Bahamut's Library
Taylor looked around where she'd been left. It was obviously sized for a dragon – the room was three times the length of Arcadia's gym at the very least and equally as wide and tall. And there were shelves lined with books of all kinds and sizes, from the massive tome Bahamut had left out on the lectern (also dragon sized), to volumes that had been made of sheets of copper, to actual stone tablets. Plus a suspiciously human-sized alcove that appeared to have a large number of paperbacks and what might be comic books.
As she was already in her dragon form, she began looking at various books on the shelves. She was immediately drawn to a shelf labeled "Tiamat's recommendations." She pulled one volume out, opened it to a random page, and began reading. Suddenly, she
blushed, her ears turning a bright pink, before closing the book and putting it back on the shelf.
Who'd've thought that the Queen of Dragons liked steamy, Gothic, not intended for under the age of eighteen, romances? Or that she could find them in a conveniently dragon sized edition? Taylor shivered a bit before moving onto another section.
Her literacy with written Draconic had reached the functional level after much work, so she should be able to read everything but the most obscure or technical works. She moved into a section labeled "history" and began looking at the books there. There were a couple snorts of amusement at some of the titles, such as "The Rise and Fall of Mordor (or why you don't put most of your power into an artifact)", and "Viking and Dragons: What really happened."
She eventually chose a smaller tome, titled "On the origin of the species", that had Bahamut as its author. She removed it from the shelf, settled herself on a dragon sized couch, and began to read.
"In the beginning, there was nothing. Io, the father of all dragons, was born from the need of creation to view itself…" Soon, she was reading about the first world, where everything had its origin, where everything was on one plane of existence. "And into that world, Io brought forth his children, the first dragons. Eldest of these were Tiamat, Bahamut, Apsu, and Chronepsis…"
The tale went on for a bit, detailing the treachery of Falazure, and Io's sundering of the first world, creating the myriad worlds that would become home to the various races. The chapter ended with a rather strange entry:
"Breathe, dragons; Sing now of Tiamat,
Raging in battle with no hope of victory.
She would not flee or surrender,
Fighting as death reached its cold claws towards her.
War-bringers seized her and bound her,
snatched her from death, entombed her in torment –
Sealed in the darkness forever,
captive to those laying claim to creation."
"She chose not to yield and retreat, as Io had instructed." Bahamut said quietly from just behind Naurelin's shoulder. "We all wanted to defend our home, she wouldn't listen. It would be millenia before we'd found out the reason, and why her children followed her into the darkness."
Naurelin closed the book carefully. "How can you move so quietly that I couldn't hear you?" she asked, trying to be as respectful as possible.
"Much practice," Bahamut admitted with a chuckle. "Plus, I can become like the wind and walk where I may
silently. The real trick is how
Tiamat does it."
They both shared a chuckle.
"Anyway, now that bit of business is finished, on to why I wanted to talk to you." Bahamut stated. "Primarily, to check how the conversion from borrowing our magic to using your own is going,"
"I've got most of them done," Taylor admitted. "I'm working on the sixth circle right now. The couple of spells I do have are complicated, but I'll get there."
"Excellent," Bahamut said, somehow not sounding like Mr. Burns from "The Simpsons" while doing it. "I'll be placing a couple of extra books in your lair in the next few days, to help continue your education. Once you learn the first of those, any spells you haven't worked out for yourself you'll have to learn the way most wizards and sorcerers do."
"From what I can tell, Sir," Taylor said, "that's doing a lot of studying and experimenting. Something I do a lot of at school."
"Though I do recommend, for the sake of your secret identity, that you don't study magic at school. Unless it's a magic school." Bahamut looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll have to see if the place in Scotland is still open or not…"
Taylor chuckled. "Ilvermorny would be closer. I'd say both it and Hogwarts were fictional, but I'm having a chat with the mythical king of metallic dragons, and his sister is acting like the crazy old aunt I never had."
Bahamut actually laughed as if what Taylor had said was incredibly funny. "I think out of the many things my sister has been called, 'crazy aunt Tia' is not one of them."
"I dunno, I like it," said Tia.
And thus Taylor found out she could jump really high without flying – as could Bahamut – and that even he could be pranked by his sister.
A good laugh was had by all.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Don't mind me, I'm just grabbing a couple of my books I hadn't read for a while," Tia shouted from the other side of the library, about where Taylor had found those steamy romances.
"Right," said Bahamut. "Anyway, what I wanted to teach you was a meditative exercise."
"OK?" Taylor answered somewhat confused.
"This doesn't require you to tie yourself in a knot, or sit a special way. In one sense," Bahamut explained, "it's a way of looking for other yous by looking within."
"So if I could learn to do this, I could find other Taylor Heberts?" Taylor asked. "That doesn't sound like a very good idea."
"The use I intended to teach you was the one that lets you look within to see the various aspects of yourself," Bahamut explained. "And I agree, two or more Taylor Heberts becoming aware of each other is not a good thing. Because there are millions of you spread out across the multiverse, and while most are benevolent, some are not.
"No, this is to help you see that everything you consider to be a separate part is actually another side of the whole that is you. Rather like the facets of a cut gem – distinct but not separate," he explained. "You are not the first human to have been remade into a dragon, and sometimes there are problems." He sighed. "Not that you are showing any of the signs."
