The Consequences of Meeting a Dragon

When Thenio left his bedroom early the next morning, wearing his training clothes, Ariom was waiting for him in the hallway, holding a sleepy-looking Iggy in his arms.

"I got a message from Mideis a few minutes ago. The raid last night was successful, and the ice mage is on her way back to the capital with the research subject. We're going to do a light training session and have breakfast, then head over to the Guard headquarters."

"Oh...okay."

That was pretty much what they'd been expecting, and it was only a little different from their schedule for the past few practice days. But Thenio couldn't help feeling a bit nervous as he followed Ariom down to the training room. After spending so much time practicing, it felt strange to think they were finally doing the real thing.

"How was your magic lesson last night?"

"We didn't really have one. Ki'shiu said he didn't want me to be tired out for today. So we just talked for a while, and then he showed me part of the Ket'qe Forest."

Thenio decided not to mention that they'd gone there so he could ride a unicorn. Considering Ariom's unfortunate history with Sano, it probably wouldn't improve his mood any to hear how much unicorns seemed to like chaos magic....

Ariom frowned slightly. "Does he live in Ket'qe or something? That place seems to keep coming up in connection with him."

"I'm not sure. He does seem to like it there, since he goes by the title the Forest People gave him. And I've gotten the impression that he's close to Ket'shiu and Ket'yia. But I think he actually spends most of his time in the dream world." Thenio paused. "Actually...I guess I don't know for sure that he even has a physical body. I know he can see the physical world, since he keeps showing me places from his memories. But I've only ever heard of him interacting with people in dreams. Do you think he could be something more like a spectral beast?"

"I suppose that's possible," Ariom said with a shrug. "I think it's generally accepted that mythic beasts have physical bodies. But that might just be because the ones without physical bodies avoid contact with humans, so we don't know about them yet. You'd have to ask Ki'shiu himself to know for sure."

"I would if I thought he'd tell me.... I understand he's trying to protect me and all, but not being allowed to learn about mythic beasts when I'm spending so much time with one is kind of frustrating." Thenio sighed and looked down at the bands on his wrists. "Do you think these new insulation bands are strong enough to let me visit a place like Ket'qe? There's a lot of ambient magic there, right?"

Ariom raised an eyebrow. "I guess you haven't looked at those records from the Wizard Association on past chaos morphs?"

Thenio shook his head.

"Well, I don't blame you. They're a bit depressing. I wasn't planning to give them to you at all, but Uncle Bero thought it was better to let you choose whether to read them or not.... Well, anyway...the ambient magic in Ket'qe is different than in other places. It doesn't seem to be a problem for chaos morphs. One of the previous ones actually lived there."

"Wait, really?"

"Really. The records they gave me didn't have much information about him. Not even his name. He was one of the more recent ones, and the Association seems to heavily restrict information on any chaos morphs who still have living family members. All the records really say is that he lived in Ket'qe almost a century ago. And it's pretty clear that the ambient magic there didn't have a negative impact on him because he was also the longest-lived chaos morph on record. He's the one that made it to nineteen before he died."

Thenio had stopped walking.

One of the other chaos morphs lived in Ket'qe.... That fact sent a strange chill through him.

The dream he'd had about sitting in the forest, petting a unicorn and watching someone carve wood...the forest clearing that Ki'shiu kept taking him to and the peaceful feeling he had when he was there....

Like he'd come home....

Then there was that other dream. The one that Ki'shiu had told him was a mix of his memories and someone else's. Whose memories? A previous chaos morph's?

He'd assumed the dreams about Ket'qe were just normal dreams because a chaos morph would never really be able to go there. But if that wasn't the case, and one had been there...that meant....

...what did that mean? Did it mean anything?

"Thenio?"

Thenio looked up. Ariom had noticed he wasn't following anymore and had stopped to look back at him.

"Hey, are you all right? Your magic is starting to act up...."

