Chapter 1317 (1/2)

Like all the others, Alana was drawn almost magnetically forward onto the tiles once Randidly disappeared. The draw of experiencing the sensation of having the image ripple outward from herself and affect the surrounding room was extremely tempting. She had even been a little leery of doing it, in case her image was markedly more powerful than others in the room, but reality was a harsh mistress to her daydream.

Not only was her image not the most powerful in the room, but because so many people went down to try it at the same time, the sheer weight of other images seemed to pressure her image’s ability to spread out over the surrounding area. Very quickly, first fifty and then a hundred people were out on the floor chatting and laughing. After chuckling at the flighty thought she had of being some sort of ‘chosen one’, Alana looked around and studied the effects of the floor.

Of course, her image was definitely one of the larger sources of light that stabilized beneath her. But it was obviously smaller than the Nemesai’s and the two women who had faced off against the Nemesai earlier by a fair margin. But other than that, she, Hank, and the man in the wheelchair were basically in a league of their own.

Beneath them in size were people like Phirun, Warlord, Mrs. Hamilton, and other Donnyton powerhouses that were currently in attendance. Wivanya also fit into this tier of images. Alana hadn’t seen Dozer and Annie yet, but she suspected they would be coming soon and would slot in around there.

Yet what was the most fascinating were all the smaller images. Although they were noticeably weaker, seeming to be only a fistful of light, when enough got together they connected with each other and seemed to reach some sort of alignment.

Balance was achieved through the stabilizing efforts of the small images between the larger ones. It was actually somewhat pleasant then to stand and chat on the tiles, feeling like you were standing over a field of bonfires and candles. It also gave one an unprecedented sense of image awareness. As Alana sipped her champagne with disinterest, most of her focus was on her image reaching gently out through the surrounding ripples and sampling the surrounding images.

Most of what she discovered where the types of images present on Earth, but still she quickly noted a few techniques that others had used to strengthen their image that Alana could put into practice. Even if just for that guidance, this trip was definitely worth it. Especially since her own image was becoming a bit...

“Would you… ah… like a drink?” One of the servers nervously asked one of Wivanya’s children that had been given the distinct honor to attend the Ghosthound’s birthday with them. The dragon in question, Uulomon, raised his head and looked over at Wivanya. Wivanya nodded slowly.

Uulomon used his long neck to raise his head further. Then, with surprising delicateness, he gripped a single glass with the tips of his jaws and lifted it off the plate. When he had created some distance from the server, he flipped the flute up into his mouth and crunched downward noisily. After several seconds filled with the tinkling sounds of breaking glass, Uulomon very obviously swallowed everything.

“Thank you,” He said politely, the perfect gentledragon.

“Ah, no problem,” The server said with a polite smile before wandering away.

Hank nudged Uulomon with his elbow. “Tasty?”

“Human snacks are interesting. I did think it was pretty the way it looked like ice,” Uulomon allowed. Hank cackled to himself while the other dragons regarded the whole scene curiously. They raised their heads and looked around, interesting in trying their own ‘human snack’. But the sudden interest just made many people edge away from the group as the dragon’s licking their lips gazed around.

The dragons had shrunk their bodies to be about the size of lions with sinuous, serpentine necks, but it was still quite intimidating to see so many in one place gazing about as though on the hunt for a gazelle.

Meanwhile, Wivanya looked at Alana. “That was the man you have taught us about? Randidly Ghosthound?”

Alana had known this was coming. “Yes, that was him.”

At once, all the dragons seemed to hum to themselves, as though they were considering something. Or it might even be their version of a prayer. It did, however, give Alana the chance to see the way that images could merge with each other. The soft lights of the dragon’s images beneath their feet wove themselves together in complicated patterns as their intentions united.

To Alana’s surprise, it was Uulomon who spoke first. “Let us go look at the trials left by our prophet.”

Hank gave Alana an amused look, but Alana ignored it. Truth be told, she was also having some difficulty with the terminology that the… converted dragons used to describe Randidly Ghosthound. After all, Alana knew him as a man first and foremost. So it was strange to think of him as anything but that.

A prescient and pioneering man, whose example they should follow in order to help the Earth survive, for sure. But as Alana’s Paths and Skills developed increasingly obvious religious undertones…