I floated from dream to dream, each hazy and indistinct but I felt impressions of warmth, of safety. Sleep slowly pulled away from me and I started to regain consciousness. The feeling of warmth stayed with me, my head resting on something firm but comfortable. A pillow perhaps? I wrapped my arms around whatever it was and pulled it closer, trying to hold on to that elusive sensation of rest.

I heard a voice, muffled since I wasn’t yet fully awake, calling to me gently. I was confused, usually I slept alone in my quarters at the temple. Who could possibly be calling to me in such kind tones? Maple? I strained to parse what the voice was saying. The more I focused, the less familiar the voice was, I couldn’t recall knowing anyone who had a low but melodic voice like that.

“You’ve been sleeping for some time, little morsel. It is time to get up. Not that you aren’t rather cute snuggling up to me like this but this position is putting some strain on my injured back so if you don’t mind…”

I opened my eyes in alarm and realized where I was. I was in some kind of cave, dotted with crystalline formations that glowed with a soft orange light. I was resting my head on a rather well toned set of abs, scarred and tan. I scrambled back in a panic, pushing myself against the opposite wall in terror, all my feelings of safety turning to cinders and floating away.

“Y-y-you! You’re the dragon! How...why...you aren’t going to eat me, are you?” My mind spun in circles of fear and wonder. I was sitting right across from a dragon. A DRAGON. Oh how I had dreamed of this day and now that it had arrived, I was undone.

She barked out a laugh, her fangs flashing in the dim light, and then subsided to a bit of dry chuckling. “No no, I’m not going to eat you. My ex would never let me hear the end of it if I killed her former ward.”

She paused for a moment and stood, towering over me in ways that filled me with a very confusing and complicated set of feelings. The dragon rolled her shoulders and manifested her wings, with one still torn from Gent’s arrow but the other wing already healed. She sat back down, this time in a cross legged position that kept her back and wings away from the wall.

She sighed, a sound of contentment rather than weariness. “I imagine you are very confused as to what is going on. Let me fill you in on where we stand currently. You accompanied an expedition of hunters sent by the dear old Duke to slay me, despite me being incredibly charming and an absolute delight. I messed with the expedition a bit, throwing all their tents in the river and then tried to scare them off with some flashy displays of strength. Unfortunately for me, one of their number was actually competent and tore a hole in my wing. But, he was easy enough to take out and the rest of the group had no hope of standing against me. Luckily for them, I wasn’t really there to kill them, driving them off was a little side project.”

She had been staring upwards as she spoke, recounting the events. But now she turned that wonderful and terrifying gaze towards me yet again. I was lost for a moment in how striking her eyes were, red in hue with an intensity that almost seemed to glow with their own light. Her pupils were round like any other human at the moment but I recalled how they had narrowed into vertical slashes in the heat of combat. I realized that I had been staring at her for longer than I thought as she was patiently waiting for me to regain my composure before continuing.

“My main goal that night was not to deal with the hunters. Oh no, my main goal was to find you, little morsel.” She smirked, a fang slipping past her lips as they curled upwards.

I replayed her last statement in my head, trying to extract meaning in a haze of confusion and excitement. “Me? Why me? I mean, I suppose taking out the healer is a sound tactic in combat but you didn’t kill me. You just...knocked me out and kidnapped me?” I couldn’t help but raise my voice at the end, my confusion bleeding into my words.

She scratched at the back of her head as she listened. “I’ve known about the Duke’s plan to drive me out for a month or two now. Nobles tend to not like it when a dragon sets up her domain close by since we aren’t exactly known for listening to their authority or paying taxes. Still, I kept to myself and it looked like he was going to leave me in peace for the time being. Somehow he got it into his head however that I was one of those hoarding dragons, y’know the ones from the stories that like to sleep on a bed of treasure? I still don’t know how that became a stereotype, it was one dragon and he was a bit of an oddball.”

“Anyway, one of the reasons I even set up my lair in the area was to check in on my old ex girlfriend. We separated decades ago but I’m still very fond of her and she seems to like it when I visit from time to time. Maple-”

“MAPLE?!?! My TEACHER is your ex girlfriend?!?!?!” I spluttered and stammered while the dragon snorted, little sparks following her exhale.

