The Consequences of Meeting a Dragon

When Namyis arrived at the Royal Guard headquarters the following day, a staff member was waiting to guide her to the research building, where a special area had been set up for their project. She found Mideis there, inspecting the magic barriers with a couple of the Guard researchers. He was wearing a black combat suit with the Royal Guard's crest on the front.

Namyis was also dressed in a combat suit—a pale violet one with a large white snowflake on both the front and back. It was the suit that she wore for demon subjugations. All Kafron's battlemages had custom-designed suits, which allowed them to easily identify each other on the battlefield, even with helmets on.

She also had a plain, dark grey suit that she used for stealth missions. But she liked the violet one better.

Amisi, Iggy, and a smallish bronze-colored dragon that was probably Humerus were sitting together on a table in the middle of the barrier room, watching the researchers. They all turned to look at Namyis when she came in.

"Hi, ice cream lady!" Iggy said, sitting back on his haunches so he could wave his paws at her.

"Hi!" Namyis said cheerfully, waving back while considerately keeping her distance from them. "Where's Ariom?"

"He's still getting his suit adjusted," Mideis said, walking over to meet her. "It's a brand new one that we had made for him."

"Ah." Namyis nodded in understanding. Combat suit adjustments were a regular part of life for her.

"Let me show you how we have things set up." Mideis gestured around the room they were in. "This is where we'll be doing the actual enchantment analysis. That examination table is the same kind that we use for autopsies, but with a strong reinforcement enchantment added so it can survive our upcoming practice sessions. It's adjustable, so you and Ariom can choose whether you want to work standing or sitting down. Today's practice is mostly about figuring out a comfortable working arrangement. We'll start with the actual explosions tomorrow." He pointed toward a low wall that cut partway across one side of the room. "Humerus and I will be sitting over there. Out of the way, but close enough to assist if you need us to."

Bero and Humerus had been officially recruited to help out with the job. Originally, it had just been to keep an eye on Thenio. They were already planning to have a doctor on hand to monitor him, and Bero was an ideal choice for that role since he was aware of the boy's special needs. But when he agreed to participate, he also insisted that Humerus stay inside the barrier with Ariom and Namyis for 'extra protection.'

Namyis wasn't familiar with Humerus' abilities, so she wasn't exactly sure what Bero meant by that. But she knew that revenants had quite a fearsome reputation among combat wizards who did pest control. And Ariom had agreed to his uncle's request, which meant that he thought Humerus would be able to help, so Namyis had no complaints.

Ariom was a bit of a grouch, but she trusted his judgment.

"There's an observation room over there," Mideis went on, pointing toward a thick glass panel set into one wall. A few more people in Guard uniforms were visible on the other side of it. "We'll have some of our researchers and a medical team standing by, just in case we need them." He pointed at the adjoining wall. "There's another room set up for Thenio on the other side of that wall. Ariom wanted it separated from the observation room, to prevent any outside magic from affecting him."

"Thenio's not practicing with us today, though, is he? Didn't Ariom say that he had a check-up at the Stability Center?"

"Right. He and Bero will be stopping by to take a look around later. But it shouldn't be a problem if he misses this acclimation session. We deliberately got a desk and chair similar to the ones he's been using at Ariom's house, so he shouldn't have any trouble getting used to them."

Namyis laughed. "As expected of the Royal Guard. You're always thorough."

"Well...we try," Mideis said with a small smile.

"Thorough is right," said an unhappy-sounding voice behind them. "Is adjusting a new combat suit always such a long and miserable process?"

They turned to see Ariom walking into the room. He was dressed in a black suit similar to Mideis', but without the crest.

Namyis' eyes widened a little when she saw him. Ariom's build was on the slender side, but since he practiced archery, his upper body was quite muscular. It made him look surprisingly good in a combat suit.

He also looked remarkably like his father...stigma aside, of course.

"Hi, Ariom!" She gave him a bright smile and a little wave. "Wow. You look—"

"Don't say it!" Ariom snarled, cutting her off.

Namyis raised her eyebrows in surprise at the outburst. Then she put on a pathetic face. "What? I'm not allowed to tell you that you look good?"

"No," he snapped. "You're not allowed to say anything about how I look. Understand?"

"Aww...." She pouted a little. "Fine."

"Good." Ariom turned toward where the familiars were sitting.

