A/N: Well, that was a long week with a marvelous ending of me failing my math test. Great stuff. Anyways here's the third chapter of the week. Leave a comment on anything you need fixin' and happy reading.
***
“It is not wise to bring alcohol whilst fighting a fire dragon.”
-The Charred Old Code
I stepped into a room full of students staring at my entrance. The room was elegant, made with pure white marble, decorated with gold, silver and various gemstones, the dark wood from the Magierdi Tree, found only deep within dungeons, were sculpted into the tables and benches the students sat on. The rows were built ascending, around a speaker’s platform, much like an amphitheater. It apparently helped annunciate my voice but who called told them to have hundreds of students join my class? Can they even see the board from up there?
I made my way towards the podium where I would give today’s lesson: non bipedal species magic. The students slowly simmered as I made my way across the room. The speaker’s platform had the head of a red dragon, the symbol of the king. Behind me were three chalk boards with drawings of the anatomy of different creatures all over it. The names of various organs were sprawled around the drawings with an arrow pointing to their respective body parts.
“Anna needs to remember to erase these,” I thought to myself, “I guess I’ll use these for today’s lesson.”
I turned around and placed my bag holding the students’ graded tests onto the podium. The students all looked at me with their sleepy eyes, some yawning while others downright asleep.
“They really need to start the school later on in the day,” I sighed, “I could use the sleep too.”
“Good morning, class,” I face the sleepy crowd.
“Good morning, Sir Apollo,” the crowd of young men replies with a monotone. Though some did reply with sparkling eyes. I marked down more people to avoid outside of class.
“Today, I will be teaching you about magic.”
At the sound of magic, the atmosphere of the classroom suddenly lights up as the students whispers with each other, guessing at what kind of activity they would be doing.
“Now, now. You first years won’t be using any magic.”
The students’ awww reverberated throughout the room, showing me their disappointment.
“I’m sorry, class. As much as I’d love to teach you actual magic, rules are rules.So for now, we’ll stick to the fundamentals and theoreticals. Anyways, back to the topic. Today we will be learning about magic. More specifically, the magics of non-bipedal species. Especially that of, my specialty, dragons.”
The atmosphere of the classroom lit up again as many of the students started to pay attention and I was getting a lot more eyes.
“Much more interesting isn’t it?” I laugh, “Does anyone here know of magic of bipedal species?”
A girl with black hair dead center of the class raised her hands. She was wearing the standard uniform of first years female students, a white blouse buttoned up to the neck, a black necktie, a red cardigan and a plaid skirt.
“Miss Angela,” I gestured towards the girl.
She stood up and replied to my question, “Sir Apollo, a bipedal species’ use of magic includes three fundamental parts: the storage, the veins and the focus. The strength of a magician is determined by their rank which is measured in the stage they are currently in. Each stage is passed when enough mana is stored, with each stage twice as large as the previous. The average magician is ranked at 22.”
“That is correct, Miss Angela. You may sit.”
The girl nodded and quietly sat back down.
“Now, as everyone knows, mana is stored within the storage, carried throughout your body through the mana veins and released through your focus, your brain with assistance of an external source, maybe wand or dagger. Non-bipedal species also follow this rule except all three parts are located in one organ, their core. The level of their core will determine the level of magic the creature can use.”
A student in the back raised his hand.
“Yes, what is your question,” I addressed the student. He was far in the back thus I couldn’t really see any key features but he did have blond hair.
“How do you check the level of the core?” the student asks.
“There are a two sure ways to check the level of the core. Number one, recognize the type of being you are fighting. Is it bipedal? If it is then you probably won’t have to worry about it. If it isn’t then you probably should. Each creature has a range of cores that they are born with so you can determine the range of difficulty you are facing. Number two, kill the creature and take out the core. There are other ways but unless you are the archmage, the info you’ll be getting won’t be very accurate. Does the answer your question?”
The students nods, I assume, and sits back down.
“Onwards with the lesson! There are different levels of the core and from ascending order of strength: flesh core, stone core, metal core, crystal core and light core. Since we’re going to be talking about dragons, we’ll be focusing on the crystal and light core. All light cores are possessed by dragons but not all dragons possess light cores. The difference is easily seen because those that do glow, thus the name light core. We do not know what these cores look like due to the fact that it disappears when its host is killed but we do know that it is made out of pure mana.”
