Legend of Dragon Gods II/Story

Prologue
The Spirit World.

The world that controls all instinct and power. Obtaining power can be done using many methods.

One method is that of "Dragon Contracts."

This is a method where one makes a pact with a dragon and gains their power. One who makes such a contract can gain wings, a tail, horns, or even the so-called "dragon power" to become a dragoon.

The more powerful dragon you form a pact with, the stronger your power will be. The strongest of these, the Legendary Dragoon, was the knight Claude. This knight's descendant, Mineva, was on a journey.

* * * * *

"Nnng...whew..."

Minerva Claude, also known as the Mystic Thunder Dragon, is just waking up in a haze. She was on a journey, when suddenly her consciousness was ripped out from under her and she passed out on the main road.

"What happened?"

She is uninjured and nothing was stolen, so an attack is not likely the cause. As she starts to take small steps forward, she notices something running towards her.

It's a crying girl. But not just any girl; a dragoon girl. But this wasn't any dragoon girl. Her head was that of a human, but everything from the waist down seemed to be a dragon. She was more dragon than human.

Mineva soon learns why she is crying and running: a pack of dragons are closing in behind her.

Mineva run towards the dragons, ready to show them just why she is the Mystic Thunder Dragon. She raises her hand to deliver a shocking jolt, yet all that is released is a low level stun bolt. It has almost no effect.

"What?? Have I become weaker?"

A weakening of dragon powers is equivalent to her position as a dragoon weakening. Normally she would have no trouble disposing of these dragons, but seeing her current position, she picks up the dragoon girl. The two of them start to panic as the dragon pack approaches.

Mineva
Since even before she was born, Mineva's destiny was on the battlefield.

Her father would teach her how to fight before she could use a fork. Her taught her incantations before teaching her the ABCs. He would tell her: "We are a bloodline of pride where weaknesses must not be shown to the enemy. However, pride is not defined by strength alone so do not let it blind you."

"Pride…strength…"

"Strength alone makes you the same as demons. How you use your strength is where the division is made. You must not look down on the weak, you must not forsake them. We do not desire strength in order to control the weak. That is our pride as Claudes."

Mineva and her siblings were raised with these words and showed their strength in various regions. However, eventually it came time for them to venture off on their own individual rites of passage.

"I will reclaim my dragon power. I will be worthy of the Claude name once again!"

This is a promise that she made to Anima, the dragon girl that she had rescued and was now protecting.

She now saw only one option. She needed the help of someone that she could trust, someone that she could depend on. There was only a single person she could depend on.

More accurately, there was only a single team that she could depend on. The wizard and the black cat were her only hope.

Anima
The campfire crackles softly as a long day comes to a close. You gaze across the fire at Mineva, who is letting Anima, the young dragoon she had rescued. She holds the girl softly while telling a bedtime story.

"The great knight Claude one day came across a village on their travels and received a request. They begged Claude to quiet a dragon in the local woods that had been violent and loud as of late."

Accepting the request, Claude headed into the woods.

Due to the loud nature, Claude was able to quickly find the dragon. There, before Claude's eye was one injured dragon.

The dragon growled at Claude. Although this would be the perfect chance to slay the dragon, Claude's hand did not reach for the sword. Instead, the knight asked what had happened.

The dragon said that there was a powerful demigod in the woods. The dragon had long fought with the demigod and been dealt his injuries. Claude asked, "Why do you fight with this demigod?"

The dragon responded: "I have no particular reason. He is powerful, I am powerful. It is my fate to do battle with him."

"Then I shall join and fight alongside you," replied Claude. This response surprised the dragon. But the dragon was not one to turn down support, so they both set off to find the demigod.

They found the demigod resting after being wounded by the dragon. He quickly rose up and leapt into attack. Claude and the dragon fought fiercely with the demigod.

"This is getting dangerous and we likely cannot win," said the dragon. "You go now and leave the rest to me!"

But Claude would not leave. Claude knew that the reason the dragon was battling in the woods was to save the people. The dragon was keeping the humans safe from this demigod. Claude could see the goodness in the dragon's soul.

