Chapter 37: A Lesson Learned (Part II)
The classroom was stunned. Not a sound could be heard except the thundering storm raging outside of the glass-sealed windows.
Perhaps I had misspoke. The children were staring at me in shock. I don’t know what came over me. The new student was the only one with a smile on his face. It was so eerie my neck hairs stood up.
“Oh, your hilarious Mr.Izol I like this class already. Continue with the story.” The boy spoke and soon laughter replaced the silence.
“Mr.Izol, can you show me a picture of a Dragon's bone structure in that book of yours? Is it there by any chance I would also like to see how dragon organs work. I believe a man as domineering and intelligent as yourself would document such things. Just look at that white book of yours, such marvelous scales cover your copy. It looks like it’s one of a kind. Anyway, carry on, ignore me.”
Pulling my eyes off the sparkling amulet around the boy's neck and the glistening white smile above. I looked down at the book in my own hands that I had yet to open. Turns out I didn't need a reference after all.
I was about to place it on the table, but the book looked like it was peeling. What was once brown and cheap. Held something priceless underneath.
I gently removed the skin covering the book. A skin that peeled off with ease like it didn’t belong. What was hiding under the cover was a book made of scale. The hardcover looked to be made out of actual Dragon scales. The scales were white with undertones of blue. Feeling the cover with my frail and aged hands it felt alive moving with a rhythm. And I wished deep within my heart to be the Dragon of Cold Soul in my next life. If only it could be.
“Ah, can you keep reading Doc we ain’t got all day here?”
“Quiet!" I yelled at the kid wearing bunny rabbit ears to my right. "When did you even put those on? Take those off!” I won’t have a child disrespecting me in my classroom.
“Yes, Mr.Izol” I need to refer that child to a dentist. Disgusting.
I carry on with the book held close to my chest. As it maintains a slow rhythm over my black tie and shirt.
I continued reading after I'd drawn on the green chalkboard. I can't recall what I drew but the book, I wanted to get back to it.
“In the snow on top of the mountain that I had finally claimed as my own by marking my territory. A ritual involving, skipping over that- In my wallowing and self-pity I had killed all life on the Mountain. At first, I was enraged, then I was lost, and lastly, I succumbed to my sadness. Dragons are cold-blooded creatures out of choice we feel deeply and that puts us at risk of revealing our true name, a symbol of our very power and life on this planet. But It is only a weakness if you let it be.”
I had offered to give her mine when I first met her. Why did I do that? She was just an elf as far as I knew. Names are how the husks start an exchange.
“I didn’t know at the time, but she was attracted to the loss of life wherever it may be on the continent. It is on that mountain she found me.”
How dare she trespass on my territory. No, it was her territory first was it not? She never left a trace of her life with me.
“I attacked her in anger, and she conquered me for it. I had never been conquered in that way. She asked for my hand, and I gave it to her. All this time I had taken this from others. What I had with her was special; it was not just mine to take. It was ours to have. Mine to give so I did. As we mated, I bonded with her. Dragon bonds are possessive it is unlike the lesser races when giving your true name. It is tying your life to someone else's even in death putting the mind, body, and soul at risk.”
I was hit hard. Thankfully I had kept enough in mind to give her half of my name and not the whole then it would be sealed.
“Hundreds of years we lived in harmony. The bond was indescribable, MT. Fallohum was clear for all to see. She lit in a glorious blaze of energy night and day. One day to the next.”
“Ewwwww!” one of the meat bags commented.
“A Thousand Years maybe, time was no concept. It felt but a moment. Happiness only lasts but a moment. Power is truly not everything. Though power is still what I desired. Being near her was enough she’d notice if I were to take our future child. If ever there was one. She watched me as I watched her only, her watch symbolized her guard against me. Rightfully, so I am the Dragon of the cold soul, the old soul. I preyed on the powerful and unworthy. Endless Power is all she ever was.”
My soul acclimated to the bond and soon I would be able to notice the changes in my personality. Changes that I wanted to get rid of these because they were for the most part unbecoming.
“A dwarven kingdom took refuge inside my domain. I only allowed it because of her affinity with the lives I had wiped out long ago.”
Years went by. Time would not stop for us.
“The Bringer of light as they called her. At first, it was she who took from them “Learning” she called it. Coming back and forth, hiding her light from me again and again. I hated it. What did I do that was so wrong!!! Who would whisper the name IZOCOLISSODATHROT and give me life once again!! WHO WOULD POWER ME LIKE SHE DID THAT DAMN CITY!?!! I KNOW IT WAS HER IT'S WHY I COULDN'T GET IN!!!!!”