“Sir Creed,” a male student asks, “If these dragons have such a high level core, why can’t they use magic?”
“Good question, Mr. Arnold,” I point towards the drawing of a dragon, “Look at the size of its body, how do you suppose it can fly?”
The student stares at the drawing with a questioning face, “Isn’t it with their wings, Sir Creed?”
“Partially but are those wings really strong enough to lift a twenty ton being?”
The student opens his mouth to say something but I interrupt him, “Before you say, it must work since it happens in real life let me just say magic. It is magic that allows these massive creatures to fly faster than the birds in the sky, than the sun travelling across the sky. You say that they cannot use magic but that is wrong. It’s not that they can’t use it because their body can easily use it but it is because they haven’t learned to. Their bodies are stronger than our walls, their muscles can move mountains, their teeth can break boulders, and they have their signature dragonfire. So why do they need magic? Afterall, it requires much time to research and study how to use magic. Thus they can only use magic via instinct and cannot consciously use it.”
“What happens if they can consciously use it?”
“Then it would be the end of the civilization as we know it. A baby dragon, right after it hatches, averages at a level 30, and adults easily at 40. For comparison, our strongest magician, the Archmage, is at level 27. The only reason I was able to slay a dragon is because of this fact.”
Another five eyes glittered and another five people to stay away from. I glanced at the clock and did a doubletake, I had already spent ⅔ of the class period, I still need to pass back the tests!
“Alright, we’ll continue this discussion tomorrow. For now, here are your tests,” I smiled, taking out a stack of paper that got my students groaning.
***
Mother’s jaw wrapped around me, the darkness grew as the silhouettes of her teeth clamped down, blocking out my only light source. Well, there was a little glow that came from inside her, illuminating the room. I was in shock, why is mother eating me? Perhaps it is because she was mad? No, it is most likely that she was mad, after all mothers betraying their child is not uncommon, especially one that had injured her. But what I saw in her eyes, was I wrong? Did I not see forgiveness and joy? Perhaps I mixed it up with shame and anger? Enough of that, I need to get out.
I was standing on something soft and wet, the tongue. It was squirming, making it feel like I was standing on top of a floor of worms. Soft, squishy, warm, wet, a wave of nausea hit me. Perhaps this will be me when I am digested, nothing more than goo, liquid, flesh. My stomach churned at the thought, rejecting my last meal but I held it in. I needed that energy if I wanted to get out.
I tried moving my legs but to no avail, I was squashed between the roof of the mouth and the tongue with just enough room for my chest to exhale. As I squirmed, the tongue suddenly jerked up, throwing me into the back of the mouth and closer into the abyss.
She was trying to swallow me. No, no, no, no ,no, no! I refuse to die like this! I gripped on with whatever I had, I spread my wings as far as I could, I dug into the tongue with my claws and clung to one of the teeth with my tail. The tongue came again, this time stronger than the last time. The wet flesh hit me like an immense wave, there was no fighting it, it just carried you off your feet. My claws were the first to slip, then my wings gave way but my tail held on. After all, it was the most secured of the three.
Then suddenly, like an earthquake or some kind of apocalypse, my entire world shifted, literally. What was once the ground became the wall and what was once the abyss became the ground. Mother had tilted her head. The death trap shook, trying to knock me out or maybe over. I swung wildly like Tarzan on a vine, except I wasn’t hopping from vine to vine, just wildly swinging on the same one like a madman. A pain erupted from the roof of my skull as I hit the roof of her mouth. What the hell is that flesh made out of, steel?
Then the darkness receded as light filled the pink room, her white teeth were black in contrast to the light. My tail started to slip, it’s grip failing me. I struggled some more, trying to find something to hold onto as I peered into the dark hole that was right below me. Nothing but the abyss and death. Then with another jerk, my tail slipped and I fell.
The jaws snapped shut, the darkness came back in a flash and I was falling. Or more like being pushed into something. My body couldn’t move, the muscles around me were too tight and strong. I tried to flap my wings but my wings wouldn’t budge.
Mucus dripped onto me, making me smooth and slippery. I closed my eyes, trying to focus but the muscles contracting to push me forward to my doom was too distracting. My mind was in a mess, I could not focus. Or perhaps it was mother messing with me? I didn’t know.
