Their maiden landing was unplanned and a bit rough, the rapid descent creating a large makeshift clearing in the forest as the Empress body destroyed trees underneath her before She come to a stop. The flight had been fairly short, as due to her size and power she was able to fly a lot faster than the Dragon Familiars, and for most of it Izen had been holding on for dear life, not at all used to flying and trying to make some sense of what was going on while the Empress of Light pounded along, aware that she wasn’t going to be able to stay airborne for long. Having been only just summoned, the Empress of Light was quite tired as Dragons were never brought into being with much energy in reserve. Familiars were usually give a day or two to rest to bring them to full physical strength before they had their first flight or started working with their Rider, but Izen and the Empress of Light did not have that luxury, so it was a matter of getting as far away as possible before touching down. They had almost made it over the northern forest, but the fatigue hit the Empress of Light sooner and harder than she had anticipated, and Izen held on tight as they made impact.

Izen climbed down off the Dragon, surveying the damage around them.

“Are you alright?” she asked of her new companion while picking leaves out of her hair.

‘Hurt only in Pride. My body’s quite tough.’ The Empress of Light replied.

Izen looked relieved. “How long before you’re able to get up?” he queried.

‘Full strength would probably take a week or more,’ the Empress of Light mused, ‘but I should be able to deal with our current issue fairly shortly.’

Izen sat down against her, everything starting to catch up with her.

“Light, what exactly has happened here? To me?” she asked of the Dragon

‘Light. I like that, and not so much of a mouth full,’ Light replied. ‘You’ve awakened,’ she then stated.

“And what exactly does that mean? Why am I a female now?” Izen was somewhat overwhelmed by it all.

‘You are a Dragon Rider. Your magic has been unsealed, and so your true nature is showing.’

“And all Dragon Riders are female.” Izen stated the well known fact. “So the magic has changed me?”

‘Yes and no. The magic has changed you, but you have always had the magic. It was just sealed inside you. This is your true form, and who you are now.’

Izen couldn’t say that he was displeased with his current form, quite the opposite in fact, but he had spent the last 21 years being the opposite sex. “So why was I not always a female then?”

‘Something to do with the way your magic was sealed I would guess. My awareness was limited at that stage, and it was done well before you were brought to Evergreen.’

“So I’ll always be this way now?” she asked.

’This is your true form,’ Light reiterated, ‘though you should be able to temporarily change into your male form, since you were in it for so long.’

“How?” Izen suddenly felt quite keen to give it a go. With all that had happened in the 24 hours she was feeling quite unsettled, and perhaps if she could change back it would give her some sense of her previous normality.

‘While I have no idea how most of your magic works,’ Light warned, ‘as I can do something similar this one I should be able to help you with. Concentrate on your male form and I’ll weave the magic for you at my end.’

Izen stood up, and thought of his male form, and he could feel Light weaving his magic for him through their shared bond. The shift felt weird and disconcerting. She could feel parts of her actually changing, and she had to keep her eyes closed to avoid freaking out. It didn’t take long to finish, and when Izen opened his eyes he was male again, short hair and all, though his body actually felt weird and uncomfortable. He was also standing dressed just in the Skeon, the bone armour gone, his bare feet on the forest floor.

‘You can summon and dismiss the armour as you please, but only in your female form, as it is part of being a Dragon Rider. I’m still here as this trick only effects your body directly, but if you stay this way for a prolonged length of time I will tire.’

Izen stood silently, soaking in his past for a short length of time. It wasn’t the same as it had been. He somehow felt naked, not in the clothes sense as he had the Skeon on which he quite liked, tho having said that he would never wear just that in public – he should probably get a cloak at least at some point soon if he was ever going to do this again, but his being, his soul.

“Dismiss the weave please” he asked of Light, eager to return to his true form, to which she complied.

Izen’s body changed back to its female form as he watched, but this time the process felt euphoric and sensual. She fit the Skeon perfectly, its feel on her feminine form awakening something in her. Her bone armour returned (it was good to have the boots back on again at the least), and her hair grew out to its full length and mass. She felt herself to make sure she was fully changed, and then gave a soft sigh. It seemed weird to her, but physically she felt like herself again. In her mind though she was currently both male and female as she could feel aspects of both in her. The male part that had always been there and was trying to make sense of what was going on, and the new female part that was actually quite happy with the change.She didn’t know if that would ever change. It was after all quite new to her.

‘I think you liked that a little too much,’ Light teased, to which Izen blushed.

‘You should think of a feminine name too,’ Light added. ‘It might prove useful at some stage.’

