Lyssandra's hands were shaking now, almost vibrating with a mix of disbelief and uncontained excitement. She fumbled at the straps on her belt, pulling free a series of smaller instruments, each one humming and glowing with its own magic. Tiny lenses spun, crystalline sensors unfolded like delicate petals, and faint sparks arced along their runes.
"Oh… oh no… oh stars, this… this is… I've only heard of this in the oldest journals, passed down by my ancestors," she breathed, her voice cracking with exhilaration. "Legends… theories… half-forgotten warnings about creatures like this—but to see it… here… in a living being…"
She adjusted the settings on one device, then another, aligning them to Anna's subtle resonance. Each adjustment made the faint shimmer in Anna's chest coalesce, becoming sharper, more defined. Lyssandra's spectacles fogged slightly as she leaned closer, the faint hum of the chamber seeming to sync with her own heartbeat.
Valerius stepped closer, his brow furrowed. "Doctor… explain—what is it?"
Lyssandra's eyes went impossibly wide, her voice trembling, awed and almost giddy. "It… it's… a Dragon Egg."
The words left her lips like a prayer, and then she laughed softly in disbelief. "A Dragon Egg! Can you imagine? I—I never thought I'd see one with my own eyes! I've studied the oldest texts, traced every legend I could find—but always, always, True Dragons manifest fully when they find a bond. This… this one hasn't even hatched yet!"
She tapped at her instruments with quick, shaking fingers, adjusting, measuring, recording everything at once. "And not just any dragon… a Primal Resonance Dragon.. Legendary, almost mythical, older than some of the oldest known spells, the ones that shaped the ley lines themselves. And this… this is still an egg!"
Her gaze flickered between Anna and the shimmering devices, awe practically radiating off her in waves. "Do you understand how rare this is? This isn't just a bond—it's… it's a beginning. Something older than history, choosing to awaken in a mortal! In a child! I—I need to… I need to contact the elders back home, get their instruments calibrated, cross-reference the resonance patterns… oh, this is monumental!"
Selene's hands tightened protectively around Anna, her voice low and filled with wonder and fear. "A… dragon… inside her?"
Lyssandra nodded furiously, unable to contain herself. "Yes! An Aether Dragon resides in your daughter. And it's not just the presence—look at the harmonic alignment! The egg is forming a miniature resonance lattice inside her, synchronizing with her very essence. This is… this is beyond anything I've ever theorized. We need to study it carefully, but… oh… the potential…"
Her sapphire eyes gleamed behind her spectacles, a mixture of scientific zeal and pure, childlike amazement. "I can't wait to get the elders on this. They'll—oh, they'll never believe it until they see it with their own instruments!"
Elara's hand rested on her mother's shoulder, her voice trembling in awe. "So… she's carrying… aether… a dragon… in an egg stage…"
"Yes!" Lyssandra practically bounced in place, ignoring protocol, all professional decorum abandoned in the face of this miracle. "Alive, primal, resonating… and contained! Not just in the ley, not just a bond, but inside her! And to think… we're witnessing the incubation. History… magic… everything… all at once!"
Talia stepped closer, her jaw tight, eyes wide as she stared at Anna. "And she's safe?"
Lyssandra's hands hovered over her devices, eyes still glued to the shimmering outline. "Well… yes… mostly. But if the egg awakens too quickly, or if her resonance spikes, it could—oh, I just need to—oh, I need to record everything now! Every fluctuation, every pulse, every… every heartbeat!"
She looked around at the room, grinning almost madly. "This… this changes everything. We have a Dragon Egg, a Primal Aether Dragon, inside a human. Oh stars, I'm going to need all my notes, all my elders, and—oh, I'll need another magnifying lens at least…"
Even the faint hum of the chamber seemed to grow stronger, as if acknowledging her words—and the impossible, awe-inspiring truth pulsing quietly beneath Anna's chest.
