Faith just kept staring at the man in the black and silver suit like he was some kind of goal for Faith to reach for. While Alzreor, just stared back at his son, mistaking his curiousness for recognition. It gave him mighty pride that his mere two week old son could tell of his father mighty presence, though that was a misunderstanding in it self.
"What is it you want Alzeor. If you intended to spout some of your prideful bullshit to me then save it, before I kill you for halting Faiths play time" - Eshir spoke
It ripped Alzreor out of his daze of pride and right back into a daze of confusion.
'This witch has been calling the torture she puts my son through PLAYYY!??!?!'
He thought completely skipping her beginning insult. Alzeor stared at her with renewed vigour before walking towards her, stopping barely a metre away. The aura his entire body was exuding was almost suffocating to Faith but considering it would have been enough to flat out kill even C ranked mages, knights and other professions it was lucky thats all he felt.
Considering the C ranked professionals were equal to a gold ranked adventurer it was quite the feat indeed and just showed how powerful dragons really were. In fact what Alzeor was doing was not even on purpose in the slightest, but just his natural reaction to wanting a battle. A common misconception among those of the Light-dark races and even those of the Dark-light races was that dragons supremacy came from their physical strength and breath alone. Anyone who had ever fought a dragon however would inform you that this was wrong. There was one thing dragons ruled in above all other races, one thing that made them the closet to nature and the strongest beings of nature.
Magic.
More specifically their control and abilities with magic. Sure Dragons had far bigger capacities for magic power then other races but what really shone was their use over this power. All dragons unlike humans were born with a single element of magic, but this wasn't something to laugh at, it was something to be feared.
Dragons were literally born connected to the world through mana and by extension their own element. It meant that instead of chanting or constructing spells for use by channeling purpose, will, structure and authority into your mana they only needed but a thought. Though the price was only being able to use one element, that element would eternally be at their beck and call. They would be able to harness and manipulate it as naturally as breathing if they so felt.
Giving them the ability to do combat with magic as if it were a third arm. If you were to fight a fire or earth dragon in a volcano, you'd be courting a quick death as well considering that another perk of their race was the ability to draw strength and mana from nature itself, making them almost twice as strong when surrounded by their element. Not to mention that regardless of what type, dragons all possessed the ability to breath fire. It would carry different affects though considering their element.
Although other races carried the ability to have affinities towards certain elements or more then one, it would never come close to a dragons connection to their element. It wouldn't be exaggerating to say that dragons lived and breathed their magic element.
What Alzeor had done was exert his mana around himself to pressure his opponent into either submission or battle. Eshir was unfazed, while only the two noble generals and Faith remained conscious. The servants had been unable to withstand the weight of the pure mana coming down on them and had fainted in an instant. Faith was teetering between fear and pride at the man when something strange an unfamiliar happened.
He felt that power inside him he'd assumed was magic sink into the inky void of his soul, before coming out again different. Though he couldn't physically see it, he felt its colour and grandeur as it flowed through all of his tiny two week old body. Faith felt as if a door had been opened on each cell in his body to a place he never knew existed. The place or rather places felt calm as smooth like a relaxing home he'd never knew he wanted until now. The next second however he felt it slipping, it scared him because he knew he wouldn't get this chance again for quite a while somehow. Not caring for the consequences and only for that feeling he was now losing he hopped off his mother lap startling her and his father. He was crawling around the room at a speed that Eshir had never thought possible of Faith. It made her proud but also worried as his damn father was here at the moment. In any other case she would've simply let it go on thinking it was adorable
But she couldn't do that now.
Getting off her bed she rushed to try and pick up Faith before being abruptly stopped by Alzeor who had long since lowered his magic aura. Eshir wanted to rip his head off but when looking at his eyes they seemed to be filled with conflicted expression. He looked immensely proud and immensely worried. Eshir stopped only because her Faith seemed to be in pain while rapidly searching as if he'd lost something.
"Do you know what going on with Faith. If you don't and your still stopping me from helping him I promise I'll tear every dragon in two myself, apart from the ones Faith likes of course" - she asked eyes blazing with all apparent fury.
Alzeor could see that Eshir seemed genuinely worried for Faiths safety which surprised him more then he would have thought. He quickly commanded for all his subordinates to land on the castle grounds outside, Then created a magic barrier around them.
"Listen I don't really understand what kind of mother you've been to Faith so far. But if you care about him even a hundredth of what I do you'll let me help him" - Alzeor replied
"You can help him?" - she asked, starring down at her poor and clearly pained Faith
"Yes I can. First we need to move him to there" - he paused, pointing at where his subordinates were on the grounds of the castle well trimmed garden.
"Then we simply have to wait and make sure no one else sees. I can explain more in detail when we are alone down there, but for now just trust me" - he said almost pleading with Eshir too let him help.
