Dragon says “I’m not sure. That should be true, but you don’t always follow the rules. I can tell you that your spirit is a mess. In fact, you don’t even have a spirit of your own.”

  “Right. I am surviving off of Krenocia’s power. So that is acting as my spirit?”

  Dragon says “That is only partially correct. You are using a mix of her power and stolen spirit. I think if it was just her power it would have run out by now.”

  “If I don’t have my own spirit, then I am not going to be able to merge them, am I? Meaning, I can’t ever be a true dragon.”

  Dragon says “No, probably not. Or at least, not an adult dragon.”

  “Any suggestions?”

  Dragon says “I can think of only two options. You either need to figure out how to generate your own spirit, or figure out how to make the stolen spirit truly yours.”

  “Okay. Is there anything else you can tell me about spirit?”

  Dragon says “Spirit is generated by the body, but controlled by the soul. The three have to work together, dragons and gods are the only exceptions I know of to that rule. From what I know, you never had spirit of your own once you arrived in this world, Krenocia’s power took its place. I would suggest talking to her and her sister, they might know more.”

  “Alright, I will talk to them later.”

  Dragon says “So, what’s your next question?”

  “What’s your name? I feel bad just calling you dragon all the time.”

  Dragon says “My name isn’t pronounceable without using our language and that can cause issues. That reminds me, your name will be different in our language, but don’t speak it casually. Names have power.”

  “Okay, then is there something you would like to be called?”

  Dragon says “Well, my name would roughly translate to The Everburning Flames of Destruction if that helps?”

  “Then how about Everburn?”

  Everburn says “Sure. I kind of like that.”

  “Alright, next question. What makes a god an ancient god?”

  Everburn says “It is based on when they became a god. Planets are living things and like all living things they have a cycle. Birth, development, old age, and eventually death. Development is broken down into a lot of stages, but the one that is important is the primal stage. Only gods who ascend during that phase can be considered ancient gods.”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “So, because it is an earlier stage, the gods that rise up are stronger? How does that work?”

  Everburn says “Is it easier to take something from a child or from a teenager?”

  “So it’s not about the amount of power available, it’s about how much they can take? Is that why the rules are different as well?”

  Everburn says “Yes. The younger the planet the less control it can enforce.”

  “Alright. I have been told that you can become a god when you kill a god, is that true?”

  Everburn says “Basically. When a god dies, it releases a massive amount of energy. It is easy to take that energy and spark your own ascension.”

  “Is it possible to kill an ancient god and become an ancient god?”

  Everburn says “No. You will be restricted based on how strong the planet is when you ascend. Are you planning to become a god?”

  “Well, I was considering it, but I don’t like all the rules that gods have to follow. Is there such a thing as a dragon god?”

  Everburn says “No, there isn’t. At least, not that I have ever heard of on this plane. I doubt that there is a planet strong enough to withstand the ascension of a dragon. We are already on par with gods as far as power goes. If a dragon were to ascend in the material plane, it would probably destroy the planet to do so.”

  “Alright. So that option is out.”

  Everburn says “Why the sudden interest in becoming a god?”

  “Seronia and Krenocia want to be my wives and they plan to help my other wives to ascend as well.”

  Everburn says “How many wives do you have?!”

  “Four currently, but I also have mortal avatars of Seronia and Krenocia that are basically wives as well.”

  Everburn says “So, you basically have six mates? Are you insane?!?!”

  “Yeah, I probably am.”

  Everburn says “One mate is bad enough! I can’t imagine having more than one!”

  “I would guess that things are a bit different between humans.”

  Everburn says “For your sake I hope so. What are you going to do if they all get pregnant at the same time? There is no way you would survive that!”

  “There haven't been any pregnancies so far. I don’t think our races are compatible.”

  Everburn says “That is possible. It could also be that without your own spirit you aren’t capable of siring children.”

  “Noted. If I fix my spirit somehow I will be careful.”

  Everburn says “You should prepare an escape plan, just in case.”

  “It wouldn’t do any good. Lin can track me wherever I might go.”

  Everburn says “My mate can do the same. Well, I wish you luck.”

  “Thanks. I will probably need it.”

  Everburn says “Alright, next question?”

  “My daughter, Mulan, was able to give me some of her essence. I used that to make Lin a half-phoenix. Would something like that work to make more dragons?”

  Everburn says “No. Essence can only get someone halfway there. If you were to use Mulan’s essence again on Lin it would have no effect.”

  “But it would be possible to make someone or something into a half dragon?”

  Everburn says “Yes. I could do that, but only once. It would take me a couple of centuries to generate more essence.”

  “What exactly is essence? Where is it in the body?”

  Everburn says “Essence is basically condensed spirit. You have absorbed beast cores, yes? What you are actually absorbing is the essence inside the core.”

  “So humans don’t have essence?”

  Everburn says “No, only beasts. The essence of lesser beasts won’t really do anything, it is too weak. Only greater beasts, like drakes and phoenixes would have essence that could be used to modify someone.”

  “The spell you used on Kechara’s line, wouldn’t using essence have been more effective?”

  Everburn says “Yes, but it would fade with each generation. I was trying to come up with something that would have the opposite effect, gaining with each generation.”

  “Well, I think it worked, at least partially. Kechara has more draconic traits than her mother did. What would happen if you gave Kechara your essence now?”

  Everburn says “Based on what I know of her, she would be something like a three quarters dragon.”

  “Would you be willing to do that?”