//------------------------------// // SS1-3: Spike's Gaiden 3 // Story: Bridging Ages, Bridging Worlds // by BlueDWarrior //------------------------------// === BABW: Spike’s Gaiden === === Part III: City of Desire === [ May 20, ??? + 1 – Karrak-za-Jalve, Central Dragon Territories ] ================================================================         “Ah, so this is the young dragon who has come out here to entreat on behalf of Princess Celestia?” a rather elderly looking bipedal dragon said as he looked over some recent paperwork that had come into his office. “Yes, Leader Wraithwind, it seems that Rosethorn has done a more than admirable job of, tutoring him, if you will, on some of the basics of invocation in their long, winding journey here,” A yellow dragoness with intermittent black stripes replied, holding another folder full of documents for the red-and-gold-fringe robed, silver-and-ice-blue dragon that was approximately 2/3rds her size. “Livewire, I have no idea how I’d make this whole thing run without you,” Wraithwind said as he walked out from behind his finely crafted ash-wood desk and walked out the door of his office with the yellow dragoness to his side. “It would run a lot smoother if you wouldn’t neglect the paperwork that tends to pile up. Some of these documents have been sitting here for months waiting for your signature,” Livewire complained, as the two of them stepped into an elevator. “And you know how much I abhor paperwork. Then again, I do insist on retaining my leadership position… just wish there was less, drudgery,” Wraithwind, said, as he chuckled the raspy chuckle he had in that form. “As much as I complain about the particulars, I do appreciate everything you are doing for us in the Council, and Karrak as a whole. I just wish the rest of Dragonkind was as appreciative,” Livewire said as the safety grate opened and they exited into the hustle and bustle of the lower floors of the Council Building. “It can’t be helped sometimes, ‘Wire. We are what we are, fierce independence and all that,” Wraith mused as he and the taller dragoness continued on their jaunt toward one of Wraithwind’s favorite places when he wanted to get away from it all – the nearby gym. =---= “Proc Valkir [Fire Breath]!” Spike shouted as he generated a stream of red flames from his mouth afterward. “Proc Valkir is a test of your magical capacity and ability to regulate it while it is already flowing; just like yelling is a test of lung capacity. Let’s see how long you can keep this stream going,” Rosethorn said as she walked around Spike blowing his flame at the test dummy. “How long are you going to have him shooting fire at a test dummy, Rose?” a silver-scaled and red dragoness asked, as Spike finally relented in his test, lasting about thirty seconds. “Because I’m trying to make sure he properly learns each incantation before he’s inevitably thrust into a live-fire situation, Blood,” Rosethorn replied, nonplussed about the interruption to her lessons. “You can teach somedragon theory all you want to, Rose, but eventually the theory has to be tested. It is much better if they learn what a fight is like while they are still impressionable,” the silver and red dragoness said, with a devious glint in her eyes. A glint that Rosethorn noticed quite quickly. “I would highly advise against making any move against my student.” “What’s going on? Who is she?” Spike asked, before he was barred by one of Rosethorn’s outstretched arms. “Another bad habit of yours. You coddle your prized pupils far too much. At the rate you are teaching Spike, it will be a century before he achieves even the first level of effective mastery of what we would consider basic invocations,” the silver dragoness stated with a shrug. “And what would you do so differently, Bloodthorn?” Rosethorn asked, wanting to gauge just what her sister was thinking. “Well, sister, first I would start with an extremely strict regimen of physical training and dietary adjustment. Then we would move on to basic and intermediate invocation and their practical uses in battle. I would spare no hour in his re-education. By the time I would be done with him, he will stand amongst the finest of Dragon Magi. Of course it would take a quite a few years - I suspect a 10-year program would be sufficient,” Bloodthorn replied, striking a thinking-dragoness’ pose as she did. “Hrm. That sound suspiciously like your Officer’s Training regimen for the Legion…” Rosethorn said, with a little more evident nonplussed tone. “Why, it does… does it not?” Bloodthorn responded, her snide face growing even more snide by the word uttered. Spike tried to find some way out of the impending family argument, but his unfamiliarity with the layout of the building rendered his escape plans more or less moot. “It does. Why is it you always try to snipe my best students, Bloodthorn?” Rosethorn asked with a large measure of annoyance. “Because… such martial talent and potential would be wasted on bookwyrms such as yourself, Rosethorn. I know you can feel that this, Spike, has