Can anyone be the Master of a Realm?
Smral walked ignoring everything around him for a long while. He was too deep in thought, to excited about possibilities.
'Could I own a realm? Could I be it's master or have a symbiotic relationship with it?'
'How intriguing.'
But he frowned as he thought about sentient realms and how there was no dominating them. But was this realm truly non-sentient as it should be? It seemed a bit too aware for his taste.
Still the possibility of owning a realm excited something primal witin him. He knew as soon as he sensed Rachel that she would be the key to his next evolution. To be honest he was thinking she would help him in his thrall form and when she took one of his soul crystals, taking a large part of who he was with it, he had fully given up.
For a second.
But he had been a fated ailment demon dragon before he was ever a demon thrall who could wield fate magics. And he felt fate strings being tugged. He sensed the significance of an alliance and he always trusted his instincts. This cowed him and prepared him to submit, if need be, and to trust a given moment implicitly.
Those twinges within him that struck a cord in his soul well that resonated a specific way through his being. Those were like musical notes to traditional songs that had been etched into his soul memory. He listened to them with respect, if not full understanding.
Once he understood and believed he wholeheartedly became Rachel's subordinate and member of her cohort, and there was nothing else for it. He was hers then, now, and forever.
He paused. Not because he was told to or because his path was blocked. He stopped because his instincts screamed at him to do so.
As he thought about the why of his sudden pause and surreptitiously looked about for the cause, a beautiful and terrifying being was suddenly before him smiling a smile of pure insanity.
It was a being like him and Rebecca in that it had no specific gender and could be as it desired. It was tall, over eight feet, had a beautiful pristine face that was like sparkling sunshine, eyes of diamond that twinkled and danced in its own radiance, and long white shining hair that fell in long thick waves to its waist. Other than its small ears and thick moist lips it did not truly allow one to see other body features.
'Ambruce'
'You are very interesting demon dragon. I know when you have thoughts but I can not hear them.'
The beautiful being smiled and tilted its head. 'Can we be friends?'
'Should I speak? How can I distract it if I don't speak?'
'Hmm… another thought that I can not hear. Are you thinking of me or that other interesting being? She is quite beautiful. Quite intriguing. Maybe if you are my friend she will be too.'
'Why is its smile so damn brilliant?'
A part of Rachel was eavesdropping and a part of her was searching for something.
"How is he?"
"You can't tell?" Rachel ignored her internal feelings. She was confused and understood at the same time.
Rebecca shook her head "No. The tethers you created are still there but everything is hazy. I can tell someone is talking to him but that is all I can really sense clearly. This illusion is like nothing I have ever seen before."
Rachel nodded. "Yes he is fine. The realm is speaking to him. He is not sure if he should respond or not. I am not interfering because I can tell that the realm is sufficiently distracted for now. As far as the illusion goes it is four illusions placed inside one another. All four have different triggers of release. The true issue is that all four are in the middle, not exactly the center, of a storm of magic that blocks the illusions from outsiders and escape from within while feeding them at the same time."
"Are you saying that this illusion can go on indefinitely? "
To others Cramnal always sounded devoid of emotion but they all could hear emotion in his voice that others would not perceive. This was another indicator of his Antrunie bond. His abilities had stripped emotion from him but the Antrunie bond gave some, if not all, of it back to him.
Rachel nodded. "Yes. The magic storm feeds the illusions and itself in an unending loop. The only benefit is he has broken through two of the illusions and this has allowed some of his innate abilities to initiate and give him some protection. Smral is crazy poweful."
Struns' eyes widened. 'Rachel considers someone "crazy powerful"?'
'You can talk to me. I promise not to do you any harm.'
Smral and Ambruce had somehow begun walking together, the scene around them in constant Flux. Ambruce spoke about everything and nothing at all but still it intrigued Smral. He had no inclination to speak as of yet but he had a sense that he would be able to soon.
'So I can't speak now but something will happen to allow me the ability again, without adverse side effects?' He smiled inwardly.
'I have been for a long time… I guess to my kind it has actually been a short time. Your kind lives long years as well.'
Smral frowned. He wanted to ask a question. Was this a trap? One minute he feels he will be able to speak soon and now that moment is here so suddenly and so soon after the thought?
'Now I am overly paranoid and it is confusing my natural instincts.'
'Speak. I am here with you. I will protect you. Do not eat anything here for now though.' The whisper flowed through his soul well in a soft echo.
He nodded imperceptible. If Rachel said it was okay then it was not a trap.
'What exactly is it that you think you want? Are you merely bored or do you actually want friends?'
Ambruce was taken aback both by the questions and because Smral spoke. It smiled broadly.
'You finally spoke to me.' Its smile turned to confusion. 'Isn't that the same thing? If I have a friend I will no longer be bored.'
Smral smiled broadly. 'No. A friend is someone you care for and respect. To have someone or something to alleviate boredom is just to have a tool. Maybe you will respect it, maybe not but most see tools as expendable due to it being seemingly ease to obtain one. Do you understand? '
Ambruce was silent. It looked off into the distance as if deep in thought.
'I would like a friend' its voice was distant and wistful. 'Could we be friends?'
Smral waited. He sensed there was more but Ambruce didn't speak. 'I Don't know. I still do not want to be imprisoned here with you. I want to roam and see different things. Forgive me.'
Ambruce smiled sadly. 'So do I.'
'Will being friends with the other one help you to do that?'
Smral became excited. 'Yes it will!'
Rachel, Rebecca, Cramnal, and Struns stood before a huge tree that stretched so high into the sky that they could not see its crown. The trunk was as wide as a building and the branches as thick as a male body builder's thighs. The leaves were both bright and subdued at the same time and in a myriad of colors.
The bark shined like it was covered in a thin layer of amber colored crystal and was smooth and soft to the touch. It seemed welcoming. Its branches seeming to droop closer to the ground as they stood there like it was asking them to approach and partake.
She knew she needed to act quickly, before the realm become aware of them, but she was frozen to the spot.