EVREN CHORYTH

It took almost forever to walk to my father’s study, and upon arriving, I just stood in front of the door. I was nervous about why he requested my audience alone, and no matter how hard I searched my thoughts, I couldn't find a good reason.

I have been with my father all my life, but I was still scared of him. Though I knew he loved me as any father would love his child, and the way he acted towards me was his way of making me tough, I would have appreciated a softer side of him.

I barely knew Svan’s and Yukina’s mother, Eliora. As funny as it might sound, I felt a lot more comfortable around her than I would around my father. Technically, she was my mother too, stepmother to be precise, but I still preferred addressing her as Svan’s or Yukina’s mom because it sounded better that way in my head. I didn't want to forget about my mother, I didn't want someone else to take her place so I needed that wall between us.

Eliora was different from my father. She was tough and sometimes difficult but she didn't hesitate to reveal her gentle side. She didn't treat me differently from her children. She was even nicer to me and seemed to put my needs first. Though I understood and appreciated her efforts, I did a very bad job expressing how thankful I was. She was all I needed in my life at the moment—a mother figure.

I gathered my drifting thoughts once again, focusing them on why my father summoned me. Subconsciously stretching my hand, I knocked on the door before I entered the study.

I maintained an upright and rigid stance with stillness in my gaze,

“You called for me, father.”

“Yes, sit.”

Every time I met him here in his study, he was almost always reading a book. The way I saw it, reading wasn't just a hobby to him anymore, it was an obsession.

“Ease up, I didn't call you here to question you or give you orders.”

I heaved silently in relief as I sat down. Getting a bit bolder, I asked,

“Why was I summoned then?”

He put down the book he was reading,

“To have a nice chat with you. It’s been ages since we last had one, hasn't it?”

All the while before I arrived at his study, it turned out that I had been needlessly worried. Every anxiety in me disappeared completely as a wave of relief washed over me.

“That’s very uncharacteristic of you,” I said.

He looked at me,

“I get the feeling that you tend to forget I am your father.”

I smiled,

“You know, most times, I only see you as High Lord Edger.”

His response was a smile, a smile I hadn’t seen in a long long time. That smile made me happy, I felt like I had just accomplished an impossible mission.

“I am the High Lord, yes. But I am your father before that, and my priorities are in that order too.

“I will keep that in mind,” I said as I tried my best to suppress the tingling sparks of ecstasy and satisfaction within me.

“How has training with Eliora been?” he asked.

“Well, if you want a straightforward answer, I would say fine. But if I am being honest, there aren’t a lot of significant changes, and improvements are rolling in slowly.”

“That’s great news. The most important thing is that there are visible improvements. Training and battle scenarios are completely different. During training, your skills are sharpened and you may learn new things that could increase your chances of staying alive in battle, so you shouldn’t expect any drastic change or improvements. The changes you wish for can only be seen in battle where your limits are tested when you face off with death, and somehow manage to win. These are the conditions that force your body to conform to changes that enable its survival.”

Everything he said was right. I guess I was just angry that I was still stuck in an amber Feel.

“I have always wanted to ask you this, what are your ambitions or plans for the future?”

His question was a bit of a surprise to me and for the first time, I thought about the context of the question, disregarding the fact that it was asked by my father. I thought I would be able to provide an answer easily, but I was wrong. It dawned on me that I didn't really think about the future nor did I have any grand plan or ambition.

“Do I have such luxury?” I asked.

He looked at me without saying anything.

“I think I am bound by duty as the heiress of House Choryth so, everything I do, or will do, revolves around that fact.”

“And what about a turn of events in which House Choryth is no more? What will become of you then?” he asked.

“I don't know, I can’t bring myself to predict the future even when I am given a scenario. But what I can tell is that if there is such a turn of events, it will most definitely be a violent one that would leave lots of unsettled fragments behind. What will become of me? Once again, I don't know, but I know I would linger around the mess, trying to gather every fragmented piece I can find……that’s if I happen to be alive.”

I felt like I was talking to myself rather than answering a question I was asked. But it didn't matter anyway because my reply was the most honest I could have given. There was an uncomfortable silence which I was forced to break.

“I am sorry if you are disappointed with what I just said.”

He leaned forward,

“No, no I am not. I was just surprised because you always spoke objectively, and never talked about how you felt about any given situation. You know, both of us are similar in many ways. When I was younger, around your age, I had the same mindset. I wasn't even interested in becoming the High Lord, and I didn't have any lofty ambitions. The only thing I was interested in was becoming strong, strong enough to best Eliora in combat. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. The stronger I got, the stronger she became. I worked so hard but I couldn't catch up to her, little did I know that she was an anomaly. I am sure you can understand because you are in a similar situation.”

