Next time Ziga heard the call of Ocean Fayera again, he answered it. He left everything to Orion – his fleet, his riches, and his blessing – and sailed to the emerald continent on a little dimaran – Jovibarba (that’s where our surname comes from!). He took no one with him but his wife Meralli and their little daughter.

Ziga lived and died among the dragons but some of his descendants chose a different path.

A part of our family moved back to Omnis about a thousand years ago. In the beginning, there was so much dragon blood in the descendants of Ziga and Meralli that they could take dragon form at will and lived for centuries. But as they mixed with humans, their dragon traits faded over time.

Now look at me. The only dragon trait I have is curiosity. Well, maybe audacity is too.

***

The story cheered the audience up. That and the cosily warm Fiat-lux under the ceiling helped the young Lifekeepers shake off the uneasy feeling the night was giving them.

“So, when dragons take human form,” asked Milian, “where does the excess mass go?”

“Ah, a scientist to the bone…” Pai gave him a condescending smile. “They’re natural mages, all of them. And mages have their ways of bending the laws of physics a little bit.”

“Natural mages… And no need for stabilizers. Cool,” said Milian thoughtfully. “Ah, why can’t we humans be like that?”

“We can’t do a lot of things,” Bala smiled. “Just look at us, compared to animals: no fur, no claws; blunt teeth, poor eyes, poor sense of smell… My master says that the lack of something always gets compensated with another thing: a weak person can compensate for their weakness with intelligence or cunning, for example. This is exactly what we as a species do. If we could naturally stabilize magic, we may not have developed civilization, we would have been just… animals.”

“You’re quoting the enemy now,” Orion made a sly remark.

“True,” nodded Milian. “This goes back to Helga before she became Vlada the Warrior. But, to be fair, the book where I saw that quote had been written a very long time before Erhaben.”

“I always thought that it’s not wise to hate a creation only because you hate its creator,” agreed Bala. “Helga spoke the truth…”

“You’re treading on a very thin ice here!” shouted Irin. He had been trying to keep quiet but his patience had finally run out. “Have you forgotten everything that the Order has taught you? You,” he pointed at Orion, “the one who is so proud of his ancestor, a bloody pirate! Maybe you’re proud of your name as well?”

“I am,” was Jovib’s calm reply.

“It’s the name of the worldholders’ minion!” Irion growled.

“For a Lifekeeper, you’re too fast to judge, Irin,” Orion shook his head. He remained unruffled under the younger boy’s angry gaze; there was even a tone of pity in his voice. “The world is not black and white, it’s not even grey. There’s always a No Man’s Land between good and evil where any anomaly can happen.”

“Go back to sleep. Everyone.” That was Juel’s voice. Low, cold, commanding voice. “I’ll set a lookout so we all can feel safe. Irin, you will take the first watch. Orion will change you in two hours. Then Lainuver. And kill the light lest it blinds the lookouts to the dark.”

The team followed Juel’s orders. Despite all the fears, the rest of the night was calm, calm and boring.

“Teach me

Lots of all sorts!

Teach me

New facts, new thoughts!”

I dreamt,

I questioned,

But I was taught by Fate’s contempt -

Taught my lesson.

I didn’t know I’d see

the day’s end

When malice and night on me