8, Strange Dreams

After the clan head finished forcing the mana into Etanali's body he stood up with an exhausted expression.

"It is done. Etantos you can release control whenever you are ready. What comes next is all up to him"

Etanali's father was still kneeling above his son's figure on the ground.

"Just a little bit longer."

The head of the earth clan walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"The longer you wait, the longer you delay the inevitable. You've done all you can for him, regardless of the outcome you haven't failed him."

"I thank you for your kindness Datom."

He nodded and released Etantos' shoulder, stepping back to give him space.

"Good luck my boy, we will be waiting for you."

With those last words he ceased controlling the mana inside of his son, releasing it to rampage.

The life clan head spoke up seeing the solemn mood.

"There is nothing we can do now but wait, and there is no point in ruminating on the negative."

Datom spoke up after in a boisterous voice.

"Well said Coili! Let us drink to the success of the next generation of mages!"

Octatus laughed at this outburst from the usually stern mage.

"You are always looking for an occasion to drink, it's a wonder that everyone has such a serious impression of you."

"Don't be such a downer, aren't you supposed to be from water? Just go with the flow. Join us!"

"Only because you insisted."

The water clan head's words did not reflect his excited demeanor, as he joined the others at the newly formed table.

Etantos was in shock.

The most powerful individuals in the area, the notoriously strict clan heads were now goofing off like teenagers.

Within seconds the clan heads were all seated around a table with ornate carvings and matching chairs that were all created with Datom's magic.

"Etantos, Join us! Don't just stand there like a stranger."

Etantos shook his head in refusal at Coili's request.

"Someone of my status shouldn't partake among the leaders."

"Nonsense!" Shouted Datom

"Are you ignoring my words from earlier? I believe I said there was no need for formalities between us. So sit, drink and make merry."

Octatus spoke up after Datom in a firm but relaxed tone, it was clear he would not take no as an answer.

Etantos realized this and went to join the others at the table, but when he went to sit down a fierce pressure caused him to freeze in his tracks.

Coili had unleashed part of the force of his mana upon him and he spoke in a grave tone.

"What do you think you are doing?!"

This caused cold sweat to form on Etantos' back thinking that he had failed some test or did something wrong unknowingly.

But all his worries were washed away a second later as all of the 3 leaders burst out laughing and the pressure was retracted.

Realizing the situation was a prank Etantos released his held breath and sat down on the chair.

Octatus was the first to recover from his laughter, and the first to pass him the bottle of liquor.

"Sorry about that, it was too tempting to see what your reaction would be."

Coili chimed in afterwards.

"It was definitely worth it though, the face you made was amazing."

This gave rise to another round of chuckles

"You definitely gave me quite a scare, but it was quite a good way to break the ice between us."

Etantos replied before taking a drink from the container before passing it to Coili.

Datom spoke next.

"I am glad you think so, please speak your mind at this table."

He turned to Octatus and asked.

"Where did your son Omkatus choose to create?"

"Nothing special, he wanted to create a small core at the center of his stomach. I only pushed a miniscule amount in him so I expect that he will have no problem forming his core."

Coili spoke.

"Excellent, the safe path is never a bad one to travel. What about your boy Datom?"

"Cotam is a genius, he aims to split the mana and reinforce his thighs. He is hoping to encase or even replace the bone with his two cores, he took quite a large amount of mana too. Around a fist and a half worth."

"Incredible! That will be amazingly helpful with his earth spells. He will have quite the future ahead of him."

Omkatus spoke in an excited voice.

"What about you Coili, What is your daughter hoping to achieve?"

"Minili is trying to create her core inside of her heart, she took a very small amount of mana and was planning to merge her heart with the core but I convinced her to simply make the core inside. Merging with the body is far too risky."

Hearing this Etantos felt a seed of worry begin to grow inside of him.

Datom spoke after hearing what Minili was attempting.

"Forming the core there would be hard enough, I'm glad you were able to talk her out of trying to merge the organ. That almost never goes well."

With this Etantos spoke up.

"What happens when someone succeeds in merging a core with an organ?"

The others looked at him with a surprised expression while Datom answered.

"When an organ is merged with a mana core the organ takes on new properties that vary on the organ. Afterwards the effects slowly spread throughout the rest of the body as it ages, the rate can differ based on the use and placement of the organ."

