Akeya Kuusai's Underground Adventure: It's Pretty Dark Down Here.

I wrote this for my claim on the Shadow Dragon Slayer role. I mostly put it down here because I felt like it. I do not exactly oppose people joining, although I find it hard to imagine anybody would want to join or could find a reasonable explanation seeing the scenery.

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If there’s one thing you can always be certain of in Earthland, it’s that there’s magic. Magic here, magic there, the entire place is filled with magic. In some places it’s even gone so far that the magic has started seeping into everyday things. It’s so common that even people who, against all odds and reason, possess zero talent with magic can still pretty much function as full-fledged mages by buying the right equipment and learning how to use it properly. Somebody without magic talent who wants to be an ice mage can just get a gun loaded with bullets that contain ice magic. They might not possess the same versatility as if they had true ice magic, but they can still freeze people. Somebody who wants to be a fire mage while they were unlucky enough to not be part of the magic program could go and get a lachrima filled with fire magic. Throw it somewhere and you have a miniature firestorm.

That said, the most interesting stuff concerning magic still happens around people and things that actually possess magic, rather than those who don’t but try to replicate those that do using the abundant resources present. A real fire mage can dazzle and amaze onlookers with a display of pyromancy no amount of fire lachrima could hope to match. A powerful ice mage can turn their surroundings into a tundra within seconds, something which no amount of ice bullets could accomplish. Those that possess the talent to use (and abuse) magic are the ones who tend to have the most interesting stories. Because wherever it is, whatever it does or is used for, magic alters the world, and most of the time it does so by going over the top.

Of course, there is one fundamental rule one has to remember when dealing with something as potentially powerful, beautiful, dangerous, complicated, intricate, and expansive as magic: it’s very rare to find a relationship which is one-sided. If people freely use magic, alter it to their liking and to accomplish their goals, what’s to stop magic from using and altering the people using it? That’s why the more powerful mages tend to feel otherworldly: they have dealt with magic for so long and to such extends that it has altered them, made them something different than they were before. Magic changes people. Some become powerful, some become cruel, some become confident, and some become dead. And some just stop being human.

Akeya looked into the cave she had found after looking for weeks, even going so far as to slide her blindfold upwards to make sure she got every detail. It wasn’t a friendly, open, welcoming cave. It was dark, deep, brooding. It looked a lot like the maw of some great beast, waiting for unsuspecting creatures to just wander in as a free snack. There didn’t seem to be an end to it, quickly becoming too dark for humans to see. Although Akeya Kuusai, like with some other examples, didn’t follow the rules of humans concerning sight: her eyes could see in everything but utter darkness as far and clear as if it was broad daylight. However even she had to admit that the cave stretched further inward than she could see, which somewhat annoyed her ever if she didn’t show it on the outside. She had hoped that when people talked about a cave too dark and deep to see anything inside they had only been talking about their eyes, which were easily blinded by darkness.

The explanation for why Akeya had come here was actually not that difficult, although not everybody who heard it might understand. Akeya’s magic was a rather strange one, one which opened her soul to magic and in result allowed her to gain magic which fitted her as a person as perfectly as a well-made glove fits your hand. In Akeya’s case this had resulted in her becoming what she herself called a Twilight Dragon: a dragon who isn’t part of the light, nor from the darkness, but a dragon who dances in between those extremes, in the shadows that form the dusk and the dawn. Of course the transformation wasn’t complete. Up until now the only result had been that she could temporarily change her form to that of a dark blue dragon, and even then only a humanoid version. However that was already more than almost anybody else she could find, and the ninja-like female could feel how her Soul Dance was slowly making her less human, and more draconic.

This had various results, besides of course the fact that she now had a dislike for going outside when the sun was at its zenith. For one thing, the ability to see with little light which has already been mentioned. Heightened physical prowess was another, including an increase in her ability to observe and detect. Lastly there was the fact that Akeya found herself having great difficulty interacting with humans. She never had been that social a person, but after she started opening her soul to magic she found that most humans suddenly felt less comfortable around her, and she had less interest in them than before. She had at least once heard a whisper about how her eyes were too sharp and focused. Her tendency to completely cover her body with a cloak and her head using the hood of the cloak, a mask and a blindfold, didn’t help matters either. The only humans she could still get along with without there being a feeling of unease were her family.

