117 [Romania] - Descending the Mountain

After solving the riddle of his own blood Oz felt a wave of relief akin to soaking in a hot bath wash over his body. Unlike gaining power or knowledge, there's was no stark improvement to his looks or his aura, instead his attitude and overall demeanour seemed to have become even calmer than before, a lot more refined and focused on the tasks laid before him.

A change in mindset to some may seem a minuscule change and to some it would indeed be so yet for Oz who has lived out two lives and has worked his way to this point after so many years this mental breakthrough gave him far more benefits than he would have ever expected, even besides the blood inside him now being under his control. To put it in a metaphorical sense Oz before his 'mental breakthrough' Oz had a mind that resembled a ton of tangled ropes and wires forming a ball that was nigh impossible to unwind. All his goals, along with his two lives conflicted forming a mess in his 'mindset'. After reaching a sort of 'enlightenment' atop this mountain though that ball of tangled ropes and wires seemed to unravel leaving him a much clearer headspace.

Dawn began to break and in the distance Oz could see the sun rising on his 8th day on the mountain peak. Feeling the slight warmth of the sun mar through the extreme cold he withstood throughout the night, he felt a smile rise onto his face. At that same moment though he looked down the mountain and felt a long sigh escape his lips.

'Am I really gonna have to descend the whole way back down?'.

Oz took a moment to think over his options here. Now with his blood under his control maybe transforming into his dragon form would be a feasible way of descending the mountain. At this point in time he's conquered the pressure and cold at the peak so flying from the peak down doesn't seem too far fetched.

'Well that seems like the best option, lets give it a-'.

Just as Oz was about to transform into his dragon form he sensed the presence of a dragon coming towards him from another mountain peak. As his head turned around he noticed that the dragon coming towards his was Arauthator. Arauthator landed on the mountain peak Oz was on and looked down at him with an impressed look in his eyes.

{For my simple advice to have helped you this much... It seems your mind was far more tangled than I originally surmised. The look in your eyes has even changed slightly...}.

Oz smiled as he looked up to the ancient dragon. To Oz, anyone who helped him with no ulterior motives was deemed a benefactor in his mind much like Xenophilius and Pandora back when he first entered this world. Arauthator was another such benefactor who has helped him improve himself immensely by not just to climb itself but the information given to him.

Unlike prior to Oz's mental breakthrough, Oz's blood at this point in front of Arauthator still remained as still as a calm lake. Unlike before where it acted on impulse in front of a dragon, Oz had a level of control over it now where he had to enact the activation himself. With Arauthator looking down at him, Oz activated his bloodline and stared back at the ancient dragon with gratitude in his eyes.

{I wouldn't have realised all of this if it wasn't for you, Arauthator... I am in your debt}.

Arauthator seemed to laugh as he heard Oz's reply shocking Oz as he deemed this dragon the type to stay reserved at all times.

{Hahahaha, In my debt? The mountain trail to the peak is a trial I set up for those worthy, the information handed to you was simply a reward for your hard work. You need not feel indebted...}.

Understanding Arauthator wanted this exchange to end here, Oz simply nodded accepting the dragons praise. Whilst stood on the peak with Arauthator though Oz felt a burning question gnawing away at him.

{Arauthator, what exactly were you disappointed in me about? Was it purely because of my weak hold over my own blood?}.

Arauthator sighed as he looked down at Oz. His eyes seem to hold a layer of nostalgia within them as he began to explain.

{Your control over your blood was definitely the main reason... Judging by how it seemed to only activate in a dire situation I realised that you had no clue where you were heading in terms of controlling your own blood. As the descendant of 'him' I figured that you would have some sort of knowledge about your own bloodline so seeing you struggle made me believe you were unworthy of the blood within you...}.

{Despite this I then find out that all you needed was a simple push in the right direction to solve that riddle, suffice to say I was surprised to see how little advice was needed for you to undergo such a change... You could say I profiled you too hastily considering I was comparing you to that monster of a man}.

Oz chuckled as he listened to Arauthators reasoning.

{That ancestor of mine... He's someone whose left me next to nothing in terms of 'knowledge'. Besides a vault and a hideout he left nothing in terms of how to control the blood within me. Heck, I didn't even know about this bloodline until I underwent a Animagus ritual that awakened it...}.

{My only guess is that he wanted his descendants to seek the answers themselves instead of getting an easy pass... The more I'm aware of that mans character the more of a pain in the ass he seems}.

Arauthator let out a hearty laugh as Oz chided Merlin.

