~~(Caleb)~~
That didn’t go well. I’m not sure where I am now, or how I got here. Probably accidentally fluxed space a little too much. It’s dark here. Why is it dark? It’s very dark. There should be light. Someone could walk into something.
“Oof!”
That wasn’t me. See? Someone could walk into something. Well, I was the one who walked into something, but I’m not the one who grunted. Whatever I walked into did. It’s still dark. Oh, right, I can see everything around me. Silly Caleb.
It’s short and squat, with light brown skin and spiky green hair and emerald green eyes. It’s dressed in rags, and it’s looking around in worry. It’s squatting behind some crates. I could have walked into the crates.
“Why is it so dark?” I ask.
“Shh!” He responds, putting a finger to his lips. “We have to be quiet! There’s a human here, and humans like eating little monsters like me!”
“I don’t like eating monsters.”
“Hide with me,” he pats my leg. “I can’t see in the dark, but I’m right here. We’re behind some crates. It’s dark because humans can’t see in the dark.”
“I can see,” I look around. “I don’t see any humans.”
“Shh!” He hushes me. “Hide with me. We gotta wait for the human to leave.”
But I’m the only human around?
I crouch down beside the little creature, trying to figure out what he is. He’s not a goblin, I don’t think, even though he could be. Goblins are usually green, and I’ve never heard of a brown one before.
The creature fidgets next to me for another hour.
“It’s just us here,” I tell him.
“Are you sure?” He asks. “I heard him! It was a human! He groaned! I didn’t see him, though, no me didn’t! Me just ran away!”
He switched how he referred to himself in the middle of a sentence. Why did he do that?
“Humans eat Mo’Ak goblins,” he says. “Yes, they do. Every good Mo’Ak knows that. Papa Mo’Ak always make sure baby Mo’Ak know that humans eat Mo’Ak. They find us delicious. That no be good.”
I’ve never heard of Mo’Ak goblins before. I’ll have to ask Teacher. Once I figure out how to get home. I have no idea how I got here.
“Humans like eating or killing most things,” the goblin nods. “Most things they don’t like killing them for killing us. Well, not Mo’Ak, no one likes Mo’Ak. We be too annoying, they say. We do our job well, though. We like our jobs. Not the treatment receive, no, but our jobs, yes. They’d be more fun if we got better treated.”
He talks to himself. I do, too. Sometimes. A lot. Especially when I’m alone. I might while he’s around.
“What be you be thinking about?” The goblin asks. “Oh, me think it be safe, since you be say no monster around.”
The goblin mutters something in an ancient tongue, and then torches around the room light up. We’re in a cellar filled with crates and barrels and stuff. The goblin stares at me.
“You definitely no smell like human,” he says. “You be look like human, though.”
“I don’t smell like a human?”
“No,” the goblin shakes his head. “You be smell like dragon. Make me nervous, but dragon no eat Mo’Ak. Find us bad-tasting. Only humans like taste of Mo’Ak.”
“My name’s Caleb.”
“Bar.”
“Nice to meet you, Bar!”
“My pleasure,” he bows. “It be very confusing, how the Caleb looks like a human, but smells like a dragon. The Caleb definitely has the aura of a dragon.”
“You can read my aura?”
“Mo’Ak can read magical auras,” Bar nods. “Yours definitely be aura of dragon. Nice and shiny, like. Ferocious. Very scary. Your dragon aura be very nice, very protective. You be nice dragon, yes?”
“I’m nice,” I nod, but I’m a human, not a dragon.
Is he mixing up humans and dragons? But he knows I look like a human? I think Bar is just very, very confused.
“Bar thinks the Caleb scared off the humans,” Bar nods, tapping his chin. “Yes, that be it! Human know the Caleb be dragon, even though he be in human form, and so leave! That must be it!”
So what did I scare off?
“I’m hungry, Bar,” I say. “Do you know of anywhere I can get food?”
“Bar don’t know place to find good that isn’t taken,” Bar shakes his head. “Bar likes stay in cellar, here, nice and quiet. All food here belong to owner. Owner let Bar be. Bar no take owner’s food, just eat rats and mice that try take it. We be symbiotic, yes. Bar no thief. Bar also think the Caleb may need to change form again.”
“Change form again?”
“Yes,” Bar nods, tapping his chin again. “The Caleb look like a human. That may be bad. The Caleb be forced to fight, no one realize the Caleb not human.”
But I am human.
“Yes,” Bar continues. “The Caleb be better off changing form again. From dragon to human, from human to something else. Or maybe the Caleb came from another place where dragon form be scare everyone, and be something else between dragon and human? Did the Caleb have another form before he came here?”
