The next two weeks passed in a blur. Nothing in her routine had changed, yet with aliyah's selection of the [Path of the Warrior] training in the courtyard was infinitely more fun. Not that it hadn't been fun before, but since the selection training felt like the right thing to do.

Things changed since her "hatching" as Audur put it. In the first few days it was faint, yet with every step she took under the storm, she could feel the mana. The sensation of it guiding her along the dance. Leading her. Where before she was being led by the wind and rain itself, now the mana came through. Every step would be just a bit sharper, every stab, every slash with the spear a bit more powerful. When she danced, she felt the mana saturate her body. The aspect of the air making her steps lighter, the aspect of water making her more flexible and the aspect of lightning made her more vicious. But when she was deep in meditation under the storm, she could feel it. When her mind was empty, and all that existed was her body, and the storm above, she could feel it. Inside her body the mana took on an entirely different aspect. Through the dance she got the different aspects of mana move through her, and they all ended in her chest. When she achieved perfect harmony the mana became something greater. The aspect of the storm itself.

Apart from the progress in her training nothing changed. Audur hat yet to call for her again, so she spent her time doing what she had for the last years.

As usual she arrived in the courtyard after an extensive breakfast and an itchy bath. Today was once again spear training, so she approached the middle of the courtyard towards the piece of wood she had been training with for quite some time now. When she began her training on the first day, the 'stick' had looked like any ordinary piece of wood. Nowadays it had changed quite drastically. The spear used to be somewhat crooked at the top, along with the usual uneven surface a mundane stick ought to have. Now it had straightened up considerably, and even somewhat grown in length. The rough bark had fallen away piece by piece and now it was just a smooth wooden surface. And the spear had grown with her. Aliyah had had quite the growth spurt over the last year, and the spear seemed to match her millimeter for millimeter.

Just when she was about to reach out to the spear, a grating screech rebounded from up above.

 "CLAX DOUT TERNOCK NURI CHA'SIDIC DI BATOBOT! COI BELHALIC EKESS SIA ODESSA!"

 After the sudden scream, Aliyah looked upwards, only to fall backwards onto her butt. In the sky, hovering only about 10 meters above her was a winged creature.

It had the body of a large snake, and was about 8 meters long. It's tail had a sharp bladelike tip and had little spikes growing along its spine. About a meter from its head, great leathery wings sprouted, tipped with 4 sharp claws, about as long as human fingers. The wings themselves were a good 6 meters wide. Its head was flared like that of common poisonous snake, yet it's jaws and eyes were unmistakably draconic.

It continued to scream something in the same language Audur had sometimes used. It reared back and disappeared, an instant later the beast reappeared in front of Aliyah, yet before it could divebomb into her, it smashed into a translucent barrier with a hearty smack. It looked as if a common bird had flown into a window.

For the first time in 2 weeks, Audur spoke up again.

"POK! TIR TI EKESS VUCOT SIA GEOU! WUX NOMAG TEPOHA SIA IEJIR SHAR JACIV UI VIS KIN! "

As audurs words carried across the wind, the beast seemed to calm down, and with the last spoken word, the beasts eyes widened, and it looked at Aliyah slightly terrified.

The beast landed on the ground and coiled in on itself like a snake would, using its wings as something akin to a blanket. It muttered something to quiet for Aliyah to hear, and settled its head atop the rest of its body.

Almost a minute passed in awkward silence, with Aliyah still on the ground, looking pensively at the beast, while it in turn looked at her with undisguised hostility.

 Quietly Aliyah called out for Audur, in the direction the voice had come from.

 "Uhm... Aud- Odessa? What is happening?"

 As soon as she called for Audur with the word they had mentioned, the snakes eyes opened wide in shock, before narrowing down to two tiny slits. It reared its head back opening its mouth, yet before it could say anything, the softer version of Audur's voice resounded, causing the snake to snap its mouth shut.

"This is an Amphitere. She is a distant descendant of mine, and as such carries the blood. Yet over the millenia it has diluted to the point that she lost the mighty form. "

 "Uhm that's nice and all, but that doesn't explain what she is doing here." Aliyah replied, no less confused.

