Aurora: That was the name I was given, I didn't feel like I deserved it.
Aurora were spectacles of Gravity combined with the light from the stars to make amazing patterns flowing through the sky and even the vastness of space. Me...I was just a failure.
I failed to save my parents.
I failed to keep the few friends that I had safe when they needed it most.
I failed to make a single working piece of mechanical machinery, inventions that I had taken to using since I was also a failure of a Magic-Blessed Dragon.
I failed at even being a dragon...I couldn't fly. Yeah, for some reason my species of Dragon wasn't born with wings, and our scales shown brighter than should've been possible--even in the dark--making hunting impossible.
I found a way around that though, and was able to kill prey rather easily thanks to the one invention of mine that worked: I called it a spear launcher; it launched a sharpened projectile at a speed faster than most B ranked creatures could dodge and with a little (Teleportation) I could make it strike the target pretty much as soon as it left the contraption!
It was my best work...and here it lay, irreparably ruined.
Aurora shot up in the hammock she called home, almost falling out of it as her mind separated from the nightmares of past memories. She slept in an alley near the outskirts of the city, off in a section that was rarely traveled, nor checked from the below or above Guards and passerby. Perfect for a wingless dragon that every dragon there knew couldn't fly or hunt, and those above that could didn't dare approach. She knew because several had noticed her scales and left to go do other things around the city. Aurora meticulously peeked over the side to see if there was anyone walking around or under her, and seeing no one, she quickly tipped herself over and let the hammock dump her out into the air: twisting itself shut in the process.
She landed gracefully on the ground in a practiced manner and looked up at her makeshift bed it wasn't the best but at least she wasn't bothered here. Her scales and lack of wings drew a lot of unwanted attention. Aurora looked at the time in her system:
6:35AS
13:45IS
School was going to be starting again in a few years now and she had yet to reach her second evolution to guarantee her entry. Whether a dragon had a good family status or not didn't matter as long as a dragon reached their third evolution at less than a half century in age or having reached their second evolution by 20 years old...those ones usually got scholarships to attend. Aurora had hit her second stage at around 10 years old but was too afraid of trying to enter due to her lack of status as a 'true dragon' in most eyes. Instead--Most of her time was instead spent going around the city hiding and trying her best to grow stronger in secret so that she wouldn't be looked down upon by the other Dragons.
Aurora mechanically snuck through the various alleys towards the area she regularly went for training. Thankfully the Dragon Empire was a society built upon training to become strong rather than just supporting the strong and casting out the weak: Providing the necessary environment for such opportunities, so in every area of a city--at every direction and corner-- there was a sponsored place Dragons could go to do exactly that without punishment for destroying anything...there were warnings and punishments for breaking too many things or outright destroying a building of course, but that hasn't happened so far, while Aurora's been going to use them.
She'd been going there since she was (Young) to learn how to read, write, and to train. Even before her parents had gone off to fight in the Great War and never came back...Aurora shook her head, she wasn't going to distract herself with something that had happened a few decades ago now. It's been almost twenty years now--not long by dragon standards, but long enough for a parent to be missing one of the most crucial times a (Young) Dragon had when growing up. It was the time when a (Young) Dragon would start developing their personality and outward actions based upon that chosen personality. And it was their job to steer them away from a kind of personality if it was going to end up killing them in the future.
Since she didn't have anyone to direct her or show her how to fight back, Aurora turned from one of the strongest, most outgoing Drakes of her clutch, to a meek, quiet and thin Dragon that avoided any and all contact with other Dragons. After countless encounters with bad Dragons of every kind, and with even more bullies all throughout her childhood Aurora opted to just keep to herself and do everything in secret. To do things as quietly and as quickly as possible to not gather attention to herself. She'd taken up inventing, something that most Dragons didn't really care about since there had already been plenty of technologically advancing achievements throughout their long lives. Most believed that they didn't need any more change with how they currently lived...and most of them were sagging at this point. The source of this chapter is novelping dot com.