That incessant and unbearable bell rang! Giving me a headache and shaking the class. It signified the coming end of this class.
“She no longer came to the peak seeking me out and there was nothing but her essence keeping the city safe within the entire kingdom. She wouldn’t leave me! Those dwarves had done something to her; she would never stay in that city for so long! All her life she longed for the sky to get away from this world I wouldn't forget! I was supposed to follow! She wanted me to follow!”
In her absence, I waited for her to return.
“It felt like the right thing to do. Waiting it out patience was a virtue given to us dragons. I had changed for her. It was her who changed me. I noticed her giving more than she led on. I never asked but she gave. All she ever did was give. Knowing we would take. It was no bother helping, she knew exactly how much to give. To make you want more. She had even given me a new race. The system didn’t lie about such things. I could feel the changes of our final night together, and so could she.”
Fallohum would probably melt if It was just her alone in her true form.
“I grew colder and colder in her absence and the weather followed the master's will. Then I noticed the city’s resistance against my cold. It wouldn't have crossed my mind if I hadn't paid attention to my domain. I would not be feeble when she returned to me, no, not like before.”
To exterminate the husks plaguing my mountain was my first plan. I wouldn’t do it by my hand. It is beneath me.
“She had changed my nature and empowered me. What prolonged my life allowed me to enforce my will, not just my cold onto others. My body was just a shell to keep the cold soul in. That is the way of the Dravine to ever improve on one's nature through time and dedication. So, I enslaved monsters, men, and more. Nothing too powerful. It had to be able to get inside the city without notice. Bringer’s power protecting the city should have run out long ago. When I pushed my cold into the city’s barriers it had always been nullified. I became even more suspicious of those damned meat bags.”
“I sat in wait. I would never give up the light that I could no longer see. The hope of seeing her again still filled me. For thousands of years, they used her power without rest. Thousands of years I practiced enslaving the souls of the lower tiers according to you husks.”
Patience was the key.
“I had managed to get a piece of my soul into a cohabitation an "Adventurers Hall" they called it. I would slowly weaken those most potent.
I allowed possession, a beast familiar with Infiltration. In time a fragment would make its way into the Hall. A slip of the mind and even Attendants would forget .” All was According to plan, that was until an unforeseen hand sought my demise.
“KILL YOURSELF!!!” That is all it took. “A voice that was sweeter than hers on its own. nowhere near as powerful as the bringer in her glory. A whisper though was all it took. Hitting all the slivers of my soul stretched somewhat thin, busy enslaving the many. My soul weakened even further by my orders to spread slowly and steadily. The ones that couldn’t be enslaved would either follow my orders or make themselves scarce.”
I had never chosen to die of my own will until I saw it.
“Yes, I had danced on the outlines of death for Millennia. That little whisper reached the very edges of my mountain. I wasn’t expecting that from a human bitch. I admit. I was being killed at a pace I couldn't keep up with and even managed to reach my main body in an almost empty body.”
I tried to resist. I thought the human girl was another soul for the taking. She didn’t freeze at the [Qualapalic]’s touch. A being of ice and water enforced by my mist and soul. We were compatible, A human girl should have never been able to kill us. We killed many hundreds of thousands of children. She was an impossibility that even killed me.
“Hearing the order to kill. it struck my soul, weakened already by my deeds. Arrogant and Prideful, still a dragon at heart. I chose to give in. Memories of me and the bringers' meeting flashed before my eyes every fissure of my soul relived my entire life. It was weighed against the future that was promised by her and I made my choice.”
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The human would be mine. I would have my way in. A vast magic power had to be hidden away within the black-haired girl. She would not be able to withstand the backlash of [Possession]. The answer was clear. No, one would decide my death for me.
“I wanted to die for her. I regret killing myself once it was done but I had to take advantage of the cracks in the barriers made by my mates' energy. Was she still my mate or another vessel for the taking? I had yet to decide, but a decision would be made in time. Patience was the key.”
“So what happened next Mr. Izol!” Adonin the new student jumped up in joy the red ruby gleamed against the fluorescent light.
He seemed happier than ever ignoring the rain that had fallen without fail. The sky seemed to be crying thunder and lightning.
My heart felt heavy with the book still in my hands as well. How can something so beautiful hurt so much?
Half of the class spoke in anticipation. “Yeah, what happened next!? What happened next?”