The dragon replied that there was only one way that they would find victory. "We must forge a contract and join souls!" By saying this, the dragon was acknowledging that he had also seen Claude's soul and it was filled with kindness and bravery.

They forged their contract and Claude quickly grew horns, wings and a powerful tail. With this new power he was able to strike down the demigod with ease.

Just as Mineva was winding up her story, Anima was dozing off. She tried to get some questions out before sleeping.

"What happened to the dragon?"

"Well, the dragon's wounds were too deep and he lost his life that day. The dragon transferred his energy to Claude," Mineva spoke as she gently stroked Anima's hair. "He recognized the nobleness and goodness in the heart of the knight Claude."

"Mineva, do I have nub…noben…nubble…"

Mineva smiled. "Nobleness? Yes, I think you do."

Anima smiled as her head dropped and she began snoring.

Suscha
In a world where power is everything, there exists Suscha. Suscha is one who is weak of body, mind and spirit, cannot use magic, and has no skills in battle. In terms of rank, she would be lowest on the scale.

She is a dragoon by birth, but her family were shop owners and did not know battle. They maintained their dragon-like attributes, but these powers were never used. Her father would speak of how their ancestors had made a contract with a powerful dragon, and that those ancestors could control an entire kingdom if they so wished. But battle was no longer in their blood.

One day, a customer was making a complaint in her father's shop. The argument became very heated and the man drew his sword at Suscha's father. Without even thinking, Suscha acted.

"STOP!!"

She screamed, stretching out her arm. In an instant, the man was blasted back by a powerful force. This was the awakening of Suscha's dragon arm.

Suscha had always thought that she had no dragon power, but the truth was that it lied dormant and she was not able to control it. The people around her knew it and the entire town began to fear her. They did not fear her because of the power of her arm, but simply because she could not control it.

That is when she took her fate into her own hands.

"I must learn how to control this power!"

She decided that she must go on a journey of her own to learn about herself and her power. Her parents understood and they kindly saw her off.

She was determined to show that world that she could overcome her weakness and control her power.

Pamela
The world that rules over instinct and power.

This is a world where survival of the fittest is the law of the land. Those who are weak serve those who are strong. This is common knowledge of the land.

There was a rich feudal lord who had a daughter. One of the reasons this family held so much power was that their ancestor had struck a contract with a powerful dragon. The populace would bow their heads to this family and pay taxes to them.

This daughter was named Pamela and she believed that the weak submitting to her was the natural flow of life. She believed it was her right. Her power as a dragoon was her pride, and when she would walk through the town the villagers would bow to her.

Pamela would play with the local kids of her age and would spiritedly give them orders. The children enjoyed playing like this and there was one girl that Pamela was particularly fond of. Her name was Seyna. Seyna would always follow Pamela around and they were the best of playmates.

One day Seyna simply disappeared. When Pamela asked where she had gone, the others simply said that she "wouldn't return any more." Not knowing what this meant, Pamela investigated and learned about Seyna's father.

Seyna's father was a mean man with a long list of bad habits that got him in a lot of trouble. He had no stable job and in the end sold Seyna in order to pay for his extravagant lifestyle.

Hearing this, Pamela was confused. She had always believed that the weak were happy to be at the whim of the strong, yet here she was empathizing with Seyna and feeling sorry for her situation. Were the weak worth protecting?

Pamela made the choice to help Seyna and used her family's force and power to win back Seyna. Only now Seyna would live under the protection of Pamela.

Decades later, Pamela decided to venture off on a journey of her own.

"I'll be back someday. Wait here for me, Seyna."

"I shall wait. Be safe, Pamela!"

The weak and the strong. The oppressed and the oppressors. They had reached an understanding of each other that neither would be able to forget.

Bass
Bass was a powerful dragoon in who slept the power of an immensely strong dragon. This was the result of his ancestor defeating such a dragon.

He was so used to winning battles that he had forgotten the taste of defeat. Even the legendary Claude family was unable to match his immense power. Even in his younger days, he was accustomed to winning against opponents much older than himself.

One day in his youth, he encountered a weathered dragoon warrior in his prime. He confidently challenged him, but lost the battle. Greater than the surprise of the defeat was the manner of his victory. He had barely used his dragon powers and his weapon skills were very basic.

