In Eorzea, the young dragon did not stay for too long; she appeared there to escape from a toothache. As time passed, the old teeth had mostly fallen out, and now with new teeth, she returned to her dragon form and went back to the New World. Well, the food in Eorzea is delicious, but the portions are too small. It's the larger meals here that can better satisfy her needs. Interestingly, the crystal of profession also returned with her, which means it might be able to transform into a dragonkin form here. But what significance would that have?
The life force granted by Hydaelyn has almost completely removed the limitations on her growth. Compared to her original size, she has grown larger. If her original size was akin to a light single-seat fighter, then now she is the size of a heavy twin-seat, twin-engine fighter. She has almost reached the normal adult size of a typical Tienwei dragon. Moreover, due to her larger wingspan, she appears even bigger than an adult Tienwei dragon. In other words, if she appears in the territory of other Tienwei dragons without having reached sexual maturity and without emitting female pheromones, she would be regarded as an adult male dragon.
Yes, in the eyes of other Tienwei dragons, she is already a strong female, the kind with a robust build. However, since her development period is not yet sufficient and her sexual characteristics have not fully developed, she does not attract the interest of male dragons. In the animal kingdom, there is no appeal for "loli" types; mating is not pursued for pleasure but for reproduction. It's important to note that not all animal mating is reward-based; in fact, many are punitive. For example, male dragons like Gill with their bone spurs, and the over 400 matings lasting 30 hours are also a significant physical strain for males. This process is nearly a punitive ordeal for both parties.
Thus, the single life of Tienwei dragons is quite common. Conversely, pairs are mostly mothers raising their young, which is the only reason Tienwei dragons appear in the plains and low-altitude areas: young dragons lack the ability to fly up to mountain nests and cannot survive at high altitudes. Therefore, they lay their eggs in lowlands and nurture their young until they are capable of flying high. Otherwise, considering the food intake of ancient dragons, relying solely on parents to hunt for their nourishment would likely exhaust the female dragons.
Thus, the reproduction of Tianhui dragons resembles that of migratory fish—they lay and nurture their eggs in lowland areas, relying on natural accumulated warmth for incubation. Otherwise, on snowy mountain peaks, the eggs would freeze solid in less than five minutes. Additionally, the female dragon's voracious appetite prevents her from staying in the nest for long incubation while the male hunts—doing so would exhaust the male to death. Therefore, they typically deposit their eggs on mountain slopes or valleys, letting natural heat aid the hatching process.
After the hatchlings are born, the female nurtures them, teaching them to fly and fight. As the young dragons' strength and wings mature, she gradually migrates with them to higher altitudes. Eventually, upon returning to their original nesting grounds, it signifies the young dragons are capable of flying and hunting at high altitudes—this is when they are driven away. Then, when it's time to reproduce again, the dragons return to the lowlands.
The maturation and reproductive cycle of Tianhui dragons is exceedingly long, which is why the Hunter's Guild once believed them to be extinct. It wasn't until the advent of modern airships that they were discovered inhabiting the summits of high mountains. The reason earlier low-altitude sightings occurred was because those were mother dragons nesting and raising their young in the lowlands. As the young grew, they naturally migrated back upward, after which the species would not reproduce for an extended period, leaving no further sightings—thus leading to the mistaken belief in their extinction.
The increase in size has also made Tianhui's wing panels broader and more elongated. If they could still be recognized as draconic wings before, now they resemble a series of slanting feather-like vanes, each covered with numerous tiny holes on their surfaces, while a massive nozzle sits at the base. These wings are entirely different from the claw-carapace, gun-shaped wings of other Tianhui dragons—though even their common form is achieved by grinding and biting off continuously growing wing segments.
"Whoosh—whoosh—" Tiny blue flames spurt from the small holes, eventually merging into a continuous sheet. Ether particle effects accompany the surging inferno blasting from the large nozzle, lifting the heavy draconic body back into the sky. Hydaelyn's etheric power has rendered her wings smoother and more elongated, bestowing new aerial maneuverability. The alternating bursts of slender blue flame, resembling navigation lights on her wings, allow her to adjust wing posture more flexibly during supersonic flight, avoiding issues like roll-induced stalls—though for her fully articulated propulsion surfaces and triple-axis vector thrust, stall recovery is effortless.
Strictly speaking, Tianhui can no longer be called a Tianhui dragon—at least not the original species. She now diverges significantly from her kin in both biological form and structure. While ordinary Tianhui dragons also rely on jet propulsion for flight, they utterly lack an ion-burst attitude control system. Thus, she may eventually earn a true name and classification of her own—something absurdly lengthy, like "Elder Dragon genus, Tianhui family, Wyvern class, Azure Tianhui species, Crystalline subspecies."
Reactivating the engine wings after a long hiatus is a cumbersome task. Though they grant her greater speed and agility in flight than any other Tianhui dragon, the heavy wings—as hunters correctly deduced—severely hamper her mobility and impose immense weight when grounded, reducing her land-bound agility to little more than a snail's. This starkly contrasts with her kin, who can utilize ground-based jet propulsion for attacks.
"Azure Tianhui subspecies confirmed sighted in coastal regions." Through Melynx couriers, the Investigation Team's hunters finally located their long-elusive target. This ancient Elder Dragon, distinct from ordinary Tianhui dragons, is dubbed "Azure Tianhui"—akin to how Rathalos gradually become Azure Rathalos with age—identified by the hue of its fiery breath.
