Magma Dragon's Heir

37th of Season of Water, 59th year of the 32nd cycle

Newt had settled into a routine. Given the state of his body, he could have slept two hours a week, but his mind still needed rest and required a decent night's sleep at least once every four days.

Twelve hours of every day, he spent in the meditation chamber, sculpting his realm, while the remaining time went on training, reading, and human contact to help one so young endure the pace.

Three and a half moons had passed since his return when something unexpected broke the established routine.

"You have a letter, Sir Salamandra."

An outer student had patiently waited for Newt's training session with Lord Flameax to end before he handed Newt an envelope stamped with a familiar black seal.

"Thank you." Newt's hands shook as he broke the seal and opened the letter the moment it entered his hand, then he started reading it right outside the training yard.

Dear Little Brother,

I hope this letter finds you well, and that I did not cause you too much worry. Without mincing words, I am alive, your old friend Jasmine is alive too, as are some other people you may or may not know. My guess is that your gatemaster has sealed the information from the outside world, which is smart, and I shall defer to his wisdom and remain vague with the details.

A certain incident happened that allowed me to evacuate a portion of Hailstown's populace to Thunderbluff before the saurians razed Hailstown. Things have been hectic ever since, and there was some fighting, but you have likely experienced a fair share yourself.

What matters is that you are alive, I am alive, and we will see each other again at some point. Today is the twenty-fifth of Earth. For the time being, I will return to Glory City, which is actually just called Glory, but people kept adding "City" to it so often everyone calls it Glory City nowadays.

Anyway, I will be there, training and sculpting my realm, should you wish to contact me. Once again, I am overjoyed you are safe and that we have found you in time.

Your friend and brother,

Dandelion

Newt folded the letter and felt an oppressive weight vanish. The message was short, but it conveyed what it needed to. Newt looked up at the overcast sky and smiled, then folded the letter once more and put it in his pocket.

"Good news?" Lord Flameax asked, and Newt nodded.

"Very."

With one less thing to worry about, Newt noticed his realm-sculpting speed had marginally increased. As weeks passed, he wondered about it from time to time, and asked his seniors, who only had to say that a clear mind made for a better realm.

While it didn't sit well with Newt to just accept their words as a fact, he dropped the subject as experimenting with it would only hurt him, and even if he got an answer, it would be at his own expense with no real benefit.

I wonder how many other topics are ignored for similar reasons? Newt asked himself when he had finally decided to drop the subject.

First the new year started, then five moons flashed by and it was Newt's birthday, which he had decided to ignore. That evening, once he was done with the meditation chamber, his master, Lady Alabaster, invited him to her residence.

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"Surprise!" Lady Alabaster, Goodair, Greenbow, Emeraldstreak, Roselilly, and the majority of elite students shouted as soon as Overseer Violetcloud led Newt into the large hall.

Newt stared. The idea that someone would throw him a party had never crossed his mind. He looked around at the colorful lanterns, releasing inviting herbal aromas from scented candles, then at a huge cake large enough to feed a hundred people. It stood at the center of a table overloaded with pastries and salads arranged into a scene of Newt defeating the red drake. Then there were smoked meats, sliced roast, fish, long noodles, and other food in excess of what they could eat.

Then, there was a large banner, expertly scribed, saying, "Happy Birthday Newstar." The black letters had red veins, which shifted and glowed like lava, no doubt work from someone at the Chamber of Runes, possibly by Lord Longfang himself.

"Come here, birthday boy!" Lady Alabaster called him in a very unladylike manner. "We discussed among ourselves the various birthday customs and made this mash of everything."

The woman seemed very proud as she gestured at the table, the lanterns, and the banner.

Newt just took it in before focusing on what was important.

"Greenbow! Em! Aura! You're alive!"

"We came back two weeks ago, and Master said we should lay low and make it a surprise." Greenbow said with some embarrassment, surrounded by happy, smiling people. Having three more elites return alive and well after being gone so long was a joyous occasion, one Newt found much more monumental than his birthday.

What made the gathering somewhat strange was that everyone was armed, and Newt, like everyone else, often glanced at the darker corners and outside the windows. They all expected something to happen, that something would interrupt their moment of joy.

The food and wine were good, the company even better, and while the shadow of tension never left the gathering, everyone was in a joyous mood. Shortly before Newt cut the cake, Lord Flameax, Lord Longfang, and Lady Woodhopper arrived, offering congratulations and trinkets.

Lady Woodhopper wasn't her old self. She was still beautiful, but instead of vibrant, enthusiastic beauty, it had evolved to the frail sort, which invited others to protect her. The loss of her beast was a heavy blow to her, a wound that might take years to heal.

Still, she was cheery enough, toasting the birthday boy and the return of his friends.

Newt looked around the room, and felt an Obi-shaped hole in the space. Everyone was prim and proper, and that made it more obvious who was missing.

I bet he would've done something stupid. Like gotten drunk and raised the food table on a dare he imagined, maybe knocked down everything.

Newt smiled to himself as he imagined a scene he knew wouldn't really happen, but the Obi that lived in his memory would do something as extreme and foolish.

"What are you smiling at?" Rose asked, and Newt pointed at the table.

"What do you think? Would Obi lift that table on a dare? And if he had, would he have dropped it?"

Rose blinked at him, then laughed, tears welling at the corner of her eye.

"I don't think he'd do something like that." She looked at the table though. "But I think he might eat the pastries to make a different picture. Like you fighting a knee-high hopper or something."

Newt didn't think Obi had the artistic streak that strong, but didn't bother to argue the point.

Newt left Rose in a strange, sentimental mood, but immediately Rexheart intercepted him.

"How is your sculpting going?" he asked, "When do you think you'll be ready to advance?"

There was a piercing intensity in the young mageknight's eyes. Newt knew it wasn't jealousy or fear of losing his number one position. Rexheart was looking for a peer and a sparring partner to grow himself.

"I'm not sure," Newt admitted. "I'm experimenting with my realm, but the meditation chamber greatly helps shave off the wasted time. Four years at least? Maybe as long as six?"

Rexheart's lip twisted, but he didn't criticize Newt's pace. Considering the order's focus and the fact that he had already expanded his realm to its limits, Newt should have taken two years, three at most, to fully sculpt his realm and break through.

"Anything else holding you back, you can come talk to me whenever you need it." Rexheart's usual reservation had faded, whether because of the topic or the setting, Newt couldn't tell.

"I am fine, Rex, relax. I know what I'm doing for the most part, and I am striving to have the most stable realm I have ever heard of, but it will take time. Blazing your own path often does."

Rexheart gave a curt nod. "Still, I'm here, should you need anything. Sage's Realm isn't going to wait for you, and you need to expand your realm for the extra power, and train your skills, and spells, and your new body—"

"I am aware, but we still have twenty years left before the tournament." Newt assured his excited senior. "Unless something else happens, we have more than enough time to prepare."

Lady Alabaster, Lady Woodhopper, Lord Flameax, and Lord Longfang all turned around to glare at Newt the moment he jinxed them with his words.

Did I just pull an Obi?