The Grand Academy of Vassern was well known for being the best place to learn magic at. Any and all branches of magic could be practiced within its walls, although there were some branches of magic that were, obviously, under very rigorous scrutiny while being taught there. That also included Technomancy, a recently-created branch of magic, a further expansion on the branches of Enchantment and Permutation. But one of the most well-known aspects of the Grand Academy of Vassern was its faculty. You see, the name of Grand Academy didn’t come only from its great esteem among all races in the known world, but also for its sheer size, for most of its professors were dragons.


There was Kiskan, the serpentine, black-scaled Evocation professor, capable of calling forth the wrath of the elements upon his foes. There was Lassavante, the white-scaled scholar and History professor, with vast knowledge regarding every civilization that had ever existed in the world. There was Ridara, the blue-scaled mistress of Divination magic, capable of predicting the near future with great accuracy. There was Ahmsiram, the green-scaled Enchantment professor, whose skills at weaving magic in arcane materials was only surpassed by his apparent love of gold and shining things… And there was the current Dragonaut, headmaster of the Academy, Rodahz, the red, blue and gold-scaled master of Technomancy.


All sorts of races could find education in the Grand Academy of Vassern, from elves to goblins, dwarves to orcs. Even trolls and ogres were capable of spellcasting. But, there was a race that had caught all by surprise. They were very new in the world of Unam, quite literally! The first humans appeared in the world between five to ten years ago. And yes, appeared. They came from strange portals that appeared all over the place. Apparently, something caused humans to come through these portals, and they didn’t seem to remember much of their previous lives, only that they came from a place called ‘Earth’. They were quite the odd bunch, most other races agreed on that. Their appearance resembled the most those of elves, but without the long ears or the blue-purplish or dark skins.


But, their most uncommon aspect was their inability of casting even the most basic of spells. No human has shown any sort of capacity of shaping the weave of magic that permeated the world. It was not known exactly why they were unable to control the weave like pretty much all sapient life in Unam, but they weren’t. That didn’t stop them from embracing life in the new world they found themselves in, though, and even enrolling in the Grand Academy of Vassern, despite their clear lack of capacity when it came to learning most of what was taught there.

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The Dragonaut’s office was an impressive room. Obviously, it had been built vast, with the comfort of its gargantuan occupants in mind. But it was also filled with all sorts of magical paraphernalia one could imagine. Considering it was Rodahz’s century as Dragonaut, there were several technomancy experiments around, the bubbling of alchemical substances, the hiss of steam valves and the sounds of piston moving could be heard all around the room. They were the perfect background noise for Rodahz, although someone not used to it could find the constant noise to be a bit grating, even if it wasn’t particularly loud. Of course, dragons were more than capable of tuning out that noise, but Professor Kallim, the bronze-scaled professor of Conjuration, found the place a little annoying nonetheless.


One of his clawed paws reached up to pull a huge book out of the bookshelf filled with all sort of tomes on magic, and he opened it on a random page, the drawing of a Great Balioner staring back at him with its five evil eyes, drawn to an almost life-like perfection, as Kallim waited for Rodahz to finish his call.


“No, Ahmsiram. For the seventh time this year, I will not allow you to open a ‘Dungeon Lair Trap Design’ club. I don’t care if you think that’s an important skill, you know we don’t want to cultivate that sort of behavior among some of our more… Traditionalist draconic students.” The tiredness was apparent in the Dragonaut’s voice, as he spoke to the set of sending stones. “I doubt there IS a ‘resounding chorus of students clamoring for this club’ as you put it… I must stop this now, Professor Kallim is here to see me.” The voice of the green-scaled dragon could still be heard from the sending stones before Rodahz severed the magic connecting their ‘call’. A sigh escaped his muzzle, and he turned his attention to Kallim.


“I apologize for the wait, Kallim. As you know, Professor Ahmsiram is quite… Insistent with his ideas for ‘interesting and exciting clubs’.” The Dragonaut said, and Kallim snorted a bit. “I do not envy you, Dragonaut Rodahz. Juggling all the needs of Vassern must be quite tiresome.” Rodahz rolled his eyes and snorted. “You have no idea. It’s no surprise some of our peers don’t accept the mantle of Dragonaut.” Then, Rodahz beckoned the other dragon to come and sit on the cushion set on the ground in front of his own desk, an impressive piece of woodwork, made of Ronadiran Ironwood.


