[Dante Alan Skyisle]
“Please, Leemy?” Delta asked. “Trust me? Trust us. Kliss isn’t our enemy and Slava will make sure that she grows up to be a good dragon.”
“There is no such thing as a good dragon,” Leemy insisted.
“There is now,” I said. “I made Kliss, she’s an entirely new type of species–a chimera. I’ll make sure that her skills don’t just destroy forests. In fact, her fire will help you bloom.”
“Dragonfire… that helps trees grow?” Leemy asked with a skeptical look.
“Yes,” I affirmed.
“This… exists?” Leemy looked at Delta and then at me.
“It doesn’t exist yet,” I admitted. “But I’ll make it happen!”
“My brother can do what the best Alanian academics failed at,” Delta nodded.
Leemy looked between us with a deep sigh. “It’s not like I can bloom somewhere else and you have been helping my trees thus far.”
“That’s the spirit,” Delta grinned, hugging her dryad.
“Good,” I said. “Now that that’s settled, let’s get down to business and discuss tactics.”
I mentally formed a couple of park benches that faced each other for us to sit down. Kliss and I settled on one side, while Delta and Leemy sat down across from us.
“Leemy, how interconnected would you say all of your trees are?” I asked.
“So-so,” the dryad replied. “Many trees are still not part of the root system, only connected to me via the Astral.”
“Think you can finish it in 13 days?” I asked.
“No,” Lemmy shook her head.
I frowned.
“I’ll arm the Violets with Agromancy wands, coordinate them on what to do,” Delta offered. “I might be able to pull it off. I know Leemy better than anyone.”
“Kliss and I will be working on the central tree and enforcing the ley lines with positively charged magic,” I nodded. “You can handle the rest?”
“I can handle the rest,” Delta nodded.
I eyed her with a dubious expression.
“Stop worrying so much! I’m extra-motivated now. I’ve never been so freakin’ motivated!” Delta affirmed, clinging to her dryad.
[Heh. I think that… she’s in love,] a soft voice danced through my mind coming from nowhere in particular. [How cute.]
My eyes snapped to Kliss. Her lips didn’t move. I stared at her.
[What?] Kliss asked without speaking. [Why is Slava looking at me like that?]
Five Infoscopes came into existence over my head. The spells scattered scanning the Astral and the physical. I found the source of the magic responsible for the voice in my head in seconds. The tether between us had bloomed, grown far more solid.
“You’ve reinforced the connection,” I said.
“Which connection?” Kliss blinked.
“Between dragon and kobold,” I explained. “I think that I can hear your thoughts.”
[My thoughts… wait does he know that I… wait, don’t think that… don’t picture that…]
Her mental voice fell silent. Kliss blushed fiercely.
“I, erm,” she muttered. “I poured more magic into our connection, because I was worried about you fighting the Hollow Mother by yourself… without me. I think that what I did makes you my primary kobold, or something. A kobold general, maybe?”
“I can handle Sasha,” I said.
“You did say that, but also… Also, you make that face… like you’re not handling it well,” Kliss bared her chompers almost like a dragon, even though her avatar in the dream was that of a human girl. “Next time you go wherever it is where you two chat, take me with you.”
“She could…” I said.
“Could what?” Kliss demanded. “Infect me? A dragon? Really? Giovashi’s obelisk couldn’t do squat against me and you think that an Astral Phantom can somehow influence me with negatively-charged magic? Really?”
I considered her words and opened my mouth to argue.
[You’re taking me with you,] Her direct thoughts suddenly slammed against me. [No, scratch that I’m coming with you. Whatever you’re doing, it’s not good enough. You’re mine! MINE!]
I considered using the Infoscopes to snap the mental connection between us.
“The Song of the Wormwood Star cannot win against fire,” Leemy commented.
I stared at her, not sure what she was talking about.
“Fire claims all,” Leemy added. “Fire consumes all, chases away the darkness.”
Something in my mind clicked, a plan, an idea.
“Fine,” I addressed the snarling dragon girl. “I’ll take you.”
Kliss stopped growling at me and settled down, wrapping me in her embrace and leaning onto my shoulder. A wash of radiant heat danced across the NeuroVista landscape like a breeze of hot wind. My Infoscopes detected a burst of focused, positively-charged magic coming from her crystalline heart. Our little dragon was growing up faster than I expected. The gold from Ishira’s obelisk, the kobolds and the claimed Alanian artifacts were fueling the furnace of her crystalline heart at an exponential rate, multiplying her innate magic.
“You can join me,” I added. “On one condition.”
“Yes?” Kliss piped up.
“Claim Delta,” I said.
“What?” Leemy sputtered.
“Woo,” Delta hooted. “I’m gonna be a kobold!”
“With pleasure,” Kliss said. “When we wake up…”
“No,” I shook my head. “Claim Delta here, now.”
My sister stared at me as did Kliss.
“I… I am pretty sure that I need to bite something physically to claim it,” Kliss commented. “I… Aradria never claimed anything in her dreams. How can something non physical even be claimed?”
