#elonth

Magic:

Highly skilled in general, she is head of the department of nullifications and counter-magics at Raifal mage college. She has no advanced ability but is adept at overriding others’ control of energy and disabling enchantments.

Personality:

Those that know her well describe an odd mix of pride and compassion. She is not afraid to take pride in and display her achievements, her status and her wealth - but one also gets the sense that she does her best to treat others with respect and compassion. She shows a surprising amount of effort and determination to support and aid those she deigns worth her time.

Not afraid to take the lead or tell others how to do things, she often finds herself in the lead of teams or projects. With a good eye for both the detail and bigger picture, she remains steadfast in her guidance when many others might have faltered.

She can get snappy when in a foul mood, nor does she have much patience with those who refuse to learn.

She believes the greatest gift is to help people help themselves. She has a hand in the runnings of several charities that focus on teaching life skills and trades to the needy.

Family:

Rentik and her two sisters - Xinyi and Yaling - of the same clutch were only raised by their parents for the first few years of their lives. Then both their mother and father were called to serve for the glory of the empire. After that, their aunt and uncle took care of them while their parents infrequently returned for visits. The visits stopped after both were killed in battle.

One of Rentik’s sisters and a cousin, Xinyi and Anhua, joined her on her trek to Tumenzar, while the rest of her close family remained behind.

Clothing:

Horn deco

In addition to aesthetics, the gems in her jewelry also serve a purpose. The ones that hang on the chains from her horns are used for extra energy storage.

The rings that hold the chains in place, encircling her horns, are capable of clipping open and closed.

Metal necklaces

What appears to be one large necklace with many loops is, in fact, several very similar single-looped necklaces. Each has a clasp at the back to allow easy removal.

Scarf

It is not compulsory for students and teachers at the Raifal mage college to wear their scarf, but it is common as a display of pride in the college. Rentik instead wears an ebony-purple scarf which she seems rather fond of.

Bracelet

Bearing no family crest, these bracelets appear to be purely decorative.

Tail deco

A deceivingly simple and pretty arrangement of shiridan gems hangs from chains attached to cuffs on her tail. She programs these gems with complex enchantments that she can trigger at will.

History:

Born and raised in Scriven when under the rule of the Imaadudin empire. Taught to be intensely patriotic by her school and parents, she admired the accomplishments of the empire - the technologies and systems they had set in place, improving the lives of their citizens. They brought technological advancement and wealth to regions who’d been lagging behind the industrial revolution.

She was still in her teens when the empire fell. She witnessed the civil unrest that followed, along with the Tumenzarians’ efforts to stabilize the region and prevent outright civil war. With the new conquerors came tales of a land with even greater knowledge and technological prowess. Ultimately, however, the orange-and-green dragons withdrew from whence they came.

Rentik stayed with her kin for some time, struggling alongside them in their disillusionment with what the empire had been and seeking out what they had to do next.

Eventually, she decided to form a group of companions that set out to make the great journey around the sea in search of this land. When they finally reached Tumenzar, they were welcomed, but not all had survived.

Rentik ultimately found herself enticed not by the machines but by pulling on the threads of reality. She joined the prestigious Raifal Mage College to study the science and mastery of the skills inherent to dragonkind.

Through decades of dedication and hard work, she rose through the ranks. After more than a century of study and research, she achieved the position of head of the department of nullifications and counter-magics.

“We’re going to have to work on your awareness of the real world when you’re in your illusions. I’m certain you could eventually operate in both at the same time – similar to how I do not need to devote my entire attention to either of our illusions. Good morning, Mar.” Irikshan blinked a few times at a measured pace, expressing that he was pleased to begin the lesson.

“Yeah, with three centuries of practice. Morning, sir.”

Irikshan snorted. “This is no competition. We’ve already established our abilities work differently. I alter an individual’s perceptions of reality, while you put them in a state akin to lucid dreaming – with the accompanying sped up perceptions of time.” The elder surveyed the area, and the mess Mar had created. His response was tilting his head questioningly. “Are you certain you should be practising in here and not reality? I know physics has behaved how we expected, but that precisely may be the issue. What if it is supposed to behave in an unexpected manner?”

“Saves time,” he flicked his tail dismissively. “I wanted to get some practice in before you came. On stuff I already understand. Focusing here is even harder than normal, so I figured if I could get better here, it would have an easier time in reality.”

“Fair enough. Have you been busy with work from that research team?”

“Yes.”

“How’s it going?”

“Don’t you get their progress reports?”

Irikshan bobbed his head, “I do, but I was asking after your personal experience. There are some big decisions that need to be made today.”

“Well, I’m thankful for the opportunity. To Rentik that she encouraged the team to take me as an apprentice, and to the team for choosing to do so. Didn’t expect them to take me seriously, I’m still a child. I’m learning a lot, and my previous experience with computers has rendered me not completely useless. It’s just a lot to keep up with.”

“I can have your schedule changed if you would like?” Irikshan tilted his head again. “We have multiple programs to handle both full time and part-time students.”

“No, no, it’s fine. The team members have only taken me on the condition that I continue to put my studies first.”

“Good. And what do you think of the machine’s capabilities?”

“Machines have always been great at doing simple things faster and more reliably than us or the humans. It’s the complex things that are challenging. But as the technology improves and is released to the public, people – not even necessarily us – will figure out how to make it do more and more.” He paused, the excitement clear in his eyes. Irikshan nodded him on. “Currently I’m helping make software that can help bug test their stuff, while most of the team is working on functionality where it can record and imitate actions. They’re also working on making it more customisable. Someday we could have it record advanced abilities and imitate those. Imagine being able to take dream-vacations on demand! Hah!”

“Be careful that you don’t get ahead of yourself. You can still barely control your illusions beyond where you end up. You’ve passed your theory exams last week, and now’s the time for you to practice.” Irikshan stepped back.

“What’s the plan today?” Mar felt a large sneeze coming, closing his eyes and wrinkling his nose in preparation. It did not come. When he opened his eyes, he found thick crisscrossing metal bars filling his vision. They surrounded him on all sides and even above. Not that the confined space was large enough for him to open his wings and fly. The bars were also sunk into the ground below, firmly anchored there.

“Get out the cage.”

“Really?” Mar tapped the metal with a claw. The bars rang hollow. The metal appeared to be a type of steel. There was no point testing whether they were real or not.

“Yes.”

Sure, Irikshan was the head of the mage college, but it still irked Mar to some degree that the elder had better control of Mar’s illusions than Mar himself had. Ever since Irikshan had discovered that altering Mar’s perception of his own world, in other words causing Mar to see illusions in illusions, caused those alterations to become part of the world, the Elder had been looking for any excuse to use his illusions. If it weren’t for the Elder’s always-serious demeanour, Mar would have thought that he took an almost hatchling-like joy in seeing his own illusions become ‘real’.

Drawing from his heart-crystal, Mar condensed a copious amount of energy into his fist – to the point where it stung. He swung at the bar, releasing a kinetic blast forwards moments before hitting the bars. He very suddenly wished he had stopped his swing short, as he found himself punching the unflinching metal. Irikshan had diverted the blast around the metal, towards himself, and absorbed it. Mar waved his hand in the air as if that would dull the pain.

“Come now Mar, you knew that wouldn’t work. You could spend all the energy you have like that and you wouldn’t get very far. Decrease surface area you apply it to, and you decrease the required force to break it. You really should have thought that through.”

Nursing his throbbing hand, Mar asked, “Can I have my energy back please?”

“No. That is not how you’re supposed to get out this cage. You do not need imaginary energy to get out of this imaginary cage. Just like the energy you spent, it only exists in this world as long as you allow it to.”

