- 12 - Cruel Reality! Arrival to Trane, Take the Exams!

The stars flickered above the buggy; my hand traced the passing lights. The trotting of the hooves along the dirt road melodied with the thrum of the animals in the forest.

My eyes stared through the gaps of my fingers, studying the thin bones of the human hand that replaced my large, scaled claw. I closed my eyes, inhaling, feeling the cool crisp of the moonlit air.

When I opened them, would I be back in Hellion? This would be an illusion and Dagon would be laughing hysterically at the trick. Adbeel would be worried, hunching over my spelled body. Then, we would be off to the next military campaign. It would be over.

I counted to five.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. I opened my eyes, staring at the human hand. I exhaled loudly, groaning as I laid listlessly on the wooden floor.

It was a cruel set of circumstances that I had been placed in.

Oh, how I have fallen, now fated to spend time with the same creatures that I used to reign higher than.

The fates had humor.

Sighing, I sat upright, my eyes following the passing rows of trees. The buggy moved along, and the horses trot quickened to make it to Trane by sunrise. We had traveled way ahead of schedule due to Sirius and had already passed Fairie.

That's what Jamie said before passing out hours ago. Nightfall had come, its stay prolonged by the noise of the moving buggy. The thick woods presented no time to lower my guard.

From the top of my mind, I only imagined the dangers that could befall the buggy if I were to let my guard down. Bandits? Monsters? Assassins?

Though, Jamie seemed to have no trouble relaxing.

I peered over to the other side of the back of the buggy. Jamie lay curled up in the blankets, his eyes shut, and drool ran from the side of his mouth to the wooden flooring below.

Shaking my head, I quietly crawled to the front of the buggy. Reaching out, I pulled myself up onto the extra seat of the driver's area, nodding in acknowledgment to Sirius. He had been driving the buggy without rest, allowing us to cover this much distance.

A competent human.

"Can't sleep?" he asked, yawning. His face glowed brightly under the small lantern that hung on the side of the buggy, exposing the dark eyebags and tired eyes. It had been twelve hours of straight traveling and the buggy only stopped briefly to let the horses rest.

Despite what the human showed, he looked ready to keel over in exhaustion. Humans didn't have much energy in the first place, and he had been busy since the buggy left.

"I slept earlier," I lied, staring at the dirt road, listening to the trotting beat of the horses.

Dragons didn't need to sleep as much as humans, nor eat as frequently. I was unaffected by the long trip. I felt fine, indifferent from the strain of the traveling.

The only thing affected was my mana levels. With the constant state of placing the transmutation spell, they were always being drained. I was confident that I'd be able to maintain this form for a week before it would need to be relaxed. It was strenuous and placed an unhealthy toll on my original form.

Still, I waited in silence. Riding in the front of the buggy, I glanced at the occasional pull of the reins, guiding the horses to stay on a straight path to Trane.

My voice hushed, I peered over at Sirius, "Aren't you tired?" I asked him.

Sirius smiled, the bags under his eyes bunching up at the movement, "I'm not as bad as I look," He explained, "Plus, it's not good to stop in these woods at night. There are too many demonic creatures out in these parts. I can't risk it when I'm transporting youngsters like you."

"I'm not that young. I understand your concern with potion man back there, but I can manage myself well." I corrected him, focusing my senses on the low levels of demonic energy in the tree lines.

Huh. He was telling the truth. I followed the larger portions of mana, my eyes adjusting to the night to spot the watching eyes of lower creatures. They watched the horses hungrily, a few glancing up at the humans accompanying me. Others that met my eyes, decided to run deeper into the tree lines. Their instincts screamed at them to flee. They didn't dare cross my path.

They were smart.

The reins slacked, the ends of them placed into a holder.

Sirius leaned back stretching, a yawn, "I never said you were incapable. As capable as you may be, you're still a kid in my eyes. No matter how mature you try to act, you're still young."

If only I had that luxury. 

He had no idea.

I scoffed, a small smirk forming from his insanity. If only my father could hear that comment, he'd be dying from twisted amusement.

"You know, I don't like you that much," I reminded him, but I was certain he guessed from my lack of enthusiasm at his welcoming gestures. I had no obligation to suck up to humans that I didn't find useful.

If I were forced, I would use magic to fly us to Trane. It would risk my mana levels but I was capable enough to figure it out.

He snorted, wiping a tear from his eyes, "Well. I don't blame you, kid. I'm a stranger to you. This could have gone bad if you both hitched a ride with the wrong person. But I was serious, I can't stand being alone so I'm happy that you both tagged along."

At least, he understood.

He sighed loudly, folding his arms behind his head, his eyes glistening as he looked over, "So, now that your friendly partner is asleep, tell me about yourself."

