It had been 10 years since I had started teaching the Draconian race magic, I had also taught them some fighting techniques but not much. Hand to hand combat and weapon wielding was more Raggy’s thing. I also taught them the english language, not the one I spoke with the dragons and Raggy, call me petty but I wanted that to be a special thing for us.

“So how well have I improved?” said Revin, he was the little draconian boy I had first taught when I had healed his childhood friend, well actually they’re married now, it was quite adorable watching them grow up being shy about their feelings and then out of nowhere he gave her a mating stone.

“Compared to not even being able to speak full sentences and not even knowing about the existence of magic, you have done amazingly well, I hope you will pass this on to the rest of the village and continue it with your descendants for generations to come, especially your descendants”

Revin nodded, I knew Mari had a child on the way, Mari was the little girl I had saved and who had mated with Revin, she was apparently the gem of the village but I didn’t really see her beauty in the romantic way, probably because I wasn’t into lizards.

“Mari has come far as well; your child will certainly be gifted”

When I had said ‘married’ I meant the term loosely, there is a cave full of beautiful crystals near the village and when a Draconian wants to marry another they venture up the incredibly tall mountain to the cave to get a stone for the one they love, it doesn’t have to be a male that proposes but it normally is. I had tried to put the best qualities of humans into this race.

"Thank you Zariel, does this mean your leaving? You always have the feeling about you like  you are just... what's the word? Ah, temporary"

"Haha, I know that I'm like that, I have been told many times"

Revin looked at me in concern, I realized I was probably doing my 'distant' face as Nerreth as often put it. I apparently looked deep in thought and grumpy when I or someone else mentioned the past, I didn't even realize I did it until Nerreth pointed it out when we were walking across lava and I was reminded of when I fell into a volcano.

"You're having one of your moments it seems, I won't bring it up" 

Dammit, was I really that see-through to everyone? I need to work on my pokerface.

"No it's fine but right now I have to go, I have some tasks to do before I go to sleep again"

Revin nodded and walked away, I sat down in my hut and meditated to build my mana pool which was already almost as big as the planet. I had been telepathically talking to the others as well, they were teaching their races the basics, I had taught the dragons English and they were teaching it to the creature who had initially been using symbols, grunts, gestures, and basic words to communicate.

 Taevarth had been teaching the elves that knowledge is power and they believed him to be some sort of god so they followed him with an incredible passion, he’d freaked out so he found a nice cave to hide in for the time being.

The rest of the dragons are having the same problem too, Varenth and Medreth have been less active in their teachings to the races they were overlooking, I had to give them a telepathic scolding before they decided to teach the races English and magic properly, I worry for the Humans and Dwarves futures.

Lyth and Nerreth were doing just fine, Lyth said the beastmen weren’t the brightest people but were ambitious and strong, their extra appendages and animal organs came in handy with daily life of hunting and building and working.

Nerreth said there was a evolved species of fish here, they weren’t quite like humans but had enough sentience to have factions and families, she said that they didn’t look to be finished evolving but they were certainly far behind the other races.

Ragnarok and I were talking quite frequently lately, like two old men catching up on the good old days. We spoke of our pasts and what we did, Raggy was a General in the Imperial Army on his planet, he was a product of mass cloning so he didn’t have any relatives or anyone he would miss.

He was classified as a defect and wasn’t expected to be anything but a soldier used as collateral. As he rose through the ranks he surprised a lot of people, he became a role model to other defectives and became one of the best fighters on the battlefield, a neighbouring planet had declared war on them and the war had been going on for over 5000 years. To the species that Raggy was cloned from that wasn’t very long but it was a war that contained many sacrifices, and that was what made them take the desperate sacrifice that they did. 

According to Raggy there was a bomb, but calling it a bomb would be a massive understatement, it was created to only be used when their species is in peril and they had an enemy they could not defeat. The bomb would locate a species and destroy everything ever related to them, it was a bomb with a conscience in a way. He was the man who had to infiltrate the enemy planet to plant the bomb, of course he fulfilled his mission like the perfect man he was and detonated the bomb believing it wouldn't harm him because he was not a part of the other race, what he hadn't realised was that the superiors in the army didn't like that a clone had climbed up the ranks so fast so they 'forgot' to tell him that the bomb will destroy whatever is in a 10 mile perimeter before it starts to erase the species.

