14-89. Commemoration

The jacket was gold.

Very, very gold.

Elijah sighed, adjusting the lapels. Apparently, Kirlissa just couldn’t help herself, but at least she’d taken his preferred style into account. She had also included dark green embroidery that resembled vines and flowers. When Elijah looked in the mirror, they seemed to writhe.

Fitting.

The rest of the suit followed his normal standards, which meant that it stood somewhere between a modern style and something out of industrialized Britain. Unfortunately, it also included shoes.

They were more comfortable than any other shoes he’d ever worn, but he still regarded them as foot-prisons. If he couldn’t adequately wiggle his toes, he wasn’t happy.

Still, he had to admit that he cut a pretty dashing figure, especially after Kirlissa’s personal stylist had finished with his hair and beard. The serpentor woman resembled a two-legged snake, but she was a wizard with her shears. The result was that Elijah looked better than he ever had.

Still, he felt a bit silly wearing a jacket woven from literal gold thread that somehow felt like silk. But he’d already agreed to wear it, so he pushed that thought out of mind.

Once he was sure that he wouldn’t embarrass himself – or worse, Kirlissa – he turned away from the gilded mirror. The sight of the rooms he’d been given still came as a shock. He’d stayed in some luxurious places before, but they were nothing compared to the suite Kirlissa had granted him. It wasn’t just the décor, which was impressive enough on its own. Rather, the place felt warm, ornate, and calming, all at once.

He sighed.

Despite the obvious luxury, he still preferred his grove. Or even sleeping in the wilderness under the stars, surrounded by chirping insects and curious animals.

For all the majesty of civilization, it was nothing compared to nature.

But at least the suite came with some amenities that nature just couldn’t provide. Like a heated pool that unkinked his muscles, a team of servants that saw to his every need, and even a masseuse that managed to relax him in ways he didn’t even know were possible. That session had left him feeling oddly flexible and centered.

Perhaps he needed to find one of those to hire for the grove as well.

After one last adjustment, Elijah left the room, only to find Mano leaning against the wall just outside the door. His black robes were tightly fitted across his broad chest and trimmed in glimmering gold embroidery. His topknot was freshly oiled and elaborately braided. The halberd, which was made of pitch-black metal, leaned against the wall. The weapon’s only embellishments were two gold tassels, one of which encircled the shaft just below the blade, while the other formed a knot at the butt. Its blade cut through six or seven inches of the wall, and it drifted a little further into the material with every passing moment.

Was it the weight? Or the sharpness? Maybe both.

“Have you been waiting there all this time?” Elijah asked.

“I am your guard,” he answered, pushing himself away from the wall. He snatched his halberd at the same time, and the air rippled with its movement. It possessed an aura suited to a planet. “I take my duty to slaughter your enemies very seriously.”

He gave a bloodthirsty grin that sent a shiver up Elijah’s spine.

That was one thing he’d quickly learned about Mano – the dragon lived for battle in a way that Elijah had never seen. He was totally devoted to it, as much for the act itself as because he seemed to take the very notion of defeat as a personal affront. Elijah had also discovered that Mano had been very critical of his mother’s decision to adopt him. Not as much because he was human as because he wasn’t a dragon.

But Elijah’s performance in the Tournament of the First Fang had gone a long way towards earning Mano’s respect. He’d gone from a human encroaching upon a dragon’s legacy to a dragon in truth. And as such, Mano had decided to take Elijah under his wing.

What that meant was anyone’s guess, but Elijah figured he’d find out sooner rather than later, because Mano was meant to accompany him to She’evoth. Partially as a guard, but mostly because he had a personal mission of his own to accomplish.

Of course, that journey wouldn’t take place for another year, which would coincide with access to the First Fang opening. Only a few dragons would get the chance to cultivate at its base, but from what Elijah knew, it would be a transformative experience.

“I enjoyed your treatment of the mind mage,” Mano stated as they strode down the hall together. His halberd made a subtle whistling sound with every movement. “I cannot abide such creatures. Cowards, all.”