"We felt it best that we should act now in prevention," Tiamat called from the other side of the room. "Better that than to react and have to do damage control later."
"I get it," Taylor said. "However, acting early isn't very dragon-like, is it?"
Bahamut chuckled. "No, it isn't, but this is one time I think the shorter lived races have it right."
"So what do I do?" Taylor asked, putting the book she'd been reading down on a nearby table.
"First, make yourself comfortable," Bahamut instructed. "Then, think about yourself, what makes you, the being, you…"
= = = = = = = = = =
The Birdcage
"Strewth, a fair tale indeed, cousin!" enthused Mab. "I have not heard the like in many years." She gave Ciara a suspicious look, though she had a mischievous grin on her face. "Are you sure you're not a bard?"
Ciara stood and gave Mab a slight bow, much as an actor would give on the stage at the end of a performance. "No, Queen Mab," she replied as she sat back down. "However, history as recorded by the historians is rather dry, and can often be a cure for sleeplessness. The truth is often far more interesting."
"Certes, cousin! In return for your tale, I shall spin you one, a tale that should be held up as an example to future generations as an example of what not to do." Mab drank the rest of her tea, "There once was a small party of adventurers…" As she began to spin the lurid tale about the misadventures of the group, and how saying certain things about female monster encounters would have the bard of the group gaining another child later…
The laughter went on long into the evening.
- - - - - - - - - -
"This has been a fine evening," Mab said, bowing to her host. "and you have been a gracious host. But alas, the hour grows long, and I must return home." Once again Mab gave Ciara a hug, this one more heartfelt than enthusiastic. "Should you ever be able to leave, you will find my door open to you and your court."
Returning the hug, Ciara smiled. "Most kind of you, your majesty. Should my duties here allow me to travel, I shall have to pay you a visit, and swap stories again."
"Indeed," Mab said and struck a melodramatic pose. "Alas, parting is such sweet sorrow!" She began walking back down the red carpet, and when she disappeared at the far end, it was in a cloud of sparkling motes. The carpet rolled back up into the cloud, and it faded from her sight.
"That was most peculiar," Ciara muttered. "But quite interesting." She then turned her gaze towards the ceiling. "So. Dragon," she asked, "how much of that did you get?"
"Dragon's not here right now," Tess' voice came back through the speaker. "She's got me covering while she spends some quality time with her knight in shining armor."
Ciara chuckled at that. "Hello, Tess."
"To answer your question, I got most of it on audio. The video was strange, though. There was something different sitting opposite you at the table in every frame."
"That does sound like the Fae," Ciara answered. "The old tales tell of how the same faerie could appear vastly different to people over time. Perhaps it is a strange interaction with my Powers?"
"I don't think we'll ever get to find out," Tess added with a chuckle. "I've got enough I can warn the appropriate people that something otherworldly might visit soon."
"From what I could gather, there should be a full moon on midsummer's day. Not the observed one in many countries, but the actual middle of summer," Ciara explained. "It was a significant day in many faerie tales."
"I'll keep that in mind," Tess answered. "Also, thanks for getting the place cleaned up."
"Don't mention it, Tess," Ciara replied. "Hopefully, we can keep it like this. Now I think I need a shower, and then some sleep."
"Good night, Glaistig Uaine." With that, Tess closed the connection.
= = = = = = = = = =
"Well, here we are."
Kenta looked down the road and nodded.
"You will be tested along the road," Sun Wukong said from where he sat on a cloud that floated just off the ground. "The journey will not be an easy one."
"I understand," Kenta said, picking up the bag which had some food in it, and a few belongings.
"This is going to sound odd, coming from me," the Monkey King said, "but beware temptation. Once you give in, you are lost."
Kenta looked at his teacher of the last few months and shook his head. "That does sound strange, coming from you," he chuckled. "I thought it would be 'Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die', or somesuch."
"I once thought like that," Sun Wukong admitted. "And I made a lot of trouble for Heaven, Hell, and myself. I had a lot of time to think while that mountain was on top of me, and Sanzang-
dono taught me much on our journey." He stepped off the cloud and put both of his hands on Kenta's shoulders. "I am proud to call you my student, Higashi Kenta."
Kenta respectfully bowed to Wukong. "And I am proud to have you as my teacher."
"Take up your staff and your belongings," the Monkey King instructed. "Your journey starts now, and ends when you reach the end of this road. You step off it at your peril."
With that, Kenta did as he was told. As the sun began to rise, he set off down the road at an easy pace. Once he was out of sight, Sun Wukong sighed. "So, do you think this will work?" he said to empty air.
Shen Long, the Dragon King of Heaven, faded into view. "It may. And why are you asking me?"
"I choose not to spoil the story for myself," Sun Wukong admitted.
His companion gave a hearty laugh. "We are having a feast at my summer palace," the Dragon King said. "One of my wives has invited you."
"What's the catch?" Sun Wukong asked. The last heavenly feast he'd attended eventually had gotten a mountain dropped on him.
"No catch," Shen Long said. "We would only ask that you not drink all the wine, nor eat all the peaches."
With that the two walked, laughing, into the rising sun.
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