Raggy was pissed then, he had lost his entire left side and his chips were damaged, he couldn't heal and was slowly dying so he did what any pissed off, dying, psychpathic, war general would do and changed the bomb to target his species instead by using his blood so it could lock on to the genetic code and he could get back at the people who betrayed him. The anchor of the bomb, the one who supplied the genetic code is protected from the bomb, originally Ragnarok was going to put a piece of the enemies body (their finger) to supply the genetic code.

Of course he regrets blowing up his species now, which is a bit boring but he was some humanity in him and I trust him, I think. He did choose the most aggressive race to teach, something tells me he misses being in an army, he misses being a leader. I don't mind if a war breaks out in the future, there is a natural balance to everything. I was tasked to protect the planet and the human species, not protect people from themselves.

But aside from the daily telepathic chats we have about each others past Raggy has been going well, he is still upset he cannot use magic and had to call Varenth from the neighboring continent to teach his people but he was glad the Demons were interested in his martial arts, I shall never admit this to anybody but it was adorable when I heard how excited he was when he first started teaching the demons. It was like watching an old depressed man find a new hobby that he loved. The other dragons agreed it was adorable too, especially Nerreth.

That is where everyone is right now. I am also doing pretty well, I meditate and sleep most of the time and increase my mana storage. I don't know why but recently I have only been able to stay awake for at most a quarter of the day. It's impossible for me to try and stay awake for more than 6 hours and I haven't been able to do the things I had planned, they weren't important plans but I wanted to at least build a boat and sail down the river, I would have lay down on the boat and fell asleep while watching the trees pass over me and listen to the river flow. But now if I fall asleep in the boat I'll probably end up in the middle of the ocean and have to have Nerreth pick me up and take me back. Well I could do it myself using air magic to drift the boat back or using water magic to walk on the water back to the tribe but I have to make the kids feel useful, what else are they for besides doing my chores and work?

Enough joking around though, I really do need to find out why I can't stop falling asleep, perhaps the dragons are experiencing the same thing?

"Anyone able to contact me?" I say in the telepathic link we had, it was sort of like a chatroom on Earth. I had altered the spell so Raggy could use it as well.

"I am able"

"I am too"

"Me too"

"Yeah, what's up?"

It seems Lyth, Nerreth, Raggy and Taevarth are awake, the dragons sleep a lot, I wasn't expecting that many to answer.

"Is anyone else not being able to stay awake for very long? like you can't help but fall asleep?"

I could sense confusion in their minds, and concern which was worrying.

"Not really, aside from sleeping because of my dragon nature I haven't felt compelled to sleep" said Lyth

"Yeah same here, Zariel are you okay because that doesn't sound normal" I heard Nerreth say, the bad feeling I had about this was growing worse.

"Yeah I'm fine I think, no need for you guys to worry" I reply, I could tell the others weren't feeling the same I was going out on a limb by being pretty sure the ones who hadn't answered the call weren't feeling the same. I sighed and 'disconnected' as some would say, I knew one other person who could help me and probably knew why this was happening but first, sleep. Hopefully this means I'm multi-tasking.

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I got back to the hut that had been built for me, I had taught the natives ways to build better housing so it didn't collapse during storms or burn during scorching days. I got under the incredibly soft skin blanket and before I fell asleep I muttered to myself.

"Ok Timera I need answers and since we are just the best of friends perhaps you could give them to me? I would be grateful" I felt myself slipping away into sleep and hoped that maybe Timera would respond. That's when I saw a familiar darkness surround me and an outstanding monocle on a... less than outstanding host, such a shame a monocle is wasted om his pompous face.

"Hello Zariel, it's been a while for you, a billion years I believe, I'm guessing it's already started?" Timera said in her familiar voice.

"I assume you're talking about the falling asleep thing"

"Yes unfortunately, it is something every immortal goes through every billion or so years, I'm surprised you managed to last this far but I have heard cases of immortals delaying their hibernation by 3 billion years, of course they ended up incredibly sick and in agony and were forced to sleep by me"

"So this is normal? I'm not going to die or anything?"

"No of course not, it's not something you can prevent either, just go with it, you'll sleep for as long as you have been alive, that's the rule"

"What do you mean 'that's the rule', is this another immortal thing you made?"

"No, it evolved on its own, I never really investigated why but I assume it is because most immortals choose not to sleep considering they don't need it and the magic they use without restraint tires them so the body forced them to shut down and take a break"

I processed the new information, I was pretty surprised monocle man hadn't spoken up but that wasn't what mattered right now, I would sleep for a billion and a couple million years. Who would look after the kids? Raggy is too irresponsible and abusive and is going to be busy teaching the demons, actually all of them are going to be like that...it feels a little like my family had grown up and has kids of their own.

