“You are from the future – the distant future, millennia after the cataclysm that will bring about the end of our civilization, which will come in a little more than two hundred years. Your time has far less advanced magic and magical technology, and the practical cap on power is sixth circle and sixth tier instead of ninth. Yet, despite this, you traveled back in time due to an interrupted demonic ritual using a fallen star. You will eventually want to return to your own time, if for no other reason than to then revive your loved one, who will only be born in the distant future. In the meantime, you have a divine mission from the God of Medicine to collect the scattered star shards that came back with you. In order to locate them all, you had to hand one over to the devotees of the God of Knowledge, who is interested in the fragments. Once you have completed that mission, you wish to advance as far in tier and circle as you can before figuring out how to return to the future.”

Aurelia took a long drink.

“Did I miss anything about your situation?”

“No, I think that about covers it… except for the part where we are also seeking methods to cultivate or qi cores and mana hearts past sixth tier and circle,” Rai said.

“Ah, right. And you were hoping that by getting in my good graces I would gift you with those methods. Well, I can let you know right now: that’s not happening. Methods to advance past Sixth are highly sought after and never shared except with successors.”

“So there’s no point in trying to sweet talk you,” Isa said. “Good. Because I don’t like you.”

“Isa…” Rai said.

“It’s true; I don’t. And I know that Rai doesn’t either. Tell me, how are those twins doing these days? Are they still alive?”

“Twins…? You mean the criminals who obtained powers from the star fragment?”

“That’s right.”

“They’re still alive. We’re not finished studying them, after all. And you did promise the girl that she wouldn’t be executed. We may not have made the promise, but you were representing the Tower when you made it, so it will be honored.”

“And how ‘ethical’ are these ‘studies?’”

“They harm them less than the star itself did. Now, are you quite done accusing me of cruelty?”

“Yeah, I suppose so. Just making a point. Why exactly are we here if you don’t plan to bribe us to do your bidding with promises of power?”

“That’s quite enough,” Diamont said. “My wife and I have been nothing but cordial. Perhaps you feel we haven’t been as transparent with you as we should, or as respectful of boundaries, but that’s no cause to be so rude and hostile. I know that you’re not normally like this; I’ve interacted with you enough to get a read on your character. Something has got you angry, and you’re overreacting. Calm down, Isa.”

“Please,” Rai added.

“Meep…” Braveheart chimed in. She crawled across the table over to Isa and climbed onto her lap. Isa stroked her.

“…I apologize.”

“Thank you,” Aurelia said. “Now, to answer your question… well, I wanted to learn more about your time and share more about ours. Also, since I know you’ll be leaving the city relatively soon, I wanted to talk to you about what you plan to do from here. You have no idea how to get home, after all, nor do you know much of anything about locations outside the city. Do you plan to walk from place to place, for instance? That would be foolish.”

“Are there any other options? I imagine that vehicles would be incredibly expensive.”

“Oh, they would. But there is another choice: flying beasts.”

Rai frowned. “They sound like a lot of work.”

“They are,” agreed Diamont. “And yet, they’re much more affordable, and they’re much more convenient than walking – and a lot less dangerous. Also, they’re pretty much the only way to get to the Thunder Isles – even flying vehicles have trouble getting close due to the storms.”

“What sorts of flying beasts are there?” Isa asked curiously, her earlier outburst of emotion settled.

“Pegasus, drake, griffon, giant eagle… those are the most common four,” Aurelia said. “Personally, I recommend a drake for you, Isa, and a griffon for you, Rai.”

“Any particular reason?” Rai asked.

“Drakes have the best affinity with saurians. They are, after all, related to dragons. In fact, the Imperator personally assists in training the drakes we use here at the Tower.”

“The Imperator… that’s the name of the dragon who lives around here, right?” Isa said.

“Yes. He’s around eight hundred years old, so he’s been around a while. Some people even worship him, which is frankly heretical, but oh well. I don’t believe anyone mentioned him to you… how did you know about him?”

“I met his disembodied soul in the future. During the cataclysm, he went mad, and to save him and stop his rampage, people separated his soul from his body and affixed his soul to the Tower.”

“Fascinating,” Aurelia said.

“Dear…”

“Oh, right. Focus. Anyway, drake for Isa. Griffon for Rai, because they’re easier to ride than eagles and less of a commitment than pegasi. Pegasi, after all, bond to their riders for life, whereas griffons are more partners of convenience. They are a bit arrogant, though. If you do find a way back to the future, who knows if you’ll be able to take your mounts with you?”

“I see.”

“So, let’s talk about your three destinations,” Diamont said. “The Thunder Isles, Ferrigen, and Mount Firemouth. Of the three, the only one inhabited by normal people is Ferrigen, the City of Metal, the City of Dwarves. Unlike Plentira, which has a varied population, Ferrigen is almost entirely dwarves – about eighty percent. The remainder are humans, gnomes, and kobolds – not saurians, just kobolds. They focus heavily on craftsmanship, especially craftsmanship that involves metal. A large part of the city is underground, built into the mountains. They also have a lot of combat artists, and have a combat arena that draws visitors from all over the continent. Mining for ore is a big part of their economy.

