14-67. A Rare Thing

“What the hells are you?” demanded Okar, having somehow gotten past the guards and into Elijah’s dressing room. The little halfling stood in the center of the space, his arms crossed and a stern expression on his face.

“They just let anyone in here, don’t they? I thought you lost backstage privileges when I beat you,” Elijah remarked, pushing past the halfling. If he didn’t look too closely, Okar appeared to be a child in a costume, rather than a competent Warrior who could probably tear anyone on Earth to pieces.

“How do you have a counter for everything?” demanded Okar.

“Uh…I got a good class.”

“Your class is bullshit.”

Elijah shrugged. “Can’t argue with that. But it definitely didn’t start out that way. I remember barely surviving getting swallowed by an orca. Well, a monster orca. Ate me alive before I spent…a while being dissolved in its stomach acid.” He raised his hand, which still bore the scars from that encounter. They’d faded a little with each upgrade in body cultivation, but they were still visible, albeit barely. “That’s where I got this.”

“Doesn’t look so bad.”

“Four tiers of body cultivation will do that.”

Okar paled.

“Four?”

“Yeah. The last time was kind of rough. Did I tell you about that? I climbed to this really tall tower into the abyss, and –”

A squeal cut him off, and he turned to see Sara sprinting into the room, her arms out wide. “That. Was. Awesome!” she screamed, throwing her arms around him.

After the hug, she gave a very enthusiastic recounting of the fight. With lots of fist pumping, punching invisible enemies, and her fair share of onomatopoeia.

Breathlessly, she focused on Okar. “What is he doing here?”

“I’m not really sure. He wanted to congratulate me, maybe?”

“Weird.”

“I am standing right here,” Okar pointed out.

“I’m aware,” Sara said. She put her hands on her hips. “Nobody’s stopping you from answering, by the way.”

“I go where I want to go.”

There was probably a story there, because the last time he’d seen the pair together, they had been quite fond of one another’s company. Given the personalities involved, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that they’d had an argument. The subject of that disagreement was a mystery that Elijah had no interest in solving.

“That does not answer the question,” Sara insisted.

“It wasn’t meant to,” he said before barging past her. Then, before he left, he turned and said, “Congratulations on the victory. Even if it was bullshit.”

He stormed out of the room, obviously flustered over Elijah’s performance. For his part, Elijah understood the issue. As a jack-of-all-trades, he wasn’t supposed to be capable of standing toe-to-toe with specialists. But because of his high-rarity class evolutions, his potent spells, and his cultivation, he could do just that. That made him a nightmare to fight, and it was the only reason he’d survived for as long as he had.

“What a weirdo,” Sara muttered.

“You’re the one who keeps bringing him around.”

She blushed.

“He’s a good bodyguard,” she insisted.

“I thought you said he wasn’t a bodyguard.”

“Doesn’t sound like something I’d say.”

“Sure. Sure. No arguing there.”

“He almost beat you!”

“He really didn’t,” Elijah stated.

“I saw it!”

“You saw me fighting with…”

He looked around. “You know what? Never mind. I’m not getting into strategy in here. There’s no telling who might be listening.”

Only a second later, the steady click of Tura’s cane announced her arrival. She pointed the gnarled implement at Sara, saying, “I told you not to run ahead, girl. Making me hobble after you…bah.”

“You can move a lot faster. I know you can.”

“Just because I can doesn’t mean I should. Or will. You’d do well to remember that, young dragon,” Tura chided. Then, she turned her attention toward Elijah. She jabbed him with her cane. “You hesitated, boy. That fight should have ended much sooner than it did. I thought I taught you better than that.”

“You’ve been teaching me about spells. Not strategy.”

“Bah. You think it’s unconnected? You are worse off than I thought!”

She frowned, her ancient face wrinkling even more than normal. “Perhaps we need to get back to training, eh? You need it.”