Etantos spoke again, but the seed of worry was beginning to grow.

"It sounds like the effects of it are quite good, why do others not attempt the same? Is it that much more difficult?"

The others looked at each other before turning back towards him, Coili answered his questions.

"Yes the effects are very good, in fact they are nearly unequaled but the risks are very high. To call it difficult is a grand understatement. If you were to use the lizard comparison; when the mana rampages when a core fails to form the lizard explodes. But to merge the core with an organ would be like trying to crystallize a lizard but still have it be able to move like a normal lizard. Do you understand what I am saying? It is contradictory, to crystalize but allow movement. To solidify but remain soft, subtle and functional. This is why almost everyone who attempts this process fails. Why are you asking this? What is Etanali attempting to do?"

The others were listening very closely to his explanation, while Octatus looked at his hands.

Etantos spoke in a quiet voice.

"Etanali took a large amount of mana, nearly twice the amount Cotam took. He wanted to split the mana and create 3 cores."

This already brought questions from the others but Octatus quieted them down.

"Continue."

Coili spoke in a stern tone.

"The first core he wants in his stomach is much like Omkatus, only he is trying something different. His second core he wants to merge with his lungs, and his final core he wants to have in his brain."

"I see."

Said Coili.

"That explains your questions about merging a core and an organ."

The others at the table were about to continue talking about the difficulties Etanali would go through when they were interrupted by a loud popping sound.

Dread ran though all of the adults as they shot to their feet.

They all knew what that sound meant, someone failed to establish their core.

Many things happened all at once.

Datom liquified the table and chairs returning them to the ground.

Coili created a wind barrier around them to block the flying flesh and blood that would rain down around them.

They all looked towards their children in the spell circle.

The one who exploded wasn't Etanali, his father sighed in relief.

Datom and Coili also sighed a second later.

Their children were all still alive and lying on the ground.

The one who exploded was aiming to create the simplest core.

In the place where Omkatus was lying was now the remains of an exploded corpse.

The ruined body was ripped open while bits and pieces of him were scattered all around the area.

Blood covered everywhere other than the adults standing in the wind bubble.

—

I was floating on a fluffy surface that could have been a fantasy cloud or a large amount of cotton candy.

I woke up to a soft, fluffy and warm feeling all around me, but when I opened my eyes my stomach dropped and all of a sudden I was falling.

I began to scream as I fell and the groggy sleepiness of earlier abandoned me, replaced by fear and a sense of confusion.

The falling stopped suddenly as though I hit something hard but when I got up and looked down there was nothing below me.

It was as though I was standing on air, but it felt as solid as the ground.

When I was looking down trying to figure out how I was standing on nothing, a jet of freezing foul smelling air was shot at me causing me to look up in shock.

The shock quickly turned to a look of fear when I saw what was before my eyes, barely noticing the icy frost covering me.

There was a massive dark storm cloud in front of me and within I could see a terrifying head that seemed to freeze my entire being when I looked in its eyes.

I knew without a doubt that if it wanted me dead there was no hope I would ever have a millionth of a chance of survival.

This dragon's head in the cloud was full of sharp angled scales that repeatedly changed colors in a kaleidoscopic pattern going from green to black, gray, blue and yellow.

It had 4 pairs of eyes which had lightning crackling in them and several horns protruding in a streamline manner, the ends of which were lost in the dark clouds.

In front of the creature's face were 4 nostrils and a mouth full of interlocking teeth that were all longer than my arm and were so white they appeared to be glowing.

I was completely unable to even breathe in front of this creature that was like a divine storm personified.

The terrifying creature opened his maw and a glowing object no bigger than a pumpkin seed slowly exited his mouth and floated over and entered my mind without any resistance or discomfort.

I was still not able to react to anything that happened in this grand being's presence.

After it bestowed this seed to me it spoke in a deep powerful voice which nearly shattered my mind.

"You can't even withstand 1 billionth of my power, yet you receive such boons. Such a pathetic Inheritor. Begone."

With the last words spoken the stable air underneath me disappeared and I was flung flying down far faster than I was earlier.

But as I was falling with the wind whipping past me, one word was ringing in my head.

"Inheritor."