When Kazlar eventually found me, it was right as I was digging into a rather expensive meal, one that he was technically paying for since I hadn't earned any Arygu yet.

Dragons have currency similar to human coins, except all of our coins, called Arygu, were made from an obsidian base with flecks of gold and silver mixed in. The larger the Arygu, the higher the value. To keep things simple, there were only three different sizes: small, medium, and large. I had spent a few large Arygu on my meal, and it wasn't near good enough for that price. While a sizable meal, the meat was long cold and disgustingly dry.

While I felt slightly ashamed to be wasting Kazlar's hard-earned money, I was starving and there was no way I'd chance the bloodlust tonight.

Kazlar's voice shocked me out of my musings and caused me to flinch in surprise. "What are you doing?"

I ripped off a large chunk, ensuring I would have plenty of time to think of a reasonable response. However, the silence just got increasingly more tense and awkward the longer I chewed, and my mind was racing too fast for me to formulate a plan.

When I finally finished chewing, I mumbled, "Just got a little hungry and thought I'd grab a snack."

He eyed the, at least, six-foot rib cage bone with a look of incredulity. "This is a snack?"

I rearranged my wings nervously as shame coursed through my body. I dropped my head to the ground, unwilling to meet his prying gaze.

With a sigh, his expression softened slightly. "Look, I get it. You don't want to deal with the bloodlust again, but this is not a good way to go about it."

Surprised, my head shot up of its own accord to gaze at him questioningly.

How did he know?

He let out a small chuckle as he settled down next to me before explaining, "When I was your age, I was just as scared about the bloodlust as yourself. I didn't want to have some force decide what I did, I wanted to stay in control. So, I avoided hunting by skipping meals, and when I did hunt I would try to fight it off as long as I could. This only made my bloodlust more intense and violent, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to fight it. I knew it was a losing battle, but I just couldn't bring myself to admit defeat." He released a sigh before continuing, "One day I was having a particularly nasty bloodlust when a Lyzian spoke to me about it. Of course, this was after it had passed. She said she had seen me that morning, and that the more I fought it, the harder it would get. She claimed I'd have more control by accepting the bloodlust than fighting it. After a long debate, I decided to give it a try, and she was correct. It's overall better and easier to just accept the bloodlust than fight it." He looked deep into my eyes and said, "Don't make the same mistake I did. It will get you nowhere."

Yeah right. "Have more control", you can't control anything in that state! At least by fighting there's a chance, however slim, that I could win.

Outwardly, I shielded my skepticism behind a nod of agreement and an apology, though only one was sincere.

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When I finally finished my meal, Kazlar had long since departed for the cave and the moon was now hanging from the center of the sky, though it scarcely illuminated the ground.

Upon arriving near our cave, I was surprised to find Kazlar at the fire he had made earlier. I had thought he would have wanted to wait until tomorrow before continuing my torture, but clearly not.

Stifling a groan, I angled toward him before landing neatly beside him, causing the flames to dance even more chaotically than they just had been.

He continued to gaze directly ahead and said, "Try again."

I knew it was pointless arguing, so I took a step closer to the flames, only for Kazlar to interject.

"Not that close. Here, stand behind me."

I turned, confused. The spot he indicated was shrouded in shadow, and only an occasional wisp of light could reach it. As I stepped forward, he moved away to allow me more space.

Unable to resist, I asked, "Shouldn't I be as close as possible?"

"Normally, yes. I think a new spot may help you out though."

I frowned, unsure how this area was supposed to help, but decided to go along with it.

I took a deep breath as I closed my eyes, inhaling the scents of the night.

Crisp, fresh air, snow, smoke, grass, Sivritha...Wait, Sivritha? Did he catch me one?

Now I truly felt guilty, having wasted his money when he had caught something for me. My thoughts snapped me out of my meditative state, and I was forced to restart.

Focus, Rylar, focus.

I let my thoughts fade to nothingness as the sounds and scents of the night filtered over me. Once a few minutes had passed and I felt prepared, I began to probe within myself, searching for the connection between me and my element.

It was empty. I searched and searched and searched to no avail. Just as I was about to give up, I dove deeper and finally, finally felt something prick at my consciousness.

Wait- Was that...?

My thoughts interrupted my search, putting me back at square one. However, I was encouraged now that I had finally felt something, and restarted the process without complaint.

Again, it took a long time to find it, but when I did I knew it was it. I cannot say quite how I knew it, only that I did. I reached out with my consciousness, drawing close enough that it began to take shape. It was unimpressive, really. Just a small ball of swirling red and black in the unfathomably immense void, but to me it was the most remarkable thing I had ever laid eyes on.

I hovered near it, simply in too much awe to act. Finally, I reached out to it, calling to it. It's name came unbidden to my mind a moment later, leaving me spellbound.

Ragithar.

Elemental names were generally acquired after years and years of practicing and advancing ranks, though there were rare cases, such as mine, where the name was obtained just moments after discovering the element.

An elemental name is your true name, and while knowing someone's true name couldn't do them any harm, sharing it is a sign of trust. It's incredibly rare for dragons to share their true names, and we're the only known species that has them.

Excitement began to bubble through me, but I pushed it down, afraid of breaking my concentration. I called out again, but this time with my element's name, "Ragithar."

The response was instantaneous. I could feel the presence of the shadows looming towards me and the flames dancing silhouettes against the sky. Instinctively I reached for the elements, grasping and controlling them. While my eyes remained closed, I could sense, and almost see, the element twirling patterns in the air from my mind's eye.

A gasp from beside me caused me to open my eyes and lose my concentration, but not before I spotted my red flames cloaked in shadows fading from existence.

Wait...shadows? That's not possible.

I turned to Kazlar, opening my jaws to ask a question. Before I could, he retracted the flames with his power before rushing toward our cave. Alarmed, I trotted after him, asking in a fervent whisper, "What's going on?"

He shushed me before continuing on and ducking into the cave. I followed shortly behind and stared at him, waiting for an explanation.

I observed with trepidation as his eyes filled with an array of conflicting emotions, and a moment later he spoke.

"It seems I have a lot of explaining to do."