Whispers of a Dead Empire

“Alright Mr. Kharon, I’m ready,” I told him as I set the paper down. I would have to slot it into my notebook for record-keeping purposes, but I would never forget what I read. My memory was far too strong for something like that.

“Okay, little dragon. I will only ask one last time. Are you sure you want to take a dual affinity in arcane and gravity magic?” Mr. Kharon’s eyes rested on me and flickered like flames on the wind.

“Of course.” I nodded my head. I was sure of it. If I could master both of them, then I would be powerful. Maybe even one day I could be as strong as my mother!

His teeth clacked together once more in a semblance of approval, as he reached into the depths of his cloak. “Well, in that case. Let’s begin the ceremony, then.”

I nodded my head as my heart beat heavily at my chance. Excitement coursed through my veins, and it took everything I had not to let the excitement bubble over. I reached out, took the gravity orb in my hand, and pulled it close to my chest.

I stood up from my chair, wandered to the center of the room, carefully sat down, and crossed my legs. I took a deep whiff of the musky air before I placed the orb in my lap and closed my eyes.

This was by far the worst part of magic. I hated sitting here doing nothing. My limbs yearned to be stretched and to move around. But, like mother once told me, This was something that I needed to do if I wanted to keep getting stronger. So I would suffer through it, no matter how much I hated it.

I took one last deep breath to steady my nerves and placed my hands on the orb. Now, I needed to be quick yet careful with this. This was my only shot at ensuring I got the mana to my mana well, and I couldn’t fail. I didn’t want to disappoint Mr. Kharon, but above all else, I didn’t want to disappoint my mother.

I shifted my focus to the mana that danced within the orb and gently started to caress it with my mental hand. It felt heavy yet light and seemed to draw things to it with a relentless hunger. This was very interesting indeed. I couldn’t wait till I was more skilled with it! Oh, the things that I will do.

It took a bit to stifle the excitement before I turned my attention back to the orb. I took a deep breath and ensured that all the mana I could contain within me was in my grasp, and in one smooth movement, I shattered the orb. The sound of thousands of pieces of glass breaking apart filled my ears as the mana rushed into me.

Quickly, I gripped the mana into an iron vice and held it within me, constantly cycling it through my chest with the beating of my heart. It made me feel full. Fuller than I have ever felt in my life. But I held on as my body absorbed it. It grew tougher to breathe, but I had to ignore it. Unlike the arcanium, which I easily absorbed, this was by far the toughest mana I had to assimilate. It just didn’t want to go where I needed it to. Instead, it tried to clump together within me and fight my advances. But that was something that I wouldn’t allow, no matter what. I don’t care what it was. It will bend to my rule.

Minutes became hours as I fought with the mana. Sweat coursed down my face in trails as, bit by bit, the mana finally absorbed into my core. Exhaustion nipped at me as the mana slowly faded into me, but I wasn’t done yet. No, now I had to enter my mana realm.

With great effort, I plunged myself into my mana well. All around me, the sky rained a ceaseless torrent of fire while darkness flowed and ebbed from the shadows as if it were a liquid. The wind howled like a raging dragon as it cut across a barren rock surface, slicing through stone as if it were water. Finally, rays of silver light drifted through the storm gray clouds, casting a gentle light on the surfaces not marred by fire.

But the newest additions were the most breathtaking. Currents of teal energy crossed through the sky as if they were streams. They were listless and without direction, but wherever they went, it brought more life into my mana well. Then finally, small rocks and pebbles were being ripped from the ground and dragged up far into the sky, with the start of a spherical object taking root.

I took a deep breath and relished the scent of what was my mana realm. It was pretty and a perfect reflection of what was happening here. I still had room for a bit more, so maybe next, I would consume that water core mother gave me. This place could do with a little more blue, after all.

I nodded as I stared at the landscape before I turned away. Now, it was time to go to my well. I turned and skipped down the well-trodden path. Rocks rose around me, protecting me from the worst of the wind that kicked through the air, and darkness pooled outwards in small puddles that lay on the path. I hummed the tune I often heard my mother do, but I still didn’t know the name. Perhaps I should ask her the first chance that I got. But that was neither here nor there.

Eventually, I came towards a small crevice in the small outcropping of rocks. They were stacked in a way resembling an arch, and radiating from that arch was an example of each mana that now existed here. Flame encrusted the stones while darkness thrived in the shadows. Air gently gusted from an unknown source around the door, and rocks above the doorway glowed with the soft, gentle radiance of moonlight. It was all so perfect. I pushed my way past the arch and into where my mana well lived.

It was an empty room, and in the center stood well a doorway. The name of mana well was a bit of a misnomer, as it was locked away behind a door. But the door is where the mana comes from. No one knows what truly lies behind the door, however. Some say it’s the source of all the mana in this world. Others say behind it lies godhood. But one thing has always been clear. To open it is to spell doom for your mana pool and likely your life. That was a risk that I didn’t want to take. Thankfully, however, I wasn’t here for that. No, I was here to set my affinities.

I skipped to the door and froze as I looked it over. In the center was a slightly extended circle broken into a dozen fragments. I was lucky and got a dozen of them. Most mages only come out with a little over half that. But I’m a dragon, so I’m expected to be special.

I reached out to the first fragment and ran my fingers across its surface. It was a pale green that I could best describe as the same color as the zombies I see in my waking life. Its rune was that of a single bone that glimmered with a sense of wrongness. This was the rune for undeath. Out of all the other mana, I had the strongest affinity to this one since I lived in it. I just happened to never really pay much attention to it. But while I’m here, I might as well make it a core affinity. I mean, I had a slot for three. That was just something I haven’t told anybody about. I mean, a girl has her own secrets to keep.

I placed my finger on the rune, slid it towards the center, and locked it into place. A pulse ran across my body, and a faint green hue radiated from my flesh as the rune flickered, then solidified in place. I was happy with that choice. After all, undeath was the most abundant mana where I lived. Maybe it would be time to get it a test run after this.

With the first choice, I reached out and rested my hand on the following fragment I wanted. This one was a flame that flickered with a teal light. This was arcane mana. The pure, unfiltered stuff. With it, I could alter magic at its core. I pulled it into position and locked it into place as another strange feeling coursed through me. This time, my flesh pulsed teal as the mana settled within me, and the fragment locked itself in.

Now, for the last one. Gravity. I reached out towards the next rune and regarded it for a moment. This one was a deep, vibrant purple. The same purple that I often saw my mother wear. This rune was the shape of a sphere that spun on its own accord, even though it was inscribed onto the unmoving stone. I felt excitement rise in my chest as I reached out toward it. This was the last core affinity I could take, and I couldn’t wait.

I slid it into the last slot of my core affinities and pressed it in. This time, my body flickered purple as the mana settled into place. Yes, this was the first step. Now, I just needed to return to the surface, claim my wand, and get over the exhaustion I knew was about to slam into me.