{That Merlin is indeed a character set in his ways! Back when he first visited me he stormed up the mountain as fast as he could, ignoring the elements and coming straight to the peak in order to seek information and 'knowledge'...}.

Oz felt his eyebrow wrinkle as he heard Merlin's feat centuries ago storming up the mountain. For him to climb this mountain so rapidly... How far behind was Oz in comparison to that ancestor of his?

Arauthator noticed the wrinkle in Oz's eyebrow and sighed.

{Your ancestor was truly a genius thats for sure... However, let me tell you one thing. When he climbed this mountain he was at least 30 years old. His appearance was that of a 20 year old however due to how dragons blood causes humans to live a longer life... He was at least a whole step ahead of you in terms of power as well...}.

{He may seem an unsurmountable wall to you right now but trust me... He's not unbeatable. Judging from the look in your eyes now I can see your desire to not only reach him but surpass him..}.

Hearing Arauthator explain Merlin's age when he climbed the mountain Oz still felt slightly conflicted. To the outside looking in Oz had surpassed Merlin's feat by at least 16 years in comparison, being able to climb this mountain not only at a step lower but also at such a young age. However if you combined Oz's previous life and this one that would make him 34, falling behind Merlin by 4 years.

'When I became conscious of this world however I was 5 years old so technically im 1 year ahead of Merlin... There's no use dwelling on that all now though. He's not my main goal after all, he's simply a means to use in order to reach my ultimate goal'.

{One last question Arauthator, What did Merlin seek when he climbed to this peak?}.

{The same as you to a degree... I'm unable to tell you how he received his 'dragons blood' whether hereditary or if he implanted it within himself however from what I do know he was not fully capable of wielding it or at least had no knowledge of 'how'. Alongside this his power was a whole step above you at the time meaning that when he 'unleashed' his blood it was that much more violent and powerful. Think about the times your blood decided to activate due to your emotions/needs, im sure you realised how powerful that feeling was and how sometimes your emotions can be out of whack focused solely on battle... his was at least tenfold as difficult to deal with}.

Listening to Arauthator, Oz held his hand to his chin. This was the first time Oz had heard of Merlin not knowing something. After all the man was human to some degree and not an omnipotent being.

'Alfreda explained that Merlin raised dragons in the hideout many of times... could that be related to how he got his blood or even related to him trying to understand his own blood?'.

Questions swam in Oz's mind for a while before being blotted out. Whilst these questions were indeed interesting to mull over they weren't important to Oz right now. What he needed right now was to descend the mountain and continue on his journey. He still had many places to visit before next year.

{I see you want to descend back down the mountain and meet with your companions... Should I arrange a quick way for your descent?}.

Oz looked at Arauthator in gratitude.

{That would be of great help to me... could I also ask one last favour before I leave?}.

{Oh? As long as the favour isn't too great I can think about it...}.

Oz at this point had made up a profile of this ancient dragon within his mind. He seemed increasingly prideful, especially about his own race. That was the main reason why he was so disappointed in Oz considering he wielded dragons blood within him and had no clue how to use it. To Arauthator that felt like an insult. If Oz were to ask Arauthator to 'help the people in the sanctuary' Oz was sure to be blown off, maybe even completely off the mountain. Oz however didn't want to ask that as he had no reason to. Instead...

{I travelled here with two companions. An elf named Alfreda and a young dragon named Norberta. Norberta I plan on having stay here to mingle with her kind as she grows... If you could keep an eye on her from up here I'd feel much better about leaving her here}.

Arauthator seemed to smile as he looked down the mountain towards the mountain range where the young dragons roamed.

{The elders along with myself look down upon our young all the time in case of anything happening with them... Don't you worry yourself Oz, your dragon seems to have fit herself in with the rest already and if anything does happen to her the dragons on the peak will step in...}.

Oz thanked Arauthator again for the third time during this talk. Arauthator simply nodded as if it was natural to protect its own kind. At that point Arauthator let out a loud roar that echoed throughout the mountains.

As the sound of the roar simmered away into the wind, Oz could hear a dragon flying towards their peak. The dragon was smaller than Arauthator in stature yet had the same, ancient look in its gaze.

{You called my Lord?}.

The dragon bowed to Arauthator showing slight fear and reverence in its gaze. Oz looked at this exchange in awe.

{Oz here needs to be taken back down the mountain as soon as possible... I'll entrust this task to you}.

{N-No problem my Lord!}.

Arauthator gave a slight nod as he turned to Oz with a look of expectance in his eyes.

