The shot went wide. Missing the drone entirely, but I hadn't been really trying to hit it. The operator of that drone didn't know that. I watched the drone fall back before dropping into a spatial portal. This portal took me a mile to my right in an instant.
That instant portal movement was damn near impossible to track normally. I doubled my altitude for a while before spotting a clear patch. Dropping down to land in the middle of it. Jax wasn't as strong as the other two, but he was plenty strong to give me some time to wake up properly. He borrowed my mana capacity, and created high walls around us both.
I found it slightly odd that borrowing my stats cost me nothing. Maybe it had something to do with the way my bond changed people. My bonded could only borrow my power for so long. Maybe they were spending the rest of that time storing up the power. Maybe they just ran on the mana I released to the world.
The same as the earth did? I didn't know. I dozed off after I wondered about where exactly human bonded got their borrowed power from. It came from me somehow. I found myself within the inner world again.
I'd stopped slowing time within the inner world a while ago. Regala had refused to teach me much of anything for a while now. Stating that I wasn't old enough to handle what she could teach just yet. I didn't think she would last long enough for me to reach adulthood so I had spent time trying to convince her to teach me anyway. My elements needed to fuse properly before I could start fusing their effects properly.
I was starting to understand the danger of fusing elements themselves without proper experience or training. I was beginning to think I was going to lose all the knowledge she possessed. I wasn't all that attached to her so her fading was more of a disappointment then actual sad event. The information that this fragment held on the other hand would be a huge loss for me. Magical know how had become more myth, and legend then tried, and true like it used to be.
I sighed, and flopped down in the grass.
"Don't sound so disappointed," Regala was suddenly in front of me, "Have you practiced making temporary golems yet?"
"I can do more damage with half the mana cost," I snorted.
"If you want to become powerful enough to counter any opponent then you need to master all forms of magic eventually," She shrugged.
"Everything requires practice," I snorted, "Hour after hour of practice. None of which I have time for."
"Having the whole world against you right from the beginning has been troubling for you," she chuckled, "Had my plan worked the way it should have dragons would have returned to their full strength a long time ago. Life rarely goes according to plan though. Stop whining, and get back to work."
"Work on what?" I snarled, "The same exercises I've been doing almost every single day. You've refused to teach me anything else."
"You're too inexperienced to fuse elemental effects without the spell going out of control," She shook her head, "You need to fuse with all the elements you want to attempt combining before you start trying to fuse elements."
"I fused with water," I flicked my wrist, "Is there any way I can combine lightning, and water."
"Lightning, and water don't get along as well as you would think," Regala shrugged again, "I wouldn't attempt combining those two until you're mid level fusion at the very least."
"Meaning you still refuse to teach me more," I slammed my tail into the ground.
My tail dug into the earth. This wasn't the real world so the ground just repaired itself as if nothing had happened. She'd already faded nearly all the way to her knees. The time we would be together was going to end long before she'd be able to give me all of the knowledge she was holding onto. I was more then a little frustrated that I was going to lose that knowledge.
Regala looked at me curiously.
"This world of yours is stable," Regala gestured around her, "Did you know that a stable multi elemental inner world is a sign of high talent in combining elements? Eventually this stable inner world will be the center of all your spellcasting. You'll rely on this world heavily to practice your magic." She paused, "In a year, maybe two, you'll be able to level armies on your own. As long as you continue growing as fast as you have been."
"I need that kind of power now," I snorted.
"You're already having trouble growing into the budding power you have now," she smiled at me, "You lack focus."
"Would you be able to focus if you were my age?" I turned my eyes to focus on her again, "With everything that's been happening to me?"
"Of course," she didn't hesitate to answer, "But I was an unusual hatchling. Focused, and driven from the moment I took my first breaths."
"Really?" I leaned in, "How do you remember that when you don't remember anything except the last year of your life?"
"The same way you knew that Ethan would make a good bonded," she smiled, "The same way you knew that Savannah's father was dangerous. The same way you knew that Jax wouldn't cause you harm when he entered your inner world." she paused, letting me think about it, "Instinct." then she added a few seconds later, "Well that, and the fact that dragon personalities don't change all that much from hatching to maturity."
That last comment made my head cock in confusion. I'd changed a lot since hatching.
"You'll always be temperamental, and protective of what you call your own," She looked out into the forest, "Your intelligence will always be on the low end for a dragon, and frustratingly talented when it comes to magic."