The Consequences of Meeting a Dragon

"Thenio, look! It's like my train, but really big!" Iggy said excitedly, waving his tail so hard he almost knocked himself off of Thenio's shoulder.

"That's right." Thenio reached up to pat the little dragon to try to calm him down a little. "Have you ridden on big trains before?"

"Mmm! We ride the train when we go to Uncle Bero's chicken farm! Or to Toflyn and Seyli's house, where all my cousins live!" Iggy turned to look at Ariom. "Is that the train that Uncle Bero and Humerus are coming on?"

They could see the magic train that had just pulled into the station through the large glass panels that separated the platform from the waiting area. As they watched, the doors on the train cars started to open, and passengers began spilling out.

Ariom looked up at the large clock over the nearby security gate. "No, they should be on the next train. Their arrival time isn't for another twenty minutes. We came early so we could sit here for a while and test out Thenio's new insulation bands, remember?"

Thenio glanced down at the new leather cuffs on his wrists. Ariom had just finished them last night. He'd made quite a few changes to the enchantment matrix, using the diagram from Ki'shiu as a reference, and the initial tests on this version were quite promising. Thenio had even been able to talk to Namyis this afternoon without a barrier in between them...though of course she was wearing her dampener cuffs.

Iggy and Amisi were still avoiding direct contact with her, but Ariom had said he was planning to work on insulation collars for them after Thenio's new bands were done.

He'd only told Thenio that, however, and made him promise not to mention it to Namyis until the collars were finished because he didn't want her nagging him about them.

The two of them had developed a rather strange relationship over the past week. It was a little like watching Iggy and Humerus together: One was always playing around, and the other one was always acting annoyed with an unknown degree of sincerity. But unlike Iggy, Namyis seemed to have an excellent grasp of just how far she could push Ariom and would quickly back off whenever he was on the verge of snapping for real.

Thenio had been concerned about their behavior at first, but Amisi assured him that Mideis was keeping an eye on them and would step in if a serious argument started.

Well, that probably meant that Thenio didn't have to worry about the house suddenly getting turned into a giant ice box if Namyis got too upset. But not having to tiptoe around a grouchy Ariom after every practice session would be nice, too....

Since they usually ended in the late afternoon, Thenio had dealt with the issue by volunteering to take care of all the cooking until after the job for the Royal Guard was done, both to give Ariom more time to manage the extra workload and to give himself an excuse to hide out in the kitchen until his employer's bad mood had passed.

"How do they look so far?" Thenio asked, nodding at the insulation bands. "I feel pretty normal. But I guess we've already learned that's not enough to know it's safe...."

Ariom looked him up and down. "Your magic still seems fine." He glanced at the people milling around the waiting area. "The ambient magic in this area isn't especially high, but it's definitely enough that it would cause your magic power to start fluctuating if you weren't wearing an insulation device. So the fact that you're still steady is a good sign. We'll see how you do over the next half hour. Let's find a place to sit down."

Many of the people waiting were moving closer to the security gates to meet passengers coming off the train, so it didn't take them too long to find a bench that had just been vacated. Thenio and Ariom sat down on either end of it, leaving a space in the middle for Iggy. The little dragon jumped off Thenio's shoulder and started climbing around on the bench, sniffing at the wood and looking at all the people and things around them.

Thenio looked around too, watching the people coming and going. He hadn't gone out much for the past few months, so it felt a little strange to be in such a busy place.

A few people gave him uneasy looks and sped up as they went past where he was sitting—a typical reaction from non-magic users. But most people paid more attention to Iggy. Several children waved at the dragon or pointed him out to their parents as they went by, and two young women, who looked like sisters, came over and asked for permission to pet him. They stayed for a few minutes, cooing over Iggy and trying unsuccessfully to engage Ariom in conversation. But he refused to give them any more than curt replies and annoyed looks for their efforts.

They completely ignored Thenio, despite him being the one holding onto Iggy's leash....

The two of them finally gave up and left about the same time that the train finished loading its next group of passengers and slowly pulled out of the station.

"They should be here in just a few more minutes," Ariom said, checking the clock again. Then he looked over at Thenio. "And your magic power still looks normal. Good. That means we can try out a higher magic area next. Maybe we should go to the local park on market day. Iggy and I haven't been there in a while."

"I want to go to the park!" Iggy swished his tail enthusiastically. "I like the park! They have tasty snacks there, you know?" He wrinkled his nose. "But I don't like shopping for stinky magic things...."

"We won't go to the alchemy area," Ariom reassured him. "That's probably still a bit much for Thenio, too. We'll just stay over by the food stalls for this trip. Uncle Bero and Humerus can go with us. And maybe Seyli and Tava, if they're not too busy with classes that day."

"Mmm! Okay!" Iggy's tail swishing intensified. Then his ears pricked up and he turned his head toward the far end of the station. "Oh! Another train is coming!"

