The Elementals (1/2)
For the next several days, Dakka puts off meeting Fheldin again; he hasn't seen his family in so long that he doesn't want to drive his granddad away so soon.
Finally, Fheldin corners Dakka and hands him an amulet. "You're going to need this" he says. He takes Dakka to where the "inheritance ceremony is".
"What is it?" Dakka asks.
"It's an enchantment to help you breath outside the atmosphere," Fheldin shrugs.
"Oh," Dakka nods his head understandingly. "I'm a 6-horned dragon. You don't want me messing up the landscape in our fight, right?"
"That's part of it," Fheldin says cryptically. "The inheritance ceremony is more than just a fight. It's a sacred rite as old as dragon-kind itself."
They don't talk anymore on their way down… down… and down. They go so deep into the palace that Dakka starts to feel lost.
'Why so deep?' Dakka thinks. 'I never knew Grandfather's home was this large? How many miles down are we?'
In fact, Dakka can feel the Elementals down here whispering in his ears, 'Who is the little one?' 'Who?' 'Who?' 'It moves.' 'Yes. We've never seen a thing move before.' 'It's unnatural. Mistress Arra says that the walking things shouldn't be here.'
"Grandfather," Dakka asks, "The elementals sound like they're wanting us to leave."
"Of course they do," Fheldin responds as they walk further on. "We're well below the planet's mantle right now. Living, walking things like us shouldn't be this far down."
"I thought everything below the crust was all molten magma?" Dakka wonders while pointing at the stone hall they're going through. "This looks awfully cool and solid to me."
Plus, the World Elementals don't like people or dragons digging below the planet's crust, so they actively repel mages trying to dig down.
Because of this, even Dakka (despite being able to withstand temperatures hotter than the surface of the sun) is unable to travel to the core of a planet.)
"Oh, yes," Fheldin shrugs. "I have an understanding with Lady Arra. She's the Elemental for our world, by the way. Anyway, she let's me go where I will, and she let's me build things down here."
Fheldin then turns to Dakka with a serious face. "The only reason Mistress Arra isn't killing you is because you're with me. Never, under any circumstance, bring someone else down here."
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Finally, the pair of grandson and grandfather arrive at a cavern so large that a hundred Thresholds could've fit inside. The entire room is as flat as a table.
The sheer vastness of this vast space feels a little haunting to Dakka…
The moment Fheldin steps foot in the room, the runic carvings in the floor reacts to his ambient mana, and they start to glow a deep green.
"A teleportation circle?" Dakka notes.
"Correct. The place I have in mind is far away from our planet, and since it's not a world with sentient life, there's no World Gate leading to it. Flying there manually would take centuries, at least – a few years if you could travel the speed of light."
"…Ah…," Dakka nods.
Fheldin steps forward, and he stands there for a moment – allowing his magic to course through the teleport circle in full strength.
'Wait… full strength?' Dakka thinks in alarm. 'The mana in this room doesn't belong to a 5-horned dragon. It's another Elder Dragon!'
Seeing Dakka's look of alarm, Fheldin reassures him, "My father left this gate for me, before he… left."
'Phew,' Dakka thinks, 'Makes sense, Grandpops was an Elder Dragon.'
"Ah!" Fheldin exclaims. "It's ready!"
As if on que, the entire floor seems to vanish, and in it's what looks like a giant, black mirror reflecting the night sky…
…except the starlight shining through is far more colorful and brilliant than Dakka remembers space being. Plus, he can sense hundreds of unknown colors leaking through.
Before leaping in the portal, Fheldin and Dakka both stand side by side, and they share a bonding moment together.
"Grandfather… why're there so many colors?"
"Oh, most wavelengths of light get absorbed in the atmosphere," Fheldin explains. "You remember outer space looking a lot duller because you've never stepped off a planet before."
"…They look like jewels, don't they?" Dakka wonders wistfully. Slowly, he starts to feel an emotion common to all dragons. Greed. "I want jewels like that."
Without warning, Fheldin slaps Dakka's bottom and hisses angrily, "Don't EVER mention a desire like that again! Every celestial body is the personal property of Drakavar. If she finds out that you're coveting her things, she'll kill you!"
