Waking up I felt refreshed, well except for the aching pain I felt in my left side. I elect to take a quick soak in the bath to help loosen up my sore and stiff muscles. When I lift up my shirt I choke in surprise distinguishing how large my bruise actually is. It takes up the whole left side of my body leading down my leg and up to my chest with a dark purple ring around it.

I finish taking off my clothes and turn on the hot water, putting some medicinal salts I had acquired from Ashley into it. I sigh, at first in pain and then in relief and satisfaction as I sink into the hot water. After I finish soaking I get out of the bath and wrap myself up into a towel. I walk into the closet to grab a black compression shirt meant to help blood circulation and the black uniform pants meant for comfortability. Knowing that there is a nature test means that I will be meeting some of the creatures of this realm and who knows what that will entail.

I finish putting on my clothes wincing in pain a few times as the shirt restricts onto my bruise just as I hear a knock on the door. I open it to see Natalia standing outside my room wearing a similar uniform to mine before I step out and follow her to wherever it is we’re going.

“You haven’t been outside yet have you?” She asks me turning her head to look me over before turning back to face the front.

“No, I haven’t, we’ve been too busy training. Why, do I finally get to go out?” I ask in anticipation trying to stop myself from hopping around in joy.

“Yes, that’s where the next test will be held. It’s finally time for you to see the outside world. After the nature test, you will be allowed to roam the premises and the surrounding forest of the school.” She explains as I nod my head still trying and apparently failing to hide my excitement.

“You know you’re not doing a very good job at hiding your excitement right?” I pause for a second looking up to meet her eyes before looking away shyly. “Let’s go.” She laughs out shaking her head at me before beginning to walk. I quickly follow after her walking for what feels like forever before we come across another large door. We’ve been coming across these a lot lately. The only difference is that this one is a lot bigger than the last.

She pushes the door open with one hand, which seems crazy and almost impossible considering the size, and continues to walk through the door.

“Welcome to the land outside of the school.” She said unenthusiastically, making me tilt my head at her in indecision before looking around the land.

I take a step forward looking around in shock at everything going on around me. There’s open land for what looks to be miles and beautiful flowers and plants I’ve never even heard of before. Further away I could see the trees leading to the entrance of the forest that surrounds the school. I run through the field in glee before stopping and remembering the person who accompanied me. I turn around in embarrassment wanting to explain myself before pausing again when I see the sheer size of the and I gasp in surprise. I back up a bit taken aback by just how large the school really is.

It’s the size of a modern-day castle in the U.K and even bigger than my parent’s mansion. It appears more modern than I thought it would though, with a style I anticipated to be more gothic but actually leans more towards contemporary or French Country. It doesn’t remind me of a school at all and instead seems more like a large house. I take a few more steps backward trying to get a better view of the school. From this distance I can't even see the full view of the school from my peripheral vision, making me completely turn my head just to see the edge of the school.

I turn my head to see Natalia watching me with a small smile on her lips. I smile back before she turns her head and looks away, compelling me to smile a bit more before looking back at the school and dropping my head. I quickly shift my body and turn back to face Natalia.

“Okay, I’m ready now. Please take me to the rest of the group.” I tell her.

A horse manifests in front of us kicking off its front feet standing up on its hind legs. I step back in shock, surprised by the beautiful blue tint of its coat shimmering in the sunlight.

“Give me your hand and I’ll help you up. As you can see we have a lot of land so we travel mostly by horseback.” She tells me holding out her hand.

“How do you get these horses here? And why is this one blue?” I ask her looking back at the weirdly colored horse.

“She’s mine. And just like I have a connection with you I have a soulbond with her. That’s why she just appeared. She can feel when I call her just like I can feel when she needs me. And well why she’s blue? That’s a little more complicated. She was born the same night that I was under the eunoia meaning the full moon.” She explained in little detail while helping me up onto the horse’s back.

“So what’s her name then?” I ask her out of curiosity.

“Daenerys. Her name is Daenerys. It means Great Lord. She’s always been a loyal stallion and a great warrior. I do feel a little bad that she’s been conceived so often as a warhorse though. She’s a free spirit.” She tells me squeezing her heels into Daenerys’s side to make her take off running. I quickly wrap my arms around her stomach squeezing tightly in fear of falling off while riding with no saddle. As we continue to ride through the fields I let out a breath and I hum in satisfaction whilst Daenerys runs towards the right end of the school. I see a large shed coming up in the distance, a group of people surrounding it, most likely the group I’m supposed to be with.