Izen could see the sense in that, though she didn’t intend to give up on his given name either – it was still an integral part of him/her.

“I have bone armour, but no weapon,” Izen queried of Light.

‘So many questions, ’ Light quipped, ‘But I don’t mind. I know of creatures and magic, but not of the how, nor of the human realm – of that my knowledge is limited to yours. The Dragon bones are just as you have, a reflection of your nature and magic. You are the weaver, you fight directly with your magic. Given your training in close combat you should be able to adapt. As to how, I have no clue, other than that you have to draw it out and weave it.’

‘Your alignment is Dawn, so you are the Dawn Weaver.’ Light added.

Izen leaned back into Light, running her hands along her legs. “A title huh.’

‘It was proclaimed over you when your magic was originally sealed.’

‘Your clothes are enchanted just like the Riders, better actually, so you have a little leeway if you have to fight before you’re ready.’ she added.

“How do you know that?” Izen asked of Light. “I’d rather it not get damaged tho, I kinda like it”

‘Can’t you feel it?’

Having it brought to her attention she realized that if she concentrated, yes, she could. As she slid her hands over her form she could feel the defensive magic residing in its threads.

‘So what now?” she asked of her Familiar, turning to face the massive dragon.

‘Give me a little more time, and then we’ll be set.’

While she waited on Light, Izen tested out the capabilities of her body, running through some of her self taught training mantras. She found that she was a lot more agile and flexible than she had been, and surprisingly also stronger than she used to be, which she found odd given her figure. She wondered if the summoning of the Familiar also had unseen effects on the Rider.Regardless, she would need to adjust the way that she fought, relying more on her speed, and less on brute force, until she found a way to bring her magic out in combat. Light said that she was a weaver and hence would use magic to fight, but she had no clue as to how to use it, nor how using it in combat would look like. Could she summon a sword or start a fire? She had never heard of her alignment, so of course didn’t know what it related to, and having apparently been void of magic, since it had been sealed within her, she had had no training and only limited study on its use. Also, as far as she was aware most potent magic actually took a lot of time and effort to bring into being and she wasn’t sure how much use that would be in combat, especially if for example it took her hours to summon a sword. That, and most of a Dragon Riders power was in their Dragon and armaments (which was just her armour in her case), so what did she have left to use in combat?Regardless she would need training, which would require finding someone who had similar abilities, or who had knowledge of it. That would be a mission in itself, especially as she’d never seen any Dragons as large as Light. The scars on her arm were still quite raw as well, irritated from when Light was summoned, and she found it odd that she had no armour covering them, which left her arm very exposed.

It was an hour later when Light finally declared that she was ready, having replenished enough energy. Fortunately for familiars they just had to rest (not necessarily sleep though that was faster), as being a creature of magic they had no need for food. She was recovered just enough to do what she needed to do, as time was still of the essence. Stepping back as asked, Izen watched on in awe as Light’s massive body was enveloped in magic, glowing brightly like the rise of the sun.

“This isn’t going to let everyone know we’re here is it?” he wondered.

‘Hopefully not. It’s very localized.’

The magic coalesced and then shrunk down, getting smaller and smaller, Light’s body having vanished, till it got to about the size of Izen’s head, and then dissipated, revealing the form of a tiny, super cute dragon which was flying at her chest height. Izen couldn’t help but adore it, her features not true to the species, but rather what a child would have imagined a cute and cuddly toy version of Light to be like.

‘And this is the other me, my indoors and inconspicuous body.’ she declared.

“You’re sooo cute like that.” Izen replied, a feminine impulse in her making her bound up to Light and give her a tight hug, before she composed herself.

“Alright, I’m over that now.” she said, releasing Light and placing her hands on her hips. “I’m not so sure about inconspicuous tho, as I’ve never seen heard of a Rider having a familiar so small. Mind you, I’d never heard of one as big as your other form either,” she mused. “You’re even smaller than those lizard things.”

‘Dracokin,’ Light corrected.

“You’re of two extremes Light. Don’t you have anything in the middle?” she queried.

‘Nope. Just what you have seen,’ Light stated, before teasing, ‘Just like you have two extremes too for your forms and nothing in the middle.’ She then proceeded to land and perch on the bone armour covering Izen’s shoulder, risking getting entangled in her hair.

“True. I’m not sure I’d want anything in the middle either,” Izen agreed, before looking serious. “It’s going to make travel interesting tho. If I ride on you everyone will notice, and when you ride on me we’ll currently be going at my walking pace.”

‘I won’t be fully replenished for a few days at least, but after that using either form shouldn’t pose any issues, as long as you don’t ask me to fly continuously for days on end,’ Light commented.