“Yet again, I must iterate, you are not Aradria,” I said. “You’re Kliss. The current you is an extension of your soul that I pulled into my dream. I want you to claim my sister’s soul, not her body.”
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“Is that going to make me less cold?” Delta asked.
“Maybe,” I said. “You up for it?”
“You bet your ass I am,” Delta nodded.
“You… you can’t be serious! You wish the ever-fire to lay its claim on you?!” Leemy asked incredulously.
“I wish my infection burned away,” Delta said. “I don’t like being cold. I just want to be me. I don’t want to be a patchwork of stolen soul-bits, I don’t want to be hungry and cold forever. Can your tree warm me up? Fix me?”
“It… cannot,” Leemy said. “I cannot undo the rot that plagues your tree, my Agromancer.”
“I’m getting claimed. I… trust Kliss,” Delta admitted. “And most of all, I trust my brother.”
She stood up from her bench and offered a hand to Kliss. “Go on then, claim my soul.”
Kliss simply stared at the offered hand.
“Fine,” she said. “I will.”
She bit Delta’s hand. Nothing happened. Kliss frowned.
“Do you need to be more… errr… draconic maybe?” Delta asked. “You’re biting me as a human.”
“How can I be ‘more draconic’ in this place?” Kliss asked, looking down at her human hands. “Isn’t this just a dream?”
“Is it tho’?” Delta eyed Leemy. “Leems here keeps evaluating our souls n’ stuff.”
“This isn’t just a dream,” Leemy commented. “The roots of our souls are present here, entwined.”
“Ah, that’s my bad,” I said, looking at Kliss. “I’m filtering out most of your dragon soul, since last time you lost control over your emotions. Let me readjust the ward to bring all of you in.”
I went into NeuroVista parameters and let the entire soul of Kliss through the ward.
I watched as the human figure of Kliss became more draconic, her figure suddenly radiating warmth, shimmering and changing. Gemstone-like hair sprouted atop of her head, her eyes turning to slits framed by emerald and orange rings. Her pale skin darkened with an orange shine. She didn’t grow shorter and remained her approximately nineteen-year old self, but had now fully manifested her chimeric appearance.
“Try it now,” I said.
Kliss nodded. She pulled my twin’s hand into her mouth and bit the offered fingers. Delta winced ever so slightly.
Time slowed as NeuroVista accelerated my mind, processing information as draconic soul-threads dug into Delta’s soul and placed distinctive anchors there. As they settled, I gradually sliced up the control mechanism portion of it, keeping only the connection to our dragon girl’s hoard.
“So, dragons can claim human souls,” I commented when time resumed its flow. “Curious. Do me next.”
“Didn’t I already make you my kobold?” Kliss asked, staring at my hand.
“My physical, human body, yes,” I nodded. “But we’re talking about something completely different here - the human soul is a parapsychological construct, one that can exist entirely in the Astral. The anchors you’re establishing here are entirely magical. They’re stable waveform patterns that are unlike anything I’ve seen, somehow held within the Astral via the network of magic emanating from your hoard… sort of like a ward supported by a battery.”
Kliss grabbed my hand and bit my fingers, claiming my soul. Again, I scanned the anchors and sliced through the control mechanism.
“Done,” Kliss said.
I glanced at Leemy.
“No,” she said. “There is no way that I’m letting fire lay its claim on me.”
“Come on,” Delta said. “It’s fine! Join us! See, I’m perfectly fine and not on fire, see?”
“You’re fine for now,” Leemy pointed out. “But there is a spark in you that will spread. Don’t you understand? This fire won’t stop burning until it will consume you!”
“It’s not exactly fire,” I mulled. “It’s actually similar to what the Astral Phantoms do, leave an imprint of themselves, an Astral construct, a magical virus that grows within the targeted soul. The vital difference is that this is positively-charged magic, one that pushes the Astral currents away from the soul, gradually fortifying it against entropic decay.”
Leemy crossed her arms, not budging. Convincing the dryad that our dragon was harmless would clearly take some time. Time which was in short supply. Quite frankly I didn’t expect for Leemy to be so bothered by the draconic nature of Kliss.
I frowned, racking my brain for the right words to convince Leemy. “Think of it as a symbiotic relationship,” I offered, hoping the scientific terminology might sway her. “Like the mycorrhizae fungi that connect to tree roots, exchanging nutrients for mutual benefit. Kliss isn’t consuming your soul, she’s amplifying it, providing a shield against the decay of the Astral Ocean. The connection between dragon and dryad... it could be something truly unique, something new, a fusion of magic unlike any other.”
Leemy's orange eyes narrowed.
“I don’t…” she began.
“Can a plant grow without soil and without sunlight?” I interrupted Leemy.
“No,” she replied. “It cannot.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I said.
I snapped my fingers, dissolving the view of VDNKH and placing our quartet into a wholly different place from my memories.
The girls looked around the white room, staring up at the plastic and glass tubes covered in plants, UV-B lamps flickering above rows of various vegetables.
“Welcome to the artificial climate laboratory of the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy in Moscow,” I said. “These are plants that my people grew without sunlight and soil.”