{Although I don't know when we will meet again, I know it will happen eventually. I look forward to seeing how much you've grown when you make the climb again in the future...}.

Oz nodded back to Arauthator, showing a confident smile. Arauthator then flew away from the peak Oz was on into the distance, leaving behind Oz and the elder dragon.

{For the Lord to be so calm with you... You must have left an impression}.

Oz simply smiled as he looked up to the elder dragon that was to be his ride back down. Although he wouldn't have minded transforming himself, at least this way he gets a peaceful ride down instead of an exhausting one.

.

"Alfreda, It'll be at least 6 more days before Oz makes an appearance... There's no need to keep your eyes glued onto the mountain".

Charlie Weasley seemed to be tending to one of the younger dragons as he stared at Alfreda who was nearby. In the past few days he realised how dedicated this person was towards Oz, seemingly spending most of her time looking up the mountain towards the peak.

Alfreda sighed deeply to herself as she walked over towards where Norberta was. At this point in time Norberta was with one other dragon that seemed about the same age as her. Alfreda didn't know the name of this dragon yet could tell that it was Norberta's first true friend here at the sanctuary.

As Norberta caught Alfreda in her sight, she took herself over before her and seemed to whimper.

"No sign of Oz?".

Alfreda shook her head at Norberta's questioning. Norberta at this point had learnt to speak somewhat fluent English after her lessons with Alfreda throughout the last year. At first she wanted to learn English as a way to surprise Oz however she felt herself more inclined to learn the language as she could converse easier with Alfreda compared to before where Alfreda had to infer the meaning in her words.

"Master may still be 6 days yet... we have to be patient".

The dragon behind Norberta that seemed to be friendly with her growled out in confusion at the situation. Alfreda tried to listen in, inferring with the conversation was about. Norberta seemed to explain how Oz was the human with purple eyes who scaled the mountain a week back now to see the peak.

"What is your friend heres name Norberta?".

Norberta seemed to lack back down at Alfreda with slight embarrassment.

"Oh this is Evy... she's been a good friend to me for a while now".

Alfreda looked at Evy with a smile to which Evy seemed to hold a slightly scornful gaze back. Alfreda chuckled as she expected this, considering that dragons were born prideful.

As the situation began to calm down however, Alfreda and Evy both seemed to dart their heads towards the peak of the mountain. Alfreda looked on in confusion and when looking around the mountain range she noted that all the dragons present seemed to be doing the same, looking towards the peak with slight trepidation and fear in their gazes. As Alfreda's confusion seemed to rise Charlie who was tending to one of the younger dragons ran over.

"Alfreda! It's bad! Mihai's informed me that they spotted an elder dragon descending from the peak".

"An elder dragon?!".

Considering that Oz had been gone for over a week now and suddenly an elder dragon was appearing, Alfreda felt nervous considering the circumstances. She extended her senses out towards the dragon that seemed to be descending quickly towards the sanctuary.

"It'll be here in 5 minutes... Norberta, can you help us in persuading it if things do go south?".

Norberta nodded towards Alfreda and followed behind her. The two headed towards where Charlie ran off to. As they arrived at the 'village' side of the sanctuary they saw a big crowd gathered with Mihai the Romanian wizard stood at the forefront with Charlie. Both seemed to be trying to calm everyone.

Alfreda looked on with a sigh as the situation seemed to be becoming out of control.

"It's only natural they react like this... last time an elder came down it killed their leader and massacred many others".

All of the Romanian witches and wizards looked towards the peak in fear and panic. Charlie and Mihai tried all they could in order to calm them however nothing they could say was able to soothe their fear. Soon, the dragon descended onto them.

*BANG*

The dragons feet slammed into the ground and looked down upon the inhabitants of the sanctuary. Looking over towards Norberta and Alfreda its gaze seemed to linger for a bit before looking at Charlie and Mihai. Charlie swallowed deeply as he took up the courage to step forward.

"How may we-".

As Charlie began to speak his attention was suddenly torn away from speaking to slight movement on the dragons back. Jumping down to the elder dragons side was a tattered boy, covered in frost and bloodstains. The boy seemingly ignored them all as he looked up to the elder dragon, speaking softly to it.

The elder dragon nodded at the boy and immediately soared off back into the skies, leaving a dumbfounded crowd in its wake. The crowd then shifted their attention onto the boy who had just leaped off a dragon. Alfreda and Norberta looked at the boy with happiness filling their eyes.

The boy was naturally Oz.