Dragon in Disguise

Viren heard steps coming up behind him. “So,” Rickson said. “How are you liking company life?” Viren had joined the Tiger Claw company two days ago. They had left Selsiboro the morning after Viren joined them and had been traveling for a day now. The company had thirty-one members other than Viren, but only two horses, so they traveled by walking. Nevertheless, they moved at a brisk pace, and each person carried their own belongings, including Viren. He had been supplied with a small tent which he carried in a backpack.

“I haven’t experienced much of it yet,” said Viren in response to Rickson’s question. “What city are we going to next?” Rickson put a hand on his chin and made a thinking noise.

“Good question. If I remember correctly, we haven’t been to Opeali in a while, so we might head there.”

“Opeali?!” Viren said. Opeali was a country known for its prosperous mines, but that wasn’t why Viren was surprised. “We’re leaving Aureum?” Rickson chuckled.

“For sure. We aren’t just chasing money, you know. We’ve got a good amount of wanderlust too.” He smirked. “And they don’t call us the honorable mercenaries for no reason either. Nearly every country we visit we’ll be sure to get a good reception in, thanks to some good deed or another.”

“Nice,” Viren said. ‘That’s better than what I’m used to, with my previous status of dark heir and all.’

“So,” Rickson said, “have you ever been out of the country before?” Viren debated how to answer. Rickson looked curious, but also a bit sly. In other words, he was fishing for information.

“…Sort of,” Viren finally said. Kastra’s ‘territory’ wasn’t a part of Aureum. But it also wasn’t officially recognized as an independent land. However, he couldn’t explain that to Rickson because it was the only free wilderness territory anywhere near Aureum, and Rickson would put together the pieces far too easily. “My mom and I used to travel around a bit, but we settled down when I was really young.” A frown tugged at Viren’s lips. It had been a while since he had thought of his mom. The most vivid memories he had of her were of when she was under Kastra’s spell.

The sadness must have shown on Viren’s face, because Rickson didn’t pry any further. He looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but Viren turned away. He didn’t feel like answering any right now. They walked in silence for a few minutes.

“We’ll probably stay at a noble’s house while we’re in Opeali,” Rickson said abruptly. “He’s a friend and has a son your age. Tori, the son, is at the Academy right now though, so you won’t see him.” Viren nodded.

“Is the culture very different from Aureum?” Viren asked absently. Rickson debated how to answer.

“I suppose so,” he said slowly. “They eat a lot of seafood and talk differently for sure. It’s a lot more settled than Aureum, so we’ll be seeing more small towns and cities. They really value natural beauty.” Viren nodded again. The place didn’t sound so bad.

“What’s the work like?” he asked, more engaged now.

“Not too shabby,” Rickson said with a grin. “The place attracts a lot of thieves, so we’ll have plenty of business.”

“Nice,” Viren said with an answering grin. Rickson opened his mouth before suddenly stopping and craning his neck.

“Looks like we’re stopping here for the night,” he said. Viren looked at the front of the group and saw that they indeed had stopped. Some people were setting up tents. “Come on,” Rickson said. “After we set up our tents, I’ll show you how to start the fire.”

…

Viren managed to get his tent set up, and, true to his word, Rickson showed him how to start the camp fire, although it was probably large enough to be considered a bonfire. Afterward, most of the company sat around the fire to eat dinner. Viren balanced a wooden plate of roast chicken and something called rice on his lap as he listened to the conversations around him.

“Viren,” Brack called from somewhere behind him. “I need to talk to you.” Viren stood up and looked around. Brack was standing next to some tents, a little way away from the fire. Viren walked to where he was.

“Yes?” he asked.

“Yes sir,” Brack corrected.

“Sorry, yes sir,” Viren said. Brack nodded.

“Come on,” he said, turning away. “We’ll talk in my tent. It’s more private.” Viren nodded and followed him. Brack led him to a tent that was slightly larger than the other tents in the camp. It was big enough that there was room to stand upright. Once they were there, Brack pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Viren. Viren glanced down at it and jumped. It was the bounty. He took two steps back and stared at the company leader.

“I take it you already knew about this?” Brack asked.

“Yes. Sir.” Viren said. “I didn’t know you did, though.” Brack nodded and crossed his arms.

“Whoever wrote this wants you real bad,” he said.

“Yeah, tell me something I didn’t know,” Viren responded under his breath. Brack shot him a look but didn’t say anything. “So?” said Viren when he couldn't handle the suspense any longer. “Did you invite me to join your company just so you could turn me in and collect the bounty?” Brack’s eyebrows rose.

“Who do you take us for?” he asked, taken aback. “First of all, Rickson practically pleaded on his hands and knees for you to join us, and that was after he practically pleaded on his hands and knees for you to get out of the merc business. Second of all, my company would never kidnap a random teenager and hand him over to some suspicious criminal, much less for an illegal bounty. Did the definition of honorable not register, or were you just not paying attention?”

Viren sighed, partially in relief.

“The primary reason for this conversation,” Brack continued, “is for me to assess any potential threats. So,” he bent slightly and looked Viren in the eye, “Will the person who put out a bounty for you be a threat I should prepare for?” Viren considered Brack’s question.

“Not currently,” said Viren. “Not once we leave the country. He doesn’t have the reach to put in any real effort to look for me outside of Aureum.” Brack nodded stiffly and considered Viren for a minute.

“Is there anything else I should know?” he asked.

“No,” Viren said. ‘It isn’t necessary to tell him that the person hunting me is the Dark Lord, right?’ “No,” Viren said again.

“Alright then,” said Brack. “You are dismissed.”

