Before I begin, I have another shout out! This one is to Drakkenfyre! He just started writing a storyline where Rowan is the antagonist, and seemingly takes place many, many years after the events of my stories. I love it, and hope he/she continues farther, because I'm interested in the adventures of Ozzy! Will he defeat he who seems to strong to defeat, or will he pull through? That's for you and Drakkenfyre to decide! The love and appreciation people are having for Tales of the Arcane have made this week so much better for me. It's making me feel so happy that people are enjoying this, and I love writing it. Don't worry fans of my other story driven series on the site, Ral Gadnar, Soul Hunter (found in CYOTF), I just have some writer's block for that one and will come back soon. But for now, enjoy the chapter!
"YAWN!!!!!" You yawned, waking up at the crack of dawn. Still curled up in your little dragon bed, you opened your eyes to look around the room. Oddly enough, when you looked at his bed, Rowan wasn't there. You knew that dragons sleep a lot, and you expected him to be awake before you, but you barely slept at all. It was as if Rowan changed your sleep schedule to reflect his more, which makes sense. Who wants a familiar who sleeps 24/7? Rowan certainly doesn't. As you were getting out of your bed, stretching your legs as you did, you heard a faint thumping sound. Sure enough, you've found your master. He was just washing up in the bathroom. As you sat outside of the door, being the most dog-like dragon in draconic history, Rowan walked back into the room. This was the first time you'd seen him without all of his robes on. He just had a towel wrapped around his waist. For someone who doesn't seem like the athletic type, he certainly appeared so. His frame was lean, but muscular. Toned, but not overly so. He seemed very strong and athletic, without being bulky. "Oh Gannoth. I was not expecting you up so soon." Rowan smiled, walking over to his closet.
"I could say the same for you Master." You replied, carefully choosing your words. You learned yesterday that, while very stern and commanding, Rowan still has a caring and playful side to him. One that you were trying to experience more.
"Well, today is a bit different." Rowan chuckled.
"Why?" You asked.
"Well, I think I may have discovered another magical ring. One I have been searching for for many years." Rowan explained. "The Ring of Manipulation. With it, I'll be able to perfect my magic of control, and I'll be one step closer to my goal." Rowan's smile started turning evil. "I'll probably be gone for about one week. I want you to stay here and hone your magical powers. While I'd love my companion to come with me, I need to do this alone. That and I need someone guarding the castle. If you need to contact me, we have a telepathic connection. Just make a thought, and will it that I will hear it. Try it."
"Okay Master! I promise that, when you get back, I'll be much more magically competent!" You swore, trying the telepathy.
"Great job! That's the spirit!" Rowan smiled, petting your head and stroking your scales like you would do with a dog. "I have a plan for you, and you will like it. Once you are strong enough, you're going to get a very special present from me."
"Then I'd better get practicing!" You smiled.
"I'm off. See you in one week Gannoth!" Rowan smiled before disappearing into the shadows. You sat in the empty room, devising a strategy for training. As you were pondering the best method of attack for this week long training montage, Rowan reappeared in the room. "Forgot my cloak. Oops." Rowan laughed, grabbing his cloak and disappearing once again.
"He is certainly odd, but I like him. He's a good master!" You thought, smiling as you continued pondering how you'd train.
A brief summary of the next week, because timeskips!
You read many books on magic, your mind finally understanding the Draconic language. You also read a book on Royal Irontails, the species of dragon you were. That's when you learned something amazing. While mages, dragons and other magical being specialize in certain forms of magic, they can know any. For example, you specialize in Dark and Fire magic, but you can still learn telepathy, telekinesis, water magic, and anything else. Royal Irontails naturally excel in learning new types of magic, and Rowan made it explicitly clear that you'd surpass any dragon. Plus, Rowan's gift was starting to seem amazing, whatever it may be.
Once you finished reading the books, learning numerous things about dragons, magic and anything else you could, you started to do some practical training. You hunted a lot in the Forest of Porentia, finding all of your meals there. You never once killed something without magic. You practiced flying around, eventually becoming so agile that you could weave through the dense trees of the forest at breakneck speeds without touching a single tree. You also honed your magic a lot. You could look at a tree and make it explode. At one point, you found a building with someone living in it. You remembered that Rowan described the whole forest as his prey. You smiled as you realized that this man could be your dinner. After all, dragons do eat humans. The building was a small, stone structure, about two stories tall. You could hear the man inside making dinner. You were hungry. You flew up to the building, and looked at the man. He seemed middle aged, the age of a father, yet you knew he was alone. Using your inhuman strength, you grasped one of the foundation stones, crushing it to dust with ease. The whole building collapsed. As you saw the man laying under the stone, writhing in pain, you used your fire magic to burst him in flames. Unlike the last time, it felt great and satisfying to watch a man suffer until his last breath. Once he was completely fried, you ate a feast fit for a king, of dragons... But who knows, maybe you will be one soon!