With a sigh, Mar closed his eyes. It was challenging to focus, but he endeavoured to do so. He tugged on the dream, attempting to manipulate it to free himself. The world around him lurched, then the frigid forest soundscape vanished – replaced with the sounds of training.

Opening his eyes, Mar found himself back amongst the familiar mountains of Tumenzar. In the region behind Raifal College, several small training grounds had been established in the mountains, far from major structures such as the dam and water treatment plant.

Mar had lain down at the edge of the large, roughly circular arena where he’d started practising. On the opposite side of the arena, another trainee and their mentor were tossing bolts of electricity between each other. It was a dragoness training a foreign-looking man. He was likely one of Tumenzar’s significant temporary population, here to study and train before returning to their homes. Although, he could just have easily been amongst, or the descendant of, those that chose to stay.

Outside the arena, at a distance close enough they could intervene but far enough their presence did not feel oppressive, stood two more dragons. They were covered in plain black three-piece cloaks that went over their backs and under their wings, connecting at the neck and the base of the tail. These cloaks hung downwards in a curtain-like fashion. His senses as to what might be hidden beneath were suspiciously blocked off. He was too nervous to ask Irikshan about them, let alone approach them and ask them themselves.

“Mar, stay focused.” Finally, in front of Mar, the scowling Elder himself sat. His snout was crinkled and brows furrowed, but he was not showing his teeth. “The secret service escort is a part of my job you really should be used to by now. If there’s anyone here you should be scared of, it’s me.”

“Well,” the youngster tried to lighten the mood, “I got out of the cage.”

“No, Mar. You need to take this seriously. Let’s do it again.”

“Yes, sir.” he closed his eyes, picturing the frigid pine forest that they had just been in before easing himself and Irikshan into the dream.

Mar sat outside, a small distance from one of the two main entrances of the college complex, holding his tablet with one hand and supporting himself with the other. Mentally triggering the capacitive screen was an easy enough action. One that he’d gotten quite used to. Although, at this moment he stood at the railing at the edge of the courtyard, looking down the mountain slopes.

Each of Raifal College’s main entrances lay on opposite sides of the river. The areas in front of them were large red brick courtyards, clear of anything that could obstruct incoming or departing dragons. They were partially supported by pillars embedded in the sloped ground below. On the far end of each courtyard lay expansive parking lots.

The college complex consisted of several partially-freestanding buildings, adjoined by sky bridges – the most prominent of which joined the two buildings directly on each riverbank, near the thundering falls. The river itself, while not huge from a global perspective, was a great boon to two of Tumenzar’s three capital cities and many smaller settlements along its south-westward course.

In front of the college complex, downhill from the falls, lay a meticulously designed and maintained botanical garden consisting largely of species indigenous to the country. Wide grassy areas dotted with trees separated groups plants that had different soil preferences. Even surveying from so far, Mar could spot many distinctly recognisable plants: Sweet Thorn Acacias, Baobabs, Marula Trees, King Proteas, Strelitzias, Arum Lillies, Red Hot Pokers, and so many more.

Mar looked back at his tablet. He’d been messaging a few friends that he’d met online over the years. They had formed a server on a messaging application and talked there. Those friends had added their friends, and it had become a fairly large and diverse group with members from around the world. Many of them worked in IT-related positions, but more didn’t. The server was named The Bytes Bit.

All on the server spoke Imaadudish – the language that was the standard for international business and trade. Mar himself, although speaking Tumenzarian at home and with family, had done his studies and work in Imaadudish. He almost didn’t notice when he switched languages anymore.

There had been some meetups between members of the group that lived in the same countries. Mar himself had met a dragon and human who lived in Tumenzar. There had been no big international meetup, but most of them had shared pictures of what they looked like. While Mar couldn’t be certain that any of them except those he had met looked like the pictures they sent, he could not see a reason that they would need to use pictures of someone else instead of simply not sharing.

At this moment in time, several members were abuzz about some new game announcements at an international exhibition called the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Mar himself was skimming the messages, but not participating in the conversation. He had other things to keep him busy of late.

Behind him, the large automatic doors had been regularly opening and closing as students, staff, and visitors came and went. Once again they opened, to the footsteps of a large dragon exiting the complex. This time, however, the footsteps changed direction towards him.

“Young Sterkvleuel.” The voice was smooth and soft, for a dragon. Friendly, despite the family-name greeting. Mar turned to find himself looking at a Scriven of gold and off-white, decorated with dark navy blue stripes. She did not seem to have seen battle, let alone let her age show via anything but her size. The amount of jewellery she wore would have looked tacky on most others, but she wore it with style. Additionally, Mar could tell that those gems were not mere decoration.

“Miss Rentik. How are you today?” Mar returned the pleasant smile he received.

“I am well. When are you planning to go to the lab?”

“I was just about to.”

“Good, I was also heading there myself. Fly with me?”

“Yes ma’am,” Mar nodded and slipped his tablet into his bag, securing it closed.

Rentik unfurled her sail-sized wings and began beating at the air, blasting enough air into the ground that Mar had to brace himself or be knocked off his feet. His nictitating membranes instinctively shut, the world around him becoming blurred.

Mar detected more energy released by Rentik than that of her wings against the air. She was giving herself some extra lift. He wondered how it felt, or if she even noticed she did it anymore. It was a well-enough known problem experienced by all species of Draco: older dragons had to counteract a portion of gravity on their own bodies, lest their own weight cause health complications, or keep them grounded. Natural selection was a cruel thing, only striving to ensure that living beings made it to reproductive age, and not caring for what happened beyond that. Especially as said creature’s lifespans extended far beyond what their ancient, less energetically adept, ancestors’ once might have been.

Once the air had stilled enough, Mar likewise spread his wings and took to the air. He too provided himself with some extra lift to get into the air faster, but it was a conscious decision. Perhaps someday he might simply stop noticing that he did it.

Rentik had been gliding in a circle, waiting for him, and began to fly in the direction of the labs when he joined her. He followed a small distance behind her left wing.

Rentik turned her head to look at him, then called loud enough to be heard, “How have things been going for you?”

“Well enough. I’m already tired today and it’s barely noon. I am making progress with my training, but it seems like Irikshan is having to force himself to be patient with me. The research team seem like that too. I am learning a lot, but I feel like I’m only being marginally helpful to them as their in-house bug tester.”

“That is no fault of your own. Normally individuals far more experienced and skilled than you would find themselves in those positions.”

“Thanks,” Mar said sarcastically. He was tempted to add to that but knew Rentik only meant well.

“No need to be upset. The fact that you still keep going, striving to learn and become better, speaks to a persistence and desire to grow that is far too rare, especially amongst our kind. Your progress and persistence are what lead me to invite you to the research team. I’m sure those aspects will serve you well in life.”

“Thanks.” It was genuine this time.

“I dislike it when drake settle down in mere comfort. They stop striving for more, to become better. What’s more is that they can even come to fear change and actively fight it. Part of what I love about Tumenzar is that scientific and technological advancement is the norm.” She paused, thinking. Their destination was nearing. “Still, some things could certainly stand to improve.”

“Do you think the project is ok?”

“Yes, I like the team and their progress. They’re certainly persistent too. You’re only seeing the tail end of this, but they’ve been through a lot.”

The two glided apart. They had arrived at the science complex building. Mar politely let Rentik land first and waited for her to move out of the way before he came down to the ground. They entered the building and were greeted and then thoroughly inspected by security staff. Mar’s bags were taken, as usual, to be returned when he left. Rentik’s were merely glanced through, but that was not surprising.

Once the check was done, they headed to the stairwell. Its steps were divided into two sections that had different sizes and spacing, one large enough for Rentik and one small enough for humans… or Mar. The lab his team worked in was on the third floor and each floor was seven metres tall. He typically took the elevator, which he was still small enough to fit inside, but now walked with Rentik.