“What, she is hot! She was hot back in the adventuring days and now she has this whole silver fox thing going for her.” She sighed longingly for a moment. “Anyway, she tells me that she has spent the last thirty years keeping an eye on a cute orphan who works as the local priest and she was worried the hunters were going to force her favorite student to fight me. Which would probably end with a fair bit of death and maiming and she didn’t want that. So she called in a favor and asked me to look out for you and keep you out of harm’s way. Which brings us up to the current moment. Any questions?”

I barely heard her as my mind raced with the knowledge that not only did someone think my teacher, hell the closest thing I had to a mother since mine passed away, was HOT. Not to mention the someone in question was a dragon woman who looked like she could bench press my temple. Well, I did know that Maple used to be a fairly experienced adventurer so it made sense that she might have run into a dragon or two. Especially with how she talked about them when warning me about the dragon hunt. And she did sometimes talk about how she missed all the ladies she ran into on her adventures.

The puzzle pieces fit together in my mind, though there were definitely still some gaps here and there and I might have had to cut one of the pieces a bit to make it fit but I was now caught up enough to ask questions. Questions. So many wonderful questions that I get to ask a dragon! The little piece of me that had remained from my childhood bubbled to the top, gushing about how exciting this is. I get to ask questions of the dread wyrm--hang on, I didn’t even know her name yet. Good thinking, brain. We should start there.

“Oh, right, my name. Teara’s tits, they didn’t even put my name on the bounty notice? Assholes. Anyway, my name is Onyx. And yes, I named myself for my scales because I’m not particularly clever and yes Maple makes fun of me for it regularly. Anyway, I imagine you’ve got a lot more questions. Maple told me about your little...fascination.” Her smirk once more shifted into that fang-bared smile that sent a delightful shiver down my spine. “Makes sense though, the few people that are drawn to worshipping Teara tend to find us captivating, given that we are her favored children. And Teara likes to take an interest in those who find the freedom of her faith appealing.” She had pulled my holy symbol out from a pouch hanging on her skirt and was rubbing her finger along it as she spoke.

“Favored children? Her? You know things about Teara?” I had never found anyone who knew details about the forgotten god.

“Mmmhm. Of course I do, she is the one who created the first dragon.” She awaited my reaction with smug glee written all over her face.

I pondered that revelation. It was a lot to take in. I’m finding out that the god I’ve worshipped but knew next to nothing about is a goddess who apparently created the beings I’ve been fascinated with since I was a child. Something about that felt...strange. Was it coincidence or was there more to what Onyx was saying about followers of Teara being drawn to dragons? I had to know more.

“You mentioned that people who find dragons fascinating also tend to be drawn to worshipping Teara, why is that?”

Onyx’s smug grin widened. “Well, that has to do a bit with what Teara’s divine domain is and how that relates to us, dragons. There are a lot of things to cover. Before I start filling your pretty little head with the wondrous mysteries I’m privy to, I have a suggestion. This cave is not very comfortable, I chose it merely because it was close by and I couldn’t carry you all the way back to my lair with my wing injured. Now, my wing will heal up on its own, probably within a day or two. But I’ve heard you know a thing or two about healing magic. I never bothered much with it, my magical skills tend to run in other directions and with my draconic constitution, it never felt worth cultivating. Not to mention, Maple seemed to like patching me up when I got into trouble.”

She paused, a wistful look on her face as she pondered memories. “Anyway, if you can heal up my wing quicker, I can take us back to my lair where we can talk in comfort. We certainly have the time, your hunter expedition turned back to town. I’d say we probably have a week or so before they muster up the courage to try again. Additionally, I’d like to get to know you better, little morsel. Maple told me quite a bit about you.” She lowered her voice, whispering to herself, “And clearly left out a few details…” her voice lowered enough that I couldn’t catch the last thing she said.


“So, what do you say? Are you willing to trust a dragon in her lair for a week or so? I promise I don’t bite.” She bared a fang as she said this but her expression told me she was kidding. At least, I hope she was.

