Welcome back to another chapter of A Future Past, a New Fate! Sorry about the brief hiatus I had last week, but I'm back again to give you a different perspective away from Toothless and Lucina; everyones favorite lad from afar, Morgan! These next couple chapters will shed some light on where exactly Morgan has been during Lucina's own little adventures, and what Toothless has been talking about when he mentioned something called 'Sight-Sharing'.

So, without further ado, please enjoy the latest installment of;

A Future Past, a New Fate

~ Chapter 4 ~

Way of the Tactician

~Two days earlier~

The Isle of Langt Borte was not very well known to Vikings, save for the Wingmaidens due to their proximity. Since it was so far away from any other settlement of humans, however, dragons of all species had settled into the isle, coming and going as they please or simply settling down to make a nest. It had lush vegetation, plenty of fish and wild chickens for them to hunt, and vast open skies free of aggression from others. Some dragons called it the ideal resting spot during long flights, and others said it was a great spot to find mates or companionship of some kind. One thing that didn't come to mind when one thought of Langt Borte, however, was a landing spot for knocked out human-turned-dragons that had just come from an entirely different world.

They would think differently after today.

In a particularly deep part of the forest on the isle, all was calm. The wind was still, the grass ever so slightly wavering, and the trees standing tall above the ground, preventing the sun from fully extending it's reach towards the ground. It was peaceful.

Perhaps a tad too peaceful, like the calm before the storm. If one were to pay attention very carefully to the feeling of the air around them, then they would feel an almost otherworldly energy buzzing silently with excitement, as if the air particles in the area were moving more rapidly, even though the temperature stayed the same and there was no wind. It was almost eerie with how quiet it was.

Then the area exploded.

A huge amount of bright blue magical energy suddenly engulfed the surrounding foliage, swallowing up any tree within a six meter radius. It poked above the treeline, sending unnatural blue light shining into the clear skies. A low buzzing noise could be heard emanating from the light, filling whatever silence had been there before. It seemed to pulse rhythmically for a good fireball seconds, before suddenly going still, the buzzing coming to a stop. Then, with one last woosh of movement, the energy collapsed upon itself, the light being extinguished as quickly as it appeared.

With the unnatural energy gone, the air was once again still. The trees back to standing tall above the ground, completely unphased by the light that had engulfed them. It was almost like nothing had even happened, the forest going back to it's normal peaceful state.

The only change was the unconscious dragon that had appeared when the light died down, lying limp on the forest floor. It's scales were a very dark blue, the only change in coloration on it's coat being the lighter scales on the back of it's left paw that formed an odd mark. It was the shape of a half circle with three prongs, two coming out of the side and one out of the bottom, encasing a hollow teardrop. It's wings seemed long and flexible, fit for long flights and deft movements, and it's claws, while a tad on the thin side, looked sharp and deadly.

The burst of light had scared off any wildlife around the area, leaving the surrounding woods completely barren, save for a sparrow that was not present for the supernatural event, simply passing through the area as it coasted along through trees. It had been flying for some time now, and it was looking for a spot to rest. The trees on Langt Borte had virtually no branches save for the top, and those branches were covered with thorns, so resting on a branch was out of the question. So, when it came across the sleeping dragon, the bird mistook the the dark blue scales as just a peculiar texture for a rock, and quickly flitted over to it's newfound resting place on one of the dragon's wings. It hovered for a brief moment before coming down to land on the very tip of the membrane, it's small talons gripping the scales beneath it.

That small contact was enough to make the slumbering lizard slightly aware of the world around it, the slight poking sensation of the bird's claws causing the beast to shift it's wings to throw whatever was prodding them off. The bird squawked, frightened, before quickly shooting off into the woods, it's small wings flapping as fast as it could.

A low rumbling sound emanated from deep within the dragon's throat as if it were groaning in irritation, it's senses beginning to return to the plane of consciousness.

Two twin orbs of grey slowly opened up to a new world for the first time.

~Morgan~

The first thing I felt when I woke up was pain. My entire body ached with a fierceness I had seldom felt before.

I held back a grunt, not wanting to shift my body whatsoever. I felt like I was run over by Cynthia's Pegasus… multiple times, over the course of three hours. Even the light breeze I felt rocked my body enough to make it sting. I had an almost forehead-splitting headache, my arms and legs barely had enough energy to move, and for some reason my back felt extra achy… more than usual, anyway.

'Good Gods, what happened to me?' I wondered to myself, scouring my brain to try and figure what I did to make myself so… hurty. I don't normally push myself very hard during training, and I haven't pulled an all-nighter for about two weeks now, so I couldn't have been up studying my tactical books…

I felt something prod my back, almost like tacks lightly pressing against my skin and staying there. I shifted my back slightly, grumbling in irritation as I did so. In the back of my mind I noticed that whatever had touched me was far above where my back actually was. 'Probably just loopy from whatever happened…' I rationalized. Thankfully, whatever had touched me got the message that I didn't really want to be poked at the moment, and quickly removed itself. The sound of a bird squawking filled my ears, which for some reason sounded almost… more enhanced, like my hearing had become more powerful overnight.

