Suma’s POV

After being led to a private room, Queen Ompera wanted to talk with us a while longer. However, I believe she actually wished to ask them of Jake, but he was still… unable to answer any questions. Of all of us, these events had been hardest on him. He was used as a weapon, placed on trial, lost control of his mind and body, and had his family, his whole world, stolen from him. Instead, the Queen asked her questions to me, while Jake silently listened. Although, I suspect he was not. At one point during my conversation with the Queen, Jake had begun breathing heavily again, and even damaged the vine perch I made for him to rest on. When I asked how he was, he clearly lied and said he was fine.

“Lady Suma, Sir Sentinel, I need to know what your plans are for the future.”

“Your majesty, I truly do not know.” I said. There was a moment of quiet, and just as it looked like the Queen was going to speak again, Jake said something instead.

“I’m going to kill him.” When he said this, the guards, and their familiars, looked on edge.

“What?” I asked, surprised.

“I’m going to kill Deyja.” Jake said again. His voice sounded different; colder, more intense than I was used to hearing. It didn’t sound like it did in the desert though, when he was being controlled. Then, he sounded joyful, even while killing all those mages, but now… it was the hours before a big storm.

“Killing the Chaos Dragon-” Queen Ompera said “-is tantamount to impossible. Not even Ambos himself was able to do it.”

“As powerful as you are Jake, he is a dragon. It will not be so simple.” I said.

He was silent for a moment, “Then I’ll go back to training, back to the army. Or I’ll stay here in the Royal Capital and train. I don’t care.”

“The dragons were powerful beings, whose magic surpassed even the greatest mages from their era. The spells once used to subjugate rogue dragons were lost during the great-” The Queen tried to explain, but Jake cut her off.

“I don’t care!”

“Hold your words, Asha!” One of the Queen’s guard yelled.

“Enough,” Queen Ompera said calmly. “Sir Sentinel, how would you kill him? Where is he? Have you considered these questions.” The guard’s puffed feather lowered slightly, but he was still obviously upset.

“… I don’t know, but I think he is near Dragon’s Hoard Mountain.” Jake said.

I was surprised, “What?”

“Why do you think that he is in the country?” The Queen wondered.

“Something he said once, when we were there last time, I saw him, and he said I was standing on his head. I’d been wondering about it for a while, and I’m still not sure, but I think… maybe.”

“It was said that site was once the home of a long-forgotten dragon, but it has been empty since the Chaos Dragon’s rampage.” The Queen said.

“I have never heard of that.” I said, confused.

“It is a well-protected secret of the royal family.”

“Why?”

“To keep the temple’s power in check. Having a massive site of religious importance so close to a major city, and so far from the royal family’s sphere of influence is dangerous.”

“It isn’t empty. There are creatures living deep inside.” Jake said.

“Inside?” She asked.

“Yes, large reptiles. We found them when we were training on the mountain.” I added.

“I have not heard of these creatures, but no one has gone inside the mountain in centuries.” She turned to one of the guards, “Go and check the archives. See if you can find anything related to reptilian creatures inside of Dragon’s Hoard.”

“Yes, your highness.” The guard said, sent away his familiar, opened a hole in the wall, and flew away.

“Well, assuming that the Chaos Dragon is truly in Dragon’s Hoard somehow, that still leaves the issue of actually killing him.” The Queen said.

“Zachariah fought him, so did Ambos. If they could do it, then so can we.”

“Both of them lived in an era when even a standard mage would have been considered powerful and skilled enough to be recognized as a middle-class, or even high-class mage. Ambos himself was said to possess magic stronger than even Royal Mages do now. It would take years for you to reach that level.” The Queen said.

“Zachariah already thought of that.”

“Do you mean the memories?” I asked, and Jake nodded his head.

“He said that the memories he put in me could teach me how to use Chaos Magic. Maybe he included more than that though.”

“You think he also gave you a way to kill the Chaos Dragon?” The Queen asked.

“I would, if it were me.”

Queen Ompera was quiet for a moment, “Awakening the dragon could prove dangerous.”

“Is he not already awake, and trying to come back?” I asked. “He attempted to do so through Jake, but what is stopping him from using anyone else?”

“He has not tried anyone else. Perhaps it is only your familiar that allows it to be possible?”

“Maybe… maybe he needs someone with mana as powerful as his was?” Jake suggested.

“There are no Neame with mana that powerful, and familiars with mana like that are practically nonexistent.”

“Jake is the only one I have ever even heard of with such powerful mana. Not even lesser dragons like drakes, salamanders, or wyverns possess anything close.” I said.

