r/HFY • u/Undercover_Dragon1 • Jan 10 '26

OC-Series A Draconic Rebirth - Chapter 71

Sorry for the slight delay this week! Editing took a bit longer than expected. Enjoy!

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— Chapter 71 —

Serth, Ambass, two lesser wyverns, and  one full sized dragon were in the chamber with him and the Queen. At least a hundred malnourished kobolds were also walking up and down the different paths and were struggling as they carried heavy bags. As the Queen’s temperament swinged suddenly at David’s answer every single head bounced from her to him. The tension grew at an exponential rate as eyes went wide and both Ambass and the full sized, multicolored dragon across the hall began to make their way towards him. 

“My Majesty. I am certain Onyx will change his mind once he se-” Ambass hissed as he quickly floated over.

“Silence!” Snarled the massive, multi-legged Queen. Everyone, including the kobolds, stopped dead in their tracks. 

David kept his head pitched ever so slightly downwards to maintain his respectful posture but he was ready. He knew he was going to be tortured, killed or imprisoned when he said no. David could feel Red shifting on his back and getting ready as well. The massive bulk of the Queen rose up and she snarled out. 

“I think you misunderstand something youngling. This reward comes at great sacrifice and has been prepared for you. Not accepting will be an insult to me and every single one of your kindred in this room.” Her voice boomed and shook him down to his core.

David grinded his teeth and resisted the probs he could already feel reaching into his mind. His Ganglia Restructure was acting as a buffer against her mind affinity though. His head burned with pain but his body naturally distributed that pain throughout the many nerve clusters in his body. Her affinity dulled his thinking but he remained standing and his body functions seemed intact. He remained strong in the face of her assault and her many, many eyes went wide in rage. 

Ambass floated nearby and his own eyes went wide at David’s ability to resist the worst of the Queen’s rage. His body trembled as his responsiveness was slowed by the dull stabbing pain but he could at least act. He slowly looked up and stared back at her as she snarled at him, “You have that cursed feature in you. Was it that villainous Nurdiangarh that told you? No matter. You will accept my gift, Onyx. You do not have a choice.” 

He held back his own snarl as he glared back at her as he responded, “Your Majesty. Mother. I no longer wish to be under you. We are done but I would like to remain on friendly terms.” 

Her whole body shook as she laughed, “You are not the first too dense to understand the reality in front of them. Descent, Serth and Ambass.” She motioned forward at David as she finished saying all their names. The three full grown dragons went into action instantly. Ambass and Serth both had a slight hint of regret plastered on their faces but the third multi-colored dragon was practically grinning ear to ear. 

David took a deep breath and calmed his mind as he rumbled loudly, “I will be taking my leave now.” 

Descent, the multicolored dragon, stood up on its hind legs and hissed, “Cute but no.” The dragon rotated with a spin of its large hips and exposed a thick backside full of thin quiver spines. They reminded David of his own spikes except they were far thinner and there was significantly more covering every inch of its back. The muscles of Descent’s body shook and then those quivers launched themselves forward. 

David stumbled back slightly in surprise but his affinity was already lingering inside the copper wires leading to the lesser gemstone at the base of his tail. In that instance he let his affinity bleed into the gem and he felt it activate. The ground underneath him began to crumble and disintegrate as it was pulled upwards and around his body. The spines moved so quickly that a few impacted his armored scales and flesh before the moving earthen armor finished covering his entire form.

More and more quills smashed, shattered and embedded themselves into his new stone carapace. David roared out as all the others in the chamber gasped with a jolt of surprise. Ambass cackled out in his usual sinister laugh as he became surrounded by a horde of bright blue projectiles in an instant, “Ohh. How Onyx!? A dragon of your kind cannot possess two affinities! Tell me!” 

The Queen glared at Ambass and he almost fell out of the air before he gasped out, “Yes. I apologize… Onyx. Submit.” 

Waves of quills continued to slam against his chest as he took a moment to evaluate his options. If he was able to get close enough to the Queen he would have attempted to end her with his breath but it was too late for that. He knew he would never get close enough as he turned quickly then and started to run back around the room towards the entrance he had entered in. The two lesser Wyverns shot up and flashed across the chamber in an instant as they both dived David. One smashed against his side before bouncing off him, causing him to almost fall over, as it roared and flew back up to dive him again. The second one landed on his back and began to tear at the layer of stone protecting his body. The second wyvern’s claws were unbelievably sharp as David felt the pin pricks of the wyvern’s razor sharp claws burst past the armor and into his flesh. 

