Deaths are hard. But life continues on for the living whether they wish it or no. And so the group had to proceed to History class, taught by the inhuman, literally, teacher Karasondrias. Her classroom was large and spacious and looked as if it could probably have fitted a torture chamber inside and still have space for lunch. The decorations were all fake, all illusions. The only real ornament, was a rather ominous looking stone statue of a male adult human staring ahead into space with a look of abject fear on its face. Rumour had it that the statue was actually one of the school's alumni who had forgotten that Karasondrias was sensitive on the topic of her heritage and made a joke about lizards and fire. It was also said that before turning him into a statue, she had also turned him into a lizard and set him on fire. At any rate, anyone with an ounce of sense ought to know better. She herself had said it when the class was first introduced.
"My full name is Karasondrias which you may not address me by. You may call me Kara or Teacher or any other suitable honorific. If you are wondering why I leave out my surname, the answer is that I have no surname. I am a half-dragon. Make no mistake," At this point she glared at the class. "Make no mistake, my other half is not human. Nor is it Cain. Or any other humanoid. My other half is of the phoenix, and if any of you make a joke involving my lineage, please do remember the rumours concerning that statue to your left."
Her appearance was odd. All dragons had the innate ability of polymorphing into a humanoid form. Half dragons retained that ability. However, there were always some telltale signs with half dragons. Karasondrias's chosen form was that of an elf. In her case, the signs were rather obvious: random blotches of her skin were either covered with scales or fire red feathers. She also had a pair of wings, leathery wings ablaze at the edges.
Strange as she was, her lessons were generally regarded to be the most interesting among all the teachers. Where other teachers would either drone on and on or give them problems to solve. The more enterprising teachers would give the students group work or debates. However, none of them could beat Karasondrias. She was a skilled illusionist. And old. She could use her illusions to imprison someone in a cage which seemed so real that if you hit it with another metal bar, you could actually hear the clang sound. Which she did to misbehavers. Of course, nobody was actually sure when she was using her illusions or not. She did not just read out what had happened during a certain time. She would start by saying why she was there at that time in the first place, and used the large space in the room to recreate the entire scene. It was as if the class had traveled back in time, so true her illusions seemed, with the exception that the people took no heed of them. She was there in virtually all the major historic events and then some. Those where she wasn't, she would find someone who was and request in a vaguely threatening way for his memories regarding it. She brought a new meaning to "Bringing History Alive". She also tended not to stick to the syllabus.
"Greetings, students. I wish to speak not of The Murder. I know that some of you are affected by its Choosing. Emotionally." Lethe fidgeted at this point, having enough control not to weep openly. "Today, I shall show you the first encounter between the dragons and humans. Around the year 4048. In case any of you failed maths, that is approximately 5000 years ago. Ancient history." Karasondrias summoned up her memory.
The class was standing in a field of ash. A number of humans were armed with archaic looking guns, while some were holding scanners. There were several humans and elves who bore themselves with the aloofness which only aristocracy had. The whole group moved slowly.
"Those elves are diplomats. To my memory, they were looking for a race which had caused this incineration. This was the Ashlands. In modern day, this would be Fecundus Ultima, the most verdant, fruitful and fertile farmland in the entire Fecundus region." Karasondrias always gave a running commentary when showing them the past. "I was with one of the first dragons who came into contact with the humans, Nielagoras. We were out hunting, I believe." As she spoke, one of the humans with the scanners shouted out, "I've got movement! Above us and getting close!"
A dark shape burst through the cloud, the afore-mentioned Nielagoras. He was a large blue dragon and radiated an aura of age. A second shape burst through the clouds, but it was rendered invisible in the illusion. Karasondrias never let any of her students see what she really looked like. Only her outline was visible.
"There's two of them!" One of the armed humans cried out.
"Do not fire at them. Only attack if they attack first." An elf replied calmly. "Our shields ought to hold if they attack us."
Nielagoras and the past Karasondrias landed slowly in front of the expedition.
"Greetings, humans," He rumbled deeply. "Me and my protege mean you no harm. We are, I am at least, a dragon. My name is Nielagoras and she is Karasondrias. I believe that you humans," he indicated the aristocrats "are the leaders?"
The class could hear whispers of amazement among the humans. These large beasts could talk! They were intelligent!
Stepping forward, an elf boldly declared, "Salutations, great ones. My name is Iston of the House of Archiran. I am-"
"Ah yes, Iston Archiran, diplomat betwixt the elves and the humans. Yes, we know. Our race has been aware of your coalition's actions. We have observed both of your races for a long time. Your politics have intrigued us for a long time. This expedition is here to find whichever race did this." Nielagoras stated and waved a talon, indicating the Ashlands. "Your expedition is complete. You have found us."
The scene grew blurry and murky, and disintegrated.
"You do not want to see the next part. Just endless talking of politics. I remember in my impetuous youth that I almost fell asleep. The fact that anyone with phoenix blood do not have to sleep ought to convey the boredom of it." Karasondrias said. "Nielagoras explained the Ashlands. The dragons and the phoenixes had a long great war long before. The Ashlands were the result."
As always, the class was enthralled. Even Lethe forgot her troubles for the time. Also, they had realised long ago that Kara did not answer personal questions.
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