Three years passed...

Drake 'snuck out' a lot. He was getting better and better at it, but he always took one of the raptors.

Luna was his choice this time... he'd heard about an amazing hunting opportunity. Dove and python hunts, perfect for Luna.
An airship ride to the Mist Continent and a three-day hunting trip.
Drake, being thirteen, would be the youngest hunter on the list to attend— but he was allowed to go because of his reputation as a falconer.

It was a long, long trip, so Drake asked Eclipse before he went and received permission to go, so long as he took Celestina—a fair enough condition.

Eclipse didn’t know much about hunting, and even less about falconry, so Drake assumed Eclipse wanted him to take Celestina since she was the one he’d given to Drake and was much bigger than Luna. Also because Celestina was the only one of Drake’s raptors that wouldn’t bite at Eclipse.
So, with Luna and Celestina in tow, he set off.

Drake took... a bit of a detour... he went and saw Severo for a day, leaving the birds with the rest of the hunting party.
Severo took him hunting again, and gave him a magick bow. It was designed for him-- for a fire element. It looked like dragon wings; made of red oak... it was the best weapon he'd ever had— the best weapon he'd ever seen!

It was called The Wings of Fate.

After a week, Drake returned and found his father waiting for him.

“Where have you been?” Chaucer snarled.

Drake walked past him, “I went hunting.”

Chaucer turned and followed him. “You have been gone for three days! You left Daguerreo!

“Mostly true.” Drake replied, bored.

Celestina rested on his gauntlet and Luna was in the cage he carried, asleep. Having the larger bird on his arm was tiring him out.

“You’re thirteen, Dracula! You cannot leave Daguerreo for three whole days without telling anyone!” Chaucer was really angry this time.

He wasn’t going to let Drake get away with it, he was going to do… something.

“I told Eclipse, he said I could go.” Drake said, simply.

Chaucer grabbed the arm that was holding the cage and pulled Drake back. He decided he’d have much better luck with this if he kept Drake from getting to the tower.

Drake was startled and showed it, nearly falling from the sudden jerk back. He turned and stared at Chaucer with a shocked expression.

“You are only thirteen,” Chaucer began. “I don’t care what you’ve come to believe, you are a child.”

“Let go of my arm.”

“You are also a prince, and while Daguerreo doesn’t have any true enemies, there are fiends out there that would hurt you simply because of your royal status. Wicked people who want to start wars might do something, criminals in need of gil might; the list is endless!” Chaucer continued.

“Let go of my arm!” Drake snarled, louder.

Chaucer had noticed Drake’s love for the raptors, which is one of the reasons he picked this moment to confront his son.
Chaucer had hold of the arm carrying the cage with the smaller bird, and Drake wouldn’t chance rattling the cage and hurting the falcon, he also could do nothing with his other arm as the larger falcon, the one that had ruined Chaucer’s plans at getting Drake a hawk, rested on Drake’s right arm. He was virtually trapped, and since Chaucer had seen Drake use his firepower on many occasions, he figured he was safe because the fire started, at least as far at Chaucer could tell, on Drake’s hands and that would risk the birds being burnt. He also had his Wings of Fate bow over his left arm, useless at the moment

“What you did was idiotic, irresponsible and inexcusable! You can’t just disappear for three days—.”

“I wasn’t gone for three days!” Drake roared his interruption. “I left a week ago! You just didn’t notice— you never notice! Four days, it took you four days to notice I wasn’t even in the palace? Why should I care if it angers you or not? I’m strong enough to handle things on my own!”

Chaucer was at a loss on that… He’d been gone a week? Well, that was worse! But… Chaucer had missed it… Still, he couldn’t let guilt stop him again or he really would lose his son. Drake already was more than willing to scream at him, though that could simply be caused by him being a teenager… he didn’t raise his voice to Eclipse nearly as easily as he did with Chaucer. It scared the king… it scared him now with his son glaring fire at him with his unnatural, demonic red eyes.

Chaucer held strong, despite all the voices in his head telling him to give up. He grabbed Drake’s left hand with his free one and pried his son's fist open, taking the cage.

“You want to break the rules and go hunting? You lose a falcon.”

The frightening look of anger changed to one of… shock.

Chaucer left while Drake was still standing there, very aware at the sudden release of weight from his left arm, though his bow fell and he caught it with his left hand.

Drake was too shocked to even move for a moment, he turned and headed back toward the tower, got to the main room and stopped... Drake flicked his right arm, gently, and Celestina took flight, going back to the keep.

Drake stood on the steps and spun back around, finally realizing what all had happened.