Kallim took the offer and sat down on the comfortable cushion, resting his paws and curling his tail around them, adjusting his wings so they were folded against his back and in a comfortable position. His frills flared a bit and he let out a comfortable sigh. “Would you like something to drink?” Rodahz asked, as he made his way toward the large, strange contraption near the wall, set on a stone alcove. “I will accept some tea, Dragonaut.” Kallim responded, and Rodahz nodded, before setting a cup under one of the nozzles that stuck out of the machine. He pulled a lever, and hot tea began to pour out of the nozzle. He filled the cup, which was capable of holding several gallons of liquid, and then set another cup under a different nozzle, and a dark liquid began to pour out of it. When both cups were full, he brought them back to the desk and offered the cup of tea to Kallim, while taking a sip of his own mug.


“What is that drink, Dragonaut Rodahz?” Kallim asked, after taking a sip of his own tea, a refreshing brew that he favored. That machine WAS quite effective, he had to admit. “Oh, this? It’s a human drink.” Rodahz answered, and Kallim looked at the dark fluid in the mug with an unsure expression on his face. “A human drink?” He asked, his voice tone showing his doubt about the quality of the drink. “Yes, the humans call it ‘coufii’. It can be a bit of an acquired taste, but it’s quite good, and effective at keeping a wyrm awake.” Rodahz said with a chuckle, and Kallim raised an eyebrow, studying the larger dragon. “Hmm. I might try it another time.”


“So, Kallim, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company today?” Rodahz asked, and Kallim adjusted his position, tail thumping a little bit on the cushion. “Well, Dragonaut, I wanted to bring to your attention that we are having a problem with the supply of Junn Crystals. As you know, they are quite important for my clas-”


But Kallim’s words were cut short when a door opened in the office. But not the grand main door that led into the office. Instead, it was a side door, and a small one at that. Well, small for the average 50-foot-long dragon, like Kallim. Out of the door, emerged a most curious figure. He could tell it was a human, for she didn’t have the long ears of an elf, nor was she short enough to be a dwarf. She was garbed in the sort of outfit he had seen the students in the Technomancy classes wearing, thick pants, long-sleeved shirts, leather gauntlets and a leather apron to keep them protected from spills, sparks and jolts of electricity. She had long red hair, and she had a huge smile on her face, as she lugged what seemed like a large, intricately carved and decorated tube with a nozzle-like tip, and some hoses connecting it to a large-ish bulb on the back, a sling offering the human support to carry it more easily.


“Master Rodahz! I finally managed to adjust the flow of aether! It was just a matter of making sure the fire crystal’s fumes were first going through the aether-flux chamber, so it could properly liquify and allow for an easier combustion!” Her voice was excited, matching the expression on her face, as she came to a stop not too far from the two massive dragons. “That’s good, Apprentice Julie!” Rodahz said, offering the human a single nod. “Look, I managed to make it work for good now!” She said, and aimed the nozzle of the strange tube she was holding into the air. Kallim watched, a bit dumbfounded, as the human pulled a lever on the side of the tube…


And a humongous gout of flame came from the nozzle, roaring into the air like the breath of a large fire dragon, like the Dragonaut himself! Despite being naturally resistant to flames, Kallim could feel the intense heat coming from the fire, his eyes widening into a shocked expression from the sheer display of power that the human’s contraption was producing. Rodahz himself showed no sign of distress or shock, only a pleased expression on his face, as his apprentice pushed the lever to its neutral state again, with a click, and the flames disappeared, leaving the smell of burning in the air.


“And I managed to do this too! Totally by accident, at first, but works as well!” Julie announced, and pushed the lever forward, instead of pulling it back… And Kallim couldn’t contain his yelp of surprise as he jumped back. For, from the tip of the strange tube the human was holding, was coming a fan of electric bolts, twisting and crackling fiercely. Thankfully for Kallim, the display was short, as the tube let out a ‘thud’ and the electricity bolts dispersed. Julie pouted, and huffed. “Stupid machine…” She said, hitting the back of the tube with her hand.


“That’s quite impressive, Apprentice Julie. I must say, your machine is very interesting, and I will review it more with you another time.” Rodahz spoke, and Julie looked up to him with a wide smile on her lips again. “Of course, Master! Thank you so much! I will return to the workshop and continue to work on it.” She said, before looking at the other dragon in the room, as if she just noticed him there, and smiled at him as well, bowing lightly. “Ah, sorry, Professor Kallim! I’ll leave you and Master Rodahz to your talk.” She said, and Julie turned around and rushed back through the door she had burst out of. The whole ordeal took less than two minutes, and Kallim was still wearing an expression of shock on his face.


“Humans are quite the interesting creatures, aren’t they? Despite not having magic, they seem to adapt very well to everything we have here, and they are the best students when it comes to Technomancy…” The Dragonaut said, a hint of pride in his voice. Kallim looked at him with wide eyes still, and Rodahz smiled and raised his cup. “Would you like to try some coufii, as you tell me the problem with the Junn Crystals?” He offered, only for the door to open and Julie’s head to stick out of the workshop. “It’s called coffee, Master!”