I furrowed my brow slightly, ignoring my throbbing headache for a second. 'A bird? What the…' It seemed like I hadn't seen a bird in forever… where am I?

I decided now was as good a time as any to open my eyes.

I flinched back from the harsh sunlight that suddenly greeted me, blinking as my eyes slowly got used to the light around me. 'Gods, since when has the sun been that harsh?'

My confusion only heightened when my vision had gotten used to the brightness. '... What?' I was in total shock as I looked around, taking in my surroundings. Plush, green grass covered the ground beneath me, stretching through what looked like a dense forest. Trees towered over me, their lush leaves waving gently in a nonexistent breeze. A couple wildflowers sprouted here and there, adding a touch of color to the scene, and glancing upwards gave way to an absolutely beautiful sky, fluffy white clouds slowly roaming across the blue expanse. It was, in a word, incredible. The colors were more vibrant than I've ever seen them, and the air carried the refreshing scent of… something. I could only describe it as earth, like I had my nose deep in a patch of freshly watered grass. It was strong, yet not to the point of being unenjoyable. 'Woah… what Lucina wouldn't give-'

My breath caught in my throat. Lucina. I immediately felt my heart drop when I thought of my sister, memories of what had happened earlier flooding my mind. It was all foggy since I had exerted so much energy and mana, but I distinctly remember accidentally releasing my magic's hold on the portal before Lucina had tried her crazy plan (I was still shocked that actually worked…), And if I didn't have control over the portal when we entered, then… we could be anywhere right now!

I mustered enough strength from the sudden shot of adrenaline my worry gave me to slowly rise to my hands and knees, grunting in discomfort as I did so. I paid no mind to how my voice sounded much different, thinking my throat was dry from lack of use. A feeling of dread started to set in as I glanced around, not noticing a certain blue-haired princess or any of the others. 'No… no, I can't be alone…'

Surely, my sister was nearby, scouting out the area, right?

'I should call her name, that always gets her running…' I thought, feeling grim at the thought of talking for whatever reason.

I smacked my lips for a second, trying to get some moisture in my dry mouth. For some reason, my mouth felt abnormally large, and my teeth seemed much sharper than usual, but I chalked it up to the mana exhaustion I had caused myself.

Once I was satisfied I could talk without setting my throat on fire, I cracked my maw open. I paused right before I spoke, not sure why I was so uneasy, before shaking my head and calling out my sister's name.

"Lucina?"

I immediately froze after saying that, my heart dropping to my stomach. That… sounded distinctly like a dragon's growl. A very terrifying dragon's growl. That same adrenaline returned to me, though this time it was from fear. I very, very slowly turned my head around the area, looking for the source of the growl. If there was one thing I didn't want to do, it was face an actual dragon while I was dealing with mana exhaustion. I wouldn't last five seconds!

I glance to my left proved fruitless, and another look to my right yielded no terrifying dragons either. Nothing above me, either.

That's when I felt that something in my body was very wrong, almost like it had changed without my knowledge. I noticed a heavy feeling on my back that was different from the usual weight of my coat, and it felt like something long was attached to my body just above my tailbone. Something within me felt very warm, and there was another feeling… it was familiar, yet it was unlike anything I had ever felt before.

I glanced downwards to try and figure out what was wrong. What greeted me were two large, blue-scaled appendages, each one tipped with deadly looking black claws. At first, I didn't know what exactly I was looking at, my brow furrowing in confusion. 'What the…'

Curiously, I moved my left arm, and to my surprise, the scaled paw on the left mirrored what my actual arm was doing in my mind. I imagined my arm turning itself over, palm facing upwards, and sure enough the draconic paw perfectly reflected what I wanted it to do. My eyes widened when I realized what exactly was going on. 'Are these… my arms?'

It certainly seemed that way… it was almost something that would be out of one of my more outlandish dreams, but it just felt too realistic. I could feel the plush grass beneath me tickling my scales (my scales!), the air flowing through the minuscule gaps between them.

I didn't know if it had something to do with how loopy I felt from what had just occurred, or if I was just used to crazy stuff like this happening, but for some reason I was more intrigued than terrified. I knew I should be scared, but Gods, if I haven't been through much worse than suddenly being turned into a dragon…

'Then that heaviness on my back… are those…?' I twisted my neck backwards, something that I would never have been able to do as a human, and lo and behold, there was a large pair of bat-like wings placed innocently between my shoulder blades. 'Woah… I wonder how long they are?' Deciding to test that question out, I felt around the muscles on my back, eventually finding a completely new set of muscles where my wings were. I tensed and loosened them for a second, trying to get a feel for how they worked. I watched my wings (my wings!) carefully while I flexed the muscles underneath them. It seemed that when I tensed them up, they pressed tighter against my back, but when I loosened them, they unfurled ever so slightly, now lying limp. 'Hm… so maybe if I push…?' No harm in trying, I suppose

One sudden woosh of air later, and my wings were completely extended outwards, and I quickly learned that, yes, there may be some harm in trying, because my new muscles were most definitely not used to that sort of quick movement if the sudden stinging pain I felt was any indication. 'Not one of my brightest moments,' I deadpanned, trying to push the pain out of my mind as I once again turned my attention to my wings. One thing is for sure, these babies were big. They each were about as long as Cynthia's Pegasus, and they looked much stronger than I initially thought. 'Looks like I'm built for flying… nice!' I inwardly noted, a soft smile finding it's way onto my muzzle. Focus on the muscles once again, I (slowly this time…) retracted the large wings so they once again laid comfortably against my back.

