And then my kiddos woke me up.

There was a dragon, and it was mostly black, but kind of iridescent with reds and blues and purples in the scales.

I was (mostly) human in appearance, but I KNEW I was centuries older than any bipedal being currently on the planet.

The dragon had just killed another of its kind, which was not a common occurrence in that world, but I found to be 'delightful' because when the black Dragon killed the other, a beautiful shiny sparkly liquid gold substance came out of the dead dragon and crept across the ground and oozed up against gravity seeking the strongest magical being in the general vicinity, me.

Now the black dragon was mightily offended by this, since he had been the one to put out all the effort to kill the other dragon.

The gold substance clung to me like a second skin, wrapping me in its warm ethereal embrace like a long lost lover. The spirit of the dragon who had been killed manifest in front of me and kissed me tenderly on the lips, all of the golden slurry being absorbed into my body as it did so. The slain dragon made it clear what an honor it was for him to become a part of me, and how grateful he was that he was not stuck with the one who had beaten him, as he would never have found peace with him.

Now there were other people on the train I was riding in, and they had been discussing a legend of the land, concerning dragons and how to kill them if you are not a dragon yourself, and I had remained quiet as the youngsters (they were teens on their way to a Magic Academy) discussed in great detail and reverence an event I myself had lived through.

It was evident to me that not a single one of them actually had a drop of magical blood on their bodies, as none of them had witnessed the death of the dragon on the mountain as we passed, nor the apparition of golden energies that had made its way into my body, and instead complained of the storm outside. I smiled tolerantly as they described how they would have achieved the feat differently and how powerful they would have become once they had captured the 'soul' of the dragon.

I knew that none of them would be accepted by the school as students once they arrived, and wondered how they had ended up on the train in the first place, as you needed to possess some magical inclination to even approach the gates. I assumed that their parents had taken them to a freelance Mage and had a temporary charm, that he swore was a magical infusion that would last a lifetime, and when the children returned to their parents, defeated by the gate of the school, the Mage would be nowhere to be found.

I gathered my sun hat and small over the shoulder satchel as we gained the train station, the youths excitedly jabbering to each other about the adventures that lay in store for them as we disembarked from the train. I rolled my eyes as one of them rose his fist in triumph. At the end of the platform, I paused to allow them to overtake me and eagerly head for the gate not far from the platform. It was nothing especially grand, just a wrought iron arch covered in this autumn season with branches of Mage Lily, but no flowers to be seen. The children walked confidently up to it, and laughing at the funny looking 'all powerful' gate, were stopped dead in their tracks as if seized by some great invisible hand and flung backwards up onto the platform where two uniformed peace keepers informed them they were to ride the train back to their home town and never return.

I chuckled under my breathe as I walked through the gate unhindered, leaving behind the loud cursing and intermittent sobs of the thwarted teens. Adjusting the strap on my satchel, I walked up the trail towards the great sprawling castle that served as the school of magic for over 100 years. The first time I had walked through that gate, it wasn't much more than a Manor and some stables, now it had spread like some gargantuan tumor on the world, becoming a thing to be marveled at. I curled my lip in disgust at what the place had become.

There had been others on the train bound for the school, and they now caught me up, exclaiming in awe at their new home, for they had passed the test of the gate. Most of them were young teens, but none older that 17. I slowed my pace and allowed myself to open to the magical plain. Opening my eyes, I could see the auras of the children that passed me, hanging about them like loose fitting clothing flapping as they ran toward their futures.

I blinked again and the Mage's Sight faded away. One of the youths turned back to look at me, his head cocked curiously, he had sensed my Sight, but did not know what to make of it, never having felt another investigate his aura before. I smiled sweetly at him and he turned back to join his friends as they entered the great front doors. A Mage greeted them and congratulated them for passing the test of the gate. His gaze briefly fell to me, but passed on with a snear, assuming me to be some other new student, as I did not appear much older that 20 or so. He ushered the others into the castle and they swiftly disappeared among the twisting halls and other people.

I took the fifteen steps to the enormous and ornate doors, running my hand along one burnished brass handle with familiarity, and I too entered the school.

A group 19 year old girls walked by, all in step with each other and all wearing the brown robe of Apprentices. They tipped their noses into the air and clicked their tongues disapprovingly at my pale blue attire, the blue of an initiate. It happened to be my favorite color. I ignored their jibes, and brushed off their Sight, allowing them to see only what they expected, a minor white shimmer centered around my hands. They passed on, laughing at how 'weak' I was, and that I had no place in a school for magically gifted individuals such as themselves.

I approached a young woman in maroon robes, the color of a first year Tutor, the rank above appreciate, and was just calling for her to show me to the Headmaster's office, when my kids woke me up...

I have a couple of different ideas of why I was there, why I needed to see the Headmaster, but I'm not sure what it was.

Might have had something to do with the dragons on the way up there, it DEFINITELY had to do with the mace I had used to kill the evil dragon of legend and restore magical balance to the world over a Millennium before. I'm just not sure why I felt I needed the thing back, or why it was at the school to begin with.

I also had an inkling that I was going to maybe take over the school and 'reboot' it as it had been a century passed when it first opened. But that came to me after I woke up, so I'm not sure if it was just me, or if it was residual from being yanked from a deep REM cycle at the sound of my son crying.

Maybe I'll never know...