice,” said Zane. This was the kind of outcome he hoped his ass-beatings would inspire.

Yarrow didn’t seem to know it was Haxorax who had challenged Zane. It was a little ambiguous in public who’d challenged whom. They just knew a high-octane bout was going down. The prevailing theory was that Zane was the one who’d challenged Haxorax, since he’d been so incensed he’d lost his Rising Dragon spot. It was a classic underdog story in this telling.

Zane didn’t mind all these narratives going around, one way or another. The thought of the intrepid Zane taking on the big bad Haxorax seemed quite inspiring to this Yarrow fellow—he said something about the human spirit. Zane didn’t have the heart to correct him.

“I’ve got nothing but respect for it,” said Yarrow. “They disrespected your rank, and everyone knew it! A man’s got to stand up for himself. Even if it ends up coming to nothing, it’s the act itself, that great shout into the void, that matters, isn’t it?”

It was also generally agreed that Zane would lose, apparently.

Not dramatically, Yarrow was quick to say. The rumor was that Zane’s body alone could match base Empyreans, which was true enough. That, combined with his infamous stubbornness, would mean he’d last a few rounds. Even Zane skeptics—mostly dragons and dragon allies—had trouble believing he’d go down easily.

But ultimately the prevailing wisdom seemed to be he’d get overwhelmed by the ferocity of the Law, the True Dragon Bloodline, and the extra Ten Million Year Bone.

“That’s what folks say, at least,” said Yarrow. “But man to man, Zane, I still think you’ve got a chance! Never bet against Zane Walker. That’s what I say.”

“That’s a good rule of thumb,” Zane agreed. 

Then his teleporter fired up.

“Best of luck!” said Yarrow. Zane gave him a wave.

Honestly, he didn’t often wonder what happened to the young masters he went through. They kind of just faded into the background in his mind. But it was nice to see one doing alright for himself.

Then he was off to Noughtfire’s constellation.

***

He landed on Stormhaven for the first time in decades. Stormfire hurricanes raged in the distance, scouring the horizon. The skies flickered with purple and white, crackling constantly. Spend enough time here, and the sound grew oddly comforting—a pleasant white noise that set the rhythm of life.

Stormhaven was his home base when he was in the Azure Flame. He stopped by now and again, but most of his time lately had been spent in Astra. This would be the first extended stint in ages.

He found Jawl, his steward, hunting a herd of Storm Yaks with a few tribesmen. They still wore those distinctive fluffy yak-fur robes, complete with fluffy helms. They looked like fuzzy white boulders on their heads.

“‘Lo there!” called Jawl when he landed. The old fellow was as stocky and gruff as Zane remembered. “Long time no see, m’lord! Did that Ruins run go alright?”

Zane gave him a friendly wave. “Pretty well, yeah.”

“That’s good to hear. And those dragons on the Scryers’ council—they did you dirty in my estimation. We were just talking it over. The Storm Drake tribe still backs you for #1!” 

All the little fluffy shapes around Jawl nodded vigorously. 

“Thanks, guys,” said Zane. Jawl and the Tribe didn’t keep up much with the outside world, except to check up on Zane news. 

“Don’t mind me. I’ll just be making a few breakthroughs,” he said, nodding to the floating island. “I shouldn’t be too long.”

“Just call if you need anything!”

“I might go for some yak steak in a few hours.”

“Sure thing. I’ll put in an order.”

“Zane!” cried one of the little fuzzy shapes.

It turned out Jawl was out with his nephews, the princes and princesses of planet Stormhaven. They all waved.

The one who’d cried out was little Rei, the youngest of the bunch. He’d shown quite some promise when Zane first met him. Zane always liked to check up on the little fellow when he visited, give him a tip or two.

“Hey there,” said Zane.

Aging tended to be relative to lifespan, which was tied to one’s power level. Stormhaven folk were much stronger than typical Dragonspire humans, so they aged slower too. It was a product of living on Stormhaven. Little Rei had been a tiny when Zane had met him, and he was only a little less tiny now.

Rei pattered up and stared at him. The kid had gone and reached peak Nascent in the years since. He’d also gotten his Stormfire to full fusion. Zane figured he might as well dispense a few useful tips.

The little fellow didn’t blink very much, but he was quite earnest. 

After that Zane made his way up the gilded bridge. The estate was just as he’d remembered it, quite well-maintained. All jade-tiled roofs and fine lacquered red wood. Every week, the Storm Drake tribe would send up some tribesmen to rake the stone gardens, clean the soul springs, set up rune shielding from the Everstorms, or just tidy things up.

He went for the main courtyard, which featured an ancient tree with thunderstruck, sizzling leaves.

There he sat down cross-legged. 

He set his mind on Haxorax.

***

Reina had given him what little intel they could find on the First Prince of Dragons. It was hard to tell just what kind of creature they’d made down in the High Temples of Planet Verxes. Only a handful of dragons knew what really went down, and they were all tight-lipped about it.

Reina knew the Prince could muster several shards’ worth of Creation, which was at least as much as Reina herself. Maybe more. She knew he’d always been the most physically dominant dragon of his power level—like Zane in that way. There were rumors he’d since taken in another 10 Million Year Bone.

“None of that’s too concerning, by itself. It’s just… Zane, we’re pretty sure he took the Rites of the Primordial Ancients.”

Reina’s brow furrowed. “The fatality rate’s 50%, even for super-geniuses. Putting yourself in that kind of risk… I can’t imagine what kind of mental state it takes to do that, just to raise your ceiling. Having a strong will helps, but even if you do everything right, your soul could still be shattered forever. Dragonkind isn’t even under serious threat! With how much firepower they’ve got, they’ll be able to weather the End regardless. He didn’t need to do that for his kind…but he did it anyway. And his ritual went much longer than usual. That kind of pain, drawn out like that…it’s hard to say just what kind of effect it’s had on his soul.”

Zane got what she was getting at. “He sounded desperate before. Reckless, at least. Add possible soul damage into it…” 

“Mhm. This really doesn’t sound like the most stable psychological profile,” said Reina. “That’s just guesswork on my end, though.” 

“I feel like you’re onto something for sure,” he told her. 

“There’s something else,” she said. “Our scryers picked up a massive yang flame cutting through the clouds on planet Verxes… in terms of pure power, the gamble paid off, Zane. Haxorax achieved Golden True Dragon. That’s just legendary—something even True Dragons hold in awe! But since there hasn’t been a Golden True Dragon since the age of the First Ones, no one knows exactly what he’s capable of…”  

She bit her lip. “By the way Patriarch Azure’s talking about it, he wants to use you as a showcase.”