\n Hueroc flew a few lazy circles around Ellora's mountain, watching the skies and the forest below; the sky was empty but for a few clouds, and a single pair of dragon's wings far to the east that didn't seem to be heading his way.  The forest was full of activity as it always was, and had Ellora not already hunted for them both that day he might have swooped down to catch himself a little snack.  Once he'd seen enough to be sure his and his mate's territory was safe, he descended to the mouth of Ellora's cave, landed, and shook out his wings before folding them and walking inside.

\n "There you are..." Ellora walked over to him, tail swishing behind her, and she lifted her head to nuzzle his cheek.  "I hope you didn't tire your wings out too much; I have plans for us today."

\n He purred softly and returned her nuzzle, then sat back on his haunches.  "Oh?"

\n "Yes.  Hold still..."  She sat as well, her fin glowed for a couple moments, then she reached up and removed his collar, and her own.  "I'd like for us to go and visit the clan Elders, at the central cave...  We won't be needing these for this trip."

\n He pawed at his bare neck, tail twitching; he hadn't had the collar off since she'd first put it on him, and it almost felt strange for it not to be there.  "And, none of them know about what you do to me... and what I do to you," he tilted his head after a moment in understanding.  "So better not to wear them, when they might ask questions."

\n "Exactly," she chuckled.  "Now, the Elders like to keep track of magical bloodlines in the clan, so they'll ask us about our magic--and try to sense what we're capable of themselves, just to be sure.  They're already familiar with me, of course, but they might spend a while with you, since you're an outsider."

\n He pawed at the ground, briefly.  "But...  I don't have any magic, just the fire I breathe... and most all dragons can do that, so it doesn't count."

\n "I know, my sweet," she nuzzled him again.  "But if you never learned to use magic, then there may be something dormant inside, and they will determine for themselves what magic you might have hidden deep within you..."  One of her forepaws stroked his narrow chest, getting him to purr again.  "And don't worry, their testing won't require much more from you than your presence."

\n He growled softly, for just a moment: he had a worry, but unfamiliar dragons weren't it.  "What about our eggs?  I don't want us to leave them alone for long..."

\n She smiled.  "Come and see."  She led him to her bed-chamber, and where the nest of eggs had been there was now a dense thicket of vines, and herbs, and flowers...  The nest was well-hidden and well-protected beneath it all.

\n Hueroc examined it, walking around the area, and looking, sniffing...  "What if someone set fire to it?"

\n "Only a dragon would be able to light a fire here, and none would.  The scent of eggs isn't fully hidden, and no dragon of these clans would harm an egg."

\n "All right," he returned to her side, and gave her a gentle nuzzle.  "I trust you're right...  Shall we go?"

\n She purred and returned the nuzzle.  "Yes, of course."

\n They walked out to the ledge of her cave, and she shifted her wings into existence before taking off; he waited for the wind to die back down, then spread his own wings wide and returned to the sky, following behind as she led him across the mountain range.  The farther they went, the more mountains and valleys they passed over, the more dragons they saw, and most of them called friendly greetings as they flew, which Ellora would return in kind.  Then finally she turned towards the largest mountain in the range, the gaping mouth of a large cave visible just beneath the tree line, with two dragons sitting on either side of the entrance.

\n "Greetings, Ellora," said one, a big, muscular grey-and-white male.  "It's been quite a while.  I'd heard you'd taken a mate...  Would this be him?"

\n She smiled, shifting her wings away, and giving Hueroc a little nuzzle.  "That's correct; this is Hueroc, my mate.  Hueroc, meet Olaras."

\n He inclined his head.  "Hello there."

\n The other male returned the gesture, then looked back at Ellora.  "So, what brings the two of you to the central cave?"

\n "The historians.  My mate and I have a nest of eggs, and we're here to have their magical lineage recorded."

\n Olaras grinned, his tail swishing excitedly.  "Congratulations to you both!  Most of the elder dragons are here today, so you should find everyone you need inside."

\n "Thank you...  Let's go, my mate," she pointed her snout towards the cave entrance, and the two of them walked inside.

