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UE Rewrite: B5 — 5. Dragon, Arise
🕑 Added 2025-06-14 04:36:40 +0000 UTCPoV:
1. Elinor (Our Lich Empress!)
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The corridors leading away from the strategic chamber felt different now, more like the arteries of a living empire. Elinor walked between her parents, their footsteps echoing through passages that had witnessed the rise and fall of a titanic civilization, while her father compiled his thoughts to offer his report.
Passing ri’bot and humans in the main hall, still organizing goods across the expansive zone, they emerged from the palace onto the road that led toward the outer ring districts.
“The southern gate complex is where we’ve had the most success,” her father began, then paused as they reached the junction where the South Road began its eight-kilometer stretch toward the outer wall. “I don’t suppose you want to walk it,” he asked with a small smile.
Elinor answered by calling some of the precious few thélméthra drones she still had left; luckily, Camellia had found a few more inside her old nest she’d been able to raise, but she was losing them faster than she’d prefer lately—her total number was five at this point, including the one she’d left in Kaspir.
She noticed the pointing fingers of the human children, clustered together as a few caretakers watched over them, exploring their new home. They typically helped with carrying what little they could, so it appeared they were on break.
A smile lifted her lips upon hearing their distant, hushed voices.
“Look, it’s the Empress!”
“King Edmon looks so cool.”
“I want a witch’s hat, but my mom says it’s hard to make…”
“Run, it’s the spiders!”
She couldn’t help a silent chuckle as the kids screamed at the swiftly approaching drones.
Stepping up their arms as they moved them in a stair-like pattern for them to ascend, Elinor maintained a standing position; their movements were fluid and controlled. It wasn’t long before they were on the move.
As the drone began its swift passage down the South Road, carrying them toward the distant gate complex, Edmon continued his report. “Your mother’s combination of witchcraft and runic manipulation has produced some remarkable results.”
Tiffany’s enthusiasm dampened immediately, a strained laugh passing through the connection.
“Edmon, you’re giving me too much praise. I haven’t done much more than identify what is truly inactive and active. Meno’rah and Ka’Vina have been invaluable in giving me a baseline and historical context to work from. From it and from what we discovered in the Cradle of Becoming, we can assume the gate systems aren’t just barriers; they’re integrated defensive networks that respond to both spiritual energy and tactical command protocols.
“Who we really need to make a visit is Castria, since she is our Arcanist, but she’s…still learning. When can we steal her from Kaspir, Empress?”
When I get a chance to talk with the king and Lilya… I’ll put it on my schedule. And integrated how? Elinor asked, her curiosity sharpening as they passed by sections where human workers were modifying quen’talrat-sized residential spaces for their much smaller frames.
Are they like the runic grids we saw in the Cradle, defending the stones themselves, or active offensive weapons? What kind of authorization do we need? Can Quin activate them as an Elite Hunter in their academy?
“Ah, intriguing question, but as for Quin,” Tiffany interjected, “while she might register genetically as Elite Hunter material, these systems are incredibly sophisticated. They would likely catalogue her as underage and still in basic training—which would contradict any logical protocol for granting a child access to critical fortress infrastructure.”
I suppose that does make sense.
“I second that,” her father sighed, clasping his hands behind his back while studying the grand architecture of a city that had outlived its inhabitants. “It would have made this far easier, but what we have identified is that these systems require dual authorization for anything of significance…likely to force cooperation between the quen’talrat factions.
“The mining quen’talrat can’t give me an answer because, naturally, military protocol wasn’t something they were taught, but it’s obvious there are two authorization personnel needed at the main gates. We’re lucky many of them are already open.”
As they traveled, Elinor found herself studying the pristine condition of everything around them. Even from their elevated position, she could see that the avenues showed no wear patterns despite centuries of abandonment, the walls bore no stains or damage, and not a single piece of debris littered the pathways, unlike some of the building interiors they’d come across.
Something's been bothering me, she redirected, knowing her father was purposefully stalling to show her what he’d uncovered for dramatic effect. She watched the immaculate white granite pass beneath them for the road, contrasting the black sides and buildings.
