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Book 2: Chapter 47: Dragon 101

"Full scrub down for my friend, top to bottom," Marion said before Arthur could reply.

"Very good, sir."

"Now wait--" Arthur started.

The man gestured and the thick steam coalesced around him into a warm syrupy cloak. Arthur didn't have time to be startled or worried about holding his breath before the steam abruptly vanished.

He felt... clean. His hair was messed up and his clothes were damp -- even the inside of his boots -- but the sweat and bits of dust he picked up were gone. He was no longer an insult to the nose.

"That will be one silver, sir," the man said.

An expensive service, but probably worth it.

"I could have just taken a bath," he muttered as he pretended to draw out a coin from his pocket. IN reality, he removed it from his Personal Space before handing it over.

"Baths are for people who's time is not valuable." Marion's voice was light but he nodded deeper into the room. The whole thing was so obscured by steam it was hard to make out. Arthur thought he caught shadows here and there. It reminded him uncomfortably of scourgelings in the fog, but he knew the truth: They were other people who could very well be listening in.

As he was no longer an insult to the nose, he and Marion decided to walk outside the sauna and wait for Carley's return. Well, Marion walked. Arthur squelched.

Carley was not long in returning. "Here you are, Mr. Kane."

"Arthur's fine." He gratefully took the bundle of folded clothing, glad to see she had included new soft boots.

Marion gave an unimpressed sniff. "Don't tell me you're going to let your new servant--"

"Assistant," Carley piped up. "I'm not serving him, I'm assisting him."

"Yes, a proper servant would know to be quiet unless spoken to." Marion rolled his eyes. "Arthur, your assistant needs better clothing. She can't be seen in... are those overalls?"

Carley, who had been scowling at Marion, smiled. "Proper assistants to important people look the part," she agreed, then paused. "You are an important person, right?"

"Baron's son," Marion answered. "They're a dime a dozen, but your new master here is also one of the Legendary recruits."

Carley's eyes widened and she looked at Arthur with actual reverence. Her next words shattered that.

"If you get eaten by the egg, I'll still get paid, right?"

"This is getting more expensive by the minute," Arthur grumbled. He withdrew two silver coins from his Personal Space. Then on second thought -- because he wasn't sure what would happen to his extra dimensional storage if he died -- he removed a Rare card shard. The normal one, not one of the corner pieces. He held the piece between thumb and forefinger. "This is payment in advance. Now, take these coins and buy an appropriate uniform. After that, return to my room and... take any messages for me."

She eagerly took the money. "Can I get something to eat, too?"

"Of course," he said, surprised she felt the need to ask. "Order whatever you want."

She grinned and he wondered if he had just made a mistake.

"You know," Marion said as Carley skipped off. "People are going to think she is your little sister."

"Fat chance of that happening." Either his real sister who died as a young child or "Ernest Kane's" make believe sister. Either way, he didn't want to explain. Fortunately, Arthur had the perfect way to derail him. "Why have you nullified your Legendary card?"

Marion actually flinched in surprise and cast a guilty glare at his ever present minders who stood not far away. "What makes you say that?"

"Because when you have it on, you don't let anyone get a word in edgewise."

"I don't! ... Do I?"

Arthur gave him a look.

"Go change your clothes, you look like a Common egg recruit," Marion muttered. He wouldn't quite meet Arthur's gaze.

He didn't want to talk about it. Arthur could respect that. So he took his clothing into the sauna and got changed.

As promised, Carley had indeed brought down a cape.

Arthur walked out, feeling like a complete idiot in his fine clothing, boots so new the leather actually squeaked, and a flowing fur-lined cape even though he was in a tropical location.

At least he had company as Marion had also procured his own cape -- probably from one of his minders -- and joined him.

Arthur had no idea where he was to go, but Marion's silent and intimidating minders led the way, one in front and one in back.

As they walked, Marion shot Arthur a sidelong glance.

"That's a mean game-face."

Arthur checked his own expression. "That's just my face."

"What I mean is, you really want this don't you? The dragon egg?"

"Of course I do." Arthur shot him a look. "Don't you?"