all the potential in the world; he could become a Magus amongst Magi, a once in a decade, possibly once in a century level of talent. And I would be doing my branch of the government a disservice if I were to allow him languish under your tutelage,” Bloodthorn replied, the seriousness in her assessment evident to both Rose and Spike. “Branch of the Government? Wait, just who is she, Rosethorn?” Spike asked, now thoroughly confused. “I will answer, young drake. My name is Bloodthorn, Commander of the Draconic Legion and First Seat of the Subcouncil of War and Military Affairs,” the silver-and-red-spined dragoness replied, with the utmost pride in her position. “Also known as Silverthorn, my elder sister by twenty-some-odd years,” Rosethorn replied, with a smirk on her own face. “One: I am your elder by 24 years and 3 months. Two: I told you to never refer to me by that name unless it is in private!” Bloodthorn shouted, catching the attention of a certain pair of still-walking dragons. “My my! Are a certain pair of sibling Councilmembers having a bit of a spat?” the short, elderly looking dragon said, rubbing a beard of white as he looked at the silver and rose-red dragonesses, and the nervous purple dragon behind the both of them. “Sir, I apologize for the uncivil behavior of myself and my sister. I will do my best to ensure proper conduct in your presence next time, sir!” Bloodthorn said with sudden rigid, military-style formal-ness. “Yes, yes. I understand entirely Bloodthorn, though you do not have to be so… formal around me all the time. It makes you look a little, unattractive, mayhaps?” the elder dragon said, with a bit of a knowing smile. “I… sorry, sir” Bloodthorn responded, with a bit of a blush as she turned around and began to practice some hyperventilation to calm herself down. Spike stood there silently until he shook his head, coming back to the present time. “Wait, did you say sibling Councilmembers? As in the Council of Nine?” Rosethorn sighed as she wanted to just play the teacher’s role for Spike for a while longer, but Wraithwind had already blown her meager cover. “Yes, my full name and title is Rosethorn, Head of Archeology and Research for the Ios-Kaval University here in Karrak-za-Jalve, and First Seat of the Sub-Council for History and Internal Affairs.” “So… you… and her… are both part of the Council of Nine?” Spike muttered, the realization that he was palling around for the last two months with one of the most important Dragons walking the face of the entire world. “Yes, that is true,” Bloodthorn responded, some of her coldness beginning to ‘melt’ in Wraithwind’s presence. “Haha! It’s always an amusing sight when a learned but young dragon realizes that they have made acquaintances with one of us. You know, young drake, I have personally requested that those of us in the Council of Nine take more time to travel the world, and get to know everyone and everything that walks, swims, and flies across it. Though some of us tend to, check out during these little sojourns,” Wraithwind started. “You sir, being one of those Dragons that like to disappear from time to time,” Livewire added, still remembering the last time Wraithwind disappeared to who-knows-where, leaving her with all of the paperwork of the small but overstressed bureaucracy of the Dragon’s formal government. Wraithwind cleared his throat in silent acknowledgement as he turned his attention, in earnest to Spike. “In any case, you are quite the intriguing case, young Spike. My intelligence officers have compiled a nice little dossier on you. But it would be a bit dry recanting your recent history when you yourself just lived it. So I want to propose something else.” “Something else?” Spike asked, with a sudden lump of anxiety in his throat. “I know from said intelligence officer that you are here on behalf of Princess Celestia. No doubt she is annoyed by the fact we have not saw fit to respond to her letters of entreat in anything resembling due time, so she wanted someone to come out personally to ask and, more importantly, receive and answer. But to be perfectly honest, I thought she would have sent that, Twilight Sparkle, of hers out here, and not her adoptive dragon brother,” Wraithwind started, before he blew on his walking cane, causing a faint white dust to billow out from the rounded top. ------         Spike continued to cough and wheeze as the dust cleared, and the five dragons found themselves in a rather large and expansive room. The ceiling was at least 12 Lengths high, and the area was 1,000 Lengths square. “Ahh, I enjoy this place so much. Nice and isolated to start, but still within arm’s reach of the rest of the main gymnasium,” Wraithwind said, tail slowly waving to and fro beneath his crimson and gold-fringed robe. “I don’t mean to be rude, but where in the heck are we, Mr… Mr…” Spike started to ask when he got his voice back. “No need for names right now, I just want to ask you something,” Wraithwind started, hoping that Spike would play along long enough for him to have a little fun as he