I closed my eyes in defeat, awaiting the inevitable. But like the luckiest dragon alive, I was pushed into another room of flesh. It was like her mouth but a little larger, allowing for a small range of movement but not enough to break free.
Like the rest of the body, it was slippery and warm but strangely comforting. I could hear the beating of her heart and the gurgling of her stomach. Wait - the gurgling of her stomach? Then wouldn’t that mean I’m not in her stomach, or maybe she has a second stomach like a cow?
The room shook violently and soon I was feeling the g-force. The room closed in a little to keep me secure and the sound of her heartbeat got louder and clearer like it was trying to comfort me. The warmth of mother seeped in between my scales, warming my innards like a cup of hot liquid on a cold day. It’s warmth spread throughout my body, like there was a flame that combatting the cold, the distrust, the fear; like a cup of hot cocoa for the soul, perhaps even at the level of spiritual chicken noodle soup.
The rumbling soon stops and everything is once again still. The fragrance of roses suddenly assaulted my nose like a storm of cavalry. Every nerve tingled in excitement, sending the sensation back into my brain. And like after a Thanksgiving meal, my eyes grew heavier than lead. Invisible hands were inside my head, massaging my brain, comforting it, emptying me of my worries while a soft voice like that of the angels, like it was singing a tune from a hymn, beautiful and melodic, was whispering in my ears.
“Sleep, little one. Rest. I won’t let anything happen to you, you can sleep, little one. Rest. You are safe so sleep, little one. Rest,” the voice sang. My eyes grew heavier and heavier, I heaved with all my might but alas I drifted into slumber.
***
“Kill…”
“Not anymore.”
“KILL”
“You control me no longer.”
“KILL”
“They are my friends, I will not - ”
“KILL”
“KILL”
“KILL”
“KILL”
“KILL”
“GET OUT OF M-”
“KILL” “KILL” “KILL” “KILL” “KILL”“KILL ”“KILL” “KILL”
“DESTROY”
“ANNIHILATE”
“MURDER THEM ALL”
“You no longer have any meaning!”
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
“PARENTS BETRAY" "KILL” “KILL” “KILL” “KILL” “KILL” “KILL” “KILL” “KILL” “KILL” “KILL” “KILL” “KILL”
“GET OUT!”
“MONSTER, KILL, BURN”
“FIEND, KILL, BURN,
DEMON, KILL, BURN” “KILL”
“KILL” “KILL”
”BURN”
“KILL”
”BURN”
“THEY COME TO BETRAY”
“They came to help!”
“THEY COME TO BURN”
“They are ignorant of the land!”
“THEY COME TO MURDER”
“They were defending themselves!”
“TEIS HMSI EORN DNIG”
“YOU’VE COME TO KILL”
“KILL”
“KILL”
“KILL“
"KILL”
“KILL”
“KILL”
“KILL”
“KILL”
“KILL”
“KILL”
“KILL”
“KILL”“KILL”“KILL”
“KILL”“KILL”“KILL”
“KILL”“KILL”“KILL”
“KILL”“KILL”“KILL”
“KILL”“KILL”“KILL”
“KILL”“KILL”“KILL”
“KILL”“KILL”
“YOU’VE COME TO MURDER”
“No, no. I was only trying to def-
“YOU’VE COME TO BURN”
“That’s not tru-”
“YOU’VE COME TO BETRAY!”
“KILL”“KILL”“KILL”
“KILL”“KILL”“KILL”
“KILL”“KILL”“KILL”
“KILL”“KILL”“KILL”
“KILL”“KILL”“KILL”
“KILL”“KILL”“KILL”
“KILL”“KILL”
***
A cold breeze swept across my skin like hands touching every part of my body, seeping in between my scales. I moved my legs but they fell back to the floor, still. I couldn’t feel it. Perhaps it was because my body laid on top of it. I shifted my body to so I laid on my back, lifting my legs up into the air.
Almost immediately, a thousand stings bit my legs, like a thousand needles piercing my skin and into my flesh. The thousand needles grew to ten thousand as a wave of sensation drives closer and closer to my toes. After a few minutes, I could feel the gold coins underneath my feet as I stood up. Each coin had a different imprint on it, from a women to a man, from an eagle to a tiger. Or maybe they just had really bad goldsmiths.
