Lis hugged Mahya and said in a soft voice, “Take care of John; he’ll be lost for a while.”

  Mahya nodded, her expressioermined. “Don’t worry, he’s my friend too.”

  Lis looked at her with a severe expression. “Also, take care of yourself. Keep learning and improving. But don’t do stupid things anymore. Think before you act.”

  “I promise, Sensei,” she replied with a smile, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

  Lis smiled and said, “You decided to adopt the name, eh?”

  Mahya shrugged, a smile spreading across her face. “Oh, there is a saying, ‘if the shoe fits’; in this case, the shoe fits perfectly.”

  He gave her o hug, his grip holding her for a moment before he walked over to John. Without hesitation, Lis hugged him hard. “Goodbye, my friend,” he said, his voice deep with emotion. “May your road be full of wonders and joy.”

  John looked like he was going to cry, his eyes glistening, but he held it back, swallowing hard. Lis uood the emotion.

  John cleared his throat. His voice was thick with emotion. “May your road be happy, and your adventures gentle.”

  Mahya approached them, and they did o group hug. Lis almost gave up on the drago was hard to say goodbye to his family, and they were, indeed, his family. But they o learn to stand on their own without him watg over them.

  And one day, his and John’s Luck Trait would lead them to meet again. He k for sure. There was no ce that the Guiding Spirits would n them together again. After almost four hundred years of travel, his e with this person surpassed all others.

  He walked up to Rue, scratched his ears, aally told him, “Be a good boy and protect John.”

  Rue shouted back, “Promise!”

  He took a deep breath and g his family. Theepped through the Gate, leaving everything he knew behind. This was his fate as a Traveler, to wahe os.

  The crossing was instantaneous. One moment, Lis was oh; the , he stood in a world that defied description. He was in a jungle unlike any jungle he had ever seen. T trees with iridest leaves reached for a sky of deep, swirling purples and blues. They were so tall they made him feel like an ant in a world of giants. Serpent-like vines hung orees, glowing faintly and giving the forest a magical feel. Vibrant, biolumi pnts carpeted the ground. The pnts were giant, too—each leaf c him like a roof over his head. The air was full of sts he had never smelled before. Some were sharp, almost hearting his nose, and others so sweet they were ing—all those sts mixed with the faint st of mildew a soil. In the distahe call of an unknowure echoed, a haunting sound that sent a shiver down Lis’s spine.

  “Wele to the Dragon Pne,” he muttered to himself.

  Lis crouched in the shadows, his breath steady and silent. He peered through the dense foliage of an alien jungle. He activated his Invisibility and Stealth, his only hope of survival. The jungle seemed to swallow him as he navigated the underbrush without making a sound. He calcuted each step and moved with caution through this unfamiliar terrain.

  The dense jungle seemed alive with danger. Lis moved with careful steps, his senses on high alert. The air was thick with humidity, and the grouh his feet was soft and treacherous. He avoided paths that seemed too obvious, knowing that predators often y in wait for the unwary. His invisibility and stealth were his greatest assets, but he o do his part not to give himself away.

  Lis navigated the dense underbrush with care. Each step was challenging as he navigated the thick foliage and uerrain. The size of the pnts was a blessing and a curse. They covered and hid him like a bush hiding a beetle, but their size made it hard to navigate through an underbrush of giants. His senses were on high alert, his eyes darting from shadow to shadow, searg for any sign of dahe jungle was alive with movement and sound—chirps, rustles, and distant roars kept him on edge.

  As he ventured deeper, he found a mix of animals and mythical beasts. He saw small, bird-like creatures. They had scales, not feathers, and their eyes glinted with intelligence. He heard a rge thing rustling irees above, but he could never see it.

  He saw colossal creatures standing on two muscur hind legs. Their massive tails sweeping behind them for bance. Long, powerful jaws held razor-sharp teeth, ready to crush anything that dared cross their path. Dark shades mottled their scaly, rough, weathered skin, helping them blend into the foliage. Small, almost ical arms stretched from their chests, seeming out of p such fearsome predators. Each step they took made the ground tremble. And all the smaller creatures hid when they passed by.