Although honestly Akeya didn’t mind this fact (sometimes even wondering if it was the effects of her magic making her not mind having so little contact with humans) she did feel like she had to find a way to at least have people she could discuss serious matters with. Right now she could still do that with humans (albeit some were less capable of staying calm than others. Akeya wondered where Nikolai had gone) she wondered how long it would take before she was completely cut off from the rest of humanity except maybe the thin string of familial ties, and also felt that she should prepare for that eventuality. So far as she could see the only way around that would be to stop continuing advancing her magic, and that was a sacrifice she was not willing to make. The side effects may not always be as convenient, but Akeya felt too comfortable with her magic to abandon it. Besides, the process for turning your back on Soul Dance is difficult, and if what Akeya had discovered was correct it wasn’t very comfortable either.

And thus Akeya continued one trying to find people who she could talk to who wouldn’t be put at a distance by the ninja-like female who was slowly turning from a human into a dragon. Which was a lot easier said than done: the only people who seemed to have no trouble at all with her were Dragon Slayers, and as fate would have it Akeya herself felt somewhat uncomfortable around Dragon Slayers. The knowledge that their magic was aimed at destroying the very type of creature she was slowly turning into activated her preservation instincts and made her move away from those legendary mages whenever possible.

Her search for potential company in the future was rather heavily affected when at one point she ran into the Shadow Dragon Slayer of Blue Pegasus, who actually impressed Akeya somewhat and made her think of a new possibility: if she was turning into a dragon, wouldn’t it make sense to seek out other dragons? The ninja-like female felt somewhat embarrassed that she didn’t think about it earlier one, always having avoided Dragon Slayers and thus never getting the opportunity to talk about the dragons that thought them their magic. However the Shadow Dragon Slayer did tell her a bit about the Shadow Dragon that had been willing to share the secrets to Shadow Dragon Slaying, and how Akeya might be able to convince another Shadow Dragon to do the same if she displayed how she was already turning into a dragon.

It took quite some time, but eventually Akeya managed to gather enough clues about the location of a Shadow Dragon, at least one who was in a location which she could reach without having to go somewhere where her chances of dying were a bit too high for her to be willing to take the risk, at least in her current state. Not surprisingly the trip took quite a while, dragons tending to avoid human settlements whenever possible. The fact that there are Dragon Slayers shows that the dragons are capable of liking humans enough to see them as equals or at least fellow sentient beings, but that doesn’t mean the two species are happy with each other being close.

Staring into the dark tunnel Akeya hesitated for a short while, a thing she rarely does. One thing that had resulted in Akeya’s current fate (and which was only becoming worse because of her current fate) was her confidence and stubbornness. Hesitation was not something she was used to experiencing. However the idea of walking into a dragon’s lair and trying to explain to them that they want to be allies rather than enemies is something which would likely make most people hesitate, no matter who they are (Dragon Slayers of course being the exception). However it didn’t take long for the cloaked and masked girl to walk forward, moving deeper and deeper into the bowels of the earth.

Deeper and deeper she went, the light becoming more and more distant. The cave went ever downwards, away from the world bathed in sunlight, the world of humans and forests and open skies. Downwards the cave went into darkness, the world without light, where humans rarely dare to go, where the skies are non-existent. Eventually the darkness became so thick that even Akeya had to admit defeat regarding sight, having to rely on clacking her tongue and listening to the echoes to locate herself and her surroundings. It’s a good thing her hearing was also above average, otherwise she’d certainly have been in trouble. As it was she had to slow down considerably, using touch to trace the wall as she got used to making a map through sound.

Akeya walked on for minutes, then hours, until she wondered if there was even a bottom to this cave. If there was no dragon here she could keep walking until she fell over dead. There could be other dangerous creatures down her, all too willing to make use of this human(ish) prey walking right into their waiting maws. However the ninja kept walking, determined to see the end of this cave. She would only go back after finding what she was looking for, or if forced to by hunger and thirst. While thinking this Akeya suddenly blinked, looking at the wall next to her. She could actually see the rock, the fine details. Curious she looked around, noticing that the darkness had become less complete, although still dense enough that humans wouldn’t have noticed. Not for the first time Akeya felt glad that her magic had granted her this darkvision. Feeling more confident she continued onwards, watching the walls around her bend outwards while the darkness become even thinner, until the tunnel turned into a large, expansive cave, dark enough that normal creatures wouldn’t be able to see anything but utter darkness while still providing enough light for those with darkvision.

The cave was large, a lot larger than one would expect for something which for all purposes looked natural. Natural, except for the unnaturally smooth floor. Slowly and stealthily making her way forwards Akeya looked at the rock formations, the stalagmites making patterns throughout the cave and the stalactites dangling from the ceiling, making anybody inside the cave extra careful without even thinking about it, in fear of one of the bigger spikes falling down and impaling whatever poor sap decided to make too much noise or move a bit too carelessly. She didn’t see any signs of any having fallen recently though.