We’ve explored dozens of areas within the Administrative District, hundreds of corridors beneath, countless rooms leading to the Agricultural District…and we haven’t found a single corpse. The fact that we weren’t even able to find one in the Cradle makes me wonder where they all vanished to if there was a civil war at the same time as eight nations collapsed upon the quen’talrat factions.
“I pondered that myself and asked the opinion of the quen’talrat you’ve raised.” Her father hummed, frosty blue eyes drifting her way. “Ka’Vina mentioned something about automated corpse removal systems and a specialized district for handling the dead. The mines had something similar, which deposited them where we found that graveyard, but she couldn’t provide details for the city.”
That seems to be a common theme, Elinor dryly observed. The more we learn about quen’talrat society, the more apparent it becomes that the general population lived in carefully maintained ignorance. No news networks, no public information systems, no transparency about government operations. I can see why everything fell apart when the Ke died… He literally was the center of everything.
“It can be effective, so long as it sticks—control through rumor and selective revelation,” her mother noted. “It certainly does present a lovely mystery to unravel, though.”
The drone began to slow as they approached their destination, and ahead of them, the true scope of the South Road’s terminus became apparent. Unlike the other seven main roads that had checkpoints and large force field gates, this was a straight shot to the palace doors. Ke’Thra’Ma.
He truly thought himself invincible.
The avenue widened into a vast plaza before a series of towering gates that stretched upward beyond easy sight. Even dormant, the defensive architecture was breathtaking in its complexity and scope.
“Here's where the defensive architecture becomes fascinating,” her father eagerly spoke up, showing his nerd fascination with architecture; it was his job, after all. He gestured toward the series of barriers visible ahead of them. “What you’re seeing isn’t just checkpoint control—it’s a tiered defensive system designed for both access and absolute denial. This is something several of the quen’talrat witnessed personally…I just don’t know how to operate it yet.”
The avenue before them descended in subtle stages, each level marked by massive stone obelisks that stood silent and dark along the pathway. Between the obelisks, openings in the floor revealed what appeared to be secondary passages running parallel to the main route.
“Kill boxes,” her father continued. “Each tier can be independently sealed, creating isolated zones where defenders could concentrate fire on advancing enemies. But notice the construction—everything’s designed to collapse inward. It may look like a straight shot ramp to the gates now, but apparently it can restructure itself into a maze-like obstacle course for attackers.”
Elinor couldn’t help but chuckle at the imagery. Ke’Thra’Ma loved his theatrics… This isn’t a deterrent but a challenge. If they couldn’t get past this, he didn’t want them wasting his time. I suppose the heroes of the United Nations managed to do just that…and catch him with a thélméthra queen’s poison coursing through his veins.
As the drone settled to allow them to disembark, a smaller quen’talrat approached—small, being fourteen feet tall. His large eyes kept darting between the arachnids they rode on, detaching himself from a human crew who were there to explain any cultural inquiries they might have; really, they were there to keep them company due to how skittish most of these quen’talrat were. Her entrance immediately snatched the gaze of the several quen’talrat and human support group.
“Empress,” he nervously greeted with a rather awkward bow, given his massive frame, “I am sure you do not remember me. I am Keth’minar. I was…maintenance. Runic maintenance within the mines.”
Unlike the confident Quin who saw herself larger than life, this one moved with the careful deference of someone accustomed to being overlooked.
I am well aware of who you are, Keth’minar. Raise your head, Elinor sighed, placing a hand on her hip and staring at his groveling posture. Words of wisdom: It is not wise to challenge your ruler’s knowledge. Have confidence in the tasks assigned to you.
“Y-Yes, Empress! I am totally in the wrong, Empress!”
Edmon shook his head, mirroring her sigh. “Despite his lack of self-esteem, Keth’minar has been invaluable in identifying which systems are damaged and pointing out where their circuits lead, versus simply being powered down. We’ve learned a lot about foundational designs and are beginning to build a framework for how certain runic traces connect to what. In any case, he can tell us what’s broken, even if he can’t explain how it’s supposed to work.”
