The port city of Opebb. A place said to have the likeness of a resplendent jewel. It shone garishly along the coastal waters of the Blinking Sea. The laws here were very simple—coin by way of hand, weakness be more damned. No matter what flavor of degeneracy or how conscienceless the craving it could be found. Opportunities for consumption and greed ran aplenty. A constant stream of bodies, fresh-faces, and fools alike, all bent within the gears of that apparatus.

Thanks in no small part to the vice-like grip of a young girl, the opaque Marble was brought to such a crossroads.

"Good sir! Madam! Might you be interested in perusing some of these fine items over here?" A fat necked gourd of a man hurriedly ushered to a family of rich-looking passersby from his street stall.

The sir to this oinker would-be hawker wore an expensive overcoat and took a brief, side-wise look in passing. The display of low-quality items nearly made him scoff in annoyance. That is until his attention was caught by the perfectly round, opaque gemstone.

"You there," the rich man gestured to the gemstone, "how much for that- most fascinating object?"

The springs and levers in the piggish merchant's brain were firing off as he spoke, "Erm, that old, tarnish- I mean, you've got a good set of eyes! Tell ya' what, if you buy two sacks of my Never-Spoil Grain, I'll let it go for-" he calculated with a squint, "3, yes 3 gold coins! I'm feelin' all sorts of generous! Haha, what a great day!"

The rich man wasn't pleased, but all the same, paid. He was just starting to leave with the gemstone when the merchant cleared his throat from behind. "Don't forget the sacks, wouldn't want a dissatisfied customer, if you take my meaning."

"Prunie," he said to another man behind his family, "pick up those sacks, we'll dispose of them later."

The smug merchant bowed as he watched them leave towards the docks, almost afraid they would return and demand a refund.

--

Some days later, on the pitch-black waters of the Blinking Sea, the ship, Crooning Over, was under attack by pirates. An alarm of clanging chimes and whistles blared out on deck as the clash for control ensued. The rich man was huddled behind some crates while the fighting raged around him. Men shouted and fell, the pirates came with absolute victory in mind. He even witnessed his wife fall dead to the planks with a heavy slash across her throat. Despite that, most of his attention was still on the smooth Marble in his palm.

The combat was quickly decided. Every pirate, even those wounded, let out a combined cheer-shout. Soon after, the darkened waters reverted back to a clear blue-green color.

Entranced, but cowering in fear, he chanced a peek through an overlap of crates. On the other side, another eye met his in surprise. A filthy, smelly pirate pushed the crates aside and tossed him out of hiding. With that, the Marble came loose from his never-worked fingers during the sudden fall and went bouncing along the boards.

It was stopped by a boot, the [Pirate Captain's] boot. He bent over to appraise the cloudy gemstone, bringing it up to eye level between two grimy fingers. As he was awe-struck by his prize the boat lurched to one side, sending an unsteady subordinate into him. The impact jostled the captain and caused his grip to slacken. The Marble flew past the guardrail and went overboard.

The sound of silence soon overtook the anger and violence up above, all the while, the Marble sank ever deeper. Along its trajectory downward, a large [Tortoise] swam into the path and summarily snapped it up and laboriously continued on.

--

Weeks later, on the other shore of the Blinking Sea, the crew of a fishing vessel was reeling their nets back in. The [Tortoise] was caught within them and came along upward. Its bulk took great effect on the rope winches as the boat groaned with the threat to capsize. However, these boats were designed to challenge the massive potential of the wide-open seas after all. With little wonder- but perhaps more than just a little elbow grease- it was finally brought on board to the well-worn happiness of all.

Various parts of the [Tortoise] made landfall and went to different places in-land. Though, the main bulk of it ended up in a stately manor, on a long dining room table. The lavish scene of many rare and exotic dishes was on full display, a show of rich decadence.

Afterward, the scraps were tossed out, whereby a drunken fellow booted the Marble as he stumbled about. It spun through the air and fell in the midst of a nearby caravan of wagons. A [Musician] stood idly by and saw it land. Taken by its charm, she swiftly pocketed the Milken oddity. Eventually, the wagon train got moving. They passed from city to city, selling goods and resting within the walls after a weary journey before it was on to the next—the next being Groanmarket.

Just before entering those looming gates, a [Thieving Magpie] pecked a hole through the [Musician's] unattended backpack. It took flight with the Marble, further off and into the hillside past Groanmarket. It flew ever farther towards the vast mountain chain called Milowix's Finger, more specifically, a smaller portion therein by the name of Drake's Tail Range.

