Path of Dragons 17 - Chapter 43 - Convergent Priorities (Patreon)

“He’s a little young for this, isn’t he?” asked Maya, the chief Engineer in charge of the Vengeance’s fuel cells.  She had helped design everything on that level, including the massive tanks that kept the liquified ethera mostly inert and the network of pipes meant to deliver it where it was needed. 

And considering that the entire ship ran on ethera, that meant she was one of the most important people in Orveth Kaal.  More importantly, Elijah liked her.  She had a no-nonsense attitude that reminded him of Carmen, though she was far less prone to insulting him.

Elijah had met her at the beginning of the expedition, but he wouldn’t have said that he knew her – not until they had bumped into one another in one of the Vengeance’s curated parks.  It was located on the surface of the sky island, nestled in the center of Elijah’s forest.  It differed from its surroundings in that it was wholly controlled, right down to the last bush. 

To Elijah, it was reminiscent of Druid’s Park back in Ironshore, though it lacked the presence of an ancestral tree at the center.  Instead, someone had built a sizable fountain that seemed to attract people looking to unwind. 

The park was also popular place for couples looking for a little privacy.

If Elijah had known that, he never would’ve brought Callux there.  In his ignorance, he’d treated it just like any other park, meaning that he assumed it was a good place for the orcish child to let loose and have some fun.  Elijah had even had someone make a baseball and a pair of gloves.

In retrospect, it was a silly thing.

There was no reason to think playing catch was a good idea.  Not only was Callux already much stronger than a pre-World Tree human, but he also lacked the cultural understanding that made the act special.  Still, Elijah had played catch with his father, and he’d hoped to do the same with the young orc.

That lasted right up until Callux sent the baseball sailing high into the air.  It never actually landed, instead going over the edge of the Vengeance.  By now, it had probably disintegrated somewhere near the core.

Only then had Elijah reunited with Maya, who’d helpfully explained the adapted purpose of the park.  That was when he really looked around, only to find multiple couples looking at him like he’d gone crazy.

Which was fair.

His only defense for bringing a child to what amounted to the ship’s equivalent of the oft-used “makeout point” trope was that he just didn’t know any better.  And no one had thought to warn him, largely because Callux was the only child aboard the ship.

Maya got quite a lot of amusement out of that.

It was a bonding moment that had sparked a comfortable friendship that Elijah desperately needed.  After all, other than Miguel, none of his other friends or family were in Orveth Kaal at the moment. 

Well, Palikina was around, but nobody ever really saw her.  Instead, she stayed hidden.  For all Elijah knew, she was lurking somewhere nearby, keeping an eye on things. 

But he didn’t want to think about that.

Instead, he considered the weeks that had followed that ill-fated trip to the park.  As they’d struck up a friendship, Maya had let him know about the ship’s training facilities.  They weren’t perfect for playing with Callux, but they were the best on offer.

It wasn’t as if the ship had been built with children in mind, after all. 

Either way, that was how they found themselves leaning against a railing and watching as one of the Warriors ran Callux through some drills.  The young orc was hilariously distractable, and he definitely wasn’t doing things properly.  However, he also possessed a natural sense of aggression that made him quite competitive.

The only problem was that when he got frustrated with his own inability to do what was asked of him, he resorted to wild flailing.  Against someone of his level, it would be effective, too.  But against a demigod Warrior like the ones in charge of the training facility?  He was hopelessly outmatched.

That only served to frustrate the child even further.

“From what I understand, kids in the Empire of Scale begin training from the moment they can walk,” Elijah revealed.  Clearly, some took to it better than others, but that was no surprise.  Even in a place like the empire, there existed variations of talent.  Some people were just naturally inclined to fighting, while others’ time was better spent in less combative pursuits.

“By the time dragons become sapient, they’re ascendents, right?” she asked.

“Wasn’t really talking about them,” Elijah answered, scratching his beard.  “Serpentors actually make up the bulk of the empire’s population, and most of them develop on a similar timescale to humans.”

“Like Imal and Okar.”

“Right,” Elijah replied.

“But they’re…a lower caste, aren’t they?” she asked.

“They are.  So are drakes.  Dragons are at the top, but even then, it’s stratified.  Mostly by power, but people like me – with granted cores – are at the bottom,” he explained.  That didn’t so much bother him, at least not as much as thinking about serpentors.  The worst part about it was that even occupying the lowest rung of draconic society was better than living just about anywhere else in the multi-verse.

Or that was what people said.

His eyes told a different story, though.  Sure, they had amenities.  No one starved.  No one was homeless.  People had the opportunity to progress.  But to Elijah, it still felt worse than living somewhere like Earth, where people were far less stratified.  Sure, humanity – and the other settlers who’d come to his planet – had plenty of issues.  Lots of them.  But no one race stood above the rest, saying they were inherently superior.

That counted for something, at least in his mind.  Maybe it was just hope that, on Earth, one could rise above it all.  But in the Empire of Scale?  A person could only rise as high as their race dictated.

“What does that mean for him?”

Maya’s question cut right through Elijah’s thoughts, cutting to the heart of the matter.  “I’m not sure,” he admitted.  That simple statement hung in the air, an unsatisfying answer to a very meaningful question. 

At best, the empire would see him as a half-scale, not unlike Elijah.  But his orcish heritage could change things.  Certainly, his abnormal birth and the way Elijah had granted him a core would add further complications.  Sometime soon, he would need to address the subject, but for now, they were insulated within the ancestral world.  He intended to keep that protection intact for a while longer.