"Alright, so I'm in an unknown time," I muttered to myself, noting with surprise that my voicebox has been changed to interpret my words as a string of roars and growls. It was just one surprise after the other with this body. "My sister is missing, and I've been turned into a dragon…" I listed off, holding back a grimace as I realized just how bad my situation really was. Any other person would be freaking out, but I learned a long time ago to keep my head and stay positive, since making a big deal out of a bad situation would only make it worse. Mom would always tell me to keep a positive attitude, but not too positive. Then I'd just be naive.

"Could be worse, I guess." I shrugged, feeling my enlarged shoulder blades roll. "I could be dead," I mused. That was a very real possibility that could have occurred. Laurent and I did extensive research on how magical portals worked, and we learned that even creating one needed massive amounts of magical energy to uphold, and so I trained my mind for years so I would have a magical reserve large enough to withhold the strenuous task of making a portal. One thing that was stressed frequently in these studies were the consequences of entering an unstable portal. Things such as instantaneous death, your physical form evaporating, your body being compressed into nothingness… the list goes on. And even if you survive going through the portal, you could go blind, death, etcetera by the time you get plopped onto the other side, far away from where you were actually trying to go. Of course, being transformed into a dragon was never listed once in the side effects…

My first question to myself was… what do I do now? Well, the obvious answer was find Lucina as fast as I could so we could return to what we went through the portal for in the first place, but since I was in an unknown area, using an unfamiliar body and dealing with mana exhaustion, I was in no state to begin scouring the world for her. She couldn't have gone far, considering she was holding onto me when we went through.

Maybe she was turned into a dragon as well? I grimaced as I thought of how she would react to that, noting her dracophobia. 'There was a whole slew of things that could go wrong with that… Hopefully she's taking it well.'

After considering all my options, I decided that my best course of action was to do… nothing. Yep, sometimes the best strategy is just sit and wait things out. There was no way I was traveling any sort of distance while I was this tired, so getting a good (or at least decent, for once) rest was optimal. 'Besides… I'm suddenly really… tired…'

I didn't even get to finish that thought before I was out cold on the forest floor, my head impacting the grass with a thud.

~Third Person~

Two hours later

The human-turned-dragon has slept relatively peacefully after that revelation, his body slowly recovering from the mana exhaustion he inflicted on himself.

While he rested, The scant few clouds that Morgan had seen above him had cleared out, letting all who view the sky take in all of it's glory. Multiple different kinds of dragons swooped by overhead, their wingbeats filling the skies with sounds as they passed. They paid no mind to the forest below, trying to get to the more central part of the island or to another island altogether.

There was one dragon, however, that decided to touch down in the forest. This Ripwing's name was Greenscale, who, true to his name, was a deep verdant green in coloration. Ripwings were a much more reclusive species of dragon, finding more enjoyment in the calm forests they call home than large, bustling nests of dragons. It was part of the reason they were so hard to find, since they really only showed themselves to others of their species or dragons they trust, and since Greenscale's color meant he blended in quite well with the foliage, he was quite adept at hiding from others that he didn't wish to engage, whether it be in conversation or even battle.

… Of course, that's not to say he wasn't social with other dragons. He had made plenty of friendships across the archipelago!

Of course, those few that he had were with his own species, but at least he was trying.

Back to the subject at hand, Greenscale let out a sigh of relief when the forests of Langt Borte came into view. They were notorious for being some of the calmest woodlands in the archipelago, since the spikes covering the trees branches made it so any wildlife would think twice before settling down within them, and since most dragons preferred caves instead of trees to form shelter, it was absolutely perfect for a Ripwing that wanted some alone time.

The sharp-winged dragon stuttered in the air for a second before tilting down into a nosedive, the wind rushing past his sleek form as he cut through the air. With one of the largest wingspans of all dragons, Ripwings could hang with the best when it comes to speed in the air. Only a couple species could match an experienced Ripwing in the skies, the most notable being the mysterious Shadowshifter. There was only one left that the dragons knew of, and his heroics had been spread far and wide. He had killed the Queen almost single-handedly, outsped her, bested her in firepower and outsmarted her, all while missing a tailfin!

He had family members who were suffering under her tyrannical rule, so he was truly grateful to the last of the Shadowshifters.

Once Greenscale was within a few meters of the treeline, he quickly tilted back upwards, throwing his large wings outwards to stop his momentum so he could safely enter the forest. Normally, a dragon's wings would be hurt or dislocated from such a sudden stop, but Ripwings had extremely resilient wings, able to use them as shields and tank all sorts of damage, so just a simple stop proved no problem for the large dragon.