“One step at a time,” Tiffany privately chimed. “Confidence isn’t built overnight, and I believe his caution is refreshing. It may be a tad slow, but I’d think that’s a good thing by your book, sweetie. Though I’d take a more risky approach, I can see that the living humans being here creates a bit of a challenging situation. Ironic, such large creatures find comfort in human presence.”
That would typically be my approach, Elinor muttered to her parents as Keth’minar tried to collect himself as the others hung back, waiting to see if they’d be called on. I’m running out of time. We need a better way to get people into the city.
She followed Keth’minar’s large finger toward various obelisks stationed around the zone. “Those patterns, they flicker sometimes. Wrong colors. I could check the circuit lining, but the defenses might be active. Usually, there is a safe mode that must be initiated first before we are sent in to do the grunt work to find broken conduits. There is structural damage in some places.”
And what could cause that? Elinor pushed, yet the ape looked tongue-tied, causing her mother to jump in.
“As far as what we’ve identified, it could be a system overload, potential damage to the defensive network, or possible activation of security protocols we don’t understand. But if we trigger a large system overload, the outer shield itself. If successful, it would open the fourth tier and potentially provide insights into the remaining barriers. Do you want to do the honors, dear? I know you’ve been dying to show her,” her mother chortled, nudging her husband.
Edmon, however, looked over at Keth’minar. “You were the one who thought about this. Take the credit. Tell the Empress about the southwest wall breach.”
Keth’minar’s eyes brightened slightly, the first confidence he’d shown. “Yes, King Edmon! The ri’bot crews confirmed that the shield by the broken wall—the southwest section—is open but appears to be repairing itself. The Ke was…he was replacing many of us with some sort of microsubstance. Smart systems to handle city maintenance. But they have errors, glitches.”
“The AI systems and the nanites,” her father added. “It’s clearly not fully optimized. Keth’minar observed something important during a critical failure when senior rune crafters were installing a terminal for one of these systems. Go on, tell her,” he prompted.
“A shockwave!” Keth'minar said with growing enthusiasm after being repeatedly validated. “It rippled through the whole network when a major conduit failed, just like one of those major conduits I pointed out. The ones for the ramp structure. I saw it travel through the obelisks, through the walls, everywhere. For a moment, everything went dark—then the emergency protocols activated. A city-wide reset.”
Interesting. What kind of emergency protocols? Elinor asked slowly, thoughts weaving several things together at once.
“Emergency entrances opened automatically,” her father joined in. “A full system restart, security protocols go down, and fail-safes engage. It appears to be designed to prevent people from being trapped during maintenance shutdowns, but this is different, allowing for rudimentary baseline states for open or closed areas.”
Even her mother wanted to jump into this conversation.
“The theory is that we could force a full system shutdown and restart. Create a controlled overload that triggers the same emergency response Keth’minar witnessed. During the reboot window, protocols would be down, and we could access previously sealed areas or seal dangerous ones back up.”
“Including the Administrative District’s main entrances,” Edmon noted. “Though there’s uncertainty about the—”
“Not necessarily the outer gates, dear. They might not respond the same way,” Tiffany interrupted with a playful nudge. “But the inner gates, absolutely. Which is why we’re focusing on the broken wall segment. It could be our entrance from the first moat into the inner city. The question is, how long would it take with the reset for it to repair things? In any case, the system reset could give us access to areas we’ve never been able to reach.”
“It could also fix errors in the automation, as the Queen said,” Keth’minar nervously interpreted. “We don’t know what changes that might cause, but it should restore the city to a more default setting and not the wartime settings.”
Elinor considered the implications carefully. If we trigger this reset, we could lose access to areas that are currently open, such as the Cradle… But we’d gain access to places that have been sealed since the Civil War, and we could have people at specific zones to keep those areas open… There is a real risk to them being trapped if it doesn’t work, though.
“Exactly,” her father said with a grimace. “There are some volunteers I can think of off the top of my head from the Serving Court who would be willing to take those positions. If they’re undead, then at least they’ll have time for us to figure out how to get them out.
“It’s a calculated risk. We’d need to position people at every location we want to keep accessible during the reboot. Typically, I’d be against something like this, but, as you said, we’re running out of options with fifty thousand people coming our way, and over a hundred thousand corpses to raise.”
