White lay in Naroe’s arms while he and Reil stepped into a cylindrical room, leaving Poe barely satisfied with the amount of material he had to work with. White’s saliva turned out to dissipate rather quickly after leaving his body, and not into the air. This fact had left the raven-faced man rather annoyed, especially since every attempt required them to provide food to the small dragon to provoke a reaction. They eventually succeeded, but not before Poe acquired a specialized vial from one of the instruments in the chamber and White had eaten double his weight in energy-infused meats.
As such, the small dragon was visibly more content than he had ever been. At least until the room began to shudder and move.
The movement itself wasn’t the issue, not even when the air pressure shifted enough for Naroe and Reil’s ears to pop. No, it was what they were moving towards. White didn’t know what that was, and neither of the humans said anything as they continued their journey, yet something had begun to work its way into his mind.
It was at the edge of his senses at first, but its strength grew quickly. He could smell that familiar sweet scent once more, but it was much stronger now. Too strong, to the point of being a tang in the air that he could taste. It wormed its way into the room and his vision’s contrast began to shift high and low, the room changing from blindingly bright to near perfect darkness. It rushed against his body much more heavily than Reil’s or Poe’s examination had, like water searching for weaknesses in a dam. Finally, he began to hear it.
A choir of voices, an uncountable number of them, began to sound in his mind. They had every pitch, every tone, every note singing a wordless song in perfect harmony. It shifted effortlessly between joyful and tearful, excited and melancholic, gentle and harsh. Yet its volume never became overbearing. It sparked something in White’s mind, igniting images of endless silhouettes living lives that he couldn’t understand. In what felt like seconds, he watched them create, converse, grow, love, fight, and die. The experience would have been enough to shatter any mortal mind. But for this newborn creature, his mind had digested this glimpse into the power they approached as if it had been a vivid dream from a deep sleep. Then it was gone.
To the two humans in the room with him, the only thing they saw was the dragon scrunch its nose, blink slowly, and then tense before relaxing. However, both still noticed these things and their eyes moved to one another before the doors opened once more.
Green grass waving in golden rays of light was the first thing White noticed before his eyes moved to a massive structure no more than several dozen steps away. Shaped like the mountains White had seen before, though little more than half their size, it was made from two opposing elements in perfect union. Void-like rock made its skeleton, an obsidian so black it appeared to be cut away from reality. Massive white roots snaked around and throughout the structure like intricate nerves, emanating a glow that ignored the all-devouring black. Tall arches rounded its perimeter, layering up its sides while casting unnaturally dark shadows into its hidden interior. In place of the unseen ceilings, something like stars twinkled, as if the building held a private night sky. It stretched nearly out of sight from where they stood, but White could see it came to a point of perfectly carved crystal. The same type of crystal he had seen being used again and again. All of it emanating with the same force he had just felt.
Stepping out from the lift and into the gentle breeze, White saw that its tip was pointed towards the sun. At least, he had initially assumed it was the sun. But as he squinted at it, he felt that it was much closer than it had been. His eyes adjusted, unbothered by its brightness, and he realized it wasn’t the sun at all. It was a shining dome, embedded into a false sky.
White blinked up at the object, his fresh mind digesting the information, when Naroe rubbed the back of his neck. The dragon turned to him, and the human pointed out to their left. There, beyond a nearby forest, he could see the peaks of several mountains poking up from behind the canopy of emerald leaves.
There was a hiss from behind them, and White watched the metal cylinder they had just emerged from close its doors and lower into the ground. Within seconds, a seamless spot of grass sat in its place.