“No.”
“Hm,” Bar mutters. “What could the Caleb change form to be? Bar thinks Caleb want human form for purpose, but something similar?”
“I could pretend to be a dwarf,” I tell him. “Though I don’t think I could change my form to a dwarf.”
“That’s fine,” Bar waves a hand dismissively. “Say you be dwarf, that be good enough. Bar understand, realm-travel be very hard, yes? The Caleb probably not with enough energy to transform again. Both magics be powerful. Only dragons be do both. The Caleb must be very old dragon. How old be the Caleb?”
“It’s very rude to ask someone their age.”
“Bar be sorry,” he looks scared. “Bar no mean offend the great dragon. Will the almighty, merciful dragon forgive the stupid, worthless Bar?”
“You eat rats?”
“They be all that be around, O Mighty Dragon,” Bar nods, then pauses. “Well, that not be already belonging to the owner of cellar.”
“You don’t leave the cellar?”
“No, O Merciful Dragon,” Bar shakes his head. “We Mo’Ak like small, dark spaces. Cellars be very nice. Small cellars, like this one be. Very nice.”
“Oh,” I say. “Okay. So which realm am I in?”
“Naikur,” he answers.
“Never heard of it.”
“We very big,” Bar says. “Naikur be huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge realm!” Bar spreads his arms out to show how big it is. “That big!”
“That is big,” I nod. “I can’t leave this realm, though.”
“Can’t leave?” He cocks his head to the side.
“I ended up here by accident,” I nod. “I can’t leave this realm, though. Sort of like the human realm, Tulm. Well, I can leave Tulm, but I’m not supposed to be able to.”
“No one supposed to be able to leave Tulm.”
“I can,” I tell him. “But I haven’t told Teacher that. I once ended up in Hell.”
“Hell be scary,” he looks scared.
“I agree,” I nod. “I froze it by accident and returned home. I didn’t realize it was hell until after.”
“You be the one who be freezing hell?” Bar grins. “Bar likes the Caleb even more. Hell still no unfreeze.”
“It’s still frozen?”
“You no know that?” Bar asks curiously.
“No,” I respond. “I haven’t gone back since I did that. I accidentally ended up there a few years ago, freaked out, cast a mass-freezing spell, then returned home and sealed up the passage. It’s weird, though, I can’t figure out how to leave this realm. This realm is weird.”
“Me think that of Tulm,” Bar nods. “Over hundred-two years ago, big magic affect it, then no one come or go. Not possible. But the Caleb says he be from Tulm. That be weird. Dragons be weird creatures. Bar never seen dragon before.”
“Then how do you know I smell like one?” I ask.
“Dragonscent very unique,” Bar nods. “It smells like dragon. No mistake. Plus, there be big dragon fang, still smell like dragon. Every good creature know dragon-smell by instinct, too. No need to smell dragon before to know dragonscent. The Caleb smells much like dragon. Maybe that be enough to settle people. But the Caleb can pretend be dwarf. Mo’Ak not used to lie, though, so Bar probably no be good at that.”
“You can’t lie?”
“Mo’Ak can lie,” Bar tells me. “Mo’Ak just not good at not saying truth. Mo’Ak speak what be, often ramble. Mo’Ak no tell lie, unless by accident. By then, it not be lie, because lie need intent to be lie. The Caleb understand this, yes?”
“I do,” I tell him. “I understand you just fine, Bar. Someone’s coming down to the cellar, a demon of some sort.”
“That be owner, yes,” Bar nods. “She-demon, yes? Red skin, black horns? Pretty blue eyes?”
“Red skin, black horns, blue eyes, and a scaly tail.”
“That be owner,” Bar nods. “Best be hiding, so owner no know you be here. Bar hope owner never find Bar here.”
“She knows you’re here, though,” I tell him.
“She does?” He asks in surprise. “Bar do best be quiet and hidden. Bar never see her notice him.”
The door to the cellar opens, and Bar hides behind a crate as the demon walks down the steps. She stops and stares at me, frowning.
“Hi,” I say. “I’m Caleb.”
“Human,” she hisses in anger.
“Bar can tell you I smell like a dragon,” I say. “How many humans do you know of who can be in the presence of a dragon and survive?”
She pauses, staring at me in thought.
“You look like a human.”
“I’m a dwarf.”
“You smell like a dragon, though.”
“My dad’s a dragon.”
“I can’t tell if you’re being honest or lying,” she frowns. “But the only creatures that can fool my sense of truth is a full dragon...yet you’re clearly not one.”