Elinor’s lips curved into a small smile, glancing toward the awaiting drones. And…it could potentially open the way for Camellia to break out her little sister.
That had both her parents’ eyes widen at the implication.
She studied the obelisks around them, then made her decision.
Do it. But we need comprehensive preparation first. Dad, gather all the humans into the palace. If Ke’Thra’Ma designed anything to be foolproof, it would be his personal domain—he’d welcome challengers, not seal them out or attack them there with gadgets. The palace will be the safest location during system chaos.
“That’s logical,” he returned with a thoughtful nod. “We can prepare to do this by the evening, but I’d suggest waiting for at least tomorrow. We need to be sure on what we want open and where everyone needs to be placed.”
Agreeing with that assessment, Elinor glanced toward her mother. Let’s plan on this tomorrow evening. I’ll visit Butter tonight, return to pick you up to see the hag, then return to oversee this operation. Inform the Serving Court and military units about the risks, but position them at every major location we need to keep accessible.
Priority locations: main mining tunnel entrance, the agricultural access points, and any other critical infrastructure. If we’re doing this, we need people standing by to manually override systems during the reboot window.
“I can work out the logistical details with your father,” her mother chimed. “And here I was hoping to see your new pet, but I suppose I can wait for you to take me on your first ‘car’ ride as your mother. Maybe you can teach me how to drive,” she giggled..
We’ll see… Keth’minar, how long did the emergency windows typically last? Will it be longer, considering the damage and neglect to the system?
“Possibly, but not long, Empress. Maybe ten minutes before systems start coming back online sequentially. But during those ten minutes, everything should be theoretically accessible. At least, everything connected to the main city system grid.”
That is a good point… Ke’Thra’Ma would have non-centralized systems, I bet. In any case, a ten-minute window to set the new standard for our new home, Elinor mused. I’ll leave you here to work through all the details of actually triggering it. If you can’t, all of this is pointless.
“Yes, Empress! I will not let you down!”
However, Elinor’s attention was already being diverted as she glanced back toward the palace; Theresa had come into range of her Nexus.
“Empress, Carlos reports he’s finished transporting your…new mount to the agricultural district. He’s now moving it to the mining shaft.” Her tone carried obvious curiosity about what exactly constituted a “mount” that required such elaborate transport.
Perfect timing, Elinor laughed. We’ve all got our jobs. This will be critical because I suspect we’re going to need every advantage we can get for what’s coming.
She turned to the waiting humans and quen’talrat, the apes having been listening the entire time. “I’ll leave Keth’minar to direct everything, but most of you should return to the palace. Large changes are in motion that will play out tomorrow…”
Her father and mother stayed behind to coordinate and plan, leaving her to take a drone back toward the palace. She picked up Theresa along the way, allowing her to accompany her into the mining tunnel to meet up with Carlos. Not wanting to spoil herself, she kept her distance within the Nexus from any details about the wyvern’s condition.
The journey to the mining terminal required traversing the same service tunnels they’d used to reach the Agricultural District, but in reverse—following maintenance corridors through the ancient infrastructure until they reached the circular chamber that housed the perpetual elevator system, used to disperse materials.
“Still operating every seventeen minutes,” Theresa observed as they approached the platform that pulsed with faint blue energy, its runic patterns cycling through activation sequences.
At least something in this city works reliably, Elinor replied, stepping onto the platform as it came alive with intensified runic light. This had become the fastest way to reach the terminal area, but that might change soon.
The descent was swift and silent except for the faint humming of energy, walls blurring past until they reached the massive circular junction chamber. Eight branching corridors radiated outward like spokes, seven sealed behind shimmering force fields, but their pathway to the mining terminal pulsed with the same familiar blue energy.
Theresa and her moved onto the platform that would carry them to the mine terminal within the city. Not soon after, they reached the terminal, where Carlos had arranged for the wyvern’s remains to be loaded onto one of the massive mining transports.
The terminal buzzed with activity as human and ri’bot workers coordinated with former mine personnel, the quen’talrat helping them use the giant systems, bringing supplies from across the valley and different clans through the underground network.