Greenscale touched down onto the plush grass of the forest floor, taking a deep breath of the air around him before letting out a sigh of relief as the earthy, oaky smell of the forest filled his nostrils. "Ah… nothing quite like a nice, quiet forest," He said quietly to himself, a smile adorning his muzzle as he glanced around his surroundings, noting he spiky-branched trees and the tall grass waving silently in the breeze. It was very peaceful, perfect for a secluded dragon such as himself.

'Just need to find a nice place to settle down for the night,' Greenscale thought to himself. The place he landed in was good, but he preferred someplace a little cozier, hopefully with trees covering him so he wouldn't be bothered by any other passing dragons. If there was one thing that made him mad, it was someone waking him up in the middle of the night for no reason.

However, just as he was about to roam the forest so he could find an area to call it a night, he stopped, a sensation he hadn't noticed at first making itself prevalent. He noticed a light buzzing in the air, like the particles were energized in an unnatural way. His brow quirked in curiosity as his nostrils flared, remembering almost immediately what this sensation was. "Somebody was very liberal with their Aür usage… and recently," he muttered, his hackles rising slightly.

The Aür is a strange force that not even dragons, the ones who use it, can explain. The closest comparison they had to it was witchcraft, but even then the similarities between the two were scarce. While magic was a broad force that all mages pulled from, Aür was more personal. Each dragon had a different level of Aür, and with differing levels of power. Greenscale, for example, was an adept healer, and while he knew how to use it in combat, he preferred staying away from the action. Nobody knows how dragons came to acquire this power, but some say it was a gift from the Gods, and those who are very in tune with their own Aür can sense when another powerful presence is nearby, or when something has used a very large amount of their own Aür.

Right now, it was the latter, but this Aür felt extremely powerful and rich, much more so than any other dragon Greenscale has encountered. That's why he was on edge at the moment. What if whatever had caused such a large outburst of Aür was still in this forest? He suppressed a shiver, not wanting to imagine himself as a mangled corpse anytime soon.

He knew he should've left and found some other distant forest away from Langt Borte, he should've flown far away from whatever presence was here along with him. But whether it was his own tiredness from flying for an extended period of time, his own curiosity, or a mix of the two, he found himself being drawn deeper into the forest so he could find this powerful being. 'I'll just take a quick peek, then leave… so I can satisfy my damned curiosity,' He rationalized to himself, following his sense as used his razor sharp wings to cut his way through the trees towards whatever caused the Aür outburst.

As he trekked through the woods, he could feel the air slowly returning to it's normal state, but he could still feel that same powerful presence getting closer and closer as he walked. In the back of his mind, he could hear his subconscious telling him that this was a bad idea, but he suppressed it, reminding himself that he could easily get away from any dragon in the archipelago (except for the Shadowshifter).

When he felt the presence was but a mere ten feet in front of him, he paused, his nostrils flaring as he took a deep breath. "Just a quick look…" he reminded himself. Steeling his nerves, he slowly crept forward towards the bushes that were concealing whatever he was looking for. With one small slice from his left wing, the bush was silently cleaved in two, letting the light filter through the hole he had created.

It took every ounce of willpower to not gasp loudly once his sharp eyes were laid on what was giving off the powerful sense of Aür.

Lying nonchalantly on the grass, snoring away peacefully, was a Shadowshifter. The sun glinted off of their dark scales, and their wings were sprawled out, showcasing their incredible wingspan and powerful looking muscles underneath. 'Is this…?' A quick glance at the Shadowshifter's tail told him that, no, this was not the dragon that killed the Queen, since that Shadowshifter was missing a tailfin. At least, that's what the stories he had heard told him. 'Wait… but I thought that Shadowshifter was the last of his kind! How did this one evade every dragon in the archipelago until now?' It just didn't make sense… He'd never heard of another Shadowshifter from any other dragons, and word gets around quickly here. If the way this dragon sleeps was any indication, then he wasn't exactly the best when it comes to stealth. He'd seen Rockjaws sleep more gracefully, and he wasn't suppressing his powerful aura in any way, shape or form.

He was so wrapped up in trying to figure out how in the world this Shadowshifter even existed, that he didn't notice the dragon start to shift until it was too late. His breath caught in his throat when the Shadowshifter's eyelids slowly slid open, revealing two grey eyes with black pupils that almost sucked in the light around them. They looked upwards, half-mast for just a moment, before he seemingly realized that somebody else was here with him, and those eyes quickly locked with Greenscale's own.

The Ripwing quickly realized that this was an extremely stupid idea on his part.

~Morgan~

I wasn't sure if I should be confused or terrified, but right now it was a definite mixture of both.

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that the sun had set to the point where it was no longer in my sight, probably down below the tall treeline, but the sky was still a beautiful mixture of oranges and purples, so it wasn't entirely night yet. The second thing I noticed was that while my mana reserves had filled slightly, I was nowhere close to being fully recovered yet. 'At this rate, I'll have to sleep for a whole week…' I mused, and while I normally was never one to turn down sleep, I just didn't have that kind of time at the moment. With Lucina our who-knows-where struggling with who-knows-what, I didn't exactly have the freedom of deciding what I wanted to do.

