Grumpily, Cale flew up the rock wall and shook himself. He liked the cold, but this was too much of a good thing. It was so cold in the mountains that even his hair was starting to get icy. His only advantage was the fact that he could keep warm with magic. This was another one of those moments when he was grateful to be able to title Aletta as his first teacher. Many of the things he had learned from her, he's been using his whole life. Only healing magic was something he had never bothered with. Since he had his Igrikum, he thought it unlikely that anyone in his care would actually get hurt. But inwardly, he had long since resolved to make up for this gap in his knowledge at some point.

It had been over a week since he had left Exarion and gone in search of the black dragon from his insight. Grischa, Aletta and William constantly tried to contact him, but Cale deliberately ignored them. He fully relied on the Eldest to ensure their safety while taking a risk for himself and the entire country. He didn't have much choice. If anything were to happen, then the Eldest would have to ensure the safety of Altona and Sylve if there really was a conflict between the dragons and Cale.

A thought that did not let him relax.

Elegantly, Cale flew over the top of the mountain range while releasing great masses of mana. For days now, he had been systematically working his way through the region in hopes of finding some sign of life, but to no avail. In a way, this fact relieved Cale, but at the same time he was filled with worry.

To this day, he could not tell if what he was doing was the right way to go. The incident with Grischa had caused him to completely lose his rationality, but in that one week he had a lot of time to think. About his relationship with Grischa and the Magistrat. About his four friends. About his life and, above all, about what he actually wanted to achieve. Since he had talked to the Eldest about his current situation, his biggest fear became more and more real.

The fear of starting his whole life over again.

Cale closed his eyes and sighed. Right now he wished he could talk to William or Grischa. To be able to tell someone how he really felt without hurting them, or rather hurting himself in the process. Cale was in constant conflict with himself. Since the second wave attack, Cale just didn't know what to do. It did him no good to spend the next few years focusing on building a capable fighting force that could take on the Dragon Queen. No. If he was truly a prisoner of this world, then it was just a waste of effort and time.

Cale would never find peace unless he addressed the root of the problem.

Demotivated, Cale opened his eyes again and shot up into the air. Mountain peaks spread out before him as Cale let his gaze glide over the cloud cover. It was strangely quiet up here and the wind was relentless, but there was something beautiful about it. Watching the sunrise this morning, Cale felt an unusual calm inside him, which is why he had simply stared at the sky for 15 minutes. It felt strange to take a short break in the hustle and bustle of his life.

Like a bright spot in the dark sky, he moved on and contemplated the world below. He couldn't see Exarion from up here, mostly because of the fog. It didn't look much better on the other side, as cloud cover was denser than ever in Sylve as well. Cale tried to find the place from his vision, but the mountain were infinitely far. It seemed simply impossible to discover here the place where he was in his insight. The only clue he had was the top of the mountains. How far west or east the dragons really lived, Cale did not know for sure.

And then he felt it. A strange, enormous source of mana that spread dominantly over the entire area. Instantly, Cale paused in place, letting his barrier appear around him as he fixed his gaze in the direction of the source. His heart was beating wildly and he could feel his throat going dry.

With a shaky hand, he tried to make out something in the darkness of the night, but only the mana showed him that someone was still up here. He could feel the mana pulsing and slowly but surely coming towards him. Fear came over Cale as he slowly slid toward the rocks. He was deathly afraid of the creature, all of it clearly converging on him, which is why he strengthened the barrier and let his own mana weaken. Inwardly, he already regretted staying here, if at that moment the voice of Damian would not report. He knew he had to get this encounter over with eventually, and even though he felt great dread, he had to go through it. It was the only way he had left to understand who he was and what was going on with him.

And then he saw it. The dragon.

A small, dark speck with broad wings was gently illuminated by the moon as it flapped its wings elegantly, letting the wind carry it. It was traveling just above the clouds and struggling rapidly upward, making Cale almost want to hide behind the rocks.

He had long since dropped his facade of the confident man, so frightened did he become at the sight of the dragon. Memories of his encounter with the Dragon Queen came flooding back and he couldn't help but swallow nervously. Tense, he grabbed his arm with his right hand and remained standing on the ledge, watching the majestic dragon. But it was not one of the two dragons he knew. The creature coming at him was dispensing a whole other kind of mana that Cale had only sensed on Holy Island, but there in masses. It was powerful, no question, but not as overpowering as the Dragon Queen herself.

The dragon was now at the same height as Cale and came at him with powerful wing beats. The dragon's gaze seemed to have noticed Cale as well, but not really being able to read the expression on his face, Cale began to ask the wildest of questions.

