Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

820 - The Breeze and the Mountain

It was only by the thinnest of margins that Lex avoided Hvitdod’s attack.

Diving straight downward with its massive jaws open, the dragon collided with the edge of the chasm, apparently unconcerned about slamming into the ground face-first. Its confidence in that regard was well-earned, as the compacted earth and stone crumbled under its jaws, offering no resistance whatsoever as it gnashed its teeth, pulverizing everything in its cavernous maw.

If it hadn’t been for his speed-enhancing spell, Lex knew that would have included him.

But rather than being intimidated, his narrow escape made the beast inside of him scream out, demanding retaliation. Knowing that hesitation would only lead to another internal conflict, one that would likely get him killed, Lex instead embraced that urge.

While the other astral constructs that he’d created had displayed a much greater degree of cognition than he’d intended, their primary directive had been to follow his orders. Unable truly think independently, they required his input – in the form of verbal commands – in order to set or modify their activities.

But that was insufficient for the astral construct that he was wearing as a suit of armor now. While it had the same level of ersatz sentient as the others, Lex knew that he’d need some way of directing its motions much faster than with cumbersome spoken commands. Fortunately, he’d already come up with a way to work around that limitation.

“Copy the movements I make as I make them.”

“Acknowledged.”

Ensconced in the astral matter of his armor, Lex couldn’t suppress a feral grin as he broke into a gallop, his three remaining legs pumping as he hung suspended inside of the gigantic automaton. Immediately, it broke into a run – its artificial mind able to translate his movements to all eight of its legs – and Lex launched himself at Hvitdod’s exposed neck, his animate armor’s claws bursting into flames.

The dragon gave a roar as the astral talons tore into its scales, and although it made his ears ring, Lex couldn’t suppress a thrill of triumph at having wounded his enemy. The thing’s scales were ridiculously hard – easily matching what his black crystals could withstand – but the sheer tonnage of his astral construct lent further force to his blows, ripping them off and sinking his flaming claws into the flesh underneath.

Which immediately began to heal even as he tore it apart.

Snarling, Lex dug in further, intent on inflicting as much damage as he could. I just have to listen for when he inhales, he knew, working to keep his consciousness from being swallowed up by his inner monster’s bloodlust. So long as I can avoid his breath weapon, I should be-

He didn’t have time to complete that thought, forced to grip the dragon’s scaled body tighter as Hvitdod suddenly raised its head up and – rotating so that was Lex was facing toward the ground – slammed it back down.

But just like before, Lex was already moving, claws tearing bloody furrows into Hvitdod’s body as he scampered across it, moving out of the area of impact. The same way he’d crawled across Bagora’s oversized form when the gorilla-bear had challenged him back at the Shrine of the Starless Sky, he used Hvitdod’s massive length to his own advantage now, crawling alongside the dorsal fin that capped its body, making sure to avoid the dragon’s claws as his own continued to tear at his foe.

He telegraphs his strongest attack, and his claws and teeth can’t reach every part of his body, noted Lex with a vicious rush, hanging on tenaciously as he came to stop midway between Hvitdod’s neck and where the dragon’s first set of claws were. So long as I pay attention and stay out of his range, then it’s just a matter of wounding him faster than he can heal!

Hvitdod, however, was already working to counter that plan.

Feeling the dragon shift under him, Lex looked up just in time to see the end of Hvitdod’s tail curling around and swinging toward him with all the force of a descending meteor. Cursing, he immediately abandoned his position, running further down the dragon’s body, and for the third time just barely managed to avoid being flattened as the meaty appendage – thick around than his entire construct – slammed into where he’d been.

This time, however, the impact was stronger than his claws could account for, and the world immediately began to spin as Lex felt himself falling toward the abyss....right as Hvitdod began to breathe in sharply.

“Turn into shadow and fly into the cavern wall!” yelled Lex. “NOW!”

“Acknowledged.”

Immediately, he felt himself turn incorporeal, his momentum suddenly gone as his construct – now a patch of inky blackness that he quickly adjusted his vision to be able to see through – immediately moved perpendicular to where they’d been falling, rushing into the side of the canyon just as ultra-cold air cut through where they’d been a moment earlier.

For the briefest instant Lex considered staying hidden that way, just as he’d told Solvei he’d do. But he’d been fighting the dragon for less than sixty seconds, and his innate sense of her location told him that she had made only modest gains in leading the others away, likely because of the craggy terrain. With how furious Hvitdod was, there was every chance that it would spot them and move to attack.

And if it could freeze his astral constructs – when they were incorporeal, no less – then Lex had no doubt that it could freeze Solvei and the others, intrinsic cold or no.