"What?" I raised my eyebrow, slightly glaring.

"I mean. What's your deal, you know? I didn't want to say anything earlier, but your mana levels are off the charts! I've never experienced anything like it." He admitted, his eyes narrowing as he waited for my answer.

I maintained a poker face.

Who was this man?

"Are you a magic user?" I asked plainly, skipping to the point. Only demons and high-level mages could distinguish mana types.

Most human mages could sense basic levels.

The problem relied on where Sirius fell in that range.

If he were at a high level then there would be no way he'd miss sensing my demonic energy, not to mention skilled magicians could sense the layers of the transmutation spell.

The situation wasn't dire. I was too skilled to be stressed about it, especially with weak humans. If he were able to sense demonic energy, then I would just kill him where he sat.

He noticed the tension, his hand waving in dismissal, "Relax, I don't mean any harm. I'm not sure why you weren't mentioning it earlier. Most magic users are flamboyant with their magic."

So, he knew from the start. I sat back to gauge the situation, ready to jump into the appropriate measures to handle it.

The human flashed a comforting smile, "And to answer your question, I'm not a mage. I'm just sensitive to mana levels because I work at a magic academy in Trane. I teach combat there to students. That's also the reason I refuse to stop at night with two kids the same age as my students."

I sighed, relaxing. So, he's just someone with combat experience that has learned to pick up mana levels.

Most soldiers developed that sense after training with magic users for a while. Even non-magic demons would flick their heads up at high mana releases.

If that's the case, I was fine.

I had another question.

"And the gloves?" I pointed to the leather gloves on his hand. It was something that I was curious about earlier, but if he taught combat, it made sense. Dagon wore gloves because of his handling of various weapons. Human skin was frail.

Sirius looked down, slipping one of his gloves to show a callused hand, "Ah… I wear gloves because of how rough my hands feel. I guess it's peculiar." He sighed, slipping the glove back on, and picking up the reins.

Even on the battlefield with my hatred towards humans, I could learn to respect skilled fighters.

I did not know the extent of his skills, but it was respectable to some degree.

I shook my head, "Not at all."

I stared ahead. My eyes were transfixed on the dim lights in the distance, as the buggy traveled over a hill. The higher view allowed the buggy to overlook a different section of the land.

A group of lights appeared in the distance, bundled together to reveal the outskirts of a town. Torches burned brightly at a large gate, their ember glow reflecting off the metal armor of active guards.

I point, unfamiliar with the path. The route didn't pass through any other city from what Jamie showed on his map from earlier.

"What is that?" I asked.

Sirius squinted his eyes, laughing, "Go wake up Jamie."

"Why?"

He grinned, "I told you that you were lucky to have caught me. My horses are fast, and I know many shortcuts. That's Trane."

"Already?" Our arrival time had more than halved.

"Well, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the buggy wasn't enhanced with magic." He admitted and used his free hand to point at the engravings on the wheels.

It was enhancement magic.

Now, it made sense why the buggy moved so quickly.

I stepped down into the back of the buggy, creeping up to Jamie's sleeping body.

A pool of drool had now formed where his head rested.

Sighing, I pulled my foot back, kicking him in the gut. He shot up, clenching his stomach and coughing.

"What's wrong with you?" He choked out, drunk from drowsiness.

"Wake up." I pointed to the upper portion of the carriage, "Sirius said we'll be in Trane soon."

He clenched a hand to his stomach, "Really? Already?"

"Apparently." I shrugged, walking over to the corner to sit.

Jamie trudged up, babying his stomach, "You have serious issues, man."

I ignored him, focusing my attention on the city lights that illuminated the distance.

"Is that really Trane?" I asked, transfixed at the view.

Jamie walked up, trying to balance himself on the moving buggy, he looked over, "Yeah. We're here."

He sighed, shifting his hands to his hips, "Do you have plans for what you're doing in the kingdom?"

"…Sirius said I would need to join the army or join the academy because of my age," I answered, partly trying to confirm this information.

"Yeah. That's right. You're welcome to take exams with me. I'm not sure what class you'd want to take but you're obviously in good physical condition too." He slid down next to me, digging through his satchel.

He perked up, "Oh, and your magic. You could try out for the magic exams too."

I shrugged. I didn't want to risk running into high-level mages. The encounter with Sirius confirmed my suspicions. Humans were more sensitive to mana than I thought.

"I may try out for the combat exams." It would be the best way to find information about ARC. If I was going to stay here, then I might as well gain leverage to please my father when I returned home.

I would need to find work anyway. Human society revolved around wealth. I would need to adjust to blend in.

Sirius leaned over the divider, "We'll be there in a few minutes, boys!"

Trane.

We were here.