《The Hourglass Dragon》 Chapter 1: Fortune I¡­ I¡¯m dead, aren¡¯t I¡­ I have to be¡­ Then, this place must be¡­ the afterlife? I glanced around the room I was sitting in. Rather bland floral patterns decorated the beige and blue walls, and a half dozen chairs neatly lined up on one side of the room, all empty save the one I sat in. The only other features were a clock and a single closed door. I checked the clock for the 4th time so far: it had been about 15 minutes since I had opened my eyes and found myself here. Whatever here even is. The afterlife? I¡¯d be a bit disappointed if heaven looked like a suburban dentist¡¯s office. Even more so if this was hell. I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. I suppose the dentist¡¯s office could be a hell for some people. Not me though! I always brushed my teeth responsibly, and never failed to lie about flossing too! Haa¡­ it¡¯s no use. Before I could think about my unceremonious departure from life even more, the door clicked and swung open slightly. An older woman¡¯s face, framed by gray hair peered through the opening, and squinted at me over her glasses. ¡°Mia Jones?¡± ¡°Umm.. yes, that¡¯s me,¡± I said, startled. ¡°I apologize for the wait, please follow me.¡± With this, the woman opened the door fully and gestured with a ¡®follow me¡¯ type body movement. Still pretty confused, I awkwardly got up and shuffled over to the door and followed her. As we walked through some sort of office, the woman introduced herself. ¡°My name is Dolores, I¡¯m a section manager here at the Balance Management Bureau. Ah- here, take my card.¡± As she walked, Dolores shoved the business card into my hand and motioned me towards an open door. Bewildered, I walked towards it, only half-aware of the other people scattered throughout the large room, going through the motions of officework, typing on computers, and talking amongst themselves. Seeing my confusion, Dolores placed a hand on my shoulder reassuringly, ¡°Don¡¯t fret dear, I¡¯ll explain once we are in my office. Come now.¡± With that, we entered her office, a small, neatly organized room with a large desk with a computer. Filing cabinets and bookshelves lined the walls behind the desk, but what caught my attention were the two people at the desk. A girl, probably in her early twenties with circular glasses and auburn hair sat at the computer, and smiled at us when we came in. The other person was a guy with short brown hair, leaning against one of the cabinets, looking bored as anything. Dolores quickly started talking, ¡°Mia, this is Amy and Jean, they are interns in my department. They¡¯ve only been training for a couple days, but I assume you don¡¯t mind them being here?¡± ¡°Uh.. no, that¡¯s fine. Wait, interns? Isn''t this the afterlife?¡± ¡°Oh! Excuse me, I¡¯ve been inconsiderate. I¡¯ve yet to explain this place to you. We are currently in the main branch of the Balance Management Bureau. Myself, along with all my wonderful colleagues are appointed by God to manage the balance of living beings across the many worlds.¡± Dolores smiled at me with endless positivity, waiting for a response. ¡°So this isn¡¯t heaven or purgatory or something like that?¡± Dolores gently shook or head, ¡°No, not quite. Essentially, we are here to correct any imbalances that might occur. Think of us as¡­ beings who keep track of karma. Your planet was the one with this word, correct?¡± ¡°Yes, I think I know¡­ MY PLANET? And did you say appointed by God?¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. At this point, Dolores had sat me in a chair facing the desk, and shut the door. ¡°Please do not worry too much about the specifics, just know we are here to help you.¡± The girl at the computer -Amy, I suppose- gave me a sympathetic smile and said, ¡°Mia, you¡¯re here because your life was one that did not follow the normal balance of the universe. Let me guess, you always thought you had horrible luck, yes?¡± ¡°I, uh, I suppose so¡­¡± ¡°Well, for those like you, who¡¯s cosmic balance falls out of the norm, we¡¯re here to give you a second chance! If it helps, see all this as a second try at life, a way for the universe to say: ¡®Sorry for all the bad luck!¡¯¡±. With this she grinned widely and gave a little thumbs up. ¡°Mia, please do not worry too much over this. Just know that you are getting a second chance at life. Alright?¡± Dolores patted my shoulder with this, and looked at me expectantly. ¡°No, it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s ok. I believe you guys.¡± At least, I believed in my own shitty luck. That part at least seemed to fit¡­ and I certainly remembered dying and waking here. ¡°Great!¡± Dolores clapped her hands together and turned to the interns. ¡°Amy, please bring her information up, and the transfer form as well.¡± With a few taps of the keyboard, Amy seemed to find what she wanted and started to read the information off to me. ¡°Mia Jones, human female, age 17. Birthplace: Richmond, Virginia, United States of America, Earth. Place of death, the same?¡± Amy looked up at me to ask my confirmation, and I simply nodded, not wanting to think about the implications of having ¡®Earth¡¯ listed in the locations. ¡°Oh wow¡­ really unlucky! Your death is just a bunch of unfortunate decisions and events, huh.¡± ¡°How did¡­¡± I started to ask. Amy confirmed what I had thought, ¡°Cause of death: blunt trauma from a motor vehicle. Seems like the driver dozed off. Looks like you were the only casualty.¡± ¡°Ah no, I just wanted to confirm it.¡± At this point, Dolores once again cut in, ¡°Unfortunately, we cannot send you back to Earth.¡± I stared blankly at her and said nothing. Apologetically, Dolores quickly continued, ¡°The system cannot work that way, I¡¯m sorry, but we have the next best thing! There is a planet, Ethera, similar to earth that all of our humans are sent to!¡± I¡¯m pretty sure my thoughts were visible in my expression, as Dolores frantically tried to move on, ¡°It¡¯s truly an amazing world! Ummm, much like your fantasy novels on Earth! Magic, fantastical creatures, great heroes and dastardly villains! Elves, dwarves, dragons!! Many of our past clients like it more than their old homes!!!¡± Magic, fantastical creatures¡­ huh. As much as I tried, a bit of excitement seeped into my mind. How could it not? I wanted to know more. ¡°That sounds interesting, I think. How does all this work? You said something about a transfer?¡± Obviously relieved that I showed interest, Dolores continued, ¡°It¡¯s quite simple really. We transfer you, as you are now, down to one of our many designated reception points. Once you are on site, someone will be waiting to pick you up. Your liaison will help you acclimate to your new life as much as you need it. For you Mia, I believe the city of Draughton in the Olivar Kingdom would be a good location. It¡¯s one of our best, and quite peaceful.¡± ¡°Well, uh, I guess that¡¯s fine,¡± I agreed. It didn¡¯t really seem to matter though, I doubted I had much of a choice in the matter. As if reading my mind, Dolores added, ¡°Well assuming you¡¯d like to stay human? All of our information on you suggested you would likely prefer staying human to merging with another sentient race.¡± ¡°Merging with another sentient race?¡± ¡°Well, if you were to so choose, we could transfer you into Ethera by merging you with another race. You would, essentially, become a demihuman. Half-human, half-orc, for example.¡± ¡°Can I be-¡± ¡°You cannot become half-elf. Or another one of the higher races.¡± Dismayed, I leaned back in the chair. ¡°No, human is perfectly fine, to be honest.¡± Dolores continued gently, ¡°Sorry. Most people ask about elves and dwarves and the like during this process. The higher races, especially ones like elves with small populations, are not open for transfers. It is harder to acclimate and has a higher chance to go wrong. There are other options..¡± ¡°No, human is good. And the place you said earlier, that¡¯s probably fine too.¡± Elves, huh. I was only going to ask to satisfy my own curiosity, but I probably shouldn¡¯t get too ahead of myself. The less ways this could go wrong, the better. Dolores nodded towards Amy, who started tapping at the keyboard. ¡°In that case, let¡¯s move along. Everything else you need will be provided by the liaison you meet once you arrive. Do know however, that once you are on Ethera, we can no longer help you from here. It is up to you to live your life to the fullest.¡± I nodded, and took a few deep breaths. I hadn¡¯t realized it until now, but I was exhausted. It¡¯s decided! First thing to do with my new life: sleep. Sounds perfect! ¡°Alrighty! Everything is good to go! Mia Jones, I wish you good luck.¡± Dolores smiled and nodded slightly. Amy hit a key and a bright light started to glow from under the chair I was sitting in. Tired and done worrying about anything, I closed my eyes. A few seconds later, I drifted into sleep. . . . . . . . . . ¡°Good work Amy, another transfer complete! For the next one, Jean, you switch in.¡± Dolores energetically waved her hands to hurry the two interns along; she enjoyed her job more than anything. Amy got up as Jean slid into the seat in front of the computer, and let out a sigh. Squinting, he scrolled through the list that was still up on the screen. ¡°Hey, Amy, where did you send that human again?¡± Amy, who was halfway around the desk, stopped and gave him a confused look. ¡°Draughton, right?¡± ¡°Uhhh.. I think you clicked the wrong one.¡± Amy and Dolores hurried to look where Jean was pointing on the screen. Highlighted from a list of location names, just below Draughton read: Draughton(A): Dragon¡¯s Den Dolores let out a exasperated ¡®Oh dear¡¯ and a high-pitched squeak escaped Amy¡¯s lips. Jean simply scratched his head and muttered, ¡°Unlucky.¡± Chapter 2: New Beginnings Warmth flooded around me. It pressed down on my shoulders, in a fashion that would¡¯ve felt oppressive if not for the motherly embrace the darkness seemed to wrap me in. I let out a sigh in my mind, not understanding the feeling but unwilling to move. I could stay like this forever. A loud CRACK sounded, giving me the sneaking suspicion that I wouldn¡¯t be staying like this forever. Or even for that long. Another CRACK came from behind me, and the weight on my body began to dissipate. A light shone from below what I now could understand was eye level for me. Sighing internally once again, I gave up on ignoring this disturbance. Pushing out with my arms, the warm darkness surrounding me shuddered and collapsed all at once. Closing my eyes, I shielded my head as whatever I was in fell, leaving me lying face down on something soft. Ah. Another comfortable spot. Maybe I should lie here for a while¡­ My thoughts started drifting off to a warm and happy place when the ground around me shook with tremendous force. In response, of course, I curled up into a ball and tried to ignore it. A third sigh escaped me as the ground shook again, and I pushed myself up from the ground and opened my eyes. Two yellow and red orbs gazed at me from about an arm¡¯s length away. Through me, more like. Not now, brain, not now. First, what the hell is that? Two beautiful orbs, separated by red¡­ rock? Clay, maybe? Whatever it is, it looks tough, but it shines lightly¡­ just as beautiful as the two- As thoughts swirled in my head, the two orbs flickered. Well, blinked. They definitely blinked. Wait, if they blinked, then-This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Hmmmm. You look odd, child.¡± The voice resounded through my head, bouncing around on the inside of my skull. All at once, I fell back, and I realized what I was looking at. What was looking back at me. The eyes, shimmering in yellow and red swirls, set deep in a reptilian face the same hue as a burning village. Ah, maybe I¡¯m starting to panic. I¡¯ve never seen a burning village. Why would I- ¡°Hopefully you shall never see a burning village in your lifetime, child. Those seem to be the precursors of our doom.¡± Again the voice sounded in my head, accompanied by the reptilian head moving back with a slightly playful look in its eyes. As it moved, I took in the crane-like neck it was attached to, covered in the what I now could see were scales of that same color. Further along, a massive body the size of a townhouse was sprawled out on the grass, with two forearms resting in front. The claws those arms ended in seemed larger than me, but my attention was quickly grabbed by something else. Behind its head, two wings unfurled to either side, catching the sunlight that streamed down and reflecting it seemingly in all directions. From my view, the underside of the wings seemed to glimmer every color I had ever seen; and a few more I had not. ¡°Child, fix that face of yours. You may look odd, but my daughter shall never be caught with her jaw hanging like so. It is unbecoming of a dragon.¡± Realizing my mouth was hanging wide open, I closed it, and then quickly felt it drop again. ¡°cough..cough..bleh¡± What did¡­ A dragon? Her daughter? ¡°fufufu¡­ Yes my dear, you are my offspring, emerged from the egg I laid many moons ago. What else would you be, but a dragon? Here, let me show you something.¡± The dragon in front of me lowered her head to my level once again, mouth slightly ajar, showing a grin full of sword-like teeth. Expecting to be frozen with fear, I instead felt something wash over me, a feeling very familiar, full of the warmth of a fireplace and the safety of home. Without a doubt it came from the creature staring at me, and as it coursed through my entire body I realized it was akin to the state I was in earlier - only without the darkness. As it gradually left my body, receding like the tide, I came to two realizations. First: this dragon in front of me is, without a doubt, my mother. Second: my mother is terrifying. Chapter 3: Home ¡°You understand now, I see. Come child, wash yourself off and I will take a good look at you.¡± I felt my senses return to me, and heard my heartbeat return to a normal level. Breathe in, breathe out. I looked over the dragon, my mother, once again, and then proceeded to look at our surroundings. We sat near the edge of a large clearing; mostly full of knee-high grass with a few rocks scattered about in between the sparse trees. Over a ways I could see a large pond, its water still and silent. What caught my attention the most, however, were the walls surrounding the clearing on all sides. They seemed to be naturally formed rock, but rose at least ten meters in all places. Above was an endless expanse of pale blue sky with a few wisps of clouds dotted about. The ground shook slightly as my mother turned slowly and headed towards the pond, and I shakily stood up. I wasn¡¯t sure of much, but somehow I knew with all my being that this dragon was my mother, and she would not hurt me. I wrapped my arms around myself for a moment and felt a slimy ooze covering my skin. Suddenly, I shivered and felt the breeze, acutely aware of the disgusting stuff covering my body. She was right, let¡¯s go wash off. I took about two steps before something went in between my legs and I tripped face first into the grass with a thud. Rubbing my nose with my hand, I felt a rough spot on my skin, taking a look- A clawed hand lifted me gently into the air and with a burst of speed I was dumped into the pond. ¡°Hmph. I suppose the Elder did say they would trip over their own tails right after birth. I am sure I never did.¡± Dragging myself out of the water, my mind fixated on something my mother had said. Tail? Reaching out behind me, I grasped about until I found a rough, scaly thing attached to my lower back . Bringing it around, I looked at my tail for the first time. It was a darker red than my mother¡¯s scales, but it shone in the sun nonetheless; stretching out almost a meter in length, thick at the base but thinning out into a sharp tip at the end. Tentatively, I lashed out with my new tail, feeling it whipping around, and finding my slightly different than normal center of balance. Well I guess it¡¯s normal for a dragon to have a tail¡­ right¡­ ¡°Of course! The rest of you might look abnormal, but your tail at least has a nice sheen and looks strong! You take after me that way, fufufu.¡± Distracted by my new tail, it took me a moment to notice my hands. Both were covered with the same hardened scales, changing into normal skin midway up my forearms. My palm and underside of my arms seemed the same color as my normal skin, but were rougher to the touch. And, on each of my fingertips, a very deadly looking talon curled slightly. Ah. Of course¡­ Overcome by a sudden urge, I walked over to the water¡¯s edge and looked at my reflection. A perfectly normal human looked right back. With a tail, scales and claws of course. My legs were the same as my arms: claws and scales ending midway up my calves. My hair burned a deep red, different from the plain brown I remembered it being, thought it fell down past my shoulders the same. Inspecting my hair, I quickly noticed another bundle sitting on my back. Feeling out with new sensations, two damp wings awkwardly unfolded from their spot between my shoulderblades. As I did, a light breeze swept over me, and I was torn from my spot and tumbled backwards, caught by the wind. ¡°Do not worry, child. You will grow into your body in time. For now, eat, I suspect you are hungry.¡± Sitting up, I gave the dragon sitting next to me a sideways glance; she was definitely enjoying this. I may not know how to read a dragon¡¯s expression, but she sure as hell sounds amused. My thoughts were once again interrupted as my mother dropped something in front of me. With a loud thump the cow¡¯s corpse came to rest unmoving at my feet. A pair of dead eyes stared past me, and two ears ruffled slightly with the wind, both deeply marked by claws. Oh god what the¡­ is that real?.. I know I¡¯m a sucker for a good burger but this is too much-Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. A loud growl sounded through the quiet landscape, signifying that my stomach had betrayed me. I can¡¯t possibly eat this¡­ raw¡­ ¡°Does this not suit you? These beasts are a natural meal for us, child. I have never heard of a squeamish dragon.¡± The large reptilian head glided over to my side, one eye inspecting me. I¡¯ll be sick if I- A loud grumble once again came out, and before I knew what was happening my mouth tore into the leg of my meal. Ripping back I realized my teeth had also changed, sharpened blades much like my mother¡¯s. Blood seeped down my throat and I swallowed the meat. ...What just¡­ I looked down at the cow corpse, and started eating as fast as I could. For a few minutes, nothing but the sound of ripping and chewing could be heard in the field, as I mindlessly devoured my meal and my mother watched me expectantly. I had eaten about half of the cow before I sat back, full and satisfied. Did I just¡­ What just came over me? ¡°Fufufu¡­ You are a dragon, no matter what other blood also runs through your body. If a dragon is hungry, it eats. There is no need to think. Hmph. You have a lot to learn now, and I expect nothing less than greatness. You are the daughter of Rehm, and your ancestors have flown over this land since before the Great Wars.¡± My mother, Rehm, I suppose, stared through me once again. Without moving her mouth, she continued. ¡°We are home for the moment. This is my den, and now yours as well. We hunt in the lands around us. Do not disturb the humans and their walled cities, but you may eat their cattle and any other beasts you find in the forest. Understood?¡± Ah¡­ wait¡­ There are humans near us? Uh, Rehm? ¡°Yes, child. Since the Great Wars, there has been peace between the humans and the dragons, but this den resides in human territory. As long as you do not disturb them or fly near their settlements, they will not bother us.¡± O-Ok. Oh, uhm, my name is M- ¡°Fufu-your name, child? You do not have one, not yet. You shall choose one at the next gathering, so fret not. Until then, you are ¡®child¡¯¡±. Rehm¡¯s eyes glinted in the afternoon sun and she seemed to grin - insofar as a dragon can grin. I sighed and wiped my still-bloody mouth with the crook of my elbow, before deciding to quickly dip into the pond and wash off. I was getting better at walking with my tail at least; as long as I kept my wings folded on my back. Emerging from the pond, I walked back and sat shivering in front of Rehm. Uh, Rehm? If I can ask, what was that feeling you showed me earlier, the warmth you sent through my body? ¡°Yes child, please ask anything. That was my mana that I sent into you.¡± Mana? ¡°Indeed. As your mother, we share a connection that goes further than blood or appearance. Dragons of kin are linked by their mana, and so I channeled my own into you to. It is how were are speaking so easily; telepathy with dragons not your kin, or other species would be much too difficult for a newborn like you, child.¡± I see. So, I have mana? I can do magic?? ¡°Fufufufu¡­ Such a silly question, my child. Of course you can. You are my daughter, and besides that you are a dragon. All dragons have the capacity for magic; we are not like some lower race where only some individuals have mana. In time, you will outgrow the strongest mages and sorcerers of any lower race.¡± I can¡­ I can do magic! I may be some sort of half-human half-dragon abomination that likes eating raw meat, but I can do MAGIC! Maybe my luck is finally turning around!!! My luck, huh? I went silent for a moment, thinking back to before I broke out of my ¡®egg¡¯. Feelings, sentiments, faces from my past life swirled through my mind, too many things to grab ahold of, and seldom anything concrete. My name is Mia - not anymore, I suppose - and I was a 17 year old human from Virginia. Alright, there¡¯s some concrete information. I had shitty luck, died, went to some office building and was sent here. Thinking harder, the details only seemed to get more hazy. Although I¡®m pretty sure I was supposed to still be a human. Ahhhh~ my head is starting to hurt. Breaking out of my fuzzy thoughts, I turned to issues more closely at hand. I have wings, claws, a tail, daggers for teeth. My mother is Rehm, a dragon. I am also a dragon. Kind of. We are talking through telepathy magic, and I have mana in my body. I ate a dead cow. ¡­This isn¡¯t really helping. Uh, Mother, how do I do magic? ¡°Hmm, aren¡¯t you eager. Alright, close your eyes. First we must find the source of your mana in your body. I shall help by sending some of my own mana into you. Feel the directions my mana flows and find the point it turns on.¡± As she had said, I felt a small but steady stream of warm, cozy ¡®mana¡¯ cascade through me. For a moment I just sat there, letting it wash over everything; but before long I could sense a spot where the flow was disrupted. Around this spot the mana swirled and collided before continuing on. Focusing on the spot, I suddenly became aware of a very weak stream of something - mana, thinner than Rehm¡¯s and with a different feel. It felt warm, like hers, but instead of cozy and safe it burned like muscles after a good run. It was rough and unrefined, but I knew it was mine. Eventually Rehm¡¯s mana left my body entirely, and my small stream of mana grew to try and fill the void. It felt like it was coming from my stomach or the base of my back, but at the same time originating from somewhere outside my physical body. ¡°You have found it then. Now let us try something simple, a magic that is second nature to dragons. All you must do is focus on the mana in your body, open your mouth and visualize breathing it out. Nothing more.¡± At her instruction, I opened my mouth and breathed. Instantly a small spout of flame burst in front of me, maybe a meter in length. Surprised, I snapped my jaw shut and felt the mana-infused fire swirl about and dissipate. Surprisingly to me, it didn¡¯t hurt at all. ¡°Excellent, child. For you and I, breathing fire requires nothing more than an exertion of will. In time you will need not even visualize the flow of mana. Other spells may require more concentration, time, incantation, but you are a dragon. You are made of flesh, blood, and magic. It is what you were born for.¡± WIth that, Rehm turned her head upward and opened her maw. Rows of jagged teeth glinted in the late afternoon sunlight, and a serpent-like tongue flashed among them. She closed her red and yellow eyes as a thirty meter long sword of fire cut through the air, heat distorting the air into wavy patterns. Her mouth closed and our eyes met, her¡¯s seemingly dancing with laughter. Settling back down next to me, we spoke about magic and dragons and everything in between, until the sun had dipped past the stone walls around us and the sky turned the color of our scales. It was not until Rehm laid her head down, encircling me with her body that I realized how tired I was. I fell asleep shortly, and dreamed of a great dragon burning down an office building in the sky. Chapter 4: Wings ¡°Get used to your body, child. I will return tonight, and we shall have a little fun.¡± With these words and a powerful gust of wind Rehm had soared upward and out of sight much quicker than I would have thought something of her size could¡¯ve. Regardless, I had dutifully spent most of the morning moving about, feeling the burn of mana course through me as I projected flames into the air. By early midday, I had explored the entire clearing. As it had seemed, it was a rough circle of grass encased in a stone wall ten meters high. The pond I had slept near took up a quarter of the circle, and the rest was mostly open fields sparsely filled with trees. One tree in particular, a massive gnarled oak at least a meter wide at its base, had hidden a passageway through the stone wall from me the day before. A brief look showed it led outside the the enclosure, but as much as I already trusted Rehm, I wasn¡¯t about to test my new dragon-mom¡¯s patience. The other oddity I had missed the day prior sat right next to the broken shell of my egg. Another egg, orange-red and almost my height sat basking in the blazing sun. I had no way of knowing how near hatching it was, but I had always wanted to be an older sister in my previous life. I supposed it only took dying and becoming half-dragon to grant this only child¡¯s wish. For a moment I tried to recall how I had died; for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. Just like all the other tries, all I got was a blur and a headache. I could vaguely remember someone from that reincarnation office saying ¡®blunt trauma¡¯ to me. Maybe I can¡¯t remember much because I got hit in the head? Ahhhh¡­ so frustrating. So many questions and almost no answers. Ripping my thoughts away from that line of thinking, I willed the mana from the core of my body, up through my chest and throat, and spit some fire into the air. At least I¡¯ve got magic. And¡­ crouching low, I squatted in the knee high grass with my hands clawing the dirt. With a deep breath, I unfurled my wings to their fullest, each reaching a meter out from my shoulder blades. Feeling some joints in the frames of my wings pop, I had the sobering realization that I probably looked more like a decrepit gargoyle perched on a roof than a majestic dragon readying for lift-off. Well, as long as gargoyles can fly, I¡¯ll survive. The faintest of breezes brushed over my wings, and I marveled at how even the slightest change in the wind could alter my momentum and center of balance in a drastic way. Feeling the breeze for a moment, I released the ground and pushed down with my wings. Again - I pushed my wings down - then again, and again until I was unsteadily hovering above the ground, flapping my wings to stay aloft. I was flying; my back was hunched down, my arms hugged close, still looking more like a gargoyle than anything, but dammit I was in the air. Feeling inspired by my quick success, I shifted my body weight, spread out my arms to move forward - and promptly lost all momentum and face planted. As the afternoon went on, I gradually felt more stable in my flight; and I eventually had the basics of mid-air movement down. My body seemed to subconsciously sense and react to changes in wind pressure and direction, so as long as I didn¡¯t overreact mid-flight, I would be fine. Of course, by the time Rehm returned at dusk I had already left countless imprints of my face in the dirt, and had spent thirty minutes being too scared to come down from the large oak tree after challenging myself to land on a branch; but Rehm didn¡¯t have to know that. For all she knew, I had taken to the skies like a proper gargoyle. Er, dragon. ¡°I take it you enjoyed yourself?¡± With my windswept appearance and slightly dirty face, I simply smiled back at Rehm. I would be lying to say flying was not amazing. The feeling of soaring through the air, even just a few feet off the ground, yet all under your own power. It was something indescribable. ¡°Now then, child. I have a task for you. The sun is about to fall away, but night or day matters not to us. I want you to go into the forest and hunt.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. I had somewhat expected this is what she was planning, but excitement still ran through me. A forest in a world with dragons and magic? My curiosity raged through me, but regaining my calm I simply nodded. I am ready, Mother. ¡°Of course. Do not take too long, I shall be watching from here.