Dragon Sorcerer 1- Chapter 41 (Patreon)

Chapter 41- Growing Closer with Questions

Everything became awkward on the ship after the battle. The ship had significant damage and repairs were taking longer than expected even with magical help. Serius grumbled about being required to do manual labor, even though he was only using a telekinesis spell most of the time, but it was still amusing.

Lisella left me alone, I think she was still afraid of how I was going to react to the way she treated me. Cami and I practiced our reading together, which suited me fine. She'd only received a limited education in Cloverdale and probably was lucky her mother had been able to teach her anything since her sire was so clearly dismissive of females. I chuckled at the thought of how he would have reacted if he'd met my mother.

Our time together was perhaps the most pleasant up to this point in my life. There was no strain, and we sat on the deck to watch the sunset on the horizon or practicing training drills. Modessa had expressed grief that she needed time to recover, but Lisella wouldn't hear of her resuming teaching Cami. She even went so far as to post Galbrecht at the door to Modessa's cabin to keep her inside.

Cami seemed to think that was remarkably romantic. Yet, every time she tried to explain what was meant by that word, I had the hardest time understanding it. Sometimes when she described it, I got the idea that Modessa and Galbrecht were preparing to mate, but then that didn't seem to be the case.

Explaining romance to a dragon must have been rather frustrating judging from Cami's reactions. Not that I let it ruin our time. I even made a gesture of offering to let Cami help me decide what spells to select. In turn, she shared her stat sheet with me.

We found out that we had both gained some DKP from the battle with the kraken and what ensued. Cami only got one while I got three, which prompted her to ask me. "Can you tell me how I get DKP or even why I would want something called dragon kill points?"

I looked at the floor with an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach. I didn't like this at all. It was almost like I was embarrassed about something about my race, but... well that couldn't be.

"Dragons are often their own worst enemies. Blue fight reds or the others. Even within a color, we fight for the best lairs and territories. It takes a great deal of land to sustain a truly ancient dragon."

Cami stared at me for a moment, lost in thought. "Hmm... so it's like when two cattle ranchers try to both graze their herds on the same land?"

I shrugged. "Not sure I like being compared to cows."

She tilted her head and got the funniest face on her face. It was still all scrunched up but was growing on me. I could actually see a trace of beauty in her, if you don't mind pink and squishy, human faces.

Then I felt a surge of emotion through the connection and she began laughing. The thing is, I knew she wasn't laughing at me but was genuinely feeling joy.

"No, silly. I finally get it. It isn't that you don't like me. It's that you're so nervous about proving that dragons are superior. I wasn't comparing you to the cows, but to the ranchers. Actually, I was just trying to put it into terms I'd understand.

"My dad was always talking about how whoever had the best grazing land for their cows had the best flock. The same thing for dragons, I guess. Whoever has the best territory will get the best treasure."

I wanted to argue again, but as I thought it through, she had actually summarized it well. The feeling of having my bonded companion understand me was far more gratifying than it should have been. This emotional connection worried me, as I feared it could be a liability, yet I couldn't even imagine living without it. That was only after a couple of weeks with it.

Then something hit me. "Wait, why would you think that I don't like you?"

Now it was Cami's turn to get flustered. Her face did that get red thing and before I realized it, I had put my hand on top of hers. A slight tingle ran up my arm. I knew it couldn't be electricity because I'm immune to electrical damage. Not that it really hurt me. Actually, it felt oddly pleasant. I just didn't know what it was.

With the comfort of my hand on hers, she looked up and made eye contact with me again. "I'm just a stupid farm girl. You have to protect me and... well... you got so upset when I told you that the wing image in the testing meant that I might have the pursuit of a dragon rider."

I was about to argue that wasn't true, but then I settled down into my seat a bit further. I had actually had each and everyone of those thoughts. Humans did this thing where they said things solely for the purpose of comforting the other one. Dragons weren't like that. We spoke exactly what we thought, but maybe my curiosity about humans could show me a better way.

"I'm sorry." I said softy, squeezing her hand ever so slightly. It brought back that sense of security I'd felt when my clutch mates and I clung to one another shortly after hatching.

"I had all those thoughts, but they didn't mean that I don't like you. The opposite is true. I was scared of losing you, and didn't know how to express it. Caring about something makes you vulnerable. It is why a dragon's hoard is their greatest weakness, except I feel like you might be more valuable than a hoard. I only have a few memories that even touch on that, so this is all new for me."

Cami smiled and squeezed my hand back and smiled. It seemed to light up the room. "I've never known a dragon before, and I've never had someone who really cared about me. I think I was just a burden for my parents. They did what they had to do, but wanted to get rid of me as soon as they could."

Then she did this thing where she wrinkled up her nose and asked me, "What do you mean memories?"

Wow. I'd said that hadn't I? Something about Cami made me so relaxed that I shared more than I should. "It's something about dragons. It isn't something that we share with those who aren't dragons."

She frowned and looked down while pulling her hand back.

That made my chest tighten up and caused me to feel like I couldn't draw my next breath. My mind raced. I thought back about what I knew from the dragon dream. It wasn't very much, but Tra'vis, the orc who had ridden my ancestor, Wasnera had dragon wings.

