The Legend Of The Luminaires

Vol. 1, Ch. 1-2: Dragons, Gaming, And Wild Dreams

"Hey Drenar, pick three superpowers, and I'll tell you what mythical creature you'd be." The words come through the staticky headset and an athletic teenager sits straighter as he contemplates his response. He gazes at the screen with deep green eyes and taps his lip. She could be going anywhere with this one this time.

"Any superpowers?" he asks. He and his friend are up late. On a school night. With a first-period teacher who's developed an ear-killing habit of singing out to sleepy teens on a recurring basis.

"Yes, any one of them! I have a book here that'll give me your secret magical creature identity!" his friend entices him with her sweet-talking. "C'mon Drenar, I know you wanna answer!"

"Give me a minute," he pushes back lightly. He really has to give this one some thought.

"Superpowers, still waiting on you!" she reminds him. On webcam, it's clear that he's distracted: he's stretching out before their last battle of the night.

"Alright, alright. First power...flight."

"An oldie, but a goodie. What else?" she asks while he grabs a small nectarine and chews loudly. "Are you eating again? Do you ever stop?"

"It's not eating if it's healthy," he retorts. "Okay, the second one, I'd have a utility elemental ability. Like moving objects over a distance. Oh, like a gravity gun!"

"Okay, good thinking! What's the last one?"

"Um...highly adaptive armored skin." he's a fan of that one, seeing as most people try to make mythical creatures into stuffed heads on walls. Or a loot drop for crafting armor bits. She murmurs for a few seconds and then lets out a sound of delight.

"Perfect! You're a dragon!" He furrows his brow, in contrast to her delight. "Look, you asked for wings, some super elemental ability, and adaptive skin, which in my creative world, equals armor scales!"

"Julia, dragons don't have telekinetics. Or feathers."

"They do now!" she cackles.

"Why feathers?" he asks, deciding to indulge in her zaniness.

"Why not? Dinosaurs had feathers! Isn't a dragon just a super overpowered dinosaur? They're birds, but only a few links down the evolutionary chain!"

"You make a fair point." He nods thoughtfully at this. "I suppose it would make sense they'd have feathers, instead of bat-like wings. Feathers are technically more durable." He has a wayward thought and spins in his chair before answering again. "Alright, my turn. I'll guess...you're a magical fox girl," Drenar grins.

"What." Julia's tone instantly turns to confusion. He takes a swig from his water bottle. "Drenar, don't leave me hanging on that, that's such a downgrade!"

"Fox girls are, to a tee, athletic, and have superhuman springy legs. And they're almost always charmers with a shining personality. They're very bold and flirtatious, like you. And, cause mischief." She growls in response. "You know it's truuuee," he sings.

"Man, I wanted to be a Raijin!" she protests. "That would also fit!"

"So you wanted to be a Pokémon?"

"You dunce, it's from Japanese mythology! A god of thunder shaped like a wolf! I know you know this!" she accuses. He can picture her tapping at her desk, glaring at the screen as if she could metaphysically bore a hole through him. "But fine, fox girl works."

"Magical fox girl," he corrects. Julia laughs uproariously at this. "Charm, athletics and wile, all rolled into one!"

"Fates Drenar, don't ever change. You are as adorkable as they come." He swivels in his seat and smiles.