They loved my story. In that second, I wanted children of my own wide-eyed and wondering. My wife was the perfect picture of health. She looked ten to twenty years younger than me. Brown hairs no gray unlike myself.
“Is she your daughter?” the damn imbeciles. Husks, the lot of them have nothing on the inside always projecting out.
“So what happened next Wendy said looking at me with her green eyes and red hair.”
I breathed in trying to remember. Nothing came to me. My mind once again drew a blank.
“Read it Doc, the answers are just waiting for you.” The big-headed child spoke.
The book was heavy. I didn't recall it being so large. It was practically filled with pages that looked like they wanted to burst out of the binding. Turning it over I observed the lock keeping the book shut.
Silence took the room as it did the past hour, hours. It didn’t matter. I needed to open this book!
The scales on the cover trembled at my touch. I wasn’t just imagining it.
“IT JUST WON’T OPEN!!!” I yelled again in frustration.
“Do you need help,” The child said in worry.
“No, I don't need help with my damn book!”
“Arrogant and prideful Mr.Izol you're just like the dragon,” Wendy spoke and I was so close to shouting at her, but she was right. I didn’t want her to be right. A hatchling couldn't possibly understand me.
“You should be careful you could ruin the book; it looks expensive!”
Another student shouted but I didn't care to know their name.
“FINE!!” The windows shook as snow fell. The strangest weather occurrence outside is thunder, lightning, snow, and rain.
Any volunteers besides the twins?
“I think you should ask the new kid. I mean look at his necklace, it looks expensive. I hear he’s rich. He would know how to handle these things.”
“What a great idea Wendy.” I was reluctant, my hands were tightening around the book like my life depended on it but I needed to know what happened next.
“Adonin was it! Can you come here? I said looking at the amulet around the face that had no meaning to me. Looking above the necklace would only take away from its beauty and charm.
The necklace was blood-embodied. I was hungry just looking at it. My stomach growled taking in the sight.
“Yes, Mr.Izol?” The boy said walking five rows to get to me. He had on a black uniform. In a public school, a weird one is this child.
“Do you have any experience opening books like this?” I rolled my eyes at the child helping me. I was the teacher, what could he know that I didn’t?
“Mr. Izol Sir, I can’t see the book since you haven’t removed it from your chest.”
I gritted my teeth. To the point, something almost broke off inside my mouth.
“I can't do it,” I said hoping the class would understand.
“I get it, Sir. How about this? My family comes from lands far away. It is us who believe in Equivalent exchange.”
He slowly grabbed the necklace that I was keeping my eyes on this whole time, around his tiny neck. His hands trembled at the action. Removing the amulet from around his neck you could see a print across his brown skin. How long has it been since he last took that thing off?
Removing the necklace, I was able to see his face.
“A Beautiful boy,” I said the words like he was my firstborn. His brown eyes showed warmth and heaviness to them. Heavy was the head that had everything to lose.
“How about an Equivalent exchange? I Adonin Servan Mabtali Ce Raphil give this necklace bestowed onto me by my father and his before him, and his before him, stretching back to a time no one can remember to Mr. Izocol in exchange for his Book of Life.”
The room was silent but that had become a normality in this room. His words were powerful, his eyes were resolute, and his smile was compassionate, fully aware of the burden he wanted me to place on him. His Hands held a weight similar to my own only his hands shook a child shouldn’t be carrying around a necklace of such worth.
“My book of life?” What did he mean by that?
“Yes, it is your book of life as I truly see it. Detailing a life that hasn’t yet proceeded you in its whole. Just look at how you cling to it. That book must hold everything. Hopes and dreams want and needs, the past that is yours alone, and the future that you secretly long to see. It is heavy like my amulet. Even your mind is in that book. As the author of your own story, you must have put your whole soul into it.”
I peered at the book and felt the heartbeat beyond its cover he truly knew. How I felt about my book of life. Only it was mine, it didn't belong to anyone else! Only Me!
“Mr.Izocol the necklace look at it,” Wendy said in front of me. Her voice was soothing that of a caring and kind girl.
“It's not like he can steal your book of life from right in front of your face.” She was right, a child could never get the best of me.
I was pulling my hands from the white scaled book that seemed to have a polarity trying to cling to me as I did it. I held my hands out with the book now in hand. No one seemed to pick up the book's strange movements, not even the child Adonin who stood just two feet in front of me.
“Just take it!” I shouted. The book was unexplainably heavy, and it was more of a burden trying to let it go.
“Mr. Izocol it is custom to repeat the words with meaning and finality. You do want to unlock the book, don't you?” The boy looked at me with worried eyes that looked like they could calm even a dragon. The depth and darkness behind the hazel brown.