“It would seem, Sir Sentinel, that you are necessary for the dragon’s return.” The Queen said, sounding very serious. “Thinking logically, killing you could ensure my kingdom’s safety.” The guards at her side looked tense, their familiars began baring fangs, and they all looked as if they were ready to fight. I could feel my heart beating in my wingtips as I looked over at Jake. He stared coldly at the Queen, glancing occasionally at the guards. The tension in the room felt as if it might choke me. Queen Ompera broke the silence. “But what stops any other Neame from any other country doing the same as Lady Suma did, and summoning another Viking?”

“So… will you help us?” Jake asked.

“Yes, you will have my support.” Queen Ompera said, as I finally started breathing again.

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Jake’s POV

I was sitting in a room the Queen prepared for me in her castle, while talking to Suma over our private connection. “I’m arriving now. Should I summon you?” She asked. Suma had spent the last few days traveling with escorts, and the Captain she arrived at the capital with, Captain Razoen, back to the base.

“No, not yet. There are still a few things I want to do here first, and who knows when I’ll be here next.” I said.

“How is your training going?” She asked. Knowing that I needed to do everything I could to prepare, the Queen set up sparring matches between me and some of the Royal Mages; at my request.

“It hurts, and I haven’t won a single time, but I think I’m getting the feel for how Neame fight. Between my match with Lieutenant Datahu, and these guys, I’ve noticed a few things.”

“Such as?”

“I noticed you’re all a lot better at three-dimensional combat than me. In the air, I can’t hit anything. I’ve been trying to think of ways to knock Neame out of the air, or slow their movements down.”

“I see….” Suma said, hesitantly. “Jake, how have you been these last few days?”

“I’m fine.” I said.

“You have not spent too much time training, have you?”

“I’ve only had a few days here; I needed every second I could get.”

“Jake…”

“I’m fine.” I repeated, then changed the subject quickly. “How’s your journey been?”

“Uneventful; thank the dragons. Flying through the wastelands was as bad as it was last time, however. Did you find what you were looking for in the Queen’s archives?”

“Nothing useful, and not a word on those reptile things.”

“So, either no one has ever encountered those ‘echoes’ before, or no one lived to tell anyone.” Suma said.

“Probably.”

“Are you ready, Sir Sentinel?” A voice from behind me asked. I looked behind me and saw three Neame landing.

“Uh, yeah.” I answered. “Suma, I gotta go, it’s time for the delve.”

“Alright, please contact me afterward.” She said, still sounding concerned.

“I will.” I said.

“Please lay down here.” The Neame, who I noticed lack their normal glitter, just like my teammate Nine, said, gesturing to a magic circle he was creating. I laid down on my back, and took a deep breath. I was about to undergo a spell that would help me control when the memories given to me by Zachariah appear. For my training, I need to be able to access them whenever I need, and not just randomly. The other two Neame joined him, and the magic circle tripled in size. “Are you ready?” He asked.

“Yeah.”

“Then we will begin.” In unison, they began to cast a spell. It took them about a minute to finish; a long quiet minute. Once they did, I felt a tingle inside my skull, followed by a few seconds of dizziness. “We are finished.” The Neame said. I sat up at the dizzy feeling and the tingle went away.

“When will I know if it worked?”

“You should be able to find the memories now, feel free to try it at any time. Although, I do recommend lying down when you do so.” I nodded my head and thanked them. With that, they left my room. I laid down on the vine bed again, closed my eyes, and tried to see one of the memories.

(I need to find something about fighting.) I thought. With that, I started to see moments in time flash through my mind, but they were moving too fast to see clearly. (I need something about fighting Neame.) I tried again, more specifically this time. Once again, memories filled my mind, but much more slowly this time. I looked through them like I was swiping on my phone, until I found one that kinda felt right. Focusing on it, I was brought into the memory, as if it were just like any other time. I was still locked into Zachariah’s point of view, and I still didn’t have any control over what happened, but now I could control when they happened. (Finally, some good news.)

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“It is an impressive weapon.” The voice of Ambos said from outside my field of view.

“My aim needs improvement.” Zachariah said, and wrenched an arrow free from the far right side of a wooden target. He turned and walked back to Ambos, who was perched on a wooden post. Strangely, the post looked man-made, not like something the Neame would build.

“Why not simply use magic for your ranged attacks?”

“I’m not as good with magic as you are, yet.” Zachariah said, and slung the bow over his back.

“Your, what did you call them, ‘runes,’ suggest otherwise.”

“Runes cannot be used to kill an enemy.”

“Why not?” Ambos asked.

