A full three months. That was how long Elder Brevre and Freizon watched over their grandchildren who were confined to bed. Over this course of time, Greyson very uneventfully turned 15. A year older but he was unable to celebrate. After spending mountains of resources, his condition started to settle down. The only issue was it settled on his human bloodline which was the most stable compared to the other two. All of his transforming caused multiple changes to occur in his body. His hair would grow out rapidly, thus his grandparents gave him a closed-cropped haircut. These past months allowed his body to fill out more and grow a couple inches. Though far from a man, Greyson still shed some of his child-like features.
Snow Peak was uncharacteristically tranquil. Snow fell silently, the only sound present was the gentle whistling of the wind. Not even the usual crunching of footsteps on snow could be heard. Rosalie was popular and loved by the tribe, therefore many fellow tribesmen were upset by her situation. Cerul"s condition, however, came as an extreme shock. Most of the dragons feared moving around because they no longer felt the same trust. Outsiders may not understand, but the dragons maintained an intrinsic trust of one another. They never felt concerned about allowing their young run about without supervision or leaving their backs completely open towards their tribesmen. Low fertility caused every dragon to produce a certain empathy towards the other. Every single one knew the importance of each offspring, and the older members were all important pillars of the tribe"s central power against enemies. Scandals like this kind of betrayal set off a ma.s.sive chain of panic. Even the deep-seated faith in one another rapidly fell apart in the face of attempted murders between fellow dragons. Families suddenly held their children inside and glanced towards the other tribes with suspicion. They could no longer look at each other like dragons part of a larger whole, instead it became Snow Dragons versus Light Dragons, Water Dragons versus the Fire Dragons, etc.
In the midst of all the apprehension, the slumbering Greyson finally managed to open his eyes. Emerald green eyes filled with initial confusion looked around. Before long, his eyes widened as he recalled the earlier events and he bolted out of his bed.
"Whoa, slow down there, Grey! Rosalie is fine. Well, sort of fine." The napping Lucius yelped after getting thrown off the bed from Greyson"s sudden movement. He knew right away that his friend was seeking his sister.
"Daddy! You"re awake!" Snow came from nowhere and jumped up onto Greyson to cuddle against his face nearly knocking him back down into bed. Still disoriented, Greyson took a moment to try to process everything for a second.
"Lucius, what happened?"
"You"ve been unconscious for three months now, Grey. Rosalie is still not awake and apparently Aeos also allegedly tried to murder Cerul. Nothing is certain because Cerul is still not out of the woods and in critical condition. The entire Time Dragon tribe just up and disappeared without a word or trace. Not even the low-level servants were left behind. In short, there are many questions and mysteries but no answers.""Cerul?" Eyes widening, Greyson definitely did not expect to hear his name come up.
"Yes, that was the name." Lucius remarked.
"How critical?"
"Hm... I have not heard much, and I wasn"t that curious. I barely know the guy." Lucius only interacted with Cerul for the short flight back. He was not the type to warm up to others quickly. Greyson did not know, but Lucius merely laid around waiting for him to wake up. Avoiding talking with anyone, Lucius still has not spoken a decent sentence to Theo, Snow, or Greyson"s grandparents the entire time. Plus, he wanted to keep his presence low-key in case the rumors spread from the Hargrave or Cidian Bear tribes. Impatient to find answers, Greyson went to go find his grandparents. He barely managed a couple of steps before a severe pain pulsed throughout his body. m.u.f.fling a scream, Greyson fell to the ground. White scales pierced through his skin, but instead of sliding out naturally, they caused cuts that bled onto the floor. Holding his pounding head, he could not recognize what was happening. Managing to look up Lucius, he showed one normal green eye and one purple dragon"s eye. His hair was half white and half brown. Trying to retract the scales, Greyson realized that his bloodlines were no longer in his control.
"What"s... happening..." Struggling to even breathe with the pain wracking his body, he squeezed the words out.
"Oh no! Greyson!" Elder Freizon entered after hearing the noise. She hastily pulled out a mixture prepared by the healer ahead of time. Force-feeding Greyson, it caused the dragon bloodline to recede once again. Panting heavily, Greyson wiped off his cold sweat.
"Grandma, what is going on?"
"Grey, whatever happened in your battle with Aeos messed up the equilibrium between your bloodlines. We already worked hard to seal away your elf bloodline, but we kept your dragon bloodline active. It"s been kept at bay with mixtures made from herbs that calm bloodlines. That kind of fix is temporary."
