Technomagica 2 : 11. Dragonheart (Patreon)

Our trio walked downstairs, the stairwell creaking under our boots.

"So," Kliss said, looking down at me as I sat onto a root-bench framed by lilac trees created by Leemy and grown by Cassandra.

"So?"

"Explain," she stared at me.

“Explain what?” I asked.

“Why make me into… this?” She asked, waving at her crystal hair.

“I’ve made a promise of sorts to myself when I was reborn in Skyisle,” I shrugged. “I designed living weapons called viruses in the USSR… weapons that killed people. Here, as Dante Alan Skyisle, my goal is to save people with my skills.”

“I didn’t ask to be made into a half-dragon thing,” Kliss crossed her arms.

“Doctors… errr, healers don’t ask whether the patients in their charge wish to be saved, especially not ones that are passed out from being cut in half,” I shot back. “I did what I thought was right. Don’t give me your attitude.”

“I’m shorter,” Kliss said. “I look younger.”

“I rearranged your body since most of your cells were already dead,” I said. “You’re not exactly human. Consider yourself… reborn.”

“Yeah, the Soul Song labelled me a… Chimera,” Kliss commented with a deep exhale.

“So, why’d you return to Skyisle?” I asked, switching topics.

“Cessna… wasn’t the same,” Kliss shrugged. “Thought that things would be more interesting… here.”

“And are they?” I inquired.

“So far… they’re far more interesting than I anticipated. I really didn’t expect to die or be turned into a Gods’ damned half-dragon, half-girl Chimera!”

Delta snickered from my side.

“I solved three problems with one spell,” I shrugged. “Brought you back to life, got rid of two bothersome Vows of Equality and got rid of Aradria.”

“He’s expecting lots of praises,” Delta whispered conspiratorially.

I sent her a stern look. Delta stuck her tongue out at me as a response.

“I’ve been thinking about everything you’ve told me, Slava,” Kliss said sitting down on the bench next to me.

I nodded.

“Can you clarify some things for me?” She added.

“Sure,” I said.

“Start at the beginning,” Kliss said. “Remind me, how did you end up in Skyisle?”

“Destiny was a girl who was supposed to be born to the Alan family thirteen years ago. From what I understand after I died on Earth, either a god that called itself Omniscience or perhaps Goddess Ishira or Giovashi led me with a blue magical thread from the Astral Ocean into Destiny's unborn body in an attempt to turn her into a monster,” I said.

“I see,” Kliss demurred as she rubbed her chin. “So your appearance on Novazem was the end result of divine machinations.”

“I talked to a god... or maybe a magical lure,” I nodded. “He said that I will be his experiment on Novazem.”

“What did the god you see look like?” She asked.

“A man dressed in… a suit of armor intended for flying through the void of space. I’m pretty sure now that this was simply Giovashi using some kind of an Astral-lure to get me to come to Novazem, to screw up Delta’s soul.”

“A suit to fly through… the void?” Kliss blinked.

“The Soviet people accomplished a lot of things,” I nodded. “Our greatest hero was Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. We were the first nation to send a man past the atmosphere of our planet into the airless, infinite abyss above us. Remember? I spoke about this when I made your Overseers' Vow bind itself.”

“You sent a hero to the stars... without magic... right?” She asked.

“Without magic,” I nodded. “In a tube forged from metal and glass propelled upwards via burning of extremely combustive fluid.”

“Incroyable,” Kliss murmured. “According to ancient archives at Cessna Arcanarium, a thousand years before the Age of Darkness... we too sent magitek engines towards the skies, trying to figure out what mysteries lie in the ruins of Inaria.”

“There’s ruins there?” I blinked.

“It’s nothing but ruins up there,” Kliss nodded. “A whole, endless world, made from ruins covered in glaciers. The ancient scholars speculated that the entire world is an infinite city destroyed by some catastrophic event, a magogenic fault spanning an entire planet where space and time are twisted and broken.”

“That sounds… concerning,” I mulled.

"Why did you save me?" She asked as if my first answer was insufficient.

I looked at her and smiled. "Because I wanted to give you a chance," I said. "A chance to be something more than a slave to a Vow. A chance to be something more than a tool or a servant of the Empire of Equality. I gave you a completely new life. You can be whatever you wish now."

"Really?" She asked with a smirk. "You won't force me to lug rocks?"

"Really," I nodded. "If you don't want to stay with us in Skyisle, you're free to go. You gave me and my sister a chance, a year to build up, to grow, to get strong enough, to make tools that make tools."

"I saw," the ex-Overseer’s expression suddenly darkened. "You put an Almn-Inian obelisk in the center of town. Are you seriously considering bringing back Necromage dominion or something?"

"I am not," I shook my head. "I'm using the tools they left lying around, sure, but I have no intention to put human souls into their artifacts or whatever.”

“Then, what are you doing here exactly?” She asked.

“I’m uplifting Skyisle,” I said. “In every possible way.”

“D-do you think you can oppose the might of the entire Empire?” She asked, clearly fretting. “They will destroy you, send an entire fleet of warships if they find out about this obelisk and the other things… you’re giving children weapons of war meant to be in the hands of Imperial Overseers, Slava!”

“Let them come,” I shrug. “We will repel them. Are you with us? Will you aid us? Will you stand up with us against the might of the Vow-bound Empire?”

“I…” Kliss opened her mouth and froze.

Delta arched an eyebrow.

“I am with you,” Kliss said after a pause. “I came here to do as much as I could. I want to help two of you... to build a world without Vows.”