  With great effort, a hulking, fged creature made its way across the ndscape. Thick, bony ptes protected its body, while spikes jutted from its back like living fortifications. No predator dared challe without serious sideration. Its low-slung body moved with a heavy, deliberate pace, and a clubbed tail swung menagly from behind, capable of shattering bones with a sirike. Its beady eyes sed the ground as it grazed, unbothered by threats, its natural armor a testament to survival.

  The first true test of his survival skills came wheumbled upon a watering hole. He had to cross this area or climb impossible cliffs. After some sideration, he proceeded, despite the danger near watering holes. He approached it with care, sing the area for any threats. A massive creature emerged from the ju was a t beast with a ridge of spines along its bad teeth that looked like they could crush steel.

  Lis froze, his heart pounding in his chest. The creature she air, its eyes narrowing as if it detected his st. His Stealth was at the maximum level of 25, and there shouldn’t be any trace of him—be it sts, sound, or tracks. But the creature’s rea indicated that he sensed him somehow. Lis backed away, ensuring his movements were deliberate and measured. As the beast teo charge, a loud roar filled the ju retreated swiftly and vanished into the foliage.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Lis realized how precarious his situation was. He existed in a world where he wasn’t the top predator, and each step held the possibility of his demise.

  The first night was the hardest. Strange sounds filled the air, the calls of creatures he couldn’t identify. Beh a opy of luminous leaves, he discovered a secluded spot, where their glow cast a soft, eerie light. He stuck the poles Mahya made into the ground and hoped they would be enough to hide him.

  Sleep came in fits and starts, haunted by dreams of monstrous beasts and alien ndscapes. When dawn broke, a golden light bathed the jungle, with the hues shifting as the sun climbed higher. Lis resumed his trek, his goal clear in his mind: to reach a city of the dragons. He had heard stories of this p ce where the dragon kin lived in harmony. Their society was a marvel of Magited mysticism.

  High above, creatures soared, their wide, leathery wings catg thermal currents. Their long heads had sharp, toothy beaks, perfect for snatg prey from the ground below. Their body was light, almost skeletal, built for flight, while talon-tipped legs dangled beh, ready to strike. A long, thin tail whipped behind as they glided, ruling the skies with grad precision—a predator unlike any that walked the nd.

  T herbivores moved on four sturdy legs, their necks stretg high into the treetops, where small, ft teeth easily stripped leaves. Their colossal body, covered in thick, wrinkled skin, moved with deliberate slowness. Peaceful giants in a dangerous world, their long tails swinging zily behind them, terbang their tall necks. They cast a long shadow over the forest floor, deterring attackers.

  A powerful, stocky beast across his path. Sharp, defensive horns ed its head, and a rge, bony frill extended behind it. Its muscur legs carried it forward with a steady gait, and its beak-like mouth ped through tough pnts. A peaceful grazer, but not defenseless. When threatened, it charged with immense force, its horned face a battering ram capable of g any foe. And gore it did, before Lis’s eyes.

  Days passed as he pressed on. His Stealth and Invisibility saved him from tless threats. He skirted the territories of giant, scaled predators, their footsteps shaking the ground. He avoided flocks of winged drakes. Their screeches echoed as they hunted from above. Each close call served as a reminder of his fragile existence.

  He entered creatures of all shapes and sizes. Some walked on fs, others on two, and many slithered or flew. Their eyes glowed in the darkness, refleg predatory intelligehe jungle’s stant cacophony reminded him he was never alone.

  After several days of navigating the dense jungle, Lis reached the edge of a vast, barren expahe ge t. Lush greenery gave way to a desote nd of cracked, dry earth and t rocks. The su down with relentless iy, and the air felt dry and hot.