As they approached the ramps, Elinor stopped mid-step. The transport vehicles were massive, being built for quen’talrat mass extraction. Yet somehow, even dismembered and carefully arranged, the wyvern’s remains made the enormous carts look almost…modest.
What a creature this is, she breathed, taking in the true scale of what Carlos had transported in less than six hours, admittedly, with Camellia’s initial work. And, luckily, she appeared to be returning via the tunnel shaft from her initial mission; a quick prompt sped the spider woman up. And this is only listed as a high B in the wildlife index within the Cradle? If we can keep it open, then I think it will be worth it.
The creature’s head alone filled nearly half of one massive cart, its skull easily the size of a full adult, non-elite quen’talrat. The wing sections, even carefully folded and secured, required four additional transports, while the torso filled another cart entirely. The tail sections and those distinctive manipulator appendages occupied two more carts, creating a convoy that stretched impressively even by mining operation standards.
“Everything’s loaded and secured for transport to the mining fortress,” Carlos reported, bull’s horns gleaming and his voice carrying a note of pride mixed with exhaustion. “You were right to suggest we move it to its courtyard. The external facility has the space. Though it did take me recruiting a few more quen’talrat to do it. We’re going to need help getting everything positioned properly—probably a second trip to get the help there since we’re somewhat restricted on carts for some reason… Apparently, someone stole a lot of them.”
As if summoned by his words, Camellia emerged from one of the tunnel access points. Her predatory grace was evident as she moved to join them, though Elinor noticed a subtle tension in her posture—the result of spending hours tracking dangerous hybrids.
“I do not smell any potential thieves within these tunnels, unless you imply the little rodents.”
Interesting, Elinor noted, placing a closed fist against her chin while examining the scene; many of the humans who were involved in the relocation operation of the valley’s goods were whispering excitedly about the corpse, glancing her way. There’s supposed to be more carts, but they vanished without a trace… In any case, I’m sure there will be a lot of rumors flying around the citizens after seeing this.
And excellent timing, Camilla. I have news that might interest you, Elinor said as her Monarch approached, a confused tilt shifting her crimson locks; Carlos and Theresa seemed just and invested. We may have found a way to open up more of the city and tighten security in civilian zones.
“That sounds like a good thing, but what does that have to do with me?”
Well, Elinor began, the ghost of a smile twitching at the corners of her lips as she fully faced the taller woman. Tomorrow evening, we plan to attempt a city-wide system reset operation, which could, and I want to be careful here—this isn’t guaranteed—but potentially, this could shut down the grid where Azalea is being held, meaning…
“I can break her out of that oppressive tube!” Camellia cried, crimson eyes brightening immediately as she began hopping around like a schoolgirl on graduation day. “Truly, Empress? We can raise Azalea as soon as tomorrow?!”
If, and I stress ‘if,’ our plan works, the emergency protocols should unlock everything during the reboot window. It’s currently estimated that we have ten minutes before systems go operational, but I’d wager that is sooner for very critical systems and top-secret areas, such as where your sister is being held. You’ll need to extract her before systems come back online, and it may get dangerous.
“I will be ready,” Camellia stated with fierce determination. “Finally, I will be able to address my…my mistake to a member of my family,” she whispered, energy dampening as she retreated a step and gripped her elbow. “I’ve…realized something, Empress.”
“Oh? Go on, she invited, sensing spontaneous turmoil that boiled up within the arachnid.
“I am not accustomed to these sorts of…emotions and properly labeling them. At first, I thought I feared my mother might die, but I don’t think that is the truth after examining my actions multiple times… I believe that initial examination was tainted by the knowledge that my mother…did die.
“Looking back, I can see that it wasn’t that I did not have faith in our mother…but that I had too much faith in her and wished to prove myself…which put her in a compromising position. This ‘pride’ concept is new to me, which I have been learning through human interaction.”
Elinor’s heart softened, feeling Garu already ahead of them and moving to take over the scouting mission of the hybrids. Just remember what we talked about. If your mother is perfect…she couldn’t have made a mistake in making you just how you are.
