Sidastir is woken by someone turning in the bed. He opened his eyes only to heard moaning and whimpering under the covers.

“Akana?” Sidastir said with a quizzical voice.

He took noticed of Naga, who pressed himself against the wall with eyes wide open. The eyes were rigidly directed toward the little bump in bed which was shaped by Akana’s body. Naga’s body was bent in a threatening appearance and back spikes were erected. He felt threatened by Akana.

“Akana?”

Sidastir pulled aside the blanket and saw Akana rolled up with arms around his knees as if he tried to shelter himself. His eyes were tightly shut and he could see the sweat on his forehead. Sidastir had never witnessed Akana sweating before. He must have a wicked dream.

Sidastir grabbed hold of Akana and shook him. He got a moan in response, but Akana did not awaken. Sidastir sat up and grasp hold of Akana’s shoulders in a tight grip and shook him violently.

“Akana!” he shouted and Akana’s eyes finally opened.

Sidastir froze for a moment as he was greeted by a couple of glowing, silver eyes. It was just for a moment before they went out and returned to the coal colored eyes Sidastir had grown so fond of.

Sidastir observed that Naga seemed to find peace. Did the little dragon sense Akana’s other half? Akana’s eyes looked horrified as they darted all over the chamber before they stopped on Sidastir’s face only be soothed.

“It was only a nightmare,” Sidastir said in an attempt to calm his fear. He had no reason to tell him his eyes glowed in the same light as when he was possessed in the alley. That information would not help in this situation and Akana didn't need more to worry about.

Sidastir had no reason to tell Akana that his eyes had glowed in the same light as when he was possessed in the alley. That information would not benefit this situation and Akana did not need more hardships.

“Nightmare?”

Akana said the word like he sampled it.

“Everyone has nightmares. They can be intimidating, but they are no more than mere dreams,” Sidastir said but felt something was wrong with his explanation.

If Auons did not feel fear in the same way as other people so perhaps they did not experience nightmares in the same way either... Judging by Akanas perplexed gaze, his reasoning was correct.

Sidastir sighed at his own inability and seized hold of Akana. He enclosed him safely in his arms. Akana thrusted his face against Sidastir’s chest and Sidastir could swear he heard sobs. He has never heard his consort weep before, and it shattered his heart to hear his sorrow now.

Sidastir couldn’t do much else except to hold him tight. He could not chase away wicked dreams. He had no such power. All he can do in this case is to keep him safe.

Akana seemed to calm down after a while and pulled himself away from Sidastir’s chest before placing his head on Sidastir’s shoulder. He wrapped his arms around Sidastir’s waist and sighed contentedly. Sidastir could not help but bring his fingers across Akana’s hair.

Sidastir hates admitting it but he has a weakness for Akana’s currently frail condition. He liked the feeling of being needed by Akana. Not that he would admit this openly.

“What did you dream about?” Sidastir asked gently.

He didn't want to frighten Akana but his eyes had glowed. It may not have been an ordinary dream. Akana opened his eyes and seemed to look out for something hidden in the distance. Sidastir waited long patiently and would just ask again when Akana answered his question.

“I dreamed about the place I travelled to when I became unconscious in the alley.”

“The place you travelled to?” Sidastir asked. The statement had aroused his interest.

“Travelled to, sounds a little ... I assumed afterward that it had been a hallucination induced by pain when the ... When I ...”

Akana tried to find the words but Sidastir interrupted him to free him from thinking about the assault.

“Where did you end up?”

The nightmare was sufficient trauma. Akana does not need to relive another one.

“When I lost consciousness, I ended up in an ancient cavern without an exit. The walls were filled with drawings and there was an enormous cell in the cave with darkness you could not see through. Something is imprisoned in the cell. I encountered him there. Encounter him there. Sen, “ Akana explained.

“Sen?”

“Sen is what I call him. It means brother in my language. Lisanian. I thought it was fitting name for a creature which lives in my body with an identical-face as me,” Akana said and Sidastir did not know how felt in the face of Akana’s naming.

You will solely give a name to something you want to give recognition to, but it also means that Akana could keep some distance from what the creature did in the alley. Akana had no guilt for the incident.

“Do you encounter him often?” Sidastir asked gently. He had an idea about the answer, but he needed to hear it from Akana.

“Every time I slumber... I return to the cavern every time I fall asleep. Usually, he is placid, but he ... We argued tonight. He believes we should take our leave. It's dangerous here,” Akana said and Sidastir understood what Sen wanted to say as he harbored the same feelings sometimes.

“And what would you like to do? You also have a choice,” Sidastir said and gazed into Akana’s all too forlorn eyes.

“I want to stay with you,” Akana muttered.

Sidastir felt his heart beginning to beat faster as he was held back a triumphant grin.

"Serious. This is a serious situation."

Sidastir did not released Akana with his gaze and he noticed that Akana became increasingly anxious.

“I will never abandon you,” Sidastir said with as much of aa gentle voice he could induce. Akana gave him a smile and crawled closer to him.

Sidastir felt he could not hold back a grin. He drew attention to Naga, who gave him a reproachfully look and Sidastir gave the dragon a grimace. The dragon seemed to roll his eyes and then turned his back to him.

The inconspicuous respect of the dragon had vanished for him but Sidastir considered it a worthy sacrifice for the trust he had just earned from Akana.

