B3 – Chapter 13: Thunderbolts and Lightning

Tristan exited the gate and was shocked – quite literally – as a lightning bolt shot down from a cloud-covered, grey sky. It zapped the metal rod on his back before being sucked down into the small container inside the pack. The sudden movement made him jump, and he moved to the side and took up a ready stance with his sword out.

The wind was howling, and Eloise’s laughter was barely audible. “Welcome to the Elemental Realm of Lightning!” she shouted out.

Tristan was able to take in the scene before him. A huge, seemingly endless field of bright green grass. An endless grey and black sky where thunder constantly roiled and rumbled, and spikes of light-blue lightning danced across the heavens in an endless cascade of energy. Rocky outcroppings stood all about, but there were no other large mountains like the one behind him, which had a near-constant funnel of lightning jolting down to.

“That must be how they power that light-crystal thing,” Felicity said loudly in his ear. “Seems pretty neat!”

Tristan made sure to push the essence he was spinning into his socks that could absorb shocks and kept his sword leaned against his shoulder. “Right then! Where are we going?” he asked loud enough for Eloise to hear him.

She pointed at the line of students who were also jumping with a little start as lightning streaked down and impacted the metal poles jutting from their backs. There were small shrieks of fear that were quickly quelled as Torvald’s voice echoed out from the front of the column – amplified by some spell, Tristan was sure. “Make sure we stick together! We will need to go over land for about a mile. Maybe further. But do not go off on your own!”

Felicity shrank down and wiggled her way into Tristan’s armor through the gap between the under arm and the chest, causing Tristan to giggle the ticklish sensation. She popped her head up next to his neck, and he could feel her face squished against his as she peered out through the visor. “Sorry for the tight squeeze,” she muttered. “I just don’t want to get zapped!”

Tristan followed the column of students, and as they traveled across the green fields he could hear nothing but the rolling thunder and crackling of lightning which would sometimes arc down and strike a student’s pack, eliciting a small shout of alarm at the sudden impact. I could really use some lightning dragon blood, he thought as he felt very exposed being in the open. He kept his eyes looking skyward and let the armor recede as he focused on just spinning his crucible but not spending the essence.

Felicity was able to wriggle into the chest plate cavity and popped her head out next to his neck, keeping an eye on the ground whilst he scanned the skies above. “Oooh, I think I see some of those Boltstallions!” She tapped his chin and pointed with one of her paws.

Tristan looked after where she was pointing and saw six-legged horses, with spikes down their spines and along the top of the head, with a striped, zig-zag pattern of white and bright-yellow. They were racing across the plains before wheeling around. “They are coming toward us!” Tristan shouted out as he looked to Eloise.

She raised an appraising eyebrow and shouted back over the wind, “I wouldn’t be worried.”

Not a second later, Torvald shouted. “Everyone spread apart! Extend arms, fingertips to fingertips, and then keep them at your sides once you’re spread out! They will go right past you through the gaps!”

Tristan made sure he was an arm’s reach from Eloise and the back of the line of students before clapping his arms to his sides. Just in case, he pushed his essence into his armor, and Felicity popped her head back as the helmet emerged to encase him.

His heart was racing, pounding along with the now-riotous sound of hoofbeats as the herd approached. True to Torvald’s word, they looked to be heading for the gaps between the students, and as they got closer, Tristan could feel the static in the air. His lips were tingling, his skin was tingling.

The Boltstallions raced through the gaps, and Tristan could feel the rush of wind and surge of lightning that danced in sparks across his armor as they passed by. He felt exhilarated as they finished passing through, and he trailed them with his eyes as they regrouped and kept running across the plains.

“W-o-w!” Felicity shouted. “That was amazing!”

Eloise walked over to Tristan so she didn’t have to shout to be heard, “It was an interesting encounter.” She glanced up, “I’d still keep your eyes on the skies, dragonslayer. Just in case.”

The group continued their journey, regrouping into rows as they traveled. Once more, Tristan kept his eyes on the skies, looking for any signs his grandfather had taught him to spot.

“Dragons always attack from above. So you need to know what signs to look for. First off, depends on the weather. Clear skies? Easy to spot them. But if it’s a shitty day with lots of cloud coverage? You want to look for the abnormal. Swirls like what you’d see if you pushed your hand through a pool – that little spirally wake you leave. That is what you’d see if they are near the bottom of the cloud layer.”

“Anything else flying that might come at us?” Tristan asked after an hour had passed with no other events of note.

Eloise shook her head, “Nothing flying. Most Elemental Realms have few flying creatures. Dragons are the apex predator, and they know it.”

“Okay, we made it!” Torvald shouted. He planted a large, metal spike in the ground and began pulling on the top – extending it quickly until it created a twenty-foot-tall spike of iron. Then, he placed his hands on either side, and Tristan saw the bright-blue flow of essence flow from his hands and into the spike as a half-sphere popped from the top and fell down like an umbrella, creating a covered area. “This is where you can come back to rest and relax. You need to always stay in line of sight – but any rocks, go to the underside, and grab some of the Fulmoss!”

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The students began splitting off in pairs that had already been arranged, and Tristan joined Torvald under the umbrella of essence. “What do you want me to do?” Tristan asked.

“Just keep an eye out. Students know to run back here to shelter if something is coming for them.”

Felicity tapped his forehead, “I’m going to go grab some of that Fulmoss! We can bring it back to the Fey Realm and grow it ourselves!” She wriggled out of his armor and flew off – still in her diminutive size – and that’s when Tristan realized her metal-pole-harness did not shrink with her, and she was going out of the umbrella protection without coverage.

He quickly grabbed her by the tail, eliciting a yelp of surprise and slight pain. “Sorry!” he shouted.

She wheeled around in his grip, “What was that for!”