Chapter 2

Darynn had sworn decades earlier that he would always consider his life a lesson and himself a student. Although his opportunities to experiment with the opposite sex numbered beyond his counting he had never once actually paid any attention to them or their needs. Awrthom had made him a man of men, in a world of their own without want or need of women.

Aimee' changed that. She had occupied his thoughts for the entire week, from the previous Gayobi to the present. In that time he had done a little asking around, and had learned some things about Teltirray's tastes that bothered him. According to his friend Bethsany, the mistress of the local brothel, Teltirray had become more violent in the last decade, although she had as little idea why as Darynn did. He found himself hoping that Teltirray's violence didn't extend to Aimee' and that he wouldn't hurt her in the days between her lessons. As the hour approached he found himself rubbing his hands together before the fire and assembling his story for the evening in his mind.

The knock came at the door none too soon. "Come in," he said, attempting to make his voice behave in a manner befitting an archmage. Inside, a corner of his spirit laughed at him; surely he did no better than any poor boy at his first occasion with a woman! And he, nigh unto a century old!

The door opened and Aimee' entered. "I have come for my second lesson, sir, with your permission."

"You have it. No, not the stool again. Come, here, sit by me before the fire." Nervously the girl crossed the flagstone-and- mortar floor and then his precious white yeti-fur rug. The rug had been the lesser of two prizes he had won from a battle with such a creature destroying many a town to the Northeast. He smiled, remembering the greater prize; a boy named Darrick.

"Settle yourself against those blue pillows. Right." She sat down, her body trembling slightly. He looked her over; bruises adorned both of her arms and one smaller stood out even against the reddish skin of her chin. Darynn winced and determined further to teach her the arts of self-preservation and defense as well as those of pleasure.

"If you ever have need to speak, Aimee', do so freely. Now, tonight I shall tell you my second story and you will do something for me. You will remove your clothing."

She reached for her tunic instantly. "Wait," he said. "I did not tell you to remove your clothes. I said you will remove your clothes. I shall not tell you when."

"Then how will I know when to do so?"

"Aimee', I said you may speak freely, but you will address me as 'sir.'"

"Yes, sir. How will I know when to remove my... my clothes?"

"When you feel ready, Aimee', to take off an article of clothing, I want you to. But not before then."

Confusion crossed her face as Darynn knew it would. Nobody ever gave slaves the right to address their own feelings. Instead, slaves behaved as ordered and came to hear every whim of a superior as an order. By permitting her access to her own simple desires, Darynn hoped she would unwittingly open herself to her deeper emotions. Sometimes boys in his service cried for hours when he did this, and afterwards the passion from them exceeded even Darynn's fading memory of his for Awrthom. He lived for those moments.

But did a woman have those same feelings and same methods of bottling them up and controlling them? Darynn wanted to find out.

"Y... yes, sir."

"Now then, I shall tell you another tale. This one comes from my learning amidst the Megass, and of one special Megassi named Ryuchia."

In my twentieth year Awrthom called me a man, told me he had no more to teach me, and bid me go into the world to find my future. I had no wish to leave, Aimee', for I loved him. Not just physically, although certainly that phrasing-- "I loved him"-- had certainly come true by then.

I cried piteously. I wept for myself and I had learned to weep for him, Aimee', because Satyrs have nothing but themselves and their passions. Awrthom allowed himself no past, no future, nothing but the immediacies of his present pleasures. Although I wished to stay in that Satyric haze for all of my existence, I knew that he and I did not belong to the same worlds. I needed to seek my destiny elsewhere.

He gave me money. I gave most of it to my parents to help them over my disappearance. I even had a younger brother by then. I left them in the worst way possible, I think. I stole out of the house one night leaving only the money and a note. I think by that time father suspected something about my relationship with Awrthom, although he never said a word and I think he trusted my wisdom.

I will not bore you with the details of the travel, Aimee'. Awrthom sent me on a path into the mountains in search of a city the Megassi called Hakkana and a Megass named Desa.

