When I got to the top, I found that the man wasn’t in the highest room of the tower. It seemed that he must have been here at some point, though, because the room was in shambles. Spread throughout the room were books, papers, large canvases with intricate diagrams drawn on them. A small cot had been pushed up against one wall. It was as messy as a red dragon’s lair.

  Next to the cot I saw a small set of stairs that led up to the roof. When I moved over to peer up the steep stairs, a voice called down, “If that is my new student, then hurry and get up here.” The voice was a deep baritone and had quite a rich timbre for a human.

  I didn’t care for being ordered around, but there was no point in fighting it. It was unlikely that another human would have as much to teach me as Master Edgar had, but there was no harm in trying.

  Who knows? I might pick up a trick or two.

  When I got up to the roof, I found a man measuring the distance between three oddly shaped metal rods which had been affixed to the stone roof of the tower. Each rod was approximately six feet tall and six inches wide. I couldn’t help but note the curved patterns and intricate runes that had been carved into them. Metal wire—perhaps made of copper—connected the different rods.

  After whatever he was doing, the human knelt down to check part of the wiring before looking up at me. When he did, I took his measure. He was a little under six feet tall and relatively thin. I’d guess he was still young for a human, perhaps slightly older than Lisella. His skin was a rich ebony, which was striking against his attire and the brightness of his blue eyes.

  I found little variations like this amongst humans pleasing. His hair was stubble, to the point of looking like it was growing back after having been shaved. Upon closer inspection, I could see what looked like mostly healed scorch marks on his head.

  His outfit was a sleeveless shirt and trousers rather than the robes I saw so many mages wearing. This was definitely better in my opinion, but then again Serius always seemed to be reaching into his robes for something or the other. There might be reasons. The material of his clothing was thick but flexible. I could see how this might be beneficial not only in combat but also in moving around. His clothing was blue and trimmed in silver.

  The other thing which struck me about the rooftop was the scent of ozone. It was one which took me back to my childhood, which in reflection was really only less than a year ago. Time was going by quickly. I clearly needed to stop and smell the ozone more often.

  Once he finally stopped working on the wires, he stood up, smoothed his clothing and then took a good, long look at me. His eyes seemed to weigh me. Then he snorted. “Don’t look like much of a mage. You sure you’re in the right place?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe. Not sure how you think you’re going to teach me anything about the storm.”

  He locked his piercing blue eyes on me. The color was, of course fascinating but more than that, I swore I could see lightning flickering across his pupils. “At least you have the boldness of the storm. The storm doesn’t ask who wants rain. It doesn’t care if you prepare or not. It vents its rage and power where it will, as it will, and can be either a blessing or a curse.”

  I liked his description of the storm but didn’t need any extra words, so I waited.

  He nodded as though confirming something. “Very well. I’m Rizal Atreides, but I don’t care for any of that Master Atreides or Professor this or that. We’ll either ride the storm together or not and in the midst of the storm, no man is master over another.”

  My curiosity finally got the better of me. I waved my hand at the metal rods he’d been working on. “What’s all this?”

  He smiled. “An experiment in trying to learn more about the storm without magic. But we’ll talk about that later. For now, I need to assess your abilities before I decide what to teach you.”

  With that, he asked me to show him any storm related spells that I learned. I first cast Call the Charge and then Weave the Wind and finally Thunderclap.

  Rizal watched patiently until a few seconds after I cast the third spell. “Is that all?”

  My eyes narrowed. Was this yet another human intent upon challenging me?

  “I thought you were to teach me not me you.”

  “Yes, but it requires a certain amount of aptitude. If you were truly going to be a storm mage, then I’d expect you to know more than three storm related spells. The ones you know were well cast, showing that either you have natural talent or lots of practice. But if there isn’t more, then why should I waste my time away from my experiments?”

  “Because Lisella is funding your experiments… if I had to guess.”

  He grinned. “They say money talks, but even gold only goes so far. The storm doesn’t care how much coin you have when it hits.”

  I was lost for a minute. Gold only goes so far. Who could think such nonsense? Maybe this was a mistake. Then another thought hit me. Perhaps if he knew who I really was, he would feel differently. I’d been keeping this secret, but that was starting to bore me. Perhaps if Edgar had known about my true nature, he could have helped me obtain a legendary class rather than just the epic version.

  “I can show you much more about the storm, but it will have to be done outside the city and you’ll have to swear a system oath to keep my secret until I give you permission to share it.”

  No sooner had I said the words than I realized I could have used my electrical breath to demonstrate a greater connection to the storm. Equally, I could have shown him my immunity to electricity. Yet here I had just offered to reveal my true nature and now, even knowing that it was a bad idea, I still didn’t regret it. I must really be getting tired of hiding. Besides, he was only a single human. If the worst happened, I’d simply kill him.

