Chapter 6- The Messenger

Her name was Aydha. She flew with such skill and elegance that was not possible for her size. And she was the messenger Khorpius had been all mysterious about. Leaving the Starlight was one of the first decisions he had been happy to make, they had finally shown their true colors- Damian was satisfied by the look Flavio and his crew when he left- best move ever. Now, the problem was the acquisition of weapons and shelter. He laid sprawled with his back against Aydha's, he could feel her powerful muscles flex and move with every flap. He closed his eyes and began meditating. The nimbus had bigger and Damian suspected the spirit serpent had something to do with this. It was evening by the time he was done.

"Where are we going?", he asked Aydha. They still hadn't touched ground in hours- she was clearly built for stamina and endurance.

"We have to get far away from them as possible, and besides we're not that far from my abode.

"Hold on!" she said and dropped to a nosedive. She folded her white wings and they plummeted downwards at an insane speed. They sped towards a large jagged mountain that was bare at various places, Aydha headed towards a giant rock that protruded from the mountain like a chipped tooth.

"Turn, turn, turn!!", Damian shouted. He snapped his eyes shut fearing the worst, death or broken bones.

"Open them", said Aydha chuckling. Just as he did they passed through the rock, it was an elaborate illusion. The skillful dragon unfurled her wings and glided spirally down to earth. The cave had dully shining stalagmites and stalactites of many colors which illuminated the gloomy-looking cave. Damian had also expunged the Starlight and its inhabitants from his mind. He meant what he said. Pure hatred was entrenched in Damian's heart. Aydha was the exact opposite of Khorpius, she made silly comments that got even Khorpius to laugh- something Damian had never heard before. She taught him hunting and made Damian use her large hard scales for combat training, which always made his knuckles bloody. She even transfigured into various humanoid forms to spar with him, she was more graceful and skillful as human, her attacks were to fast to sense and sometimes Aydha lowered her speed to make Damian a little confident. The nimbus continue to grow in size and intensity.

"If You Are Able To Burst It, Your Power Shall Come To You", Khorpius said one time when it doubled in size- Damian had no idea how he did it. For weeks, he trained and meditated until he got bored with the routine. His white mane of a hair grew so much that he had to tie it in a bun. It was clear that he wasn't going to unlock any power or affinity yet, maybe didn't have it at all, maybe Khorpius and Aydha were not being truthful to him- was he really a that much of a burden?

"Maybe you need to be in some sort of institution that is well versed in such matters. Be among people for a change." Aydha said when Damian yelled in frustration, as the nimbus was not showing any signs of exploding just yet.

"No", Damian retorted. His hatred for people hadn't been sated yet.

"I Agree With You', Khorpius said to Aydha, with that Damian knew he had lost. An idea popped in his head. 'How are we going to afford it, nothing is free'.

"Oh I think we should be just fine." Aydha said and smashed her club-like tail against a wall which broke down revealing gold coins in numerous chests.