The tail slammed down into the ground as nails dug deep, leaving crevices behind in the soft soil. A weary pair of eyes looked forward, focusing on the relaxed adversary lost in thought.

Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit didn't entertain any delusion of an opportunity to strike back. Instead, she watched Thoth intently, each movement of his, turn of muscle, pose and routine ingrained into her head.

Each detail considered on its own spoke of an experienced warrior, yet put together they painted a harrowing picture of a most dangerous creature.

Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit was experiencing that first hand. It also didn't take long for her to no longer care about anything else except for the next limb hurling her way.

The lizardwoman forsook her intention to seek openings after the first short bout lasting mere seconds. With time, the only wish remaining was to keep herself safe and the incoming punishment tolerable.

With shame, she was reminded of the state of her buttocks and tights with each slight movement she took, now reddened and glaringly striking on her otherwise greenish skin partially covered in scales.

Having learned that each exploitable situation was but a trap, an invitation to more abuse, Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit refused to jump back into the fight.

She was content with observing and prowling her circles around Thoth at a safe distance. The lizardwoman forsook taking the initiative in favour of remaining safe.

Yet between one blink and the next, the nightmare stood in front of her, delivering another punch that sent her tearing through more mud.

Another addition to the rough ground, ploughed by her lonesome without her consent. "To escape when presented with unreasonable odds is laudable...,"

For the first time since the beginning of this test run, Thoth addressed her directly with words instead of more punishment. "...yet there are times when you have no choice. Times where fear must fuel the flames, not extinguish them."

He waited until she stood on her legs again, shaky and sore like an old warrioress disturbed in her retirement. "Fear, just like rage, are weapons. The former teaches you wit and the art of observation, the latter explosiveness.

Together, they kindle perseverance within you. Yet crippling fear and maddening fury are the most dangerous enemies of the Races. Inaudible, untouchable, invisible yet always here." Thoth pointed with his thumb to his heart.

"In the heat of battle, the mind is seldom free. Response to adverse situations should have a functioning template already." The same thumb wandered to his head, tapping gently on the temple. "Adapt and adjust. That's the answer.

Yet do not be crippled by useless, distracting thoughts. The importance does not lie in quantity but quality. A philosopher may be a bright mind, but never a good warrior."

The lizardwoman wasn't there yet. Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit understood only parts of his nuggets of wisdom, hopefully remembering the rest for a later time. That was Thoth's goal anyway.

Taking her by the hand and leading the lizardwoman step by step ran counter to his very personality. The baby did already suffice in that competency. He was certain of one thing:

All she needed to get better was time. Time fuels understanding and control for most of the Races. Understanding goes hand in hand with power yet not with control. But time's also a luxury easily cut short without power.

This makes the process of learning a quest for delicately balancing contradictions. Hence the need for shepherds guiding the flock, protecting it. "Again," Thoth demanded, judging her recovery break sufficient.

"Come at me." While he wasn't her shepherd, he could be a lantern illuminating the way as well as signalling pitfalls. The rest would be up to her. Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit moved slowly, each step deliberate and controlled to the tiniest fluctuation of her muscles.

Her considerations spanned across each tiny detail, her thoughts focused and sharp. It was exactly what Thoth didn't wish to see, of what he warned about with his talking.

"COME!" She stumbled and fell, face planted on the muddy meadow. Thoth shook his head, closed his eyes and massaged his temples. No bodyguard material, so much is sure.

Wouldn't have given her that task anyway. His thoughts calmed him down, reassuring his troubled hearth. Thoth murmured some words in a long-forgotten language, willed for his mana to manifest by levitating Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit and bringing her closer.

"I'm useless." The dirt stuck to her face fell off barely, so he helped. "You are not." "No, I'm really sorry that I am." "Don't talk yourself into something. And don't be sorry, be better. Don't talk back either.

Excuses are what keep progress at bay. Realisation precedes hard work." "I...don't understand." Thoth spent a barely perceptible moment thinking before he extended one finger and slowly drew some runes on her forehead.

Perceive. That was the meaning of the letters. For one more prone to think than act, this means the world. If she really does embark on the road of a witch doctor as I've foreseen, it will help her understand and therefore survive.

There were far more runes in a single system than most languages would ever need letters. So his considerations were truly many and complicated.

