[Undisclosed Location, Central Texas (April 2023)]
The infamous Texas heat was apparently just as brutal as the rumors said…
Even this early in the morning, a thin film of sweat clung to the back of Maria's neck as she stood in the middle of the wide-open field that surrounded her, while trying her best not to look as exhausted as he felt.
At the moment, the young woman was standing in Station Seven's secluded training grounds set deep within the forests right outside of Austin. An area that was hidden far from hiking trails and drone routes by layers of specially-made mana barriers and state-of-the-art surveillance equipment. To anyone who accidentally wandered too close to these lands, the entire area appeared to be nothing more than another patch of empty federally controlled woodland. But to anyone with even mediocre mana-sensing capabilities, they knew better.
Evidently, the DPA owned nearly six hundred acres of land out here. Which was more than enough room for certain training activities such as live-fire magical exercises, containment drills, and cryptid handling. This also included being seen as a place where cryptids that couldn't be allowed anywhere near civilians could come to stretch their legs and work up a sweat.
The training grounds also just so happened to be where Chief Agent Alexander Conley spent all of last week trying to nearly kill Maria through physical exercise alone…
In all honesty, even now, the raven-haired woman's muscles still ached from what she had gone through the previous week. Seven straight days of combat training had reduced her body to little more than a collection of bruises and sore joints. Nothing but running drills, hand-to-hand combat, firearm exercises, and a ton of resistance training while carrying mana-suppressing weights around her wrists and ankles.
Eight hours a day.
Every day.
For seven days straight.
Maria had been punched, thrown, tackled, slammed, and spun around so many times that she was beginning to suspect that her new instructor simply enjoyed watching her suffer. Still, compared to most young agents, she had apparently survived better than expected. At least according to what Sam and Alex told her. So that counted for something…maybe.
"Y'know…you should really try to relax more. All of that tension in your body is making me tired just looking at you."
Maria blinked and straightened slightly.
Chief Alexander Conley stood twenty feet away from her near the edge of the field, broad-shouldered and perfectly calm despite the ungodly heat. Even out here, he looked more like a retired soldier than the head of an entire DPA Station. Tall. Lean muscle. Along with a dark gray sweatsuit with the sleeves rolled to his elbows.
But even with his remarkably casual demeanor, the man still moved with the controlled confidence of someone dangerous enough that he never needed to prove it to others.
"Sorry, sir." The young woman replied.
Conley sighed quietly. "You can stop sounding so terrified every time you answer me, Ortega."
"I'm not terrified."
"You keep flinching every time I raise my hands above my waist."
"Considering what happened to me last week, I have a good reason to."
"Yeah…" The Chief Agent slipped a hand through his hair. "I guess that's fair."
Maria rubbed the back of her neck and looked out across the field. Tall grass rolled gently in the morning wind while dense walls of oak and cedar trees surrounded the clearing on all sides. Somewhere deeper in the forest, something large let out a distant howl.
Probably another cryptid enclosure.
Hopefully, another cryptid enclosure.
Chief Conley slowly floated toward her, hands in his pockets and a calm smile on his lips.
"Physical conditioning is an important aspect for people like us, especially in our line of work. It's the reason why we spent the last week putting you through all of that." He said. "After all, a dead 'beast magic' user is useless to their companions. But combat training isn't the only reason why you're here."
Maria perked up slightly.
Finally.
"Today…" Conley continued. "We start the part that actually matters."
"That's good to hear."
"You say that now…."
Maria frowned suspiciously.
Conley then stopped beside the raven-haired woman and looked out over the clearing. "Tell me something, Ortega. What do you think 'beast magic' actually is?"
Maria considered the question carefully. She had learned quickly that Chief Conley hated rushed answers. She needed to give him something that actually sounded like there was some thought put behind it.
"It's…forming magical bonds with cryptids. And using those bonds to channel power and cooperate with them." The raven-haired woman then said. "But in reality, 'beast magic' is more like a complex negotiation with your companions."
"Partially correct."
Maria tried not to sigh.
"Cryptids, as you already know, aren't just summons that you can just pull out of your ass like you can in some fancy video game. Nor are they just mindless magical constructs with no sense of reason. They're living creatures. Ones with their own instincts, emotions, territorial drives, fears, and desires. And a 'beast magic' user's job is to bridge the gap between human intelligence and cryptid nature."
Maria listened carefully as the man continued with his early morning lesson.
"Most youngsters think 'beast magic' is all about control. It isn't. Not entirely. But control is only one philosophy."
He turned toward her slightly.
"There are three common approaches to cryptid taming. Three different philosophies that every one of our kind subscribes to." Chief Conley continued. "Three different ways that handlers approach that kind of delicate relationship."
Maria listened closely.
"The first..." Conley said. "Is partnership. Emotional bonding. Trust mixed in with a bit of mutual loyalty. 'Beast magic' users who follow that path typically treat their cryptids like family."
Maria nodded immediately. "That's what I do."
"I know."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No." Conley's expression remained unreadable. "But emotional bonds like that can create emotional vulnerabilities. If your companion suffers, you suffer. If they panic, your focus breaks. Some agents have been known to become ineffective because they can't separate affection from duty when shit gets too hot to handle."
Maria glanced away. She understood that part already.
The bond she shared with her companions wasn't abstract. It was emotional in a very real sense. Fear, pain, and excitement. Sometimes she could feel traces of all of it through the connection that she shared with her serpents. And as much as she hated to admit it, it could become a liability at times.
Chief Conley raised a second finger.
"The next philosophy is transactional agreements. A simple exchange between one being and another. Some cryptids are intelligent enough to negotiate the terms of their cooperation. Usually, for things like favors, a certain amount of mana every day, territory, food, or even protection. You give them something, they cooperate. Nice and simple."