“Mount Firemouth is a large, active volcano. The primary inhabitants of its interior – and yes, there are beings living inside of the very large caldera – are fire giants, salamanders, and fire elementals. A dragon and a phoenix also live there. The giants, dragon, and phoenix are near-constantly at war with one another, making Mount Firemouth extraordinarily dangerous. The fire giants have numbers, while the salamanders serve as minions of the dragon and the fire elementals as servants of the phoenix.

“Lastly, the Thunder Isles, the traveling sky islands shrouded in constant storm. Thunderbirds make them their home. Technically, there is a Ruler’s Tower there, but it’s… er…”

“It’s little more than a pile of rocks,” Aurelia said. “The Ruler of the Thunder Isles is a Ruler in name only, since he doesn’t actually rule over anything. He’s a hermit who does nothing but research magic all the time. He used to have a group of assistants, but he’s outlived all of them – he’s an elf, and he’s about three hundred and twenty years old, making him the oldest recorded elf. There are actually a number of resources on the Thunder Isles, but between the thunderbirds and the other monsters, few people actually try to harvest them. I honestly don’t know whether you’d have better luck with the beasts or the old bastard for retrieving the shard.”

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“I’d recommend going to the dwarves first, as that’s likely to be the safest,” Diamont said. “Then the Thunder Isles, and lastly Mount Firemouth. Though you’ll have to pay attention to the travel path of the Thunder Isles, since they move around the continent’s skies.”

“And are we to leave immediately?” Isa questioned.

“Oh, no. You need time to train with your mounts, since neither of you are riders.”

“Now, let’s talk about your era…”

-x-

High up near the peak of Mount Lorde, a large solitary mountain about two hours from the city by flyer, a massive gray-scaled dragon with rock-like scales and eyes like onyx with slitted pupils like glowing lava lay curled up atop a rocky outcropping, head hanging down over the edge to watch the people and dragonlike beasts below and in the air around him. Were he stretched out, his length from nose to tip of tail would have exceeded ninety feet – and unlike the Death Worm of the desert, he had the bulk to go with the length. He blinked lazily when four people suddenly appeared with in a flash of light not far from his head.

“Welcome, Ruler, Ruler’s husband,” he said in a deep, rich voice. “You’ve brought guests, I see.”

“Greetings, Imperator,” Aurelia said respectfully. “May I introduce you to one Isa Bloodscale. I was hoping to see if she could partner with one of the drakes.”

“Hm… Isa Bloodscale. You bear signs of having evolved from a kobold. A girl with ambition. Tell me, what is it that drives you?”

“I want to evolve into a dragon.”

The dragon chuckled, which quickly grew into roaring laughter.

“Ambition is putting it lightly! I like your drive, girl! You are a warrior, but I sense that you are a mage as well, or you would not have gained the approval of the Ruler. Very well; I will grant the request. You may interact with the drakes and see if any will agree to be your mount. Drakes are beasts, but they are highly intelligent beasts, far smarter than most. They cannot speak, but they can learn to understand speech. As such, you must treat them with respect; they are not like horses, to be bought and sold at the whims or their owners. A drake must agree to be your mount.”

The dragon turned an eye to the other guest. “And you, boy, you intend to ride some other flying mount?”

“The Ruler suggested that I ride a griffon—”

“No. Such a creature would get along quite poorly with a drake. You should also ride a drake.”

“I don’t know if—” Diamont began.

“Silence. This boy deserves better than such a temperamental mount. A pegasus needs to be reared from infancy in the company of its rider for best effect. An eagle would be difficult for a novice to ride. Therefore, he must ride a drake. What is your name, boy?”

“My name is Rai Flamme, Imperator.”

“Well, Rai Flamme, roam and speak to the drakes and their handlers. Find yourself a suitable mount.”

The Imperator watched as both human and saurian went around, first speaking to handlers to get a feel for the personalities and attitudes of different drakes to narrow down which ones they would approach, then walking up to the drakes to interact with them. Drakes resembled dragons not terribly much larger than the largest breeds of horses (if one didn’t count their wings), so it was no surprise that Rai approached them with caution. Isa, however, showed no fear whatsoever.

The Imperator listened.

“This one is easy to get along with, but almost completely pacifistic. She won’t even catch her own prey unless she’s very hungry,” one of the handlers explained to Rai. “She won’t flee from danger unless given a command to, but she won’t attack either. Her name is Paxta.”

Rai slowly walked up to the purple-scaled drake, who watched him with nearly as much caution as he displayed.

“Hello there, friend,” he said softly. “May I touch you?” He reached up and she lowered her head so that he could stroke her neck. “My name is Rai.”