I knew little of the Megassi except for legends, Aimee'. I knew that they had grown from the ranks of Dragonkind by virtue of their intelligence and their capacity for magic, and I knew that even satyrs spoke in warm, awestruck whispers at the magic they achieved through the exercise of their honest lusts.

"Master?" she interrupted him.

"Yes, Aimee?"

"May I remove my boots, sir?"

"Aimee, I told you that you may remove your boots when you feel the time has come for you to remove your boots, and such with the rest of your clothes. You do not need to ask me. If you never feel that time tonight, I understand. I do not want to make any such demand of you. Understand?"

"I... I think so. Please, sir, do not let me interrupt your story."

As I approached Hakkana I sometimes saw Megassi circling between peaks in the mountains. The road I walked led through those mountains and, according to one scrawled sign I passed, across a pass that had claimed the lives of over a dozen men. The sign, too, warned of Dragons in those mountains, but I rationed that I had survived capture and rape and even the love of a satyr. A Dragon could do no worse.

I camped in the hills the day before, and come morning began my ascent for the pass. I hoped that the Dragons would find me before then. Find me they did. Two swooped down from the high places in the mountains, flying over me in great, sweeping passes. Red-scaled and massive, their wings beat the air as they flew past and the wind they kicked up blew into my eyes and stung with fierce pain. I had learned magic to alleviate that pain and so use it, giving myself a chance to stand and examine my examiners.

[Who are you?] the first one demanded, his voice shouting in my head like a great storm.

"I call myself Darynn, as my father named me! Awrthom, Lord of the Satyrs of Daber Wood has sent me to meet with Desa Megass of Hakkana."

[You have a great many friends, ] the one spoke again. [You may pass unharmed and without tribute unto the gates of our city. But if you have lied, your suffering will amuse us for days.]

Speaking honestly, I had hoped for a ride. Dragons do not have kindness as we know it, Aimee.' Ah, I see you smile at my little joke. And your boots have walked away on their own. Good.

I walked for the day and through the night and near dawn I found the gates of the great city of Hakkana. I slept there at the base of those monstrous gates.

A pain in my leg awakened me hours later. "You," the voice said. I looked up into the face of the first landed Megass I had ever met. The young of the Megass perform the city duties for their elders, and this one, barely nine feet long and still unencumbered enough to have full use of his forearms, apparently served as a guard.

"I... my apologies, my lord Megass. I have come seeking an audience with Desa Megass."

The Dragon turned his head to me and I saw him smile. "You know interesting friends if you know of Desa Megass. Very well, we will show you the way to Desa Megass, young mage."

He led me past the gates and into the city of Hakkana. City? No, Hakkana covered an entire plain with its construction. The great beauty of vaulted marble only served to introduce the marvels of engineering that surrounded me.

The plain apparently sat as an elevated valley surrounded by mountains.

Most people know only rumors of the growth cycle of the Megassi, but it's relatively easy to understand. Aimee', have you ever watched a caterpillar turn into butterfly? You know of the sleeping process caterpillars undergo? The Megassi have the same sort of growth, Aimee', only their caterpillar shape resembles our shape, human. Or elven, I suppose. They built the central city of Hakkana for that shape; they spend the first fifty years of life shaped in our way. These young administer the city as it relates to the world; they perform the roles of merchant and agent to the adult Megassi.

Somewhere in their fifth or, perhaps, late sixth decade, they begin to undergo the great change. They do not sleep though the change, Aimee'; every day they awake knowing that they have begun to change their shape, begun to change into Dragonkind. Many move awkwardly at this time; They have no reason to learn to live with a shape that will not feel the same tomorrow as it does today. My guard, apparently, had some control of his faculties. He spoke well, and he moved without clumsiness.

As I said, the central city is built for the young who are shaped as Men, but beyond that the buildings grow ever larger and more impressive, housing as they do the various centuries of the Megassi Dragons. The architecture is utterly alien; the homes on the plain look as if they were grown, or like bubbles on the water, but made from a stone the color of which pleases the owner. The most common color is white, although some are red, black, green, or yellow. The mountains that surround the plain are riddled with caves in which sleep the Great Elders. Very few live that old; most succumb to disease, or madness. Some to spiritual decay that leaves them lifeless and suicidal.

