The Celestial Way

Chapter 16.2 - Changing Ways

On the next day, Vorzii returned to Ilsorin. Veralla was filled with joy, both for being with Airo again and because nobody died. He finally stayed for the night, and they shared a room aboard the skyship, too. He tried to hide it, but his constant presence on missions was exhausting him, and she left him to rest when she rose early in the morning to prepare for her usual routine of training and meditation.

Now, she sat in the main dining hall, wondering why her meal was late. Several times she asked the hoverbots for something to eat, but each time they replied that she should wait for a few minutes. Lately, there were a great many people coming to the dining hall besides Radiant Knights, and the place was always busy and a lot more noisy. Veralla wondered perhaps this was the reason for the food delay, though she saw that other people, even those who came after her, even dragons, were served at the usual rate. She waited long enough, and began to worry she would be late for training. She considered skipping her meal to head toward the training grounds, and was about to do so when Glawlrhain came, with Stamat in tow. The Highlander Knight greeted Veralla warmly.

"Hey, Veralla. How are you today?"

"I am feeling fine! And what about you?"

"Well, I'm great, thanks for asking. Commander Airo actually gave me a few days of shore leave, so I can be together with Glal here," Stamat smiled at the training master, who returned the gesture with equal warmth.

"Oh, I am so happy for the two of you!"

"We're happy for ourselves likewise," Glawlrhain said. "Now, you are probably wondering why you're kept hungry, young one?"

"Yes! I tried asking for food several times, yet I was always told to wait. Is there something wrong with the meat supply?"

"No, I instructed the hover bots to withhold your meal. It is time to learn to hunt, young one."

"T-to hunt?" Veralla asked uncertainly.

"Yes," Glawlrhain replied. "It's part of the natural development of any dragon. Come, follow us."

"O-okay."

She hopped from her variformed seat and went after Glawlrhain and Stamat. "First we'll make a small detour, since you still can't fly," the training master explained on the way. The three of them left the dining hall, and headed to one of the armories on the lower levels. There, Stamat outfitted her with an anti-gravity harness, which looked like a set of thick plates linked together with a mesh. The mesh was fastened to her body so the plates were evenly distributed among each cardinal direction.

With this done, they went outside on the battlements. The weather in the sub-fractal region was bright and sunny, as usual. Glawlrhain pointed a talon at the base of the mountain, far below the stronghold.

"We must go there," he said, unfurling his wings, and leapt off the edge.

Veralla, who was listening to Stamat's instructions on how to use the anti-grav harness, looked at him in alarm. "How are you going to get down there? Should you not ride on Glawlrhain's back?"

Stamat patted his armor. "I have an anti-grav module built-in," he said casually, though his smile had a hint of wistfulness to it. "Take off whenever you're ready. I'll trail behind in case something goes wrong."

She nodded eagerly and – without thinking twice – jumped down toward the steep slopes. She activated the anti-grav harness, turning her plummeting fall into a controlled dive. A small roar of glee escaped her jaws, as she again felt the freedom of being in the air. It was like when she practiced gliding by jumping off Lung's back, only this time she had complete control over her altitude. She made several wide circles, familiarizing herself with the harness' interface, while testing if she could improve her maneuverability with her wings and tail. It definitely helped; she could imagine herself flying in truth, if she just closed her eyes and ignored the HHI her claws manipulated to control the harness.