Chapter 135 - Dragons and Phoenixes

  This past month has been incredibly hectic with all the preparations. Not only were Chloe and I getting ready to head to the Apsalon Academy, but even my mother and some of the servants were anizing their temporary move as well. Apsalon, being a ral zone, didn’t allow soldiers from any kingdom within its borders, making it an indepe city with its own ey and task force to deal with local issues.

  I would be spending the five years living at the academy, while my mother would be staying in a house nearby, close to both me and y aunt Margie, oher hand, had to stay behind at the duchy with the other heirs, managing the responsibilities of our territory. She promised to visit us from time to time, and we would also return to the duchy during the holiday periods that occur throughout the year.

  “Make sure you haven’t fotten anything. We don’t want something important to be left behind, or you’ll have to wait days for it to be sent to you,” Aunt Margie said, always mindful of the details.

  Our school supplies had already bee ahead to the academy. Some of it urchased when we enrolled, but there were still things we , like everyday clothes and special formal outfits. Being from a high noble family, I didn’t have much to worry about, as I had a house iy. But on students, ing from far away, had to make sure they packed everything necessary for the school year.

  “Don’t fet anything, Nate. Have you double-checked your ste bracelet?” my mother asked, a hint of in her voice.

  “I’ve checked it twi the st few mihe Cursed Bde is always with me,” I replied, thinking she was referring to my on.

  She tugged at my cheeks in a pyful yet affeate manner.“I’m talking about emergency clothes, food, and potions… not your on,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “I’ve checked those too. They’re all in my ste item,” I assured her with a grin.

  Magic certainly had its perks, and one of the most ve was ste items. Thanks to my ste bracelet, I didn’t have to carry heavy bags by hand, which made traveling much easier. Unfortunately, these items were extremely expensive, and not everyone could afford them. The price also depended on how much ste space was avaible inside. Mine, for example, had 10 slots, allowio store almost anything as long as it wasn’t a living thing.

  “Nathan, I’ve already spoken with Professor Adrihna about your hair situation,” Aunt Margie said suddenly.

  A part of me felt relieved. "Did you mao get the hair dye?"

  “We did,” she replied. “The dye will be avaible in your room, but you also buy more from a specific shop iy. It’s a pce frequented by noblewomen for their etics. Don’t worry about the cost; your professor has opened an at there in our name. Whenever your dye starts to run low, it’ll be your responsibility to restock.”

  Just then, my mother appeared and ruffled my hair like she always did.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be around to make sure you never run out of dye. We’ve stocked up both at the mansion and in your room at the academy. But remember, op dyeing your hair, got it?” she said sternly.

  I hough the thought of being a general who had to dye his hair regurly made me uneasy.

  "I think it’s cute, Icarus. If you want, I give you some tips on hair care," Athena teased, ughing beside me.

  I chose to ighe goddess and her jabs.

  “Finally, we’re heading to Apsalon,” Chloe said excitedly. “I’m so looking forward to starting csses!”

  Aunt Margie heard her and hid a smile.

  "Excited to leave me behind, huh?" Aunt Margie teased.

  “N-no, that’s not what I meant, mom!” Chloe responded, embarrassed.

  “I know, sweetie,” Aunt Margie reassured her with a gentle smile.

  Before we left, we made one final check of the ste bracelets that my mother had packed, making sure all our important items were properly stored.

  “Are the extra swords packed?” I asked, still double-cheg everything.

  “They’re all here,” Chloe replied, holding the ste bracelet in her hands and gng through its tents.

  “And the bows and arrows?” I tinued, making sure nothing was missing.

  “They’re here too,” she firmed calmly.

  As I reviewed the ons and ear, I knew we had to be fully prepared before we left for Apsalon.

  “The academy allows students t intelligent animals,” Aunt Margie noted, alaying attention to the details. “They stay with you, but have you spoken to Cyl about her size?”

  Cyl had disappeared a few days ago, askio stay away from her ir.

  “She said she’d return to her phoenix form,” I expihough I still felt uain about the situation.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” my mother said, her voice ced with . “What if she goes through another of those transformation phases? Even I was shocked when I saw her like that. It’s not safe for Cyl to be seen. If anyone finds out that the phoenix grows into a dragon… she could be in danger.”

  “I won’t let that happen,” Aunt Margie decred, g her fists with determination.

  We had gotteo Cyl’s transformations over the years, but it hadn’t been easy. When she first assumed her quadrupedal beast form and gained serpent-like traits, it became clear that the phoenix was evolving into something closer to a dragon.

  I vividly remember when Sifu, my old mentor, told us that phoenixes could grow se they’d cim entire castles as s. And when Cyl developed those serpeures, we realized she was being something even more terrifying. At that time, she greidly, reag a size that would intimidate anyone.

  Everyone had been on edge when they saw her in that drai, though she was only slightly rger tha the time. We had expected her to grow eventually, but the truth of what she was shocked everyone. I was the only one who didn’t feel fear because I could uand her words. To me, Cyl wasn’t a monster, but to the others, her growls and uling noises painted a different picture.

  My aunt had to gather the legacies, and during that tense moment, it was Sifu, the old monk, who mao calm them down. Even Sifu was surprised to learn that the two most deadly creatures to ever exist — the phoenix and the dragon — were, in fact, one and the same. He had told me about the Song Dynasty, whose emblem was the face of a dragon. Thousands of years ago, these creatures ruled the world, and the Emperor Song chose the dragon to symbolize his empire’s power. But the dragons from their culture were different — wingless, serpent-like beings, simir to the giant serpent now slumbering within me, which had bee the symbol of the Song Empire's might.

  I decided not to tell my family what I had discovered about Cyl’s true race. It was better for everyone if I kept that secret to myself. Besides, I still didn’t fully uand what Sisika had tried to warn me abarding the prophed my future — a future involving a war with a looming darkness, ohat seemed to have five heads.

  I sighed, recalling my versations with Sifu.

  He had shared a legends about these mythical creatures, and I could see the excitement in his eyes. It was as if he had uncovered something his old masters could never have imagined. Much like the dragons, phoenixes were thought to have goinct long ago. The only remaining proof of a dragoence was a skull, preserved in the crypt of the emperors of the Song Dynasty.

  In my ti, dragons are known as legendary magical creatures, but they have beeinct for turies. Across the world, any remnant of these creatures has bee an object of desire, but over time, the search for them turned into nothing more than children's tales.

  An a legend once said that whoever earhe friendship of a dragon could rule the world. And upon hearing that, it became easy to ect it with another myth — ohat spoke of phoenixes befriending emperors in the distant past. Both myths were, in fact, about the same creature.

  Cyl, in truth, is a phoenix. But the three World Destroyers bestowed their powers upon her race, and the merging of these powers allowed them to reach the beastly form of a dragon. So, what truly is Cyl's race?

  That was a question I had been asking myself for years, yet I had found no answers.