Marion shrugged. "When you're a prince, one of your first lessons is to separate duty from want."

He wasn’t sure what to say to that. "I'm sorry."

"No, no." Marion flipped a hand at him. "I don't say that to sound like a sad sack. I'm simply aware there is a chance this egg could kill us both. Granted," he added after a moment, "I'm counting on my ability to see ahead to do everything I can to avoid that."

Arthur nodded. "Must be nice to see the future."

"It's really not," Marion said. "It's boring, waiting for people to catch up to the part of a conversation you've already heard. Worst, it's only a few seconds ahead. Not enough to actually see anything important. But, I'm expected to make the best showing that I can. Duty, you know?"

Arthur nodded, though he didn't know. As far as he'd ever seen, 'duty' was an excuse nobles used to give themselves more privileges.

Marion's mouth turned down at the corners. "I had a sister who died trying for a Legendary."

Arthur was so surprised he stumbled on his next step. Marion didn't seem to notice. His eyes were distant, somewhere else. "She'd just gotten her card. Had it maybe a few weeks before the Legendary egg was laid."

"I... I'm sorry."

Marion nodded. "Echo reminds me of her."

Once again, Arthur wasn't sure how to answer that. It seemed Marion was done speaking too. They made the rest of their way in silence.

***

The gathering was to be held in an auditorium with raised seating with the main stage at the bottom. Arthur was grateful it meant he could sit down. His stamina and strength had been refreshed but he was growing sore after having run literally all night. Hungry too.

After he sat, he took out a plate of dinner rolls he'd saved from last night's feast.

"Want one?" he asked Marion.

Marion eyed him. "Is that strawberry jam on those rolls?"

"There's blackberry, too."

"That, I'll take."

The nobles sitting in the same row eyed them with contempt. One sniffed.

Arthur couldn't have cared less. He had something good to eat and was likely going to learn something valuable today. It was a good day.

Other Legendary recruits filed in. They were dressed just as nicely as Arthur and Marion -- even more extravagantly in some cases with the women wearing gowns glittering with jewels.

That reminded him of the Rare Promenade, which reminded him of Cressida.

He wondered what she was doing now. Had she heard of the disastrous scourgeling eruption? Joy would be too young to fight, but would Cressida have any time in her training to think about Arthur, too?

A hush fell over the room as one of the doors to the side of the stage opened. A man in his late thirties walked in. He had slick black hair and a swarthy look. Stopping mid-stage, he clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at them.

"Good afternoon. I am Leader Ismael. I'm sure many of you are familiar with my dragon, Marv."

A susurrus of noise went through the crowd. Marion sighed.

Apparently this "Marv" was semi-famous. Arthur had never heard of him.

Ismael smiled tightly. "Let me be the first to welcome you all to Buck Moon hive. Now, to get some immediate questions out of the way: The hive leaders have convened and decided since most of the Legendary Recruits were evacuated here, it makes more sense to bring the egg to you than transport you back to Wolf Moon."

Arthur's eyebrows went up. He didn't think that was the case at all. More likely, it was a play to keep the Legendary hatchling in Buck Moon.

"Make no mistake," Ismael continued, "Linking a Legendary dragon will automatically propel you to one of the most important positions in the kingdom. It comes with a great deal of responsibility, but there is just as great deal of personal risk. You likely have been warned of this, and I will warn you again. People have already died in the... badly handled scourge-eruption," he said with sly emphasis. "The chances are good that even more of you will perish attempting the link. As such, you are allowed to back out at any time for any reason. It will not impugn your honor."

Marion snorted. Apparently that wasn't the case for royalty.

Ismael went on. "Some of you may ask what makes a Legendary so different from the lower ranks. After all, a sweet purple Common hatchling wouldn't hurt a fly. It's quite unusual to have any risk with a Rare hatching. The difference, ladies and gentlemen, is a matter of scope and power.

"A Common card has a fraction of the potential power of an Uncommon. The gap is even wider between Uncommon and Rare. And the gap between a Rare and a Legendary is the difference between a lake and an ocean.

"A newly hatched dragon has no control over its powers at first. When it kills people, it is always by accident."