Thenio and Ariom both turned to look. As Iggy had said, the dark shape of an approaching train was visible some distance down the tracks, gradually growing larger.

Iggy stood up on his hind legs, trying to see better. Thenio picked him up and stood to give him a better view of the train as it pulled into the station and came to a halt.

A minute later, the doors opened, and people started to emerge.

"They'll be coming through the magic beast check-point, won't they?" Thenio asked, turning to Ariom. "Should we go over there to wait?"

Ariom shook his head. "Look over there and tell me how many magic beasts you think there are in that part of the waiting area."

Thenio looked over at the crowd in front of that security gate. He couldn't actually see that many magic beasts, but the people that were waiting to board the train all had carry bags or traveling crates with them. And he spotted several magic beasts among the people who seemed to be waiting to meet passengers, including a pygmy gryphon, a gale eagle, and what looked like a large black boar with a ridge of blue bristles running down its back.

"Looks like...around twenty?" Thenio guessed, turning back to Ariom.

"And what's going to happen if you suddenly turn up in a group of twenty magic beasts?"

"Oh. Right." Thenio made a face. "They'll probably make a fuss, won't they?"

"Probably. That's why we're not waiting over there. Don't worry, Uncle Bero knows to look for us here."

The Kafron government considered wizards to be a valuable national asset and had implemented a number of wizard-friendly laws and policies. Strong protections for magic beasts were one of those, since no wizard wanted a precious pet or familiar to be kidnapped and trafficked.

That included things like the magic beast registration system and security check-points for travelers to make sure that any magic beasts being transported were with a registered handler.

Thenio watched the entrance of the magic beast security gate, and a few minutes later, he spotted a familiar head of golden hair coming out of it.

"I see them!" Iggy wriggled excitedly in Thenio's arms. "I see Uncle Bero and Humerus!"

Thenio wasn't sure how the little dragon could have seen Humerus, since he didn't see any sign of the revenant himself. But as Bero came closer, he noticed there was a carry bag slung over his shoulder. The size and shape looked the same as Iggy's, which Thenio had seen on a shelf in the dragon room. Just the color was different. Iggy's was black, and Humerus' was dark red.

Presumably, Ariom and Toflyn had made both of them. Thenio wondered if Tava had a matching purple one. He'd have to remember to ask Seyli sometime....

Bero spotted them and raised a hand to wave. Iggy lifted his front paws and started waving back enthusiastically. Thenio held him up higher so that Bero would be able to see.

"Humerus! Uncle Bero! Hi!" Iggy called out as the pair finally reached them, his tail waving wildly.

Bero laughed. "Hi, Iggy. It's nice to see you, too. And you, Thenio," he added with a warm smile. "You're looking a bit better than when I saw you last. Ariom told me you've been working hard at your training."

"Yeah...well...." Thenio glanced in Ariom's direction, feeling a little embarrassed. "I have a lot of people helping me out. So I kind of have to work hard to make it up to everyone."

"That's a good motivation." Bero patted him on the shoulder. Then he looked at Ariom. "And you've been doing well to stick with him, even if it's been stressing you out lately."

"Thenio hasn't been stressing me out," Ariom said with a faint scowl. "A certain friend of his is the one who's been doing that...along with a particularly annoying ice mage we met recently...."

Bero raised an eyebrow. "Well, you can tell me all about it later." He looked down at the red carry bag still hanging from his shoulder. "Humerus is in a bad mood from traveling and would probably like to get home and have his dinner."

"Yes, I would!" came a grumpy voice from inside the bag.

The front and sides of the bag had sections of mesh fabric that presumably allowed Humerus to see out, but Thenio couldn't see anything when he tried to look inside.

"It's enchanted, so you can't see into it," Bero said, noticing and correctly interpreting Thenio's puzzled expression. "His real appearance makes a lot of people uncomfortable, so Ariom and Toflyn made him this special carry bag so he doesn't have to wear skin the whole time we're riding on the train. It's helped a lot, but he still resents having to hide during the trip."

"I like when we get a private compartment..." Humerus' voice said sulkily.

"I know you do," Bero said patiently. "But that costs more. I gave you the choice of having a private compartment for this trip or getting an extra gryphon egg, and you chose the egg. You said it was worth sitting in your bag for an hour. Did you forget?"

The carry bag was silent.

"Typical greedy revenant..." Ariom said, shaking his head. "Well, let's go. He'll cheer up once there's food in front of him."

He led the way out of the waiting area and back to the golem carriage.

"You mentioned an annoying ice mage," Bero said as they walked. "Is that the one you're working with? The one who had the broken magic dampener that caused Thenio trouble?"

"Yes," Ariom said shortly.

"She was someone from the Magic Corps, wasn't she? What's her name?"