I was surprised that the guard led me to the central city. I had expected Desa Megass to be an elder Dragon, and I inquired of it. "He is," the guard replied. "But you are to be taken to the center to meet him."

The great city of domes passed as we walked, and the houses began to take on more familiar shapes. I saw Megassi young going about their businesses, cleaning windows and fixing roofs. They waved pleasantly as we walked; they are not a mysterious people, not the young. They are as easily understood as you and I.

The guard led me to a circular building, a squat cylinder topped with a cone roof. The door was made of wood and not large enough to admit him. He knocked. A Megass youth answered the door. "What may I do for you, sir?"

"This human claims to know of Desa Megass and would like entry."

The youth looked at me, and I examined him in return. His skin seemed pliant, but it still looked as a snake's: covered in fine scales and tinted with a greenish hue. His yellow eyes had vertical slits, much like a cat's, and they sat in shallow, reflective pools that regarded me carefully. "Yes, I know of him as well," he said finally. "Admit him. I thank you, elder sir, for your kindness."

"May your change await you with pleasure," the guard said, leaving me standing outside the door.

"Come in, come in," the Megass said. "Sit down. I am Kirustan. Desa will join us in a moment."

I found a seat and examined the room. It seemed as any common home, although perhaps a little better aired than my own. The construction was as solid as any Castle, a privilege of its origin. The chairs were likewise made of stone, and I knew that it would take all my thew just to move one a few inches.

In the floor there was set a circular staircase leading downwards into the very rock. From here I heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and I shall never forget what walked up from that place. It was shaped as human, but it was of no human origin. The body reflected light as if made of polished silver. It had no imperfections; indeed in places it looked too perfect, gleaming and smooth. Its eyes shone with a strange yellow light. The ears looked elven, wide at the base and pointed towards the top. As it regarded me it smiled, and the silver seemed to flow as if it was quickened. "Darynn."

"You... you know me?"

"Indeed I do," the creature replied. "I am Desa Megass, or at least, what you will see of me." It chuckled deeply. "In good truth, I sleep many miles from here. My spirit houses this form while the other sleeps. In here, I cannot do magic, but that is no matter. I find the world of the children exciting, and the beauty and song I hear here I weave into the waking magics of my Dragonself." It picked up a stone chair like a feather and placed it down before me, then sat down. "Now then, Darynn, tell me what brings you here."

I told him, Aimee'. I told him everything. Of my hopeless love for the Satyr Awrthom, of the magics he had taught me, of his sending me here. The tale took over two hours. When I was done, Desa nodded. "You are what I have been looking for, and I am in Awrthom's debt for the gift he has sent me."

"Gift?"

"Yes," Desa nodded. "Although I cannot do magic in this shape, Darynn, I can still teach it. I can still guide students who need learning. I have a... a failure, I fear. Perhaps you can help me change that."

"Sir?"

"Quiet, Darynn. You are my apprentice now."

I thrilled to hear that, Aimee', to be told by this magical being that it had accepted me as an apprentice. I glanced to the window where Kirustan leaned, casually. He grinned at me, as if amused. I wondered what his role' was in Desa's existence, and if I was staking a claim to something he felt he already possessed. Nevertheless, he seemed earnestly pleased to hear of my acceptance.

"Yes, sir."

"I have several apprentices, Darynn. You are to... Kirustan, leave us."

"Immediately, sir," the young Megass said, taking his leave by the same staircase Desa had arisen from.

"I am sorry; I do not know of your comfort or concern being a lover of men and things male, Darynn, and I did not want to embarrass you in front of my other young apprentice. I should have dismissed him before you told your tale."

"It is the past, sir, that tale. I am not ashamed of what I am."

"Good," he said. "Because it is, in part, what you are that makes you so valuable to me. I have an apprentice that I took while he was still in Manform, thirty years ago. He learned quickly, as I promise you, you will. His name is Ryuchitoran. I fear he has not long to live.