“But Auntie Tura!” pleaded Sara. “You said he could have the rest of the day off.”

“That was before I saw his poor performance.”

“But you promised!”

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“Bah. Looking at me like that…should be illegal.”

Elijah couldn’t really disagree. Sara was very good at weaponizing her innocence and youth, especially when it came to Tura. Or Birk. Elijah was certain that if she turned those puppy dog eyes on him, he’d fall victim as well.

And she knew it.

Sara threw her arms around the old drake, yelling, “Thank you, Auntie Tura! You’re the most awesome –”

“Bah,” Tura grunted, trying to extricate herself. Elijah knew good and well that if she really wanted to, she could’ve made quick work of Sara’s grip. Once she was free, she turned on Elijah. “And I expect you to be up bright and early. There’s a price for missing tonight’s session, and I intend to make you pay it.”

“You know I won, right?”

“There is no excuse for sloppiness.”

“Better than losing, isn’t it?”

“No.”

Sara saved him from digging himself any deeper when she dragged him away. When they were out of sight, Elijah lamented, “I didn’t even get a chance to change.”

“Well, we’re not going back,” Sara said. “I don’t want to be late.”

“For what?” Elijah asked.

“You’ll see.”

Elijah just rolled his eyes and let Sara lead him through the complex tangle of tunnels inside the Praesidium. At one point, he caught sight of Imal, but the water mage took one look at him, paled, then hurried away.

When Elijah said something about it, Sara rolled her eyes and said, “You don’t expect to do that and not terrify people, do you? You took her element and turned it against her. That’s not supposed to be possible. Not for someone like you.”

“What do you mean, like me?”

“You’re a Druid.”

“And?”

“Druids don’t have the greatest reputation in combat,” she pointed out. “I mean, there are some Druids with real power, but most of them never leave their groves. And the ones that do…well, they’re just…I don’t know. Kind of like nature mages, maybe? They definitely don’t turn into drakelons. That’s what it is, right? It looks like what they showed us in my lessons on beast anatomy.”

Elijah shrugged. “I think so. That was what it was during the last evolution, and I think this time it’s mostly the same,” he admitted.

“So cool.”

“I guess. And terrifying, apparently,” Elijah said.

“They are. Even at the demi-god level, they’re well-known. Nothing messes with a drakelon,” Sara explained. “Which is why what you do is so crazy. You were an Animist, right?”

Elijah nodded.

“Well, most animists never amount to much,” she said. “Not because they have bad attributes or anything. They do, but that’s not why nobody’s really afraid of them.”

“Then why are they?” Elijah asked.

“Because the animals they can transform into aren’t what anyone would consider high-tier threats. But you’re different. You can become a drakelon. A lord of the sea. Or a world serpent, the undisputed master of traveling the void. And I’d be willing to bet your other forms are just as crazy. That’s why you present such a problem,” she went on. “You’re like a bunch of high-grade guardians all rolled into the same person. And you have the benefit of advanced cultivation for your stage.”

“So, you’re saying I’m a very special boy?” Elijah asked, giving her a slight grin.

She punched him in the shoulder. “Take it seriously.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” he asked as the exited the Praesidium. The crowd was thin, largely because there was another fight scheduled after Elijah’s. Most of the spectators remained inside the arena, meaning that the surrounding plaza was close to empty.

Except for one figure.

Kaela stood there, wringing her hands. A carriage that looked like it’d been made entirely of gold stood behind her, complete with a team of scaled horse-like creatures with wings. A massive drake sat in the driver’s position.

“What is going on?” he asked.

“Surprise! I booked the carriage to take you to the most romantic spot on all of Esik!” she exclaimed.

“Sara…”

“What?” she asked. “You haven’t seen her in weeks. And I know you like her. She likes you, too. You should just go for it. None of this almost stuff, either.”