In the middle of the cave there was a large shape, although even after squinting Akeya couldn’t make out any fine details. It looked a lot like a large black shape, as if the darkness that had filled the tunnel leading to this place had decided to clomp together and form this rock. The only thing Akeya could determine about the shape was that it was big, compact, and that it possessed a ridiculous amount of magic. After exploring the rest of the cave (and finding several tunnels leading further into the earth) the ninja turned back to the black shape, advancing on it even as she felt like she was walking towards something which could very well be her end without her ever having any say in the matter. Whatever it may be, the raw amount of magic it contained would be more than enough to wipe her from this world several times over, even if it manifested itself as nothing more than an explosion of raw mana. However next to that sense of imminent danger there was also the feeling of familiarity.

Akeya was already fairly close to the rock until something made her stand still, feeling like if she advanced it could be bad, but if she turned back it would be infinitely worse. The rock was moving, shifting, no...it was uncurling. In front of Akeya’s eyes the completely black shape, the shape emitting enough magic to match and surpass all those boastful mages on the surface, became bigger, showed a long row of spikes, sprouted claws, spread out wings large enough to nearly touch the walls of the cave. Akeya’s head tilted upwards, and further upwards, following the ascending protrusion what must undoubtedly be the head of the person the ninja-like female human(oid) came to find. A lesson was being learned here, a lesson every mage should learn at least once in their life do they want to become anything decent: as impressive as your magic may be, as grand as you may appear towards those without magic, it wouldn’t prepare you for when you first encounter a true creature of magic and power, one who has superiority filling their veins and who see humans as smart monkeys. The shadow dragon opened two glowing eyes, a burnished gold, looking down at the cloaked and masked human standing before it.

“This is certainly a surprise,” Akeya heard, the voice at the same time too big for words while at the same time filling the cave like a whisper rather than exploding like a shout, “I didn’t expect to have to entertain a visitor, a human visitor no less. Wait...” The dragon lowered its head and sniffed at Akeya, the ninja not feeling like stepping back or acting offended. She wasn’t sure she could really retreat even if she wanted anyway. “You aren’t completely human, are you? Normally as the host I would have to start the introductions, but I feel that as the one who enters my lair uninvited I might be more inclined to listen to what you have to say if you offer me your name.” Akeya nodded, still somewhat busy trying to regain her calm. However by now she had at least recovered enough from her surprise (and awe) to comply with the dragon’s request.

“I agree that I need to apologize for my rude intrusion. I had no way of contacting you beforehand, and was not even certain that I would find you. My name is Akeya Kuusai. I have come here because I am feeling myself becoming more distant from humans, and believe that my best chances lie in getting on good terms with the dragons. As you have already noticed, I am no longer completely human. My magic is slowly turning me into a dragon, which is why I decided upon visiting a dragon rather than another sentient creature.”

After politely and deeply bowing Akeya waited for the dragon’s response, although said dragon had become rather quiet during the introduction. It folded its wings back up against its body, its tail moving to and fro behind its body. Its build was actually rather sleek, mostly appearing heavier than it actually is due to the fact that its scales are as dark as the void itself. The reason it had appearing even larger when curled up was the large wings and the fact that, while sleek, the dragon was also rather long, especially its tail. Akeya privately wondered why a dragon who looked like it belonged in the night-sky would be all the way underground, but at that point the dragon spoke again, sounding a bit more curious now.

“You say that you are becoming a dragon? I know of stories how at least one Dragon Slayer turned out that way. Yet I don’t feel their magic around you. It is rather distinct. However you do smell familiar. Your scent...it could be what happens if somebody were to mix the scent of a human and a dragon. Not quite one, not quite the other, only recognizable if already mentioned.” The dragon tapped the talons on one of its front claws against the ground in a steady rhythm, apparently thoughtful at what it had heard so far. “You are here to become friends with dragons? A rather curious decision. Your plan requires a great amount of trust in that the dragon you find won’t devour you. I won’t, since I don’t see the need, but you might want to be a bit more careful in the future.”

Akeya nodded, after a small bit of time had passed without the dragon speaking feeling safe enough to open her own mouth.

“I realize that I could have encountered a hostile dragon, but I had become rather impatient after trying for so long to find a dragon. I heard the rumours of a shadow dragon making its lair around here, and felt that I couldn’t pass the opportunity up, even if it could be dangerous. Of course, I had not expected the tunnel leading to here to be filled with such thick darkness that even my eyes couldn’t pierce it. Which only makes me more curious why this cave provides me with ample vision, even though I can’t locate the source of light that would normally make it so.”