assessed the nature of this messenger. “Yeah, um, sure,” Spike wondered as the three Dragonesses took a seat on wall a ways away from the two Dragons. “So is he really going to do what I think he’s going to do, Livewire?” Rosethorn asked, somewhat concerned for her charge. “Most likely. It’s not often he gets to personally assess drakes in this manner. That and Spike is completely unencumbered by the knowledge of who Wraithwind is and what he has accomplished over his very long life. While I expect the young drake to be incredibly raw in his usage of Draconic techniques, I also expect him to fight with his full heart in it,” Livewire responded, as she thumbed through another set of files she had on her person. “I swear, Livewire, you are as much of a bookwyrm as my sister,” Bloodthorn remarked, clearly annoyed by the pair of pointy-ridged Dragonesses. “Alright then, my proposal: I will give you my response to Celestia should you prove interesting to me in a bit of traditional, ol’ fashioned Dragon sparring. You come at me with whatever Invocation and physical combat knowledge you have, and if recognize your potential, only then I will tell you what I would tell Celestia herself were she standing before us,” Wraithwind intoned, as he tugged a bit on his crimson robe. Spike looked at the elder dragon that stood before him, almost half a Length shorter than he, and using a wooden crook to walk. “Um, I… I guess I can agree to that.” Wraithwind raised his crook, and slammed the thicker, knobbed end to the ground, causing a minor shockwave to resound through the entire floor until it reached a bell, which sounded a clear and unmistakable *DING*. Spike ran up to Wraitwind and threw a punch, which was swiftly caught by the elder dragon. “Good show to start with, assess the physical potential of your opponent, if you do not need to waste time or mana with an Invocation, then don’t do so,” Wraithwind stated as he shoved Spike’s fist back. This… is this the strength of an elder Dragon? Spike thought to himself as he  tried to punch again. “He has decent form on his punches. If he were more physically inclined I would say he would make a good boxer or cage fighter,” Livewire mused as she watched the young purple drake mostly punch over and whiff; the silver-gray elder dragon not having to do much to counter. “He’s a dozen of centuries too young to challenge Wraithwind in straight close-in combat,” Bloodthorn added, as Wraithwind had now taken to using his tail and his crook to dodge and block the kicks Spike was using, much to the chagrin of the purple dragon. “Are you taking this seriously, at all?” Spike said, his usual deference to authority or one’s elders starting to fail him, as typical adolescent churlishness was starting to bleed through. “I would ask the same of you? Who spends two months wandering through Diamond Dog infested savannah and desert just to ask a question that would fit on one of those little notepads, if that?” Wraithwind asked, as he stood at a slanted angle to the ground; his crook supporting quite a bit of his weight. Spike gave in a bit to his growing anger, as he kicked the crook out from under Wraithwind, only for the dragon to remain standing at the exact angle he was before, pointing the moved crook in an accusatory way at the purple Dragon. “You are certainly starting to develop a mean streak, aren’t you? I can tell you are the deferential type, probably why Princess Celestia sent you out here as a go-for. Probably figured rightly that you wouldn’t say no to a request from her, now would you?” Wraithwind asked, still retaining his leaning stance as he did. Spike’s eyes began to turn from a rounded to a sharp angle, as he could feel an anger welling within him. “I am NOT someone’s go-for, I am NOT someone’s little errand-drake!” Good, you’re getting closer to finding that Desire that animates all of us. To try and live as a Dragon without it is to not try and live at all… Spike was now starting to feel some kind of depth in his soul. It was if he was kid who swam in the shallow end of the pool for all his life, and now he was starting to drift into the deep end. It was frightening to him, but at the same time… compelling, intriguing, as if it was something he wanted all this time, but didn’t even know of it. He continued to breathe heavily, his Dragonfire glowing hot green as he blew in and out, wisps of flame escaping from his nose as he did. “IZOC YUNI[Lightning Strike]!” He shouted, as his body started to glow green. “Ah, I see you were shouting about, Bloodthorn. He does have incredible potential depth to his Invocation, then again the Emerald Flames always were the best Invokers on balance,” Livewire commented as she saw Spike starting to glow with his Dragonfire. She’s right, If he were so inclined, he could easily become a stand-out Magus in the Legion’s MagiCorps. And would I be wrong to stop him if he were so inclined after this. Maybe I am scared of losing another potential student to Bloodthorn… Rosethorn thought as she could see the air becoming charged from