Raka was amazed.
This place, The Queen's Swampland, was undeniably beautiful. The thin layer of fog adds to the ambiance.
Now that it was morning, he could finally see all the animals living here. Long-legged birds with sharp teeth plucking fish from the water.
And don't even get him started on the fish. For some reason, the fish in the Queen's Swampland were so colorful, with a mix of reds, blues, and greens.
He walked through the swampland at the very front of the group. Nova told him to stay close to her, probably to ensure he didn't do anything.
Which was… fair. It would be pretty weird if she suddenly got all friendly with him.
"Why is it called the Queen's Swampland anyway?" He asked her.
She didn't answer his question and merely scoffed. But a firm nudge to her side and a stern look from Cora quickly changed her tune.
It was a few seconds before she finally answered him, "It's a long story. Around 2000 years ago, a village full of fairies was destroyed in a war."
Nova furrowed her brows as if to concentrate, "Amongst one of them was a mother who lost her child; she grew tired of the senseless wars that came their way and took her child's life. So she gathered a group of fairies, and they all ran away to seek a new home.
She turned to look at the large trees surrounding her, and a smile crept up her face. "After a long journey, they found themselves here in this swamp. From there, she guided her group to build a village."
"And then it thrived into a kingdom?"
"Over time, yes." She said, irritated that Raka cut her off. "With her guidance, that small village became a thriving kingdom, and her people chose her to become Queen. While I've never seen it up close, I know it was a glorious kingdom."
"What happened to it?"
Surprisingly, Nova let out a small chuckle,
"Nothing bad, actually. After 1500 years, most inhabitants moved to better places, until the kingdom eventually… disappeared."
Raka heard her tone change at the end but didn't comment.
"That's why this is called the Queen's Swampland. Remember what once was a thriving and peaceful kingdom of fairies."
"Wow…"
"I'm surprised you didn't know that; it's a pretty well-known tale."
He just shrugged, "Eh, not really familiar with Arche's history."
Nova made no comment and focused back on the road. The group walked on in silence, the only sound being the sound of wildlife in the swamp.
Unbeknownst to them, multiple eyes were stalking the group from far behind. Blinking once before sinking back into the swamp.
/ - /
The deeper they pushed into the Queen's Swampland, the quieter everything felt. Not the eerie kind of quiet, but the calm and boring kind.
However, Raka did find it odd that the deeper they went, the fewer animals he saw wandering around the swamp.
Another thing that he noticed was the fog; it had gotten considerably thicker than before.
Looking at Nova, it seemed like she also was calmer now. But her eyes still held that vigilance one would expect from her.
He was about to let his mind wander again when he felt a sudden prickly feeling all over his body.
Goosebumps appeared all over his body as he remembered when he felt like this.
There was a strong presence of mana somewhere in the swamp, and it wasn't from this group.
He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. The mud sucked at his heel with a loud slurp. Two refugees bumped into his shoulders, muttered apologies, and shuffled around him.
Nova heard the sound and was surprised to see him suddenly stop. "Problem?"
"I might be wrong. But I think there's something in the swampland somewhere. Something close to us with a lot of mana."
Nova did not like the sound of that. She quickly sprung into action. "Mina, Korin!" Shouting for the twins at the back.
"Sensing anything strange?"
A faint reply drifted from the rear, filtered through fog. "Nope, everything looks alright."
Nova's look showed she was annoyed that his instinct could be wrong, but she still wouldn't let her guard down.
She couldn't risk the escapes's safety after all.
Raka stayed silent, eyes searching around to find whatever he was sensing.
Before, a sound suddenly echoed through the swamp.
An ear-piercing screech snapped the silence in half. Wind pummeled downward with enough force to make some of them fall down.
A vast shadow darted overhead, with wings big enough to block out the sun's.
The escapees yelled in fear, ducking their heads as they grouped together.
"Everyone get back!"
Nova's voice pierced through the group. She wasted no time as an enchanted arrow was nocked in less than a blink.
Raka also flinched in fear, soon becoming confused as he recognized that screech.
It's the eagle! He realized.
But before he could tell Nova, he had to shield his eyes when another wind blew at him.
The eagle landed on the ground in front of the group. Its talons hit the ground, making it tremble, as it set its gaze on the group.
Mina and Korin weren't slow to act, the two appearing quickly next to Nova, daggers at the ready.
/ - /
Nova and the twins stood in silence as they stared at the Eagle.
Said creature merely addressing their aggression with another screech. Nova took that as a sign to attack.
She pointed her arrow at it, but just before she could fire. Raka's hand moved hers, making her arrow hit a stray tree, encasing it in ice.
"What are you doing?!" She pushed him away.
"Don't attack it! It's friendly!" He frantically explained.
Thankfully, it seems to realize that Raka is trying to defend it. It has stopped its aggressive stance and turned into a more passive one.
Nova was rightfully enraged: "That is a Skywarden Eagle! This one was specifically in the control of the slavers!"
At the mention of them, the Eagle let out an irritated sound. Talons scratching the ground, leaving sizable marks.
The group tensed.
Raka panicked, "I know but."
"So you're actually with the slavers then?!" She cut him off accusingly.
"What, no! I freed him from the mage that was controlling him," he said frantically, pointing at the Eagle's back.
"Look! There's no one controlling him!"
The group turned their eyes to the Eagle. Realizing what Raka was trying to do, the Eagle lowered its head.
His back was completely empty.
Nova's eyes widened as he stared at Raka. "H-how were you able to free him?! " she whispered and screamed at him.
"I just beat the mage when he tried controlling it."
Dumbfounded at his answer, Nova was left momentarily stunned.
