“I have,” she agreed, “but you haven’t explained why you’re standing next to a wild mage and he isn’t in chains or dead. How will you live up to your reputation if you don’t slay an evil doer at least once a week?”

  The interchange between the two was fascinating. I got the sense that neither of them was saying exactly what they meant. There was much to learn here.

  Galbrecht answered, “He was unaware of the law.” He looked over at me. “That does bring up another question. We need some additional details—some background, if you prefer—about you.”

  I’d known this was coming. Cami pushed up against me like my clutch mates had during a cold night in the desert. We’d outgrown the habit after a few years, but back in those early days it had been comforting. Strangely, I felt much the same sensation now.

  I shook my head. I needed to focus. Cami’s sire was watching me closely, but more importantly the paladin and rogue were both watching me. I tried to recall anything I could about such people from the dragon dream.

  The first flaw of those memories was that it was called a dream for a reason. They weren’t always readily available at the tip of my claws err… fingers, now, I guess. Secondly, most of my ancestors had thought so little of humans that they didn’t bother learning much about them—other than how they tasted, that is.

  “Uh… it’s a bit of a difficult story. My mother trained me when I was little but then she disappeared. I don’t know if an enemy got her or even who her enemies were. I was left to fend for myself, so I’ve been wandering on my own for years.”

  Galbrecht frowned but didn’t say anything. The rogue, however, wasn’t so quiet. “You have a bit of the look of the desert folk about you… are you from the south?”

  “I was born there,” I admitted, “but have no home there. The tribesmen wanted nothing to do with me. I don’t know what the reasons were, but they likely hated my mother.”

  As much as possible, I was trying to keep my story close to the truth. I didn’t need any memories to tell me that the best lies were the ones which most closely mirrored the truth.

  Modessa nodded. “I can respect a kid who makes his own way. How old are you now?”

  “Uh… seventeen?”

  She got that quirky expression on her face again where her lips curved upward, yet she didn’t seem to be trying to threaten me by baring her fangs. “You don’t seem all that certain about it.”

  “Oh, can’t you see, he’s been all alone. How would he have kept track of the dates? But now he’s my friend,” Cami said with a surprising amount of vigor.

  The two females stared at each other for a moment. Then Modessa looked back at Galbrecht, who shrugged.

  “He’s speaking the truth,” the paladin said, “although there is something about it. Undoubtedly, he is keeping back something, but it isn’t our concern. We need only to bring potential wizards to the university, in order to do our duty.”

  Modessa added, “And to collect the bounty.”

  Once again, the paladin shrugged. “Good works may be their own reward, but I’ve always found that gold does make life easier.”

  “On that we can agree.” The rogue then turned towards Cami. “And you, my little mouse, what about you? I had thought you were the quiet type, but it seems you are willing to stand up for your man here.”

  Cami’s face grew red and she pulled away from me, though I wasn’t quite sure what the issue was.

  Her sire snorted. “As though I’d marry my daughter off to a coinless traveling vagabond without even a bag on his back. No, she is promised to an established craftsman in our village and I intend to see her married off when she turns sixteen.”

  Galbrecht coughed and Cami’s sire grew a bit paler in the face.

  I was already learning that these humans’ pink skin could change colors in a variety of interesting ways. Most often, the changes seemed to be connected to their emotional state.

  The farmer added, “Of course, if she is admitted to the university, that promise will be considered null and void.”

  Then, as though it had just occurred to him, Cami’s sire asked, “isn’t there some type of compensation for the family of those taken to the university?”

  Cami looked at her sire and an odd expression crossed her face. Perhaps her stomach was bothering her, as it seemed to be a type of pain she was feeling.

  Galbrecht was the one who answered him, though. “You will receive what you’re entitled to, if she is admitted. After that, it is up to the mage student as to whether they wish to send a portion of their stipend back home.”

  There was more at play here than I knew, but either way, I was watching and learning. Cami’s sire seemed to be content with the answer he had received.

  Modessa said, “We won’t be able to test them until tomorrow at the soonest. The rest of our party stayed to take care of some loose ends and will be coming back to pick us up. Until then, we need an inn to stay in. Is there such a thing, in a backwater place like this?”

  The farmer puffed up his chest and said, “I’ll have you know that Cloverdale is the largest town within a day’s ride. We have two inns… well, that is if you count the tavern, too. Merch has a room or two that he lets out on the second floor, mostly when his patrons get too wasted to make it home.”

  Modessa looked less than impressed.

  “And, of course, there is the Fatted Pig Inn. Plenty of imperials have come through here and stayed there. That is where those worthless knights were staying.”

  Galbrecht grunted, “Fine, lead the way. I’m eager to get the sand out of my boots.”

