“I wish you luck, then,” Rhufija said with a respectful incline of her head. “Any form of interdimensional transport is a matter of immense difficulty. Though, considering the fact that you found a way to utilize Summoning Magic for it, might suggest that you possess some affinity with such powers.”

“There might be something to that,” Althea commented with a soft smile. “For all the bad things we always say about True Dragons, they certainly aren’t unskilled and untalented.”

“There actually wasn’t much I did to achieve this.” Asterios shrugged. “We basically stumbled into this unusual capability. From the research my father conducted on Summoning Magic, our kind just interacts with it somehow differently. Could be some innate trait or something. Or…”

Slowing down near the end, Asterios frowned in thought and absently stroked his chin. The ladies looked at him curiously and Althea gestured at them to wait, sensing that he was in the middle of figuring something out. It would be best not to interrupt him, even if it might have been nothing. She had witnessed similar moments from her students many times and they could even be called epiphanies occasionally.

After a moment, Ast’s eyes moved to hers. “You said that True Dragons possess the ability to call upon their true bonds and it’s kind of similar to how portals work. Could it be possible that Summoning Magic is actually a derivative of such ability? Or at least works on extremely similar principles? You do have temporary contracts, which could be a replacement for draconic ones. There’s some essence and energy sharing between the contracted. And you move between two places through transfer gates, one being the master’s position and the other the familiar’s home or their current location.”

Everyone stared at him in silence while his mentor processed his words.

“That’s… not impossible,” she finally responded with a similarly pondering expression. “Many forms of magic are technically imitations of innate abilities of mystical creatures encountered by humanoid races by fine control over spiritual energy. I’m not sure if Summoning Magic comes from their ability, but who knows if it doesn’t reach even further, back to the original, undivided Dragons. It’s hard to pinpoint when the first iteration of the art of calling forth interdimensional servants came to be. Maybe I should spend more time studying your father’s notes about the topic. He is one of the progenitors and might have known something.”

“I have to admit, I didn’t expect an abrupt draconic intruder to come in peace, but solving the mysteries of the universe wouldn’t even make it on the list of such things.” The Nest Mother regarded him with some intrigued, newfound respect. “How old are you exactly?”

“Just hit twenty in human years if you are used to a different metric,” he responded. “Why?”

“You are surprisingly thoughtful and clever for a True Dragon this young. Especially for someone coming from the Crimson bloodline. It might be the influence of your Onyx lineage, but even they aren’t this cunning over their fledgling years, and their minds mostly focus on self-gain instead. Yet, you handle yourself like a mature, experienced individual. Dare to say maybe even a young sage. I hope you realize how uncommon that is after learning about your mentor’s and her friend’s adolescence,” she complimented him in a quite comprehensive way.

“You may be right, but I’m willing to bet on the chance that it was his human upbringing that shaped Asterios into who he is right now,” Althea suggested, meeting her gaze. “His childhood was completely different from the typical growth True Dragons experience amongst their kin. Nineteen years might not be a long period for us, but for most humanoids, it’s a major part of their life. While his upbringing wasn’t perfectly comfortable either, lacking all that conceit and overbearing pride did allow him to turn out a respectable individual, possibly even a better person than our people are.”

“You can’t deny that we are still quite prideful and ferocious at times.” Phatru chuckled at them. “I haven’t seen much of him outside of today, but I feel that Althea is right. Maybe if True Dragons grew up alongside the lesser races, the number of totally wicked and vicious lizards would be much lower. Maybe we would be better too. This might be a bigger opportunity than we thought.”

“It’s hard to judge what the future will bring,” Rhufija stated sagely. “But it’s up to us to create as many possible paths for it to navigate into the more positive outcomes. I shall continue thinking seriously about everything that happened today. And I believe I will be seeing the two of you quite often.”

She glanced at Althea and Rusilthea meaningfully, to which the duo nodded.

“I’ll gladly accompany you as long as it doesn’t interfere with my disciple’s training. He is my highest priority right now and I will dedicate as much time to him as I need,” the former said.

“You mean your mate’s.” Phatru smirked at her knowingly. “I’m sure you are very happy to train him as much as you need.”

“Shush, you. He takes his practice very seriously.” Althea flicked her hand at the woman dismissively. “I think it’s time for us. We have a lot to think about and take care of. All of us. Are you coming, Rusilthea?”

“Of course,” the short-haired lady replied eagerly. “I can’t wait to see your realm for myself. The speech got even me excited and I already witnessed a tiny bit of it.”

Asterios snickered. “A tiny bit is the correct expression. All you saw was Althea’s underground lair with an illusory sky and transferred sunlight.”

“So that’s why I couldn’t call upon some of my abilities!” Rusi hit her palm with her fist. “Okay, now I really need to see the outside world.”

