A/N: Yay! Three reviews! I feel special.

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We had to half-drag Sidos through the portal back to Sunrise Spring. If we could fly, Vivian and I together could have carried him out, but so far all we could do was glide. So, gently as we could, we took the scruff of his robes in our teeth and dragged him along the ground. When we came to the portal, Vivian hoisted Sidos on my back for the glide to the home world. I didn't mind much; the small thief didn't weigh much. I've only been wearing my armor for a few days, but already I was tolerating heavier weights on my body. Vivian must be super strong, with armor and sword.

Upon returning to the spring, we waited by the pond's edge for Sidos to come to. There are lots of myths about how to cure a drunk and return him to sobriety. The truth was, there was nothing that could be done but wait for the intoxicated person to recover on his own, for his body to eliminate the toxins. Many might find this hard to believe, but I'd challenge them to deny this to Magic Crafter healers. Yeah, I thought not.

But thieves seemed to have ridiculous speed in things other than running, for it was no more than an hour before Sidos awoke, blinking blearily in the sunlight. However, he still seemed to have the symptoms of a hangover. Serves him right. We worried about him (stealing from others), and all that time he was just drunk with the idols under the table. Smooth, Sidos. Real smooth. Anybody could catch him in that state.

" ... Starbright?" Sidos asked uncertainly, blinking at me. I thumped my tail on the ground.

"Daystar." I said flatly, white wisps of smoke flaring out my nostrils. He's known me since I was a hatchling; you'd think he'd know my name by now! Sidos blinked again.

"Oh, that's right ... what happened?"

"You were drunk at Molten Crater." Vivian supplied, quirking her brow. "Some dinner party."

"Oh, that's what happened ..."

"We were worried about you!" I snapped, my claws digging into the soft earth underfoot.

Sidos snorted, sitting upright and holding his head with both hands (which, oddly, were concealed under his sleeves). "Yeah, right. More like whether or not I was stealing from people."

"That, too," I replied hotly, "but don't just disappear on us like that! You could've been in trouble."

"I doubt it." The thief said. "If I could outrun Spyro the Great, then I'm good. Even if I was drunk."

"He was a hatchling then." I retorted.

"Eh, same difference."

"Wow." Was all Vivian could say.

But I had something else to say. I was curious about that mural we found in Molten Crater, and it would kill time until Marco finished repairing his hot air balloon. I still can't quite figure out he had crashed it ...

"Hey, Sidos. Do thieves ... use magic?"

Sidos snorted. "What, you're looking to me to unlock your latent power? Tough luck, buddy. I'm about as magical as those fish in the pond."

"Not according to that mural in Molten Crater." I said slowly, and Sidos froze, absolutely paralyzed. Brow quirked at this, I continued, just as slowly, "And why would you have a magical sword if you can't use magic?"

"Well," Sidos said reluctantly, "Just what kind of mural was it? The idols like to scribble lots of stuff on their walls."

"Funny thing is," Vivian interjected, "Moneybags tells me that particular place had been a hideout for two thieves before. The place with the super charge lane?"

Right after Vivian, I said, "The mural showed thieves using magic." The whole floating lands bit was too inconsequential to mention. Not just Dream Weavers lived on floating islands. Crystal Islands floated, for one. There were also such places in Avalar.

Sidos sat in the grass, looking out to the perpetual sunrise in the skies. At least five minutes of silence passed before he heaved a deep sigh.

"Fine, I'll tell you, Starbright."

"Oh, for the love of--"

"Once upon a time, there was a thief who worked with me in stealing dragon eggs and treasure. We contrasted nicely. I wear red, she wore a robe of purest white. Instead of a turban, she had a hood, and used a sword and shield. Unlike most thieves, she had a gift for magic. She taught me how to use a sword and shield (I used to use a bow and arrows then), and how to harness the magical power of magical things. She was beautiful." He ended on a deep sigh of longing.

Stardust buzzed something in my ear, something that I agreed with. I pulled my wings closer to my body.

"You were ... in love?"

Another long-suffering sigh. "I tell ya, kid, love burns. So, to answer your question, some thieves do have a gift for magic. Others, like me, have to rely on objects that already have magic. And no," he said before I could interrupt, "I doubt I can suddenly make you burst full of power. It's not in my blood."

"Gee, that was helpful." Vivian said irritably. "By the way, just how good are you with a sword? I've been itching to try this out."