I examined each indent with extreme scrutiny, memorizing every shape and curve, every crevice and impurity. One of my tentacles touched its smooth surface; I shivered in pleasure as the sensation reached me. Then a bright glitter hit me in my peripheral vision, though only for a second. I searched in the general vicinity before finding another gold coin except this one had the light built into it.
I reached into it to grab the light but my tentacles were thrown back by something. I tried again but the same thing happened. I stared at the mustached man depicted on the gold coin; the tips of his lips curled into a smile; his moustache stood up unnaturally; his eyes half closed, looking down at something, probably his subjects. I don’t why but it made me kind of mad.
Though I could’ve used my full force and destroyed this puny wall, I wanted to study it. Perhaps I can make something even stronger, better, then I can throw it back at whoever had obstructed me from my light.
Again, I sent in my tentacles to try to absorb the light again but this time, I was observing it. The tentacles were slowly moving towards the light. Nothing could be seen yet. The tentacle moved closer and closer and as it was about to touch the light, a bright light exploded out and my tentacle was punched out of the arena.
Though it looked like it was the light that had exploded out, I had seen it. A small circle filled with strange symbols was hovering around it, protecting the light. And when something got too close, it used the light’s power to repel the foreign object. And the light was a very highly concentrated light, one that could even compare to the vibrating ones, perhaps even surpassing it. I had to have it.
I sent in the tentacle a few more times to activate the circle and to memorize and decipher it. After a few dozen tries, I had finally memorized it though I hadn’t been able to decipher much of it yet. Now, time to apply it. But before I was able to practice any practical application of the circle, I was interrupted by the rumbling ground and my mother’s voice.
“You are awake, my child,” mother says.
As like any normal creature that was swallowed whole, I asked her the question everybody’s dying to know, “Why did you try to eat me?”
I gripped onto whatever my little claws could hold onto as the entire floor shook from mother’s chuckle. Her slitted eyes stared at me, glittering with amusement, before answering, “That was for transportation, my child.”
Eating someone was not transportation, nope. That is just a bad way to go, who would ever go with that? Who ever thought that I’m going to transfer my child by swallowing them whole would be a good idea? I want to meet this guy and throw him inside my coming-soon prison.
My tongue was all over the place as I rack up my brain for something to reply but the idea was just too bizarre. It felt like I had some words that were going to come out but they were all just jammed up at the back of my throat, refusing to great foreign ears.
After another earthquake, mother said, “Many chicks are usually surprised when they first hear about it. Though do not worry, it will happen only once. You’ve already hibernated for three entire years.”
What was she saying? I had not slept for three years? How could I? Is that even possible? Now that I think about. I strained my neck like I was trying to reaching something that I couldn’t reach before looking back down. From where I was looking down, it was a the height of where I was looking down only a few hours ago. Or perhaps those were few hours were a few years. I had indeed grown quite a bit, at least quadrupling in size and height. Then does that mean my core has grown as well?
I stepped into my own core and found myself looking at a new and improved glowing ouroboros. The self-injuring snake had tripled in size and sported a golden glow, much like the sun. I felt a tremendous amount of increase in the number of tentacles and quickly combined them to form more vacuums, providing more gatherers for my light gathering business. Soon I shall have a monopoly on all the light! Mwahahaha!
“Dragon chicks hibernate from five to ten years, depending on their strength. The stronger they are, the faster they will wake,” mother says. Her voice was like a god inside my domain, originating from every angle.
I promptly exit my inner space and ask, “Why?”
“Because chicks are weak. But they will be strong when they grow up.”
“But how do we eat? Drink?”
Mother closes her eyes and raises her chin, wrinkling her (nonexistent) brows before answering, “I do not know, perhaps the gods feed us? Perhaps you do not need it because you are asleep. I have seen chicks slumbering for over fifteen years.”
Interesting, this is very interesting information and needs further investigation. If I can replicate the process, wouldn’t that I mean don’t need to eat or drink for an extended period of time? A name suddenly pops into my head: hibernation. A state of being where a creature slows down its metabolism enough that it can survive for an extended period without nourishment. What the hell is metabolism? Where the hell did I get that?
I shake my head in confusion.
“Come child, I have much to teach you,” Mother said.