Lin says "Except the ice dragon didn't account for an overcurious cat to come along and mess everything up."

Dragon says "Right again! Then again, I doubt anyone could plan properly for someone like Ash."

"I'm right here!"

Dragon laughs and says "Oh, so you are! Well, does any of that help you?"

"Not really. I will just have to stick to my original plan of draining her energy away until she is weak enough to confront."

Dragon says "That isn't much of a plan, she isn't stupid. Besides, you should be careful about stealing her energy, I can feel traces of it around you. Too much of it could affect your next evolution."

Lin says "Is that why you are worried about your next evolution?"

"Yes and it is also why I don't plan to deal with the maker until later. Wait, is the ice dragon still around?"

Dragon says "Yes, as far as I know she is."

"Is she going to be pissed at me for freeing the maker?"

Dragon says "Probably. Luckily for you, she is old and can only move around when magic is at its peak. You shouldn't have to worry about her."

"That's something at least. I want to be quite a bit stronger before I think about going back to deal with the maker. The humans will just have to do their best to keep her at bay until then."

Dragon says "Caution? From you?! Things have certainly changed!"

"Well, before it was just me and I could be as reckless as I wanted. Things are different now, I have someone else to think of."

My comment makes Lin blush again, but she also has a big smile on her face. The look she gives me makes me want to exit the soulscape immediately. However, I don't want to have to come back and annoy the dragon again later.

"Oh, before I forget, was the way I reached your soulscape correct?"

Dragon says "Not even close! If I hadn't felt you flailing around out there you never would have found me."

"Oh. What is the correct way then?"

Dragon says "Each soulscape you create is unique, so looking for a familiar feeling soulscape won't work. What you need to do is search for the feeling of the mind of who you are looking for. That feeling will get you close, if they have an active soulscape that is. However, you shouldn't try to connect directly to someone else's soulscape, that's rude."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Alright. What's the polite way?"

Dragon says "Once you are close, you just send out a pulse of thought. It is the same as a polite knock. Keep the pulse small though, there are others out there who could hear it as well."

"Others? What do you mean?"

Dragon says "Do you remember when I told you where the soulscape takes shape?"

"Yeah, the gooey stuff between the planes."

Dragon says "Right. Well, that space is shared by all beings. You could open your soulscape next to one created by someone from the other end of creation. For whatever reason, each time a soulscape is created its relative location is completely random."

"And some of these others could be hostile?"

Dragon says "Of course. Some could also be friendly. Most of the time it is better not to take the chance. Especially with as weak as your soul is."

"So, when moving between soulscapes it is possible to be attacked? Is it safe inside the soulscape?"

Dragon says "Yes. Someone could forcefully enter your soulscape, but they would be at a huge disadvantage. Not to mention, you would know about the invasion long before they managed to force their way in."

"Is there any way to improve the defensive strength of a soulscape?"

Dragon says "Yes. The soulscape is created by your soul. The stronger your soul is, the stronger the soulscape is."

"Good to know."

Dragon says "Any other questions?"

"Always! What are soul coins? What are they good for?"

Dragon says "They are currency. If you meant why they exist, no one knows. As for their use, there are several places where they are used as currency. The biggest is a place called the exchange, it is a city where many beings who use the hall of doors gather."

"Is the hall of doors unique to each traveler?"

Dragon says "No. It is shared. You can run into other beings in the hallway. In general, encounters in the hallway and the exchange are peaceful. However, there are always exceptions. There are a few races that are hostile to all other life and ignore the general rules. They are not welcome in the exchange, but there is still a small chance of running into them in the hallway if you are unlucky."

Lin says "That means that Ash' odds are fairly high."

"I'm not that unlucky!"

Lin says "Maybe unlucky is the wrong term. Trouble magnet would be more accurate."

"I guess I can't argue that."

Dragon says "It is always a good idea not to argue with your mate."

Lin says "Oh, he argues with me plenty. He is just smart enough not to argue when he knows I am right."

Dragon says "He is still young, he will get wiser with age, hopefully."

"Do the two of you want me to leave so you can talk about me more openly?"

Dragon says "What fun would that be? Besides, didn't you come to learn a magic language?"

"Yes, but you said I can't learn the dragon's language."

Dragon says "Did you think that the dragon's language is the only magical language? Or the only language that I know?"

"I thought that there might be other languages, but that the dragon's language is the only complete one."

Dragon says "No, not even close. In fact the ancient one's language is a complete language. It is just that the human mages did not get all of it and made some mistakes in translating it. I can teach you the original language if you want?"

"Yes, please."

Lin says "Can I learn it too?"

Dragon says "Of course, Lin. After all, you need to be able to understand what Ash is doing so that you know when to smack him."

"With a proper understanding of the language, nothing I will be doing will be all that dangerous."

Lin says "I would have believed that before you showed me those anime!"

Dragon says "Anime? What is this anime you speak of?"

Lin immediately starts explaining what anime is, basically repeating everything that I told her. The dragon is obviously interested and soon demands that I show him an anime. I am not about to argue with him, so I create a screen and start thinking of what anime to show him.