"Aah my apologies. You asked for company, and I commanded her to be present for the duration of your stay. Not to worry, she is not to be your company itself. She is ready to lay her goal clutch of eggs, so her hatching are to become your peers. Additionally you are to learn the tongue when she starts teaching them. Now that she is here, I shall see you at the end of this mooncycle. "

And with that explanation Audurs voice and presence faded.

Another two uneventful weeks passed. This time though, her training was observed by a very grumpy amphithere.

On the new moon, the staircase to audurs cavern opened up gain.

This time the descent down the staircase was not quite as tortuous, in part due to her familiarity with the uneven steps, in another part due to the company of the amphithere.

After an uneventful descent they arrived in the gigantic cavern which seemed to house audur.

This time the cavern was noticeably more subdued. Where before the clouds on the ceiling where almost boiling, now they seemed tranquil and calm.

"Aaaahh little one there you are. I see you have continued to progress along your chosen path. It fills me with joy that one such as you would carry on my legacy. "

Audurs quiet voice flooded the cavern, and it almost sounded exhausted. Before she could think further on the topic, her mouth already moved.

"Are you tired odessa? " 

The snake lying on the ground next to her curled a little tighter on itself at the mention of the word odessa, yet showed  no further reaction.

"Yes little one I have been tired for a long time. Today is a special occasion though, so I will have to stay awake."

At audurs words, two little clouds, no bigger than aliyah's head, floated towards her. As they came to a stop in front of her, she could see each of them carrying something.

 "Now little one, that you have hatched, it is time to take the next step in your training. I have for you, two gifts. From now on, until the day you decide to leave, you must wear them without pause. As I am sure you know, accidents happen, but these items are bound to you so that they will not remove themselves from your person, unless you will it. Under no circumstances are you to take them off. Do you understand?"

Audurs voice, had taken on a familiar tone. It almost sounded like Aliyah's mother when she was told how important etiquette lessons were, even though she would've rather played in the garden.

"Yes odessa, I understand" she replied with conviction. The training she had done in the temple up to now, had been the most fulfilling thing. Now that her training had to be changed, she tried to embrace it as best she could.

The two clouds slowly drifted towards her, and she could now make out what the items were. On the left, floating bunched up in the cloud, was a black strip of cloth. In the right cloud, floated an unassuming necklace. It seemed to be made out of some black cord, and held only a single grey scale.

 "Thank you odessa for the gifts" years of etiquette lessons made her thank her guardian, even though she had no idea what those items were for. Amd, in her opinion, didn't look very pretty.

An amused chuckle drifted over the wind, before Audur spoke again.

"No need to thank me child. Now you may retire to your quarters, and put them on. The cloth to cover your eyes, and the charm, around your neck. Do be careful and only put them on once you are safe on your bedding."

Aliyah grabbed the two items and watched as the clouds dissipated. After wishing saying her goodbyes she ascended the staircase once more, this time leaving the amphithere on her own.

Arriving in her room, Aliyah quickly sat on the bed to inspect audits gifts. The cord which held the scale, seemed to be a solid black string. No knot or clasp interrupted its entire length, and the scale was not very eye-catching either. It was about the size of her palm, and was grey. Otherwise it was entirely nondescript. It could have come from a fish, as much as a dragon.

The strip of fabric was even more devoid of features. Even though the fabric felt exquisite in her hand, it seemed to be just a bunch of black fabric.

Holding the fabric up to her eyes, she was surprised when the fabric seemed to gain a mind of its own and wrapped itself around her head, covering her eyes. It goes itself into a knot at the back of her head, and no matter how she moved her head, it didn't budge. With the piece of fabric she could no longer open her eyes.

Heeding audurs instructions, she put on the necklace. As soon as the scale rested comfortably in her chest, she noticed something. The same sensation she felt when before she chose her path, only this time an order of magnitude stronger. Her skin tingled and every breath seemed to burn, and before she knew it, she lost consciousness.