Nagan | Broken Time Series: Book One

Chapter 16

"And why can't I go watch the Dragon Choosing Ceremony?"

It had been nearly a month since Nagan was assigned to organize Master Dagmire's office, and during that time, Master Dagmire was true to his word when he said he wouldn't teach Nagan anything. But that didn't mean they couldn't talk casually. Hence was the reason why he was currently standing next to Master Dagmire's desk, a few thin journals tucked under his arm while voicing his complaints about a certain restriction.

Master Dagmire didn't even bother looking up from a document he was scanning over. "You'll be able to witness it eventually. As of now, no one under the age of 13 is allowed near the dragon chambers."

With a huff, Nagan returned to what he was originally doing. He had finally finished categorizing all the books, notes, and journals and was in the process of reshelving it all. As a last-ditch effort, Nagan asked, "Not even my apprentice status will get me through?"

There were the faintest hints of a smirk when Master Dagmire replied, "Unless you finish shelving these books by tomorrow, you're under probation and are not allowed to attend any events."

"Says who!"

"Says me."

Nagan made a sound of frustration but didn't bother arguing any further.

It was silent for a time while the two of them worked until there was a familiar squawk and an inconsistent batting of air coming from outside.

Turning to see what it was, Nagan saw the same baby dragon that sent him here flying towards the glass wall. He was about to alert Master Dagmire of it approaching, afraid it might crash into the window, he jumped and made a small noise of surprise when the baby dragon bumped into something before the actual glass wall that shimmered slightly. Was there a barrier outside? Nagan almost went to pinch himself when the baby dragon flew over the supposed barrier and...completely ghosted through the glass wall.

Master Dagmire had already started reading the message the baby dragon carried once Nagan found his voice. "Is there a barrier out on the balcony?"

"No. Why?"

"The baby dragon ran into something outside."

"Did it now?" Master Dagmire moved on to the next page. "And the 'baby dragon' is actually something called a fae and is very much a full-grown adult."

"That still doesn't answer my question," Nagan said flatly.

Setting down the message, Master Dagmire turned towards Nagan obviously trying to hide his amusement. "Well? Why don't you see for yourself?"

Multiple alarm bells went off in Nagan's head, but he strode to the glass doors and flung them open regardless.

At first, Nagan didn't notice anything strange besides a warm, intermittent breeze. It...sounded like breathing. Now on full alert, Nagan started to take small steps forward, holding out a hand to make sure he wouldn't crash into anything if it really was a barrier. He didn't even take two steps forward before he felt something at the edge of his fingertips. It was almost unbearably warm and felt almost as solid as stone, yet the same shimmer effect was activated when he pressed against it. Taking a step back and turning slightly to ask Master Dagmire what it was, he felt something shove his back, causing him to fall against the invisible surface.

"Hey!"

Nagan only managed to turn himself around before freezing solid. His soul nearly left his body out of fright.

Slowly before his eyes materialized the face of a dragon. Nagan's legs gave out from under him as he continued to watch the dragon's body appear among shimmering light in awe. It was white in color, each scale had an iridescent shine like an opal, and had a crown of horns atop its head. Golden eyes stared at him intently, yet Nagan felt himself slowly relaxing under its gaze. Once he gathered his senses, he realized he was sitting against its wing and its tail circled around him. Unless it wasn't there before, Nagan never knew how he didn't trip on it.

Barks of laughter were heard from back in the office, and Nagan turned to glare at Master Dagmire who was almost falling off his seat from laughing at him. The dragon behind him rumbled deeply as its own way of laughing, he realized.

Deciding to ignore all this, Nagan stood up and approached the head of the dragon cautiously, stopping at its nose when it gave no signs of aggression. The head was almost the size of Nagan himself. "What's its name?"

Master Dagmire took a few deep breaths to calm himself and wiped away a few tears. "Her name is Miro,"

"She's beautiful," Nagan breathed and bravely reached out to stroke the bridge of her nose. Miro hummed in approval and nudged him playfully.

"You may not be able to attend the Dragon Choosing Ceremony, but I hope meeting a dragon makes up for that." Nagan only grunted in response. "But you were hinting at something earlier. I heard your grades have improved dramatically since properly learning how to read Tarkovish. You are also taking one less class than most everyone else due to you already being able to use magic. Is it possible you're bored?"

Nagan considered this for a minute while continuing to stroke Miro's scales. It hadn't really occurred to him he may be bored, but reflecting on it now, he noticed that he spent an awful amount of time wandering the castle or in the library since he found the section with Rakshu books. He nodded. "Yeah. I guess I am."

"Then why don't you try going towards becoming a combat expert along with being a caster?" Master Dagmire held up the message he just received. "You'll be a bit behind at first, but general combat is easy enough to catch up in and is also offered during your empty slot. Also, this message is about the acceptance of someone coming in to teach a bonus course that'll be offered to anyone in the combat field. I think you'll find it interesting."

"What is it then?" Nagan stared at the letter curiously, but it was too far away to read what it said.

"Its a specialized magic called forging where you can materialize a weapon of your choosing. Everyone has the ability to use it, but it's known as a specialty spell owned by the Elvars, and only Elvars are allowed to teach it," Master Dagmire shrugged innocently before continuing, "I think it's only fair you learn your family's specialty."

Nagan grinned wickedly at that. "Sounds fun."