Dragon Sorcerer 2- Interlude 11 (Patreon)

Interlude 11- Worthy

Cami made it back to her room. She felt like her world had been turned upside down. Suddenly, what Modessa said made so much more sense. But then she shook her head. No, that couldn’t have been what her mentor meant. She hadn’t known how old Nico was, had she?”

It didn’t matter though. The little romantic fantasies she had conjured were all blown away as so much dust in the wind. Nico had torched them just as thoroughly as he had torched the straw dummy.

Her heart was heavy with the weight of her thoughts. The revelation of Nico's age felt like an insurmountable chasm between them. She had been so naive to think that her innocent crush could ever evolve into something more. She sank onto her bed, her mind swirling with emotions she couldn't quite name.

The light of the mid-morning sun filtered through the window, casting a warm glow across the room, but even that couldn’t make her see any hope. For a moment, Cami allowed herself to get lost in the peacefulness of the scene, but the cruel reality of the situation soon came crashing back down. Nico was a dragon, a being who would live for centuries or even millennia. How could she have ever thought that he would be interested in a fleeting human life like hers?

A deep sense of inadequacy washed over her as she reflected on the vast differences between them. Her life was but a blink in the grand timeline of a dragon's existence. The crushing weight of this realization pressed upon her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

As the sky outside her window turned darker, Cami's thoughts turned to her own mortality. She had never before truly considered the fact that Nico would outlive her by hundreds, if not thousands of years. The thought of him moving on and forming new bonds after she was gone sent a stabbing pain through her heart. He was her all, but she would just be one of many. It was like some of the older boys in her village had joked about making girls just another notch on their belt.

Yet, amidst this storm of emotion, a stubborn spark of determination began to flicker within her. Cami refused to let these feelings of inadequacy and despair define her. She might not be able to change the fundamental differences between herself and Nico, but she could strive to become stronger, more skilled, and worthy of being his rider. Nico wouldn’t do any less, so neither could she. This resolve took root in her heart, growing stronger with each passing moment.

Cami's focus shifted towards her magical abilities and her future as an adventurer alongside Nico. She knew that to be worthy of such a partnership, she would need to push herself to her limits and beyond. The image of twin lightning bolts striking down their enemies filled her with a renewed sense of purpose. She would gain that ability and show Nico she had the power.

She also needed to think about the path she wanted to take. The university called it pursuits. Well at least that was part of it. There were different areas of magic which she was better at than others. Serius had told her that she could likely master almost any form of magic which she put her mind to, but Modessa stressed the important of specializing. Modessa called that a build.

With each day, she would dedicate herself to honing her skills, learning new magic, and exploring the depths of her bond with Nico. She would become someone he could be proud of, someone who could stand by his side as an equal. Her build would be a path to that. Her mentor wanted her to focus on stealth and shadow magic like she did herself, but while Cami intended to learn that lesson, that wasn’t the path of a dragon rider. Not in her mind.

As she lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, Cami allowed herself to dream of the adventures that lay ahead. She imagined herself soaring through the skies on Nico's back, exploring unknown lands, and facing formidable foes together. In these fantasies, she was no longer a fragile human girl but a fierce warrior, a true dragon rider.

Thinking about it though did make another point for her. Nico could change shapes, that was true, but he would probably always be more comfortable in his natural form. So certain other tasks would fall to her. There might just be a room for stealth. Nico might think that a lightning bolt could solve just about any problem, but Cami, didn’t buy that.

If she could get into places that Nico could go, or gather information which he didn’t have access too, then she would be an asset to him.  She simply needed to ponder what sorts of roles she could bring to the table and how they would complement Nico’s abilities.

The fire within her burned brighter, fueled by her unyielding determination. She knew the journey ahead would be challenging and filled with hardships, but she was ready to face them head-on. For herself, and for Nico. She had a plan now.

There were four pursuits which the crystal ball had shown were her strongest. The wing of course marked her as a dragon rider. She now knew that definitively and even possessed the epic class to prove it. She didn’t know all the limits and strengths of that class yet, but the fact that she got three percent of Nico’s stats, could borrow the magical power from his body to empower her spells, and should share spells with him alone made her strong.

She had yet to spend much time practicing the Spear Mastery she obtained when their bond reached level ten, but there was time. Classes were more of less over for this semester. The other students had to prepare for exams which would determine their ranking as well as what type of positions they might obtain or if they would be allowed to return to the university again. She didn’t know all the details but from what she had heard from the other students, the exams were a big deal.

That however, meant that other than when Modessa trained her, Cami’s time would be her own. She would explore the dragon rider class with Nico, but now wanted to think about her other pursuits and how she might use them to empower herself. She wanted to be careful what class she picked for her second class.

Modessa had warned her against trying to level up for now and instead work on filling out her skills. She wouldn’t be allowed into any official dungeons until she had completed two years at the university, although she hoped that she might convince Modessa to take her back to that outdoor dungeon. It seemed like a perfect place to gain DKP which she could use even if she didn’t have a second class.

As for her shadow pursuit, she trusted Modessa enough to help her learn how to make use of that. She just didn’t want it to be her only other pursuit. She very much wanted to become an Elemental Smith as an occupation. The thought of crafting magical items for herself and Nico to use made her tingle with anticipation. It was another way that she could demonstrate her value.

Yet, it seemed like a waste to only use her pursuit of elemental fire for crafting. She wanted to learn some fire spells. Nico might not like fire, but he’d surely be impressed if she could rain down fire from his back. A part of her trembled but she wasn’t sure if it was excitement or fear.

Burning their enemies be they monsters or even people, shouldn’t excite her. Yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling. The blood of her enemies was hers to claim. Wow, that thought felt out of place. It sounded like something that Nico would say. She grinned. Maybe she’d become a good little dragon rider after all.

