Adia's Story Part 2

A warm breeze washed down from the lake and onto the village hidden below the gaze of watchful mountains. Oil lights flicker and flash in the wind, casting shadows dancing across the streets. A large, imposing shadow drifted through alleyways and past silent houses. He drifted past everyone almost like a ghost. Silent, glowing, and frightening.
Women and their children backed away defensively. Men grasped pitchforks and let their hands hover over the hilts of their daggers, ready for any retaliation if the demonic being attempted anything.
In the village, an unwritten truce existed. The demons that lived up the valley did not harm villagers when they wandered down, and the villagers did not try to purge the valley of the demons. Times were always tense in the village; the people were forced to walk around eggshells. If the truce was broken by a killing, war literally broke out. Blood was shed for weeks or even months, until the truce was realized again by both sides. The demons knew they needed the village for supplies, and the villagers knew that the demons' presence protected them. The truce was necessary.
Glowing red eyes stared out at villagers from under his deep blue coat. A large, blood red hoof dug into the earth, and the demon rushed forward. He raced down the street and swiftly made his way up the valley.
A large stone pagoda lay atop a hill, hanging over the village as a menacing reminder of the demons that resided there. The enormous blue demon approached the pagoda on a cobblestone path illuminated by tall, candle-lit rod iron lamps. Light glinted off his curved red horn and caressed the folds of his large draconian wings.
The stallion was draughty and muscular, with long, powerful legs and a thick neck. Light dusty blue hairs sprung out from his legs and covered his large red hooves like a curtain. His mane and tail were of the same shade of blue, as well as the spots dotting his rump.
The demon stallion gazed up at the large pagoda. His eyes traveled from the red shingles on each level to the cold grey stone of the walls, and into the few windows situated on each storey. The immensity of the pagoda made him stop for a moment, to think over why he had come here. He had come because he wanted to become stronger. Though his over-inflated ego dictated that he already believed he was the greatest thing to grace the earth, he had promised himself a very long time ago that he would become stronger.
Taking a deep breath, Adianaki pushed the heavy mahogany doors with a shove of his black muzzle. The rusty hinges of the doors creaked shrilly. The sound echoed throughout the stone entryway for a moment. Adia stepped forward and took in the cold, desolate surroundings.
He saw a high ceiling of at least fifteen feet, with intricate scenes from epic battles of legend and myth carved into the marble pillars lining the entrance hall. The granite walls behind the pillars looked much less exquisite with water dripping down its stones, feeding a healthy amount of moss. Beneath his hooves was a long rug with a very busy and complicated design of many colours. At the end of the hall was a large oak cabinet with glass doors illuminated by the light of many candles. The cabinet was full of weapons from spears, rapiers and katanas, to daggers, axes, machetes, and maces. Anything imaginable was there, inside the finely crafted cabinet. It was a warrior's dream!
"Good evening," a voice sounded from the demon's right. He glanced immediately over to where the voice came from, and his eyes landed upon a frail, old-looking man.
The man stepped toward Adia in total silence, seemingly gliding across the floor. He halted a few yards in front of the dragon demon and stood there, still as a statue. He was garbed in long, sweeping maroon robes that dragged across the stone floor and obscured the old man's feet. His arms were not to be found either; they were hidden inside large, baggy sleeves.
"Uh, hello…" Adia said quietly. He felt out of place in the stone hallway, and he didn't like it. Adia didn't like doing anything without knowing what he was getting into. But if he wanted to improve upon his fighting skills he would just have to bear not knowing for a while.
"What is your name?" The old man asked.
Wasting no time in responding, "Adianaki," the dragon demon returned.
"Why have you come here?" He continued.
"I've come to learn," Adia replied. When the old man didn't say anything, Adia looked around the empty hallway. What now? Was he supposed to do something? Looking back to the thin figure of the old man, Adia said, "I want to be taught to fight… properly."
After blinking slowly several times, the old man finally spoke. "I see. But why should I teach you?"
Adia was taken off guard by the man's question. He knew why he wanted to be taught, but he hadn't given much thought to why someone else would take him on as a student. Adia's reaction was to slip back into his narcissistic vision of himself. "I am a quick learner and have powerful magic at my disposal. I think I would be an asset to this… League of Demons you have."
The old man narrowed his eyes at Adia slightly, but accepted the dragon demon's reasons-for the time being.
In silence the old man led Adia up to the third floor and into a hallway with rows of doors on either side. He was shown a room at the back with only a cot in it. So much for amenities.
"This will be your room for however long it takes," the old man told Adia.
He entered the room and turned to face the old man. "I have to return to my natural form before dawn. Where-" Adia started. For every daylight transition-sunrise and sunset-Adia had to return to his dragon form, or else he would perish. This particular attribute was something only dragon demons had to abide by.