Was it possible that by being bonded to me would cause Cami to become a dragon over time? I shook my head, answering the question I asked myself. That couldn't be. That was too big. I'd know more about it if that was the case. The question was how could this bond be so significant and yet not be more common knowledge.

I blurted out, "It has to be the gods."

Cami eyes got wide, "What has to be the gods?"

I really hadn't intended to say that aloud, but the egg had been cracked. It wasn't like I could put it back together. "There is a lot I need to tell you, but if I do this, you may be the only human who knows about this stuff. Are you sure you want to take that risk? Other may hunt you or even kill you for this information."

Cami was young for a human, so it might have been easy to discard her answer, but our connection helped me know how sincere she was. She didn't hesitate in the slightest as she said, "Your enemies are my enemies. You may have to protect me, but I want to protect you, too."

"Okay, here goes. This is going to take some explaining."

Then I started to fill her in on everything. I told her about my life's story. The hours passed. Sure, I was young for a dragon and even if I had hibernated for weeks at a time, I still had lived four times longer than Cami.

The odd thing was that the more we connected, the less I felt like I was older than her. We were both about the same age relative to our species. I realized at some point in the conversation that humans mature more quickly than dragons. It was something I'd have to think on later, but pushed it aside for now.

When I got up to the point where we had met, I started telling her about the dragon dream.

"Wait, you have memories from other dragons in your head?"

"I don't think they're in my head. It feels like the dragon dream is almost another plane of existence that my mind can tap into when I'm sleeping. I know that doesn't make any sense, but I don't know any other way to put it. And it isn't just any random dreams, but only those of my ancestors, the ones in my direct line."

"How many of those are there? Don't dragons live a long time?"

"Yeah, I think my mother was at least a couple hundred years old, if not more. Dragons grow stronger naturally over time, but it can take more than a thousand years to reach the status of wyrm, which is considered the final stage of a dragon. Even then, wyrms continue growing until the day they die.

"The larger we get the more raw power we have, but there are other parts to it. You asked me about DKP, well they are a measurement of struggle that we undergo. We gain more DKP as we age, but also for overcoming challenges in our lives. The more dangerous a situation, the more DKP we'll gain. Although, I think our age also has something to do with it. I don't know everything yet, though."

She nodded. "Okay, so that is why I only got one DKP when we were fighting the rogues. The notification told me it wasn't much of a threat, because you could easily handle them, I guess."

I nodded. "That is part of it. Our greatest growth comes from killing other sapient beings in battles, which push us to our limits. We absorb a portion of their life force, or mana, or something. The dragon dream hasn't been perfectly clear, and for all their long life spans, dragons don't tend to be very introspective or philosophical."

She chuckled at that. "You don't say."

I arched an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Just, that if you are an extra curious dragon, then I have to think that most of your kind are rather self-absorbed." Then she blushed and added, "Not that dragons don't have a reason to be confident."

Just a few days ago, I would have wanted to bite her head off for her impudence, but now... now, I could see that there was something to what she was saying.

"There's more though. The dragon dream is important, and you can never share it with anyone else."

She cut me off then as she said, "I never would. Your secrets are safe with me."

"If we are bonded, I'm beginning to believe they may be not just my secrets, but yours as well. This is too much to figure out at once, but there is something else I need to tell you. It is what I meant when I said that about the gods earlier."

Then I filled her in on I had with the horror after whatever Miseria had done to me. Her eyes got wide, and she appropriately gasped at just the right times. It was a joy telling a story to Cami, especially, when it was about me.

That brought up the discussion of Miseria's promise to keep my identity secret. She nodded, "So she won't tell anyone about it. Even Lisella didn't know till you told her."

I said, "Exactly... hey, wait, how do you know I told Lisella?"

She giggled. "It's easy. She had been treating you so differently. And now, since the sea battle, she has been avoiding you. That doesn't seem like what a mentor would do. She had even been keeping Modessa away so that you can I could spend more time together. Not that I'm complaining."

"Good, I like spending time with you, too." As soon as the admission was out of my mouth, I wondered what would prompt me to say that. It was true, but it made me feel vulnerable.

I hadn't ever thought about someone like this before, not my mother, not even Sheraleigh, my smallest sister. She'd been the runt of the clutch and I had taken it on myself to protect her. That simply wasn't a dragon thing to do though, and I probably should have cued me into the fact that there was something different about me.

"Well, what if Miseria's promise means she is doing more than just not telling anyone about me? What if she is actively suppressing knowledge about my nature? I mean I'm pretty bad at relating to humans, even with you trying to cover for me."

Cami snorted and laughed, but didn't say anything. I was able to accept it. Her laughter was deserved.

"You don't have to be so quick to agree, but never mind that. My point is that Serius seems pretty smart, Modessa is trained to root out hidden information and doesn't trust me. Who knows what Liam is thinking because he never talks, but he seems like he is constantly watching everything. Even Galbrecht has reason to suspect me, yet not one of those four has put it together."

She nodded as she said, "Okay, so Miseria is helping keep your secret by actively hiding it. Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yeah, but what if that is why no one seems to know much about dragons, or specifically dragon riders? What if the gods are hiding a much bigger secret from the entire world?"