Namyis' pout twisted up into a mischievous grin. "But just so you know...you look even more like him when you have that angry scowl on your face."

Ariom whipped back around, his scowl deepening.

Then he seemed to process what she'd just said, and his face twitched awkwardly for a moment before he gave an annoyed snort and turned away from her again.

Namyis held back a giggle. Laughing at him after that last shot would probably be pushing things a little too far.

Ariom really was fun to tease.

And he did look quite handsome in that combat suit....

"All right, that's enough for now," Chanea said, making a note on the clipboard she was holding. "Those thaumaturgy exercises seem to be working. Your magic flow looks a lot better than it did a month ago. And you're getting really good at magic shaping."

"Yes, you are." Lerian started unstrapping the monitoring devices that Thenio had been wearing while he went through some of his usual magic exercises. "Grandmaster Denifor must be a really good teacher."

Thenio gave an awkward smile and didn't reply. Ariom was a good teacher, but a lot of his recent improvements in magic shaping were actually thanks to his dream magic lessons.

He couldn't tell them that, though.

As Lerian finished helping him out of the monitoring equipment, the door of the examination room opened, and Grandmaster Sephior came in with Bero following behind him.

After they'd arrived at the Stability Center for Thenio's appointment, Grandmaster Sephior had left his apprentices in charge of doing the routine tests while he and Bero went to another room to talk privately.

Thenio wasn't exactly sure what they were talking about, but he guessed that it included the topics that Ki'shiu had said were off-limits for him for the time being. Bero probably didn't want to risk them coming up in the conversation when Thenio told Grandmaster Sephior about his interactions with the dream beast.

"We just finished analyzing his magic flow," Chanea said, handing the clipboard to Grandmaster Sephior.

"Good." He took the clipboard and flipped through the papers on it, looking over the notes and measurements that Chanea had been writing down. "Yes, very good. This is excellent progress. You must be working hard, boy." He gave Thenio a wrinkly smile. "Just be sure you're not pushing yourself too much. Take it step by step, remember."

Thenio nodded. "Right. I'm trying to be careful. And Ariom keeps track of how much time I spend training to make sure I don't overdo it."

So did Mideis and Ki'shiu, of course, but it was better not to mention them in front of the apprentices. He had permission to tell Grandmaster Sephior about dream magic and how he was using it in the job for the Royal Guard, but he wasn't supposed to say anything about it to anyone else.

"Good." Grandmaster Sephior walked over and sat down in an empty chair across from Thenio's. "I heard you started having some acrobatics lessons. How is that going? Do you enjoy it?"

"Yeah! It's a lot of fun," Thenio said enthusiastically. "We've just been going over the basics so far, since I was out of practice after not taking classes for a couple of years. But my teacher said I'll be able to start learning some new things soon. He's going to teach me some of the tricks he used to perform when he was in the circus."

"Very good. Magic instability can be a very discouraging condition. I told Ariom that it was important to find activities that you enjoy doing, to help keep your spirits up. I'm glad you've found something that suits you. Ariom also mentioned meditation in the last report he sent me?"

"Right. Ariom's doing a job for the Royal Guard, and the inspector who hired him is a mental mage. He offered to teach me a few basic meditation techniques to see if that would help with my magic control. Well, I've only been doing them for a couple of weeks, but I think it's been helping some. I feel a little calmer than I did before."

"Good," Grandmaster Sephior said again. "Managing your emotions is very important. So if meditation seems to help you, then by all means, keep doing it."

"I will."

"Have there been any other significant changes to your training routine?"

"Not really. Just...uh...I've been doing a little bit of special magic training so that I can help out with Ariom's current job." Thenio glanced at Bero, who was sitting on one side of the room, next to Lerian. "Maybe Bero told you about that?"

Grandmaster Sephior nodded. "Yes, he did. We'll talk about it more in a moment. First...." He looked at Chanea and Lerian. "Thank you very much for your help, you two. I'm afraid the rest of what we need to discuss involves some sensitive information related to Ariom's work, so I'll let you leave now. Since we don't have any more appointments today, you can go home as soon as you finish your daily paperwork."

"Nice!" Chanea held up her arms in celebration. "Ah, don't get me wrong, I love working here," she added hastily in response to the startled look Thenio gave her. "But going home early once in a while is nice, too."