“Are you sure?”
“Dragons have violet eyes.”
“I can make my eyes turn violet.”
“Really?” She raises a blue eyebrow. She has blue hair. I didn’t mention that to Bar before. “Let me see – it’s the one color even magic cannot turn an eye.”
I summon up my power and allow it to swirl around me, a swirling fog of violet, raw magic. As I do, I know that my eyes turned violet. Teacher told me to never do this, because it would give anything around me the wrong impression. I’ve never been very good at following orders.
The demon’s eyes widen, and she drops to her knees. I release my power, and she remains bowing.
“My apologies, Master,” she says. “I meant no offense to your greatness. To think a dragon would grace this realm… I apologize for doubting you and your form. If asked, I will say you are a dwarf.”
Huh. Her thoughts say she recognizes me as a dragon. No wonder Teacher didn’t want me doing this. Eh. Whatever. I think it’ll be very useful here, since people seem to fear and respect dragons.
I feel a lot more powerful. Whatever’s been restricting me since the massacre isn’t affecting me anymore. I’m also hungry. I used a lot of energy right before somehow warping myself into this realm.
“You can make it up to me if you have food,” I tell her. “It took a lot of power to end up in this realm. It was kind of accidental. I was trying to do something else at the time.”
Transport the survivors somewhere safe after removing the Reality Marble I cast over the Enchanted Forest before entering. It took a lot to fight against the force that suppresses my power there, and thankfully, I was able to do it without alerting Teacher.
So glad I managed to do that. The restriction that we could use a little bit of our Abilities was good. I just hope my team doesn’t realize how much I’ve been lying. I have to lie to protect myself. It’s the only way to stay safe. Not even Kieran knows everything.
I wonder what Kieran would think of Bar.
“Of course, Great One,” the demon interrupts my thoughts. “I have already prepared a feast above, for some other esteemed guests. I came down to fetch some fine bloodberry wine.”
“Thanks!” I say. “I’m starving! Bar is, too.”
“Bar is welcome to join us,” the demon tells me.
“Mistress Demon know Bar be here?” Bar asks, poking his head above the crate to look at her.
“Of course,” she smiles. “I have been delighted to have a Mo’Ak living in my cellar all these years, Bar, you are quite the helpful little friend.”
“Mistress Demon like Bar?” Bar stands up properly.
“Of course I do,” she smiles. “I’d be very sad if you left, Bar – you keep my cellar nice and clean, and even deal with the pests that get inside. By the way – I heard rumor that a human somehow ended up in my cellar an hour ago, you don’t happen to know what happened to him, do you?”
“No, Bar do not know,” Bar shakes his head. “Bar only see the Caleb. Bar hid when sense human arrive, then the Caleb wake up and approach Bar all confused. Bar no know where the human went. It probably ran when the Caleb showed up. The Caleb be more powerful than any human. Very scary. Yes, he is.”
“Bar?” I look at him.
“Yes, Master Caleb?”
“Can you shut up so I can eat?”
“Sorry, O Merciful One.”
“Thanks,” I look at the woman. “Can Bar come up and eat, too?”
“Sure,” she says, then gives Bar a stern glare. “Don’t say a word. I’ll claim you’re the dragon’s.”
“But Bar not be the dragon’s.”
“You can be my friend,” I say. “Then, you can still say that you’re mine. If you leave off what you are of mine, then it’s up to them how to interpret it. You know you’re my friend, and they think you’re my slave.”
“Bar no be slave,” Bar shakes his head.
“You and I know that,” I tell him. “But we don’t have to tell them that. You can just say you’re mine, and you’re fine. Just don’t say you’re my slave, and you’re still telling the truth. You are mine – you’re my friend.”
“Bar think Bar understands,” Bar nods. “Bar will try be good goblin.”
“I think you’re a good Goblin,” I tell him, and he beams with pride at that, puffing his chest up a little bit. Let’s go get food. I’m hungry. And Madam Demon – the bloodberry wine you were going for wouldn’t be suitable for the guests you have. I’d recommend the bottles two shelves below, starting three to the right and going to the right. They’re aged perfectly.”
“So it’s true,” she smiles a little bit. “Dragons really do have special sight.”
Nah. I just know my wines.
The demon grabs three bottles of wine from the selection I recommended, then leads Bar and me upstairs, where three other demons are sitting at a table covered in food. All three of them hiss when they see me, but then one frowns.
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“Smells of a dragon,” he looks at me.
“This is Caleb,” the hostess introduces me. “He’s a dwarf.”
“He smells of a dragon,” the other demon keeps his gaze on me.
