Chapter 17 S2

Plunged into deep meditation, an absolute, almost lethargic calm had overtaken Niris. Sitting on a carpet of damp green moss, he had retreated three days earlier to a natural grotto bathed in light by a few holes in the surface that allowed lush vegetation to flourish. 

This place was a kind of spiritual lair for the elves. The outpouring of natural energy was particularly strong, allowing for rapid and profuse accumulation. This was exactly what the angel needed. He needed to gather a considerable amount of energy to be able to carry out the ritual of the dragon's awakening. Especially as he wasn't going to perform the whole ritual, but only the part about making contact with the dragon's consciousness. 

This ritual was inherited by the angels from the time when they lived with the dragons. Only they knew how to perform it and understood what it entailed. It was out of the question for him to reveal the existence of this ritual to elves outside angelic territory. The angels' power of forgetfulness was at work on Egea, so no one could remember a ritual performed there. But that wasn't the case in Lior, and he knew that these perfidious elven creatures were hoping for just one thing: to see him perform the ritual so that they could then reproduce it as they wished. 

Niris was frightened to see how naive the elves thought he was. It was obvious that he would never give them this gift. It would be much more difficult, painful and energy-consuming to make contact with the dragon without performing the ritual, but he had no choice but to do so. 

While he was deep in thought, gathering the natural energy around him, he finally felt that feeling of satiation he had been waiting for. He had finally reached his maximum capacity for raw natural energy. As he had anticipated, he had managed to reach this limit in three days of constant meditation, while working continuously on the energy he already had inside him. By doing this, he increased the 'quality' of the natural energy, which decreased the total quantity. 

It usually took him half a day to fill his energy vessels with raw energy, so by continuously working on the natural energy he was absorbing, he had calculated that it would take him three days. At the end of this period, if he hadn't encountered any problems, he would have just under a third of his natural energy worked and two thirds raw natural energy. 

It was perfect. He could feel that he had fully recovered from his operation and the seal looked quite stable. He hadn't felt so serene for a long time. 

Slowly emerging from the torpor of meditation, he got to his feet and slowly made his way towards a small pool of transparent water just in front of him. The cool water licked at his legs and he let himself be overwhelmed by this striking sensation that shattered his sense of comfort. He dived under the water and let himself float for a moment. The sudden contact with the cold water awakened all his senses and he felt his heart beating in his chest, irrigating his body right down to his fingertips. 

There was nothing more effective than coming out of a long meditation and continuous work on natural energy. The only breaks he took were for meals, and even then he didn't stop storing up natural energy. He was like a mobile reservoir, a natural energy bomb. If something collided with him now, a huge blast of natural energy would create a destructive explosion. 

It was an exhilarating sensation, the overflow of natural energy in a body causing effects similar to those of drugs. It was therefore not recommended to do this exercise too often, or risk paying for the effects in the long term. 

Niris pulled his head out of the water and took a deep breath. An unpleasant feeling came over him when he felt the presence of an angel waiting for him at the edge of the small pool with clean clothes in hand. He hated the way the elves disregarded his need for privacy with these many unpleasant little acts. On the first day of his meditative work, he had to chase them out of the cave where they had been watching him, even threatening not to carry out the ritual if they didn't leave him alone to meditate. 

But he said nothing. He left the room, swallowing his harsh words, and grabbed the clothes that were handed to him without saying a word. He dried off quickly and changed. His every move caused little sparks to fly every time he grabbed something. He felt like his body was going to disintegrate with every touch. It was a very strange sensation, and he couldn't wait for the ceremony to end so he could get back to a normal state. 

Unsurprisingly, a crowd of elves was waiting for him outside the cave. Unable to curb their curiosity, they had crowded round the entrance to the rocky cavity to lay eyes on the saviour they despised who was going to bring their deity back to life. 

He walked through the crowd, holding back a sigh, until he found himself in front of the elf with whom he had spoken during his meeting with the council. 

-Follow me," she said simply. 

Niris complied without saying a word. He was still in a daze. He spotted Lou in the middle of the crowd, leaning against a tree with her arms folded. She was wearing that confident smile of hers and winked at Niris, who shivered. He had to tell her to stop doing that or he was going to have a heart attack one of these days!

The elf led him through a forest to a large valley. She stopped at the top overlooking the valley and looked down. The elves huddled together along the slope, not daring to go any further. They all looked towards the valley floor with a sparkle of admiration in their eyes. 

The angel looked down. Under the cover of the trees, mingling with the vegetation that had grown up with it, an immense dragon lay stretched out. Its milky scales reflected the sunlight and gave the impression of a multitude of sequins scattered across its skin. The slight, regular rise in the amorphous mass indicated continuous breathing. The creature was asleep. 

Niris couldn't help but widen his eyes. It was the first time he had seen a living dragon. It was an unusual experience, he had to admit, and in a way he understood the admiration the elves had for their creatures. This was not to justify their disgusting attitude of adoration, but he himself was fascinated. Dragons were truly exceptional creatures. 

-This dragon has been sleeping here for over a thousand years," said the council elf. It arrived on Lior one day and fell asleep immediately, so we weren't even able to....

Without waiting for further explanation, Niris jumped up and opened his wings. Suddenly overcome by an urge to let out all the natural energy that was overflowing from his body, he did a few twists and salto in the air, leaving the elf standing there on the top of his hill. He saw her lips speak his name as she took a step forward to try and hold him back, but it was too late. He was already far away. 