Upon confirming Tianhui's whereabouts, the hunters swiftly mobilized. Bait and traps were prepared as squads armed with weapons and crafted wing-suits converged on the ambush site. Success now hinges on whether the bait team can lure the Azure Tianhui to land—a feat requiring interference with her feeding first. A satiated dragon won't fall for their bait, much like overfeeding a fishing spot ruins the lure.
Unaware of these machinations, Tianhui dives as usual, gleefully shattering a hapless Shogun Ceanataur's shell with crystalline spikes before savoring its sweet meat. Admittedly, Ceanataur rivals Eorzean crabs in flavor, with far more succulent flesh and roe—a delicacy whose abundance now heralds doom for the carefree crustaceans of the sea.
"What is it doing?" "Eating crabs... or can you eat horseshoe crabs like this? I'm a bit hungry." The hunter, who resembles a male Tyrannosaurus rex like Aibo (the one who constantly has wild ideas about finding ingredients), watched as the Tianhui dragon wreaked havoc on the beach. "Also, I should suggest that the members of the second team and those guys from the first team change their hairstyles." Since Tianhui had grown tired of the crystal debris, she simply picked up a horseshoe crab and smashed it against the rocks, much like an eagle would with a turtle.
The reason for suggesting a hairstyle change was simple; they were afraid that this ancient dragon might mistake their bald heads for stones... and die from a falling horseshoe crab during the hunt because of that. That might just be one of the top ten bizarre deaths registered by the hunting guild. "Are the flash bombs ready?" "Yes, throw the flash bombs first, then disable its tail gun and head. Don't get entangled; leave the rest of the fight to the hunting team!"
While savoring the crab meat, Tianhui was not unaware of the four hunters. Honestly, their disguise was quite poor; it might work to fool ordinary Tianhui dragons, but it was barely convincing to her. The main reason was that the diet of ordinary Tianhui dragons was not that varied, and they wouldn't notice anything strange about the scent of the hunters. However, for Tianhui... why did a pile of ivy emit the smell of the seasoning she used for grilling meat?
Indeed, using strong spices to mask human body odor was a form of disguise to avoid detection by beasts. In reality, most ancient dragons did not care about the scents of plants, as they were not herbivorous. Tianhui, however, was different; she often researched various edible and inedible items and had a very deep understanding of what plants should be in what kind of grass piles and what scents those plants had.
"It's no use, retreat, and we need to come up with a new plan. Also, confirm that the flash bombs were very effective; next time we should prepare more of them for setting traps." After realizing that they were unable to make any progress, the hunters, not being reckless, decisively chose to withdraw. The main reason for their retreat was that they discovered it was a female dragon. Upon close observation, they noted that this was the first sighting of a female Tien Wei Dragon, and since they were uncertain whether her cries would attract male fire dragons, a prolonged standoff was unfavorable for the hunters.
After huddling and defending for a while, Tien Wei realized that the hunters had fled. A bit confused, she lost interest in the crab meat and unfolded her wings to fly back to her nest. She needed some time to adjust her mindset and contemplate her life as a dragon. After all, she hadn't directly confronted those humans, and the last time she visited the vicinity of Haiderlin, the humans had been quite friendly towards her. Even her occasional dragon form was met with kindness, especially from those who called themselves the "Heroes of Light," who rushed to feed her—"Of course! For such a rare creature, wouldn't you buy the best food to cultivate goodwill? What if there are achievements? What if a high goodwill allows you to obtain a mount?" said the naive Hero of Light.
However, for the hunters, this might not be good news. The only silver lining was that they had obtained genuine Tien Wei wing pieces, some scales, and a few horn fragments as materials. The workshop could upgrade some of their equipment, and they had also arranged for a new sword entirely made from crystal materials designed to cut through wing surfaces and deal with tougher monsters in the future. However, due to the insufficient strength of the materials collected so far, it was only a blueprint for now (Rank 11, materials weapon from the Raging King, the Crystal Dragon, Light Speed Blade: Heaven and Earth Flash), and they would likely need more high-level materials to craft it.
"So, we need to further investigate her ecological behavior and confirm the safety of the surrounding hunting grounds. Also, regarding this... defensive crouching posture—is there any way to force her to move?"
"Dung pods, maybe?"
"Not sure. We'll try that next time. Also, bring nets on the next hunt. Since she's adopting this harmless defensive stance, we can just net-capture her and hoist her up with machinery. This might become our first captured Elder Dragon."
Under normal circumstances, Elder Dragons cannot be captured. They are immune to ordinary traps and resist status effects like paralysis. Their overwhelming dragon-element essence also makes them highly resistant to Dragon Seal and tranquilizer rounds. But this Tien Wei-type Elder Dragon is different—it shows almost no will to resist. In other words, it can be captured and subdued. For the Elder Dragon Research Commission, this is a massive morale boost—especially after the failed Zorah Magdaros capture operation. Moreover, acquiring more of its unique crystalline materials would allow forging higher-tier weapons for the second Zorah Magdaros siege, ensuring we don't repeat the fiasco of being unable to pierce Nergigante's defenses.