¡± With her dismissal, I turned towards the entrance behind the gnarled oak tree. Partially because I still wasn¡¯t entirely confident in my flying, and partially because I wanted to see the rocky passageway from the inside, I half-stepped half-climbed my way through the darkness. The sun had almost disappeared at this point, but the lack of light didn¡¯t faze me in the slightest; my eyesight was barely reduced compared to daytime. Coming out on the other side, I was faced with a forest. Thick oak trees stood tall in every direction, still at a glance. Walking forward in the darkness, insects and other critters of the night started calling out, louder than I would have expected. It seemed the forest never went to sleep. Perking my ears and straining my eyes, I continued wandering. It took about thirty minutes before I even saw an animal at all. Standing as tall as me, a deer with brown fur and an extremely tall upturned white tail nibbled at the brush. Crouching low I circled carefully towards it, staying hidden from its view behind trees. I had never hunted anything before, I was sure that in my previous life I had no experience. And yet, I had a sense of what to do. Breathing even, footsteps quiet, body low and ready to jump. I took another step to place myself behind the nearest tree to the deer, behind it and to the left. The deer¡¯s head shot up as a small crunch sounded, head turned almost 180 degrees, two impossibly large yellow eyes darting in every direction. Staying as still as I could, eventually the deer returned to munching on the underbrush. Slowly peeking around the tree trunk, I saw the deer seemingly unaware of me. Everything about it was entirely natural and relaxed, until I noticed a brief movement in its tail. Every few seconds, its tail would vibrate slightly, reminding me of something else. A... tuning fork? I slowly unfurled my wings halfway, crouching around the tree trunk. Moving only when the deer¡¯s tail was still, I readied myself to pounce. Well, here goes nothing. Pushing off with my legs, I shot towards the deer like a bullet, wings angled and pushing the air back. Two yellow eyes darted back to meet mine, seeing outstretched claws and a row of sharp teeth hurtling towards it. It tried to jump out of the way, but only succeeded in making me miss my mark. Instead of sinking my teeth into its neck, I was firmly embedded in its thigh, claws wrapped around its back and wings flapping wildly. The deer bolted, taking me with it through the forest. I saw its tail vibrating faster than my eyes could keep up, and a wave of intense nausea washed over me. Groaning, I reached with my claws and unlodged my teeth. Pulling forward, I reached its lower neck and began to scratch and cut. It took seemingly forever, but the deer finally slowed and collapsed from blood loss. Standing over my fallen prey, I inspected my work. Scratch and bite marks everywhere, neck mangled, its blood all over me. Sighing, I bent down and grabbed the deer¡¯s legs without thinking, two in each claw. I lifted the beast up and over my shoulders, and began the long trek home. It didn''t end up taking too long, as to my surprise the deer felt as though it weighed close to nothing; and I was pretty sure it wasn¡¯t because it was light. Testing my strength, I leapt and ran about until finally reaching the hole in the stone wall. I dropped the dead deer in front of Rehm before jumping into the pond to wash off the grime and blood. After getting out and returning to Mother¡¯s side, she opened her eyes and addressed me. ¡°Sufficient, for a first hunt. You chose one of the more difficult prey in the forest to hunt.¡± I uh, I did? ¡°Indeed, Yellow-eyed deer can be quite evasive, and have an ability to induce nausea in an attacker. For such a young dragon, it can be troublesome.¡± It did seem very alert to noise, but nothing so impossible. ¡°For a young dragon with a¡­ normal body, it can be difficult to mask footsteps. Without magic to conceal sound, sneaking up on some prey is close to impossible. I suppose you don''t quite have that problem.¡± A normal body, huh. I briefly inspected my hands. ¡°It is unimportant, child. Now, you have killed your first prey, eat.¡± Looking down at the deer corpse, I suddenly felt queasy. Nothing like the nausea from before, but realizing I wasn¡¯t hungry to begin with made thinking about eating raw meat a bit uncomfortable. Mother, you eat it. I¡¯m not hungry. After a moment, Rehm devoured the deer in a single bite and laid down comfortably around me. As her scales warmed me, I thought it was a bit silly to have no qualms about killing an animal but then feeling sick over eating it. Oh well. Some things wouldn¡¯t change quickly, or maybe at all. I had seventeen years of experience living as a human, so old instincts would stick around for a while. Getting comfortable, I eventually fell asleep. Chapter 5: Angel It had been a few months since I had come to this world, and much of it had been spent in the same way. Hunting, learning, practicing fire magic, speaking with Rehm. Not much of note had occurred; the egg laying in the enclosure had not changed, and I had not met anyone else. Well, until today. ¡°Child, you must come down at once. A dragon does not hide, it is embarrassing.¡± Embarrassing? What¡¯s a little more on top of the pile? I hugged my knees, face still burning red. The indent high up on the gnarled oak tree was just large enough for me to squeeze into, and I decided it was also just comfortable enough for me live out my remaining days in. ¡°Child, I am tired of this. If you do not come down I will burn the entire cursed tree down.¡± Ah, she sounds angry now. I suppose 30 minutes of her asking nicely had been enough. Peeking out of the crevice, I eyed Rehm through the leaves. Her head was level with my spot, and she looked annoyed. Just come out and tell me what has gotten you like this. I will not be mad at you, I swear it.¡± Reluctantly, I pulled myself from my burrow and fluttered to the ground. Arms wrapped around myself, eyes cast downward, I collected my thoughts. I met a human today. ¡°...WHAT?¡± -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jean Martine paused just outside the cantine. Looking down, he quickly inspected his uniform for any wrinkles or dirt. Running his fingers over the stripe that had been stitched in yesterday, he sighed. It had all been too easy since he had come to this world. These past few years he¡¯d spent more or less relaxing, as the area the city of Draughton was home to was nestled deep in the Olivar Kingdom¡¯s territory. As the newly promoted First Lieutenant of the Draughton City Guard, most of his job would still be paperwork and breaking up drunken brawls. Quick promotions, sleeping around with local women, winning at the dice games members of the City Guard were supposed to avoid. That office lady he¡¯d spoken with after dying had been right about having good luck in his new life, though in spite of that it had all grown a bit stale. Shaking aside these thoughts, he straightened his back and opened the cantine door, smiling and placing his hand on the shoulder of a guardsman who had stiffened to attention when he walked in. Jean sighed to himself and wished his subordinates would be less formal. Many might be listed as reserves for the Kingdom¡¯s Scouting Corps, but at the moment they weren''t military. Scanning the room, he quickly found the two men he was searching for. Sitting across from each other, the man facing away from Jean was wildly gesturing with his arms and head, long blonde locks shaking about, engrossed in telling a story. As Jean approached them, he met the eyes of the other man at the table. Second Lieutenant Trakov Sokola¡¯s eyes were unending pits of despair, sunken back into his paler than normal face. His black hair with gray streaks, along with his mournful expression and the wrinkles that accentuated it all gave him the air of someone with one foot in the grave. Unable to hold back a grin, Jean plopped himself down next to the blonde man as Trakov sent him a pleading look. ¡°Given the Second Lieutenant¡¯s demeanor I expect you have quite the story to tell, Franz?¡± Franz turned to Jean, cheeks red from either exercise or midday drinking, at a loss for words for a brief moment. ¡°Apparently Franz here has found God.¡± Trakov answered in his place, happy to share his misery with Jean. ¡°God, you say?¡± Turning to Franz, Jean gave him a skeptical look. ¡°I know they say that the Divine will forgive all transgressions, but it might be too late for the likes of you.¡± With Trakov grinning, Franz violently shook his head, golden hair spinning about. ¡°You must understand, Jean! Please!¡± Taking Jean¡¯s hand with both of his, he murmured, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ve seen an angel.¡± -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°...WHAT?¡± Looking down at the ground, I stayed silent. ¡°You¡­ where was this? Tell me what happened.¡± Face flushed, I tried to explain. I was relaxing by a pond, the one with the those flat rocks, not really paying attention. When suddenly this man came stumbling in behind me¡­This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°So there I was, enjoying leisurely activities on my day off-¡± ¡°He means he was disappointing some poor farmer girl¡¯s father,¡± Trakov said cutting Franz off. Giving Trakov a dirty look, Franz continued. ¡°Ahem, anyways, I was just done spending a lovely afternoon with an acquaintance when, slightly inebriated as I was, I decided to go for a walk in the forest.¡± Jean stiffened slightly, his smile sagging at that last point. ¡°Franz, you know you¡¯re never supposed to go into the forest, everyone knows that. You may have been drunk, but you¡¯re not a fool.¡± Turning slightly red, Franz dipped his head. ¡°I know, I know. Look, it happened, and I¡¯m still alive, aren¡¯t I? This isn¡¯t the important part.¡± With an invigorated flourish, Franz brushed a stray lock of hair out of his face and resumed his tale. ¡°Now, there I was, my adventure taking me down an old path through the trees, until I stumbled across an opening in the woods. I had come across a pond, mayhaps an ancient watering spot for travelers and hunters! And there, at the edge of the water, stood the angel!¡± Leaning in, Franz eyed Jean for a reaction. When he got nothing, he repeated the last line, adding more emotion. Sighing, Jean indulged his friend. ¡°An angel? How do you know whatever you saw was an angel?¡± ¡°I am glad you asked, my friend. She had wings so graceful and elegant they could only belong to one of God¡¯s chosen! Not only that, but burning red hair, and eyes that shone like the sun!¡± ¡°Mmhm. Right. And anything else?¡± Taken aback by his lieutenant''s lack of reaction, Franz thought about it for a moment. ¡°Well, um. She had things on her arms and legs. They, uh, kind of looked like claws.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Jean squinted at Franz for a moment, before turning to his Second Lieutenant. Trakov, catching Jean¡¯s look, added his own thoughts. ¡°Red hair, red eyes, wings, and claws. Sounds like a devil rather than an angel.¡± Grinning again, Jean added, ¡°Or something you hallucinated in your drunken stupor.¡± Horrified, Franz shook his head again. ¡°I wasn''t that drunk, please. And Trakov, do not defile my angel with that horrid mouth of yours.¡± Jean pinched the bridge of his nose. God, this was a new low for Franz. He had always spent his time chasing girls, but at least they¡¯d been real, and human. Whatever he had seen, it didn''t sound human, and if his story held true that only spelled trouble and paperwork for the City Guard. ¡°So, what¡¯s your point?¡± Franz, gathering himself and sitting up straight, announced, ¡°I am going back into the forest to find my angel. You two cannot stop me.¡± Trakov, chuckling, responded, ¡°Actually, as your superiors and as officers of the Guard, we can.¡± Ignoring him, Franz turned to Jean, giving him pleading and hopeful look that Jean knew all the young ladies in Draughton pined for. For all of Franz¡¯s airheadedness and sleeping around, he was still a catch: a member of the City Watch, and a hopeless romantic with good looks to boot. Hmm, Jean thought. If this creature Franz encountered is real, then it might be necessary to investigate. And even if it isn¡¯t, Franz would whine about it for weeks. He wasn''t sure either he or Trakov could take that. Unlike Franz, however, Jean and Trakov both knew the real reason people were not allowed to enter the forest; every officer of the Watch had been sworn to secrecy via runes on their bodies, though the dragon living in the area had been quiet and peaceful since before Jean came to this world. Also, Jean couldn¡¯t help but wonder. He had met a good deal of Travelers, people like him brought from other worlds. Whether they had arrived in Draughton or had simply passed through, he had heard a few stories. While Jean had initially chosen a more peaceful, relaxed life, many Travelers took advantage of their good fortune to become adventurers or dungeon excavators. One thing many of them had mentioned to Jean were the opportunities they had seen. They had all come across circumstances or chances like this. Fateful encounters, new dungeons stumbled upon, a call for help promising lavish rewards. He knew it likely had something to do with the good luck all Travelers had, and he might¡¯ve just stumbled into an opportunity himself. He pondered the paperwork he still had to finish for a moment, and the made his decision. Jean glanced at Trakov. He saw the color drain from Trakov¡¯s face as he realized. ¡°Jean, you can¡¯t seriously be considering this. The forest is too dangerous, and-¡± ¡°We might need to investigate this creature Franz saw, and I doubt anything short of locking him up will stop him from going back. If we go with him, we can at least keep him from doing anything too stupid.¡± Now Trakov¡¯s face turned dark and he rubbed his wizened face. Glancing at the ecstatic Franz, he asked what Jean planned. ¡°Tomorrow, we¡¯ll go to the spot Franz went to, and look around. I still suspect it was just his drunken imagination, so once we find nothing we¡¯ll come straight back. Alright?¡± Grumbling, Trakov voiced his reluctant agreement as Franz hugged Jean¡¯s arm, thanking him over and over. ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes up. And not a word about this to anyone, understood?¡± The two other guardsmen nodded their agreement, and Jean stood from the bench. ¡°Meet me at the northern caravan gate, just after the midday bell.¡± With that, Jean walked away and out of the cantine, already regretting his decision a little bit. He did, however, feel something he hadn''t known in quite some time. For whatever reason, he was looking forward to the next day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Damned humans, they KNOW not to come into my forest, I should burn down some of their huts to help them remember.¡± Fire lapped around Rehm¡¯s bare teeth as she ranted about humans, but I didn¡¯t really see the point. Mother, please. That isn¡¯t what I¡¯m getting at¡­ I looked down at my body. Apart from the added features and changed color of my hair and eyes, I mostly still looked the same as when I was a human. When the human had seen me in the forest, it was a bit of a shock to my system. I was, afterall, completely naked. Before now I hadn¡¯t really noticed, as I didn''t feel the cold much, and living as a dragon and with a dragon probably had skewed my perception. All of a sudden I was acutely aware of the human part of me. Whereas a dragon probably doesn''t wear clothes, humans did. And yet here I was, traipsing through the forest, bare naked for the world to see. The blush on my face reddened even more as I recalled the look on the man¡¯s face as he had seen me. ¡°Child, you¡­ there is no reason to be ashamed of yourself. A mere human is insignificant compared to you. And you speak of being naked. What need do you have to cover up? If one lays eyes upon a dragon, they should kneel and give thanks.¡± All the anger had left her voice as she addressed me, but I still couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of shame that sat within me. It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s not that simple. You can see me, Mother. What I look like. I may be part-dragon, but I am also part-human. No matter what you or I think, that much is true. ¡°You were born but a few months ago, and yet you already think of such heavy topics. Maybe I am failing as a mother, fufu¡­ You need not ponder this, child. More will be discussed as you grow older. In fact, the next gathering is happening in naught but a few months, and I plan to have words with the Elder about your appearance.¡± I took in her reassurances. Whoever this Elder was, Rehm seemed to trust him. Alright. Uh, thanks. One other thing; please don¡¯t burn down anything or murder any humans because of this? With a slightly amused eye, Rehm looked me up and down. ¡°Of course, child, if that is what you wish.¡± I sensed the conversation had come to an end, and I let out a small sigh of relief. A few doubts still lingered about in the back of my mind, but my curiosity won out as I couldn''t help but wonder what this gathering would have in store. For now I would sleep; I¡¯d had enough excitement for one day. Hopefully tomorrow would be a bit more peaceful. Chapter 6: Disturbance Second Lieutenant Trakov Sokola slouched forward, dejectedly staring at the wall of rock that rose up in front of him. How had this gotten so out of control. Right now, he should have been walking leisurely back to Draughton with Jean and Franz after finding nothing unusual on their trip to the forest. After setting out from the city, it hadn¡¯t taken long for the three guardsmen to find the path leading to the pond Franz had previously come across. The other two had searched the clearing for disturbances and signs of travel without him, as he had had no intention of helping them with their fool¡¯s errand. Trakov had watched Jean and Franz quickly find a series of tracks in the damp earth, alongside ripped underbrush and scattered leaves. These marks had quickly led the trio to a faint but visible path through the forest, made entirely by the regular passings of forest creatures. Sighing despite himself, Trakov couldn¡¯t help but be impressed by Jean and Franz¡¯s proficiency in tracking. Lesser trackers would have completely missed most of the signs of activity in the clearing. As they had trekked through the trees and brush, he felt a little sprout of pride worm its way out of his heart. Trakov had fought as a part of the Olivar Kingdom¡¯s Scouting Corps 15 years prior: 3 of his prime years spent camping out in the wooded hills of the Esther Kingdom evading capture. He had survived his homeland¡¯s last serious military venture, and had passed what he had learned to the 2 men in front of him now. As much as Franz got on his nerves, Trakov had to admit the kid had an eye for the job. In a matter of a few years, the fool had gone from an incompetent womanizer to a near-expert tracker. Although the womanizer part hasn¡¯t faded one bit, he thought. His other student, First Lieutenant Jean Martine, wasn¡¯t nearly as skilled at tracking as Franz was. He was, however, damned lucky. Stumbling directly into tracks hidden from the eye, noticing what others didn¡¯t by sheer chance. Typical Traveler, he chuckled to himself. A good man to have by your side, and someone Trakov didn¡¯t mind answering to. And so, with one half of him watching on with pride like a father seeing his children walk for the first time, and the other half regretting ever teaching them anything at all, he joined his fellow guardsmen in front of the cave entrance Jean had found. ¡°I don¡¯t like this one bit.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, we know. Lodge a formal complaint or something.¡± Jean flashed him a grin before poking his head into the opening. Trakov closed his eyes for a moment, and gave a beleaguered sigh. Franz, he expected to act impulsively. But the First Lieutenant was being much more reckless than normal. ¡°Ah, this must be the shrine raised to my beautiful angel! As expected!!¡± ¡°This is really not a good idea, I can feel it.¡± Trakov shot Franz an exasperated look but directed his comment towards Jean. ¡°Well, the tracks certainly lead to this spot. Seeing as we¡¯re here, we should take a look. Anything seems off, we retreat and leg it for the farms.¡± Giving him a bright smile, Jean gestured once and headed into the passage with Franz on his heels. Mentally apologizing to his wife Flora for his irresponsible tutelage, Trakov Sokola whispered the incantation for the magelight spell and followed them in. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had woken up before the sun had started its daily journey through the sky. Or rather, I¡¯d been woken up quite suddenly by a gust of wind and Mother telling me she was off to speak with the Elder about the upcoming gathering. I didn¡¯t know where it was supposed to take place, but apparently Rehm would be gone for a few days at the least. After falling back asleep until I could feel the heat of the midday sun pounding on my skin and scales, upon waking up I lethargically bathed in the pond and lounged in the shade of the tall oak. Weaving and intertwining the long grass with my claws, I¡¯d been thinking about my conversation with Rehm the night before when a voice sounded faintly from the passageway in the rock wall.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°... almost¡­¡± Sitting straight up, I froze completely for a second. Hearing footsteps sound from the darkness of the passageway, I shot around the trunk of the massive oak tree and braced myself against it. Why are there people here? How did they even¡­ I can¡¯t let them see what¡¯s here. Glancing back at the opposite end of the clearing, I searched for the spot where the dragon egg rested. At least it was somewhat out of sight, hidden by a slight incline and tall grass. Without any more time to think, a man with a rough voice spoke only 10 meters away from me, the other side of the tree trunk. ¡°...What is this place?¡± ¡°Obviously a shrine, what else would it be?¡± A younger sounding voice retorted. A third voice interjected between the other two, ¡°For now, just stay alert. We don¡¯t know if anything else is here.¡± Oh god. Oh god. Think, Mia, think! I can¡¯t let them search the den; not only would they find the dragon egg, but I doubt I could escape their notice and run for it. Should I make my presence known and tell them to leave? Focusing, I could vaguely feel 3 sources of mana from where the voices had originated. Instinctively, I knew I wouldn''t be able to connect with them via telepathy. I was able to start a telepathic bridge with my mother now, but doing so with kin was exponentially easier than establishing a connection with random strangers. Wait¡­ I can understand them¡­ so that means! Coughing subtly into my claw, I opened my mouth and, without moving from behind the tree, used my voice for the first time in months. ¡°Pleasshe... leave.¡± I felt the 3 bundles of mana freeze in place at the sound of my hoarse, scratchy voice. Oh no, why do I sound so weird? I know I¡¯m different now, but how come it¡¯s so difficult to speak properly with these teeth??? ¡°Uh, hello? Who¡¯s there?¡± The young sounding voice hesitantly called out, followed by the sound of swords unsheathing. ¡°Identify yourself, we aren¡¯t here to fight!¡± another voice added. Yeah right. Really believable with your weapons drawn. ¡°You can¡¯t¡­ be.. he-AGH¡± Claws covering my mouth once again, I felt reflexive tears well up in the corners of my eyes. GOD! When I talk it¡¯s like my teeth are all at war with each other. Feeling the blood start to fill my mouth from my bitten tongue, I silently cursed whichever god was supposed to be in charge of my reincarnation. ¡°Look, um, please just show yourself! I know you aren''t dangerous, just humor my two buddies here?¡± Rubbing my mouth, I placed a claw on the trunk and carefully peaked my head around it. In front of me stood 3 men: all in the same lightly padded armor, two of them holding unsheathed shortswords. I quickly examined the intruders. One man stared warily at me with dark eyes, sword at the ready. He looked to me to be in his forties, judging by his greying hair and tired look. The other man holding a sword was much younger - maybe mid twenties. He had fairly short-cropped brown hair and a plain face, albeit one with sharp features and not unpleasant to look at, but his hazel eyes lay on something other than me. The final intruder stood slightly closer to me than the other two, hands empty and spread wide in a placating gesture. With long golden hair, bright blue eyes and perfectly proportioned features disturbed only by his currently wide open mouth, I knew instantly that this pretty boy was the person I had encountered yesterday. ¡°Ah-¡± I glared at the pretty boy as he quickly recovered his composure and gave me an elegant bow. ¡°I would first like to apologize for our intrusion, my lady, I hope we have not disturbed your rest. My name is Franz Diolle, city guard of Draughton. Myself and my two colleagues here find ourselves in your presence at my own insistence, I fear. I do endeavor to assure you that we mean absolutely no harm to you, my lady; I simply have wished to make your acquaintance.¡± The pretty boy - Franz, I suppose - took a step forward as he finished his speech, but halted as I recoiled back around the tree slightly. Somewhat at a loss for words, I realized my face had gained an expression of disbelief, suspicion, and slight disgust. I¡¯d seen enough of these types in my old life, apparently. Glancing at the reactions of the other two men, I was amused to find that the black-haired one held the same expression as me. Gathering my thoughts and feeling if my tongue had stopped bleeding, I noticed that the brown-haired man was now drawing the attention of the older one to a spot to my left. Following his gaze, I looked around the area of the pond. Ah. Quite visible from our spots, bones lay scattered about by the water¡¯s edge, picked completely clean and left by Rehm or me. Just next to the remains of some poor bovine creature, singed grass burnt from fire magic littered the area, the marks of my practice fluttering like quills tipped with ink. Both the men wielding swords slowly made eye contact, then both turned their gazes to me. Franz, standing in front of them and none the wiser for their exchange, still looked at me expectantly. Awkwardly, but as naturally as I could, I tried to give a friendly smile. One that showed as little of my teeth as possible. God. I hope there isn''t any blood dripping. Slowly, cautiously, the two men in the back crept up to their unarmed companion. Then, in sync, they each seized an arm and began hauling him back the way they¡¯d came. ¡°Please forget this ever happened!¡± one shouted. Franz, taken by surprise, started to struggle as he was dragged backward. ¡°What- What the hell are you two doing, let-¡± ¡°We¡¯re leaving, shut up. This has all been some horrid shared nightmare, understood???¡± ¡°Wait, stop- My lady! Wait! Let us meet again! By the pond, I shall wait! I look¡­¡± Franz¡¯s voice was soon silenced as the intruders exited the clearing through the passageway they¡¯d come through, and disappeared into the forest. Unmoving, I waited for another 15 minutes after that before collapsing back down against the trunk of the oak tree, palms rubbing circles on my temple. Sticking my tongue out, I glanced down. It was slightly longer than a human tongue, like my old one mixed with a snake¡¯s. Checking the spot I¡¯d bitten, I saw it was pretty much already fully healed. Opening my mouth carefully, I awkwardly exclaimed. ¡°What ...the fuck.¡± Chapter 7: Understandings The trees flew by underneath me as I glided downwards. Some of the leaves had already started to turn, and blotches of orange and red peeked up at me through the canopy. The wind had also picked up recently, cold breezes coming down from the mountains in the distant north. I didn¡¯t really notice the change in temperature, as my mind was distracted by something else. Those men, why had they come to the den? Was it really just so that Franz person could see me? He had said he was part of the city guard of Draughton, I think. And judging by the way the other two had been dressed, they were as well. Draughton¡­ wasn¡¯t that the place that lady had mentioned... Glancing downwards through the trees, I checked that the brown shape hadn¡¯t moved. Sighing to myself, I circled back around and upwards, completing the midair oval for the seventh time in a row. Glancing again, I saw the shape shift slightly. Bright golden blonde hair fell about. Judging by the angle of the hair, Franz was looking out over the small pond we¡¯d first run into each other. Come on Mia, why are you so indecisive!!! It¡¯s just some guy!!! Clenching my teeth I forced myself to make a decision and dove down through the treetops. Landing a distance away from Franz and the pond, I carefully approached the clearing on the opposite side of Franz, and peeked at him. Franz was sitting peacefully on a large, flat rock, with his leather boots to the side and his feet in the water. He had a light brown cloak on him, and it seemed like he was in casual clothes. Geh, I can probably convince Mother not to incinerate a village for this- Quietly finding a tree to stand behind, I cleared my throat and tried talking. ¡°Uh, hello.¡± Startled by the sudden greeting, Franz looked around perplexed before responding, ¡°Ah! My lady, is that you! I am eternally grateful you have returned here after yesterday¡¯s confusion.¡± Yesterday¡¯s confusion? Ok, yeah that sounds pretty fitting. He had shouted about meeting here and talking, and well¡­ I¡¯m a bit bored by myself. Feeling out my teeth with my tongue, I tried talking again, ¡°Your name issh- Franzsh? Do you talk like ..that to everyone?