We slow down to a trot as we continue towards the group of people and as we get closer I notice that what I previously thought was a shed was actually a close doored stable.

Natalia hops off of Daenerys and offers her hand to help me down as well before we start walking towards the group. I turn around as I hear Daenerys whinny before disappearing into a flash of light.

My mouth drops open as I turn to Natalia for some type of explanation. She noncommittally shrugs at me before walking closer to the group. I jog to catch up to her as she joins the rest of the students before a woman walks up onto the podium.

“Hello students, my name is Amory Azai and I am the professor of Eleutheromania. I know it’s kind of a confusing name but it means the intense desire for freedom. I think that it describes a connection with nature and its various forms of life perfectly.” She said cheerfully smiling and looking through the crowd of students.

“Anyways I just wanted to forewarn some of you that what you see may come as a surprise. Now, most of you probably won’t be shocked but this warning is for the people that will. The beings that you will see inside of this stable are not volatile and are very intelligent. They can even choose to interact and communicate with people if they so choose. On certain occasions with years of cultivation they can even transform into human at will!” She says looking around to see the reactions of the people in the crowd most not reacting and others looking around warily.

“Well okay then, If nobody is in opposition let’s get this so on the road!” She exclaimed before pushing opening the door to the stable. We all start walking into the stable and I stumble back into Natalia in surprise as I see what’s waiting for us in the stalls.

No wonder the stable needed to be so big when it’s holding such big creatures. Professor Amory walks up to one of the scaled creatures running her hand along it’s head as it bends down to funnel into her touch. I wince in reaction. There’s no way touching those things are comfortable.

Processor Amory chooses that moment to speak again.

“Each one of you will take a turn petting and trying to communicate with these dragons. They’re highly intelligent and known as the symbol of Eatithra. Resilient, strong, and brave. That’s who we are. It’s what we are. Now split up into 5 groups and go to the stalls.”

I wait patiently for my turn in line as I withhold myself from pacing anxiously. Unfortunately the line dwindles quickly as people give up on trying to get the dragons to communicate with them. I look around having gotten split up from Natalia when everyone was choosing a stall to walk to.

I turn back around and face the dragon reluctantly stepping towards it and lifting my hand closer to its face. Once my hand touches it’s face I can feel myself lose consciousness as I hear Natalia calling my name. Then all at once the sounds become muddled and I fall backwards. My eyes close and i can feel myself losing control of my body.

Suddenly I open my eyes and I quickly stand up looking around in confusion. My surroundings are dark all black except for in one are where a blinding light is shining. I walk towards the light wanting to find an escape to wherever I am before I finally spot something up ahead of me. I look a little closer squinting my eyes in perplexity as I see what looks like the dragon I was reaching towards wrapped in chains and strapped to the ground.

I continue to walk towards it looking around for any clues as to what is happening or where I am.

“We are trapped in your mind young one and yet you look so surprised. I did not choose to communicate with you, you are the one who brought me in here. Or your subconscious mind at least.” The dragon says thoughtfully as I look at flabbergasted and in awe.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring you here. I’m not quite sure how we got here either. And as far as my subconscious mind goes, I’m not sure why it would bring us here either.” I reply to the dragon not knowing what else to say.

“It’s because I needed to speak to you and this is the only way that I could.” The dragon and I both turn our heads as we hear another voice speak, seeing another dragon walking towards us. I gasp in astonishment seeing the beautiful shiny scales that the other dragon sports.

Suddenly the chains on the first dragon shatter and the darkness of my mind recedes into what simulates sunshine. The red scales of the dragon shine and it stands and pulls out it’s wings as if stretching them out.

“I do not know why I was encaptured or why the chains just broke but I will assume it has something to do with this other dragon. And so as not to get us mixed up in confusion I shall give you my name. Just know that names hold power and If you misuse this symbol of trust I will kill you.” The dragon says, and I quickly nod my head not wanting the dragon to confuse my slowness as unwillingness.

“Good. My name is Kano Ryker. It means power and strength.” Kano says, his voice prideful and strong, booming through the concaves of my mind.

“And my name is Adira Alsie. It means noble, powerful, and strong-willed ruler.” The light blue scaled dragon states puffing out her chest. She spoke her name so proudly that I was almost jealous. What person do you now that loves themselves so much bt isn’t cocky about it? Adira shows pride in herself and her name but not to the point of annoyance.

Rather, It’s quite nice to hear someone be so happy with themselves. But it’s also the saddest people that put on the best show for everyone else.