The third thing I noticed was that I wasn't alone anymore in this small clearing I found myself in.

As I was blinking the sleep out of my eyes, letting them adjust to the sunlight, my magic alerted me to the presence of another being within the vicinity. Even though my magical core was very weak at the moment, it still had enough energy to help empower my senses.

I blinked in confusion, wondering what exactly could've found me. 'A person, maybe?'

I glanced to my side, and my eyes widened with fear.

Definitely. Not. A person.

A large dragon stared at me with glowing yellow eyes, slit pupils boring into my own. It's muzzle was angled sharply, and large teeth jutted out from it's bottom jaw. It almost looked like it had the beginnings of a beard underneath it's chin, and long horns ran straight behind it.

Yep. I was definitely confusified (or was it terrifused?).

I wanted to scream, I wanted to jump to my feet (paws) and run, but I knew that I didn't have the strength to make it very far, and even if I did, this dragon had the obvious advantage because, you know, it actually knew how to fly. Plus, what if he was friendly? It wouldn't be out the question, considering that I'm also a dragon now.

I carefully got to my feet as I reigned in my emotions. 'Keep a positive attitude…' I reminded myself. I noticed the dragon take a step back as I got to my feet, which definitely confused me. Was he afraid of me? But I couldn't even hurt a fly in the state I am right now!

… Okay, I might have enough magical energy to pull off a Bolganone, but that's beside the point!

I grunted in discomfort when I was fully standing on all four paws, my joints and muscles still aching. Trying to come off as nonthreatening, I flashed the horned dragon a smile, waving slightly. "Heh, uh… Hi?" I greeted, subconsciously folding some muscles back on the top of my head.

The horned dragon blinked, as if surprised. He (I don't know why, it just looked like a he) glanced quickly to the left, before focusing back on me. "Hey…" He drawled awkwardly, probably not expecting such a chipper greeting from me.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the two of us. He glanced away from me, probably not knowing what to say. 'Huh. I didn't know socially awakened dragons existed.' I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Hey, uh… you wouldn't happen to know where I am, would you?" I asked, hoping to break the ice. I didn't want my first encounter with another dragon to end with an extremely unpleasant goodbye, after all.

That question seemed to make the dragon even more confused than he already was, if that were possible. "You're on Langt Borte… how do you not know? Almost every dragon in the archipelago knows of this isle," The green-scaled dragon asked with an undertone of suspicion, taking a step forward into the clearing, which revealed more of his body. His neck was apparently extremely long, and he was using these absolutely huge wings to stand and walk.

I raised a claw to answer, then paused. 'That's… a good question. I hadn't even thought about that… what do I even say?' Anything that I just made up was most likely going to be wrong, and the last thing I wanted to do right now was make myself look suspicious in front of a clearly dangerous fire-breathing lizard. As I weighed my options, I couldn't help but think… maybe I should just shoot him straight, and see how it goes. I've got basically nothing to lose at the moment, and who cares if he thinks I'm crazy? I sighed. "I'm a long ways from home, to say the least."

The green dragon shot me a puzzled look before returning to his slightly apprehensive neutral expression. "O-kay… anyhow, what brings you to this island? I mean, it's been absolutely ages since a Shadowshifter has been to this island," He questioned.

"Well… er, you see…" I paused, not entirely sure how to word what I was about to say. "... What would you say if I told you that I wasn't always a dragon?" I prompted.

The dragon's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but I could see the sudden curiosity in his pupils. "... I would say you're a couple wingbeats short of a full flight, friend."

I grumbled at that comment. "Alright… fair enough, but how could I prove something like that to you?"

If he had eyebrows, I'm sure that he would be raising one in skepticism. "I'm going to assume you're insane, so I'm just going to play along… you could always Sight-Share with me." He suggested, sounding slightly sarcastic during the last sentence as he stepped closer into the small clearing. 'Well, at least this conversation is bringing him out of his shell,' I thought to myself.

I tilted my head sideways with curiosity. "Sight-Share? What's that?" I asked, genuinely curious. It almost sounded like something similar to telepathy.

He paused abruptly at that, now giving me a very confused look. "... You're either a very good actor, or you're being serious about not being a dragon…" He said, his brow furrowed as he stared at me.

"Well… Sight-Sharing is a sacred ritual between two dragons, where they each look into each other's eyes, the windows of the soul, and they share a memory that they wish to portray to each other. It's impossible to hide anything from either participant during a Sight-Share, which is why I'm asking you to do one with me. So you can prove your… extremely outlandish story." The dragon explained, putting emphasis on the word 'extremely'. I nodded slowly in understanding, although on the inside I was just given more questions. 'What? How does that even work? Do dragons have a magical core as well? It would make sense, but… Gaaah, I've been in this world for less than half a day, and everything is so confusing!'

I was brought of my thoughts when the larger dragon stepped up to me, lowering his neck so we were at eye level. "Let's get this over with so I can finally sate my curiosity…" he grumbled, his slit pupils focusing on my own. I was a tad off put by his his glowing yellow eyes. They seemed to bore into my soul, like they were looking for something.

Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation that I've never felt before, almost like an outside force trying to connect with my magical core. It felt like mana, but it was different enough to the point where I had no idea what it was. It was almost like a raw form of magic.

I didn't have much time to dwell on it before I felt another strange sensation, like my head was dunked into cold water, and my vision suddenly blurred, the dragon fading from view as the colors blended into one another. 'What the…' I tried blinking away whatever was obscuring my eyes, but my eyelids didn't respond. It was like I was frozen.

When my vision cleared, I was somewhere else entirely.

I was surrounded by blue.

A vast ocean spread across the earth below me, and the sky covered the horizon above, white tufts of clouds spread sporadically across the expanse. The cool ocean breeze beat against my scales and lifted my wings as I flew through the air.

I was still a little disoriented from that strange feeling, but I instantly realized that I was not in control of my body. I was a viewer. Is this what Greenscale had been talking about when he said sharing memories?

… Greenscale? Where did that come from? He hasn't told me his name yet, right? Do dragons even have names?

But… that felt right, for whatever reason, and it seemed fitting, considering his coloring. Perhaps this Sight-Sharing gives you more information about the dragon/person as well?

All in due time, I guess. I turned my attention back to the memory, hoping that watching further would bring some more answers to the hundreds of questions I had.

I silently watched as the blue waters sped beneath me (Him? Us? Ugh, this was so confusing…), a feeling making itself prevalent as we continued forward. I felt content. It felt good to have our wings spread like this, the wind blowing harmlessly underneath the tough scales. It was freeing.

I saw an unfamiliar landmass appear in the distance, looking small for now, but as we got closer it proved to be one large island connected to a chain of smaller islands beyond our view, with a large mountain standing in the center. I didn't know how I knew that there were smaller islands beyond this one, but I suppose that it had something to do with the Sight-Share.

A feeling of relief washed over me when the island came into view, and the name 'Langt Borte' popped into my mind for whatever reason. I remember Greenscale saying that the island we were on was Langt Borte, so I think it's safe to assume that the island in this memory is the island I was currently on. It was much bigger than I expected…

We stuttered midair when we were over the forest, then we suddenly dove head-first towards the treeline, the green leaves rapidly getting closer and closer to our muzzle. 'Woah, woah, WOAH, SLOW DOWN A SECOND!' I yelled out in my mind in panic, not expecting such a drastic change in speed out of nowhere.

Then, with one swift motion, we tried our body upwards and thrust our wings open, catching the air underneath and bringing ourselves to a sudden stop so we could land safely on the padded forest floor.

If I could, I was sure that I would be breathing heavily from the exhilaration of that little stunt we just pulled. 'Good Naga… that was terrifying and awesome at the same time,' I thought to myself. As I tried to calm myself down, I couldn't help but wonder to myself… if that was just a memory, then what would actual flying be like?

I was brought out of my ramblings to myself when I felt a peculiar sensation in the air around us. It almost felt like the wind itself was vibrating with power, as if a massive explosion had gone off recently, or…

A mana outburst! That's what this felt like!

When a powerful mage uses a lot of mana in one centralized place, the excess energy is absorbed back into the earth around it, thus producing the effect we were feeling right now.

Greenscale didn't seem to know that, however, judging from the confusion he felt in this memory.

I watched as he stared at the trees in front of him, internally debating whether or not he should investigate the source of this energy, then finally deciding to give into his curiosity, as he started to trudge through the forest, taking a swipe at a bush obscuring his path and cleaving it clean in two.

'Geez… I had no idea those wings were weapons, too. They almost look as sharp as Falchion,' I noted, trying to get a better look at the appendages. After watching him cut through the foliage with little to no effort, I noticed that the scales on the wings seemed especially tough, and could possibly be able to take all sorts of damage before being badly hurt. 'Who needs weapons or armor when you've got wings like these? Seriously, it looks like a Wyrmslayer, or even Falchion would have a tough time cutting through those scales.'

The powerful feeling we were currently following was getting closer and closer now, until he stopped right in front of a bush, the presence we felt now only ten feet in front of us. I internally grumbled. 'C'mon, you slowpoke, I want to see what you saw!'

I'd like to believe he heard that comment, because in one quick moment he sliced the bush in two, letting light filter through the new hole he created. Once our sharp eyes adjusted, I was greeted with… a black dragon?

As it turns out, that powerful presence we sensed turned out to be… was that me? I looked over to the front paws, since that's what I had first seen when I woke up, and they were the same claws I had seen when I looked down earlier. 'So this is my new draconic form?'

As I took it in, I couldn't help but notice how… cool I looked. A flat, sleek muzzle for aerodynamics, long, powerful-looking wings that were obviously built for speed and endurance, deadly sharp claws, strong-looking legs and a long tail with two find at the end, all covered with black (or possibly dark blue) scales.

All in all?

I could definitely get used to having a body like that.

As I was admiring my new form, I felt a small tugging sensation in the very back of my mind, like I was being-

'Pulled back to my senses!'

I took in a huge gulp of air as my vision was very suddenly replaced with the just-as-surprised eyes of Greenscale, who also seemed extremely disoriented. My chest burned as I breathed heavily, but I couldn't bring myself to care at the moment. I needed to calm myself after that experience.