“Irikshan said some big decisions are being made today?” Mar hoped he’d get told what these were.

“I haven’t been informed of anything of the sort yet.”

“Oh.”

Mar found himself skipping steps to keep up with Rentik’s large strides.

“Are you going to continue working on that diagnostic program today?”

“Yes.” Mar, under the oversight of the rest of the team, had been designing a program that would run diagnostics and bug testing on their software and machines. It was a simple enough concept, to try to break the programs while observing what went wrong, but to do so automatically instead of manually proved challenging. They’d been pleased with his idea, but he was certain they would have done something like that on their own eventually.

“Good. I’ll be in Vivette’s office for a while before I have to leave.” Mar had learnt when he officially joined that Vivette was the leader of the main team working on this project. Despite this, her attitude was more as if she was supporting a team of equals than exerting authority over them. An approach that seemed to be a great boon to team morale.

When they reached the third floor, Rentik turned into the office when they passed it, leaving Mar to continue to the lab alone.

Mar, Morne and Mischa stood in front of a whiteboard, taking turns with the marker pen and having their say on what their next addition to the diagnostic program would be, and what approach to the addition they would take. They were currently leaning towards some basic emulation of output and input from one of their machines so that the software could be tested as if it were live, while it was actually not. Testing the software with user-defined or random inputs and only recording its outputs could only get one so far.

All heads in the lab turned towards the door as it burst open and two dragons marched in. They wore black three-piece cloaks with badges pinned to the front and the large, bold letters ‘CDI’ on the side. The one in the lead flashed his badge, then announced, “Agent Ruan. Council’s Department of Investigation. We’re here to inform you that this project is under new authority.”

There were a couple of sounds of surprise from the team, but the rest remained silent. Looking around the room, several of the team members had their wings partially spread, while a couple of their tails flicked back and forth. This could have been agitation or simple startlement.

“Can I see that, please?” Mischa stepped forward and pointed towards where the badge hung from the dragon’s cloak. He nodded and the badge floated to Mischa, who took some time to inspect it before sending it back.

“Elder Irikshan is here too,” the agent commented. “He is speaking to Vivette and Rentik. I am here with some forms for you all to sign.” Said forms were distributed.

Mar was in a position where he could see out the door and down the passage. He saw more agents, along with a tail – ending in a pointed shape somewhere between a spade and an arrowhead – sticking out of Vivette’s office doorway. The tail soon vanished fully into the office. He was fairly certain that it belonged to Irikshan.

Setting his sight on the document he’d received, Mar was met with rather intimidating legal-speak. Hoping to gain some understanding of what he was signing for, he asked, “What’s happening?”

“This project is now under the direct control of the council,” Agent Ruan answered. “The document outlines what you need to know.”

“Why?”

“National security,” came the curt response.

“That’s not very informative.”

“No,” Morne agreed, “it isn’t. But I can imagine why they made the decision.”

“So, what are we signing?” Mar thought it would be more efficient to have it explained than to decipher it himself. And he felt a little lazy.

“To summarise what it says here,” Luski was the one who spoke up. His tone indicated he wanted clarification on whether he himself had interpreted the document correctly. “We, both our team and the other teams, will continue all our research as-is. This includes the means of mass production, but without the plans to produce, sell, or release anything. The council will handle decisions on what to release to the press and public. All our previous contracts and non-disclosure agreements still hold sway, but we are in obligation to the council instead of Rentik and Raifal College.”

“That is correct. If you’ll sign at the bottom, I will sign as your first witness, and one of your colleagues can sign as the second.”

While the signing was being done, Lucy asked, “What about the significant funds that Rentik and the college invested into this project?”

Mar had Morne sign as his second witness. No one had asked him to be theirs, but that didn’t bother him.

“Both are being reimbursed,” Ruan answered matter-of-factly.

Looking back down the passageway, Mar saw Vivette, Rentik and Irikshan leaving the office. Vivette looked mildly unsettled. Rentik’s expression was one of pure distaste, to the point that she could probably curdle perfectly good milk just by looking at it. Irikshan did a remarkable job at keeping a neutral countenance in the face of that.

“Did you tell Irikshan something?”

The three had stopped walking and continued talking, but the conversation did seem to be concluding. Oddly enough, no sound at all could be heard from their conversation.

“Mar.”

“Yes?” Mar responded to his name. He turned to see that Mischa had been speaking to him. “Pardon me?”

“Did you say something to Irikshan that affected this decision?”

“Mischa,” Morne stepped in, “Don’t go blaming this on Mar. This decision would have been the entire council’s and would have been deliberated at length. Additionally, they would already have had access to our reports.”

“I do not and will not blame this on Mar,” Mischa stated. “I am simply curious.”

Despite her not showing any aggressive body language, Mar found himself shrinking from her gaze. “Well,” he opted to answer the question, “I did speak to Irikshan this morning during my training session. He asked after my opinion of the project and said there was some big decision to be made. I guess this was it.”

“Most likely,” Mischa nodded, “How did you respond?”

“I said I’m learning a lot, mentioned what we’re currently working on, and expressed my excitement about the machine’s potential.”

“The machine’s potential is likely what the council is worried about,” Mischa concluded. “But they would have been aware of that and would have been observing us for long.”

Agent Ruan, who had just collected the last form from Zhen, now spoke again at last. “We will be leaving now. Carry on with your good work.”

Looking down the passage again, Mar saw Irikshan had left. Vivette’s door was closed. She and Rentik had probably gone back into the office. Mar rushed after the agents. Hearing him approach, Ruan turned around with a quickness and readiness that caused Mar to come to a fearful screeching halt.

Peering towards the small dragon, while remaining tense Ruan asked, “Can I help?” A sliver of his teeth were showing.

Mar could sense the other dragon’s mental presence, checking him for any sign that he would pose a threat. Mar’s heart was suddenly pounding as the realisation dawned that these agents could be incredibly dangerous if they needed to. “I uh… I wanted to… I was going to go talk to the Elder.”

“I don’t think he’d have the time for you, little one.”

“Let him past, Ruan,” The other agent spoke for the first time, “That’s Elder Irikshan’s mentee. You ‘skimmed’ the personnel files again, didn’t you?”

The first agent shot the second a look as if to say, ‘not now’. “Very well, go on ahead.” The two stepped aside and allowed Mar to run past. When he reached the stairwell, he glanced down and saw Irikshan had just reached the second floor.

Irikshan’s small envoy quickly noticed Mar scrabbling down the stairs, and so did Irikshan. He stopped and waited, blinking slowly to indicate trust. A couple of CDI agents reacted in a similar manner to Ruan, but then relaxed somewhat when they noticed Irikshan. When Mar had caught up, Irikshan resumed his descent. “What’s the matter, my student?”

“I wanted to ask… if you may tell me… What is the reason behind this, and what are your plans? I’m sure the team would like to know as well.”

“I explained to Vivette and Rentik. I asked Vivette to explain it to all of you. But, put simply, the council wants to be sure that this technology does not get into the wrong hands. Until we are certain that we have enough… safeguards in place, this technology will remain secret. Well, the specifics of it. The public already knows of its existence thanks to Rentik’s press releases. We want to be prepared for problems that can and will arise once this becomes public.”

Mar nodded. That made sense. “And what of Rentik?”

“The council has not decided yet. She appears as if she will act territorial and non-cooperative this time. I will recommend she be removed from the project.”

“I think she’ll be fine. She’s got grand ideas and likes taking the lead. Give her some time, and she’ll adjust and figure out a way to help out.”

“Sir,” one of the agents drew Irikshan’s attention to look to the entrance to the building. The building’s security staff and a couple CDI agents were holding back a couple dozen reporters, extending their wings to block off more area. The reporters continued snapping pictures past the wings and through the glass of the doors.

