An Unmatchable Gift
Leon awoke at his usual time: just before the sun rose. As usual, Allura was still completely out of it, curled up in her bed and snoring slightly. Not that he would ever tell her that she snored.
He smiled to himself, dragging his reluctant body out of the uncomfortable bed.
His old room in the palace might have been far better than the ones here, but he would sleep on sharp rocks if it meant he could continue on as a cadet.
A position he had nearly given up on before encountering a small pink dragon on the road a few short months ago.
Still, yesterday had taken a lot out of him, resulting in him not even brushing out Allura's scales.
He would have to do it extra well tonight, or else she may loose a little of her shine.
Allura would be stunning, even covered in mud, but he would forever do his best to be sure she always looked her best. It made her happy, and that made him happy.
He smiled as he passed her, gently running a hand over the thick, yet smooth hairs growing along the spine of her neck. She seemed horrified to learn that she was growing out a mane, but he found it beautiful, and just another way she stood out from the other dragons.
He sighed as he walked up to the small wash basin and mirror he was aloud in the barracks, and saw the haggard face looking back at him.
He had been beyond happy for Serenity and her Awakening.
Knowing that she had not been cursed the same as him, and had been blessed with skills, removed a great weight off his heart that he hadn't even realized he had been carrying.
But Awakenings would always be a source of anxiety for him. The horror of standing at the alter and learning that even the gods had abandoned him. The judgmental eyes of nobles and his family, and the fact that everyone had simply given him up as a lost cause. A prince with out purpose...
His mother had always been on his side, and he had become close with his youngest sibling, Serenity. He had friends as well... But there were many more who either looked down upon him since that day, or simply forgot about him altogether. Even his father's interest had waned.
The king was a great man whom Leon respected very much.
.. but he had several wives and quite a few children.
On top of that, he was a king of a great empire, and the culture did not require him to be involved in the lives of his offspring on a daily basis.
That was the job nannies and tutors, not kings who had the well being of an entire kingdom to worry about.
Such was the life of a royal, and he had long since accepted that.
He accepted that his older brothers would always have more of his father's attention, and that all he could do was make something of himself, or accept that he was a prince far removed from the line of succession.
Most of his older siblings had chosen one path or the other; either becoming great in their own rights, or lazing about palaces, enjoying the good life.
Before his awakening it had been his greatest ambition to become a dragoon.
He wished for it with all his heart, worked for it everyday, and never slacked in his studies.
Even at that young age, it was thought that he might achieve greatness.
But the Awakening shattered all of that.
In this world, skills- the blessings of the gods- were everything. And he had none.
Before Allura, he had just about given up all hope.
He glanced over his shoulder at the dragoness, oblivious to just how much he cherished her.
Indeed, he fairly worshiped the ground her pretty pink paws walked on.
He laughed lightly to himself, eager for even just one more day spent in her company, living his dream.
He bent over the washbasin and splashed the cool water over his face. Many of the other cadets probably could have heated it with the most basic of magics, but he had no such skill, so cold water it was.
Following his morning routine, he toweled off his pale face, then opened his skills menu.
Maybe he liked torturing himself? It felt that way more often than not when he would do this every morning. It would never change, but Leon could not resist checking the list. Every morning he was disappointed, true, but lately the sting of it had lessened thanks to a certain snoring dragon.
Today, however, Leon froze. It was like his brain had stalled out, unable to comprehend what it was he was seeing. In denial, he dropped the rough towel to the stone floor and lifted his fists to his face, rubbing his eyes aggressively. Surly he was seeing things?
But even with his eyes closed, he could still see the skill menu. He could see it even better, as a matter of fact. And what he saw there couldn't be possible; he had to be seeing things.
Right there, where normally there would be nothing, were a series of words: Asteria's Divine Right. But that wasn't all. Next to it's high activation cost of 30 points, in brackets, was another sentence.
[Asteria's Divine Right> (30 points) (Bestowed upon the human Leon Orelious> by the dragon Allura> using a bloodline trait)]
Shallow breaths coming out in small pants, Leon spun on his heal and gawked at the oblivious dragon on her messy bed. How? How was this even possible?!
He took a step toward her, but then stopped. He should let her sleep... he could ask her after she wakes. Besides...
Leon brought up the skill window again, feeling a little light headed. He swallowed hard, trying to still his erratically beating heart.
[Learn the skill Asteria's Divine Right>? Yes/No]
Leon took a deep, calming breath, rubbing now sweaty palms onto his clothes.
30 Points was a lot, but he had more than enough.
He may not have any skills to spend them on all these years, but that didn't mean the gods would deny his right to earn them.
And he had earned more than most people his age, always fighting monsters with the guards for experience, training with the dragoons; anything he could do to make up for his lack of skills he would do.
[You have activated the divine skill Asteria's Divine Right>. Open the skill menu to view the skill tree of Asteria's Divine Right>]
He had a skill. Him? and not just any skill, but one baring the name of the goddess of light and beauty? A divine skill, almost never given to the mortals of this world; and one that had clearly been given to Allura. Yet she somehow gifted it to him?
Emotion welled up in Leon, so much so that he could hardly make out the many branching skills that lived within this precious gift he had received.
A gift he hardly felt he deserved. To think a god would give Allura such a skill, and that she would just turn around and give such a thing to him.
Never mind how Allura having such an ability was even possible in the first place.
Such a thing should only be possible for the gods themselves.
Leon approached the pink dragon, and set a shaking hand upon her nose.
He saw her eyes twitch behind her scaled lids slightly, but was otherwise blissfully unaware of his presence and the extreme level of gratitude and affection welling up within him.
He would never be able to properly repay this, but he knew right then that he would dedicate the rest of his life to her, and whatever cause she saw fit to follow.
She had his loyalty till the day he died and left her.
Having finished getting ready for the day, Leon left his shared room and descended to the dragoon training grounds.
It was the day after a big festival, so he was there alone, which was all the better for him.
He still had a few points left, and he would not let Allura's gift go to waste.
As the sun began to rise, Leon finally entered the realm of a true dragoon.