¡± Dammit, why are the ¡®s¡¯ and ¡®th¡¯ sounds so hard to say?? Well, he can probably understand what I mean. ¡°I am truly honoured that you remembered my name! However, I do not understand what you possibly could mean, I speak how one should!¡± I glanced around the tree trunk I was using as cover and glared at him, Squinting, I made eye contact with the blonde pretty boy. ¡°Truly honoured¡­ hm, do you only sshpeak like that to girlssh, maybe?¡± Franz coughed slightly into his fist and looked away. I knew it. I knew he was some sort of playboy. I bet he tries to sweet talk every woman he comes across. One look at his face- ¡°What is wrong with how I speak, anyways?¡± ¡°... it¡¯ssh creepy.¡± With that, Franz gave me a truly bewildered expression. Wait, don¡¯t tell me it actually works on people. I suppose¡­ I could picture some pure-hearted girl falling for his looks, at least when he had his mouth closed. Still, what did he take me for? Some country bumpkin with no knowledge of the world? Me? I am- ah. ¡°Um, what¡¯s creepy about it?¡± Franz prompted, saving me from my own thoughts. Looking back towards him, he was playing with a lock of hair looking slightly abashed. ¡°You called me ¡°my lady¡±. It¡¯ssh weird. And the rest wassh unnatural.¡± ¡°...Sorry. I¡¯ll, um, stop doing it I guess. Although I don''t know what to call you. You do have a name, right?¡± That sounds more normal at least. As for my name, I¡¯m not actually supposed to have one yet according to Rehm. But I¡¯m not about to have this idiot call me ¡®child¡¯. Well¡­ I suppose if to a dragon I don¡¯t have a name yet, then to a human I¡¯m¡­ ¡°My name issh Mia.¡± ¡°Mia?¡± Giving me a friendly smile, Franz bowed slightly at the waist, feet still submerged in the pond. ¡°As I said before, I¡¯m Franz Diolle. And it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± Watching Franz carefully, I returned the introduction with a nod. I suppose he¡¯s alright when speaking normally. At the very least, he doesn¡¯t seem like the type to murder me for my tail, or something. God, is that a thing in this world? I was hugging my tail close to my body when Franz spoke again, ¡°Oh, I brought you something, Mia. I thought.. I thought you might need it given the way you are now.¡± I watched him with suspicion as he pulled out a bundle of cloth from the sack he¡¯d brought with him. Spreading the bundle of cloth out, he held up a deep green cloak that ruffled lightly in the breeze. ¡°It¡¯s um, one of my old cloaks I don¡¯t use anymore. I thought it would be easier for you to talk if you uh, had something comfortable¡­¡± What? Was he actually a considerate guy this whole time?? But my mental image of him... ¡°Oh, ..thank you. Can you leave it ..there?¡± I pointed at a rock across the small pond from his seat and waited for him to place it on the flat surface. I warily glared at him as he retreated back to his spot and turned his back towards me. Slowly, I emerged from behind the tree and inspected the cloak. The dark, deep green was actually really pretty, and the material was of fairly high quality. Wrapping it around myself, I kept my tail close to my body and my wings tucked tightly between my shoulderblades. Carefully securing the clasp around my neck with my claws, I put the hood up and inspected how it fit. The sleeveless cloak fell about me more like a blanket with a hood, but using my hands to gingerly hold it closed I could easily conceal everything but my face and claw-feet. ¡°Sshuch a nice cloak, issh it okay¡­¡± Turning around and beaming at me, Franz dropped back onto his rock and dipped his feet back into the pond. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, my father¡¯s a merchant and trades in cloth, so it¡¯s really no problem! He¡¯s always sending me new ones!¡± Squinting at Franz¡¯s open smile, I sighed and sat down. Surely, if explained properly, mother wouldn¡¯t mind. This is to practice speaking out loud! I could practice with this human, and learn about the surrounding world. Yes! This was all to gain valuable intel! I have no other motives whatsoever!! I slid my claw-feet into the water, a sigh escaping as my scales cooled off. ¡°A merchant? Doessh that mean you travel a lot?¡± ¡°Well, I have my job in the city guard now, but growing up my father and I would travel all across Olivar, and even to¡­.. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jean made his way to the outskirts of Draughton, beyond the walls that surrounded it. He exchanged greetings with and smiled at many citizens as he found his way to Trakov¡¯s small house. The Second Lieutenant was spending his day off at home, and his wife Flora had offered to make both Jean and Franz lunch as well during his break. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Jean knocked on the front door and was quickly let in by Trakov, dressed in drab colored cloth made for utility rather than style. ¡°You know, with the salary of an officer in the city guard, you can easily move inside the walls and buy yourself something nice to wear.¡± Giving Jean a reluctant smile, Trakov led him into the main room of the house. ¡°You really ought to give it up, Jean. You know Flora and I prefer it out here. Divine¡¯s tits, Flora already complains we¡¯re too close to the city as is.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this about my tits?¡± Both the men turned as a face popped out around the doorframe to the kitchen. Jean smiled innocently at Flora, who¡¯s rugged face likewise broke out into one. ¡°Nothing, dear. Just wishful thinking, that¡¯s all.¡± Trakov gave his wife a contemplative look, which she returned with a vulgar gesture involving 3 fingers before returning to the meal she¡¯d been tending. ¡°Well, it makes sense, in a way. Flora use to be an adventurer, right?¡± ¡°Aye, we actually met during the war. Near the end, I¡¯d been roughing it up in Esther for a while, and most of my company had died or been sent back. Middle of the night, I¡¯m keeping watch, when some hellion of a woman comes sprinting into our camp, a whole pack of steamwolves at her back.¡± Jean chuckled, letting his friend and mentor retell the story. Flora had been quite the notorious adventurer in her youth, equal parts for her skill and for her ability to cause a mess. She¡¯d come to Draughton later, proclaiming herself tired of adventuring and looking to retire. By chance the two of them had met and recognized one another, and from there it was history, he supposed. ¡°Well,¡± Trakov continued, ¡°sometimes she gets this look in her eye, makes me question why she ever stopped at all.¡± ¡°Come now boys, it¡¯s no good to be gossiping. Leave that for us housewives.¡± Entering the room with 3 plates, Flora placed them and sat down at the table with them, winking at Jean. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a housewife quite like you, Miss Flora,¡± Jean sweetly replied. Laughing, Trakov dug into his meal. ¡°Hey! My cooking¡¯s much better than what it used to be, at least!¡± Swallowing, Trakov agreed. ¡°That¡¯s true, when we were first married all you knew was how to cook venison over an open flame.¡± Enjoying the relaxed atmosphere, Jean took a moment to look at the married couple. Second Lieutenant Trakov Sokola of the Draughton City Guard. A veteran of war and expert tracker, his mentor was a well-respected man in the city. He had pitch black hair, now speckled with gray as he began to age. His grizzled face was permanently slightly sunken, giving his dark eyes the illusion of being bored into his head. Ex-adventurer and (dubious) housewife Flora Sokola. A notorious and skilled adventurer in her youth, she had traveled across the Hourglass Continent searching for treasure and uncovering mysteries. Nicknamed the Hellraiser, rather fondly by most. She had long auburn hair, also graying like her husband¡¯s. Though alluring in her own way, Jean often thought her parents had misnamed her. She too had a rugged face, with sharp cheekbones and lines that told a story of long nights squinting into darkness around campfires. She also had three distinct scars running vertically down her left brow and cheek, where apparently some unhappy beast had slashed at her. Together, the two were quite the power couple, Jean thought. They certainly held a sizable amount of influence in Draughton. More importantly, however, was that since Jean had arrived in this world, they had become two of his closest friends. Digging into his meal, Jean shot a question at them. ¡°Are we not waiting for Franz to eat, then?¡± Both of them gave him a bewildered look, before Trakov answered. ¡°What do you mean? Franz told me he was spending his day at the Hunter¡¯s Cove, drinking his love problems away.¡± Jean, who had lifted food to his mouth, dropped his arm back to the table. ¡°What? I¡¯d asked him this morning, and he said he¡¯d be joining us for lunch. Besides, I just broke up a couple of day drinkers getting into a fight at the Cove earlier, and I didn¡¯t see him there...¡± Trakov had now also stopped eating, his face serious. Flora simply gave him an inquisitive look. ¡°You don¡¯t think¡­¡± Trakov started. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t be that stupid, would he?..¡± Jean and Trakov both stared at each other, and both knew the answer to that question. ¡°Well, Flora, I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t stay to finish your wonderful meal, but thank you for your hospitality as always.¡± ¡°Dear, sorry about this, we¡¯ll be back by the afternoon bell.¡± Both men stood up to leave, Trakov reaching for the shortsword that leaned by the front door. ¡°Hm, has my angel Franz gotten himself into trouble again, then?¡± Jean was already halfway out the door as Trakov answered his wife, ¡°Your angel Franz seems determined to get his head lopped off, as usual.¡± With that, First Lieutenant Jean Martine and his Second Lieutenant, Trakov Sokola, set off for the place they knew they¡¯d find Franz, accompanied by the echoing laughter from inside the house. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Wait, ssho there¡¯s a whole country of lizard people???¡± ¡°Ha- not so much a country, but a loose gathering of tribes. The Olivar Kingdom borders them to the south, you know.¡± Splashing my feet absentmindedly in the pond, I mulled over what Franz had said. Apparently, he¡¯d traveled with his father up until he was 15, and seen much of the continent. According to him, we were currently in the heartlands of the Olivar Kingdom, which stretched for much of the southern part of the hourglass-shaped continent of Enta. To the west lay the sea, and to the east lay the Kingdom of Esther, a nation slightly smaller than Olivar also comprising of humans. To the south lay many tribes of lizardkin, who lived a semi-aquatic life in marshlands not suitable for humans. It was the what lay to the north that interested me the most though. Apparently, Olivar bordered a vast mountain range called the Dragonspine Mountains. ¡°And-and, to the nor..th, ...there are dragonssh??¡± ¡°Huh, actually I¡¯m not really sure. Some people think dragons live near the peaks of the mountain range, but no one knows. The occasional wyvern comes down a wreaks havoc in the countryside, though.¡± Wyvern, huh. It seemed like a familiar word, something like a smaller dragon? The vague memories of my past life seem to confirm that, at least. ¡°No one knowssh? Why doesshn¡¯t anyone find out?¡± Franz gave me an apologetic smile as he answered. ¡°The mountains are entirely impassable, and stretch from each coast east to west. Some of the merchants from north of the mountains say it¡¯s easier to climb from the other side, though.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ how do people get acrosssh then? Around, by boat?¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s not really feasible to sail around either. But merchants get across by going through the Spine Cities. They¡¯re under the mountain, in a giant tunnel the connects the north and south lands of Enta. I have to admit, I¡¯ve never been through them. Father always complained the fees they charged were made to run independent merchants out of business.¡± Chuckling, the long-haired blonde boy in front of me lifted his feet out of the water and hugged his knees to his chest. I felt kind of bad; I¡¯d originally thought he was some kind of playboy creep, but he didn¡¯t seem that bad after talking to him for an hour or two. He was definitely an idiot, though. When I¡¯d asked him why he was so relaxed with a monster, he¡¯d said something about beautiful girls never being dangerous. Maybe he is a no-good playboy, actually. ¡°Hey, Franzsh. Um¡­ what do you ..think I am?¡± ¡°Hm? Oh, I¡¯d thought you were an angel at first, but the angels the priests talk about never had claws so¡­ I¡¯m not really sure.¡± With an easy smile on his face, Franz shrugged and acted like the question didn¡¯t really matter. An angel¡­ are angels real? Wait, dragons and wyverns and lizardkin are real, so why not angels? ¡°Well, I¡¯m actually-¡± I stopped mid-sentence, Franz looking at me questioningly. ¡°Two people are coming Franzsh.¡± Franz rose immediately, hand going to the sword at his waist. ¡°What? Which direction?¡± I felt the two mana presences moving swiftly, straight for our spot. I was about to unfurl my wings under my new cloak when I realized something about the bundles of mana coming for us. They seemed familiar. ¡°Ah, Franzsh. I ..think ..they are your friendssh.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Two figures burst through the trees and into the clearing, as the men I¡¯d seen with Franz yesterday stopped in front of him, huffing after sprinting here. After a moment, both men looked furiously at Franz before noticing me standing across from them. ¡°Franz¡­¡± one of them loudly whispered as he slowly approached his friend. ¡°WHAT ARE DOING?¡± ¡°AH- Jean, please, calm down!! Uh, this is my new friend, Mia!¡± Turning partially to me, he gestured and continued, ¡°Mia! These two are Jean and Trakov, my friends and superiors in the city guard.¡± After rapidly introducing me, I looked at his ¡®friends¡¯/¡¯superiors¡¯: the broad shouldered man with short brown hair and the older rugged-looking man with gray and black hair, Jean and Trakov respectively, I supposed. They had both frozen in place, staring at me wide-eyed. A bit rude, aren¡¯t we. Well, not that I blame them. I feel like Franz is just too much of an airhead to realize certain things. Smiling slightly, I greeted them. ¡°Hello, uh good to sshee you again. Sshorry I hid from you yesshterday.¡± Somehow, both of the men seemed even more confused than the day before, each still frozen in place. Franz, seeing his friends not moving, added, ¡°Mia and I have been talking for a while now, she¡¯s quite nice! Come on, it¡¯s alright.¡± And so, with not a little pushing and coaxing, I found myself facing Franz, back to sitting on the rock, and Jean and Trakov, both awkwardly standing to either side of him. Jean was the first to recover of the two. ¡°Miss... Mia, was it, I would like to apologize for any offence given to you by Franz here, or by us yesterday.¡± ¡°Ah, no, it¡¯ssh fine. I am happy I found sshomeone to talk wi..th!¡± My attempts to reassure them didn¡¯t seem to do much for the rest of our conversation though, as shortly after Jean apologized and stated it was time to leave. As Trakov firmly grabbed Franz¡¯s shoulder, Jean told me, ¡°You see, we are not supposed to enter the forest, so I must apologize again, we won¡¯t disturb you anymore, Miss Mia.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ really? I don¡¯t mind, I had fun today!¡± Franz smiled as I said that, which annoyed me slightly. You try staying sane out in the wilds with no one to talk to but your dragon-mom. ¡°Still¡­¡± ¡°Jean, please, she said it¡¯s not a problem! I can come here from time to time to talk it won¡¯t interfere with my duties either. I don¡¯t see what¡¯s the issue.¡± Jean sighed at this, meanwhile Trakov retained his grouchy and vaguely threatening visage he¡¯d worn throughout the conversation. ¡°Look, fine. We just need to talk about this once we return, alright?¡± Beaming, Jean stood up and turned to me, bowing slightly. ¡°Well, Mia, I¡¯ve enjoyed our conversation, and I look forward to continuing it another day.¡± As they turned to leave, I remembered something. ¡°Oh, Franzsh, I forgot to ansshwer your quesshtion, about what I am. I am a dragon.¡± To this, Franz met my eyes and laughed delightedly, giving me a ¡®Oh, is that right¡¯ gesture with his shoulders. On either side, Jean and Trakov¡¯s faces became immediately strained and stormy, and I admitted to myself that I was impressed with how Trakov could seemingly get even more grouchy. ¡°How wonderful! I¡¯ll definitely be sure to ask all about it when we talk again!¡± ¡°Of cousshe! ..Though, don¡¯t blame me if mo..ther decidessh to incinerate you.¡± Giving my best smile, one full of pointed teeth the size of small daggers, I beamed at the trio. Franz laughed once more, seemingly ecstatic at the thought, and Jean and Trakov both turned a bit purple. Muttering goodbyes, I watched them walk off, one man with a bounce in step and two with stiff, jerky movements. Ah. I think Mother will be understanding. After all, I believe I¡¯ve made my first friend. Smiling to myself, I took my time leisurely walking back to the den. Chapter 8: Secrets Shared The two officers led Franz in silence, weaving through the streets of Draughton before arriving in the City Guard¡¯s headquarters, adjacent to the prison and mess hall. As they arrived, most of the guards on duty simply got out of their way after noticing First Lieutenant Jean Martine¡¯s usually relaxed demeanor replaced by a somber expression. Along with the Second Lieutenant¡¯s normal expression, even Franz had quieted down in such an atmosphere. Entering the main building, Jean marched straight to the man sitting at the Receptionist desk. ¡°Is the Captain available, Dels?¡± ¡°Oh, First Lieutenant, the Captain¡¯s in right now, but she said not to disturb her. If you¡¯d like to wait, it shouldn¡¯t be-¡± ¡°Nevermind that, we¡¯re going up. Don¡¯t let anyone interrupt us.¡± With that, the three walked past the desk and a confused Dels and started up the stairs to the second floor. Ignoring Dels¡¯ questions, Jean reached the second floor, passed various storage rooms for contraband, priority items and a few records of the city and the guard. At the end of the hallway, Jean knocked on a heavy wooden door three times, crisply. After some rustling, an annoyed voice told them to come in. Jean grunted slightly as he pushed the door in and met the gaze of Captain Elspen. Flinching internally, he could at once tell how pissed she was. The Captain was in her mid fifties, with grey hair tied into a tight braid and the typical light olive skin of the region. She could have had a soft, motherly face if she truly tried, but almost two decades of heading the City Guard of Draughton, along with experience in real combat during the war, gave her a permanent glare that inspired discipline. Jean thought it was terrifying, frankly, and it resonated inside him in a way that led him to think his mother had been similar in his previous world. With the door closed, Trakov exhaling as he used his full body¡¯s weight, the Captain rubbed the bridge of her nose and addressed no one in particular. ¡°I thought I¡¯d told Dels to give me some privacy.¡± Clearing his throat nervously, Jean tried to explain, ¡°Captain Elspen, I apologize for the disturbance, we forced our way past Dels. I full take responsibility for it, so be lenient with him, Ma¡¯am.¡± Hands pinned to his sides, staring straight ahead above the seated Captain, and back so straight it had started to be uncomfortable, Jean waited for a response. He had no fondness for military discipline, despite the 4 years -almost 5 now- he¡¯d spent as a member of the Draughton City Guard. They weren¡¯t technically part of the military, really, but every member of the guard was trained for combat and other wartime situations, and the Olivar Kingdom¡¯s army would comprise of elite and personal troops first, city guardsmen second, and militiamen and levies after that. He, along with Trakov and the other Second Lieutenant, even received military officer training. In Jean and Trakov¡¯s cases, it was specifically for the Scouting Corps. All this being said, while he was fairly friendly with his subordinates, Jean was purely professional with his superiors. Which, with his most recent promotion, was only Captain Elspen. ¡°I¡¯ll have a word with Dels at another time, he¡¯s still too timid. Though, this isn¡¯t really the problem at hand. I take it since you¡¯ve interrupted my work, you have something important to tell me?¡± ¡°Yes, Captain.¡± Turning slightly, I gestured to Franz before continuing. ¡°A situation has risen with Guardsman Diolle, ma¡¯am. I tried to take care of it myself, but it¡¯s gotten out of hand.¡± ¡°Guardsmen Diolle¡­¡± Her stare now boring into Franz, Jean saw him squirm nervously in the corner of his eye. ¡°I¡¯ve mostly overlooked Guardsman Diolle¡¯s past¡­ incidents due to their minor nature, and the assurances from two trusted officers.¡± Glancing at Jean and then pointedly at Trakov, Captain Elspen was still for a moment before letting out a frustrated sigh. ¡°I pray that this isn¡¯t so disastrous I¡¯d have to reconsider just who I put my trust in?¡± ¡°Aida, if I could explain-¡± ¡°Second Lieutenant Sokola, you will address your superiors properly, in their presence, at least.¡± Clamping his mouth shut, Trakov looked downwards before replying, ¡°My apologies, Captain Elspen. Before anything, I wanted to state as the most experienced guardsman here, I¡¯ve failed in my responsibilities, and haven¡¯t adequately taught those younger than I.¡± Unblinking, the Captain gave him a thoughtful look before responding. ¡°Noted, Lieutenant. Now, as I said before, you wouldn¡¯t be standing in my office if it wasn¡¯t something serious. If punishment is necessary, it will be dealt with later. Lieutenant Martine, explain what has happened.¡± Not missing how Elspen had dropped the ¡®first¡¯ from his rank, Jean saluted with his right hand over his heart and explained everything he knew about the new ¡®dragon¡¯. ¡­ Captain Elspen had leaned back in her chair, eyes closed and hands rubbing her temple at some point during the explanation. After Jean had wrapped up all he could remember, and Trakov had said he¡¯d nothing else to add, the Captain of the City Guard opened her flinty eyes. ¡°This¡­ this is bad. And not in the way I¡¯d hoped. Martine, I¡¯m pissed right now, I cannot begin to imagine why you didn¡¯t report this to me the moment you suspected something. I know you¡¯ve been trying to handle more recently, but I gave you that promotion because you¡¯re usually levelheaded.¡± Squinting at Jean and chuckling lightly she muttered under her breath, ¡°Young folk can¡¯t help themselves¡­ Divine¡¯s mercy¡­ Well, we¡¯ll speak of what is to be done with you later. Same to you, Sokola. Frankly, you have handled this how I¡¯d expect a typical northerner to, but not you. You should¡¯ve nipped this in the bud, even if it meant throwing Diolle into a cell and letting me deal with him. For now, I want to hear what Guardsmen Diolle has to say. As disastrous as you finding out about the dragon¡¯s nest is, any information you have about a new dragon, odd as this one seems to be, is vital.¡± She finished her lecture, and all three men had different reactions. Jean politely nodded, eyes cast downwards. Trakov, eyes equal parts shame and anger, sharply saluted without breaking eye contact with the wall behind Elspen. Franz, still fidgeting, started when he was addressed by name, and audibly gulped before saying anything. The only redeeming part of all this is that the Captain can turn Franz into a newborn fawn, shaking, passive, and even respectful, Jean thought, eyes on the floor. ¡°Um, uh, yes ma¡¯am! I¡¯ve spoken with Mi- the dragon twice now; yesterday in the um.. nest, and just a bell ago in the forest surrounding it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve really spoken to it? And it could speak Teran fluently, and hold a conversation?¡± ¡°Ah, yes ma¡¯am. We talked for about two bells, and apart from difficulty with certain words, she- the dragon, was perfectly fluent.¡± ¡°She?¡± ¡°Oh, as Jea- the First Lieutenant mentioned, the dragon has very human features. To me, she looked like a girl, maybe my age. Er, I¡¯d guess 18 or 19 years. She, the dragon, also introduced herself as Mia, Captain.¡± ¡°Mia?.. Hmm¡­ If this creature can speak Teran and goes by Mia, we cannot discount the possibility that it has already made contact with other people¡­¡± Captain Elspen retreated into her thoughts for a moment, before reaching into a compartment under her desk, pulling out parchment, a grey-feathered quill and a pot of ink. Without saying anything, she began to write, quill scratching loudly as the Captain scrawled in a manner implying she¡¯d been self-taught, or taught poorly. Pausing, she addressed the room. ¡°With human features?¡± ¡°Captain, in my opinion, with the exception of its wings, the dragon¡¯s face and build could possibly pass off as a particularly human-looking half-lizard. I¡¯ve seen lizardkin several times, and the dragon Mia had similar scales and claws on its arms and legs. Its teeth are also quite like some half-lizards, from what I saw.¡± Trakov, still as a statue and gaze firmly attached to the wall, interjected. Mulling over his words, Elspen added a few lines to the sheet. ¡°Covering its wings then, maybe¡­ Alright, given its description, its name and capability to speak, it is certainly plausible it could have had prior contact with humans, either here or in Esther. I was already sending this report to the capital, but I may just have to use military channels. Guardsmen Diolle, what did you speak of, any detail could be important.¡± ¡°Yes Captain. Well¡­ we mostly spoke about my father¡¯s business, er, he was a cloth merchant. Other than that, Mia asked me a lot about the Kingdom and its surroundings.¡± Glowering, Elspen mindlessly rubbed her cheekbone. ¡°I am aware of your father¡¯s work. What did the dragon ask about the Kingdom?¡± ¡°Mostly about geography, Captain, and about what kind of people lived here. I only answered what is common knowledge, about the Kingdom, Esther, and basic landmarks, ma¡¯am. She was most interested in lizardkin and the Dragonspine Mountains.¡± Scratching on the parchment with the quill, Elspen responded without lifting her head. ¡°The Spine¡­ could be a problem¡­¡± ¡°Captain, may I give my opinion?¡± After gesturing for him to continue, Franz gathered his thoughts and spoke. ¡°Based on her questions and reactions, Mia knows next to nothing about the world. She didn¡¯t even know about the Olivar Kingdom, and just the existence of lizardkin seemed novel to her. My, er, opinion.. Well, she seemed very wary of me, and even bashful about her appearance. Honestly, she seemed like a normal girl, given everything.¡± ¡°Thank you, guardsman.¡± Looking up from her report, Elspen spoke to Jean and Trakov. ¡°You spoke briefly with her, anything to say?¡± Franz, quelle suprise! Maybe you¡¯re getting better at speaking in front of the Captain. Jean thought a moment, with Trakov waiting for his superior officer to speak. ¡°Ma¡¯am, when Sokola and I arrived, we did hear a few things. Firstly, the dragon said she was happy to find someone to speak with. Also¡­ she mentioned a mother.¡± ¡°Hmm, Diolle mentioned what she¡¯d said.¡± Pulling another sheet of parchment out, the Captain wrote for a minute before standing from her desk. Walking to a squat bookshelf, she combed over the books for just a passing moment before removing one, and sticking her arm through where it had been. Retrieving a small ring, she walked back to her desk and sat down. Jean glanced and saw a seal, different from the standard insignia used by a City Guard Captain. After preparing everything, she folded the second parchment into three, dripped hot wax, and pressed the somewhat dusty ring onto it. She stood, walked to Jean and handed it to him. The Captain may have appeared as a short and petite aging woman, but Jean still stiffened his shoulders reflexively, as did Franz. Despite being shorter than all three men, Elspen commanded a larger presence than anyone Jean had ever met. With her steely eyes and the fact that she was probably stronger than anyone else in the guard, even at her age, there was almost no one who didn¡¯t address her with the utmost respect. With her next words, she sent Jean and Franz to one of those few who didn¡¯t, and told another of the few to stay in the room. ¡°First Lieutenant, take Guardsmen Diolle to Magister Wixon. Show that seal only to the scribe and the Magister. He will take things from there. Sokola, stay here. We have things to discuss, including disciplinary matters. As to how you three should handle this, now that Diolle knows, we need to use the situation to our advantage. If this ¡®Mia¡¯ is truly a dragon, recently spawned by its ¡®mother¡¯, then I want you to maintain friendly relations with it. Martine, Diolle, dragons can be very possessive and fickle. From what you¡¯ve said, it¡¯s taken a liking to you, so breaking communication with it could be disastrous. You are dismissed.¡± Working together maneuvering the solid oaken door, Jean and Franz slumped outside the room for a moment, neither doing a thing save catching their breath. Mon dieu, c¡¯est completement une- ¡°Will¡­ he be alright alone?¡± Jean eyed the pale Franz. Chuckling at himself for reverting his thoughts back to his native language subconsciously, he started walking. ¡°Surely not as dangerous as talking with a dragon by oneself, hm? Don¡¯t worry, Trakov¡¯s told me they¡¯re old war buddies before.