Valerian, The Legendary

The princess had never faltered in the face of danger, but at this moment, when she faced the strongest force of the dragon kin, her heart was palpitating. Fortuna was recalling how Valerian had staked his life for her. She did not have much memories of his bravado for her, but she recalled how he cared for her, and even when she could not use her dragon language, he would understand her from slightest of gestures.

He tolerated her tantrums and arrogance more than anyone else, yet he would look at her with a smile. Fortuna was not capable of using human expressions, but she could sense the warmth that Valerian had in his eyes, and how that warmth made her close to him. They both had a lots in common, the difference was that when she had Valerian to lend her a hand, the boy himself became strong on his own.

She called him weak, but inside she knew how strong he was to take all the bitterness that the world could offer to someone like him, and still he kept going on. As an orphan and comparatively young dragon, Fortuna was judged in the dragon land, despite the royal blood she had coursing through her veins.

She could not stand such gazes and was enraged, at that moment, she realized how weak she was in comparison to that human boy. No wonder he was always eager to vent his frustration. After all the spoils he had earned in the wars, the boy had become known to the military but that was it. The common people still did not know his greatness, all they knew was that this child was adopted in the royal family for his skills.

Fortuna moved her right front claw and grabbed onto the surface of the mountain with great effort and then using her left hind leg she clawed at the surface again. The next moment, she used the strength of both her limbs to move forward slightly and her left front claw grabbed onto the surface of the mountain.

The same process was repeated over and over again, the joints of her claws were bleeding, and every time she grabbed onto the surface, she would need to exert force to stab her claws in the mountain side and get a steady grip. She would use her tail to propel and balance herself on the wall.

Her wings were stuck tightly to her body, as the wind at this height was too strong for her. She had been casting wind barriers to avoid the wind disturbance. But now, she was exhausted. Suddenly, she recalled something and channeled the earth attribute mana through her body, her innate strength of the dragon was boosted by the mana.

It was akin to a new energy rushing through her body madly. The earth mana gave her strength and she let out an excited roar. The intensity of the roar was higher than before, and the dragons paying attention to the trial were all surprised.

.....

...

Above the clouds seven dragons of different colors were circling and they all looked no different than a normal dragon expect the fact that their eyes were filled with vicissitudes of times. They were the dragon elders, who came out only when a young dragon was to take trial.

One of the dragons said, “The princess is brave and smart.”

The rest nodded, and another elder said, “If she can ascend the throne, it will be a fortune for our kin. I wonder if the kin can go back to the four continents.”

The rest nodded, another elder grunted and said, “Due to the decree of King Dracos and later the death command of Queen Senium, our kin has been caged on this place.”

The rest nodded and a wizened voice sounded, “It was necessary for the kin to pull back from the continents. We had been involved in the matters of the mortals a bit too much. The riders chosen by the King and the Queen had been very famous, they gained prestige and respect from various clans and humans, however, their fame also gained them envy and hatred of some.

This hatred was what made their most trusted person to turn against them. The desperation to harmonize the relation between the humans and the magicals was what led the King and the Queen to perish. The princess was destined to be on the same path as well, but I hope that she could make some changes to that walkway of certain death.”

The rest of the dragons let out hums in agreement. Another dragon said, “I wonder how good is the person destined to meet, Her Highness.”

The dragon elders fell silent as they watched Fortuna, who was now closer to the peak and needed to take only one last step.

...

Fortuna was almost at the edge of the summit, but she did not let go of her guard, the pressure of the dragon god’s will was the strongest here, and she was even having difficulty in breathing. All the attributes of mana were channeling through her body to provide her the energy to hold onto the edge of the summit.

This was not all, she was using her mana skills to hold herself up. Taking a short breath, Fortuna cast a gust spell. The strong wind pushed her from the behind and she cast the earth spell to gain a grip at the edge of the summit and with a roar pushed herself up.

A dragon had immense strength, but at this moment, Fortuna was akin to human trying his best to hold on to the ledge as if his life depended on it. The dragon moved her hind legs in sync and then after a few breaths she climbed the summit. However, the trial was not yet over, she had to cast the most powerful spell that she could using her innate magic and then repel the dragon god’s will.

Otherwise, she will perish on the summit itself. Fortuna stood on the summit and she looked around at a few dragon carcasses lying there. These were the members of the royal family who failed the trial. Taking a deep breath, Fortuna stood up from the ground, her body was shivering from the pressure on her body.

The summit was not big, but it was surrounded by the clouds, winds howled on the summit making the surroundings cold and desolate. The atmosphere was enough to put a lot of mental pressure over someone. If they did not have a strong heart, and their will did not hold up, the effect of the innate magic spell will falter, leading to failure.

Innate magic of the dragons was an attribute that had a lot to do with their will power. It was not something that could only be determined by the intensity of mana flow. The mystery of this attribute was unknown to even the dragons themselves, they just followed their instincts.

Fortuna calmed her mind and then raising her head high, looking at the faint phantom of the golden dragon looming over her head, she let out a low roar. Suddenly, the world seemed to have froze.

The dragon elders in the sky were shocked when they saw what happened next. The winds changed their directions and began flowing in the opposite direction. The change was so abrupt that it could not be natural. The next moment, they heard the sounds of a dragon roaring, however, their was something weird about this roar.

The wise elder said, “Time reversal. Fortuna has the power to control the time.”

The shock in his voice was evident the other elders all opened their eyes wide. However, another elder noticed that Fortuna’s wounds were not healing, the magic spell only effected the surrounding aura and pressure of the dragon god’s phantom.

The elder spoke in an ethereal voice, “It is not time, look at her carefully.”

The elders paid attention to Fortuna, and suddenly they noticed a slight change in her body, the size was growing slowly, her claws grew in size, and she grew two dentures on her forehead. The wise elder said, “Is she absorbing the power of the dragon god’s phantom?”

Another elder scoffed and said, “We have all gone senile, did you forget that the attribute of the magic is derived from the name of a dragon? Her name is Fortuna, which means luck, fate, fortune.”

As they were about to discuss, the dragon god phantom let out a roar and it slowly vanished from the spot. On the summit only Fortuna stood, slightly panting from fatigue. However, she was stronger than ever, she raised her head and let out a roar that echoed throughout the dragon kingdom.

The dragons in all direction looked toward the center of the kingdom, and bowed their heads. After a short while they raised their heads and roared together. They have acknowledged the result of the trial.

The seven elders in the sky spoke together, “By the decree of the dragon god, the seven elders stand witness to the bravery of her highness Fortuna, who has completed the trial of the royal ascension.

Dragon Kin, from this day forth, you have a new Queen, and her name is Her Majesty, Fortuna Dracos.

All hail the Queen!”

The voice of the seven elders was akin to the decree that everyone had to obey. They all bowed and said loudly, “All hail the Queen Of Dragons, long live Fortuna Dracos.”

Following which the entire kingdom rang out with roars.

...

In the battlefield, Valerian suddenly froze and he sensed something change inside him a bad premonition rose in his heart.