The Ether-Knight's Lessons

15

.^^ the Card Design ^^

— Idun —

I snapped awake, and shook Eliza, who groaned, but opened her eyes a little. "What?"

"You're turning into a Prune. Come on." I pulled her out, and wrapped her in a towel, then decided to carry her.

Her door opened before I reached it, and I grinned, setting her in her bed, and covering her with covers. "Alright, get some sleep... here's a trash can." I set a small trash can next to her bed, and rolled her onto her stomach, near the edge.

"Mm..." she nodded, and fell asleep.

"Well. At least you're not a problematic drunk." I chuckled.

Aurelius hummed, sniffing her. "She smells of Fire-Water... and bile."

"Yup. That's the smell of alcohol and puke. If she starts to puke, lead her to the trashcan, and then the bathroom." I explained, and patted his nose, then walked back to my room, stripping and falling into bed.

—

"This is the Breeder? Small girl, where are your furs?" A loud voice growled in Dragon-Tongue, directly above me.

I groaned softly. "Who knocks?"

"I am Pearl, the Honored Gladius sent me to you to be your first Breeding Matron?" The dragon laid nearby, tilting her green and white head.

I sighed and stood, cracking my back and neck, then pulled on a shirt and shorts. "Alright... I'm Idun. Yes, indeed, I'm in need of your services... though as of right now, I don't have any embryos for you to surrogate. Would you like to meet my first Brood?" I gestured at Bergen, who was twitching his tail slowly, watching her swinging tail like a cat and a feather toy.

She chuckled. "I have met them, Yes. Young Bergen seems the most energetic... and an Elder Gold?"

"They are all Elder's, Yes. The Crystalline in the back is their mother." I nodded at the crystal hill, which was actually her curled up form, still sleeping.

"Ahh, Yes... Interesting. She would also be an interesting Brood-Mother. And the Mithril, I suppose there's a reason you have that much Dragon-Bone in your room?" She raised a bone-crest above her eye that I suppose represented an eyebrow.

"Yes, there is. It will be refined, soon enough, and out of the way." I waved a hand simply, and then sat at my desk, rubbing my temples. A small cup of water and some Advil's appeared, and I thanked Archie mentally, tossing them back, and leaning back to wait for them to work.

She seemed satisfied, and wandered over to the newly tilled fields, politely asking the greens what they were planting, and simultaneously snatching her tail away from Bergen. The answer, 'mushrooms', was a bit confusing, but I supposed they should plant whatever they could agree on.

Someone knocked on the door, and I sighed. "Yeah?"

Darien stepped in without any further confirmation, and grinned. "That's a lot of Mithril! Good job! How'd you do it? And how'd you do in the Ranking Exam?"

"I did a favor for the Dean, and the Ranking Exam is a Sham, built to rile up Freshmen, and get them to fight more." I said simply.

"Oh... alright. Well, you have the Mithril, that's good. I'll help with the crafting. You have any ideas, yet?" He sat next to me.

I sighed and nodded, pulling out the Clay mold I'd thrown together a few days ago. "This is what they'll look like."

He hummed, turning the solid clay over, and nodded. "Intricate. I like it. Did you mean for the edges to have these grooves?"