Thenio shook his head a little, trying to straighten out his thoughts. "I just...get a weird feeling sometimes when I hear about other chaos morphs. It's sort of like they were people I knew. Or like...." He shook his head again. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just imagining it. But it sort of feels like I have some kind of connection to them. Something more than just having the same affinity."

Ariom looked at him with a concerned expression for a moment. Then he took a step closer and held Iggy out. "Here. Take him. Holding a magic beast always seems to help you calm down."

Thenio was a bit surprised but obediently took the little dragon. Iggy was also looking at him worriedly. Seeing that Thenio was upset about something seemed to have finally finished waking him up.

Once he was in Thenio's arms, he stretched his neck up to lick his cheek a few times. "Thenio is sad? Sad about the other people who had sparkly magic?"

Thenio patted the dragon's head. "Not sad, exactly. More like...confused? Unsettled, maybe? I'm not sure how to describe it...."

"Well, let's go down and do our morning run," Ariom said, turning back toward the last flight of stairs. "Moving your body will help clear out your mind."

Thenio nodded and started walking again.

Right. This really wasn't the time for that kind of thing. They had an important job to do today. He could think about the other chaos morphs later.

When they arrived at the Royal Guard headquarters, Mideis met them at the entrance, already wearing his protective combat suit.

"Have you been waiting for us?" Bero asked him.

Mideis shook his head. "Not really. Amisi and I came in a little early because I had to do some paperwork for another project, and I was afraid I wouldn't have time later in the day. Namyis just got here a few minutes ago, and the team is still setting things up. Grandmaster Sephior hasn't arrived yet, but he should be on his way."

They followed him inside. As they passed through the observation area, they saw Namyis sitting in the analysis room next to the examination table. The table was covered with a white sheet, but there was the clear outline of a human body underneath it.

Namyis saw them through the window and waved with a cheerful smile on her face.

"What's wrong with that woman?" Ariom asked, scowling. "She's sitting next to an explosive corpse. Why does she look so happy?"

"Well, he's not technically a corpse yet," Bero pointed out as he waved back at Namyis. "She's skilled enough with stasis magic that she can bring people back out of it alive most of the time, you know."

"So what if she can?" Ariom retorted. "He'd just explode and die anyway. That guy's been a walking corpse ever since he got that enchantment put on him. It was just a matter of time."

"Fair point."

"Hi, ice cream lady!" Iggy waved his paws at Namyis, completely oblivious to the rather morbid conversation going on next to him.

Thenio, who was carrying the little dragon, smiled awkwardly and also gave a small wave.

Humerus simply snorted disdainfully, though it wasn't clear exactly who or what his disdain was directed at. Probably no one in particular. He often did things like that just because he felt like it.

"Ariom needs to get suited up, so why don't you go in with Mideis?" Bero told him, lifting the revenant off his shoulder and holding him out to Mideis.

Humerus was wearing his favorite red scales today, like he had been for all their practice sessions at the Guard headquarters. Mideis had assured him that it was all right to relax more, but he insisted on keeping his skin on and acting like a normal dragon whenever the Guard staff were around. He seemed to dislike a few of them and didn't want to let them see his real appearance.

Bero had just shrugged and told the others to let the revenant do what he wanted as long as he wasn't causing trouble.

"Sure. Come on, Humerus. Let's go say hello to Namyis and get settled in." Mideis held his arm out so Humerus could climb on. Then he nodded toward the door into the room where Thenio did his transcribing. "Amisi is napping in the other room. You may need to help her wake up a bit. Coax her with a snack or something."

"No problem," Bero said, grinning playfully. "We'll just let Iggy chase her around the room for a few minutes. She'll be wide awake in no time."

After separating from the others, Thenio, Bero, and Iggy went into the transcription room, where they found Amisi curled up inside a blanket on her padded bench. Thenio had shown Mideis how to make the same type of blanket nest he'd made for Amisi to warm up in after the ice magic incident, and it was now one of her favorite ways to take naps.