Sharing one last nod with Rhufija and Phatru, Asterios opened a gate back to Miria, sensing that she hadn’t yet moved away from the place of the ritual. A crimson entrance rose from the ground and the Nest Mother studied it attentively. He gestured at the ladies and the pair coming with him shared a quick hug with the older silver-scaled female, walking through the swirling surface afterward. He followed them and reappeared next to the summoning circle.

“Welcome back, Master!” His beloved panthergirl jumped right into his arms. “What an incredible place that was! I really wish I could have gone with you to explore!”

He let out a warm chuckle while letting Miria nuzzle into his cheek. “Maybe in the near future. We shouldn’t cause too much commotion right from the start. I’m glad you thought of peeking at us through the bond. Everyone stayed here the entire time?”

Tina stepped forward and shared a smile with Rusi. “Miss Kindra left to take care of her usual business, but we wanted to be ready in case you needed us. Selene barely held Miria back from jumping to your aid when that man lunged at you.”

The brave feline giggled shyly, burying her face in his neck. He kissed her rounded ear affectionately.

“Just what I would expect from all of you,” he said proudly. “But, it’s good you didn’t charge straight in. Things have developed rather well, albeit not without a delay. At least, it will give you time to get to know Rusilthea. Though, apologies but we’ll have to hide your real identity for now, Rusi. Until we reveal the aerial unit’s new members, Lesser Dragons still kind of don’t exist here.”

“That’s alright. I’m comfortable in my humanoid form.” The person in question grinned. “So, when can I see your kingdom, Your Majesty?”

He shook his head. “Give her a little tour, Tina. Whoever wants to go can do so too. I’ll clean up the site and head up after. Or not if we start practicing here right away.”

“It would be wise to take the rest of the day off to rest and perhaps tend to your lordly responsibilities,” his mentor recommended. “We will begin tomorrow morning. But, we should think about a good place to conduct our tests. First attempts at newly learned magic can be quite volatile.”

“Right. I wouldn’t want to ruin your home again or risk damaging Glimmervale. I’ll give it some thought.” He nodded firmly.

“We could always use my realm if you would like to, Master,” Bryn offered. “It shouldn’t be too hard to find a spot on the ground with less Scourge hanging around. And we can surround the place with barriers for the duration of your training.”

“That’s a good idea,” Selene agreed. “Let’s discuss this matter further as we show our new friend around.”

And so, the ladies took Rusi to the surface by riding on her transformed back through the proper tunnel exit leading out of the underground chamber. Althea and Grea were the only ones to stay behind and help out with the array. There wasn't much work to be done about it so they finished in a flash. 

Then, Asterios gave his playful demon mate a lift to her workshop and barely avoided getting dragged into assisting her with a different kind of magic. One that would involve lots of strenuous activity. Pacifying his needy researcher with lots of kisses and sweet whispers, he started making rounds around the town.

Things were progressing nicely. The moved wall was being completed at an incredible pace and now lacked only some small parts. Most of the workers busied themselves with the academic structures and everything around them. The foundations and basics were still being polished. For a project this grand, it wasn’t surprising. Even so, Asterios was in clear awe at the ability of all the races to come together to work hard on his town. As far as he knew, there weren’t many arguments and issues between them. Something minor popped up regularly, but that was normal and expected.

Spending a few short hours visiting various people and offering them his assistance, Asterios did his part too. He consulted with the Committee often, receiving updates on all the fields from his advisors. They complained some about the increased workload and complexity of their lives, but Asterios knew well they were teasing him about it, able to see just how much they thrived in the new environment.

As he was moving from place to place above Glimmervale, he spotted a familiar pair in the crowd filling the main square. Tina and Rusilthea stood in front of Venuzathor’s resting stage at the back of the market. The draconic titan was still soundly napping so it didn’t look like they had interacted with him yet. As a small smirk snuck itself onto Ast’s lips, he descended quickly behind the girls.

“How is your sightseeing going?” he asked after touching the ground and hiding his wings.

The duo jumped slightly, too focused on the entity in front of them. Tina smiled sheepishly while Rusi stared at him, still wide-eyed from looking at the gigantic beast in front of them.

“Good. We went to many places and met a few people. I think Rusi is glad she’s accepted our offer.” Tina chuckled softly.

“Glad is an understatement.” The stormy female grinned wryly. “But, I thought you said there were no Dragons in this world. Yet, there’s this old, massive one right in the middle of your city.”

The ground trembled slightly as the Dragon in question rose from its conscious slumber, switching the position of his legs a bit so that his impressive snout pointed down at the trio.

“I am no Dragon, young one.” He puffed out a gust of chilly air at them, speaking through spiritual energy in the air.