“I’d probably fall asleep and tumble off you first,” Izen smiled, then becoming contemplative.

“Now what? We should head out of the forest, as this site is a little too obvious. I don’t think the forest edge is far from here, but after that?”

‘Sounds like a solid plan,’ Light agreed.

“You don’t have any idea of how far we are from a settlement?” Izen asked hopefully on the off chance, as she started to make her way across the debris towards the northern edge of the clearing.

“No idea. We’ve never been here before.”

“True.” As Light had always been with her, it made sense that her geographical knowledge would be limited to his, and she had said as much earlier.

“Do you think anyone will pursue us?”

“I did destroy their temple, and they did have you in their dungeon for apparent association with that old lady, so...”

“...there’s a fairly good chance.” Izen finished. “It’s just a matter of when.”

“I wonder where the old lady got these clothes from?” she wondered as an afterthought.

Travel through the forest wasn’t the fastest, but at least they could travel together. Had Light been the size of a normal Dragon Familiar she wouldn’t have had the smallest hope of being able to move between the trees. This forest had a much friendlier atmosphere that the Weeping Woods that stood near her home village, but she was still on full alert as Night Beasts roamed everywhere, and for the average person running into one was usually fatal. That was one of the tasks held by the Riders – the hunting and elimination of Night Beasts. All Sisters were trained to fight, as part of their Creed (what it actually entailed, Izen had no clue, something about securing the future), and the hunting helped them maintain their skills. They also did a lot of the bounty hunting since they had greater mobility, and some also worked as bodyguards for Royals and Nobles, in return for sizeable donations to the Clan. The Guilds had Casters and Ferals in their ranks, but most of their efforts were economic instead of military, even though it was common knowledge that the Guilds could probably hold their own against the Clans. The Kingdoms had their own military, but as the Guilds and Clans were a force to be reckoned with, the Kingdoms kept them on their good side, even though the Clans had openly said that they would not involve themselves in any political skirmishes. A precautionary measure for the Clans, good business sense for the Guilds.

They were nearing the forest’s edge when their senses went on high alert. Izen stopped in her tracks, moving back against a large tree just as a black Great Cat, larger in size than her, came into view between the trees. A Night Beast. It’s muscles rippled as it paced it’s way slowly towards Izen, waiting to see what its prey would do.

“Can you do anything in that form?” Izen asked of Light.

'Very limited, especially at the moment. Though I can cheer you on.'

Izen sighed. Night Beasts she usually avoided, as he had been no match for them. Now she might be (she really wasn’t sure), but she didn’t have a choice here she suspected. This thing was a hunter, and it has set its sights on them. Well, she had to cut her teeth on something, as the saying went.

The Great Cat started circling around them, before then launching itself straight at them, claws gleaming in the limited light that filtered down through the forest canopy. Izen dodged to the side, and then dodged back straight away, avoiding the Cat’s follow up swing, as Light flew straight up and out of reach, the Cat’s concentration on Izen. The Cat lunged again, and this time Izen rolled to the side along a tree, landing a solid kick on the side of the Cat before leaping back out of a counter-attacks range. While the Cat snarled the blow seemed to have no effect on it. Izen wasn’t having too many issues dodging in her female form, even her hair was staying out of harms way, but she knew that she’d only be able to keep it up for so long before she started to tire and make a mistake, and the Cat would last longer than her.

‘Use your magic,’ Light advised, reading her thoughts.

“How?” Izen replied, dodging another attack and using the momentum to propel herself temporarily into the lower branches of a tree.

‘You have to draw it out and weave it.’ Light stated, reiterating what she had said earlier.

‘Bring it out. Call it to you,’ she added. ‘Just try.’

Izen had no clue at all as to how to do that, and in the middle of a battle like now was not the best time to be experimenting, but as Light said, she had to try. She tried visualizing the magic as she dropped out of the tree and leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding another swing that took a few strands of her hair with it, and then tried feeling the magic as she rolled away from another lunge, the cats claws impacting with her boots and bouncing off, throwing her balance off. She recovered instantly as the Cat tried to leap on top of her, grateful that the Dragon Bone had deflected the blow, dodging under the Cat and kicking it to the chest as she did so. This was not working, and without a weapon she wasn’t able to land a meaningful blow.