It was below Thoth to teach her something other than the very profession time had mostly eradicated from the annals of history, but she could learn herself. Explore and understand.

Regardless of the risks involved, both present and future. Thoth would shield her if that was ever necessary. Karma had swept her to his doors, so he refused to shrink responsibilities. Then again, knowledge in itself is never evil.

Eliminating a profession, eradicating its long history and annihilating its many achievements by hook and by crook... will always guarantee another resurgence.

If she showed true talent then she was barely qualified to keep the baby company. Possibly also as a nanny, but Thoth had to think some more about that awful notion.

"Now then...," Thoth walked past her and further into the open field. It took Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit a few minutes before she came to her senses, or rather, found herself back from the whirlpool of sensations bombarding her mind.

There were countless questions swirling in her reptilian eyes, but what mere passage of time could teach, Thoth wasn't ready to accelerate. Some struggle was necessary else the Races easily went off the right path.

"[Lesser Curse of Absorption I]...," Thoth was sure she now felt the slight drain his underpowered magic put on the meadow. That and then some more, as her widening eyes suggested.

"...is capable of depriving targets of both health and stamina. In the lower bracket of spells, it is hard to learn comparatively speaking yet easy to master."

Thoth grabbed a yellowing stamp out of thin air, giving it to the lizardwoman who took it with curiosity that soon turned into reverence.

Indeed, giving her that blessing was the right choice. But blessing... hmm. Time will tell if this doesn't mutate into a curse. "[Lesser Curse of Petrification I]...,"

The grass around him froze stiff, a layer of stone slowly creeping up the long stalks. With Thoth at the centre, the spell slowly worked its way through an ever-increasing radius until he stopped the mana supply and it ran out of juice.

"...is capable of petrifying the enemy and dealing with statues come to life. Or at crucial moments, the spell increases your defences drastically but makes you unable to move.

Remember, petrifying yourself is by far faster and easier than invading other organisms with your changed mana, forcing them to bow to your demands. Should be the easiest spell to learn for you."

Thoth sent a stone-covered clock Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit's way, sure she would know what to do with it. "Last for today, I will show you a spell of my own school. This shall be your ace in the hole.

Yet never use it without purpose. I won't sit by idly, seeing you tarnish my very reputation and culmination of sacred research. [Lesser Curse of Infection I]...,"

The surrounding lush meadow lost some colourful shades. That was all that happened. Nothing more seemed to have changed, though the lizardwoman was sure of her faulty perception.

There was something here that spat out warnings as a spring would water, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. Even the blessing didn't help.

Given the sudden enhancement Thoth had pulled off on her earlier, Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit was once more in awe. Part of her felt even more fearful, but the prevailing notion was one of drive and curiosity.

She'd like to make these spells her own, if only for the joy of grasping magic. Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit would like to understand, to glimpse upon guarded secrets barred until now.

"...is useful in laying traps." She waited some more, but Thoth didn't seem ready to tell her more. The lizardwoman couldn't help but feel somewhat dejected at this weak spell.

A trap that didn't do anything except set off warning bells wasn't that useless in her understanding. Most creatures had by far sharper instincts to be fooled this easily.

Thoth seemed to read her ridiculous thoughts and sighed. The simplest is mostly the scariest. Oh dear, she's a long road ahead. "Catch," a comic book sailed through the air, one she grabbed out of reflex.

Yet the moment her hand touched its rough surface featuring a sketch of an ill-looking feline, fear exploded from deep within her. Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit had to fight herself then and there, her mind and soul hardly under her control.

"This spell is the most difficult of all three. I don't expect you to learn it soon. In the worst case, you won't ever be able to as the secrets it contains shall test you.

No power must come at a mere snap of your fingers. Yet the moment you learn, come to me. Come and I shall teach you more and broaden your horizon with my research. Because it truly means we're fated."

She didn't hear him clearly, only the soothing tone of his otherwise bland voice told her what he talked about. How Thoth did that Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit would never understand.

Perhaps his voice was magic itself, rendering any form of miscommunication impossible? "Back to this spell. On higher levels, it lets the caster choose from a variety of ailments.

On the lower levels, it requires auxiliary items. A tube of whatever poison you think appropriate for the situation must be prepared in advance before you cast this spell.

