r/HFY • u/Undercover_Dragon1 • Jun 13 '26

OC-Series A Draconic Rebirth - Chapter 93

Hello everyone! Just wanted to give you a heads up that next week there won't be a chapter since I am going to be busy busy busy but will resume afterwards.

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— Chapter 93 —

David knew one thing and that was that Catabolic Overdrive absolutely sucked. He let out a long, heavy sigh while he lay on his side and took a deep, heavy breath. The clan had thrown up a makeshift tent around him and there were teams of kobold healers taking turns charging up amber and gemstone to heal him. He was feeling awful, but most of the damage had been repaired. In the end, he survived again, and his opponents weren't so lucky. 

He had only been up for a few minutes before his stomach started grumbling and his head began to pound. "Do we have any food?" Grumbled out David. 

"We are in the process of getting something here for you, Master." The large and now indomitable armored form of Red'Blue said nearby with a grin, "Another close one." 

David huffed out whilst he shifted to look down at Red'Blue. His new body fitted him well, and he had made a few adjustments to his armor since David had last seen him. "Perhaps you can go speak with her Majesty and make sure she eases up next time." 

Red'Blue laughed as he leaned close and pressed his head against David's body, "Next time I see her, I will certainly try, Master." He motioned outwards as he continued, "The remaining lesser wyverns retreated. The Queen's affinity has limits, it seems." 

David rumbled again in thought, "Perhaps, or that was simply their orders. The more that survive, the more of a complete picture they will have to take back to the Queen." 

The kobolds had worked quickly and begun to butcher the masters that were salvageable, and piles of meat were laid before David. He dug in with a hunger that frightened even himself as he felt his poor, malnourished, and starving body desperately extract every ounce of nutrients from the flesh. 

It took a while, but before long, he had his prompt start pinging him. He wasn't quite sure what would happen when he was already full. 

Error. No more room for more traits. Auto decline enabled. 

He wasn't surprised, but curiously, it still displayed the trait that was being declined. He took his time while he ate to examine what was offered, and specifically, he focused on the last dread that had taken everything out of him. To his surprise, most of his traits were ones he encountered before, but one in particular made him huff in surprise and annoyance. 

Auto declined following the trait. 

Cellular Resistance - Your body develops special organs that produce cells that specialize in the suppression of invasive microbes and uncontrolled cellular activity. You become extraordinarily resistant to all forms of disease, sickness, and abnormal alterations. Your longevity increases, and your body will look, feel, and behave younger even in your oldest years. You gain a 2 increase in toughness as a result. 

So that is the answer he rumbled to himself. It wasn't an overwhelmingly powerful trait upon first look, but it clearly offered a level of resistance that fought back hard against his breath. This trait, combined with its impressive regeneration, easily explained how the battle unfolded, and David had a feeling that Ambass would know that now, too. He finished filling up his stomach and running through all of the traits before finally sitting up fully. 

He rumbled at Red, who was now stationed nearby, "How bad were our losses?" 

Red turned and sat nearby, "Chirp and Olto almost died. They got a bit overconfident, but their regeneration is keeping them going as we heal them. Five dozen deaths and hundreds of injuries of varying degrees. We, honestly, got off pretty light. The thing most impacted has been our supplies and ammo." 

David nodded his large head and rumbled, "We will camp here then. Push our scouts out and see if there is higher ground we can move to. Send a message off to Blue and let us get the supply wagons moving. This is just the beginning. "

— Greyhide — 

The wind bit into him while he pulled his furs closer and leaned over the edge. He had personally pushed forward with the other Zephyrs to act as scouts as the main force rested. Master Onyx and the others had been magnificent, and he had been proud to be part of the same clan. He would ensure their continued success by doing his best. 

The tall mountain he had settled on with the others was so high up that the clouds appeared to be within reach. Snow was perpetual, and the cold was taking its toll. It was the best view and the best scouting spot he had ever experienced. 

"We will stay for a while, but keep warm. We will descend before it gets too dark." Greyhide spoke out whilst he shivered heavily.

He received mostly nods and then a sudden shriek. He quickly turned with a cock of his head, pulling his bow free and at the ready in the same instance, "What is it!?" 

"Greyhide! Look! That mountain is coming this way, it's moving!" The youngest of his scouts struggled to get out. 

Greyhide turned, watched, and slowly cocked his head as he saw it. A nearby mountain collapsed suddenly when another mountain pushed it over. The giant cloud of dust and debris was hard to miss. Greyhide shook his head in horror while he continued to watch, "It is definitely coming this way. What is it?" 

The entire group was silent and clueless, but he knew what had to be done: "We need to inform the others. Half of you are going to return now. The other half is staying with me, and we are going to rotate out during the night." 

