“She’s a woman, not a Dragon, Auria” Cara said.

  “But she has paint on her skin that makes her look like a dragon,” Auria said

  Dropping to one knee, Pandora looked into Auria’s eyes and said, “Even if I am a Dragon I wouldn’t hurt you or your friends. she promised not to. Plus, aren’t their good dragons?”

  “Yes,” Auria stammered as everyone was looking at her, “but she can see the good in people. You are not like them.

  Cara interrupted, “Auria, what do you see when you look at your friends?”

  “I see, I see neither the good nor bad, but I do see hints of both,” Cara said.

  “Exactly! Pandora is like you, she is a newling. She may be bigger and taller than you but she is even younger than you are.” Cara told her.

  Pandora looked at Cara quizzically as Auria asked, “How can she be younger than me, babies are younger and they are small?”

  “Maybe you should ask Pandora how old she is?” Cara said gently

  Pandora turned back to Auria who looked at her, as did all the other children, as she asked, “How old are you, Pandora?”

  “I think I was born yesterday,” she said.

  “But you can talk and walk and you’re so tall,” one of the little boys said.

  “My mom taught me some things before we were separated”

  “Your moms not here? Bobbie’s mom isn’t here either,” another little girl with red hair and freckles said.

  At that point, Pandora was bombarded with questions from all the children as she sat down and they came over and talked with her. Cara stepped back and watched from a distance but when she saw everyone getting along the supervision was left to Miss Novella. That first day, talking and playing with the children, was the 2nd best day of Pandora’s life, though she was pretty sure that it was still the same day she’d been born.

  Because she was so big she was given her own room and started class the next day. For the next four weeks, she stayed with the children and played and learned with them. She was given simple exercises and tasks but she learned a lot. Also, she didn’t see Cara much after the 2nd day. Miss Novella was my teacher and she was whom Pandora saw every day. At night the children went to their families and she was left to read or walk through a small park until sundown. Then she would go to sleep and dream.

  Her dreams were filled with deplorable acts her mother had committed as a Black Dragon and also the path she took to leave her evil ways behind her. The dreams of her mother meeting her father were her favorite and she would try to hold onto them for as long as she could so she could get just one more glimpse of her father and mother.

  When she woke in the morning, she’d meet up with the children for breakfast and they’d start lessons. she learned how to read and write as well as the names of a lot of things around her that weren’t part of the teachings. Miss Novella realized from the start that while she was a newling, she was also very smart and had a lot of knowledge already passed down to her.

  After a month, she was led to a room and given some tests. When she was finished with the tests she was led to a cafeteria where she had a light lunch and was told to wait. A couple of hours later Cara came and sat down next to her.

  “Hello Cara, how have you been?” Pandora asked.

  “That’s a significant change from the frightened girl I met a month ago,” Cara said.

  “Playing and learning with the children helped but if I’m being honest, the sleep and dreams my mother left to me taught me more.”

  “What did your dreams teach you?”

  “That the body you are born into does not define you and you can choose to be different?”

  “How did your mom teach you that from your dreams?” Cara asked.

  “My mother was a Black Dragon, not truly evil to her core but self-serving and definitely evil in that pursuit,” she said.

  “What changed?”

  “She met my father.”

  “And who was your father?”

  “I’m confused about that, in my dreams, he’s called Johnathan, Adam, or Adamantadine, I’m not sure which name is correct.”

  “Couldn’t they all be correct?”

  “People can have different names?” As soon as she asked she felt her face flush and lowered her head embarrassed, “Of course, people can have different names,” she said.

  “Do not beat yourself up too badly, you have been amongst the innocence of children for the majority of your life. That is about to change, however,” Cara said

  Pandora looked up, “Really, how?” she asked excitedly.

  “The tests you took earlier were to gauge your ability to reason, think, read and write. The tests also checked your knowledge of history and the events of the past,”

  “How did I do?” she asked quickly

  Cara smiled, “You did extremely well in all but two subjects. Your math skills are good as is your ability to think logically and find solutions to problems. Your knowledge of science was wanting but your answers showed that you had a basic understanding. Your two weak areas, which are the same two areas all children struggle with are history and magic.”

  “That makes sense, how could I know about history here, even the memories my mother shared don’t resemble this place. As for Magic, Do I need to learn about magic?” she asked

  “If you wish to survive and thrive here, then yes, you must learn about history and magic.”

  “When do I get started?” Pandora asked

  “As soon as we’re done here I will be taking you to meet Master Soleran. Master Soleran is a master of history and knows quite a bit. He will be taking over those lessons. When he thinks you’ve learned what you need to understand magic and how it ties into everything, then we’ll start your magical studies.”

  “Why not start with the studies of magic first?”

  “Because magic is the reason the Oracle sits in the center of a crater 20 miles in diameter. Magic is why the city we are in sits on the circumference of that crater and magic is why The First City still exists.”

  “Circumference?” she asked.

  “So you still have some stuff to learn, we’ll add geometry to your list of classes. The circumference means the boundary of a circle. Things are inside the circumference of a circle or they are outside the circle,” Cara said.