What if the dragon knew about his encounter with the dragon queen? What if it considered him an intruder and would immediately kill him? What would happen if Cale died again? Would he have to repeat the next 17 years again? The very thing he had always wanted to avoid, until now? Had it been a mistake to approach the dragons so unprepared? Should he have taken a different, safer route or brought reinforcements? Should he have thought the whole thing through better?

Unwittingly, Cale took a step back while only about 100 meters separated him from the dragon. The dragon, however, had covered the distance in a few seconds, that's how fast it was moving.

All his life, he had always been afraid of ever meeting a dragon again. He felt ice-cold at the frightening sight that presented itself to him and unintentionally recalled the feeling of his first death. The only reason he remained standing was the small spark of hope he carried within him. The only clue he had about his current situation.

With a loud bang, the dragon dropped to the top and dug his long claws into the hard stone, causing the ground to shake briefly. It slowed its landing with a few forceful flaps of its wings, knocking down large boulders as it hurled dust in Cale's direction.

"A human!", the dragon shouted loudly. Cale flinched and stared in fear into the dragon's bright eyes. Like a lizard, it opened and closed them as it fixed its gaze on Cale and moved its head closer. Two prominent, short horns decorated the narrow face, which looked menacingly down at Cale. "I haven't seen any humans around here for so long. That is close to a miracle!"

Cale took a step back as the face paused barely two feet in front of him. The dragon before him was about four meters tall and covered in dark, shimmering blue scales. Its eyes were as bright as the moon itself, and its voice led Cale to suspect it was a female.

"Good evening", Cale announced softly, and could feel the dragon breathing before him. Despite his barrier, he felt like the dragon was moving all over the ground he was standing on. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and a feeling of nausea came over him. It had been a long time since Cale had felt this sensation.

The feeling of being powerless.

"And it's talking! This must be my luckiest day!", the unexpectedly cheerful female voice spoke up, which only increased Cale's nervousness. "What are you doing here, human child?"

The dragon sniffed at him like a predator picking up the scent of his victim. Cale remained upright in front of the dragon, not daring to show even a hint of disrespect. He in no way wanted to anger a dragon, and was therefore very grateful to have been offered the chance to speak at all. No, rather, he was glad to be alive. Cale doesn't know what he would have done if he woke up back in Groka the next moment.

"I'm looking for one of your kind", Cale explained calmly, and could see the dragon pull its head back and straighten up.

"You're looking for a dragon? What a turn of events. Whom?", the dragoness inquired curiously, spreading her wings. "Oh, how rude of me! I should introduce myself, shouldn't I? I have been told that's how it's usually done among humans, isn't it? My name is Fengari."

Perplexed by the dragon's manner, Cale remained frozen for a moment before swallowing nervously and speaking up as well.

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Caleb Leuen."

Simultaneous with the statement, Cale bowed to the majestic being. His head was in battle with his heart. There was a flurry of emotions. Fear, despair, hatred and hope were fighting with each other, but a new feeling announced itself at that moment: curiosity.

It was his curiosity about the dragon's unexpectedly open behavior that calmed his heartbeat and made him think clearly.

"I'm looking for a dragon that may be up here. I'm afraid I don't know its name, but it's as black as the night itself", Cale explained a little more calmly than before, rising again.

"A black dragon with no name? That's a pretty poor description. We don't pay much attention to something so trivial, so I can't help you. But...", the large dragoness began, ducking forward. Her bright eyes were now on a level with Cale's, and were peering at him in delight. "... I know someone who can tell."

"Would you mind telling me where that someone is?", Cale gave to word, as he continued to make sure he kept his posture and didn't let his Igrikum weaken.

"Even better, I can take you there!",Fengari announced loudly. After the statement, the dragon laid down on the ground in front of him, which Cale just watched in shock. Was the dragon just offering him what he was thinking? "Get on, you humans are way too slow and I want to know quickly who this dragon is you are looking for. My siblings avoid humans, after all."

"Are you... sure?", Cale replied skeptically. The whole situation seemed strange to him, mostly because he thought the dragon would attack him. But the complete opposite was the case. The dragon even offered her help. Was this really the possibility or was he walking straight into a trap? How safe would he be if he accepted the dragon's offer? The being who were responsible for the downfall of humanity? The being that was responsible for his first death?

"Of course, of course. Go ahead!", Fengari urged him again. Not once in his 300 years had Cale expected to do what he was doing. Hesitantly, he approached the blue dragon and lowered his barrier. As he extended his hand, he first noticed that his nervousness had not abated at all. Carefully, he worked some magic and took off as he gently slid over the dragon's scales and finally took a seat. The skin was rough and hard as stone, as Cale could feel it with his hand. As Fengari jerked upright, Cale pressed forward in surprise and reached for the large horns protruding from the dragon's head.

"I'm the fastest among us, so you'd better hold on tight", the dragoness announced euphorically, turning her whole body around and pushing herself firmly off the ground.