Valerius's jaw tightened, his hand curling into a fist at his side for a fraction of a second, just enough for the room to feel the weight of his restrained tension. Lyssandra didn't notice at first, caught up in her instruments and the pulsing shimmer in Anna's chest.
Then his voice cut through the chamber, sharp, commanding. "Enough."
Lyssandra looked up, startled, and he didn't give her a chance to protest. "That can wait. Gather your team. In two days, I want a full report. I want to know—without speculation—if she is a danger to this kingdom, or to herself."
The words were clipped, bordering on rude, and the edge in his tone made even the seasoned elves of the Twelve Pillars flinch. Yet Selene, standing close, felt the tremor beneath the control—the subtle hitch in his shoulder, the way his hand unclenched just slightly. She had been at his side for decades. She knew his motions, the tiny tells that revealed worry even when his face betrayed none.
Her hand brushed against Anna's arm instinctively, squeezing gently, but her eyes never left him. She understood, even in that rigid, imperial phrasing, that his concern ran deeper than he would ever openly admit. His command wasn't just about protocol—it was about fear, about the possibility that the child they loved could be a force no one fully understood.
Lyssandra, cheeks flushed with excitement and nerves, snapped her head toward him. "Y-yes, Your Majesty. Of course. I'll mobilize immediately—my team, the instruments, the readings…"
Valerius's gaze softened just enough to indicate he trusted her, though he didn't remove the edge entirely. "Good. Two days. After that, I expect answers."
Selene exhaled slowly, placing a protective hand on Anna's shoulder. She could feel the taut tension in the room, the hum of the chamber, and the subtle pulse that mirrored her daughter's strange, growing power. She knew this was a moment where the weight of duty collided with the fear of a mother—and even the Emperor, in his own stoic way, was feeling the impossible magnitude of it.
Lyssandra's fingers itched at her devices, but she nodded, her enthusiasm momentarily tempered. "Understood. Two days. I'll… I'll make sure we have every reading possible."
Valerius gave a curt nod and turned toward the doorway, the cloak of command falling back over him like a shield. Selene's eyes followed him, silently noting the flicker of concern he tried so hard to mask. Even rulers, she reminded herself, were not immune to fear.
Anna's voice, barely above a whisper, trembled through the chamber. "Th-thank you… Father."
Valerius froze mid-step, his hand lingering on the edge of the doorway. For a single heartbeat, the armor of authority slipped, and she caught the faintest flicker of something human in his eyes—a softness, almost regret, almost pride.
"Anna…" he began, voice low, hesitant. Then he straightened abruptly, as if reminding himself of his duty, the words coming out clipped, formal. "You needn't—there's no need for… thanks."
Selene, standing nearby, caught the subtle shift in his posture: the slight hunch of his shoulders, the flicker of his hand that betrayed the weight behind his words. She knew him well enough to see the truth beneath the brusque exterior. His careful attempt to brush it off was only that—a mask for the worry that churned under his chest.
Valerius cleared his throat and took a measured step forward. "Focus on… resting, Anna. That is more important than words right now."
Anna's lips trembled as she nodded, still soft, still fragile. "I… I will."
Selene moved closer, brushing a strand of hair from Anna's face, and whispered, "You heard him, little songbird. Rest. Everything else… we'll handle."
Valerius's eyes flicked back to Anna one last time, lingering longer than protocol should allow, before he turned to Lyssandra and the rest of the chamber. The air seemed heavier after that brief, fragile moment of connection—as if the echo of a father's concern had been laid alongside the pulse of the primal power stirring within Anna.
As Valerius finally swept from the chamber, his cloak trailing behind him like a shadow of authority.
Lyssandra practically bounced on the balls of her feet as she hurried after Valerius, keeping a careful distance, her voice trailing behind her in hurried, excited bursts. "Two days… I can set up a preliminary grid before then, yes, yes! I'll need the team on standby, instruments prepped… and—oh!—the calibration run for the egg's harmonic lattice!"