  “Oh, that’s easy enough to understand. Is there a book with lots of words and definitions in it I can look at?” she asked.

  “It’s called a dictionary, and yes there is. I’ll make sure one is waiting in your room. Also, there are dictionaries for many languages. We have access to Common, Elvish, Dwarvish, Gnomish, and a few other exotic races. Would you like to see those too?” Cara asked.

  “I think one is fine for now. I’ll just start with common,” she said then thought quickly, “Do you know of a language called English?”

  Cara hesitated for the barest instant but she caught it and then she said, “I know of English, but we do not have a dictionary for it.”

  “That was the language my father spoke and taught my mother. I learned Common and Dragonesse from her,” Pandora said proudly

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  “Perhaps someday I’ll be able to show you where to go to find others that speak English, here though, if you can speak it, you are one of the very few here that can do so,” Cara said. “Master Soleran awaits, we should go.”

  Cara stood and she did too. Pandora picked up her plate and cup, put them in their proper places, and followed Cara out of the cafeteria to a teleportation room. Now that she knew they were for transportation she entered without hesitation. They both appeared in another identical room with the word School on the wall. Behind them, the word Newling was on the wall behind the metal plate she was stepping off of. Each room only had one destination.

  She’d learned that there were several teleporters in each hub. She was now at the school hub. There were also signs along the walls. She hadn’t noticed the markings when she arrived because she hadn’t been looking for them. She needed to be more observant of her surroundings. With that in mind, she paid attention to the turns they made so she could get back to this room when she needed to.

  They came to another room where an older bald man was seated behind the table. He looked up as they entered the room, “Hello Cara, it’s 1 o’clock now Would you please come back, or send someone, at 4 o’clock to show Pandora to her new quarters? This first day shouldn’t take too long.”

  “As you wish. I will be back to get her at 4 o’clock,” Cara said as she grabbed and squeezed her hand. Letting go, she turned and left

  “Hello Pandora, I am Master Soleran and I have been fully briefed on your arrival and knowledge level. Do you know why you’re here?” Master Soleran asked.

  Standing in front of his desk she said, “To learn history, is what I was told”

  “And if we are to learn history, where do you think we should start?”

  “At the beginning?” she asked questioningly.

  “Very Good!” Master Soleran said as he stood and walked around the desk motioning for her to take a seat at one of the desks at the front of the room, “If you’d have a seat we can get started,” he said.

  Pandora moved to a desk and sat down.

  “As I understand it, you came from outside this Realm, in fact, I believe you came from outside our Reality but I cannot be sure. What I do know from just observing you these last couple of minutes is that you have been touched by Primal Chaos, something that forever changes anything it comes into contact with or obliterates. Obliteration is usually what happens. That you’re here implies that you survived the experience.”

  “I barely remember the experience,” she muttered.

  Master Soleran paused for a moment and thought about her outburst before he continued, “A Reality is all that is or was. As far as we’ve ever been able to determine. Our reality is surrounded by Primal Chaos, though to be honest that information was handed down by the Gods. No one has verified what is outside of reality. Within that Reality are many layers of existence. These layers are as numerous as there are aspects of reality. You can think of these layers as the glue that holds where we sit together. Where we are sitting is in one of the Layers. In that layer, we have what are called Realms. Those Realms can be varied and many. Between each of the Realms is the Astral Plane and Ethereal Plane which connect them all and also connect to the many other layers. Now two terms that can be easily misunderstood are Cosmos and Universe. Here the Cosmos is the Universe. In other Realms though a Cosmos can contain many Universes. Are you with me so far?”

  “We’re in a Cosmos which is a Universe,” she said half-heartedly, “that was a lot of stuff to take in.”

  “It is a lot, and not that interesting, I know, but you need to at least have this background to understand this next part. When This Cosmos first formed and the Universe within it developed, the Universe within the Cosmos went through many cycles of beginning and ending. During that time, many of the smartest among the races tried to slow or stop this cycle but couldn’t figure out how to. Eventually one group of people, or one person, no one knows for sure gave the Cosmos sentience somehow. No one knows how exactly but when that intelligence has spoken, it has shared this knowledge with us. This is where the history lesson starts. When this intelligence became a self-aware Cosmos, it also became what we now call a Dungeon. In those early days, monsters and creatures out of nightmares started randomly appearing and attacking everyone. Many died while many retreated to The Last City of the races and fought against the monster hoard for years.”

  “I haven’t seen any monsters in the city though?” she said.

  “I was getting to that. Since you visited the Oracle, you know that the center of this city is a vast flat desert. To defeat one of the largest monsters to ever attack the races that had appeared in the center of the city the races utilized technology and magic to create something that obliterated a 20-mile radius. When this was done the intelligence realized something was going on and reached out to speak to the survivors of that devastation. This city was declared a safe zone by the intelligence and all the races here worked together to repair the damage done.”

  “If there are other races here, why haven’t I seen them?”

  “In the beginning, it was easier to keep everyone segregated. That practice has continued for as long as anyone can remember. There are areas within the city where cultures mingle and there is one area where everyone comes together but for the most part, newlings are kept separated until they have enough education to understand how precious and fragile this society is. While this city was once known as The Last City, it is The First City any of us have been born into or know.”