I used an unprocessed drop of my blood, but you shouldn't do the same obviously." Thoth grabbed the empty air in front of him, penetrated space and once he yanked his hand out, there was a squirrel-like creature between his fingers.

Though it was severely outclassed, the critter furiously nibbled at the fingers in his reach, its screams bringing a headache upon the lizardwoman. The creature wasn't as innocent as it looked.

Thoth didn't entertain it for long before he threw it at the patch of meadow in front. The creature readied its tiny body to land on all fours, but the instant its six claws reached the ground, mist enveloped it and it rotted to bones in mere seconds.

Before Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit realised in its entirety what'd happened, the bones were liquified too, annihilating whatever clue there remained from the existence of the spell and its victim.

"With smart preparation, even the lower brackets allow you to take out the population of an entire realm. Nothing too strong, mind you.

Hardly of danger to trained creatures. Those with lots of energy contained within their bodies will most likely scoff at you. But by eradicating the offsprings, strong ones' future... Hehehe~."

Thoth's grotesque laughter sent shivers down her spine as Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit clung to the comic book as if she feared it'd open and poison everything in her surroundings.

"Of course, I expect these items back when you reach mastery." Thoth's reminder was totally useless, as she had already planned to do the same.

With items of such importance in her possession, Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit was sure she would hardly sleep at night for fear of theft or even stupider things.

This was because she knew very well she wasn't able to protect her things against whoever fancied them. The thought alone flooded her with pressure.

"The comic includes some...out of the box recipes you might find useful. For now, I suggest you train. Once you've proved yourself and gained recognition for your understanding, there will be more."

She will also have to...defeat this...what's it called again? Illness? Of hers. Her fears, worries and past. Baggage that mustn't weigh down anyone on the lookout for power lest it twists the mind into unrecognisable shapes and forms.

"This fight is yours alone. See it as a necessary challenge to overcome because you shall grow through it. Not because it's punishment you've got to survive somehow.

There is no need for fear or abhorrence in the face of a direct confrontation with what ails you. Again, your greatest enemy is yourself, not others. The former is impossible to escape from, the latter not so much."

With these words, Thoth was gone, leaving Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit to her own devices. What he could do as a lantern, he'd done. Now, the rest laid upon her shoulders.

Walking down some random hallways, Thoth focused on the thoughts leading to this decision. If anything, he could've disposed of the lizardwoman a freak accident washed on his shore.

She had nothing he fancied and was trouble. Plus, it wouldn't be that hard to find others to coach him and provide a second opinion on how he handled the baby.

Inconvenient perhaps. But not impossible nor unlikely. Yet he had none of it. Thoth gave her a chance. Good and evil is beneath me, so what led me to this decision? Karma alone was not the answer.

Thoth found himself standing in front of a hellscape depicting the first disastrous war between the abyss and hell. At that time, they swore only one would survive, so the whole event ended especially bloody.

"What are you telling me? That taking in others would lead to a bloodbath of epic proportions or that the lizardwoman is even worse news than I thought?"

Thoth continued walking. Her room encompasses an entire primitive world. Rules are especially stable there, so outside forces wouldn't gain anything from an invasion even if they knew the coordinates.

Last time I checked, there wasn't any sentient life on that overgrown rock. Yet Thoth knew that his check-ups happened so far apart that whatever he knew of a place would've become mostly unusable by the time he visited again.

The hallway he was following abruptly ended at a dead end. Except it wasn't so dead there, for statues of mighty warriors in scaly armour stood there in a semicircle, behind them a vibrant canvas featuring the depiction of a mind-blogging empire.

"Scrarr, the First Scaled. Emperor of the lizardmen who brought his people to great heights as well as back into the gutter. You telling me she's the same? Has the destiny of an emperor? Highly unlikely."

Thoth turned back, taking a different hallway at the first intersection he stumbled upon. He found himself amidst historic paintings of the catfolk, busts of important sages in their midst, bright minds and the lion royalty surviving the ups and downs of the passage of time.

Thoth knew of their history of course. He even remembered some events he'd assisted in person. So it was especially strange that in between the glorious chronological collection he discovered another giant canvas totally out of place.

Only two people were depicted. A lizardwoman and a female member of the catfolk embracing one another. No interest in the opposite sex? Thoth dismissed the first thought he got when seeing the canvas before it could open up a can of worms.