“Ugh,” Irikshan groaned. “They’re better at sniffing out a story than an Ostrocation Bloodseeker. I’m not dressed for this, nor in the mood for them to get in my face.”

Mar looked to the doors, feeling shy from all the cameras even this far away. He heard footsteps heading down the last stairs. He moved to follow when a hand stopped him. He looked back to find Irikshan stopping him from descending, while another Irikshan descended the stairs. Irikshan’s escorts descended the stairs with that Irikshan.

“Briefly returning to the subject of Rentik: I partially agree with your assessment. She has a history of thinking she always knows best even if the council decides otherwise. Sometimes she agrees with our decisions, other times she does not. This is normal. She has a tendency to give us some pain about decisions she does not agree with. And this is a particularly sensitive project.”

“I see.”

Still aware of the two Irikshans, Mar concentrated on the one in front of him, then poked at it. He felt the Elder’s rough and worn scales. With some effort, Mar managed to look past that. He observed that it was simply an artificial force preventing his hand from moving forward, while his mind perceived it to be Irikshan’s scales.

The fake-Irikshan smiled, pleased. “I would have done it the other way around if that would not end up displeasing the press so much when they realise they took pictures of empty air once I leave.”

“What if they looked at the pictures they took now?”

“I could make them see me in the pictures as well.”

“Woah!”

“This is the result of considerable practice. I will see you for training tomorrow.”

Mar nodded, returning the smile before he blinked and the Irikshan before him vanished. “I will see you tomorrow.”

As soon as the real Irikshan exited the building, the crowd of journalists began calling for a statement. Mar could see Irikshan slightly retreating from the plethora of microphones floating towards his face. Irikshan responded that the project will continue as before, but the machines would not be made publicly available until safety measures could be put in place.

When Mar, at last, arrived home, he immediately flopped down onto his bedding and sunk into the pillows.

Suddenly, a distinct two-toned sound came from his tablet. It alerted him to the fact that he’d received a message via the application he had been on earlier. He realized that he must have forgotten to turn his tablet to silent mode before giving it to security.

Mustering the willpower to move, Mar dug in his bag and took out his tablet. He had a number of notifications from different apps, but two from the messaging application.

The first, a quarter of an hour old, said, “The Bytes Bit #general DataStorm: @DeepBlue @KoringHoring @IntegratedIntegrale Any of you know about this?” He must not have heard it on his flight to his apartment.

The second, most recent one, said, “The Bytes Bit #general CrystalCircuits: Is that @DeepBlue?”

DeepBlue was the username that Mar used for all of his online interactions. Both of these messages were from his friends’ server. Using the ‘@’ symbol before his username was what triggered the app to notify him. The other two that were mentioned by the first message were the other two Tumenzarians on the server.

He tapped the notification with his claw and released a miniscule discharge to the screen, then repeated the action to unlock his tablet. He found himself greeted by a large number of new messages, as well as a couple of people currently typing on the #general text channel of the server.

He scrolled up to the message that had triggered the first notification. The message immediately prior to that had contained a link to a news article with the title “Tumenzarian Government Seizes Control of Energy-Manipulating Machine Research Project”. Mar decided it would be best read through the messages in chronological order before he attempted a response.

KoringHoring: I did not know of this happening. I was, however, aware of the project’s existence.

DataStorm: These machines sound scary. I wanted to ask you three about it.

BlinkOnce: Didn’t they make international news earlier this year? When they announced that they had a working prototype?

BlinkOnce: I seem to recall you sharing that.

KoringHoring: They did. And I did tell you guys about it.

IntegratedIntegrale: Wasn’t the project funded by Raifal College, a government institution, anyway?

KoringHoring: Yes

NotTechSupport: What’s the fuss about then?

BlinkOnce: Media loves making a fuss over nothing.

BlinkOnce: Fuss gets them clicks. Clicks get them ad revenue.

BucketOfPaint: Is local media covering it?

KoringHoring: I’ll check.

CrystalCircuits: A machine that can manipulate energy sounds pretty cool.

CrystalCircuits: Probably dangerous too.

CrystalCircuits: Might be why their government wants to keep it under control?

KoringHoring: ^

KoringHoring: Local news sources seem to be calmer about it.

She had sent a link to an article with the title, “Beheeraad Neem Direkte Beheer van Narvorsingsprojek om Veiligheidsmatreëls te Implimenteer”.

KoringHoring: Their title says “Council Assumes Direct Control of Research Project to Implement Safety Measures”. It’s rather brief, lacking the speculation of the article @DataStorm sent. It recites what is known of the project, has pictures from today, and quotes what Elder Irikshan said.

BucketOfPaint: Elder?

IntegratedIntegrale: President. We have three of them. One resides in each of our capitals. Decisions are made by them and the council, who are basically parliament.

DataStorm: Why not just call them Presidents and Parliament?

IntegratedIntegrale: Tradition. The dragons love their tradition.

CrystalCircuits sent a picture of Irikshan and Mar descending the stairs, talking to one another while surrounded by several agents. Seeing it from this perspective, Mar became even more embarrassed about his minute size.

CrystalCircuits: Is that @DeepBlue?

DataStorm: Where’s that from?

KoringHoring: It was in my article.

KoringHoring: We’ve got a decent population of Ebonscales here. Seeing the offspring of them and us isn’t too uncommon.

KoringHoring: Though now that I zoom in, it does look like him.

BlinkOnce: Which city is this in? He’s been in Tumenoord studying to control his illusions for…

BlinkOnce: Several months now. Wow, time flies.

KoringHoring: Yeah, that’s Tumenoord. That city is where Elder Irikshan is seated.

IntegratedIntegrale: Didn’t Blue mention a project at some stage?

NotTechSupport: A web search says that Irikshan has illusion abilities. Seems pretty likely that the two would at least have met each other.

BucketOfPaint: Guys, he’s online now. Let him catch up, then you can ask him instead of guessing.

Having finally read all the messages he’d missed, along with taking glances at the articles – the second of which didn’t even refer to him in the caption of the picture in CrystalCircuits had sent, he stopped and thought for some time.

He had shared some details of his life with these people but had refrained from most specifics except for in private messages with the few he was closest to. But there was no point denying that it was him in the article’s picture. They’d figured that out already. And this goofy bunch meant him no harm. If they’d been determined to, they could have figured out his real identity ages ago. And he theirs.

DeepBlue: Yeah, that’s me.

BucketOfPaint: You’re adorable!

DeepBlue: Heeeeey! I’m 34!

NotTechSupport: Has Irikshan been showing you how to do things with your illusions?

DeepBlue: Mine are a bit different than his, but yes. At the college, we get standard group classes where we have to learn and get tested on theory and do some practicals, but we also get assigned mentors to have one-on-one training sessions with. He’s my mentor.

DataStorm: Woah, that’s cool! You get a president as a mentor!

BlinkOnce: Did he take you with to the research team thing?

DeepBlue: No, I was already there. I’m assisting the research team a little.

BlinkOnce: Oh, neat

CrystalCircuits: What’s happening there?

DeepBlue: I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you

DeepBlue: Nah, I’m under an NDA.

DeepBlue: I can’t imagine Irikshan would be happy if I talked about it.

DataStorm: Sounds scary

KoringHoring: The council will tell us what we need to know

DeepBlue: Yeah. It’s not scary.

DataStorm: Say the dragons

NotTechSupport: Just get some self-defence classes if you’re scared. I got some. You can defend your mind even if you aren’t a sensitive

DataStorm: I can’t stop myself from getting electrocuted or set on fire by defending my mind.

NotTechSupport: Not sure about your country, but here I’m probably more likely to get electrocuted or set on fire by mundane causes. The government strictly regulates mages.

