Cruising across the sands had become monotonous. They had encountered a few monsters not far from the mountain's foothills, but now that they were out into the sands, there was very little going on. Which was a problem of its own. Caeden couldn't have predicted how voracious the little half-dragon's appetite was. He ate several times his body weight in monster meat every day.

Out here in the open sands, that was a difficult quota to meet. Caeden had to use his aura and cover miles at a time to find enough monsters. The ones out here were generally either the Sand Dragons he had encountered earlier, or a grotesque fusion between dragon and scorpion called a Dread Sting. Neither was powerful enough to merit any interest from him.

The path they were taking skirted the bottom edge of the continent, so they never got closer to the center where more powerful monsters were. The mountains they had left were as close as they would get to the center of the continent on this whole journey. In the very middle of the range, Caeden had noticed a slight spike in the strength of the monsters, but it had died down quickly as they continued.

So now they crossed a desert with very little life and very little monsters. Caeden didn't see how that would be connected. After all, Ki was the basis for monsters, and it was ever-present. Even here in the desert, the air thrummed with Ki whenever he checked his aura. Nevertheless, the desert had few monsters. This was the first dessert Caeden had been to, so he wasn't sure if that was a feature of deserts in general or one specific to here.

Which meant that their trip had rapidly devolved into abject boredom. There was nothing to see except for the occasional shrub or cactus that managed to survive the unforgiving heat and lacking water supply. Sometimes they would pass a rocky outcropping sticking up through the sand. Then it was dunes, flat open planes of endless sand, and more dunes.

Caeden kept himself entertained by continuing to operate his Sharp umbrella, which was acting more as a sun shield currently. He had no idea how bad it would be to travel through this desert as a normal human. He was constantly running a low level of Physical Enhancement, infusing his body to resist the heat. So the umbrella was more for fun and ascetics than any practical reasons, though Caeden would freely admit that keeping the sun out of his eyes was a nice bonus.

Cat entertained herself by playing with the baby dragon. She had discovered that he was fast. Fast enough to outpace the Brute, which was absurd. The Brute could travel at nearly a hundred miles an hour with them on it. Admittedly, he could only keep that speed for short bursts, but it was enough to keep Cat entertained.

"Ok, boy, here it goes!" Cat cooed, waving her arm back and forth as the baby jumped up and down, flopping over himself in excitement. Cat repeatedly wound her arm back as if to throw, only to drop it as the hatchling darted across the Brute's back in anticipation. He would immediately turn around and jump at her in indignation as Cat giggled.

Finally, right when the hatchling started to give up, Cat wound back and threw. The pale white object with a heart of green flame zipped through the air at odd angles and moved in jerky, stuttering motions. A green arrow darted off the Brute and practically flew across the sands, tracking after the chaotically moving shape.

"That Ball specter is actually pretty neat," Caeden noted, leaning back into his comfy seat. If he had a nice, cold drink, this would be an excellent vacation.

"Mehh," Cat shrugged, her eyes tracking the baby dragon's sinuous, floppy form as he tumbled and rolled across the sands, trying to keep up with the ever-shifting trajectory of Cat's newest specter. A wide smile was plastered across her face. "It will never have any real combat applications, but it was fun to design, and the baby likes it. I'll call it a success."

Caeden smiled internally. The lack of anything noteworthy over the last few days had done wonders for Cat's mood. With nothing to fight, he could visibly see her concerns over her lackluster combat prowess fading with time. Playing with the hatchling had further soothed her, and now she seemed more relaxed and at ease than Caeden could ever remember. Even back at the Academy, Caeden could tell she felt the weight of standing with the rest of the team.

Here, she had nothing to prove, because everything was peaceful, even if it was a tad boring. Caeden could appreciate the empty sands if it could put a smile like that on his friend's face. So he leaned back and relaxed, the only thing going through his mind was the continuous effort to hold the umbrella in place.

I wish Lily was here. The thought filtered through the mental barrier Caeden had built around his worry for his roommate and girlfriend. They were both powerful, competent fighters. More importantly, Lily was an expert at stealth. They would have an easier time crossing the continent than Caeden and Cat had. But the worries remained. So all he could do was block them out and continue enjoying what peace he could.

It was surprising when he felt a jolt of concern filter through the bond between him and the hatchling just as they crested another dune. Immediately, Caeden sat up and saw yet another massive crag of sandstone jutting out of the desert. The hatchling had chased the Ball toward a prominent cave set into the side of the rock.

Caeden leaped from the Brute as a figure emerged from the cave. A massive, aquamarine dragon bigger than three Brutes put together. It had a short neck and tail with thick, sturdy limbs, two fore and back. Caeden would say it closely resembled a massive blue lizard more so than any other dragon he had encountered. At least, he would have if it weren't for all the wounds.