“Welcome to The Sanctuary,” Reil said. “This is where we would normally find a home for you, White, as we do with any creatures we procure in our travels, but you’ve proven to be a special case.” He pointed to the building in front of them. “Every creature here has a special connection with what’s in there, the Heart of the Kingdom. This is usually something they’re born with as a sort of mutation and this environment allows us to care for and study them.” He turned to the hatchling. “You, however, do not have this connection, at least not in any way we’ve been able to gleam. Yet you are clearly unique. And so we are at a bit of a crossroads.” The old man gave a smile that he allowed to convey the small bit of excitement he had at the notion. “We’ll soon be figuring out what path to take, but I’d like for you–
“Reil!” The voice that came was loud, powerful, and as deep as the darkness it came from. All three turned to the building to see a massive figure approaching. Even from that distance, White could tell it would stand above Naroe and surpass his bulk. Black plates emerged, taking traces of the darkness with them as if they had been drinking from it. They wrapped around the form in a complex interlinking of heavy armor that was far beyond any set White had seen that day. In between the plates, the blue of early morning radiated from within, forming the face of a parrot with a large hooked beak on the broad chest. Hanging from the sloped shoulder plates, a heavy cloak waved gently behind the heavy-treading boots. As he emerged from the building, the light from the false sun bounced off flecks from his armor, giving it the appearance of a star-filled sky.
His head was bare, with deep almond skin framed in black, tightly cut hair. Icey sapphire eyes lined with more troubles than years held nothing but joy at seeing them, and this was reflected in the broad perfect smile that he wore. His face matched his armor, chiseled with a presence that looked to stand toe-to-toe with any other. “Welcome home!” He called again, his voice no less powerful despite its lowered volume, and spread his armored arms wide.
“Varen!” Reil called out, matching the motion as he walked to meet him. The larger man had to bend down to reach his older and much smaller friend, but even he couldn’t quite overshadow Reil’s presence. “It’s great to see you again, son.”
“You too, Reil,” Varen broke away and turned to Naroe, who still stood off to the side holding White. The dragon realized his friend was debating how to act, but Varen’s smile didn’t even falter. “Naroe! Come here, you’ve grown!” He motioned the young man to come forward. White felt no nervousness from him towards the much larger human, but as Naroe approached he could tell this was a new experience for his friend.
“Thank you for the welcome, General Rain,” he settled on.
Varen clasped Naroe’s shoulder when he got close enough. “No need for the formalities. We haven’t had much chance to speak, but you’ve spent more than enough time with Reil, I imagine he sees you as part of the family by now.” He turned to the man in question, whose expression shifted to one of mock consideration, which prompted a hearty laugh from the general. “So don’t worry about it, I’d love to hear all about how these last years have treated you guys,” then his eyes moved to White. “But I think that’ll have to wait.” The armored giant stepped back and leaned down to get at the dragon’s eye level. White felt the power in his icy iruses, but unlike every other human, there was no attempt to probe into his being. Instead, he only bore his glacial gaze into White, as if waiting for him to introduce himself.
He blinked, finding himself unsure how to react. He began to wonder if this human had that effect on everyone.
Steps echoed out once more from the building, prompting Varen to break his stare. White followed his gaze to where the general had initially emerged from, but these steps were nowhere near the weight of his. White was surprised that Varen had heard them at all. A much smaller figure began to emerge from the archway, lean and carrying the sound of shifting loose metal. It walked with an inherent grace that was clear even in the dark.
Varen leaned back towards the trio, a hand coming up between his mouth and the approaching figure. “She’s not in the best of moods,” he said in a hushed, almost cautious tone, “so I’m hoping you’ll indulge her a little.” He rose to his full height and called out once more. “Avira, come see what Pop-pop brought home!”
She stepped from the shadows, garbed in royal blue and dinged metal armor. Simple plates were tied around her limbs and chest, shaped to perfectly fit over her padded garments, all of which were covered in dust and flecks of dirt. Her gloves sported several holes and there were multiple tears in her pants. But her boots, while still worn, were completely devoid of dirt. Long black hair hung just past her shoulders, framing a young, pale face. There was a slight resemblance to Varen there, though her features were softer, and her hooded violet eyes looked out into the world with a naturally calculating expression. Her mouth was set in a small but genuine smile. Then she locked her gaze on White, and something changed.