"You are powerful indeed, but your skills are lacking. No matter how powerful you are, without skill to focus that power your foes will inevitably see through you."

Bass was greatly affected by his words and respected the warrior immensely, so he begged to be his apprentice. He accepted and his training began shortly.

He spent all the time that he could studying the art of battle under his instruction. He learned skills of how to efficiently wield weapons, but these methods would reduce the effectiveness of his dragon power. He learned that the pure dragon power in itself is not the most important thing, but instead how to properly use it.

He learned that battle was not all about physical combat. He would cultivate his mind and learn how to remain calm even in the most dire and extreme of situations.

These teachings seemed out of place in the world that controls instinct and power, but Bass soon became even more powerful than his former hot-headed self. He learned that battle is not about defeating the opponent, it is rather an exchange of skill and knowledge and he had learned how to absorb this.

"I look forward to refining myself by finding foes more powerful than me. This is my greatest wish!"

Jasecks
Jasecks the water dragon was known across the land for his bad temper. He was extremely protective of his territory and despised invaders and even those who carelessly wandered into the vicinity of the lake that was his so-called "Sanctuary of the Blue Dragon."

Until one day a young girl appeared. She did not seem to be a threat to Jasecks, but instead looked around in a respectful awe. Jasecks emerged from the water and she approached him directly.

"I wish to make a contract with you. Give me your power so that I may protect my land."

"Foolish girl!" bellowed the dragon. "You intrude into my territory and make such demands of me? Surely you come here in search of your own death!"

"I am sorry for my rudeness in intruding, but I wish to protect my kingdom and need a power as great as yours."

"All I can offer you is a swift end!"

With these words their battle began. Jasecks fired water magic at the girl with incredible speed and frequency, but she was able to dodge all attacks with an incredible agility that resembled a tribal dance. The dragon continued his attack and eventually made a lunge at the girl.

She leapt into the air with a speed akin to flying and drew her sword. She landed on the dragon's snout and pressed her sword firmly against his nose. The battle came to a stunning halt. It was like a painting from ancient mythology.

"Make one more move dragon, and I shall pierce this soft little nose of yours!" she yelled.

The dragon was impressed with her bravery and ability to bring the battle to a standstill.

"Why go through all of this trouble? Simply for a contract with me?"

"I know that words would have no effect on you. Battle was the only way to have your attention. I do not wish to invade on your territory, simply protect my own!"

"Brave girl. So be it, I shall sign a contract with you."

And thus Jasecks powers were passed to this girl and her kin.

********

Hundreds of years later, Jasecks would once again meet the descendant of this warrior girl. A girl that he would train rigorously. A mysterious girl with a dragon arm that she could not control.

Geduza
Dragons were the ultimate force in the world where instinct and power were controlled. They lived guided by their instincts and ruled over the weak. Among these powerful dragons was one named Geduza.

One day Geduza encountered an elderly couple. These two were artisans who worked to make exquisite crafts from valuable stones. He came across them as they were collecting and polishing ore into such stones and crafting them into lovely works of art.

Dragons love precious stones and Geduza was no different. He was amazed and intrigued by their works of art. He wanted to craft such goods as well. He threatened the couple into making him a bracelet.

"Unfortunately my hands are shaking to your glare dragon." "You should relax more. Here, take this wine and wait until the work is complete." Insisted, Geduza temporarily transformed himself into a human form so that he could partake of their wine. The elderly couple then set to work on a new craft right before his eyes.

After much polishing and hard work, eventually their product was finished and they presented Geduza with a sparkling bracelet. Words could not describe its beauty and Geduza was ever so pleased with it.

"I wish I could make something of this splendor," lamented Geduza.

The couple laughed. "If you wish it, surely it can be done."

Geduza then set about learning the ways of the elderly couple's craft. He smiled as he learned how to pick the ore, he laughed as they sat and polished together, and he happily sighed as he saw their finished products.

But then one day Geduza was by himself at the river collecting ore when he spotted the elderly couple surrounded by a group of ruffians. They had their swords drawn and were threatening the couple. The leader of the group noticed Geduza and spoke to him.