  Rizal stared at me for a moment. He seemed to be weighing what I’d just said. “Aren’t I supposed to be the one saying that to you? Granted, I’ve never had a formal student or apprentice or whatever this is. I’m more into research, but I assumed you’d have to give me an oath to keep my secrets.” Then he shrugged, “But whatever. If you’re wasting my time, then this is over and the Princess can keep her gold.”

  I sent a quick mental message to Cami. It hadn’t occurred to me at first, but by revealing my true nature, even if only to a single mage, I was also exposing her. Lisella probably would have thought that I was growing by showing concern for another being. “My new tutor is going to make a system oath, and then I’m going to reveal my nature to him.”

  Cami didn’t reply immediately, but perhaps thirty seconds later she said, “If you think that’s a good decision, then I support you.”

  For some reason, Nico felt quite relieved that she hadn’t questioned him.

  She continued though, “How are you feeling about having to start taking some group classes?”

  “Lisella said she was going to get me into the alchemy class. Of all the humans I’ve met at the university, the old woman who teaches it was the most interesting.” Then I chuckled inside my head. “Her name even sorta sounds like yours.”

  Cami seemed hesitant as she continued, “I admit that I find it sorta difficult to picture you standing around mixing potions.”

  “Oh, I’d need minions to do most of the mundane work, but if the potions could enhance us in battle or sold for a lot of gold, then it might be worth it. Besides, look at the legendary class you got. With some luck, maybe I could get extra stat points from a crafting class. I am here to learn human things, anyway.”

  “What about the class for prospective dragon riders?”

  I groaned internally at that. “I don’t want to talk about that now. I just wanted to tell you. We’re heading out of the city now.” Thinking about that class made me feel angry, so rather than blow up, I simply decided to deal with it later.

  That was the end of our conversation. Cami seemed to need far less of what the humans called small talk lately. It was quite pleasing. She was becoming a good companion.

  My focus returned to what I was doing, or rather what Rizal was doing. He had cast a spell which created a cloud for the two of us to sit upon. It was fascinating and Tier 5 magic, so a part of me had almost duplicated it, but I decided that movement spells like this were ultimately a waste when I could fly either in my true form or in my classes’ transformed state.

  We streaked across the sky after checking out with the gate guards. Why Rizal bothered with that when he could simply fly over the walls was something which plagued me for a while until I finally asked, “Why’d you do that?”

  He arched his eyebrow as he looked at me, clearly uncertain of what I’d just asked. Of course, he wasn’t privy to the chain of thoughts which had been dancing through my head ever since we left the city.

  “Why’d you stop and get permission from the city guard to leave, when you have the power to simply fly over the walls?”

  “Ah, well, the power of the storm gives me the ability to do many things, but sometimes it’s still good to work with others. What happens if I need those city guards in the future? It didn’t really cost us any time, but now they know I respect their position.”

  I snorted. Maybe I had more to learn about humans.

  Chapter 6 - Amidst the Storm

  The cloud spell that Rizal conjured brought us far enough from the city to feel safe. I might be about to reveal my identity to the storm mage, but that didn’t mean I was interested in revealing myself to the entire world… yet. The way that Tolston had ended up offering me gold in addition to his other promised item and the new class he had created, seemed to imply he knew something.

  I was hardly an expert on human reactions, but both Cami and Lisella gave off the vibe that they thought he knew. Fine. It would be what it was. That only emphasized the need for me to get stronger. The mature adult age category had seemed so powerful when I’d first left my home, but now, I knew that I needed to become… more.

  Adding magical items and human classes with the skills and stats were a good start, but I also needed to grow in more draconic ways. I was anxious to start my first evolution, but time was needed for that—at least that was the sense that I got. I planned to start this training and see what happened from there.

  Now, though, we stepped off the cloud that brought us here and I looked at Rizal. “You must swear that you’ll keep what I am about to show you a secret unless I give you permission to share it,” I growled at him.

  He snorted. “Like a system oath?”

  I pursed my lips. “If you need the system to keep you honest, then fine.”

  The mage stared at me for a moment. He seemed to consider my words before replying, “I am a man who does what he says. The storm may sneak up on you. It may hit harder or softer than you expect. It may bring rain from a seemingly clear sky, but that type of hiding isn’t lying. The storm doesn’t lie. It has no need for such things. The storm is power.”

  I would have replied that power is a dragon, but decided it would be more fun to enjoy his reaction when he saw for himself. When I didn’t say anything in reply, he continued. “I, Rizal Atreides, do swear to keep secret anything revealed in our training both today and in the future, unless I’m given permission to share it with another.”