BucketOfPaint: Same here

KoringHoring: And there’s sure to be strict regulations and control of these machines too

BlinkOnce: If we even get them

KoringHoring: ?

BlinkOnce: You Tumenzarians export your tech at exorbitant prices, if at all.

BlinkOnce: I’ve read of a few scandals where your council went to great lengths to shut down imitations, knock-offs and leaks of their stuff.

IntegratedIntegrale: Fair enough. The council does like to put their own country first. Like any government.

BlinkOnce: It’s more than that. Whenever I see them in the news, they’re acting as if they think they’re some big wise parental figure. Like all us humans are kids who can’t look after themselves.

DeepBlue: Welp

DeepBlue: I’m going to go take a nap.

DeepBlue: It’s been a long day. Thanks to training this morning, I’m feeling especially tired. If you need me specifically, I’ll answer later.

BlinkOnce: Sleep well, Blue!

DataStorm: Sleep deep

Age: 317

Gender: Male

Appearance: 3.4m (age 317), 1.2m (age 74)

Irikshan has a strong, stocky frame, having kept himself fit and his wings strong since his youth.  

He has a fairly large wingspan and broad shoulders, built more for endurance than quick acrobatics.

His belly plates, horns, spine were all forest green. His scales were a copper orange, with wisps of leaf-green colouration and strips of yellow patterning his torso. His tail spade was also a orange-yellow.

However, with his age, his orange scales have faded to a warm bronze, his green colourations to the dull green of wilted leaves and his yellow has become dimmer.

His stern face gives him a serious look, while his scars - most prominently a large gash on his neck - and chipped horn speak to his experience in war. Yet his eyes still hold a softness and kindness to them.

Magic: He is well rounded and generally highly skilled in magic use, with an advanced ability that allows him to create illusions. He can either make them visible to all present living beings, or project them directly into the minds of individuals. Making them more convincing, complex and bigger requires more concentration and energy.

Personality: The inquisitive nature of his youth has given way to the wizened and knowledgeable image he holds in his old age. Unafraid of leadership or the public eye, Irikshan determinedly works towards his goals whilst doing his best to be mindful of his actions and their consequences.

Although level-headed until his tipping point, in his younger days he was prone to outbursts of anger when he passed the tipping point. It could be hard, even for him, to know when he was nearing that point. Over his life, he has worked to improve this - trying to notice irritations earlier and to catch himself if he does lose his temper.

Family: The Kennissoeker family. Without a mate, Irikshan’s only living immediate family members are two younger brothers both aged 298, Dulfatin and Imerat. Dulfatin is married and has three daughters of the same clutch, while Imerat is also married but he and his partner have chosen not to raise young.

Clothing:

College Scarf: A black scarf with 11 stripes on each end that displays his status as a mage at the Raifal Mage College. The scarf also bears the college logo, a stylised waterfall tumbling into the mists created by its own thunderous impact upon the water below.

Sentimental Amulet: He wears an amulet “from an old friend” that has been modified to clip onto his scarf. It has an emblem bearing a dragon with crystals floating around them. The workmanship is good, but too messy to have been shaped by magic and too small for most dragons to have done by hand.

Jewel of the Elder: Traditionally the elder of each city would bequeath their chest crystal to their chosen successor. In modern days the elder of each city is democratically elected, but almost all elders still honour the tradition and bequeath their crystal to the state upon death. The crystals are set in finely-crafted metal and the most recent one is worn by the current elder while the rest are kept below a portrait of their original owner in The Whispering Gallery and rarely disturbed.

The amethyst-purple shiridan crystal that hangs around Irikshan’s neck once lay in the chest of Rumaga.

Cloak: Irikshan owns a cloak that he wears to ceremonies and formal events. It has simple but elegant patterns and its colours the same as his scales. It hangs over his sides, covering his wings when he folds them.

Family Crest: He has the Kennissoeker family crest that he wears around his relani (left) arm, usually also only at formal events and ceremonies.

Bags: On a standard work day, he can be seen with a girth around his chest that has bags attached. These bags carry items he might need during the day.

History:

Brought up in a respectable family who encouraged learning, Irikshan strove to live up to the family name. In his younger years, he studied at the mage college in Tumenoord (known as the Raifal Mage College), becoming skilled in his use of magic and honing his talent for illusions.

During his 70s, Irikshan became determined to explore the world. He spent years getting his body into peak condition and preparing for the trips he planned.

His first destination was the Imaaduudin Empire, a new neighbour to Tumenzar who had been expanding across the Vernon Sea. The empire’s borders gradually surrounded Tumenzar’s, but the dragons did not like to meddle in human affairs and the empire respected their borders. In fact, the empire made an effort to foster good relations with the Tumenzarians, sending many of their brightest minds there.

In his tour of the Imaaduudin homelands and its neighbours, Irikshan met many different dragons and humans of various cultures. He learnt much, both good and bad. However, his experiences in a particularly bitter part of the world tainted his view of humans and caused him to cut his journey short. Upon returning to his home in the state of Tumenzar, he became withdrawn and no longer interested in the wider world - instead absorbed in studying the intricacies of magic.

Rumaga, the elder of Tumenoord at the time, took note of Irikshan and began mentoring him. She helped rekindle his curiosity and to unknot the bitterness that had set itself in his heart.

In the wake of the great war, he had opportunity to repay this aid.

When the time came, Rumaga passed on the title of Elder of Tumenoord to another - Cerbarian. During Cerbarian’s time as Elder, Irikshan served with distinction as a teacher, mentor and scholar at the Raifal Mage College. He became known a skilled illusionist and mage.

When Irikshan had become qualified to run for Elder, he won the vote by a landslide. Irikshan came to power, and has been leading the city and college well since. Despite his role of elder formally being more of an overseer, he tends to get involved in many projects - putting in time and effort to as much as he can. It has become his life goal to improve Tumenzar, the state he cared about so much. He would see them continue to lead the world in the crafts, sciences and magics.

After some time of this, he turned away from the window. He motioned upwards and the three crystals quickly moved towards him, coming to rest in a row floating above his head. He imprinted an enchantment upon them so that they would glow slightly and keep themselves above his head - using his horns to orient themselves. He also set them to use their own energy reserves to do this rather than his. He opened a cupboard and grabbed a couple of clothing items. His college scarf was wrapped neatly around his neck, a band bearing the Sterkvleuel crest was slipped into his left forearm.

Turning to see himself in the mirror, he groaned then removed the band and took down the gems from above his head.

He walked out the door, into the room that was his lounge, study and general living area all in one. At his desk, he spotted a note. After putting the crystals into a compartment of his bag that leant against a table leg, he read the note. He smiled. Grabbing his tablet from where it charged, pressing the unlock button and then using his magic to interact with the capacitive screen, he checked his schedule for the day. Physics, Irikshan’s session, Applied Maths, Thermo Dynamics, Tir’s session, study break and then a Self Defence practical. He could do something with Josh during the study break, but should probably use the time to read over the practical's instructions - his ‘quick nap’ yesterday afternoon ended up lasting until morning. He closed his schedule and opened the message application.

“Busy today. Don’t have Enchantments, but Tir has scheduled to take my last free slot. Gonna be done at 4. What about you?” A flash of electromagnetic energy - almost too brief to distinguish from the rest - and the message had been sent.

Mar turned and headed to his metre-high fridge. He opened it, finding not much else other than the food that Josh had left for him. He dished half of it onto a plate. From his cupboard, he also took a shiridite supplement tablet and a bowl to fill with water to drink.  He took all this to his desk, where he began eating the cold food before quickly spending some energy to heat it.

He stared at the wall, lost in thought as he ate.

A notification sounded from his tablet.