By the end of the week, you felt extremely proud of your progress. During one of your village destroyings, (for lack of a better term...) you destroyed each building one by one with your dark magic, not even looking at the buildings as they burst. (Think of "Cool guys don't look at explosions", but the explosions are created by you.) Master will surely be proud. You were spreading terror in his name. When he returned, you reported your progress, and Rowan was very pleased. When asked to show him what you could do now, you flew to the forest and nonchalantly destroyed a village, having fun doing it. "Gannoth, you are really something." Rowan smiled. "You've only been my familiar one week, most of it I was gone, and you've already become this strong!"
"Thank you Master." You smiled, bowing your head in appreciation. "As your goal entails, I spread terror in your name, and had quite a lot of fun doing it."
"Anyway, that's enough Gannoth. I'm sure that your hunting has also helped your instincts." Rowan started. "But, I think you'll like what I'm going to do for you. I think I've solved the 'dinner table issue'."
"You did? How?" You asked curiously. "Dragons don't really fit at tables."
"I know." Rowan smiled. "Remember my ring of warping?" Rowan asked, pointing to his rings. You noticed a new one, a pure blue ring. You read that the Ring of Manipulation, the ring Rowan was searching for, looked exactly like that.
"Yes Master. Also congratulations on finding the ring!" You smiled.
"Thank you Gannoth. How observant of you." Rowan smiled, knowing he picked correctly for his familiar. "I'm going to give you some of its power. You'll have the power to shape-shift into anything you wish. That way, if you want to sit at the table, you can shift into a more human appearance. On top of this, different forms will give you different powers. Your most powerful form will still be your current, 'true form', I think... but you will be able to have many numerous others."
"Thank you Master!" You cried. "You're too kind!" Tears were flooding out of your sapphire and amber eyes.
"It's because I realized something on my journey." Rowan started, hugging you. "I realized how lonely I was without you, and after having you for one day, how much you've changed me. That week alone was difficult for me. Think of this as a gift for changing me for the better, and accepting me for who I am. A ruthless killer, destroyer and monster."
"Well Master, we can be those things together." You cried. "With your power, you can rule the world. With me by your side, you can rule the dragons too."
"What do you mean?" Rowan asked confusedly. "Rule the dragons?"
"Your goal is terror, destruction and death. You can rule the world with an iron fist, smiting those in your way." You began explaining, your tears going away. "My goal is to be powerful enough for the dragons of the world to accept me as their leader. By the transitive property, if you are my Master, and I am the Master of the Dragons, you are the Master of the Dragons."
"Gannoth, you've been reading a lot." Rowan smiled, starting to cry. "I love you."
"Don't cry Master." You said, trying to comfort your master.
"Thank you Gannoth. Now, who's ready to become a shapeshifter!" Rowan smiled.
"Me!" You yelled, raising your hand. Rowan's hand started to glow an intense green color. Soon, you felt a familiar feeling. Green, swirling energy surrounded your entire body, filling you up with power. After a minute of this, the energy disappeared, and you were back on the ground.
"Try focusing on changing into something else." Rowan suggested. You concentrated on becoming something else, but you couldn't think of anything. You settled on the spitting image of Rowan, and tried focusing your magic. Soon, you looked like Rowan's twin. "So that's what I look like!" Rowan laughed.
"Sorry Master, it was the first form I could think of." You said, trying not to insult your Master. "How exactly do my powers work Master?"
"Well, depending on the form, you might be able to control other forms of magic, besides your main two." Rowan started. "For example, since you are currently me, you'll be able to do the kinds of magic I do, but on a much lesser scale than myself. Since you are in my form though, it'll come as naturally as your usual magical focuses. Try a different form." You concentrated on a new form. One that will give you interesting powers. You settled on an angel, but one that looked more evil. Black wings, black hair, black robes, no halo and red eyes instead of the usual angelic portrayal. You focused your energy on becoming the angel, and felt yourself changing. You kept the same physical build as Rowan, but imagined different, younger facial features. You also made your skin slightly paler than Rowan's tanned skin. You felt two large, feathery wings appear on your back, and your long, black hair fall to your shoulder blades. Lastly, robes black as night formed on your body, giving you an appearance so intimidating, Rowan himself seemed uneasy. "Gannoth? Is that you?"
"Of course it is Master." You replied, getting used to your angelic body. "I can feel myself exploding with dark power. Much more than I was as the dragon."
