Rise of the Archmage Alister

Blas watched with the knights at their nearby camp for two days before there was any sign of the wyvern. They were as prepared as they were going to get without sight of the beast, and waiting for hours on end was bad for morale, not to mention extremely boring.

In fact, it had gotten so bad that one of the knights of higher social standing had decided to confront Blas about his plan and argue with him about the doubts that the knights were having about whether or not this wyvern was even still here. And as hurt as Blas’ ego was, he was going to honestly respond to them more as a peer than a superior, because acting like a superior was still difficult for him. In his head he was still just the duke's child, someone of high social standing, but it was hard to believe that he was in charge of these people. And when confronted with frustration or anger or distrust, it was difficult for Blas not to treat them as a peer.

All thoughts or commentary went by the wayside however as a rattling cry struck out across the open air of the forest. It vibrated men’s hearts in their chests with how deep and guttural the sound was. He could feel it through his bones, he could feel it in his lungs, and it was terrifying and electric. Whatever malaise his nights and he were feeling was swiftly replaced with awe and trepidation as a wyvern with a wingspan of 40 feet glided in overhead.

It other didn’t notice I didn’t care about the campsite, as it continued down and in toward its cavern. Blas was shaking with unbelievable glee and this sense of relief mixed with a healthy dose of fear for what was going to happen next. But it was real. And it was here. He’d show everyone that he knew what he was talking about.

“Sunset Wyvern,” he stated once it passed, whipping out a notepad, as he began furiously scribbling notes, “The bottom side is the color of a setting sun, the top black. It looked massive for a juvenile though… forty? Forty-two feet, maybe? Amazing wingspan. Male. The females have darker chest colors. They’re black on top to help them heat up - they’re reptiles, after all. Magical or not, they're still cold-blooded. Incredible.”

Blas turned to his knights, a sudden seriousness overtaking him, and he pointed, “Man the pillars and be ready. I don’t expect to do anything until we have more information, but if the opportunity presents itself I will not hesitate.”

He continued to explain what he knew, “Most sunset wyverns have a wingspan of only forty feet as an adult. A juvenile that large… it must be a variant. Its parents must be… wooh… I can hardly imagine. Juveniles get forced out of the nest. No wonder the cave is sub-par! It’s trying to make itself a new home. Heh. A kid getting on their own two feet for the first time. Amazing.”

“Sunset wyverns are known for mild elemental abilities, most often fire or acid, but the dungeon suggests stronger than average elemental affinities. We can assume in general that this is a potential royal-class monster. Not one yet, I’d guess, but definitely has the blood for it,” Blas said as he hurriedly paced, mind racing, “Ideally we’ll watch him for another day before we make our move. He was gone for at least two days, as we know, so he probably hunted and will stay put for a while. We do NOT want to fight that wyvern in his cave. That’s his territory and we’d be at a massive disadvantage. We’ll have to coax him out… maybe smoke him out? Hm…”

“Knights! Squad Ave, Squad Bone. Track to the north of the cave. Fan out from each other. Keep your distance from the mouth of the cavern, don’t risk yourselves. Squad Reen, Squad Denek. Track to the south. Same thing. Rangers, Squad Cold, Squad Tolk. We’re going to be watching from the front. It’ll be more dangerous, so we’ll be a little farther off. Any qualms?” he paused for a beat and no one objected, “Then move out!”

More waiting. Hours of time where Blas felt like his heart was trying to escape out of his chest. It was miserable. Even though no one else complained, it was the hardest wait he had ever had. He was more nervous than when he met his wife for the first time!

The male sunset wyvern spent a lot of time in front of its cave wondering about and plucking at dead branches of acid-singed trees.

Blas wasn't sure what to make of this at first; they didn't build nests like rocs or elemental birds. So what was it doing? It seemed to Blas like it might be nervous, but that could have just been anthropomorphizing them. It could surely smell them, but would that do it?

The notification made Blas just about jump out of his skin. Inyet? He wasn’t a faithful. He didn’t go to her temples or anything like that. Was what he was doing so crazy that it caught a goddess’s attention?

Okay. Whatever. He had to ignore it for now. He could see the knights beside him shuffling with uncertainty. They must have seen the notification as well. Why was the wyvern acting nervous though… it was a large creature, an apex predator… but it had just gotten kicked out of its parents’ home sometime recently. It was adolescent, even if it didn’t look like it.

The only thing that would make an apex predator nervous, usually, would be another apex predator. Another wyvern, perhaps? What else… a dragon, of course, but that’d be a whole other mess that he didn’t want to get politically involved with. Drakes, maybe? Rocs or griffins would be a little too weak unless they were in a large flock. Basilisks, maybe, but this was the wrong climate for a thing like that.

Another wyvern it was, then. It made the most sense. Something competing for territory. That, or… when was their breeding season again?

He felt his cheeks flush slightly as he considered the possibility he was interrupting such… behaviors… But no. Adolescent. Nervous. Even if it WAS breeding season, the wyvern would compete with other males. So he was back to the same conclusion. They’d have to deal with this wyvern and whatever else was coming here.

Blas had a mage near him inform the other team captains through a basic whisper message about his conclusion, and to be careful. In his gut, he knew he’d lose people here. An inexplicable pit dug its way into his stomach. Knowing that some of those he brought with him would likely die, pained him. He was too soft for combat.

Barely another hour passed before his conclusion was confirmed, the rattling cry of another wyvern soaring in over the horizon. The sunset wyvern’s head snapped to attention and he roared back, puffing up his feathers to look larger. The new wyvern was smaller but older with opalescent white feathers on everything but his face, which had pale blues and silvers that framed its furious blue eyes. Its clawed feet were blue as well, like glacier ice, which dug into the hard dirt as it landed and lifted a cloud of dust too close to Blas for comfort.