He shook out the dust from his uniform, and posed with the steel pipe in the mirror. Not exactly how a magician should look, but he was nailing the eccentric aspect.

Jess had asked the dragon to help straighten the rod, with little success. At least it stopped looking like a curtain rod. In the end, Auntie had twisted it up, giving it interesting stress fractures.

It still worked, mostly.

Today was his first day of lectures, and he didn’t want to turn up to a magic class, unable to perform magic. Jess had already left, a morning lab session.

“Auntie, that’s me about to head out to class”

The dragon was curled up into a ball, snoozing on the rooftop.

“Auntie?”, he asked again?

“Yes child?”

“Um... Will you teach me some more dragon-tongue when I get back?”

“Two words is more than enough to cause trouble, but I really should make some effort.... urrgghhh”, the dragon slowly unwrapped itself, stood up and shook out its wings

It leapt onto his shoulder, shrinking down just enough to slump comfortably atop him, as ever

“Onwards”, it tapped his back with its tail, “and maybe I’ll teach you another word”

Making his way to the history department, he was the first student to arrive at the lecture hall, and eagerly took a seat at the front.

The dragon climbed down and onto the desk in front of him

“While no-one is here, what about a little more language practice”

He grimaced, but a few minutes couldn’t hurt that much. “Ok Auntie”

The dragon smirked, and blew a gentle flame towards him, dissipating quickly.

“Your turn”, it began to giggle

“frrewwrrrhhh”, “ffffhrhhhrrrrl”

Kis sat growling at the front of the class.

“Almost, but you’re thinking about being burnt, not the sensation of setting something alight, starting a fight”, the dragon encouraged him

“FrrrhrhhEE!” “That’s it! Now, again, but all at once”

*Woomph* A small fireball flashed in front of his mouth, scalding his face. He grabbed his mouth, screaming into his hands.

“The trick is moving it towards the back of your throat, now, let’s try again”, it grinned

He shook his head, “Not yet”

“Never mind, this looks like a teacher”, it hopped back onto his shoulder with a smirk.

The teacher was a little surprised to see one student in the front row on his own. The other students were gathered behind him, trying to stare at the dragon around his neck without getting too close. A few had witnessed the fireball practice too.

He coughed, “If people could take a proper seat, there is plenty of space at the front”

One or two students carefully filed into the front row, leaving a substantial gap, but the rest took a seat in the back.

“Wonderful. I am your teacher, Macallam. In the next eight lectures, I’m going to talk about the history of the empire, the expansion, and where we are today. We’ll start at the beginning. The Emperor himself”

He began his lecture, “As many of you know, the Emperor was raised as an orphan”

*snort*

“... rose through the ranks ...”

*cough*

“... and was the greatest general of his age”

*kkrkrgkk*

“I’m sorry, but, you, front row, blue hair. Is there a problem?”

“No”, Kis mumbled

“Not with you, your pet”, shouted the teacher

The dragon raised its head, “What?”

It climbed over Kis and stood upright atop the desk.

“I am no-one’s pet.”, it growled.

“Uhh”, the teacher was unnerved.

“... and nothing you’ve said about little jade is true, either”, it growled. “Do you care to recount those words too?”

“I was wrong about you but I’m not wrong about the Emperor. I have written records stretching...”, the teacher stood his ground.

“Nonsense”, flapping its wings, “That man was such a coward, never raised a sword in his life. You humans love your heroes but that man was an accountant”

“Sacrilege!”

“Try me. Young man”, The dragon jumped from the desk and paced towards him

“Auntie, please!”, Kis tried to stop them.

“Auntie?”, the teacher repeated.

Gears within his head began to whirr. The dragon empire was named after a dragon, but very few records of a name. An ancient deal, the founding contracts, he rushed through the events he’d memorised until something twigged. The emperors diaries, with a few notes about going to see Auntie.

“You’re ....”, he froze in place

“Yes?”, the dragon lifted its head up, staring him down.