“Yes,” she says. “He’s a dwarf. This is his Mo’Ak, Bar. They’ll be joining us for dinner.”
“You only set four plates,” one of the other demons challenges her with his gaze.
“I didn’t know we’d be joined by Caleb,” the hostess responds. “He showed up without informing me. You know his kind – doing as they please and going where they wish. He answers to no one but himself and the majesty.”
“Bar no know what majesty be,” Bar shakes his head, mumbling to himself.
“A majesty is a group of dragons,” I inform him.
“Ah,” Bar nods. “Bar understands, now.”
“I thought you said he was his?” The first demon asks her.
“She didn’t say how long,” I say. “Just that he’s mine. He’s only recently become mine. He has a lot to learn.”
“Bar is the Caleb’s, and the Caleb is Bar’s,” Bar rambles to himself. “Following that logic. Everyone is someone else’s thing. If you are someone’s, they are yours, even if not the same thing. Friend and friend, master and servant, everyone is someone else’s something.”
“Can we kill it and eat it?” The second demon asks the hostess. “Mo’Ak are so annoying.”
“You should show reverence to the dragon,” the first demon tells him, and when I look at him, he flinches. “Ah, to the dwarf.”
I nod, then look at the hostess.
“Shall we eat?”
“Yes, milord,” she bows deeply. “Allow me to set up a seat for you at the table as well.”
“I don’t see why,” the second demon looks at the first as the hostess goes about getting a seat for me. “I should respect it – it’s not like he’s more powerful than me. He’s very clearly a young dragon, and probably got lost and can’t get back home.”
Well, part of that’s true.
I do have to wonder why I smell like a dragon. I’ll ask Teacher if he can explain that to me, the next time I see him.
“Plus, his transformation ability’s clearly not even working properly,” the second demon continues. “I’d be surprised if he’s more than just a hatchling. He’s claiming to be a dwarf,” actually, the hostess told you I’m a dwarf, not me. “And yet he’s in a human body. And he reeks of human, too – he’s clearly been around them.”
“Oh, that’s because I was just on Tulm,” I tell him, and all four of the demons stare at me.
“But can’t get back,” Bar nods. “The Caleb got stuck here. But he’ll find a way back. Dragons are dragons. The Caleb likes living in Tulm. Knows a lot of things about Tulm. The Caleb be very smart dragon. Apart from body choice. The Caleb picked the wrong body for his disguise. But the Caleb be alright. Everyone will think he’s a dwarf. Anyone who says otherwise, the Caleb can just eat. He’s a dragon, after all.”
I’m not, and I probably won’t eat anyone, though the meat is quite questionable. Instead of questioning it, however, I simply take the seat the hostess offers me and sit down.
“You deal with humans?” The first demon asks me.
“Quite often.”
“How did you get here from Tulm?” He asks. “No one can get in there, and no one’s come out of there, in over two hundred of their years.”
“Yeah, there’s something funky going on,” I say. “I accidentally transported myself out trying to get others to safety. I’ve done that before.”
“Yes,” Bar nods. “The Caleb be the one what freeze hell three years ago.”
“I’m amused it still hasn’t thawed,” I start putting food on my plate. “I haven’t been back there since then. Didn’t know it was still frozen until Bar told me.”
“Prove you froze hell,” the second one says sarcastically. “Can you do it again?”
“Probably,” I answer. “But since I can’t seem to get my traveling magic to let me out of this realm at the moment, I definitely can’t right now. Would you like me to freeze you instead?”
“I like this dragon!” The first demon throws his head back as he laughs, a deep, almost human laugh. “So my interest in humans, Caleb – that’s a human name, not a dwarf name, by the way – is that there’s one who’s been causing problems not far from here the last seven years. He’s got a strange magic and very powerful aura, and tracking him is nigh impossible. That region was quite peaceful until he arrived. But a child at the time, yet like all humans, was quite destructive. He has only grown more dangerous as the years passed. Would you be willing to deal with him? As a dragon, I’m sure ending his life wouldn’t be too difficult.”
“I’d rather not if I don’t have to,” I tell him. “I prefer to only kill if I’m hunting.”
“Well, feel free to hunt,” the second demon says sarcastically. “Or are you too soft on humans now to do that?”
“Well, I’ll hunt if I need to,” I say. “But I would rather just talk to him. Maybe I can get him to stop. And then, once I can figure out my magic, I could bring him back to Tulm. Where’s he at?”
“He’s in the Karthos region,” the first demon answers.
“Where’s that at?”
“I can show you.”
“Do you have a map?”
“A map?”