“Got a couple classes in the morning, have a few hours free just before noon, and my shift is in the afternoon as usual. I have a couple surgeries scheduled today. If you don’t have any middays available, we could do something on the weekend, perhaps? Meet at my house, Saturday morning?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Mar navigated out of that chat and opened Carina’s.

“Thank you for the food! It tastes great!”

He closed the message app and opened one for a social media platform he frequented. A thread titled “Tumenzarian scientists have a breakthrough: prototype machine able to manipulate shiridan crystal” was the first that thread greeted him, and quickly grabbed his attention.

Once Mar had finished the meal and cleaned the plate, he picked up his bags, strapping the large belt that held them in place around his chest. He unplugged his tablet and slipped it into its compartment on the left bag. Just before he left the apartment, he remembered to go grab the amulet from Tir and put it in his bag.

“Thank you for your patience, Mar.” Irikshan appeared from inside his office after a few dragons and humans had left. “Strategy and policy meetings have an awful tendency to drag on.”

“Not a problem, Sir. I have plenty to keep me busy.” He motioned to his tablet upon which he had been reading. He packed it away and got up, heading into Irikshan’s spacious office after the old dragon.

The cloak that Irikshan wore flitted from his back and folded itself neatly on a corner of his desk, soon joined by the Kennissoeker family band. His scarf and the jewel of the elder remained on his neck. “When I’ve had the opportunity, I’ve been thinking about yesterday.” He turned from the window to face Mar. “Firstly, I must apologise for… throwing you in the deep end, as the humans would say. I haven’t had time for mentoring many students in my decades as an elder. Those that I have taught have usually been top of their classes. I believe we should work more slowly.”

“No, it’s ok. I am eager to learn. Yesterday was highly beneficial to me.”

“Hmm... I started teaching you about breaking illusions yesterday in the hopes of later learning how you break out of yours and formulating a better way if necessary.” Irikshan sighed. “I guess I succeeded in those objectives at least. ”

“You know how I did it?”

“Mar, even though you were attempting to hide that while I was in your mind, you were still too worried that you’d have to resort to doing that to possibly hide it. You should have told me - anyone - sooner and we could have helped.”

“I’ll be fine now. Slept well last night.”

Irikshan looked Mar in the eyes for several seconds before speaking again. “That amulet you’ve got in your bag. Feels like Rentik’s handiwork. After I talked to her yesterday, she was… distressed that I had not begun your training as soon as you arrived here. Pass it here, please.”

Mar reached into his bag, the world around him plunging into stillness as he touched the chain. He drew out the amulet and gave it to Irikshan. “How come I can still feel your presence when you’re holding it?”

“I’m blocking it.”

“You’re blocking a magic blocker?”

“Well, I earned my grandmaster-rank scarf for a reason.”

“Fair enough.”

“Rentik went over-the-top with the enchantments on this. Even made it track your current status. Most of them will do no harm, but I can remove that part if you’d like?”

“It’s fine, I guess.”

“You probably won’t need it after today,” Irikshan handed back the amulet, “but keep it in case you want it. Shall we begin?”

Mar nodded.

“First: what we do know. Your illusionary worlds seem completely real to anyone inside them. When inside the illusion, the target’s real body is rendered immobile. Any magic they cast in the illusion will not affect the real world. Physical injuries don’t carry over into the real world, and death in there ejects one from the illusion. Psychological effects…?”

Mar looked down.

“At least partially carry over. Illusions of creatures also appear to have minds of their own. You do not seem to be able to project your illusions into the real world, but rather need to transition into this illusionary world. The transition yesterday was rather abrupt. You reported being trapped for long periods of time on a couple occasions. Do you recall how long these sessions felt to be compared to the actual time passed?”

“When they first started, they were more like dreams. I’d fade in and out of them. They’d feel months long, but I only remembered snippets. The first time I got properly trapped, I was there for twelve years before I got out. I woke up in a hospital having, according to the doctors and my coworkers, been in a magic-induced coma with a simultaneously hyperactive mind for four days. After one of the doctors ended up in a coma too when they tried inspecting my mind more closely, they decided to wait for specialists from the college. In the weeks since then I’ve still had them occasionally, and mostly ended them as soon as I could.”

“Hmm. About three orders of magnitude difference in time. Did you see the doctor in the illusionary world at all?”

“I do not recall meeting him, there were lots of humans in this world. He woke up at the same time as me. He avoided me in the real world, so I couldn’t ask him if he’d seen me. I don’t blame him. That wasn’t a pleasant place in my experience.”

“I’ve got plenty more questions about how your ability works, as I am sure you do too. Many that will only be answered through experimentation. First, we need to enter your illusion. For that-”

“I have an idea. It clicked yesterday.” Mar briefly went limp, but then stumbled and caught himself before hitting the floor. “Yep, that worked.”

“Mar! Please be careful. You’re supposed to take this slowly.”

“Sorry. Habit.”

“How did you trigger it?”

“I’m not sure how to put it into words. It would be easier to show you.”

“Ok, but first I want to make some measurements.” He moved to his desk, taking a device from one of the drawers, “Do you mind if I record us with this camera? Also, may I measure how much energy you have available?”

“Sure.” Mar took the three crystals from his bag and placed them in front of him, then yielded to Irikshan’s energy probes, one of which entered the right of his chest.

“Been charging these for a while, I see. Your three crystals are near full charge at about one hundred and seventy-three megajoules. Your heart-crystal has about fifty-six megajoules remaining.” Irikshan made notes on his computer, then pointed a camera at Mar. He walked around his desk and lay down on the floor on the other side of Mar. A small rock floated from his desk and hovered nearby. Mar lay down too, pulling the three crystals closer to his chest.

The walls of the office broke away to reveal a beautiful natural scene, with rolling hills before the pair and great mountains behind them.

“Ok Mar, I want to see if you have any control of what world we go to. Picture this place as you go there.”

Mar waited a second until he sensed Irikshan’s mind touching his before concentrating on the scenery. The world shuddered around the dragons, then he got up.

“Oh, I see. It does indeed have similarities with what I do. It just requires a little more… force.” Irikshan stood up too. “Hah, you brought my floor and furniture too.” Irikshan looked to the computer screen and it turned to face the pair. It no longer had power.

“You did tell me to picture the place.”

“Quick, start a timer on your tablet, then follow me. You can leave your bags.”

Mar complied, then took off in pursuit of the elder dragon who had flown off in the direction of the mountains. After flying for some, Mar spotted a massive waterfall tumbling down the bare cliffs of the mountain. They landed on rocks beside the top of the waterfall. Mar looked out across the hills and down the meandering river.

"Recognise anything," Irikshan asked.

“This place looks kind of like Tumenoord, but different and without any sign of civilisation.”

“I created my illusion based on artists’ renderings of what our homeland would have looked like before civilisation. Back when we were still giant solitary wandering hunters. Before humans forced our kind to band together or face extinction.” Irikshan unleashed a colossal bolt of lightning into the water, causing a massive plume of steam to shoot out. “I was careful to exclude the waterfall in what I showed you, but this looks similar to the renderings. I wonder how you knew to create it. Maybe you subconsciously recognised the scenery that I showed you, or it is perhaps another quirk of your ability. I wonder whether this or the artists’ provide a more accurate representation of what it was like.” Another bolt of lightning arced from Irikshan into the water.

“What are you doing?”

“Draining Rumaga’s heart somewhat.” He motioned to the crystal that hung on a chain around his neck. “Going to see if there any impact on its energy in the real world.”

“As far as I know, there won’t be.”

“Still worth testing. In fact, I think you should head down the waterfall. I’m going to do some landscaping. We should test the permanence of your illusions, even if you do not see what changes I make. I’ll meet you there when I’m done here.”

Mar fooled around in the waters for several minutes - splashing about while the mountain vibrated with the great movements happening above.