The dragon sniffed in a rather dismissive manner, lowering its head until it was resting on its front claws and it could stare at Akeya directly without having to constantly tilt its head downwards. Its eyes were still a lot higher than Akeya, but after motioning for the ninja to take a couple of steps back the dragon could properly focus on her with both of its golden eyes. “A simple trick. As much as I like the lack of light to constantly be in utter darkness would eventually become annoying. So you can see in this shade? And here I thought I could at least scare you with what you couldn’t see. Hmph. So, you’ve found your dragon, and lucky you I’m not going to eat you. You come here with any ideas about how to become friends with me? Or did you just think waltzing in here and acting polite was going to do the trick?”

Akeya shook her head and spread her arms, a sign of helplessness even if she didn’t give the impression of feeling helpless. She had put a lot of thought in how to get on good terms with the dragon. However every train of thought eventually ran into the same problem.

“I did my best thinking of something, but to be honest I don’t think I have anything to offer, besides the fact that I’m not sure it would be a good idea to try and bribe a dragon into friendship. Honestly I came here with the plan to speak with you, and see if things could work out. Once again I know it’s not the best plan, but what could I, a humanoid without any valuables or skills, offer a dragon?”

The dragon stared at Akeya for quite a while without saying anything, then started chuckling. “You’re rather blunt, aren’t you? I will be the one to decide whether you have anything to offer me. If you have nothing worth offering, you might as well discard everything you have.” As much as that last part sounded like a joke somebody might make the dragon didn’t seem to see it as a joke, staring at Akeya as if waiting for her to follow its advice. Akeya stared back at the dragon for a couple of seconds, waiting to see if it was going to say anything else before shrugging. Silently she started to remove her clothing without any type of hesitation, gathering them in a tight bundle on the floor in front of the dragon before silently waiting for the dragon to react. The dragon kept staring for a bit longer before huffing, sounding rather nonplussed. “I did not expect you to do that so willingly. Got a bit of an exhibitionist streak in you, don’t you? Well, I suppose you’re at least approaching me hiding nothing. Heh. That counts for something. As a reward I’ll introduce myself. I am Whedalsin, the Night-Sky Dragon. In case you are wondering why I’m down here, as much as I like the Night-Sky I’m not a fan of the Day-Sky. So, Akeya Kuusai, any other smart plans besides stripping?”
Akeya shook her head, feeling rather calm for somebody completely naked inside a cave deep underground with a giant dragon watching her. Of course she had never really understood why most humans felt the need to hide their own bodies, as if embarrassed of them. Akeya’s clothing normally covered her from head to toe, but that was purely because she didn’t like the sunlight. Here underground for her being naked had no disadvantage over being clothed, besides maybe that if she encountered other humans by chance they’d start acting weird. The males were always the most annoying regarding that.

“I am not so much an exhibitionist as that I don’t share the embarrassment regarding my naked form that most humans possess. As for smart plans, not really. Although now I am curious about the story about the Dragon Slayer that turned into a dragon.”

At the mention of that Dragon Slayer Whedalsin huffed again, this time sounding rather annoyed. “It’s not a fun story. However I might as well tell you. You know how at some point in the past we dragons got into this big fight with the humans? The humans wanted to be the ones ruling the world. We dragons disagreed. Some of us even wanted to be the ones ruling the humans. Stupid idea, if you ask me. It’s not as if being the masters of humans would solve any of our problems. They didn’t have anything worth a damn back then, and I bet that hasn’t changed as the years passed by. You could just as well want to be the master of monkeys. Sure they can be interesting to watch, and sometimes they might actually be worth it, but to go through all that trouble just to-oh right, the Dragon Slayer. Anyway, human fought dragon, dragon fought human, yadda yadda, the works. Lots of lizards and monkeys getting each other and themselves killed. I stayed out of it. Didn’t feel like getting myself killed for the sake of ruling the world. Sure, it’s a nice place, but flying is good enough for me and-all right all right, I was just explaining that-you know what, never mind. Lots of fighting, me sticking to the side, and then some dragon switched sides and taught some humans how to use dragon magic. Interesting idea, actually allowed the humans to stand their own. Of course it didn’t take long before the dragons siding with the humans were once again targeted as enemies of humanity. So those guys ran for it. I may have helped a couple of them find a safe spot to hide while the ‘rulers’ duked it out.