“What are you then?” Rusilthea questioned skeptically.

“I am the Storm King Venuzathor, member of the Dracodon lineage, peacekeeper of this land belonging to your master’s mate and his contracted domicile guardian,” Venuz introduced himself with a rumbling tone. “And you, little Dragon?”

“Rusilthea…” The silver-haired lady swallowed thickly. “A S-Storm Dragon… Lesser…”

“Yes. I can see that. The spark in your Heart conveys that clearly.” The Dracodon hummed to himself.

“Spark. Yeah. It certainly feels like that compared to the tempest inside you.” She laughed nervously. “This is so crazy…”

“I have to honestly admit, I completely forgot about Venuz’s affinity. I hope this won’t cause any problems for you and your mother?” Asterios said as he scratched his cheek.

“Problems?” Rusi gaped at him, dumbstruck. “Man, do you see the pure lightning aura emanating from this guy?”

He showed a reminiscing smile. “Not only that. I did experience it on my own scales at least a few times in the past.”

“Those were entertaining times,” Venuzathor commented with a big, draconic sigh of contentment.

“Maybe we should invite Rusi for the next one?” Asterios suggested.

Their new friend’s jaw couldn’t fall any lower.

“An interesting idea,” the massive Dracodon admitted. “I can’t say I ever fought against both a Lesser and True Dragon at once. At least a free one.”

“Do you mean to say that I’m going to have a chance to spar with him?!” Rusi gasped in disbelief.

“Sure. Venuzathor is a great teacher. I bet he could give you some accurate pointers on how to harness your innate powers.” Asterios shrugged. “If he is up for it, we could think about including his input in our mentorship program. That could give you some entertainment, couldn’t it, Venuz?”

“Just leave your whelps to me and I shall whip them into shape in no time.” Venuzathor let out an echoing chuckle. “I’ll always welcome an opportunity to move around and exercise my abilities. Perhaps if my kin weren’t so massive, even as whelplings, I would suggest you bring a few of our young here too.”

“That’s something to think about for the foreseeable future.” Asterios glanced up at him musingly. “We currently don’t have enough space for that, I’m afraid. But, I appreciate the offer and will remember that.”

“Ma will faint when I tell her…” Rusilthea whispered under her breath.

The duo of Summoners chuckled together at their new companion. Asterios then bid a temporary farewell to them and returned to his patrolling. Soon, evening came and he gathered with everyone in the castle to share a pleasant dinner amongst his mates. They invited Rusi too, showing her around first.

She was eager to return home for the night and they didn’t blame her. So, they went their separate ways there and relaxed a bit together before going to sleep. Right from the bright morning, the excitement on everyone’s faces was contagious. They had never inhaled their breakfast so quickly before, unable to wait to witness the upcoming event.

Wrapping up all the important matters, they once more grouped up and Asterios plunged into the shadows, transferring himself away with Umbra’s assistance. About a minute later, he resurfaced in the middle of a scarce forest surrounded by the noise of moving water. But, it wasn’t one made by a river or two. The ladies followed him through a gate a moment later, looking around curiously.

“Where are we?” Silvia was the first one to ask.

“On a small island in the middle of the ocean,” Asterios replied. “We passed it while on our voyage to the Demon Continent. It’s rather tiny and empty, comparable to Glimmervale’s current size. It’s the safest location I could come up with that doesn’t introduce the risk of endangering anyone or anything around.”

“A good choice. The water is a great natural safety measure,” Althea agreed with his decision. “While Bryn’s offer was decent too, we don’t risk anything passing through the tear from either side causing unnecessary trouble.”

“But, since you can never be too sure, let’s make this place even more secure,” Selene proposed and they got to work.

Everyone chimed in a little bit as the two barrier masters did their thing. Grea even carved a simple formation around their close vicinity to support the shields. Althea raised a few reinforced stone shelters around in case they would need to shield themselves from a surge of power or anything else.

“Alright. We are ready as much as we can. What’s the next step?” The demon lady glanced around.

“The rest is up to Asterios,” Althea announced. “You know what to do. It’s time to combine everything you have learned so far. For your first time, try to focus on a realm you know well. Save for this one. In-realm travel should be left for later and you already have the means to do that.”

“Eabiarhia it is, then.” Asterios nodded to himself. “I’ve spent quite some time there and made a few connections. Let’s try it.”

“There is no try, only do.” She shot him a proud grin. “You are a powerful True Dragon. Remember, confidence is the key that opens up the world.”

“Right. Here goes nothing. Please, take a step back, everyone.” He met the gazes of all his mates, receiving their feelings of support and faith in him.