As if he'd never been drunk, Sidos leapt to his feet, shield on his left arm, Lionheart in his right hand. That grin spread even wider (is that possible?) as he faced Vivian, the steel of his sword glinting in the sunlight. Vivian mirrored the smirk, and drew her mythril blade with her snout. It looked awkward compared to bipedal races that had hands to hold things with, but I don't doubt Vivian's ability for one second.

Sparks flew as the contest began. Thieves were fast, but Vivian had wings. They helped her to dodge Sidos's swings, and her claws in addition to the sword helped her get past the shield. For a while there were ribbons of deep red--not blood, but scraps of Sidos's robes flying about the air, some fluttering to land in the pond. Which the poor fish swam up to gulp down. I hoped they'd be all right. I looked back to the sparring match.

It ended up being a tie. Sidos disarmed Vivian, but she in turn disarmed him by whipping him with the barb at the end of her tail. Based on raw power alone, I thought Vivian would have won, but Sidos was a thief, and thieves were quick. So I guess it really was a tie. They bent to pick up their weapons, Sidos saying first,

"Not bad. Good job. Some polishin' and you'll be the finest swords-dragon in the realm."

"I'll bet," Vivian replied, sheathing her blade, "since not many dragons use swords."

"Meh, details, details, who needs 'em?"

"I do." I said. "What're we gonna do next? Marco's still not done repairing his balloon."

Sidos thought for a minute, then snapped his fingers. Excitedly, he sheathed Lionheart, waving his arms in front of my face.

"Hey, hey, listen! I have an idea!"

"We're listening." Vivian replied, sitting beside me.

"I'unno why I didn't think of it before ... it's a quick fix, but ..."

"But?" I echoed anxiously, eager for what the thief had to say.

"There is a way you can use magic. You just need a magical object and use its power instead."

My jaw dropped, my eyes went wide in disbelief. "You're serious? That's all I have to do? All these years, I couldn't conjure a butterfly and I could've done this?" In the Magic Crafter world, it isn't that surprising. Dragons shouldn't have to use alternative sources of magic. So a dragon, even one like me, using other sources of magic to cast spells was borderline heresy.

"It's not that easy." Sidos shook his head, "and it won't awaken your natural power, which is likely exponentially stronger than any mere object. But it's better than nothing."

"True." I said reluctantly. But even if this does succeed and I can use magic this way ... it isn't satisfying. I'd still want to find out why my natural magic won't work, and unlock that potential if I can. I said so right before my two crimson friends.

"Good." Vivian said, her golden eyes shimmering with approval. "I wouldn't stand it if you'd just let this go."

"Yeah." Sidos echoed her sentiments. "And quick fixes aren't necessarily the best fixes."

Happiness swelled in my heart. I thought my journey would end prematurely, but they wanted to stick with me, too. I don't want to let this rot inside me, eating me from the inside out until it drives me mad. For years I lived with this kind of curse, never truly being a dragon for this inability. Now, I finally had the chance to make that right.

"We have to get to Midnight Mountain." I said. "But right now, let's check out that other method of yours, Sidos."

"Gladly!" The thief replied, jumping before us to lead the way to another portal.

-

I really did not expect Sidos to leap into the Seashell Shore portal. I mean, it's mostly sea, with little enough beaches for what small amount of land-dwelling creatures lived there! Luckily dragons have great lung capacity, and Sidos ... well, he has his own secrets, I'm sure. Let's not go there. So, anyway, we dove into the Seashell Sea (with Sidos fussing again about the mantle ... so he's holding onto it whenever we go underwater).

What kind of magical objects would we find here? The seals didn't really need any magic to help them out. They swam. They had a good time. End of story. But like Elder Cosmos told me over and over, don't judge a book by its cover. The inhabitants might not have much use for magic, but that didn't mean that the world itself had no need of it. In the endless seas, Sidos led the way. With all the robes on, he was a surprisingly good swimmer.

We swam inside a giant seashell that led to the surface, to the beach. We emerged from the water, shaking ourselves dry (while Sidos seemed to magically become as he always did ... no idea how he does it). We had questions all over our faces, so Sidos took the initiative:

"The seals have no use for magic. However, when their ancestors first came here, this was all desolate wasteland, not a drop of water in sight. Legend has it that the ancestors of these seals used an object brimming with the power of water to create the endless seas we see here today." He shuffled. "Well, it was much, much, smaller, but because the object was hidden, its power augments exponentially and the seas continue to grow. Actually, this world is in danger of complete submerging if we don't remove the object. Even seals need land."