  “So what am I here to learn then, that history seems pretty straightforward,” Pandora asked.

  “That is the basic history of the very beginning. We still need to touch on the various races that live here, and their structure. How their cultural history impacts the city and how you must act while within each of the cultural settings you interact with. Then we need to work with you to find out where you are going to fit in that structure and how best you can help serve The First City.”

  “What do people work toward here?” she asked.

  “People work to become stronger and survive their explorations outside the city. This is mostly done by adventuring parties and scouts. When you arrived you were about five miles outside of the safe zone. Two of our scouts saw you destroy a hunter scorpion and knew there was something special about you.”

  “How do I become like them, going out to help people in need and whatnot?” she asked.

  “You have already taken the first step. You need to finish school then we test your aptitudes and you chose the path you wish to pursue,” Master Soleran said.

  “If I might ask, what path did you choose?”

  “Originally I was a slightly above-average life mage. When I reached the level of Master, however, I decided to step back and try to master my class in other ways. I still help those that are injured in the city but I no longer go out as part of an Adventuring team.”

  “What is an Adventuring Team and why don’t a lot of people just go out and take what they need?”

  “That was a very good question and not one I’d expect from someone so young. Your mother must have shared more memories than even you are aware of,” he said as he paused for a moment. Master Soleran took a breath before he continued, Remember when I described this Cosmos as within a Realm and this Realm as being on one of the Layers?”

  “Yes, that seems pretty easy to follow”

  “Okay, this entire Cosmos is a Dungeon.”

  “Say again”

  “This entire Cosmos is a Dungeon”

  “I asked you to say again because I don’t understand what that has to do with anything. So this Cosmos is a dungeon, so what?”

  “A Dungeon is a manifestation of magic or an area that has been saturated with so much magic that magic maintains it. Dungeons follow laws even older than the knowledge passed unto us by the Gods. One of those rules is that only Adventuring parties may enter a dungeon and grow. An Adventuring party can consist of no more than 6 people, without certain perks and benefits coming into play that are only awarded by the Dungeon. If more than six people enter the dungeon very bad things happen.”

  “Is that why a big monster appeared in the middle of the city?”

  “Yes, the dungeon was still new and hadn’t fully developed sentience yet. In fact, a lot of our scholars believe that the release of so much energy and so many souls is what caused the dungeon to become fully aware. As soon as it did, it asked for a parlay with the survivors, and an agreement was made. The First City was declared a safe zone within the Dungeon allowing any number of people to come and go as they please. To venture out from the safe zone in more than a party of six though is forbidden. Not just by the leaders of the city but the dungeon itself.”

  “Has anyone ever tested that rule?”

  “Yes, but not here. There are other smaller safe zones in this world but none are as big or grand as this one. A group of dark elves didn’t believe that the entire planet was a dungeon and left their territory to invade another nearby safe zone. The entire army was killed to the last man and woman.”

  “Are there any exceptions to the rule of six?” she asked.

  “Interestingly enough, yes. Anyone can willingly change their title to Dungeon Medic or Dungeon Healer in their class tab and travel out into the dungeon without the threat of being attacked by the monsters. There are some limitations. The title can only activate while in a safe area. Also, you must have the ability to use magic to heal and you can, and must, heal intelligent monsters of the dungeon if you come across them when they are wounded and not fighting with Adventurers.”

  “Why would anyone want to do that?” she asked confused.

  “While toggled as a healer you can gather herbs, mine, and scavenge without the threat of being attacked by anything though they only get experience for the amount of healing they do at a 10 to 1 ratio. 10 points of health healed for every 1 experience point.”

  “That’s all healing done?”

  “Yes, players and monsters. If you heal either, the dungeon keeps track of it and you earn experience when you return to the safe area. Healers will earn more experience doing quests with parties but some loners and druid types try to help out the more sentient monsters in the dungeon areas,” Master Soleran said.

  “That’s a lot to learn,” she said.

  “And we have still only covered the very basics. Also, our time is up,” he said as Cara stepped into the room.

  Where had the three hours gone, “Thank you for your time and instruction Master Soleran. It looks like I have a lot to learn”

  “It was my absolute pleasure, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said as he made his way back to his desk and sat down.

  Pandora stood and followed Cara out of the room. Cara showed her where the Cafeteria in this section of the city was as well as her room which had its own shower and toilet in it. Also, there was a toilet and a couple of books on a desk with a magical light that floated over them.

  “And that’s the quick tour,” Cara said. “Tomorrow make sure you take all the books here except for the dictionary with you to class. That is yours to keep and can be left in this room when you head to class in the morning. Breakfast opens at 6 o’clock and class starts promptly at 8 o’clock. The school will get out at 3 o’clock and then you’ll have two hours of physical training before you are released for the night.”

  “Thanks for everything Cara, I have a lot to think about and I think I’m going to take a long hot shower and then get ready for tomorrow,” Pandora said.

  “You’re welcome. Good luck and hopefully we’ll get to see each other now and then,” Cara said as she turned and walked toward the teleportation chambers.