Chapter 5: White Dragon Nomads

'The White Dragon Nomad Group.'

The world of Ishva'al had five continents; The Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western and Central continents.

Ten thousand years ago, before any of the established powers had fully taken control of each continent, the world was plunged into turmoil by a bloody and brutal war.

This war was known as the 'Scarlet Centipede' war and lasted for three thousand years.

Billions died, countless clans were destroyed and multiple races were pushed to the brink of extinction. It was a time of such violence and doom that for the most part of it, the people of the world believed that this was it, the final war, the end- the apocalypse.

But contrary to what anyone could've predicted or expected, this war had been ended by a single faction, in a single day, by one entity, a singular woman.

The White Dragon Queen swept the lands and forced the war to end before she ushered an era of unending peace that lasted till this day.

Obviously, the victors were the ones who shaped history so such a tale was bound to be filled with lies and exaggerations but its core remained the same- a single entity had ended a war that had nearly ended the world.

And now, supposedly, this entity was sitting in front of Adonis.

Saleh, the White Dragon Queen, smiled as she noticed the awe and fear that immediately bloomed within Adonis' gaze.

"It's just as I've previously said, young man. If I wanted to harm you, I would've already done so."

Adonis gulped as sweat began to pool on his back.

Hearing these same words while knowing who she was left him feeling even more grateful that he'd immediately apologised a few moments ago.

"My name is Adonis. Adonis Sarahadah."

Adonis didn't even dare think of lying to such an entity lest he get killed on the spot.

The young man, sat beside Adonis, suddenly grinned.

"Hahaha! Good!"

Though Adonis was confused by Rylo's enthusiasm, he didn't question it and forced a smile.

"Do you mind telling us what happened to you? We found you in quite the pathetic state, young man. You were naked, covered in wounds and practically half dead. Don't tell me you were…" Asked Selah as her gaze narrowed and her aura slightly blanketed over their surroundings.

"N-no! It's not what it seems. I wasn't assaulted, well, not sexually at least." Quickly said Adonis."A group of guards were chasing after me because they suspected I was the source of the chaos that's currently ensuing within the mansion not far from here." He added.

"Suspected?" Repeated Selah with a knowing smile.

Though Adonis didn't know it, at that moment, he'd committed his second mistake.

"Well, there's no need to dwell on matters of the past. Now that you're with us, you're safe. We're soon gonna reach the others at the camp. From there, we'll be able to further see how we can help you, okay? Sounds good?"

"Yes, ma'am. But if you don't mind me asking, why are you helping me?" Carefully asked Adonis.

This time, it was Rylo that'd answered him.

"Well, there are three reasons. First is, why would we need a reason to help a child in need? Any living being with a good set of morals knows what the right to do is in such a situation."

Hearing this naive and idealistic answer, inwardly, Adonis narrowed his gaze in alertness.

"Second is, you seem to have a rather peculiar body and granny here wishes to study it. Of course if you don't want to, that's fine but it would only be a few tests so you wouldn't lose much. In fact, you'd discover more about your body with our help."

"And lastly, we were commissioned."

"Commissioned? By who? To do what?" Suddenly asked Adonis, all his manners vanishing as his heart began to pound against his chest.

"Who else? Your father."

****

After a while, the carriage went silent.

Rylo and Selah sat cross legged on the floor of the carriage, their bodies covered in milky white energy as on the side, Adonis sat, his eyes closed as his thoughts ran wild.

'Just how far could father see into the future…and why didn't he do something to change it if he could see it?'

'No, this isn't the time for me to push the blame onto him. Father has never been a man to engage in fitulities. If he did something, then it had a purpose.'

'Then that means what I'm currently going through, is the best case scenario he could've possibly imagined and orchestrated.'

As this thought popped into his mind, Adonis grit his teeth in fury and frustration at his own uselessness.

'But what does that leave me with…what am I supposed to do now with all this information..?'

He sighed.

'I'll know when I get to the river. Hopefully.'

Shaking these negative thoughts away, Adonis focused on what was his only weapon at the moment, his Gifts.

He'd awakened four of them.

The first, [Order], allowed him to either fully impose his Will onto other beings for long periods of time or momentarily impose a part of it onto a large group of people.

The second, [Layer], allowed him to stack functions related to himself atop of one another with his stamina being the only limiting factor. A punch could have the power of ten and a second could be elongated to a minute.

The third, [Snatch], allowed him to, well, snatch things away from other entities. This gift was rather elusive but as he understood it, he could take away and assimilate most things, whether it be experience, stamina, life force or even instincts, he could snatch it all.

His fourth and last Gift, [Prime], perfectly complemented the others and formed a harmonic loop.

[Prime], was an application of perfection.

For example, if it was to be assumed that, on average, a regular human in good health and with no afflictions could release a hundred kilograms of force under the right circumstances then Adonis would be able to do the same, at all times.

When said like this, the ability sounded useless but it was limit breaking to say the least.