For the first time in Dakka's life, he feels genuine fear coming from his grandfather. He'd always known his grandfather to be unflinching and indomitable, so seeing the old dragon like that is disconcerting.
"All right…," Dakka looks down in shame.
"Enough dawdling. Let's go." Without waiting for his grandson, Lord Fheldin jumps in the portal.
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Once they arrive on the other side of the portal, Dakka immediately feels an alien sense of weightlessness.
…Well, that's not quite right. He felt equally weightless when he crossed through the World Gate earlier in his life.
Then, Dakka looks down. There, he sees large planet, beautiful planet. The thing looks like a giant, glassy marble with brown and red stripes.
"I wonder what it's like down there?" Dakka mutters.
"It's just a bunch of gas," Fheldin huffs offhandedly. "Don't bother. That planet's not as interesting as it looks."
The old dragon then points down. "We're not after this planet. We're going to one of its moons."
Fheldin starts drifting away while beckoning to his grandson. "Come. Follow me."
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Dakka starts flapping his wings… but he realizes that he's not going anywhere. "Grandfather!" Dakka yelps in a panic. "I'm not flying anywhere!!!! Where's the elementals!!!!????"
Dragons use elementals for most of their magic, so realizing that there's no physical matter nearby for him to manipulate, he feels completely powerless.
Fheldin rolls his eyes. "You need to stop thinking small, little boy." He shakes his head and sighs. "Even though you're a 6-horned dragon, you really know nothing about your powers."
The old dragon comes down and presses his hand on Dakka's forehead. "You're used to feeling thousands of smaller elementals all around you – in the air you breath, and in the ground you walk on. Those elementals are just amoeba compared to the elementals out here, in outer space."
"Yes, yes," Dakka nods, "but how do I find these 'other elementals?'"
"Little boy, you're used to just WILLING elementals to do things for you. The Elementals out here, though, have their own egos and Names. They won't answer unless you call them personally."
Fheldin then turns towards the sun in this system, which is shining off in the distance. "Reach your Dravar over to that star and touch the Elemental living there. Her Name is Sinria…."
"… Be respectful," Fheldin warns, "but don't lower yourself to her too much, or she won't listen to you. She may be stronger than you in terms of mana, but you shouldn't underestimate your status as a 6-Horned dragon. You have the shadow of Drakavar's Authority in your blood. They WILL listen to you."
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Dakka closes his eyes and does as his grandfather instructed.
After a few moments, he feels his mind connect to a foreign will…
'Who…? Oh, it's an Elder Dragon,' a female voice burns into Dakka's mind. 'With how large you are, I'd think you were one of the eldest of the dragons, yet your soul feels like it belongs to a young pup.'
'Were you sleeping?' Dakka asks politely.
'No. I'll leave that to my daughters,' Sinria says. 'A star never sleeps until she dies.'
'It's nice to meet you, Sinria,' Dakka says. 'My grandfather told me your name before. My name is Dakka.'
'Hmm… Well, Lord Dakka, as long as you don't kill my daughters, I'll give you permission to use the material in my Star system as you see fit.'
'He can't promise that,' Fheldin butts in. 'We're conducting a Hal-Nithkin Inheritance Ritual.'
'NOOO!' Sinria cries in a boiling rage so hot that Dakka feels his scales burning off his skin, and he feels his mind threatening to explode.
Before Dakka can even react, a bright light appears in front of him. Quite literally, the ball of energy appearing in front of him is as bright as the sun – maybe even brighter, since this star is brighter and hotter than his own.
Still, you can't underestimate a 6-horned dragon's eyesight. Within moments, his eyes adjust to the brightness, and he sees… something he didn't expect before.
There, floating in front of him, is a woman with golden hair and bright blue eyes. Atop her head are 5 dragon horns. Her feet and hands are clawed. The only raiment to clothe her are several plates of golden scales.
The only thing that makes her look different than a dragon like himself are her tail and wings. Unlike a dragon (whose tail is long and whiplike), Sinria's tail is short and stubby – perhaps only about as long as one of her legs. As for her wings… she doesn't have any.
"Are you a dragon, Miss Sinria?" Dakka asks.