“Because… because… hmm?” I felt something touch Zachariah’s chin and hip. “How would that…?”

(I already know how to use runes.) I thought, and started to end the memory, before getting an idea. But how are they made? Once again, I sifted through the memories, searching for one about making runes. It took a moment, but I found one. The environment shifted again like a heat-haze over concrete, and I was suddenly sitting at a table full of dyes, clay, scrolls, and stone working tools.

“What are you making?” Ambos asked.

“Futhark runes. Before we go to battle, I want to make a spell of protection for us.”

“I have never heard of these ‘runes’, what are they?”

“The language of my people. We write our desires into the stone, and the ley inside of the earth makes the desire come forth.”

“You mentioned that your people’s magic was different, may I watch?”

“I can make you one as well my friend, if you want it?”

“Yes, please.” Ambos answered.

Zachariah pulled one of the scrolls, and some dyes towards him. “I will make yours on parchment, so that it is lighter. We can tie it to your leg before the battle. Zachariah dipped a blue quill into the ink, and drew on the scroll. “This rune means strength,” he finished and moved to another spot on the scroll, “and this one is body.” He drew a line connecting the runes at both their tops and bottoms, “When they are connected, they will give your strength in combat.”

“How do I use the spell? You mentioned something called a ‘ley’?”

“Magic does work differently here. The ley seems to be all around us in your world. Perhaps some of your magic would make it work better?” Zachariah suggested. Ambos nodded his head, and placed a wingtip on the rune. A moment later, the rune was glowing faintly red.

“Fascinating.” Ambos said.

“I have never seen this before. Should we tie it to you?” Ambos agreed, and Zachariah tied it to him with a small string. The glittering white sparkle Ambos once had was replaced by a slightly brighter red one.

With that, the memory ended. (His language? Are runes just writing?)

With that revelation in mind, I pulled myself out of the memory, and woke up. Sliding out of the vine bed, I used magic to open the room back up, and spotted one of the guards that was posted outside of my room. “Hey,” I said to the guard, “can you get me something?”

“What?” The guard asked, sounding confused.

“I wanna to try making a rune, and I need some materials.”

“You have a Rune-Maker’s permit?” The Neame said from his perch, his head tilted slightly to the side.

“Uh, no. I didn’t know I needed one.”

“It is illegal to create runes without a permit. It is a dangerous profession.” He explained. “Although I do not expect a familiar to know this, let alone actually be able to make one. Even an Asha should know that.”

“Frick off.” I said, rolling my eyes, and closing my room in the smug sounding jerk’s face as hard as I could. Although really, it was just a slightly louder slurping and cracking sounds as the rock-wall and vines reformed. (Fine, I can probably make some stuff myself.) I thought.

Sitting on the floor, I summoned my backpack, and started looking through it. Inside were a few gold coins, a spare daljar, the broken rune inscribed rock I got from bootcamp that I keep forgetting about, over fifty meters of rope, and an emergency medical kit, but not one piece of paper. (I guess that’s too much to ask.) I thought. (Of course, even if I did have it, I wouldn’t use it for runes. I’d write my mum a letter.) Breaking myself out of those thoughts before I started to spiral again, I instead picked up the rock and looked it over. Inside the grooves where the runes had been, was a sticky residue, probably the remnants of the clay or whatever it was the rune was originally made using. “Not enough.” I muttered. For a second, I considered using magic to melt the rock and turn it into clay, but since I didn’t know what it was made of, or what clay is made of, atomically, I couldn’t imagine it working.

Rather than risk punching a hole in an atom, I put everything back into my backpack before sending it away, and decided to just go ask the Queen directly for both permission and materials. While I was staying in her castle, I was granted free roam of the place, so long as a guard was with me, and I was allowed to see her as needed; either by her request or mine. We’d met four times already since Suma left, and talked about various things. She wanted to know more about my world, and I wanted to know as much about her’s as I could. Suma knew quite a bit about her country, but the Queen definitely knew more.

I opened the room again, and walked towards the Queen’s court to ask for an audience with her. As I did, the guard spoke up again. “Ah, back for some mo- wait, where are you going. Get back here! You can’t just- stop!” He shouted, getting annoyed, and started fluttering behind me as I walked.

I smirked, “no, you follow.”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“To ask to see the Queen.”

“The arrogance… you have taken up too much or her majesty’s time already!” Instead of replying, I ignored him and continued walking. “What are you doing? Are you not going to say anything?”

“What would a predator like me have to say to you?” I asked, sarcastically.

“Predator?” He asked confused.

“That’s what you called me right? Asha.”