That was a question for much, much, MUCH later. If ever. She'd do well to challenge indigenous beasts. Thoth might have tried a bit too hard to change the direction of his thoughts, but it was at least somewhat effective.

He no longer had only these kinds of ideas swirling around. "The closer to my home, the less powerful creatures are. No reason for danger to get too comfortable right past my doorstep. I... might need to check up on that, though."

The canvas shook. "...are you pouting?" It shook again, this time fiercer. "Okay, okay. I understand the message. But...urgh. Fate's just a bitch."

Thoth paced up and down before the canvas, his head shaking from time to time as he twiddled his thumbs. "I mean," he came to a sudden standstill, "there are so many possibilities and then that? How?! ...why?"

He rubbed his horns some more than turned to the canvas and spoke with conviction. "The future is never set in stone. What I'm unhappy with can be mended now and shall thus never come to pass."

The canvas shook again and Thoth could swear he heard a quizzical giggle which was totally impossible. "You don't think I'd mess with fate just because? Oh, then you think wrong.

There is soooo~ little I wouldn't mess with if need be." Two fingers theatrically closed in on each other, stopping just a few millimetres before they would've met.

Aethernum didn't grace him with an answer and Thoth was somewhat relieved at that. Too much realism and his already cracking hopes would crumble away entirely.

He started walking again, away from this part of the castle and towards another less annoying corner he'd find time enough to cry himself to sleep until the baby rose.

A door suddenly opened on his way, revealing a puppet clad in impeccable service attire. "Milord," the pupped did a perfect 90° bow, "we've found your target."

"The Tiamat Ancestor? So soon?" "Yes, the esteemed immortal is no more, his remains entombed in the Graveyard of Stars." Thoth stopped, his face expressionless as he closed his eyes for some time.

"I see." He said. "I...see." Knowing of the death of yet another one of his close acquaintances didn't exactly brighten his day. "He was...tired. Young but...tired."

"The esteemed immortal fulfilled his role." "He did...? I have all the time to mourn later, but where do I find his blood?" "His descendants." The answer was very court, making Thoth look at the puppet closer.

Yet the inanimate features made his analysis questionable at best and the desire to pry meaningless. The puppet didn't move during all that time he looked at it.

If it ever showed any emotion or self-awareness, Thoth no longer had any way to know. He could actually take it apart, but then the little special something would be gone entirely, escaping even his grasp.

Yet was that something bad? Ancient he might be, but even Thoth didn't know the answer to everything. "...we're speaking in plural. His kind always had trouble procreating. He himself was...as barren as the Great Waste."

"A life for two, a most favourable trade." So that's how it is... "Anyway...where do I find them? Coordinates?" "Dragin is the realm's name and coordinates have been provided. An elder was informed of Milord's approximate arrival."

Indeed, self-awareness and freedom of thought are not malicious in their most basic form. Yet what is done on and to that basis begs to differ. I've to keep an eye on that one...and on the others too?

"Good work, you're dismissed." The puppet bowed once again and stepped back into the grey whirl that was found behind the open door.

Very timely. And very...problematic. Another round or possibly rounds of teleportation. My guts protest already. At least I'm not asked to break into this realm. Dragin...must be quite new?

Created less than fifteen millennia ago at least. Possibly his last work also. Thoth would go there and see if his suspicions were right on the money.

But later. Once the baby was fed, cuddled for a few rounds and then chipper again. It'd take some time, but that'd be his cue. As for the Tiamat Ancestor now gone, Thoth would have all the time to mourn once there.

He set course for his personal quarters. On the way there, he remembered a certain very inexperienced lizardwoman. Training would do her good, but an opportunity to experience the vast world out there was better.

Young folk in power were seldom smart, but he hoped that at least those lazy bones' lethargic genes would calm them down long enough for his eventual explanation to end. Dragons... Yet with the high elves as an example, the opposite didn't sound quite right either.

Between one door and the next, Thoth offhand decided to take Sa'nout Scarl Ri'kit with him. As a very remote descendant of the dragons, an adventure in that realm might help her out. And that overly restrictive, useless bloodline of hers.

As in...it's called Dragin. If there are no fucking dragons flying around, I shall rename the realm Traveller Piss Off or something. Realm Heap of Lies doesn't sound bad either. Or Realm Screw The Ancestor? That's...nasty.