\n A short passage led them to a massive central chamber; it appeared that most of the mountain had been hollowed out by this cave, and there were many dragons inside, with enough room to comfortably separate into different groups, with different activities, and conversations, and the like...  It was noisy within, but not overwhelmingly so.  To their left, some younger dragons were practicing magic with tutors; dragons about Hueroc's own age were clustered here and there, speaking with each other--though one pair of males appeared to be wrestling instead.  To the right, younglings ranging from hatchlings to nearly-grown dragons played in large, rambunctious groups while their parents talked nearby and supervised; Hueroc spied Mika among them, chasing a speedy youngster in a game of tag.

\n Ellora led him through the chamber, pausing from time to time to introduce him to dragons she knew well--it was a lot of names and scents to remember, but he did his best.  By the time they reached the far side of the cave, he'd begun to notice much smaller side chambers dotting the walls, and she led him to the entrance of one of those.  Once there she stopped, peeked inside, then walked a few steps in, motioning with her tail for Hueroc to follow.

\n "Historian?"

\n An elder dragoness looked up from the book lying open between her forepaws.  "Yes--  Oh, Ellora!  It's been so long since I last saw you...  I remember teaching you magic when you were no longer than my tail.  How have you been?"

\n She smiled and glanced back at her mate.  "I've been doing very well, Sharra...  I have a mate now, as well.  Meet Hueroc."

\n He lowered his head.  "Nice to meet you."

\n "And you."  Her eyes narrowed, and she muttered his name under her breath a few times...  "Are you from the far western mountains?  Your body has that sort of shape to it."

\n "Yes, I am," he said, stepping forward to stand next to his mate.  "Why, do you know many dragons from that range?"

\n "Oh, I'm sorry, I don't really...  I just remember, from having flown there when I flew from one coast to the other, when I was much younger.  What brings you here, to our range?"

\n "She did," he chuckled, prodding Ellora's neck with his snout.

\n "My mate and I have had eggs, that will hatch in a couple of months," Ellora said.  "We're here so you can take down their magical lineage."

\n The old blue dragoness' face lit up at once.  "Oh, how marvelous!  I'm already quite familiar with your magic, Ellora, but I must gather a few elders to figure out what your mate is capable of.  I'll be right back, you two wait here..."

\n "But I don't have magic," Hueroc protested, as she made to walk past them.

\n "Oh, don't be silly," Sharra nipped at his shoulder.  "You're a dragon!  All dragons have some magic; you must have just never been taught to find yours.  You two get comfortable, and I'll be back real soon."  And with that, she was gone.

\n Hueroc followed Ellora as she went and sat on her haunches at the center of the room, and sat beside her, leaning against her a little.  "Dragons where I'm from are so much more territorial...  It's so strange to see this many in one place."

\n "Oh, all of us have our own caves...  But we have many more dragons in a much smaller space, here, so we are much more familiar with each other than you are out west, so we get along a lot better, and spend much more time socializing, and so on.  If I didn't prefer to keep our privacy, we'd probably spend most of our days here," she nibbled his neck.

\n "What about once our eggs hatch?  Will we bring them here, to play with others their age, and so they can learn magic?"

\n "Of course," she purred.  "Don't worry, you'll get to know everyone quickly enough, and then the clan won't seem quite so big."

\n Sharra returned a couple minutes later, four other dragons in tow, all as old as she was: a green-and-gold male named Viren, a bronze dragoness named Aena, a dusky grey dragoness named Cana, and a bright orange dragon named Rhean.  "Now, I believe we already know what sorts of magic Ellora is capable of, if you all agree...  So while I find the appropriate record-book, you may test Hueroc."

\n "Of course."  The four elders arranged themselves in a square around him, and Ellora backed away to give them room.

\n "Is there anything you need me to do?" he asked, tail twitching a little in nervousness.

\n "No," said Aena.  "Just sit still..."

\n "And try to keep your thoughts quiet and still, as well," Rhean added.

\n "All right."  He shifted to make sure he was in a comfortable position, then waited, watching as the magicians went to work.