He paused for a moment to let that sink in before he added lightly. "Not that it will matter: You'll be just as dead."

A titter of nervous laughter went through the audience. Ismael didn't crack a smile.

"Now, most of you will already know the things I'm about to discuss. Bear with me. It is imperative we do not link a powerful dragon with someone who is unaware of basic facts."

"Dragons are magical creatures. They are born with cards in their core. While they may have secondary or tertiary decks as they grow -- the equivalent to a card anchor bag or tattoo -- their core card cannot be removed while alive. It is the center of their being.

"As such an Uncommon dragon will always be an Uncommon dragon. Adding a more powerful card -- such as a Rare -- to the secondary deck will magically poison or outright kill them. This will not be something a Legendary-rank rider will have to worry about. But as a future leader it is your duty to ensure no ambitious Common rider is trying to talk his beast into more powerful cards. Remember: Equal rank or lower only.

"Now, let's stamp out the usual myths: Dragons do not always link riders of the same gender. One thing you'll quickly learn about dragon kind is there are rarely any hard and fast rules. While most dragons link male to male or female to female, some happily choose the opposite sex. That means," he said, giving them a stern look, "if that Legendary pops out a female, I do not want to see you men turning away."

Another low chuckle.

"Another myth," he continued, "is you can reliably tell a dragon's card-type by its color. I once knew a wine-colored Common with fast-attack fire powers. I thought it was a damn lightning bolt. Who here can tell me what colors make up purple?" he barked, suddenly.

There was a moment of silence and then several people called out "Red and blue".

"That's right," Ismael said. "Which means it may be comfortable with aspects of water or fire. This dragon had a swift attack card -- you'll see versions of that with purples -- and linked with a rider with a fire card. It made a potent combination."

"Now I'll go over dragon colors. Again, these are generalities -- the shade matters, as does if they have any shimmer qualities. Finally, linking with a rider can further distort the effects of the core card. Then you'll have the weirdos who don't seem to fit in anywhere. Long story short: These are guides, not hard and fast rules."

"Now purples, since I brought them up, tend to have physicality or enhancement type cards. They are the acrobats, the quick couriers, and if you've ever dealt with one they generally aren't the big thinkers." He smiled.

"The dam who laid the egg you all are here for was a purple. We don't know who the sire was. Dragons can have offspring of any color, and will occasionally lay eggs of a greater rank. Your Legendary can be anything, ladies and gentlemen, so do not set your heart on a color."

"Moving on, we generally group the rest of the colors into loose family types. You have the elementals: The blues which usually have water or occasionally wind type cards, and all the combinations you can imagine those generate. Green dragons usually run toward nature powers. But that's not just growing pretty trees: Shimmer greens can pull apart the fabric of reality itself to create our portals. Many greens also have powers over soil, which is a living thing. Whereas your standard brown dragon usually has powers over rock, minerals, and all manner of earth but can't touch living soil.

"Rounding out the elemental types are yellows which are light-based dragons, including light you cannot perceive. You'll see a lot of esoteric powers in there -- we have a few yellows which don't deal with light, but sound."

"Our next family are the reds and oranges, which are generally not grouped with the elementals. Red, as you guessed, usually deal with fire and energy. Orange dragons generally work on adapting that energy into some form. However these two are set in their own family because they tend to interchange. We have a bright Common red in our hive whose power is to turn water into a mild acid, which she then sets on fire."

"Silver, white, and pink make up the final family group, with silvers edging toward pure magic based attacks. Whites, of course, are mind magic. Pinks are another esoteric catch-all color with many having meta or knowledge based power. Scholars have tried to define the boundaries of 'meta' for generations and as far as I'm aware, none have succeeded."

He looked around at the audience. "What does this all mean for you? Well, if you were a Common recruit you would look for a dragon of roughly the same card type. You have a card to smash rocks or draw water from the air, you look for a brown or blue hatchling. You're a smarty pants with a memory card? Go for a pink. But you aren't Common are you?"

"That's the final -- and for you right now the most important difference of a Legendary versus the lower ranks." A pause. "Legendary hatchlings traditionally pick off-type combinations."