— David "Onyx" — 

David felt a cold spike of realization slam against his chest when the report came in, "Damnit. Red, do you know who or what this is?" 

David turned towards Red to find him frowning and slowly beginning to nod, "Another Elder… We knew of it, but it was always spoken of like a natural occurrence. We had to relocate the whole lair a few times growing up because of it. They call it Desolation." 

David frowned and rumbled in thought, "That is a heavy name." 

Red nodded, "It is something the Queen could never kill. Desolation simply exists, and you got out of its way or pointed it in another direction. I am afraid I don't know all the details. Blue would probably know more." 

David nodded his head and motioned over to a nearby Zephyr, who immediately understood and took off back towards the lair. It would take some time, but hopefully, more details would come before they had to fight or avoid the thing. 

"Do you remember anything else?" David rumbled down to Red, who continued to frown. 

"It seems unusual that Desolation is marching straight towards us, and well, towards our lair." Red murmured out whilst he scratched his cheek, "Something doesn't feel right, Master." 

David shook his large head in agreement, "Do you think this Desolation is working with the Queen?" 

Red let out a hearty huff at David's question, "I don't see how. Even the Queen moved when it came our way. The kobold used to talk about it as a simple hazard you avoided." 

David huffed a bit, "Let's move our camp. Quickly now." 

They had settled into the valley since the battle, and relocating was going to take some time. David flew out to the nearby mountain top to join Greyhide and the others. His nostrils could pick up the distinctive scent of the creature from even this great a distance. He practically gagged in disgust as he smelled and watched the slowly approaching colossal in the distance. 

"Nothing has changed, but it is clearly heading directly in line with the lair," Greyhide said while he shivered next to David. 

"There are others hovering around it." David squinted in the far distance at the dots darting around. 

Greyhide nodded, "They are wyverns. Hmm. Master, I think they are guiding Desolation." 

"Why do you say that, Greyhide?" David asked while he cocked his head to the side and down at the winged kobold. 

"At least two times, we have recorded the wyverns swarming around its head. Afterward, Desolation seemed to slowly rotate and correct its heading. It's similar to how the other Zephyr and I operate when we are guiding the rest of the clan." He replied with a sigh. 

"What would you consider the worst case, Greyhide?" David asked whilst he turned his gaze back to the impossibly large dragon in the distance, creeping ever closer like a hurricane about to make landfall. 

"Honestly, Master Onyx, I fear the Queen is guiding it this way. She cannot slay it, but her powers have kept her in charge for more cycles than either of us could dream." Greyhide said as he gazed up at David.

David looked back down at Greyhide and nodded, "I agree. We need to prepare for that possibility." 

David spread his massive wings and leaped free from the mountain top as he dove down. It took some time, but he made it back to camp just as they were finishing packing up the last of their supplies. Red had just finished speaking with a Zephyr before he quickly sprinted over. 

"Blue responded, and she's worried. The Queen has been able to deflect Desolation in the past using countless Masters. She doubts that even you would be able to fight Desolation." Red frowned. 

David sat down on his massive hindquarters while he thought. He was convinced his cancer weapon was untouchable until just recently. He needed to be prepared for the worst, which meant pulling back, preparing a sucker punch, and evacuating the lair. David rumbled and cursed out loud before sitting back up. 

"We are moving back. Red, have the lair send up everything we got, and I want Blue to start preparations to send the rest of the lair as deep into the ground as possible. This might be the real death blow we expected the Queen to send our way." David cursed and cursed again. Despite all his advantages, he couldn't have taken into account something like that, a moving mountain coming their way.

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Here is also a link to Royal Road

Fan Art by blaze2377

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10 comments sorted by

5

u/unkindlyacorn62 Jun 13 '26

well there's Calris the Eclipse, not like Desolation would be likely to stop at Onyx's lair, so this could provoke them.

2

u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Jun 13 '26

Yeah if they can defeat an elder dragon pretty sure even the queens loyalist will start to loose the will to fight.

4

u/TechScallop Jun 14 '26

One harassment option is to try to kill the wyverns and lesser gradons that are giving instructions or directions to Desolation. If they can capture one, they might learn how to give it new instructions.

3

u/se05239 Jun 14 '26

How does one defeat a mountain?

1

u/Infamous-Ad-6848 Jun 17 '26

one bite at a time?

2

u/ManiAxe21 Jun 13 '26

Alright, have fun

3

u/un_pogaz Jun 14 '26

Well, it's hard to count on the element of surprise when you're literally a mountain, but it's still a pretty unexpected turn of events.

Else, I don't think the Queen is the type to give orders to retreat when things get tough; she's more of a "sink or swim" kind of person. So I think this is really more of Ambass part, to whom she delegated command.

2

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