“Thank you,” Viren said, and turned to leave.

“Viren?” Brack said. Viren turned back and saw a glimpse of a grin on his face. “Next time, don’t forget the sir.”

…

Starla dropped into her seat and pulled her textbook out of her bookbag. It was her first day of classes. Math and History had gone well, though it was interesting having a class with one teacher and many other students, rather than it just being Starla and her tutor. Now she was in Magic Concepts, the class she was most excited for alongside Magic Combat. She already knew some Magic concepts from what she had studied on her own, so she was interested to see how what she already knew held up to what was taught at the Academy.

As she pulled out a pencil and a notebook, the teacher entered the classroom and moved up to a podium in the front. She cleared her throat, and the background chatter of the room went silent.

“Welcome to Magic Concepts,” she said. “I’m Professor Lytes. Some information about me- I graduated as one of seven students under the head Elven enchanter. I worked as an enchanter’s aid for a year, then as a royal enchanter for six years. I was the first half elve to be a royal enchanter. I started working as a professor here eighteen years ago. I’ll not be so bold as to say I’ve seen everything, but I have seen quite a bit, from prodigies to problem students.” She eyed the students. “I expect a lot in this class, but I’m a fair teacher, and I want the best for and from each of you. Now, with that out of the way, let's get started.” She dived right into the basics of Magic concepts, talking about the Sub-Element theorem and the Biological Affinity rule.

Starla took notes on everything, but she found that she already knew or had a basic understanding of most of the things Professor Lytes spoke about. At the end of the class Lytes assigned some reading and suggested several optional books to read. Starla wrote them down in her notebook, planning to check them out from the school library.

“The next four classes we’ll continue to cover the basics,” the professor said as students filed out of the classroom. “After that we’ll begin studying how some affinities affect different people uniquely, and how affinities affect magical creatures differently than humans.”

…

Starla walked into the library, and immediately wheeled around and walked right out again. “What’s wrong?” an older student asked, laughing.

“It’s so big,” Starla responded. The older student laughed again and walked past her. Starla followed them back into the library and scanned the room until she spotted the help desk. She walked straight up to it.

“Hi,” she said to the librarian.

“Hello,” the librarian greeted. “How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for “A Study of the Base Elements” by Kiyle Starn, “Magic in Nature” by Stacee Gold, and “Dragons: a Further Study” by Sir Fandolfin.”

“Ah,” said the librarian with a smile, “one of Professor Lytes’s students? She’s always suggesting lots of optional reading.” When Starla nodded, the librarian winked at her. “Don’t tell anybody,” she said, looking around, “but Lytes puts bonus questions on the tests that have to do with the optional reading.” Starla grinned.

“Thanks for the tip,” she said happily. The librarian nodded seriously.

“It saved me from failing that class more than once. Now, you’ll find the first two in section three, shelf four, and for the dragon one… let's see…” Starla listened to the librarian’s instructions with a smile on her face. She was liking the Academy more and more every moment she spent there.

…

Opeali was truly a beautiful place. The sky was clear and blue, the kind of sky that called Viren to fly. They were walking alongside a small cliff face, and below was the sea, a deeper blue than the sky. Viren was walking near the end of the company in silence, taking in the surroundings.

A couple of birds he didn’t recognize flew overhead, and Viren closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the atmosphere.

“I take it you’re liking Opeali so far?” the mercenary walking beside him asked. Viren nodded without opening his eyes. “I’m Drew,” the man continued. Almost reluctantly, Viren opened his eyes and turned his head to Drew.

“Viren,” he responded. “You’d probably know me as the new guy.”

“More like Rickson’s new best buddy,” Drew responded. “The guy’s taken a real liking to you, though that’s not too much of a surprise. Rickson likes everybody. Anyway," he said hopefully, "I heard you were a mage?”

“That’s right,” Viren said. Drew pumped a fist.

“Finally! You have no idea how long I’ve been alone.” He raised his hands to the sky. “Finally, I’m not the only mage here!” Viren had to hold back a chuckle as the thirty-something man rejoiced like a little kid.

“So, us two are the only mages in the company?” he asked.

“Yep,” Drew said. “I’m a water affinity. You have no idea how exhausting it is, with the company always asking me to purify their water and such. What about you?”

“Shadow…and water.” Drew’s eyes widened slightly.

“Woah!” he said. “You’re a double affinity? And water is one of them?” He grinned widely. “That means we’re affinity buddies!”

“My water affinity probably isn’t as strong as you’re expecting,” Viren hastened to add. He was glad to have a fellow mage among the Tiger Claws, but it did present some problems. Namely that dragon affinities were different from human affinities. For example, while Viren could hold his breath under water for quite a long time because of his affinity, a human wouldn’t have that same ability. Viren couldn’t purify water like humans with water affinities, and while he could manipulate water to some degree, it usually required a large body of water, unlike what he had read of human water mages.

Hopefully, he could hide behind the excuse that his affinity wasn’t as strong as Drew’s. Maybe he could use that to partially explain his skill with the sword, say that he learned the sword to make up for his weak affinity.

The difference between human and dragon affinities hadn’t been a problem when Viren had been under Kastra, but that was only because Kastra hadn’t paid much attention to Viren’s magic beyond the fact that it was powerful. Viren had a suspicion that Drew would be far more interested in Viren’s magic itself, rather than how it could be used for his own gain.

‘I think that life in the Tiger Claw company will be unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced,’ Viren reflected as Drew dived into talking about how water affinities were much better that any other affinity. One thing he knew was that, although it would be hard, Viren could see himself building a life for himself here, among these people.

He found himself liking the idea.