  Lis sed the horizoed the skeletal remains of long-dead creatures. Their bones bleached white from the harsh sun. The barren expanse was as dangerous as the jungle, albeit in different ways. The ck of cover made him vulnerable to predators, and the heat was stifling. Lis felt a chill run down his spine, and the desotion was a stark reminder of the dahat y ahead.

  During his trek through this hot, desote nd, he had to hide from colossal scorpions the size of buses. Their segmeails, arched high, dripped venom. It sizzled on the cracked earth. Their legs, as thick as tree trunks, moved with uling speed. Each step stirred up clouds of dust. Their pincers snapped in the air. The sound echoed across the duhey could crush boulders like pebbles, and their armored shells glistened uhe sun. They blended with the golden sand as they scuttled past, oblivious to all.

  Further along, t beetles the size of small houses roamed the duheir hardened exoskeletons shimmered in the heat, refleg the light like polished metal. Massive mandibles clicked together with a meical sound. They could slice through rock with the same ease as cutting through dry vegetation. Their immense weight left deep grooves in the sand, creating created trenches where nothing grew. Their antewitched and flicked, sing the air for any sign of food or danger.

  He had to keep a wide berth from the giaipedes slithering through the sands, eae as long as a train. Hundreds of legs pushed their sleek, serpentine bodies forward. The way they moved so smoothly was uling. Their bck, glossy shells glistened in the desert sun. With clig and twitg jaws, they tasted the air. Their segmented bodies cast long shadows over the dunes when they reared up, and their many eyes reflected the cold, unfeeling sky. A faint tremor shook the ground as they passed, like an underground disturbance.

  Then there were the monstrous horned lizards, as rge as tanks. They lumbered through the desert, taking slow, deliberate steps. Their thick, spiked tails dragged behind them, leaving deep furrows in the sand. The heat seemed to roll off their scaled bodies, shimmering like a mirage. Their tongues, long and sticky, flicked out to snatch up anything that veoo close. When threatehey opeheir massive jaws. Rows of sharp teeth showed. Their backs bristled with sharp spihese could impale any foolish attacker.

  One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in hues e and red, Lis found shelter in a cave. As he ate, he heard distant wings fpping. Drakes patrolled the skies at night. The cave provided a measure of safety, but Lis knew he couldn’t stay there forever. He had to keep moving through the vast, barren expao find dragons.

  It took him days to cross the barren ndscape. Fag new challenges, he had to test his strength and resolve for eae. He faced fierce lightning storms that could tear him apart and sandstorms that could bury him alive. He tinued on, crossing treacherous ravines. A single misstep could be fatal. He navigated mazes of rod sand where eerie noal creatures hunted in the dark. Upon arriving in a snowy, icy area, he faced another drastic shift. One moment, he was in oppressive dry heat, and the , in bone-chilling cold. The snow posed new challenges. He had to keep warm and find stable grouh it.

  But the creatures of the frozen wastend were far more imposing than the harsh elements. Massive, woolly spiders, the size of s, scurried across the icy pins. Their thick, fur-covered legs left deep grooves in the snow. Icicles hung from their huge fangs. Their breath puffed out, freezing and visible from afar. Their webs, like silver threads, glistened as they stretched between icy crags. They were strong enough to trap even the rgest prey. The spiders moved silently. Their cold, gssy eyes reflected the endless white.

  Not far behind, ice wolves roamed in packs. Each was as rge as a bus, their fur blending with the snow. Their howls echoed across the frozen wastend. It was a haunting sound that made the hairs on the back of Lis’s neck stand up. Their paws could crush a man in a siep. They left massive imprints in the snow. Their sharp, blue-tinged eyes never missed a movement. They were relentless hunters. Their breath froze the surrounding air, and their fangs could tear through thick ice. They pursued anything that dared to cross their path.