“Mind mages, or mages in general?”

“Yes.”

“Your mother is a mage, of a sort.”

“She left that behind long ago. She may possess the archetype of a Sorcerer, but she is more of an Administrator these days. Perhaps with a bit of the Scholar for flavor,” he explained. “Noble professions. Without them, we could not wage war. Mages can make no such claim to nobility.”

“What about Druids?”

“I have only met one that deserves my respect.”

“Please tell me it’s me.”

“You may be the second,” Mano stated. “You show promise, but only time will tell if you live up to the brutality you showed in the arena.”

That reminded Elijah not to reveal his new spell to his adopted brother. Still, he couldn’t help but grin as he let it flash before his mind’s eye.

Elijah still hadn’t had a chance to actually test the form out, but he was more than a little excited to do so. A little anxious too, because those spells seemed a little more freeform than his other abilities. Perhaps he’d get a chance to utilize Tura’s teachings sooner and more fully than he’d expected.

He was also excited about the implications attached to the fact that he’d received the spell at level three-seventy. It seemed that the intervals between spells and evolutions was somewhat variable. Only time would tell if it would continue along the current pattern – every ten levels – or if it would change once again.

In any case, Elijah got the feeling that the new form would be quite large, so he hadn’t wanted to shift into it inside the palace. He was still waiting for an opportunity to head out into the wilderness and give it a go. Until then, he’d just have to rely on his patience to see him through.

However, he was unhappy to find that some of his other spells had been folded into the new form. Chiefly, Stormborn and its many parts, though he did maintain Dimensional Leap, which was an evolution of Lightning Rush. Less troubling was the loss of Eyes of the Eagle. The spell was still moderately useful, but it was long since outdated. Certainly, Eye of the Magus would be much more practical, and maybe it would do the same thing. But given that Eyes of the Eagle had been with him almost since the very beginning, Elijah felt more than a little nostalgic for the low-level spell.

“Everything changes eventually, doesn’t it, Mano?” asked Elijah.

“It does, brother. The one constant across the multi-verse.”

“Even for a transcendent?”

“Especially for us,” Mano answered. “At times, it seems like yesterday when I transcended. But at other times, it feels like an eternity. The multi-verse moves so quickly. Little lives, over in the blink of an eye. Galaxies living and dying in the space of a single breath.” He sighed. “I am only beginning to grasp it.”

“How long has it been?”

“By your reckoning? Nearly twenty thousand years. But all is not lost, brother. The battle awaits.”

“Against the Ravener, right?” Elijah asked. He’d asked Sara about it, and apparently, Mano spent almost all his time on the frontlines. He and his mother disagreed about that being the best use of his time, and she often considered that attitude a failure. And she wasn’t shy about saying so. Nor was Mano timid in his rebuttals. Their arguments were legendary.

“No,” he growled. “The Ravener himself refuses to set foot on the field of battle. He sends his minions and monsters instead. Those poor fools who believe that consumption is the path to dominance. Disgusting creatures.”

“Are they sane?” Elijah asked.

“That is up for some debate. They have a society, of a sort. Predatory. Lawless. No order or reason. But they do not kill one another, though that is not a moral decision, but one of survival. Nor do they understand anything but the hunger to consume. Some are powerful, though. I will admit that much.”

Elijah nodded. “I see.”

“Perhaps you do,” he said. “You have seen the abyss. You have witnessed what it does to people. I look forward to the day that you may join me in battle.”

“Yeah. You can show me a thing or two,” Elijah agreed.

After that, the pair traveled in silence that only lasted a couple of minutes before they arrived at their destination.

“Fret not. These soft dandies cannot threaten you.”

Elijah nodded. “It’s just a different kind of battle. One of attrition, too. What will run out first? Their exuberance for socialization or my tolerance for it?” he asked aloud. “Let’s find out.”

“Be strong, brother.”