“So why does everyone keep telling me the meaning of their names? Is their some form of importance to this? And why did you say that this was the only way you could talk to me?” I ask the dragons in confusion.

“Names hold power in the realms. Some more so than others, especially the names of magical creatures. And just like those names hold power they also hold meaning. And those meaning are what give power to the names.” Kano explains as I nod my head in understanding.

“So the meaning of your name is what gives it power?” I ask and Adira nods her head in pride.

“It’s good that you catch on so fast little one, because there are many challenges that we will be facing very soon. I for one am glad that you are the humanI was born to. And as for why this was the nly what I could talk to you, that will all be explained later on.” She says making me smile but also tilt my head in confusion. What’s with this air of mystery that she’s trying to put on? It’s not really working out for her. It’s more irritating then anything else.

“Ohhh I forgot that you are new to this world. Sorry, while some things will be explained later there are definitely some things you need to know now. You are a draceonsa, which is a proud but rare race of Dragon warriors. And I am your inner dragon. Now that could mean one of three things depending on who the wielder of this power is. One, you and your dragon become one. You transform into a dragon and your inner dragon becomes nothing but an instinct. You can transform at will but your dragon is no longer a creature of its own.

Two you and your dragon become companions and they became your inner driving source. A sage if you will to help guide you along through life. This of course means that it will not be you transforming into a dragon but rather your inner dragon taking of your body. Do not worry though you are still very much in control of your shifting. This I think, is a way better option then the first. However the third is what I would prefer.

That is that I again would become your driving force but rather I share your mind and you control the body. Think of it as your inner angel guiding you through life. You are in control of when you shift and you stay in control in dragon form but if need be I can take over. This one is my personal favorite seeing as in dire situations I can lend you my full power. However it is all up to you and what you decide.” She explains telling me all I need to know in order to make an informed decision.

“I think I’d very much prefer the same as you Adira. I’ve felt alone for so long that I didn’t even know how to control my feelings. I didn’t even know what certain feelings were. Besides even when I truly feel like I’m left with no one or nothing else at least I’ll still have you.” I confessed to her, bearing my heart for Adira and Kano to hear. It’s not like they aren’t already in my mind anyway, I just hope I won’t come to regret it.

“Ah that brings me to my next point. I know that I was trying to put on an air of mystery but I honestly wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t tell you this now. It looks like I got my horrible sense of humor from you.” Adira tries to joke. I let out a chuckle and I hear a small giggle come from Kano as well as we both smile at Adira. Her personality is rather endearing once you gt used to her.

“I’m sorry you’ve had to live like this for so long Thalia. I know how much you’ve struggled with your emotional dissonance and how much you’ve wanted to feel properly. When you were in earth realm your parents kept watch on you for a reason. They knew what you are as well as who your real parents are. They are the ones who kept us apart from each other for so long. And us being apart is what caused your emotional confusion.” I nod unsurprised that my parents had something to do with how empty I felt. I had made an assumption a while ago that something didn’t sit right with the way they treated me but other children were treated like that too in the earth realm.

They were never really good parents to me but I always felt like I should feel lucy that at least I had a family and at least I had a place to rest. But now I understand that I can’t just focus on others situations and I should also focus on myself as well. I just don’t understand why they would adopt me just to block me from another part of myself.

As if knowing what I was thinking, probably because we’re in my mind, Adira again begins to speak.

“Ah I see, no wonder you are in so much distress over these people. I understand now. These people did not adopt you Thalia, they kidnapped you. They kidnapped us and kept us locked away eve if it wasn’t physically for you.

And I could never tell you this because I could never reach you. I don’t know what it was but whatever they were using to block me was very affective. And you could not make any real emotional connection with them because just like with twin flames there is a special bond between parents and children. Especially between mother and child.

Your supposed mother and father did tell you the truth bout one thing though. Your true name is Thalia Prince. And why they kept your name the same you may wonder is because like we told you before names hold power. And because they couldn’t change your name it made it slightly easier to find you. Although not by much because they used a barrier of sorts to keep you hidden.” She tells me.

“Thank you for explaining this all to me. It’s been a very enlightening experience. And now that I’ve met you both is there some way for me to get out of here.” I ask them wanting to know how much longer I should be prepared to stay if i couldn’t escape my mind.

“Sure you can, all you need to do is bond with me. I shall change into human form and join you on your journey. That is the reason I believe we were pulled inside of your mind. Well besides the obvious need for you and Adira to meet. Otherwise why would I have been dragged in here as well. Besides you’re an interesting human.” Kano says, walking towards me.

