Tristan exited the gate and was shocked – quite literally – as a lightning bolt shot down from a cloud-covered, grey sky. It zapped the metal rod on his back before being sucked down into the small container inside the pack. The sudden movement made him jump, and he moved to the side and took up a ready stance with his sword out.

The wind was howling, and Eloise's laughter was barely audible. "Welcome to the Elemental Realm of Lightning!" she shouted out.

Tristan was able to take in the scene before him. A huge, seemingly endless field of bright green grass. An endless grey and black sky where thunder constantly roiled and rumbled, and spikes of light-blue lightning danced across the heavens in an endless cascade of energy. Rocky outcroppings stood all about, but there were no other large mountains like the one behind him, which had a near-constant funnel of lightning jolting down to.

"That must be how they power that light-crystal thing," Felicity said loudly in his ear. "Seems pretty neat!"

Tristan made sure to push the essence he was spinning into his socks that could absorb shocks and kept his sword leaned against his shoulder. "Right then! Where are we going?" he asked loud enough for Eloise to hear him.

She pointed at the line of students who were also jumping with a little start as lightning streaked down and impacted the metal poles jutting from their backs. There were small shrieks of fear that were quickly quelled as Torvald's voice echoed out from the front of the column – amplified by some spell, Tristan was sure. "Make sure we stick together! We will need to go over land for about a mile. Maybe further. But do not go off on your own!"

Felicity shrank down and wiggled her way into Tristan's armor through the gap between the under arm and the chest, causing Tristan to giggle the ticklish sensation. She popped her head up next to his neck, and he could feel her face squished against his as she peered out through the visor. "Sorry for the tight squeeze," she muttered. "I just don't want to get zapped!"

Tristan followed the column of students, and as they traveled across the green fields he could hear nothing but the rolling thunder and crackling of lightning which would sometimes arc down and strike a student's pack, eliciting a small shout of alarm at the sudden impact. I could really use some lightning dragon blood, he thought as he felt very exposed being in the open. He kept his eyes looking skyward and let the armor recede as he focused on just spinning his crucible but not spending the essence.

Felicity was able to wriggle into the chest plate cavity and popped her head out next to his neck, keeping an eye on the ground whilst he scanned the skies above. "Oooh, I think I see some of those Boltstallions!" She tapped his chin and pointed with one of her paws.

Tristan looked after where she was pointing and saw six-legged horses, with spikes down their spines and along the top of the head, with a striped, zig-zag pattern of white and bright-yellow. They were racing across the plains before wheeling around. "They are coming toward us!" Tristan shouted out as he looked to Eloise.

She raised an appraising eyebrow and shouted back over the wind, "I wouldn't be worried."

Not a second later, Torvald shouted. "Everyone spread apart! Extend arms, fingertips to fingertips, and then keep them at your sides once you're spread out! They will go right past you through the gaps!"

Tristan made sure he was an arm's reach from Eloise and the back of the line of students before clapping his arms to his sides. Just in case, he pushed his essence into his armor, and Felicity popped her head back as the helmet emerged to encase him.

His heart was racing, pounding along with the now-riotous sound of hoofbeats as the herd approached. True to Torvald's word, they looked to be heading for the gaps between the students, and as they got closer, Tristan could feel the static in the air. His lips were tingling, his skin was tingling.

The Boltstallions raced through the gaps, and Tristan could feel the rush of wind and surge of lightning that danced in sparks across his armor as they passed by. He felt exhilarated as they finished passing through, and he trailed them with his eyes as they regrouped and kept running across the plains.

"W-o-w!" Felicity shouted. "That was amazing!"

Eloise walked over to Tristan so she didn't have to shout to be heard, "It was an interesting encounter." She glanced up, "I'd still keep your eyes on the skies, dragonslayer. Just in case."

The group continued their journey, regrouping into rows as they traveled. Once more, Tristan kept his eyes on the skies, looking for any signs his grandfather had taught him to spot.

"Dragons always attack from above. So you need to know what signs to look for. First off, depends on the weather. Clear skies? Easy to spot them. But if it's a shitty day with lots of cloud coverage? You want to look for the abnormal. Swirls like what you'd see if you pushed your hand through a pool – that little spirally wake you leave. That is what you'd see if they are near the bottom of the cloud layer."

"Anything else flying that might come at us?" Tristan asked after an hour had passed with no other events of note.

Eloise shook her head, "Nothing flying. Most Elemental Realms have few flying creatures. Dragons are the apex predator, and they know it."

"Okay, we made it!" Torvald shouted. He planted a large, metal spike in the ground and began pulling on the top – extending it quickly until it created a twenty-foot-tall spike of iron. Then, he placed his hands on either side, and Tristan saw the bright-blue flow of essence flow from his hands and into the spike as a half-sphere popped from the top and fell down like an umbrella, creating a covered area. "This is where you can come back to rest and relax. You need to always stay in line of sight – but any rocks, go to the underside, and grab some of the Fulmoss!"

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The students began splitting off in pairs that had already been arranged, and Tristan joined Torvald under the umbrella of essence. "What do you want me to do?" Tristan asked.

"Just keep an eye out. Students know to run back here to shelter if something is coming for them."

Felicity tapped his forehead, "I'm going to go grab some of that Fulmoss! We can bring it back to the Fey Realm and grow it ourselves!" She wriggled out of his armor and flew off – still in her diminutive size – and that's when Tristan realized her metal-pole-harness did not shrink with her, and she was going out of the umbrella protection without coverage.

He quickly grabbed her by the tail, eliciting a yelp of surprise and slight pain. "Sorry!" he shouted.

She wheeled around in his grip, "What was that for!"

Tristan just pointed to the metal rod emerging from his back, "You are missing this."

