“Eon, grow and thrive” Thun’gar spoke in a deep rumble. “The world awakes as the mana tide rises again. As witness to your name, I have a boon to ask.”

Eon’s sphere stopped shacking, the forest green mist within filled out on the purple wave receded. The red core couldn’t help but shake. “A boon, for a dragon. What could you possibly ask for that I could give?”

“This is the first ebb and rise of the mana tide I have seen, but my kind knows the dark secret. Mana flows as if a great water. Sometimes at high tide and others at low.” The great green orbs pierced into the core of Eon. Still and focused, they narrowed to slits, as if a shaving from a great stone. “The withering was long, even for our elders. They will sleep long to recover from their long. Too long. Dungeons have been our roost, but your empire destroyed most. The greatest have been long lost and now new ones will take their place. I expect this age to be one of plenty, but it will end. Roost us. Grow, thrive, and when the ebb comes; we shall sleep in your depths.”

The mana in the air began to flow. Sticky threads, as if walking through a fresh spider web stuck to Eon. Even his crystalline form felt their touch.

Gazing deeper still, Thun’gar rumbled, “I wish this to be a willing treaty, that it may bind you more. I have witnessed your name and will spread it to our kind. You know of the honor I offer.”

Eon’s form steadied. As mana left, it was as if water was taken from a forest. Eon saw first-hand as magical creatures withered. All life needed the change mana brings. What good is breath if it was not turned to life. What good is food if not turned to energy. Life with no mana, impossible. For the greatest of creatures even more so. Dragons, mountain lords, behemoths of the sea, their very presence was an embodiment of change. Their elders very presence felt as the great mountains. To be near a fully grown dragon was as if in the middle of the sea, surrounded by power, adrift. The light of the noon sun would bow before a dragon’s roar. As mana was change, these beings were changes avatars. To host such a being. To become their source. Eon’s core steadied.

“To the Storm Dragon Brood I will give this shelter. I will be a source for you as your roost. May your power and greatness be known.” The sticky filaments of mana hardened and snapped in place, almost seen linking Eon and Thun’gar. They then faded, and a soft velvet caress crossed Eon’s mind and lay against him as a throw lay on a bed.

“Good” Thun’gar rumbled. “Many have survived the great withering. Humans themselves seem to have continued to thrive. I can say, a great society is nearby, though I don’t expect it to meet you soon. Grow and strengthen so you may meet them and the lords as they awaken.” Thun’gar lifted his wings and stretched them long. “It is time for me to continue my flight. Eon, dragon friend. I offer this by your reputation. Your colleagues and peers did not impress us. They harvested and destroyed many mana sources during your time. Only a few did the elders speak as possible dragon friends. You were among them. I am glad I could be the one to pronounce it. Your new form is weak. Strengthen quickly that you might be worthy of the title. Farwell. May we meet again.”

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With this Thun’gar turned and strode out the opening in the black wall. His tail fading and soon gone.

“Tides rising and falling of mana? Is this not the first time the world was hit by a withering? Civilization? How would such a thing survive!? Not having magic would reduce man to only a shadow. Barley able to create shelter let alone grow food. No matter, first I must master my mana again!”

The waves of purple within Eon’s form began to pulse again. Reaching, the mana felt as if a bare mist. Floating across the room it spread. Some points seemed to condense into drops upon the surface of the now solid, pale, golden flows. Drops not seen; but felt.

“Even right before I slept the mana was never this thin.” Eon willed and the misty mana air not seen was moved by a breeze. Any that approached the drops upon the golden flows added to their weight. One flow, about a meter and a half a way, growing from the floor suddenly brightened. A crystalline growth appeared slanted towards Eons form and the drop of mana upon its surface disappeared. Eon’s sight grew fuzzy. A veil placed over his non-existent eyes. The deep forest green cloud within his surface faded slightly revealing plainly the purple waves within.

“What is this? Mana manifestation. I can still feel my mana within the crystal, perhaps this could be useful.” The hum coming from within deepened every so slightly. The red core drifted towards the sphere’s edge looking upon the new crystal. Breezes of mana moving the mist grew near the shining point. Soon the crystal stretched, a nail, a fingertip. The purple waves seemed to fade but moved even quicker. A full finger length, then dark.

The veil on Eon’s sight lifted. The mana mist no longer moved but had filled. Now it was as if an ocean spray on a beach. Eon searched but found no creatures visiting his room. The deep green fog seems to have returned within Eon’s sphere and the purple waves moved brightly again.

“I need to watch that. It seems if I thin the mana too much, I lose consciousness. Or perhaps it is something else. This new form. How does mana flow!?” The red core shook, then steadied. The crystal, now the length of a hand glowed a soft golden light. In Eon’s sight it shined bright. Points along the cracks in the wall shined out and beckoned. The mana mist that floated seemed pushed by a breeze.

“No, this is wrong! What am I, the most pathetic of novices! If my students acted as I have, they would have been on kitchen duty for a month. How did those mana pool exercises go?”

The red glow in Eon’s core lightly fades as memories wash over him. Novice mages practice their craft by filling the pool inside them, then drain it again. The pool is visualized by the heart. A novice’s breathing must be steady, a flow. The mana from the air is pulled in by the nose, the hands, and the feet. Icy streams flow along the veins and throat. Cold grips the chest and fills. Held in place, the chill warms. A caress, then heat. Bubbles rise and steam bellows out along the once chilled paths. This is the first step in manipulating mana.

Red light flashes in the dark. The mana mist stills and purple waves glow. The green fog fades and a light wind blows out with the floating sphere as the center. A slight dim of a purple wave is seen, and the wind stops. Dew, on the surface of Eon’s spherical form appears, still unseen but felt. Where the mana dew formed, a green fog begins to emerge once again. Soon the wind has reversed flowing towards Eon. The dew fades and fog within Eon is full once more, perhaps even deeper now. The red glow steadies, the purple waves still. Then the wind picks up again.