"Well, it's good to see they're behaving cautiously," Atlas commented, listening to their conversation. "Myra is a result of the Chaos Gene. But the tree's strength may now resemble Selena's or hers, with how I've altered the world."
"The dragon scouts are closing in on the shores, Weaver Atlas," Wisp said, observing the globe's dots move.
Atlas's attention turned to the globe and zoomed in. It resembled that of an RTS game, with three sets of three lesser dragons flying forward, clearing the fog of war as they moved.
The water broke against the cliffs of the northern landmass beneath them, or moved inland with the tide. Everything seemed normal. No distorted colors or abominations. Everything was silent.
"Well, if this doesn't feel like one of those cinematic traps- and there it is."
Roots, thick as tree trunks, shot out from the ground. Several dragons were ripped down. One group found itself impaled. And in the last group, only one managed to veer violently as its comrades were skewered, narrowly avoiding its own death, and turned to escape.
The ground beneath it shook as each root spike shot out, the dragon narrowly avoiding each one with sharp turns and barrel rolls until it was finally far enough from land.
Sucking in air, Atlas watched as one of the dragon scout teams was slowly pulled underground by twisting roots. They bit, breathed fire, roared desperately, and then fell silent.
The last image he saw was a tangle of roots before the fog of war reclaimed the sector. Still, not one physical enemy had been spotted.
The survivor reported to the Queen. Ira, who was present alongside Myra, laughed as the dragons grieved their loss. Disdain and disgust flowed toward him, but he did not care.
Rapping his fingers against the console again, Atlas spoke. "I can't do much. I can only watch until I get visuals. This is their battle."
"In several millennia, they will be forgotten. It matters very little," Wisp stated. "The tree, however, now has physical dragon essence."
Atlas's finger tapping stopped, and he exhaled slowly. "Again, nothing I can do. I have divinity, but it needs to be preserved until I get a line of sight. We also have the Weaver War on the horizon."
"Wait and watch?"
"Watch and wait."
-----------------
That night, in a clearing along the mountains furthest north, Myra lay next to Ira and asked, "What will you do after this battle?"
A puff of black smoke escaped Ira's nostrils.
"Return to my mountains."
"The dragons want to kill you. You may have to fight again."
"Then I will fight, and I will enjoy it. What's your point?"
Myra shrugged. "I have none. I was curious. I want to stop fighting and have peace. Return home and be with my family again. But you want the opposite?"
"You can learn to be alone just as you can learn to be around others," Ira said dismissively. "If you choose to remain away, that feeling will fade."
"Even after hundreds of years together? It's not like you. You left close to the beginning."
"Perhaps," Ira said, his ears twitching. "The sounds of my kin have not ceased since we arrived. It angers me."
Silence fell between them, but the noise of the dragons surrounding the mountain continued to echo.
The two barely rested through the noise, and as soon as the sun began to rise, the cacophony of dragon roars climbed again.
Ira and Myra exchanged agitated glances. Myra didn't look happy in the slightest with dark rings under her eyes.
"I can't sleep well as it is," Myra complained, glaring at a stray flying dragon.
Ira chuckled, and Myra glared at him. Meanwhile, over the horizon, Celeste, her female counterparts, and the entire dragon and Primordial horde broke away from the Summit.
'Like bugs swarming rotting food that had been disturbed,' Myra commented mentally.
Together they rose to follow the army, though Ira lagged slightly behind.
"Why aren't you toward the front?" Myra asked. "I thought you lusted for battle."
"Let the weak and stupid reveal the enemy's forces. We will go in for the kill."
"Using your own as bait, huh. You truly have no compassion for your kin."
"I thought that was clear since we met," Ira snorted.
-----------------
Total Army Size: 1201
Primordials: 200
Dragons: 1000
Dark Elf: 1
-----------------
The clusters changed to a ratio of twenty dragons for every two Primordials. Fifty Primordials were scattered between them, and the last fifty formed a solid cluster around Celeste Regina and the two other female Primordials.
There wasn't exactly a battle plan beyond that. It was simply a swarm divided into groups, flying straight into battle.
"Well, I mean, outside of the fact that those regulars have to dodge for their lives, I'm pretty sure the Primordials are still on the safer side from the roots," Atlas commented.
"The question is: how will the tree use its corrupted mana to influence the battle? And has it already spawned dragons using the physical essence it collected?" Wisp asked.
"Hm. I doubt it. I looked back, and it didn't come close to Selena's fertility before the mana system change. But you never know."
"What will you do after we destroy it, Weaver Atlas?"
"Well, depending on how much Divinity I have left, I was thinking about shifting Eleos's soul into the land."
"I don't think he would appreciate that. Eleos is attached to his people—even after death."
"I'm sure he'll come around if he knows his dead family and others will be consumed by some eldritch being if someone doesn't take its place."
"That's..."
"The truth," Atlas said flatly and without empathy, pulling up his readied hotbar of blessings and disasters.
-------------
Divinity: 112
-Create your own Blessing-
-Create your own Disaster-
Minor Heal | Restore a creature's vitality. Heal wounds, restore lost limbs and remove any form of fatigue | Cost: 25
Blessings of War | Grant temporary improved physical and magical stats to an individual or group | Cost: 50+
Weakening Curse | Weaken a creature by 25% | Cost: 10
Lightning Strike | Strike down any creature and those surrounding it | Cost: 25
-------------
The Primordial forces reached the coastline, and the fog of war began to clear again.
"Roll the dice, hope for the best."