He laughed, “is that what your master told you that meant?”

“Yes, but I’m sure you’ll correct it.” I had figured Suma and Sela-Car, the Neame who put the runes on my weapons and armor, and told me what it meant originally, had given me a watered-down translation.

“It means: the beast who eats you and enjoys every moment.” The annoying guard said with spite and cruelty dripping from his fat snobbish beak.

“Did I do something to you?” I asked.

“You killed Neame, and flew away without ever touching the ground.” He said, sounding genuinely angry this time. At that point, I stopped walking and faced him in time to see him landing on a perch a few meters away. “You killed all those Court Mages.”

“That wasn’t me.”

“Oh, I heard the lies, but those weren’t the first Neame you killed, were they?” He said. I stayed quiet, remembering what happened in the alley that day. “Years ago, you killed a Magistrate’s son; tortured him to death.”

“That’s not what happened.” I denied.

“You used Death Magic, and the Grand Duke covered it up. Everyone just turned their feathers away because they think you’ll be useful in the war, but I know what you really are.”

“Shut up.” I said, angry.

“You are a killer. A monster. A Viking.”

I turned and walked away without another word. He didn’t bother following me.

After fifteen minutes of walking around, and trying to calm myself down, I made it to the Queen’s court. There was a Neame in the room, basically the castle’s chief gardener I guess, using magic to fix and rearrange the decorations on the pillars and walls. He came here every day to do it, so I had seen and spoken with him a few times. “Hey,” I said.

“Oh, greetings, Sentinel.” He bowed and spread his wings. I’d told him a few times he didn’t need to do that, but he insisted. “How can I help you?”

“Can I speak with the Queen about getting some materials for making a rune. I’ll also probably need permission to make one since I don’t have a permit.”

“I shall inform her majesty’s attendants immediately.” I thanked him, and he flew through one of the holes in the roof. While he was gone, I started thinking about what that guard said, despite the fact I was trying not to. My mind was wandering, so I didn’t notice when two Neame, one of which was the gardener, the other was one of the Queen’s personal attendants, flew up and landed beside me; startling me as I suddenly heard flapping sounds behind my back.

“Greetings Sentinel. Queen Ompera sends her apologies, but she is unable to meet with you today. However, she was made aware of your requests, and has granted the use of materials, and permission to craft a rune under the supervision of myself.” The attendant, whose name was Cisco Von Sopra, said.

“Okay, sounds good to me.” I said, and nodded my head. Then I had another thought, “also, could I get a different guard?”

Back in my room, several Neame were finally delivering materials so I could try making a rune… under the supervision of one of the Queen’s attendant, Talik Sopra, who was apparently a distant relative of the Grand Duke. The materials included a few scraps of leather to place the runes on, clays, dyes, some containers to mix things in, a daljar for storing mana, and a special syphon for mixing the mana into the clay.

“This should be everything we need, are you ready to begin, Sir Sentinel?” Talik asked.

I picked up the daljar and started putting some mana into it, “I’m ready.” Within half a minute, the daljar was full.

“I had heard your mana capacity was quite large, but you filled that daljar in mere moments.” Talik said, impressed.

“Don’t you see royal mages all the time, I can’t imagine this is that impressive?” I wondered.

“True, but they do possess large capacities as well, but even they take several minutes to fill a daljar. I wonder, do you know your life force density?”

“I used to, but I forgot. It was over one hundred kema or something.” I said, attaching the syphon to the filled daljar. “I haven’t had it measured in a couple years. Suma might remember, I can ask her if you want?”

“I would appreciate that.” He said. I contacted Suma over our private connection, and she remembered.

“She said it was five-hundred Kelma and around sixty Dalma, and my mana reservoir was over nine-hundred, but she couldn’t remember exactly.”

“I was actually wondering… could I remeasure it? If it has been several years, it may have increased due to your training.” Talik asked.

“Sure, I guess. Can it wait till after this though?”

“Of course, let us continue. Have you properly attached the syphon?” I held up the daljar with the syphon on top. He shook his head slightly. “It is on backwards.”

“Oh.” I corrected the syphon, and held it up again.

“Would you like me to put it on?” He asked. I sighed and put it in front of him. Using magic, he turned the syphon, and leaned it slightly to the side. I heard a clicking noise, and he gently sat the daljar back down. “Have you ever made runes before?” He asked, hesitantly?

“No, but I’ve seen it done. A Neame named Sela-Car showed me, and I also have memories of Zachariah doing it…”

“Alright, then please show me what you know.” Talik said, flapping his wings a few times and flying to a perch above where I was working.

