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Saying that Aska Kepanan didn't know where he was could only be called an understatement, and a rather cruel one to boot. He hadn't experienced a feeling like that since the weeks when Embla had been calling him near-constantly to help her as she tried to hold their homeland together. And like the way Embla would grab onto his mind and pull, the feeling had quelled once he found... this place. It looked like a park, felt like a park; he knew that it was called the Pantheon, but he'd never dared approach it. They said Gods lived here, and if they did, he wasn't sure that he wanted a part of it, and at the same time he did. From the descriptions, they sounded like truly powerful Psionics, and therefore, people that he should be offering his services to as a man with no psychic power himself. It would be comforting to hand over control of his life to someone else as he'd used to; to no longer have to worry about whether he was offering some sort of offense, obvious or secret, would be a relief.

However, the place seemed deserted. He could see some kind of temple off in the distance, far enough away he didn't feel quite right approaching it alone; more of interest were the trees, which were tall enough to remind him of home. He found himself standing over a fountain on uncertain feet, hooking dark curls behind his ears. It felt like an intrusion to be there, and probably was...

Maybe he should just go.

Aska, checking the time on his watch--what arcane little magics ran it, he didn't know, but for sure he knew there had to be something to explain the regular movement of the "Quartz mechanism"--decided yes, he was definitely going to go back to the apartment. He had to sleep so he could go to work, and whatever had pulled him here had obviously oh hey what the hell--

There was a giant lizard in the sky, and Aska's green eyes went wide as he stared up at the monstrous thing. Sure, since his arrival on this world he'd heard plenty of stories about mystical "dragons", but he'd never seen one in anything other than art and maybe one or two posters. And certainly there weren't any at home, because if they did exist either the Psionics would have slaughtered them ages ago (if they weren't sentient) or else they'd be the ruling caste and Psionics would have been a lot less above Mutes. That thought brought a shudder as the giant reptile landed behind a pavilion structure; imagine being ruled by that thing. Aska couldn't.

...It was staring at him. Or, looking in his direction--there could be any number of interesting things behind him, and Aska turned to look in the hope of seeing anyone else. ... Okay, maybe it just heard something. Its ears did move...

Realizing there was essentially no way he was going to sleep, he looked back towards the place where the dragon had vanished. He could see a shadow that appeared almost person-like, which meant it probably was a person--people here were odd, with scales and cat-ears and God knows what else. Maybe they knew what had just happened? He looked above him, wary for more dragon-lizard-reptiles, and then headed towards the... well, he thought it was a teahouse, but it could be a gazebo of some sort. He knocked on a support, mindful that he might not be welcome, and also wary of the fact that the dragon seemed to have disappeared entirely. What if it came back?

"Thank you," said Aska, more out of shock and ingrained good manners than anything else. Purple hair, that was odd, and was it just him or did this man sort of... remind him of the dragon?

No, that was stupid. People didn't turn into dragons. Aska shifted from one foot to the other, bringing one hand up to stop the curtain from sliding back into place and blocking his view of the man. "I'm... There was just a giant, I think they call them dragons? There was one of them, in the sky. Is that normal?" Did Aska need to be concerned?

Aska narrowed his eyes for a moment, taking a mental step back. Hold on, he thought; that couldn't be right. For one thing, transformation just didn't work that way, did it? It was like transmutation in that you went from a pre-defined quantity of one thing to an equivalent amount of the other, and while maybe he could see the dragon turning into seven hundred men, just one seemed a little...

But then, he'd seen a lot of s**t--things, he edited conscientiously--that made no sense lately.

Best thing to do, he reasoned, was pretend this man was like the ruler of Aska's homeland. No such thing as too deferent, after all, or so he'd been taught. He sketched a bow, and said, "I'm... not sure." It was the truth, wasn't it? "I had this... This sounds ridiculous. But, there used to be these... Psions, they're like..." Like psions, really, what else was he supposed to say? "They had powers, like psychic powers. They used to sort of... reach in your head and pull, when they wanted you." His brow furrowed and he looked down at the floor for a moment. "I felt that, again, so I followed it here."

Which was really too much of an information overload, and Aska shrugged uncomfortably with an awkwardly crooked smile. "So I suppose I'm curious, lost, and seeking. All at once. Talent, right?"

Well, at least he didn't appear to have offended. It was a relief to know for sure he hadn't committed some inconceivable faux pas on accident... and a bigger relief that he wasn't being ridiculous, and that it wasn't uncommon. Maybe there was something like the Psions here? But then why call him, and not one of the people he lived near who had powers and talents beyond simple carpentry? Not that being a carpenter (or a painter) was a talent that didn't deserve respect. It did. It just wasn't as necessarily useful as being able to set things on fire with one's mind.

"Aska," he said, and then after a moment he added, "Is my name, I mean." The emphasis was not lost on Aska, and he stiffened a moment, affronted at the implication. Aska knew the rules; do no harm to others and they wouldn't harm you. It was a bit of a different rule than the ones he'd grown up with (obey the Psions and they won't burn your mind to ash or have you killed) but it was a good rule all the same. He liked it, anyway. "Why do people feel drawn here," he asked, finally, flicking a glance at the curtain that had fallen closed behind him and then returning his attention to Tian Yue.

Maybe Psion was another word for god, he wondered, recognizing what Tian Yue said the gods offered. Fulfillment, purpose, service: The things that his long service to Embla and all the psions he'd served before her had given him. Aska needed someone to devote himself to--someone to protect and give back to. He always had, it'd never changed.

Aska relaxed, shoulders slumping a bit. "Makes sense," he said. "If all of you can turn into dragons, it makes sense that people would want to serve." Which brought a look of confusion to his face, all pursed lips and widened eyes. "Do all gods turn into dragons? Or is that just a thing you do?" Psions had all kinds of talents, it only made sense that gods would be the same. Maybe being a Dragon King just made them... king of the dragons?

The question was the right one to ask. Aska had never defined himself much by what he could do for himself; as long as his health and livelihood was secure, he tended to look outwards. Being sent away from his homeworld and everything he knew had deprived him of much of the direction he'd had. His purpose had always been to please the Psions who ran everything. Since then, he'd been... aimless.

He shrugged, uncertainly. "I'm not sure... my lord?" Was that the proper term of address? "I would have said I want to go home, which... is true. I do. But I'd rather... I'd like to be of use. To someone."

He considered Tian Yue's visage, one hand coming up over his chin, and then with a rueful grin he shook his head. "Not... really, begging your pardon," he said, a bit embarrassed. Okay, more than a bit, but he didn't feel patronized as he might have. It really did seem that the Dragon King intended to help, and also not turn into a giant lizard monster (he really didn't know how exactly to describe it) dragon and eat him. He was willing to go along with just about anything, if it meant that he'd solve the mystery of the Psion-like pull on his mind.

Backing up--it was never polite to turn one's back to a superior if you could help it, which had been awkward going up stairs unless he was following a Psion--he held the curtain aside for the Dragon King. "I appreciate it," he said, sincerity in his voice as clear as day. "I really do."