.^^ European Dragon Archetypes ^^
— Idun —
Baby Dragons, it turned out, did not sleep very much, unless they had just eaten. This was news to me, but I didn't complain. His food was readily supplied, even in the middle of the field where we were practicing sword forms, (in full platemail, no less,) repetitively, for about two hours.
Next after that was just running, for an hour, in the platemail, and then more forms with a hefty Mace, on the end of a long shaft, standing in for a spear.
After it was over, we were allowed to remove the armor, and then sent back to our dorms, dragging our feet as we went.
The bath was occupied, by the time I got there, but I was invited in anyway, and I happily sank into the hot water, relaxing.
"When's your first class?" Eliza asked lazily, watching her new friend, who was paddling around in the water, happily chasing his little brother.
"45 minutes... I think I'll make it, if I know where it is..." I shrugged.
"You've probably got Etheric Draw... most people exempt out of that one within a few days. It's pretty easy." The blonde twin, (who I think was named Orissa,) said, and then swam casually over to a part of the pool that wasn't steaming at all.
"Is that a cold bath?" I murmured, intrigued.
"Yep. Perfect for cooling down muscles..." she nodded.
I sighed and finished up my bath, and climbed out reluctantly. "Well, I'm going to check on my little wards, you're welcome to come with. Has yours been fed?" I asked Eliza as the twins scrambled to finish their baths.
She nodded slowly, and shuddered. "A little Portal sent him a rather large Rat. It was... bracing."
I chuckled. "That it is, yes. Come along, it's about time for their next meal anyway." I dressed in comfy jeans and a tee-shirt, and then led the overenthusiastic women towards the grove of forest, where the dragons were flirting around a young Drake.
I blinked slowly. "Tell me you didn't place a Drake in my room without my knowledge, Syral? Or was it you, Archie?"
"I'm afraid that was me." Syral shrugged, leaning against a tree, nearby. "It needed a place to give birth safely."
"She's pregnant?" I gasped, and then whistled sharply at the Dragons. When they all screeched to a halt, I growled softly in their language. "Leave the pregnant drake alone! Scatter! It's almost food time, don't make me angry before then!"
They darted away from her, and congregated around me, wrapping themselves around me swiftly, and purring complacently.
I smiled. "Smart babies... anyway, meet my new friends, little ones. These are Orissa and Brigit. Be nice."
They cautiously sniffed the two women, and then the biggest of them, the only girl, bit down on Orissa's pants, tearing a piece of leather off, and chewing it contentedly.
I smothered a giggle and picked her up. "I don't know if that's safe for you! Don't eat people's clothes! It's very rude!"
Syral nodded. "She's fine, but they definitely shouldn't eat people's clothes. That would be a bad habit."
"Yeah, right?" I chuckled.
The dragon swallowed the leather, and then eyed Orissa's clothes again, only to pause and look into the woman's blue eyes, then slowly creep over to her.
She accepted the weight onto her arm, and watched the dragon carefully. "You're very cute, you know. I've never seen a dragon who is so multicolored, but I like it." She said softly, and tickled her little friends chin.
She reared away, and snorted sparks, bounding back over to my shoulders, where she sat on her younger brother lazily, ignoring his indignant squawk of protest.
"I guess I still smell like Pegasi, huh?" She chuckled.
"Or the Wrong Element." Brigit shrugged, and I noticed all the dragons that weren't on me were lounging on her shoulders and chest.
I chuckled. "Interesting. Well, Archie, can I get something different, this time? Maybe something thats over-populated? They're going to eat a lot, so might as well help the environment, Eh?"
A soft rumble preceded a veritable wave of kangaroo mice in the Desert/Safari ecosystem, and all the dragons perked up, while the Drake looked at them longingly, from her place on the ground.
I hummed, and then looked at the baby dragons. "I want you all to bring a little bit of your kills to her, to help feed her, okay? No complaining, there's enough for everyone."
They grumbled about it, but began catching the little mice, and one of them dug a rather deep pit, next to the pregnant Drake.
As soon as I went to ask what it was, they dumped a whole heap of the mice in it, still alive and hopping, then went back to hunting for their own food.
"Thank you, young ones..." she murmured, and thrust her nose into the hole, eating all of them in a few bites.
Seeing as the mice kept coming, they kept filling her little feeding trough, even after they were done eating, turning it into a competition between them.
At first, I thought she'd eventually get full, but from the ease with which she ate all the mice, again and again, I figured she was eating for ten, just like the Dragon Mother, who was still asleep, and that she'd have to stop soon, because of the limits of her stomach. But no, she was still eating when I left for my class, carrying my schedule and Dragon companion.
—
Classes apparently took place, (according to one very snobby girl I asked in the lobby,) in the 'appropriate' venues, to increase their effectiveness.
And so that's how I found myself in the middle of a lake, sitting on a single plank of wood, about 200 feet long, and 50 feet wide.
Several younger people sat with us, to my surprise, and each was capable of pulling Ether, though with very limited success in actually shaping it into anything.
At one point, I got tired of the boring little exercises, and spoke to the teacher during a meditation period. "Is there any way I can be exempt from this class? It's literally for children, and while my knowledge of advanced magic may be limited, my control of Ether is perfect."
She blinked slowly. "Is that so?"
"Yes. Perfect may be an exaggeration, but not by much." I clarified.
"Hmm... I'll think about it. Return to your meditation, please." She closed her eyes, and went back to meditating.
"Perhaps you don't understand, so I'll let you in on something: I don't do Meditation, or sitting still for any period of time in which my brain is not being used for something else. My control of Ether is good, I don't need to be taught that." I attempted not to growl at her.