  I tensed up once again. There he was, flaunting his murderous ways. Perhaps I could end them while they slept tonight—it was definitely worth considering. For now, I’d follow and see what I could learn.

  The rogue flew on ahead of us, but the paladin landed on the ground beside me. He mumbled something about Modessa leaving all the work to him, then urged Cami and I to come with him.

  “She’ll be staying with me at the inn until she can be tested,” the paladin told the farmer. “I assume you have no objections.”

  The way Galbrecht stared at Cami’s sire was a look I knew well. My mother used to give it to us when one of the clutch tried to take more than their share right in front of her.

  The farmer got red faced again. “Uh, no… no. That will be fine. I’ll trust you to preserve her honor.” He glared at me with the last comment, which was completely lost on me.

  I ignored him and started walking in the direction the rogue had flown off in. When I reached the top of the hill, I was able to see Cloverdale. It really was as described—a nest for hundreds of humans.

  Even from this distance I could see them scurrying around like ants in the meaninglessness of their short lives. A second later, Cami and Galbrecht caught up to me. She was peppering him with questions non-stop, but his patience seemed to be equally endless. For myself, I began working through what I’d do once this wizard of theirs came to test my potential.

  Apparently, that wouldn’t be for a day or two. This was good because it would allow me some time to explore this nest of humans. The more quickly I could learn, the safer I would be. I also yearned for some time to go hunting—to stretch my legs, so to speak.

  The only thing that soured my mood was the fact that the reason for the wizard’s delay had to be that he was harvesting spell components from the cave which had been my nest. That, undoubtedly, included Sheraleigh’s corpse. I felt a low rumbling deep inside my chest. The time for revenge would come soon enough, but first I needed to gain more strength.

  Interlude 1 – Imprinted Upon

  Cami wanted to scream, or squeal, or… well, anything! The excitement was simply too much to contain, but she was a young woman, nearly sixteen. She needed to hold it in. It wouldn’t do to act like a little girl. They might already look at her like that, but she really wanted them to see her as an adult. At least she wanted to be seen as a potential student.

  They’d checked into the inn, though it felt a bit silly. Her home was only a couple miles outside of town. She’d never actually even been inside the inn until now, but Sir Galbrecht insisted that she needed to stay with them. She knew that all mages had to attend the university, and had no idea how seriously the law was taken.

  Her life had changed so much since meeting Nico—and to think it was all because she had stayed to watch while everyone else ran away. In retrospect, it had probably been a stupid decision, based upon what she had known at the time, but the brilliant blue dragon had simply been so beautiful to watch. It was impossible for her to pull her eyes away.

  The other farmers had all complained about feeling uneasy and then had actually panicked. But that feeling had never touched her, only a sense of wonder. Now, she felt so different. There was a power coursing within her.

  She knew about the system, of course. It was something that all the little boys, including her brothers, had all dreamed about. Well, to be honest, she had too—but had been wise enough after her father cuffed her mouth the first time, not to talk about it.

  The system was for adventurers and those who obtained classes. Her father had made sure she knew it wasn’t for girls whose job was to marry, have babies, and take care of their families.

  It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with that. Cami respected her mother. Her father might work long hours in the fields, but her mother worked even longer hours at home. Without her mother, the entire farm would have fallen apart. So she knew the value of that role, it just wasn’t one which called to her. She had dreams of far-off lands and wild adventures.

  As she sat in the inn’s common room picking over some roasted vegetables which was served for lunch, she tried to work up the courage to check the notifications she had received. They’d popped up before but everything was happening so fast that she reflexively pushed them away.

  Now, she was nervous. What if they didn’t say what she hoped for? What if it was something completely different? Sir Galbrecht said she had to wait to be tested for magic but she thought maybe she could learn something if she read the notifications. A part of her was just worried that her father was right. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for anything more than marrying a man twice her age and raising his children.

  No, she looked across the table at Nico. He was so odd. The expression he made when looking at the vegetables was more like someone had placed a dead skunk on his plate. Nico was bold. He’d changed his very shape. She had to be just as bold. So, with no more fretting she opened her notifications.

  Congratulations a new bloodline has been awakened within you. You have been forever altered by standing in the presence of a dragon as its magic awoke. That same magic has imprinted on you and a portion of it will be passed on through your bloodline in the future.

  As a result of this awakening you have gained a class. Correction: you have gained two classes. The first is your new bloodline class and the second is a class which you will choose.

  Bloodline Class: Dragon Bonded Sorcerer

  Bloodline Perks: +5 mana per level, + 5 hit points per level

  Bloodline Spells: Project Image (5% real)

  Bloodline Skills: Dragon Riding 1, choice of skill from bloodline list.

