She was at the school when she found a girl trapped under a burning beam, burned beyond recognizability, but somehow still clinging to life. She gave her regeneration to her, it can’t have been for more than two minutes, but as she was sitting there she felt something prick her neck. This alarmed her, you have the stone skin of the Earth, but she had that and the Metallic resistance. Regardless, something pierced her skin. When she turned to look she saw a dart almost six inches long, with a needle we later found out was made of an ancient metal that hasn't been seen in over 4000 years.
There was a green liquid in the dart’s reservoir, but we were never able to identify the contents. Less than a week later, she found out she was pregnant with you. She was never happier, ‘Mama, I’m going to have a baby boy. He’s going to have the best parts of me and his father. Strong like him and smart like me.’ The family was overjoyed, the prodigal daughter was going to have a son!
She came home to the village, stayed in my house like she hadn’t done since she was 18 years old. We did puzzles and played board games. We spent time like a family again, those days will forever be the happiest of my life. About a month later she started to get sick, when I asked where her husband was she said he was out saving the world, how could she ask him to stay with her? I hate him for making my little girl feel like that.” Meg’s face is flushed with anger at this point.
Meg stops talking to take a drink of her tea and recenter herself. Theo remains still and silent while listening to her story of his mother. Even though he knows it can’t end happily, he still needs to know what happened to her. Kat sits next to Theo, her arms around him as she listens with him.
“Later I learned that he did indeed save the world later that month, but after that, he still didn't come to visit. He was powerful, but he lacked any common sense, always had to be the hero. I wonder if he’s still active?”
“Who was my father?” Theo interrupts Meg while she’s taking a breath.
“Your mother made me swear not to tell you before she let me leave this spirit fragment for you. Frankly, I never really cared for him, he had all of that power, but no respect for where it came from. That’s the most I can tell you about him without this whole place tumbling apart.”
Theo grimaces, but then nods, “I understand.”
He saved the world within six months of my birth, I can find him by that alone.
“Lizzy saw the writing on the wall when the council tried to force her to let your unborn form take in the poison to save her life, killing you to save her, she refused to do so and we fled the village.
I’ve been alive a long time, I still am by the way, and have substantial holdings of my own outside the village. I took her to my favorite place in the world, Riverside City. No other city in the world has a feeling of power so pure running through it, the Super to normal ratio has to be the highest there out of anywhere in the world. That plus the convergence of ley lines makes it perfect for a growing dragon. I had a villa built up against the edge of the Mark Twain National Forest, about a hundred miles outside the city, right after it was founded.
That’s where Lizzy spent the remainder of her healthy life, when I saw her health was starting to fail, I put this spirit fragment in you. That’s all I know about the end, I’m not privy to the main body’s memories.”
“So, my mother was poisoned, she could have sacrificed me to save herself, but wouldn’t do it. I can’t be mad at her for that, it would be stupid, if she had done so I wouldn’t be here,” he stands up and stares into the air, fighting back tears, “I can however be sad that I never got to meet her.” Tears run down his face, dripping down to the floor in streams.
“The girl she saved made it by the way, when I put this spirit fragment in you, she was planning on going to school to become a doctor. It might not bring your mother back, but it might be some consolation, she wanted to help save people, like she was saved by Lizzy,” Meg’s eyes shine with tears. “You get your penchant for crying from me, I bet you didn’t know that. Years as a Mind will do a number on you if you don’t let yourself go in private. I don’t think you’re a Mind, but you could be a Heart, so it should help you.”
Theo takes a few minutes of deep breathing and crying with Kat before he pulls himself together. “Po Po, you mentioned the term ‘Mind’ a few times, I’m not familiar with the way you’re using the term, should I be?”
Meg wipes the tears from her eyes and gives a half-hearted laugh, “Yes, you should be, it’s the first thing we elders identify among our children. We identify whether they’re Minds, Fangs, or Hearts. Hearts are rare, but we’ve had a few over the years in our family, roughly one every half millenia, that’s about ten times more than the rest of the village put together.”
