Too exhausted to do any of her own training that evening, Fia suggested, Let me help you learn magic!

The cynic that he was, Viliant huffed, I doubt this is going to work, but fine. He got up and joined her at the bars.

First, Fia described what she did when calling upon her magical prowess. Much of her speech, she repeated the elders' lessons verbatim. We store power in our dragon hearts. It is part of who we are—intimately attached to our element. When you close your eyes, you should sense the presence of your element around you. For you: metal. It's right in front of you. Can you feel it?

Viliant sat completely still, eyes closed in concentration.

Fia also let her lids fall shut. By his side, she meditated and practiced feeling her element. There were no external sources of fire in the immediate vicinity, so Fia took solace in the constant warmth harbored in her belly.

After a long time passed, Viliant fell forwards and smacked his horns against the bars. Clang! In a wry voice, he said, Yep. I can feel my element now. That's metal.

A heavy sigh left Fia's snout. She shook her head. It's alright. You're not supposed to get it on the first try. It usually takes weeks for young dragons to make any progress—

Viliant lunged onto his feet and snarled in her face. I've been meditating for years!

Her muscles began to tremble due to his outburst.

The anger was quelled as quickly as it arose. Viliant sat down roughly. What you said, though… that meditative guide…. Never heard anything like it before. I think it might be helpful.

It's something the elders always did with us! She tilted her head to ask, How did your clan try to teach you?

A long pause held in the air, heavy like the burden that Viliant must bear upon his hunched shoulders. I was too young to begin training, before I was brought to this place.

Oh. Fia was too stunned to say more. That meant Viliant had learned to survive here when he was even younger than her.

A knot twisted in her stomach. Asking questions would get her nowhere. That much, she already knew. If she wanted to learn more about Viliant, she would have to wait for him to reveal his past on his own accord. In a chipper tone, she said, If you ever wanna talk about it, I'm here to listen!

Thanks, Fia, Viliant murmured in her head. His normal demeanor returned as he focused on magic practice. I think I felt something.

Where? Fia asked. Her tail lifted excitedly at the prospect of her theory's confirmation. Indeed, Viliant might not be a metal dragon, but another element altogether.

Everywhere, he replied. Must be ore deposits in the walls.

Or…! Fia said, What if you're not a metal dragon?

The angular, ridged brow of Viliant's face was lifted in skepticism. The soothsayer of my clan scryed my element before I hatched. My element is metal.

Likewise, Fia had been identified as a fire dragon while still an egg. Based on her own childhood experiences, she knew the predictions were accurate. Nonetheless, Viliant's clan might have done things differently.

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A chasm of uncertainty—and therefore possibilities—lay before them in Fia's mind. For Viliant, it must only be a sliver of doubt.

What if she was wrong? Fia pried.

Viliant bowed his head. Then I must have different parents.

The bottom of Fia's jaw tightened. Both your parents are metal dragons?

Yes.

Fia also had two fire dragons for parents. In fact, the Carlinoa Clan was comprised mostly of the fire element. Different magic types were only propagated if the parents had different elements themselves.

Besides, Viliant said, shaking his head fiercely, I have the personality of a metal dragon: stubborn and serious. I've been trying to bend metal this long without progress…. Only a metal dragon would do that!

That's not the only option, Fia tried to prod him. You could have the steady personality of an earth dragon! Eager to reveal her theory, she stepped closer to Viliant and pressed her snout close to his face. You look like an earth dragon too! Your scales are dark like soil and your eyes are pretty like leaves. Fia fluttered her own eyes playfully a few times.

A series of stunned blinks fell over his eyes. Viliant had his mouth drop open as if he wanted to speak aloud. His thoughts were empty. The older dragon seemed to break for a second. With a huff, he reseated himself farther away from her. His tail swished around in disbelief. Earth isn't a real element! he tried to say, sticking his nose in the air.

Once he had composed himself, Viliant mused, Neither is pure fire for that matter…. He released a big sigh. Whatever. Might as well try to move some rocks.

The two dragons moved to sit before the rocky face of the dungeon. Again, nothing happened.

Well, it was worth a shot! she said to cheer him on.

Viliant glared at her. See? I'm not a bastard. He moved back to the iron bars where he was content to waste away the evening.

The pink dragon felt like a shadow following the black dragon around—or perhaps more like a fairy. Fia perched beside him once more. This time, she was the one to tap her horns against the metal bars. Think! she said to herself, if only that helped her think harder.

The Carlinoa Clan had primarily fire dragons. Even when non-elemental dragons had children together, they were sometimes blessed with a fire-kissed child. Viliant's clan probably had something similar. He was unlikely to manifest any of the elements from her region.

The four classical elements, fire, water, earth, and air, were the most common. Rarely, a light, time, or mind dragon would hatch. Then, there was aether which encompassed them all. It was these elements which Viliant denied their very existence.

What were the elements you learned about? she asked.

The four primary elements are metal, ice, nature, and thunder. The three tertiary elements are shadow, gravity, and poison. Then, there's the pinnacle element: void.

Fia scratched behind her horns. Were any of those super common in your clan? Do you have the personality that matches with any of those elements?

Viliant tilted his head to her. Would you say that I'm aloof and cold like ice?

Absolutely!

Don't see how I would practice with ice around here, he muttered. Viliant tapped his claws anxiously and tried to say, Trying every single element isn't going to work! I'll end up even more confused and hopeless than before.

Desperately, Fia tried to stop his negative spiral. I'm your mentor! If you listen to me, everything will turn out just fine. She opened her wings to gesture to either side. As you can see, there's no fire either, but I can still feel it. You should feel the cold, chilly mana stored in your belly if you're an ice dragon!

Once again, they tried it. Viliant was as much an ice dragon as an earth and metal dragon. "Argh!" He growled to the ceiling.

Um, try a different one!

No, Fia. This isn't working!

Just one more! Please? You said you felt something before….

No. We're done for today. Viliant closed their telepathic connection so that she could annoy him no more. He simply wanted to eat dinner and sleep.

Fia's fire was ever-burning in her belly as she lay down to rest. There was yet one more technique that she could think of to help him find his element. She would try it this week during their first sparring session.