The portal brought Toshiro and his follower to the base of the mountain where Ruala awaited them. Upon stepping out of the dark room where he'd fought off flames, Toshiro felt his exhaustion meet him and fell to the ground. His body protested to any movement, making it a chore just to push himself to a sitting position.
"Easy there, you're feeling the effects of using so much of your Spirit Energy at once." Sofia warned. Ruala approached and helped the tired boy to his feet.
The small cat morphed into another animal, this one a white mare with a light brown mane and tail, and Ruala helped Toshiro up onto her back. Once up, he laid his head down on the horse's neck and simply lay there. Sofia stayed a gentle walk so as not to move him too much as Ruala led the animal away from the mountain and into the forest.
"May I have Hyorinmaru back?" The young prince asked, lifting his head slightly.
"Your zanpaktou will be waiting for you up the mountain. While on the mountain you can't speak to him, as I'm sure you've noticed, but you'll be able to now."
He frowned, still unhappy with having his sword taken from him, but was content with being able to at least speak to his dragon again.
"How many trials are there?" Toshiro questioned as they walked, closing his eyes.
"Five." Ruala answered. "There are five levels to raising one's Spirit Energy."
"What is the one I'm doing now?"
"Finding its source."
"Haven't I done that?" He opened his eyes and lifted his head up again.
"You've opened the gate to douse your opponent's power, but you have yet to find your power's source. That is where the fighting comes in. Your opponent will force you to find it through battle."
Sighing, he put his head back down. Five trials, several weeks. This was going to be grueling.
After about another hour of walking, they made it to what he supposed was Ruala's home. It seemed to be woven from the trees themselves, protected above by a thick canopy of green. Another building was constructed in the normal fashion off to the side with no doors, only a large opening. When a panther came strutting out before darting off into the forest, he assumed that home was for Ruala's animal companions. The walk had given him time to recover a little from his exhaustion, though he was still sore, and he dismounted the white mare to walk beside the Royal Guard.
While Sofia trotted off to see to the creatures, Ruala led the young prince to her home. It was hard to tell what exactly was inside but it seemed big enough with how many trees curved their way into its structure. The doors opened easily and Toshiro was met upon entry by the smell of fruit and warm colors. He had expected everything to be made from the trees inside as well as out, but while it was wood it was all delicately carved and had a dark stain painted on it. It felt homey in a wild sort of way.
"There's Ruala!" A voice shouted, startling the young prince as someone darted out from another room and grabbed the blonde girl into a tight hug. "Sis was wondering how long you were going to take."
The woman was blonde as well, though hers strayed more towards dark gold than Ruala's white, and had dark brown eyes, a smirk on her face. She dressed in black silk, her shirt fitting like a kimono, only shorter, but her pants fitting a more medieval fashion. A silver dragon curled its way up the pant leg in shining silk.
"I was training the prince." Ruala argued with the woman.
The woman then turned to the small boy with her and looked him over carefully.
"Well…I did not expect that." The woman stepped over to the boy and he scowled, waiting for the comment about his height. "Ruala didn't tell me you were a dragon boy." Well, that was different.
"How did you know that?" Toshiro narrowed his eyes.
"I've lived with them; I can tell when they've picked someone special. So who's the dragon?"
"My zanpaktou, Hyorinmaru."
"Oh so their zanpaktou now." The woman threw her arms up in exasperation. "Lived with these giant lizards for centuries and they still surprise me."
She continued to grumble to herself as she walked away from them, leaving Toshiro completely confused. She had to be one of the Greenleaf Family members considering she lived here, meaning they were cousins in a way. If this was how she acted for first impressions, he wasn't really keen to get to know her.
"That was Ralæn Greenleaf." Ruala explained. "She's…a little hard to keep up with."
"I can tell…" Toshiro nodded.
The girl motioned for him to step further inside and he did so. They stepped into an open spaced area further back that was covered in grass, an opening in the canopy above them. Ruala closed the door behind them as Toshiro stared ahead at yet another shocking discovery.