White felt her mind and her focus, but both were unlike any other he had felt until then. She had no power like Reil or the others, but her mind was a natural fortress. Her surface thoughts were a layer of digesting information from whatever she was considering, which seemed to be multiple things at once, slowly being fed into conclusions behind those walls. Her deconstructing gaze took in everything she saw, but when focused on a point as it was now with White, the rest of the world died away immediately.
All the others saw of this was a small hesitation in the steps and the dilation of her eyes, but Varen recognized the change immediately and his smile somehow broadened further.
Avira’s focus moved to Reil as they embraced, but White still felt a mental pin had been placed in her mind regarding him. “Hey Pop-pop,” she said. Compared to Varen, her voice was practically muted in volume, but it was as smooth as her movements. “Glad you’re home safe.” When they separated, White realized that Reil was wiping his eye.
“You look so much like your mother now,” he said with a somber smile.
Avira returned it but didn’t respond to the comment. In her mind, White felt the walls fortifying as she turned to Naroe. “Hello, Naroe. It’s been a while.”
White had felt the unease from his friend the moment her name had been called, but as Naroe shifted to holding the dragon to one arm while holding his hand out to her, the source of the feeling became clear. He was afraid she was going to take White from him.
“Yes it has,” he said as they grasped forearms. “I can tell you’ve been busy.”
She nodded with the same smile she had when she walked out. “Same to you.” Her eyes returned to the dragon. “Though, picking up a companion before receiving a blessing might be rushing things,” her eyes flicked to Naroe as he chuckled.
“Like you have any right to tell people not to rush. I bet you’d sprint to the heart the moment I let you hold him.”
Avira’s smile showed her teeth then and White could feel her relax. “Please, I at least have the decency to wait for my father’s verdict.” She leaned forward, her hair falling by her face as she took off a glove and offered a pale, callused hand to White. “As well as let my companion choose for themselves.” The dragon extended his neck to rest his head on the hand and he felt Avira’s excitement rise. “He’s so calm,” she almost whispered as she scratched White’s chin.
“He’s like that with everyone,” Naroe responded confidently. “But he’s been the most content to stay by me.”
She rose, replacing her torn glove while looking at the young man. “I’m sure he has been, but now he’ll get to meet plenty of other people. Maybe even find someone he’s more comfortable with.”
Naroe began to scratch around White’s horns, turning to their silently observing elders. “Will he now?”
Varen glanced at Reil, who gave an uncommittable shrug in response. “Well,” the general began while considering his words. “I don’t see him causing any issues in the near future.” He looked back at the building behind them, “and while he doesn’t have a connection to the planes, they aren’t hostile to him.” He turned to see the eagerness in both apprentices’ eyes. “He can probably stay with one of us while we wait for Elicus.”
Naroe and Avira looked at each other then and White felt them both come to the same conclusion. Naroe lowered the dragon to the grass before letting him go, then began stretching out his body.
“Are you sure this is how you want to settle this?” Avira asked as she began to do the same. “I know I said you’ve been busy, but last time didn’t work out for you, did it?”
Naroe gave an honest laugh. “I admit I underestimated you, but I was young and inexperienced.” He looked back at her with a wry grin. “I won’t be making the same mistake this time. Besides, you got lucky.”
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Avira shrugged, appearing nonchalant despite her growing excitement. “Luck has its place on the battlefield.”
“True, but it’s unreliable.” He turned to his master. “How are we doing this?”
Reil lowered himself to White, who had taken a seat on the ground next to his leg. “Why don’t we let White decide who he wants to go with?” He suggested.
White shook his head at him. If he was reading Naroe right, and he was pretty sure he was, he’d rather see how this all played out.
Avira looked at the hatchling with intrigue now, but Naroe only laughed. “There’s no doubt either one of us could take care of him,” he said before looking back at Avira. “I’d bet he’d have a great time with you, but I want him with me. Plus,” his eyes moved to White’s, “I know what he’s thinking.” White blinked, a little taken aback at the statement given how little thought he put into anything. “At least, I know what he’s interested in besides food.” Reil rose to look at his apprentice, his eyebrow cocked while silently waiting for him to continue, but Naroe’s smile never faltered and his eyes never left White. “Power.”