"It's all right to be happy, but please try to keep a professional attitude when you're in front of a patient," Grandmaster Sephior told her sternly.

"Ah...right. I'm sorry," Chanea said, lowering her head contritely.

Grandmaster Sephior maintained his stern expression until the apprentices had left the room. Then he sighed and shook his head. "They're good kids, those two, but they still have some growing up to do."

"Aren't most apprentices like that? You wouldn't believe some of the hijinks mine get up to." Bero chuckled. "Thenio here seems quite mature by comparison, in spite of being a few years younger. Though he could do with a little more confidence in himself...."

"Well, give him some time," Grandmaster Sephior said gently. "He's only sixteen, and he's been going through a lot of difficult things." He turned to Thenio. "And from what I've heard, the past couple of weeks have been quite eventful for you. Tell me what's been going on."

The two men sat and listened quietly while Thenio explained everything that had happened, from Ariom taking the job for the Royal Guard and the discovery of Thenio's unusual drawing abilities, to learning about Ki'shiu and dream magic, to meeting Namyis and almost freezing himself.

Bero should have heard most of it before from Ariom, but he seemed to be interested in Thenio's perspective on the same events.

When Thenio had finished, Grandmaster Sephior slowly shook his head with a slightly incredulous expression. "So, the Dream Lord himself has been giving you magic lessons, has he? That's quite remarkable. From what I've heard, he rarely takes an interest in humans."

"You know about him?" Thenio asked in surprise.

The doctor nodded. "Yes. I lived in Ket'qe for several years when I was younger, studying healing magic with the Shiu'tanas. I heard stories about him there and saw the figurines that children put by their beds."

"Oh, right. Ariom said you had a unicorn. So I guess I should have realized you'd spent time there."

"He told you about Sano, did he? Knowing Ariom, he probably didn't have anything very nice to say...." Grandmaster Sephior chuckled a little.

"Well...no. Not really," Thenio admitted. "He doesn't seem to like unicorns very much."

"Poor boy." Grandmaster Sephior shook his head. "He met Sano a few times when he was a child and wanted so much to make friends with him. But I'm afraid unicorns aren't fond of void magic."

"Oh." So that was what happened....

"Would it be possible for me to see you using dream magic?" Grandmaster Sephior went on.

"I guess? But all I can really do with it so far is to draw things, and I didn't bring my sketchbook with me." Thenio glanced around the examination room uncertainly. "Um...do you have some paper or something...?"

"I've got some," Bero said. He pulled a pad of drawing paper and a metal tin out of his space pocket and handed them to Thenio. "There you go. I hope you don't mind drawing with crayons."

Thenio opened the tin to see an assortment of colored wax crayons inside. "I don't mind, but...why do you carry these around in your space pocket?"

"Because I have three grandchildren. And a revenant who enjoys coloring when no one's looking."

Thenio blinked. "Oh." Then he turned back to Grandmaster Sephior. "Um...can you tell me a little bit about your unicorn? Like his favorite food or what kinds of things he likes to do or how he got his name.... Any kind of information is fine."

"Well, his name comes from a type of mushroom that grows in Ket'qe. Its cap is a light gold color that's about the same shade as his coat. He loves apples and sweet clover. His favorite thing to do is probably playing around with Nari. She's my wife's familiar," Grandmaster Sephior added in response to Thenio's questioning look. "Also a unicorn."

Thenio's eyes widened in surprise. "You have two unicorns? Ariom didn't say anything about a second one...."

"Well, he's never even met her. Sano comes here to the Center occasionally, but Nari is very shy around strangers, so she rarely leaves home."

"And Sano's the one Ariom feels particular resentment towards," Bero said with a wry chuckle. "So that's who he thinks about whenever the subject of unicorns comes up. That boy does know how to hold a grudge...."

"He had quite a difficult childhood," Grandmaster Sephior said gently. "What with his mother being ill and his father...."

"...being an idiot," Bero finished for him, rolling his eyes.

"Well...yes." The doctor gave an awkward smile. "I think Sano happened to be an easy target for some of his negative feelings from that time." He looked back at Thenio. "But he really isn't as bad as Ariom makes him out to be. Unicorns are very sensitive creatures, and they can be quite difficult when they're in uncomfortable surroundings. But they're very sweet and friendly most of the time."

