Ascent of a Dragon

The pair take in their new environment with awe. Glowing veins of green and blue light pattern the walls of the enormous cavern they now stand in, fading into the distant horizon. Glimmering droplets of water chase down the stalagmites spattered across the ceiling, leaping down into ponds below as glowing ripples dance across the water surface.

Tiny streams run from the ponds, coalescing towards a larger body of water at the base of the cavern. Still waters in the middle of the pond reflect the ceiling above, casting the illusion of a starry night over a calm ocean. The occasional ripple reaches the pond centre, disturbing the reflected patterns.

Bloop stares at the view, making sure to take in the awe inspiring sights with all eight of her eyes. Aleph finds herself distracted by the shapes flitting around the corner of her eye, refusing to be caught by direct sight. The pair slowly wander towards the large pond, spotting the telltale yellow glow of nearby rock lizards drinking from the clear waters.

Hopping off for a closer look, Bloop skitters to the lake edge, playfully tapping the surface. Each ripple glows blue, filling the spider's cyan eyes with a childish glee as she eagerly splashes patterns into the pond surface. Before she can lean in to take a sip, an obsidian tail snakes its way in front, blocking her path and pulling her back. Looking up, Bloop sees Aleph eying the rock lizards ahead, who now lay twitching by the pond edge.

I knew it! Can't just have a nice and pretty bioluminescent cave, can we! Gotta have some weird poison algae or whatever in the water! Of course, as always tends to happen, now is the moment Aleph's throat decides it's extremely dry and in some dire need of refreshment. Should've had something to drink before I left. No way am I even touching this stuff. I just don't have the Aether to deal with that kind of toxin. Food poisoning is one thing, but if this stuff can soak itself into my skin I want no part in it.

Lifting her tiny companion, who is currently occupied with staring in horror at her soaked legs, to her perch, Aleph walks away from the scary death pond. Following a river with no glowing water, the pair come upon a smaller pond with a few larger rock lizards relaxing by the edge. The largest of the rock lizards cautiously eyes the approaching dragon for a while until shortly after they stop, deciding they're no major threat.

Aleph dips her tail in the water, swishing it around a bit yet seeing no glow. No algae up here I guess. Still not satisfied though, she sits down and watches the group of rock lizards. The largest once again takes notice, taking her on in a staring contest, which she of course wins. After a few minutes, one of the lizards gets up to drink its fill from the pond.

Watching closely as the lizard takes hearty gulps of water before shaking itself dry and heading back to the group, Aleph decides the risk is worth taking and leans in for a sip. Hmm, this water tastes like water. Guess I just wait now and see if that turns me into a twitching mess. I didn't drink much, so I shouldn't die at least... hopefully. I really need more Aether...

Through the eyes of a panicking spider

Omygodimgoingtodieholysheeeet! Lyla sits in a stunned daze as she Internally panics. It's not the end of the world if I die, right? Another can just be sent after me if I do, and it wasn't hard getting this far... But I got so lucky! I have a dragon! That's so coo-useful! No way something like this happens again. And if I die there's no way this fool is surviving even five minutes without me, I mean look! It's already drinking the deadly glow water!

Wait, WHY ARE YOU DRINKING THAT?! I look away for two seconds and you're already-oh wait, it's not glowing? Huh, guess this stuff must be safe then. Lyla hops down from her perch and gives the pond a probing poke, letting out a sigh of relief as the colour remains clear. Fuuu, no danger glow. It is the glow that's dangerous right? Not just the water? Those lizards seem fine... but it might just be slow acting... You know what? I'm not thirsty.

Resolving to ignore the fact she hasn't had anything to drink in days, Bloop skitters a healthy distance from the pond and plonks herself to the ground, resting. Seriously... First step on the next floor and I'm already encountering a near-death experience. I mean... Okay, I could probably survive that. That's what this body was designed for in the first place, but still! Mana based poisons are insane, and my amazing skills in magic and survival only go so far!

I guess I should've known about this, but I don't remember seeing this cave the last time I was here! Maybe we should look for the route I originally took... probably safer than this...

Through the eyes of a probably not poisoned dragon

Aleph gives her wings a stretch, pushing them to their full span and giving them a solid flap. Water ripples into small waves from the sudden air pressure, startling the rock lizards, who scamper away and out of sight. Despite this, her body remains rooted to the ground, unperturbed by the force. Yea, these wings aren't taking me anywhere. Not until I have enough Aether to offset my weight. Shame too. This cavern is huge, so flying around could have been pretty fun...

Bloop skitters over, hopping onto the outstretched wing to traverse the obsidian scales and nestle herself comfortably between the dragon's onyx horns. Deciding it's totally safe (probably), Aleph leans forward to slurp down her fill, with Bloop also caving to her thirst after a moment of hesitation. Satiated, the pair set of again striding onward into the unknown. Until they aren't.

