Chapter 7 - Travelling

Eric woke startled, his back pressed against firm warm scales. His head shot up. He peered down and could see the lush grassland rushing past below. As he lifted himself up into a sitting position, the dragon rolled lightly to its left, making Eric lose his grasp. His hands sought to stay on as he slid off.

“Fuck… Help….”

Eric felt a moment of weightlessness before being jerked back up, the force rattling his bones. His body slammed against the dragon's scales, slamming the air from his lungs. Eric noted the hooded man calmly resting, glaring at him.

“Arksalpo siror, Glaciir, “

“Oh, shut up. Just kill me. Why are you playing with me like this??”

The man murmured something and a ray of blue light washed over Eric. He drifted back into slumber moments later.

Eric cleared his eyes, seeing a violet sky. He tried sitting up, but magical bonds of mana kept him in place. The soft speaking hooded fellow was up front, leading the dragon as it cruised the sky. A few hours passed with only the gushing sound of air streaming past. The two stars; one orange and one red slipped past the horizon, producing a sky of majestic twilight. Erics stomach lurched as the black scaled beast nosedived, thrashing its wings to stabilise itself while coming to a land.

Eric felt relief when his bonds released, stretching his limbs. Eric slid down the dragon with considerable care, petrified of turning into its lunch. The area they settled was rocky with some trees spread around. They were not as massive as before but still double the average tree on earth. Eric stumbled as his feet touched the ground. Gathering himself, he strode to close to the obscure man. Even when he got closer, his face was still concealed and obscured in secrecy.

“Amiy, what are our chances off running??”

*hm… I would estimate about 0%. When you were slumbering, I worked to analyse him*

“I wasn’t slumbering, I was knocked out. So did you get anything?”

*He prevented me. He possesses a dense mana field around him. It’s not that varied from the rift.*

“Well, that doesn’t mean he’s tough, right??”

*Sure, but someone who can control mana to construct a field around himself is not someone you can mess with*

“I dont wish to attack him, just run away!!.”

*Okay dummy, nevertheless what about the dragon?, and I don’t think we can break away from that*

“Fine!!”

Eric scolded himself for assuming he could slip away. He spun around glanced at the dragon; it replied with a huff, blasting heated air and soil into his face. Erics face burned in annoyance as he glared at the dragon. Mana swirled around his feet. A small stone rose before it soared towards the dragon at a tremendous momentum. The dragon moved sharply, its tail flicked out shooting the stone back. The rock crumbled into pieces, hitting Eric square between the eyes; he tumbled back, landing on the cold ground, a slight trickle of blood rolled down his face.

“Loseda, Sitlls Arksalpo siror,” The soft voice commanded the dragon before returning to collect logs for a fire.

Eric sat stunned, not at being hit, but at what he had accomplished. He stood up and after a few moments of reflection, and an enormous grin spread across his face. I did it im a wizard now. A giggle resounded within his mind.

*Haha a wizard now are you, how cool* Amiy said oozing sarcasm.

“Alright I get it, so im not a wizard or whatever. But I still moved that rock with my mind.”

*Im very proud of you, but we should try to work out how you accomplished it right*

“Yea Yea ok.. And thanks Amiy. Did you discern anything??”

*Hmm, only the mana changes. First the mana gathered around your feet before enveloping the small rock, raising, and then thrusting the rock like an explosion that drives a bullet*

Eric pondered, speculating about what happened further. I recall feeling heated and wishing to shoot the dragon.

“Thats it!! I subconsciously changed the mana, expelling the stone like a bullet.”

*hmm maybe.. It’s like you visualise it and it happens thing*

He thought of picking up a rock and firing it, nothing transpired. So he closed his eyes and focused on feeling the mana. A coldness spread around him as the damage to his head healed. He then imagined the mana being forced down, again nothing developed. After 10 minutes of standing trying to press, pluck and expand the mana, frustration washed over him. Im never going to be a wizard.

*Maybe you should communicate with mister meanie over there. He uses magic a lot, right?*

“And why would he bother helping me?”

*I don’t know…. He hasn’t killed you yet at least and anyway we need to study the language*

“Fine, but if I get hurt it’s your fault,”

The hooded man snapped his wrist, and a slight flare of fire settled on the stack of wood. The wood suddenly set aflame, warming up the surroundings. Eric went over, feeling the warmth wash over him, heating his bones. He sat down across from the man next to fire, savouring the warmth. His stomach growled, causing the man to peer in his direction. The man summoned a pouch of preserved meat out of thin air, then tossed it to Eric, who fumbled to catch it. Eric opened the bag, and after tasting a few pieces, his mouth watered. Food finally. The first 10 pieces went down with little effort. After he devoured them, he put the rest in his pocket, not wanting to give up this precious resource. The figure then produced a bowl of water and handed it over.

Eric stared at his reflection in the water. His black hair was now ashen, his eyes that were once brown shined sky blue. Eric looked like death, his white lab coat now smeared with sweat, blood and dirt. WTF.. happened to my hair.

*Oh.. I neglected to mention it.. oopsy.*

“Neglected to mention what,”

*That the full mutation changed your appearance….*

Eric finished his bowl of water. He glanced at the man lying across from him and waved his hands to get his attention. Then he pointed at himself and declared his name. The man then looked at him before laughing, shaking his head no. He then pointed to himself “Arksalpo Misor, “then pointed to Eric and stated “Arksalpo siror “.

Ok so ‘Arksalpo’ must be a title or something but why would I have a title, anyway at least I have opened a dialog now. I should try to understand as much as I can.

After sleeping Eric he woke feeling refreshed after having food, water and a warm sleep. He rose and stretched his limbs, checking his surroundings until he saw the concealed figure missing from his resting spot. The dragon was slumbering soundly, coiled up under an enormous tree. Eric, feeling his chance for freedom, he checked his pockets, making certain his stash of preserved food was still there. He then started creeping past the slumbering dragon, not producing a sound, making it past he smirked. Stupid dragon. The dragon’s tail whipped around, smacking Eric in his chest. Eric shot through the air and landed face first in dirt. He stood up, spewing the dirt from his mouth, and scowled at the dragon. The black scaled beast gave Eric a toothy grin. A few moments later, the veiled man came back with a giant boar looking creature on his shoulder.

After the dragon finished up the boar, Misor the masked man signalled for him to get on. When they were both on top they set off again flying.