After that the fighting became a bit more brutal. More deaths on both sides, since the dragons couldn’t really hold back after the humans actually became strong enough to be a serious threat. I watched the whole thing wondering when they’d get bored and do something else. Well, they did eventually do something else, but not because they got bored. One of those Dragon Slayers was pretty good at what he did. Whenever he showed up the dragons would smartly get out of the place. He’d chase them down and kill one or two before the rest got away. Real bastard, hero of his people. Until he started killing humans. At that point both dragons and humans aimed to kill the bugger, but he just swatted down whomever found him. I might be one of the few who saw him and got away with all my scales still in place. Anyway, I guess that after killing humans and dragons alike I guess he stopped becoming human, although I don’t see why he’d start becoming a dragon. Must be because he liked to bathe in dragon blood. Nasty habit, that. I’m telling you bathing in blood is a bad idea, no matter where you got the blood from. It’s way too easy to get sick covering yourself in the stuff that used to flow through another living being and-never mind. Anyway, that Dragon Slayer became nuts, turned into a dragon, disappeared. The end. Not sure where he went to, but after that both the humans and the dragons were done with fighting, and good riddance I say. The humans took most of the plains, and the dragons went where the land was a bit too tough for humans to like living there. Volcanoes, blizzards, giant caves very deep underground where the light never reaches, that kind of thing. And that’s how a Dragon Slayer became a dragon.” Whedalsin shrugs, frowning slightly. “Afterwards I heard some of those dragons who taught the humans how to slay dragons think of a way to prevent another Dragon Slayer becoming nuts and transforming like that. Want me to try it on you? Apparently it mostly just consists of me fumbling around with your insides to make sure they stay as they are.”

Hearing this offer Akeya (who had long since taken another couple of steps back and sat down on the floor) also frowned, considering the option. It’s the first time she heard of something like this, and it could potentially be a solution to her problem...but there was no guarantee that it would work, and while she didn’t believe Whedalsin would actually offer it if he didn’t know how to do it it was still risky. Her transformation was not like that of a Dragon Slayer. While the method used to keep a Dragon Slayer human might work it could also have no effect or mess her up, especially if it includes messing with her insides. Besides of that, Akeya had another point to consider: did she actually dislike the idea of turning into a dragon? Sure, it had some disadvantages, but it wasn’t like it was only bad stuff. Her physical empowerment and improved senses were because of her turning into a dragon. Those things would likely only increase the more she became like a dragon. And if her Soul Dance had as result that Akeya would become a dragon, wouldn’t that mean that Akeya’s true nature is that of a dragon? For a long while now Akeya’s main goal has been advancing her Soul Dance. What if stopping the transformation also stopped her ability to improve and refine her Soul Dance?

It had already been silent inside the cave for several minutes, Whedalsin quietly and patiently waiting for the human girl in front of him to make up her mind. Honestly he was surprised that it was taking so long, although he would never actually voice that surprise. From what he had heard most humans would jump at any possibility to remain human, which he could not exactly blame them for. Any dragon turning into another creature would likely also try everything to remain a dragon, and while Whedalsin was discriminating enough to see dragons as better than humans that didn’t mean he didn’t understand that humans would be just as fond of being what they are as dragons. The fact that this strange little female, who entered his cave without permission or warning, not even knowing whether he was in there or whether he would be willing to talk to her, actually took all this time making up her mind was rather curious. Basically the choice here was whether to become a dragon or stay a human. The only reason why she would hesitate...is if she was seriously considering becoming a dragon. That, or she hoped that she didn’t have to do something drastic to stay a human.

However Whedalsin doubted that Akeya Kuusai was the kind of person who would think like that. She had followed a set of rumours all the way over here and travelled through utter darkness to search for something which might not be there or which might kill here. This could all be the sign of a severe optimist, but she sounded a bit too serious for that. Besides, she said that she had been planning for the future when she became less of a human. She didn’t act as if this was just something she did just in case. From Akeya Kuusai’s point of view becoming a dragon had already been a given. She came here not to seek a cure but to plan ahead for when she actually arrived at the point where she would be too much of a dragon to identify herself as a human. And she didn’t sound too sad about that either.

All in all, Whedalsin had become rather interested in his unexpected visitor, so much that he was almost startled when the girl nodded and opened her mouth to respond.

“While I thank you for the offer I do not feel that it is necessary. My transformation does not necessarily have to be the same as the one that Dragon Slayer experienced, and thus the cure that would work for them might not work for me, or even harm me. Besides not knowing whether it would work I do not feel that becoming a dragon is something that I should be trying to escape. My ability is one which I gained after opening my soul to magic and receiving the magic which matches my soul. If that magic includes becoming a dragon I feel no reason to oppose it. So while I am grateful that you would be willing to trouble yourself trying to prevent me becoming a dragon I will respectfully decline.”