¡± ¡°Old war buddies? I can¡¯t imagine anyone becoming buddies with that woman¡­¡± ¡°Address the Captain properly, Franz.¡± ¡°Sorry, sir. Captain Elspen didn¡¯t seem too furious at the end, though? And we were told to continue talking with Mia?¡± Franz said, slouching slightly and looking more wilted than Jean had ever seen him. ¡°Look, we¡¯re lucky if we get off with some extra work, a reduction in pay, and a probationary rank for the Second Lieutenant and I. And this has become serious, Franz. Whatever you do, do not, under any circumstances, anger Mia.¡± ¡°Sh-she wouldn¡¯t hurt us, right?..¡± ¡°It¡¯s not her I¡¯m worried about, it¡¯s the dragon she called ¡®mother¡¯. You¡¯ll get some education now that you know, but the dragon that claimed its nest in the forest¡­ well apparently she burned enough towns and cities to ash during the Great War 500 years back that some people still mention the Divine¡¯s Pyre today.¡± As he spoke, a small amount of mana surged up and left Jean¡¯s body, causing the air to stir and Franz¡¯s eyes to pull as wide as possible. At least he seems to finally grasp the gravity of the situation¡­If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°What? I¡¯ve¡­ I¡¯ve read that name somewhere before, and-and, there¡¯s been a dragon with a Moniker living right next to us???¡± ¡°Yup, and it¡¯s a Moniker that came from a human culture, as well. You know how rare that is. But that¡¯s what we¡¯re dealing with. What you¡¯re dealing with, I might stress. So as long as we¡¯re careful, and don¡¯t piss off the daughter of a 500 year old nightmare, we¡¯ll be fine.¡± Jean managed a grin, slapped his friend on the back, and walked into the single common room of the first floor. Franz followed him, not saying a word, as Jean apologized to Dels at the main desk and walked out the front door in the direction of Draughton¡¯s Royal Mage Hall, a few streets over. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the two young men had left the room, Aida sat back down at her desk and waved her hand for Trakov to approach. Finally moving, Trakov walked up to the desk, shoulders sagging and face seemingly older than his age would imply. ¡°Aida¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s done Trakov, leave it. I¡¯m sending this report straight to Baralis. The sods in the capital can handle the big picture implications. The Mages there will get all excited, as I can imagine Magister Wixon will, so I¡¯d wager they¡¯ll give us unofficial orders for you three to maintain contact with this Mia. Past that, it¡¯s all wait and see.¡± ¡°... Thank you, Aida. I really can¡¯t say it enough, but this was my mistake, I didn¡¯t stop Franz. He¡¯s my responsibility¡­¡± Sighing, Elspen¡¯s face softened just a touch as she looked at her subordinate, who¡¯d she had known for 20 some-odd years now. ¡°This dragon. It has human features, looks like a woman?¡± ¡°Yes, it looks human enough to pass, like I was say-¡± ¡°Is it attractive? To a young man like Franz?¡± Pursing his mouth, Trakov scratched his spiky stubble before responding. ¡°Eh, I¡¯m not sure. If it were a human, I¡¯d say it look like any other young woman around.¡± ¡°Not a beauty, but not ugly, then? Well, maybe your taste is a bit skewed..¡± Trakov crossed his arms at the remark, and got one of the Captain¡¯s rare smiles, tight and slightly unnatural on her face. Sighing suddenly, Elspen¡¯s face reverted to its usual severe visage. ¡°He still takes too much after his father, damn him. A few years here, under your guidance, won¡¯t be enough with that boy I suppose.¡± ¡°He.. Franz has changed since he got here, though. You remember how it was, his first day as a guard.¡± ¡°Heh. Divine¡¯s mercy, that was bad. I¡¯m relying on you to watch after him still, understand? Even more now. And.. I suppose keep a closer eye on the First Lieutenant. I¡¯m getting old, Trakov.¡± ¡°You and me both,¡± Trakov interjected, the ghost of a smile on his face. ¡°It¡¯s inevitable, afterall. I made Martine my First Lieutenant for a reason, though. When I¡¯m too feeble to lift a sword, someone will have to take over, and until now everything Jean¡¯s done has been efficient, intelligent, and proper. He¡¯s generally well liked by the guards, and he¡¯s, well, a Traveler. But with all this¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re doubting him, I know. He¡¯s got a good head on his shoulders, this doesn¡¯t change that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m doubting you too, Trakov. Hells¡­ you¡¯re doting on those two too much. I never took you for some soft hearted father.¡± ¡°Father? Don¡¯t joke like-¡± ¡°It¡¯s what you¡¯ve become these past few years. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m not reprimanding you for it, they need some guidance, Franz especially.¡± Both figures were still for a moment, staying silent. When the Captain spoke again, she¡¯d reverted to a formal tone. ¡°In light of everything, the three of you must still receive some sort of punishment. Let me finish- and I am also partially responsible. I¡¯ve been turning a blind eye to Franz¡¯s activities too much. For you and First Lieutenant Martine, pay will be docked, and the two of you will be on unofficial probation. Guardsmen Diolle will get latrine duty until I change my mind, which will officially be due to his excessive drinking and sleeping around. That will be all until I get word back from the capital.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­¡± ¡°Light? Don¡¯t get me wrong, Lieutenant, more will come in the future for you three. But I cannot strip either you or the First Lieutenant of your ranks, not now. And Franz is needed for this whole situation to work, as he¡¯s already on good terms with the dragonspawn.¡± ¡°Not now? Even if you stripped both the First Lieutenant and I of our positions, you could promote Second Lieutenant Dorin to First, and find two sergeants to temporarily act as Second Lieutenants?¡± Trakov thought he glimpsed a brief flash of worry on his Captain¡¯s face, but it left so quickly he wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°Things are¡­ happening, Lieutenant. I¡¯ve spoken with Magister Wixon and some colleagues in the Capital, and something is changing.¡± ¡°What, with Esther?¡± ¡°No, those bastards are as always, although they could cause us some trouble if they see an opportunity. They¡¯d certainly have a reason to. No, things north of the Spine are getting bad. Worse than usual.¡± ¡°I thought it was just the Duchy skirmishing with Rolland again?¡± North of the Dragonspine Mountains: the Duchy of Oremis, the Kingdom of Rolland, and the Kingdom of Grennos, were the three human nations in the northern part of the hourglass-shaped Enta continent. Trakov had grown up in Grennos, and had seen the near-constant fighting that occured between the three countries, although he¡¯d thought it was no worse than usual this time around. ¡°It was just that for a few months, but there are whispers that of nearly all of the mercenary companies on the continent are being bought up.¡± ¡°And? I would have expected that?¡± ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s not exactly public knowledge yet, but Grennos is hiring mercenaries as well. On top of that, the Duchy has hired companies from the Spiral Isles.¡± Trakov processed what she had said carefully. If¡­ if that were true, and Grennos planned to join the war, things could go south fast, and quite literally as well. The three human nations warred between themselves frequently, in any combination they could care for, as each shared a border with the others. But the last time all three had been in the same war¡­ Trakov had been in his teens, and his family had been driven out and left penniless after the Duchy of Oremis and the Kingdom of Rolland had defeated Grennos in a bloody, brutal war. If Grennos got involved on either side, there¡¯d be countless refugees trying to get through the Spine Cities, clawing and scratching there way to get through the tunnel that connected north and south. The Spine Cities would likely let them go through¡­ directly to Olivar. On top of that, food shortages¡­ it was a headache to imagine the fallout. ¡°If they¡¯re hiring from the Spiral Isles, then it might be true¡­¡± The Captain nodded slightly, mulling over her thoughts. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not the last part. Apparently the Dullahans are taking offers to send out a company.¡± ¡°They are? Divine¡¯s tits, it might just happen then.¡± Dullahans, masters of metalworking and one of the few non-human races on the Hourglass Continent numerous enough to have a country of their own, lived on the hilly, ore-infested northern coast of Enta. Being fairly isolationist, Trakov had only ever heard of them sending out a company once every 10 years or so, and even then only a single company of metalclad warriors at a time. Most people who followed the wars in the north thought it was a way for them to demonstrate their strength and deter their neighbours, which Trakov agreed with. Well, Dullahans didn¡¯t have any potential for offensive magic, but with bodies made from the strongest metal they could find, it wasn¡¯t a mystery the neighboring kingdoms stayed away. ¡°Seems like the Duchy took too much after the last war with Rolland, and will probably be cut back down to size. As it stands, Grennos likely thinks the port the Duchy got for a ceasefire gives them too much access to trade with the Spiral Isles, and Rolland is happy to get help in taking it back.¡± Trakov closed his eyes for a few seconds, then nodded. ¡°And that means what for our punishment, ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Well, Lieutenant, if things progress like we expect in the north, small groups of scouts will likely be sent up to assess the situation. Olivar has cannot afford to let in the number of refugees we suspect will come down, even if we have the largest foodstuffs on the continent. I¡¯ll need to send a few guards who are in the Scouting Corps¡¯ reserve.¡± ¡°I understand, Captain. You will need someone experienced and able to blend in?¡± ¡°Indeed. I also believe it would likely help some younger guards mature some.¡± Trakov nodded, unsure how to feel. On one hand, they¡¯d likely be going into a warzone, or at least near one, and they¡¯d have to travel as civilians to get through the Spine Cities quietly. Still, Elspen was right about what she¡¯d said. ¡°Understood, Captain.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it for now, Lieutenant. You know your responsibilities. Of course, everything just now is strictly between us, and will stay that way.¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± Saluting, Trakov left the room, feeling he¡¯d aged by a few years just today. Going north of the Spine¡­ Well, I left during a war, only makes sense I¡¯d come back to one. Pushing his personal thoughts aside, Trakov left the City Guard¡¯s main building, and focused on the issues at hand. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jean and Franz pushed through the doors of the Royal Mage Hall, Draughton Branch. Squinting through the dusty, dimly lit room, Jean quickly approached the elderly man sitting behind the creaking desk built into the back of the building. ¡°Sir, Captain Elspen has sent us here to speak with the Magister. It¡¯s urgent, and I have this.¡± Jean placed the letter in front of the old man, stirring a bit of dust about as it landed. The ancient scribe, whose face had wrinkled and sagged enough to conceal his eyes, reacted slowly to the quick introduction, looking down at the sealed parchment. As he saw the wax insignia, his toothless mouth dropped slightly, and Jean thought he could even see the man¡¯s eyes underneath his raised brow. Without a word, the scribe held the seal under a beam of sunlight that had somehow found its way into the room, and muttered a few unintelligible words. Then, without warning, he waved one hand through the air haphazardly, as Jean felt a slight pull. A yellow and orange light appeared where his hand had been, fixed midair as the cloudy manifestation of mana leisurely swam in a circle. Once again, the man muttered a few words, waited for the spell to ripple slightly in the air, and then dispersed the cloud. Handing the letter back to Jean, he motioned him away and pointed to a closed door that led deeper into the Mage Hall. ¡°Uh, thank you.¡± Jean opened the door, which was much lighter than the Captain¡¯s, and led the eerily silent Franz down the cramped hallway, past a few closed doors to the one at the end, marked with a dull plaque that simply read: MAGISTER. For the second time today, Jean knocked. A voice acknowledged him, and he entered with Franz. The two men were met with a small study, with one large bureau at its center, surface stacked high with books and parchment. Around it, every wall was covered by floor to ceiling bookshelves, full of tomes of all colors, many of which were placed the wrong way. They took a step towards the desk, before seeing two people Jean recognized behind it. A young woman sat crouched over parchment, carefully writing something Jean guessed he wouldn¡¯t have understood even if he¡¯d been reading it right-side-up. With deep purple hair almost reaching the ground, spectacles precariously placed on her nose, and a frail build, Jean recalled she was the Magister¡¯s assistant, Lunia. Leaning over her shoulder, a man with a bald head and a fastidiously trimmed white beard watched her write without looking up. In a set of flowing grey-white robes lined in red, Magister Wixon wasn¡¯t nearly as old as the scribe at the front, though Jean thought he was probably in his seventies. After a few attempts at clearing his throat politely, Jean coughed as loud as he could, succeeding in gaining at least one of the mages¡¯ attentions. Magister Wixon looked up, squinting over the pile of papers on the desk at Jean and grunted. ¡°Magister Wixon, the Captain sent us here. I have this letter for you.¡± Snatching the offered letter from Jean¡¯s hand, the old Magister took a look at the seal and tutted. Pulling a stool up to the desk, he sat down, raised one hand and pushed a stack of papers to the side. Neither Magister nor assistant seemed to notice the mountain of papers that cascaded onto the floor, scattering about and joining those that had already been there. After opening and reading the parchment, he hummed happily to himself. ¡°Well, Franz, is it? Seems you¡¯ve been causing trouble.¡± Startled out of his earlier stupor by the crash of papers going everywhere, Franz now just appeared worried to Jean. ¡°Uh, sir, what am I here for?¡± Franz eyed the purple-haired mage yet to raise her head, and the Magister laughed loudly, suddenly all smiles. ¡°Don¡¯t worry lad, she may have purple hair, but she¡¯s not about to rip the mind out of that cranium of yours! Nothing so barbaric, I can promise you. My precious granddaughter isn¡¯t the foremost mindmage in the Kingdom for noth-¡± With a loud screech, the so-called foremost mindmage in the Kingdom backed her chair into Wixon¡¯s side, nearly knocking him from his perch on the stool. ¡°Um¡­ your granddaughter?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t humour him, it¡¯ll only accelerate the senility. Master, they need binding runes for the blonde one, right?¡± Shooting a pitiful look at his expressionless assistant, Wixon decided to keep his reply to a nod. ¡°Then I¡¯ll prepare it. Master, get off the stool-¡± Lunia pointed at Franz ¡°-you, sit down. You¡¯ll need to be still while I inscribe them into your arm.¡± ¡°Hold on, wait, what?¡± ¡°Would you like them somewhere else? This spell is already very expensive, so that would be extra.¡± Jean directed the stuttering Franz to the stool, hand on his shoulder to push him along. ¡°Calm down, Franz, its not painful or dangerous or anything of the sort. Captain Elspen, Trakov, and I have all done it. It¡¯s necessary for all those who know about the dragon nest.¡± With a placating smile, Jean sat Franz down on the stool and added a reassuring lie, ¡°And don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get used to these two as well.¡± Settled down some, Franz eyed Lunia as she pulled a fresh quill from the bureau, one with a purple and pink feather. ¡°As long as they explain what they¡¯re doing to me.¡± Magister Wixon, having regained his cheer, put his arm around Franz¡¯s shoulders as Lunia grabbed his elbow, rolling back the sleeve. ¡°This, lad, is the highest level binding spell you can get! Given the secretive nature of the information, everyone who knows something has this spell inscribed on their skin. The runes can sense your intent to share the information, and even sense if others hold knowledge of the dragon! That means, of course, one can speak with others who know, but not with those who are clueless. It truly is a magnificent spell, the runes are so exquisitely crafted that only the foremost mindma-¡± ¡°As the only dedicated mindmage in the Kingdom, I had asked you stop saying that to people. And you, keep your arm still, I¡¯m starting.¡± Franz froze up as Lunia leaned over his arm, colorful quill in hand and eyes full of concentration. Making contact with his skin, the quill¡¯s tip dragged lightly yet carefully, leaving swirling circular marks, interconnected and in the same deep purple as Lunia¡¯s hair. ¡°Uh, what happens if I tell someone who doesn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Hmm? Who knows. No one has ever managed to get that far. If the spell senses the intent to reveal any information, you¡¯ll get a headache that¡¯ll only get worse until you¡¯ve given up!¡± Jean saw Franz¡¯s eyes become slightly hallowed as he slumped his shoulders, arm unmoving in the vice grip of Lunia¡¯s free hand. I feel a bit bad for him at this point¡­ I guess I¡¯ll try to distract him? ¡°Magister, I wanted to ask, why is Lunia the only mindmage in the kingdom? Are they really that uncommon?¡± Wixon gave Jean a toothy grin, more than happy to talk about his profession more. ¡°Well lad, an affinity with mind magic is fairly uncommon, yes. But it¡¯s also quite a versatile field! You can learn rune-binding, telepathy, contract spells, mind control, mana-sharing, and there are a ton of uses for it in torture! Or so I hear.¡± Franz looked up at the old mage with a horrified expression. Wixon, noticing him, laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. ¡°Much of what I just mentioned is illegal in most places, lad. Rune-binding is perfectly legal and safe! At least with a proper mindmage like Lunia here!¡± Jean coughed awkwardly, unsure if he should keep talking or shut up. Choosing the former, he went on, ¡°I see, I think. I suppose we¡¯re lucky to have her here then.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, very much so! Before I dragged Lunia to Draughton as my assistant, I was doing all of the rune-binding myself. I don¡¯t think anyone enjoyed it very much.¡± Giving a merry laugh, the Magister clapped Franz¡¯s shoulder a few times for emphasis. ¡°Er, how¡¯d you do that? You¡¯re not a mind mage, right?¡± Happy that Franz seemed distracted from the violet lines covering half his forearm, Jean told the Magister he was also a bit curious, as he¡¯d been promoted to officer in the guard and given the runes by Lunia as well. ¡°Well, my affinity is with fire, but I dabbled with mind magic in my youth, simple curiosity. Learned a few basic spells, even created a shoddy rune-binding formula! Once that¡¯d come to light, I was assigned as Magister of Draughton - as I was happily self-employed at the time - and had to do it all myself. Your black-haired friend in the guard used to always complain about getting headaches while reading, talking or even thinking about dragons, but I¡¯ve come to think of that as another feature of the old spell.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡± Jean gave Wixon a polite smile. God I¡¯ve forgotten how much he can talk. ¡°Magister, if that¡¯s the case, are there many people who know about the dragon nest?¡± Delighted that Franz seemed to want him to talk, Wixon stroked his beard and tried to remember. ¡°Only a few.. Hmm, I believe it was Captain Elspen, the three junior officers of the City Guard, Lunia, and myself? Lunia¡¯s been taking care of it, so who knows?¡± As he spoke, a purple glow started emanating from the scripts drawn into Franz¡¯s forearm. The light grew in intensity for a moment, then disappeared entirely. When Jean looked at Franz¡¯s arm, the skin was as it had been before Lunia had started. ¡°It is done. And it is as Master Wixon says, except the Tiller family also knows. I believe all three of them.¡± ¡°The Tiller family??? L-Like the one that owns the farms by the forest?¡± ¡°You are correct, it seems you are acquainted then. They are paid to keep wanderers from entering the forest, and to keep cows for the dragon to eat, if necessary. Actually, how did you find out about the dragon? Did you wander through their land?¡± Franz turned a shade red, and then one deeper as Jean answered, holding back a smile. ¡°Franz is, uh, particularly acquainted with the Tiller¡¯s daughter.¡± Lunia nodded thanks, idle curiosity sated, as Magister Wixon chuckled and stroked his beard. Franz, for his part, abruptly stood up and turned to leave. Jean allowed himself to be led out as Magister Wixon muttered ¡°youth, huh¡± in a nostalgic way, and closed the door midway through the old man asking his assistant if she had a boyfriend yet. Fucking dragons. Jean idly thought as the two secret-bearers exited the Mage Hall and walked onto the cobbled street. That¡¯s all of that I can take for the day. ¡°First Lieutenant, permission to go get a drink?¡± Franz asked, smiling weakly and rubbing his arm. Jean nodded, and followed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was in a good mood laying about the den, belly full and watching the sun descend behind the stone walls. Talking with someone else - and a human as well! - had lifted my spirits, and I¡¯d stalked my lunch with a bit too much vigor afterwards. I at least felt like I was adjusting to eating a dead animal without preparation, and it helped that the yellow-eyed deer that populated the surrounding forest were frickin¡¯ tasty. Well, some things were still off. I had eaten the entire beast, and I was pretty sure it weighed more than me. My stomach was about the same size as normal, and I knew from the past few months that I wouldn¡¯t really need more food for about a week. When in doubt, blame magic. I¡¯d also considered, When in doubt, blame God and his interns, but I wasn¡¯t sure if they could hear my thoughts. It was probably better to be safe with that one. Settling down to sleep my cozy nook in the oak tree, I¡¯d just closed my eyes when it happened. A wind, a swell of hot air ripped through me, brushing underneath my skin and paving wild paths throughout my body. Exhaling in shock, a small part of the wind escaped through my open mouth. After a few minutes were spent huddled in the tree, completely still, the feeling receded and left only a vague yet comforting veil inside of me, connected with something else in the enclosure. Descending gently through the branches, I reached dirt and gazed at the other end of that connection. My sibling''s egg, reflecting red and orange in the twilight, rested among the tall grass as always, unchanged save for in the realm of magic. Chapter 9: Family The intruding mana had calmed within me, and that which drifted through air stirred gently as it parted around me. If I had normal eyes it would have been nearly impossible to spot, but by letting my own rough tide of mana flow up behind my eyes - at least, it felt like it was in that vicinity - I could see the faint wisps of crimson mana, always moving but never dissipating. Stopping my own flow of mana, I carefully found where the connection had been made between myself and my sibling¡¯s egg. Sending a small amount through that bridge, I felt my way over to the egg with mana alone. As my mana unsteadily reached the egg, it was sucked into - rather, around the egg, thinning out to cover as much as it could of its glossy red surface. Done experimenting with my mana control, which had been improving since my arrival in this world, I physically closed the distance and inspected my future sister or brother¡¯s cocoon. I had already looked it over several times, as it was one of the few features in the enclosure I called home that wasn¡¯t horribly mundane. Excepting the mana connecting me to it, the egg was the same as always. It¡¯s orange and crimson shell practically sparkled as the last stray rays of light bounced off it. The egg was almost as tall as I was and many times as fat, but hadn''t grown an inch since I¡¯d first seen it. It took me a few moments to sit crossed-legged, back against the egg, but after a victorious battle against my tail and wings, both of my newest appendages surrendered to the imprisonment of a mildly uncomfortable position. Why the hell do I need a tail, anyway. Wings, sure, I¡¯ll give ya that. But a tail? Frickin¡¯ useless. I¡¯d been trying to fall asleep in the warmth emanating from the egg for a while, distracted by my runaway thoughts half-heartedly directed to the manager of the universe when a slight but familiar feeling crept into me. ¡°Child¡­ stay near my egg, I will return by dawn.¡± Rehm sounded like she was whispering to me from across a room, and before I could respond the weak heat of her connection had left me. Huh, I guess Mother felt that too. Maybe this means you¡¯re done cooking and ready to go? Tapping the solid surface behind me with the back of a claw, I shifted positions, laying down beside the egg, subconsciously curling my tail around it as far as I could. With the comfortable glow of my new personal fireplace, I drifted off into sleep¡­ ¡­¡­... The air rushed past me, my hair, wings, arms, legs, tail - anything not securely attached to my body - was limply dragged along for a ride. My eyes were closed, but I was already fully awake, and had been since the moment the massive claws had delicately grasped my midsection. Not today, Rehm, not today. I¡¯m keeping my eyes shut no matter what you do! Aren¡¯t dragons supposed to laze around all the time?? Like most mornings, my wonderful and merciful mother shook me about in an attempt to rouse me from sleep. For my first week in this world, screams had been ripped out of me as I myself had been ripped out of my dreams. After my first month living with my dragon-mom, I¡¯d finally mastered the art of not screaming as the sky and grass changed places rapidly before my eyes. Now, after a few days of freedom and sleeping in, I was committed: no amount of shaking would force me to surrender and wake up. After a minute of her futile attempts, Rehm stopped moving, holding my totally still unconscious body by the waist. From how my limbs were hanging, I was upside down. ¡°Fufufu¡­¡± A slight chill went down my spine, though my determination remained steadfast. ¡°Child, I know you are awake. It seems that you have yet to realize it yourself. As your mother, it is my duty to help.¡± The dragon¡¯s arm flicked like a whip, and in a breath I was free of her grip, with the pushback of air resistance pressing against my body. Heh, like I¡¯d be scared of being thrown around a bit? I¡¯ve got wings, you know. Eyes shut, limbs flapping about uselessly, I flew through the air. And flew. And flew some more. Something was off. As I finally began to slow down, I cracked open an eye ever so slightly. Ah, blue skies? What a splendid view~ Ah, some clouds? How nice~ I broke out into a cold sweat as I came to the sudden, very astute realization that the clouds were much closer than they should have been. Flailing about as my descent began, and somehow turning over in the air, a panicked scream broke through my lips as I saw my mother, Rehm, now a red speck among a green background down below, starting to hurtle closer and closer to me every moment. ¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Did you sleep well, child? The traces of mana from my egg are comforting, are they not?¡± Ignoring both her gaze and the sly grin I could recognize in her telepathic voice, I shot Mother a question from my unsteady perch on the large oak tree.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. That¡¯s its mana, then? And why¡¯d it go everywhere like that? ¡°Before hatching, the dragonspawn releases mana along the only pathways it can, to its kin. It is a sign of sorts.¡± Of hatching? ¡°Hmm, after it makes a connection, an egg should hatch within a day.¡± I stole a glance at the egg, which still seemed physically unchanged since the day before, and since I¡¯d been hatched myself. Within a day. ¡°My second child should be with us by tonight, it seems. Preparations will be necessary when the hatching actually begins, but, until then, there is something we must do.¡± The tree I¡¯d holed myself up in trembled dangerously as Rehm placed one claw around its trunk, and brought her head level with me. Meeting her eyes, she had a slightly serious expression that I¡¯d not seen on her before. ¡°We must talk, child. Come down.¡± Obediently gliding back, I followed her back near the egg, and copied her as she laid down lazily. ¡°Before your brother hatches, I must tell you certain things dealing with the gathering. In truth, Elder Jyun has been considerate to me, and has waited for both of my children to hatch.¡± Ah¡­ did you say brother? ¡°Hm? Indeed, my second child is a male. Could you not tell from the feel of his mana?