“Fine” I admitted that maybe I was being unsightly what was there to fear?
Thunder and lightning raged outside the windows that were frozen over. This weather looked deadly, but I've lived my whole life enduring the little clouds that's all they were. Snow clouds would pass as they always did.
My hands were shaking. I was ready to give my book of life. It would be given right back.
“I Izocol give my precious Book of Life to Adonin Servan Mabtali Ce Raphil in hopes that he can unlock it. Unlocking the book detailing the Life of Dragon no, that’s wrong.”
“I give this Book of Life belonging to Dravine once Dragon IZOCOLISSODATHROT to Adonin Servan Mabtali Ce Raphil, my new student. Out of all my students, it is he who has paid the most attention to my story. I now trade my Book of Life for his cherished Amulet in the tradition of Equivalent exchange. I am the author of my own story. IT IS I who gives My Book of Life Willingly despite my body's resistance to the act.”
Taking the boy's precious amulet in one hand and him taking my one-of-a-kind book of life in the other.
The exchange had been made. The amulet was lighter than it looked and more alluring up closely. "I had to have it."
Adonin was having trouble handling the book. From my point of view, it was rejecting his touch and freezing his hands.
The frost didn’t seem to bother him at all. The windows were frozen over. What strange weather we're having?
“Mr.Izol what happens to be the second part of the cold soul True name never said to the Bringer of life, light, and hope?” The boy asked in wonder, tilting his head. Ignoring the frostbite and blue fingers that seemed to be cracking under the book's pressure.
I had already given him my Book of Life. What could be the harm in giving the Cold Souls Truest name? It was special to me, but I had already explained its worth to the children. That’s all they were.
“The second half of Izocol’s True name is ITHNIASTAT KILLER OF KIN.”
“That sounds cool, well let's give it a go.” He spoke. All while I was being drawn in by the blood of the amulet its luster and warmth. If I listened closely, I could hear screams of anguish and regret. Maybe I was Imagining it.
“I ADONIN SERVAN MABTALI CE RAPHIL THE NEW STUDENT TAKE COMPLETE OWNERSHIP OVER DRAVINE OF THE COLD SOUL’S BOOK OF LIFE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS IZOCOLISSODATHROT ITHNIASTAT KILLER OF KIN ONCE CALLED THE OLD SOUL BY HIS ONLY REAL MATE AND BOND.”
It was already too late my arm had reached for the book without my notice and the child Wendy had grabbed my hand midair. All this was done while I heard the voices of hundreds and thousands of screams of bloody murder.
In just a moment I had lost everything, even the rights to my own life.
“You put up a good fight, Izocol. I can’t recall how many times we’ve been through this same scenario and that little storm outside of these windows came rushing in to freeze the students in this classroom to their death along with me.”
The room had paused, the windows frozen in blue ice had unthawed and the snowstorm raging on outside had taken the color of the deepest red. The girl Wendy had a smile on her now metal face. Her flesh was no more; she was just a metal statue with unblinking eyes.
The students were nothing more than metal statues. What did I do!? I wanted to grab the boy by his neck.
Adonin’s hands once covered in frost were covered in blood. The metal stench was a hammer on my human nose. The book of white scales was bleeding and was in pain. I could feel something carving at me. My innards felt like they were being sucked out. I was dying I could just feel it.
“What did you do to me!!!?” I stood frozen in place, an amulet in one hand and Wendy holding my other.
“The good news is I won. The bad news is you lose.” He skipped behind the metal statue of Wendy, the girl glued to her desk smiling from ear to ear.
The statues sang in unison, bleeding from every human-shaped orifice.
“WE LOVE THE DRAGON OF THE COLD SOUL, HE IS OURS, FOREVER TILL HE’S GRAY AND OLD, THREE CHEERS FOR ADI THE SPECIAL BOY, FOR HE HAS A NEW TOY!” I could not react to the voices chanting at my betrayal.
“Boy, are we going to have some fun Mr.Dravine, "The Old Hatchling" repeat after me [NOTHING MATTERS].”
My mind was taken along with my body. I had no soul. It didn’t belong to me anymore, not in life and not in death.
'How could this have happened? I'm an Elder! A Dragon! Of the Dravine!' A fog the deepest darkest shade of reminiscences had touched a mind that was no longer mine. I was overcome with a feeling that I had forgotten something of most importance. But No matter how hard I tried I couldn't remember.
The mind had drawn a blank.