The Hidden World

“How was the tour?” Akira asked. Yuki smiled at her.

“It was interesting,” Yuki replied as Akira joined Ember and her. They were at the edge of the city center. Yuki could spy Erica and Yuna wandering around. Mathali was with them, sticking by like a shadow. “Ember said that we’re moving now though. 

“Want me to call the rest over then?” Akira asked.

“If you want. I could do it too.”

“It’s fine,” she smiled. As she spoke, Yuki noticed Erica’s head go up and turn toward their direction. She nudged Yuna and together with Mathali they started making their way toward Yuki. “Where are we going next?”

“Town hall,” Ember replied. “It’s not that far from here. A minute’s walk. I need to talk to someone there before we can go meet the council.”

“Ready to go?” Yuki asked Erica as she arrived. 

“Yep. Going to town hall, I heard?” she said.

“We are. Ember, lead the way,” Yuki said.

Ember obliged, striking a quick pace as she navigated the city once more. She cut between buildings and stopped here and there to wait for the group to reach her. True to what she had said, the town hall was close by. 

It was a building that was hard to miss. It stood out from the surrounding structures with its ornate designs and architecture. Made out of what looked like pure stone, carved murals wrapped around the top where the roof met the walls and decorated the walls themselves. Pillars rose up from the polished stone porch to support an overhang. Stain glass windows let light in, each with a glass dragon emblazoned onto them. 

What caught Yuki’s eyes was the different colored stone that looked like they blended together. The entire building didn’t look like a structure made of many parts. It was almost like someone had taken a small mountain and carved the town hall from it.

As they walked up the polished stone steps, Yuki noticed etchings on walls, pillars, and floor. They were made in such a way to look like decoration but upon closer inspection, she found that they were runes. 

‘Protection of sorts?’ Yuki wondered. ‘Who made this place?’

It had to be an earth dragon. A master as well as no one else would be able to do such a flawless structure in one session. A group of lower elementalists may have been able to create a copy, but there would have been imperfections strewn about.

“Like it?” Ember smiled as she noticed the expression on Yuki’s face. 

“I do, but I’m more impressed,” she replied. “Do you know who made this place? Are they still alive?”

“It’s the first structure to be made here in this area,” Ember said. “That was tens of thousands of years ago.”

“So the founder of the city made it?” Yuki asked.

“No. This predates the city. It was a home that was repurposed,” she explained. “Like you probably noticed, it’s not something a normal dragon made. Gaea made it.”

‘Sophie’s master,’ Yuki thought.

“From what was taught to us as hatchlings, she lived on this land for thousands of years. This was her abode. When dragons decided to gather and form communities, she was approached for guidance and she offered this land for the first city as well as her home.”

“Why would she give up her home?” 

“We don’t know. Dylik would, but he is no longer with us. All we know was that she disappeared not long after that, going off to find a new place to settle down for the coming years.”

‘How did Sophie become her student then?’ Yuki frowned softly. ‘Sophie isn’t that old.’

“Has no one seen her since?” she asked.

“No. It’s just that no one knows where she lives,” Ember said. “She comes out once in a while to offer guidance. The last time we spoke to her was around the time of Kienva War. She pointed us in the right direction and then disappeared again.”

‘Well. She’s dead so that’s probably why no one has seen her,’ Yuki thought. 

“Anyway. The one who maintains this place now is Gaea’s student, the Archmage of the Earth. But she disappeared for a while now so the Dragon’s of Gaea have taken up the job.”

“The Archmage of the Earth,” Yuki repeated. She knew that title. It was Sophie’s.

“Yep. She’s one of the seats on the council,” Ember said. 

“She’s gone,” Yuki said, making sure to control her voice. She couldn’t stop the small shake that leaked through.

“What?” Ember frowned. “What do you mean gone?”

Yuki pressed her lips and gave Ember a meaningful look. She didn’t want to say the words out loud.

“Oh. Oooh. That Sophie. I didn’t know. I thought it was someone else.”

“It’s fine. I’m sure the council knew about it,” Yuki replied. “Are we going in?”

“Yeah. Yeah, follow me.”

