Draconia Offline vol. 2

77.2. Sense of Direction - Part 2

"Hi, hon, sorry that I didn't wait for you, but we have a situation," Erik explains and is standing in front of Liana's computer.

"A serious situation?" I ask.

"Another monster attack," Liana announces, staring at the live streaming.

"Is it going to be okay?" I worry. Monster attacks are becoming a rather regular occurrence, but I still worry that innocent people will die each time it happens.

"Two heligorrs," she reports. "But local Draconians are managing. It's one of the professional battle units we established recently. They are doing more than fine."

"Where?" Gotrid asks eagerly.

"Austria," Liana says. "It's a country..."

"I know where Austria is, Viceroy," Gotrid gets offended. "I'm not your stereotypical American who sucks at geography. It's south of Bohemia. South!"

"So?" Erik doesn't understand why Gotrid is so bewildered about it. I'm starting to understand, but it has to be a coincidence. There's no way I'd feel it when it's so far away.

"It doesn't have to mean anything," I take Gotrid's hand, hoping he will drop it.

"It turns out that our Emperor lacks any sense for cardinal directions which should be innate to Celestials," Gotrid pushes it despite my efforts. "Instead, he can sense in which direction a new rift is opening, even if it's hundreds of kilometres away."

"It's just a coincidence," I insist. "I just told you the first random direction that came to my mind back then. Is it so hard to accept that I suck at something for a change?"

"Let's test it then," he grabs my hand and before I can do anything, he spins me several times to the point I get almost nauseous.

"Which way is the rift?" he asks me with urgency in his voice.

"Uff, you stupid, my head is spinning now," I whine and massage my temples. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"Answer the question, Aefener," Liana stands up and her emotional state changes drastically. She's dead serious and won't take any excuses from me.

"There," I point my finger and feel stupid because I'm pointing to the wall. I'm simply saying where I'd head if I could fly again.

It takes them a few minutes to asses precisely where my finger is pointing.

"That's exactly right," Erik exclaims in disbelief and hugs me. "If Ryuuto flew in that direction, he'd get to the rift eventually."

"But I had no idea south is that way," I say feebly. "I suck at telling directions."

"You don't have to know cardinal directions to instinctively point where the rift is, hon," Gotrid caresses my feathers to calm me down. "We've just discovered that you possess another super sense, why do you feel down about it? It's amazing, you're amazing!"

That takes me aback and makes me think. Why indeed? I used to be scared of my powers before because I desperately wanted to be normal, even though I was never human in the first place. When I changed, I hoped to be normal among Celestials at least and, obviously, that never happened either. It seems I'm still reluctant to fully accept my abilities because it alienates me from others.

"So every time Aefener got lost, it wasn't because he's just hopeless at paying attention while flying?" Liana ponders. I'm grateful that she can see my weaknesses and isn't afraid to talk about them. That's what friends do and something my subjects would never do.

"Not every time, he's still hopeless at paying attention when flying," Gotrid chuckles. I nudge him, but I'm glad that he's making fun of me. Nobody else would dare.

"If I may," Vermiel speaks up, "I think His Majesty's ability to feel rifts from huge distances might be interfering with his sense for cardinal directions."

"That would make sense," Liana agrees. "We'll be testing it from now on. Aefener, every time you feel even a little bit tense and yearning to fly in a certain direction, tell us, okay?"

I look at the screen again. Austrian Draconians just defeated the first heligorr and are decimating the second one. It's amazing what proper training and coordinated teamwork can accomplish in such a short amount of time. It gives me hope that we will be able to keep people safe. Stronger monsters might appear in future, but we are getting stronger with each passing day.

Naturally, everyone is excited about my newly found ability and there's zero chance it would remain secret by the end of the day. To be honest, I'd exchange it for the sense of general direction immediately if I could because that's useful in everyday life. But my subjects don't operate in the terms of common when it comes to their Emperor.

"I'll gladly be your compass, honey," Gotrid comments jokingly.