“It…is still a concept I am grappling with, Empress. But there is something…you require aid with?” she asked, clearly redirecting while bringing their attention to the corpse, her enhanced senses immediately processing the complex biological signatures. “Even dismembered, the structural complexity is…impressive. I would have loved to hunt this creature with Azalea. It would have been a wonderful gift for…our mother.”
Elinor placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, directing her toward the cart they’d prepared for personnel transportation, near the back of the carts. I promised you that I would reunite your family, and I know you have faith in me…but have a little more faith in yourself, Camellia. If I were your mother, I’d be proud of the progress you’ve made.
That seemed to brighten the redhead’s mood, Thersa showing an expression only a mother could make and one she’d often seen on her own mother’s face.
They boarded the mining cart, the massive transport easily accommodating the group despite the cargo filling the other vehicles. The journey through the tunnel system took them eastward, beneath the central mountains, toward the foothill mining fortress.
How long will it take to arrange everything for the resurrection? Elinor asked as they traveled, watching the magma-filled chamber as it passed, with its mysterious artifacts, drawing in the liquid rock. She didn’t want to tell them this could all be for nothing; in a way, she was kind of scared to analyze its spirit to see if she could raise it at her current grade. And with Camellia here, she can craft a harness and saddle for me.
“A saddle, Empress?” the redhead inquired, focus shifting to the head maid as she took over.
“Allow me to explain in private, My Queen.”
Carlos jumped in, rubbing his chin and studying the landmarks as they zipped through the tunnels. “With Camellia’s silk manipulation? Twenty minutes, maybe less. Without her help, it would have taken hours. We still need to transport them through the halls since we can’t figure out how to open the walls into the courtyard.”
Emerging from the tunnel into the internal terminal, she saw the dramatic expansion of operations since Elinor’s last visit. The terminal thrived with activity as ri’bot processed the incoming materials and coordinated transfers between the gathering goods to be sent to the fortress proper.
“End of the line for the rail system. Ironic, all that work, and it took less than ten minutes to get all the way here,” Carlos sighed as the transport came to a halt. “Weelp, boys, let’s get everythin’ roped up, through the fortress, an’ inta the outside courtyard,” he directed to the quen’talrat that had been brought to help.
All activity ceased almost instantaneously on their arrival, especially with her at the helm. The transfer of the giant creature sparked even more buzz, with many wondering where such an impressive creature had been hiding in the valley for this long.
Even with Camellia’s silk manipulation, moving pieces of this scale through the fortress corridors toward the main entrance presented logistical challenges that took a bit of time. Elinor waited outside, breathing in the fresh air as she watched them struggle to get the bulkier wing segments through, until Camellia just cut them into smaller pieces, keeping every bone intact.
Carlos breathed a heavy sigh as the tail was finally pulled through to mix with the rest of the bloody pieces, trailing blue goo everywhere that would need to be cleaned up, likely all the way back to the Agricultural District.
“This would have been so much easier if we could use that damn door,” Carlos grunted, gesturing to what looked like simply the side of the black mountain but that connected to the inner terminal, given the odd placement of tracks and a sole cart. “Not even the miner crews knew how this thing opens.”
It all worked out in the end, she whispered, running her fingers down the hard scales that Camellia had to weave her thread into and pop off for Carlos, rather than cut. Now, we see if it was all worth it.
Arranged in proper order across the stone floor, it created a tableau that was simultaneously magnificent and disturbing. Even collapsed, the creature’s wingspan stretched out just under half the size of the courtyard. Crystalline structures within the skull caught the afternoon light, casting rainbow patterns across the surrounding walls.
A crowd of ri’bot and the quen’talrat they’d brought had gathered, everyone stopping their work to watch with bated breath as Elinor circled the giant, mutant creature. It starkly resembled a more beautiful version of a fantasy wyvern, its tail barbed but elegant.
Most striking were the unique scale formations along its belly and wings—mirror-perfect surfaces that gleamed like polished metal, far more refined than the rainbow-hued crystalline scales covering the rest of its body. Two larger segmented mirror arrays on each wing caught and focused the light of the falling sun with precision that seemed almost technological in nature.