When Irikshan finally joined Mar, he brought a giant boulder and planted it firmly into one of the river’s banks some distance away from the bottom of the waterfall. Irikshan made back-and-forth slicing movements with his claws. Layers of the rock sheared off and were deposited in a heap. Mar walked to join him. “Seeing as we have time, do you have any questions?”

“Yaromudr Svetopolk? The lightweaver.”

“Been curious about other illusionists, have you?” Irikshan paused before putting some of the rock back onto the boulder, where it fused together with the boulder once more. “I wish it had been as easy as a web search back then. In the late 19th century, I was one of the masters at the college. I was not the head of any one department, but I worked closely with several of them while I trained some of their best students and pursued my own research. I had none but myself and the scant historical records of other illusionists to teach me about the limits of the possibilities of my ability. I put out the word that I would like to meet any others like me. When I heard of someone from the Volakolian Empire, I became determined to find them.

“As it turned out, finding her was easier than convincing the Volakol to allow me to enter their lands. Even once I had secured permission, it was on the condition that I wouldn't travel without an armed escort everywhere I went. Told me I would have to carry all the guards if I wanted to fly anywhere! They seemed concerned that we Tumenzarians would make a pastime of toppling empires. In retrospect, they were already crumbling on their own.

“Anyways, Yaro had gained a fair amount of recognition as an artist. Travelled from one affluent household to another. Sometimes entire towns would save up to contract her services. She’d weave sunlight into great works that would last entire days. She’d sometimes mix shiridite with paint or thread for more permanent displays that lit up whenever the sun touched them.”

“I saw pictures of some that are still up.” Mar added, “and there’s that one in front of the Tumensuid town hall. My friends and I used to marvel at that when we were kids.” The rock was beginning to take the shape of a city. The roofs of some of the buildings seemed to have a traditional Volakolian style.

“Yes. Her works gave me the idea to anchor my illusions to shiridan crystals. I taught her how to include small ones in her works so they’d last even into the night. We didn’t see eye-to-eye on many things, but we still found it mutually beneficial to cooperate. Granted, she did find it more beneficial than I, but that does not bother me.”

“The page about her said that you two kept in contact until she died fifty years ago. You even performed a light-display at her funeral.”

“Yes. Some Tumenzarian scholars made improvements to the crystal-relay communication system that the Imaaduudin empire had invented. Their use was becoming more widespread, despite the costly set-up and maintenance. These were eventually replaced by electro telegraphy and then radio telegraphy, on account of the machines being targeted for theft far less often and being operable by your average human, not a skilled and therefore costly mage who could also become privy to many secrets.” The rock city had been completed. It was impressively done for one who was no artist. It appeared to be a Volakolian port city, but Mar could not say for sure.

“But what was she like?”

The stone city lit up in an extraordinary display of colour. “In life, arrogant, self-confident, determined and unthankful. The thing with humans is, they’re such fleeting creatures. Fires that, when faced with their own mortality, want to burn bright enough to be remembered long after they’re gone. She had already left her mark but endeavoured to make it greater. However, I do not think she ever truly forgot her origins. I believe she was driven into this outward display. Her outward attitude towards me was likely for fear of ostracization, and she was, in fact, the one who initiated communication with me years after I had returned home. Following her death, the journals of research and the gem containing one of her greatest artworks that she bequeathed to the dragons of Tumenzar also indicated a good measure of gratitude.

“Humans… such fickle, fleeting creatures. Empires rising and falling within one of our lifespans. Yet we wouldn’t be here without them. We believe we have all the time in the world, but in reality neither do we. We Tumenzarians purport to be great innovators, but the humans sparked many of our successes. It is their innovations and advancements that spurred ours as a species, and ours spurred theirs. Even in the times when I was younger, one could say this was for fear of extinction or the desire of conquest. But we might finally be at a time where we can truly say that we work for mutual betterment

“You still have the energy, enthusiasm and determination of your youth. I pray you keep that. I sense the world has once again reached a point of great social change. Questions will be asked. There will be no universally right answers. Cooperation will be the way forward.”

The lights that shone in the stone city danced. The shoreside water gently lapped against the dragons’ feet. In the distance, the waterfall still thundered on.

“That machine in the news?” Mar intoned quizzically.

“With or without that, change will have to come. But technology has had a way of speeding things up. Take it from me. I knew it was a matter of time before someone managed to create something like this, but didn’t expect that to be in my lifetime until a team including some of my past students approached the elders for funding on that project.”

“That’s enough! We only want it to be able to talk.”

Irikshan felt himself grow cold and hungry as a stream of life-giving energy ceased flowing. Instinctually he reached out, his mind finding the lake that had fed the stream, and began to draw from it again.

“It’s draining our crystals!”

“Block it. I’ll break its concentration.”

The lake became harder to reach, the river of energy getting choked and clogged.

A sudden, sharp kick to the snout brought Irikshan back to reality. He opened his eyes and found himself staring at the sharp ends of several polearms.

A weak, “...hello?,” was all that Irikshan offered.

“You are trespassing on Imaaduudinian soil, dragon,” came the brash voice from the other end of the pointy stick, “State the nature and purpose of your presence.”

“My presence is… peaceful and I come... for knowledge…” Irikshan’s half-awake mumbling was soft enough that the human had to lean in.

“Is that so? And why should I believe you?”

“I have papers… in the one bag just... above my left shoulder… They bear the… colonial governor’s seal.”

The man nodded one of the others towards Irikshan, keeping his weapon pointed at the dragon’s face. “You are aware that the colonies hold no jurisdiction here? Any passports from the colonies are dependant on His Eminence’s goodwill upon the holder of the passport.”

“...yes.”

There was an interval of stillness where only the sounds were those of the ocean, the soldier rummaging in the pack and Irikshan’s laboured breathing.

“Sir, the document looks authentic.”

“And?”

The soldier began to read part of the document aloud, “Irikshan Kennissoeker, a dragon of copper orange and evergreen, desires to visit the homeland and its neighbours. So long as it pleases The Emperor and The People’s Council, he shall be granted free passage in and out of The Empire’s territory. His purpose is to study both our and our neighbours’ peoples and culture. He is a citizen of the so-” a hesitation. “Of the sovereign state Tumenzar and travels with the blessings of the Elders of Tumenzar. Having studied at the mage college of Tumenoord, Irikshan is a skilled magician with a significant capacity for illusion-casting. Please endeavour to assist him in his benevolent excursion.”

Irikshan suddenly found his field of vision to have increased considerably. This was chiefly due to the fact that the visible world was no longer being obscured by a dozen polearm blades. Still feeling weak, he managed to lift his head to get a proper look at the officer who was now frantically reading the documents he had snatched from his subordinate.

The officer then glanced to the mages, one of whom nodded.

“Oh please,” Irikshan found himself feeling rather miffed, “I barely have enough energy to stand and you’re worried I’m going to create illusory documents which state I have skill in illusions whilst simply sneaking into your country and hiding myself from your perceptions would have been so much easier if that was what I had desired. Or simply omitting to state that I can create illusions would have been easy had I forged those documents.”

“My apologies, Irikshan. I, lieutenant Emil Scholtz, am honoured to be at your service. Tumenzar is an associate valued by Imaaduudin. I do hope you’ll forgive my discourtesy, but I had not expected a Tumenzarian here. Your state is so very distant, while we do not have the pleasure of courteous relations with all of our more… immediate neighbour states. I would like to escort you to Shormton - the nearby port city - for my commanding officer to sign off on your passport.”

“Good. I had planned to land on their beaches.”

“You were close enough.” The commander then turned and shouted, “Company, move out! We return to Shormton.” Irikshan looked past the man to see a shocking number of humans turning away from him and marching off the beach.

“Uhh, officer?” Irikshan groaned as he sluggishly attempted to lift himself off the ground.