Thenio was once again reminded of the dream he'd had where a unicorn was willingly acting as his cushion.

"Well, now. Is that enough information about Sano?" Grandmaster Sephior asked.

"It might be. I'll give it a try."

Thenio looked down at the blank sheet of paper in front of him. He activated his dream magic and started going over everything Grandmaster Sephior had just told him in his mind. Sano the unicorn. Named for a golden-colored mushroom. Loves apples and clover and playing with his friend Nari.

After a moment, an image started to appear in Thenio's mind. He picked up a crayon from the tin and started drawing.

He'd drawn with crayons like these a lot when he was younger, though he hadn't used them as much since he learned how to paint. It was quite fun to try them out again, and Bero's tin had a decent selection of colors, so it wasn't hard to get the shades he wanted. Thenio immersed himself in his drawing, while the other two watched without interrupting him.

"There, done," he said finally, setting his crayon down. He held the paper pad out to Grandmaster Sephior. "How's that? Does it look like him?"

The doctor took the pad and looked down at it. He was silent for a long moment, and Thenio thought he could see a trace of a frown on his face, though he had so many wrinkles that it was hard to tell. But then he looked up and smiled.

"Yes, this looks remarkably like Sano. You draw very well, boy. I'm impressed."

"He was really able to know what Sano looks like? Just from the little information you told him?" Bero asked, looking rather incredulous. "I know he's a good artist, and I saw him using magic as he was drawing just now. It just...seems a little incredible...."

Grandmaster Sephior held the drawing out to him. "Here. See for yourself."

Bero took the pad and looked at it. "It does look like Sano," he admitted after a moment. "And this...." His eyes suddenly widened. "Wait. Isn't this the tree in your back garden? The one by the pond?"

"Yes. It is."

"How did he draw that?" Bero raised his head and looked between Thenio and Grandmaster Sephior. "You didn't even say anything about a tree. I thought he needed information about something to be able to draw it.... Is that where Sano is right now or something?"

Grandmaster Sephior shook his head. "No. I just asked him, and he says that he and Nari are helping Relisa pick herbs."

"Then how would he have known...?" Bero frowned and looked at Thenio. "Why did you draw this tree?"

Thenio shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I wasn't trying to. That's just what I saw when I used dream magic and thought about Sano. I saw him with that tree."

The picture he had drawn was of a honey-colored unicorn with a creamy white mane and tail, lying on the grass underneath some kind of small, weeping tree.

"That is one of Sano's favorite napping places," Grandmaster Sephior said slowly. "Maybe that's why you saw him there. It's difficult to know without understanding more about how dream magic actually works."

"I could ask Ki'shiu," Thenio said uncertainly. "But I don't know if he'll tell me."

"Well, it's just a tree. It's curious that it showed up in your drawing, but it's probably nothing to worry about. More importantly...." The doctor turned to look at Bero. "Do you think the Royal Guard would mind if I joined in with that enchantment analysis?"

Bero raised his eyebrows. "You joining in yourself? I expect they'll be thrilled. They were happy enough when I said I'd do it. They were originally planning to ask the Stability Center for a doctor for Thenio, but I don't think they expected to get anyone very high up."

"That might be the case if I didn't know he had a mythic beast as his personal tutor. We can't afford to neglect someone that the Dream Lord holds in such high regard. Besides, I'm intrigued by what he said about dream magic helping to control chaos magic. I'd like to understand more about how that works, and this sounds like a good opportunity to observe Thenio's dream magic in use."

"I see. We're going over to the Guard headquarters to pick up Ariom after this. I'll let them know that you'd like to participate."

"Thank you," Grandmaster Sephior said with a smile. "We'll also need to arrange a time to test Thenio's reactions to various forms of magic, but it should probably wait until after this job for the Royal Guard is completed. It sounds like Ariom is quite preoccupied at the moment."

"He was feeling overwhelmed enough that he wrote and asked me for help, despite how much he hates depending on other people. Ah, it's not your fault, Thenio," Bero added quickly in response to the guilty look on Thenio's face. "Ariom and Iggy both enjoy having you around. It's just...well...Ariom really wasn't prepared for mythic beasts...."

"I don't think anyone's ever prepared for mythic beasts," Grandmaster Sephior said with a sigh.