Even as she walked, she kept glancing back toward Anna, her expression a mix of scientific fervor and a slightly dorky, almost childlike awe. "This… this is beyond anything I've ever dreamed of. I mean, a Primal Aether Dragon… in an egg stage… inside a living human! I—I have to record everything, everything, everything…"
Her muttering continued, a rapid-fire stream of calculations, reminders, and wonder, as she followed the Emperor down the corridor.
When Valerius headed toward his study. Lyssandra skidded into a side chamber, the echoes of the main hall fading behind her. She dug quickly through the folds of her long coat, muttering to herself, "Where is it… ah, there you are!"
She pulled out a small, polished device shaped like a pocket mirror. Its surface shimmered faintly, reflecting not her face but the runes etched into its silver frame, softly pulsing in sync with the hum still lingering from Anna's presence.
"Perfect," she whispered, flipping it open. Tiny crystalline filaments fanned out from the edges, humming to life as they established a link to the faraway archives and laboratories where the elders of her order were stationed.
Lyssandra held the shimmering pocket-mirror device close, her voice barely containing her glee. "Elder Varis? You're not going to believe this—there's… there's a Primal Aether Dragon… inside a living human. An egg!"
The elder's voice crackled through the device, calm but weighted with astonishment. "An egg? Are you certain, Lyssandra? A full Aether Dragon Egg, within a mortal host?"
"Yes! I triple-checked the resonance lattice, the harmonic field… everything. It's stable, but independent. It's practically rewriting what we know about living conduits!" Lyssandra's words tumbled out in a rush, almost drowning in her own excitement.
There was a pause before Elder Varis responded, voice low and reverent. "Monumental. Absolutely monumental. To have an Aether Dragon manifesting in this way… not fully formed, not yet bonded, and alive within a child—this is unprecedented in the history of the Pillars. Lyssandra, the implications…"
"I know! I—oh stars, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it!" Lyssandra exclaimed, her fingers tapping the edge of the mirror. "I'll need the full observational array—sensors, harmonic analyzers, spectrum triangulators… everything. I can't risk missing a single fluctuation."
Elder Varis's tone grew firmer, yet still reverent. "Prepare carefully, Lyssandra. The tiniest miscalculation could disrupt the egg's growth—or worse, harm the host. But if you succeed… what you will learn could reshape our understanding of resonance entirely. You must document everything. Everything."
Lyssandra's eyes sparkled, a grin tugging at her lips. "Oh, I will! I promise, Elder! I've already started preliminary readings, and I'm drafting a setup plan for the team. By the time we're done, we'll have more data than humanity has seen in centuries!"
Varis's voice softened, carrying a rare note of warmth. "Then go, Lyssandra. Be thorough. And… contain your excitement, if only so the others don't faint at your exuberance before the work even begins."
Lyssandra flicked the tiny runes on the pocket-mirror one last time, sending a stream of acknowledgment to Elder Varis. "Understood, Elder. I'll document everything, take every reading… and report back immediately if anything changes."
She pressed the mirror closed with a satisfied click. "Oh, stars… this is really happening," she muttered to herself, a wide grin spreading across her face.
Before anyone could respond, her fingers were already dancing over the surface again, tapping commands that summoned faint holographic schematics and lists floating in the air. "Okay, okay… assistants, listen up!" she called, her voice bright and frantic.
From somewhere deeper in her coat, she drew a set of crystalline communicators and began relaying orders rapidly, barely pausing to breathe.
"Magnifiers—check! Triangulators—prepped! Harmonic sensors—fully calibrated! Ley alignment arrays—ready! Micro-lenses—cleaned, polished, and queued!" Her voice sped up, spilling over with scientific enthusiasm. "We're going to need every recorder active, every spectrum analyzer running continuously, and I want live monitoring of the egg's harmonic pulse every hour! Oh, and… yes! Make sure we've got the emergency containment wards on standby!"
Her assistants' voices buzzed faintly through the devices, affirming, acknowledging, and scrambling to follow her rapid-fire instructions. Lyssandra barely looked up, eyes shining with giddy intensity...