"Why did you not completely seal it along with my elf bloodline?"
"Well, I already had a plan at how to calm the conflict down. You remember I am not a pure-blood Snow Dragon, right? But I can transform into a dragon and my power is not any weaker than a full dragon. This is not just because of natural talent; my deficiency was solved. Thousands more Beastmen are born each year compared to actual dragons, thus a lot of tests were done to try to make up for their mixed bloodline. The most talented were gifted a way to purify their bloodline. Do you know how magic beasts absorb mana?"
"They all have a mana core. It can be located at different parts of the body."
"Dragons" mana cores are located within the heart. Actually, that is why Cerul and Irumen are still not fully healed and awake. Their cores were damaged as well which could complicate any further use of the elements. All magic beasts are born with one naturally that will usually grow to some predetermined size which would represent the level that they would reach at the limit of their inborn talent. Beastmen, however, are not born with one. The mixture of racial bloodlines makes it so one never forms. They can still practise magic, just that the abilities they inherit from their magic beast side are weaker and more shallow. Similar to how you can summon your scales which increase your strength and physical endurance, however you cannot use any of the signature abilities of Snow Dragons. High-level tribes use a specific method to allow a talented Beastman to form a mana core and become similar to a full-blood magic beast."
"If such a method exists, why are there any Beastmen at all? They could all be transformed into legitimate members of the whichever tribe they originate from."
"You only ask this because you do not understand the what the method entails. A pure-blood member must provide half of their blood to be absorbed by the Beastman. Half, Grey. Some magic beasts could die or be permanently weakened by such a sacrifice. Not many would make that kind of sacrifice for someone else even family. The idea of it being a reward to the most talented also stimulated a compet.i.tion that inspired Beastmen to train harder. Your great-grandfather did it for me. And now, your grandfather wished to do it for you. It was supposed to be Elbianth, but he managed to discover another method to purify his dragon bloodline and form a mana core. Well, that"s a story for another time. We need to get started right away. Otherwise, your body will seriously break down from the inner fighting."
"So, if I train in this method, what will happen?"
"I can"t tell you exactly since your situation is a bit unique. I only had a quarter human bloodline in me, so it was not a complicated change. You, on the other hand, have multiple bloodlines that are non-dragon. This is a bet of sorts. Risk is definitely involved, but I think it could resolve your current issues."
Elder Freizon pulled Greyson up and spoke with him as she brought him back into the main s.p.a.ce of their cave. Waiting there was Elder Brevre. Already having bled himself, he looked feeble and exhausted.
"Grandpa, will you be alright?"
"Haha! How could something this small get me down? You don"t need to worry, Grey. Your grandmother prepared herbs and the like for me to eat for healing." Missing the usual vigor, Elder Brevre"s words did not garner Greyson"s vote of confidence. Unable to change anything now, Greyson felt it was not worth it to question this statement"s validity. Casting his eyes towards the blood inside a round tub, he could feel the power and life radiating from it. A being as powerful and old as his grandfather, just a drop of blood would be extremely precious.
"Get in the center, Grey." Freizon instructed. Following her lead, Greyson sat down in the tub and hissed at the freezing of his skin on contact.
"Now, try meditating. Detect the elements in the blood."
The presence of the water element was distinct, but he could only faintly feel the second s.p.a.ce element. This was most likely due to his virtually non-existent talent with the s.p.a.ce element.
"Once you perceive them, absorb both the elements through the usual mana channels and into your heart where the mana core will form."
As he would during typical meditation, Greyson began absorbing the elements. What he did not realize was the blood was also absorbed into his body through his mana channels. With each pa.s.sing hour, it was as if he could hear his heart beating louder and louder. Each subsequent thump was more resounding and mightier than the last. It was not his imagination. Truly, everyone in the cave could hear the beating of his heart. This was a sign of the mana core forming. Once the last drop of blood disappeared, his heart gave one last thump before the blood flowed out from the heart once again. Burning sensations spread throughout his body, his muscles spasming and his bones cracking. His stifled groans turned to growls as he could feel everything changing.
"Don"t worry, Grey. The pain will subside." Freizon comforted from the side.
Soon a roar broke out and a small white dragon appeared where Greyson used to sit. He was no larger than a recently born dragon which makes sense in accordance to age. 15 years represented next to nothing with a dragon"s lifespan.