Theo stares at her, “Why am I just hearing about this now? I’ve spoken to another Child of the Dragon and he didn’t say anything about Minds and Fangs.”
“Who would that be? Proper name please, no monikers,” Meg sips her tea, despite her grief she radiates confidence.
Theo glances over at Kat, who nods in agreement, no telepathy needed. She wants him to know more about himself and this is the fastest way. At least he won’t have to watch his mother at her lowest point.
Theo squeezes Kat’s hand and looks back over at Meg, “His proper name is Yinlong, he goes by Jolly though.”
Meg whistles, “Where did you meet Yinlong? I have to say, the village elders, me included, were attempting to locate him for years. We gave up, we assumed that he died somewhere along the way.”
“Around, why were you so interested in him?”
“Well, the elders did send him the letter that allowed him to Awaken, so we had a vested interest in his training and growth. Most likely, they sent yours as well, though I know I was planning on taking over North America to protect you. I wanted you to have time to get used to your powers before being thrust into a world of power you can’t even comprehend.”
Theo and Kat look at her, shocked.
“To be honest, I’m surprised they haven’t come to find you. You see, whenever a new Heart Awakens there’s a bell that rings in the village. The more it rings, the more powerful they’re going to be,” she chuckles, “I bet it rang off the damn yoke when you awakened.”
“So you sent me the letter, most likely?”
“I planned to leave it with whoever was going to take you in, I knew my poor Lizzy wouldn’t be able to drop you off, so I promised her I would do it,” a few tears drip down her face.
“I have a question, how you answer will determine how much longer I tolerate your presence here,” Theo takes a deep breath and Kat squeezes his hand even tighter, “Why didn’t you just take me in, why drop me off at the orphanage? You obviously had the means and the ability to take care of one child, why not their offspring?”
A box inside Theo’s psyche containing the accumulation of years worth of curiosity, rage, and sadness opens up and the emotions roll off him in waves. Both Kat and Meg recoil and Kat starts choking, grasping at her throat.
“Fool, control yourself! You’re killing her!” Meg says as she sends a wave of psychic energy crashing toward him. To her surprise, it does nothing, his emotions seem to act as a shield against her attack.
“ANSWER ME!” Theo screams. He looks down and sees Kat struggling for air and panics, “What do I do?”
“Marshal your emotions. They are your emotions, they are yours to command. You are my grandchild after all!”
Theo’s eyes go a bright purple and he can suddenly see the waves of green, crimson, and navy rolling off of himself, those waves rush out and crash into Kat because she’s sitting right next to him, she gets even more of it than Meg does, explaining her more extreme reaction.
These are my emotions, I control them.
That thought radiates through Theo’s body and he sees the wave of negative emotions subside quickly. Kat gasps for air and Theo puts an arm around her protectively. She pats his arm a bit.
‘I’m
okay, just catching my breath. You need answers, it’s no different than what I just went through.’
“I’m impressed, you have exemplary control over your emotions for an untrained Heart,” Meg smiles.
With a flash, Theo is standing in front of Meg, holding her up in the air by her throat. “Answer my questions now, or I’m gone and you never get to rejoin the rest of you. Trust me, I’m not stupid, I sensed your intent when we started talking.”
Meg’s eyes grow wide, she struggles to hold her hands up in surrender. Seeing her submission Theo drops her and flashes back next to Kat on the opposing couch.
“Talk,” Kat’s voice is a bit rough, most likely because of being suffocated a moment ago.
Meg recenters herself and adjusts her dress, “It was what your mother wanted, she didn’t want you to grow up as the heir apparent to the village chief role. She had seen too many who grew up like that turn into people she didn’t like. She left the village to see the world and found that it was full of wonderful things.