Chaucer… took Luna. He wasn’t following Drake to continue the threat or argument as he usually did… he’d just… taken Luna and was gone.
Drake shook with rage and took out his anger… on the room.

Eclipse was reading when he heard a very loud tearing noise from a few floors down. It sounded like cloth, or fabric being torn, lots of it, and loudly. Then the door shook on its hinges as a gust of wind shot up the tower. Then the curtains started to blow in the wind which was rapidly picking up outside.

The pale man was much too alert to think this was some kind of weird coincidence. It was possibly some kind of attack! So he dropped the book, and ran for the door, picking his sheaved sword up on the way. He ran down the stairs, and drew his sword as he did so.

The only people that should be in the tower this late at night, was Drake, if he were home, Eclipse himself, or Ellipsis. However, his speculations halted as he rounded the corner of the stairs, and nearly ran into Drake. He was standing there, and staring at the floor. Or, where the floor should have been…

Eclipse sighed. Now that he knew no one had broken in, and there was no attack, he was almost bored. As well as a little annoyed.

“...Bad day?” He asked the young prince. He was still a little curious about the situation.

Drake glared at the floor, not even looking back at Eclipse. “How did you know?” he asked, dryly.

“Well...” Eclipse started. He was cautious about this. He wasn't sure if Drake was being sarcastic; the boy rarely got this mad. And although the answer was simple, Eclipse didn't want to start an argument. It would be an annoyance, and unproductive. “...The rug is on fire,” he finished, in the end. The direct answer was probably the best bet. It was true, too. The rug was nearly completely consumed by the fire.

 Drake blinked twice and then shifted his eyes slightly to look at the rug..., which was pretty much gone.

“... Yes... bad day.” He replied, glancing up a bit.

“Chaucer took Luna,” Drake grumbled.

“Why did he do that?” Eclipse asked, faking concern brilliantly.

“I don't know. He was throwing a fit because I left without telling him.” Drake growled, though he did then put the fire out completely. “I want Luna back…”

“Alright, I'll see what I can do.” Eclipse said, as the fire finally went out. All that remained was ash and smoke; a faint reminder to Eclipse just how powerful his young prince was that he could cause such destruction from one little fit… “You should probably go to your room.” He added as an afterthought, as he sheathed his sword and attached it to his waist where it usually hung.

Drake sighed. “Alright...” he agreed and walked to his room, only stopping once to check and see if Celestina had made it to the keep safely.

Eclipse walked the rest of the way down the tower and then into the palace. It didn't take long to find the bird. The king had left it in a storeroom… which Eclipse imagined Drake would be particularly angry about. It was locked, but that was no problem for Eclipse.

What was a problem was that the king would notice it was gone and would cause a fuss...Thus, Eclipse created a mental illusion in the room. Chaucer would see the bird; hear the bird... even though it wasn't there. Anyone else would see a note from the king. Signed, nonetheless, saying that he had returned the bird to Drake.
Meaning if he asked anyone to check on it, they would just assume he was forgetful. If they said it wasn't there, he would go and check, see it there, think the person he sent is incompetent… it was all too simple. Eclipse really did wonder why anyone obeyed the king anymore… he’d worked his influence well enough that no one questioned anything; it was almost comedic that no one noticed. He’d taken their prince, he caused the King to behave differently… a whole island full of intellectuals and not a one amongst them could detect his work!

Okeanos truly had lost his power, and his followers had become stupid and old just as their god had.

Still… aggravatingly enough, Eclipse still had to be careful. It was comforting to see Drake pulling further and further away from his parents, but there was still a slight chance he’d side with them if an important enough issue came up. Eclipse was being careful to make sure that if it came to a tossup between himself and Chaucer, Drake would find Eclipse in the clear and go against his father. Now, for instance. Eclipse hated those birds, but he had given Drake permission to go out. If he allowed the punishment Chaucer had given to stay, it would seem as if he were not greater than the King, or that the King still owned Drake and there was no way Eclipse would allow that thought to continue. It was disgracing! He raised the boy, he spent all the time with him, he often had to go out of his way to do so; Chaucer was useless and it was an insult for him to still think Drake was his son. Drake didn’t act like he was; which was rewarding in itself.

Eclipse took the bird in the cage, making sure that none of the guards would see him, and returned to the tower. Not surprisingly, the bird was not thankful at the rescue and never stopped trying to peck and scratch at him the entire journey. It made his job a lot harder, but eventually he made it. Eclipse knocked on Drake's door once he was there.

Drake walked to the door and opened it. “You got Luna back!” He said; glad, but surprised.

Eclipse didn't answer, and instead held out the cage to Drake, almost thrusting it toward him. He was quite eager for the boy to take it before he lost a finger or something...

