As Jahan walked his assigned area, he felt unhappy about the problems keeping him away from his family. He originally agreed to serve for five years, but now he worried that unexpected issues might make him stay longer and delay seeing his family. The military offered him a lot of money to serve an extra year, which would help his son’s future. Although he didn’t want to miss his son growing up, he knew he needed the money for his son to survive. It was hard being away; Jahan’s son would soon turn four, and he had only seen him once in person. To feel closer, Jahan used a magical charm to see his family. But the charm was running out of magic, and he needed to save money for a new one. His wife, Nalli, got worried when his magical calls were late, making Jahan feel more urgent. He didn’t know why the others were so surprised to learn something was going on here. He knew from the start that something was off and felt the three immortals were hiding something. He was patient, knowing the truth would come out eventually. When Sifa brought his lunch, Jahan was glad for the distraction. He preferred tea over coffee in the afternoons so he could sleep when he got off. He appreciated the hot drink, even thinking of getting used to the Lanish brew that his comrade Tellic liked. Jahan watched Sifa take lunch to Lamin and wondered why the stables needed a full-time worker when there was little demand for horseback riding. Trema vouched for Lam-in, but Jahan had doubts. He thought befriending Lamin might help him understand what was really going on in the stables. They sort of had something in common. Jahan had the same problem as his wife, only for a different reason *** As the evening sky painted vivid hues across the vast desert horizon, Lanni expertly transported Chapado, Kritalla, and Jahree to their remote location. The air was markedly cooler now, providing relief from the intense daytime heat. Lanni had found if she took the dragon form, the heat didn’t bother her much. If she got too chilly, she would use her belly fire while in dragon form to warm up. But for now, she stayed in human form. Jahree looked around, taking in their sparse surroundings, as Chapado began outlining the agenda for the tests they planned to conduct. “First, we’re going to test the strength of your immunity,” Chapado explained to Jahree with a professional interest that belied the excitement beneath it. “We want to un-derstand how it holds up to different kinds of magic, including direct, indirect, and ele-mental influences.” Chapado continued, detailing the extensive list of tests they had planned for the ses-sion. “We’ll also check how your immunity interacts with manifestations and see how charms and laid spells react when in your presence. Depending on time and how you’re feeling, we may explore a few additional tests, all with your permission, of course.” Jahree responded with a slight frown, indicating his unease. “With my permission?” he asked, seeking clarification. Chapado quickly reassured him, her tone gentle yet firm. “You aren’t under orders to do this,” she said. “All of this is entirely voluntary. You’re not a lab animal; you’re a per-son. You have the unequivocal right to stop us at any moment during our tests. Moreover, you can outright refuse any of the tests we propose.” Kritalla chimed in, his voice laced with a supportive undertone that echoed Chapado’s sentiment. “Chapado tends to get absorbed in her work and forget the personal aspects. Don’t be afraid to speak up if anything makes you uncomfortable,” he said. “Lanni and I are here to ensure that she listens. If there’s any trouble when we’re not around, you should tell Morina. She’ll keep Chapado in check and, if needed, will not hesitate to haul her back to Ertonia. Chapado is still on probation.” “I have not had any violations ever,” Chapado interjected quickly, her defense tinged with pride. “The only reason I’m on probation is that my brother’s actions crossed a line in an experiment that was categorized as hazardous. It wasn’t due to any misconduct on my part.” Lanni, who had been a silent observant until now, couldn’t help but intervene. “This isn’t exactly inspiring confidence, guys,” she said, her voice laced with caution. Chapado appeared taken aback by Lanni’s remark, glancing apologetically at Jahree. “Oh, I apologize,” she said, hastily attempting to rectify the situation. “The circumstances surrounding that were completely unrelated to what we’re doing here.” “As long as things don’t escalate to a dangerous level,” Jahree said with a shrug of nonchalance. First, she tested how much magic he could repel. They needed Lanni’s strength to reach it. As a white dragon her magic surpassed that of the other two. In most of the tests, Kritalla provided the magic. He was only a quarter immortal so his innate magic wasn’t as strong as the others but he was an Augmenter. He could absorb magic from Lanni to enhance and use to cast spells as strong as full-blooded immortals. That was why she was helping. For Jahree, the tests were straightforward. Most of them required him merely to stand still or make contact with an object—a process not dissimilar to the rudimentary evalua-tions he had undergone back at the college. “Now, we’ll proceed to test your ability to deal with manifested objects,” Chapado declared. “We shall start with simple images.” Lanni was the one to do this, conjuring an ethereal sword and passing it through Jahree’s form. The image momentarily wavered, but held. Jahree’s expression turned to one of concern. “A sword?” he questioned, with a frown. “You plan to ‘stab’ me with it?” “I’ve done far worse images,” Lanni responded with a measure of honesty. Kritalla chimed