Tala stared at the creature that was lazing obediently behind me. "Well, I suppose it does make sense for My Lady to have a Dragon for a consort.

I shook my head, "It only looks like a dragon because that's the best symbolism we have for a guardian, well the safest at least. I could go for a beholder, but that seems like a terrible idea. I've based a large portion of its biology on the Martians, among other things. This fella can take basically any form it wants, including some frankly exotic stuff, what with my progress on creating truly magical creatures."

"It will be a great and terrible guardian for you then." The Witch informed me.

Raven nodded where she stood, "Let's get started them."

Tala stepped back, leaving the circle that I was in.

Across from me, The Dragon curled in, careful not to disturb any of thick cords of ebony and silver that made up the ritual circle.

In the distance, my Chariot roared to life, biotic power rained down from the heavens as the three of us began chanting.

The dragon bowed, tapping its head against the ground before it transubstantiated.

Already largely a psychic construct, there was little for the ritual flames to carry into my mind, but they did. The actinic inferno left behind no ash as it racked along conduits of silver and into my eyes.

I blinked for a moment, feeling the Dragon settle in my mind. It reached for the power I granted it, shaping them into simple psionic constructs and got to work making itself at home.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." I commented.

Raven nodded, "That's what we were hoping for. Anything more than the light show would suggest that something had gone wrong."

I nod, feeling a fortress starting to take shape in my mind as my Chariot's power continued to pour into me. "By the way, how's it doing?"

Raven's shadow rippled under her and I felt something reach into my mind, the dragon staring at it before breathing a puff of 'hot gas' onto the tendril.

Raven drew back, "Well that seems to be about right. We will have to spar a little and give you a little training in your new abilities. But that should be fairly straightforward."

I nod, absently realising that I knew my precise motions as it did that. Absently, I stopped my heart for a few beats.

Interesting.

"Now, just to see if we can do this, Jon wh don't you see f you can cloak yourself in your Avatar."

I nod, and turn inwards feeding the Dragon my energy.

It paused for a moment, before reaching out of my body, a ripple of psionic force reaching out to Raven.

She startled before reaching out and touching the tendril with one of her own.

And then I felt strange.

I could no longer feel the Dragon, not truly, but I could my own mind in ways that I hadn't before. But I had a sense of my own mind in ways that I didn't before. I could sense the construction he had put together, the blocks of power that new resided in my mind forming labyrinthine fortifications around my thoughts and memories.

I felt the power I had granted to the dragon flow back under my command.

Though changed, it seemed.

I felt my power flow around me in a draconic aura, purple crystals of psionic energy forming scales and claws across my skin as I lifted off the ground.

Raven and Tala stared at me, "Well, I wasn't expecting that. How does it feel, love?"

"Strange, I was expecting the draconic theme, but I was expecting more magic." I mused.

Raven shook her head, "You barely have a spark of your own. My magic comes from my heritage, and the others in Azarath were well-trained mages by the time they reached this point in their training. At the moment, this little ritual hs granted you psionic powers far in excess of your magical ones."

"So, I'm mimicking your powers with a psionic bent, I suppose." I nod, "Would that mean I can't do some of the other stuff you can? Like the teleportation?"

"Why don't we see?" Raven asked, before reaching out with a tendril and forming a portal.

I reached out myself and felt at the rift.

It was strange, feeling how her powers pressed against the universe. It was actually pretty similar to how the portals we made to travel between universes worked, Not quite the same though. While the overall structure seemed to be equivalent, it seemed to use some sort of memory-based sympathetic link to travel to locations that a person has been to before.

I knew the system worked even in worlds without the Dream, which was the only reason why I didn't think that it used that… though.

"Raven, your portals don't pass through the Dream, do they?" I asked.

Raven paused for a second, "Not… really? I can access the Dream but I mainly pass through the Astral Plane."

"So that's what I noticing, thanks."

She nodded and dismissed her portal, "Now, if you can, open up a portal to my chambers."

I nodded, taking a minute to reach inwards and draw out my power, melding it with the Biotic energy around me. Carefully weaving it together, the gold-purple plane started to ripple before beginning to swirl.

"I think that's right?"

Tala's hand lit up with magic and she poked it, "It does reflect my Lady's portals. It is different though."

She stepped through before jumping back out, "The portal seems safe enough milady."

Raven glared at her, "Tala, what have I told you about doing that. You aren't so easily expendable. Summon one of the prisoners for testing."

Tala bowed, "I apologize."

Raven shook her head and dragged the three of us through the portal.

I could tell what Tala meant by it being different. Raven's had a strange ethereal feel, like passing through a mist. Mine felt like you were being pushed through a pneumatic tube. There seemed to be a force pushing us along before we were deposited in Raven's chambers.

~~ CENSORED ~~