Ch.9

"So Aenela, how long are you staying?" I ask her as she comes into my camber in the heart of the largest volcano on the island. I made her a stone chair and table to sit at since she told me humans enjoy those things.

"I can stay for the day but must return before nightfall. As it will take a month or so for me to return home. My mother believes I'm exploring the forest, which in a way I am. Though seems like last time I had to escape my family's house guard," Aenela says to me while looking at the fruit I summoned for her to eat.

"I see, either way, I'm happy you came to visit. As I'm sure you can tell I rarely get any visitors or anyone willing to hold a good conversation with," I say to her and she laughs nodding her head.

"Can I ask you what it is like living in a human city and more about your people's customs? I've never really had the chance to learn more about humans," I say to her while looking at her curiously and she nods her head while eating some of the grapes I summoned.

"Not much more tell you that I already didn't… Though I guess, as you can see I'm not wearing a dress like last time. I was able to convince my mother to find me, someone, to teach me the way of the sword," Aenela says while taking out the sword she has and showing it off. Now I notice focusing more on the sword that, faint magic is coming from the sword.

"Interesting… I have a few questions. First, why have you not learned this before? Do humans not like teaching others the way of the sword? Second, that sword is magical in essence, was the sword enchanted?" I say to her while looking at the sword and seeing the wisps of magic coming off it. Unlike most creatures, dragons are so in tune with magic that we naturally can see magic when something is magically enchanted and we can manipulate magic extremely easily.

"Well according to our Empire, women are not good enough or meant to be fighters. Though my family doesn't all feel that way, my father wasn't totally against me learning the sword. Plus after convincing my mother, she allowed me to learn," Aenela says while shrugging her shoulders.

"That seems vastly stupid. From the stories, my mother told me, most famous magic and fighters of the mortal races were sometimes female," I say to her while thinking about what my mother told me all those millenniums ago. Hearing about my past piqued her interest. Though before we got into that I asked her about the sword again.

"Though for your sword is it made with a special metal or process?" I ask her still curious about this sword which is the first magical item I've come across on this island.

"As for my sword… I don't think it is enchanted. As far as I know, it was made like most other swords for nobles, out of the special steel the smiths' use. I mean sure the sword was made especially like most noble swords," Aenela says unsure while inspecting the sword.

"I see… do you know the metal's name or what it looks like?" I ask her while thinking if I came across this metal.

"Not too sure, though I could bring some with me next time," Aenela says to me.

"I'd appreciate that," I say to her with a nod of my head. She nods her head happily.

"So can I ask you about yourself?" Aenela says to me and I chuckle while nodding my head.

"Ask away," I say while shifting myself to get comfortable for this extended conversation.

After a few hours of telling her stories of my life before I was forced to leave my mother behind. How I found myself here and what I went through here all these years, she listened patiently and attentively. By the end, I seemed to have captivated her with my life experiences.

"Talrit, do you think you could teach me magic?" Aenela asks me once I finish telling her all about myself.

I hum to myself while looking at her with a scrutinizing gaze expecting her body's capabilities to use magic. She does seem to have some potential, though not much more than the current head of magic users amongst my Kobold clan.

"You have some potential, though I feel your abilities would better be focused on the sword. Not that you can not learn magic, just that you will only be able to reach level three spells. Maybe a few level four spells," I say to her while nodding my head at reading her magic that flows in every being's blood. The more magic one has the more potential they have at using and learning magic.

"Amazing! So you will teach me?!" Aenela asks me very excited while I think.

"I can, though that would take a few years just for you to learn the basics. That's if you dedicate most of your time to learning it. That would be you'd have to leave your family to stay here and learn from me," I say to her and her face turns sad at the thought.

"Then I'm not sure I could learn magic," Aenela says with a sigh, though I think to myself for a bit.

'I could turn to my human form, this could let me learn more about them if I have her help while there. Plus I'm very curious about their kind,' I think to myself as Aenela drinks the water I made.

"There is another way. Though that would require you to help me–" I start to say and she jumps up excited interrupting me.

"Anything!!" Aenela says while I chuckle at her excitement.