Drake took the cage and Luna calmed down almost instantly. “Thank you!” Drake grinned.

“You're welcome, my young prince.” Eclipse said, seeming glad that the bird was away from him.

Drake waited a week, and Chaucer didn’t visit or come looking for the bird or seem to remember the incident at all, which was perfectly fine for Drake! Meant less to deal with; less drama to put up with.

However, Drake got bored again… things were dull here, but he had a plan to solve that! He wanted to go hunting with Severo… so he went and found Eclipse. “Eclipse?”

Eclipse put a pen he was using into an inkpot, checking over the last line or so of the letter he was writing before he turned to look at Drake. “Yes?” He asked. Neither annoyance, nor happiness was in his voice. It was, as it almost always was, neutral.

“I was just bored.” Drake began, walking slowly across the room, hands behind his back.
It had become a habit. When he wanted something, he got it. No questions asked; except for when dealing with Eclipse. There were certain things Eclipse didn't like and he did not like Severo... so Drake tried to make the question casual rather than his normally blunt 'I want this,' “Thinking about going hunting.”

“Oh? You are?” Eclipse asked, picking the pen back up and starting to write again.
It was obvious he couldn't really be less interested. Drake went hunting a lot. Eclipse usually let him, nowadays.

“Yes.” Drake quieted his voice down slightly, trying to become background noise, talking about hunting techniques, vantage points, which falcon would be best... location. “Up north where Severo is; so it's alright? Grand, I'll go pack...” He said, heading for the door swiftly.

Eclipse stopped writing in the middle of a very elaborate 'a'.

“Wait,” he said loudly. It wasn't a shout, but it was enough to let Drake know he was going to be heard.

Drat! Drake looked back with a completely innocent expression. “Hm?”

“No.” Eclipse said simply, finishing his 'a' and turning to face Drake again.

“What? Why not?” Drake began his argument, “I want to go hunting.”

“No.” Eclipse reiterated in a tone that made it clear he did not expect to have to repeat himself, “I don't trust that wolf.”

“Severo? Why not? Oh, I might not even see him anyway.” Drake tried, waving it off.

Eclipse didn't say it, but he didn't trust Drake either. Not in this matter, that wolf had influence that was greatly undesired over his young prince and his people were usually very perceptive… from what Ellipsis had told him, Severo was a danger to their plan. He was friends with the king, and if he found out what Ellipsis and Eclipse were up to, well, what friend would sit back and allow it? “No, I think you shouldn't go hunting for a while…” he decided.

“But I’m bored!” Drake complained. “Come on, Eclipse… let me go.”

“I said no.” Eclipse said, slightly louder and then closed his eyes to erect the barrier, “And I mean it.”

Drake growled and stormed off back to his room, angered that he hadn’t been able to get to go… which did not entirely mean he would not try to go anyway…

Midnight that night... Drake did try to leave and found the barrier was up again.

“Not fair,” he pouted as he paced his room; trying to think of what to do. He was going to miss his chance and it bothered him.

For three days he'd kept trying, and for all three days the barrier had remained... Even after he'd stopped mentioning going up north! It wasn’t fair! Any other time he wanted something he got it… usually… though he did ask for a puppy an awful lot and that, too, was always denied.

Eclipse doesn't trust Severo, Drake thought. But he lets me go other times with hunting parties…

Then something caught his eye... a flyer. It was for another hunting party looking for a falconer; it had everything Drake would want. It was off Daguerreo, it was hunting, and it required him to practice his magick, archery, and falconry... and could be a possible excuse to go up north.
He went and found Eclipse. “Eclipse?”

Eclipse peered over the top of the old worn leather-bound book. “Yes?” He asked, turning a page point fully.

Drake decided to be a bit more direct, this time. He walked over and held up the flyer, “I want to go.”

“Go? Go where?” Eclipse asked, feigning ignorance and ignoring the flyer.

He knew that Drake would want to meet with the wolf man, and while Drake often lost interest in things quick, Eclipse doubted he had on this topic by now. The boy was a liar, when it suited him, and it seemed to suit him on many occasions. Which that was a good thing… as long as he didn’t try it on Eclipse… which he always seemed to do...