  I nodded. No more words were necessary. Then, with a powerful thrust of my legs, I leaped fifty feet away. A bit of space would be necessary if he was to take in my full majesty. I triggered my transformation back to my normal shape.

  It was absolute bliss to resume the greatest of forms. My limbs stretched. My wings and tail appeared. My neck elongated. Intellectually, I knew that I hadn’t actually been cramped in my human body, but I never could shake that feeling.

  Rizal only took a half-step back as I transformed. Then he started to smile. “You really are a dragon, not a mage playing at shapeshifting, aren’t you?”

  I let out a low rumbling roar in answer before adding, “How can you tell?”

  “This you feels so much more… authentic.” He paused as he tried to find the right word before continuing, “And a blue, at that… now I understand. I’m hardly a scholar of dragon lore and am not sure if there are any blues amongst the stables of the nations, but blues use electricity, correct?”

  By way of answer, I opened my mouth and spat out a bolt of lightning, leveling a hundred-year-old tree. That toothpick might be thought by some to be majestic and old—at least amongst the other races—but it was little more than a recently grown weed compared to the lifespan of a true dragon.

  “Now, I see why the Princess said you were uniquely prepared to learn what I have to teach.” He paused, frowning. “But, I confess to a bit of confusion. I’ve had a limited amount of exposure to dragons and their riders. The dragons I’ve met are intelligent, to be certain, but they aren’t like you. And none of them have ever spoken as far as I know.”

  I didn’t say anything but locked eyes with him, silently daring him to compare dragons to something lesser, to compare me to some intelligent animal like a dog—as others had tried to do before.

  When I didn’t speak, he asked, “Is it because you’re a blue dragon, or are you different in some way from the other dragons?”

  “If you possess Identify or a similar spell, use it on me, and the next time you get a chance use it on one of the dragons at the stable. You’ll find that the system has changed what it classifies as domesticated dragons; which classification it considers to be closer to monsters than to a sapient race.”

  He nodded a moment before asking, “What do you mean it considers them to be monsters? What does the system consider you to be?”

  I snorted and electricity crackled across my nostrils. To prove my point, I cast Identify.

  Rizal Atreides

  Human

  Storm Weaver (epic)

  Level: 19th

  I didn’t bother trying to get more information out of it.

  “Did you just Identify me?”

  I nodded. “The spell told me your name, race, class, and level. If I were to cast that on a monster, it would tell me the monster’s race, name if applicable, likely its HP, and it’s Tier. Monsters have Tiers, but humans have levels. Do you know what dragons have?”

  He shook his head.

  “The domesticated dragons back at the stables have a Tier. That is how the system quantifies monsters. Most dragons don’t have either levels or Tiers. We are our own thing. We have age categories which go like this: hatchling, wyrmling, whelp, youthful, young adult, adult, mature adult, elder, ancient, wyrm.”

  “And can you only gain age categories by becoming older?”

  “There is another path, as well… similar to the way that you gain XP.”

  “Where are you at now?”

  “Aren’t you just going to Identify me?”

  “I’m the teacher—or at least that’s what I’m supposed to be. Just answer the question.”

  His response was short and a few months ago would have prompted a hostile response from me. I now knew that humans placed a great deal of importance on their social structures. “I’m a Mature Adult.”

  “And how does that compare to human levels?”

  I thought about it for a moment. I was willing to share some information, but did not wish to go into any detail. I didn’t see what harm it would do, though, to explain a little.

  “Discounting gear, I’m easily a match for a level 20 human… and probably several of them, or even an entire party if they don’t have any magical gear.”

  His eyes widened. I held back the grin that threatened to peel back my lips, but felt it inside. That was the reaction I’d been looking for.

  “I see. Or perhaps I don’t. Do dragons learn magic the same as humans?”

  I laughed. “Humans play with magic, dragons live it. My very flight is an act of magic as the world shapes itself around me.”

  “Hmm… show me.”

  I spread my wings, but then he held up his hand in a fist. I recognized the sign from the adventurers. It meant to stop. “Not quite yet.”

  Then he began casting a spell. It was fascinating. I could see a bit of Wind Weaving and Call the Charge in it, but it was something more than that. It was more complex than a spell which I could memorize on the spot, which must mean that it was at least Tier 6 magic.

  The more I watched him work, the more I realized how profoundly powerful the magic he wielded was. Though incredibly powerful, it wasn’t fast. For more than ten minutes we had been sitting there and if I couldn’t see the thousands of tendrils of magic spreading out from him, I would have thought he had only been meditating. If not for seeing the magic, hearing a snore come from him would not have surprised me in the least.