Spike’s power. “So you decided to use something faster than what I can see, so that I don’t have time to physically react. You have good combat instincts Spike, it’d be a shame if they were to become dulled by years of shuffling letters and packages to and fro~!” Wraithwind said in an almost mocking tone, further enraging the young Dragon. “I AM NOT SOMEONE’S GO-FOR!” Spike shouted, as bolts of lightning began to strike from the ceiling down to the floor. Wraithwind chuckled with far more strength than an elder Dragon should have, at least to Spike’s ears. “So if you aren’t someone’s go-for, then what are you? A Dragon has to be something or want to be something, so what is if for you?” Wraithwind continued his uproarious laugh as the lightning continued to strike from the ceiling down to the floor, and in a few cases back up again. Though he was not struck, he could feel the energy  back and forth. It’s been a little while since I felt so invigorated, and Livewire says these little sessions don’t do any good… “Are you sure he has had no formal training in Invocation before this, this feels like the mana output of someone who is at least in their 5th year of formal training,” Livewire figured, as her ear ridges fanned out wide at all of the electrical energy in the air. “As far as I can tell, and from what the drake told me, he hasn’t even so much as looked at a book on invocation until the recent weeks. Being around that Twilight Sparkle must have given him a good grounding in Magic in general, something I thought would be beyond the Ponies’ Elements of Harmony,” Rosethorn thought, as she could feel Spike’s power welling up again. “I can see your body charging up for another spell, I wonder what you have in mind, young drake,” Wraithwind asked, truly wondering what Spike had up his metaphorical sleeve. “Olx Kvok [Frost Chain],” Spike said in a growling tone, his forearms suddenly coated in ice, and what appeared to be icy blue chains hanging off his wrists. “Ha! An ol’ favorite of mine. Since you’re doing so well setting the mood…” Wraithwind started before he flipped his crook over to the knobbed end. “Olx Tvalz[Frost Field].” Spike stumbled, as he watched the entire floor of the dojo-like training room become covered in what appeared to be thick and smooth ice. Wraithwind, though, looked as if he was at his second home. “Yes, so many memories. ‘How many?’ you might ask,” Wraithwind started, as he struck a tone of somber remembrance. “I don’t even bother to count… they don’t name numbers that high,” the elderly looking dragon chuckled, which only further tweaked the already tweaked purple Dragon. “Nngh,” Spike grunted, as he extended the effect of his spell to his feet, in order to let him walk and run normally on the ice. “Good idea, the magically created ice on magically created ice should negate most, if not all of the loss of traction. But will that be enough? We shall see soon enough,” Wraithwind commented as he kept his crook turned over, knobbed end on the ground, as he began to ‘skate’ around the impromptu ice-rink. “He certainly is having fun with this,” Rosethorn said as she sighed at the proceedings. “I’m sure the Leader takes it as no small insult to have Ice Invocations used against him, even if the purple one does it out of rank ignorance of that fact,” Bloodthorn added. “I just hope he remembers this is only a sparring match and not an actual fight,” Livewire concluded. Wraithwind continued on, as he was now completing a circle around the purple dragon. And the more circles he completed, the more frustrated Spike became. “I wonder what it is you are waiting for? Perhaps you are trying to answer that question at the same time you are trying to answer my earlier question?” Wraith asked as he continued to encircle Spike. Spike growled as he tried to focus, but found himself starting to lose it. “I’m… I’m…” “Come on now, Spike. I’m pretty sure you have a good solid reason for being out here this long…” Wraithwind continued, in his somewhat snide tone. “I want to help them!” “See, that’s better. But not by much, ‘helping them’ is awfully nebulous…” Spike had reached another peak of his frustration, as he slung an icy chain to ensnare the still-skating elder Dragon. The problem with that was simple – said elder Dragon was FAR stronger than he appeared to the novice Invoker. “Woah… what’s going on…” Spike said, as he felt himself being pulled by the chain that was wrapped around Wraithwind’s chest and shoulders. “Not much, but it appears you don’t have enough leverage to stop my momentum. I know magic is what it is, but eventually…” Wraithwind started as he kept skating; listening for a certain tell-tale sign. He soon got it – a yelp, a thud, and a loud scratching sound – as Spike hadn’t let go of the chain, and was now being dragged belly-first along the magically conjured rink. “This is embarassssssing!” Spike said as he tried to find some way to break Wraithwind’s momentum; continuing to slide along, closely trailing the elder Dragon. “How long do you think he’s going to hold