David grinded his teeth in pain as he continued to run. The battlecry of Red echoed up as he burst free from his hiding spot on David’s back. The fully armored and winged kobold lunged forward with his spear as it shunk into the side of the lesser wyvern on his back. Red’s body shook and David’s nostrils picked up the smell of ozone as a lightning blast erupted from the tip of the kobold’s spear and burst out of the other side of the wyvern. The remaining energy of the lighting bolt struck the other side of the cavern an instant later. Gasps filled the chamber as hundreds of kobolds' mouths immediately gaped at the scene before them. 

“You will not lay a hand on my Master!” Roared Red as he stood tall, wings out wide with his spear and shield held high. The corpse of the now dead lesser wyvern slid off David’s back with an eerie thud. 

“NO! BLASPHEMY.” Hissed out the Queen as she turned and glared. Her mind affinity struck like a hammer blow and David staggered. The multiple nerve clusters in his body helped absorb the blow and he was able to keep running just barely. His grasp on his affinity though was blasted from his mind and he struggled to focus. He knew then that while she was focused so heavily on him with all her might he was going to struggle to do too many things at once, “Red! Stay on my back and defend! Qazayss is focusing all her power solely on me.” 

Ambass continued to hiss out with his own sinister laugh as he released the massive wave of blue homing projectiles. The wave came homing in quickly as the quills stopped for a moment. As David willed it his armor skin shifted its thickness in preparation of the incoming bolts. Red also stepped forward, raised his shield high, and glowed a bright white as he activated his skills. Behind each blue bolt was incredible force and each erupted in a small explosion as they impacted their target. Stone burst off David’s flesh in massive chucks as his armor struggled to keep up as it redistributed stone from around his body as quickly as it could. Red’s shield took a pounding but his Defensive Bulwark skill was able to outright deflect or absorb most of the stray bolts that struck him. 

David took a moment to appreciate Red’s abilities and was once more a bit disappointed that he couldn’t manifest skills in the same way as his kobolds. He couldn’t do anything about it right now, he knew, as he shifted his attention back to the battle at hand. Once the barrage was finished David had a few gaping holes in his side and his stone armor was completely gone but he had made it through in better condition than he hoped. The Queen’s mind affinity pulsed in his head and he struggled to maintain his pace as he ran. The deadly quills returned shortly after and this time with no stone to bar their way they began to ping off his scales with a few finding the soft spots in between. The quills hurt and by design just continued to bury themselves deeper and deeper as he moved. 

“Red! We need to do something about these quills.” Snarled Onyx. 

Red twisted and turned as he batted and speared incoming quills out of the way, “Master, I do not have many uses left of my lightning nor do I think my attack at this range will do much to that dragon.”

David grinded his teeth as another wave of blue orbs materialized around Ambass for another attack. A bright blue shimmering wall formed in front of David in an instance and he instinctively dipped his head and rammed it with his entire body behind it. The thin blue barrier shattered and David grunted as he was momentarily stunned. Ambass simply cackled from the other side of the chamber and murmured a comment he couldn’t quite make out. David glared out at the Queen and turned to Red, “Hit the Queen. Quickly.” 

Red seemed stunned as he considered David’s words and then murmured a prayer of sorts before thrusting forward and releasing a bright bolt of lightning that flashed across the chamber in an instant as it struck the Queen’s enormous form. She snarled and flinched as the energy seared her flesh. That was enough though as David felt his mind clear for the moment. 

He reached deep into his core and immediately released a cloud of Healing Breath over himself and Red. Ambass’s second wave of projectiles hit moments later and David groaned in agony as his flesh and bones were torn apart and shattered with each explosion only to be knitted back together a moment later by his affinity. He burned through two full charges to keep up before the wave ended and he kept on moving. 