Which means it’s time for a new strategy, Lex decided.

“Move upward,” ordered Lex. “As soon as we’re clear of the ground, return to corporeality. Then get as close to that thing’s mouth as possible.”

“Alternative strategy recommended,” answered his construct after a moment. “Proposed action carries risk threshold exceeding-”

“When I want your opinion, I’ll tell you!” sputtered Lex, again shocked by the level of awareness that his creation was displaying. It was fascinating and disturbing in equal measure, but it was also something he didn’t have time for at the moment. “In the meantime, do as you’re told!”

“Acknowledged.”

No sooner had it spoken than a massive tremor rocked the ground, and Lex could see the earth surrounding him shift in place. Had the dragon heard their voices? Used some other way of discerning his location? Or was it simply striking the ground at random, trying to flush him out?

Either way, Hvitdod was still focused on his current foe.

Lex fully intended on keeping it that way.

“Go!”

The construct shot upward immediately, and in a moment they were clear of the ground, returning to solidity before the eight-legged giant Lex had conjured around himself rushed toward where Hvitdod was hovering a short distance away. Keeping one eye on the dragon, Lex turned his attention to his saddlebag, hurriedly withdrawing a particular item even as he reached out mentally, giving his tulpa an order...

Ahead of him, Hvitdod’s head whipped around, spotting his approach. The dragon wasn’t content to wait for him, instead slithering forward as it flexed its claws, roaring again.

The sound was loud enough that Lex was surprised his ears didn’t bleed from it, but otherwise he paid it no mind. Hvitdod had used its breath weapon only a few moments ago; if there was some sort of lag before it could use it again, it was likely still in effect...but that was a gamble, especially since it had already tried to catch him in its jaws once before and failed. If nothing else, it was clear that Hvitdod had a predator’s cunning, and wouldn’t keep trying a failing strategy.

Teeth or breath? wondered Lex, tensing at his construct and the dragon continued to charge each other, Hvitdod dipping low enough that it was just a few feet above the ground. Which one will you use?

As it turned out, the answer was neither.

Its claws dipping down, Hvitdod tore up the ground along the edge of the ridge as though it were made of water instead of stone, lashing forward with its talons. Despite how far down its body its claws were, the action was enough to fling the resulting rubble forward as though it had been shot from a cannon, shooting ahead of where the dragon was rushing toward him.

The fusillade of stone shards was no threat to Lex; he’d once been hit with a massive club of solid stone and shrugged it off. But the bombardment hadn’t been meant for him, the damage instead serving to collapse the entire rim of the abyss, and Lex could already feel his construct stumbling as the ground beneath it suddenly gave way.

Before he could order it to turn back into a shadow and move further back, it was already leaping into the air, the arc of its jump carrying it back toward solid ground.

That was when Hvitdod’s tail came around and slammed directly into him.

The strike sent Lex flying, the entire world turning into a chaotic swirl of land and sky as he was knocked upward. Not that he noticed; even protected by his astral construct, defensive spells, magic items, innate enchantments, and his new body, the force of the blow left him struggling to stay conscious, the taste of his own blood filling his mouth.

And the sound of Hvitdod’s sharp inhale filling his ears.

Forcing his eyes open, Lex looked around...and saw that the dragon had moved into the trajectory of his impromptu flight, its lengthy body and ability to hover in midair allowing it to place its head directly opposite from where its tail had struck him.

He was headed directly toward Hvitdod’s open mouth, with no cover to shield him, and no way of dodging before it unleashed its frozen breath at him.

It was exactly the opportunity he’d been waiting for.

Rattling off the words as he performed the necessary gestures, Lex sank as much power as he could into one of the few thaumaturgical battle spells he had left. He’d deliberately saved this one in case he ended up in a fight with the dragon, but it still had to get through the thing’s spell resistance in order to work.

If it didn’t, he was dead.

An instant later he pronounced the last syllable just as Hvitdod finished inhaling.

Then his suffocation spell struck the monster.

For the briefest instant, as the feedback from his spell’s warring with the dragon’s magic resistance washed over him, Lex caught a glimpse of exactly what he was up against.

The power he was contending with now wasn’t simply vast. It was ancient. Older than this world’s Pony Empire. Older than Celestia’s reign back home. Perhaps even older than the Night Mare herself. Like a mountain that had been formed when Everglow was young, Hvitdod was a being that had seen eons pass.

That age had a power all its own behind it. If the dragon was a mountain, then his spell was nothing more than a fleeting breeze, far too ephemeral to even be noticed by the massive edifice that it vainly thought to challenge. The very idea seemed to mock him, calling to mind how Akna had sworn that her ancestor had killed this creature before, and yet here it remained. If that ancient warrior, who had reputedly battled the dragon for days, calling down the spirits of the very world itself to aid it, hadn’t been able to bring this primordial titan to a true and final death, then who was he to try and do so?