I stayed silent. I didn't want to openly admit it but there was no point denying it either.

He continued talking,

“As similar as both situations might be, there are subtle differences. You see, both Eliora and I were casters, so the discrepancies strength-wise was straightforward. But in your case with Yukina, it's a bit tricky. I thought you would have understood how different casters were from stillbringers.”

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I was in awe of how he could perfectly tell the things I didn't want to talk about. It was useless to keep a secret from him because there was nothing I could possibly hide from him.

“Your silence tells me that you don’t know the most important practical difference between casters and stillbringers. It makes me wonder what you were taught at the academy.”

I knew how different casters were from stillbringers but I didn't put any thought into it. My mind was rather occupied with how he was able to read me like an open book.

“We were taught everything we needed to know I guess. I know very well how casters are different from stillbringers but I don't know what you want to hear from me.”

“If you know that very well, then you should know why you haven't been able to beat Yukina in a duel. You see, casters like you and me are more efficient in battle scenarios involving multiple hostiles or a large terrain. Stillbringers aren’t efficient in that aspect; rather, they thrive in duels or conditions involving a few hostiles. So you see, when you go up against Yukina, you are already at a disadvantage, not because you aren't as strong as she is but because you can't be as efficient as she is. To make matters worse, she isn't just any stillbringer, she is an anomaly just like her mother.”

He was slowly beginning to annoy me because I knew these things already but I didn't want to admit them and I didn't need anyone to rub it on my face. One time during lessons at the academy, the professor said stillbringers were more suited as personal guards and casters as soldiers. He explained further the same thing Father had just said, but I didn’t buy it. No stillbringer at the Academy was able to best me in combat. Yukina was better because she was a threefold stillbringer. I still had a lot of growth left and I didn't think Yukina had that. I found myself smiling, it was ironic how I somehow despised her and yet loved her at the same time. I could go to war for her and yet I just wanted to beat the crap out of her

“So you want me to give up because I am naturally at a disadvantage?”

“No, that's why I am proud of you because you never give up and that's also why I called for you today. I know you aren’t really interested in the Choryth House politics, that's an obligation I forced upon you and I am thankful you decided to bear that burden but there is something that you don't know. You are special too, possibly more special than Yukina and Svan. I’d wanted to leave you and observe how far you would push your growth but the recent turn of events had made me a bit impatient.”

I stopped paying attention to what he was saying when I heard the words “…probably more special than Yukina and Svan.” Other than being a Choryth, I didn't think there was anything special about me. I even felt my growth strength-wise was slow, and had to work twice as hard. I watched my father speak but his words were no longer audible to my ears as they drowned in the flood of disbelief that swept through my mind.

My attention was called back as a flame lit up inches away from my face.

“What's wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing. I was just surprised to hear what you just said.”

“I haven't even said anything yet. What I am about to show you will leave you bewildered. Come with me.”

I followed closely behind my father as he led the way. We traversed familiar passages until we got to ones completely unfamiliar to me.

“Do you know why I called you the Phoenix?”

“I could guess but I am sure my guess will be wrong,” I answered.

“You remember the story of the Phoenix right?”

“Of course I do, but it's just a folktale, isn't it?”

“What if I tell you that it isn’t, and that you are a Phoenix, will you believe me?”

“This must be some kind of joke,” I said, chuckling.

“Well, we are about to find out.”

I stopped laughing. The tone of his response showed no hint of uncertainty. I knew Phoenixes were humans who were immune to dragon fire, and could somehow tame one, hence they were called dragon lords. But I didn't believe dragons ever existed since there weren't any documented records of them. Even if they did, chances were, they died out a very long time ago.

Father kept walking and I followed until the visibility in the passages started to drop. Just before it completely got dark, we arrived in front of a door that stood in a dead-end. Hanging on a stand beside the door was a wooden torch stick which he took and lit with a flame he conjured before passing it to me. He pushed the door handle and the door lock clacked. The sound the door made while parting could easily tell that it hadn't been opened in a long time and I was surprised that it could even open with such ease. The door directly led us to a descending stairwell surrounded by walls of a circular enclosure. We walked down in circles and its end became quite a task to complete. My legs began to ache but I didn't dare complain. After what seemed like an unending descent, we arrived at a rectangular platform. Surrounded by nothing but walls, we were at another dead-end.

