Casen was sitting on his bed eating a plate of red meat while his mother was behind him picking off scales that had gotten loose during his growth. Normally, dragons wouldn't molt or shed their scales and they would instead continue to grow throughout their lifetime however white dragons in particular had this feature.
Because they were a race to be the closest to mana and nature, the threads of mana were constantly seeping into their scales and to their very core like a food source. This caused Casens' scales to grow and become harder at a faster rate than most and the effects made those with less nutrients loosen and give room for new ones.
If they weren't taken care of then his wings would become stiff and would make it difficult to traverse the sky. His mother told him of this information after they received their meal when they awoke and noticed some of his scales were gray.
The sun was yet to come up and he didn't hear any animals giving him a clue that it was hardly morning and he still had time before he had to meet Ederes. He asked his mother if she knew that he'd be starting his training early and she didn't find it a problem as long as he'd wake up with her and visit her after he finished.
Just as he was about to reach for another piece of his food the space around them fluctuated and Tiamat appeared in the room wearing a white silk dress that hugged her curvature and draped down her smooth legs. "You look pretty aunt."
Tiamat observed his eyes that were sizing her up, the genuine look in them made her lips twitch as if she were about to smile but when she noticed his hair her expression turned concerned.
"Nephew, what happened to your hair?"
Casen reached up to touch the strands of his hair that were still a faint black. "I noticed it when I returned to my room after talking to Ederes, I figured it was because of my arm."
Tiamat looked between his arm and his hair noting the differences. As small as it may be his arm was shrouded in a black smoke, however, his hair didn't have anything like that. It was simply black but she could feel a strange calmness when she kept her eyes glued to the strands.
She switched her focus to Isirneth who was behind him and found she was already looking at her and nodded. From that short interaction, Tiamat knew Isirneth was also curious but didn't want to ask until she was present.
"If it changes again, come to me." She approached him and a pair of clothes appeared in her arms. She placed them on the bed beside him.
"How did you do that?" Casen tilted his head, he didn't feel any of Tiamats' power when she manifested them.
"I have a dimensional ring." Tiamat showed a ring on her index finger that was embedded with gems that matched her eyes.
He observed the ring in fascination. He had never heard of magical equipment that wasn't clothes or armor. These were made by runemasters but he didn't see any runes on the ring. It appeared to be as normal as any other jewelry.
"Runemasters make the majority of equipment but witches are far more adept at making items." Isirneth cut in when she finished his wings and moved on to his tail.
Witches, a race he had never heard of before and it made him all the more curious. Runemasters were primarily dwarves therefore if one wanted a fine product they'd journey to the Dwarf Continent, Drowis.
"What are witches?" There were 8 continents, 7 if counting those belonging to each race. He would expect witches to be in the Neutral Continent but he wasn't sure if he had a run-in with one.
"Witches are a race that uses a different type of mana bestowed by the Witch Goddess Hecate. Since they don't use our world's mana they were given a realm where they currently reside." Tiamat was the most knowledgeable of them since she knew Hecate herself.
A different realm was a whole new topic for discussion, if what Tiamat said was true then the two realms publicly known weren't all there was. Casen could discern that they preferred to be left in the dark, which made sense since if they were better than Runemasters themselves there might be a conflict. He'd be sure to dig deeper when he had the time.
Bringing him out of his reverie Tiamat spoke again, "I had this specially crafted for you. Your mother has one as well and it works by telling her your location, different realm or not."
He watched as an earring manifested itself out of thin air, it was made out of a gem a darker shade of red than his eyes. What caught his attention though was her words. His mother would be able to track him no matter where he went and for some reason, he had a foreboding.
Looking behind him, Casen saw his mothers' face full of joy with a smile that could send shivers down a spine. 'Surely nothing will happen.' He internally sighed and looked at Tiamat.
"I appreciate you, Aunt." He went to receive the earring but his aunt pushed his hand to the side approaching him and placed it on his ear for him. For him, this small act of hers delighted him.
Straightening her back Tiamat cleared her throat, nodded, and disappeared without another word.
Isirneth shook her head. That woman can hand out smiles like it's candy but at times she'll revert to stoicism and disappear.
The rest of the time he spent waiting for his mother to finish pulling his scales he emptied the silver platter that was once filled. Each one had its unique taste but the constant diet of just the parts of beasts was getting a bit repetitive.
He wanted hearts that were freshly pulled out of a body. He just hoped Ederes would allow him to eat the hearts of criminals at least.
"I'm done, baby. Get ready and make sure you visit me after." Isirneth pulled Casen's face toward her by grabbing his jaw and kissing him on his cheek then stood up taking his plate in hand. Since she was already dressed she had to leave for her office.
Despite having her work halved due to the representatives of each clan taking the initiative there were always problems whenever she looked away.
Casen stretched both his wings and tail, they both felt incomparably better. He looked at the clothes beside him and silently thanked his aunt once more.