  High above, giant frost eagles with wingspans as wide as a building circled the sky. Their feathers, crystalline and shimmering, sparkled in the pale sunlight. With each powerful beat of their wings, flurries of sed beh them. Their beaks, jagged and icrusted, could snap through boh ease. They swooped down with deadly precision. Their talons could seize erees or unwary travelers.

  And in the distance, enormous mammoths, rger than ships, lumbered across frozen tundras. Their tusks, long and sharp as spears, glistened with frost. Their shaggy fur, thid matted with ice, swayed with each heavy step. The ground shook with their passing, and their deep, rumbling calls echoed through the stro blizzards. When threatehey swung their tusks with terrifying force, demolishiire iations in a single blow.

  The early sun cast long shadows over the snoed mountains of the Dragon Pne. Cold air bit at any brave creature’s skin in the peaks. A distah-rending roar shattered the calm of the m. It sent flocks of birds skyward in a panic.

  Lis watched the unfolding drama from a vantage point on a nearby ridge. An ice drake emerged from a cave high above. It took to the sky, its scales glistening like diamonds in the early light. The drake stretched its massive wings. It roared a challehat echoed through the valleys. Its frosty breath trailed behind it in a cloud of sparkling ice crystals.

  Lis’s eyes widened as he spotted the source of the drake’s ire. A manticore soared across the sky on bat-like wings. Its lion-like body and scorpion tail made a menag silhouette.

  The two titans collided mid-air with a bone-jarring impact reverberating through the mountains. Lis felt the grouh him shake, and he g to a rock to keep his bahe air crackled with energy as the drake struck first, freezing the manticore in a cloud of frost. The manticore snarled in pain. Its cws sshed out, tearing through the ice drake’s scales.

  Their massive wings beat with great iy in battle. The wind howled through the mountains, uprooting trees and crashing them down the slopes. It also whipped the snow into a frenzy, creating a blinding blizzard. Their struggle was so immehat the ground trembled. Cracks spider-webbed through the thick ice.

  Lis watched, filled with awe and terror, as they torted in the air, each striving for advahe ice drake exhaled. A freezing vortex formed in the air. The manticore’s fiery eyes burned with heat, melting the snow beh it. The Traveler could feel the heat from the manticore’s fiery eyes, even from afar.

  The drake unleashed a bst of icy breath, freezing the manticore’s wings. Their battle reached a fever pitch. With pani his fiery eyes, the manticore pluowards the mountainside. Yet, the manticore proved challenging to defeat. With a mighty roar, he shattered the ig his wings and pulled up before hitting the ground. His tail shed out. It struck a massive roation a it tumbling down the mountain.

  The avanche began with a gradual movement, as a few rocks dislodged from the force of the collision. But as the battle raged, the tremrew more violent. Sooire ses of the mountainside began to colpse. Snow and ice cascaded down in a deadly wave, engulfing everything in its path.

  Lis’s heart pounded as he scrambled fher ground. He kept his eyes otle above. The two titans fought with great iy, unaware of the destru they caused. Their roars echoed through the mountains, a symphony e and power that shook the very earth.

  In a final, desperate attempt to turide, the manticore lu the drake, its cws extended. But the ice drake was ready. He dodged the attack with a swift, powerful move. Theed icy breath, freezing the manticore’s wings again.

  The manticore roared in fury and pain as he fell with frozen wings. He crashed into the mountainside, and the impact sent another wave of snow and ice tumbling down. With eyes filled with triumph, the drake watched from above.

  Gaining momentum, the avanche buried trees and rocks uons of snow and ice. The impact’s force created shockwaves. They caused more cracks and colpsed parts of the mountainside. Lis g to his perch, his breath ing in ragged gasps as he watched the devastation unfold.

  The manticore struggled to escape his icy prison. His eyes burned with a desire for revenge. He broke free with a final, mighty effort, his wings shattering the surrounding ice. He gred up at the drake, his eyes burning with a fiertensity. But for now, someone had beaten him. With a roar of frustratiourned and flew away, disappearing into the distance.