She turned her head around and cursed, "Fine. So I just stick with you." She wriggled out of his grip and scrabbled into his armor's torso space again, poking her head out. "Good catch," she whispered.

Tristan chuckled and looked at Eloise, "You fine if I gather some of this fulmoss?"

"Go ahead," she stated nonchalantly, as she stared up at the skies. "Just make sure you're listening and watching for danger."

Tristan left the safety of the umbrella structure and headed to a cluster of rocks that students were scrabbling around. They were grabbing small handfuls of bright blue moss that they shoved into their packs. It was easy enough to find, and when he grabbed it he could feel the tingling in his fingers, through his gauntlets and gloves. He brought it towards his torso, and Felicity opened up the pocket dimension as he shoved the handful into the space.

He stood up and looked around at the skies above. Scanning for any signs of the swirls and eddies that would be left behind by a winged creature. An hour passed, and he was struck several times by lightning which was redirected by the pole on his back.

Students began moving to the umbrella to take a lunch break, and Tristan was about to get off the rock that he had turned into his lookout perch when he spotted a swirl in the clouds. "Felicity," you see that?" he asked as he pointed at the swirl.

She turned her head over to his finger, "Oooh, the spiral? Looks like…whatchamacallit…one of those tornadoes forming."

Tristan frowned, "I don't know what it is, but it doesn't match anything grandfather described as a sign of a dragon."

Felicity made little paw-biscuits with her hind legs on his collarbone, "I don't know. Should go and ask the guy who seems like he knows a lot about this place."

Tristan clambered down the stone and jogged over to the umbrella pavilion. Eloise was standing at the small pillar, fueling it with essence, while Torvald snacked on a roll with some meat and vegetables shoved into the center. Tristan pointed, "What's that funnel?"

Torvald looked over and his face had a look of confusion, "I'm…not sure. It's not a native phenomenon here. I mean, we do have Spark Twisters, but that doesn't have the same sparkling and crackling. Huh." He shrugged, "Nothing for it but to watch and see."

Tristan stayed in the shelter of the umbrella structure and kept watching as the funnel of clouds continued to grow, and as it started to reach easily a mile across, the center began to arc down toward the ground, covered in crackling lightning. "See! Spark Twister," Torvald said as he finished off his sandwich. "Just took a while to form fully."

Tristan felt some relief mixed with disappointment. I was kind of hoping it was a dragon, he thought. Getting a new spell type would be neat, but more importantly getting some of the blood-

He heard a scream from behind him, and turning around he instinctively drew the two-handed blade, spinning his essence crucible as he poured the magical power into the armor and weapon. The blade extended slightly and the blade widened as it became flatter. He ran out toward the sound of screaming, and spotted two female students who were climbing down the rocks.

He could see what they were screaming about a second later – a four-legged lizard, covered in a leathery hide, with spikes along the spine that crackled with radiant yellow arcs, was chasing them off the rock. It opened its mouth, letting out a hiss that permeated the air.

The two girls got past Tristan and he heard Torvald behind him, "Don't fight it! They are gentle giants! The students must've interrupted it. They eat the Fulmoss."

Tristan kept the blade out and his eyes on the beast, but the man seemed to be correct as the creature began to turn around.

He felt his heart racing. Seemingly out of nowhere, and his vision narrowed. Something in him called him, forced him to turn around. As he did so, he saw the clouds above parting and one of the beasts he was trained to fight, to kill, to devour – began a steep swoop. The claws were all extended outward, the wings angled forward for speed, and it dove toward the Thunderstomper.

"Get down!" Tristan shouted as he pushed the other man down and pointed at the dragon with his middle finger oustretched, the rest of his fingers curled into a fist. "Come at me!" he shouted as loud as he could as he cast Imperious Challenge.

He felt the essence crucible in his torso spinning, bubbling, swirling with raw power as his blood roiled. He had to fight. To kill. To destroy this thing. To eat it. It was his prey. "Felicity! Get to safety!" he shouted.

She wriggled out of his armor and flew over to land on the now-running-for-cover mage teacher. "Get him, Tristan! Or her! I don't know!"

Tristan could only faintly hear her. His pulse was in his ears, his heart was racing, and he could feel the hunt-urge fall on him as it had when he fought the fire dragon and the demonic dragon. He saw the spell take effect, as the dragon altered course towards him, and not the Thunderstomper. Let's try my theory. He began reverse-spinning his crucible, trying to suck in the ambient essence in the Realm.

He felt it in the air, but it refused his call. It refused to be sucked in. Fine, it just works in the Fey Realm, he thought as he pushed the idea to the side and prepared for the impending dive-bomb. He could feel his legs tense as he readied a dodge. But then, an idea struck him. He kept the sword held in his right hand, held his left palm out, with the thumb and pinky tucked into the palm as his three other fingers extended. "Ich beschwöre Feuer und Hitze, forme deine Macht zu einem Ball: werfe diese auf meine Feinde, sodass die Flammen sie verschlingen möge" (I summon forth the rage of heat and flame: form a bolt that will burn and sear my target).

The ball of silver fire appeared in his hand, and it began to crackle with the crimson and black sparks, along with small flickers of icy blue. It grew in size, and he held it at the ready as the dragon drew ever closer.

Now! He released the spell as he dove to the side. The ball of flame flashed forward and engulfed the dragon's head in the glowing fire, blinding it and ensuring it could not hit Tristan with a side-swipe.

He felt the creature just overhead, and made sure to hold up the tip of the blade with his roll, hoping to score a hit. He felt something tear, and the viscous blood dripped down the blade. He let the helmet recede as he licked along the blade, his tongue buzzing and going numb. I need more, he thought greedily as his stomach gurgled, hungry for more.

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