Aurora eventually lost herself to one of her routines as she took her usual path to her closest Learning Center: the turns, short-cuts, jumping fences, gates, and wagons having already become something that was an automatic process for her now. Being quick enough to go vastly unnoticed by the majority of the Guards and Dragons roaming around the city was quite helpful when traveling, but it also meant that she had to sacrifice a lot of points towards Dexterity compared to the other stats. Causing them to lean heavily on the side of Stamina rather than Strength or Constitution and Health:
Name: Aurora
Species: (Young) Rainbow Dragon
Condition: Slightly Winded
(Class A+ Monster)
Estimated Rank: A++
Job: (Student), none
Personal Level: 34/50
Health: 8000/8000
Constitution: 400
Strength: 550
Magic: --
Dexterity: 350
Mana: --/--
Stamina: 9786/10500
Free Points: 110
Skills: Light Beam (Lv. 27), Reconstruction (Lv. 24), Purify (Lv. 33), Tail Smash (Lv. 32), Enhanced Claws (Lv. 34), Enhanced Tail (Lv. 42), Enhanced Bite (Lv. 33)
Special Skills: Enhanced Physiology (Passive)(Lv. 54), Enhanced Intelligence (Passive)(Lv.87), Enhanced Regeneration (Passive)(Lv. 54), Enhanced Reaction (Lv. 64), Rainbow Explosion (Lv. 22), Teleportation (Lv. 56).
Resistances: Holy Magic Resistance (Lv. --), Status Effect Nullification (Passive), Physical (Lv. 89), Piercing (Lv. 45), Explosion (Lv. 79), Counter Descent (Lv. 35), Magic (Lv. 63), Water (Lv. 45).
Titles: Abandoned Dragonling, Rainbow Dragoness, Enchantress, Inventor, Fearless, Relentless, Outcast.
She thought her skills still weren't the best or highest leveled; when in reality, other Dragonlings her age and older hadn't even gained more than the three extra skills they were born with. Aurora's power now was on par with that of an early third year Academy Student. She'd trained hard every day: never slacking off and never giving up, making sure to learn everything she could in order to prove herself to her peers and the Adults. Over time this became a routine, with no time for friends--after all "who wanted to be friends with a freak that couldn't fly"--it was something she'd become accustomed to and something that she'd been bullied over constantly. Despite those that mistreated her being vastly weaker than Aurora, she never fought back and that further developed a run-first-ask-questions-never kind of personality.
She hopped over carts, gigantic carriages, and guards alike on her way to her destination. Those that did notice the fast little dragon among them didn't do anything to stop her--They've been seeing her regularly by now and knew who she was and what she was doing, where she was going. They also just didn't want to be involved with the known Social Outcast of the Empire. There was the occasional scuffle near-by when she appeared anyways so, often enough, most of the city guards were busy dealing with something anyways. Those that weren't didn't care, like many others around this part of the city.
Aurora started to slow down as she got nearer to her location, unfortunately it was in one of the more busy areas of the district so she wouldn't be able to stay hidden nor have an easy time avoiding people. Her scales made her stand out like the beacon of light she was, unfortunately, the ones that liked to stand in her way knew what to look for. Oftentimes they were there to try and keep her away...like now.
An obsidian scaled dragoness and her male mirror both looked on as Aurora made her way through the crowd with a smug faces. The female lashed her tail in an unspoken signal and three other dragons in the crowd moved towards the moving beacon with the grace of a charging Wyrm. Aurora tried to avoid them, getting to the Learning Grounds usually stopped their annoying pursuits, but as she was diverted from one path another appeared in her way. She considered using her skill (Teleportation) to avoid them, like every other time this happened, but decided against it. Not only was it busy here at the moment, it would also attract unwanted attention in the form of the Royal Guard: Since the skill was a Epic Grade movement Skill, at the peak of movement-based Skills most Nobles--and maybe even some of the Royals--would employ Skill Stealers to take it from her: Turn her Skill into an item for them at a price...and that was usually the holder's life.
Skills were essentially parts of someone's soul; Taking a Skill or even sealing it was akin to taking or handicapping another dragon intentionally--which was illegal--from their very Life-force. It was a Taboo practice, but was most likely still taught--and used--in secret, for those that had the ability to do so and stay hidden. If one was caught they would be ripped apart by The Chains of Damnation publicly, as an example to all that practiced Forbidden Skill usage in the city.