I waved at the rows of tubes behind me. The dryad circled the room, her orange eyes widening as she examined the strange, intricate systems of tubes, pumps, and grow lights. Delta and Kliss trailed behind her, their expressions curious.
“These plants,” I said, gesturing to the flourishing vegetables bathed in the glow of the lamps, “are thriving without the traditional elements of nature. They are nourished by a carefully balanced nutrient solution delivered directly to their roots, their growth stimulated by artificial sunlight.”
“Plants without sunlight or ground,” Kliss murmured, staring at the green leaves and then back at me. “I would have thought this impossible too! You just keep on surprising me, Slava.”
I nodded.
Leemy’s gaze lingered on a cluster of vibrant red tomatoes, their plumpness a testament to the efficacy of the system. I saw a flicker of understanding in her eyes.
“This… is real, such a thing is possible to build on Novazem?” The dryad asked.
“Yes,” I nodded. “Absolutely. In fact, I plan to build hydroponics greenhouses just like this all over Skyisle where kids can take care of plants to enjoy fresh vegetables and fruits even in the harshest winter months! With magic and basic understanding of agricultural science lots of incredible things can be done. My people built laboratories like these to provide vegetables to the people living in the far reaches of the north. The agronom researchers of the USSR planned to conquer dead planets, to bring plants via hydroponics to the furthest reaches of space where nothing can survive!”
“Why would fruits grow healthier without soil to support their roots?” Leemy asked.
“Most of the soil and water in Skyisle is contaminated by the Valley of Death, not letting plants flourish as much as they should,” I explained. “Honestly if it wasn't for plants reinforcing themselves with Vitality magic, nothing would be alive here at all. Hydroponics eliminates the need for soil altogether and I can filter the heavy metals and other contaminants out of the water.”
Leemy looked at Delta.
“He’s speaking the truth,” my twin nodded. “We can definitely build hydroponic gardens in Skyisle!”
“Fruits and vegetables in winter…” Leemy mulled. "How odd."
“You see, Leemy,” I continued, “just as these plants have adapted to this artificial environment, you too can adapt to a new source of energy, a new kind of symbiosis. You fear Kliss’ fire, yet it is not the destructive force you perceive. Her magic is a radiant force that opposes the decay of the Valley of Death and the pull of the Astral Ocean. The dragonheart within her can act as your artificial sun, a constant source of energy that will nourish your growth and shield you from harm, even on the darkest of days, keeping you blooming even in deepest winter.”
I pointed at one of the massive lamps casting UV rays onto a row of cucumbers.
“Just like this artificial light sustains these plants,” I said. “Kliss can do the same for you. You need not fear our dragon girl, for the fire of her crystalline heart is my creation, just like you are Kopusha’s project. Neither of you would exist had it not been for the work of a talented Alanian Agromancer and a reborn Soviet virologist.”
My sister blushed at my praise, kicking one of her legs back just like Kopusha used to when she stood in front of the tree she crafted a thousand years ago. Giovashi wanted to create a hollow, uncaring human, a ghoul from my sister, to forge a living weapon without empathy. However, thanks to my interference, Delta ended up as a reincarnation of the Alanian Novitiate from Tricameron. Over ten years I watched Delta drift from a frightened, emotionally enclosed girl to a bubbly and compassionate teenager, one that was now wholeheartedly dedicated to her dryad creation.
[You’re right about that,] Kliss thought, somehow catching onto my train of thought. [Leemy is Delta’s emotional anchor, her hoard, true passion that will keep her soul stable even when her phantom nature will attempt to pull her apart. I think that she’s gonna do much better with the dryad around.]
Leemy’s expression became contemplative as Delta squeezed her green-tinted hand.
The dryad was beginning to understand. The concept of an artificial sun, a source of energy that could transcend the limitations of nature, was something entirely new, something that challenged her preconceived notions of reality. She wasn’t stupid, but she did spend far too long simply being a dying tree clinging to life inside the ruins of the Alanian tower.
I could see the cogs in her mind turning, the thousand-year-old tree grappling with this novel concept of hydroponics. I held my breath, hoping that my words had sown the seeds of trust.
“Is this... truly possible?” Leemy mulled. “Can artificial fire truly nurture life without burning it all to cinders?”
“Yes,” Delta and I answered together.
“Kliss isn’t a real dragon, not the monstrous abomination that scorched the forests of Skyisle for a thousand years,” I said. “She is artificial sunlight, artificial warmth that’s entirely of my making. Delta’s Agromancy wands have made you stronger and so will Kliss, I promise.”
“Kliss would never hurt you,” Delta nodded.
“I… promise to be your friend,” Kliss nodded. “Promise to do my best to help your trees grow.”
Leemy looked deep into my eyes, then at Delta and then at Kliss.
“Fine,” she said. “The roots of your words aren’t tinted with deception… I will comply to this… strange cooperation between a tree and dragonfire.”
She offered Kliss her hand.
“Make me yours and help me grow stronger… o’ artificial dragon.”