“Yi-meep!”

“And her name is Braveheart.”

Paxta raised her head slightly and nudged Braveheart with her snout. Braveheart rubbed up against her, then climbed onto her head.

“Meep!”

Paxta’s eyes widened in surprise. Rai laughed.

“Looks like Braveheart likes you. Well, Paxta? What do you think of partnering with me? We will get in some dangerous situations, but I promise you won’t have to fight.”

The drake let out a staccato rumble.

“That’s a laugh,” the handler informed Rai. “She likes your familiar.” Paxta nudged Rai’s chest with her snout. “And you, apparently. She usually doesn’t like mages from the Tower. She wants you to try riding.”

The handler gave Rai finger-sized crystal. “Press this into her scales at the base of her neck, and she’ll be outfitted in her saddle and reins.”

Rai did so, then climbed onto the drake’s back and into the saddle. “I don’t really know how to ride even a horse, let alone a drake,” he said. “I’ll be relying on you, Paxta. Braveheart, come here.”

Braveheart made her way onto Rai’s head and Paxta climbed up to an outcropping, jumping off and immediately taking to the air with powerful wingbeats. Rai grabbed onto the saddle horn and hung on tight as the drake took him on a relatively gentle flight around the mountain peak. By the end of the several-minute flight, Rai was laughing.

“Thank you, Paxta,” he said when they landed.

Paxta let out a long, low rumble.

“And that’s the equivalent of a purr,” the handler said. “She approves of you.”

Satisfied that Rai had found a good match, the Imperator turned his attention to Isa. So far, none of the drakes had proven a good match for her.

“Wait, you don’t want to mess with that one,” a handler said as Isa walked toward an isolated dark blue drake. “He tried to kill the last person to attempt to ride him.”

“What’s his name?”

“Skyscale.”

Isa stopped a few feet in front of the drake. “Skyscale, huh.”

The drake roared at her.

“You think you’re a king, don’t you? Lord of the skies? Maybe a better name would be Skyking.”

Skyscale bared his teeth and snarled, placing his head level with hers. She looked completely unfazed.

“You want a test of dominance? How about a Paralyzing ROAR!”

The drake froze, the effects of Isa’s new fifth circle spell completely locking up his entire body, allowing him to do nothing except breathe. Isa tapped her claws on the scales directly under one of his eyes.

“Listen up, Skyking. I am no prey. I will not be intimidated. I will not be beaten. I am the one in charge.” She grinned savagely. “If you come with me, I promise you that you’ll get your chance to tear apart enemies. But you have to see me as your master.” She turned to the handler. “Give me the saddle crystal.”

“Are… are you sure about this?”

“Just give it to me, please.”

The paralyzing effect took a minute to wear off, and by then Isa was in the saddle on Skyscale’s back. The drake immediately took off running, jumping off the mountainside and spiraling upward above the peak before starting to spin and perform complex aerial maneuvers in an attempt to throw Isa off. Several of the handlers started shouting, but the drake ignored them. Isa clung on doggedly until Skyscale shot up vertically, and folded his wings, and allowed himself to fall. Isa finally jolted loose of the saddle and Skyscale snapped his wings open and swooped off.

The Imperator continued to watch as Isa plummeted. A pastel blue form streaked up from the mountain toward her falling form, perfectly timing and aiming its trajectory to catch Isa on its back. The light blue drake leveled off, then spiraled down to land near the dragon.

“Y-you caught me?” Isa said, her voice shaking.

The drake let out a gurgling sound.

“Did anyone give the command to you?”

The drake grunted in denial.

“That is Skycloud,” the Imperator said. “He saw you were in danger, and he moved to rescue you of his own will.”

“Skycloud… Thank you. I was so arrogant to think I could command Skyscale, that a powerful drake like that would be a good match for me.” Isa hugged Skycloud’s neck. “You’re a true warrior – no, a knight. A hero of a drake. What better companion could I ask for in the skies? Not one dominated by my will, but a partner. Will you be my partner?”

Isa climbed off and looked up into the drake’s eyes. He met her gaze, then rubbed his face against her chest.

“We should make a blood pact,” Isa said. She cut her palm with her claw. “Now you,” she said, gesturing at the drake. He tilted his head in confusion.

“A blood pact by a saurian with a drake will not be a mere symbol, girl. You will bind your lives together, strengthening him – and as you grow in power, so too will he. You will develop a Beast Bond, which will link your minds, enhancing your understanding of one another. Is this what you want?”

“How could I say no to that?”

“Then I shall explain to Skycloud.” The Imperator let out a low rumble, and the drake raised a foreclaw and sliced his own leg, holding it out to Isa. She placed her bloody hand against his bloody leg.

“The Bond has been made, and can only be broken by death. Warrior, take with you your valiant knight.”

“Thank you, both of you.”

Then the dragon closed his eyes to rest and slumber as the two new drake-riders began their lessons on drake-riding.