¡± Closing my eyes and focusing, a let my own mana mingle with that coming from the egg, my brother. Where my own felt like a hot iron, coarse as it flowed, and Rehm¡¯s mana felt like the warmth of a hearth, my brother¡¯s seemed to coat everything, like the rays of a sun, flirting with burning one¡¯s skin. Er, not really. Shifting her head slightly, Rehm simply continued. ¡°Once your brother is comfortable in flight, we shall go to the gathering. Once there, you both will choose names and meet more of your kind.¡± Other dragons? Exactly how many are we talking about¡­ ¡°Any dragon south of the mountains will attend, I wager about 10. More now, with you two.¡± Wrapping her tail gently around the base of the egg, Rehm blinked sleepily at me. As relaxed as she seemed, those two red-yellow orbs never rested, although one was currently fixed on me. Does.. Are there more north? Are there any in the Dragonspine Mountains? Her irregular blinking stopped completely, and I began to feel nervous. ¡°Dragonspine Mountains.. That is what the lower races call them, is it not?¡± With an expectant look, she waited. I, I think so. That¡¯s what the uh- the human told me. With a sigh from deep in her chest, which equated to a minor earthquake for me, Rehm finally closed her eyes. ¡°Unimportant for now. The gathering takes priority, little one. Although I suppose it is somewhat related. I spoke to Elder Jyun, about your peculiar body. And you now you seem comfortable speaking with a human. There isn¡¯t a problem with the Elder, but as to the other dragons¡­ several might become troublesome.¡± Because¡­ I look like a human? ¡°Yes, child. Most will not do anything while I am there, but a few, especially that da- mmm¡­ a dragon called Nessera will likely flap her jaw about uselessly. She is one of the four seated dragons in the south, as I and Elder Jyun are. Fret not, child, I just wish for you to be aware.¡± Alright.. Mother, if there are only a dozen or so dragons, south of the mountains, how many exactly are there¡­ ¡°Mmm.. south of the mountains is where the young are raised, but most reside atop the peaks. The conditions up there¡­ aren¡¯t suitable for the young, so eggs and hatchlings stay south until they grow old enough. Well, a few choose to live here anyways, like myself.¡± The rest are up there¡­ does that mean.. My father?... Rehm shifted her arms to better cushion herself, and closed her eyes. After a few minutes of silence, she simply said, ¡°In the mountains.¡± After that I felt as though she was done speaking to me, so I curled up between her and the egg. Trying to get lost in my thoughts, I worried I hadn¡¯t pissed her off too much with my questioning, a shiver going up my spine as the image of the ground fast approaching appeared in my mind. ¡­¡­¡­ I only realized that I had drifted off a bit when Rehm woke me, much gentler this time, and directed me away from the egg that had so kindly acted as my source of warmth. A jagged crack had appeared along its upper half, but Remh drew my attention away. ¡°This will take a while child. He must come out by his own strength. I will stay here, so go to those farms and fetch his first meal.¡± Hesitating, glancing sidelong at the crack on the egg¡¯s surface, my mother pushed me along hurriedly. ¡°You remember what I said of those farms? Go, he will be quite hungry, I imagine.¡± One last look and a nod to Rehm, I unfurled my wings and leapt into the air. Catching the breeze in my sails, I twirled about for a moment before heading in the direction of the cow farms that sat on the edge of the forest. Getting a rhythm, I lowered my flight until I was within reach of the taller trees. So what I don¡¯t like going THAT high up, flying like this is fine for me. Swaying back and forth, brushing a hand against the soft treetops, I pushed even harder with my wings until above and below me were just a blue and green blur. It was only for a bit, but my blood pumped eagerly through my veins as I slowed down, almost seeming to urge me to push further. Resisting, I came to an eventual stop, landing near the end of the forest where the trees grew thinner than the underbrush gathered less densely. In the distance I knew was a grey blur of walls and buildings, the town I¡¯d only seen from a distance. Closer to me, rather right in front of me, was a wooden fence, raised on the forest¡¯s edge to keep something out of the fields the cows walked lazily about in. Whatever it was supposed to block, it sure as hell wasn¡¯t me. I searched for a moment, checking the cows in my sight one by one until I saw a particularly fat one with markings on its ears; the same markings Rehm had told me about. An offering for dragons, I guess? Well, thanks for the generosity, farmer. With one step my claw was atop the fence, and with another I was back in the air, wings outstretched, passing just above a very confused cow. A few seconds in the air, and I landed on my mark, claw tearing through its neck like wet paper. I¡¯d never killed one of these cows until now, as Mother had said it was better to hunt real prey, and I could see what she meant. Without a struggle, the cow gave a weak ¡°moo¡± and collapsed under me, and didn¡¯t get back up. Not worrying about the blood or the cow¡¯s weight, I grabbed my new brother¡¯s first dinner and sauntered back to the forest. Hopping over the fence, I saw most of the cows had remained, heads faced downwards, chewing peacefully. The cow that I¡¯d jumped over stared at me with dull black eyes and gave me a parting ¡°moo¡± as I made my way back to the den in high spirits. Although it took a lot longer on the way back, given that I had no way of carrying a fully grown beast while flying, my patience was rewarded when I walked back into the enclosure I called home. Dropping the beast beside the pond, I came up to Rehm as she watched the water intently. It didn¡¯t take long for me to notice what had her attention, as a bright red shape surfaced and flapped its wings dry. It might¡¯ve been just a hot day, or maybe the combined mana of my mother and new brother had heated me up, but I blushed as red as my scales when he walked out. Red scales covered most of his body, save for a greyish-white underbelly, and when he sat back on his haunches unsteadily I could tell he was maybe a head shorter than I was. He brushed water off his arms and tail before shaking his oversized head and rubbing his eyes, and a small squeak escaped my lungs. My very own¡­ AHH HE¡¯S SO ADORABLE! I WANNA PET HIM LOOKATTHATFACE- Perhaps saving me from my elder-sisterly urges, my brother seemed to notice the corpse I¡¯d dropped by the water¡¯s edge and approached it. Standing over it, he opened his mouth and I realized just why his head was oddly large for his body. A row of massive teeth crunched into the shoulder of the cow, blood spurting in every direction as my little brother chewed. Ah- my¡­ my cute... little brother¡­ Finally looking up, mouth half open and dripping with sinew and blood, my little brother looked at me with an innocent expression. There was a loud squelch as the corpse fell slightly, but I didn¡¯t notice. Come back, my sweet delusion, noooooo- ¡°Big sis?¡± Chapter 10: Seconds crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch-cru- I froze in my tracks, slightly crouched with one claw resting on the base of a tree. The crunching sounds also stopped a half-second later, the air around me only disturbed by the chatter of insects and songbirds. I started walking forwards again. CRUNCH- ¡°HOW ARE YOU SO LOUD???¡± Spinning around, I saw the dragon hatchling following me jump at my sudden telepathic outburst. Giving me a wide-eyed, innocent expression, he responded glumly. ¡°Sorry, sis. I¡¯m doing my best¡­¡± I glared with fake annoyance at my little brother. He looked, for all intents and purposes, like a mini-Rehm to my eyes. He had the same tint of red on his scales as our mother, and even though he was still shorter than the average human, I could already see the similarities in their reptilian faces. Well, maybe all dragons look like that. Wait, is that racist? I mean, technically I¡¯m also one, and I¡¯ve never seen any other dragons, uhh¡­ Rubbing my eyes delicately with a claw, I addressed my little brother. ¡°Sorry, I guess it¡¯s not your fault. It must be harder than it was for me.¡± Like Rehm, and I suppose any normal dragon, my lil¡¯ bro¡¯s lower body and feet were massive, and not exactly meant for sneaking about the forest floor. While my own legs ended in scales and claws, they were at least proportional to my human body. Feeling a bit guilty about giving my new sibling a hard time, I directed my frustration somewhere else. ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s Mother¡¯s fault for pushing all the work onto me to teach you this stuff, what kinda mom is she??¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯m uh, sure Mother has her reasons.¡± The dragon hatchling nervously glanced around, as if she was listening in on the conversation. Which she might¡¯ve been, for all I knew. Not that I was too worried. My brother, on the other hand¡­ well Rehm had given him the same show as she¡¯d done for me, topped off with a beautiful fireworks display 30 meters in length. I had thought it was amazing and a bit terrifying, but he¡¯d taken it to heart a bit too much. As far as I could tell, my little brother was deathly afraid of our mom. Which could be considered fairly normal, I guess. To me¡­ well a dragon is pretty intimidating, but I¡¯d felt since hatching that Rehm wouldn¡¯t seriously hurt me, no matter what. Sighing, I patted my little brother on the head, to which he leaned forwards and hummed under his breath. He wasn¡¯t scared of me considering I¡¯d doted on him near constantly, trying to keep the image of my pure, adorable brother in my mind instead of the scene of him covered in blood and gore. I also had the sneaking suspicion that he was unafraid of me because he could control mana better and shoot fire further than I could after not even a week. But today Rehm had told me to help him on his first hunt, so it was time to show my superiority. At the very least, I¡¯m quieter than he is in the forest. And the only other thing I am better at¡­ Spreading my wings, I beat them a few times to lift gently into the air, entering a steady hover well below the lowest branches. ¡°Change of plans, you¡¯ll never catch one of those deer making this much noise. There are some larger birds higher up, you can probably catch some of them.¡± My little brother frantically unfurled his wings and started flapping, pushing off the forest floor with his legs. He could fly well enough already, but he still hunched over in the air, and occasionally lost his balance. Hah! I¡¯m well past the gargoyle stage of flight, and now I have the grace of an angel! That Franz guy said something like that, bow down lil¡¯ brother!!! Ranting in my own mind, I communicated nothing to the dragon awkwardly flapping up to me. Rehm hadn¡¯t said anything, but I thought it was for the best to keep silent about the humans around my brother. Unlike a normal dragon, I could speak out loud; and Rehm could speak telepathically with humans through magic if she needed to, but a newly born hatchling didn¡¯t have enough practice or experience to be able to do that. We drifted about, only the sound of our wings hitting the air betraying our presence. The trees in this section of the forest weren¡¯t as close together, so we could both glide about fairly freely in the early autumn afternoon light. Keeping my eyes searching above, I eventually heard a specific bird caw and located what I¡¯d been looking for: a massive nest of branches, leaves, twigs, and mud larger than either of us rested in the crook of several branches above us. Getting my brother¡¯s attention, I pointed at it and saw his dark eyes change from playful to serious. He analyzed its perch, found the best way up, and tightened his back muscles. Releasing the tension built in the frames of his wings, with a single push he shot forward, body streamlined and practically touching the tree. I watched my little brother use one claw to rip through the side of the nest, tail flicking to direct his momentum as he descended upon the remainder of the nest.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. From below it was hard to see, but from the frantic squaws I could hear and their short-lived nature it seemed like my brother had succeeded. Less than a minute after I¡¯d noticed the nest my brother dropped loudly in front of where I¡¯d landed, his eyes sparkling proudly. In each foreclaw was a massive bird, mottled brown feathers now stained red. The creatures, whose species I had lovingly named winged fucker, were the size of a well-fed dog with a massive wingspan to match; armed with talons as sharp as my claws. They seemed unnaturally big in my eyes, but from what I could tell the presence of a dragon residing nearby made most apex predators leave or die off long ago. These winged fuckers ended up being one of the remaining few at the top of the forest¡¯s food chain. Well, most of the time. Satisfied with his prey, my little brother tucked a bloody bird corpse under each arm and looked at me expectantly. Aside from my partial resignation of ever having a cute little sibling to look after, an odd memory bubbled up to the surface of my subconscious. Seeing a dragon like him, his shiny red scales, wings still raised and teeth bared slightly, I was reminded of an image, a scene I could tell was from my past life. It was¡­ not a still image, but not as lifelike as the dragon standing in front of me. It moved like¡­ like a book, pages turning on their own, a mirror reflecting reality. Ignoring the dragon growing impatient in front of me, I searched and searched and searched through my mind, trying to come up with an answer. All the explanations I could come up with were insufficient, incomplete. I knew for certain something crucial, some necessary piece of the puzzle was missing, and without it the whole thing would never make sense. As much as I tried, however, nothing came. Every line of thought led to a dead end, cut short. God dammit. Frustrating, ugh¡­ ¡°... Sorry, come on, Let¡¯s go back and show Mother. Good job.¡± Accepting my apologetic head pat, we started the walk home, in no rush at all. At least until I saw a flash of gold through the trees. Turning on my heel, nearly colliding with the dragon and his prizes, I jumped past him and took flight. ¡°Hey, come on, don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t fly carrying those things.¡± ¡°Sis, wait, can¡¯t you carry one? It¡¯s unfair..¡± ¡°Ah? You carry your own food, I¡¯m not your personal servant!¡± Leading him in a wide circle around a certain blonde human, when we were close enough to the den I told him to go the rest of the way by himself. ¡°I¡¯m gonna hunt my own food, bro. You¡¯re too loud to be dragging around with me. Tell Mother I will be back after.¡± Twirling around with a nudge from my wings and tail, I flew away from a still somewhat confused dragon, breathing slightly hard from flying with extra weight. Making my way back to the pond where I had agreed to meet with Franz occasionally, I came to a screeching halt mid air, turned around for the hundredth time, and emerged above the treetops to fly as quickly as I could to the den. Arriving quicker through the air than my brother on foot, I grabbed the green bundle from its place high in the old oak tree, squinted at a lounging Rehm, and flew back to the waiting human. Landing, I threw on the dark green cloak, wrapping it around me as much as possible and walked into the clearing. Not bothering to step quietly, two heads turned to look at me. One with a crown of long blonde locks, the other with shorter chestnut brown hair. Franz was lounging on the same rock as a few days prior, shoes off and toes touching the water¡¯s surface. Next to him, I recognized the other young guard, Jean, sitting on the edge of the same rock, shoes still on and hand flirting with the hilt of his weapon. Upon noticing me, Franz gave a wave and Jean stood up. ¡°Hello¡±, I offered, taking a seat on a slightly comfier than average rock across the pond from them. ¡°Hello, Miss Mia, I apologize for intruding.¡± Jean gave a a small, stiff nod with a very serious expression, in contrast to Franz¡¯s demeanor. ¡°Er, you don¡¯t have to sshtand¡­¡± Jean took a seat, posture formal. I guess this is better than last time with him? I guess he¡¯s in the military, so maybe it¡¯s normal, or something. Reading my suspicious expression, Franz supplied an explanation. ¡°Sorry about him, he a bit stressed, what with all this dragon business.¡± ¡°Sshorry about ..that?¡± Jean flashed a dark look at Fraz before speaking, ¡°Miss Mia, frankly speaking, only a few people in Draughton need to know about, well yourself and your mother. We¡¯ve had to handle a few things since Franz found out.¡± ¡°And we¡¯ve gotten a few lectures from the Captain, from both the second lieutenants, even from the Magister. It¡¯s been a grand old time.¡± Franz chuckled to himself, oblivious to any of the glares Jean was sending his way. Huh, well sorry to hear that, but it¡¯s not my fault. And I¡¯ve got something more important. ¡°Uh, well, good luck, I think. I have some..thing to ask about meeting here.¡± Both guards simply responded with a questioning look, so I continued. ¡°If you come, can you wait by ..the edge of the foressht? Where all the cowsh are?¡± ¡°Huh? Why do you-¡± ¡°Of course, by all means. We passed the farm on the way here, and it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± His expression having become more pleasant, Jean placed a hand lightly on his subordinates arm. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about the farmers living there, you don¡¯t have to hide from them.¡± ¡°Really? I took the marked cow the other day, hopefully ..the right one?¡± Jean seemed to be a bit more at ease, if only a little, happy to carry on light conversation at the very least. Although Franz doesn¡¯t seem as spritely as last time. ¡°Yes, you had the right one. The Millers let us know on our way here.¡± ¡°Ah, you know ..them? And they know about...¡± I waved my hand in a vague motion, and saw the ghost of a genuine smile cross Jean¡¯s face for the first time since the start of the conversation as he slapped an unhappy Franz on the back. ¡°Yes yes, we¡¯re acquainted.¡± Well, that¡¯s all I really needed to say¡­ Giving a - hopefully - charming smile to the two, I decided to ignore the future prospect of talking about humans to my mother and just try to listen. ¡°Franzsh, lassht time you said people couldn¡¯t sail around ..the mountainssh, I wassh wondering why not?¡± Recovering as gracefully as he could and putting a cheerful expression on, Franz picked up where we had left off a few days before, and I shifted into a more comfortable position. ¡°Well, on the eastern coast of Esther is the Spiral Sea. I¡¯ve only seen it once, but its called that because of the unpredictable currents that line the entire coast. Down here it¡¯s bad enough to make it impossible to sail deep waters, but apparently the islanders living northeast of the Spine have figured out some way to do it. Hmm¡­ as for the western coast, well, it¡¯s pretty weird and I don¡¯t really understand how much of it works, but I¡¯ve heard adventurers tell stories¡­..¡± I stayed silent save to ask a few questions or prompt an explanation, letting Franz recount things he¡¯d heard, some sounding true enough and others the product of some stranger''s wild imagination, with Jean cutting in every now and then to clarify something or tell Franz to not be such a fool. As far as distractions went, it was nice, and I didn¡¯t mind at all listening about the places Franz had been to or the stories the guards passed around about my new and wondrous world. Remembrance Devin gave his surroundings a sideways look. He halfheartedly uttered a curse in the privacy of his mind, squinting at the cows grazing in the field. They had their heads to the dirt, occasionally munching a bit of the grass that grew underfoot, occasionally lifting their gazes to indifferently inspect other cows, piles of manure, or the farmers that tended to them. The beasts would spend the entirety of their lives doing this, sometimes milked by the humans that owned the field, feeling the warmth of their odd magic that accelerated growth, chewing the cud they regurgitated, and doing not much of anything until the day they were butchered or died from disease. Devin¡¯s tail flicked unconsciously, batting away a pesky fly. Well, he¡¯d be doing the same as the rest of them. Nibbling the tips of the dry grass at the corner of the enclosure, he chewed without any hurry. It had been a year, probably? A year and a half? Devin couldn¡¯t remember exactly how long he¡¯d lived here; he had lost count around 300 days in. He couldn¡¯t remember exactly how long he¡¯d been on the farm where he had been born, but it didn¡¯t matter as much as remembering that conversation¡­ the one that had led to his life as a powerless beast on some farm somewhere. That woman had said a bunch of things, and Devin had remembered most of what she¡¯d spoken of, even if there were random blind spots too unnatural to be explained away by an imperfect memory. At first he thought that the woman had been insane, or a figment of his imagination¡­ He could have been experiencing an extremely lucid dream after drifting off in his bed; after all, the meds they¡¯d given him at the end had been pretty strong, even more so for an 86 year old man near death. But everything that person had said, that¡¯d he had died, the information that he had forgotten long ago, the weird karma system she had explained to him¡­ all of it was made more convincing by his current situation. Devin swallowed the bit of grass he had been chewing, knowing it would be back later as cud, and slightly envied the cows that didn¡¯t have the sensibilities of a human. As a human¡­ well, he had a blessed life, and he had known it. Laying on his deathbed, too weak to do much on his own, surrounded by his kids and grandkids crying and making sad expressions, Devin thought it was the best way to go. He was lucky enough to outlive his late wife by a few months, not putting her through life alone, despite the company of their extensive family. But, enough to unbalance the universe¡­ Devin thought that lady was exaggerating, at least a tad. Sure, maybe he had won a few raffles and a small lottery as a young man, and had met his eventual wife of 63 years on a cruise won by chance, but he had lived through some hardships, like anyone else. His parents had passed, he had been let go from jobs once or twice, as well as losing his older cousin when he was only 12. That had always felt like the balancing point for his luck, symbolically at least. His cousin had been a source of cheer, and had treated Devin kindly despite a five year difference between the two. After she had passed away at a young age, Devin¡¯s luck had seemed to skyrocket to ludicrous levels. Of course, that luck had recently fallen like a rock straight back to Earth. Or Ethera, or whatever that suspicious lady had called this world. She had avoided words in her explanation, words like ¡®punishment¡¯ or ¡®atonement¡¯, but Devin knew what his new life was.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Spotting two cows standing side by side, Devin took his words back the slightest bit. At least he wasn¡¯t alone with a bunch of brain dead cows. He had Calluph and Aineri. And Devin couldn¡¯t see him now, but Takeshi as well. Others like him, serving out their punishments here - or whatever that lady had tried to disguise this as. The lady in that office building had told him that humans in his situation were often reincarnated as cows in places like this, and Devin suspected letting them keep their sentience and so many of their previous lives¡¯ memories only served to make this sentence harsher for them. Devin had many images of his previous life in his head, of his family, of feelings, thoughts, ideas, stories, places¡­ there were holes in his recollection, from both his own mind¡¯s lapses and from what he knew to be the intervention of that so-called higher power. Still, he and Takeshi remembered enough to know they both came from Earth, even if Takeshi had died at an advanced age long before Devin was ever born, though Aineri remembered little of her life save family members and the scent of the ocean. Calluph, on the other hand, remembered much of his previous life. He had apparently also been a cow in his previous life, in a world somewhat similar to this one, but was sentient like the rest of that world¡¯s cattle. He¡¯d described how some mad ruler had experimented on livestock, and had accidentally made cattle not only sentient, but also highly intelligent; leading to a network of cows communicating and working to live a life of luxury under the noses of humans. According to Calluph, living as a cow among non-sentient beasts like the rest of the cattle on the farm was literally torture. Personally, Devin thought it was lazy. He had worked managing a company for most of his previous life, and this business with that office lady and her whole universal balance shtick smelled of cut corners and irresponsible cost saving measures. Whatever the case was, Devin was stuck here with the others, shackled to a life of mind-numbing monotony, never knowing if tomorrow was the day they were to be butchered. Looking past the fence that marked the abrupt shift from grassy fields to shaded forest, Devin chewed the cud that had come back up, trying not to mind it too much. His attention was promptly ripped away from his food, as the brush in the forest rustled and a figure burst out, leaping from the fence up and over his head. Devin didn¡¯t hear the death of another cow behind him: his mind was caught racing and his mouth agape. He barely had any time to react when the figure walked forward past him, an adult cow resting dead on her narrow shoulders. Devin just let out a weak ¡®moo¡¯ as she hopped the fence and disappeared among the trees. She was different, he knew. Red hair where it should have been brown; the wings, the tail and scales of a dragon, all a deep crimson. But Devin had never forgotten that face, how could he? He¡¯d cried in his room for a day after the accident, old enough then to be aware of the permanence of death. It seemed, apparently, that he had been wrong about that part. Mia. Chapter 11: Monikers ¡°We¡¯ve talked about this before Franz. It was a stupid idea then and it¡¯s still one now.¡± Jean didn¡¯t bother looking at the young man sitting next to him, instead glancing over the sparse decorations in the main room of the Royal Mage Hall. On top of being barren of any decorative flourishes, the dusty interior of Olivar¡¯s branch of mages in Draughton was light in guests as well. Other than Jean and Franz sitting by one wall, the only other soul in the room was the old scribe, who was squinting at parchment held in the fickle sunlight trickling through the windows, occasionally muttering something to himself. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Jean, don¡¯t worry about it. That girl just didn¡¯t have good taste! Hells, I can¡¯t even remember her name, so not much of a loss.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not something to boast about. I do remember her laughing in your face when you read it out to her. Want me to put some money down for it happening again?¡± ¡°Such a downer, Jean, you¡¯ve been around the Second Lieutenant too much. Come on, help me out here. I¡¯m having trouble finding something to rhyme with ¡®remember¡¯.¡± Sighing, Jean turned and grabbed the parchment Franz had been scribbling on. Giving the man¡¯s ¡®poetry¡¯ a cursory glance, he hummed as if he was deep in thought before dropping it back into Franz¡¯s lap. ¡°You might not want to call a dragon ¡®delicate¡¯. Other than that, it¡¯s wonderful, I¡¯m moved.¡± Franz gave a light shove with his shoulder in response to Jean¡¯s deadpanning, before scratching out some words on the parchment. ¡°Whatever, whatever, I shouldn¡¯t have asked. Well, maybe I shouldn¡¯t use delicate¡­ Strong and wise as the mighty oak? Hmm¡­ maybe¡­¡± Thankfully, Jean thought, the guardsman didn¡¯t get any further in his ramblings as the scribe seated at the desk gestured the two men over with a gnarled hand, pointing them to the door that led to the private rooms of the Mage Hall. Pulling Franz along with him, Jean led him to the room they¡¯d been to almost a week before, knocking on the door labeled MAGISTER. It only took a moment before a woman¡¯s voice called for them to enter. They obeyed, going into the small room. Well, Jean thought it likely a well-sized room, but wall to wall bookshelves overflowing with tomes, a massive desk in the center of the room, scattered pages and no doubt priceless magical baubles littering the floor tended to make any room feel a bit cramped. Well, at least he thought so. ¡°Alright, blonde one, hurry and take a seat. You, you can stay or leave, but there¡¯s only one extra seat.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stand, don¡¯t mind me.