Elijah glanced back the way he’d come, briefly contemplating running away. He did enjoy Kaela’s company, and at times, he’d imagined what it’d be like to be with her. But he also knew that would be unfair. He had no intentions of remaining in the Empire of Scale, and he didn’t think she’d want to go back to Earth with him.

Or wherever he ended up.

After all, Elijah had a habit of ending up in dangerous situations. Who was to say that he wouldn’t get stranded in the abyss again? Or in a Primal Realm? Even a tower? Could he make someone wait thirty years for him again?

Or worse.

No. He didn’t want to go down that road. Not again. As much as he liked Kaela, as much as Sara obviously wanted them to get together, he needed to be the responsible one. For once.

But Sara had gone to quite a lot of trouble, and Elijah knew that if he refused, he’d never hear the end of it. His relationship with his adopted sister was still new enough that it could easily be damaged by a single bad choice.

So it was that he ended up following her to the carriage. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could admit that there was far more to it than simply preserving his relationship with his adopted sister. He wanted to see Kaela. To spend time with her. To hold her in his arms. Even if he was doomed to disappoint her someday, he wanted that time in-between.

And he wasn’t strong enough to resist.

“Hey,” he said to Kaela.

Meanwhile, Sara just stood by, eagerly looking from one to the other, practically vibrating with excitement.

“Hello,” the draconic woman replied.

“You look beautiful,” Elijah responded. Even now, when he should’ve grown accustomed to her looks, the sight of her still took his breath away. He gave her a tight smile and offered her his hand. “Shall we?”

She took it.

Sara practically squealed.

Elijah ignored her. Instead, he helped Kaela into the carriage, then climbed in after her. Thankfully, his adopted sister hadn’t insisted on coming along. That would’ve made things even more awkward.

The second he shut the door, the driver let loose with a surge of ethera that sent the winged beasts trotting forward. In only a couple of moments, they took to the skies, towing the carriage into the air. The ride was blessedly smooth, and the vehicle’s interior was much larger and far more luxurious than Elijah had expected.

It was clearly meant for romantic purposes, as evidenced by the soft and silky cushions, tasseled trim, and the perfumed air.

“I’m sorry about her,” Elijah said, breaking the silence. “She gets…excited.”

“To say the least,” agreed Kaela with a tinkling laugh. “Insistent as well.”

“How did you get involved with her?”

“She entered the academy in our final year,” Kaela answered. “And she sort of just…inserted herself into our group. She’s been with us ever since. Even after we graduated and she was forced to stick around.”

“That definitely sounds like her.”

“What about you? Was that story about how you rescued her true?”

“For the most part. Although I did not strike a heroic, shirtless pose while the waves crashed around me. She made that part up.”

“She did try to make you seem…too good to be true.”

Elijah laughed. “That definitely sounds like Sara.”

“I don’t know. Now that I’ve gotten to know you a little, I think she might have undersold you.”

As she said that, she moved just a touch closer, and when she leaned into his torso, he didn’t have the strength to resist.

They remained like that for half an hour, during which time they made casual conversation. Kaela’s bout for the current round still remained, and she was more than a little anxious over the impending battle. For his part, Elijah tried his best to play the supportive friend, but he wasn’t certain how successful he was in that endeavor.

So, when the carriage shifted into a descent, he was more than a little relieved.

It landed a few moments later, and he stepped out. Even as he offered his hand to Kaela, he was blown away by what he saw.

Three waterfalls formed the backdrop to a secluded vale. In the center of that space stood a massive tree, its branches spreading for a quarter of a mile all around. Moss hung between each limb, forming a gossamer curtain that shimmered in the afternoon sunlight. But it was the twinkling crystals floating all around them that drew the bulk of Elijah’s attention.

The sunlight filtered through them, casting the entire area in a subtle flicker or rainbow light.

It took his breath away.

“What is this place called?” he asked.

“The Vale of Light,” Kaela answered, taking his hand. As she did so, Elijah felt his resolve crack like an egg.