What do you think now that you’ve had a chance to examine parts of it, Camellia?
“Mmm. The electromagnetic organs are interesting, Empress, but there is an absorption sack that appears to absorb energy in a similar way that my youngest sister could do,” the spider noted before pointing at the skull. “The mutant knew exactly where to strike it and managed to do so before it could retaliate. From what I could tell when I first arrived, its nerve system was about to go into a massive surge of raw energy.”
She gestured toward the skull, where blue-tinted crystalline formations were visible through gaps in the bone structure. “But these mirror scales…they might be capable of collecting and concentrating ambient radiation for some purpose. It takes time to gather and activate, though, showing extreme inefficiency.”
Inefficient, sure…but potentially extremely powerful. So, it could have lasers, hmm? Wouldn’t that make Butter faint with envy?
Camellia’s silk dipped into its body, moving to point out the mirror-like areas as the quen’talrat, Carlos, and Theresa listened intently; the onlooking ri’bot didn’t have the ability to hear this conversation, though.
“The belly mirrors seem designed for ground targeting by their position when airborne, while the wing arrays could engage aerial targets. The creature could function as a flying weapons platform that charges itself from environmental radiation. Chemical markers suggest it could coordinate with similar creatures. Whether that was learned behavior, offspring, or instinctive remains unclear. It is male.”
Or both, Elinor thought, studying the intricate biological engineering that had created this apex predator. Ka’Krisna’Terva didn’t design simple beasts. Everything had multiple purposes. Maybe this was her laser experiment… The more I learn, the more I want to explore her research. Something to consider if we encounter others.
She closed her eyes, reaching deep into her Death Pool to gather the substantial energy required for a resurrection of this magnitude. Emerald flames lit across her arms, forming into butterflies that took flight around the dead creature.
[Raise Undead III: Activated]
Its soul responded immediately. Vision opening, her green flames flowed up her arms as the first pulse of energy caused immediate reaction—the crystalline structures in the skull began to glow with soft blue light, and the creature’s massive form shuddered as her butterflies landed, lighting an inferno.
Gasps filled the zone as Elinor’s smile grew, knowing she’d just barely scraped by with the skin of her teeth; it was borderline Epic-Grade, which showed where a low B-tier predator ranked in the Cradle—it likely held multiple predators who were on Camellia’s level when unrestricted by the System.
Rare Grade… S-tier. The same as all the monarchs, only this creature isn’t eligible for leadership, due to its intelligence. At most, I can raise it to a Staff Sergeant, which…why not?
Energy flowed through the creature’s body as scales burned away, leaving only bones before they linked together. Muscles reformed, organs regenerated, and the distinctive electromagnetic structures within the brain began showing signs of activity.
When its scales emerged, they were brighter, more lustrious, and would blind anyone looking at it from below. Its unique patterns spiraled with patterned light.
Then the wyvern's eyes opened: gold, with electric blue halos.
Massive, semi-intelligent, and unmistakably aware, they fixed immediately on Elinor with what she recognized as predatory assessment. But beneath the instinctual evaluation, she felt the growing bond of resurrection—the creature acknowledging her authority while retaining its essential nature.
[Undead Raised as Staff Sergeant Mount]
[Tempest Skyreaper: Staff Sergeant - Military Branch - Rare-S [Restricted] - Sky Division - Sky Fighter - Lv.1]
[Mount Unit Classifications Available]
[Aerial Superiority Protocols Unlocked]
[Electromagnetic Warfare Capabilities Active]
The wyvern rose slowly, testing its restored body with careful precision. When it spread its wings, the courtyard was suddenly filled with living shadow as a hundred meters of wingspan blocked the setting sun, the mirror scales creating a dazzling light show even in the growing dusk. The ri’bot cried out, shielding their eyes, trying to see the magnificent flying predator.
Perfect! I have a dragon, sis. Keep your helicopters, Elinor thought with satisfaction as Tempest’s golden eyes gleamed with intelligent anticipation. Now to see how the valley looks from the air. And what perfect timing…unless he glows in the dark.
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