"Someone will come for you," was all the man said. With that, he closed the door on Adia and shuffled back down the hall.
Sighing, Adia transformed into his human form and attempted to make himself cozy in the tiny cot.

He woke nearly an hour before dawn and lay in his cot staring at the ceiling until a knock sounded on the wooden door. Adia sat up almost immediately and returned to his equine form to shove open the door.
Outside, a man of average height but of very strong build stood, waiting for Adia. "Follow me," the man said quickly. He turned on his heels and started marching down the hall. Adia followed behind obediently.
Adia was led to an open arena-like area in the middle of the pagoda. The room was wide and open, as there was no ceiling for another four floors. Around each floor, except for the north wall, there was a wooden catwalk and doors that led to the quarters and other areas Adia did not yet know about. On the bare north wall there were thin windows every storey that let in the weak light of pre-dawn.
The man that had escorted Adia to the open area spoke once more before he marched off once again, "Feel free to return to your natural form."
Once the man had gone, Adia did exactly that. His equine form melted away and in its place the scaly form of his draconian self emerged. Not knowing what he was supposed to be doing, Adia stretched himself out within the wide open space. Upon looking on the pagoda last night he never would have guessed it would hold such a space inside it.
Once he had finished stretching his wings, the skinny and frail-looking form of the older man emerged from the shadows. Adia hadn't even heard him approach.
"Good morning, Adia," the old man greeted as he came to stand in the middle of the arena. "Today I have a test for you."
If he could, Adia would have raised an eyebrow at the man. "Oh really? And what does this test involve?" Adia asked. In the light of early morning the demon finally got a good look at the man. His long robes were replaced by more form-fitting breeches and a tunic of a drab beige colour. His face was lined by wrinkles and from beneath his nose and chin a long moustache and beard extended almost to the old man's navel. His blue-grey eyes were almost obscured by long eyebrows. His head was, however, only covered by short grey and white hairs.
"Your task is to not die today," the man said calmly, his thin lips only subtly curling at the corners to form a mysterious smirk.
With that, the man backed away into the darkness and disappeared.
Adia looked around the vast arena, confused as to what his task really meant. He had to stay alive? If I have to stay alive, that usually means something's trying to kill me, right?, Adia wondered.
"I don't even know your name, old man!" Adia called, hoping to get a response that would let him know where the man had crept off to.
"My name is Misao," the dry voice of the old man came.
A very quiet fluttering of wings echoed down into the arena. With Misao moving around so quietly, Adia could still not pinpoint where he was. Just as the task was starting to annoy the dragon demon, the grey figure of a gigantic bat swooped down from one of the upper levels and dove at Adia with the claws on his feet extended.
Adia was so surprised he just barely ducked his neck out of range of the bat's grasping feet. When Adia looked up and readied himself for another attack, the bat flew back into the darkness. The old man was faster than Adia had anticipated. And in the dark arena, Misao had the advantage of stealth and surprise. The weak morning light that came through the tiny windows was not enough for Adia's dragon eyes to peer into the darkness with any success. Adia was literally flying blind.
However, a keen eye could catch Misao's movements as he disturbed the dust particles illuminated by the little light that penetrated the arena. Adia would not need to watch for these tiny changes. Misao dived out of the shadows again, his feet at the ready just like his previous dive.
This time, Adia was prepared and reacted quickly. Shifting his feet on the floor, Adia moved his head beneath Misao and raised his neck, his horns pointed at the old bat. Misao quickly moved away from Adia's deadly horns in mid-air and tried to scratch at the dragon's face. Adia had different ideas and ended up getting his dagger-like teeth on the bat's left foot.
With Misao's scaly foot in his jaws, Adia pulled the demon lower to the floor, where he could get a better grip on Misao. The dragon's exhausting work was halted when Misao opened his mouth and let a terrible shriek. Adia's red eyes widened and he opened his jaws to let a painful roar out. Once he was free, Misao went quiet and returned to the shadows.
Adia shook his head and returned to all fours to steady himself. "What is this going to prove, Old Bat?" Adia called out. He chuckled softly and added, "Old Bat-the name really comes into play here, eh?"
His attempts to get Misao to talk and therefore reveal his position failed. The old man stayed silent.
Adia was beginning to become annoyed with this 'task'. He was clearly at a disadvantage in the low light and new surroundings. Suddenly, Adia got an idea. Before Misao could launch another attack, the dragon demon decided to try and even the odds. Aiming his nose to the wooden walkways, Adia let loose a barrage of flames. Immediately, the wood structure was alight and the wide arena became illuminated enough for Adia to get a better picture.
With the odds evened, Adia finally saw Misao making his movements. Three floors above, the bat shifted. Adia reacted quickly by launching into the air, heading straight for Misao.