For now, he refocused on Callux, who was wrestling with his instructor for the day.  She was obviously much stronger than him, but she didn’t use that to her advantage.  Instead, she was focused entirely on technique.

Difficult, when Callux seemed less concerned with doing things properly and more worried about winning at any cost.

He even tried to bite the trainer.

The attempt didn’t break the skin, but it was clearly a violation of the rules of engagement.  She let it go, though.  He was still just a baby, and he didn’t really understand when he’d overstepped.

One day, he would, though.

For now, the idea was to tucker him out in a productive way. 

Elijah had tried to do it himself, but the reality was that he just wasn’t that good of a fight instructor.  Maybe once Callux got a little older, he could understand Elijah a little better, but for now, he leaned on a professional for that.

That wasn’t to say that they didn’t roughhouse.  As Callux had grown more comfortable with Elijah – or discovered that he wasn’t in danger from the big, scary dragon – they’d established a precedent for rough play.  Elijah had to admit that he had fun during those sessions, but that feeling was subordinate to the fear that he would go overboard and hurt the little orc.

It was probably unfounded.

Callux was far more durable than he should’ve been, even taking his cultivation into account. 

Maybe that was the orc in him.  Or the dragon.  The World Tree’s influence, perhaps.

Elijah had no idea, but he was grateful for it.  He was also curious to see how Callux would develop going forward, because if he kept along a normal progression curve, he’d end up even more durable than Bogoni – which was saying something. 

“What are you doing after this?” Elijah asked.

“You mean, after my workout?”

He shrugged.

“Work.  Always work.”

That was the thing about Maya.  The only reason she’d even met Elijah was because of her mandated non-work hours.  Without that dictate from the Captain, she would’ve stayed down in the engineering level at all times.  Now, she’d begun to venture out into the ship as a whole, and she had decided to use that time productively.

Not surprising.  She didn’t seem to have many interests outside of work.

In her case, productive meant running through combat drills with some of the Warriors.  As a non-combatant, she was woefully outmatched – especially without any of the tools common to Engineers.  However, according to her, that was the point.  She wanted them to push her because, in her words, “Nobody ever said the dragons couldn’t send assassins in here.”

And she was right.  The Vengeance was buttoned up pretty tight, but there was always the chance that someone with a stealth-based class could succeed in an infiltration mission.  Perhaps someone already had and was feeding information back to Bas’eltion.

There was no way any of them would know.

So, with that in mind, everyone had taken precautions.  From an engineering perspective, that meant checking and double checking every system at multiple points throughout the day.  Those spot checks were meant to find sabotage, but they’d also been instrumental in discovering the flaws in the system.

Most of the non-combatants worked on self-defense as well, and almost everyone carried some sort of personal protection equipment on their bodies.  Usually, they were low-grade shields tied to jewelry, only meant to turn a killing blow into something non-lethal, and they were far from foolproof.  A deity could get through them quite easily.

But there was a chance that those devices could save lives, and that was enough for wearing them to become common practice.

It was a good thing, as far as Elijah was concerned.  Any defense was better than none.

“You shouldn’t push yourself so hard,” Elijah advised.

“You’re one to talk.”

“Fair,” he acknowledged. 

“So, what about you?”

“Thinking of heading out to another satellite colony,” he admitted.  “Just not sure if I should take Callux with me.  I don’t know if I should interrupt his routine.”

“You want my advice?”

He shrugged.

“Do it.  That kid’s not normal, and I think you trying to give him a normal childhood is going to be…well, disaster is the word that comes to mind.  Embrace the weirdness of it,” she said.  “Besides, you said he’s nature attuned, right?”

“Sort of,” Elijah answered.  Nature was definitely in there, but it wasn’t the only strong attunement.  There were other pieces of the orc’s identity that shone through at least as brightly.  Doubtless, that had to do with his origin.

“Then a weird fungus cave is probably heaven to him, right?” Maya suggested.  “But I wouldn’t go alone.”

“Think Miggy would want to come?”

“Miggy,” she sighed.  “Nobody else calls him that.”

“What do you call him?”

“Boss.  Chief.  Jefe.”

Elijah shook his head.  It was odd, thinking that Miguel had such a reputation.  He remembered when his nephew was just a little kid, unawakened and riding a giant turtle in the middle of an oasis.  Now, he was old enough to be a grandfather.

“Time really does fly, doesn’t it?”

“Seems that way,” she acknowledged.  “But to answer your question, I’d say that he would definitely go with you.  He seems a bit restless of late.  Maybe take his friend, too.”

“Trevor?  I don’t think Miggy goes anywhere without –”

“No.  The sniper.”

For a second, Elijah didn’t know who she was talking about.  Then, suddenly, he realized that she was referring to Gunnar.  “I didn’t even know he was here, honestly.”

“He doesn’t move from his perch very often,” she said, pointing vaguely upward.  “But he’s always around.”

“Hmm.”

Just then, the trainer called for a halt.  That probably had something to do with Callux’s fighting technique losing what little cohesion he’d managed to instill, and he’d reverted to a style reminiscent of a wild animal.

That was usually a good sign that he was tired.

“Maybe it’ll be good for all of us, then,” Elijah said, intending to go see Miguel, then Gunnar.  Maybe even Palikina could come along – assuming he could find her.