Ep 85. You’re Leaving? (4)
The two dragons stood outside in the grass, facing the stretching, empty plains before them. Before beginning the flight lessons, Serenis had led Raizel outside of the city first, lest the youngling reduce the city back to rubble while practicing.
…And it’d already been an hour since. Perhaps two.
Raizel didn’t think it’d be easy to learn how to fly; things had often been difficult for the steel dragon due to her massive weight, if not outright impossible. Swimming was one example, and she didn’t think flying would be any easier.
But before the steel dragon even took her first attempt at flying, the youngling was already beginning to question the practice. Raizel couldn’t help but claw at her back from the strange sensation creeping behind her – at the metallic wings sprouting out of her formerly empty backside.
Despite being her own magic, it still felt nothing short of alien. It was practically no different than magically growing two new arms.
‘…Come to think of it, lord’s been going around like this all the time, huh?’
On top of the alien sensation, constantly maintaining the spell in place was having a noticeable toll on the Raizel’s mana reserves. She could manage them for shorter windows of time, but it’d be impossible to keep them up all the time like Serenis did.
But that aside…
“Lord? If I’m going to learn flight anyways, isn’t it better to learn in dragon form?”
Serenis shook her head at the youngling’s question.
“Then your wings will also have to grow in size, which would make the spell far more difficult. It’ll be harder to maintain as well.”
“Ahh...”
“So do try to limit your flight to your current form.”
After a brief nod, Raizel turned her head to glance over at the wings sprouting from her back, making sure their form matched the dragonlord’s description.
But truth be told, even though she’d shaped them exactly as told, the youngling couldn’t rid of the feeling that her lord was teaching it wrong. The wings she’d made weren’t anything like what Raizel had seen on other dragons.
“But lord, is this…right? You sure wings are supposed to look like this?”
“In your case, they are.”
Behind the youngling’s back were two thin, beam-like metallic structures stretching sideways to replicate the wingbone. Beneath said structures were hundreds of smaller metallic pieces cascading downwards, their arrangement reminding Raizel of a bird’s feathers.
But as far as she knew, dragons had no feathers.
When Serenis noticed Raizel’s doubtful eyes, she spread her own spelled wings outwards, pointing at them for the yougling to compare. Unlike Raizel’s, the dragonlord’s wings lacked the feather-like features beneath their skeletal structure; instead, a clean, flat surface was all there was.
“I suppose you’re more familiar with the kin’s wings having a smoother appearance like this. It’s true that a typical wing looks to be a flat surface, folding and spreading at will. But child, can you imagine what would happen if it were made of metal?”
“…Oh.”
It was a common misconception. A typical dragon’s wing could spread and fold as necessary, but those weren’t made of metal. If the same were done to a flat metal surface, it wouldn’t fold – instead, it would break.
Hence, a steel dragon’s wings had always possessed a distinct shape: they were comprised of numerous smaller pieces instead of being one flat surface. It was a necessary trait for them, lest their wings become dysfunctional.
‘…I never knew our idle conversations would become so useful, Arkrana. What began as mere curiosity is changing the life of your descendant.’
Having spent most of her life holed up in the dragonkin’s nests, the dragonlord practically knew everything there was to know about her kin, including the way of life among other dragons. Ironically, the knowledge had become much more useful after losing so many of them.
And when Raizel finally finished forming her wings with a dull acceptance of their shape, Serenis beamed a satisfied smile at the youngling.
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“Just so. You learn fast, child.”
“…This is fast? I feel like we’ve been out here for hours. And these things still feel hella weird.”
“That’s only to be expected. Making intricate structures through magic is always difficult. Also, you’ve grown two new limbs that you’ve never used before; it’s not surprising that you find the feeling odd.”
The dragonlord circled Raizel once more, scanning the wings on her back with another approving nod. They weren’t any different from the wings of her ancestors.
“Even if it feels foreign for now, your instincts should allow your senses to ease in time. First, try spreading them outwards.”
“Ehm…’kay…”
Raizel momentarily wriggled her back and shoulders. The metal wings lightly shook in response, slowly creaking outwards to spread out to each side.
‘Good. Seems like she can move them at will.’
After confirming that the youngling could properly move her new limbs, Serenis then pointed upwards.
“Well done. Now, since ancient times, dragons of steel have always struggled to fly; they have always been the slowest to learn among the kin. Why do you suppose that is?”
“…Because we’re heavy?”
“Precisely.”
After another brief nod, Serenis lightly jumped into the air. Occasional wingbeats kept her afloat, hovering in the air as she looked down at Raizel.
“Most dragons are able to remain afloat just by the strength of their wings. Unfortunately, this is impossible for dragons possessing steel affinities; they can only remain in flight when maintaining sufficient speed.”