*****

Year 782 Octavus, 24th of the seventh month Domorus

Akana sat opposite Vis, who for once did not drink any alcohol. He inspected Akana’s hands which Akana held up as if he collected water. Akana took a deep breath and called on the fire. It shaped itself immediately in his hands and with it followed a landslide of emotions. Emotions like fear, shock and astonishment.

“Merge your hands as in a prayer or as if you are going to clap hands and try to get the fire to travel around your hands. Fear not. It can't hurt you, but your instincts will try to alert you that you will burn yourself. Try to resist the impulse,” Vis explained without releasing the fire with the gaze.

Akana nodded and did as he was told but as soon as the fire began to spread along his skin, he felt the hysteria spread. He dropped the flame which fell to the floor and burned the rug. Vis sighed morosely and threw a bucket of water over the flame that went extinct. Akana glared resentfully at the little steaming, black mark that remained. The first time Vis had extinguished the fire, Akana had been astonished.

Sidastir had told him that he had not been able to extinguish the fire as it was magical. Akana was the only one who had the ability to extinguish the fire. He had asked Vis about this and Vis had merely laughed. He had said he may be incompetent, but he had prepared himself for this. The water did also have magical properties.

There are some sources which are over magical points that collect mana. This water came from a lake that was above one of these magical points. The water fills with mana and is so powerful that it is even said to be able to give eternal life if you bathe in the water.

The water was, of course, expensive and many would consider it folly to used water the water to extinguish Akana’s fire but Vis saw no problem with it.

“Apologies, I lost control again,” Akana muttered and frowned in shame.

Vis shook his head, unbothered by the situation.

“Normally, I would be more upset. Mages have a certain immunity to their inborn element and are instinctively not afraid of it. Auons have typically no emotions but you awaken them every time you use your mana. What you are required to learn is not to control your fire but to control the emotions you're not accustomed to.”

“And that is far more difficult to teach when we who have emotions learn it ourselves through the years in which we are raised. It comes naturally. How am I supposed to teach something that you ought to be able to do naturally?”

Vis sighed and scratched his stubble. “Maybe we ought to be happy that you don't have the magical reactions to your emotions that a natural elemental mage typically has.”

Akana questioningly frowned as Vis shrugged during his explanation.

“You're wedded an Icemage. Although you seem to be immune towards the cold you still must have noticed that every time, he gets furious the temperature drops around him. When he cries... If he cries, snow starts falling from the sky. It's nothing he does consciously but it is his element, acting on his emotions. Firemages are indeed as dangerous. They have an ability to set fire to their surroundings when they are angry or afraid.”

“It has never happened to me. I have... Many emotional outbursts but my fire don't seem to react,” Akana mumbled, who was a tad abashed even if he had no clue why.

“That’s because it is technically not your fire,” a graceful voice said behind them.

Akana turned around and saw a man in his late twenties. The man had shoulder-length, blond hair with unusual amber eyes which glowed against the pale skin. He has white skin was filled with antique, black tattoos which were spread over the arms, chest and over the neck towards the sides of the face. The black tattoos formed across his eyes and highlighted the unusual color of his eyes.

The man wore a black robe that was lightly opened by the chest area, and the robe was decorated with silver patterns. He moreover had a long, black cloak over the robes with the hood winded up. The outfit gave him a dark almost evil aura. The black robes were an odd choice for someone with pale skin.

Akana noticed Vis had fallen onto his knees in a bow.

“Mayin,” Vis said casually.

“This is an unusual sight. You sober. No wonder I was summoned,” exclaimed the man, who was identified by Vis as the Mayin, dramatically.

Akana made a slight bow even though he was unsure if he needed to so. He was Rial Caraid but he had no idea if he was of lower rank than the Mayin.

“My name is Kara Vasin and I hold the title of Mayin,” the man said and Akana noted that his eyes glowed for just one second. It went by fast enough for Akana to start wondering if he had imagined the whole thing.

“My name is Akana den Rifabienn, Rial Caraid of Eitir,” Mayin tilted his head. “Rial Caraid ... The consort of the Frostking? Information that my dear colleague neglected to mention.”

Mayin made a gesture towards Vis, who had risen and reached for a wine bottle that he drained in one gulp. Vis apparently didn't want to be sober for this conversation.

“What do you mean when you said the fire is not mine?” Akana asked, trying to disregard Vis drinking. He won't be of much help during this conversation.

“The fire belongs to the dragon ... You call him Rafabik if I am not mistaken. You are merely using his element,” Mayin said casually, and Akana frowned.

“Then I possess another element?”

“It is perhaps the most intriguing question of them all. An Auon has no magic as they do not have enough mana to use magic. That is, in any case, what we assume and therefore they may not have an element,” Mayin said.

Vis snorted, “All creatures possess an element which they are born with. Some breeds of animals all have the same element. As salamander has fire, but everyone has an element.”

“That is what the Elementalism teaches. But then answer me this. Fire, wind, water, earth, spirit, thunder, light and darkness. Which one is the Auonian element?” Mayin said with a silken voice to Vis, who responded by draining another wine bottle.

"He doesn't appreciate me having the ability to question centuries of magical research," Mayin said to Akana with a smile.

“My theory-“ Vis snorted upon hearing Mayin's words but Mayin just continued.

“Is that all the Auons have the same elements but that it’s likely not an element we have knowledge of. Or to be precise, as you don’t have knowledge of.”

“Can you identify our element?” Akana asked uncertainly.

“When I trekked east to Kaharian-“ Mayin stopped as he noticed that both Akana and Vis had baffled glances.