on?” Livewire asked, watching the scene unfold. “Probably not until the Leader slings him into one of the walls of the room, that is one of the flourishes he likes when something like this happens,” Bloodthorn replied. A few moments later, Wraithwind went into a turn but stopped suddenly, as he pressed his crook hard into the rink, causing Spike’s ice-chain to suddenly whip around, with Spike still on the other end. Much like Bloodthorn’s prediction stated, Spike was sent careening into the wall of the practice room, ending up in an upside down heap, his tail laid over his chest and head. “Owwwwww…” the purple dragon loudly groaned, as he was starting to lose his impetus to fight. “I am not sure if that mace-like appendage your tail terminates in would have helped you to brake, but it couldn’t have hurt. Well not any more than it already has…” Wraithwind mused as he began to skate away from the overturned purple dragon. “I… I have to help them… my friends. If I don’t become strong enough to help them, I’m just gonna be a burden, I’m just going to be a weak link. I don’t want to be a weak link… not anymore!” Spike said slowly, trying to psyche himself back up and into the fight. He finally, and gingerly, shuffled around until he was right-side-up again, and standing on the ice rink. “A truly admirable desire. Certainly more admirable than what a lot of other Dragons have told me in the same situation,” Wraithwind said, as he began to gather himself. “I bet they are in a lot of trouble, as well, over there.” Spike suddenly looked very surprised as he listened to the elder Dragon’s words. “I believe you already figured a piece of this out, but let’s see how it feels when a Dragon with a, let’s charitably call it good level of experience does it, eh?” Wraithwind chuckled, as his body began to glow softly in aquamarine. Is it just me, or is it getting colder, but only around him… Spike said as he tried to get into a defensive stance. “Can’t have you running around this next part, so I’m going to need you to stay right where you are,” Wraithwind started, as he pointed his crook straight at Spike. “FROST CHAIN!” “Wait what?” Spike said, as he had no time to react to Wraithwind’s Invocation in Equish; the streams of aquamarine mana already racing toward his body. He only had time to reflexively put his arms around his head and chest, as he felt the positively chilling binds wrap around him. In a few moments, Spike was strung up in a net, hanging off ceiling, completely ensnared and a good Length and a half off the ground. “Hey what’s… what’s the big idea of this?!” Spike said, as he tried in vain to break out of the ice-net. “Like I said, little drake, what I have to say now is very important, so you best listen. You have a spirit of selflessness that is far and away beyond what I’d expect any Dragon your age to have. That is a motivation I rarely hear out of someone so young. So I want to confirm it: you did say you want to cease being a burden to your compatriots and actually be a boon to them, correct?” Wraithwind explained, and then asked. “Not in those exact words, but yeah, pretty much!” Spike said, squirming still as he was nowhere used to how cold the chains that made up his net were. “Amazing, simply amazing!” Wraithwind bellowed, as he began laughing with a great and gregarious laugh. “Truly a unique little drake you are, and I have indeed taken great interest in you. I want to see just how far someone as young and as untainted by the ravages of time as you actually can go with such a selfless sense of duty to one’s compatriots. Also, forgive me for being a bit, harsh, but I had to see how you would respond when pressed.” Wraith snapped his claws, causing the ice-net and the ice rink to dissipate, returning the room to normal, and returning Spike to the floor with a *oomph*. “Too many drakes and drakas your age lose themselves in a fog of vainglory. Too busy trying to build a hoard or a reputation they can defend. By the time they first realize what they have done, their reputation as, quite frankly, a churlish, selfish monster has already settled in the eyes of the world. That is why it is so hard for a Dragon to make any emotional connections and bonds outside of other Dragons – we leave ourselves, too often, in positions where none can understand us except through second-hand accounts and outright hearsay.” Wraithwind turned around and looked at the three Dragonesses arranged on the bench, who were still unsure of if the demonstration was over with or not. “Look at them Spike. In each all three of those ladies have a reputation in some way or fashion that sees them as monstrous entities: Livewire constantly devouring metal ore to feed half of the skills she developed, Rosethorn being a relentless temptress and hoarder of historical artifacts, and Bloodthorn being a brutal engine of pure wartime destruction, given the form of a sleek dragoness. And that is just her reputation now.” “I’m afraid to ask what it was before…” Spike asked as he gingerly walked up to the elder Dragon. “Would you