Her favorites were the Supers. Cape, Cowl, and Hood alike, she loved figuring them out. When she was nearing her end, she read about an orphanage that was opened up by a former Cape, it was called the Riverside Area Institute for Nurturing Brilliant Orphans Well. She loved that it was nicknamed RAINBOW and figured you would grow up safe there, plus when she looked into Spectrum she found that she was squeaky clean.”
Theo looks unconvinced, “You’re telling me that she didn’t want me to grow up like she did? With family? I’m skeptical at best.”
“Think about it, if you grew up there, you would have been treated like a prince. You would never have wanted for anything, never had to do anything for yourself. That leads to young people who feel it is their place to take what they want, be it objects or women. Dragons like us are driven to conquer, they’re worse. They feel like they should rule the world, that it’s their right.
They are the reason that the empire fractured thousands of years ago, the more tyrannical families killed most of the moderates and kicked the rest of them out. They founded the village after that and we do our best to not repeat history. Though we mostly succeeded, it’s still in our nature, so we have to be careful.”
“Dragons are tyrannical, who would have guessed,” Kat laughs.
“Don’t laugh so hard Missy, I feel something of a Draconic Soul in you as well, you’ll have the same tendencies as well, though not as much as someone like our Theo here. His bloodline is so pure, it’s like I’m looking at our ancestor right now.”
Theo goes to ask Kat if Meg is lying and remembers that she can’t read her mind undetected. He sighs, “I get it, I really do, but all those years of hurt and wondering if I wasn’t good enough left a lot of scars. I’m not sure how I feel about what you did right now, how about you explain some more things I need to know while I think a bit.”
“Whatever you want dear, remember, I want nothing but the best for you,” Meg walks over and sits beside Theo, flanking him with Kat on the couch.
“I’m surprised my mind can contain these two realities at once,” Theo jokes, “I hope I’m not going crazy right now.”
“Well, seeing as you’re not actually containing the training reality, this is nothing for someone as powerful as you. Your training is taking place inside the collective unconscious of all the dragons who came before, their energy sustains you and makes the Awakening Quest possible,” Meg gently pats Theo on the thigh before settling her hands in her lap.
“All right, that makes sense. Now about the classifications?”
Chapter 45: Hearts, Minds, and Fangs
“Ah yes, Hearts, Minds, and Fangs. So your mother was a Mind, just like I am. Our powers manifest on the less combative versions of the spectrum, telepathy, technopathy, healing, plant control, all of those are powers more likely to come from a Mind than a Fang, though exceptions do happen. In addition, though we are quite a bit more lithe, we lack the strength of our Fang counterparts. Minds are more sensitive than Fangs, who are rough and uncaring much of the time.
Not all Fangs are that way, but a lot of them end up like that. Fangs are stronger, faster, and tougher than Minds. Their powers are just augmentations to the general powers all Children of the Dragon have. Their attacks are stronger than all but Hearts. You see, Fangs are the soldiers, smiths, and builders. Minds are the tacticians, teachers, and healers. Finally, last but definitely not least, Hearts are the royalty of the Children of the Dragon.
Hearts have the abilities of both Minds and Fangs, the more powerful they are, the more of both sets of abilities they can use. The most powerful hearts get names including -long, you see we don’t get to pick our true names, though I guess you knew that.”
Theo nods. “I'm Jinlong, Jolly is Yinlong, both of us just knew what we should be called.”
Meg suppresses a gasp. “The most powerful of the Hearts with -long in their names are named after the precious metals. Gold is the most powerful and silver follows in a distant second. My precious boy, you’re one of the most powerful Children born in over 10,000 years. It’s not unexpected, if anyone would have them in their family it would be us, we are descended from the Great Golden Dragon’s favorite son. Not his eldest, but his favorite.”
Theo looks at Meg for a moment before realization strikes him. “The empire, the coup, it was the descendants of the eldest son wasn’t it?”
Meg smiles and looks at Kat. “He picks things up quickly doesn’t he?”
Laughter erupts from both Kat and Meg. “You’re right, he does.”