Once again there was silence in the cave, the dragon and the girl staring at each other. The girl looked as calm and focused as always, the dragon appeared somewhat amused while at the same time nonplussed. Eventually the silence was broken by the dragon opening his maw, lifting his head and laughing, a rumbling sound that rolled through the cave like the ebb and flow of the ocean. The laughter lasted for quite a while, Akeya waiting for Whedalsin to finish while the dark dragon laughed himself silly. At long last the dragon regained his composure, although the laughter echoed for quite a while against the walls of the giant cave. After the echoes had also dissipated Whedalsin spoke, still sounding quite amused.

“So you don’t have anything against becoming a dragon? I suppose I’ll be calling you sister in the future then. If you live long enough for the transformation to be completed. I don’t know how long it has been going on, but you still have a long way to go. However I’ll be taking your offer. A human who willingly turns into a dragon is somebody interesting enough for me to pay attention to. So, friend Akeya Kuusai...”

Whedalsin started moving forward, carefully avoiding Akeya’s clothing until his head was right in front of her, his snout nearly touching her head. Somehow he still managed to stare at her with both eyes from this close up, apparently having lifting the back of his head a little to get a better angle. Whedalsin’s great golden eyes looked right into Akeya’s dark green eyes, the dragon amused and interested while the girl was as usual calm and focused.

“If you’re going to become a dragon you might as well do it properly. I don’t know the exact details of your transformation, but I know of at least one method that will successfully turn you into a full dragon. Besides, as a dragon you’ll have to know how to use the magic of dragons. From one dragon to a future dragon, shall I teach you what you need to know to face your future?”

Akeya blinked as she heard the offer. Whedalsin was willing to teach her Shadow Dragon Slayer magic, purely because of her deciding that she would reject his offer of staying a human. That was certainly not something she had been expecting, although it did immediately grab her attention. Most Dragon Slayers were powerful, and it does sound like it would help with becoming a dragon. After all, Dragon Slayer magic is the magic used by dragons, only adapted by humans. It should help make a smooth transitioning from one species to another. It didn’t take her very long before she nodded, actually bowing slightly.

“I would be honoured and eternally grateful if you were to teach me the magic of dragons. It should certainly help with becoming a dragon without incident.”

Whedalsin raised an eyebrow at the bowing, shrugging and then giving Akeya a grin you could only ever achieve with a maw a couple of feet wide and filled with long sharp teeth. “Glad you like the idea. Well then, it’s the first time I do something like this so give me some time to think about it.” Humming the dark dragon frowned as he got lost in thought, trying to figure out how to teach his magic to a human. It couldn’t be that difficult, otherwise those other dragons back then hadn’t bothered with it. First of all he’d have to help Akeya become accustomed to the different magic type. “Hmmmmm......you said that your magic includes opening your soul so your magic matches your soul, right? If your soul matches magic that changes you into a dragon you should also be able to become used to the magic we dragons use if your soul is exposed to it. So...do whatever it is you do to become ready to accept magic so I can give you some.”

Akeya frowned as she considered the request, wondering whether it really would work like that. Her soul was still not completely open to magic, since her Soul Dance was still developing, but it was already open enough that her soul was to a certain extend permanently interacting with magic. However at the same time it was rather specific: any magic that Akeya tried to use that didn’t suit her soul tended to be a complete failure. She had tried to overcome this disadvantage all Soul Dancers share, but eventually she had been forced to admit defeat. The question was, would her soul accept Shadow Dragon Slayer magic? Well, the offer had been made, and she had already accepted it, so there could be no harm in trying. Nodding Akeya concentrated, gathering her magic and then slowly spreading it out, mixing it in with the magic surrounding her. Her soul was already attuned with her own magic, so mixing her magic with the surroundings should also make it possible for outside magic to reach her soul. Whedalsin also turned serious upon seeing what Akeya was doing, waiting until she had stabilized her magic before breathing out, filling the surroundings with his own magic so Akeya’s magic would only have that to mix with, sending it straight to her soul.