He gulped, “... he was .... an accountant you say?”, he stammered, “W-w-would you be so kind to take the stage?”

The dragon retracted its wings

“Don’t be so worried. If you’d offended me, you’d know”, it growled under its breath, “but I’m happy to be recognised.”

It flew up to the podium, and coughed.

“Let me tell you a story about little jade. He was the illegitimate son of a noble house, pushed into a ceremonial role by warlords. Those warlords then took the six great cities for themselves, leaving him with the capital”

“Have you ever wondered why the capital is in such a lousy place? It was the leftovers. His six ‘subordinates’ took the nicest cities, with mines, fields, rivers. The capital city is in such a empty dirt pit that it needs supplies from the rest of the empire. Who else but an accountant would build a gigantic warehouse and call it a town for humans.”

The students began to nod along. The capital was laid out neatly into square blocks, with almost no regard for the landscape. It was famous for being the city of travel, both as a transport hub, and that you made plans to leave before you’d arrived.

“He didn’t fight on the frontlines, but he did take over the supply chain. He could send troops from one place to another and ensure they’d all be clothed and fed. The soldiers who returned to their Warlords demanded better conditions...”

“... How things were done in the capital became the rules for the rest of the nation. Money, time, measurement. The true achievement was not to build the empire, but to convince the citizens to desire it....“

“... The true hero does not think about what they can do by themselves, but what the world will do without them. One can only change so much in a single lifetime, it is not how far you walk, but how many you can bring with you....”

“Yes, He was a cowardly accountant, but who else could divide up the world so well that to this day no-one has fought over it”

The teacher coughed

“A problem?”, the dragon turned towards him, bearing teeth.

“Over 50 years ago there was an armed uprising..”, he mumbled.

It rolled it’s eyes, “They don’t count, besides that only happened fifty years ago.”

It stretched its wings, “Still, That’s a good point to stop, thank you for letting me talk to the class”

“Um...”, the teacher paused.

It had been a lot to take in. A thousand years will romanticise even the most stoic of history books. He knew about the logistic achievements, his thesis matter had been about his rise to power, but it was a little unnerving to hear about it from an eye witness.

“Thank you!... Thank you your”, he spoke

“Shhh!”, it leaned over towards him, “I’ve been told to take a low profile”

It grinned, proudly walking back over to Kis, returning to his shoulder and grumbling under its breath, “I hope I don’t have to do this in every class. I hope your magic teacher did their homework”

The teacher regained his composure and retook the podium.

“Class, what you’ve just heard is near enough a first hand, erm, claw account of the founding of the empire.”

He began to recant the dragon’s narrative, filling in the blanks, adding dates and explaining nicknames. Kis was impressed. Despite the dragon’s earlier statements, it was obvious that he had studied considerably.

He wrapped up the lecture with a list of suggested reading material and dismissed the class.

“Um, hello...”, the teacher nervously approached Kis

“Hello Teacher”, Kis smiled back

“... and to you, erm ...”, he wasn’t sure how to address Auntie.

“Elder will be fine. Respect never requires formality”

“Thank you again Elder”, he bowed, “are you planning to attend the next lesson?”

The dragon yawned, “Just his first day, start the little man off in the right direction”

The teacher sighed. A relief not to be challenged again.

“Oh... “, although some part of him really did want the dragon to come back, “... I’m not sure I’ll be able to follow such an opening act.”

He scratched the back of his head, “I’d always wondered why he was called Little Jade...”

It smiled, “he was *always* around the neck of someone with a lot of money”, it snorted, “that’s the other way he built the empire. Him and his troublesome friend, the mage. The pair of them”

The teacher began to stare wildly. The fanfic inside his head just got a little more canon.

“Auntie?”, Kis was curuous

“That’s what they mean when they talk about his skill in swordplay, although if I remember the mage... she had quite the reputation too ...”

It cackled as a few old memories resurfaced.

“Erm, yes”, the teacher, “thank you again. It’s been an honour to have you in my class Elder”

“As you were”, the dragon casually responded, and curled up to rest.