"You! You are Geduza, no? Form a contract with me and give me your power or I shall kill these two! Power is all in this world and I shall have yours!"

The man's eyes were filled with a crazed lust for power. The lust of power Geduza once held. At the same time he noticed how he no longer wanted power.

"Very well. But you must leave them be."

As Geduza looked down at the mans feet he noticed the bracelets that the couple had made were crushed under his feet. Geduza only felt sorrow for this man who could not notice the beauty in things.

********

Hundreds of years later, Geduza would encounter the descendent of this man. This descendent was quite different from the man that Geduza had met. This girl desired not just power, but power with a purpose. While remembering the beauty of the things that the elderly couple had taught him, Geduza began training this girl.

Retzeya
How to increase one's power even further. This was the constant thought on the flame dragon Retzeya's mind.

In a world of eat or be eaten, constantly fighting and becoming more powerful is the way of life and Retzeya's thirst for more strength was insatiable.

But there was a problem with this. If one is constantly searching for stronger opponents (as dragons have a tendency to do), eventually there will be no one strong enough to stand up to you.

This was when Retzeya heard a rumor about a dragon that formed a contract with a human and that human grew in strength from their pact. These were known as "dragoons."

Hearing this, Retzeya formed an idea. If he formed a pact with the most powerful human he could find, that human would continue to grow stronger and Retzeya would always have a worthy opponent to fight. Even that human's descendents would have the dragon power and Retzeya would be able to continue fighting. In this manner Retzeya would raise a strong foe to battle with.

Retzeya set off to find such a worthy human and eventually came across a man who seemed to dearly love battle.

"Gaaaa!! WAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!"

Retzeya would knock this man down time after time, but he would simply get back up and spring back for more battle.

"This is so much fuuuuun! I should fight dragons more often!! Wheeeeeeeee!!!"

Retzeya was almost afraid of this man's lust for battle. This human seemed to be the perfect candidate for his plan. Retzeya would make this man even more powerful and would do battle with his descendents to make himself stronger.

"I have a proposal for you. Make a contract with me and you can become even more powerful."

********

Hundreds of years later, Retzeya would encounter the descendent of this man.

"Oh no, I really am the descendent of the man that you made a contract with long ago. I have heard of your legend in our family!"

This was the even more powerful descendent of the man that he had fought long ago? This was not the opponent that Retzeya had imagined.

"If you battle me, you can become even more powerful. Show me your power!" bellowed Retzeya.

"Sorry, I can't do that. I seem to have lost my dragon powers."

"…you what?"

Retzeya was shocked and disappointed.

"What I came here for was to get your help in roughing up some thieves in a fortress close to here. Let's bring them to justice!"

Retzeya was confused. "Justice? What's that??"

The man laughed at his confusion. "It's the key to true strength!"

Retzeya was intrigued by this idea of "justice" and wanted to see what it was like. And just maybe there was a chance that this warrior could regain his dragon power and his strength would grow once again into a worthy opponent.

Hesitantly Retzeya decided to go along with the young man...

Elnor


It is said that she was found as a baby on a sacred mountain. She was not supposed to live long, but Rodom the dragon picked her up and took her to safety.

Rodom was an older dragon whose scales had hardened with time, yet her eyes remained soft and kind.

Rodom named the girl Elnor. She was born extremely weak, and fearing that she would die young, Rodom created a pact with her and made her a dragoon. With the dragon power that she received from this her body grew strong and healthy.

Elnor grew quickly in the mountains where she ran and flew around all day. Rodom was a kind parent and she taught her well. One day she asked Rodom a sudden question.

"Rodom, why do you stay here and do stuff like maintain the balance of dragon power?"

"It is what I must do. There is no other who can, therefore if I do not, this world will collapse."

"Aren't you bored staying here?"

"Of course not, I have you here with me."

Elnor giggled shyly at this. "Then I'll stay here and keep you company!"

Ten years later, a change began to occur.

Rodom found that the balance of dragon power to be quickly shifting to chaos. She believed that the number of those using dragon power increased and that unrefined wild power was also being used.

Rodom put all of his waking concentration into maintaining the balance. Elnor watched sadly as her health faded and she grew weak.