She approached the stone doors of the building which opened inward without a sound to let them in. In front of them was a hallway with a long carpet stretching down the entire length. At the end of the hall was the entrance to a room whose door was currently shut. 

Ember went to the side of the hall where a reception desk stood with a woman behind it. The woman gave Ember a bright smile and folded her neatly in front of herself as she stood up straight.

“I see you’re back, Ember,” the woman greeted. “How may I help you?”

“How are things going right now?” Ember asked.

“You have no current assignments,” the woman replied. “Your greeting party is still being organized, but look forward to an announcement in the coming days.”

“I thought I said I didn’t need a party,” Ember frowned.

“Kilik believes otherwise,” the woman said, her smile still bright.

“Maybe this is his way of saying sorry,” Ember mumbled beneath her breath. “Anyway. I have a meeting to attend to. I brought the guest and her party.”

“Wonderful. I hope you have a fantastic time.”

With that, the receptionist stopped speaking and Ember left the town hall. Yuki was right behind, not quite sure what had just transpired.

“Ember, you know where to go?” Yuki asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “She just said where. Let’s get to a clearing before we fly over to the meeting site.”

‘It must have been a code then.’

“The meeting place isn’t in a city?” Yuki said

“Nope. Let’s talk while we’re in the air.”

Yuki followed Ember to a wide open section of the city. It was right beside the lake where dragons were sleeping at the banks or swimming in its deep waters. Ember changed her form, but stopped Yuki just a moment before she did the same.

“We’re going to do this fast. Akira. Erica. You’ll be on Yuki this time. When she changes, climb on top as fast as you can. Yuki, make sure to tell us when you’re going to change.”

“Oh, you’re trying to minimize the amount of people that see me,” Yuki said.

“Yep. Ready?”

“Yes. I’m changing in three, two, one. Now.”

With her last word, her body morphed into her dragon form, her silver scales sparkling underneath the light of the sun. Akira and Erica leaped up, slipping their feet into the saddle on Yuki’s back, and swung themselves on board in one smooth motion. When Yuki felt that they were secure, she spread her wings and launched herself up into the sky, Ember half a second behind.

[Perfect,] Ember said to her. [I don’t think a lot of people noticed.]

‘But some did?’

[Not enough. They wouldn’t think twice as some dragons just like changing the color of their scales for cosmetic reasons. I didn’t want them noticing your body structure.]

‘Ah. I see.’

[Now follow me. I’ll tell you about the council.]

They flapped their wings to gain a burst of speed and began to glide in the air.

[So the council. The reason I wanted to tell you things is because the council is made up of very unique people,] Ember explained. [They’re all powerful dragons, but they’ve achieved their power through different ways. Almost all of them have a unique power that makes them standout.]

‘Alright. How do I navigate around them?’

[Most will respond kindly to politeness. All of them will respect strength. If you read the atmosphere and the people carefully, you should know how to react. The main problem is the council head, Kilik.]

‘Your boss?’

[Yes. My boss. His powers are different. Even more different than the rest. He’s almost like two people all in one body. Two souls that are reflections of one another.]

‘He’s bipolar? So I need to worry about flipping his switch accidentally?’

[It’s more than that. When he switches, his power increases dramatically. Everything from his magic to his physical strength is boosted. His mental faculties lessen though. He doesn’t become stupid, but he’s more normal in terms of intelligence.]

‘Ok.’

[However, his mental inhibitions that control his strength and emotions are almost completely gone, so it overrides his ability to think critically.]

‘Ah. That doesn’t sound safe.’

[No it doesn’t. He can control when he switches most of the time, but when stimuli become too much, it’ll go overboard. He hasn’t had a chance to release in some time I believe, so whatever you do, do not challenge him or show off in front of him. Later you can, but not right now.]

‘So it’s just like the others than, just harder.’

[If you want to think about it that way. Only with him, if you make a single misstep, it might mean you die. With the others, there’s a lot of leeway and dragons don’t hold grudges.]

‘I’ll keep this in mind.’

[There’s something else as well.]

‘What is it?’ Yuki asked.

[Kilik is just like you.]

‘In what way?’

[He’s an omnidragon. The only other one we’ve had in history.]