Elijah entered, with Mano close on his heels. However, when he turned around, the dragon was gone. Apparently, he didn’t think Elijah needed guarding when he was surrounded by family.

But there were just so many of them.

Thousands, all packed into a massive banquet hall. They were supposed to be his family by adoption, but he knew none of them. Unfamiliar faces turned to look in his direction, highlighting the situation.

Thankfully, that only lasted a couple of seconds until Sara came rushing in his direction.

“That is…an interesting dress,” he remarked.

It sparkled.

“It’s bedazzled.”

“Uh…when I was talking about that, you know that was a children’s toy. And they definitely didn’t use real gemstones.”

“This is better,” she insisted, spreading her skirts out wide and giving a twirl. There was plenty of fabric there, and every inch of it was covered in radiant gems. Somehow, the Tailors had made it look like a rainbow of dragon’s scales. Instead of overpowering Sara’s looks, the dress complimented them. Even her golden scales looked a little shinier than normal.

“So? Any hints on how I should navigate this?” he asked, looking around.

“Stoically.”

“That’s it?”

She shrugged. “That’s all I’ve got.”

Elijah sighed.

And then, he braced himself for the party. As it turned out, he was the guest of honor, and in more ways than one. Apparently, dragons really liked to celebrate achievements in cultivation, and Elijah had more than a few of those already built up. In addition, he’d recently progressed to a grandmaster-tier soul, which was no small accomplishment. Especially for a demi-god.

So, the banquet was part cultivation celebration, part in honor of Elijah’s victory in the Tournament of the First Fang, and wholly frustrating to endure. Elijah lost count of the number of people he met. Most were deities, but there were still a lot demi-gods and even quite a few ascendents present. There was no way he would remember any of their names, but he did his best to be as polite as possible.

Then came the ceremony itself, which reminded Elijah of a bar mitzvah, birthday party, and a high school graduation, all rolled into a single event. The only good part was that pretty much everyone wanted to give him a gift. And considering none of them knew him, most of those gifts were pouches full of ethereum.

However, he did get some interesting seeds from Tura, a set of adjustable weights from Birk, and a sack full of coffee from Kirlissa. Sara gave him a painting of her and Elijah, while Mano gave him a giant axe that he couldn’t even lift. Apparently, it was forged from something star-related, and it glittered with little power shimmers. It was such a powerful item that it made Elijah’s soul tingle uncomfortably, suggesting that it was a much higher-grade than any of his other equipment.

A princely gift by anyone’s measure, but not really one he could use.

Elijah didn’t have the heart to tell the big dragon that he had no idea how to use an axe. He just accepted it with a grin and a big thumbs up.

Oh, and for some reason, lots of people gave him clothes. Mostly glittery robes that he would never, ever wear. One old dragon took him aside and said that they’d sort out his fashion sense sooner or later.

All in all, it wasn’t as onerous a party as he’d expected, but it did end up lasting an entire three days. Those days were filled with feasting, odd dancing that looked like people were having seizures, and gift-giving. Mostly feasting, though. Dragons really could eat when they put their minds to it, and they knew precisely how to make the best food.

In the end, Elijah had a good time, and he was actually sorry to see it all come to an end.

Finally, he found himself alone with his sister. They sat on one of the balconies, overlooking the moon. The view of Esik was phenomenal, and the rings looked like they could reach out and touch them.

“So? Are you going back to Earth?” she asked. “You said you’d take me with you.”

Elijah nodded. He had a year until he was meant to leave for the center of the Empire, and he intended to use that to check in with his grove and take care of some things at home.

“I know what I said, and you’re welcome to come, so long as you get permission.”

“Ugh. Can you talk to her? She likes you more.”

“That is patently untrue,” Elijah pointed out. “And no. That’s just something you need to do for yourself. Channel your inner-Mano and embrace your courage.”

“Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes as she looked out over the surface of the moon. Then, she leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder. “Congratulations. I don’t know if I told you that yet.”

“Thanks.”

It was a simple word, but nothing else needed to be said.