Path of Dragons 17 - Chapter 21 - The Power of a Hug (Patreon)

It was a very good hug.

Almost good enough to distract Eli from the choice he’d just made.  In reality, there had never been any other option.  He hadn’t even  hesitated before embracing Kirlissa, both in physical as well as metaphorical terms. 

The fact was that a dragon core offered more power than he could ever dream of attaining on his own.  If there was one thing that had been hammered home throughout his training, over and over again, it was that dragons stood above everyone else.  Not in some vague sense, either.  Their cores literally granted them significantly more power.  Only the other elder races could compete.

Or what was left of them. 

Most had long since gone extinct.  Or devolved into something more mundane, as had been the case with hobgoblins.  Worse yet was what had happened to ogres, who had gone from galaxy-conquering lords of war to dull creatures barely capable of manual labor.  Some wouldn’t even trust them with that.

Sure, there were exceptions.  Smart ogres.  Big and powerful goblins.  Mechaniques who’d managed to not only survive when most of their race had perished, but had maintained their identities instead of succumbing to machine-like existences who’d lost their connection to whatever counted for a spirit among them.  The angels and demons were even worse, having embraced their war to such an extent that it had completely subjugated their collective identities. 

By now, their civilizations had become caricatures of themselves, with both sides rejecting any possibility that their worldview might have been skewed.  According to Tura, their situations represented the worst possible scenario for any race. 

“Even being a dull ogre would be preferable to those poor existences,” she’d stated.

Eli couldn’t help but agree.  The fall of ogres and goblins might’ve been horrifying to some, but at least they weren’t dangerous.  Meanwhile, both angels and demons had the capacity to completely destroy the entire multiverse.  Ironically, the only thing keeping either side in check was the fanaticism of the other side.

Never would the angels rule while the demons lived.  And vice versa.

The Court of Light and the Unbound Ascendency were two sides of the same grotesque coin, and neither would give way to the other.

Even with political strife and civil war on the horizon, the Empire of Scale was a picture of healthy discourse, at least compared to that quagmire. 

Not that any of that truly mattered to Eli.  To the degree that it affected him, he certainly cared.  However, if an angel had come calling and offered him an elder core, he would have leaped at that chance as well.  As far as he was concerned, it was a person’s character that determined who they became.  Not their attunement.  Not their core.  Not even their circumstances.

Though he had to admit that, at the end of the day, all of those factors served as levers for a person’s actions.  The final choice came down to who they were, though.  Anything else was a forfeiture of autonomy. 

Eli was his own man.  No one else controlled his life but him.

Not even his parents, though they probably would have argued otherwise.  Certainly, his grandmother would.

In any case, he hadn’t hesitated after receiving Kirlissa’s task.  In fact, he threw his arms around her so quickly that it surprised even her.  However, it didn’t take her more than an instant to return the hug.  Her arms wrapped around him, and as they embraced, he sank into her presence in a way that almost overwhelmed his sense of self.

When she finally released him, he felt like a changed man – literally.  The few aches and pains he’d carried with him had disappeared, and his mind felt clearer than it ever had.

Such was the power of a transcendent, he supposed.

“Is…is that it?” he asked.

“Of course not,” she answered.  “I am holding your reward at bay until you can prepare.”

“Will it hurt?”

“Most assuredly,” Kirlissa replied.  “You won’t be conscious to feel it, though.”

Eli was almost disappointed.  He was endlessly curious about how the body changed during cultivation.  He’d already witnessed his own transformation – twice – but the core was something else altogether.  It would change his very race, which had to come with some interesting changes to the biological truths of his anatomy. 

Yet, he wasn’t so curious that he wanted to endure what would likely be a significant degree of agony.  He could manage pain well enough, but that didn’t mean he would seek it out.  Like any sane person, he intended to avoid it when possible.

“What do I need to do?” he asked.

“Lie down,” she answered, gesturing to the bed.  “I would prefer not to have to pick you up.”