believe she was an incredible booze-hound, as the Diamond Dogs would say. A draka that would get so incredibly drunk, she could destroy a whole small village in a drunken rage, and then wake up the next day and not remember a single thing that happened the night, or nights, previous. I would go deeper into the actual story, but I’m going to have so much time with you in the near future,” Wraithwind said, before feeling a familiar clawed hand grip him by the head. “Are you telling that story YET again. After I POLITELY asked you NOT to tell it unless I give you express PERMISSION to?!” Bloodthorn asked, her anger quite evident in her snarling voice. Wraithwind chuckled, and rapped the Dragoness on her forehead, which caused Bloodthorn to drop him immediately. “Even at 1300 years and you still have such a temper. That’s very unbecoming of a military officer of your stature, Miss Bloodthorn.” Bloodthorn mumbled an apology as she rubbed the spot where Wraithwind struck her. “In any case, I will give you my answer since you did keep me quite interested and focused during our little training session. When you meet with her again, tell her ‘Of course her sifu would love to see her again, as would the whole council. I know I should have told you earlier, but if it were so important to you, you knew where to find me nine times out of ten.’,” Wraithwind finally answered, making Spike’s eyes light up with that amazed glow. “Oh man, you really mean that?! That’ll be the best news Celestia has gotten all these last few months,” Spike smiled as he was excited to return, before a pall suddenly came over him. “Hrm, something wrong, I thought a positive response on my part would make you more excited than this,” Wraithwind asked, already sensing what the purple Dragon was feeling. “That sparring session with you. It… it made me feel like someone who really had only been doing invocation for a month. I… I want to stay a little while longer… as long as I need to do really nail down the basics. Like I don’t think I’m cut out for a long term learning period, at least not right now. Celestia-willing I’ll be better prepared for it once our little, adventure, over on the other side ends,” Spike asked with the utmost respect to be offered someone of Wraithwind’s stature. “Yes, but I will not be your teacher if you do stay here longer,” Wraithwind started, already noting the disappointed face of Spike when he uttered those words. “Don’t worry though, I will give you this goal to shoot for – Over these coming years, prove yourself to be a Dragon whose potential is so vast, so deep, so undeniable, that I will be FORCED to take you on as a personal apprentice of mine. I believe that should be a good long-term goal that will allow you to continue helping those you have already made an emotional bond with, as well as give you a thought for what lies beyond.” “I… okay. If it won’t be right now… then I’ll make sure that someday I will be able to call you my teacher in earnest, Mr… Mr…” Spike replied, surprised that in all the imbroglio he still hadn’t gotten the name of this elder Dragon. “Wraithwind. First Seat of the Karrak-za-Jalve Council. First Seat of the Council of Nine,” Wraithwind replied, with a smirk on his face. “I… what… how… the leader… the Supreme Leader? The Head Honcho of all the organized Dragon Territories?! YOU’RE HIM!” Spike replied with a grave deal of shock, which in turn surprised even Wraithwind. “Oh come now, what were you expecting?” Wraithwind asked. “Frankly, a giant 50 Length tall dragon, that towered over everything; like some kind of Dragon demi-god. I mean it’s kinda how Princess Celestia looks to us in Equestria sometimes…” Spike replied sheepishly. “No, but… well that’s best saved for another time,” Wraithwind started, before waving himself off. “In any case, take the next couple of days to rest, and we will get you started with some more formal tutors. I am sure Rosethorn would like to continue being your personal tutor, but I have some business with her and the rest of the Council of Nine to take care of, now that this bit has been settled with my response to Celestia’s overtures.” “Yes sir, you won’t regret any of this, I promise!” Spike said, as he hurriedly began for what looked like the exit. “Livewire, would you please arrange for a nice little hotel for him to stay in, preferably one without any kind of, extra-curricular activities going on. I mean he is a young, impressionable drake after all,” Wraithwind chuckled, as he waggled the upper ridges of his eyes. Livewire just sighed in mild exasperation and bemusement as she answered. “Of course Leader Wraithwind, he is a special case after all…” [ July 10, ???? + 1 – Karrak-za-Jalve, Central Dragon Territory ] =================================================================                  “So, how is our prospective protégé doing with Miss Rose?” Wraithwind asked of the quiet black-and-blue-spined Dragon, as he looked out of a low window to oversee the comings and goings in the courtyard of the Central Council-building. “He has made