The early morning sun tore through my eyelids, highlighting the thin blood vessels which covered my eye. It was only my 3,200th day on this plane, when my wings had first started to sprout. My brother, Grazi, was shedding his skin so that we could free his wings, which forced the rest of us to fetch food in his stead.

I was essentially a drake at the time: still shackled to the earth by gravitational chains which forced me to utilise my low silhouette to stay hidden from our prey: large stags who were grazing.

The deer population had accumulated towards the centre of the plain, leaving a large gap between the dark trees and open field, but the lengthened grass still hid my red scales from their sight.

The wind had changed, blowing my scent in the opposite direction, giving me a short window of time when I could stealthily sneak up without being noticed. I strained my muscles to soften my footsteps and stiffened my tail to prevent any excessive rustling. I slowly approached a group of deer, cluelessly crunching away at the wild heath, heedless to my presence. I lowered my front legs, readying my tail to counterbalance and sprung: my claws and teeth tore through the soft flesh of the stag which bellowed in its helplessness.

I dragged the limp carcass back up to the lair, where my siblings had fallen victim to sleep induced by sun. Fortunately, the plague was repelled with the strong aroma of fresh red-meat which captured the attention of my family, commencing the feast.

“Killing is an instinctual behaviour for our kin, but is levelled out by our intelligence which is of a higher calibre than a human’s. Coupled with the extended life-span and the ability to strong-arm everything, we ruled the world in a pseudo sense. Unfortunately, our apathy and lethargy were our limiting factor which set an iron bar over our potential, however, those of us who could pierce this near-indestructible ceiling, would ascend at a spectacular rate.

“I suppose our lineage is the most notable example of that though…”

“I fail to see the relevancy of this segment of your life towards the events I am currently describing.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Well then, Inferior Knight, do you know what magic is?”

“I am well aware of what magic is, ‘Superior Lizard’.”

“No, no, do you really know what magic is?”

“That is a question for a mage to be asking, not a knight who leans on his muscle and steel to endeavour.” The Inferior Knight stopped for a moment…

Well then. proceed Lizard.”

The Lizard chuckled: “Well then, what do you think magic is then?”

“A mysterious force given to use by the greater Gods is my personal belief.”

“A theocratic perspective is quite the narrow-minded way of thinking about these things. Though deities and beings of great powers do roam this plane, they are not the reason for the magic which we use so willy-nilly and on such a widespread and daily basis.”

“I do not need judgement from you, only the relevant information, Lizard.”

“Right, Impatient Knight, have you ever noticed that the kind of magic people tend to conjure up would always align with their jobs or interest? Have you ever noticed that the greatest mages were all dedicated to their crafts? Have you ever noticed that when your heart would throb and adrenaline would surge, and the air of the battle would course through your hair, your magic potential would increase drastically?”

“Those are certainly some strange coincidences and phenomena…”

“Right, because magic is your willpower; it is the manifestation of one’s emotions which has been condensed into the real world as raw, pure energy. Though the efficiency and manipulation of the energy requires a lot of skill, experience and knowledge on the subject, the amount of magic potential one can squeeze from their small soul is based on the depth and strength of their emotions.”

“That does align with my past encounters,”

“With the exception of Erril, I and all my siblings embarked on a journey to research and develop an understanding of magic. This is the motif behind The Tragedy which had occurred.”

The two fell silent, dwelling in the sudden remorse for the past…

“Well then, what happened after the hunt?”