"You aren't as worried as I thought you would be Zariel, you fuss over those dragons like a mother hen"

"Why does everyone always assign me the mother role?"

I heard Timera chuckle, it was a new sound and it was pleasing, like wind chimes on a spring day and a light breeze.

"All you need to do is find a place to seclude yourself so no one can capture your body or do other ghastly thing, trust me I have seen things no goddess should see" I swear I could hear her shiver, and I was pretty sure I knew what she meant.

"Alright then, I should probably wake up now" I wondered if I actually could wake up on my own, I had learnt how to do it over the years but since the circumstances are bit different...

"Indeed, you have been asleep for 18 hours now it's alright to wake up, you probably only have a couple of days left Zariel, spend them wisely"

I nodded and felt the familiar feeling of the sun in my face, which is good because what I need to do needs sunlight. I sent out a message to everyone to come to the hill where we separated, I needed to inform them of what was happening and teach them one last thing, I wouldn't speak to them for a long time after all. They all agreed to meet up and while deciding who would pick up Raggy and bring him here, Raggy interrupted saying he also had something to show us and didn't need to be picked up.

I waited a couple of minutes for them to arrive, they were all faster than normal due to being magical beings, well at least that is what U can surmise. The dragons bodies were actually too heavy for them to fly, it is physically impossible but somehow they do, I have magic to thank for that, magic that constantly ruins any common sense I ever had within science.

The first to get here was Lyth, she was the fastest flier out of all of them. The next was Nerreth and then Medreth, Varenth and Taevarth. Each nuzzled me when they arrived as a greeting, it was a cute affectionate act that made me realize no matter how old they are they will always be the ones I raised since they were the size of puppies.

We were waiting for Ragnarok until we heard a screech in the sky, I looked up along with the others to see a colossal bird flying towards us, the bird wasn't as big as the dragons who were now the size of a mansion but it was at most the size a house. It was certainly a big bird but that wasn't the biggest surprise, I used my sight to see Raggy on top of the bird. He was waving at us like some crazy old man, which he was.

"HEY ZARIEL, LIKE MY NEW RIDE?" he shouted at the top of his lungs, he probably thought he could trump me now with a massive bird as his 'noble steed'. He reached us and landed right next to Varenth who was currently completely freaked out.

"Oi it's staring at me guys, it's like it wants to kill me"

I had forgotten Varenth's fear of birds, it happened when he upset a nest and they swooped down on his and pecked at him, it didn't do anything considering his impenetrable scales but he was scarred for life. When I looked at the bird I couldn't help but feel the same, it had black and brown feathers and beady, yellow eyes. It squawked and flapped it's incredibly large wings, I saw inside its mouth and found teeth, a lot of teeth, including on the side of its tongue like geese, and I hated geese. The most interesting part about the bird other than it's size was the metal helmet it had on, when I looked closer at it I realized it was actually a part of the bird.

"Wow Raggy, what is it exactly?" i inquired while being wary, I didn't like the way it was looking at me.

"The demons called it a... wait I'm trying to remember, I think it was Rukh"

"That is great and all guys but the bird is eyeing me and I'm now terrified so get it away!" Varenth was now hyperventilating which was hilarious for his siblings, I signaled Raggy to move the bird and told Lyth to heal Varenth so he would stop breathing like a stroke victim.

"So what did you call us here for?" said Lyth, who had recovered from the ensuing laughter after Varenth almos wet himself, we had been having some basic conversation while we had waited for the others to arrive and I had given her vague ideas of what was going on. 

"I am going to go to sleep for a long time, it's going to be about 1, 674, 736, 279 years"

I felt shock in the telepathic link, and a little bit of anger.

"Why? Don't you have things to do?" said Medreth, the most outraged of them all.

"I do, but they will be done when I wake up, for now I must teach you all one thing for the future" they looked sad, I didn't quite understand why, it's not like I announced my death.

"I will teach you how to shapeshift, just the basics so you can master it while I'm asleep but it will help in the future, if you reach my level you will also be able to shift things other than yourself"

I picked up a nearby stick on the ground and shifted it into a smooth, carved cane for me to lean on. I was losing strength in my legs, the cane had the head of a dragon, I thought it was rather poetic. I explained to them the magic process and they tested it, there were some very failed products, Nerreth once ended up looking like a cloud him a human face on it and it was the creepiest thing I had ever seen, aside from that sun in the kids T.V show with the baby face, that one haunts my nightmares for all eternity.