“Thank you,” I said and hugged Kliss. Once more, I found it impossible to let go. After a minute of an unnaturally warm embrace I had let go of Kliss, but my hand crept up to hers and entwined itself with her fingers.

Delta squinted at me.

“She’s warm,” I said.

“She’s warm?” My twin demanded.

“I’m… cold,” I confessed.

“You’re cold?” Both Kliss and Delta looked at me.

“My hands are cold pretty much forever now,” I nodded. “It’s like I’m turning into… a vampire.”

“What’s a vampire?” Kliss blinked.

“You constantly shame me for being an Astral Phantom and yet you’re turning into one,” Delta tutted at me. “Hang on, stop distracting me, Slava! What does the icy draw of the Astral Ocean have to do with…”

“Just grab her hand damn it,” I huffed.

“Fine, maybe I will!” Delta replied and grabbed onto the ex-Overseer’s left hand.

“What… the shit,” she blinked. “You’re warm!”

Kliss stared at both of us like we were insane. Then, she blushed when Delta practically smooshed herself into Kliss’s chest.

“What is happening?” She asked me.

“She’s nuzzling you,” I said. “Just accept it.”

“Why?” Kliss asked.

“You’re… warm,” Delta said. “Unlike this idiot. Hugging him is… like hugging an icebox. We’re both iceboxes. Being a ghost has that unfortunate side effect.”

“You’re losing your humanity,” Kliss said with a look of disapproval. “You’re carving up your souls just like the Alanian Necromagi.”

“Hell, she’s warmer than the Alanian battery!” Delta murmured. “Why haven’t I realized this earlier? I could have had this pure bliss for two weeks!”

“Why am I warmer to an Alanian battery?” Kliss looked at me.

“The dragonheart core in your chest is basically an exceptionally dense magical crystalline battery,” I explained. “Plus, your entire body is now more crystal than flesh. You're a furnace of magic."

“Am I going to be able to breathe dragonfire?” Kliss blinked.

I opened my mouth and lifted a finger, scanning Kliss with my Infoscopes.

“Maybe?” I replied with a shrug.

“So you have no idea,” Kliss commented. “You’ve made me into… this thing and you have no idea.”

“I have some ideas,” I said. “As far as I can see you haven’t invested points into anything.”

“Because I’m concerned that if I do I’m going to spontaneously combust!” Kliss replied.

“Who told you that?”

Kliss eyed Delta.

“Delta!” I barked. “Did you tell Kliss that she’s going to spontaneously combust?”

“Maybe?” Delta huffed, having attached herself to Kliss like a cute, white-haired leech. “I dunno. It escapes my mind. Sorry. We’re best friends now, battery-bestie. You’re not gonna catch on fire or whatever… you can be whatever you want to, as long as you let me hug you forever.”

Kliss gave me an exasperated look.

I shrugged.

“If you invest points into magic, your core’s radiance should theoretically get stronger and then you can project your magic at us, keep us from feeling constantly cold," I said. “I don’t foresee problems with you leveling up, Kliss.”

Georgi came out of his woodworking workshop and spotted us sitting in the garden.

“And who might this little, sparkly lady be?” He asked me.

I had already stupidly revealed to mom that Kliss was in fact Kliss, but it seemed unwise to spread that information to more people.

“That’s… Elizabeth,” I said, using Kliss’ middle name.

“A pleasure,” dad nodded at us. “Desty, you’re gonna squeeze the life outta her there.”

“Lizzy’s my new best friend,” Delta said. “I’ll squeeze her as much as I want to.”

Kliss opened her mouth to protest.

“I bought you a dress,” Delta whisper-hissed. “I hand-fed you soup for two weeks. Don’t even think about letting go.”

I started to laugh.

Georgi shook his head, smiled at us and went into the house.

“We’ll introduce you as Elisabeth Johannes Kepler from Oz,” I told her.

“Oz?” Kliss arched an eyebrow. "Johannes Kepler?"

"Oz is a city from a story from Earth," I explained. "Johannes Kepler was a famous astrologist, a researcher from Earth who discovered the three laws of planetary motion and..."

“You’ll be my most precious apprentice,” Delta butted in before I could start explaining more things about Kepler's mathematical theories which would probably bore Kliss immensely.

Kliss looked at me for support.

“Delta will be roleplaying the role of Great-Aunt Delta Alana Skyisle an Archmage from Oz who came to save Skyisle,” I said. “We have to introduce her to the village council soon. We’re undermining the power of Giovashi, taking Skyisle from her.”

“That… sounds dangerous,” Kliss said.

“We’ll manage,” I said.

“Can you stand up to level 200 Charisma words from Giovashi?” Kliss asked.

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “I’m working on it.”

“Hang on,” Kliss stared at me, emerald-gold eyes wide. “You’re the reason why Aradria came to Skyisle this spring! It all makes sense now!”

“I guess we are,” I sighed. “Giovashi’s Priestesses most likely reported that our wands and Mystic trees were fixing up the town, changing things, screwing up her dire prophecy narrative bullshit. I suspect she decided to send a dragon to burn down our wand workshop and Leemy.”

“Leemy?” Kliss asked.

“Leemy is our Dryad friend,” Delta grinned. “Come on, we’ll introduce her to you! I… errr Novitiate Kopusha planted her a thousand years ago in Skyisle!”

“You have… a dryad?” Kliss sputtered.

“We have a lot of nice things,” I nodded. “And we have you now - a girl with a dragonheart, the complete opposite of an Astral Phantom.”

“A girl with a dragonheart,” Kliss mulled, finally smiling at us. “I do like the sound of that.”