¡± Replying to the Magister¡¯s Assistant, Jean took his spot behind the stool Franz was making his way to. Jean couldn¡¯t decide if he liked Magister Wixon or his assistant, Lunia, more. Each were a bother in their own way, but he supposed Lunia was easier to deal with. Where Wixon would get sidetracked from a single thought about some field of magic every other sentence, Lunia never dawdled. And Jean could handle her not knowing his name, despite being introduced to him multiple times over the last few years. Franz didn¡¯t seem to agree with his sentiments, though, as he was already fidgeting in his stool as Lunia sorted through a drawer in the massive bureau she sat at. The purple-haired woman found what she was searching for, and pulled out a reddish brown bound tome and placed it on the top of a pile of important looking letters. Adjusting her glasses, she opened it and began flipping through the heavy volume, the action scattering the topmost parchments from the precarious mountains on her desk. Well, Jean reflected, as much as the Magister and his assistant differed in personality, they were still mages. And while he hadn¡¯t met more than a dozen mages in his life on Ethera, most of them had seemed terribly unorganized. Well, that was probably an understatement. It¡¯s not like they couldn¡¯t be in control of their personal belongings if they wanted to, Jean thought. Rather, they probably didn¡¯t notice. The magic messed with their minds a bit. Jean was probably safe; he had learned only a few basic utilitarian spells from Trakov and a few of the older guards¡­ nothing intricate enough to make him like¡­ like a mage. Eh¡­ I¡¯m sounding like Trakov now, the tradeoff a mage makes is probably worth the cost. Probably. ¡°Um, Miss Lunia, how are you today?¡± For the first time since Jean and Franz had entered the room, the mindmage raised her head and inspected Franz through her spectacles. Blinking once, she responded, expression remaining neutral. ¡°Adequate, I suppose.¡± Mon pauvre¡­ well, it¡¯s a wonder that Franz isn¡¯t already trying to sweet talk her. The list of the women he doesn¡¯t go after is countable on a hand or two¡­ Jean glanced at the back of his friends head, his shoulder length golden hair hiding his expression from where Jean was standing. Let¡¯s see, the Captain, Flora, now Lunia, that madwoman that always hangs around the Cove drinking, hmm¡­ Jean knew it wasn¡¯t limited to single girls, widows or married women. Franz had never cared about that at all, although Trakov and Jean had tried their damndest to curve that last inclination as much as they could, especially after a certain incident involving a 16 year old Franz and a baker¡¯s wife. Clearing his mind of those idle thoughts, Jean also addressed Lunia. ¡°Miss Lunia, may I ask after the Magister?¡± Swivelling her gaze to him, she pushed her glasses up again. Like a child inspecting an ant. Jean pushed the instinctive thought from his mind, and kept his polite smile steady. ¡°The Master is away from Draughton currently.¡± Jean nodded and asked, ¡°Official Magister business, then? Must be busy as his assistant.¡± The woman hummed for a moment before looking down at the page she¡¯d stopped on in the leather bound tome. ¡°Master Wixon told me he was visiting a few old friends in Baralis. An Archmage Enae, something about reviewing a dissertation.¡± Both Jean and Franz jolted in their spots slightly at that. Jean didn¡¯t have a full life in the Olivar Kingdom, and he had never traveled to Baralis, the Kingdom¡¯s capital to their southwest, but even he had heard of Archmage Enae. You couldn¡¯t live in the Kingdom and be ignorant of the half-elf Archmage. Jean knew she held a position in the King¡¯s personal retinue, as well as being an esteemed professor in the Royal Mage Academy. Well, those didn¡¯t have much impact compared to the title of Archmage, the highest honor any mage could obtain, at least on this continent. Franz seemed more shocked than Jean, but he was still the first to address Lunia. ¡°THE Archmage Enae? You know, the, the-¡± ¡°I would believe so. Master Wixon and the other Archmages are gathering in the capital to review a study written by some younger professor. From what I understood, it was about the inherent magical properties of the lizardkin from the marshlands, and how they manifest. The Master seemed to think the mage writing it just had an unnatural fondness for lizards.¡± ¡°That- the- other Archmages?¡± ¡°Indeed. Although I suspect Master Wixon doesn¡¯t care much for any of the others. Archmage Enae is the only one he speaks of to me.¡± Franz moved his mouth, nothing coming out, unsure what to address first. Chuckling slightly, Jean briefly thanked any and all gods that he hadn¡¯t lived in this world an entire lifetime, and so didn¡¯t much feel the gravity of what Lunia had told them.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Magister Wixon is an Archmage? Amazing, really! Although perhaps you shouldn¡¯t be telling us about his trip¡¯s agenda¡­¡± Jean gave the assistant mage his usual polite smile as Franz quieted down a bit, also awaiting her response. ¡°It matters little. Master Wixon does not speak much of his title, but the likes of you two knowing will not change anything. He might be approaching senility, but Master is still the nation¡¯s foremost fire evoker. Not many could do much to disturb his plans.¡± Lunia adjusted her round spectacles resting near the tip of her nose, and gave Jean a neutral stare. ¡°Besides, given his and the other Archmage¡¯s tendencies, I believe they will spend most of the time gossiping as old hens are prone to do. At the very least, I suspect he will return with orders relevant to our situation.¡± ¡°I¡­ see.¡± Both Franz and Jean digested her words, more than she had said to them in their previous meeting and more than Jean had ever heard from her mouth in any single sitting previously. Both men could easily see Magister Wixon gossiping like a seasoned housemaid, but neither were sure what to make of the famed half-elf Archmage doing the same. Lunia filled the silence after a few moments, flipping one page forward in the tome that still rested in front of her on the bureau. ¡°Well, I suppose we have spoken of Magister Wixon¡¯s vacation enough. We should begin with your lesson. Any pressing questions relating to dragons before I begin?¡± Franz began asking a question, though Jean thought he heard the slightest bit of emotion creep into Lunia¡¯s tone as she said the word ¡®vacation¡¯. It was much too slight to know for sure, but Jean smiled to himself at the thought. ¡°Er, Lunia, is it true that there¡¯s a dragon living in the forest¡­ with a Moniker?¡± ¡°Hmm. It seems you have already been informed of some things by¡­ the brown-haired one here.¡± ¡°Jean,¡± Jean supplied helpfully. ¡°I suppose we can start there, I will be thorough to make sure¡­ Jean has not given you any misinformation. After that I will tell you of what records we have on dragonkind, starting with the basics of their magic and typical personality traits common to the species. That should be enough for today.¡± Franz nodded meekly, remaining close lipped. Both men watched the mage flip forward in the book, settling on a yellowish page near the end. ¡°What you have heard is true, the dragon residing in the forest near us does indeed have a Moniker. There are two dragons with Monikers that we know for sure: the Drifting Death and the one that is nested in the forest, the Divine¡¯s Pyre, both a result of the Great War 506 years ago between humans and dragons. Scholars of the war seem to believe there is a third Moniker among dragons, but we only know of the two for sure.¡± As Lunia spoke the two Monikers, some of her mana was released into the cramped office, invisible to Jean but felt nonetheless. Monikers were one of the few things in this world, he knew, that would use one¡¯s mana without fail regardless of race. Even humans, the race with the least magic potential where many individuals did not even contain sufficient reserves or control to cast a single Magelight spell, would always have mana extracted when uttering a Moniker. Jean was sure that it was a question to keep one up at night in this world. Well, it didn¡¯t keep him up any, but he was sure all those magical theorists in the capital and in the Elven academies across the sea were tossing and turning all the way to dawn. ¡°As you might know, a Moniker is gained only through wide reaching and impactful actions against a species or culture. It is, essentially, a representation of a mix of fear, respect, and pure terror from a large group of individuals. Also, since gaining a Moniker is reliant on the weight of the collective magical properties of the group afflicted by the individual, it is usually communities of highly magical species who inadvertently create them.¡± Lunia paused a moment and glanced up through her purple bangs to see if Franz had anything to ask, but continued once he stayed silent. ¡°Then you likely understand the¡­ unique precedence these two Monikers have. Since humans have so little magical potential across any country or culture, those two are the only Monikers recorded to have risen from human societies. And both occurred in the same decade, on the same continent. Tell me, do you two know of other individuals with Monikers?¡± Jean couldn¡¯t honestly say he did, only learning about the two dragons a few years before after becoming an officer. His lack of historical understanding had been a sore point between he and Trakov, but that sort of education took time and had to be started from the ground up for a Traveler sent to this world as an adult. As he said nothing, however, Franz gave an answer. ¡°Well, there was the Scorcher of Fates, around the same time as the Great War¡­ and I think one of my father¡¯s partners from north of the Spine mentioned another - Spiral something or other, from the Spiral Isles?¡± ¡°The Spiral Scourge, is likely what you are speaking of.¡± Without seeing Franz¡¯s nod of affirmation, Lunia continued. ¡°Both of those Moniker bearers were actually humans, and both were created as the result of the peril of a different race they clashed with. The Conclave of Elvish Seers for the first Moniker, and the Drowned Men of the Spiral Sea for the second.¡± Both Jean and Franz nodded along, understanding the implications the mage was trying to stress. Monikers emerged as a result of monumental acts of destruction, often turning points in grand conflicts, and were derived from the collective mana of many individuals. To obtain Monikers from humans required either an enormous amount of people or many individuals skilled in magic; likely both. War was obviously where the majority of Monikers were born, and once born they could not be unborn; the individual would forever move with a certain force behind them. ¡°The answer is, of course, yes. The dragon nested near Draughton for the last half-millenia is the Divine¡¯s Pyre, and for the other Monikered dragon its whereabouts have remained unknown. I expect you both understand the necessity of handling its child with extreme care, as despite 500 years of peaceful coexistence, most dragons have been known to be quite fickle, easily annoyed, and not too fond of humans. That is why, of course, we shall be going through all direct interactions with dragons we have recorded, so you can have a greater grasp of its potential temperament¡­..¡± -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GOD. HER TEMPERAMENT, SOMETIMES---no; breathe in, hold, hold, breathe out. Total zen, Mia, you are one with the universe. Fwaaa~ I unclenched my jaw, slowly opening my eyes to look at my mother. Rehm was staring at me, red and gold eyes unblinking and unreadable. ¡°Is that all? Already lesser than a hatchling just a week into the world?¡± I turned my grumpy glare on my little brother who was sitting upright on his hind legs by the pond, his lizard-like expression a mix of pride and embarrassment. Crossing my arms I kept myself from meeting Rehm¡¯s steadfast gaze. ¡°It¡¯s only because he¡¯s a full dragon, I bet. If we were the same I wouldn¡¯t have a problem.¡± ¡°Hmm? That sounds like an excuse, child. Excuses will do nothing but invite the pity of others, fufufu.¡± I gently uncrossed my arms, rubbing my bruised shoulder as I did the same for my bruised ego. My brother was already stronger than me, physically, magically, almost every way that mattered. And Rehm seemed delighted by that fact. ¡°If we were racing, I¡¯d win every time, you know. I make him look like a crumbling gargoyle in the air¡­¡± There was at least that one thing I could hold onto. And by god I¡¯d hold onto it for dear life. I wasn¡¯t about to let my new sibling beat me in every part of dragon-ing. ¡°It¡¯s true Mother, big sis is much better in the air than I¡­¡± I internally praised my faithful brother, silently promising him a treat later. ¡°I suppose that is true¡­ I suppose your sister can always flee from other dragons.¡± My mouth curling into a grimace, I gave the massive scarlet dragon in front of me a kick with a clawed foot. I Immediately regretted the decision, as Rehm¡¯s scales were like a wall of solid rock; likely harder than that, even. She gave me a single playful, lazy wink and shifted herself to lay on the edge of the pond that dominated one third of the enclosure. ¡°Fufufu¡­ my children, it was decided when I last returned here. We are departing in 10 days for the gathering. I hope each of you is ready? Or maybe one of you has decided on a name?¡± I joined my brother and Rehm by the pond, sitting on the soft grass with my feet slightly submerged in the chilly water of early autumn. My brother answered, voice slightly abashed. ¡°I do not have one yet Mother, I apologize. Even with what you have taught me so far, I am still unsure¡­¡± ¡°Do not fret, child. There is still time.¡± Hah, he¡¯s still so scared of Mother. C¡¯mon, it¡¯s been like a week already!! I eyed the dragon hatchling on my left, still shorter than me with his oversized head. Jabbing his soft belly playfully but with quite a lot of force, I answered as he shot me a nervous look. ¡°I have decided on a name, Mother, one I like from the language you have been teaching us.¡± In the week since Rehm had returned from speaking with Elder Jyun about the gathering, she had been teaching us a language specifically geared towards magic. It was, apparently, aptly named Magetongue. I didn¡¯t know much at this point, but it seemed it was a mess of hundreds of other languages, living and dead, pried open and ripped apart like carrion for any words with significance in incantations. There were words from Teran, the human language, as well as some from several lizard dialects and a few very difficult to pronounce guttural beastkin words, but the majority of the language consisted of a mix of Elven, Draconic, and Dwarvish dialects. From what I gleaned during her explanation the first night Rehm had taught us, using Magetongue when incanting and casting magic gave a spell extra power. For the higher races at least. Races like humans didn¡¯t use it much, as for them it seemed to trade speed and ease of control for scale and power, but to me and the two dragons next to me, it seemed the drawbacks were nonexistent. ¡°You have decided on a name? Wonderful, child, what are you considering?¡± Giving the massive dragon lounging next to me a petulant glance, I winked at her before retorting. ¡°Well, I suppose you¡¯ll just have to wait and find out in 10 days!¡± Pausing before letting a chuckle rise from deep in her chest, Rehm didn¡¯t care to press the subject. ¡°Just be prepared, my children. A gathering is a time for judgement, for evaluation; especially for those yet named. It will only be the two of you choosing names, so take care when I am preoccupied with my duties.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Yes, Mother.¡± Rehm gave her usual sign of wanting to discontinue a conversation, shifting her forearms and propping her head away from us. I heard my brother, still unsure of his name, muttering words and phrases quietly through our telepathic connection, and I turned to face him, leaning on our mother¡¯s tail and giving him my lighthearted opinions on any words he brought up. Even later in the evening, as he started repeating names he¡¯d already tried, he couldn¡¯t find one that fit, so he went to sleep slightly troubled. When I shut my eyes some time after, wedged between two mana-warm dragons, I wondered briefly if choosing a name would change anything; and if this relaxing life would simply carry on, unaltered by a trifle like a gathering of dragons. Chapter 12: Looking North Rehm was sitting back on her hind legs, her patient gaze scanning the horizon over the enclosure¡¯s wall. The sun had just set, and the last vestiges of reddish light were beginning to disappear as the crescent moon¡¯s weak offerings failed to light up the forest around us. My brother was next to me, fidgeting occasionally in a mix of anticipation and worry; he still hadn¡¯t come up with a name. At least, I thought, he was getting closer and narrowing his choices down. We had spent only a few minutes waiting like this, as the sun had begun to meet the horizon, our bellies full from meals of either cow or deer to be ready for the journey ahead. It would only take a day or two to reach the gathering spot, but however long we would spend their would be in the company of a dozen dragons, all with appetites befitting their size. Eventually, Mother spread her wings and lifted her massive frame from the ground. Without a word, we mirrored her, my brother slower off the ground than me. The two of us had already been told what to do, so we angled our flight behind our mother, nearing where the clouds might¡¯ve been on an overcast night, and began flying north and slightly west. I glanced behind us, past my home and its surrounding forest, and saw the faint lights of Draughton through the clear evening air. I had met with Franz and Jean earlier, and had been introduced formally to the wife of the farmer that owned the cows. Hugging my green cloak a bit closer under her grumpy eye, Jean had told me to use her as an intermediary if I ever needed something, and I told them I was leaving for a bit. After that¡­ Franz had decided to recite some, er, poetry he¡¯d written. And¡­ well, he got points for sincerity, at least. It was pretty damn cheesy though. And I thought a playboy like him would¡¯ve known how to compliment a girl. Like god, compare me to a star or a flower, not a frickin¡¯ tree. It sounded like an insult to me¡­ Well, he seemed one hundred percent genuine about it, and I learned that Jean was about as done with it as I¡¯d been after Franz had recited his original work. ¡°Hey hey, sis, help me out a bit?¡± Turning an eye to the brother who had drifted next to me, I nodded and gave him my attention. ¡°How about Ilaeve?¡± The word for ¡®all-knowing¡¯ in Magetongue, from a now extinct Elven language. ¡°If you¡¯re all-knowing, what does that make me, eh? I know a lot more than you, so I guess I¡¯d be some sort of god?¡± Giving him a smug smile and avoiding the claw that swung at my shoulder, I pirouetted below and around him as he grumbled in my general constantly-changing direction. ¡°Fine then, what about Tireh?¡± ¡®Tireh¡¯, a draconic word for destruction, specifically via fire. ¡°I guess that¡¯s alright, do you really like it that much?¡± ¡°Not really, sis. But at least it makes a bit more sense. I wish you¡¯d at least tell me yours¡­¡± ¡°And have you tell Mother as soon as she asks? No way.¡± The smaller dragon flying next to me drooped noticeably, but was forced to straighten out his posture to keep up with me and our mother, who was flying in front and slightly below us. A shimmer of magic surrounded her body, which I knew was for masking her presence to anyone below us chancing a look up at the stars. My brother and I were way too small to be noticed at our height against the dark sky, and looking down all I could see now were thick clusters of trees leading into farmlands in the distance ahead of us. ¡°What if I can¡¯t decide in time?¡± I looked at the dragon, and gave him a shrug before speeding up to place myself backwards in flight right in front of him. ¡°Just pick whatever comes to your mind then. Or make something up.¡± ¡°I-I can¡¯t do that, Mother would be¡­¡± ¡°Well, you better decide quick then, huh?¡± Giving him another grin, I fell away and back next to him, giving him responses whenever he asked about a name, even if he¡¯d been asking about the same ones for days now. At our leisurely pace, at least for Rehm and I, the ground far beneath us melted into a never-ending blur, our route taking us over unpopulated wilderness and farms. It hadn¡¯t felt like very long before the sun started its daily journey once again, rays peeking at us shyly over the world¡¯s edge. Immediately, our mother looked back to us. ¡°Come then children, grab on.¡± Both of us stayed silent, accelerating as Rehm slowed down a tad to let us into the crease between her shoulder blades. We both grabbed onto what we could, and the faint magic glimmer that had covered Rehm rolled over to encase us as well. According to Rehm, from below we would be entirely unseen. As we both found places to hold, Rehm checked back with a careful eye, confirmed we were in place, and flapped her titanic wings a single time. My brother had been out of breath after flying at such a fast speed for him, and as soon as the acceleration hit us my breath was similarly taken from me. For the rest of the day, Rehm flew through a cloudless sky at a speed that would¡¯ve been difficult for me to keep up with, and impossible for my brother to match. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jean knocked on the door, and pushed it inwards with his shoulder after hearing a gruff call. Getting the door open with considerable effort, Franz and Trakov followed him into the Captain¡¯s office, closing it behind him. Captain Elspen sat at her desk, an irritated look covering her face. Standing to the side of her desk, looking over the spines of the tomes on the office¡¯s bookshelf, Magister Wixon hummed and muttered to himself, completely unaware of the Captain¡¯s mood. The three guardsmen came to stand at attention in front of the desk, Second Lieutenant Trakov Sokola at Jean¡¯s left shoulder and Guardsman Franz Diolle at his right. ¡°Orders are in, Lieutenant. Faster than I expected, but they sent them back with the Magister here.¡± Wixon, belatedly realizing the presence of three new people in the room, twirled about in his flowing robes to face them, one hand grabbing at his beard. Giving them a refreshed smile, he spoke. ¡°Ah, good good. Orders, she says! From the 1st General himself, as well! At least, probably. Wasn¡¯t there myself, much too busy with that kid¡¯s theory. I was right, you know, he certainly has a thing for lizards, heh, it was clear as-¡± ¡°Magister, perhaps you could finish this at another time, the orders given are quite crucial.¡± The Captain gave Wixon a hard glare, one most of the guard would see in their nightmares for weeks if directed at them, but the mage simply sniffed and nodded, looking quite ruffled at the interruption. ¡°Quite important, very well. Go ahead.¡± Giving him an even more irritated look, Captain Elspen lifted a parchment to the light, its opened envelope and royal seal lying below it on the desk. ¡°I¡¯ll spare you three the flowery language they love to use, so listen up. Like I thought, you are to keep in contact with this new dragon, avoid angering her, all what you are already doing when possible. If it were just that, I wouldn¡¯t have called you three here. I have discussed this with Lieutenant Sokola and the Magister, but what I am about to tell you will remain between us for the foreseeable future.¡± Jean nodded, somber expression gaining another layer of concern. Whatever this was, it didn¡¯t sound good. Was it related to Mia? Her mother? Esther, or the lizardkin? Captain Elspen placed the letter back on her bureau, and met all three of their stares. ¡°It is almost certain that the skirmishes between The Kingdom of Rolland and the Duchy of Oremis will escalate into full-fledged war, and that the Kingdom of Grennos will join on the side of Rolland.¡± She stopped to let the two younger guards take in the information, the room quiet save Magister Wixon¡¯s robes rustling as he idly flipped through a book. ¡°Captain, that is¡­¡± ¡°The Magister, Lieutenant Sokola, myself; frankly, most people privy to the full situation in the north agree. During the Magister¡¯s trip to the capital, the seer personally hired by the Royal Family from the Ildraeth Conclave confirmed our suspicions. It is all but certain.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°That means¡­¡± Trakov cleared his throat, and Elspen nodded at him. ¡°Franz, First Lieutenant, the last time all three of those nations were in the same war, the continent was thrown into total chaos. We cannot allow what happened then to occur again. If¡­ those in the north want to starve through the next dozen winters, it doesn¡¯t matter, but if the Kingdom doesn¡¯t take certain measures our own foodstocks will be at risk. Since Oremis will likely be on the losing end, we may have luck, but we must be prepared.¡± ¡°Indeed. But while they may be the least populated, it will still be a bloody war. Some of the Royal mages, as well as the Elven seer looked over Oremis¡¯s recent transactions¡­ it¡¯s safe to say that they are sparing no expenses to hire mercenaries. Spiral Islanders, maybe even the Dullahans. I trust you two understand what this means?¡± Franz nodded uncertainly, and Jean did the same before meeting his Captain¡¯s eyes. ¡°And our orders, I presume they are related to the preparations Olivar will be making?¡± Captain Elspen nodded, uncharacteristically playing with the parchment on her desk, folding an edge over. ¡°As a preliminary measure, scouts will be sent north acting as civilians to assess the state of every involved party, including the Spine Cities. I suspect Esther will do the same, as they¡¯d be worse off than us, but the primary mission would be intelligence gathering and avoiding suspicion or capture.¡± Jean heard Franz gulp at that, and Trakov shift postures. ¡°Lieutenant Sokola is the easiest choice for this, given his experience and appearance, he wouldn¡¯t get a second look. Aside from him, I was given discretion to choose a few others from the Scouting Corps¡¯ reserves. First Lieutenant Martine, I believe this is an invaluable chance for you to gain real experience. The same goes for you, Diolle.¡± ¡°Wait, what, what about-¡± ¡°Guardsman Diolle, this is an order from the Captain, and one coming straight from Baralis.¡± The Captain raised her hand, silencing Trakov. The Magister, having not said a word since the beginning, was now leaning against the bookshelf, arms folded and watching the conversation with a rare solemn expression. Elspen muttered a few words under her breath, Jean hearing ¡®just like his father¡¯ among other exasperated words, and as she looked to Jean first and then Franz, her expression softened somewhat. ¡°Diolle, I have already discussed it with the Magister, Lieutenant Sokola, and Lieutenant Dorin. I have other reasons than just gaining experience for sending the two of you. I figured I would need to convince you, that just an order wouldn¡¯t be enough. I assume you will listen?¡± Franz gave her an unsteady nod, face flushed. ¡°For Martine, I plan to use that contact of yours as your method of passing through the Spine Cities. The merchant Traveler you befriended?¡± It was Jean¡¯s turn to get flustered, as he blurted out a question. ¡°Who- do you mean Henri? How do you mean?¡± ¡°Yes. We have already sent out someone to contact him. He was reported to be in the Southern Entrance Zone of the Spine Cities, so if he agrees you all will meet him there. He regularly makes trips through the Spine Cities delivering grain, weapons and gems, so you and Sokola will act as hired guards for his merchandise. We are relying on you to mediate with the merchant Henri, as you are already friends. Diolle, given his experience before joining the Guard, will act as an apprentice merchant until you reach the Northern Entrance Zone, where you three will leave him and fulfill your mission. Lieutenant Dorin will act as temporary First Lieutenant in your absence, Martine.¡± Jean was thought about the situation, about seeing the merchant he¡¯d befriended a while back. Another Traveler who had arrived in Draughton a few years after Jean, Henri had come from Earth as well; from France on top of that, Jean¡¯s homeland. Henri, a merchant in his previous life, had gotten to know his fellow Frenchman while gathering funds to continue his trade in this new world, even if the difference in language between a 21st century french speaker like Jean and one from the 19th century had been an odd hurdle to overcome. ¡°Ca-Captain Elspen, with all due respect, that¡¯s all well and good, but what about Mia? I can¡¯t, I mean, I shouldn''t just leave-¡± ¡°.........Franz, calm down. I understand your connection with this dragon, at least in some way, but that¡¯s the other reason for this assignment. Wixon, Trakov, Lunia and I¡­ believe it best to lessen involvement with this ¡®Mia¡¯.¡± Jean stared at the Captain¡¯s face, her expression gentler than any he¡¯d seen on her as she spoke to Franz. Magister Wixon¡¯s expression was not his usual carefree grin either, but was instead entirely unreadable, his arms crossed and back rigid. ¡°But that order, it said to maintain contact, to continue what we¡¯re doing, that breaking communications could be disastrous-¡± ¡°I know what it said, and what I said. You should understand then how sensitive this mission in the north is if I¡¯m willing to ignore those consequences? You introduced Mrs. Miller to the dragon earlier today, correct? While you are away, this ¡®Mia¡¯ will have no shortage of people to talk to. The Miller family, Lunia, or Wixon can all keep her company if it becomes a problem. Of course I am worried, but the dragons living among the shadows of this land have stayed silent for 500 years, we have much more immediate problems to deal with.