Finally after 5 hours the dragons had the basics down, me and Raggy had just been having idle chitchat while watching and giving pointers. All the dragons could shift into a basic human form although with some... alterations.

Nerreth was a 6'1 woman with deep blue hair that had patterns on it like water reflected like light, she had a long dress on that actually was made out of water but somehow not seethrough, her face was incredibly beautiful and her eye's were a glowing turquoise colour.  Raggy had been the one to tell the dragons to look as best they could. Blame him for being the pervert.

Lyth was a smaller woman, 5'4 with short white hair and feathers inside it, she had grey shorts and a white tank top, it was pretty hot so the clothes were appropriate for her. I was thankful she had enough common sense to have some underclothes to retain some decency. Her face didn't have the same kind of beauty Nerreth's did, Nerreth looked like she had Resting Bitch Face but Lyth looked like a bunny rabbit with her adorable face and pink eyes.

Varenth was the most built out of the others, not in a body builder kind of way but more of a bulkier than normal swimmer, he had green hair which I found out to be moss and and pitch black eyes, sclera and all. I had asked him about it but all he gave was that 'eye colour only serves for aesthetic purposes and I have no need for it' which weren't exactly words I thought I would hear from Varenth. His skin was incredibly tanned and he was 6'4, he wore a tight black shirt and long black cargo pants, his face despite it all was handsome in a childish kind of way, although all the dragons were the same age Varenth had always seemed like the youngest.

The next was Taevarth who had seemed to take after me in style, he was 6'2 and wore a black suit with a gold vest and white undershirt, he had pitch black hair like mine but with purple tips, I never figured out why he did purple. His eyes were golden and there was no iris, it just looked like discs of gold against the white sclera. The most entertaining part was he wore dark purple glasses, the colour was almost black but not quite enough to make you think so, it wasn't a surprise Taevarth added glasses, he had always liked to look smart. In fact he looked like a very handsome and well dressed tax accountant, when I shared that with everyone no one laughed, not because I'm not funny I'm sure. It was probably because they weren't from my world and did't know what a tax accountant was... yeah that's what it was.

Medreth was as grumpy as I thought he would look, and as tall too, he was 6'4 with hair that looked like fire, it had oranges and reds blending together, his eyes though were actual fire that flickered and burned in his irises. He had a permanent scowl and a short beard that was the same as his hair, he didn't look as young as the others who looked to be in their late 20's but it suited him. His clothes were also very fitting with a black tank top that showed his muscles and and long camo pants and combat boots, the girls were barefoot since they saw no need for shoes. He also had... oh dear...

"Medreth?" I called to him, he was leaning against the tree with his arms crossed, now that he was in human form he could use vocal cords.

"Whadya want?"

"Why did you give yourself scars and tattoos? What have you been reading or watching?" I glared at Raggy, I didn't mind the military style but this was too far, I looked back at Medreth who was now blushing.

"I-I thought it would look cool okay Mum?" he huffed and walked away, I shook my head and looked at Raggy.

"You and I are going to talk about what you teach him later on" I saw Raggy look away and mutter under his breath some curses in his home language.

I felt myself about to collapse at any time now, I was incredibly tired but held it in and kept my eyes open, I was relying on that cane much more than I thought. My hand hurt from supporting my weight for so long. I clapped my hands together to get all their attention, it looked a bit like an Alice in Wonderland garden party.

"I must go now, I have to sleep but I'll se you all soon and I can't wait to see what the world will look like when I wake up, teach the mortals all you can and help them, if there is a war you stop them and if there is pain, you must heal them, can you remember that?" they all nodded, even Medreth. Ragnarok patted my shoulder and I gave him a smile, they were good friends and good family.

I gave them one last looked and headed towards the crystal cave in the mountains above Draconian tribe. I used wind magic to get there in less than 3 seconds and reached the end of the cave, I used earth magic to construct a room hidden behind the cave wall and sealed myself in, I built a cask with the 5 dragons swirling around the lid and Ragnarok and me sitting in chairs watching them, I smirked, if anyone ever found my cask then this better confuse them.

I reformed some large stones to be pillows and blankets, I wasn't going to sleep in an uncomfortable stone cask for a billion years without anything to support my back, I was an old man after all.

I lay down in the coffin and closed my eyes, and slept.

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