Eclipse would not show weakness to the boy, and he knew that Severo was a hard person to find; if he could delay Drake a week or so even he wouldn’t be able to locate Severo again for a while. Eclipse knew Severo was a risk he couldn’t take. The wolf man’s people were too perceptive, and he had too much influence over Drake… they might find out what and who he really was and Drake would listen to Severo if he said not to go back to Eclipse; which was aggravating to say the least. He works for thirteen years to get the boy to obey and he still questions things, the wolf man makes a suggestion and Drake immediately agrees! What if Severo took the boy to one of his people’s tribes? They might do something and ruin all Eclipse had planned! It had been difficult enough to convince the elders of the Occultation tribe that he could keep Dragon safe, especially without having to check in and having no additional aid besides Ellipsis, a Lesser, on territory currently owned by the enemy… if someone took the boy he’d never be forgiven… not that it would matter, in the end. Once Drake was strong enough, no other elder would be able to stop Eclipse from doing anything he pleased… Which was one of the reasons he choose not to return.

His people’s fate rested in Dragon. He knew that. They thought he was working this hard for them when in fact he cared less and less about what became of them. The world was his!

He was strong enough that Cináed had chosen to give him the ability to find Dragon and with him… Eclipse was unstoppable. This boy had the powers of a dragon god inside of him! The most powerful of the dragon gods! The other Occultations had to suffer through life knowing the sun stole their powers till they were out of it, but Eclipse no longer feared the damaging rays. Just being around Dragon for this long had increased his powers; it would just be a matter of time before the boy grow into his full power and then… the world would belong to Eclipse and anyone who dared go against him would have to deal with his little Dragon…

Who, at the moment, wanted something and was being persistent.

Drake motioned to the flyer, “The mist continent. They're having another outing. I want to go.” Drake ranted on about the event; he was very excited about it, it seemed. He knew the people going, their desire for a falconer, how easy he could convince them to let him go… and he knew what to say to really get at Eclipse. “It's only a week long and they only do this every four years. Chaucer found out about it… he says I can't go,” Drake rolled his eyes. “But in the end, it's up to you… isn't it?”

Eclipse would have bitten his lower lip if he hadn't broken the habit many years before. He did not want the boy to see Severo... but the mist continent was a long way from the wolf man and even though Eclipse thought the boy might be lying it would be fun to alienate the boy from his father some more… fun and useful…

Eclipse decided not to answer the boy's question directly. Doing so would be foolish. It was up to him, of course, it always was and always would be, but if the boy told his Father he had said it...

It was against his better judgment, but if the boy lied to him he would know and he would make sure Drake was punished.

“Alright.” Eclipse said, and went back to his book.

YES! “All right!” Drake grinned as he headed for the door, and then stopped as if being hit with an afterthought. “Wait... The airship dock is right by the main library... What if Chaucer sees me leave? He'll do something foolish.”

Drake had planned that out already. That was the perfect thing to say. Eclipse would make sure Chaucer didn't pitch a fit and he could see Drake really was going with the hunting party who had made the flyer. It also gave Eclipse a power trip Drake hadn’t left unnoticed. Eclipse liked to overrule Chaucer…

Eclipse considered that a second, nearly seeing it as an excuse not to let the boy go… but messing with Chaucer was always worth it. Overpowering a king was a great achievement, after all. Still, it was somewhat odd for Drake to mention a problem like that. Usually he walked right by the king without even a glance.

“Fine.” Eclipse said, standing up and closing the book loudly.

A warning for the boy not to push his luck any further, just in case he was up to something.

Drake quickly returned to his room and grabbed his already packed bag, his Wings of Fate bow and Celestina. Then he trotted to the archway leading to the rest of the palace and waited, patiently.

Eclipse met him there a moment later; he closed his eyes for a moment, and then walked forward, under the arch. He knew Drake would have caught on to the way he closed his eyes to raise or lower the barrier by now.

Drake grinned and followed Eclipse through the archway and to the palace.

Chaucer, of course, did show up.“Dracula? Where are you going?” He asked, noticing Drake had his travel bag.

Drake ignored him and headed for the airship dock like he always did.

“Drake's not going anywhere.” Eclipse said to the king, calmly implanting the thought that there were no airships that could, or would be leaving today. So there was no harm in the boy going there.

Chaucer stopped, blinking a few times, “But... He has a bag... and... hm.” Chaucer's mind tried to get back on the original question; tried to reason that he'd spoken to the hunting group, that he'd seen the airship... but...
“Oh... Right.”

Drake jumped on board and walked to the bridge, he needed to have a... chat, with the captain.

He waited in the shadows till the ship was already at the mist continent, then he stepped forward...

The prince still wasn’t sure on all his powers, but he noticed he had the ability to be very, very persuasive toward a lot of people! He could talk them into or out of most anything! Of course, Eclipse forbid him from doing it and he had never gotten it to work on Ellipsis who, also, really let it be known he did not appreciate that Drake tried.

Four hours later, he climbed off into the arctic snow.