¡± Franz opened and shut his mouth several times, at a loss for words. Jean saw him look to him and Trakov for help, and to even Wixon, but the only one who met his eyes was the Magister, who gave him an expressionless look. Looking back to Captain Elspen, she addressed Franz again. ¡°May I remind you, Diolle, that you were never supposed to find out about the dragon¡¯s nest? Did you forget so soon a punishment was coming?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°Then you have your orders, guardsman. You all do. It will be some time before you depart: not for a few weeks while we settle things with the merchant Henri. Martine, I entrust you with informing this dragon that you and Diolle will be away for some time due to work. Dismissed.¡± Jean saluted the Captain and Magister Wixon, and looked to Trakov, who nodded and mouthed ¡®a moment¡¯. Jean then took Franz¡¯s elbow, shoved open the heavy oak door and steered him out of the room. Trakov, once the two sets of footsteps had mostly receded, looked at Magister Wixon dulled eyes and then to Captain Elspen. ¡°Ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Trakov, you know what you need to do. I¡¯m sorry for making you handle this.¡± ¡°Not at all, Captain, it is my duty.¡± Trakov saluted, nodded his head to the Magister, and left the room to catch up with the younger guards. The door gave a heavy CLUNK as it fell into place, the two remaining people in the Captain¡¯s office letting the silence grow for several minutes. It was the fire mage who spoke first, stroking his beard. ¡°That was quite the show, Aida. You were never one to be so informal with subordinates.¡± The Captain of the Guard watched him approach and lean on her desk¡¯s edge facing the door, and she ran a hand through her braided greying hair. ¡°I think I was right to never have children, Wixon. I¡¯d be right shit at it.¡± Wixon barked out a short laugh, edges of his mouth turning into a sympathetic smile. ¡°You showing affection is worse than watching a Dullahan try to sail, Aida. Once you hit my age it only gets worse, mind you.¡± Captain Elspen gave the old Archmage a sideways squint and grunted. ¡°I thought I was so smart for not having kids too. But at my age, Aida, no one even listens to you. And the kids all have grandkids, hoho.¡± ¡°Unlike you, I don¡¯t go around looking for apprentices to call my grandchildren.¡± The mage gave her a cheery grin over his shoulder, letting a comfortable silence rise between them once more. This time, it was the grizzled Guard Captain who broke it. ¡°I just wished I knew this was the right decision. For Franz, for Jean, Hells, for the Kingdom¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me, I wish I could¡¯ve just asked a single question about the dragons when I was in the capital. That diviner Elf would¡¯ve helped, one way or another.¡± ¡°You know those seers never take personal requests, Wixon.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a matter of state, I could¡¯ve done something¡­¡± ¡°You definitely know how expensive a single question would be, even countries richer than ours have to choose what they ask carefully. Besides, knowing you, you would¡¯ve wasted the question asking after some useless magical artifact.¡± The mage leapt from his seat on the desk, spinning around with an innocent grin on his face, his arms spread to look at the Captain. ¡°Aida, dear, I¡¯m better than that, you¡¯ve known me for how long now?¡± ¡°Long enough to see all your hair fall out, at least,¡± she grumbled. ¡°Ohohoho, don¡¯t jostle my memory too much, I might remember how you stared at me back in the day, I always could tell!¡± ¡°Pff, I just wanted to see that red hair before it was gone like everyone else, don¡¯t flatter yourself.¡± Aida gave the Magister a tight smile, tired from everything save for lack of sleep, and stood up from her desk. ¡°I¡¯ll let you handle your side of things then. I¡¯ll have my hands full managing the city with two of my officers gone.¡± ¡°Of course, Lunia and I¡¯ll take care of it. I¡¯ll have your First Lieutenant introduce me to this ¡®Mia¡¯ soon. It¡¯s about time.¡± ¡°I suppose it is, Wixon.¡± The Archmage walked to the door, one hand stroking his white beard thoughtfully. He placed two fingers of his free hand on the oak door and pushed. It swung open with ease, and he turned to say his farewell. ¡°Always a pleasure, my lady.¡± He closed the door absentmindedly with a hand, hearing a snort as it shut. Giving his bushy goatee one last tug, he folded both arms into the folds of his robes and began walking back to his own office and assistant. By the time he exited the Guard¡¯s headquarters, his mind was already someplace else, pondering the nature of a dragon¡¯s magic, how his own flames might compare to the legends of yore, or if that whelp¡¯s dissertation from the capital could be tied to a lizard¡¯s much removed, much larger, and much more dangerous cousin. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was nearing dusk when the dragon began her gradual descent, her scales seemingly changing every moment between a burnt red and a regal gold. Meeting my brother¡¯s eyes, we both peeked over the side of Rehm¡¯s frame, and were met with sparsely scattered woods rising and falling gently over lazy hills. Stone and dirt mixed in the areas not covered by the canopy, and a glance up made it abundantly clear how far we had flown in just a day: the rising wall of the Dragonspine Mountains were close enough to begin making out the details of the steep cliff faces. Eventually Rehm landed, gracefully finding an opening in the woods as we hopped from her back. Rested and a bit sore from a day¡¯s worth of laying around, both of us stretched as Rehm walked forward. My brother following just behind her tail, I fluttered around through the air, not satisfied with just riding through the air all day. Rising up to see past my mother¡¯s crimson scales, I saw what I knew to be the entrance to where our gathering would be held. A massive arc of rock, the gateway to a cavern sunk halfway into the earth, covered with stubborn shrubs and trees hanging precariously from the cracks between stones, opened and leading deeper underground into blackness. Staying behind Mother, we were led down into the cave, our eyes adjusting instantly from the gloom of the evening outside to the pitch blackness of the inside. We made our way down the sloped tunnel, tall enough and wide enough for at least a dragon or two to pass by comfortably. I glanced at the walls, and from floor to ceiling every surface radiated a faint essence of mana, unknown yet familiar. I spotted several side passages, but it seemed no one else was here; at least, until we reached the end of the main passage, as Rehm turned her head back and addressed us quietly. ¡°We are early, but not the first. Children, we must greet the Elder. Follow.¡± She moved forward, as delicately as I had ever seen her walk. Giving my brother a pat on his scaly head, we both followed, as the inner room¡¯s entrance gave way to a sprawling cavern, several times wider than our home, with translucent black stalactites glowing above us. We made our way silently to the far end of the cave, where a single dragon waited, laying atop the center platform of five raised beds of granite. Stopping in front of the dragon, Rehm, on all fours, curved her neck downwards, tail matching the motion, and we copied her. As we bowed, I took in the creature in front of me. Even laying down as it was, head and tail curling towards us, I could see the age and wisdom marking its scales. They shone faintly in the pale light that emanated from the hanging stalactites, each scale an individual work of art carved from crystal. As the dragon shifted its lithe body, I could see it was smaller than Rehm, both in length and weight, but not in presence. Standing up on its hindlegs, two translucent silver wings outstretched, the Elder looked from Rehm, to my brother, and to me. Its eyes, two intelligent orbs the same icy silver as its scales, met my fascinated gaze. On any human, no, on any other creature, the hue of its eyes would have led me to assume it blind; but from one look I felt as though the Elder could see everything about me, about all of us. Turning its gaze back to Rehm, the Elder spoke out to all three dragons of my family in a quiet voice, shattering the blanket of silence that had settled over the room. ¡°Welcome, young ones. As long as I breathe, welcome.¡± Chapter 13: Identities The pale dragon stayed entirely still, locking gazes with Rehm. Rehm held eye contact with the Elder, neck unbent and frame proud. ¡°As always Jyun, you enjoy tempting fate as much as possible.¡± Jyun blinked once, deliberately, the rest of his pearlescent body eerily still. ¡°Fate is an old friend, she does not mind.¡± ¡°It is good to have friends both older and wiser than oneself, hm?¡± Rehm gave the ancient dragon the playful look I had seen countless times in the months I¡¯d spent as her daughter before she broke their little staring contest by drifting gracefully to the raised platform directly next to Jyun. Landing next to it, her weight making no sound, she placed a foreclaw on its edge. My brother and I waited, still half-bowed, unwilling to shatter the tranquility that filled the cavern. ¡°So these are the two reasons the gathering was delayed, Rehm? They take after you much more than I¡¯d expected.¡± Suddenly under the spotlight of Jyun¡¯s gaze, we froze up, almost enchanted by his milky eyes. I was unable to speak, not from any spell or trick, but from a dry throat. Not that I really wanted to say anything; the Elder¡¯s stare alone was unsettling enough. Before he could say anything more, Rehm answered him. ¡°My.. apologies for that. They hatched much further apart than I expected, though I suspect it is due to her circumstances.¡± I now found both adult dragons focusing on me alone, Rehm still next to the raised bed of granite and Jyun still motionless on his back legs. I thought I caught a sigh escape the Elder¡¯s closed mouth as he finally moved again, reverting to a lounging position on his seat. He settled his head on a willowy arm, and for a moment it seemed as though he might shatter into a thousand crystal shards. Instead, he simply stretched to get comfortable. ¡°Children, as I said, welcome. Until the end of this gathering, treat this place as your home. Most will not arrive until tomorrow, at least, so do what you please until then.¡± The hatchling by my side nervously looked to Rehm, and with her affirmation he bowed his head and turned to leave, wings twitching subconsciously. I half-turned to follow him as he peeked my way expectantly, but Jyun ushered only him on. ¡°Your sister will join you soon, I wish to ask her something.¡± With this he hurriedly flew out of the spacious room, leaving me standing awkwardly in front of two massive dragons centuries my senior. The older of the two chose his words after a pause, and stated his question rather than asking it. ¡°You come from another land entirely, don¡¯t you.¡± His voice was subdued, entirely placid, and Rehm still faced away from us. Well, I expected as much. Even if Rehm never asked about it, at some point¡­ I gulped, the noise unsettlingly loud, and gave the only answer I could. ¡°Yes.¡± Jyun¡¯s tail flicked, and he seemed satisfied, either with himself or with my answer. I just stared at him, the mana-infused air of the cave settling into silence. That¡¯s it? That¡¯s all you have to say? Really? My own tail twitched in irritation. ¡°Is it a problem?¡± My hand shot up to my mouth, covering it despite the fact that were we conversing telepathically. Dammit Mia, isn¡¯t this guy even older than Rehm, he could probably kill you with a single finger?? Jyun still didn¡¯t move save his tail, and he responded in the same calming tone as before. ¡°I fear it will become one. It-¡± ¡°It will NOT become a problem.¡± Rehm snapped her head around to glare at Jyun, teeth bared in a snarl and eyes burning with anger. Even if her fury was directed at someone else, I still flinched in a brief surge of instinctive terror. The target of Rehm¡¯s words didn¡¯t react as she continued. ¡°She is my child, and hatched from the egg I laid. I will not tolerate this becoming a problem.¡± Hissing the final words at Jyun, Rehm locked gazes with his pale eyes, but neither dragon was willing to look away. ¡°I did not say I had an issue with your spawn, Rehm. I intend to abide by your wishes, out of respect for you if nothing else.¡± His words did nothing to cool her head, and I thought I saw tendrils of smoke snaking out from between her teeth. Even so, the Elder pressed on. ¡°Some of the others will undoubtedly complain or cause trouble, that is all I mean.¡± ¡°Well, I do not intend to let any of those damned lizards touch her. Touch either of my children.¡± ¡°...I know.¡± With that Jyun closed his eyes and conceded, stretching the joints of his hazy wings. I hadn¡¯t moved so much as a muscle, my claws clenched tightly. Rehm seemed to remember I was still in the room, and the anger in her eyes receding a touch as she looked to me. As she did, Jyun¡¯s wings reached out to either side but remained unfurled and frozen as he floated from his seat, craning his neck to address us. ¡°Child, I apologize. In this place, at least, no harm will come to you. Rehm¡­ there is one more thing we must discuss. In private.¡± I looked from one dragon to the other, seeing the brief confusion in my mother¡¯s expression. Her crimson face was still lined with irritation, but she gave a reluctant nod, and moved to follow Jyun. I felt a rush of her mana flow through my body as she established a private channel to speak to me. Her mana was familiar, comfortable; but roiled and burned in my veins, as if I had put my hand into the hearthfire instead of over it. ¡°Once the rest of the dragons arrive, stay by your brother as much as you can. Understood?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She gently slid a claw over my head, a ridiculous gesture given the size difference, but reassuring nonetheless. She beat her wings once to leave the ground, falling behind Jyun. I watched them leave the cavern through its only door, one dragon gliding like a phantom, wings unmoving, the other pushing with hers only occasionally. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Finally alone, I sucked in a huge breath of damp air and exhaled. I quickly tested all my limbs which had been locked in place, including my tail that was somehow extended straight out at a 45 degree angle. Frick, what am I, a housecat? My eyes now wandered about freely, taking in the empty room. The flat slabs of stone, which I now could see had been carefully carved into, each one showing a string of characters from some alphabet unknown to me. I squinted up, where the countless black stalactites oversaw everything from the ceiling, each letting out a faint light- ¡°I wonder, will you become angry if I say you¡¯re no true dragon?¡± Jumping back in surprise at the new voice, my head spun to find the source. It didn¡¯t take too long, as its owner was lounging on the slab opposite to Rehm¡¯s, a leg and an arm hanging off one edge. The dragon¡¯s head slothfully rested on a forearm, a bored eye watching me. I blinked once, then twice, making sure I wasn¡¯t imagining things. No, there was definitely a dragon in front of me, and wherever the hell he had come from I couldn¡¯t guess. Regaining my composure somewhat, I proceeded to promptly realize that I had bitten my tongue in my surprise and blood was currently welling in between my lips. I raised a claw to my mouth, and the dragon in front of me continued unbothered. ¡°Don¡¯t answer that, I don¡¯t really care either way. That old drake is right, though.¡± Swallowing some of the blood in my mouth, I reined in my thoughts enough to get a question out. ¡°Wh-Where did you come from?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask stupid questions, human brat.¡± He shifted an arm, finding a better spot to lay his head, and inspected me briefly. I blinked, and he disappeared entirely. Where a lounging dragon with dark green scales had been was now¡­ nothing. Rather, I could see through the spot he¡¯d been to the back of the cavern. A moment later, he reappeared, still laying on the raised platform. ¡°You¡­ you¡¯ve been here the whole time?¡± All I got in return was a grin full of jagged teeth. A sickly white tongue slithered between a row of pale yellow knives nearly as tall as me, most of which were chipped or scarred to some degree. A dark orb watched me from behind the malicious smile, waiting. I tore my stare away and rubbed my face with the back of a claw, and sighed. Compared to the Elder or Rehm¡¯s fury, I barely felt the pressure of this dragon¡¯s gaze. ¡°Well, whatever, what do you want? Eavesdropping is pretty rude, you know.¡± The eavesdropper raised his head to take me in with both eyes and stopped grinning, dejected. ¡°Keh, no fun. Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t get either of your parents¡¯ tempers? How boring, maybe the other brat did.¡± Closing his eyes and resuming his lazy demeanor, he continued. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything I didn¡¯t already know, brat. Why do you think they left when they needed privacy?¡± ¡°Nothing¡­ you didn¡¯t already know? Then-¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a fool, child, it¡¯s not difficult to figure out. I¡¯ve seen things like you before. Halfers, demihumans, whatever.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen¡­ others like me? From another world?¡± ¡°Most of them weren¡¯t. But some were. And every time, they were killed, or exiled.¡± I glared at the dragon, who if I didn¡¯t know any better looked asleep and at peace. He was¡­ he was kind of a dick. But¡­ my mother didn¡¯t seem very talkative about people from other worlds assuming she knew anything, and the Elder had been content with just confirming it. ¡°So what, will I be lynched by you and the other dragons then? The Elder didn¡¯t seem too keen on that.¡± ¡°Kekeh, how should I know? All the ones I¡¯ve seen like you were of other species. And the lower races do enjoy ripping themselves apart. For you, though? Maybe, maybe not.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s reassuring, thanks.¡± He opened an eye again to look at me, his voice tinged in irritation. ¡°It won¡¯t happen in this damned place, at least. That drake has always been determined to keep us from killing each other, as much as some of the mountain whelps try to copy lower beings.¡± Meeting his glare with one of my own, I crossed my arms and flicked my tail haphazardly about. ¡°If you don¡¯t like these gatherings, then why are you here?¡± ¡°Brat, I¡¯m only here to watch all the self-important wyverns bicker with each other. I¡¯d hoped you would take after your parents and I could see something interesting, but I guess it wasn¡¯t to be.¡± ¡°You keep saying that, about me taking after my parents? If you wanna say something then spit it out.¡± Ruffling the wings tucked between his shoulder blades, the jade dragon in front of me made an exasperated sound. ¡°You saw some of it yourself, just now. Your mother and father both are quick to anger and slow to cool off. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m risking my tail getting them pissed, though there are some less¡­ discerning here.¡± Despite saying he didn¡¯t want to piss my parents off, I couldn¡¯t help but think he didn¡¯t spare a single thought for me, or anyone else. Still¡­ ¡°You¡­ then you know who my father is?¡± ¡°Hah? Yeah, brat. Wish I didn¡¯t though.¡± Swallowing my instinctive, somewhat vulgar response, I calmed my thoughts and continued in a diplomatic tone. ¡°All I heard about him from Mother is that he lives in the mountains, so I wanted to know more...¡± ¡°What more is there to know? His territory is near the central peaks. Why do you care?¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s my father, for one. Why wouldn¡¯t I want to know about him?¡± He glanced at me as if I was insane, and rolled his eyes. ¡°Know more about him? What an absurd notion, halfling. He stays among the mountains, like the rest of them. I was surprised he even mated with your mother, you know, ever since she made her nest down here.¡± I don¡¯t know if it was something in his voice, or the way he spoke about my mother, or just his general demeanor, never facing me to speak. Whatever it was, I had enough. ¡°Fine, whatever, I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m even asking you. Rehm told me none of the dragons here live in the mountains, but at least she has a reason! With your attitude, they probably fucking chased you off the mountain-¡± I¡¯d been glaring straight at the jerk reclining on the granite bed, and even so I didn¡¯t see him move. It took my mind a few faltering seconds to register the weight pressing down on my body, the pressure nearly causing my knees to buckle underneath two clawed fingers, each placed on one of my shoulders. No longer was the dragon draped on his stomach like a lizard baking in the sun; instead my view was filled with his menacing visage the color of uncut emeralds, two dark eyes piercing into me, his bored expression vanished. We stood like that for a moment, his green scales glittering gently in the faint light, my own scaled arms shining to match but unable to move an inch. ¡°Just because I don¡¯t do something, does not mean I can¡¯t. Remember to watch your tongue, brat, in case you bite it again.¡± With a sweep of his arm, he returned to his spot and laid down. The pressure blanketing my shoulders and suffocating the air around me receded, but I found myself unable to move a muscle for the second time today. Sparing a glance my way, the green dragon flicked his tail dismissively, and spoke as if nothing had happened. ¡°Well, maybe something interesting will happen after all. Be sure to give me a good show tomorrow, halfling.¡± My tail twitched, and I unfurled my wings briskly to fly from the room. I shot through the cavern¡¯s entrance and into its sloped hall, claws clenching and unclenching as I passed several natural entrances leading to side passages, including one I felt my mother¡¯s mana drifting lightly from. I kept on flying until I found the room I was searching for, a natural cave with a low ceiling halfway from the complex¡¯s entrance that was filled with various preserved animal corpses, and one tiny red dragon. As I entered, I saw faded blue writing along each wall, including the ceiling and floor, that flickered with a feeble light every few seconds. At the center of the room, my brother had his face halfway inside of the corpse of a very odd-looking elk-moose hybrid thing. His red tail was raised and swaying contentedly, and he was happily munching away. Drifting up to land lightly beside him, I avoided looking at his snack, instead poking a dead wolf with ash grey fur. The knot in my stomach from dealing with older dragons very quickly resolved itself, in order to be replaced with another knot of equal intensity that threatened to send my last meal back up. The part that made it all worse was knowing that I¡¯d be unable to resist doing the same as my brother if I was just a bit hungrier. ¡°How are you hungry already? We just ate.¡± Sitting back from his food, my brother shot me a toothy grin full of viscera and gore. It was somehow the least terrifying smile I¡¯d seen all day. ¡°What do you mean, sis? It¡¯s normal to eat like this, it¡¯s you who¡¯s weird!¡± ¡°Huh? That¡¯s no way to talk to your elders¡­ come back when you decide on a name.¡± Using the back of a claw to wipe some of the blood off his face, and instead only succeeding in spreading it further across his jaw, my brother gave me a triumphant look. ¡°I think I¡¯ve decided, actually. But it¡¯s a secret! Since you never told me yours.¡± I gave him a poke in the side before he could dodge, the pit in my stomach feeling lighter already. I watched the dragon next to me try to wipe his face on some fur, and only got half of the gore off. ¡°Bro.. do you think I¡¯m a dragon?¡± ¡°Yeah? What else would you be?¡± Meeting his confused eyes, I found myself scratching my head and feeling a bit embarrassed. ¡°Well, even with how different I look?¡± My brother¡¯s confused expression remained just as bewildered, an uncomprehending look in his eyes. ¡°Won¡¯t¡­ won¡¯t you look like Mother when you get older?¡± For a moment I didn¡¯t understand, but soon a chuckle was ripped from my lips, and a cascade of laughter followed it. My brother, to his credit, remained determined in the face of my laughter, the indignation barely showing on his face. ¡°Hahah¡­ no, no that won¡¯t happen. I¡¯ll probably look like this my entire life.¡± Even more confused now than before, my brother seemed to give the matter some deep thought, before scratching at his neck with a sharp claw and hazarding a guess. ¡°Well¡­ maybe you will at least get as big as her?¡± The image of Rehm and I standing side by side, both the size of a small two story condo was the final crack in the dam holding back my laughter. Hunched over, wheezing and gasping for air, I barely dodged a sucker punch from my now very miffed little brother. Stealing a pat on his head, I kicked off the ground still cackling unapologetically and raced off into the massive underground cave system. I wove from room to room dancing around him in the air, all the while hearing him threaten to burn me to a crisp and feed me to the first creature with sharp teeth he could find, the knot in my stomach less prominent than before. Storms Advent Tiss leered at the small device that was keeping him from cracking the safe. It was, he knew, one of the more expensive locks you could get from the mainland, and he¡¯d heard the money-humans claim it was impenetrable to both magic and physical lockpicking. That claim was only half true. The lock was enchanted to explode outward and then seal whatever it was attached to if magic was used to open it, making it the choice for every halfway wealthy merchant or shipowner in the Spiral Isles. Glancing around the room, Tiss rubbed the feathers covering his arms subconsciously. He was wearing a sleeveless white shirt and loose brown pants in the same style of the sailors always by the docks, and his target was apparently rich enough to buy a cooling enchantment for the room. Tiss also knew it wasn¡¯t the only enchantment here, glancing back and forth to every single trap and alarm he¡¯d scouted before the job and imagining their effects. With one last look around the room, he turned back to his target in the desk¡¯s hidden compartment and gently lifted the device with his curved fingers. One problem, he thought, with a lock as effective as this: the lazier humans would all end up with the same defences. Well, not his problem, as this was the sixth one he¡¯d picked since the model had started showing up on the island. Holding the lock in one talon, Tiss used the smallest needle-like claw on his other hand and a thin iron pick to start working the contraption open. Impenetrable to magic and lockpicks, huh? Definitely only half true, and Tiss thought it was lucky he didn¡¯t know any magic. Hearing the final click, the lock popped open peacefully. Tiss inspected the small safe¡¯s door briefly before grasping a charm woven from branches and gently opening the safe. Just because he didn¡¯t need magic didn''t mean he was willing to risk his target being paranoid. His caution was unnecessary, however, when nothing happened as he took one look at the contents of the safe and swiped it into his pouch. Standing back up straight, he retraced his steps back to the door. His human partner had told him he could distract Captain Maze Maudi and his mercenary guards for 10 minutes, and Tiss¡¯s time was almost up. Stalking as fast as he could while avoiding the security spells laid thick throughout the room, Tiss was only halfway out the final window to a quiet escape when he heard alarmed shouts from inside the building. Slipping the rest of the way out, he ran for the nearby edges of tropical jungle that lined the south of his home island. Behind him, he heard a particularly angry man yelling orders, and as he passed the first few trees a crossbow bolt thudded and reverberated in a trunk to his left. Not looking back, Tiss weaved through the low hanging vines and encroaching branches faster than any human, island native or not, could ever hope to. Another mistake by this Maze fellow, Tiss thought as he pushed off a dense thicket of thorned underbrush with his scarred taloned feet. The human had built his home just by the jungles, most likely because he¡¯d thought any threats would come from downhill where the rest of the humans lived. Maybe he did it to show off, having the highest building in the entire bay? Humans were weird like that. Tiss would much rather keep his belongings safe than put his home in full view of any enterprising young Kenku? On the other hand, maybe the mercenary wasn¡¯t too dumb, Tiss thought as he reached a sloped clearing and turned around. Afterall, no one lived in the jungles save a few Kenku, and most of the human islanders ignored his species¡¯ existence when possible. He thought of the hourglass he had imagined in his head, the grains of sand cascading at a constant rate, the time he now needed to stall for lessening every moment. Eventually, three towering humans bumbled into the clearing; making as much noise as they possibly could, in his opinion. When they saw him standing across the clearing, two of the three men instantly unloaded their crossbows at him. Moving before they¡¯d ever finished aiming, the first bolt was wild without any effort on his part and the second was lost in the jungle behind him, passing through the spot his chest had been.