Veralla went to the main dining hall, where the silvery tables and furniture again variformed to give her maximum comfort while she ate. Glawlrhain was not there this time, but shortly after she took a place at a table, a hoverbot served her raw meat. The smell and memory of its taste made Veralla's mouth water. She began eating with zest, stopping occasionally to glance around in a fit of self-consciousness.

This time, there were many more Radiant Knights in the dining hall, both humans and dragons. They were breakfasting together, chatting and laughing, their relaxed voices echoing off the multihued crystal-inlaid walls. Veralla marveled at how tranquil her surroundings were, when things were so bleak and terrible as a whole.

She was just finishing her meal, devouring the last of several servings, when Glawlrhain entered the dining hall. He approached the table where she sat.

"Are you ready for training today?" he asked.

"Yes, I am ready!"

"Good, get cleaned up, and follow me."

They went to the topmost parts of the stronghold. There, looming above the gardens Veralla had seen during her tour of the base, was an ancient-looking keep with a large, rectangular area at one side. The area seemed plain, yet as Glawlrhain explained, the ground was made from variform materials and the terrain could morph into different shapes during combat exercises. Viridian projector crystals lined the area on one side, able to conjure Æther-infused illusions for sparring and practice. An indentical field rested on the other side of the keep. The weather was clear, mirrored sunlight gleaming off the snow-capped peaks, and a mild wind gusted across the fractal subplane.

"By tradition, when someone applies to become a Radiant Knight, the process is a bit more involved," Glawlrhain said when they reached the keep. "There are trials, tests of faith, ceremonies, and so on. However, due to the rather pressing circumstances of the foreseeable future, we shall skip tradition in favor of practicality, and do things in a backward manner."

"So, I will begin from the last thing a Radiant Knight learns?" Veralla asked.

Glawlrhain rumbled in amusement. "In a way, yes," he said. "But first, I want to gauge your capabilities. I'm already aware you have... troubles in developing the universal traits of our kind. Can I pose a few questions to you in that regard?"

"Yes, I will answer any question!"

"Okay then. Can you breathe fire?"

"No."

"Can you fly?"

"No."

"Can you control your internal gravitic field?"

Veralla flapped her wings uncertainly. "No, I do not think so," she said. She experimented stretching her claws and tail in different ways, yet nothing happened. "I cannot do so," she concluded, disheartened.

"Hmm, this is quite unusual," Glawlrhain mused, his snout-tip tendrils waving gently in the alpine breeze. "Almost like... Do you feel uncomfortable right now?"

"No, I am fine," Veralla said. "I can feel the cold, but it does not affect me."

Glawlrhain raised his claw. A faint energy echo simmered from his palm, yet it was deceptively powerful. "How about now?"

"Oh, is this radiation?" she asked, feeling the charged particles graze against her scales. "It does not bother me right now, but I cannot bear too great quantities of it."

"The amount I used just now was enough to make an ordinary transhuman severely ill," Glawlrhain said. He hrrr–ed pensively. "Right, I've made my conclusion. We'll keep feeding you at maximum capacity and your... condition should fade with time. I believe it's just a matter of stunted development due to malnutrition and adverse environment at the time of your hatching. Now, onto your first training lesson."

"Can I ask something in return first?" Veralla interrupted.

"Yes, go ahead."

"Can you please show me what a firebreath looks like?"

Glawlrhain regarded her for a few seconds. "Okay," he said at last. "Watch." The blue-green dragon inhaled deeply, tilting back his head, and opened his jaws.

Brilliant, white-hot flames rushed outward, so intense and alive they seemed almost liquid. The flames expanded, coalescing into an orb, its surface flaring and flickering with blazing tendrils. Veralla watched the display, completely enchanted by its magnificence. Glawlrhain kept it on for a little more, then finally ceased exhaling fire and closed his mouth.

Veralla rawr–ed enthusiastically. "That was so beautiful!"

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"I'm glad you liked it," Glawlrhain said. "I specifically altered my breath into a spherical shape to be more... examinable. Shall we begin training?"

"Yes, let us begin!" she said impatiently.

"Good," he said. "We'll start with the basics then."

Veralla spent the next hour listening to Glawlrhain, who explained the advantages of dragon anatomy and how to use it in different situations. Though the topic seemed somewhat obvious, she listened carefully, and learned a few tricks which had not occurred to her before, like using her wings to grasp surfaces for extra support, or picking objects with her tail. This knowledge gave her new insights about her nature and dragons in general, as well as new ways to do a host of things – ranging from mundane actions to gestures uniquely available only to her kind.

"Lastly," Glawlrhain said, "it's important to learn to walk upright. I know, I know," he added as she looked at him with a puzzled expression, "it's not very intuitive, given how our bodies are shaped, but you can easily adapt to a bipedal stance. The practical benefits are many, first and foremost your foreclaws become free so you can fight, craft, manipulate, or do something else with them while standing still or being on the move."