Caught by surprise, the old bat was too slow to move out of the way of a swipe of Adia's clawed forepaw. Four long gashes opened along Misao's side as he took to the air and out of range of Adia's long forearms.
The old bat hid on the other side of the room somewhere on the wooden catwalk and disappeared within its shadows.
"Why can't you just keep still!?" Adia growled, exasperated by Misao's speed and pattern of avoiding. Without thinking, Adia followed Misao over, his weight nearly breaking the catwalks on the third floor. The catwalk on this side of the arena widened out into another room almost as wide as the entire west wall. Cautiously, Adia climbed into room. The fire that was consuming the catwalk on the opposite wall had shrunk and its light did not penetrate the shadows of the cavern-like room, making it impossible for Adia to see what he was getting into.
His nostrils flared, Adia sniffed at the air, hoping to pinpoint where Misao was.
From somewhere in the darkness Adia could hear a soft tinkling of metal against metal. With his bulky dragon body completely within the small room, he had little space to manoeuvre.
Suddenly a thick chain flashed out of the shadows. To stop the chain from wrapping around his neck, Adia offered his left forearm instead. The instant the chain wrapped around his light blue wrists, the fight was over. Adia screeched in pain as the metal began so sear his scaly skin. Unable to retain his draconian form under the stresses, Adia shrunk into his weakest form-that of a human. Normally the dragon demon's human form would be tall, muscular, and intimidating to those whose statures were far below his own. But now, wracked with pain from the chain wrapped tightly around his left arm, Adia seemed to shrink and wither.
"Do you not even know that only fools walk blindly to their enemies?" Misao said from the end of the chain.
His strength sapped by the iron links, Adia sunk to the ground, a cold sweat breaking out on his skin. It was all over so quickly that Adia could do nothing but shiver in a quiet stupor on his knees.
Misao slowly approached Adia's trembling form, wrapping the long chain around his bony hands. "I hope this experience has shown you just how much you need to learn if you are ever to become a member of our League, Adianaki," Misao said, his voice cold and calculating.
Looking up into the old man's eyes carefully, Adia finally managed to say something, "Wh-what will you do now?"
With a hardly noticeable smile, Misao continued, "You will continue with a test of your endurance. If you cannot complete the test, then I'm afraid you can never become one of us."
With that, the defeated Adia was escorted to the lowest levels of the League's headquarters. He was placed in a dark, dank stone cell with a door made of heavy iron. Around his wrists iron shackles were placed, complete with chains fastened firmly to the wall. After being placed in the cell with Misao's parting words of "Iron to bind the fey, Adia-use your time here to think about that", the dragon demon promptly crawled into the closest corner and curled himself up into the fetal position.
What was there to think about? He had lost to an old bat. Misao had known his weaknesses right off the bat, and had used them against him with startling efficiency. All that his blazing failure had taught him was that he had a lot to learn from this League. With his mind swirling with the thoughts of his loss, Adia swept in an out of a restless, dreamless sleep. As the afternoon went by and night fell, the nagging pain of the burns on his wrists that were sure to leave permanent scars, grew. Would he have the endurance to continue on through the night? Adia wanted so much to join the League, but never in his life had he ever been subjected to such pains.
Slowly, the night ebbed by. The sky outside the tiny barred window of the cell was growing lighter, warning Adia of the coming dawn. Before the sunrise could begin, the heavy iron door creaked open and the slim frame of Misao appeared in the doorway. By now Adia had shoved himself into the corner farthest from the door, hidden within the dark.
"You have done well, Adianaki. This test is over," Misao whispered approvingly. He walked over to the now stiff and extremely sore Adia and helped to stand him up. Using Misao as a crutch, Adia walked out of his cell, up the stairs to the main level, and directly outside.
His body still covered in sweat from his hard night, Adia shivered as the early morning air cooled his skin. The area was almost completely quiet save for the chirping of birds and the tinkle of Adia's iron shackles.
Halting, Misao turned to Adia and produced a key for his heavy bindings. "You'll have the day to recover within the valley. Be sure to be back by tomorrow morning," Misao ordered. Adia's eyes were barely open and the old demon couldn't be sure that Adia had even heard him. "Now go."
Misao unlocked the shackles and immediately Adia transformed into his draconian form, lifted by his huge membranous wings as the sun began to peek over the edge of valley's rim.

The next day Adia begun his training. Everyday his endurance, his wits, and his aptitude for magic was tested. He learned hand-to-hand combat and how to use an array of weapons while in his weakest form-his human form. In his equine and draconian form he learned a wide range of magical attacks and defences. He learned strategies and how to think in even the most stressful of battles. He learned how to use his strengths and exploit his enemy's weaknesses. Adia became a powerful individual. Gone was the helpless child, now he was confident of his skills, and instead of it just being his narcissistic nature, he had the talent to back up his confidence.