The Way Home

After a few minutes of following Alreya through the trees, Brand decided to end the silence by striking up a conversation. "So... I'm magical now huh? Does that mean I can like, shoot fire from my hands, fly around like Terrificman, and even the power to kill a yak from 200 yards away... with mind bullets?" he inquired.

"Well, I don't know what a Terrificman or bull its are." Alreya replied. "But I do know that until you're properly trained you won't be able to even singe a yak's fur much less kill it. But with some formal training you'd be able to give the yak a little bit of a fight."

"And where would I receive this training?" Brand asked slightly intrigued.

Alreya shrugged and said "It depends on the country. In the empire, I've heard it's mandatory for every citizen to be tested on their magic proficiency. Then the most talented among them are forced to join their army as sorcerers. In the free human and beastian countries you'd have to join a magicians guild or the army. The dwarves and illums aren't really magically gifted so they're aren't very many who practice it. The few geniuses among them usually go to the Capital Country to train."

"I see." nodded Brand. He didn't see. Most of the things in Alreya's explanation made no sense to Brand, but he figured he'd obtain that information eventually. "And what about your country?"

"Other than the dragon riders, elves are the most magical beings on the continent." Alreya said sounding rather boastful. "Our parents are our teachers, instructing us as we grow, so there is no need for something like a guild for us to become powerful."

"Uh huh." Brand said. "And what if I wanted to be a dragon rider? What would I have to do?"

Alreya lifted an eyebrow then pointed at the tooth in Brand's pocket. "You have already completed the first requirement. The first thing you need to do is obtain a piece of a dead dragon. Then you need to go to one of the many Guild of Dragons' ritual sites in one of the free countries. If the ritual is a success, a new dragon will be born that has a blood bond with you, making both you more powerful and intelligent."

"Cool, but like I said this isn't a dragon tooth, it's a dinosaur tooth. And why do you need a dead dragon? What if you got something off of a live dragon? And why not just tame a live dragon?" Brand interrupted.

"Because," Alreya continued. "Using a part from a live dragon causes the ritual to end in absolute failure every single time. And wild dragons are smart beasts, but they are still just beasts. They are aggressive and untameable. The blood bond gives the new dragon increased intelligence and absolute loyalty to its partner."

"And after the ritual? If it succeeds what then? Do the various countries train their own dragon riders?" asked Brand.

Alreya shook her head. "No. If successfully bonded to a dragon, the rider and their dragon are sent to the Guild of Dragons school in the Capital Country to train for five years. Then they are sent back to their home country. After being sent home, the dragon rider either performs various jobs for that country such as protecting it from monsters, bandits, etc. Or they are sent to the front lines to help in the war against the empire. Usually newer dragon riders are allowed to gain experience for a few years before being sent off to war."

"Wait, what?" Brand looked at her in shock. "You guys are at war right now? With the empire?"

"Yes." Alreya responded. "For as long as anyone can remember the free countries and the empire have been at war. Their full name is the Endast Empire. They take up the entire northern part of the continent and are made up of strictly humans. They believe that all humans on the continent should be united under a single emperor and that all of the other races should be exterminated. They also use dragon riders and have the strongest army of any country. They are the reason that the free countries all became allies and created the Guild of Dragons."

"Whoa. That's heavy." Brand exclaimed. "I guess there are Nazis in every world." he thought to himself. The thought was rather depressing. Deciding that he had enough information about the world to process for a while, Brand changed the subject. "By the way, what were you doing out here all by yourself?"

"I was hunting." Alreya said matter of factly.

"Hunting?" said Brand surprised. "Do elves hunt?"

"Of course elves hunt. Why wouldn't we?"

"I don't know... I always thought elves would be vegetarians? Aren't you guys supposed to be one with nature and all that?" Brand said.

"What a strange thing to say." replied Alreya. "We don't hunt for fun if that is what you mean. Unlike other races, we usually only hunt for food or when some monster or beast is threatening a village."

"That makes sense I guess." Brand told her. Following that they both fell silent for a while. Brand looked at the sneakers he was walking in and was thankful for his habit of sleeping with his shoes on. It wouldn't have been fun to walk for hours in a forest barefoot. Later, after walking for about an hour, Brand felt like asking "Are we there yet?" but decided not to since he himself found people who used that phrase annoying. So he asked "How much longer until we reach your village?"

"We're about to arrive." Alreya responded. Just a few minutes after he had asked, they came to a section of trees that were all connected by green, thorny vines that formed a large wall. At the top of the wall of vines, there looked to be a couple of guards keeping watch. Alreya yelled up to the guards and they gave a wave. All of a sudden the vines in between two of the trees started to unravel slowly forming an opening in the wall. Alreya motioned for Brand to follow her and together they entered the village.

The only thing that Brand could say when they set foot in the village was "Cool." There were houses and buildings built around the massive trees interwoven inside the villiage on the ground, and a few built into the trees that looked like they led underground. But there were also buildings and homes that were built in the treetops attached to the various trees. It made for an impressive sight.

"Welcome to my home," Alreya said rather smugly. "The village of Masarch. Now, let's go find the elders and figure out what to do with you."