The door slammed shut once they left
Storm and Leyocan was standing outside the captain's cabin after receiving one hell of a scolding.
They both looked at each other, before they both burst out laughing.
"I guess we went a little overboard with our sparring, didn't we?" Asked Storm.
"It was worth it though. I can't remember the last time I had such a formidable sparring partner." Answered Leyocan.
Now that they weren't actively trying to beat each other up, Leyocan took the time to study Storm's new shape.
"Hmmm, a perfect humanoid copy of your true form? I wasn't aware dragons had such control over their shapeshifting?"
"Neither did I this was just something I tried at the time?!"
"I suppose we're lucky you didn't change fully to your true form. I imagine the captain would have been even more upset with you."
"Not to mention, you'd just be a furry smear on my scales if that happened. " replied Storm.
"Any ill effects from it? Weakness or disorientation?"
Storm shook his head.
"Shapeshifting isn't an inherent skill for a dragon.
Mimereus is proof of that.
He's centuries old and highly skilled in magic and yet he can't even take a basic human form. " said Leyocan.
"Things were different in his time! The humans hadn't spread that far yet, so he had no need to hide."
"True! So this must be a byproduct of all the time you spent shifted over the years. Wonder if other dragons can do this too?"
Storm shook his head.
"Never heard of another dragon doings something like this?
My uncle Pyros maybe? He spent even more time infiltrated than me and Aurora combined.
Leyocan seemed to be deep in thought.
"I wonder.... Storm! Can you summon your staff? The one Onyx gave you?"
Storm raised his hand and a bolt of lightning decended from the sky.
The moment his hand closed around the bolt, it solidified and turned into his staff.
But this staff was different to the one he had before.
The gems inside the eyes of the cobra"s head at the top of the staff had turned blue, instead of the golden color it was before.
An additional eye gem had formed in the center of the cobra"s forehead and two additional gems of the same color had formed on either side of it's neck, just below it's hood.
The runes along the shaft had been altered as well and now closely resembled the runes on his belt and the straps of his harness.
"What the....! It didn't look like this before!!" Exclaimed Storm.
Leyocan held out a hand.
"May I?"
Storm reluctantly handed his weapon to him. Leyocan pointed the staff out to sea and tried to channel a spell through it, but it remained inanimate.
"It is as I thought! Your weapon has bonded too you!"
"What do you mean it's bonded!!?" Asked Storm.
"Magical weapons aren't like regular weapons. They have a strange sentience to them.
To most people, an enchanted weapon is just a regular weapon with a few extra abilities.
But to a select few, these weapons become something more. An particularly impressive feat, or a destiny could convince it to submit to that particular individual.
At which point the weapon alters itself physically to better match it's master and it gains additional abilities accessible only to this master. " Explained Leyocan.
"What kind of abilities?" Asked Storm.
"It depends from weapon to weapon and master to master, but all bonded weapons share a few common perks.
A bonded weapon is always connected to it's master and can be summoned to his side from anywhere.
The weapon also becomes completely useless in the hands of someone it's not bonded to and if anyone is stupid enough to try and use a bonded weapon against it's master, it will backfirst." Explained Leyocan.
Suddenly realizing something, Leyocan handed the staff back to Storm before it took offense at his touch.
Storm dropped the form and changed back to his human shape.
As he dismissed his draconic human form, the staff changed as well and turned back to it's old appearance.
With a flick of the wrist, the staff dissappeared completely.
"Something about your new form must have impressed your staff enough to cause it to submit.
Best way to find out why and discover any other abilities it might posess is to dive into the staff's history.
The Spell Breakers might be able to help? My brother mentioned that they helped to make it?
All Staves are imbued with a magical core, which comes from a particularly powerful magical creature.
Although the enchantment process usually destroys the consciousness inside the core, some 'piece' of the old creature usually remains.
Finding out the origin of your staff's core would be the first step towards uncovering it's abilities and motives." Explained Leyocan.
"Be careful with using that new form however!
Power always carries a price and until we find out exactly what that price might be, I'd use it sparingly." warned Leyocan.
....
And so, the journey continued.
Storm continued to have magic lessons with Mimereus for the duration of the trip.
During their downtime, he'd meet up with Leyocan in the hold of the ship and they'd have weapons practice together.
Though these sparring matches were far less volatile than their first one, and they both agreed not to take their enhanced states again.
Storm hadn't used a staff in an while, so he wanted to get some practice in so that he could shake off any accumulated rust.
He found that his weapon became far more responsive to his wishes, and there were times that the weapon seemed to move on it's own to protect him from a blow, or to direct a counterstrike.
Storm was currently resting on the main deck of the ship after a particularly exhausting spar with Leyocan.
Mimereus's crystal was resting in his lap, the sun was beaming down on the crystal, bathing it in it's warmth.
Storm hoped that Mimereus was at least able to feel that.
Storm had returned to his cabin beforehand and had retrieved the crystal from his bags that was currently Mimereus's home.
Storm had entered Mimereus's mindscape and was currently in his meditative state sitting beside the incorporeal avatar that made up Mimereus's consciousness.
The landscape around them was completely black and without features.
Storm had kept the old dragon company while they rested, but Storm felt that now was the best time to address something that had been bothering him.
"Mimereus? Do you have any family still alive?!"
Mimereus seemed startled by the inquiry.
"Is there a reason for this question?" Asked Mimereus.
"I'm just curious. You never talk about your family. "
Mimereus seemed to hesitate before answering.
"No, Storm. My bloodline has long since been extinguished. "
"How can you be so sure?!
Your were an ancient dragon with many children and grandchildren. Some of them may have..."
"I KILLED THEM ALL, STORM!!!" Mimereus shouted.
A string of sparkling tears ran from Mimereus's eyes as he wept.
Storm wanted to comfort the old dragon, but a distant call of the ship's lookout drew his focus.
Before Storm could do anything, Mimereus expelled Storm from the mindscape and his consciousness returned to his own body.
Storm tried to contact Mimereus again but he had closed his mind to others and Storm's calls went unanswered.
Defeated, he got to his feet and made his way to the front of the ship and saw their final destination far on the horizon.
It was still far.
But he could see several other ships sailing around the island.
As they got closer however, the true scale of the island came into view.