A dragon. A living dragon. Sofia was one thing as she could transform into anything. But just being in the same room he could tell a real dragon was far different, and far more powerful. The creature's Spiritual Pressure felt wild, but was finely controlled and rather comforting to him. This dragon had bright, violet scales with swirls of sapphire that shimmered in the light. Her forelegs were also her wings, light blue in color with ivory claws tucked in close to her thin body while her hind legs had definite muscle shape, though still thin. A violet mane of fur ran down her neck to the tip of her tail and her belly was lighter blue in color like her wings. Her horns were short but dark purple, matching midnight purple eyes.
Upon his entry, the dragon, which had to stand at least ten feet tall, turned her gaze on him.
"This is Lilianna, young prince." A soft voice said and Toshiro turned to a second female figure, one he hadn't noticed with the dragon's presence distracting him. She looked just like Ralæn, part of her hair braided back and eyes a little lighter brown. Unlike her sister she wore white in the form of a sweeping silk dress with golden embroidery around the edge.
"Pleasure to meet you." Lilianna dipped her head in greeting.
"Um…pleasure to meet you too."
The dragon chuckled at his nervous reply.
"I will not harm a fellow dragon."
"I'm not a dragon." Toshiro raised an eyebrow in curiosity, finding his voice again.
"But within your spirit lives one. To hurt you would harm that dragon, therefore I will not harm you. Not that I would harm the Soul Prince either, mind you." She laughed, seeming to find that funny.
"Ælfwyn." Ruala called out to the woman.
Understanding something in her tone that Toshiro didn't catch, the woman stepped away from the dragon and off to the side, Ruala joining her for a private conversation.
"I sense you are hesitant, dragonling." Lilianna had her attention on the young prince now.
"Dragonling?"
"Baby dragon."
Toshiro's brow twitched. Even the dragons were calling him a kid now. Great, Hyorinmaru would never shut up about this one.
'They're technically calling me that too.' Hyorinmaru snorted.
'Well then, dragonling, we suffer together.'
"Why are you hesitant?" Lilianna brought his attention back to her.
"I'm not sure…I didn't even know I was hesitant."
"Come over here, dragonling, and sit beside me."
"Please don't call me that." Toshiro sighed but stepped over to the violet dragon's side anyway. Her tail curled up around him which oddly comforted him.
"But that is what you are to me." Lilianna chuckled. "I'm a small dragon but I am by no means young. I hold no special power other than that of memory and wisdom."
"May I ask how old you are?"
Lilianna threw back her head and laughed.
"Many many cycles, dragonling. It's best not told. Now, you have questions, and not just about age. Feel free to ask away."
Toshiro sorted through the many questions in his head. He did have quite a lot.
"This place…everyone's names…I don't recognize their origin. Most of what I've seen is Japanese."
"Ah yes. The Greenleaf Family stems from a long line of nobles in the Celtic regions, or what is now Scotland and Ireland. Or rather, they stem from a more magical race that once lived there. They survive no longer in the mortal realms but through this family they live on."
"Magical race?"
"They went by many names. Elves, Witches, Pagans, the list goes on. They weren't thought of fondly but they were a truly powerful branch of humans, much like Quincies."
"What makes them different then?"
The dragon thought for a moment and Toshiro took the chance to glance at Ruala. She wasn't a member of the family, she was adopted in. What did that make her?
"Well, Quincies were actually taught by ancestors of the Greenleaf Family. However, the original way of fighting was through use of magic. As Quincies leaned more towards eradicating Hollows and not the demons they were taught to fight, they became different from the others. The power they were given was meant to destroy demons, horrible creatures that unbalance the cycle of souls as they attempt to escape Hell. Satan actually prefers for them to be destroyed; he hates when they escape his prison.