‘And to gain this initial speed, it was necessary to kick off the ground with sufficient force…which hatchlings were often lacking in.’
Wings alone couldn’t allow a steel dragon to remain in flight. Because they required a burst of initial speed, steel dragons have traditionally needed to reach near-adulthood to even attempt at flying.
Not that it would pose a problem to the steel dragon before her.
Serenis then pointed towards the stretching plains before them.
“Unlike the others, you cannot depend on your wings alone to fly. Instead, think of them as tools that can continue your leap indefinitely.”
“Leap? So the whole key to flying is…jumping?”
“Precisely. Try jumping as far as you can with your wings spread open – with proper form and posture, you should be able to feel a slight floating sensation in your body.”
“…Sounds complicated, but…eh, guess I’ll give it a try.”
Raizel’s wings then began to cycle between folding and spreading, creaking in metallic noises each time. Once the dragon had a firm grip on moving them according to will, she fixed her eyes towards the empty plains stretching ahead.
And finally, a thunderous explosion of sound and dust shot the youngling into the air.
Serenis watched the grey figure speed off in an arc into the distant skies. A small crater had formed where Raizel was previously standing.
‘…It seems she’s already above Arkrana in raw strength.’
Despite her age, Raizel’s skills in both flight and magic were underdeveloped; normally, she should’ve already known how to fly, and Serenis shouldn’t have had to teach her how to make those wings step-by-step. Despite most kin taking the two skills for granted, the steel dragon hadn’t had anyone to teach her either of them.
But in exchange, Raizel’s physical capabilities were far surpassing that of others – even compared to steel dragons that had existed in the past.
‘She need but learn, then. And she does seem eager to learn anyhow.’
The dragonlord’s worries had turned out to be pointless concerns. Contrary to Serenis’ expectations, it wasn’t that Raizel had refused to learn; she simply hadn’t been able to. Now with a teacher to guide her, the youngling was right there, doing her best to follow through with what was being taught.
As if to prove the point, Raizel soon plummeted into the distant plains with a thunderous noise. Even though her figure was merely a faraway speck, the sound was still audible.
And of course, she remained completely unscathed. It didn’t even take long for the steel dragon to pace back to Serenis’ side.
“…Lord!”
“Mm. How was it? It was only your first try, so-“
“This actually works! It goes way further than when I normally jump!”
“…?”
‘Truly? Already??’
The dragonlord’s surprise went unnoticed in the youngling’s excitement. She paced around like a hatchling learning how to fly for the first time, eagerly flapping her wings.
“You were right, it does kinda feel like floating! What’s next?”
“R…ight. Now you need but maintain that feeling. Flight is simply combining the jump with occasional wingbeats to keep yourself in the air.”
“Huh, I didn’t think it’d be so easy. I’ll try again!”
“…Do be careful now.”
“Pft, it’s fine, I’ve crashed worse. Be back!”
When Raizel once again leapt into the air, the curiosity in Serenis’ expression grew tenfold.
‘…Did Arkrana not say that it took her weeks to acquire her first sense of flight?’
There were largely two reasons why steel dragons had trouble learning how to fly: the first reason, as Serenis previously mentioned, was because they lacked the strength to take off during their younger years.
The second reason was, because steel dragons could not stay afloat in place with just their wings, learning how to fly consisted of a series of skyward leaps that ended with a crashing fall. This self-harming behavior had to be repeated until they eventually learned how to stay afloat.
Unbeknownst to Serenis and Raizel, this second reason had been a formidable obstacle for many steel dragons. In their younger years, fear of falling tended to slow them down, preventing the younglings from reaching sufficient speed in their leaps. Regardless of race or affinity, jumping into the sky only to plummet back down wasn’t exactly the most pleasant activity.
Reversely, with an overload of strength and a complete lack of fear, learning how to fly was cakewalk.
“…”
A soft smile curved the dragonlord’s lips. Raizel was once again approaching her from the distance with excitement all over her face.
‘…She’s grown well. It couldn’t have been easy.’
In part, Serenis felt proud; in part, she felt sorry. She couldn’t rid herself of the feeing that her past ignorance had resulted in the present kin’s suffering. And if only she’d known how happy Raizel would be to learn flight, she would’ve mustered the time during their very first meeting to teach the youngling.
When Raizel once again stood before her, Serenis reached out her hand, gently petting the youngling’s head.
“? Lord?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Huh? For what?”
“…”
Instead of explaining, Serenis merely beamed back at the youngling’s puzzled gaze. It only confused Raizel further, but she didn’t bother asking further.
What if Serenis stopped smiling because she asked? It wasn’t worth the risk.