Mine and Vivian's jaws dropped. W-wow. Really? I suppose magic has its own consequences. If this legend was true, then it was imperative that the object be placed somewhere else. Perhaps the ancestors of the seals thought it too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands and had it enshrined somewhere. But on the inside, I was excited. Sidos had said my natural ability of magic was many times greater than any mere enchanted object's. If an object was powerful enough to drown an entire land, what could I do at my highest potential? I felt shivers down my spine just thinking about it.

"This object," Sidos continued, as if he had not just predicted the death of an entire land, "is called the Gem or Jewel of the Lorelei, after the legendary goddess associated with both water and song. It is said that her song lures sailors to their shipwrecking deaths~" This he said with a long smile on his face. I coughed.

"Y-yeah ... let's get that Gem, then."

"But can we just go ahead and take it?" Vivian asked abruptly. "Even if its power is out of control, it must be a sacred treasure to the seals here."

Dragons had sacred treasures that were not just gems in each clan. Peackeepers had the weapons and armor of famed dragon warriors that protected the realms, Artisans pieces of literature and artwork, Dream Weavers recorded prophetic dreams in the Vision Pool, Beast Makers had remains of early beasts, and Magic Crafters ... Well, our sacred treasures are the magic spells we devise themselves, especially the strong and complicated ones. It was a serious matter if any of these were stolen. Magic itself is no exception.

"She's right." I said, to Sidos's obvious annoyance. "We can at least ask the seal clan before we do anything. Besides, no one knows where it is, right?"

"True enough," Sidos replied grudgingly. "All righty, let's go find some seals."

-

They were all basking in the sun on the long stretch of glimmering white beach not far from the giant seashell from which we emerged. Amazing how their leathery skin never really wrinkled even though they basked in the strong sunlight for hours before returning to swim in the oceans. As we padded toward them, the hot sand between our toes, some of the seals began to sit up. Although many dragons relocated to the Forgotten Worlds, it was still a sight to see them, I suppose.

Seals were a really friendly bunch, so they even welcomed Sidos (the idols of Molten Crater just liked dinner buddies, I'm guessing). One seal came forward, with small protruding tusks that were almost walrus-like jutting out from his lips. He must be one of the elders of the clan. Indeed he was, as his voice was older and almost raspy.

"Greetings to you, young dragons and thief." He said, looking kindly on all of us--all of us--as he did so. "What brings you three to our Seashell Shore?"

"There's a legend we'd like to inquire about." I said. "Do you know about the Gem of the Lorelei?"

"Lorelei ... of course. She is our goddess of the oceans and song. We have an underwater temple dedicated to her at the bottom of the sea."

"Might the, uh, Gem be enshrined there?"

The elder sea raised a bushy eyebrow. "Why do you want to know?"

I almost winced. Like Vivian said, this Gem must be a sacred object to them, and of course they wouldn't just give it up at the whim of a few strangers--

"Relax, I'm just kidding! Of course the Gem is enshrined there. Would you like to see it?"

Apparently I spoke too soon. "Really?"

"Yes! If only we could find it. The Temple of Lorelei was lost long ago."

Oh. Great. I glared at Sidos, who only grinned toothily and shrugged innocently.

"Well, we have reason to believe that the Gem of Lorelei's power might one day cause this land to submerge under ocean completely. And even seals need land."

"I see." The elder fingered his spiral seashell at his neck. "We have no use or need for magic. Even if we found it, we have no means of toning down its power. If it brings such danger, you are most welcome to it."

Wow. The seal clan sure was a friendly bunch. Now the only thing that remained was finding the Temple of Lorelei and taking the Gem. The prospect of using magic at last--at last!--tingled in my veins. I could feel the blood pumping through my body strongly.

Sidos strode forward to the edge of the water, the shallow sea lapping around his ankles, dampening the hem of his robes. He turned to me and Vivian.

"Well, shall we?"

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A/N: Quick update at around midnight ... don't expect too many of these. I was feeling especially inspired. Also, those who can get the reference from a certain Tales of game gets ten points! No, they actually get a ficlet oneshot of their choice.