“You three,” I say. “Are obviously having an important discussion with each other, so I figure, if you just set me on the right track, then I can find him myself. Oh, there he is. Never mind. Found him. Bar, let’s go.”
“You won’t stay for food?” The hostess looks disappointed.
“I’ve already finished,” I gesture to the table as I stand up, indicating the fact that more than half the original food is gone. “Coming, Bar?”
“Bar is coming,” Bar follows me. “Bar will follow the Caleb, because the Caleb is good. The Caleb is powerful and safe and protected. Bar feels safe with the Caleb. So Bar is coming with the Caleb.”
We leave, and I start walking, bending space around us as we do until we arrive at the cave where some demons are attempting to attack the human, a boy around my age. He’s got silvery blond hair and emerald eyes, and as soon as I see him, I recognize him.
“Another human?” One of the demon stares at me.
“I’m a dwarf.”
“Smells like dragon,” another demon hesitates.
“Looks human.”
“I’m a dwarf.”
“Sure you are.”
I swirl my magic around me, and the demons pale in fear.
“I’m a dwarf,” I repeat myself.
“Uh… what brings a dwarf here?”
“You’re attacking my friend. Leave now, and I’ll let you live.”
The demons run out of here, and Bar starts rambling to himself as the other human looks at me, still wielding his aura and flexing his Ability.
“Hey, Tommy!”
“Uh,” he pauses. “Who the hell are you?”
“It’s Caleb!” I grin at him. “I thought Kieran and I were the only survivors! He’s gonna be so happy to find out you’re still alive!”
“How did you get here?”
“My magic’s acting all wonky,” I shrug. “I was told you were terrorizing the demons here.”
“They keep attacking me,” he stares at me warily, not quite believing I’m who I say I am. “I’ve trained majorly in my aura and Ability the last seven years, and-”
“This is my Reality, now,” I trigger my Ability, bringing us to a place that only one of us would know – one of the circumstances for the Reality is that no one remembers the interior of it after we leave, only while we’re within. “It’s really me, Tommy.”
“Your incant is different,” he frowns, relaxing his guard, but only slightly. Bar is now rambling about this place, and Tommy glances at him briefly before looking back to me. “What happened to you?”
“Not sure,” I answer. “I freaked out, then ran and right before passing out, heard another Creator incant. Woke up in a different town. Kieran had the same thing happen to him. As far as we knew, we were the only survivors. What happened to you? How did you get here? I’m so glad you’re alive – you were one of my favorites, and I cried a lot for you.”
“I remember Jonathan dying,” he says. “Then you freaking out. I felt your power flux, and then there was some sort of ripple that washed through me separate from your power. I woke up here.”
His guard is still up. Whatever happened to him here has made him cautious, hesitant. He doesn’t trust anyone – not even an old friend.
Something disturbs my Reality, and I look over to the source of it – it’s a doggy!
“Hi, doggy!” I greet it. “How’d you get in here?”
“That’s… not a doggy,” Tommy says. “Uh. We should run. Now!”
“Bar agrees with the human,” Bar says. “Bar says run! That be no doggy. No know why the Caleb think that.”
“You’re so cute,” I walk over to the doggy, putting out my hand with the back of it facing him. “Wanna sniff it? I’m Caleb!”
The doggy stares at me.
“If you’re going suicidal, Cay, then get me out of here!” Tommy exclaims.
“Bar wants be gone, too!” Bar exclaims. “No want be near Rift Wolf! Run!”
“Hi, doggy!” I say again. “I won’t hurt you, I promise! Come on! Come here!”
The doggy approaches me slowly, keeping his eyes on me. He sniffs the back of my hand, and I place my other one on his snout, gently stroking it as I move my other hand to the side of his head, feeling his fur.
“Your fur is so soft,” I put my head against his. “So nice and fluffy. Nice to meet you! I’m Caleb!”
You are an interesting child, Caleb. I am Kilma.
“Nice to meet you, Kilma!” I say. “I’m Caleb!”
“Yeah, that’s Caleb,” Tommy says.
You do know that you told me your name three times, right?
“Do you play fetch?”
No.
“Then why did you come in here?”
To see who was disturbing the fabric of reality here. The few beings capable of warping reality like this avoid this realm. You are quite strange, Caleb.
“People think that about me a lot.”
You have the body of a human, yet power akin to a dragon’s. You even smell like a dragon… ah. I see.
“I see, too,” I tell him. “You’re very adorable.”
“I can’t believe Caleb is talking to a Rift Wolf like it’s a dog or an old friend,” Tommy comments to Bar. “I kind of want to know what the Rift Wolf is saying, though… sometimes, I wish I had Caleb’s passive Ability to know the thoughts of others. Would’ve made surviving here a whole lot easier.”