  The drake nded on a nearby peak, his body covered with wounds from the battle. He spread his wings and took to the sky once more, the icy wind carrying him back to his ir. He soared above the mountains. Below, he saw the devastation, the aftermath of a csh between two mighty beasts.

  Lis watched in awe as the ice drake vanished, leaving the scarred nd behind. The battle was fierce, a reminder of the power and fury of the Dragon Pne.

  Witnessing something uling, the Traveler made his way down the mountain. He knew he had seen something exceptional. As he desded, he felt a deep respect for the mighty beasts that called these mountains home.

  ?━━━━???━━━━?

  After a month of danger and hardship, Lis stood on a cliff, gazing down at the dragon city of Holmeserion. From this vantage point, the city unfolded before him like a legend. It was a breathtaking blend of nature and magic. It stretched across the nd in a seamless daween the a and the are. T spires of stone and crystal reached skyward; their peaks glimmered in the fading sunlight. Glowing runes adorned eae, pulsing like a heartbeat. Light bridges, delicate ahereal, arched across deep chasms that split the city. Their surfaces rippled like liquid magieath the feet of those who dared to cross. From this distahe casg waterfalls caught his eye. They tumbled from the city’s high cliffs and crags. Their waters shimmered in blue and gold. Despite the altitude, they didn’t freeze.

  The inhabitants, even from this far, were impossible to miss. Dragons soared high above the city. Their massive wings beat the air in slow, deliberate strokes. They were a majestic sight, with the sunlight refleg off their gemstone-like scales. It cast a light show of emeralds, sapphires, and rubies across the city below. Some dragons circled the tallest towers. Their massive forms dwarfed the already immense spires. Others nded on perches carved into the city’s walls. Closer to the streets, he saw smaller figures. They were humanoid but had draiaures. Even from this distaheir elegand power were clear. They moved with a purpose. Their forms blended with the city’s bustle.

  Lis squinted, fog oricate Magiteventions scattered throughout the city. H ptforms floated across the city, ferrying passengers and goods in silehey weaved through the air, guided by invisible magic. Lis could only se from his distant perch. Below, he saw ented carriages gliding along the streets. Their wheels made minimal tact with the ground. Meical wings soared, daring travelers through the sky, from one spire to the .

  Deeper iy, the magical workshops sparkled with are energy. From this distahe glow of their ented fes lit up the lower districts. It cast a faint light that lit the city. It felt otherworldly. He could almost hear a faint hum and a crackle. Skilled hands, with unwavering dedication, shaped metal and magito powerful devices. Massive, humanoid structs, glimmering with crystal and steel, walked the streets. Their t flided smoothly despite their size. They performed tasks with the grace of a living being.

  The ey seemed to pulse with mana. The runes o spires and the flowing waterfalls glowed. Everything pulsed with a quiet, steady hum of magic. It was as though the city itself were alive, each part ected by a vast, invisible web of power. Even the air around the city shimmered. The energy that powered its magical wonders charged it. From this high vantage point, Lis could see it all. The sprawling streets, the rising towers, and the mystical life that filled every inch of the city with a hum.

  Holmeserion wasn’t a pce—it was a living, breathing marvel of magic. Below, statues ons stood watch over the grand pzas. Their eyes gleamed with a faint glow of the mana that powered the city. The trees, even from this distaood tall and proud. Their leaves shimmered with unnatural silver and gold. The same magic that sustaihe city’s foundatiohem. A wards and protes, hiddeh the surface, radiated power. They shielded and sustaihe city with the magic flowing through its veins.

  Lis took a deep breath. The high-altitude wind chilled his face. But the sight of the city below left him breathless. Holmeserion stood like a jewel in the wild. It ce where nature, magid teology united. Here, dragons and magic ruled in perfect harmony.

  He made it! It had been a journey long-awaited, but he made it.

  He looked up at the sky, prayed to the Guiding Spirits to protect him, aered the dragon city. It was time to start a neter in his travels.