Akeya immediately felt it when Whedalsin started offering his magic to her, although it took a couple of seconds before something happened besides feeling it surround her. She opened her soul as far as she was able to, and suddenly felt something odd: Whedalsin’s magic was being drawn right into her soul, which seemed to have opened even further than she had been intending to. Both dragon and girl blinked as they realized what was happening, Whedalsin somewhat worried but also curious while Akeya wasn’t sure whether she should continue the progress. Soon after that the choice was ripped out of her hands as she doubled over, placing her hands against Whedalsin’s snout to support herself as her chest heaved, even now that her concentration was broken her soul staying open and drawing in the dragon’s magic. It flowed throughout her, freeling mixing and merging with her own magic, a magic which had already been altering her, a process that now was accelerating as if somebody had poured rocket fuel into the reservoir.

The ninja couldn’t help but cry out as she felt a sharp pain on several places on her back, trying her best not to faint or thrash as the pain only got worse, intensifying and strengthening until her shoulder blades and lower back felt like they were on fire and about to explode. Whedalsin didn’t do anything as he watched it happen, not really feeling alarmed even as he saw just how his magic was interacting with Akeya. How well the process was going. He had expected her to show an unusual talent when he would get to teaching her Shadow Dragon Magic, seeing how she already was partly dragon, but for it to go this far...

The pain on Akeya’s back originated from three locations, the three locations that the pain also quickly focused on and where it intensified. In those three locations her skin started to shift and shape, as if becoming fluid and somebody was hitting the side of the container. It was a lot like transforming, except this was a whole lot stronger than just using magic to temporarily alter your form. The structure of the bones around her shoulder blades was shattered, mixed about and remade, as what was before only meant to contain two limbs suddenly was forced to allow for four. These two extra limbs started growing out of her back, skin and flesh and muscle flowing along the bones as said bones lengthened and grew, more bones forming out of the already existing bones and also lengthening, becoming long and thin, several bones attached to each other with a very sharp bone at the end. The new limbs turned into arms and hands, then became even longer, the fingers in particular becoming longer and thinner, until they were several feet wide. Flesh, skin, muscles, everything followed the growth of the bones to cover them and make the new limbs complete, with as completely new addition the membrane connecting the fingers to each other and to Akeya’s back. After some more fine restructuring the new wings were completed, stretching out to their fullest length before folding up neatly, as if they belonged there on the girl’s back. From a certain point of view, they did.

The remaining source of pain, the one on her lower back, was in some ways not as bad, since it did not exactly include a complete restructuring of the bones. Well, it did, but in such a way that the bones were already used to. In a sense rather than evolving the bone structure was reforming to one possessed by the ancestors of humans. The tailbone, normally signalling the end of the spine, suddenly started adding new vertebrae, once again flesh, skin and muscles following the suddenly new expansion of bones. Each new vertebra was smoothly and subtly thinner than the previous, until it ended with a fine tip. From Akeya’s lower back a new and pointy tail had grown, although rather than that of a monkey it looked like something a lizard might have, with dark blue scales settling on top of the skin after all the restructuring had finished. Whedalsin raised one eyebrow as he saw that the dark blue scales weren’t satisfied staying on Akeya’s tail, also growing up the girl’s spine and on her wings when those were reached. They then went even further, up her neck, eventually becoming invisible underneath her long raven hair, until on her cheeks and forehead the last scales formed and settled, three elongated triangles, all three having the sharp point pointed towards the middle of the ninja’s face.

After a couple more minutes of recovering and resisting the urge to scratch her back Akeya finally managed to attain something approaching her usual calm focus, although Whedalsin certainly saw a lot more emotion in that time than he had seen from her the entire rest of the visit. Panting Akeya looked around at her back, her eyes widening as she saw her new limbs. After visually confirming it she also started feeling the broad wings and the smooth tail, feeling almost exactly the same as the ones she had already created for herself multiple times when using her magic. However there was also some difference. This felt a lot more solid, a lot more complicated, and a lot more permanent. No magic was being used to sustain these limbs. They were fully flesh and bloody, fully and completely part of her body. Her tail swayed to and fro as naturally as if it had always been there. Her wings flapped once at her command before once again settling down. The row of scales on her back and on the edges of her face all felt like they belonged there. If it wasn’t for Akeya always doing her best to be calm and composed at all times she might very well have broken into confused hysterics as she tried to come to grips with what just happened.

It was only after the third time that the ninja-like female slid her hand across the entire length of her new tail that Whedalsin spoke up, sounding rather amused. “It’s not often that a naked girl clings to me while feeling pain. Normally they’d feel something quite different. Hey, don’t look at me like that. I was just making a joke.” After hearing the beginning of the comment Akeya had started staring daggers at the dark dragon, a murderous expression that she normally would never have allowed to show so openly. After trembling with anger Akeya forcibly calmed herself, Whedalsin continuing to speak right after the killing intent disappeared. “It’s probably a good thing you removed your clothing earlier though. Your tail might not have mattered much, but I doubt your shirt and cloak would have survived the appearance of the wings.”