I nearly said yes, my excitement over talking to a dragon almost over riding my caution, but I held back and considered things. Dragons were known to be crafty but it was said that they were honest with those who showed them proper respect. I wondered briefly if she was lying about knowing Maple but something told me that a dragon ex girlfriend definitely fit in with other things Maple had told me about her past, though she was always a little cagey on the details.

Still, Onyx had clearly held back in regards to the hunters and she could have killed me at any time if she really wanted. I was respected and well liked back in town, but I don’t think holding me for ransom or anything like that would be beneficial for her. The town wasn’t particularly wealthy and the Duke certainly didn’t care about me enough to pay up. I felt my excitement surge again as I realized that I had plenty of good reasons to go along with her, for now.

“Yes, absolutely! I want to know everything! I want to see your lair! I’ve heard so many stories of how different each dragon’s lair is and I’ve always wanted to see one!” I clearly was doing a wonderful job of containing my excitement and projecting an air of grizzled caution.

Onyx’s grin grew even wider and she held up her wing as she tossed me my holy symbol. I scurried over, my initial fear having long since given way to eagerness. I started running through my mental exercises to achieve the state of calm I needed for healing magic.

Healing magic was tricky for a lot of people to use effectively. Most magic entailed taking mana from your core, shaping it via intuition or formula and patterns, and then taking the resulting effect and releasing it into the world. A fireball, for example, was a simple matter of attuning your mana to fire, which was much easier when your anger or adrenaline was high, and shaping that into a sphere. The mana would convert into a ball of fire that flew in whatever direction you pointed in it. An advanced practitioner would maintain a tiny ball of mana at the center of the fireball which would allow them to redirect it or change its attributes mid-flight.

Healing magic on the other hand was difficult because everyone had an aura of magic that protected their body from outside mana influences. And healing magic had to be in the body when it was released or it wouldn’t work. Healing yourself was easier because you could generate healing effects within your own aura but the mental and emotional states could be difficult to achieve when you are in pain. I had struggled with healing magic when I was younger but becoming a priest entitled me to a bit of divine assistance. I knew not what special knowledge the gods had access to but when working healing magic I would feel a warm glow envelop my mana and help me slip past the body’s defenses. I didn’t need any special reagents or runes to assist me like others did which was convenient since I found intuitive magic easier to use in general.

I pulled some mana from my core and into my eyes, enhancing my vision so I could get a sense of Onyx’s own mana core and the pathways of her body that I would be sending my healing energies through. I was momentarily blinded as her core was much brighter and denser than I expected or had seen before. Even more curious was motes of ambient mana that drifted around here, a higher concentration than was normal. I noticed also that while her body’s mana conduits were similar to any other person I had worked on, she had additional conduits that constantly threaded small streams of mana from her core. Perhaps this was the source of the legendary draconic vitality? A constant pulse of healing magic flowing through the body would definitely account for it.

I realized that my thoughts were starting to spiral into tangents, so I focused in on the hole in her wing. It looked like the hole had been torn right through one of her conduits and the edges of the tear had traces of elementally aspected mana that slowed the healing streams flowing to the area. Still, the healing mana was eating through the mana traces and I suspected that Onyx’s claim that she would be fully healed in a day or so was accurate. Still, I could certainly speed that up. My enhanced eyesight allowed me to identify the elemental traces, wind aspected augmented with stasis from the domain of time, and I attuned my own mana to opposing elements to nullify the effect. Gent’s empowered arrow trick was remarkably sophisticated but I was known as something of a natural when it came to understanding magic. With the traces negated, it was a simple matter to infuse my own healing energy into Onyx’s existing regeneration. I felt the familiar warm glow of my god…or I suppose goddess’ favor envelop me as I worked. Within moments, Onyx’s wing was hale and hearty with not even a scar to show there was ever any damage at all.

I felt a surge of pride at my work as many healers I had heard of were unable to heal as thoroughly as I could. I motioned to Onyx, letting her know that my work was complete, and she stood up to try some experimental flaps and motions with her wing.