"Ryu, as I call him, was born with two problems. I have trouble deciding some days which makes his life more unbearable. The first is that he, like you, strongly prefers his own sex to that of the other. This happens from time to time; often there are enough of that kind to keep each other happy, and they are of no trouble to the rest of us. At mating time, even with reluctance most of them perform admirably, and the females among them I suppose hold their noses and wait for it to be over; the bodily joy of bearing eggs is something even they admit to liking, even if they dislike the process required to get there.

"But Ryu has a second, more troubling problem. After his change, it became obvious. Ryu is a runt."

"Sir?"

"Ryu is growing very slowly. At the present he is only twelve feet long, and four of that is his tail. This is not a midform, Darynn; Ryu is all Dragon at this point. But he sleeps with the daily fitfulness of a youth and he grows but slowly, if at all." Desa fell momentarily silent, thinking. "My newer apprentices frequently learn the physical basics from their elder peers. Ryuchitoran is one of my eldest students, and you will be his first. One of the things every sorcerer must learn is how to teach, to pass on what he knows. It's time Ryu learned a skill he will need in his old age, even if he does not expect to get there.

"But in the process, young Darynn, you must do something else. If Awrthom did not lie about the size of his manhood, you will not find Ryuchia threatening. Few, if any, of the older Dragons among his kind show any interest in him; he is too small, and frequently too depressed. I ask that you volunteer for this, Darynn: Seduce him. Give him someone to feel lust for. You will have the tools, and the skills of sexual magic that Awrthom has given you tell me that you are the best person to do so. I will visit you often to give you guidance in your studies. I encourage you to seek your power in the pleasures of your body." The silver grinned again. "Encourage Ryuchia to assist you."

He was asking me to become the friend and lover of someone who, as he admitted, was a dark and depressing soul. But a Dragon soul, nonetheless. And I had come to Hakkana to learn from him, so I supposed that would be the price I would bear. Not that I was completely against his plan, Aimee', for it had been several months since I had loved, or even touched, another, and I think my youthful manhood got the better of me. I agreed on the spot, a bit overwhelmed by lustful images of myself entwined with a Dragon.

"Do you accept?"

I spoke immediately, anxious to move forward. "Sir, I do."

He nodded. "Excellent. Come with me, and I will introduce you to your new teacher." He stood and led me out into the street.

As he led me out amidst the youthful construction, I marveled at the sights surrounding me. The city was huge, Aimee', indescribable. I have seen only one city this large since then, Aimee, and that is Arisanti. Yes, I have been there.

The low domes and bubbles that were the Megassi homes cast shadows on one another, and I was to learn that arguments about who possessed the right to another's heat were vocal and common. Although the circle wherein the young abounded in trees and bushes, beyond was only plain red stone upon which their marvelous houses were built.

"This is his," Desa announced, pointing to a dome immediately to our right. As large as others nearby, it was the brown of a duck's egg, and it glistened with the sunlight. Desa led me around. "The door is at an angle to the regular direction of the wind. In that way, a Dragon may leave his home open and not have wind blow about inside, but may step out and take wing instantly." We came to a seam in the side of the dome, a seam that ran up many feet out of sight. He knocked.

I know not the construction of the Megassi doors, but I would like to know. Like the wings of a beetle, the doors spread open, making barely a sound as they did so. "Inside," Desa said.

The smell inside had a slightly stale taste to it. Desa looked at me curiously. "Describe it."

"Sir?"

"The smell. It's foremost in your expression, young human. Describe it to me."

I did, including the stale taste and an odd, burning smell, like old rope set ablaze. He nodded. "Ryu has not been keeping his house in order." He cupped his mouth with his hands as if to amplify his voice, and shouted "Ryuchitoran!"

"Master!" As my eyes adjusted from the blazing sun outside to the darker interior, I began to see details. The center of the house rose many feet above my head. Along the interior walls platforms circled at regular intervals, providing many landing spaces for a creature used to life airborne. A bright circle of light landed on the stone floor of the dome, indicating an opening at the center of the dome where Dragons could enter while airborne. From the opposite side of the dome, two rings up, a Dragon shuffled to the edge, gripped a cylindrical brass railing and launched himself into the air. His wings spread wide and he floated down to the central floor. "I am at your service."

