The Third Child - Nico
#1 of The Third Child
"Nico..." the voice said. It sounded so soft and inviting. He could listen to it for hours, given the time. "Nico," it persisted, "you'll be late for your studies if you continue to lay there. Get up." Nico groaned and rolled over. The voice no longer sounded appealing as his father greeted him.
"Mmnh...go ‘way. I'm too tired for something so trivial." The words sounded foreign to the young dragon, as if someone else had spoken. They seemed to take ages to pronounce.
"Well, the fault isn't mine. You should not have drank so much last night. In fact, you should not have gotten drunk at all; you're only sixteen." his father explained. He let out an exasperated sigh. "But that doesn't matter right now. Get up, get dressed, and get something to eat. Your lessons begin in an hour. I'll lecture you when you get home." The older male watched for a few more moments as his adopted son stumbled out of bed and groggily found some clean clothing, mumbling incoherently. Shaking his head, he left for the kitchen, knowing that Nico wouldn't be able to cook at all in his condition. ‘I hope his hangover fades quickly. The sparring match is going to be hell for that child, otherwise.' he thought to himself.
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Sparks flew in all directions as steel clashed against steel. The pounding in Nico's skull had mercifully vanished before he had begun sparring with Seth. Nico noted the slight changes in Seth's stance; he was faster this time, more agile. But not enough. Nico danced just out of range of Seth's weapon, a smirk spreading across the dragon's muzzle as he found it more difficult than last time.
An opening in Seth's left appeared. Nico took advantage, raining a rapid series of blows with the flat of his blade. The horse was overpowered, falling over backwards at the force. The match was over in two minutes.
"Astounding," announced a tall, muscular wolf, clad in an ornate set of plate mail. "Once again, you have demonstrated your amazing skill with the blade. Well done, Nico." He applauded, and a few cheers and whistles sounded from the others watching.
"Thank you, Instructor." Nico panted. Seth had improved a lot.
"I would like to speak with you later, Nico. Alone."
"Yes, sir." Nico saluted, then sheathed his sword. As the instructor turned to leave, Nico offered a hand to Seth, but the horse slapped it away.
"I don't need your help, lizard!" Seth shouted. He struggled to his feet and glared at the shorter dragon.
Nico held Seth's gaze; the dragon's ice-blue eyes seemed to glow in the light of the sun. "Be careful with whom you speak to, pony. I might lose it next time and forget we‘re just sparring." Nico retorted. They continued to stare, unblinking, until Seth finally looked away and stalked off. The dragon shook his head and made his way to the instructor's building.
Nico arrived at the door, pausing to knock a few times.
"Come in." the familiar baritone voice sounded from inside.
Nico opened the door and raised an eye ridge at his instructor. The wolf looked up from his paperwork. "Something wrong, Nico?" he asked.
Nico shook his head, chuckling to himself. "I'm just not used to seeing you without your armor on, Instructor." Nico explained.
The instructor let out an amused, barking laugh. "No need to be so formal. You can call me Derek. But, I didn't ask you here to discuss my attire. You did well in your match today, but you were holding back. Is everything at home okay?"
Nico sat down in an empty chair and sighed. "The divorce was kind of hard, but Vekh treats my mother and I much better than that bastard before him. Such a heavy weight taken from me. But that's not what's getting to me. Recently, I've been feeling something at the back of my mind, interrupting my thoughts, like a large stone in the middle of a river. Whenever I try to look into it, it just...I don't know. It slips away, and something weird happens."
"Like what?" Derek leaned forward, intrigued.
"It's different. Sometimes it's good, sometimes bad. The first time something happened, Vekh broke his arm falling off a ladder. He said he felt a large gust of wind knock him off, but the weather wasn't that windy that day. Another time, my mother sent me to buy something from the market, but I didn't have enough money. All of a sudden, I felt my wallet get heavy. I thought someone was trying to pickpocket me, but no one was there. I looked inside, and I had more money than I took with me."
Derek looked Nico up and down, humming to himself. "I wonder..."
Nico adopted a worried expression. "What? You wonder what?"
The instructor cleared an area on his desk and placed a single sheet of blank paper in the middle. "I want you to focus all your attention on this paper. Then, I want you to think about that strange feeling while imagining the paper floating in the air."
"What?" Nico was confused.
"Just do it." Derek ordered.
Nico blinked, then looked at the paper, clearing his thoughts as best he could. Picturing the floating paper in his mind, he searched for that unknown feeling. His body tingled for a moment, then felt cool as time sped up and slowed down simultaneously. A sudden understanding washed over the dragon, and the paper jerked a full foot into the air, wavering for a second. Nico was so surprised, he forgot to concentrate and keep calm. The paper exploded into a ball of white flames and was consumed, leaving a pile of ash on the desk.
