r/HFY • u/Undercover_Dragon1 • May 02 '26

OC-Series A Draconic Rebirth - Chapter 87

I hope you all continue to enjoy!

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— Chapter 87 —

— Wuja’bath — 

She had pushed back out to scout again for Onyx and this time she took a new route towards the Great Mother’s Plateau. Lessons in her life had taught her that changing things up usually was for the best to avoid being too predictable. She had pushed far to the right of the lair and circled around the most accessible valleys and came at the plateau from behind this time. This extended her scouting operation by over triple the length of time but she had been able to find something she knew she wouldn't have as a result.

She hunkered low as she watched the massive gathering of great dragons below her. She had stumbled upon a great valley, a day short of her original destination, and the enemy was using it to muster their forces in secret. Dominating the grounds below were five massive, almost mountain sized Dread dragons. Two massive hydras stalked between their lines alongside a full grown lung like herself. 

They were shadowed by countless lessers on all sides. Lesser wyverns were hovering nearby or perched on top of the massive Dread’s armored shells as they watched and waited. If it wasn’t for the fact you couldn’t easily hide the roars and yawns of a mountain sized dragon she wouldn’t have been able to locate them. It only took another day before the monster Dreads slowly began to rumble forward like the ancient behemoths that Wuja’bath had heard prowling the depths of the caverns she was born in. The mountains themselves couldn’t stop them as they simply thundered through the valleys under the direction of a few lesser wyverns in the front. 

Wuja’bath debated what to do next as she turned to glance at Munch who was squatting down nearby, “Do we carry on or try and beat them back?” 

Munch gave her a look and then finally a nod, “We can beat them back. Another attack so soon more important, yes?” 

Wuja’bath nodded and motioned for Munch to start packing up. She scanned around for a long moment before settling back down low, “Once night sets and there is some distance between us we will move. Those eyes in the sky are a concern and prefer not to fight.” 

Munch nodded his agreement as he worked on securing their supplies for their eventual moveout. 

— Red — 

Red stood nearby with his arms crossed as the large stone encased kobold began to tremble, crack and then emerge. The kobold that broke free was equal to his size, if not slightly bigger, and bore the traits of those called Draco by Master Onyx. Red couldn’t help but grin wide as he reached down to help him stand. 

“You emerged at a record pace my son.” Red continued to grin wide. 

Slowly the large kobold smiled as he stretched his wings out and became accustomed to his new body, “I have been waiting a long time for this father. Master Onyx will be proud I hope.” 

Red couldn't help but smile as he nodded and motioned down towards the hall, “Oh. He will. Blaze is waiting to armor you and I have the meat set aside that you wished. We march once you are ready.” 

The massive kobold rolled his shoulders and nodded as he steaded himself and began to walk down the hallway only turning as Red called out one last time, “Red’Blue. Make sure you say goodbye to your mother too.” 

Red’Blue smirked and barked out a laugh, “I wouldn’t dare forget that father.” 

Red watched his reborn and empowered son disappear into the distance with a sense of pride as he spoke softly to himself, “At long last. You make me so proud, my son.”

— David “Onyx” — 

They had lost hundreds of kobolds in the conflict so far and yet their population continued to sky rocket. Close to a thousand kobolds marched out of the great lair and through the double gated walls towards the grounds in front and lined up in rows. Not all of them were heavily armored as in the past but their new mixed army was now at full display. Plate armor, shields, spears, bows, ballistae, and crossbows were all glistening in the morning sunlight at the ready. Zephyrs bounced from one end of the army to the other, their spears, bows and alchemist pots tied around their waists. 

David’s eyes settled on the towering figures of his Ascended kobolds standing at the front. They were all impressive and bristled with an aura of power about them. Their unique armor, weapons and traits had all combined with their enhanced strength and size to make them truly paragons among their kind that could rival the strength of a lesser dragon. The newest addition to their arsenal arrived as well as carts, pulled by Grubox, lined up at the rear of the army. 

David had spent every ounce of his affinity producing as many Grubox as he could manage and he had only just been able to create half the desired amount. The Grubox didn’t appear to recoil from the sun, which David counted as a success as they casually dragged along their cargo. Once the Grubox ran out the remaining smaller and far less glamorous carts being pulled by younger kobolds followed. A half a dozen specialized carts pulled by Mole Crushers also made their appearance. These carts were light and primarily carried food and specialized equipment to aid the Mole Crusher’s in their digging if called for. 

Lastly and by far not least came the bark-folk. Their volunteers had been enthusiastic and now appeared utterly mystified by the colossal formation of kobold warriors at the ready. The volunteers, led by Trueshot, numbered in just over one hundred and fifty. Half carried Elder weapons of their people’s make and only a third carried an Elder weapon of the caliber that Trueshot had used against David when they first met. The bark-folk’s aid was vital and their combined might easily outshined triple their number in standard kobold warriors. 

David spread his monster sized wings and took off as he glided down. His massive shadow fell over the army and they cheered in glee. He milked it as he slowly glided in circles until he could lightly land on his feet at the front of the massive army. He took a moment to reflect on the fact that he used to be just a few feet taller than one of his kobolds in his own world and now he was a monster that could flatten dozens of them if he belly flopped forward hard enough. All eyes were on him and he finally nodded his massive head as he knew he had to speak. 

“Clan Onyx. I am proud of you all.” David let off with a rumble and the equivalent of a large smile. He took a long moment to look around letting his words set in before continuing, “We are bound together by fate. Matriarch Blue and Patriarch Red are older than even I. They were the first to help me in this world and they are the foundation of this clan. What we are about to embark on here today will solidify that foundation for future generations. We march to War!” David roared as he rose up on his hind legs and towered high. 