I slowly but surely evened my breathing out until I was just lightly panting, the experience me and Greenscale just shared still fresh on my mind. Speaking of, he seemed even more frazzled than I did. He was staring at me, his eyes wide with pure shock and what almost looked like a hint of fear. His breathing was uneven as well, like he had just woken from a nightmare in the middle of the night. "You weren't… y-you actually used to be human?!" He suddenly exclaimed, making me flinch back from his outburst.

I nodded quietly in response, not really trusting my own voice right now. Knowing me, I'd probably say something stupid and make him even more unhinged than he already was.

He must've noticed me flinch, however, because he grimaced, eyes softening somewhat. "Er, sorry, but… this just isn't something that happens everyday," He said, looking sheepish.

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Tell me about it. I'm the one who got turned into a dragon, remember?"

"R-Right…" he responded, glancing away in embarrassment.

There was a bout of silence between the two of us.

"... What did you see?" I asked after a moment, curious as to what memory I showed him. There was that flash of fear I saw in his eyes that really sparked my curiosity.

Greenscale didn't respond at first, but then he turned to me with what looked like pity in his eyes. "I saw you, using your Aür to hold open this thing, I think you called it a portal." He began, and immediately I knew what memory he saw. 'He's talking about what happened before I was transported here…' I wanted know what Aür was, but stopped myself, figuring I could ask after he's done explaining.

"This human girl, Lucina, was there, she was your sister. She seemed… thoroughly worried about you, to say the least." I smiled ever so slightly at the mention of my sister. Always the overprotective one… "I saw all of these humans show up, one by one, and they talked for a moment before they all went through the portal you had created. Then… I heard this roar from a dragon I've never heard of before… you called it… 'Grima'." He said the last part barely above the volume of a whisper, looking terrified out of his mind.

A shiver went down my spine when he said the name of that… monstrosity. I nodded grimly, trying to hold back a scowl forming on my muzzle. "Grima… is a huge dragon with godlike powers that wishes nothing more than death on all of humanity. In my time… he's a constant threat on the horizon, always sending Risen and black magic our way." I explained, trying to keep it concise. Although that's asking a lot, considering the subject. I could go on and on about my findings during my research on the Fell Dragon, about how he was created by a man named Forneus, and how he's actually a false god, but I stopped myself. No need to start one of my famous rambling sessions right now.

He nodded shakily. "I don't know what Risen are, but it sounds… terrifying, to say the least. How do you have such a positive attitude after something like… that?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious.

That was a question that I've had asked to me countless times before by strangers, friends, family, you name it. It's always the same answer. "My mom once told me to keep a positive attitude, but not too positive cause then I'd just be naive, so I just follow what she said!" I answered, a ghost of a smile worming it's way onto my face. Talking about my parents was always bittersweet, but every time I got down on myself, I just told myself to put it all in the past and focus on the future.

Greenscale's expression softened somewhat at my words, smiling ever so slightly. "Heh… amazing, what a mother's words can accomplish," He said. I couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"So… what are you going to do now, Morgan?" Greenscale asked. I was a tad surprised when he said my name, but I remember that I got his name from the Sight-Share, so it wasn't too outlandish to say he got mine.

I put a claw to my chin in thought. "Well, I want to find my sister, but I can't really do much, since I exhausted myself from using so much mana…" I muttered. That was a good question. What was I going to do? Refilling my mana reserves fully could take a couple days at least, and I didn't have that kind of time right now.

Greenscale blinked. "Aür exhaustion? I can help with that," he said, plodding up to me as he talked.

I turned to him in surprise. "...You can? How?" I asked, doubt evident in my tone. Healing mana exhaustion was impossible without a high-level staff like Mend or Recover, and even then it took more than one healer to do so depending on the target's mana levels.

I should know. I've exhausted my mana reserves more than once before, and it took Brady, Laurent and two other healer's help to refill them.

Greenscale, however, shrugged off the question like what he was about to do was the easiest thing in the world. "Simple. I'm quite proficient when it comes to healing, and I've done this a few times before, so it should be no problem," He said confidently.

I didn't quite believe him, but I relented, figuring that there was no harm in letting him try. Who knows, maybe magic works differently here than back home? I've already noticed that my own magical core felt different than normal, so it wasn't too outlandish to think that he would be able to help with my exhaustion. "Then by all means, be my guest," I said before letting my body fall heavily to the forest floor with a loud THUD, internally cringing as my chest started to ache from that simple collision.

I heard a huff, almost like a sigh from Greenscale. "Alright, just stay still. This shouldn't take too long…" He instructed. I half-nodded in response, subtly nestling into the grass so I could get comfortable.