"All students take this course. It's necessary for your education-
"I already had these lessons, Alright? I've been through the meditation, and communing with the universe, and the lectures about balance, all of it, already. Hated it then, hate it now, but I already learned all this, so I don't need a refresher course." I snapped.
She hummed softly. "You've already received magical teachings?"
"Yes."
"From whom?" She asked, seemingly curious.
"My parents, members of the Parisian Drachenjägers." I frowned at the personal question, but answered anyway.
She blinked, looking at me closely. "Ahh... I see. That's why your aura is so chaotic, yet intrinsically calm... you are entirely used to your state of change. Impressive. Yes, you may leave, but you will stay and meditate for at least one hour, every day going forward, just like every other first year who exhibits control of Ether."
"Alright, Fine." I sighed, and walked away, setting a thin silk sheet in the shape of a boat down, and rowing back to the shore while my little dragon swam around me merrily.
—
"Alright... next class... 'Studere Europae Fabulis et Fabulae'... 'the study of the Myths and Legends of Europe'? Interesting." I hummed, and opened the door at the back of the library.
I blinked slowly at the giant dragon sitting primly at the front of the class, frozen in place.
She turned an eye to me. "Yes? You need something, or are you a student of my companion? He is rather sick, -and even though I told him raw fish was not a safe meal for him, he didn't listen,- and so I will be teaching in his stead while he moans piteously about his intestines in the sick-bay. There's no need to be alarmed."
I stepped in, and my Runt skittered over the floors swiftly towards her, and sat on her claws.
She blinked, looking down at him. "Ah! A Kit! So new, as well, you must only be a few days old! Pleased to meet you! Go sit with your friend, please, I must focus."
He purred in response, and curled up on her claws.
"Oh dear... ah well. Alright everyone, take your seats, please, I'd like to start this class with a little introduction, and then right into where the lesson plan begins! I am Dulciana, Companion to Professor Reginald Kerrigan, your actual teacher for this course. Are there any questions?" She looked around slowly.
"May I ask how old you are?" I asked in her language, testing it out.
She snorted a little stream of steam, surprised. "Oh! A human who speaks? From whom are you descended?"
"My parents were members of the Parisian Drachenjägers."
"Ahhhh, Yes... Paris, where the Breeding Efforts began, to save the Gallic Earth Dragon, yes?" She scratched her breastplate thoughtfully, creating a sound not unlike a nail on Steel.
"Yes, that's the one." I nodded, happy she remembered that, versus what they were usually known for.
"Interesting, Yes, and in answer to your question, I am approaching my 4th decade." She settled like a cat, and my Runt curled up again on the new, flat surface of her right paw.
"Any more questions? No? Then today's lesson will be on that of the original categorization of the Archetypal Dragons, also known as 'Elder' Dragons, regardless of age, not unlike this Kit, here." She showed everyone the baby dragon, who, in his little nap, had turned a lovely shade of gold.
He shifted in his sleep, and turned green and purple again, but I knew that European dragons couldn't turn their scales to the 'pure' colors unless they were that type, and there was no exceptions to that, to my knowledge.
"Does anyone know the types? Or how many there are?" She asked, scanning the crowd of sixty or so.
I put my hand up, along with about a dozen others, and she hummed, pointing a claw at me. "You, girl who speaks the language of dragons... tell me the Archetypes."
I nodded, standing up. "There are ten, all together, of the European type. Five sets of exact opposites. White and black, which are one of the only two Pairs, along with Gold and Silver who can weave complex Etheric Equations, and are considered the 'Master Weavers' out of the Elder dragons, though all Archetypal dragons can do some amount of magic."
"Correct... I'll let someone else do the rest?" She pointed at another student.
He stood up, and cleared his throat. "Well, there's Bronze and Green, next. Bronze Dragons specialize in the creation of tunnels and such, being Rock Dragons, while Green Dragons focus more on Plants, and have developed a very intricate agricultural system that all greens are born with the knowledge of."
"Very nice... who can tell me about another pair?"
A girl at the back piped up shyly. "Well... Brass and Copper are another pair... Copper Dragons are fierce Hoarders, and are obsessed with all things that have a specific amount of Luster or Shine. Brass Dragons are almost polar opposites, in that they will hoard anything, but only that thing, and nothing else, such as spoons, or specific gemstones."
"Indeed. I, myself, am descended from a Brass Dragon, and I find myself hoarding small pieces of pink diamonds, when I see them." Dulciana chuckled softly.
"And then there's Blue and Red. Blue dragons are inherently Water-Types, of all kinds. They cannot tolerate high temperatures, and prefer the icy depths of any body of water. They are also known to have the most even tempers, while Red Types are the most famously known for their irrational tempers, being, pardon the pun, Hot-Headed." One other girl smirked at the terrible pun.
Dulciana nodded. "Indeed... and the last pair... little Drachenjäger?" She gazed at me.
I cleared my throat. "Well, the last ones are perhaps the most polarized of them all, Being the Largest of all Dragons, and the most mysterious. Gold and Silver dragons are extremely rare, and even rarer would you find one sitting still for long, unless sleeping. Gold are the largest, and the wisest, known usually as the Scholars, of all their kin, though most dragons can read and write. Silver dragons are the only dragons who cannot speak, having no vocal cords, and so are usually telepathic, instead. This is the reason that all telepaths have silver eyes, and most elves, as well."
"Exactly correct, my dear... speaking of Golden Dragons, Yours seems to be in need of a potty break." She raised her foot to my eye-level, shivering, and I yelped, picking up the little dragon before he made things worse.