With the girls away a relatively safe distance from him, Asterios closed his eyes and focused deeply. He shifted only his right arm into its draconic form and brought his clawed fingers to the front. Slowly but surely, he kept going through all the steps of managing his aura and presence just as he had been taught, doing his best to remain sure and confident about his abilities. The ferocious energies filled his circuits and soon wrapped themselves around his hand.

Waiting until he had the most perfect grasp on them, Asterios flooded his mind with intent the moment he thrust his black claw forth. It lodged into an invisible wall and he could feel the faint ripple before him, like he had just poked the surface of a still lake. Straining his mind to his limits, he then slowly but surely dragged his finger down.

The girls hummed, gasped, and exclaimed in awe, watching a ferociously crimson tear form in the air. Asterios cut through the fabric of dimensions with relative ease. At least from their perspective. It took him about fifteen seconds to create a person-sized breach that emanated fierce spiritual pressure from its edges. They could tell that he would need lots of practice to refine it, but it seemed that he had achieved the desired result.

Drawing back his finger and opening his eyes, Asterios studied the ominous gap briefly. It didn’t suck up a lot of his energies, but it wasn’t easy to uphold. Right now, he couldn’t leave it open for too long or its integrity would collapse. He didn’t want to see what would happen then, without him at least attempting to properly seal the rupture.

“I’m going in. I’ll intend for it to close right after I step through, just in case. Don’t rush after me blindly, okay?” He turned to the ladies and received hesitant nods in response.

Taking a deep breath, he hopped into the swirling opening.

And immediately knew something had gone wrong.

He certainly hadn’t been sure what to expect from this kind of interdimensional transfer, but he had gone through enough different techniques allowing something similar to understand that the violent tugging of his entire body in every single direction wasn’t normal. His spiritual circuits blazed with heat as he grunted in discomfort. Bright lights blinked in front of his eyes at an incredibly fast pace like an angry kaleidoscope his mother had once shown him at her shop back in Rosewind.

No, those weren’t lights. He soon realized those were flashes of images from different worlds. Hundreds and thousands of them surged before him faster than he could process what he was seeing. 

Grasslands. Deserts. Oceans. Lakes. Night. Day. Sky. Lava. Granite. Trees. Houses.

All colors of the rainbow.

Then, it all abruptly stopped, with only a pure white glow beginning to grow ahead of him. At a moment’s notice, it was all he could see. He felt a spiritual shudder pass through his system and slammed hard into something solid.

And very, very cold.

With a massive gasp, Asterios bolted to his feet. Something crunchy and fluffy rolled off him as he stood in a blinding field of a waist-high powder the color of beautiful clouds. Immediately, he realized that it was snow.

“Shit. It’s damn freezing here.” He shuddered, glancing around the breathtaking valley surrounding him. “This is no Scorching Steppes, alright. Quite a far miss, I would say.”

Before doing anything else, Asterios spread his draconic energies more through his body, focusing on their vicious heat this time. In a few seconds, he was no longer cold and the snow covering his shoulders and head hastily melted, tongues of steam rising from his frame.

“Being a Dragon does have its uses.” He chuckled to himself.

A slight quake shook the terrain, forcing him into a cautious posture. It took a moment or two before another followed, then soon after, one more, making it clear that it wasn’t something happening at regular intervals.

~Are you okay, Master?~ Miria’s worried voice reached his mind. ~It felt a little weird when you disappeared.~

~Things didn’t go as planned, but I’m fine. I landed somewhere, but I don’t know where. Let me take a look to see if it’s safe before we do anything else.~ He waved his hand and tried opening a gate back home, which started rising properly. ~Looks like my emergency escape works. Be right back with you.~

Materializing his wings, he made a strong flap, sending out a wave of fluffy powder all around him. Rising over the nearby hills, he looked for the source of the weird pounding. The shockwaves were a bit clearer so he headed the way he assumed they were coming from.

And after just a moment, he confirmed that he had been correct.

Stopping high above another patch of snowy land, this time not as undisturbed as the previous one, he watched in fascination as four massive figures stomped around a group of about a dozen or two of tiny in comparison beings. 

The former were about two or three stories tall, vaguely humanoid-shaped, and their bodies were covered in thick, white fur, save for some segments of their dark blue legs, arms, and face, which resembled that of an ugly, snarling monkey. They held gigantic ice clubs, smashing them repeatedly into the ground, clearly aiming for the entities at their feet.

As for those, the other side of this conflict looked to be comparable to a regular dwarf’s size. At least from Ast’s perspective high up in the air. They actually wore snug and proper clothes for the surrounding climate. But, the most striking feature of theirs was the fact that they seemed to resemble walruses and seals, judging from the faces and snouts poking out of the comfy hoods. Short, burly, stout, bipedal walruses and seals wielding weapons.

And they were visibly struggling against their incomparably bigger opponents.

Now, Asterios had a decision to make.