Ariom was scowling and didn't seem inclined to answer, so Thenio took over. "It's Ice Queen."

"Oh, Namyis? I see." Bero nodded, looking thoughtfully at Ariom.

"You know her?" Thenio asked curiously.

"I've met her a few times. She seemed quite pleasant, and I know she has a good reputation among the other battlemages. Kalion likes her a lot, too. Tamon doesn't, but...well, Tamon doesn't like most people." Bero gave a wry smile. "And I can understand why Ariom would find her particularly irritating."

Ariom rolled his eyes but didn't comment.

"The ice cream lady is scary," Iggy said solemnly. "She almost freezed Thenio and Misi-cat! But it was an accident, okay? She said she was sorry. And she plays with me through the window in my box! So then she's not so scary."

"What 'ice cream lady'?" Humerus' voice retorted from the carry bag. "It's Ice Queen. Queen. Not cream."

"But she made Thenio's magic freeze into ice cream! So she's the ice cream lady! And when I call her that, she laughs and thinks it's funny. She likes it, you know? So Thenio said it was okay to call her that. I'm not supposed to call her a monster. But ice cream is okay. Okay?"

"She did think it was funny," Thenio said, backing up Iggy's story. "She said she didn't mind being called that."

Humerus gave an angry-sounding sniff and didn't reply.

Thenio was tempted to ask why a creature who didn't even need to breathe would go to the trouble of making a sniffing sound, but it was probably better not to aggravate him too much right now.

"Do spectral beasts get intimidated by high-rankers like magic beasts do?" he asked instead.

"It depends on the spectral beast," Bero said. "And on the high-ranker. Wisps and elementals won't have any problem with a high-ranker who has the same affinity they do. They'll just see it as a source of magic to eat. But they'll be uncomfortable if the wizard has an opposing affinity.

"Mimics don't really have the mental capacity to feel intimidated, but they'll be cautious and less likely to attack. And for revenants, it just depends on how high their own rank is. Humerus doesn't usually have a problem being around high-rankers, because he's the equivalent of a high-ranker himself."

"Wait, really? He's that strong?" Thenio stared down at the carry bag. "I mean, I knew you were a high-ranker, but...."

"Why can't I be strong?" Humerus asked in an irritated voice. "Are you insulting me? Are you looking down on my greatness?"

"What greatness?" Ariom scoffed. "He's obviously surprised because he expects powerful magic users to have some kind of dignity, and you don't have a single bit, you gluttonous prankster."

"Bero!" Humerus whined. "They're picking on me!"

"Thenio wasn't picking on you," Bero told him in a soothing voice. "He doesn't have any way of knowing how strong you are because you can't use much magic in front of him. He wasn't trying to insult you."

"But Ariom was...."

"Well...yes. And he should know better than to pick a fight with you when you're hungry." Bero gave Ariom an unusually stern look. Then his expression softened and he looked back at the carry bag. "But you know he's had a lot to deal with lately, so just let it slide this time, all right?"

There was an angry huffing noise from inside the bag.

Again...why was he deliberately making fake breathing sounds? Just for dramatic effect?

Were all revenants this weird...?

The rest of the trip home passed without incident. Uncle Bero changed the subject by asking Thenio about his acrobatics training, and Ariom and Humerus both stayed quiet.

Ariom was a little ashamed of himself. He did know better than to antagonize Humerus when he was hungry and irritable.

Thenio had never seen the revenant's real power, but Ariom had, and it wasn't something to be taken lightly.

Was it just because he'd been busy and short on sleep lately? Or because he'd spent so much time snapping back at Namyis' nonsense?

He didn't know. But it was a little concerning.

Humerus was one thing—despite how he usually acted, he had enough self-control that he wouldn't go wild over one careless remark—but Ariom couldn't afford to make slip-ups like that with the other dangerous things he was involved with at the moment.

When they got back to the house, Thenio went to the kitchen with Iggy to finish preparing dinner, and Ariom went upstairs with Uncle Bero and Humerus to help them get settled in.

Humerus, who was finally out of his carry bag, floated over to the table in front of the fireplace and sat down on it, looking up at Uncle Bero with an impatient stare.

"I know, I know..." Uncle Bero told him. "Just give me a minute to get your things out."

He sat down on the sofa next to the table and took a small iron brazier out of his space pocket. He set it down in front of Humerus. Then he took out a smaller object—a golden-orange and white striped egg. Humerus' eye flames danced with excitement when he saw it.

"There you go," Uncle Bero said, placing the egg inside the brazier. "One gryphon egg, as promised. Enjoy."

The green flames flared even brighter, leaping out from the eye sockets and toward the brazier, leaving the bones to collapse onto the table with a clatter.

He had terrible table manners, as always....

Ariom made a face as he watched the green fire attack the egg with relish.

"Come sit down," Uncle Bero said, looking at Ariom and patting the sofa. "Let's talk a little while he's eating."

