167 Ecclesia 2

"That's… not going to solve the fundamental problem." Mindy protested suddenly, cutting through the murmurs of agreement and affirmation from other students.

"Then what would?" the lecturer asked pointedly.

"Uh… I don't know…" Mindy hesitated. "Maybe we should try searching those hard-to-reach places, like the deep seas or the frozen north. Maybe there's a way to make mana crystals that we simply haven't found. Maybe we can find ways to use less mana, so that just our natural mana is enough and we don't need crystals."

The lecturer nodded. "Certainly. But those ideas will take time, and we seem to be oddly short of time all of a sudden."

"Why is it sudden? How was it that nobody realized we had a mana shortage earlier?" Mindy had to question.

"We only got the results of the prospecting cycle recently. We all expected better findings, thinking at least half of the potential sites should have rich deposits. We never thought there would be only one."

Remian frowned. For some reason, he found that to be highly suspicious. So many prospects and so many failures all at once…? How was that even possible?

"What about the Source of Magic?" someone asked from another side.

There was a sudden, total silence.

"What is that?" Mindy asked, softly.

Still, in the quiet of the hall, they could still hear her.

"There's a legend." The lecturer said. "That if we could find the Source of Magic and open it, magic would once more flow freely into this world, and the very air would be filled with mana."

Mindy perked up. "Well, where is it?"

"That's the thing. We don't know." The lecturer sighed. "We don't even know WHAT it is."

Death chuckled. "He really doesn't."

"Does anyone know?" Remian asked out loud.

The lecturer shook his head. The students were silent. Even Death simply smiled mysteriously and would not say anything.

"Surely, someone has to know something!" Mindy protested.

"Maybe the Dragons would know." The lecturer sighed. "And by Dragons, I meant the Great Dragons, not your garden-variety wyvern."

Great Dragons… like Khar-al'dras, and Mal'thor-dras, and Kor'ag-dras and the likes. The kinds of dragons that people swore upon.

"Anybody want to wake Khar'al-dras up again and ask him?" Mindy gulped.

"We can do that?" a student to the other side asked.

"Don't." Remian advised. "The last time someone woke Khar'al-dras, he left Fal'herim in ruins."

"Isn't Fal'herim his own city? The people there worship him in a temple and everything?"

"That's the one."

"What about the other Great Dragons? Someone already awake?" another student took up the discussion. "Like the Dragon Emperor? According to legend, he's an actual Great Dragon who never sleeps and knows everything."

"That's just Draconian hype." The lecturer snorted. "Not even a Great Dragon knows EVERY thing! I mean, if their Dragon Emperor really knew what and where the Source of Magic was, don't you think he'd have gone and taken it already? I'm not even sure if he IS a Great Dragon, or just some theatrical Draconian putting on airs!"

"Maybe Sel'ea-dras? Sailor say she appears with every storm."

"YOU wanna face the Mother of Storms?! I'd rather take my chances waking Khar'al-dras again!"

"Are there only five? Just how many Great Dragons are there?" Mindy posed the question.

"Six that we know of for sure. Eight according to legends. Several mythical writings suggest there might actually be nine. But definitely at least six still alive today." The lecturer supplied. "Khar'al-dras of the sands, Kor'ag-dras of the grass, Mal'thor-dras of the stones, Zor'khan-dras of thunder, Sel'ea-dras of the waves, and Ti'ela-dras of the tides."

"Ti'ela-dras? Might we be able to reach that one?" someone else asked.

The lecturer shook his head. "Ti'ela-dras and Sel'ea-dras are known to the Sea People as the Father of the Deep and the Mother of Storms. They fear Sel'ea whenever they face a storm… but they fear Ti'ela even when the weather is calm. That's why the Sea People are afraid to venture out into the vast deep ocean. Given a choice, they'd rather stay around coastal seas and the islands and risk Sel'ea-dras than intrude upon the high seas and risk Ti'lea-dras."

"Then… what about Zor'khan-dras of Thunder?"

"You wanna try flying into a thunderstorm on an airship to try to meet him?"

Again, a muted, depressed silence.

"What about the legendary ones? The ones we're not sure even exist, or still live today? Who are they and where might they be found?"

"There's Nil'rak-dras of the night. Supposedly, he's on the moon. The romantic tales indicate he's on the dark side of the moon, to boot. Anyone ever been to the moon before?"

Nobody even laughed.

"And the eighth?" someone still held out hope.

"Ra'oul-dras of the grave. Supposedly, he's a ghost dragon who haunts the afterlife. I'm not sure you can call that 'alive', if he even really exists. If you do manage to die and come back to life after seeing him, do let me know."

"Well, what about lesser dragons?" Mindy suddenly asked. "Not the Great Dragons. Just regular Elder Dragons, like the kind around Dragon Lake and Wyvern Peak."

"The what, where?" many students were puzzled. "Where are those places?"

"They're deep in the Wildlands." The lecturer supplied, shaking his head. "That's suicide. They'd sooner burn your airship to a crisp than tolerate your intrusion on their lands. These are the Wildlands we're talking about."

Mindy snorted. "I'll bet you my entire airship that I could make it there and back alive."

"You?" a tall student by one side snorted. "Have you even seen a dragon?!"

"Seen one? I've spoken with one! My friend even rode on his back!" Mindy declared.

Remian grimaced. "Mindy, I'm not entirely sure we should be saying such things in public."

"But… but this is important!" Mindy pointed out. "Whole countries are going to war and tons of people are going to die everywhere! We have to tell them! We have friends who can talk to the dragons!"

"I'm not sure we can call them friends, exactly. Last time we met, the guy basically wiped out our whole town."

"But Darian isn't like that! He's your brother! You can talk to him, and HE can ask them!" Mindy pushed.

By now murmurs were rising up all over the hall. The lecturer stared, eyes wide. "Is it true? You have a brother who can talk to dragons?"

Remian shook his head. "Not exactly. He's made friends with one dragon, but it's just a young one, and I can't say the same about any of the other dragons…"

The murmurs rose up to a boiling point. Several people were already on their feet.

"Just who are you people?" the lecturer asked.

"Us? Oh, we're just travelers…" Remian tried.

"He is Remian Vin, king of the Wildlands!" Mindy proclaimed.

Remian facepalmed. "No, I'm not, I just own some mines there…"

"A dozen clans and seven mining towns live by your rules! Deny that!" Mindy flared up.

Remian sighed. "They're employees."

"You people… you're from Kara-Goth?" the lecturer stared. "The last hold-out colony in the Wildlands?"

"We have apartments there, yes. But most of the time I live on my airship." Mindy said modestly.

"My lady, would you be so kind as to invite me there?" the lecturer said, suddenly. "I would see this friend and this dragon for myself, if you would have me."

"And I!" someone else shouted.

"I wanna go too! I wanna see the dragon!" a more excitable girl jumped up.

"Me too!"

"Wait for me!"

Suddenly people were on their feet, raising hands and clamoring to go visit Kara-Goth and see the dragon.

"Okay, okay!" Mindy grinned. "Come to the airport at sunset tomorrow. We'll be boarding then."