"Okay," Veralla said uncertainly. "How do I train walking upright?"

"Practice," Glawlrhain replied. "There's no other way. Try walking everywhere on two legs, even outside exercises. As for how to do it the first time, it's simple." He put one foreclaw, outspread, on the ground beneath his belly, shifting his wings and weight, then pushed up with his haunches, and stood upright, tail waving lightly.

"I see," Veralla said, and tried to do the same. She mimicked the training master's gestures, struggling with her shorter limbs and plump body, yet she managed to stand on her first try. The sensations of perspective and weight were highly unusual. She wavered and leaned against her tail to balance herself, marveling at her success and the novel experience.

Glawlrhain nodded approvingly. "You're a natural," he said. "Let's move on, then. Since you can't fly or breathe fire yet, I think it's best to begin with ground combat training. Generally, this martial field is quite neglected by dragons. We tend to learn a technique or two and then stick to them, relying on our natural advantages in battle. Even I'm guilty of that to an extent; but this is an excellent occasion to refresh my memory, and teach you something useful, given your limits."

"Combat? Battle?" Veralla asked. "Do you mean I must learn how to fight?"

"Yes, that is an essential skill for every Radiant Knight," he said. "Is there something wrong?"

"I do not want to learn how to fight," she said, looking down. "Fighting is what warriors do. And warriors hurt and kill others, yes? And hurting or killing others brings sadness. I do not want to be sad."

"No, you're wrong," Glawlrhain said softly. "Do you think the Radiant Knights want to hurt and kill others?"

She lifted her eyes. "No," she said.

"Fighting isn't only about hurting and killing," Glawlrhain continued. "It is also about protecting. Learning how to fight gives you the ability to protect yourself, as well as others. And being a warrior is much more than just being able to kill."

"How so?" she asked.

"Warriors can be good or bad," he said. "They can be paragons of virtue, using their skills and knowledge only when absolutely necessary, or they can be selfish renegades, working merely for their personal gain. To know something does not mean to become it. Knowledge is power, yes. Yet it is the usage of power that defines one's character, not the possession of power itself." Glawlrhain chuckled, his amber eyes sparkling. "Hmm, I guess we already started learning about philosophy, alongside your physical training.

"For now, remember this, young one: knowing how to fight gives you the power to prevent others from hurting or killing. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand," Veralla said, seeing the reason behind Glawlrhain's words. "Then I want to learn how to fight!" she added with determination. Glawlrhain nodded in acknowledgment, and began showing her the first set of moves.

She spend the next several hours under his tutelage. The exercises were very simple at first, consisting only of transitions between static positions and stances, with a few straightforward claw swipes added for good measure. She performed the moves well, yet Glawlrhain made her repeat them over and over again, each time correcting her for even the smallest mistake. All the while she exercised, the training master lectured her on the finer points of martial arts philosophy, giving her both practical combat advice and explaining the more esoteric reasons behind a particular strike or technique. She rested for several minutes after each hour of training, with Glawlrhain evaluating her performance during pauses.

At some point, other Radiant Knights began to gather at the training area. Glawlrhain went to organize their practice, dividing his attention between them and Veralla. Though all dragon Knights came with their soulkin, Veralla saw that rude dragon, Alomar, who also came to the training area, alongside a few other dragons who had no human companions. They did not practice their skills very well, making instead only token efforts, while proclaiming loudly how good at fighting they were.

The rest of the Radiant Knights, meanwhile, dutifully went through the exercises given by the training master, showing excellent teamwork while navigating the variforming terrain and battling against crystal-conjured illusions. Veralla could not stop looking at them, marveling at the armored splendor of the humans and the majestic grace of the dragons, and began to fumble through the motions Glawlrhain had told her to practice. He noticed her awe and concluded her training for the day; she had done well and there was no point in continuing when she was so obviously distracted. Though she was tired and hungry, she remained to watch the Knights until the end of their training session.

After training, Veralla went to eat and sleep. She woke again in the late evening, and had a generous dinner, then she went to seek Airo. She found him back in their shared room, where he was reviewing some data on his gridcaster.

"I finished my first training today!" she announced happily.

"Good," Airo grunted, non-committal, without lifting his eyes from the gridcaster's HHI.

"I can even walk upright now! See!" She wobbled a little while rising, yet managed to stand on her hindlegs, her wings outstretched proudly.

"Mhm," he said, glancing for a second at her. "You look taller that way."

She hrrr–ed with pleasure. "Let us play now!" she said.

This time Airo looked at her fully, his grey eyes meeting hers. He was confused. "Play? Play what?"

"Computer games! You said this morning we can play together in the evening! I want to play Soukou Zmei again!"

He sighed. For a moment she feared he would refuse. But then he said: "Yes, I remember now. All right, we will go and play games together. Cloud, find a suitable desktop somewhere."