“Kid, you do really good work. Maple must be very proud. I think even she would have struggled to do as neat a job.”

I felt my face grow warm as I basked in the praise. “Oh, it is nothing. Being a priest makes healing easier, that is all.”

Onyx tilted her head curiously at me. “Who told you that? Teara favors you, I can tell that much. But serving her never made healing any easier for me. I think the skill is entirely yours, little morsel. Your magic is what she approves of. Teara is a goddess of freedom and chaos and your magic embodies those traits indeed. You direct it but you don’t bind your will to it like a dog on a leash like many do. It was like watching someone ask a favor of a good friend. You should be proud, kid.”


I was overwhelmed with joy. People rarely praised me like that and I was very much unused to anyone complimenting me with such sincerity. And to be complimented by someone who clearly understood magic better than me or the others in town? Wonderful. I stared at my feet, my hands grasping little fistfulls of my skirt...vestments. “You really think so? Thank you…” My voice was quiet, the words difficult to speak. Infrequent compliments meant I truly had no idea how to respond. “I’m not a child though. I’m in my thirties!” I rallied quickly, shifting focus off the kind words and on to her mocking terms for me. Though they didn’t feel mean spirited like I was used to.

The dragon’s gaze softened and she looked at me with a gentle expression. “My apologies...priest. Sarric. I meant it as gentle teasing. Maple has told me so much about you and we had always talked about having kids so I suppose when she talked about you like you were hers...ah well.” Her eyes sparkled a little bit, her voice was shaky, and she turned her head up and away, regaining her composure. “Still, that is no excuse. I am sincerely sorry if I caused you any distress. Maple told me about how the hunters treat you and I should have realized my playful nicknames might come off as cruel as theirs.”

I was surprised at her apology. Dragons weren’t known for admitting fault or showing humility. Stories tended to paint them as arrogant and egotistical. She was wrong though, her names for me hadn’t really hurt at all. It was kind of nice to have someone talk to me like that. If anything, her using my name felt somehow...hollow in comparison. I had only brought up the kid thing to try to stop her from praising me more and sending my thoughts spiralling.

“No no, it’s alright.” My voice was shaky. I took a deep breath before continuing. “Let’s be off then, I’m very excited to see your lair.” My excitement returned as my thoughts raced with fantasies of what her lair would look like.

She regained her smug grin, picking up on my energy. “I think you will like it. It isn’t too much farther up the mountain. We’ll step outside and I’ll carry you up there in no time at all. I suppose I should ask, would you prefer I carry you in this form or would you be more comfortable if I carried you in my claws in my full dragon form?”

Her consideration continued to surprise me. I realized in that moment that beneath her intimidating appearance, she was a big softy at heart. I could see now why her and Maple had been together.

“Claws are fine. I trust you.”

Her eyes sparkled again as she was clearly touched by the trust I was placing in her. I got the impression that it wasn’t something she got to hear often. She grabbed my pack from where it lay nearby in the cave and guided me to the entrance. My eyes burned in the light of the sun after the dim glow but she waited until I adjusted before shifting her form. I gasped softly as her black scales caught the sun and once more gained that soap bubble shimmer I had seen briefly before. How could anyone feel emotions other than awe at such a sight was a mystery to me. She towered over me, her body at least three times as tall as me before counting the horns or her wings. She shifted into a sitting position not unlike a cat in repose and held out one of her claws. I stepped closer and lifted myself up, feeling her claw gently close around me. Her scales were firm but smooth and felt warm to the touch. I noticed that her talons retracted as I got into position, not quite receding out of view but clearly making it easier to handle things delicately.


She waited for me to get situated and then gave a few more experimental flaps of her wings. Satisfied, she coiled her body and leaped into the air, her wings catching the wind and lifting her swiftly with each stroke. I marvelled at how smoothly she flew as the cave dwindled below us and we drew closer to the peak of the mountain. Giddiness filled me and my laughter was carried off by the winds as it sunk in that I was being carried by a dragon to her lair! This was beyond my wildest dreams. I couldn’t recall ever being happier than I was in that moment.