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. All three humans were equally red and huffing, unused to traveling the jungle at its constant slight upwards incline. The two crossbowmen seemed unsure what to do, looking at the third human for instruction. Much larger than most humans Tiss had ever seen, Maze Maudi had the typical tanned brown skin of the other islanders, and even the scars covering his face and arms were common among the seafaring people of the Spiral Isles. It was his eyes and his hair that set him apart from what Tiss understood about merchant-humans. While most of the other humans kept their dark brown and black hair long and braided, the head of the Krakensbane Mercenary Company had chopped his off completely. His steely eyes glared at Tiss, devoid of all emotions except for rage and disgust. Tiss didn¡¯t take it too personally, he knew this human was like that with everyone. ¡°Well, the thief¡¯s a bloody bird, of all things. Lucky for us though, it¡¯s not like you can fly away.¡± Tiss stayed silent, counting down the second deadline his partner had given him. ¡°Not gonna sing for us, eh?¡± ¡°Lucky, lucky.¡± Maze¡¯s forehead popped a few veins at his own voice coming out of the Kenku¡¯s beak, and signaled his two subordinates. ¡°Always mockin¡¯ us, even ¡®til the end. Now then..¡± In the next moment, one crossbowmen dropped his weapon, pulled out a short cutlass and advanced, the second began forcing the string of his crossbow back to reload, and Maze warily moved to encircle the Kenku. A few more seconds, then¡­ before the men could get too close, Tiss tightened the muscles in his legs and jumped straight up, grasping a low hanging branch before smoothly spinning into a perch atop it. With one last look at the three humans, and Tiss started leaping from branch to branch, as slow as he dared to. The humans had come into his territory, his home, and were trying to chase him down - he couldn¡¯t resist a bit of fun watching them struggle hacking through the thicket. He glanced up, letting the slowest of the three humans catch up, and saw the bright blue sky filtering through the canopy. His people, Tiss knew, were never meant to soar through the skies. Without wings, the Kenku had always been destined to watch as their feathered kin flew about freely, never restrained to the dirt. When Tiss ran among the branches and treetops in the jungle he was borne to he understood it was the closest he could ever get. A trickle of doubt now entered his mind, but it was erased immediately. He knew this day would be the last time he¡¯d step foot in his home, as long as Maze Maudi and his Krakensbane were based on the island. And he¡¯d known this when he made the deal with that other captain, the one that always argued loudly with Maze. But it was too late now to change his mind, and so Tiss jumped from tree to tree, talons digging into bark to find purchase as the three figures struggled below him. Tiss quickly reached the opposite edge of the jungle, as it thinned out and revealed the highest point of the island. He stood at its edge, only a few strides from the end of the inverted cliff, hundreds of feet tall with the choppy azure of the sea far below him. Behind him, the humans limped exhaustively out of the trees, and climbed the slight slope as the one that had kept his crossbow began to reload once more. A flock of seabirds rode the wind in the distance, and swirling gusts of wind ruffled the feathers of his arms and filled his loose clothes. He imagined the hourglass for his partner¡¯s second deadline, watching with his mind¡¯s eye as the last few grains of sand trickled away. Tiss didn¡¯t bother checking the humans behind him as he took a few steps towards the ledge. Muscles bunching, talons pushing outwards, the Kenku leapt as far as he could; seeing the seabirds surging forwards on the same swelling wind he felt at his back. If he¡¯d been paying attention, he might have heard Maze Maudi yelling like a madman behind him. Or maybe he would have noticed the ship lurking silently below, concealed by the cliffs, a flag whipping in the wind atop its tallest mast: a pale white hand emblazoned on a dark blue background, fingers outstretched upward as if beckoning the sky. Tiss didn¡¯t see any of this, however, as his eyes were set on some faraway place. Arms spread, wind at his back, sky and sea mingling on the distant horizon, nothing else mattered. For now, Tiss knew, he was flying. Storms Advent (2) Captain Dauvi Wavechaser was shouting orders the moment he saw the figure leap from the cliff, each command expertly laced with swears from his 30 years sailing the currents of the Spiral Sea. Scores of his crew were swarming the deck in an organized chaos; nearly all were old and experienced deckhands he¡¯d led for years. Dauvi held the last order off, waiting for the voice of his newest subordinate. ¡°FEATHERFALL!¡± Hearing the young man frantically cry out the spell, Dauvi bellowed instructions at his Helmsman, Cott, without listening for the ¡°Aye, Cap''n" that was yelled back. The massive wheel began to spin as the man steered the vessel, The Bellhaunt, away from the cliff face and the treacherous rocks lurking underneath the water¡¯s surface. He¡¯d asked for a miracle when coming to Cott with his plan of navigating the shallows, but the Rollander helmsman a once younger and newly minted Captain Dauvi had found 15 years prior had yet to disappoint him. If it came down to it, Dauvi Wavechaser would bet his ship and his life on the man¡¯s skills. Turning away, the captain looked to his newest crew member, watching the boy yell instructions at the aero- and hydromages positioned on the deck. Voice cracking, the mage hurried his men, wind filling the sails and water parting and surging under the boat. Dressed in cheap blue and white robes common to mainlander sorcerers, Dauvi thought his Helmsmage, Afyni, looked quite silly running about shouting at men and women decades his senior, but the casters in his command followed every order with the ease and efficiency developed only through years of practice. Dauvi had worried quite a lot when he¡¯d given the command of his mages to Afyni - who he doubted was old enough to shave - but it hadn¡¯t become a problem. Found wasting away as a poor yet bright apprentice to some mainlander merchant or other a year prior, Dauvi had purchased the boy¡¯s apprenticeship almost immediately. His investment in replacing his previous Helmsmage had paid off already, it seemed, as Afyni¡¯s dark hair had turned a brilliant blue in recent months, the sign of a young mage highly talented in controlling water. Perhaps it was that, in addition to the teenager¡¯s quick hand, that had earned the trust of the other mages, all more seasoned sailors. He approached the last figure on the deck, now standing with both hands rested on the railing, his brown and grey feathers stirring slightly in the wind, staring back at the cliff he¡¯d been atop of so recently. Coming to a stop aside the Kenku, Dauvi felt the breeze play with the long black hair he typically tied into a loose ponytail, and stayed silent. He didn¡¯t think it necessary to ask any useless questions about the success of the job. Some would call it seaway robbery, of course, but in the mercenary business Dauvi had always considered that part of the hazard pay. The humanoid bird had his eyes locked on the cliff¡¯s edge, gazing with a reluctant expression until both men saw the movement hundreds of feet up. They were gaining speed every passing moment, and the men at the cliff¡¯s edge were quickly becoming distant specks, but Maze Maudi¡¯s furious movements were easy to distinguish. He knew he was burning some bridges - Drowned Gods maybe all of them - but Captain Dauvi Wavechaser of the Storm Herald Mercenary Company and Captain Maze Maudi of the Krakensbane Mercenary Company had hated each other¡¯s guts from the moment they met. ¡°Can fly, can fly.¡± Dauvi was startled out of his thoughts at the sound of Maze Maudi¡¯s voice next to him, instinctively reaching for his cutlass, but quickly laughed off his reaction as the Kenku mimicking the man¡¯s voice turned to face him. Dauvi didn¡¯t have much experience reading the facial expressions of a Kenku, but the turbulent emotions raging on his face were clear as the water of an island bay. As far as either Dauvi or his newest work associate knew, Tiss was the first Kenku to ever leave their home island, or even step foot on a boat for that matter. ¡°Ain¡¯t much difference between flying and falling, to my eyes. Come on, we¡¯ve got some business to discuss, I doubt Maze will stay put.¡± Leading Tiss to his own personal quarters, walking slowly to allow the Kenku to get used to his new sea legs, Dauvi motioned for his helmsmage to follow them. The three entered Dauvi¡¯s quarters, where he led them to a map spread on a table. It marked the three main islands of the Spiral Isles, as well as all of the smaller islets that were dotted around them, haphazardly scattered about by the gods. The left side of the map showed the coastline of Enta, the continent bulging out the further north it went. Between the landmasses, countless lines and arrows denoted the many currents that shifted throughout each season. Tiss and Afyni both inspected the map: neither of them very knowledgeable of the Spiral Sea¡¯s ever changing temperament. Dauvi had long ago memorised every subtle shift in the currents from season to season, every whirlpool that might appear overnight and every area that was prone to sea vessel-destroying tempests. Instead of looking to the map, he waited patiently for someone to join them. Only a few beats later, the door to the room swung open, and Dauvi¡¯s second in command walked in. His First Mate, Zafi, came to stand with them around the map. Dauvi was well-built for an islander, nearing 6¡¯4¡± and muscled from a lifetime of strenuous work at sea, but even so Zafi towered over him, her body thick with toned muscle. She was built like an ogre. Hells, she actually might be stronger than an ogre, but they¡¯d never had the chance to find out. ¡°Shanna?¡± Zafi met his eyes and responded. ¡°Says she¡¯s not coming above deck until we hit land.¡± Dauvi chuckled, glancing to the map for the first time while rubbing his chin. ¡°It¡¯ll be a month before we hit Tidefall, so let her try if she wants.¡± Zafi grunted in agreement, as they both glanced at where the port was marked on the map. It was the southernmost town on the northern half of Enta with a proper harbor, only a few miles north of the Dragonspine Mountains. And it had recently acquired new owners. Dauvi supposed the Duchy of Oremis taking Tidefall from the Kingdom of Rolland a few years back was the reason for their current situation, why he and a Kenku had made a deal to rob the captain of the Krakensbane Company, and why they were now headed for the mainland. ¡°Tiss, if you will.¡± Both Afyni and Tiss jumped slightly, startled from their inspections of the map at the sudden words. The Helmsmage pushed up the spectacles that hid underneath his mop of blue hair, and the Kenku nodded once before opening the pouch around his waist. He deftly started removing items and placing them on the map. Two rings, made of dull silver but shimmering ever so slightly with the telltale signs of magic enchantment, followed by a thumb-sized azure gem. A fourth item, a palm-sized flat stone engraved with intricate markings on it faces, joined them on the map. Dauvi saw the Kenku take something else in his hand, something made of carved wood, but said nothing when Tiss kept it in his pouch. Instead, Dauvi picked up the engraved stone, inspecting it in the glow of the room¡¯s magelight before pocketing it. ¡°Afyni, look over those with Shanna later, make sure they ain¡¯t got something dangerous on them.¡± Nodding at the rings, Dauvi rolled the gem over in his fingers as the mage claimed the magical accessories.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Tiss, well done. Maze is sure to follow us, but we got at least half a day¡¯s head start. Well, I doubt he could catch us if he were right on our asses.¡± The Kenku stayed silent and only gave a polite nod. Afyni was already distracted, one of the enchanted rings held close to his spectacles, and Zafi just crossed her arms. ¡°The job¡¯s not done yet. I won¡¯t feel good ¡®til we¡¯re drinking in a tavern in Tidefall.¡± Dauvi nodded at his First Mate¡¯s words. Using the tip of his new gem, he traced a path from the islet they¡¯d just left all the way to their destination. Their journey dipped far south, almost past the Dragonspine Mountains, before looping north again and finishing west towards the mainland. ¡°Early Autumn¡­ this is about the only way either us or Maze can get to Oremis. Goin¡¯ round up north¡¯s impossible, Rolland won¡¯t be happy with mercenaries from the Spiral Isles coming so close, not after Oremis started to hire ¡®em. No, Maze¡¯ll have to follow us, and I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a mage in his company that can keep up with Afyni.¡± Zafi glanced at the still very distracted Helmsmage, her expression loosening a bit. ¡°And once we get there?¡± ¡°A few days in Tidefall, see if we can¡¯t fill our ranks out. We leave the ship with Cott and two dozen crew and head inland for the entrance zone of the Spine Cities, recruit whoever¡¯s left, and by then I wager the fighting¡¯ll have started for real.¡± Zafi¡¯s lips pressed into a thin line, but she said nothing. Turning to the two men standing idly by, Dauvi first addressed Tiss. ¡°When we arrive, you can do what ya like. If you want to join up more permanently, the Storm Heralds''ll always welcome someone with your skills.¡± Pausing a moment in contemplation, Tiss met his eyes and responded. ¡°Join up, Storm Heralds.¡± As eerie as it was for Dauvi to hear his own voice come from the Kenku¡¯s beak, he pressed on with an easy grin anyways. ¡°Right then, welcome aboard. Go ahead and find an open bunk below decks, we¡¯ll figure out your pay tomorrow.¡± Tiss nodded and departed, leaving just the three mercenaries. ¡°Afyni, show the rings to Shanna. And I need us to reach Tidefall in a month, got it?¡± Afyni looked up from the ring in his palm and adjusted his spectacles, "Alright Captain, if that''s what you want.¡± Dauvi nodded at his Helmsmage as Afyni left, giving a sheepish smile to Zafi, who watched him as he walked out. Once it was just the two of them, Dauvi rolled a shoulder, stretching his muscles out. Looking at his second in command, he gave her a relaxed grin. ¡°Still like ¡®em skinny? Some things never change, ah?¡± Zafi gave him a scowl as she traced the edge of the table with a finger. Searching for his luckiest flask, Dauvi took a burning swig as his longtime partner said nothing, before placing it near her on the table. ¡°Well, spit it out, you look like ya want to say something.¡± Straightening up to her full frame, Zafi looked down at her Captain, eyes brimming with concern. ¡°All¡­ of this. This plan of yours. It¡¯s not like you.¡± Dauvi ran a hand over his coarse black hair, and agreed with her in his mind. ¡°I know that it¡¯s risky, but¡­ I don¡¯t think I can pass it up. And Maze already hated my hide, so nothin'' lost there.¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s not true. He has a lot of influence with the other companies, and we can¡¯t know for sure the Council will ignore this. Drowned Gods, we¡¯ve stolen an insignia! We¡¯re all here ¡®cause we trust you Dav, but this is mad!¡± Dauvi sighed. She was right, and he hated her for it, if only just a little. He and Maze Maudi, by sheer bad luck, had been born on the same small islet, near the harbors of the only town on the island. Both men had risen to the status of Mercenary Captain, but that was where the similarities ended. Dauvi had joined the Storm Heralds, a small company with only one ship, at the age of fifteen. Eight years in, he¡¯d become First Mate, and another seven later he was the Captain of his vessel, in command of its crew of 130 men and women, many of whom he¡¯d sailed alongside for most of his life. Where Dauvi and the Storm Heralds had stayed in the Spiral Sea west of the Kingdom of Rolland, Maze Maudi had made his fortune with his company Krakensbane, doing as the name suggests: hunting kraken in the Kraken Belt that lay between the two continents of Enta and Sosalli. Based in the independent trade city of Dawn¡¯s Edge, a major port in Dullahan territory located on the northwestern tip of the hourglassed-shaped Enta, Maze Maudi had built his company from a single 3-masted vessel to a fleet of 10 fully crewed kraken hunting ships, before eventually returning in his later years to the islet he hailed from. When he had returned, the insignificant bit of land in the southern region of the Spiral Isles had been home to a number of small companies, Dauvi¡¯s Storm Heralds among them. All the others had left within a single year, Maze¡¯s small fleet controlling the only harbor on the islet, but Dauvi had been too stubborn to leave his home and base the company elsewhere. After that¡­ Dauvi and Maze had been opposites in most everything, from methods of running a mercenary company to what alcohol they drank. Dauvi did feel a twinge of pain within him at Zafi¡¯s words, though they weren¡¯t for anything she¡¯d said. He couldn¡¯t give a sewage rat¡¯s ass about Maze or the council of tribal leaders that ruled from the three largest islands of the Spiral Isles; the pain was from imagining his home, the islet he¡¯d returned to after every voyage and hunt, shrinking as they sailed away. He knew, he simply knew somewhere in his heart that he¡¯d never come back, that he¡¯d die somewhere far from his home. But Dauvi Wavechaser was a mercenary, and a professional. Mercenaries couldn¡¯t put sentimental notions like this ahead of business, so he had made his decision. Letting a long sigh escape his lips, Dauvi offered a quick prayer, thanking Aenia for everything the Goddess of currents and lost sailors had done to help him in his life. It was time, he felt, for a leave from the seas. He¡¯d fight and earn his living on land for the foreseeable future, and he didn¡¯t dare try to predict what would come after. ¡°The Council will be the same as always, with water in their ears and sand for brains. They hate dealing with mercenaries, I¡¯m confident it won¡¯t be anything we can¡¯t handle.¡± His First Mate returned the sigh, her massive arms now timidly wrapped around herself, a pose that looked comical given her stature. Of course, given that stature, no one would ever laugh at the sight - Dauvi included. ¡°Probably true, but we¡¯ll have to deal with Maze at some point, Dav. Sweet Aenia, he¡¯s likely to have already sent someone to tell the Council and request a second insignia¡­¡± Dauvi felt the flat stone resting in his pocket with a hand: it was the only thing Tiss had stolen from Maze¡¯s home that mattered. An insignia, given by the Council to a very select few mercenary companies, allowing them to sign contracts with rulers and kings of other lands. Without one, working for the Duchy of Oremis or anyone else would have gotten Dauvi and his entire crew exiled from the Spiral Isles, and the Council would have been more than happy to send other companies after them to rid the world of a few pesky mercenaries. Word would get out that he had Maze¡¯s insignia, he¡¯d made sure of it; and the Council would almost certainly avoid dealing with the situation head on. Dauvi doubted they¡¯d exile him for this. ¡°Aye, you¡¯re right, Fi. I¡¯d wager they give Maze a new one and hope he comes to get revenge, let us mercs deal with each other.¡± Zafi gave him a somber look he couldn¡¯t decipher, regardless of how many years the two had worked together. Drowned Gods, Dauvi thought, we¡¯re getting old, aren¡¯t we. We all are. ¡°I¡¯d put us against any of that bastard¡¯s men in a fight, Dav. But even so¡­ Recruiting a Kenku? And we¡¯re going to fill our ranks with some random northerners? Like I said, it¡¯s not like you.¡± ¡°That Kenku¡­ I don¡¯t know, Fi. Tiss is different from the few I¡¯ve seen, even if we ignore him leaving the island with us. He got through all the wards and enchantments in Maze¡¯s house, and I don¡¯t know any human who could do that. And he hit a bunch of other places before this¡­ frankly if we had anything worth stealing in our storehouse we wouldn¡¯t¡¯ve stopped him. But if we have those skills¡­ I can think of a few things.¡± Dauvi played absentmindedly with the azure gem from Maze¡¯s safe with one hand, leaving his flask untouched on the table. ¡°And there won¡¯t be much left to recruit when we get there. Most of ''em will¡¯ve already signed on with someone. If we can find a couple earth mages, or some latecomers traveling up through the Spine Cities, then I¡¯m sure we can handle things.¡± Zafi stared at her captain, wishing she knew if his confidence was real or unfounded. With Dauvi, it was usually the former: hard-earned through years of fighting pirates from Rolland or exterminating the Drowned Folk who surfaced in their waterlogged boats, scavenged from the ocean floor. She wanted to trust him this time, and Aenia help her, she felt herself getting convinced. But she had to question him, if not as a First Mate then as a friend. ¡°I stand by my words Dav, as do the crew. We¡¯ll follow you, sea or land, but promise me this isn¡¯t some fool¡¯s errand, that you''ve gone mad from a life riding the currents.¡± Dauvi was silent for a few moments, eyes fixed on the gem in his fingers. A worthless trinket, he thought; he¡¯d give it to Shanna and let her make something for herself. Looking up, he gave Zafi a tight smile, edges of his dark eyes and mouth tinged with tiredness. ¡°I promise, Zafi. I promise.¡± Chapter 14: A Glimpse of Fate The room the Elder led Rehm into was somewhat different to the rest of the underground complex. It had, of course, the same faint glow of mana rich minerals across its walls and floor, as well as obsidian tinted stalactites reaching downwards from its ceiling, but most of the similarities ended there. For one, this room was much smaller than any other, big enough for at most 3 adult dragons at a time. The walls also seemed cut out of stone deliberately, artificially, in contrast to the natural caverns that tunneled around it. Rehm landed silently, and watched Jyun do the same next to the sole feature in the room. Near the back wall lay a mound, near identical to the five from the main cavern. The pale dragon looked over it a moment, eyes seeming older than the bedrock itself, and as he ran a ghostly claw over the mounds surface Rehm thought he might shatter. "You wanted privacy¡­ I could have sent her away?" Jyun didn''t turn or raise his claw, and remained facing the mound when he spoke. "This room is the only place I could be sure of." Still unsure, Rehm glanced back to the granite block, at the only marking that blemished its surface. An inscription, a single word carefully carved out in the delicate script of the lizardfolk language. Like many words and phrases from the lizardfolk language, it didn''t translate very well into other tongues, draconic included. Rehm could only get so close: -Cloud in a Clear Sky- As soon as she finished the thought, Rehm jerked back up to glare at the Elder. "Xin La is already here!?" Jyun simply inclined his ancient neck in response. "And.. and he was listening before? In the main hall??" Again Jyun gave a slight nod, but after a glance back at Rehm''s expression he added to it. "If you are worried about him knowing of your child''s unusual origins, do not. He would have known as soon as he laid eyes on her." "That''s not the problem Jyun! We just left her alone with that snaketailed-" "Rehm, please. You know Xin La as well as I do. He might become¡­ irritating occasionally, but he would not bring any harm to your children." Rehm glared at the older dragon, body tense and on the verge of launching back out of the room. Several seconds passed, and the rage boiling through her veins began to give ground to Jyun''s words. "And with what you said to me before, I sincerely doubt Xin La will do much but flap his maw tomorrow." "... You.. you''re probably right." Still simmering with anger, Rehm tried to think straight. "To be frank, Jyun... It is your whelp that I''m most worried about, not Xin La. Xin is too clever for his own good, but even he knows when to keep his tail out of the fire."This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Jyun seemed to hesitate, but his pearly eyes showed nothing but gentleness. "Nessera is¡­ well, you are likely correct. I will try to keep her from causing too much trouble, but unfortunately I''ve never been adept with those closest to me." "I will do nothing more than protect my children, Jyun." Jyun met her glare with a weathered look, and simply responded, ¡°I know.¡± Rehm, satisfied her point had been made sufficiently, glanced about the room doubtfully. ¡°And what was it you wished to say?¡± ¡°I was in contact with an old acquaintance recently, Rehm, a mutual friend of Fate. And she spoke to me of an impending death.¡± Rehm, still distracted and half eyeing the door that would lead back to Xin La and her child, snapped her gaze back to Jyun. Under the full attention of the crimson dragon centuries his younger, he deliberated before continuing, choosing every word with delicate care. ¡°Most creatures, from any race, will never know the time of their death. I am fortunate enough to have been warned, so that I may prepare.¡± Rehm stared at him for nearly a minute, gathering her thoughts in utter silence. Eventually, she responded. ¡°You¡¯re sure of this? There was no mistake?¡± Jyun let out an imperceptible sigh, directed not at the dragon in front of him but at the ceiling that dripped with ashen earth. ¡°She does not err in these things, and she would not lie. It was a message of goodwill, though I cannot help but feel I have so much still to do.¡± He floated slightly off the ground, wings unmoving and reflecting the room¡¯s meager light. Approaching his younger friend, he gave a tight smile in the face of her uncharacteristic silence. ¡°Saying that is somewhat unfair given my age, however true it seems to me.¡± ¡°... How long exactly, did she say?¡± ¡°It has already been some time since her warning. This is likely to be my last gathering.¡± Rehm grimaced, trying to keep the other more melancholic emotions from reaching her face. She wouldn¡¯t mourn her friend before his death, not while there was still time. She met Jyun¡¯s ghostly eyes, and for the millionth time in her life she got the feeling he already knew what she thought, and what she was trying to keep locked away. ¡°Jyun¡­ I.. you wouldn¡¯t have brought me here¡± -Rehm gestured briefly to the mound and inscription- ¡°unless you wished for me to do something. Tell me, and I will do it.¡± The Elder had floated close enough to Rehm that his arm could reach out and brush her. Gently, he put a claw on her head and patted. Rehm, for her part, leaned into his touch as her eyes became slits. Neither spoke for a moment; the interaction was one neither had felt for a very long time, but was something neither would have ever forgotten. Jyun was the first to pull from his nostalgic thoughts, addressing Rehm in an apologetic tone. ¡°Of all the dragons in the southern plains, you are the only one I trust to continue the gatherings and keep our peace. Xin La is too frivolous and cares not, while Nessera is still too young and prideful. I just ask that you continue what I have started here, and that you raise your young ones to take after their mother.¡± Rehm snorted and gave him an amused grin. ¡°You certain that¡¯s what you want? The last thing this continent needs for peace is two more of me.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t credit yourself enough Rehm.¡± ¡°If you say so. Regardless, you have my word Jyun, I will do as you say. But will you mention this to the others? ¡°Only Nessera, after the gathering is complete. I may owe her more than I have given her, but I will try to temper her for when I am no longer around.¡± Rehm gave him another look, this time mischievous. ¡°I don¡¯t know if tempering her will be enough Jyun, when I¡¯m in charge nothing will be left to stop me.¡± Jyun glided past her and exited the room, and Rehm thought she might¡¯ve caught him rolling his eyes as he passed, but she couldn¡¯t be sure. With a heavy flap of her wings she was lifted from the smooth rocky floor and tailed the senior dragon. ¡°I expect she will give you trouble, Rehm¡­ as will the rest of the younger drakes¡­ and of course Xin La. I am afraid no matter how old that one gets he never gets any wiser.¡± It was Rehm¡¯s turn to roll her eyes, but she hummed internally in agreement. ¡°Wise or not, I¡¯ll never know. That Xin will be a thorn in my side till my death. You know he enjoys it as well.¡± Jyun craned his neck to glance at her where she glided behind him and gave a look in place of a response. Rehm tried and failed to match his gaze, eventually breaking eye contact and snorting. ¡°Yeah yeah, I¡¯ll be good. I¡¯ll leave him alone as long as he isn''t too much of a pain.¡± ¡°... Good enough¡± The two dragons passed by a corridor that veered to the left abruptly, and the sounds of wings straining to push through the air, as well as the hallmark whoosh of flames echoed passed them. Rehm gave a slight smile at her children¡¯s energy, as Jyun gazed at a certain spot high on the cavern¡¯s wall, eyes looking through the solid rock as they faintly shone with a white essence. Rehm snuck a glance at Jyun¡¯s eyes, and wondered as she had done many times if it was just a trick of the light or if the reflections that bounced between the hanging stalactites truly encompassed the fates of them all.