"Now before you ask your questions, I shall explain a few thing to you. The circumstances of you arrival, why you are here, why we could not meet until now and how the next few years are going to pass"

As if reading Aliyah's doubts, Audur began to speak.The

"You may want to sit down little one, this may take some time. "

As if influenced by Audurs voice alone, the loose stone below Aliyah liquefied and shaped itself into a vague approximation of a couch. Despite being made of stone, the seat was surprisingly comfortable.

 "Ten cycles ago, a magical storm raged across a far away land. Usually this is no cause for concern, as a natural storm will sometimes take in mana while traveling across the sky. Now this storm destroyed a few smaller settlements, and eventually arrived above a village. At precisely this moment a human was in the process of giving birth. The moment the newborn took its first breath and formed its soul, a lightning bolt struck the child. Usually this would destroy both mother and child, yet through sheer coincidencs, it struck the moment the soul formed. "

Even though Audur never mentioned her, or the "faraway land" by name, she knew they were talking about her. She had heard her father speak of this moment, and taken it as a bad omen. Since the moment of her birth, he had scorned her, and her later fascination with all things storms, had only deepened his distrust.

"The soul, little one, is a fascinating thing. It is formed at the moment a being is born. When they take their first breath, the ambient mana takes on a special quality and forms the soul of said being. In the case of said newborn, the lightning bolt formed a conduit, that sucked the essence contained in the storm, into the newly formed soul. These things rarely happen among humans, not without special rituals. Now the newborn suddenly had a soul, tinged with the essence of an entire magical phenomenon. "

Audur stopped talking while Aliyah considered their words. Just as she was about to ask a question, they continued.

"Such a young being, not yet hatched, naturally garnered my attention. Usually I would observe every few years, to check in on them. Maybe they could relieve me of my boredom for the next few centuries. Maybe they would one day reach high enough to meet me, and we could converse as something approaching equals. Then I noticed the attention of a human "Deity" on the unhatched. After finding out, that said "Deity" had an aspect of some abstract human concept, I grew worried. And then said "Deity" intended to smite the unhatched child, for some slight that was outside the child's control. So I intervened. Since the human "Divine" was quite weak, I told it to bring the child to me, and naturally it obliged. This temple was once built in my honour, and I intended to shelter you here, until your soul matured, then set you loose on the world, and watch. And then you surprised me little one. You communed with the weather, before you even hatched. You spoke to the elements, and the elements spoke to you. Your soul little Aliyah, is made for the primordial storms, for chaos and for conquest. The moment I saw your communion, I knew you were the one that may finally put me to rest. "

Aliyah was floored. Many of the things Audur had mentioned flew entirely over her head, yet other things answered questions she had long wanted answers to. The fact that she was still alive, after her family had drawn pravda's ire, the strange feeling she had whenever she looked upon harsh weather, and the origins of the temple she found herself in.

"Now I must once again apologize. You have lived the past two and a half cycles in this temple, yet this is the first time I have spoken to you. At first I intended for you to stay here, and leave as soon as you were able. That changed when I saw your harmony with the elements. From the moment I saw your dialogue, I knew you to be special. Yet I could not initiate a conversation with you, for your vessel would have shattered. When a being reached a level of power as I have, the mana in the vicinity follows my attention. Full observation would have killed you, with mana density alone. The day I saved you from the human "Deity" your soul almost shattered. Only my timely intervention prevented your death. But now that you have hatched and your body and soul have unified, you are a little more resilient. "

"Uhm.... Thank you I think?" Aliyah answered. She wasn't sure what to respond but politeness seemed like a good first step. Aliyah noticed that the longer she was sitting and conversing with Audur, the more noticeable the mana in the surrounding became. She wasn't able to sense it directly, yet the effect on her body was unmistakable. Where before the feeling of mana in her breath helped calm her down, now it had escalated to an uncomfortable burning sensation.

"You are welcome child. Now I noticed your discomfort, so I will tell you one last thing. I never intended for you to stay here against your will, yet the earliest I can let you leave is in 7 cycles."

Before Aliyah could even think of protesting, Audur  continued.

"Now little one, I know that may seem like a long time, but trust me, it won't be. 7 cycles is the shortest time in which I would feel comfortable letting you leave on your own. We are far from the kingdom's you grew up in, and the stormlands would eat you up if you were to leave here unprepared. So for at least 7 cycles I will teach you whatever I can, so that you are prepared when you want to leave. Now our time is almost up, do you have anything to ask if me little one ?"

She was once again floored. The fact that someone who could talk to gods would teach her was amazing, but the fact that she was apparently quite far away from her homeland was disheartening. Before she could really think about the gravity of the last question she answered.

"Its lonely in the grey rooms on my own. Can I have a friend?"

The rotating eye on the ceiling stilled momentarily, while the blue lightning bolt widened. A quiet, almost imperceptible chuckle got carried away by the wind.

"Loneliness is something I can help with, friendship is something you will have to work on yourself. Now then little one, before you sustain any damage, please return to your quarters. The way to my chambers opens once every new moon, so that is when I shall teach you."

Before Aliyah could ask any more questions, the stone upon which she sat, began sliding backwards, towards the stairway from which she entered.

"Company should arrive in at most a single mooncycle. So do not feet little one"

And with that, the stone on which she sat, slid backwards up the staircase out of Audur chamber.

As soon as the hatching was safely back in its quarters, Audur dismissed the negligible amount of magic they had used to shape the ground, letting the improvised seat flow back into the ground.The

They were almost giddy. Ever since they had ascended against their will and lost all function in their mortal body, they had given up on ever rearing true offspring. For a true Dragon could only birth a true Dragon once. And with the birth of another true Dragon, they would give everything they are, returning to endless sleep. 

With Audurs ascension those hopes were taken from them, and they had prepared to live in perpetual torment, never fulfilling their ancestral calling, until some godslayer came along to end them.

Now though, it was time. They would call in every favor, every bit of debt owed to them, all to rear their offspring. True, the child had not the blood, but the soul could be melded into that of  Dragon. Then they could finally rest.