With a smirk, he turned and swooped down like an arrow. A few metres from the edge of the trees, he opened them again with a sharp movement, stopping him dead in his tracks and sending him soaring above the forest. He was just above the dragon's head. His forehead was clear and the space between his eyes was in full view. 

That was where he would perform his ritual. On the dragon's head itself. Suddenly overcome with uncontrollable excitement, he floated up to the creature's broad forehead and landed right between the two eyes. There, he gently crouched down and placed a hand on the animal's rocky skin. A wave of warmth immediately filled him as he opened his senses. He was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of warmth and emotions all mixed together. 

He could feel life beating furiously beneath the dragon's skin, and at the same time his skin-deep consciousness was released by the simple contact with its natural energy. He immediately withdrew his hand, panting. 

The experience had shaken him. He had never imagined that the dragon's consciousness would be as skin-deep as this. He waited until his breathing calmed down before sitting cross-legged on the beast's skin. With his hands flat on his knees, he inhaled deeply, then exhaled, repeating the exercise three times. 

He had to be perfectly calm and concentrated. The aim of the ritual was to channel the angel's energy and consciousness so that it could come into contact with that of the dragon. It was a vector expressed through a dance that made it easier to make contact. By not doing it, I'm making access much more difficult. And then there's a whole part of mystery in this ritual that has yet to be elucidated. It is said to be the gateway to the world of dragons, that the ritual dance is what brings us closer to them, and that they open up direct access to their consciousness. 

But in reality, nobody really knows how it works. All these unexplained things made making contact without ritual even more dangerous. The only solution Niris had found was to reproduce the internal energy exercise he had learnt to perform when he did the dance. Hopefully it would work. 

Once he felt ready inside, the prince took a deep breath and set about it. He recited the song in his mind. At the same time, he guided his natural energy outside himself. It was she who was doing the dancing for him. It was a difficult exercise. Drops of sweat quickly began to bead on his forehead. 

As he performed the delicate exercise, he felt himself plunging into a deep abyss. Curious, at first he let himself be dragged along without protest. Then, as he plunged deeper, he felt the void beneath his feet and the fear of the unknown assail him. Something was calling him. 

Pushing aside his fear, he concentrated on the ritual. The singing. The dance. Even if he didn't do it himself, he couldn't miss a move. He remembered the hours of rehearsal with the other students when he was a child. Rituals were ancestral knowledge passed down by angels from generation to generation. It was the duty of each generation to learn it and pass it on. They had to know each ritual by heart so that they could perform it mechanically at any time in their lives. 

Niris was no exception. And today, he could only understand the weight of these traditions that had weighed on him throughout his childhood. Faced with this abyss that sucked him in irretrievably, he understood the importance of these tyrannical passions whose only explanation was "You'll understand later, just do it for now". He understood the history he was carrying on his shoulders by performing this thousand-year-old ritual. 

He was halfway through the ritual when he felt himself weakening. He had used up all his worked natural energy. Now all he had left was his raw natural energy, and it was disappearing much faster than the first. For a moment, he worried that he would run out of natural energy before the ritual was completed. He pushed this thought aside and focused again on his mental dance. Without realising it, he was clutching at his consciousness with all his might to prevent himself from being sucked into the abyss. 

But as he struggled in vain, he heard a distant voice calling his name. It was enjoining, and he felt his will give way. It was then that he was catapulted into a mental space he didn't recognise. It looked like a cavern with no light. He blinked for a moment, then as his eyes acclimatised to the absence of light, he gasped. 

In front of him, two enormous yellow eyes stared back at him. Split down the middle by a vertical pupil, he realised that they belonged to the one he had been trying to reach for a while: the dragon. 

It's been a long time since I've had a visitor," said the creature in its cavernous voice.

He stretched out his neck to sniff at Niris, who didn't move a muscle. He wasn't really terrified, but something inside him prevented him from moving. In fact, he was fascinated. This immense creature he'd only heard of had incredible presence, and he could feel the immeasurability of its wisdom in those yellow eyes that penetrated to the very depths of his young angelic soul. 

-Messire dragon..." he began, stammering a little. 

His apostrophe surprised the dragon, who laughed out loud. 

-Call me Gizzare," he replied in an amused voice. I didn't know that angels had developed a fetish for dominating dragons like those crazy elves. 

-No, it's just... it's the first time I've met a member of your... species," Niris finally managed to say. 

The dragon gave off a welcoming, comfortable aura in which he felt at ease. Gradually, his muscles relaxed and he felt at ease. It was as if he was reuniting with an old cousin who had lost touch with him for years. 

-Ah, I understand, young people must be a bit lost when faced with beings like us," said the dragon, shaking his head in understanding. But you've done a dangerous exercise by coming here without performing the ritual dance. What made you do such a thing? I thought all angels learned the rituals from an early age...

-I know you're not going to like this, and I apologise for making such a request, but I'm in a delicate situation and I have no choice but to make such a request," explained the angel, his eyes riveted on the dragon's pasta. 

Determined, he raised his gaze and planted it in the dragon's thousand-year-old eyes. 

-I need you to wake up, Gizzare" replied Niris with determination.