Eli nodded, then climbed onto the bed.  Usually, he slept in just his underwear, but he didn’t think undressing in front of the eons-old transcendent would be appropriate.  Or welcome.  So, still clothed, he lay back, his hands draped across his stomach with his fingers interlaced. 

“Are you prepared to become a dragon?” she asked.

“I am.”

A notification flashed before Eli’s inner eye, but before he could read it, a tidal wave of agonizing pain washed over him.  In less than a second, it had narrowed down to a spot just below his heart, but somehow existing in another reality.

He’d always wondered what it would feel like to have a core, and more than once, he’d been tempted to go against Birk’s and Tura’s dictate to avoid cultivating one.  Now, he recognized the reason. 

Regardless, he didn’t have a chance to explore it properly before the pain ceased and he was thrust violently into unconsciousness. 

Thankfully, he didn’t dream.  Or if he did, he failed to remember it when he awoke some time later.  Unfortunately, there was no sign of Kirlissa.  Instead, he felt Tura’s familiar presence beside him. 

He shifted, then turned his head to see the old drake sitting in a chair that hadn’t been there when he’d passed out.  A small cauldron floated before her, emitting an enticing smell. 

“Stop staring, boy.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Bah.”

She looked up, a mixture of regret and excitement passing through her eyes.  Then, at last, she said, “Welcome to the Empire of Scale, young dragon.”

Eli didn’t respond.  Instead, he focused on the notification he had received the second he awoke:

The first was:

Congratulations!  You have cultivated a Dragon Core.  Current stage: Hatchling

The next was expected:

You have reached the first threshold.  Current stage: Cultivator

Despite having gotten the other aspects of cultivation to the second stage, he hadn’t managed to reach the first threshold.  Now that his new dragon core had reached the Hatchling stage, he’d attained the title of Cultivator.

“It is a monumental achievement for one so young,” Tura said.  “Of course, dragons and drakes both reach that stage before reaching sapience.  So, you are almost as advanced as a sentient lizard.  Congratulations, boy.”

Eli didn’t acknowledge her not-so-subtle dig.  Partly, because it applied to her as well.  She had begun her life like all drakes and dragons.  The only difference between them was that upon attaining sapience, she hadn’t formed a dragon core.  Instead, her core had developed differently. 

Undeniably, it would still be strong.  But not as powerful as a true dragon core.  Nor would it be as potent as that of any other elder race.  Rather, it would be somewhere in between.  Not quite as mundane as something an average human might develop, but not on the same level as a dragon’s.

“Why hasn’t Prosperity ever granted you a dragon core?” he asked, suddenly concerned for his teacher.

“You think I want one, hmm?”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

“Do you want the truth?  Or would you prefer the lies we all tell one another and anyone who will ask?”

“Both?”

“Good boy,” she said.  “Let’s start with the lie.  If you asked any drake that question, they would give you the same answer as all the rest.  We don’t want dragon cores because it implies that we aren’t good enough. That the people we have become are somehow less than dragons.”  She paused for a moment.  “Do you see the problem?”

“You are.  We all are. That’s undeniable,” he said.  The system made sure of that.  There was no ambiguity there.  No questions.  Dragon cores were simply better.  “But that doesn’t speak to their worth as people.  Just the base power they wield.”

“To many, those are one and the same.”

“So, that’s the lie.  Told so you don’t have to face the reality of comparative weakness?”

She nodded.  “Now, the truth.  We don’t take dragon cores because we can’t.”

“What do you mean?”

She waved her hand, and the cauldron disappeared.  “Three issues,” she answered.  “One is predictable, and I would be disappointed if you didn’t figure it out.  The other is systemic.  And the third is related but no less predictable, given the circumstances.  So – I put it to you: what is the first reason?”

Eli frowned.  It only took a second before he recognized the problem. “You can’t get an elder core if you’ve already developed one on your own,” he answered.  That was why they’d prevented him from cultivating one himself.  They knew Kirlissa would offer him the opportunity. 

