*Ding*
Huh?
*Ding*
Smoke and stars?
"Arghhh. Why is she always raght?"
Rider let out a groan and continued to strike another piece of rounded plate as I came too.
My body ached all over, and felt slightly lighter.
"How long...?"
"Three days"
"Three! I missed the qualifiers, didn't I...?"
"Relax Touji. It's fine"
Touji? No 'Kid'?
Sitting up and gathering my senses, I realized I was back at her workshop, wearing clothes I'd never seen in my life. Next to me, Rider was simply shaping metal on an absurdly large anvil attached to a new furnace.
She'd made a full recovery while I was out cold by the looks of it, barely resembling the blood covered half-drake who ran from a fight.
Now, she sported a black tank top with a short leather bomber jacket and her regular cargo pants filled with bits and bobs, alongside tools.
Not to mention, she even did her black hair for once, instead of the shabby mess that made me question if she would even see in front of herself at times. Styled in both a slicked back mohawk and fade, the right side braided horizontally, topped up with shaded goggles.
So lava's fine, but not bright lights? Weird.
Her whole workshop had been reorganized and cleaned up.
It now sported extra walls, adjustable mannequins, a larger layout with extended cover.
I wouldn't have known where I was, if the large silhouette of the Tower didn't cast a black shadow across the night sky, while it beamed down the time with a bright blue glow somewhat visible from the courtyard side.
So why am I on some wooden crates, just barely covered by a roof?
"What happened after I-"
"Almost killed yerself? Take a guess"
"Is Ota... Is everyone ok?"
"There fine. Show a bit of worry fer yerself dumbass"
"What do you mean?"
"*Tsk* Look"
She passed me a shard of a mirror from one of her left side pockets. Looking into my reflection, it was apparent what happened, even in the dim light of an semi-outdoor workshop lit up elemental stones and the deep glowing orange of a crucible furnace.
Where once my eyes shined blue with a small yellow ring, now only shades and streaks of aqua remained against a white iris.
I'd drained my body of energy to the point just short of death.
He said I lacked control, so why didn't I listen? I'm such an idiot... I probably caused them all to worry because of it.
"It's my fault. Ah never shoulda given you that scroll. All these damn traditions..."
"How is this your fault? Besides, it's fine, right? You said we're all fine..."
"That's not it, Touji-"
Her voice filled with deep remorse as she got up from her tail, to her dragon-like clawed feet, and wandered out past the lone tree, to the balcony railing overlooking the city below.
I followed in her wake, stretching as I walked and making sure everything was still attached.
Capped leather boots, long brown pants with a belt fasting them in place and a slightly loose white shirt connected by wooden buttons. Relatively bland, but fancy stuff, at least for me. Around here, that's just regular clothes.
"When a smith takes a rookie, we give 'em... somethin' they cain't complete... It's really jus' a test, you know, see if there committed?"
"So Calegriss is just a test?"
"When you cast it, how'd you do it"
Wait... I didn't even write the rune words... I mastered it, and I didn't even realize.
"Yeah, now yah get it"
"But you said a ton of people use it"
"Use it, not master it. Last person to do that... *sigh* That'd be the Grand Forge-master over in Nala. Little shit did that forty years ago"
"So?"
"Heh, make no big deal out of it, why don't cha? Listen, when I told you it's tier... I lied"
I always considered Rider the most honest person I knew, so to hear that, I could only assume she thought so little of it, thanks to the circumstances around the spell.
A tradition to test if taking an apprentice blacksmith was worth it, a trade not practiced by many, but always in need.
"So what? It's King or something?"
"No. Touji, what you pulled off, Dragons fire into ice of that very thin'... I don't want you to use it, kay? Please"
Please?
"Can you at least tell me why?"
Almost as if she planned it, she reached into a lower leg pocket, to pull out two capped drinks, and handed one to me.
"Cool it-"
I let mana flow through my palm, lowering the temperature to a relatively cold state.
"What you hold, it's ore. That ore can only be changed-"
She reached into her pocket, and gently passed a small strange rock with a dark green sheen.
"-Bah someone who did what you did. Know what it can stop?"
"No?"
"Everything. Strongest shit around, Herite, named after a god or somethin'. And it's not just that ore too. If folk know... you'd be taken, or killed"
"Can't you guys protect me?"
She leaned on the balcony, making a face I wouldn't easily forget.
One of pain, sadness, disappointment not at me, but herself.