It appears, Caleb, that while your mother was human, your father was not.
“He wasn’t?”
No.
“Then what was he?” I ask, rubbing his belly. He turns over onto his side and lets me give him a nice belly rub. “If he wasn’t human?”
You smell like a dragon and have the power of a dragon, Caleb. What do you think he was?
“Very into dragons?”
The doggy starts laughing, and I stare at him.
“What?”
Your father was a dragon, Caleb. There is more to him than that, but that is all I will tell you. As you didn’t already know, I believe it safe to assume the information was withheld intentionally. You truly thought you were human until now.
“So I’m half-human, half-dragon?” I ask. “Why can’t I turn into a dragon?”
I’ve never seen a hybrid between a dragon and another species before, so I honestly couldn’t tell you. Since your mother was a human, it’s probably that your human form is your only form, as it was your birth form.
“I wish I had wings,” I pout. “Then I could’ve been flying long before Teacher, since he didn’t know how.”
Teacher?
“Yeah,” I nod. “My mentor. He looks like he could be my big brother. We’re eerily similar in appearance.”
An image of Teacher pops up into my head, Teacher staring back at me. It takes me a moment to realize it’s a memory of the doggy.
“You’ve met him?”
That’s… okay. Teacher isn’t human. You do know that, right?
“He isn’t?”
He’s a dragon. A full-blooded dragon. No one knows his real name, but he’s ancient. The son of a Dragon of Creation and a normal dragon. He got stuck on Tulmar when the Calamity occurred. Even we Rift Wolves have had a hard time penetrating the power that prevents passage in and out of that realm.
“So Teacher is probably really just flying in his dragon form?”
Uh… flight magic is natural to dragons, no matter their form. It’s how they fly in dragon form. Pretty sure that he was flying long before you were a concept.
“Well,” I say. “When I get back to Tulmar, I’m going to ask him to show me his dragon form. I bet it’s so cool! Does both of us being dragon or half-dragon have to do with why we look like we could be brothers?”
If you’re of the same breed of dragon, then yes. Dragons of the same breed tend to have very similar human forms.
“When I return to Tulmar,” I say. “After Teacher shows me his dragon form, I’m going to see if he knew I was part dragon. Also gonna see if he can help me wake it up in me. I wanna be able to access my dragon powers. Flame and Brooks already can.”
“Who are Flame and Brooks?” Tommy asks Bar.
“Bar dunno,” Bar answers. “Bar only met the Caleb today.”
Do you interact with the Allmaker often?
“Very often,” I nod, then pause. “Well, used to, but then I joined the military, so he only visits me occasionally. I sensed his power nearby when I passed out and woke up here, though, so he’ll probably be around when I wake up. He’ll probably just dump me in a hospital or something. Shame, because I really wanna see his island, but he keeps that private.”
“Owie!” Bar exclaims, and I turn to face Tommy staring at Bar in shock, Tommy’s knife stabbed into the goblin’s stomach. “What be the human doing? Bar knew humans be bad! Bar also not sure why Bar not dead.”
“Tommy!” I stare at him. “Why did you attack Bar?”
“Why didn’t he die?” Tommy looks at me in annoyance. “Mo’Ak aren’t able to survive a stab like that, especially not with a kilmis blade.”
“Kilmis be very nasty,” Bar pulls the knife out, inspecting it. “Blade be forged of poison. Deadly. Very deadly. Why it no hurt Bar?”
“Every Reality Marble I’ve ever made after the Massacre,” I stare at Tommy. “I’ve set in a single, crucial rule: no ally or friend of mine can die, or even be hurt. All injuries will be healed. This requires only one side to view as an ally or friend.”
“Really?” He smiles at me. “Does it work in concert with my Ability, or does my Ability interfere with it?”
There were three Perceptions at the orphanage. Jonathan was the first. Tommy was the second.
“Your Ability won’t affect it,” I answer. “I set the law to work around a Perception Ability. Didn’t want Kieran messing it up.”
“Kieran?” He laughs. “I think you’re confused – Kieran’s Ability dealt with light and shadows! His dork of a brother was a Perception Superhuman, not him!”