Kis stared blankly for a few seconds, then began packing up his things.

Turning to leave, he realised the rest of the class hadn’t left either. They were staring at him, although a few seemed to be trying to get a better look at the dragon.

“Um, Hi?”

They quickly looked away and hurried out of the lecture theatre.

He sighed. It wasn’t going to be easy to make new friends.

He’d practiced the replies he might give, or some of the ways in which he’d strike up a conversation. The spare pen, ink, and paper would most likely remain in his bag for today.

At least he would be eating lunch with his sister.

A tap on his back brought him back into focus.

“I’m sorry [Kyzr]”

“It’s ok [Srmr], you’re no-one’s pet. He was lucky”, Kis smiled.

It wheezed, “Oh I’m not about to eat anyone. Humans are disgusting. All that screaming as you tear them up. “

“Do we get stuck in your teeth, too?”, he replied

“Every time” It tapped on his back excitedly, You’re becoming more of a dragon with each passing day.”

He growled back. It laughed.

“Almost, young man. I am serious though. That’s what I need from my assistant, a human who can think like a dragon, and act on my behalf. Learn how to speak for me”

He sighed, “more dragon tongue?”

“Excellent idea!”, the tapping returned, “how about Val’s name”

“Um, ok”, a name had to hurt less.

The walk to the food cart was relatively quiet. Less staring, although a few more heads turned. He told himself that he’d get used to it eventually.

Lunch was quiet. Jess was in a bit of a rush, with only half an hour to spare. She raced through her food, trying to ignore the sounds of bone crunching next to her. Kis talked about his lecture, skipping over the more awkward parts.

Before long, Jess had finished and made excuses to leave.

“I have to run out again. Six tutors haven’t arrived yet and I have to fill in”, she lamented. She gave him a hug, and pecked the dragon on the cheek before vanishing.

He had a little bit of time to kill before his next lesson. He decided to turn up a little late this time, hoping to find someone to sit next to.

It was a magic theory lesson, and he was a little excited. He paced back and forth outside the lecture hall, counting the students who went in ahead.

After at least ten, it was time. He paced into the hall, looking around for space, and maybe a potential new friend.

As he gazed around the room, he realised someone was staring right back at him. Val.

“Val... Mage?”, he asked.

“Whatever Kis, take a seat”, Val shrugged.

“I didn’t expect you to be teaching my class”

“I didn’t expect Auntie to be attending, but here we are. Sit down”

Val was an inspiring mage. She spoke slowly and carefully, leaving breaks, pauses, but every so often gathering everyone’s attention as she revealed some insight. A solid grounding in the history of magic.

How we copied it from nature, how we refined it, and the various schools that arose since the formation of the empire. Val ended with a ruthless display of barrier magic, encasing water in a liquid barrier, and sandwiching a fireball, flattening it down to show the cross section of a flame.

She dismissed the students, and meandered over to where Kis was sitting.

“Good enough, Auntie?”

“You’ve improved”, it replied

“... and Kis ...”, she glared, “ what do you want?”

“What?”, Kis had no idea.

“You’ve been calling my name all afternoon?”, Val explained.

“[Cthlc]”, he asked?

She pouted. “Yes Kis”

The dragon began to wheeze with laughter, “You’re more sensitive than I thought [Cthlc]”, the dragon responded, “but no, he doesn’t know”

“What?”, Kis asked.

“Kis”, Val explained, “I can hear you. Your voice is carried across the mana, and I can hear you calling for me”

“How we summon our helpers, [Kyzr]”, the dragon put a little emphasis on his name to demonstrate.

“I’m sorry Val”, Kis said.

“Whatever. I blame Auntie”, replied Val.

The dragon chuckled in response, “Envious again?”, it snorted.

“Ugh. Auntie”, she pouted, “stop teasing me”

“Fine”

“.. and Kis, please don’t go throwing my other name around. Please”

“Yes Val”

“Thank you”