They didn't actually let Iggy chase her around to wake her up, of course. Instead, Thenio went over to gently scratch her ears and talk to her until she was awake enough to crawl out of her blanket.

By the time Grandmaster Sephior arrived a few minutes later, Thenio was sitting on the bench with a taua on his lap and a dragon on his shoulder, feeding the two of them some of the little fish treats that the Royal Guard had provided. The staff had set up a table in the corner of the transcription room that was well-stocked with snacks and drinks for both humans and familiars.

"Always popular with the magic beasts, aren't you, boy?" Grandmaster Sephior said with a chuckle. "After this job is finished, we need to arrange a time for you to come meet the unicorns. It'll be a sight to see if they end up climbing all over you, too."

Thenio scratched his cheek, feeling a bit awkward. "Um...I asked Ki'shiu about that, actually. And he said that unicorns really like chaos magic. So I don't know if they'll try to climb on me...I mean, it would be kind of a problem if they really did that...but...they probably won't hate me, at least?"

"Oh? He said that, did he?" Grandmaster Sephior raised his eyebrows a little. "Well, I suppose he would know."

"I guess you know that one of the previous chaos morphs lived in Ket'qe?" Thenio asked hesitantly. "Ariom just told me about that this morning."

The doctor nodded. "Yes, I saw that in the files the Association sent. But there wasn't any information on how the magic beasts native to the forest reacted to him, so I've been quite curious about it. The time that boy would have been living in Ket'qe was after Relisa and I left and came here to Kafron. But none of the people we're still in contact with there could tell us anything about him either, so he must not have stood out very much."

"He was the one who lived the longest, wasn't he?" Bero said thoughtfully. "Perhaps he was being very well-protected."

"That's possible," Grandmaster Sephior agreed. "Maybe the Dream Lord was more directly involved with that boy's case. If he asked the Lord and Lady of the Forest for their help, it would be easy enough to hide a chaos morph away in a quiet corner of the woods."

Like maybe in a peaceful meadow, with a small stream running through it, and a herd of unicorns living nearby...?

Thenio bit his lip uncertainly but decided against voicing his suspicions about that particular chaos morph. He was just speculating at this point, after all. Maybe he'd talk to someone about it after he had a chance to think things through a little more.

"Good morning, Mideis! Hi, Humerus!" Namyis waved at the two of them as they entered the analysis room.

"Good morning," Mideis said with a wry smile. "You're awfully energetic for having been up raiding Order bases all night."

Namyis shrugged. "Only half the night. My part didn't start until later, so I got to sleep until about midnight. And with body strengthening magic, I can keep going for a week straight if I need to. So just this much is no problem."

"The crazy world of high-rankers...." Mideis shook his head. "I can't even imagine working without rest for a whole week."

"Well, mental magic and ice magic are different. It's not fair to compare the two. Your magic obviously requires a lot more mental exertion than mine does, so it's only natural that you'd need to stop and sleep more often. Hydra says that's probably why mental mages rarely become high-rankers. It's too much mental strain. He says he wouldn't be able to handle it if he didn't have Riven to help him."

"I'm sure having a few extra brains does make things easier," Mideis said with a laugh. "But a Prismatic Hydra agreeing to form a familiar contract is incredibly rare. Tauas are a bit friendlier, but even convincing one of them is quite difficult. I was very fortunate that Amisi took a liking to me early on."

"I think I'd rather have a taua, personally. Amisi's a sweetheart, and she's much nicer to cuddle than Riven is. Though he is really pretty when he changes colors...."

"Hmph." Humerus had been busy staring at the body under the sheet. He hadn't even acknowledged Namyis' greeting earlier. But now he turned his head and huffed in annoyance. "What's so good about that dumb lizard? He can't even talk right. I can change colors, too, you know. And controlling puppets is sort of like having extra heads...."

"Right! Revenants are amazing!" Namyis said, smiling and nodding agreeably. "You can even turn fluffy when you want to, so you're good for cuddling, too!"