“Kieran has Jonathan’s Ability, now,” I state calmly, knowing, now that I’ve entered Tommy’s mind, that he plans on attacking me. “Something freaky happened when I flexed my power during the Massacre and caused it to merge into Kieran, who was touching him at the time, as Jonathan died. If you really think you can get away with attacking me, Tommy, you need to think again. I am an S-S-S-S Superhuman with more powerful aura than anyone you’ve ever known, and I’m a full-blown Mage capable of magics surpassing even that which was known before the Calamity. And you are in my Reality. Your Ability of Perception will not work on me, and your aura is worthless against me. I am not your enemy, Tommy. I’m your friend. I’m your brother.”
“Then why did you leave me here?” He growls.
“Dude,” I say. “You’re in an entirely different realm. I thought you were dead. Passage in and out of Tulm, our realm, isn’t supposed to be possible after the Calamity. I’m here now, though, and I can bring you back. Kieran and I are so happy where we are. We joined the GSDF and do lots of cool things. Well, Kieran joined forever ago, because whoever saved us dumped him there, but I just joined back in April, and-”
“As if!” He growls, a knife forming in his hand. “I’m going to kill you for your betrayal!”
There are two things I can do in this situation.
The first is completely erase or alter is memories, making him someone he isn’t, effectively killing this Tommy. I don’t want to do that, because I don’t like messing with people’s heads.
The second is kill Tommy and end the pain he’s constantly in. He’s conflicted, and there’s no way I can help him.
Tommy starts to move toward me, and then screams out in pain. I still see him as my brother, but not as a friend or ally anymore, so the effect of that particular Reality Law doesn’t affect him anymore…
Yet I didn’t do anything.
Tommy drops to one knee, then growls, pulling the knife out of his back and staring at the blood on it. His face twists into an image of evil, and he stands back up, glaring at Bar, who is now backing away very, very slowly.
“Bar thought that would work,” Bar says. “Didn’t think Bar would be too short. Bar is probably going to die, isn’t he?”
“I’m going to gut you up,” Tommy growls. “You, and Caleb, and the fucking Rift Wolf.”
Kilma rises to his feet, growling.
Calm. I will handle this.
Did you just tell me to calm?
Tommy is my brother, I take a deep breath. It’s my responsibility. Down, doggy.
Tommy lunges at Bar, only to find the goblin gone.
“Bar has no idea how that happened,” Bar comments, looking around. “Bar was almost a dead Mo’Ak goblin one moment, then appeared elsewhere. Bar does not know this magic.”
Tommy goes after Bar again, and no matter how many times Bar vanishes and appears somewhere else in the game room, Tommy doesn’t catch on to what’s happening. He’s healing, too.
He’s done something bad. He’s formed a contract with a demon, and even from outside of this Reality, that demon can still help him. If I sever that link, he’ll stop healing. He’s already healed. I could have severed that link.
But I need to do this myself. He’s my brother, and he needs to rest easy.
Clenching my fists, I lunge forward as Tommy stops yet again to locate Bar. He’s forgotten about me. I reach him from behind. Before he realizes I’m here, I grab his head and snap his neck. His body is still for a moment.
It’s as if time freezes in the moment after. Tommy is standing there, his face turned to the side, shock clear on it, the evil and hatred still within his eyes. Then, his body slowly collapses, and just lays on the ground. I stare at it for what feels like hours before the doggy nudging me shakes me from the shock.
“I can’t believe I just killed him.”
It was a hard decision to make, drakeling, but it was a necessary death. He’d been corrupted by a demon and fallen down a path of darkness. Had he been left to live, he would have become a dark overlord. Had you brought him back to Tulmar, he’d have caused great havoc there, in time. The only choices to save him would also destroy him. It was the right choice, drakelin.
“I killed Tommy.”
“Tommy be bad person,” Bar waddles over to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “He be human, and he be try kill Bar and the Caleb.”
“Not all humans are evil,” I snap at Bar. “A lot of us are good! A whole lot of us! There’s me and Kieran and Flame and Brooks and Cliff and Gale and Taylor and Jared and Owen and so many others! Well, maybe Jared has some mental issues, but he’s still a good person, if you know what to do. When I find a way back to Tulm, I can take you with me and prove it to you!”
“Bar sorry for upsetting the Caleb,” Bar lowers his head. “Very sorry. Meant no offense to people the Caleb grew up with. Bar is sorry. Will the Caleb forgive me? Bar would go to Tulm to see if right.”
If you feed me some of your power, I can open a rift between the two realms. This body of yours will fade as you return to your real body. I can have it so that Bar travels with you, his physical form traveling as well.
“You can take me home?” I look at the doggy.
If you feed me some of your power, yes, he nods. Rift Wolves have power akin to dragons, but neither side has been able to breach the barrier that prevents passage in and out of Tulm. We don’t normally get along, but if we combined powers, a Rift Wolf could definitely open a rift. A dragon wouldn’t dare risk it – they don’t like rifts, even if we do close them back up after.
