<span style="font-style: italic">Planet Elarima<br/>Nalhaevi, the Western Lands<br/>Deep in Zetoss Forest</span><br/><br/>A lush, green forest where it was always rainy was hardly a place to fight a battle. But beggars could not be choosers, especially during war. It was a civil war to be precise, and one that the rebels, who were standing against the Queen of this kingdom, intended to win.<br/><br/>The remaining rebel soldiers had set up camp in the heart of the forest, hidden from the enemy’s main force. Many of the trees had evolved over the centuries, their leaves thick and wide like a shield, which provided enough cover, the rain was not that big of an issue. The Queen had sent her army to deal with them after they had tried to destroy the walls surrounding Isima castle by cannon fire. The soldiers had gone so far as to cease the cannons, and capture a few rebels. Thankfully the camp still had enough supplies to last them awhile.<br/><br/>Not only that, they had their secret weapon.<br/><br/>This secret weapon was an ice dragoness by the name of Taika. She was a very ruthless dragoness, known for her hatred toward humans, at that. They had come across her a few days after they had tried to storm the castle. Naturally, she had wanted to just kill the rebels. They were in her way, and persistent, so in her mind getting rid of them so they would not bother her was the best thing to do. But their leader, she found, was someone she had known.<br/><br/>The two had encountered one another three years ago. He had been with a dragon slaying group then, sent to hunt her down for taking two cows. Hey, it was something to eat. Taika scared the hell out of him then, and still did now. Only he had acquired a silver tongue, otherwise she would have scared him off. Her admiration was enough to get her to join them. Plus, they did share something in common: their dislike for the Queen. She was a right bitch and Taika simply did not like her attitude.<br/><br/>She was standing in one of the tents, looking outside with her arms folded over chest, watching the rain fall. Her thoughts were far away from this war.<br/><br/>“Has it been too quiet lately or what?” One man spoke, probably bored. He seemed to have a lot of energy, though that energy faded when he saw the look in her eyes. “I wonder if it’s some kind of ill omen. Usually is, right?”<br/><br/>“You worry too much,” Taika replied, giving a nonchalant shrug, hoping to get rid of him. It was needless to say that she was not very happy about being disturbed. Why they insisted on talking to her was a mystery. Just because she agreed to tag along, doesn’t mean she wanted to be friends. But humans apparently saw it differently.<br/><br/>“Sorry…”<br/><br/>“And now you’re apologizing? Believe me when I tell you that we’re fine. Giving credit where it’s due, this camp is well hidden.”<br/><br/>This seemed to do the trick. The man went off.<br/><br/>Taika sighed with relief. She didn’t care for the humans much. As far as she was concerned, they could beat each other up all they wanted. It would save her the trouble of getting rid of them herself. Oh, but having this entire continent to herself would be rather boring, would it not? At the very least, humans did provide her with entertainment. She would hate to see that gone. Not to mention humans were part of the food chain, and many of the creatures who ate them would die off.<br/><br/>That was her reasoning. It was all for her personal entertainment; these people were her pawns. Some, the smart ones, were aware of this. Others, like that man who thought he could try to hold a conversation with her, well, so help them. It was still a mystery to her why they came to her whenever they were faced with a problem. Had that failure from a few weeks ago shaken them so badly, they need her? She was sure they were using her as much as she was using them.<br/><br/>She didn’t care to think of it much longer.<br/><br/>In fact, even if she wanted to linger on the thought, something else caught her attention. It had been faint but she had sensed something. Leaving the tent and looking out to the forest path, her eyes narrowed and she focused on the sounds of the forest. Someone nearby was using a lot of magic, causing a disruption in the flow around this area. It made her skin crawl. There weren’t too many creatures that could use magic like that, and the first thing that came to mind was another dragon.<br/><br/>If there was another dragon around, she might have to take care of it. The humans would come crawling to her anyway so she might as well. Just to get it done and over with, she thought. Maybe it wouldn’t be hostile… Things would go a lot smoother that way.<br/><br/>Before anyone could say anything to her (she was aware people were staring) she darted off into the forest to see what was going on.<br/><br/>Taika was in her full dragon form, keeping low to the forest ground as she moved. It was quicker to navigate this way. Her human body always seemed to slow her down, cursed human limitation. The cold rain rolled off her scales instead of clinging to her bare human skin. She felt wet, but just barely. To be honest it was rather soothing. She was a dragon aligned with the element of ice after all; of course she would find the cold to be soothing.<br/><br/>The burst of magic had been so brief, she wasn’t sure if she would find the cause of the disturbance right away. She might not even find it at all. It could have been just a freak thing, and she was getting worried over nothing. ‘Worried’. For the lack of a better word. But at least she was away from that camp, and those humans. That was what made this little investigation that much more worth it.