We played chase the Dragon for a while, it was fun. Until Sam and Dean decided my claws were fair game. Have you ever had someone take a two by four and drop it on your toes? Individually? Dragons are tough apparently because I mostly didnt feel anything till that point. They mostly stopped that the third time I laid my tail across Dean's ass. Apparently 12 year old ass cheeks aren't real good with Dragon tail slaps. Who knew? We stopped after that because Sam couldn't stop laughing, then the boys got after each other.

After that we included Molly. It took a bit of doing but we found an old rope and wrapped it around me just before my wing joints, then tied it off between my last two spinal spikes so it wouldn't slide. Then we put Molly on my back. I spent most of the rest of the day giving my siblings Dragon rides.

Later that evening while I was cooking dinner we got a visitor. From the National Postal Administration. Basically what used to be the U.S. Mail. Except now they ride horses and wear leather armor. After I signed for the package I took it in to the kitchen and finished making dinner. The kids talked about how excited they were for the move and wondered what it was like in the "big city", what the school was like and so on.

After dinner molly went to her room to play and the boys took care of the dishes. I took the package up to my room. Closing the door behind me I flopped on my bed and looked at it. It was wrapped in plain brown paper. No name, just our address and my name on it.

I ripped the paper off quickly, revealing a plain brown box. I grinned to myself mockingly, I was starting to see a theme here.

Inside the box there was a smooth crystal orb. Under that was a sheet of paper, in my father's hand writing. I gasped and grabbed the sheet with trembling fingers. Lifting it I began to read.

Jason, if your reading this, your mother and I most likely didnt make it home from our last dungeon run. The orb in this box has additional instructions. Just poke your finger and use a drop of blood to bind it to you. It's called a Memory Cache. Think of it like an interactive hologram. It's got a portion of my and your mother's souls contained within to anchor the information your going to need.

I carefully folded the note and set it aside. Then I looked at the orb. It was about the size of my fist when closed. Grabbing my dagger i pricked my index finger and dropped a drop of blood on the orb. The blood began to run down the side of the orb. Then there was a flash of red light and the blood vanished leaving the orb unstained.

I sucked on my finger as I picked up the orb in my other hand. It was still clear except for a small core of redish light deep inside it.

Once it was in the palm of my hand it started to glow projecting a small screen made of redish light.

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Interface:

Storage

Messages

Purge

I tried to poke the messages button but my finger passed right through it. So I tried using my bloody finger. Still nothing.

"Messages" I said. Nothing. So I tried thinking at it. Messages.

It pulled up a list from 1 to 50. The very first one had my name next to it. So I selected that. An image of my mother as she had been the day she left was before me in a spray of light.

I began to cry. I'd been alone for so long. I'd had to be both brother and parent for my siblings. Taking care of feeding them, clothing them, making sure they did well in school. Taking care of the financial issues. It hadnt been easy.

And now my mom was back.

As I sat there crying, the image knelt beside the bed looking at me with love and compassion. Slowly it reached out and lay its insubstantial hand on my face. It felt warm but it wasnt solid.

"My poor sweet boy. Your father and I never meant for this to happen. We planned for it of course but we planned to live a long happy life with you kids." She said.

"What happened mom? All the Adventures Guild told us was that you were lost in the Necropolis Dungeon. They didnt go in to detail." I said.

"Do you remember the ring your father had? The one you loved so much? Well it all started with that. We had gone to the Necropolis before you see. That's where the ring came from. While we were there we became trapped. Your father managed to get us out, but he had to make a deal with a Great Wyrm Shadow Dragon named Athear'Rasvim. He had become trapped by a Lich's spell and bound to the dungeon. Most Shadow Dragons are evil, but apparently this one wasnt. He didnt want his lineage to die out. So he made a deal with your father in return for the promise to one day help him escape."she explained.

"They signed a system contract. He gave your father and I five years to grow strong enough to challenge the Lich and destroy the spell. In return he put a portion of his soul in to four rings. One for each of you kids. As well as four potions to accelerate your age. The potions are only for an emergency. The rings must be worn before you enter the doors of the Hall on System Day. We aren't sure what will happen exactly, but Athear'Rasvim said the rings would grant a portion of his power through the system to whoever wore the rings. So we hid the others and only showed you your father's."

I looked down at my finger. The ring was gone. I hadnt even noticed, what with everything going on with my legendary classes and race change....

"Holy crap." I said.

"Hey! Language mister." My mother said.

I looked at her sheepishly.

"Sorry mom. I just realized why I gained two legendary classes and a race change when I entered the hall. I'm guessing if the other three rings are the same then Sam, Dean and Molly will all gain somthing similar when it's their turn. I only have two years to get Dean ready." I said.

"Right. You need to be extremely careful with the information about the rings. When we made the Necropolis trip known the second time we had a group join ours. We didnt make it back so I dont know exactly what happened but that may have played a part. Check with Sedrick at the Adventures Guild. He might know more. I have to go sweetie, these messages eat up power. The orb recharges once a week. Under our bed is a secret compartment. You'll find everything there."she said.

She quickly explained how to open the secret compartment, then faded out.

I sat there till I cried myself to sleep.