Reil blinked as if he had found a piece of a puzzle that had no right to fit yet did so perfectly.
Avira looked at Naroe now, pulling a strap from her pocket and tying her hair back. “That’s not a good case for either one of us.”
“When I first saw him, he was about to take a hit from a keeper, but he wasn’t afraid,” his gaze moved to his master. “He was just waiting for it to happen. Even when I was going up against it only a few steps away, it was like a kid watching fireworks.” Reil smiled at that.
An image flashed in White’s mind, a clear night by a lake shore, a massive city on the other side, and the hundreds of bursting lights painting the sky. He could feel the depth of its imprint on his soul and though he didn’t know the context of the moment, its sensation left him inclined to agree with the comparison.
“I don’t even think it’s specifically power,” Naroe continued. “I think it's a little more complex than that, but I know he watched that entire fight in a front-row seat.”
“You really want him, don’t you?” the older human asked.
“I do, but I also know I’m right about this.”
White gave a gentle tug on Reil’s pants and he looked down at the dragon in surprise. White nodded, hoping that would be enough to convey his feelings on the matter. That seemed to surprise Reil further before something else seemed to click and he rolled his old eyes. “Of course, he is still a dragon,” he scoffed at Naroe. “Either that or this is your influence. Your point’s been made regardless.”
Varen spoke up then, exasperating Reil in an instant. “Then we should let you show him some real power.”
“You can’t be serious,” Reil almost snapped.
“Why not?” Varen asked casually.
“We–” the older man gestured to himself and the armored giant, “are not a part of this duel.”
“But we are a part of this decision,” Varen argued. “He’ll be living with one of us either way and we’re both their teachers.”
“This is meant to demonstrate their abilities,” Reil countered. “Us augmenting them with our power invalidates that.”
“I’m not saying we need to use Brand Links, but we can lend them weapons.” The general crossed his massive arms, giving him the impression of an obsidian monolith. “We’re both on the same level too, so it’s not an uneven boost.”
The older man’s glare was like a harsh sun. “So you only want to augment the most dangerous elements of the duel.”
Varen met the look with the impassiveness of a void. “We can dictate when they break.”
Reil paused. “First to a clean hit then?”
Varen nodded, turning to Avira and Naroe. “Sound good to you two?” They exchanged glances and nods. “Good.” He reached his hands out into the air, summoning trails of black from his armor. They snaked and coiled into a long silhouette as dark as the metal they came from. It stretched to two-thirds of Avira’s height before solidifying. On its end, the edge of a curved blade slid from the surface as if emerging from the water, a wide guard forming beneath to complete a glaive.
As Avira approached, she gave him a look. “We could have just used training ones, Dad.”
Varen smiled at her. “Like that’s how you want to show your grandfather how you’ve progressed.”
She silently conceded with a smile and took her father’s creation. As the young woman began walking into the vast field behind the group, she began to idly swing her new tool, judging its weight and feel.
Reil sighed watching her go, shaking his head, then turned to his apprentice who stood with a satisfied grin. “Don’t you look at me like that,” Reil chided him half-heartedly.
Naroe continued to say nothing as he held up both hands to his master. Reil groaned as he took him by both wrists. Similar to Varen, light began to condense and coil around Reil’s hands, trailing up over Naroe’s before covering them entirely. The layer of light thickened and began to take the rough shape of a pair of gauntlets, one holding the thin shining shape of a dagger in the same style as Avira’s shortsword.
Naroe flexed the fingers of his temporary equipment, twirling the dagger in his hands as he did so. While Varen’s weapons appeared forged solid, Reil’s seemed to shift from still states of glass to shifting liquid as Naroe moved. Seeming satisfied, the apprentice made his way to a spot that was equal distance to them and to where Avira stood.
“As stated, it will be to the first clean blow using the weapons provided,” Reil said to them, “the duel will end when a combatant is disarmed. ”
“Got it,” Naroe said as he finished his stretches.
“Understood,” Avira lowered her glave’s edge at him, leveraging it under her right arm as she shifted her body down midway into a runner’s starting position.