  Bloodline Skills List:

  Rapid Cast

  Chain Cast

  Energized Cast

  Contingency Cast

  Enhanced Olfaction

  Power Attack

  Tough Hide

  Cami didn’t understand the system at all but quickly discovered that she could look through the descriptions of the skills. She wanted to be able to talk to someone about the decisions but was afraid to ask for help. The last thing she wanted to be was a burden so she read them and then made her own decision.

  Rapid Cast - three times per day you may speed up the casting of one of your spells to be nearly instantaneous. Cost: 2 extra mana per spell Tier. Cool-Down: 1 minute.

  Chain Cast - three times per day you may link two spells together so that when you cast one the second is cast immediately afterwards. The two spells must be linked ahead of time. Cost: 1 extra mana per Tier of the additional spell. Cool-Down: 10 minutes between triggered uses.

  Energized Cast - three times per day you may boost the relative power of a spell. This will affect the range, area of effect, duration, damage if any, and any other aspects of the spell. Cost: 1 extra mana per spell Tier + 1 extra mana per 10% increase. Maximum of double the effect. Cool-Down: 1 minute.

  Contingency Cast - you may set an effect which will trigger a maximum of three times per day. When the stated condition is met the linked spell will be cast. Only one spell may be linked each day. The link and condition persist until reset by the caster. Cost: 10 mana per spell Tier at the time of the linking. Cool-Down: 10 minutes between triggered uses.

  Enhanced Olfaction - gain the olfactory sense of a dragon within 30’. This skill may be improved later to increase the range.

  Power Attack - apply mana to a physical attack adding force damage. Maximum damage enhancement is 4 points of damage per class level. Mana cost: 1 per level. Cool-Down: 10 seconds.

  Tough Hide - your skin gains a portion of the durability of a dragon’s scales. Gain damage resistance: 2 to all types of damage which affect you from the outside. This skill may be improved later to increase the damage resistance.

  Cami reasoned that she didn’t have enough magic to choose any of the first four skills which only left the other three. The sense of smell sounded interesting, but she wasn’t sure how often it would come in handy. She knew she didn’t want to be up close and hitting things so that really only left her with Tough Hide. Her only concern was if it would make her skin all scaley.

  Ultimately, she had to make a decision—so she went with Tough Hide. As soon as she chose it, a shiver went down her spine and then out each of her lips and up to the top of her scalp. She shuddered enough that Sir Galbrecht asked her if she was okay, but Nico only glanced in her direction. She assured the paladin she was fine and then ran her hand over her skin.

  It felt just the same as before, but somehow she knew she was more durable than before. It was a pleasant feeling. The thought crossed her mind that if her father slapped her again the results might be very different.

  She didn’t stop there though but instead read the next part of the notification.

  As a dragon-bonded sorcerer, the raw magic of Taleian becomes accessible to you. You may choose a single spell at this level and more spells at future levels. You may also discover new ways to learn magic to fill your available slots.

  Your maximum number of spells for Tier 1 is six. Spells are divided into offensive, defensive, and utility. You must acquire a minimum of one offensive, one defensive, and two utility spells out of your six spells.

  Available spells include: Mage Shield, Force Darts, Identification.

  The descriptions of each of the spells lined up with what she expected. Her first inclination was to take Mage Shield but she decided that she had already chosen a defensive skill so she would need some type of offense if she wanted to be an adventurer and once again she knew she didn’t want to get up close and personal with any monsters.

  Identification was also tempting because she wanted to know more about the world around her. Still, she decided she would have to learn it later. The description of her class made it sound like she would be able to learn it later. So Force Darts it was.

  Force Darts - Tier 1 spell. This spell conjures 1 dart of force for every 5 mana spent up to a maximum of 1 dart per two levels in your class. Each missile deals 5-14 points of damage with a penetration factor of 5. Cast Time: 5 seconds. Cool-Down: 15 seconds. Range: 100’ + 10’/level.

  That settled all of her options for the dragon-bonded sorcerer class, but the notifications said she could also choose a basic human class. She was given the options of Warrior, Rogue, Acolyte, or Mage. To her, it was a no brainer. She loved the idea of magic but wasn’t super religious. She quickly chose mage.

  You have chosen mage as your class. This is a base class. As you level and or receive training from a master, you may learn to specialize your class. Various options exist. As a basic mage, you do not begin with any spells. Seek out a teacher to train you in the ways of magic.

  Starting skill: Meditation - assume a seated position, close your eyes, and slow your breathing. As you do so, your mana regeneration rate will increase by a factor of 4. This skill may be improved.

  After that, the only thing left was for her to look at her stat sheet. It was surreal that she had obtained this. This was everything she had hoped for and more. She almost pinched herself just to be sure she wasn’t dreaming but realized she wouldn’t know how to explain that.