Akeya frowned, then once again nodded. She probably still wouldn’t be able to put on her clothing properly until she made some adaptations, she at least didn’t have to deal with her shirt being completely ripped apart. Although honestly she has more important things to think about right now. Her best bet was that somehow taking in the shadow dragon’s magic had caused her own soul and magic to respond positively, taking some of it and using it to advance the progress of her Soul Dance tremendously. Unless she was wrong that meant that the wings and tails (and the scales) were now permanent, and maybe the rest of the transformation might also now progress at a higher pace. Either way, she did feel stronger now. Now that the pain was gone, she also felt more...comfortable. The wings and tail actually felt rather nice. It didn’t feel extraordinary, but it felt as if they were supposed to be there. Stepping away from the dragon Akeya frowned, crouching as she focused on her tail and wings. She had already done this before several times in the past, so she felt confident enough to...

Her wings stretched out to their fullest extend and then flapped powerfully, sending a gust of wind downwirds while also pushing the girl upwards. Concentrating Akeya kept flapping her wings, using her other limbs (primarily the tail) to stay balanced as she ascended into the air and then hovered in place, after the initial stage of making sure it worked managing to keep her wings flapping with enough strength and the right frequency to roughly stay where she was. Even if she had done this before that had been different, and she had been a lot more focused on it than she suspected most flying creatures are. She’d have to practice on flying as naturally as she walked or used her arms. At least her tail didn’t seem to have much trouble acting as the rudder and balance that kept her from losing control.

Whedalsin watched the girl -now without a doubt his student, seeing what had just happened- fly up and then hover in front of him, presenting herself even more so than she had already done when he told her to remove her clothing. That had been a bit of a joke, but one can’t argue with the results. Although honestly he had more interesting things to think about than naked human females. He was wondering just what kind of magic the girl had been using for her to react to his magic like this. He’s pretty sure that nothing like this had ever happened before. Then again, there’d never been a situation like this: most people with a relation to dragons either had that from blood (still one of the strangest ideas he had ever heard of) or through magic, the Dragon Slayer magic developed specifically to let a human use the same powers as those possessed by a dragon. Now there was this girl whose relation with dragons was something that was formed by her using a magic which apparently made her soul decide what kind of magic she would obtain, and now even went so far as to alter her body to match. Not by blood, not by magic, but by soul was she related to dragons. It was damn strange how her soul was also similar enough to that of a shadow dragon for it to so readily accept his magic and use it to further the girl’s own magic. Unless.

“While I admit that the discovery that you can suddenly fly is one which demands a lot of attention I do feel obliged to ask you something. You already explained how your magic was about matching your soul and your magic, and how it was turning you into a dragon. So it may not be that surprising that receiving the magic of an actual dragon might have this effect on you. But I’m still rather curious: do you possibly have some dragon blood in your veins? Because that would explain a lot.”

Akeya looked back at Whedalsin as he asked her about her ancestry, quickly checking that her wings were still doing their work. After a couple of seconds of silence the girl nodded, folding her arms beneath her chest as she tried to focus on her wings while also carrying a proper conversation with the dark dragon in front of her.

“My forefather is the brother of the man who first developed the Soul Dance, the magic I use. Their father was somebody who had been granted the blood of a dragon, which was partially what allowed them to develop the Soul Dance. The dragon blood still flows strongly through each and every member of my family, which I’ve always presumed was partly the reason why my Soul Dance would have this effect on me.”

The dragon nodded as he listened to this. So in the end it was still blood which caused this. Although he hadn’t heard of any dragon willingly sharing their blood with a human any time in the recent past, so even if Akeya was right and the dragon blood was still strong in her veins, the similarity of her soul to that of a dragon is still something unusual. If you looked at it from the right angle it could even be called impressive. As such Whedalsin grinned, pointing at the large cave around them. “I’ll give you some free time to enjoy your new ability to travel through the skies like a dragon, but after that we’ll start the training. Somehow I get the feeling you’ll get the hang of it pretty damn quickly.”

Akeya shook her head at this, slowly lowering herself back on the ground and bowing in front of her new mentor. Never before did she have a mentor besides the collective parents from her clan, who all together made sure that their children could learn how to properly use the Soul Dance. However that didn’t mean that Akeya had no clue about how to act in front of a mentor, and also that her usual desire to know and learn was in any way suppressed by her desire to fly. Flying might be fun, but it could wait.

“I appreciate the offer, but I would prefer if we started as soon as possible.”