Ow! What? What is this thing?! Just a few steps from the pond, Aleph finds her foot trapped in a pale white mushroom-plant-tentacle?-thing, slowly burning away at her scales. Yanking her foot from its grasp she stumbles back, glaring daggers at the offending blob. And now my foot is numb. Hooray... The pale plant grasps at the empty air, searching for its lost prey, before eventually unfurling its white petals and laying them on the ground. As it presses them flat, the white surface shifts colour, taking on the blue and grey tones of the surrounding mossy rocks.

Are you kidding me? How many of these things are there? I can't see this thing at all any more! Why don't I get cool stuff like insta-camo-skin? Shuffling closer, Aleph scans the rocky surface the pale plant once sat. The surface is slightly smoother... Dammit! If I didn't know it was here I wouldn't notice a thing! It doesn't have enough attached Aether for me to reliably detect either, and I doubt it has any Mana either for Bloop to detect. If I had more Aether myself I could boost my immune system enough for it to be a non-issue...

Aleph gives her numb leg a flex to gauge the damage. A soft tingling slowly creeps through her leg, giving way to a paralysing numbness as the toxin spreads. It's getting worse... Wait, do dragons not have an actual immune system at all? They're basically half Mana spirit, so I could totally see that being the case! This is actually really bad then! More Aether might actually be my only real option here. Closing her eyes in focus, Aleph flares her Aether, spreading it thin in search for a large enough source, the telltale violet glow seeping through the grooves in her scales. I don't see anything... on this floor at least. Whatever's on the floor below is seriously huge, but it's also the only viable source of Aether I can see. I could maybe find something if I keep exploring this floor, but I don't know if I have the time to take that chance. I have to go now before this starts spreading to my vital organs!

She bolts, hunting for any way down to her quarry. Spreading her wings she lightly glides, minimising her contact with the potentially dangerous floor. The mass of Aether below her lies dormant, unmoving. Tendrils spread wide, sprawling from the centre mass in a web-like tapestry. Some of the vines poke close to the upper layer, conforming their shape to some kind of surface. Aleph sprints to the nearest such vine, in hopes of it leading her to a way down.

Leaping high off a tall rock to glide she manages a glimpse at the horizon, or rather, the lack of one. The distant walls of the cavern continue for kilometres, fading into a greyish blue atmospheric fog as the distant lights are scattered by air over the immense distance. Aleph is stunned for a moment as she contemplates the sheer enormity of this cavern. Bloop meanwhile clings on to the dragon's horns as she contemplates why being bitten by a funky camo plant warrants dashing recklessly through the cave.

Reaching the ground above the vine, Aleph searches the area. Finding no ways down she sets off for the next one. And the one after that, stepping into another weird plant thing along the way. Time ticks by as she desperately seeks a path down, all the while the numbness keeps spreading up her leg. Eventually, she spots a cavity reaching deep below, glowing moss webbed together in ever increasing density the further down it goes, covered in a net of pale white vines. By this time, Aleph's gait has become a limped scramble as her numb leg fails to properly support her body.

Ignoring the minor tantrum being thrown on her head by Bloop, who at this point has figured out what she's trying to do and is not happy, Aleph leaps down the moss hole, the tiny spider dangling by a literal thread wrapped precariously around her horns. I've made it! Now all I need is to quickly snag one of the bigger vines and leave. That'll be enough!

Hastily stumbling her way down, the tunnel begins to widen, before opening out into a sheer drop. Gliding her way to the ground, Aleph fumbles the landing, her weak leg failing to support the fall as she crashes into the soft vine covered floor. Pulling herself up from the sticky green goo oozing from the torn vines and coating the floor of her impromptu landing pad she casts a cautious gaze at her surroundings.

Something's not right... Anything with this much attached Aether would have to be old. There's just no way something this fragile could survive that long, let alone get so big. Aleph glances around herself, searching for something, anything out of place. Even bloop looks around frantically, trying to find whatever has put the dragon on edge. Yet they only find more of the same vivid tapestry of pale vines and shimmering mossy rocks. Save for the cavern centre, at which lays a thick amalgam of shining vines. Nesting together in a lightly pulsating bulb, the vines practically ooze Aether.

A few chunks of that would be more than enough. I just need to grab some then get out of here. I don't want to stay any longer than I have to. Now if I can just- The cave walls spin violently, blue and white blending into a uniform blur. Bloop is sent flying off her perch as Aleph careens into the air, a blinding pain seeping across her left side. What?! Collecting herself, she flares her wings, regaining enough control to land herself in a readied stance as Bloop bounces across the ground, skittering back to her companion at the first available chance.

Aleph focuses, pumping Aether across her body, hardening her scales and tensing her muscles. Her eyes scan the cavern, searching for any hint of movement, her ears poised to catch even the most minute of sounds. The Aether shifts. Behin- Too late. Once again she is sent tumbling, the blunt, rocky surface of the floor bruising against her scales. The Aether reinforcement is enough to prevent any real damage this time, but does nothing to help the intense vertigo of being spun in the air by a sudden force. Bloop manages to hang on, clinging to a thread hastily wrapped around the dragon's neck.

Planting her feet hard into the ground, Aleph regains her footing. Violet eyes burn, a fervorous gaze eating into the cavern walls. Focus. Breathe.

Fight.