"That is good, Ryu, because my request of you is very difficult. I have an apprentice that I wish you to train."

"Me? Sir..." I examined Ryuchitoran closely. He was as Desa had described him; a fully formed Dragon, but only eight feet in height, a four-foot tail behind him. His scales appeared soft and supple, white tinged lightly with green, much as I had described Kirustan. His body was wide in the middle, and his wings spread out at least as long as his body in each direction. On his tail the fans that helped control his flight opened and closed reflexively. His face expressed every feeling, and even I could read them.

"Yes, Ryu."

"When do I meet him, sir?"

Desa's silvered shape turned to me. "Ryuchitoran, this is your junior apprentice, Darynn. Darynn, this is Ryuchitoran."

"A human?" I was concerned that Ryuchitoran would view me with disdain, but instead he seemed earnestly pleased to have me as his apprentice. "Wonderful! But please don't call me Ryuchitoran. All those syllables get in the way. Ryu is fine."

"Ryu, then," I said, laughing. He was certainly not what I had expected. "It's still Darynn."

"Of course it is!" Ryu returned to his teacher and said, "What are my duties, sir?"

"We have provisions for him, Ryu. He needs lodging, however, and occasionally a translator. He will be learning the basics from us, although I believe he has a broad knowledge already."

Ryu looked at me. "How long have you been studying?"

"Three years."

"Can you fly?"

"A... A little," I admitted. "I need practice."

"Then your first lesson will be about sleeping," Desa said. "Ryu, you know where to lodge him."

"Indeed I do," Ryuchia said. "There are six rings to my home, counting the floor, and you will sleep on the second." I breathed a sigh of relief; the second ring did not seem so far away. Ryu smiled, showing his teeth, a sight which I admit frightened me somewhat. "We Dragons are of the air, and we do not measure our homes the way you do." I realized his meaning and my gaze moved up to look at the two rings all the way at the top of the dome. Ryu followed my gaze and nodded. "Exactly."

"I... I can't make it all the way up there."

"Of course you can," Desa said. "Even I can see that. Ryu, I leave you with your apprentice and his devices. Darynn, take care. I will see to you in two days. In the meantime, take your learning from Ryu."

Ryu spread his winds and kicked into the air, circling around his home until he reached the second ring. "Come on, Darynn. Join me."

I swallowed hard, closed my eyes, and remembered what Awrthom had taught me about flying. I leaned my head back and opened my eyes. My destination grew closer, and I began to feel the great drag of the ground as I moved further and further away from it. The ground is jealous of the bodies that rise from its dust, Aimee', and is not so giving when we want to leave it.

As the railing grew closer the lift grew easier. I reached out for the brass rail that was apparently a fixture of each level. On beautiful metal supports it hung away from the wall, just above the level of the floor, giving Dragons something to hold.

I climbed over the railing and sat down on the stone of the ring before realizing that I had not removed my pack. I had managed to fly maybe five dozens of feet with at least fifty pounds extra on my back. I felt good. "Is it the air?"

"It is you!" Ryu said, laughing. "You looks so stunned, Darynn. In any event, this was once my home, when I was a youth and so had a youth's bed. My father, who used to live in this dome, moved far away, and I inherited it from him."

It had a bed, although when I pulled the top sheet up dust flew, making me cough. "Sorry," Ryu said. "I haven't had time to really clean this place the way it should."

"I'll manage. Where might I find a broom?"

"Fourth ring," Ryu replied, grinning. "Over there." He gestured with a wing, and a beam of light shot from a wingtip to indicate the broom.

I surprised myself again by retrieving the broom and returning to the second ring, although by that time I was worn out and quite sure that I was done with flying for the day. "What brings you to Hakkana, Darynn?"

"I was sent to find Desa at the request of my former master, who had taught me all he could."

Ryu's head tilted slightly, as if confused. "You sound sad when you say that."

"Do I?" I asked. "I was not measuring my love for him on the basis of his teaching. His sending me away hurt a great deal. Moreso than that I left my parents, for they would not understand the son he returned to them."