At first I didn't feel anything save for the light breeze carrying the scent of the ocean, but then a sudden wave of soothing energy washed over me like a warm bath, and I resisted the urge to sigh out in relief as my aching muscles relaxed and my breathing evened out to normal. 'Woah… I don't know what he's doing, but it's definitely working…' I thought. Healing staffs definitely didn't feel this relaxing, that's for sure. Maybe this is what one of those saunas that Inigo loves so much felt like? I'd need to visit one ASAP, if that was the case. As Greenscale worked whatever magic he was using, I couldn't help but let my mind wander a little. I tried imagining myself back home enjoying a good tactics book, but all I got was an image of myself as a dragon soaring high across the sky, the wind underneath my wings and the islands mere specks as I flew through the air with ease.

For some reason, I felt a strong need to make that image a reality.

Said image ended far too soon for my liking, however, as the calming sensation was abruptly removed from my scales. I blinked in confusion, wondering why whatever Greenscale had been doing was cut off. "Hey, Greenscale, what happened-" I began as I stepped up to stand on my paws, but stopped when I realized something. 'My reserves… they're refilled?'

Greenscale's heavy breathing interrupted my sudden realization. "Gods… how do you… have so much Aür…?" He asked with incredulity between deep breaths of air.

I turned to him, subconsciously tilting my head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

He let his breathing steady itself before he continued, though the exertion was still very evident by his tired eyes. "You have an… absolutely astounding level of Aür, larger than any other dragon I've ever met. How is that even possible for somebody that used to be human? It just… doesn't make sense!" He rambled, though as he went on it sounded more like he was talking to himself than me.

I sent him a deadpan look. "Nothing about this situation makes sense. I think it's better to just roll with the punches as they come at this point."

He snorted. "You can say that again…"

I inwardly smiled at his reply. 'Alright! Friendly banter! That's a step up!' I thought, glad he was beginning to break out of his shell towards me.

"Anyway, enough about how crazy this whole scenario is, how do you feel now? I tried my best, but I've never had to do this with such a huge amount of Aür," He asked, his scrutinizing gaze reminding me of Aunt Lissa's when she would do checkups on me.

'Hm… well, my mana reserves are near full, my muscles don't ache at all anymore, and I'm no longer dead tired…' I mentally checked off, before shooting the worried dragon an energetic smile. "I feel great, actually! Thanks a ton, Green," I thanked, extremely grateful for his masterful healing. Seriously, his work could put anyone back home to shame (sorry, Aunt Lissa!).

He glanced away from me, grinning sheepishly. "Heh, it was no problem, really," He assured.

I shook my head. "No, seriously, thank you! If you hadn't found me here, I'd probably be stuck in this forest waiting for my reserves to refill, and who knows how long that could've taken," I said.

If I didn't know any better, I'd think the green dragon was blushing from the praise.

"Now I need to figure out how to get off this island…" I muttered to myself, looking to the sky. I felt my new wings twitch ever so slightly in anticipation, and again, I felt this yearning to be in the sky.

"Can't you just fly-" I heard Greenscale begin talking, then suddenly pause when he said fly. "Oh… you don't know how to fly," he realized.

"Yep, unfortunately…" I said while nodding sadly. Not knowing how to fly certainly put a damper on my plans, because if I was surrounding by water as far as the eye could see, then I was trapped until I got airborne.

"I could teach you, you know," Greenscale offered after a pause of silence. I looked over to him in surprise, not expecting him to say such a thing. "You won't find a better teacher out there than a Ripwing, trust me." He said.

He would… teach me how to fly? "But… why? I haven't done anything but force you to heal me," I pointed out, not wanting to be anymore of a burden than I already was to him. If there was one thing I hated, it was having people do stuff for me and not being able to pay them back.

Greenscale, however, simply waved me off. "You didn't force me to do anything, I helped you because I wanted to. Now, I want to help you learn how to fly! Besides, what are friends for?" He punctuated the last part by giving me a solid knock in the side with the blunt part of his wing, causing me to flinch back a little since I wasn't expecting the contact.

I was a little taken aback by his kindness. "Wow, uh, thanks! I'm glad I was found by you and not some jerk," I said.

Greenscale laughed. "It's no problem, really. I think I know a place where we can get started, if you want to go now," He said, gesturing with his right wing to some place off in the distance I couldn't see.

I eagerly nodded. Learn how to actually fly? Sign me up! "Yes, please!"

Greenscale smiled at my enthusiasm. "Follow me, then, and we'll be there in no time at all," he instructed, before suddenly turning and slicing cleanly through a bush behind him, the small piece of foliage landing softly on the ground with a dull thud. The tactician in me wanted to know just how sharp those wings of his were, because even Falchion would have trouble cutting through a bush like that, and he did it seemingly with ease.

But, I suppose if I stuck close to Greenscale I'll have my questions answered in time.

Oh! That reminds me… "Hey, Green, I've been meaning to ask you, what's Aür?"

Huh. I wonder why his eye twitched just now?

Langt Borte - Far Away

Chapter 4 is now complete. I was a tad worried I wouldn't get it out in time, but thankfully time was on my side with this one. Again, thank you to all my readers who have stuck with me throughout the story. I might take a brief hiatus to focus on school, so please don't freak out if I don't update over the next couple weeks. After I get everything figured out or when I have the time, updates will resume as normal, so please bear with me. As always, reviews are much appreciated and are encouraged, and thanks again for reading!

I'll see you lovelies in the next chapter!