good progress in this last month and a half, in my estimation. Though he can certainly work on his stealth, he would need to mature emotionally first,” Silentclaw responded, ears still ringing a bit from all the shouting of said purple dragon; Rosethorn was now working him double time, compared to what they did out on the road. “Ahh, the brashness of youth. On one hand, I do miss it… on the other hand, if you ask me to choose between youth and potential, and age and guile… I’d take age and guile every time,” Wraithwind responded, with a bit of a wry smile toward the black dragon. “That certainly sounds like you, Wraithwind,” Silentclaw responded with a knowing chuckle. “In any case, we should be drawing up our official response for the Equestrian government, though… given what you are telling me, we might have a little more leverage, especially regarding that little project of theirs on the other side,” Wraithwind then said. “Correct, sir. We can certainly leverage a buy-in if the current trends hold,” Silentclaw concluded, as they both looked out at the courtyard, thinking towards a future with a much more… robust population to work with. ----- “Proc, Iqual, Muz, Qzat, Kruf… [Fire, Water, Air, Metal, Earth…]” Spike slowly chanted, repeating the lines given in pattern. As Rosethorn instructed him, centering himself and listening to his ‘voice of Desire’ as she put it. According to the rose-red Dragoness, the specific method of meditation combined with slowly chanting the most common keywords of Dragon Invocation, would help him focus on whatever task that was at hand. And, at least according to her, let him listen to the whispers of Tiamat, the Great Spirit-Queen of All Dragons. While Spike didn’t exactly understand what Tiamat was supposed to be – either a real entity that lay beyond what is seen, or just some kind of metaphorical entity, he did have to admit that what Rosethorn had suggested in his meditation was indeed helping. It was helping him so much he was starting get a feel for, or more specifically, a nose for, the various minute differences between the various ‘frequencies’ of mana. And what he sensed from Terran Water Mana disturbed him to his core. “It smells like rotten fish and dead algae…” Spike remarked when he first thought of the Water Magic and how ‘off’ it seemed.   And then he saw it through his mind’s eye: the vision of a monstrous Unicorn – a black male Unicorn the size of Nightmare Moon, minus the wings. At the same time, it looked he looked like he was standing in front of a curtain made of snakes, innumerable and all writhing; their bodies navy blue and their eyes glowing with a hate and malice that felt absolute and total. “Something’s wrong…” Spike growled, his sense for trouble starting to become highly aggravated. “What is wrong, Spike?” Rosethorn asked, noticing that Spike was reacting to something very troubling, but she couldn’t quite piece together what. “The Water… or more to the point… the Conduit of Water… something is wrong with him. Every time I feel out the power coming from Terra, as you all call it I guess, the Water feels like its actively malicious. But magical energy doesn’t have feelings, at least not as far as I can tell… so that means…” Spike started, as Rosethorn started to piece things together. I do remember reading some historical texts that stated the aspects of Power from Terra had a Champion that represented one of, if not the strongest user of that particular aspect… “Something has happened to this Conduit you speak of. If his feelings can have that much of an impact on the sensation of that aspect of mana, then he must be in dire straits,” Rosethorn concluded out loud. “Allow me to contact your Princess, this may be too fast-moving a situation to leave to the normal channels of communication.” Princess Celestia, are you available to talk? I find myself in a bit of a hectic situation, but I can spare a few moments… It is about Spike, he says he is feeling some sense of wrongness in the Terran Water Mana he speaks of… I fear that the Conduit of Water has fallen into the same Abyss that my sister fell into… Are you absolutely sure? It is the only explanation for the course of action Luna has taken in recent moments. To engage him directly with all of the Conduits and Elements means the situation has become truly dire… I understand completely… “Spike! We’re leaving,” Rosethorn said as she opened her eyes. “Wait what? Leaving, to where?” Spike replied said as he stood up. “To that other world of which you spoke. Alicorns are not the only entities capable of inter-dimensional travel!” Rosethorn shouted with a smirk, as she drew a white magical circle beneath the two of them. “Holp Orla! [World Jump!]” the rose-scaled Dragoness shouted, as the two of them disappeared in a cloud of white smoke. ---- “I certainly wish the two of you luck in resolving this situation on Terra, Rosethorn and Spike. I would hate to see one of our most prized students suffer any more loss,” Wraithwind quietly said, as he looked up at the faint aurora in the sunset.