Humerus flattened his ears. "What is it with you and cuddling? I like wearing scales, and I don't want to cuddle! Leave me alone!"

He jumped off Mideis' arm and flew over to the cushion that had been placed on one end of the low, protective wall for him to sit on.

"He seems to be a bit on edge this morning," Mideis said in a low voice, watching Humerus with a concerned expression. "I'm not sure why. Maybe he's nervous about the analysis for some reason? Though all he's done during the practices is sit there and watch...."

"Humerus is Humerus," Namyis said with a laugh. "He's just grouchy like that sometimes."

"If you say so," Mideis said, looking a bit doubtful. "Well, Ariom should be here soon. I'd better go check over the supplies and get ready to start."

He went around to the other side of the protective wall, carefully avoiding the grumpy revenant, and started looking over the tables that were set up there. One had things that they might need to be more comfortable during the analysis, like snacks, cushions, towels, and water, as well as emergency medical supplies. The other table had stacks of paper and a box full of pencils, just in case Thenio couldn't keep up his transcribing the entire time and Mideis needed to take over for him.

Namyis watched him for a moment. Then she stood up and moved over to where Humerus was lying with his head on his front paws, staring at the frozen body on the examination table again.

"I won't try to cuddle you today. But can I at least pet you a little?"

Humerus sniffed. "I guess."

Namyis reached out and started gently stroking his head. As she did, she glanced over at Mideis. He had his back to them and was busy checking over the medical supplies. Seeing that, Namyis leaned in closer to Humerus.

"Hey, you feel it too, don't you?" she said, very softly. "There's something strange about our research subject."

Humerus' eyes turned to her, and he nodded a little.

"I don't really know what it is—I just have a bad feeling. So if Ariom and Mideis don't notice...I'm not sure if we ought to say anything. If we don't actually know what's wrong, it probably won't help, and it might just make them nervous and more likely to make mistakes."

"Mmm." Humerus nodded again.

"But if something goes wrong during the analysis.... Well, I'll be counting on you, all right?"

Humerus raised his head, finally looking at her directly. "You can make barriers, can't you?"

"Yep! My magic barriers aren't as good as Ariom's, but I can make really strong physical barriers with some magic protection added on."

"That's probably enough." Humerus looked back at the body under the sheet. His expression was unusually serious. "If you see green flames jumping onto that body, stop whatever you're doing, and focus on protecting Ariom and Mideis. Put up the strongest barrier you can and don't lower it until Bero comes to help. Understand?"

"I understand." Namyis nodded solemnly. Then she patted Humerus' back. "I meant what I said before, you know? Revenants really are amazing."

"Hmph." Humerus huffed again, but his tail was waving a little, and he seemed to be in a better mood than before.

Ariom entered the room a minute later, wearing his protective suit. He frowned when he saw Namyis still petting Humerus. "What are you doing? If you get distracted and let this guy explode...."

"Calm down. I wouldn't do something like that," she reassured him. "It's not hard to just hold a stasis crystal steady. I only really need to focus when I form it or change the shape."

"That doesn't mean you can afford to be careless," he snapped back.

Namyis raised an eyebrow. Apparently Ariom was feeling a bit grouchy this morning, too.

Maybe....

She looked more closely at him. He already had his helmet on, so she couldn't see his entire face. But once she was paying attention, it was clear that the muscles under his eyes were tighter than usual. Riomel's face tensed up that same way before a difficult mission.

Like they were trying to put on a mask to not let anyone see how nervous they were.

It was really kind of cute.

Namyis gave him a gentle smile. "You don't need to worry. I'm paying proper attention, I promise. Humerus was just feeling a bit grumpy, so I was petting him and telling him how wonderful he is to help him feel better."

Humerus shot her a glare, clearly annoyed that she was putting the blame on him.

She leaned over again and whispered in his ear, "If everyone comes out of this safely, I'll buy you a nice treat later. You like gryphon eggs, don't you?"