"You don't get it, do you?"
"..."
"We're... what do you think we are?"
"You're hero-"
"Don't. Please... just don't. That title ain't fittin' for any of us"
She sat down, pressing her back against the railing. Not even leaning on her tail, instead, letting it roll off the edge behind her instead.
Why, after all this time... Is she so full of regrets, she'd deny her own role in saving the world?
"We fail. Time an... time again. Ritsu killed Shinobi, escaped a while back. We couldn't track him down, same with the devil... Now this? I can't... We cain't save you, don't rely on us... please"
"Alright, I- I got it. I won't use it... What about the Dragon thing?"
"Enda knew. That's why she called you blessed. You ain't, that's your blood. She figured you best not know"
"Wha- How'd she know?"
I've always been told I'm blessed, I had to figure out how it worked myself, but still, why else-
"When you saw him, did you feel it?"
"Yeah, I mean, he-"
"He lost his soul. To become... what he did. That's the price. Them blessin's always work with it, like life-force. Wonder how you resist em yourself?"
"So I just... resist everything?"
"Heh, you wish"
Sitting down with her, I cooled her drink as she spoke which immediately caused her to stare daggers right through my heart. I titled my head in response, glaring back into her dragon-like eyes.
Really?
"*Sigh* You're like your sister, about as unrelated as blood can go... Part of you, it's like getting a sick. Well, from what ya'll told me, you ain't had that happen..."
"That hard to explain?"
"When I was a kid-"
"Did you see horses back then?"
"Funny, real funny, but yes. Now i's just wings and horns- *cough* Raght, when I was young, out of my hatch, I was...-"
"A runt?"
"More or less. My tail grew first, everythin' else... took a while"
She looked down at her arm, examining it. The biggest point of pride any High-Drake has are their hands. Through her reaction, I felt like it mirrored how humans saw height or chest and Oni admired physical strength.
"At first, I hated it, cursin' it any time I could-"
"..."
"Over time, ah used it, more an more. I realized, it ain't a bad thin'... jus' didn't know how to use it. I'm… worried, bout you"
"...Why?"
"That blood. Only one dragon it could be, and like your sister, they're hunted. I'd guess you're more like Soarhart, one of a kind. I wish I could tell ya what it means, baut... I don't know..."
I could feel the truth in her words, and the yearning to say more. All I had to do was ask the right questions.
"Then... what should I do?"
"Get stronger, faster, whatever you can. End of the day, if you're caught, only one to trust is yerself. We covered what you did, hopefully. Fae's suggestion to pin it on er', a druid. Only one problem, it ain't melting fast"
"So, are we using it as mimic?"
"*sigh* Enda scheming has worn off on you... hasn't it?"
"...uhhh, I mean Arisa would call something like this a 'honey-pot', and I told her I didn't know-"
"Raght raght, I get it. Last thing I need is hear about her plans"
Rider believes the best value someone can have is honesty.
Of course she's not exactly a fan of either of their tactics.
"Can I ask you something? About Ota?"
"No. Ask her yerself"
"I'm serious. Is she... Ellia said she's cursed"
"Oh *chuckle* Thought you wanted advice. Ere', take it, go see er'. Figured you'd ask sooner or later. Get changed. Clothes in that box, left that relic in your room. Got a few hours before sunup. Tournament starts today, an you're match is the opening. Ah need finish your gear"
She whacked my butt with her tail, jolting me up, then passed her sealed drink while gesturing over to the boxes I woke up on. She avoided my question while seeming to insist I'd come across Ota inside.
I quickly changed behind the box, thankful it at least reached my waist only to find Rider had already stood up, turned around, and gazed over the silent city below, illuminated by distant metal posts filled with crystals, lining the streets.
The calm night and slight breeze made me feel at ease.
"One last thing. That blood, those beasts used to watch over everythin'. We called em' Elders cause that's just how it was, they guided us, and to this day, we don't know why their King tried to... *sigh* Nah, not the right time for this- Go get yer relic, I'll have the gear done in two hours"
So, I have the blood of a race that tried to destroy the world in me. Well, I guess not the whole race, just one, but... that still doesn't help me feel at ease.
That girl called me a runt too, how would she know?
Well, she knows my mum at least. If I see her again, I'll try get some answers out of her. Either way, I need to get stronger.
Throwing on my long coat, I headed into the tower, up several levels, and to my room while taking in everything I'd been told.