Then in front of her, I shit into my human form. The form I took is one I found to be what I prefer to look like. Taller about 6'3" and with an average muscular build that any adventure would have. Long platinum blonde hair, golden eyes, and slightly pointed ears like that of an elf. While I wore a silver cloak over a black silk shirt, dark brown pants, and black leather boots. Seeing my new appearance Aenela's face foes wide and she blushes slightly, seems my human form is attractive to her.

"You can turn into a human?!" Aenela says breaking her surprised look.

"Yes, any true dragon once an adult can shift their appearance to anything that is below us," I say with a shrug making her glare at me slightly since I called humans below us dragons which I stand by.

"So will you help me while I come back with you to your home? In return, I will teach you about magic," I say to her and she remembers the deal and nods her head quickly.

"Definitely! Though, before we leave I should teach you some formalities that will be expected of you since the nobles have easily wounded pride. I don't want someone to try to kill you, only for you to destroy the whole city," Aenela says to me and gestures for me to sit at the table.

Nodding my head, Aenela then goes over all of her people's costumes with me helping me learn, what she calls Noble etiquette. We spent the rest of the time with her teaching me everything she could in the limited time we had. This made me slightly annoyed that apparently, humans have all these different ways of addressing someone or acting a certain way. Though she told me she will help me more when we get to the city, to let her do most of the talking.

I then informed the Kobolds that I would be leaving with Aenela to see the city and learn more about the way humans lived their lives. That I may be gone for a few years at least and a decade at most, but should they ever need me to have the magic casts use the spell I taught them to send me a message anywhere in the world. With that I followed Aenela to the city, she was surprised to see me easily keep up with the horse's speed even in my human form.

In any form I take, since I'm a Great Wyrm, the form keeps everything about me in my dragon form, except for the hardiness. So I'm still as easily 'killed' as any other human, but am far more intelligent, dexterous, and stronger. After a couple of weeks of travel through the woods, we entered the human territory. Then another few weeks on the road, I saw the way some humans worked the fields and lived life. Then we finally came to the huge city in the far distance that I saw a couple of times while flying about the island.

The city was far larger than I originally thought, it had to hold several hundred million humans at least. With one huge castle in the distance settled on one of the second volcano of the island. Throughout the city, I could see other smaller castles that Aenela told me were the noble houses and 'dragon' lords of the city. There were also many people walking around with metal collars on their necks, which made me think they were prisoners. Though apparently, this empire part takes in slavery which I find repulsive because every creature deserves freedom. Though unless I plan on subjugating the whole island, slavery will continue.

On the way to the city, Aenela bought a horse for me to travel with her, even though I said it wasn't important. But she told me I'd be playing a noble born and noble born apparently use horses to travel if they do not have a 'dragon'. Following her lead, I just kept quiet while taking everything in about the way humans lived their lives. After a few hours of traveling in the city, we arrived at one of the smaller castles in the city. Aenela informed me this was her family's ancestral home. Where she grew up and her family lives.

Walking up the castle's gated grounds there were a few house guards that stopped us, but upon seeing Aenela bowed their heads opening the way for her. They did not question me or even bat me a second look as I was traveling with their lady. Once we entered the grounds a few of the enslaved humans ran over to take the horses from us. While I followed Aenela inside the entrance of her home, the demeanor of Aenela changed once we entered the city. She went from a free-spirited human to a more stone-faced and cold expression. This is the same look I saw on all the nobles in the city that Aenela seemed to notice and point out to me.

'These humans have weird customs and ways of living life. I wonder what makes them act this way,' I think to myself as we enter the room where I see an older-looking woman that shares a similar appearance to Aenela and two younger human girls that I assume are Aenela's sisters.

"Mother I have returned, this is Lord Talrit of House Valtaris. I ran into him on my journey exploring the forest, he promised to teach me about magic. While we house him, he said it could take a few years," Aenela says to her mother who turns to see us enter the room while the two younger girls run over and hug Aenela in greeting.

"House Valtaris? I haven't heard of that house before, where is it that you hail from?" the mother of Aenela says to me. While I'm unsure how to answer.

"I'm from Osiavora," I say since that is the name of the place I was born and I've no idea how to answer her. Aenela grimaces slightly because I answered before she could.

"I've never heard of Osiavora," her mother says giving me a more suspicious look that I just shrug off.

"That is because it is across the seas, the Empire has yet to conquer it. He came here to explore the world," Aenela says quickly coming up with an excuse that makes her mother stare at us both a bit longer with suspicion.