It was the final pursuit which had shown up in the crystal ball which she understood the least. It had been a staff, and Modessa told her it represented a wizard. Cami was a bit unclear about the difference between a mage, sorcerer, and wizard. She knew that at a basic level, mage was a generic term. It also seemed that a sorcerer was more about feeling the magic while a wizard was about studying magic.

That seemed like too simple of a definition though and she wanted to make sure she completed her understanding. She could get some time with Serius. He had offered to train her before, maybe he still would even though she had selected Modessa as her mentor.

One way or another, Cami wasn’t going to stop until she had mastered all the skills of each pursuit. What class that meant she’d end up with, she didn’t know, but she was going to make it work. It was the only way to be sure she was worthy.

__________________________

Allinor heard the ring of a bell in his private domain. It was here that he conducted his endless experiments in the pursuit of better understanding magic. The mortals called him the god of magic. Better to say that he was the first lover of magic, the one most intimate with the great tapestry which covered the universe.

He shook his head. He needed to focus. He was about to have guests and he knew without a doubt what they wanted to speak to him about.

With a wave of his hand all of his experiments were shunted off into a sealed pocket dimension and his private domain took on the shape of a public bath in the style currently popular in the City of the Dawn. Yes, that would properly annoy his guests, just like their united visit was annoying him.

He sank down into the warm water as his robes disappeared. His body was far beyond mortal concerns, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t make mana infused water which was still soothing.

Then he waved his hand once more and his domain opened to his three guests. They would report to others, but they were the most active in what they called saving the mortal world. Allinor snorted, sadly, they might be that far off. None of them knew what would happen for sure if the world which had spawned them were to disappear. What he did know for sure was that the system was very silent on the subject.

Miseria led the way as she stepped in and took one look at the pattern he had formed for his domain. She could no more change it than he could have changed her domain. Behind her were Nilarue, lord of the sky, and Hepha, the goddess of crafts.

Allinor waved for them. “Come join me in the bath. You’ll find it soothing.”

Hepha was always uptight and replied, “We didn’t come here for soothing.”

Allinor took in the form that Hepha had chosen. She was a dwarfess and nearly as wide as she was tall. Okay, that was an exaggeration, but she did seem to have many dwarven traits to an extreme. Dwarven women didn’t have beards, but they did have a sizable number of curly hairs on her chin. Hers were bright red just like the hair on the top of her head.

Nilarue had adopted his normal form. He was tall elf, completely a contrast for Hepha. He looked like everything around him bored him. It was all an act though. If there was any god who cared it was Nilarue. In fact he probably cared too much which drove him to inject his standards and values into the business of other people. Oh well, at least in this care, it was necessary.

The final goddess was the one who most intrigued Allinor. Despite millenia of knowing her, he couldn’t get a full read on her. She was a goddess of healing and from all outward signs, she was benevolent to mortals in the extreme. She had very few guidelines for her followers. Mostly, they were just expected to live and let live.

The exception being her paladins. They were ruthless in how the dispenses justice. But there was more to it than that. He didn’t know why, but he was certain, that Miseria sought suffering for the world, just so that it could be healed.

Nilarue played right along and stripped down before stepping into the bath waters. Hepha grunted and did the same. Miseria shook her head, “You’re really too old for these games, Allinor but fine.”

Then not only did she make her clothing disappear as the others had, but she slowly and lasciviously stripped the clothing off. Only once it was fully removed from her alabaster skin, did the items disappear. Throughout it all, she kept her eyes locked on Allinor. He would have sworn that the desires of the flesh no longer held any appeal for him, but then again, she was probably exerting some other influence beyond that of a perfect human physique.

Once she settled into the water Allinor shook his head and asked, “To what do I own the pleasure of your visit.”

Hepha snapped, “Cut the crap, ya old coot. You didn’t have permission to visit the mortal realm, let alone to speak to one of the seeds. This situation is entirely too delicate for you to go and do whatever you want.”

“And who’s fault is that?” Allinor snapped back.

Nilarue said, “The mortals have become an unruly lot. They think they know better and the old ways have been lost. The clans were what held them together and bound them to the gods, but now they each go their own way.”

“Yes, yes, lament, modern society, but that won’t achieve anything. And we all know that this wasn’t just the work of mortals. We just don’t know which of the others it was,” Miseria said.

Allinor added softly, “Or what they hoped to gain.”

Miseria continued, “True enough. The eldritch would be the end of us all. They are nothing but endless hunger and emptiness. But it seems odd that you would risk the harm they might cause by interfering with one of the ones we depend upon.”

“I’m hardly the only one to speak to him, although I do note that he seems to be the recipient of more attention than any of the other seeds.”

Miseria waved her hand. “Mere circumstance. You better than most know that the grand tapestry is unveiled as it will be.”

“Fine, I note that Temulara didn’t bother to come with you.”

Nilarue said, “It isn’t her. I’ve watched her closely and she was only able to speak to him because of the presence of the horror and the use of an old prayer by one imbued with dragon magic.”

“I know the details, but you still need to tell me why you’re bothering me.”

Miseria leaned in. “A simple warning. The struggle is too tense. And you hid what you said to him. So tell us or we won’t be able to trust you.”

“This is my domain. I’m the one who makes threats here. And you think I care if you trust me. I don’t trust any of you. That has never been the basis for our work. We need the mortals as much as they need us. All of us. This is just about mutually shared interest. As for what I said, I just gave him some friendly advice.

“You all would do well to remember that dragons can be guided but they can’t be controlled. Hold the reins to tightly and well, you know what happens.”

Then Allinor decided that all the profit from this meeting was gone. He’d learned a little and given a little It was time for them to be gone and with a simple gesture and a flex of his will, they were.