“Um… well, runes are effectively writing, I think. So, I was just going to mix some dyes up, and write-” I stopped and realized a problem. “Oh yeah, nothing to write with.”

“You cannot simply write a rune onto leather. The ink will not stay in place. You must embed the inks and dyes into the hide.” Talik said.

(Oh yeah,) I thought, (writing on parchment and paper are super different. You have to basically tattoo the ink into place on leather.)

“Here is a tool you can use.” Talik said and used magic to levitate a small scalpel like thing to me.

“Thanks.”

“Start by mixing mana from the daljar into the ink and dyes.”

“Okay, how do I do that?”

“Place the material of your choice into the syphon, then seal it. It will immediately begin the mana infusion.” He said. I picked up the bowl of ink and poured some into the syphon, then closed the metal lid. Immediately, an ear-piercing super high frequency sound started screaming from the syphon.

“AH! Frick!” I yelled and covered my ears, but it didn’t help much.

“What is wrong?” Talik asked, surprised.

“You could have mentioned the noise!” I yelled, trying to be louder than the syphon.

“What noise?” He asked, confused.

“You can’t hear that?”

“I hear nothing.” Suddenly, the syphon stopped, and glowed a faint red. “Ah, it is finished.”

“Thank goodness.” I said, opening the lid and pouring the ink into a bowl. Talik spent a few minutes explaining how to use the scalpel thing, and then I got started.

The word I chose was ‘cold’. It seemed simple, and I didn’t want to accidentally burn anything down. Once I was finished, Talik looked it over.

“This does not look like any rune I am know.” He said, sounding worried, with his head tilted slightly. “None of the symbols are even connected. I doubt it will work.”

“I don’t think it will either, but I want to try.” I said, and laid the leather strip I had been tattooing for the last half an hour on the ground.

“What is this rune’s intended function?”

“It is just a test to see if this works, but hopefully it will become cold.” Touching the letters, I tried to activate them, but nothing happened. “Didn’t think so,” I muttered.

“You will need to connect the symbols. Otherwise, the mana cannot flow properly,” Talik said, and I got back to work. Another ten minutes later, all the letters were connected; like cursive.

“How’s this?” I asked.

“Oh, that is an unusual pattern, but it should work.” Once again, I touched the letters, and tried to activate them. This time, it worked… sort of.

“HOT!” I yelped and jerked my hand away. Thankfully, there was no visible burn to my hand, but I still cast a spell to make a water ball and stuck my fingers in it. “Ah...” I sighed. Looking back at the makeshift rune, I saw that the only thing left of it was a smoldering strip of charred leather. “Right, forgot about that,” I said, remembering the inversion thing. It’s been so long since it happened, it slipped my mind.

“Your symbols were not precise enough.”

After an hour of preparing materials and tattooing another piece of leather, this time with more specific instructions, I was ready to try again.

“And will this rune become a very hot form of cold as well?” Talik asked, chuckling.

“Hopefully not. This one is more specific. It says: Make this leather strip freeze solid.” I told him, and placed it on the floor. “Do you want to activate it for me? My mana is inversion, so it won’t work right if I do it.”

“You must test your own runes. Use the daljar itself to activate the rune if you must.” Talik said. “Never mind the fact that I would rather not visit a healing mage today.” I faked a laugh, and summoned my backpack again, then got my spare daljar out. Once it was filled up, I touched the tip of it to the rune and it activated. Thankfully, mana is stripped of its natural properties once it enters a daljar, so it worked as expected.

I touched the leather strip carefully, then jerked my hand back suddenly when I felt something. “It’s cold!” I said, excitedly. Picking it up, I realized it was as hard as a rock. “It worked.” I said and tapped the frozen strip against the stone wall with several loud clinking sounds.

“An excellent second attempt. I must say, I have not seen such odd runes, but they seem to work well. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. I want to try a few more things, but this is cool.” I said, unintentionally making a pun. “When I get back to base, I think I’m going to do a few more experiments.”

“You will need a Rune-Maker’s permit for that. Her majesty only gave permission for you to learn while you were under supervision.” Talik thought for a moment, “however, you could start officially taking classes while on base. It would take some time, but many Neame receive Rune-Maker’s permits while serving in her majesty’s royal army.”

I nodded my head, “I’ll think about it, but I’m done for right now. Besides, I need to go home soon anyway. Suma has been waiting for hours.”

“I see, do you still have time for me to test your life force density?” Talik asked.

“Yeah, sure, and I want to say goodbye to Queen Ompera as well.”

“Alright then, please follow me.” Talik said. With that, we left my room.