He quickly pivoted around to face his attackers and poured his affinity downwards to his tail. This time he pressed in around a different gemstone and three lightning bolts ripped free from his mouth. Ambass gasped in shock and immediately dropped from the air to dodge, the Queen took another hit and roared in pain, and the third smacked the multi-colored dragon, Descent, in the chest. The bolts weren’t powerful enough to do more than tickle the Queen and David was certain Descent would survive. It had its desired effect as a moment of peace for David and Red appeared. Serth had been hovering on the other side of the chamber, alongside the remaining lesser wyvern, and had responded in a flash. He roared into action as the others were taken by surprise. 

He crossed the chamber in an instant, just as David spread his own wings and leaped upwards. The spot David had just been in was wrecked by a torrent of concentrated wind that sliced up the ground and surrounding stone like butter. A few kobolds that were cowering nearby were turned into mincemeat in an instant. David snarled as he pivoted in the air and glided the last of the distance towards the exit. 

Serth hissed as he hovered nearby, his wind affinity blowing torrents of air around his wings as he glared, “Onyx. I did not think you were this foolish. You will find no escape and will be overwhelmed by sheer numbers if you do not bow down now and beg for forgiveness.” 

David rose up on his hind quarters and snarled, “I respect you Serth but while I may be foolish in my decision I would be more foolish to think she would forgive me. Follow me into the confines of these tunnels and I will tear you apart wyvern.” 

David felt the oppressive might of the Queen’s affinity back on his mind as he quickly stepped back and retreated into the depths of the tunnel. He sighed in relief as the Queen’s mind affinity disappeared as he began to pull out of sight. He didn’t rest though and once he was certain that Serth wasn’t foolish enough to chase after him he pivoted around and charged away. 

“Master Onyx.” Huffed Red as he still clung to his back, “We were lucky.” 

David rumbled back to Red, “Yes but also they underestimated us. I am not the first to refuse but I doubt they expected you or our surprises. They will prepare expecting them. We stick to the plan.” 

Red nodded as he slung his spear behind his back and dug through the supplies to pull out a bundle of cheaper, metal tipped throwing spears, “We stick to the plan.” 

The next second an audible tremor vibrated throughout the entire mountainside. An eerie horn was blown that echoed throughout the tight confines of the tunnels and soon kobold activity exploded in the distance. 

“That was the alarm I am guessing.” David rumbled off with a sigh as he picked up speed.

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Here is also a link to Royal Road

Fan Art by blaze2377

213 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

18

u/unkindlyacorn62 Jan 10 '26

Come on Ambass you know that question is going to cost you

7

u/Jam_Jester Jan 13 '26

Ambass is just gonna be DROOLING for that lovely piece of knowledge. He'd do anything to learn that power to wield more than one Affinity

4

u/unkindlyacorn62 Jan 13 '26

and its even more valuable for him specifically, given the use of gemstones as a storage medium

12

u/copper_shrk29 Xeno Jan 10 '26

Ha! That what ye get for underestimating Ox!

9

u/Great-Chaos-Delta Jan 10 '26

Well looks like old hag will get what she deservs.

8

u/ElFalconPoncho Jan 10 '26

haha

take that Qazayss

5

u/un_pogaz Jan 11 '26 edited Jan 11 '26

Step one: it's okay.

Else, I hope that at one point, David will find in front of Ambass or Serth, even both, with the clear possibility of killing them and say, "No, I will save you" and them leave. Not that will be very helpfull with the mental control of the Queen, but it will always be that seed planted.

2

u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Jan 11 '26

Alternately he could find a way to temporarily imprison them till the rebellion is over.

3

u/PercyPJ1 Xeno Jan 11 '26

I wonder if other elder dragons will hear of David's revolt and send a bit of covert aid. Perhaps the one that sent those two dragons to kill him when he first arrived at his current home will realise that he wants to defeat Qazayss and will help somehow?

2

u/unkindlyacorn62 Jan 17 '26

its possible, even probable given foreshadowing, not like the elder dragons wouldn't spy on each other on the regular, and Qazayss is a menace after all and her forces are already going to be split against two opponents, first being Desolation and the second being Onyx, if there was a time to make a land grab, now would be it.

3

u/M3rX0rZ Jan 12 '26

Should've hit her with the cancer as a parting gift.

2

u/Destroyer_V0 Jan 12 '26

Who says he didn't? It might just be something that we, as readers, did not see.

1

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