"That sounds incredibly risky."
"It is. But it works surprisingly well with certain species. Especially cryptids that dislike emotional attachment."
Chief Conley's voice hardened slightly before he continued talking.
"And finally, there's domination."
Maria looked back at him.
"Some 'beast magic' users prefer to break their companion's will and force obedience upon them with no room for anything else." He said. "Either through pain conditioning, magical restraints, or total authority."
Maria grimaced instinctively, something that Chief Conley couldn't help but notice. The woman thought about her own companions. The way each one behaved. The way each one trusted her differently. Even for some of her more unruly companions, she could never imagine herself trying to force them to bend to her will like that. The whole idea just felt…wrong.
"You dislike that approach."
"Yeah."
"Makes sense…most people do."
"Do you?"
For the first time that morning, Conley grinned faintly. "That…depends entirely on the cryptid."
Before Maria could respond, the Chief Agent flew forward into the center of the clearing. And right then, the atmosphere changed immediately.
The air suddenly grew heavier.
Warmer.
More alive.
Maria instantly felt the hairs on her arms and neck rise as mana began pouring outward from Chief Conley's body in slow waves. The pressure of it alone pushed against her senses like the distant rumble of an approaching storm.
Her eyes widened.
Even after a week of training under him, she still wasn't fully used to the sheer scale of his power.
Conley then lifted one hand, just as a silver glow ignited beneath his shoes. Maria instinctively took a step backward. Then something big began to make its presence known.
A massive shape then suddenly emerged from the Chief Agent's body with a roar that shook the entire clearing.
Maria froze.
The creature that materialized before them looked like it had crawled directly out of a medieval painting.
Its body was covered in layered copper-colored scales that gleamed beneath the sunlight like polished metal. It was easily thrice the size of a city bus, with two enormous wings folded against its back with a sound like sails snapping in heavy wind. And its thick claws carved grooves into the earth as it settled its weight onto the ground.
Its eyes burned bright yellow.
Its mouth opened slightly, revealing several long rows of predatory teeth.
Heat radiated from the creature in waves, strong enough for the young woman to feel the temperature in the area dramatically increase.
Maria stared upward, speechless.
The wyvern then lowered its massive head slowly toward Chief Conley.
For one tense second, Maria wondered how anyone could possibly control something like this. She had worked with dangerous cryptids before. Hell, she technically owned one that was supposed to be just dangerous. But this was different. This thing radiated power. Raw, overwhelming power. The kind of power that suddenly put all of her companions on high alert.
Then the dragon pressed the side of its face gently against Chief Conley's shoulder.
While Maria blinked in surprise at how delicate the creature was being with its master, Chief Conley simply rested a hand against the creature's scales.
"This…" The man said calmly. "Is Morning Star."
The wyvern rumbled softly, a sound somewhere between a growl and the purr of an oversized predator.
Maria couldn't stop staring.
"I feel like I'm looking at something from an old fantasy movie." She admitted.
"Most dragon-type cryptids do resemble the ones from old legends, I suppose. My theory is that both them and people who can see them have been around for longer than we think."
Morning Star turned its enormous yellow eyes toward her. And Maria immediately felt very small as she watched the wyvern study her carefully.
Intelligent.
Powerful.
Dangerous.
Then smoke curled from its nostrils.
Maria took another very cautious step backward, but Chief Conley ignored her panic completely.
"Dragon-types are different from most cryptids." He explained. "They're territorial, prideful, and extremely dangerous. If you try treating them like obedient pets, they'll either ignore you or kill you and just deal with the consequences later."
"That's comforting."
"You wanted honesty, right?"
Morning Star slowly spread one wing halfway open. The membrane shimmered copper-red beneath the sunlight.
"Domination matters with creatures like this." Conley continued. "Not cruelty. Never cruelty. But authority. Dragons need to understand hierarchy."
He scratched lightly beneath Morning Star's jawline.
"At the same time, however…" The man added. "They respond exceptionally well to affection and loyalty. You cannot maintain a healthy bond with one through fear alone. Eventually, fear becomes hatred."
Maria watched the massive wyvern lean slightly into the touch. It was strangely humanizing to see. For all its monstrous size, Morning Star clearly trusted its master completely.
The realization settled heavily in Maria's chest.
This wasn't just a weapon.
This was a partnership.
A complicated one, maybe. Dangerous. Difficult.
But real.
Conley looked toward her again. "The purpose of your training for the next two weeks is going to be improving your bond with your companions. All of them. Individually."
Maria tried not to look too pleased about that.
"You lack synchronization." He continued. "Your companions hesitate during coordinated movement. Your emotional responses bleed into theirs. And you rely too heavily on instinct instead of effective communication."
Maria winced. Every criticism was accurate, even if she didn't want to admit it.
"Fix those issues." Conley said. "And your effectiveness doubles."
Morning Star let out another deep rumble while watching her.
Maria swallowed.
"Okay…" She said quietly. "So where do we start?"
Conley's expression remained perfectly calm. "We start with you bringing out all of your companions."
Maria's heartbeat skipped. Slowly, she lifted her eyes toward him. "All of them?"
Conley nodded once. "Yes, all of them. Including your dragon."
The wind shifted suddenly across the clearing.
Maria inhaled slowly and extended one hand forward as magical energy stirred beneath her skin. The familiar pulse of her 'beast magic' answered immediately, warm and alive within her chest. This was her first time ever bringing out all of her companions at once. Not even Robin had ever let her do something that ill-advised due to how dangerous it was. And to be honest, she was more than a bit nervous about what was about to happen.
The forest around them fell silent.
Chief Conley's expression sharpened slightly.
Morning Star lifted its massive head.
And then a shadow passed over the training field.
Long.
Winding.
Enormous.