"Well, this form replaced all of your fire expertise with that of dark magic." Rowan stated. "Judging by your magical aura, this is your 'ultimate form'. A master of Dark Magic. The Angel of Death." You started getting giddy at the idea of being the Angel of Death. "The main reason why you should not keep this form all the time is simple though. It is very consuming. Being in forms other then your 'true form', in this case, your dragon form, requires using a lot of magical energy. This one in particular can wipe all of your energy out in an hour. Once that hour is up, you're back to being a dragon, who can't use any of his magical powers. You need to be very careful with this form Gannoth. For now though, I want to see what it can do." Rowan said, anxious to see what your new form can do. You too were curious to see what your 'ultimate form' allows you to accomplish.
"Master, you might want to give yourself the ability to fly, because I can't fly you to the forest." You stated. Rowan, realizing this too, created two wings on his back, allowing him to fly. The two of you flew to the forest, where only a few villages remained.
"Gannoth. I want you to all out." Rowan smiled. "If you destroy the whole forest, the more the merrier."
"With pleasure Master." You smiled an evil smile as you raised a hand by your head. A large, black ball formed over your head. After a few seconds of charging, you threw it into the forest. Once it contacted the ground, the entire forest blew up in a pillar of blackness. Once the dark energy subsided, nothing remained but an empty crater. "How was that Master?" You asked, panting from using so much energy.
"That was incredible Gannoth." Rowan said, completely flabbergasted. "Remember when I said that I'll decide when you can address me informally? I think now's the time."
"Thank you Master." You smiled, reverting back you your dragon form. "Hop on the Gannoth Express. One way ride to the castle." Rowan laughed as he created the magical saddle. This time, you were prepared for it. Once Rowan was safely on your back, he got rid of his wings.
"Gannoth, you are so much stronger than I thought you would be." Rowan said, patting your head.
"Yeah, but not as strong as you Master." You smiled. "I bet you could destroy that forest by looking at it."
"You know, I probably could have." Rowan laughed. "I don't know why I never did!"
"Master, I have a question for you." You started. "You said a while ago that, like myself, you are much stronger physically than you appear. What did you mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like." Rowan stated. "Despite the fact that I am not overly muscular, I am very strong. For example, I can crush a stone in my hand if I try hard enough. However, I'm no where near as physically strong as a dragon."
"Nobody is." You smiled, flying back to the castle. When you were almost there, you noticed more knights by the moat to the castle. "Do you want to deal with that?" You asked, pointing to the large group of knights by the castle.
"It already is." Rowan laughed as he snapped his finger. Immediately, you saw a pillar of blackness surround the knights, annihilating them, ripping their souls from their bodies. "Okay, 12 souls." Rowan counted. "Fly over there so I can get them."
"Okay Master." You said, obeying his command. When you landed, you walked over to the souls, trying to look at them up close. They were pure white, emanating good and holy energy from them. This made you feel uncomfortable. Why would you want to be anywhere near those who are good and holy. You and Rowan were the antithesis of good and holy. That's why you stole their souls.
"Gannoth, you can have four of them if you wish." Rowan said smiling.
"Thank you Master!" You smiled, grouping four souls together and eating them in one gulp. You felt their power surge through your body, making you a bit stronger. "Master, do you absorb souls much?"
"No. This is usually rare for me." Rowan explained. "I only do it when I'm particularly annoyed, or just want to. This is the most I've ever done it. I usually save it for very strong foes, like that wizard."
"So why did you do it this time?" You asked curiously.
"Why not?" Rowan laughed, absorbing the last of his eight souls.
"Good point." You laughed, returning to the castle. Despite it being lunch time, you were not hungry at all. You figured the souls filled you up until dinner time. "Master, now that the forest is gone, where will we train?" You asked.
"I was just thinking that." Rowan replied. "You obliterating the forest made me realize that it's about time to start taking over the world, destroying everything as I go. We don't need that forest anymore."
"I like that." You smiled, black flames forming in your eyes as you laughed evilly. "Let's show the world who their master is."
"Me." Rowan laughed evilly, you along side. It was almost time to start your reign of terror. With Rowan's new ring, your new power, and newly found friendship between you and Rowan, (Before it was more Master vs. Pet, now Rowan sees you almost as an equal, while still knowing you are subservient to him) you felt unstoppable. Maybe you were, maybe you were not. But soon, you will find out the true extent of Rowan's power.
End of Chapter
Llamas2000
Note: If you have any questions, or just want to say anything, feel free to PM me here on the site. I will respond to the best of my abilities as soon as I am able. Also, I may be gone for a bit. Feel free to add onto the story! I'm curious as to which directions other people see the adventures of Gannoth and Rowan go. One note is that, despite how strong you are, Rowan is still vastly superior to you. Only in the Ultimate Angel form can you come close to Rowan's dark magic prowess. Anyway, thank you for reading!
Note: All choices in the suggestions below the chapter are Pure, 100%, Grade A Evil