The last time Peter had set eyes on him was on the day the whole class graduated. Traditions vary from nursery ring to nursery ring across the entire planet, but they all have them. Peter's nursery ring at Purbeck Peninsula was no different, with the entire class of young dragons finding themselves atop the highest cliff at Lava Falls on this very special day. Watched by the entire staff, the youngsters gathered in their human forms, just over a mile above the roiling lake of super-heated lava, bubbling ferociously away beneath them. Peter could vividly recall trying not to choke on the acrid fumes as the heat and steam buffeted his face, even at that distance. He could also recollect glancing over his shoulder at the staff from the nursery ring and, just out of the corner of one eye, catching sight of the old man, who, when their eyes met, gave Peter a wink and a smile. With little chance to dwell on it at the time, he was suddenly caught up in a mad rush of graduating dragons running at full speed off the cliffs in their human forms. Pulled over the edge clumsily, he ended up diving head first off the cliff, a very scary feeling in his human form, even though it was comparatively tame compared with the kind of flying that most dragons were used to.
The idea behind this particular tradition was that the youngsters would leap off the cliff in their human guises, and on the drop down would transform back into their natural dragon selves, flying up into the air to celebrate. Changing shape halfway through a drop like this would be taxing for an experienced adult dragon. Thus, there was a definite element of danger to the whole thing. Peter remembered the effort he had to put in to effect the change to his dragon form. The sheer exhilaration that he'd experienced once he'd completed the change and zoomed up into the air, after being only metres away from the vicious looking boiling lava, was unlike anything he'd ever felt, up to and including this very day.
After a few minutes of flying around to celebrate, the whole class had flown down to meet the staff for a final meal that had been prepared and laid out on the cliff top. As they did so, Peter sought out the old dragon, hoping to have a friendly chat, but much to his surprise and disappointment, he was nowhere to be seen. That was the last time he'd seen the old man. He often found himself wondering what the old dragon was doing now, and if like Peter he still visited the nursery ring from time to time. Looking back, Peter assumed the old man/dragon must have been taught at the Purbeck Peninsula nursery ring, and that's why he liked to return, much like himself. What other reason could there possibly be?
From his tenth year onwards, lessons at the nursery ring, as far as Peter was concerned, became vastly more interesting. Up until then, their education had consisted of the kind of things humans would learn: maths, languages, history, science, economics, geography and a broad range of religious and human studies (everything about the human world that had not already been covered). They had also covered dragon basics, such as flying, grooming, mating, diet, dragon beliefs and the founding principles. But things were about to get more interesting, in the shape of dragon lore, self defence, moral standing, spatial awareness and mantras in all their shapes and forms.
Mantras were the one subject guaranteed to put a glint into a young dragon's eye. All had heard what they could achieve, but only a few had ever seen examples in real life. None had ever cast a mantra themselves because they were too young, although Tank might have a few secrets in that department. Mantras could do pretty much anything from healing humans, dragons, animals and plants, to repairing machinery of any kind. Common everyday uses for mantras included being used to effect a dragon's change from its natural form (solitus) to the surface disguise of a human (mutatio). That particular mantra takes years to perfect and it requires the utmost concentration to hold that form for a sustained period of time. This was basically what the next forty years in the nursery ring would hold, learning to swap forms and more importantly maintain the unfamiliar human guise indefinitely, without any flaws or imperfections. Once the young dragons had mastered that, they would learn how to make subtle changes to their guises, which would let them blend in on the surface, in whatever role would be assigned to them. Of course they would be taught other mantras and magical abilities along the way, but transforming into a human shape would almost certainly be the most important.
Recalling his very first mantra lesson with great clarity, the thought of sitting on that cold marble floor in the courtyard caused him to shiver uncontrollably. The tor had demonstrated how to use the mantra properly, with the students standing around, expected to repeat the process. Their class was never a particularly quiet place even when it was supposed to be, but on that day, in that class, you could hear the sizzling of flames dribbling from nervous nostrils across the room, as the dragonlings all watched each other to see just who would be brave enough to go first.
A small dragon by the name of Tempest was the first to try. Usually shy and retiring, it was something of a surprise that she'd plucked up the courage to have a go. Sitting in the middle of the courtyard she took a deep breath, unrolled her parchment and, closing her eyes in concentration, recited the mantra. Even though they were all supposed to be getting on with the exact same thing, the other students couldn't take their eyes off the young, female dragon.
The single most important aspect of casting a mantra successfully is channelling the concentration and belief behind the words. This will nearly always determine whether or not a mantra will succeed or fail. It also determines just how effective a mantra will be. For example, a healing mantra being used on a deep, open wound, if used by an experienced healer, will heal the wound, destroy any infection, and remove any scar tissue. The exact same mantra used by someone less experienced, and not directing the same sort of concentration or belief into it, may not have the same effect. It may fail to close the wound properly, leave an infection, or it may heal it all up, but leave a massive scar. The difference between total and faltering concentration and belief is staggering; the results can lead to the mantra not working at all, working less effectively, or sometimes producing unpredictable side effects.
All the dragon students had been taught this, many times over, but most had not really paid attention; they were too excited about the prospect of performing their first mantra. That was why the tor had chosen this particular one and why, if the students had looked closely at their tutor, they would have noticed the beginnings of a smile forming at the bottom of his huge, prehistoric jaw, something that this most serious of dragons rarely allowed to happen.
Tempest, although she tried, clearly hadn't put enough belief and concentration into her mantra, and was just starting to learn the true meaning of unpredictable side effects.
Demonstrating the mantra some five minutes earlier, the tor's tail had, starting at its tip, shrunk until it was no longer visible. This was the mantra's purpose and what should have happened if used properly. Known only to the tor was the fact that this particular mantra was unbelievably specific and amazingly sensitive to incorrect pronunciation or not enough channelled belief. A look of utter horror and humiliation was etched across Tempest's face at the moment, as not only had her tail begun to grow bigger, but it had also split into three parts, each of which were now growing and snaking across the airy courtyard of their own accord. Students occupying the area directly behind the stricken student were dumbstruck momentarily. That soon changed as they were forced to dive and roll out of the way of the ever expanding tails and flee back into the adjacent indoor teaching area, or try and make a dash to get round the front of the horror stricken Tempest.