Naroe took a straighter stance, keeping his left side forward with his dagger and bringing his fists up in a loose guard. While Avira settled into perfect stillness, he swayed his body in perfect rhythm.
“Ready?” Varen called out, raising one night-clad hand. “Begin!”
The moment his gauntlet fell, Avira launched forward. Her father’s hand had only just completed the movement when she reached Naroe, the glaive’s point a black cut in the air pointed directly at his abdomen.
Naroe was ready for it, his blade crested into her weapon’s guard, catching and redirecting it just enough to pass by his back. A sound like glass on metal rang out from the collision, accented by crackling energy igniting the air. His right fist came in low, the golden gauntlet like a ball of flame, but the speed was nothing compared to when he had been empowered.
Avira kicked the ground, launching her weight into her weapon as she encircled him and attempted to bring the blade back and thrust once more. A white aura crackled to life around Naroe’s weapons, and Avira’s glaive was forced off his dagger as if it had been struck. The sudden burst threw off her balance, but she compensated quickly and jumped back as Naroe’s other fist attempted to follow her.
He would have pressed the attack, but Naroe was well aware of how quickly Avira recovered. Sure enough, she had already switched her grip before she had landed, taking the glaive high in both hands and immediately leaping back at him. Again her blade sang and again Naroe listened, this time hearing a roar of raw weight and power. He wasn’t going to deflect this.
The air cracked as the weapon struck the earth, kicking up grass and dirt to the point of concealing the duelists. White felt the wind from the blow hit him, and he felt the same draw as he did when he had watched Naroe fight the first time.
“How long has she been practicing with a borrowed weapon?” Reil asked.
“A little over a year at this point,” Varen replied. “Even if she’s a late bloomer physically, her mind was more than ready.”
Another impact, this time from both blades meeting as their wielders recognized each other’s presence in the dust. Avira had backstepped after the miss, her weapon splitting perfectly into two separate pieces, the blade and baton catching Naroe’s attacking fists.
“She’s quite good at manipulating it,” Reil commented before the two separated, Avira already shifting into another assault. “Did you teach her that trick?”
“That’s nothing,” Varen said as Naroe held his ground, throwing the dagger at her charge. “That was the first thing she thought of when I taught her how to mend the weapon.” Avira dodged the throw without slowing down, but the dagger didn’t get far before it began to arc back in the direction had come, blade spinning.
Something tugged at Avira’s instinct and she rolled to the side, the blade barely missing her and landing back in Naroe’s right hand. He had rushed her when she dodged, his other fist already pushing forward. She couldn’t bring her weapons up in time and Naroe had the dagger in his back grip ready for a gutting cut. So she dropped lower, bending back under the punch while pressing her weapons and open hands into the ground. Her feet came up, kicking the gauntlet that held the dagger into Naroe’s chest. His lungs were knocked empty and he was pushed back, but Naroe kept standing, backing away to recover but never leaving his stance.
White made three realizations in short order at that moment. The first was that Naroe’s blade had left no mark on his body. The second was he wanted details as to what was happening. Third, he would not only have to communicate this to the two humans but do it without looking away from the fight.
He tapped Reil’s boot with a claw, still not looking away., and he felt the familiar warmth of his gaze. “Yes, White?” Came his voice. Avira was already charging again, her weapons having reformed back into a glaive.
White cupped his clawed mitts in the same two-handed form Avira held her weapon then, before acting out the earlier split and throwing a few punches in the air. Reil was silent for a moment, but White didn’t dare look away as Avira launched a series of quick long-range stabs. Naroe parried and dodged, focusing on learning her movements rather than attempting to close the distance.
“The weapons?” His question was close enough that White nodded. “You like them?” He nodded with some hesitation, because that was also true, but not what he was trying to say. Luckily, Reil’s lack of extra senses when it came to White only left him more sensitive to what he could glean from the dragon. “You want to know more about them?” White nodded much more excitedly then, his eyes still not moving from the fight.