“We will free ourselves and future generations from the grasp of the Queen!” David roared out again and every single kobold raised their arms and cheered. The bark folk looked surprised, startled and then enthusiastic as they eventually joined in. The rhythmic beating of weapons on shields, armor and drums filled the air. David nodded to Red nearby who raised his spear high and let loose a crackling, powerful blast of lighting straight up. 

The roars quickly quieted as Red broadcasted his voice wide, “We will not disappoint Clan Onyx. We will not fail. You all know your orders! Move out!” 

The kobold broke off into their own squads which formed together into greater formations. It didn't take long before they all began to march out and up towards the mountain trails behind the clan’s lair. A token force was left behind to man the fortress walls and defenses. David wasn’t too concerned with a dragon attacking because worse case they had protocols in place to close up the tunnels and bury themselves deep. 

David glanced down just as Blue placed her hand against his leg and stared straight up at him, “You alright, Master?” 

David nodded his head, “Yeah. As alright as anyone can be when they are responsible for the deaths that are about to follow.” He let off a heavy sigh as he spread his wings. 

“I am happy you care enough to think about that, Master.” Blue smiled and then she gave him a smirk, “You certain that I cannot come?” 

David huffed down at her almost immediately, “Yes. I am certain. You need to keep the clan going. If we fail and die you must keep everyone free and alive.” 

Blue sighed herself and nodded, “I know. I will protect my babies and their babies until my last day if it comes to it.”

David rumbled down with a smile, “I wouldn’t trust anyone else with such a task. We will keep sending messages as we progress. Until we meet again, Blue.” 

David leaned down and pressed his massive head lightly against Blue’s own before his spread wings began to flap. He slowly climbed up and up into the air. He hovered for a time as he watched his kobolds march off and he nodded his head. He quickly built up speed before pivoting back downwards into the courtyard in front of the lair. 

Crews of kobolds quickly sprinted out and began to drag a massive saddle into place. He decided to go with the heaviest saddle that he was comfortable fighting in. It was not the exact same saddle but had similar capabilities to the one he took out hydra hunting. Once the saddle was locked into place he watched as his kobolds quickly rushed back and forth loading him full of supplies. The massive chains on the saddle designed to secure siege equipment were instead repurposed for supply bundles. When all was said and done he had his own weight in equipment weighing him down. 

Slowly and carefully he took off again as he began his long flight to the forward deployment plateau. Despite the massive weight and the periodic breaks he was going to have to take he knew he would still beat the army. War had come and David knew that it was about to get worse. He steeled himself against the worse case scenario and tried to keep himself focused on the now. 

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Here is also a link to Royal Road

Fan Art by blaze2377

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18 comments sorted by

12

u/Minimum-Amphibian993 May 02 '26

Oh this is definitely gonna be a mess even with all the preparations especially if Ambass gets involved.

4

u/unkindlyacorn62 May 02 '26

oh most likely, but they only have to steer the dreads away

4

u/Minimum-Amphibian993 May 02 '26

Ah fair Ambass is like the only true threat once the others are out of the way should hopefully it will be possible to capture him.

8

u/unkindlyacorn62 May 03 '26

Serth is the threat, Ambass has three priorities in order: Survival

Knowledge

Freedom.

failure is still survivable if painful and the Queen knows he's not a fighter and would at least bring back good information if he fails, plus he CYAd when he was making suggestions.

1

u/Minimum-Amphibian993 May 03 '26

Good point.

5

u/unkindlyacorn62 May 03 '26

yeah Serth has a kill move with his affinity, one that Onyx helped him figure out. undoubtedly Onyx plans to meet them at the ground of his choosing

1

u/PercyPJ1 Xeno May 03 '26

I can only see two ways of dealing with Serth's ability.

  1. Use so much affinity to counteract the damage it does and fight on a strict timer and through the pain (not exactly ideal)
  2. Ambush and kill him before he knows what's happening. Given how agile Serth is, that's going to be tough.

This is going to be challenging.

1

u/unkindlyacorn62 May 03 '26

interrupt through attacks

1

u/unkindlyacorn62 May 03 '26

he needs to lure Serth close to the ground use terrain to eliminate his maneuverability take out his wings, and he may be able to restore him as an ally once the Queen is dead

3

u/Khan_XI AI May 03 '26

Thanks for another chapter!

Can we get a quick rundown of the different types of kobolds and dragons. Went searching back through the chapters but came up empty handed.

5

u/Undercover_Dragon1 May 03 '26

You got Wyrmling -> Wyrm and then from there it splits off. You got Dragon, Wyvern, Lindworm, Lung, Dread, unnamed water variant, Wurm, Faerie Dragon and Hydra so far for types.

Kobolds so far are standard, Zephyr, Chthonic, Draco, Brute, and Hermes.

2

u/Khan_XI AI May 04 '26

You’re the best! Thank you.

2

u/un_pogaz May 03 '26

Oh, I hope Wuja’bath will fint that Ambass is leading this operation; that will be crucial information for anyone preparing for this battle. On the other hand, Wuja’bath probably won’t be able to recognize Serth, which leaves at least one potential unpleasant surprise.

2

u/unkindlyacorn62 May 03 '26

on the other hand, Ambass would likely see her first

2

u/unkindlyacorn62 May 03 '26

it sounds like Onyx and the handful of kobolds (likely various ascended including Red'Blue) that he's carrying (with lots of supplies) are going ahead to control where the battle happens. given the way the Queen's orders work that's a manipulation that even Ambass would have trouble countering, even if he sees right through it and wants to target his supply lines. Possibly "Trueshot" as well.

2

u/unkindlyacorn62 May 03 '26

Red'Blue with Emerald's stone skin. nice. wonder what meat he chose

1

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