Ascent of a Dragon

Okay, let's go over this from the start. it's been at least a few days now. I'm not dead yet, but things haven't exactly improved. I was hoping this would be one of the worlds with some kind of Mana-based system in place so I don't have to deal with an early attunement. Unfortunately for me, there either isn't one, or it's not available to me, so I'll have to attune directly to one of the pure energies.

Aleph sits comfortably on a patch of moss as she contemplates her next steps while Bloop nibbles happily on a lizard leg next to her. I would still rather wait a bit for this body to develop, but it's clearly not designed to function without attunement. I can't even seem to do basic things like heal and see, and I'm pretty sure I'm not digesting food properly! My wing is still broken, or at least fractured, and none of my scales have grown back. I'm not bleeding now at least... much.

So that leaves the question... Which energy do I attune to? Angelic and Demonic are out. I wasn't born with them so I can't use them without exploding or dying a horrifying death, plain and simple. That leaves Mana or Aether. Mana makes the most sense, after all pretty much every dragon is optimised to generate and use it. But... Ugh Mana is just so icky! Aleph slams her tail in frustration, causing Bloop to jump and give Aleph a confused glare, before going back to her nibbling.

It's icky and inconsistent, always doing whatever it wants, and it's ICKY! More importantly I would have to change the way I think to get the best results. If you truly believe Mana can make fire which freezes things it will find a way to do just that. So I would have to convince myself of stupid things like that to get anywhere. Maybe that's why most dragons have such strange ways of casting like breathing out spells and stuff... Huh.

Anyway, so that leaves me with Aether. Love the stuff. You tell it to do something and it does it, no more no less. People say it's harder to use, I say they're just lazy. Which people? Huh... Guess I forgot. Must just mean they don't matter. So anyway, issue with Aether is this body is clearly meant to handle Mana. I'm even generating some right now! Eeeww!

Another frustrated thump prompts Bloop to skitter around to the other side of Aleph in a huff, in hopes of being free from further nibbling interruptions. Uuuugh changing that is not going to be pleasant. I'll have to manually reshape my stomach, generator, core? Whatever they call that organ on dragons. The one that turns food into Mana, I'll have to change it into an Aether generator. Leaving it as is will just cause the Mana it generates to interfere with my Aether whenever I want to use it.

Of course this is the textbook example of exactly what NOT to do with your Aura. Messing with the stuff that binds body and soul is frankly a terrible idea. But really, who's really keeping track? Bloop? Smart lil' critter for sure, especially if the last few days are anything to go by. Even made me this cool new hat! The hat in question sat sprawled across her head. A failed attempt at creating a web between the horns which simply refused to allow anything to stick, resulting in loose strands falling every which way. More of an ugly hairdo than a hat, but if you like it, you like it.

But ability to complain, she does not have. For she is a spider and cannot speak. Therefore I'm clear to do dumb-ass things like tearing up and refactoring my vital organs with my Aura. And it's not like I have much of an alternative either. I would need Aether to alter my body like that safely. But for that I would need an Aether core to handle enough of it, which of course I'd need Aether to create. I could use Mana I guess... But it's icky!

Of course the problems don't end there... This place has like, no ambient Aether. Is this entire world like this? I hope not, it just feels wrong! There should be way more than this! The stuff sticks everywhere so why is there so little? There's definitely not enough for me to over-saturate myself with or even attune to. Thankfully though, I am a genius and have this covered though. Aether loves to cling to living things, or anything with a will really. So that's why I have this!

Aleph glances over at a massive pile of various dead lizards and bugs, larger than her and almost twice her body mass. Indeed I have been busy these past few days, stockpiling a nice source of Aether for my attunement. Aleph nods in satisfaction at her handiwork, prompting Bloop to give the dragon a confused glare, followed by a grimace at the corpse pile. Of course the tastiest things here are the rock lizards. Which taste like ROCKS

Whatever... If I can keep a constant supply of Aether saturated food in my stomach while I attune I'll be pumped with just enough Aether to both attune and help reshape my stomach, core, thing. My plan is perfect! Who cares if I might explode, or if literally everyone who knows anything about Aura would disagree? I never asked their opinion anyway!

Well I I've gone over this plan in my head at least six times now and it is entirely without (much) flaw, so it's about time I stop stalling and actually do it! Right... Now... Ah screw it! Begin! Operation 'Don't explode or crumple my internal organs into organic paste while I rewrite my biology to do something it really isn't designed to do' is a go! With a resolute huff followed by a deep, focused sigh Aleph flares her Aura, washing the entire room in her will.

"Iiiiiiii!" Bloop startles away, staring in shock and confusion as the dragon begins spearing corpses from her death pile and unceremoniously swallowing them whole before laying down to knead her Aura. Energies collide as Mana tries to reject the growing Aether, only to be suppressed by Aura. A soft violet glow emanates from the dragon's body, consequence of the violent battle being waged by the energies within, filling the room with a low pulsating hum.

Abject confusion washes over Bloop's face, fangs open wide, and eyes... Lacking any eyelids to actually express with. Aleph continues her internal battle, gripping her core tightly with her Aura, bending it into shape as she bathes it in every speck of Aether she can pull in from the food she's ingested on top of the tiny motes found scattered ambiently in the air with a practiced precision. Muscles tense in pain as ligaments are torn and rejoined in her core, the violet glow of her Aura becoming deeper as it absorbs and attunes to Aether, turning the hum into a heartbeat. Small shockwaves of Aura strum their way from the dragon to the cave walls. No other sounds escape into the room, save for the panicked squeaks and chitters of the tiny white spider, an intense focus washing through the violet Aura and reflecting against the walls.

Hours pass, with Aleph occasionally skewering more food from the corpse pile to keep up her stock of Aether. Bloop spends her time skittering around in a panic, debating whether to be confused or horrified at the display. Her lizard leg long since discarded to the ground below as she stares open mawed at the bizarre act before her. The spider's own cyan Aura holds, barely contained in her agitation as she tries to figure out what one is actually supposed to do in this situation. And what this situation even is for that matter.

Eventually though, Aleph's Aura begins to recede as she relaxes, letting out a deep sigh. The corpse pile sitting at less than half its former glory. Haaah success... Finally... I can actually feel the Aether properly flowing through me now. Hmm, this actually feels much better now. More natural. Ironic for a dragon, but still. Should've done this earlier. Aleph lets out another long sigh, standing up with a stretch before shaking off the stiffness built in her limbs from sitting in place for so long.

I should start actually healing soon. The energies are similar enough for it to just work with natural dragon biology for the most part, and a bit of manual input on my half to even things out. I won't get any fancy built-in tricks like Mana vision though. Aether is much too hands on for that, though I could always learn... or re-learn? Feels like I've done something like this before... a lot...

Before Aleph can take a step forward, a small spidery form bolts in front of her. "IIIIIIIII!" The squealing arachnid wildly wiggles its pedipalps in protest and frustration. Awww were you worried about me? I'm fine now so don't stress your cute lil' self any more.

Aleph leans in and softly pats the enraged spider on the head with her tail, finishing with a gentle boop with her snout. Bloop waggles some more in protest, with a few hops for good measure. Seeing the lack of effect in her outburst she collapses to the floor defeated. Aleph picks up the sulking fuzzball with her tail, placing her on her rightful perch beside the dragon's horns.

Right! Now I'm hungry again, and I need to up my supply of Aether. There's still some food left in the pile, but those things have almost no Aether in them. The lizards had the most and I ate them all, so I'll have to go hunting for more. I can get a vague sense of where there are dense pockets of Aether now, so I'll just use that to find something good.

Let's hunt!