It was the first time that Rivka had really, properly, eaten since she Awakened, the first time she had feasted consciously in her new true form and done so to satiation. She had perhaps hoped she would be more refined, more controlled, maybe even having some semblance of composure and grace.
But she was too hungry.
Eventually she was done and sprawled belly down across the cool metal of the cargo hold, her wings splayed wide, tail extended out behind her, chin atop the floor and eyes closed. She felt... Satisfied and somehow pleased with herself. Then a tap against one cheek, she opened a huge golden eye to peer up at Tribune Lissette, who was looking somehow terrifyingly neutral as she looked down upon the dragoness, despite being outweighed by at least a hundred times.
“Lazy are you, dragon? You will only need to eat like this every two or three days. The rest of the time you will be spending either mingling with the nobility aboard this vessel or training with me. Mostly training. If you do not improve then they will eat you alive when you arrive at the academy. You have a choice, you can either be a pathetic, trophy dragon, valued only for the influx of your potential to a noble line, a token for marriage. Or you can be a living weapon, respected. Feared. Mighty.”
Rivka was not entirely convinced about the idea of being a living weapon but feared, mighty, not being a marriage token? These definitely sounded appealing. She resulted with a low rumble felt through her now ten ton form, a flick of her tailtip, lifting her head slightly then angling it to allow properly looking at both Lissette and, further back and obviously wary, Isaias.
She also considered. Lissette was obviously hired at not inconsiderable expense by her 'sponsors', House Sepra, her legal wardens and feudal overlords who were taking responsibility and credit for her along with funding her education, feeding and, well, everything. A former Imperial Tribune was probably ferociously expensive to hire out of retirement let alone to allocate to mentoring a single person but then just how rare were dragons? She did not know of any Awakening from her homeworld in living memory. This was an excellent opportunity to find the answer though.
She was surprised at how normal her voice sounded now that she was a dragon.
“The Empire does not lack for weapons though. House Sepra does not lack for weapons. Just how many dragons are there and what can I expect from myself?” Rivka ensured that it was not just the perhaps biased and certainly well paid Lissette included in the question, looking to Isasias as well.
He was still too busy staring at the shiny dragon to answer before the older woman could speak.
“Dragons are rare. You do not die of old age and yet there are fewer planets in the Empire than your kind. It is hard to tell for certain but you are likely the only dragon to have Awakened in all of human space this year, though you are far from unique. That means you are also the youngest, weakest and most vulnerable dragon in the entire Empire out of perhaps two thousand in total. House Sepra has eight, you are not unique but you are, thanks to your potential, valued on par with a mineral rich and well developed moon or perhaps a maniple of capital warships. Frankly? You are worth as much as the entire province you were born within. Yes, I am aware just how rich and developed your homeworld is.”
Isasias did then speak up to comment, though he seemed rather surprised at the last part about Thellonov being particularly rich. “As the Tribune said, you are not unique, you are not all powerful, but I would have given your value relative to an entire continent rather than a province. It is not just potential personal prowess, any children you have will be mages of the most potent magical affinity and your descendants have the potential to breed true as dragons in turn. It is vanishingly rare but out of those two thousand, one hundred and fourteen dragons within the Empire.” That is a very specific number. “Over three hundred are of the Imperial Family. House Sepra has profited mightily through your Awakening though, as demonstrated by the Tribune here being retained to train you, they are also going to expect great things in return for their generosity.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Rivka considered this. Being mighty and powerful was rather splendid but, a low, disconcerted rumble as she voiced her realisation. “I am going to have very little freedom of choice when it comes to my future, am I? All of this promise of training, sponsorship to an academy, the luxury travel and expense of feeding me.”
“Precisely.” The tribune was walking around her sprawled and shiny self now, examining her critically. “You will spend four years at the academy being trained and educated before, unless you completely fuck up, being commissioned into the Imperial Legions. They will probably plan on you putting in a decade to toughen you up and for the prestige before you join the House Military and they look at marrying you strategically.” Then a grin, a flash of white teeth. “So morose about the prospect of being given an allowance of millions a year, groomed through the best possible education then married to somebody rich and handsome. Now up! You are going to need to work to be less wasteful with that rediculous degree of power you lucked into!”
What followed was... Boring and somewhat humiliating, hours of concentrating on focusing her mana into simply barriers whilst being near constantly admonished. Rivka knew that she was wielding abilities far, far beyond any normal mage Awakened for three days but apparently she had much more expected of her. Isasias did not succeed in escaping though and found himself drafted into testing those barriers for a good hour and a half until he was able to excuse himself and Lissette took over.
The retired Tribune was... Perhaps weaker than the young noble? She wielded her power far more adeptly with near perfect focus and control but the intensity was far less and her ability to continuously wield her power distinctly inferior. Eventually, four hours in an during a pause, Rivka asked about this.
Lissette shrugged, leaning back in her folding chair. “That is simple enough. I am not a powerful mage. Strength with mana is strongly inherited and the noble houses breed for it, if you had been just the normal child of your parents instead of turning into a scaly creature.” Rivka had to fight back a low growl. “Then you would probably have had superior natural strength to me. The legions are not stupid enough to promote people based on how good they are at casting spells though, it helps but if you are commanding five hundred ships and a million legionaries with fifty thousand mages? Personal prowess throwing fireballs is irrelevant. That is different for you though, as a dragon? You can be potentially powerful enough to bring down starships by yourself and without augmentation yet when you wear human form you are almost impossible to distinguish from a normal person.”
Rivka had never planned on a military career but she had considered it, depending upon how powerfully she Awakened, she also found she felt strangely ambivalent about the idea of killing people or even those she slaughtered during her uncontrolled initial assumption of dragon form and desperate feasting. The idea of being a tool though, not having any choice in her future? That rankled.
Almost as much as the next six hours of intensive, boring training. She wanted to wield her newfound power, strike out with it, exert it! Not continuously engage in exercises in control and moderation and focus, at least she was no longer hungry.
She felt relieve when she was finally allowed to revert to her human form then slink back to her cabin, sprawling across her oversized bed then slumbering as she watched mindless entertainment holovids. Nothing involving excitement, just soap operas from some planet she had never heard of. It took a few hours of this zoning out before she felt sufficiently recovered from the day's 'training' to consider doing anything else. By now? It was late shipboard evening but she was fairly certain that there would be no shortage of entertainment aboard a starliner even without her first class passenger status and ample allowance. She could probably not persuade anyone to serve her alcohol but she had to take advantage of being away from home and with this opportunity!