"Stop this! You'll kill yourself if you continue!" she would plead with her. But she would not.

"If I do not, who shall? Stopping now means certain death for us all." She patted her head. "Please let me do this. You must live on, to protect this world."

Elnor ran off and cried herself to sleep. In her dream, she saw Rodom. She was talking to a man.

"This little girl doesn't have long to live. I'm very sorry, but I have no other choice than to beg of you…" the man said in tears.

"I shall take her in. Here she shall live a long and happy life."

Elnor woke with a snap. She quickly found that Rodom was gone. Something patted her on the head, but it was not her. It was just the wind. A warm, kind wind surrounded her. Then she noticed glowing streaks in the wind. These streaks came together and formed a dragon before her. As the wind blew past her, the form of the dragon slowly vanished.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" Elnor cried out as loud as she could. "Do you think I'll let you just disappear like that??" she yelled at the remains of the dragon.

"You just vanish and leave nothing behind? I won't allow that! I will somehow prove to the world that you existed!"

Epilogue
The peak of Rodom's mountain is enveloped in a tense aura.

As usual, Anima is struggling with learning to keep balance among dragon power while Elnor speaks of tips and tricks she learned from Rodom. All of this is watched over by Mineva.

Just then, an unknown young woman appears. She calls herself "the one who shall preserve balance."

"I am Nafiya. I am the personification of Rodom's dragon power that was separated from him by his death," she explains.

"You what?" Elnor is shocked. "You mean you're like Anima?"

"That is correct. A separated power gifted with consciousness."

Nafiya is staring at Anima the whole time and this puts Mineva more on edge than usual.

"I have been brought here now in Rodom's place to restore peace by any means necessary."

"You mean to bring balance back to the dragon power?" asks Mineva.

"No. I am here to make sure that this new one shall perform the duties."

There is a short silence, then Anima speaks up.

"You mean…me?"

"Yes," responds Nafiya. "You and I are both brought to life by a separated dragon power. But…I must be certain that you are resolute in performing these duties."

"Of course I'm respo…I'm risul…I'm strong enough! I know I can do it!"

Nafiya and Anima both begin incantations immediately. Nafiya strikes first and takes Anima off guard, and the blow is enough to knock Mineva away.

Elnor speaks up at this. "Hey, I don't remember Rodom being so violent in his ways…"

"I may be his successor," explains Nafiya, "but I am not him. You do not understand that peace and balance are born from chaos! How could she possibly be strong enough to balance all the dragon power in this world?"

"Mwwaaaaaaaa!!!" Anima yells as she prepares a spell. "I'll show you that I am RE-SO-LUTE!!"

Anima unleashes a powerful blast of flame just at the same time that Nafiya blasts back with a tidal wave of water power. The two powers collide in a spectacular show of elite magic.

"Anima!!" cries out a worried Mineva.

"Mineva and I fought this far and we aren't going to lose this easily!"

There is a smashing sound, like the shattering of glass as Anima's flame penetrates the wave of water and Nafiya is knocked on her back. Anima quickly stops her attack and waits for Nafiya's reaction.

"That is enough. You have proven that you are the worthy successor."

Anima and her logical choice to use the power of flame have defeated Nafiya and proven herself. She just has one request…

"Mineva and I fought together to get here, and I don't wanna do this balance thingy alone. She and I will do the balancing together! Because we're nub…nobby…rubble…"

"Noble," Mineva once again saves the day.

"Surely, you're just mocking me now," sulks Nafiya.

Just then two more voices join the fray.

"Hey!"

Mineva's brothers, Zach and Legard, are approaching. Like Mineva herself, they also have a small dragoon on their side. They too had separated their powers before they had broken loose.

"Whoa... I have to train them as well?"

Elnor chuckled.

They all gather to exchange greetings while Nafiya and Anima playfully chase each around laughing.

* * * * * * *

The world that controls power and instinct. As the world begins to crumble, noble dragon gods shall be born. They are 4 pillars who shall control the power of dragons. Representing the 4 cardinal directions, they maintain peace in the world.

However…

It is said that there is one more dragoon who has not yet risen. But this is only a tale passed down from far-off lands.