It took her a few moments to decide looking down at Faith and then back at Alzeor. She noticed how much they looked alike and couldn't help but want to trust him, after all it was his son too. She could also clearly see the lost pain in her sons face as tears started rolling down his eyes. Eshir had no idea what but it looked like her son had lost something irreplaceable to him. Biting her lip she looked back at Faith one more time before making up her mind.
"Alright, as long as you can help him I'm okay with it. The second you even try to harm so much as a hair on his head I'll bring the full weight of "Wrath" down upon you" - she said
Alzeor simply nodded realising that along the line he'd somehow seriously misunderstood what Eshir felt for Faith. He knew a Eshir was a monster among monster but those eyes of her's couldn't be misunderstood as anything but those of a worried mother, hoping her child would be okay. He was right too, the only reason Eshir hadn't had a melt down was because Faith didn't seem to be in physical pain.
Alzeor picked up his son with his White hair, red eyes and pointed eyes and carried him over to the castle grounds garden, where all his subordinates and the magical barrier lay. Although dragons could only use one element, things that required none like magical barrier were free gameto them being as easy as their own element.
It honestly pained Alzeor a lot seeing his son squirming around in his hold, using all the might he could muster to escape and continue his search. It didn't stop him though because Alzeor could see all to well the secret that dragons kept from all other races going on right in-front of him.
It was a Trial to see what type of element he was worthy of wielding. Although Alzeor Secretly hoped that like him and his father before Faith would be a Dragon of flames, it didn't matter. Whatever type of dragon Faith was going to be, it had already been decided, he just had to find it. Eshir his mother was proficient in all natural elements and combat as well, so Alzeor honestly had no idea what type he'd end up being.
When they reached his subordinates they were all as equally shocked as he was. Being more then a thousand years old each, then knew that younglings especially dragonnewts were meant to under go their trial at the age of 10 - 20 years old. Even pure blooded dragons were not exempt from this rule so why would a dragon newt, albeit a royal one, be any different. The key was of course that Faith was quite special among even dragons as they would come to find out.
Eshir worriedly stood next to the now fully transformed Alzeor as he sat in the garden that could barely contain him, staring at Faith roaming around.
"Eshir I brought Faith here because with my subordinates and you, the amount of mana will be thicker. Though its a secret of my race I can tell you that whats happening to Faith isn't a bad thing, as long a he finds what he's looking for" - Alzeor stated hoping to calm the mother of his child somewhat
He didn't do it because he particularly cared about Eshir but rather what she would do if all that anxiety about her child Burst.
"Is whats happening to him really a good thing" - she asked worried.
"It is. Soon we'll be able to tell what element Faith is attuned to, though I still can't tell you why" - Alzeor replied
"As long as he's alright, I don't really care" - Eshir stated
While the on lookers were watching with both fear and anticipation Faith was having what felt like the worst and best time of his life. It was a very confusing feeling. He felt like his home or his purpose was near him. His body and soul were begging him to latch onto it, to become one with it, but Faith simply couldn't find it.
It was close yet far, like it was everywhere yet nowhere. It would exist in one instant then vanish in the next only to reappear again. Faith felt like trying to find this thing that was calling him was like playing poker Blind, death and without the ability to count. He paid attention to Eshir looks in particular while searching for whatever he'd lost. It honestly felt like he might lose her too if he didn't find what he was looking for, almost breaking him under the pressure.
'THIS IS SO GOD DAMN FRUSTRATING, ITS LIKE TAKING THE BIGGEST DU…. oh'
The on lookers watched with bated breath as he scurried around the garden in a frenzy before simply stopping, becoming dead still.
Alzeor was deeply concerned with this because he'd witnessed the trial of all dragons of the four basic elements of nature wind, water , earth and fire but none of them looked like this. Each one would result in them at one point becoming one with their elements before assuming their dragon forms but Faith had simply stopped, not producing or becoming any element.
Faith felt so close now to what he was, his essence. He closed his eyes simply letting his mana take hold of his imagination and show him what it needed to. Faith was greeted with the sight of two large doors, one in front and one behind him. The one behind him seemed to be locked and trapped, not even budging at his hardest push. The one infront of him however looked as if it was bursting at the seems, ready to break at any moment. He gave it a light push and it gave way as pure darkness itself seemed to burst forth drowning him in an inky abyss.
Faith felt a little disappointed that he couldn't open the door behind him yet but this abyss gave him a sense of comfort almost like that of Eshir, washing the disappointment away. It was home and a part of him. He felt that other door was also a part of him as well but he simply wasn't ready yet.
Faith opened his eyes and was greeted with a strange sight indeed, yet it was refreshing.
He watched as the shadows of everything in the garden swirled around his feet, feeling like nothing more then an extension of himself.
Too bad he was too amused with his newfound power to notice how stupefied everyone around him was as he bent shadows back and fourth. Who would have guessed that shadow magic wasn't exactly something 'normal' in this world.