“Come to me, dammit,” she cried out, her desperation finally managing to draw the magic out. The scars on her arm started to glow, the magic bubbling and spilling out of the wounds, tendrils trailing off her arms as she moved to keep her distance. The Cat had stopped, and was eyeing her intently. She didn’t want to give it the chance. Reacting to her panic, the magic poured out even faster, coalescing into a massive claw that struck out at the Cat before it had a chance to react, tearing it into two with such force that the two halves bounced off the ground and flew in opposite directions, and leaving a massive claw rend in the tree behind where it had been, before then fading away.

‘Well done, You did it,’ Light commented, ‘Tho that was overkill,’ she added.

Izen stepped back, panting, trying to force herself to calm down. She agreed with Light. While she had managed to call forth the magic, it has been raw, uncontrolled, and far excessive to what she had needed, and she had felt the drain on her. Desperation and fear had brought it out, not control and purpose, which is how she needed to learn to do it. She was starting to see some ideas of how she could use it in combat, and her instinct was telling her that the potential was endless, she just had to master it.

Still shaking from the encounter, she looked down at her arm, the claw scars on it were still glowing. It would seem that the wounds were part of the conduit for her power, which was why the armour didn’t form there. She found it weird, but then, she had no understanding of magic in the first place, so who was she to judge.

‘That much magic is going to leave traces for a while. We should leave,’ Light said, interrupting her thoughts. Izen nodded in agreement as Light landed back on her shoulder plates. She looked down at her boots. She could see the claw marks from the Cat on them, but they were quickly disappearing.

“That’s useful,” she commented.

‘It’s a part of you. As long as you aren’t fatigued your armour will repair itself.’

Izen regained her bearings, and moving around the corpse pieces of the Night Beast, resumed transvering towards the forest edge. It wasn’t long before they broke out of it and stood at its edge, looking out into rolling hills.

After spending a short time foraging at the forests edge for a small amount of food, Izen and Light headed away from the forest. Well, mostly just Izen as Light was more than happy to ride on her shoulder. It allowed her to recoup her energy faster, so Izen wasn’t particularly concerned, and light didn’t weight much anyways. She was going to look really weird as a Rider to everyone, either having a massive Dragon with her, or a chibi one. Light’s sizes was going to cause issues, but as they were already on the run for circumstances out of her control it probably wasn’t going to make a difference. Had she not been in prison beforehand (and a male was well, as that probably wouldn’t be going down well), the Clans might have accepted the destruction of the temple as part of the summons of Light, but her apparent association with the Witch threw all that out. All that he had been doing was trying to rescue some old lady who was being attacked by some rat like creatures. So much for doing the right thing, though she was sure there was much more to it and her than met the eye. The Old lady did seem to know a lot, and be in control of the events the entire time.

Amongst other things she needed a cloak. Normal clothes were an option, but to wear them she would have to dismiss the armour and, as she had noticed when she had temporarily changed to a male and then back to female again (as she hadn’t yet dismissed the armour while female), the armour would shred anything it touched that wasn’t both skin tight and enchanted when it came out. That left only parts of her body viable for normal clothes. In her case it was actually a lot more than for some of the Riders that she had seen, some of who had well over half of their body covered in bone, but to be honest she wasn’t really tempted to do so. She was happy to keep wearing the Skeon at the moment. A cloak also had the benefit that it could be thrown over the armour and hair, and hide her face if needed.

They walked for the remainder of the day, keeping to the lowlands and using any available trees and scrub as additional cover. Izen was sure any pursuers would be looking for a temple sized dragon, but additional care wouldn’t go amiss. She sent Light to fly up and survey every so often, looking for any useful landmarks and/or a road. While she didn’t know where they were currently heading, she did want to try and find some civilization of some form. She hadn’t ever travelled far outside of Evergreen, so she was quite nervous about going to a major city, or any city actually, not to mention that she didn’t have any money at the moment, and she also didn’t know if they’d suddenly be on a wanted list. But she needed to go somewhere. Once Light had fully recovered they would be able to cover ground faster and have better options, but at the moment she’d be walking. At the least it would provide opportunities to practice trying to weave her magic as well.

By the time night fell they were still in the middle of nowhere, so they stopped their journey, managing to forage for a little more food as well as water from a creek, and made shelter in a deep recess of a hill. While Light liked to sleep, Light didn’t need to sleep, (and of course Light could always nap on her shoulder as Izen walked), so Light kept watch, snuggled up against Izen while she rested, as she was in desperate need of sleep..

mogust

And thus concludes the second chapter. Izen has managed to survive her first encounter with a dangerous creature, but she has a life ahead of her yet, and is unaware that Myne has been trying to find her.

For those reading, thank you, and I hope that you have enjoyed the chapter. The next installment may end up being posted this weekend, depending on how quickly I get it proofed.