• Adamantia sighed as she wiped the sweat from her brow. The sword in her hand glistened, the steel blade sparkling in the sun. It was Wednesday, a training day. Not for her, but for the soldiers she was conditioning. They needed to be war ready, especially with the threat of a dragon attack always looming over their heads. As daughter of the queen, the young shifter was in charge of the army. She was the general that protected her people against the dragons, who they competed for land with. It wasn't either race's fault. Actia wasn't big enough for the three major races; humans, shifters, and dragons. The country was flanked by mountains on all but the eastern border which led to the sea. No one could survive the journey over the mountains, and if they did, they never tried it again and were left to survive in the lands north of Actia.

    "Lady Adamantia." A solder called from behind the shifter princess.



    "Please, call me Ada." She said softly. Her voice was calming, yet powerful and could compel almost anyone into doing anything.

    "The High Queen, Adalia has summoned you." He said as he rose from his bow.



    "Then we must hurry. It must be important if Mother has summoned me so hastily." She said.

    She closed her eyes and latched onto the flow of magic within her. She imagined herself as a cheetah, graceful, fast, and slender. After she got the image in her head, she released the magic that felt thousand butterflies stuck in her stomach. Her dark, earthy skin brightened and turned a sandy yellow. Spots speckled her body. Her obsidian hair that flowed down her back in intricate braids retracted into her scalp as fur sprouted all over her body. Her clothes, armor, sword, and all disappeared. It only took a few seconds for her body to match her mind. A fully grown cheetah stood proud amongst the soldiers.

    Adamantia let loose a loud growl before running off. She felt the muscles in her back legs push off the ground. Oh how she loved to shift into an animal form. She loved the gift of her people. Whatever animal they drank the blood from, they would adapt their form. Most didn't kill for the animal's blood. There were many shops and markets that sold small vials of the precious crimson liquid. Ada had gotten most of her blood from the stores. The rest, she had gotten when she was out hunting for food.

    She bounded through the forest like a lightning bolt through a sky of green. She had left the training grounds far behind her. Delius will train the soldiers. They will be fine. She thought as she neared the castle. It wasn't much. It was made out of stone. A drawbridge ran across a moat that was filled with all sorts of horrible things including poison. Huge ballistae were mounted on four towers. They were designed to bring down dragons in case of an attack on the capitol. That is, if the dragons could find it amongst the dense forest that surrounded it.

    As Ada approached the drawbridge, she shifted into a large doe, over 9 feet tall. It was the sign of royalty. A large buck or doe was the only transformation that only the royal family had. Ada held her head high as the guards bowed and let her through. Once she was inside, she shifted back into a cheetah and resumed running, thankful for the rest she had gotten, even if it was only for a moment. Finally, she made it to the castle and entered the throne room. She shifted back into her human form and bowed to her mother, her long braids falling into her face as she did so.

    " Ah! Adamantia, you have made it!" she said. Ada rose from her bow and gave her mother a quizzical look. Never in her life had her mother been so happy to see her. She caught a hint of concern in the queen's voice, and was that a bit of relief?

    "Yes mother, I cam as quickly as I could." She said as she walked forwards from the door.

    "Yes, Yes, I can see that." She said as she looked at Ada, who was breathing heavily from the running. " Come, We must go to my study and speak in private." She said, gesturing for Ada to follow.

    Ada watched as her mother walked through a door that was near the throne. Her mother was beautiful and looked like an older version of her. Their senses in style were a lot different. Queen Adalia wore a scarlet dress that flowed down to the floor. A long train trimmed with gold followed her. Ada, on the other hand, wore black trousers that were perfect for the training exercises that she taught. She wore a short red tunic that sat under steel plate armor that glistened gold like the fields of wheat that extended out from the west side of the training camp and to the western border of the kingdom. Both women had their hair braided, but the queen chose a more elegant style.

    "Adamantia-" the Queen Adalia started, but stopped when Ada raised her hand.

    "With all due respect, Mother. I prefer to be called Ada." She said. Her mother rolled her eyes at the seemingly trivial request, but granted her wish.

    "Ada, I need you to do something for me. It is a task that you must be successful in. Failure will mean the end of Actia. The end of humans, dragons, and shifters." She said. Her voice quivered with fear. Ada knew that this was serious. Her mother was fearful. The woman that had once been a general, blessed by the war god Adamus, was scared. The woman who had seen so many battles and slayed hundreds of dragons was afraid. The woman who had seen the death god and triumphed over him had met her match.

    "What is this threat, which makes your voice shake like a child? Tell me, so that I may find it and defeat it in your name and in the name of Adamus himself." She said, her voice roaring like a lioness defending its cub, her mother's pride.

    "Adamantia! Control your anger." Adalia said, her golden eyes flaring like a thousand suns. "There is more."

    "More?" she asked, pausing to think of what her mother could mean.

    "There is an army, an army of demons. They climbed down the mountains. They look like they are straight from the pits of hell. I have sent shifters, the humans their soldiers, and the dragons have sent their mightiest monsters, but all have failed. They are bones in the ground that are left to rot." Her voice was filled with lament. She had sent twenty of her best warriors. Gone, all gone. A lone tear stained her cheek as she thought of the lost souls.

    "Then what do you suppose we do?" she asked, fear and doubt replacing her anger. How could she oppose such a foe? There were barely enough of her people to fend off the dragons. How would they fight the demons?

    "I have met in council with King Lenis of the humans and Lord Dark-Claw of the dragons." She said, the name Dark-claw passing through her teeth like wood through a saw mill. It was obvious that the two hated each other.

    "And? What did they decide?"

    "We have joined our three respective armies into one. For the good of Actia, we must fight as one entity, not three. The threat is to all of us." She said.

    Ada's mouth dropped. Join forces? With dragons? What in the hell is she thinking? She thought as she closed her mouth and clenched her jaw.

    "What do you need from me?" she asked. She didn't understand where she fit in with all of this. Yeah, she was leader of the shifter army, but that didn't mean anything in this case. All she could see herself doing was making sure that the army joins the other races and doesn't cause any trouble.

    "I want you to help lead the army. Each race is sending a general that will lead the Actia to victory. I can only trust you for the job." She said as she lifted a scroll from the shelf and handed it to Ada.

    "Mother I can't-"

    "You can and you must." She said, wrapping the scroll in Ada's fingers. "Now go, gather the troops. War has been declared in the name of Adamus and for the good of Actia.

    Ada nodded and walked out of her mother's study and again out of the throne room. She gripped her sword with one hand and with the other, the scroll. The seal was yellow with a sinister dragon clutching a sword and shield, the symbol for the humans, with dear horns sprouting from the shield. It was the new flag of Actia, of a nation united. When Ada neared the drawbridge, she motioned for one of the guards to come to her.

    " Sound the war horn." She commanded with the power of a raging river. " Tell all soldiers to meet at the human Camp Valkyrie in three days time. War is coming."

    Then she was off, in the form of an eagle, soaring through the sky towards the northern camp.

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