"However, the Quincies wanted to destroy the Hollows, who they thought were demons after the souls of the dead. The ancestors of the Greenleaf Family did not follow, knowing full well the destruction of Hollows warranted death by the Soul Reapers. They remained demon hunters and witches, and eventually found themselves among the Royal Families for their services, while the Quincies were wiped out."
"And Ruala, what is she?"
"Ah, Lady Ruala. She is rarer still than the witches. Not many like her even make it to the Soul Society, their power too strange. Her kind was a race of outcasts, freaks. She is far from human without being completely un-human, and everyone fears her for it."
Toshiro turned to the woman sadly, understanding how she felt.
"Ruala cannot earn a zanpaktou because her spirit already has a partner bonded to it, a familiar: Sofia." Lilianna continued. "But despite her differences she proved her loyalty to the world she was born in and was rewarded a home and a family. She cares not for the powers that separate her from others and instead embraces what she shares."
"Her magic…is it the same as the Greenleaf Family power?" Hitsugaya looked back at the violet dragon.
"It originates from the same source but she has developed it in entirely different ways. Through training in the five trials, the very same you are now going through, she made her power even stronger so she could advance her magic to its limit. But while her magic is strong, her weakness is her inability to trust others. She's had issues in the past due to being an outcast and she's very careful about who she answers to."
"I can understand that."
The dragon rumbled and turned her purple gaze on the two women.
"This kingdom is helping her to overcome that fear. She can be a good judge of character if only she could set aside her own shyness."
There was a pause as Toshiro wondered what to ask next. The dragon was obviously a living library by how quickly she put out information and he wanted to learn what he could while she was here.
"Can you tell me what the five trials are?" He dared. Ruala had avoided the subject but he wanted to know what he was in for.
"The first is finding the source of your power. This can only be done through battle when your heart searches for the wellspring inside overflowing with power. The second is controlling its flow. You'll find once you've hit the source of your power that sometimes you won't be able to control it, and as a Soul Prince your power can kill. To control it a spirit will guide you through strict courses where you will need to control just how much you let out. The third is a more finite form of control, controlling where it goes. With thought you can focus your Spiritual Pressure on a single point, leaving those around that target unaffected as they would be by a normal Soul reaper."
"So the next two trials are about control?"
"Yes. One is how much you're letting out, and the other is where you're letting it out to. Two completely different forms of control. It's like opening and closing the valve on a water hose to pointing the hose in the direction you want the water to go. It's two different actions altogether."
"I didn't need the simile." Toshiro smirked slightly and Lilianna chuckled.
"A smart dragonling, I see. Continuing on, the fourth trial will be to form your unique power into a physical manifestation of sorts. If I recall there was a Captain capable of doing such, though his control of the manifestation was poor."
"Kenpachi Zaraki, Squad Eleven Captain."
"Ah, a Kenpachi. I knew there was a Soul Reaper who could do it but I never learned his name. But yes, you will need to do something similar like that as a spirit leads you on to finding out how to do so. By controlling your power into a physical weapon or even a creature, you will be armed without ever needing a weapon."
'Oh thanks.' Hyorinmaru growled.
"The fifth trial will be the most daunting. You must prove in a free for all battle that you have control over your power. I cannot tell you the details of that test but you will be allowed your zanpaktou in this final trial. Your power with it will be far stronger once you reach that point and you may find a slight change. Don't worry, Hyorinmaru will still be an ice dragon, but his attacks will be more powerful than before and more controlled."
"How high do you think my Spirit Energy will be when I finish these trials?"
Lilianna grinned mysteriously.
"Judging by what you earned simply unlocking your true power, I'd say at least ten times stronger than your Bankai power as a Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads."
Well well, it's time to power up Shiro ^^ And his first real, living dragon. Must be strange for him... He's just used to the one in his head, hehe. Some background on the Greenleaf Family as he gets to meet those two ladies (they're twins, by the way) and a little more on Ruala as well. Considering the Soul King rules over all branches of the Soul Society I would figure there would be other cultures among the kingdom. Anyway, he's got things to do in the next chapter. Enjoy!