As Drake listened to Zanar’s response, it only served to make the draconian feel worse. It was if the world had decided that these people down here deserved nothing while those above lived in something akin to excess. They were overly privileged. He looked to the ground, at the broken glass shards at his feet.

I’ve lived a life of luxury in comparison. He looked up just as another vent spewed its toxic fumes into the air. A hierarchy. A necessity. It made him feel sick to his stomach. There were things in this world beyond control, and he knew that. “It’s unbearable….” he uttered.

But nothing could be done about it. Not now, at least.

As they neared a clear spot, they stopped for a moment to catch their breath. Drake took a moment as Zanar asked him a question about his wings, which noted that the man definitely knew he was at least a part dragon. The answer, though, was something that even Drake was struggling to come to terms with.

“Dragons may be prideful, and…they may command some respect, but I don’t…entirely want that respect.” He shook out his wings, wincing at the pain. “I’m supposed to be able to shift at will, yet I can’t seem to put them away. It’s different than with my fists,” he said, glancing down at his hands. “They exist in both forms. Wings, on the other hand…well….wings only exist in one form.” He sighed. “This power is new to me, and I barely hold any say on what it does. I fear what people will see in me, and expect from me. I fear my own strength, so I’d rather draw attention away from myself until I can control it better.”

He took a deep breath in, trying to clear his mind. “So, Zanar. May I ask why you’ve come to visit Karith?” Drake’s attempt at changing the subject was a little abrupt, but what else did you speak of when you had fallen down half a city? Small talk was definitely not one of Drake’s strong suits.

He sat there and listened as Drake explained his situation with his dragon blood. The God couldn’t help but be all too familiar with the plight that this man was going through, even though his cursed blood was far different than that of the dragons. Zanar had the same fear, but more he had hatred for what he had become, and that hatred made it so it was near impossible to control the inner beast within his soul. Though Zanar did not know if it was the same for the man before him, he could understand all too well what Drake was going through.

Abruptly the topic was changed, the focus back to the god as to his visit to this city. ”Ah yes, well that is actually quite a simple question! It was for a wondrous ale that is produced and sold only in this city. Sadly, it seems our tumble destroyed the bottle and left me with a small cut as penance.” The god shrugged before reaching down and grabbing a small stone, he tossed it over the edge and watched as the wind currents broke it apart before it could even make landfall. Even though it was one of the main reasons as to why he was here, it was the complete truth of the matter.

”An escape from my duties as well,” The god finally spoke after a few moments of silence between the two. ”Seems rare now that I get to travel, that I get to do what I please. This responsibilities that were thrust upon me weigh me down at times. I’m sure the others feel the same way at times, though they probably are far used to it now.” Zanar spoke of the other gods and goddess of the conclave. ”I’m sure in time I’ll get used to it all, but for now I need my own space and that my friend is hard to come by these days. I won’t abandon my duties if I am truly called upon but for now…it is nice to be able to breathe.

Zanar stood back up and stretched before letting out a deep sigh. ”Seems we both have our trials we need to fight eh? Perhaps it was a fateful meeting in such dire circumstances,” He laughed trying to lighten the mood once again. ”Come now, let us get on out of here. The air may be more fresh around here but still not as fresh as above.”

“Ale?” Drake asked, surprised. He had heard of a lot of reasons to visit a city, but apparently this man did it for a special bottle of spirits. Oddly, this brought a small smile to Drake’s face. Here I am struggling to make enough coin for some basic travel, and Zanar apparently can just pop in for a visit to get ale. Everyone had a set of circumstances. Apparently Zanar’s were just blessed with a slightly better one.

Of course, that thought was thrown to the wind as Zanar spoke more on the matter. He spoke of a temporary escape from his duties, which made Drake wonder just what he did for a living. Still, it sounded important. To have that kind of weight just thrust on him must have been difficult. “Sorry. For a moment I thought you were better off than I was, but…I guess not necessarily. Just like down here with those who can’t leave the alchemical waste…I think I assumed too much of the world.” He sighed. There was still a great deal that he needed to learn, and not just about his own problems.

As Zanar stretched himself out, Drake felt that they were about to leave, and started to prepare himself as well. “Fate does have a way of doing strange things,” he said. That word keeps popping up a lot, of late… He shrugged the thought off though. Something to contemplate for another time.

“Aye,” he said, “Fresh air would be nice.” He followed Zanar back into the heavy alchemical fog. Drake hoped it wasn’t much longer before they escaped the fumes of the lower city. It filled him with regret that there wasn’t much he could do, but Zanar was right. There were too many things that just couldn’t be done.

Drake looked through the fog as they walked. “Is that a guard up there?” he asked. Maybe they were finally closing in on the exit.