The Eagle, already annoyed at this point, walked closer to the group, making them point their weapons at it.
"H-hold on! I'll try talking to it!" Nova was skeptical, "Please, just let me try."
She turned her eyes from Raka to the Eagle and back to Raka again. Then sighed in frustration.
Motioning her head towards the Eagle, he quickly thanked her before slowly walking.
Now was the scary part, facing the giant 10-foot-tall Eagle that could slice him into multiple pieces easily.
He stopped right in front of it, and it tilted its head. "S-so, why are you here?"
Raka inwardly smacked his head, what kind of question was that?! Of course, the Eagle couldn't answer him. It's a fucking eagle!
Then the Eagle lowered its head just enough to look at him eye to eye. It let out an exhale that blew wind into his face.
"You're not here to attack us, are you?"
It shook its head.
"Yes!" Raka yelled suddenly, startling the Eagle. Before turning to the group again, "See! Told you it was nice!"
Nova sweatdropped at Raka's sudden childishness before walking towards the Eagle herself.
"But it doesn't explain why it's here." Her eyes did not leave it.
"Fair point…" Raka turned to the Eagle, "Why are you here anyway? I thought you would have flown off to who knows where after I beat up that mage."
It let out a sound almost like a chuckle at the mention of the mage.
Then, it pushed its face into Raka's shoulder. "H-hey, what are you doing?"
He got no answer. Instead, the Eagle turned its head upwards and looked east, staring at an empty part of the swamp.
Raka and Nova were confused. Nova especially, since she didn't see nor sense anything there.
But Raka immediately realized what the Eagle was trying to tell them.
The prickly feeling that he felt wasn't from the Eagle.
"Nova! The strong mana is coming from that direction!" The Eagle screeched in confirmation as it raised its wings.
/ - /
Nova was suspicious of Raka before and is even more suspicious of him now.
He somehow defeated a First Rate mage and freed a Skywarden Eagle, of all things! These things have the power to demolish city blocks just with the force of their wings!
But she quickly let go of those thoughts for now. There was a bigger issue at hand.
She stared east, in the direction the Eagle was pointing, and where Raka was sensing something.
Even if she couldn't feel anything coming from there, if the Eagle was warning them about something, she needed to act.
Nocking another enchanted arrow, pulled back her bowstrings and let the arrow fly. The arrow encased everything it passed in thick layers of ice.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for something to happen.
They started to hear cracks in the ice, and then it started to tremble, before a large chunk of ice far away completely shattered.
Silence followed the explosion. It was one of those awful, tight silences where the air felt horribly suffocating.
Shards of ice slid off the half‑frozen pool with little tink sounds, creating ripples across the slick surface.
Then, the water bulged.
What looked to be a dark ridge surfaced.
What the?
Another ridge appeared to its left—then a third—until the whole pond churned and ten massive shapes hauled themselves into view.
They were huge, maybe fifteen feet from the pond bottom to sail‑tip. Iridescent scales flickered between swamp‑green and oily gold.
Each carried a towering fan of translucent spines down its back, cracked crystal glowing a cold teal from within.
The sails caught the weak daylight and bent it, warping the air around their shoulders like a desert mirage.
Massive jaws snapped open, losing a wet hiss that sprayed brine across the moss. Rows of needle-thin teeth showed themselves, and water sheeted off their flanks in curtains.
Nova's eyes widened as she instantly nocked another arrow, "By the gods, give me a damn break!"
Behind them, the escapees broke into full‑throated terror, freezing them in place as they stared in horror at the massive creatures.
But Raka had a different reaction.
"Is that a fucking spinosaurus?!"
/ - /
"Everyone—back, now!" Nova yelled.
The escapees jerked to life, boots sucking at the mud as they stumbled backward, settling just behind Raka.
Some items and satchels fell to the floor, but nobody cared when 15-foot monsters were staring at them.
Nova strung another ice arrow so fast that it was a complete blur to everyone else. "Mina, Korin, get ready. This is going to be a hard fight."
"Yes, ma'am," Mina hissed, eyes narrowing to coin slits. Korin only flipped a dagger into the reverse grip, ears pinned flat.
Then, the two said at the same time, "Accel Geist." Their bodies were illuminated in a dim white light.
Nova glanced at the Eagle, and without even saying anything, it understood her intention.
The Eagle dipped its head and flared its mountain-broad wings with a thunderclap of air., sending gusts of mighty wind flying in the direction of the dinosaurs.
It was going to assist them in their upcoming fight.
To respond, the dinosaurs—if that's what they were—lifted their snouts and bellowed back. Releasing an unsettling sound.
Raka hovered at the back with Elder Cora and all the escapees.
His heart was beating so fast that he thought it might explode, But what hit him harder was when he turned to look at Cora and noticed how calm she looked.
Almost bored, actually.
"You're… weirdly relaxed,"
She turned to him. "Because I trust that Nova will keep us safe."
Raka knew he had no reason to doubt her words, but there was something off about how she said that.
"Those aren't dinosaurs, by the way." She continued, "They're a subspecies of non‑winged water dragons. Earth‑humans nicknamed them 'Spino Dragons' cent—a long time ago."
He felt the blood drain from his face. He thought dinosaurs were bad enough—dragons, though?
That was a whole different level. "Of all the the fucking things…"
Raka unknowingly tightened his fists and felt a familiar surge of warmth engulf him. Unknowingly making his eyes glow a yellow hue.
This change didn't escape Cora, but she made no comment.
The dragons ended the staring contest with another roar, a louder one.
The water churned under their webbed feet as they rushed towards them, crystal sails catching the weak sunlight and scattering motes of teal light across the fog.
And then everything erupted at once.