There were several points on the dragon's torso where scales had been gouged out, and lesser, weaker scales had tried to grow over a mass of scar tissue. Its left foreleg was severed at the knee, ensign in a stump, and its left eye was an empty socket. Caeden had seen injured dragons on his travels, several with scarring similar to this one. None had been anywhere near this bad.

Caeden slammed into the sand at a run, enhancing himself as far as he could without formshifting. Luckily, his domain was literally Physical Enhancement, so he could move very fast even without it. He didn't want the dragon to think he was charging in to attack, and formshifting would probably give that impression.

"Oh, what have we here?" The dragon spoke, his voice strangely forceful and loud to Caeden ears after his shroud processed the draconic words into Central Common. "A shrouded and a cursed child? What manner of invasion is this?"

"No invasion." Caeden projected back. "Our ship was destroyed on the way to the far side of the continent. We're students, not members of the military. Just passing through." Caeden let the dragon's truth speech speak for him.

"Hmm." The dragon hummed. "No, I think not."

"What?" Caeden asked, unsure what the dragon meant. Meanwhile, he signaled the hatchling to return to the Brute, which Cat had stopped a ways back.

"Shrouded are all liars and monsters. I don't think I believe you. In fact, I think you're a threat." the dragon spread his jaw in a way that Caeden's aura senses interpreted as a smile. "I'll kill you now to protect dragonkind."

"You know I'm not a threat." Caeden jumped back, putting distance between them at the dragon's threat. He was still smiling and hadn't made any threatening moves. Caeden wasn't sure if this was some example of a dragon's joke. "I told you why we're here. I literally can't lie to you. But I guess I can clarify. I have never harmed a dragon, and I never plan to harm a dragon unless I'm attacked first. I just want to get to the far side of the continent and leave."

The dragon raised a scaly brow. "Interesting. I have never heard a shrouded speak so plainly and so truthfully. Very interesting."

Caeden let out a relieved sigh. "I'm glad I can clear up the misunderstanding. If that's all, I think we'll be leaving now." He started to back away.

"Oh, come now. Stay a while. It's been so long since I spoke to another capable of conversation." The dragon intoned, settling down on the sand.

"Sorry, but we're kinda in a hurry." Caeden apologized.

"Now, now. Can you at least hear the story of a foolish old dragon?" The dragon waved a claw. "It won't take too long, you have my word."

Caeden sighed. This old dragon seemed genuinely lonely. "That's fine, I suppose. I'm not in that much of a hurry."

The dragon smiled. "Good, good. First of all, my name of Jawrule. I'm sure not many dragons have told you their name, have they? No, they wouldn't have. It is a sign of friendship and camaraderie. So they would not have told two strangers. But you are the first person to visit me in quite a long time, so I will treat you as a friend."

Caeden smiled. He started to relax. "That's kind of you. My name is Caeden."

"Think nothing of it, young shrouded. Now, where to begin." Jawrule's gaze grew distant, his mind traveling back. "I suppose this story started when I was quite young. The nests were better defended in those days. The monsters were not as powerfully resistant to our breath. I was smitten. There was a young dragon maiden much my age, and though we had not completed the mating rites and I had not fought for the honor of siring her children, she returned my affections. I was ecstatic. Have you ever been in love, young shrouded?"

Caeden thought about Lily, about how she made him feel. "I think so. I'm a bit new to romance, but there's a girl I like a lot."

"Hmm." The old dragon hummed. "Then perhaps my story will carry more meaning to you. You see, the time had come for the young maiden to enter her first heat. I was excited, and so was she. We had talked many times about raising our own hatchlings. Neither of us were afraid of the monsters. We were young, brash. Dumb."

Caeden felt like he understood where this story was going.

"I fought them with my all, young shrouded. I fought them until I could not breathe. I killed dozens, despite how little my breath affected them. Despite how well their scales deflected my claws. I fought SO HARD." Jawrule ground the words out. "I failed. My nest failed. We all failed. I do not know how I even survived. I should have died. I might have been better that way. When I found her, after. She could not look at me. Would not look at me. The vibrant, funny, amazing dragoness I had fallen so much in love with had vanished, taken from me. I could not protect her. I FAILED."

His one good eye burned and surged with liquid fire. Some of it leaked out. "I was the one who found her, later. She could not live with what had happened. And with her went any chance I ever had of regaining my love. I was SO ANGRY. I raged beyond my ability to endure. I could not stand it. So I left the continent and threw myself against the constraints of the shrouded. They found me swiftly. And once again, I FAILED. A military officer took my leg during the battle. Afterwards, he took my eye. He told me it would remind me that animals should know their place. When I returned in shame, none of my kind wanted anything to do with me. They feared the shrouded would come to take me for leaving this prison. So here I remain, alone and separate from my race until I die."

Jawrule began to slowly rise to his feet. "So, young shrouded, my new friend. I am going to kill you. Because your whole kind are monsters and the Starry Sea is better off with every last one of you being dead." And he lunged forward.