“Lieutenant. Oh. Mages, let him take energy. Irikshan, please don’t take too much - it is hard for them to collect it in the summer. Not enough storms about.”

“I’m afraid I will need a fair amount if I am to heal myself. I can help your mages refill their crystals when we arrive at your city. Do you have any mages skilled in healing? I can mend the worst myself, but a skilled healer is preferable. Four long-distance flights, even if spaced, are not easy. Though I will be able to fly, some long-term damage may come to haunt me later in my life if I do not look after my wings now.”

“Fine. Lucile, you are assigned to accompany Irikshan while he stays at our city. It will not do our citizens’ nerves any good to have a dragon wandering the city unchecked. His purpose being to learn about us, I am also certain he will have many questions for you. Once the colonel has signed his documents, you are to take him to consult Sister Kyra. You two can figure out how you’ll refill your crystal.”

A medley of emotions played across the faces of the five mages. One seemed jealous. Another relieved. The rest held expressions unknown to Irikshan. Yet the face of the mage who stepped forward was a muddle of so many emotions, Irikshan was not sure even the mage knew what she was feeling.

The mage named Lucile did a deep-yet-hurried bow. Her form was hidden by the loose-fitting mage robes, but Irikshan knew she would have to be physically fit to be a competent mage - which he expected she would be, seeing as she was assigned to him. Her face was sharp and determined. Her brown eyes matched her brown hair, bound into a tidy bun at the back of her head.

Her hands darted into the satchel slung over her shoulder and brought out a large shiridite crystal and held it out in both hands. The crystal was as big as the human’s head. It was bigger than the crystal that lay in the right side of Irikshan’s chest. Any natural shiridan crystal of that size would be sitting in some monarch’s treasury, not used by a mere ranked or wealthy magician.

Irikshan reached out with his mind and drained the crystal of most of its energy. Once he was done, he nodded to the mage, who returned it to her satchel. He then turned his attention to his wings, mending muscles and soothing pain so that he need not walk as an injured beast.

He nodded his thanks to the mage. She nodded back, then - along with the other mages and the lieutenant - turned and fast-walked to catch up with the soldiers who’d gotten some distance ahead. Lieutenant Emil began shouting at men who were loitering, staring dumbfounded at Irikshan.

Irikshan stretched cat-like, opening his wings to their full span. A smug smile touched the corners of his lips as he heard some gasps of awe. He then moved to join the march behind the mages.

After a few hours march, the city walls entered sight. Irikshan leaned forward, putting his head over the shoulders of two mages and behind the officer.

“Lieutenant, if you wish, I could create an illusion to make myself appear as one of your men, one of the mages or even a civilian. It would create less of a spectacle than an armoured host parading in with a dragon in tow.”

“That won’t be necessary, thanks. I’m afraid that the fishermen running about town, screaming about a dragon soaring in from the sea and crashing on the beach, already made quite the spectacle.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. This is better than running drills. I’m sure my men feel the same way. Someday they’re going to be telling their grandchildren about the time they saw a dragon taller than a man, its scales of copper orange and evergreen, wearing travel bags and a purple scarf.”

“You’ve never seen a dragon?”

“No. Neither have most here. Though some who’ve come from up north, such as Colonel Anson, have. There are a few dragon settlements at the edge of our northern border.”

“Yes, the state of Scrivens.”

“That’s them. I hear some of the towns up there have gotten quite familiar with dragons, being built in dragon territory and all.”

“So why the harsh introduction if the nearest state is friendly towards you?”

“Well, you flew in from the east - not the north. Additionally, seeing a dragon here is - I hope you understand - quite startling. As far as I know, dragons usually remain in the lands claimed by their enclaves.”

“That is true. The Elders deemed it would be worthwhile for me to travel here to learn about your empire in a manner more direct manner than hearsay from humans who can sometimes be - I hope you understand - unreliable sources. Dragons from my state barely even visit our direct neighbours, including the imperial lands besides us. As you said, Tumenzar is rather far away from here - the empire’s homeland.” Irikshan paused before adding, “My state seeks to learn and gather knowledge. We focus on internal growth rather than global matters.”“So I have heard. My nation shares its culture and knowledge, and we take an active approach to doing so. Please excuse me, but I am needed ahead.”

Irikshan nodded, raising his head and watching as the man jogged forward, past the other two-legs. He then looked at the city. He had read of Shormton. While it was not at the forefront of the empire’s steadily-expanding borders, it was a strategic location nonetheless. This city served both as the trade hub this side of the sea and as a crucial point for any supply lines for military campaigns on the eastern side.

The city walls were decent… for human architecture. Great towers of stone, firmly built and well-maintained. They did their duty and nothing more, built to be effective for the two-dimensional combat that these poor grounded creatures loved so much. These walls were not as imposing as the depictions that he had seen of the human’s great citadels. Despite this, Irikshan had to fight the urge to take out his journal and begin writing notes straight away. He could update his notes when the healer was seeing to his wings, and whenever he had time after that.

The gate was already open - the forefront of the semi-orderly marching column passing under the great stone arch. Irikshan could see many gawking onlookers gathered to see him. Some soldiers stood with their backs to him, holding their polearms horizontally to keep the crowd from pushing forward.

“Squads seven through nine, help with crowd control. The rest of you, to the barracks!” Lieutenant Emil ordered the marching men. “Irikshan, Lucile, with me.” The two complied. The other mages didn’t follow the soldiers, choosing instead to hover nearby.

They approached a building, in front of which stood a somewhat rotund man. His forehead held worry-lines and his hair was greying. Yet he still maintained a dignified bearing. Irikshan could have sworn that, upon looking up from the passport he had received from the lieutenant and meeting the dragon’s eyes, there was a glint in the man’s eyes and a slight upward turn at the corners of his mouth.

“Greetings, Irikshan Kennissoeker of Tumenzar. It is an honour to welcome you to Shormton. I hear that the lieutenant has assigned Lucile to be your aide. Good. She is knowledgeable and skilled.”

Irikshan glanced at the human besides himself, who was suddenly finding the cobbled ground very interesting.

The colnel looked back down at the papers he held. “I see both outposts and the colony on the three Vernon islands have signed off on your papers. I understand that it’s faster, but I don’t comprehend why you would choose this route. Surely it must have put a lot of strain on you? Wouldn’t a route around the sea have been easier? The few extra months would be a pittance in comparison to your lifespan. Judging by your size, I’d say you’re in your seventies or eighties. Chances are that you’ve already outlived every human that was alive when you hatched. Chances also say you’ll outlive the great-grandchildren of every human currently alive. Probably even their thrice-great-grandchildren. But not if you drown. It may be summer, but mother nature loves to be unpredictable.”

“You are correct. And that was a good guess, I am seventy-three.”

“It may have been a decade since I’ve seen a dragon, but I used to work quite closely with some of the Scrivens.”

“Interesting. Anyways, I took this route because I also wished to learn about the islands in the Vernon Sea. We know plenty about the human kingdoms who have been our long-time neighbours, but not much about our newest neighbour. We dragons cannot fit on your boats, nor have we much need to develop our own boats - outside of proofs-of-concepts in Tumensuid. My journey is the first documented excursion of a Tumenzarian to these islands. Well, the first Tumenzarian dragon. I wish to learn about your empire’s people and culture. As for my wings, I have trained and am able to heal myself - but I would appreciate the attention of a professional specializes in healing magic. You are also correct about the weather, but I had been monitoring it and did have contingencies.”

“Very well. I wish you the best for your stay here and the rest of your journeys. Let me head inside to sign your papers. Once that’s done, Lucile can take you to see Sister Kyra. After that, you can do as you please. If you have any questions that Lucile can’t answer, you are welcome to come see me.”

“Thank you, colonel.”