Ophion was up and doing some research in his study, in the house. He wondered what Aurescia was doing. He knew she was in the lab attached to their shop, which in turn was attached to the house, but normally she would be done by now to do her daily stretches and meditation before heading back to work... yes... she took two breaks... one to get a nap, the other to calm herself and relax her muscles... regardless, she still worked for about a third of the time the store was open, which was 5 days a week, but not on this day.
Meanwhile...
Aurescia checked the time. Emerald was still sitting in front of her, but she realized that her husband would wonder where she was. "Emerald, I'll be right back." Leaving the laboratory, she walked down the hall through a wooden door to enter the house. The floor was covered in a thick carpet, a great contrast to the cold stone of the lab and shop; it felt much warmer and softer on her clawed feet. Heading up the carpeted stairs to her husband's study, she found him dressed in full clothing, as if ready to go outside.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, my love" Aurescia told Ophion. "I won't be doing my meditation today; there's this creature that I found on the streets. He's injured. I'm doing my best to heal him. So far, it seems to be working."
Now Aurescia had healed sick or hurt animals before, although very few of them could talk, as Emerald could. Even fewer of them were not native to these lands. Standing up, Ophion looked his wife in the eye. He towered over her by about a head...
"Do you want me to watch that creature for you? I know your powers, you need to be able to keep them under control."
Now sorceresses like Aurescia were not fully in control of their powers at all times. Their magic was linked to their emotions, which, given the hormonal, often sensitive nature of the Dracon females, could be tricky. In order to use their powers, they needed to feel an emotion, but if they felt it too much, they would lose all control. To stay calm, physical and emotional relaxation was needed. Aurescia went about this by meditating, stretching, and by indulging other other forms of physical... comfort. Her husband was useful for this last one, for obvious reasons.
Ophion was rightly concerned that if she skipped a round of meditation, his wife's control over her powers would weaken, and this was true, although a sorceress with her level of experience was far more able to keep it together than a crazy, hormonal teenage Dracon girl.
"I'll be fine, dear. Just know that I'll be busy in the lab for a while."
"Alright, that's fine." Ophion replied.
"And what about you? You're all dressed up and ready to go somewhere. Normally, you don't wear your full regalia just to work in your study."
She was right. Dracons who were in the privacy of their homes seldom wore more than loinclothes, whether they were male or female. For Ophion, this meant taking off far more than Aurescia had to, as he normally wore wizards robes, a shirt, pants, and other garments... she just wore a top and a loincloth. This was not considered scandalous among their society; it was considered to be natural. To a human perspective, a mighty wizard writing a treatise on powerful spells while dressed solely in a piece of cloth to cover his genital area would have seemed to be a joke.
"I will be leaving shorty. I was just finishing up some notes on a fireball spell; a newer version to sell at the store."
"Is this the spell that generates its own oxidizer?"
"Yes. It is a combination air/fire spell. It uses oxygen-rich air to make the flame about... 20% hotter than the average fireball."
"Isn't that rather... dangerous?"
"Well... yes. That's the point of a fireball spell." He knew how Aurescia hated using fireballs. She could cast them, but would not do so unless she had to. He knew that she preferred to use magic in a more passive way, casting ritual spells from the safety of their home.
"Is the user in harm's way?" she queried.
"Well, if I were to put the spell up for sale tomorrow, it would burn the hands off of the caster... which is why I am still working on it. It will be safe to sell in a few days. Speaking of buying and selling... weren't you going out to buy something today?"
"Yes, and I found the creature in the middle of the road on the way back. You want to see him?" Now Aurescia had brought in many creatures before, so Ophion was not particularly interested in the next horned lizard or glowing dog who happened to be affected by strong magics.
"No, thanks. I'm sure you have this one under control. I'll be back in about 5-6 hours. I'm going to investigate more about that rogue mage from earlier. Maybe the city guard has caught him."
"Well, don't take
too long, dear. I'll be making dinner in about 6 hours. I'm making shredded pork with potatoes and vegetables. Your favorite." she added with a wink.
"I wouldn't miss that for anything!" he said with a laugh. "I've got to go now. Tell me how the animal is doing... wait... what was it again?"
"It's something I've never seen before... an Alimon. And he's doing well at the moment. It's a quadrupedal reptile of some sort with fangs, claws, a tail, and... well... maybe you'll see him when you return. "
"Perhaps I will at that." Ophion replied, giving his wife a quick kiss. He then turned to head down the stairs. "Bye now!" And with that, he was out of the door. Aurescia turned to head back to the lab when a thought struck her. Maybe the Alimon were a creature she could look up in an bestiary. Hmm. She didn't want to keep Emerald waiting...but... another five minutes wouldn't hurt him.
Checking the pages of the
Encyclopedia Darastrix, she found nothing. Then again, it was a rather bland, generic textbook. Was his species so rare as to escape the notice of Dracon taxonomy? This question would have to be answered later. The sorceress turned back for the lab and quickly walked back to Emerald.
"Sorry about that. I had to go check on my husband. How are you?"
Meanwhile...
Kria had finished her classes for the day. Kos was just finishing classes himself.
Kria was fortunate enough to be able to afford to relax after school. Those who knew her knew that she would go for a massage at least twice a week after school, especially after a big test like today. That's where one of the cultists found her, lying on a table, resting after having work done on her back.
A male Dracon with red skin, gold eyes, and two long, twisted horns walked up to Kria. She had seen him before; this was the assistant to the cult's priest. Muscular and covered in blue and bright red tattoos, he was an odd sight. The scars and cut-off half of a horn on his right side made him even more odd. His only garment was a pair of short pants, which was done for some odd reason involving demons and how he got those scars... something about not obscuring the marks he "earned" in the cult.
"Kria. Wake up." He told her. She wasn't fully asleep, but her eyes were closed as she relaxed in the aftermath of the rubdown she had recently received.
" *Yawn* What is- Jurec?!"
"Yeah. It's me. Listen. We're moving the ceremony up to well... two hours from now. Apparently, the forces needed to do this are going to be in place sooner than expected. You should get up and come with me. If you don't want to do this, we never met here, you understand?"
She knew what he meant. Taking a moment to stretch, the daughter of Ophion and Aurescia got off of the table and hastily donned her clothes. She would finally be getting her magical powers... from a demon.
"Take me there!" she told Jurec, with anticipation gleaming in her eyes, the same kind one would have when seeing an attractive member of the opposite sex. She had waiting SO long for this... she would finally join the rest of her family in using magic...