The question brought a sneer to Lex’s lips.

Who am I? I’m the one who annihilates armies of the undead! Who destroys devils! Who parleys with the gods themselves! My minions slaughter krakens and defeat giants! My magic unmakes alicorns! My creations overcome aristeia! I revive dying cities, chart the course of nations, and change the destiny of entire worlds!

I AM LEX LEGIS! AND I WILL NOT BE STOPPED!

And with that, the breeze split the mountain.

Hvitdod’s eyes went wide as a choking sound came from its open maw, the breath it was about to expel suddenly stuck in its throat, the suffocation spell paralyzing its lungs.

Leaving its mouth wide open.

Lex didn’t miss his chance, his horn glowing as he telekinetically sent the necklace of explosive beads that he’d taken from Bolverk – and the copy that he’d demanded his tulpa furnish, and which it had thankfully done – and pushed them outside of the astral construct before throwing them into Hvitdod’s mouth, both of them glowing brightly from all of the excess magic that he’d imbued them with.

A second later, both necklaces exploded, and Hvitdod thrashed in agony as flames burst from its mouth, looking for a moment like the classical image of a dragon breathing fire.

His construct changing back into shadow of its own accord, it flew him back to the ridge and returned to solidity as Lex watched Hvitdod go limp, falling out of the sky as it began to plummet back into the murky depths from which it had come.

...and then he saw its eyes, which had begun to glaze over, suddenly clear as it arrested its fall, righting itself as it drew a ragged breath, looking back up at him.

All at once, the air seemed to grow colder, as though the dragon’s rising fury had stolen away the very concept of warmth. A low growl emanated from Hvitdod’s throat as it began to rise, glaring at the puny being that had dared to injured it.

In that moment Lex knew that he’d succeeded in securing the others’ escape, the creature in his mind telling him that even if Hvitdod spotted Solvei and the others, it wouldn’t pursue them now.

Because now, the dragon wouldn’t stop until one or the other of them was dead.

Author's Note:

Giving it everything he's got, Lex deals a powerful blow to Hvitdod, which only enrages the dragon further!

Does he have any chance of overcoming the creature? Or is this a fight he can't win?

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Welp, thats the pillow used and done for, with minor effect.

I wonder if Hvitdod has Troll regeneration so cant be beaten by mere decapitation either?

With how old it is, and being a dragon, how much of its resistances are due to innate dragon and magic, and how much due to aquired and crafted artifacts it might hard in a possible grist or nurturing pouch or protected space in the stomach etc? Or even absorbed over the centuaries into the flesh?

[Alzrius]

11561314 Yeah, you sort of get the feeling that up until now, Hvitdod was upset because "what's all this racket going on while I'm trying to sleep?!" Now, however, Lex has given him a solid body-blow, and the dragon seems much more genuinely pissed off. So at least Lex's low Charisma is acting consistently in that regard.

As for how far the dragon's healing factor goes, it's hard to say, but it's clearly something not-inconsiderable. At the very least, it means that Lex is going to have to keep hammering him, since time will only work in Hvitdod's favor, at least unless he can find something which the dragon can't heal. As for exactly why Hvitdod is so powerful, well, that remains unknown, at least for now.

[TheAbsoluteRadiance]

Because now, the dragon wouldn’t stop until one or the other of them was dead.

Classic Lex. he just had to secure time by annoying him but he was smart enough to hurt him. Now, that dragon not gonna let him escape until either is dead. Maybe Lex can pull “You killed me” and disappear but that seem unlikely.

[Alzrius]

11561664 That's the downside of always bringing your A-game; you actually get registered as a threat by the people you're competing with. Lex doesn't hold back on anything he does, so now it's gone from "serve as a distraction" to "fight to the death."

[Not so New Brony]

All of that to secure Solvei's retreat and Lex now has the full, undivided attention of a very pissed off ancient dragon. Now I'm curious at how Lex will survive since it Hvitdod just keeps coming back no matter how much punishment it takes. Hopefully Lex has a few more tricks up his sleeves cause he'll need them.

And since I'm late to the update, I get to read the next chapter sooner.

[Alzrius]

11563368 Lex has indeed succeeded in his goal of keeping Hvitdod's attention squarely on him. Now he just has to try and not become a victim of that success. His plan to damage the dragon worked, but honestly seems to be irritated it more than actually wounded it with any real severity. As you said, we can only hope that he has more stratagems yet to play.

In that regard, we'll find out before the day is through!