A mix of impatience and anticipation burned wildly inside me. There were tons of questions I wanted to ask so badly but I did my best to wait and see whatever he was about to show me. As the both of us got on the platform, he pulled a lever on the wall. I could hear the tired sound of chains rustling like they were awakened from a long sleep, and suddenly, the platform began to descend. I got a bit startled but that didn't last long. The descent didn't take too long even though I felt we covered more than thrice the distance we did with the stairs. For a brief moment, I began to wonder which part of the castle we were at. I completely lost track of the bearing and I never imagined such a place existed in it. I was confident that the castle was built on top of a dungeon and that dungeon was where we were headed.

We emerged from the walled compartment into an open space before finally landing on what seemed like an elevated surface that stood in the middle of somewhere I couldn’t describe since the torch we held didn't provide the best visibility. From the details I could make out, stepping out of the platform meant falling into a depth.

“We are here,” Father said, finally speaking.

“Here is where?” I replied almost immediately.

Just as he was about to speak, I heard a disturbing growl from the depths below. I could feel movement and could also hear the rustling sound of chains.

Still trying to get a grip on the situation, hot air breezed past us, blowing off the fire on the torch I held. It was completely dark until two large glowing yellow eyes appeared in front of us. Its elliptical pupils were reminiscent of reptilian ones.

“There is no way I am looking at a dragon,” I said to myself.

“And I thought I would sleep for a few hundred years but I guess I am wrong.”

The voice that spoke sounded very human-like. It wasn’t my father's because it was effeminate.

“It's been a long time, Zephryix,” My father said.

“I can see you’ve grown, brat. And I can see that House Choryth has finally produced a Phoenix.”

“I must be a very lucky man. As you can see, The Phoenix is my daughter and the Phoenix needs a dragon.”

“No. She doesn't. The time of dragons is long gone, Choryth. I have no place in this world anymore.”

“You can't hide in the shadows forever. You are bound by duty to this House and you are bound by duty to the Phoenix. Zephryix, the Phoenix needs a dragon.”

Everything that was unfolding seemed like a daydream to me as I struggled to believe any of it was real. It was impossible to believe that I encountered a dragon and what was even more shocking was my father talking to it like an equal. Still trying to digest the situation, my body shook violently as my chest burned. I lost my balance as I fell from the platform. I didn't crash-land as my fall was cushioned. I couldn't see so I didn't know what part of the dragon's body cushioned my fall. My chest still burned and I could tell it came from my nexus. I was literally on fire inside me, I tried to bear the pain hoping it would stop soon, but it didn't. It became so intense and unbearable that I couldn't help but scream.

I couldn't tell what was happening to me but I knew it was the dragons doing. Its golden eyes were staring down at me and I said to it,

“Make it stop.”

“I can feel the same pain as you are feeling, but I am not being as dramatic as you are. It is not going to stop until the bonding is complete, so you will have to bear it.”

“What bonding?” I thought, but I couldn’t properly process it as I was still suffering in pain.

When I thought it wouldn't get any worse, I was engulfed in flames and it burned. My hair burned and my skin was being roasted right before my eyes. I was in so much pain and was too tired to scream. My eyes couldn't see anything anymore as I collapsed to the ground.

***

I opened my eyes as I struggled to adjust to the brightness of the room. I thought I would find myself in the dungeon but was surprised to be lying on my bed. The events that took place in the dungeon flooded back into my head as goosebumps covered my skin.

“How am I still alive,” I queried myself.

“You are alive because you are a Phoenix.”

The voice that spoke was familiar, it was Zephryix’s voice. I wondered if I was beginning to hear things. There was no way my room could fit a dragon that size.

Something hopped on top of my belly, its size was like that of a newborn kitten only that it was difficult to tell what the creature was. It was black, covered in fur, and walked on all fours. Its face was shaped like that of a cat and its eyes were the same as the ones I saw in the dungeon, only that they were much smaller this time.

“Hello, Human.”

I was startled, almost jumping off my bed.

“Zephryix?” I asked

“Yes, it's me.”

“How are you like this?”

“Oh. The first thing I get to teach you about dragons is that we are shape-shifting creatures. It's easier for me to blend in this way, and besides it will be more convenient for you too.”

I was too stunned to speak. I hadn't recovered from what happened in the dungeon and I hadn't even gotten any time to digest everything going on, yet new occurrences keep emerging.

“Your new look suits you better,” it said to me.

“New look? What happened to me?”

I quickly ran to the mirror just to meet a surprise. My hair color had changed to a golden one, and my eyes had the same hue as Zephryix's.

I touched my face in disbelief,

“What happened to me?”

“A lot,” Zephryix replied.