\n Viren began to hum quietly; Aena's paw glowed a little; Cana's scales appeared to darken a bit; and a little arc of light began to snap back and forth between Rhean's long, curving horns.  Their 'reading' did not seem to take long, either: Aena's glow faded almost immediately, then Viren grew quiet, and Cana's scales returned to their original color.  Only Rhean continued to work his magic for more than a minute, but then he opened his eyes as well, and looked at the other elders.

\n "Fire," said Viren definitively.

\n Aena tilted her head.  "And powerful, too.  Right beneath the surface.  Are you sure you've never used magic before, Hueroc?"

\n He frowned.  "I can breathe fire... but I didn't think that was magic."

\n "Demonstrate for us," Cana said.  "I sensed much magic as well, but not that any had been used recently."

\n Hueroc gave a little growl, then tilted his head, aimed between two of the dragons, and breathed a short stream of fire.

\n "That was not the magic I sensed," Aena said, almost as soon as he closed his mouth.

\n "Nor was it what you'd expect to see, after sensing such power," Cana agreed.  "So what..."

\n Rhean growled, loudly.  "The fire was no magic.  His magic comes from somewhere else in his mind... somewhere much more dangerous.  Ellora, your mate is a berserker.  A powerful one."

\n Even Sharra looked up from the book she'd pulled down to write in.  "What?" Ellora pawed at the ground, glancing between the orange dragon and the red.  "I of all dragons would know, if he was...  And he's never tried to hurt me."

\n "It... could be true," Hueroc said.  "My line has always been known for its temperament, and I had serious anger problems when I was younger.  And when I was angry...  I felt much stronger, much faster--"  He fell silent, abruptly.

\n Viren said, "it would make sense.  How it's so powerful, how it's so close to the surface, without him knowing that he's capable of it.  If he could only access it when in a rage..."

\n "Then he wouldn't recall having used it, or even be aware that he was using it."

\n "Berserkers are dangerous!" Sharra's tail lashed.

\n "Only those who are untrained," Rhean gave her a stern look.  "And I am not blind; surely Ellora spends more time with him than any other dragon does, yet she has not been scarred by him, nor is she wary of him.  His control is strong."

\n The historian didn't seem to like that, but after a moment held a paw over the book, closed her eyes, and used her magic to make a stick of graphite write on one of the pages.

\n "However," the orange continued, "that doesn't mean this knowledge should be ignored.  A berserker with proper training can be a very powerful force, and with humans the way they are these days...  Hueroc, would you be willing to let us tutor you in magic?  I believe we could help you access the powers inside you, without losing control of yourself as you would have to otherwise."

\n "I..."  He glanced at his mate, who smiled and tilted her head.  "Yes.  I'd like to learn."

\n "Good.  Sharra, have you learned all you need to know for your records?"

\n "Yes, until their offspring are old enough to develop their own magic."

\n "Then I believe we are done here...  Ellora, I may fly to your cave soon, with another tutor, to begin your mate's instruction."

\n "No," she said firmly, but her tone softened after a moment.  "I mean, yes, you may teach him, but I will bring him here for it."

\n The elder orange dragon blinked, but tilted his head after a moment.  "As you will.  Thank you for coming...  Hueroc, I look forward to teaching you, but I have a lesson to resume.  See you again soon."  He lowered his head for a moment, then he and the other three magicians left the room.

\n Hueroc looked at the ground, once they'd left.  "Berserker...  I've had anger problems in the past, I've killed humans when they made me angry...  But I never thought there was magic involved..."

\n Ellora walked over and leaned against him, nuzzling at his neck.  "Don't dwell on it, or think it's bad...  It's a part of who you are, my mate.  And all it makes me think of is how fiercely you will protect our hatchlings."

\n "If you say so," Sharra didn't sound so sure.  "But I hope you come with him, Ellora, when he comes to learn.  I would like to catch up with my old student."

\n "Of course, Sharra.  Come, Hueroc...  I think it's time we return to my cave."

\n He tilted his head and stood, that moment of self-doubt behind him.  "Yes.  It was nice to meet you, historian," he lowered his head, then followed his mate back home.