Outcast

"Finally decided to explore the bond eh? took you long enough"

Confused, I try to figure out how this is happening.

"How are we talking right now Lord?" I ask.

"The deeper you explore the bond, the more mysteries there are. This is the basic ability most gain after finally unlocking the Crimson Heartfyre" He explains.

"Why did no one tell me about it?" I ask frustrated.

"Heartfyre burns at incredible temperatures, as such if you tried it before you were ready you would have burned yourself up. It's not a natural power for you to use, as such if you overuse it you will be hurt, or even killed"

After hearing his explanation The lack of knowledge given to me begins to make more sense.

"Lord, we have destroyed the Bloodyfang clan and the Silverback tribe. I have sent some of the children to the Crimson Flame as I know we desperately need new blood. One, in particular, you may want to pay attention too, her name is Dahlia, she has a very unique bloodline" I begin to explain to him.

"Gorm has kept me informed, and your new members arrived today, Dahlia was among them. Do you know what bloodline she managed to create?" He asks, his voice filled with excitement.

"I thought it was mutant version of the bloody fang with the storm dragon mixed in. Was I wrong?" I ask confused.

"In way you are right, see the bloody fang bloodline is a weaker bloodline created from the mixing of several more powerful bloodlines diluted after several generations.

Similar to how wind and lightning dragon bloodlines were created from storm dragons. When Dahlia ate the meat from those mutated rats with storm dragon lineage, it forced out a more powerful bloodline that was hidden within the bloody fangs lineage. She managed to awake the hydra bloodline" says Mezal, his voice betraying his excitement.

Stunned, I fell silent while I processed the news. Hydra's were extremely powerful, with near-immortal regeneration, and multiple heads. Each capable of mastering a different element. Trying to remember what I could from the limited literature on them, I then ask the obvious question.

"Why does she only have one head?"

"Hahaha, she asked the same thing when she found out. They gain two heads for each evolution. So as a wyrm she will have 3, as a wyvern 5, dragonling 7 and so on. Her first element is poison, the next two I suspect will be wind, and lightning" He says while laughing.

"Wow, how come I haven't seen anymore with the hydra bloodline before? they seem to be incredibly powerful" I ask.

"They are, however they are their own worse enemy. Hydra's can't stand one another, there's an insane rage that makes them fight each other to the death. Something about a bloodline curse created by the original hydra.

She was trying to find a suitable heir, so the Hydra clan tore themselves apart. Ironically no one survived. Dahlia is the first Hydra I have seen in 20 years. Occasionally they pop up but never for long. She asked when you are coming to visit by the way"

"Soon, I plan to stay here a couple of months to learn more about how to use storm dragons powers, then come back"

"Good, they definitely can help you much more than we can, now I need to go back to a true rest," He says before the connection is cut off.

Sadness fills me as I recall Mezal's injuries. Unless something that could heal the crippled wing was found, Lord Mezal would be unable to fly until he became a dragonling. That could take up to a decade for him, especially since flying was no longer an option, severely limiting how far he could explore.

Trying to get my mind off of the terrible things that had happened recently, I decided to go through a round Demons Enduring Determination to clear my mind.

So much had been going on that I hadn't practiced it so a few days. I start with the first set, easily completing it before starting the second set as the pain, and pressure increased.

The pain brought a clarity to my thoughts that I needed. My tribe had been attacked because we allowed our enemies to scheme and grow strong enough to band together and attack. We had assumed that they would treat us the same way, and paid a heavy price for it.

That could not happen again, Emperor Cernunnos had been right, beastkin needed to be united under a strong ruler. The Crimson Flame Tribe needed to be so strong that no one in our area of the world would ever consider attacking us.

"We have to make everyone scared of us, build a reputation of both ruthlessness and cunning," I think to myself as a plan starts to piece itself together.

Enduring through sets two, three, and finally four. I grit my teeth and grin savagely as the final pieces of the plan together. Some of it will rely on luck, but it's possible.

"It's time to show the world what a thinblood can do"