Chapter 5

Outstretching his claw, Ryuijin’s face pressed up tightly against the bricks of the tower as he tried to reach for the books at the far end of the walls. “Ngg,” he whined, the tip of his claw coming within millimetres of the books but never closer. “Damn it. Why must humans make such little holes to peek out of?”

He pulled his claw back from the tiny window of the tower, sighing heavily as he pressed his forehead against the stone, his gaze fixed on the books he could not reach. He could break off bricks around the gap, creating a large enough hole to pull out the books at least; he could even tear off the wall to grab whatever he wanted, but as he looked up and down the tower, his heart ached at the thought of ruining the tower and ruining the legacy that the wizard left.

“Arg, what am I going to do?” he growled, slamming his forehead against the tower. As it rumbled, he started to panic. The tower swayed slightly. Ryuijin moved swiftly to wrap his large arms around it, trying to still it. From inside the tower, Ryuijin could hear a ting hitting the floor, something that sounded like a child playing marbles on his oak flooring. Keeping the tower steady, the tinkling became a rolling sound with a slight bounce as it went over the broken boards inside. Ryuijin looked through the hole, watching as a small glass orb fell through. Once again, he acted swiftly, moving one hand to grab the orb while the other secured the tower.

Happy that the tower wouldn’t move, Ryujin took his hand back, using both to cradle the orb. It glimmered a pale lavender, almost fully translucent, showing what looked like small clouds dancing inside. “What a funny-looking treasure?” He brought it closer to his face, the orb looking like a mere speck in his large claws.

“I am not funny-looking.” Light from the orb throbbed with each word spoken, causing Ryuijin to lose his grip and drop it into the bush that sat at the bottom of the tower. He leant down, his nose pushing the leaves to the side, the orb having fallen deep between the branches. “Get me out of this blasted thing!”

Ryuijin stammered, flustered as the orb spoke to him again, its voice becoming more demanding. Ryuijin moved his claw through the branches, pulling it out using the tips of his claws. “Umm,” his voice hesitant, feeling as if the days of trying to get into the tower had made him delirious, and now he was hearing voices. “Hello..”

Inside the orb, the dark clouds lightened and swirled, taking the shape of an older man who looked rather annoyed. The man’s eyes widened immediately upon seeing the one who had awakened him from his slumber. He reached up and stroked his beard, which reached his lower belly. “Fascinating.” his voice was groggy as he examined Ryuijin’s form. “One-horn dragon. That’s not something you see every day,” he commented, Ryuijin grumbling at the reminder. “Though, with such a large stature, how did you get into my tower?”

“I didn’t,” Ryuijin spoke bluntly, holding up the orb to show the man inside that he was, in fact, outside of the tower. “This thing fell out after I, um, hit my head on the tower.”

The man in the orb went quiet, simply observing the surroundings. Indeed, he was outside the tower. He nodded, the words repeating themselves. ‘Outside the tower. Outside the tower? “Why am I outside of the tower?” The man exclaimed, pointing his finger at Ryuijin. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to go? My ideal apprentice was to adventure into the tower and stumble upon the orb, creating a most delicate contract to become my pupil and pass down my work!”

“Your work?” Ryuijin repeated, his brows perked with interest. Surely it couldn’t be. This little man was the great wizard of Dragonmount.

The man in the orb coughed, composing himself as he turned his full attention to Ryuijin. “I am Arther Ingelgrad,” Arther smirked, continuing to stroke his beard. “And first things first, you shall need a wand.”

“And why would I need a wand?” Ryujin placed the orb gently onto the ground, keeping a hunch to maintain close contact as they conversed.

“To become my apprentice, of course,” Arther cheered, pumping a fist into the air. After noting Ryuijin’s lack of enthusiasm, in fact, looking as if he was about to knock the orb into the nearby lake from sheer annoyance, Arther sighed, dropping his arms as he looked deep into Ryuijin’s eyes. Beautiful grey eyes that yearned for more, that sought to defy his fate. “As you have probably realised, I am not the true Arther.”

“The true Arther?” Ryujin repeated.

“Yes,” Arther raised a hand, waving in front of him, moving images of a young Arther Ingeral, working hard at his dark oak desk, scratching at his head. “This is the true Arther who left me a part of his soul inside the orb so that I may pass on his magic to a suitable apprentice.”

Ryuijin sat cross-legged, his claws holding his legs close as he stared at the image of Arther. He needed an apprentice to carry on his findings? It wasn’t uncommon for wizards and witches to take on the young and inspired to ensure their branch of magic continued, but….

“You want to teach a dragon magic?” He asked bluntly, his brow furrowed. “You realise how ridiculous you sound, right?”

Arther laughed nervously, pulling at the collar of his cloak. “Yes, about that…” he gulped, sighing heavily. “As you are the first one who touched the orb, you are the one in the contract. So I suppose congratulations is in order?”

Ryuijin opened his jaw wide, baring his fangs, causing Arther to panic as he saw his sharp fangs. This wasn’t exactly the reaction he expected from his apprentice, and now he needed to defuse the situation before the orb turned to crystal dust. He held his hands up in defence, screaming out. “Wait!”

Ryuijin’s jaw snapped shut, his eyes glaring into the orb, waiting for Arther to speak. Breathing deeply, Arther waved away the memory of his true self to look Ryuijin in the face. “I’m waiting,” Ryuijin growled, light smoke leaking from between his lips.

Arther wanted to speak, but no words left his lips as he looked into grey eyes again. The yearning was still there, but what did Ryuijin yearn for? His eyes gazed up, noting the scar where the horn once was. “I want to hear what you want, Dragon.”

His brow unfurrowed, eyes widened as this little man in an orb who, one minute ago, proclaimed he was his new apprentice, was now asking about Ryuijin. Chuckling, Ryuijin sat back, his body relaxing. “Firstly, my name is Ryuijin,” he introduced himself. “And if you’ve just woken up, then you have truly missed out on the biggest change in this world.” He continued the story of the dragon who tried to attack the princess, how all dragons were sentenced to death by extinction, and how the knights had issued the order to remove the horns. “However, I escaped,” he said, the cheerfulness of being listened to dwindling with each word. He shook his head, burying it in his hands. “No, I ran! I ran from my kind and let them punish us for something we didn’t deserve. I just wanted to live as what I am! I am a dragon.” He clawed at his forehead, digging deep into the scales. “The thought of them removing my horns. Taking the thing that shows everyone what I am.”

“And what are you?”

“I’m just a dragon,” Ryuijin whispered, his body going limp, arms falling to his sides. “A dragon who wanted to survive.”

Arther hummed, running his fingers over his moustache. A dragon attacking a human wasn’t in the memory bank of the true Arther; nothing in the knowledge given to him insinuated that a dragon was capable of something so horrendous. “Ryuijin, I encourage you to become my apprentice.” Though it was a suggestion, it came out more like a command. “Follow my training and become more than ‘just a dragon.’ Become the dragon that lives for a new purpose.”

Arther held his hand out, though he knew he couldn’t reach beyond the orb; he needed to show Ryuijin he was on his side. “Become the most powerful dragon wizard.”