Vissitri sat at the very top of a sheer mountain, whose face was as steep as his own gaze was longing. His pinkish-red eyes were narrowed and his emerald forktail waggled to and fro in an erratic fashion. Days had passed since noticing the weak presence of his kin. It took two more days still for the snail-speed visitor to close the distance to here and now.

The strangest thing was the idea of familiarity he got from the innate-sense that all [Carbuncles] shared—mysterious in nature, it was a force of awareness to one another, across great distances. Vissitri was disinclined to pay it any particular mind now, the excitement of meeting a new relative being so close at hand and all. His fluffy head came to rest on his front paws while the violet gem on his forehead pulsed more vibrantly.

From his perch on this outcast mountain there was an unobstructed view for miles in every direction. It was a herald to the infamous mountain range to come—Milowix's Finger. His mind was about to wander when the outline of a bird of prey took shape through the cloud cover. The form of the creature was instantly recognizable from here, a [Grion], the smaller cousin of [Griffons]. It clutched a sizable prize between its two talon ended feet as it descended into clear view.

The violet gem on Vissitri's forehead flared out as his invisibility fell away. His [Barrier Magic] spread out to cover a humongous portion of the airspace. The dome went imperiously into the sky and overtook the [Grion] within. It squawked out a loud challenge and began banging itself against the entrapment over and over again to regain freedom. That was ineffectual and only served to wear the [Grion] out. The barrier was barely noticeable at all—to the untrained eye. One would never know they were completely under his control.

All that needed to be done now was to shrink the barrier, cage the [Grion], and get the mangled carcass out of its grasp. That plan went smoothly until the [Grion] took notice of him. An angry and resentful screech rang clear as it folded in those powerful wings to divebomb the tiny green speck below.

The [Grion] was not a very smart creature. With no indication and no warning, it went splat against an invisible wall, much to the chagrin of Vissitri. The badly carved piece of meat came loose from the bird's slacken grip, but he was ready with another barrier to catch it right away. The familiar presence of his kin was there, inside the dead creature's stomach.

One of Vissitri's claws came out; with one fluid motion, he cut an opening to its interior. He made a barrier to surround himself with that worked like a Trocar to push offal, blood, and guts out of the way. Fluids passed overhead and out of the incision during his continuation to make progress and elongate the tunnel. Soon, the beast's stomach was in front of him. He carefully made a slice in the outer wall which slowly parted to reveal an opaline gem.

Vissitri sent a mental message to the gem. Brother? Sister? Are you well? Can you understand me?

His ears sagged just a bit after getting no reply. All the same, he brought it out of the creature within a cradle of barriers. As the last of the macabre scene of innards, and just when Vissitri was about to ponder what to do, a voice spoke from the gem.

[I am the Dragon Aubirmourn and I thank you for releasing me from that fetid pit, Carbuncle. Though, I do wonder if it may cost me... Unless your only desire was to help?]

It was time for Vissitri to be bewildered. His features were equal parts skepticism and awe. The gem wasn't a [Carbuncle] in a mid-formation state, it housed an actual Dragon's Soul inside.

How? I mean, why is your presence so similar to Qui... I mean a certain someone? Oh-Oh! I apologize Aubir; can I call you that? My name is Vissitri!

He proudly patted his own chest while standing on his back legs with a well-pleased expression. Powerful laughter was shared through their connection. Aubirmourn spoke,

[If you would call me Aubir, then I shall call you Little Vissi. Though, you may call me Bilal if it pleases you. It seems you may be able to help me after all. This Qui... I seek this 'certain someone' from your words. You see, he and I share a connection—truthfully, he is my disciple. He calls me Master; will you take me to him?]

Every hair on Vissitri's body stood on end. The hidden power of Aubir's trust in him was not to be mistaken for a weakness.

Are you kidding? Of course I will! Actually, I was just out looking for Quintin when I felt your presence. It's scarily similar. Almost as if... as if-

Vissitri trailed off as the pieces came together. The shape of a gem that held the soul of a Dragon was curiously small and was the first piece of the puzzle. The second was the fact that the aura from both the gem and Quintin was nearly identical. The third being the shape of the gem and the fact that Quintin was missing his left eye.

You didn't- and a brief moments later, Did you?

[It is as you may have guessed- I was already dying, dead really. What I wanted more than anything was to watch over my precious disciple for a few more years. Crazily, I expended the last of my magic for a small chance of success—I condensed my soul down into this state and made it to mimic his sightless left eye.]

Oh-Oh! You have to tell me more! Though I get the sense your patience is running low... Let's go find Quintin together!

A [Carbuncle] and- as fate would have it- Quintin's left eye and Master, quickly departed while speaking on secrets both old and new.