Nico fell off his chair and backed away from the desk. "What the hell was that?!" he exclaimed.
The wolf nodded calmly, confirming a thought. "I knew it. You can use magic, Nico. A powerful, yet dangerous force to be sure. As always, you never cease to amaze me. This is yet another big moment for you, so I'll excuse you from your duties today to think about this. You should let your parents know as well."
"Thank you, Instructor."
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Nico strode into the living area of his house and flopped onto the sofa. He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes, trying to relax. Before he knew it, he was deep in sleep, already dreaming.
A tall figure stood before him, swathed in black robes. Large, expansive wings sprouted from its back; Nico thought they could smother the world. Nico looked at himself and realized he was naked. He moved to cover himself, but his body would not respond. Looking back at the figure, he saw it raise an arm and point to him. A deep bass voice rumbled out one word, "BOW."
Nico obeyed, throwing himself at the floor. He somehow knew that the figure had all the authority of life itself. "YOU WHO BOW BEFORE ME. WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?" the figure demanded.
Nico stuttered, staring at the floor. "I-I do not know, Lord."
"BOY WHO DOES NOT KNOW HIS PURPOSE...WHY DO YOU SPEAK WITH ME?" it asked.
"I do not know, Lord." Nico replied, confused. He looked up. "Is this magic? Where am I? How did I get here?"
"BOY WHO DOES NOT KNOW HIS PURPOSE...BOY WHICH ASKS TOO MANY QUESTIONS...BOY WHO--"
Nico shouted, suddenly angry, "I have a name, damnit! My name is Nico!"
The figure lowered its arm. "BOY WHO IS NICO...NICO...Nico...nico......"
"Nico! Wake up!"
Nico snarled and thrashed, waking with a start. "Wh-what...the hell?" He looked around, seeing the concerned face of his mother, Shari.
"You were having a nightmare." Shari responded.
"No, I..." Nico started, "I-I saw a dark figure. He was wearing black robes...he was huge! And he spoke to me..."
Shari's eyes widened a bit. "Strange...Vekh and I went to the training grounds to get you, but Derek told us that he sent you home. He said you could use magic?"
"Yeah...the Instructor had me levitate a piece of paper. I did it, but it came as a shock, and it burst into flames when I lost control." He took a deep breath and sighed. "Do you think I called to it? The figure?"
"Maybe. What did you say to this...figure?" asked Shari.
"Only my name..."
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Eyes snapped open, looking around frantically, yet not taking in their surroundings. An arm extended out away from him, trying to grasp at something. "Nico!" he shouted.
"My lord?" asked a voice to the left. Reality suddenly gripped him and he looked to his advisor, a middle-aged green dragon dressed in a fine silk robe. Confusion was plastered on his face.
"Oh, my apologies, Nazir. I was...distracted." he reached to his head, rubbing his temple.
Nazir's expression changed to surprise. "You were just contacted. But I do not know this...Nico, you said? Do you think it might be him? Or her?" A smile lifted the corners of the advisor's mouth.
"Shhh. I'm trying again...oh, it's no good. I wasn't able to hold him long enough to trace his mental energy. But, yes. I believe I have found him."
"Oh, praise you, Lord Bahamut! The coming of the Third Child! I never thought I would have lived to see this day! What is he like? And are you sure it was a he?" Nazir was a well of curiosity, as always.
"He couldn't have been older than fifteen. And yes, I'm sure. He was completely naked." He chuckled at his own statement.
Nazir reached into his robe, pulling out a book and pen. He began to write something. "Great! Well, that will greatly narrow the search. All male dragons between the age of fifteen and sixteen to--"
"Nazir."
"Yes, my lord?" Nazir stopped writing.
"While I appreciate your enthusiasm, you know that he must come to us. The public is not to hear a word." Bahamut gave Nazir a look.
"Oh. Yes, my lord." The green dragon tore the page out of the book and incinerated it. "Such wonderful news, though. How do you feel about all of this?" Nazir asked.
"Overjoyed. Yet, uneasy. And worried. What if something happens to him?" He sighed.
"No need to worry, my lord. He is your son, after all. Or, rather, he will be. I'm sure he'll find his way to us just fine."
The taller dragon smiled, his nerves settling. "Yes...yes, thank you, Nazir. Have the servants ready the bath. And bring me a mug of tea, if you don‘t mind."
"At once, my lord." Nazir bowed and exited the room.