Aurora sighed internally and braced herself for the inevitable confrontation as the three dragons 'easily' entrapped her and forced her to stay where she was while the Demon Twins came over for their daily dose of entertainment.
"Ohohoho look what we caught boys" The darker brown thug mocked, "A rat scurrying through the brush. Looks like the Curvisl caught you again."
Aurora sighed facing him and sitting down, "You know that it's Curvishyl Curvis-h-y-l right?" She pointed and the other two drakes: one electric blue and the other a deep red were quick to clench their jaws as to not snort aloud amused. "And they are fish and don't eat meat. You know that the only predators around here are Olwyn Screamers right? And as their name suggests they are night hunters, scream to stun their prey, and also don't eat mice." This time the two couldn't help but let out quietened wheezes as they tried, and failed, to hold in their laughter. This story is hosted at novelping dot com.
The Brown one's face-scales turned a slight tinge of green while they yelled at the other two, "Shut up. The Lantern-Scale doesn't know what she's talking about! She's lying, she has to be...I'm right! I am always right!!" At this point other dragons made it a point to either turn around or take the area in a wide path to avoid whatever was going on with the (Young) Dragons and the one they regularly bullied. Aurora was used to it by now, and didn't bat an eye as the path to the trio for the Demon Twins to flaunt themselves through opened up clearly, with them taking their sweet time getting over to her in a 'show of power'.
I can just jump over the both of you, knock out the twins, and continue on with my day. Not having to deal with this three times a week...Aurora had never once acted on her thought, but it lingered there ever constantly as something possible and yet not something she would act upon. I guess I'm going the long way for the rest of the week...
"You know that I read books about this stuff every day. I'm betting that I know more about your own scales you yourself know." Aurora sighed and the brown one's face turned a slightly lighter shade and he just stood there silent until the twins got to them.
"There's our favorite Lantern-Scale!" The female shouted once about three tail-lengths away. "Why haven't the three of you roughed her up a little like I asked? I expect to be bringing home a decent sized, unbroken scale home today."
"Maybe we should tear into one of her eyes this time too sis. It would certainly lighten up the mood she seems to be in--" Her brother was something else; He eyed Aurora like a piece of meat that he wanted to be served with and she didn't like it at all. Making a point to avoid being the subject of his ire at all in the last seven years they've decided to take in interest in her, and her scales.
Aurora did not want to give him a reason to stalk her any more than she already had to deal with from the guards, and she certainly didn't want to think about what a dragon nearly a decade and a half older than her wanted with a look like that...
"Not today brother. Your twisted fantasies will have to wait for another time--" The sister didn't even lash her tail at her brother's insinuation, as if something like that was just a normal thing she dealt with on a daily basis...maybe even helped accommodate. Aurora kept herself from showing an internal shudder at the thought of his sibling helping in whatever twisted machinations the brother was up to: With whatever else it was he did when not out in public, bathing in the attention. "For now I just want our little Lantern to give us a scale or two, or three, and then a nice feeling to remember us by for later."
Her brother's expression fell slightly and he mumbled something about pretty eyes under his breath, turning to his sister and asking for something else instead, "I get to break her tail and keep a horn this time sis..."
"Onyx--"
"No! You get to have all the fun! I want to have some fun too! I want to--"
"Fine. Fine." She waved a talon and smacked his side with a tail, a bleeding gash being left behind as she did so, but it went unnoticed as the brother looked at Aurora with those disturbing hungry eyes. "I'll let you play with our toy this time...but not here. You will wait, she will follow, then, when I say, you can have what you want." Aurora's mood dimmed at that.
She really thought that it wouldn't be one of those days but it seemed that Onyx was in a particularly whiny mood this time, and his sister always caved when he got like that. So far he's never done anything too bad so Aurora just dealt with it. She used the experiences to level up her (Enhanced Regeneration) and (Reconstruction) to their current levels this way, so in the end, it was just another necessary evil to get stronger...
"Come on. You don't want to keep him waiting do you, little Lantern?" Stella mused, turning and leading the way out of the Training Grounds. Others looking towards Aurora with a mix of understanding and guilt, yet doing nothing like usual because of what she was...
Aurora looked back slightly, past the three thugs guarding the way back to the Grounds: So close, and yet, so far...
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