I give him the okay to transform and bond himself with me and his body begins to glow. There seems to be a lot of that gong on lately. I wonder if that is something of significance or if that’s just how magic works here. As I’m pondering I look up just in time to see what exactly he transformed into. I shouldn’t have been so surprised by just how human he actually looks.

The only thing that really gives away that he isn’t is the red horns that are sticking out of his shaggy red hair. He continues to walk towards me and grabs my face to pull my forehead onto his. I flinch back and he tightens his grip on my head to old me still. We both begin to glow and I hear Adira shout a quick goodbye before I feel myself pulled out of my mind.

I open my eyes to see Natalia standing over me looking extremely distraught. I look behind her to see Kano in his human form standing there staring, looking back ad forth between us. He gives me a little smirk before walking over and putting a hand on Natalia”s shoulder. She quickly turns around and grabs his hand before relaxing when she see’s the horns sicking out of his head.

“Elder dragon Kano.” She said while bowing her head in respect. I looked at them both, perplexed before asking Kano what she’s on about.

“Why did she call you elder kano? Is there something I’m missing?” I ask him.

“I have been known to give advice to the teachers of the school every couple of hundred years. It keeps me entertained. Besides Asta only knows how much they needed the help. I swear there are new problems here every year.” Natalia just stares at Kano, slight smirk on her lips amused by his rant. It appears that Natalia agrees though because she makes no notion to deny anything that he’s saying. She only gives a light chuckle before coming back over to check on me.

“How are you feeling? I’m not even going to ask what happened considering I know he’s involved.” She pointedly gives Kano a look. “Besides I don’t think I’ve ever seen him transformed before.”

“Oh you have.” He replies. “ But you were just a child at the time and I hate children. Of course you were an… exception.” He finishes giving her a grin.

“To answer you're question Natlia I’m feeling quite well. Think of what just happened as a light nap.” She tilts her head looking me over to see if I’m really okay before giving a nod.

Huh...I’m kinda surprised that worked. I was honestly hoping she stayed worried a bit longer. It’s nice having someone to care about you. She reaches her hand out to help pull me up. When I’m finally off the ground I look around noticing everyone staring at me.

“What?” I ask out loud.

“You just passed out albeit not for long but it’s not a surprise that it would draw attention to you. Or did you forget that you had a conversation with a dragon that quickly?” Natalia asks sarcastically, sighing in exasperation.

I snicker because yes, I did forget I had passed out. I look at Kano who just shakes his head at me.

“You were one of the last people to try and converse with the dragons. Although there was more than just that to the nature test professor Amory says that you can skip since you bonded with one of our oldest and wisest dragons. I guess you got a bit lucky. We can use the rest of the time today exploring.” Natalia says.

“Woohoo! Finally!” I exclaim in happiness. What can I say I was tired of being stuck in the school. Besides It’s beautiful out here and I can’t wait to see what more it has to offer.

“Hmmm, this will definitely be interesting. I haven’t gone out and explored in a long time.” Kano says thoughtfully.

Natlia then tells us to follow her and she leads us out of the stables as daenerys appears in front of us again. I smile when I see her walking towards her and reaching out slowly to run my fingers through her mane. She just stands there as I pet her before Natlia hops on her back and pulls me up as well.

“How is Kano going to travel? It’d definitely be too much for daenerys if he tries to get on too?” I ask them.

“Well young one, that’s why I’m going to fly.” Right after he finishes speaking his wings pop out of his back, tearing a hole into his baggy green shirt. His wings flap a bit as if testing them out in his new form before he looks back at us satisfied.

With that we take off through the surrounding forest speeding through the lush green trees. I spot a glint of silver in between the trees but I pay it no mind as we keep rushing forward. We stop at a the nearest source of water which just so happens to be a ravine. Daenerys groans before wings pop out of her side. I jump a bit in shock and Natlia looks back at me checking to see if I’m okay.

I give her a curt nod of my head before she turns back around squeezing her heels into Daenerys’s side. Just as we’re about to take off again Kano begins to growl. I look at him in confusion before turning my head to face whatever he’s seeing. A man with a tattered shirt and scratches along his face is standing there, panting and out of breath.

“Please I mean no harm!” He shouts. “There is danger, the castle is under siege.” He finishes.

Me, Natalia, and Kano all look at each other. I should’ve known this wouldn’t be a normal outing.