Chapter 8: Seeking Truth

It was now around mid-June (about six months after Alythia had moved in).

Kloeye's birthday was just around the corner.

Thus Alythia accompanied both siblings early Thursday morning as they headed into town to stock up on supplies – the celebration was to be held this coming Saturday.

Now, the reader might be curious about the Karnage family's parent-child relationship since I have yet to mention their mother or father.

Truth be told, there is not much to elaborate on. Their parents are graduated Elites who take on many quests and for this reason are rarely home. Alythia did formally meet them once after moving in but hadn't really seen much of them ever since.

Most of the estate's management falls on Karlyle's shoulders.

In actuality, Karlyle – despite what the reader might ensue due to his playfulness with Alythia – has quite a diligent and reliable nature.

But because of his many responsibilities regarding the estate he is fairly busy and thus Alythia hadn't been able to see him all that much for the past few months. So needless to say, she was rather excited for today's excursion.

However, as they arrived in town, Alythia noticed something peculiar.

Everyone seemed to be staring at them... or well more specifically, they were staring at Karlyle.

And it wasn't just any old stare – it was a stare filled with contempt.

It somewhat bothered Alythia but because the siblings remained unfazed she tried for a time to put her discomfort to rest.

About halfway through the shopping the girls felt fatigued and sat down on a nearby bench as Karlyle went to go buy them drinks.

As he walked away and Alythia saw the public's eyes on him, she felt her rage flare up yet again.

She quickly turned to Kloeye and asked her why the townspeople had the audacity to glare at Karlyle so scornfully.

"Oh? It's because brother is a Dragon. Commoners generally hate Elites and Dragon Familiars they despise most of all"

Kloeye looked over at the enraged girl next to her and felt her lips slightly curve up into a smile. She was delighted to see the amount of concern the pink haired girl felt for her brother and wanted Alythia to understand him a bit more so she added "Technically, the person who the townspeople actually hate is the Mage. The reason they generally dislike Elites is because an Elite has a part of the Mage within them. They dislike Dragon's most of all because a Dragon Familiar is thought to be the nearest to the Mage since out of all the Elites they resemble his son the most"

"But why do they hate the Mage so much?" Alythia questioned.

Kloeye pushed her finger against her lips for a brief moment, as if in deep thought, before answering "Because they think him cruel"

The blue-eyed girl looked at Alythia with furrowed brows, wearing a very serious expression "Remember Ally, people don't necessarily believe something because it's true, they believe it because it's convenient".

'Eh? How is this tiny child so wise? Isn't she supposed to be one year my junior?'

But before Alythia could respond to Kloeye's statement, Karlyle rejoined them.

And after finishing their drinks they hastily continued their shopping quest in order to make it back to the mansion before sunset.

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After returning, Alythia was so tired that she skipped dinner and went straight to bed.

As her mind started drifting she heard the faint sound of someone singing a rather familiar song.

She scrunched her face up in frustration before finally opening her eyes, seeking to find the culprit guilty of disrupting her sleep.

But as she opened them she found herself in that same empty space yet again.

She leisurely got up and started walking in a random direction – which direction she went she did not know – it was absolutely impossible to tell since there was nothing around her to indicate whether she was going North, East, South, or West.

After walking for what seemed like a very long time – but again who could tell since there was nothing with which to measure time – she stumbled upon a familiar figure.

It was the white Dragon back to its petite form.

"Why did you not come to find me this time Mr. Dragon?" Alythia asked curiously.

The Dragon turned its head to look at her before responding "Child, I will not always work in the exact same way. Sometimes I desire for you to come find me. Though do not misunderstand, I will never hide myself from you nor will I ever stand too far off – making it impossible for you to reach me"

Alythia smiled as she crouched down to meet the Dragon's eyes.

"Why are you in this form again?"

"Because you seem to relate to this form better"

After the Dragon said that, he slowly crept towards her – as if desiring to be touched. When she reached out to pet it, the Dragon nuzzled its head against her hand.

Alythia let out a giggle. "Mr. Dragon from my dreams, what is your name; how should I call you?"

The little white creature paused for a moment to look up at the girl. "Izana" it finally responded "I have many names, but you may call me by that one"

Alythia looked confused. "But isn't that the boy from the myth?" she asked, utterly perplexed.

"It is" the Dragon responded, and proceeded to change the subject so that Alythia was not given much of a chance to inquire on it further.

"So child, what do you wish to know?" he asked.

"H-How do... Ah I mean WHY do you think I wish to know something?". Alythia's eyes darted about, desperately trying to avoid the Dragon's narrowed gaze.

The little reptile let out a soft sound, almost like a sigh. "Child, you cannot fool me – your spirit is uneasy, I sense it".

Alythia turned her eyes to the ground – or well towards her feet since there was no actual 'ground' – before confessing the thing that had been bothering her since earlier that day.

"Why do the townspeople say that the Ancient Mage is cruel?"

Izana suddenly jumped into her lap causing her to fall backwards.

"To the cruel I appear cruel child; if one's eyes are crooked, how can they possibly see straight?"

Alythia resumed petting him.

"But I've hear the myth before, didn't you and your father help them??" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"That is the version you believe; the commoners believe another. Their forefathers told it differently – they claimed that I purposely set the country ablaze. They also believe that my father forced their forefathers to build everything with wood because he and I planned the fire from the start"

"THAT'S ABSURD!!" Alythia furiously exclaimed. Yet why she became so defensive of the Mage, and that within a dream, she could not tell. But her anger just felt so right – it felt so justified.

The dragon rubbed its little head against her hands in an attempt to calm her "Peace child, be still. I understand your indignation but holding on to hate only leads to more folly"

Izana gazed up at her lovingly.

"Alythia" it said with a tone of warning "Take heed lest you sever yourself from me. I cannot protect you if you stray too far out from under my wings. Continue to seek what is true not what is easy. If you seek truth you will find it and many other blessings along with it"

The dragon then flapped its wings as it jumped from her lap, and lifted off towards the sky.

It remained hovering over her for awhile before instructing her to sleep, for it said "Daybreak is at hand but you have yet to dream".

Alythia thought his statement strange since she was sure that this was in fact a dream. Nevertheless, she agreed and the dragon started flapping its wings in her direction – causing a gush of wind to blow over her.

Suddenly she was back in her bed, the sun had just risen.