Meg’s face grows more stern, “Though Arcanatrix killed our ancestor, she did one thing afterwards that leads our scholars to believe that she may not have meant to do so. She nearly wiped out the Children descended from the eldest son of our ancestor, they ended up hiding in the shadows where they lurk to this day. They reject their true names and pick names that reflect the blackness of their hearts, the darker the name, the more powerful. They call themselves the Darkswarn now.”
“So, Ebony is pretty strong?”
“Very, I hope you never encounter them. Most of the Darkswarn lack the mercy Children of the Dragon usually instinctively hold as a core belief, replacing it with greed. Each Ebony the Darkswarn have ever had has been the coldest, most cutthroat, and merciless assassin of the generation. They need not even be the strongest of their generation, though they usually are, especially with that damn artifact they stole from one of the forgotten temples of our ancestor.”
“What kind of artifact? Is it a weapon or a piece of armor?” Theo and Kat exchange glances for a moment with wide eyes.
“It is both weapon and armor, or it could be neither. It is a black scale from our ancestor. It can be integrated with anything and it will enhance the most powerful aspect of it. In a shield, it becomes impenetrable. A sword becomes sharp enough to cut the very air itself. We have stories of it being used as part of a great ship that was used to transport our kind from the Empire as it fell. The latest Ebony has been seen in a suit of armor obviously composed around the scale, I hope it proves too much for them or I shudder to think about the consequences,” she shudders.
Theo sighs and Meg looks him in the eye, “Sorry to bore you with this information, is there something else you want to know.
“I’m not bored, I just have some bad news for you,” Theo waits a moment before Meg waves him on, “Ebony completed their armor five years ago. They have already tried killing me once with it, though their hatred for Jolly trumped their desire to kill me.”
Meg gets up and starts pacing, “Oh my dear, they didn’t want to kill you. Your power is something they want desperately. A powerful enough Heart would let them resurrect Obsidian, our ancestor’s eldest son and greatest regret.”
“Somehow that makes me feel worse, if I get captured the world goes to shit. No pressure,” Theo groans and hangs his head even lower.
“I won’t let that happen, remember we’re in this together. I even learned I have a
new power that should help with it. I mean it’s not new, I just forgot I could do it,” she focuses for a moment and a bubble of purplish pink energy appears between her hands. She takes a deep breath and stands up, then she opens up her arms and the bubble grows to encompass her whole body.
Theo raises his head and looks at her, “That’s impressive, how tough is it?” His voice perks up a bit when he sees Kat smiling inside the bubble.
“I saw it get struck by a direct hit from Twitch...I have a few things to tell you when we get out of here, okay?” Her voice fades for a moment before perking back up, “Anyway, punch it! Really give it a good shot, it can take it.”
Theo gets up, when he does so, he notices that the room is gone, leaving them standing in a beautiful garden, Meg is still pacing, but now she does so along a garden path.
“I’m not letting you bounce a ball in the house, it sets a bad precedent for a grandparent,” Meg smiles at Theo and then goes back to her pacing.
“Ready?” Theo asks as he walks up to Kat in the bubble.
“Do it! I think it’s going to work great!”
“You asked for it,” Theo rears back and delivers a powerful uppercut on the bubble.
A few things happen at that point. First things first, the bubble did indeed stay in one piece. Second, Kat didn’t feel anything from that impact. Finally, the bubble shoots off into the air like a rocket, Kat seems to be defying gravity within it, not getting tossed around inside at all.
“Strong bubble, I should go and get her now though,” Theo starts to lift off the ground before he notices that the bubble is hurtling toward him at a comparable rate to the speed it took off at.
“I’m coming in for a landing!” Kat yells as she swoops down in her bubble, letting it pop as she hurtles toward Theo’s arms. He catches her gently, his arms matching her speed effortlessly. She ends up swinging around in his arms like a swing dancer to burn off the excess speed safely.
Riverside City Chronicles | Book 1 | Riverside City [Capes & Cowls] Page 23