in with a slight chuckle, “You should see the things she creates during the shades.” Curiosity piqued, Jahree inquired, “Like what?” Lanni’s cheeks tinged with embarrassment as she confessed, “Oh, various things. Ler-jao when I was there, Mad-dragons, and on one occasion, a duplicate of every person I’ve accidentally encountered in… compromising situations.” She hesitated before adding, “They stuck me in the prison for that one. The walls block the shades.” Jahree’s eyebrow arched questioningly. “You’ve walked in on numerous people?” “It was a frequent occurrence at the palace,” Lanni explained. “People would get into a mood and find a corner rather than get going all the way across the palace and up 3 flights of stairs to their room. My nephew put a stop to it.” “Mostly,” Kritalla muttered under his breath, vaguely irritated. “During the shades were the exception,” Lanni continued. “And then there was Pt’this insufferable, shade-blasted, sex-crazed dragon. For him, I crafted a charm to cre-ate this.” A shimmering silver dome suddenly appeared, encapsulating Jahree. He reached out, his fingers grazing the barrier. It resisted his touch but turned semi-transparent in re-sponse. Jahree watched, fascinated, as Lanni dissipated the dome with a mere flick of her wrist. “Interesting,” Chapado murmured contemplatively. “Lanni, cast a glamour.” Lanni pursed her lips slightly, her brows knitting together in concentration. “Casting a glamour isn’t the same as a manifestation, though.” With a dismissive gesture, Chapado waved away her concerns. “Close enough for our purposes,” she stated firmly. Lanni cast the glamour without putting any extra power into it. The glamour failed after a moment. Kritalla tried using augmented magic. Again, it failed quickly. Chapado tried and Lanni did it again, with much more power behind it. That one held the longest though it still failed before she ended the spell Their brows furrowed in thought, the group considered the next steps. “I wouldn’t mind Sai—or even one of the kids coming to examine him,” Chapado announced, rub-bing her chin thoughtfully. “See what they might see.” “Sai? Mama Sai? How could she possibly help?” Jahree inquired, his voice tinged with skepticism. Chapado turned to him, a serious expression etched on her face. “She possesses an acute hypersight. It’s possible she could identify any underlying abnormalities we can’t,” she explained. Sighing, Lanni brought another name to the forefront. “Tilla might be an even better choice. She commands so many unique ways of seeing. You’ll need to use a scrying spell to reach her and then bring in Ter to assist with the diagnostic tests,” she said, though her expression soured. Chapado was quick to reassure her. “Tilla wouldn’t refuse our request for assistance simply because of your involvement, Lanni.” Lanni’s response was dubious. “Want to bet? Talk to her, then,” she remarked with a hint of challenge. Chapado nodded, exuding confidence. “I will. But for now, let’s continue testing.” She then addressed Jahree directly, her tone taking on a more cautionary note, “This is where you might want to think twice about continuing. I’m going to request that Lanni direct a lightning bolt at you.” Kritalla’s protective instincts immediately flared up, and he voiced his protest. “Now, wait just a moment,” he interjected with urgency. “This is surpassing the terms of your probation.” Chapado’s response came smoothly and calmly. “It’ll just be a small bolt—hardly no-ticeable,” she assured him. Jahree’s reply came in the form of a question, laced with concern. “Should?” Seeking to alleviate his worries, Lanni stepped up. “The bolt will be small. I have con-siderable expertise in casting lightning bolts, and I’ve practiced extensively. You’re in safe hands.” To demonstrate her control, she plucked a small stone from the ground and un-leashed a faint bolt from her finger, barely more than a spark. It didn’t even mar the rock’s surface. Jahree, not quite convinced but willing to proceed, rolled up his sleeve in preparation. “What’s one more scar?” he quipped, attempting to lighten the mood. Lanni glanced at him with a mixture of assurance and determination. “It won’t leave a scar. It shouldn’t cause any harm. And just as a precaution, I’ve got healing potions on hand.” This revelation brought a new round of questions from Kritalla. “You knew about this?” Lanni shook her head, a serious tone coloring her words. “I always carry them. It’s a habit I picked up from my dad.” Seeing the discussion, Jahree interjected, his voice resolute. “Captain, it’s fine. Just let them do it. I need answers. I’m determined to find out why I’m different.” Conceding to his wishes, Kritalla allowed the test to proceed, with the stipulation that they go no further than necessary. Lanni took Jahree’s offered arm in her hands and chanted the incantations for the spell. Jahree braced himself for the impact, but when the lightning struck, he felt no more than a tiny prick—similar to the puncture of a needle. After the spell, Lanni applied a salve, spreading a healing cream over the spot where the lightning had kissed his skin, en-suring no lasting harm was done. The group mutually agreed to conclude their magical experiments for the evening. De-spite Lanni’s seemingly limitless magical reservoir, the physical toll on Kritalla and the uncertain effects on Jahree warranted a pause. Lanni accompanied Jahree back to Loka to check for any potential side effects from their trials. Loka’s initial examination showed nothing troublesome, though she did mention that it might be prudent to have Midta ex-amine Jahree as well, though without any immediate urgency. #fantasy, #magic, #dragons, #hiddenlands