"Don't you need to unpack your things?" Ariom asked, though he obediently went over and sat down next to his uncle.

"I'll do it later." Uncle Bero smiled gently, but his eyes were serious. "What's really going on, Ariom? You're clearly on edge. It's not like you to forget that it's dangerous to annoy Humerus when he's hungry. And I know you wouldn't have asked for help unless things were serious, but you've been so cagey in all the messages you've been sending me...."

Ariom was quiet for a moment, staring unseeingly at the brazier full of Humerus' flames.

"There's too much..." he said finally. "I don't even know where to start."

"Let's start with that first message you sent," Uncle Bero said patiently. "You said that Thenio went to talk to Eteon. And later you said that he'd confirmed my theory. So Eteon really is a mythic beast's agent?"

"Yes."

"Did you learn which mythic beast he's contracted with?"

"His name is Ki'shiu. Well...that's probably not his real name. It's what the Forest People call him, but it seems to actually be more of a title. It's what Eteon called him, though, so I guess it's how he wants to be addressed."

"What does it mean?"

"'Lord of Dreams.' That's his magic domain. He's a creature called a dream beast. That's...he's sort of like a deer with wings.... Thenio has drawings of him. You can ask him to show you later."

Uncle Bero raised his eyebrows. "Thenio's seen him?"

Ariom nodded. "He's seen him every night for the past week, actually. His domain is dreams, right? So apparently that means he can visit Thenio in his dreams...and he's been teaching him to use dream magic...he's taught most of the chaos morphs to use dream magic...and he's been trying to save them, only he hasn't been able to....twelve of them...and he somehow thinks I'll be able to figure out a way, when even he hasn't been able to...and I have no idea what he's going to do if I can't do it...and...."

"Whoa. Ariom. Slow down." Uncle Bero put a hand on Ariom's shoulder, interrupting his increasingly frantic words. "I see why you were feeling overwhelmed.... But I can't understand if you tell me everything at once. Back up. What is dream magic, exactly?"

Ariom took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "Eteon called it the magic of knowledge. It seems to be related to mental magic, but it's a lot more powerful. He said that it can pull knowledge from the world and use knowledge to affect the world.

"And Ki'shiu told Thenio that mental magic transfers knowledge, but dream magic recreates it. He's been teaching Thenio to recreate real world objects in dreams. He does it with his drawings, too. He can use dream magic when he draws to remember details of things he's seen and know what things look like even when he hasn't seen them."

Uncle Bero frowned a little. "Is that how he can draw from memory so well? I noticed he has an impressive ability to remember details...."

"Right. That's how he does it. That's how all this started, really. Mideis and I were experimenting with using telepathy to help transcribe magic formations for that enchantment analysis I'm doing for the Royal Guard, and we discovered that Thenio could...."

Ariom went through and described everything that had happened, from discovering Thenio's unusual drawing abilities and learning about Ki'shiu, to Thenio accidentally replicating Namyis' magic attribute and starting his nightly dream magic lessons.

Uncle Bero listened calmly, occasionally asking for clarifications or gently steering the narrative back on track whenever Ariom started getting flustered again.

While they talked, Humerus gradually burnt his gryphon egg down to a small pile of indigestible ashes. Then the flames shrank down into a little ball of green fire that floated over the brazier. He looked almost like he was falling asleep, but Ariom knew he was still listening to their conversation while he finished absorbing his meal.

"Well...that's quite a story..." Uncle Bero said when Ariom had finally finished. He leaned against the back of the sofa and looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling for a long moment. "The true nature of chaos magic, huh...? Like you said, that's quite an intriguing phrase, especially when it's combined with the contents of that telepathic message. It seems to support Kalion's hunch—that there's some connection between chaos magic and the demon rifts."

"Maybe. But it could also just be a coincidence that demons are one of the topics Thenio isn't supposed to learn about. I mean, if he has the ability to recreate knowledge, then it makes sense that knowledge about demons is dangerous, right?"

"Well, that's true. Same with knowledge about mythic beasts, if you go by that logic."

The message that Ki'shiu had sent Mideis had three parts to it.

The first was the general warning to be careful of what information Thenio was exposed to.

The second part was two areas of knowledge that he specifically needed to avoid: demons and mythic beasts.

And the third part....

"What about the seal on Thenio's memories?" Uncle Bero asked. "Is it really there? Did Mideis check?"

"Yes. He was afraid to even look for it at first, since Ki'shiu gave him a direct order not to touch the seal, or else.... But Amisi and I finally talked him into it. She convinced him that it would be safer to look and know exactly where the seal was, to be sure they could avoid it."

"Interesting.... What kind of memories do you suppose are in there?"

"I wish I knew," Ariom said drily. "But I don't wish it so much that I'm willing to risk getting killed by an angry dream beast in order to find out."