"What is your teaching, then?"

I tried to think of a big word for what I was, something ostentatious. But I could not, and eventually I told the truth. "Sex magic."

Ryu didn't laugh at me as I expected. No, he took me quite seriously. "I thought that was difficult for male humans to learn. Not enough partners to practice with or something."

"It can be," I said. "There are exceptions."

Ryu nodded and didn't press the matter. "I'll leave you to clean up your room. If you desire privacy, there are sheets that can be hung from the hangers that ring this room and the next. I used the room to the right for ritual research."

I nodded. "Thank you."

"Thank you for being welcome in my home," Ryu said earnestly. "I'll check on you in a while." He stepped off the edge of the ring and vanished, apparently dropping like a stone. I heard a soft 'thwap' of his wing as he landed on the ring where he slept now.

Days and weeks passed by like flashes, Aimee'. I cannot describe the next six months because they are entirely a blur. My skill as a metalsmith garnered me much respect, and Desa suggested I direct at least some of my magical skill in that direction as well. It was probably the most propitious decision I ever made, because the resulting tools I constructed out of alloys of silver and steel accelerated the outpouring of power I could achieve in short times. My nature became more obvious as I crafted my staff, tipped as it was with obvious phallicism. More importantly, the actual working spindles and dildos, made of various alchemical woods, enabled me to reach heights I had never thought possible.

The only aspect of this I have any pride in, however, is my sense. I did not, I don't believe, ever aspire to more power for evil reasons. My desires were pure. I wanted to be a mage; I wanted to be the best. More than once I had an opportunity to grow faster, but at the expense of either Ryuchitoran or Kirustan or another apprentice, and those I would not do.

As the months rolled by, I began to feel the immense sadness that was a part of Ryuchitoran. My senses were being honed by the exercises Desa gave me, and more importantly, they were being honed outwards. A sex mage learns to feel his insides, learns to know every inch of himself and what one should apply where to make those feelings grow and manifest themselves. But Desa had no interest in an apprentice who couldn't see, Aimee', and so forced me into physical exercises to maintain my strength but also to make me aware of the world about me. That is why he began teaching me combat.

Those were interesting times, Aimee', to have youthful Dragonkin, man shaped, fighting me. Hand to hand, with sticks, and then with swords, I learned how to see my opponent, how to hear him and how to smell him. Six months is not a long time, but it was enough to make me aware of Ryu.

The cheerfulness was facade', Aimee', for inside he was truly hurting. His rejection at the hands of his peers was often more than he could bear, and I would hear him sob in the night, whether as a way to sleep or something from his dreams, I did not know. In the six months I spent with him, rarely did he have Dragon visitors. Once, Desa came to visit us in his full dracoform, and the difference between the two of them was bewildering. Desa was fully three times as broad and four long compared to Ryu. I started to understand Ryu's pain. None of his visitors was evidently a lover.

It was in the eighth month, as the snows began to lighten up and the sun returned more often, that I asked Desa permission to study beyond my ken.

"What are you seeking?" he asked.

"I want to research the library to learn how to look at the origin of a creature."

Desa looked understandably concerned. "The alchemy of life is one of the most difficult sciences known, young Darynn. What are you seeking?"

"I want to know what makes a creature large or small."

He nodded. "His tears get to you, too."

"I can bear it, sir, but not forever. He will die without help."

"And you think you can help him."

"I can look for an answer."

Desa paused, thinking. "Very well. I want to know every detail of your research. In this science, if you cast even a cantrip I want to know about it. Understand?"

I nodded.

Four months more before I could take it no more. From my sleep the sounds of crying roused me. You have never heard a Dragon cry, Aimee', but describing it is beyond me. It's a great roaring sound, unmistakable in its sadness and unbelievable in its depth. I threw aside my bedclothes and leapt off the edge of the ring, flying down one ring level to Ryu's sleeping dish. A bowl, set into the material of the ring and layered in cushions, provided him a comfortable bed.

I dropped to my knees. "Ryu," I said softly. It was drowned out in the crying. "Ryu," I repeated louder. Finally I reached out and touched him. "Ryu!"