His tail immediately started waving again.

Namyis gave him one last pat and then went back over to the examination table. "All right. I'm ready to start whenever you are."

Ariom was still frowning, but he apparently couldn't think of anything else to complain about, so he sighed and turned to Mideis. "How are things over there?"

"The supplies are all in order, so I'm ready to start too," Mideis said, sitting down in his chair between the two tables, where he was within easy reach of whatever might be needed. "As for Thenio's side...yes, Amisi says they can start anytime."

"Good."

Ariom looked over to the observation window and nodded at Vice-Captain Ranior, who was standing on the other side, watching them. He nodded back and then tapped on a control panel next to the window. The glass darkened and became almost opaque from inside the room, although the people on the outside should still be able to see them clearly. That was to help prevent them from being distracted by whatever was going on in the next room. The glass was also sound-proofed for the same reason.

Ariom sat down next to the examination table. Then he closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath.

When he opened his eyes again, the tight, anxious look was gone, and he was his usual focused, professional self.

He really did have a lot of self-discipline when his work was involved. Namyis was quite impressed.

Ariom pulled the sheet off the table and spent a long moment staring silently at the figure lying underneath it.

The man's face was still relaxed as though he were sleeping, but the rest of him looked a bit different. Namyis had spent a while working with one of the Royal Guard's doctors to carefully release the man's clothing from the stasis crystal a bit at a time and cut it off him, so he was now completely naked.

They'd argued a fair bit about that the other day. Ariom had shown his gentlemanly side and objected to Namyis having to spend all day looking at a naked demon fanatic, but she'd eventually gotten him to admit that removing the clothing would make the analysis easier. And after she described a few of the equally revealing and much more disturbing scenes she'd already witnessed during her work for the Royal Guard, he finally relented.

Ariom spent a few minutes looking over the man's body, his eyes tracing the magic formations inscribed onto his skin using some kind of shimmering, iridescent ink.

They'd found a ring with an illusion enchantment on the man's bedside table. It was similar to the ones sorcerers sometimes used to hide their stigmas. He presumably wore it during the day to hide the inscription.

Ariom frowned as he looked over the visible part of the enchantment matrix.

"Is something wrong?" Namyis asked in a quiet voice, watching his expression closely.

"Not exactly. Just...this enchanting style is a little different from the examples I've seen before. Not so different that it should cause us trouble, but...." Ariom paused briefly and then shook his head. "Well, maybe it was just done by a different enchanter who decided to alter it to match his own style. Or maybe it's a newer version of the enchantment, since it looks a bit more sophisticated. Either way, it's fine. I can adapt to it."

He finished his initial inspection and draped the sheet back over the man's lower half. Then he looked at Namyis.

"We'll start with the left hand, like normal."

"Okay." Namyis gave him a small smile and held her fist out. "Fight well, Ariom."

He glared at her for a long moment. Then he gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Whatever." He reached out across the frozen body and hit his fist lightly against hers. "There. You happy?"

"I'm happy," she said, beaming at him.

"Good. Now focus."

They both focused. Just like they'd done over and over in their practice sessions, they began at one of the frozen fingers, working slowly and carefully to undo and analyze a single magic formation at a time.

Everyone knew their role in the process, so for a while, they worked in silence. Everything went smoothly, and they finished with the hand after about twenty minutes.

But rather than moving on to the wrist, Ariom unexpectedly signaled that he wanted to take a break.

Namyis made sure the edge of the stasis crystal was secure and then looked up. "Ariom? What is it?"

Ariom was staring down at the hand they'd just been working on, a deep crease between his brows. "That's exactly what I want to know. What is this?"

"What's wrong?" Mideis asked, looking over at them with concern. "Is there a problem with the enchantment?"

"Yeah...I'd say there's a problem...." Ariom turned to look at him. "This is a completely different enchantment than the ones you showed me before."