Naroe had the timing down and he moved into a thrust, his gauntlet crackling with reactive energy as he grabbed under the blade. A black flame erupted from his grip and Naroe winced in pain. Avira's weapon suddenly increased significantly in weight before he could take advantage of the closed distance. As his balance buckled under the sudden change, the front end of the glaive separated again. Avira moved to strike with the now shortened baton, but Naroe had already dropped the black blade and had his armored hands up to block the attack, his boot pinning the fallen blade.
Energy sparked from the clash and a contest of short strikes began. Avira attempted to keep the momentum long enough to create an opening and recover her other weapon while Naroe attempted to press the advantage. Naroe held weapons in both hands and was faster, but Avira’s baton gave her more reach despite her smaller form. In addition, he had one foot stuck in place while she freely circled him.
“We create them with the energy gifted to us by the Planes.” Naroe’s foot shook as Avira attempted to recall her weapon as he had, but Naroe kept his weight firmly on the weapon. “As you might have guessed, Lord Rain was blessed by the Dark and I was blessed by the Light. We are allowed to channel their power through these blessings into extensions of our will for many different purposes. In this case, the weapons you see them using here.”
The blade under Naroe’s boot crumbled into dust at that moment, the sudden change sapping his focus for an instant. Avira hadn’t slowed, slipping her baton between his guard, but It wasn’t fast enough and Naroe backed away from the thrust. When he landed, he saw the dust come back together and reform the blade just as it rose into Avira’s lowered palm. The weapon was not as it had been however, returning in a much more worn shape than when Avira had lost it.
Reil folded his arms at the sight and White could feel he no longer had most of the older man’s attention. “Both Naroe and Avira can access echoes of our power through them, how much being dictated purely by their own ability, though the potential isn’t limitless. Things like changing the weight and density of a weapon, small enhancements to physical ability, bursts of power, and even restoring it to its previous state are all possible, but each action takes a toll.”
White could feel Naroe’s desire to push forward and regain his lost advantage, but Avira’s trick had made him wary. As for his opponent, she was more than willing to charge despite the damage done to her weapon. She replaced the curved end on the baton, taking the glaive once more in a two-handed stance, and launched a new wave of spinning strikes that targeted Naroe’s weapons. Blade met blade and pommel met gauntlet as she battered his defenses.
“There are some differences between the two as well,” Varen spoke up then. Avira loosed a heavy swing right onto his dagger’s guard, the battered blade shattering his weapon in a small explosion of sparks and dissipating shards of gold. “In the barest of terms, the Light’s nature is that of the ethereal, while the Dark is the physical.”
Avira pressed in, hoping to capitalize on what she thought was an opportunity she had made for herself, but White felt her surprise when Naroe stepped into her attack.
Reil’s apprentice was undaunted by the loss of his weapon, instead, White sensed something alight within his friend. Naroe’s style shifted completely, abandoning the conservative methods he had used throughout the duel for what could only be described as a brawler’s fight. A gauntlet came up, setting off a wave of energy that flung back the oncoming glaive.
Avira recognized her mistake immediately as his larger form closed in, the other fist tucked tight and blazing once more in radiance. With no time to spare, she ripped off the baton once more, its tip colliding with the oncoming attack. An explosion of light and dust erupted with the impact, casting a shockwave that echoed throughout the field. Avira emerged from the cloud, having been flung back several feet, the broken pieces of her baton dispersing into whisps of black smoke.
She landed on her feet, skidding as she did so, just in time to see Naroe had already closed the distance. The gauntlet he had used in the attack had not faired much better than her baton, but his other fist was still rocketing toward her, pulsing with the same power as before.
White felt something harden within Avira, and her blade began to trail darkness in the air. She resolved to meet his charge head-on, the tip of her battered weapon thrusting forward to meet Naroe’s fist.
One more collision rang out from the fight, one more burst of power and dust before both combatants landed on their backs, both completely disarmed.
White was stunned, unsure of what this result meant. When he finally tore away his eyes to look up at Reil, there was a small smile on the old man’s lips. “A draw.”