“Mostly right,” she said, giving him one of her grandmotherly smiles.  “It is much more difficult to do once someone has developed a core.  Note that I did not say impossible, though.  It does become much more difficult with every stage, and by the time someone reaches the third, it truly would be impossible.  Or close enough that it doesn’t matter.  No one has the power to do it.”

“What are the other two reasons?”

“Both stem from pride,” she answered.  “Pride of self.  Pride of dragons.  Pick one, and you’d be right.  From the dragons’ perspective, drakes had their chance.  We failed.  That is the little disappointment at the root of ever drake’s existence.  We aren’t just worse according to our cores.  We are worse because of the original failure.  No dragon would waste enough power to grant a core for someone who’s already proven unworthy of it.”

“The lie isn’t really a lie, is it?”

“It’s not,” Tura answered.  “That is the third reason.  Drakes have pride, too, boy.  We all wish to prove that our original failure will not define us.  In some cases, it has driven people to great heights of power.  Even now, some drakes stand among dragons as equals.”

A steaming mug of liquid appeared in her hand.  “Sit up, boy.  Drink this.”

Eli took it from her, then drank deeply.  It only took him a moment to recognize it as Crying Dragon coffee, though heavily sweetened with honey. 

“That boy might be an idiot, but he knows coffee,” Tura muttered, obviously referring to Elijah.  She had a love-hate relationship with him, meaning that she would do anything for Eli’s great-uncle, but she was often infuriated by his antics. 

According to Eli’s grandmother, that was just part of Elijah’s charm.  The last part of that statement was always accompanied by air quotes, though.

In any case, Tura only waited long enough for Eli to finish the cup of coffee before she reminded him that he had a choice to make. 

“My class!” he half shouted as he practically leaped out of bed.

“Calm down, boy!” Tura admonished.  “The Branch will still be there if you arrive a few minutes later.”

That slowed him down, but Eli still found it difficult to contain his excitement as she escorted him out of the compound.  Along the way, he couldn’t help but notice a few of the other students’ curious glances.  Clearly, they knew something had happened.  They just weren’t sure what might have changed.

Perhaps they would look at him with even more suspicion if they knew he was now a dragon, if an underdeveloped one.  Or if they had any inkling that Prosperity herself – the ruler of the very planet upon which they stood, as well as many more besides – had visited him.

Jealousy might’ve been a more appropriate response.

In any case, Tura didn’t let him dawdle, and soon enough, they were riding her cloud up to Ashakar.  The way never failed to impress Eli, and he found himself gawking at the floating city.  Not only at the buildings, the fountains, waterfalls, and everything else, but also at the vast, forest that stretched in every direction.

Tura didn’t waste any time on sightseeing, though.  Soon enough, they’d pushed through the clouds and into the upper city.  Eli had only visited that part of Ashakar a couple of times, so he still found the ostentatious setting to be both novel and endearing. 

However, this close to his destination, Eli didn’t need Tura’s prompting to hurry along.  So, it wasn’t long before they found their way to the Branch compound.

And it was a compound.

The whole facility hosted not only the main Branch, but hundreds of smaller Branches that served the entire city. 

Thankfully, that meant that they didn’t have to wait long before it was his turn to access. 

Tura waited at the entrance as he stepped forward and placed his hand on the small crystalline tree.  There, he received his class options. 

Idly, he considered the fact that, during Earth’s initial phase of integration, Branches weren’t necessary for someone to choose their class.  That wasn’t the case on settled worlds.  Nor was it like that on Earth anymore. 

When he’d asked Tura about it, she’d scoffed at his lack of reasoning skills and told him to think it through.  Soon after, he’d realized that the restriction had been lifted on newly integrated worlds because, otherwise, no one would be able to get a class.  After all, it took a Branch Envoy to grow a Branch in the first place.

Eli didn’t dwell on that for long before the Branch confirmed that he’d reached level ten and had more than thirty class options before him. 

They ranged from Clinician to Soldier, with everything in between.  However, he only had eyes for a single option, and he chose it without even a second’s hesitation:

You have chosen to become a Battle Warden (Healer archetype).