“Why would they destroy them?”
“Training a dragon is a difficult tactic. It begins from the hatching, and from there, the Dragon Soul must work with them diligently. It’s how they manage to gain the control over the dragon that they do. The females are worth the time and energy, but they never fully train them. Any female they capture, they keep as breeding stock and nothing more.”
“That’s… horrible.”
Thomas shrugged. “It may be horrible, but it is what it is. We’ve come to terms with it. We’ve lost a majority of the females hatched here. When a female hatches, it’s a time for celebration, but a time for sadness as well.”
“Why sadness?”
“Because we know they’re in danger. We know there will come a time when those from Lorach will try to come after us, come after them. And we know that there is only so much we can do to protect them.” He leaned back, tapping the bridge of his nose, pushing up his spectacles. “Or at least, that had been the case. I understand you have some way of protecting the dragons as well. You really are quite the useful individual.”
Jason stared for a moment, uncertain how to take the comment. “I have some way of trying to help dragons. I don’t know it works all the time, but when it does work…”
“When it does work, I understand the Dragon Souls aren’t able to influence our dragons any longer. A valuable technique.”
Jason wasn’t sure whether he cared for this man or not. There was something off about him. “You seem to know the Dragon Souls quite well.”
“I should think so. I spent a considerable amount of time within Lorach.”
“Were you one of them?”
“I was never a Dragon Soul. I never had the talent, you see.”
“But you’re supposed to teach me how to use an illusion.”
“You don’t need to have the talent with dragon pearls in order to be an illusionist. In fact, that’s probably unnecessary. You only need the pearls to prove yourself a Dragon Soul.”
“Why would it be unnecessary?”
“Those who have the talent to be a Dragon Soul focus their energy on all of their powers. Those who have the talent to be an illusionist use it exclusively for that purpose.”
“I’m not sure what ability I might have.”
Thomas looked up, meeting his eyes. “Considering your eye color, it’s possible you would have the talent to be either.”
“Why would my eye color matter?”
“Why do you think the Dragon Souls fear our kind?”
“I don’t know.”
“Because we have the potential to be illusionists.”
For a moment, his eyes shimmered, then they took on the same brown color.
“I don’t know what you’re saying.”
“What I’m saying is there is a reason the Dragon Souls don’t care for our kind.”
“You keep saying our kind.”
“Do you think we are so different?”
Jason’s breath caught, and he suddenly understood why Thomas would have spent time in Lorach. He suddenly understood what it was about the man.
He was like him.
Was that the reason that Henry had brought him to Jason? Did he think that learning from someone like him would help?
Unless Henry hadn’t known there was an illusionist.
If that were the case, then why wouldn’t he have mentioned it first?
“They weren’t sure that an illusion could be maintained,” he said.
“As they wouldn’t know,” Thomas said. “An illusion is challenging, and it does take mental energy and a certain amount of fortitude. The longer you attempt to maintain an illusion, the harder it is to do so. I must say, though, the longer you practice at it, the more you acquaint yourself with the techniques, the easier it becomes to hold on to that illusion.”
He stood up, twisting with a flourish, and Jason stared at him again.
“Who are you?”
“The question all men must ask themselves.”
“No. Which are you.”
Thomas smiled and tapped the bridge of his nose, pushing up his spectacles once again. “Again, another question all men must ask. You wonder how you could be either a Dragon Soul or an illusionist, and yet, I would challenge you to wonder whether you could be either. Or perhaps both.”
Thomas took another seat and pulled something from his pocket. He set a dragon pearl out. It was small, almost perfectly black, and it rested precariously on the table between them. “When you call upon power, what do you feel?”
“I feel the power.”
“No. What do you feel?”
“I don’t know. I feel energy within me. I feel it flow from the dragon and into me.”
“You can feel the connection between yourself and the dragon?”
Jason considered it. He hadn’t given it a whole lot of thought, especially recently. When he had used that power recently, he’d been so focused on trying to understand the nature of it that he hadn’t given much thought to anything else about it.
“I suppose that I can,” he said.
“Fascinating,” he said.
“Would you stop saying that?”
“Why? It is true, after all.”
Jason sighed. “It might be true, but I don’t want to be fascinating.”
“It doesn’t matter what you want. You might be the reason that much changes.”
“I don’t want to be the reason that much changes, either.”
“You would want to only work with the dragons?”
“Is that so bad?”
“No. The dragons are a worthy cause, and as you have proven your willingness and interest in trying to heal them, I can only surmise you have a unique connection to them, one greater than many others. And yet, one must also wonder whether that connection is all that you have.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because of who you are.”
Jason frowned. “I suppose you’re going to tell me you know something about me. That you knew my parents. Well, let me tell you that isn’t possible. My parents were from a small village high in the mountains. Unless you traveled into the desolate north, climbed mountains that were meant to keep anyone from surviving, I doubt you knew my parents.”
“I would never imagine I know your parents, but I know your kind.”
“And that is?”
“The same kind as me.” Thomas smiled. “You fear what you need not. You fear you are somehow different, but I tell you that is not a problem. And you fear what you could be. Well, all men should fear what they could be, if only they understood their true nature. In your case, I wonder how much of your true nature you know.”
“I don’t fear anything about myself,” Jason said.
“Good,” Thomas said. He leaned back and watched Jason for a moment, then smiled broadly. “Perhaps we can begin again. I would like to see if you are able to create an illusion. The technique is not all that difficult. I think that given your natural tendencies, you should be able to do so, and all I need from you is for you to try to draw upon your power, and to see whether there’s anything you can do that will allow you to hold on to the illusion. The challenge for you will be the duration. I think in order for you to be effective, you’re going to need to be able to hold on to this for a long stretch of time. With your hand, you might be able to cover it, but there may come a time when you need to keep your hand exposed, and if that happens, then you’re going to need to be able to maintain multiple illusions.”
“Multiple illusions?”
“It’s possible to hold on to a single illusion for your entire being, but I wonder if that might be more than what you would be able to do.”
“I don’t even know how to create an illusion in the first place.”