“What do I need to do?” I ask.
Have you ever fed power into something before? Not controlled power, but raw power? I’ll need a lot of it.
“Yeah,” I answer, and he stares at me. “What?”
Very, very few dragons would ever dare do that, even Allmaker warns against it.
“Why does Teacher warn against it?”
It’s very, very risky. It allows one access to your magic, and allows them to take control of it, if they know how.
“Oh,” I say. “I guess I should have let him know I can do it, then.”
He doesn’t know you’ve done it before?
“I didn’t think it was a big deal,” I shrug. “It wasn’t into something living at the time.”
At the time?
“Yeah...” My face heats up. “It turned living when I did that. Can be kind of mouthy, too.”
Oh, fuck off!
“You haven’t spoken in almost a year, and that’s the first thing you ask?”
Who would want to talk to a quiet, depressed little boy? And then you were going through all that training crap. I thought it’d be better to just leave you alone. Better than dealing with your moods.
“I’m not the one with an attitude.”
Oh, shove a sock in it.
“You.”
You.
“You.”
You.
“You.”
As amusing as this is, the doggy interrupts us as Bar looks at me in confusion. I can’t actually figure out what’s talking… Anyway. It’s a risky thing to do, due to it opening a direct pathway to you.
“Alright,” I put my hand on his snout. “Take me home.”
You’re going to do it, just like that? You don’t even know me!
“You’re a doggy,” I stare into his eyes. “Are you going to misbehave?”
Without waiting for him to respond, I channel my magic. The doggy makes a noise of satisfaction as I do, and then I feel him link with my magic. A few moments later, he exhales, and a rift opens up in the universe. I walk through it, feeling the shift as I return to my real body, and then a jolt goes through me as I wake up.
“Bar was not expecting a place like this,” Bar looks around. “Lots of sand. Very nice. Where be we?”
The doggy came with me!
At least that’s a plus. I’m definitely back on Tulm, since my Ability and magic are restricted again. I’m on an island of some sort.
“WHO DARES TO TRESPASS ON MY TERRITORY?”
The voice is deep and powerful, and coming from the other side of the doggy. I turn on the hammock and fall off, then scramble to my feet.
“Well, if you didn’t want me here, then why was my body already here?” I snap, then realize two things.
One: I can’t sense them at all.
Two: It’s a dragon.
A living, breathing dragon. He stands nearly forty feet tall and has black, gold, and violet scales, his violet eyes filled with hatred and rage. He’s staring at the doggy, and even in his anger, he’s the most beautiful and majestic thing I’ve ever seen.
“I wasn’t talking to you, Caleb,” the dragon growls, glaring down at the doggy. “Why have you chosen to trespass upon my territory, Rift Wolf? What is your name?”
Kilma, Allmaker, the doggy bows to the dragon.
The dragon knows who I am?
“ANSWER MY QUESTION!” The dragon booms.
Caleb fed me raw magic to allow me to open a rift from Naikur to here.
“If you even thought about linking his magic-”
I didn’t intend to. Caleb’s… interesting. When he did it, he initiated a Familiar Contract. I don’t think he was aware of that. I followed him through because I didn’t think I’d be of much use as a familiar when I’m not able to enter his realm.
Wait. Did the doggy call the dragon ‘Allmaker’? Isn’t that what he calls Teacher?
The dragon walks over to us, narrowing his gaze as he focuses it on me, and I feel like I’m being assessed. The dragon turns its head back to the doggy.
“You are very lucky you didn’t try to take control over him,” the dragon states. “Boundaries or not, I would have hunted you down to the ends of the ‘verse and put you through an eternal torment. Caleb is like a son to me. And Caleb – how in the hell did you leave this realm?”
“Same way I entered hell three years ago.”
“You… what?” The dragon looks stunned.
“Yes,” Bar nods. “The Caleb be the one what freeze hell. It still be frozen, too.”
You have an interesting student, Allmaker. No one’s been able to figure out how to thaw hell out from that spell, and it happened rapidly – he froze the entirety of it within a minute.
“When did you go to hell?” The dragon asks me.
“Three years ago.”
“I meant date.”
“Dun remember.”
“What happened to you in Naikur?”
“I met one of my brothers,” I look down. “He… I had to kill him.”
I feel a fluctuation of magic, then a few moments later, arms wrapping around me. I start sobbing into whoever it is. I can’t believe I killed Tommy. Why couldn’t I have found another way? There could have been another way.
I’m so pathetic. So, so pathetic.
Why?