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Year 1 (part 1)

11th of Ab, 117 years since megados eruption

Mom said I should start 'documenting my life' aka have a diary. Something about selling it to historians or something. I guess it might help with my bad memory, but to be honest, I don't care. Let me forget shit.

I guess the first page is for who I am. My name is Vildra Miltos, second daughter of Greater Dragon Tildra Miltos. My birthday is the 17th of Aes, I am currently 249 years old, and I only remember my birthday because it's going to be the day I'll have to leave and make my own den somewhere. I've already got a planned spot; a mountain a couple hours to the north. I have bad memory, but can learn stuff quickly so it cancels out. My favorite food is cheesy basilisk, my least favorite food is centipede. (They're too cute to eat! :( Better as pets.) I like to read stories, but don't like reading itself. I know remember only one spell, erase memory, which I sometimes use to forget about a story I read so I can experience it all over again. I'm a mostly pacifist; I mostly don't kill people. I hate romance, of all kinds, and don't know what a crush feels like.

Is that enough about me? If it isn't, too bad, I hate writing about myself. Makes me introspective and shit. Let's talk about that mountain I'm planning on denning in. It's in the northern wastes, where the low amount of mana means most dragons don't want to even go near the place. Not me though, I don't need mana for any magical rituals or anything, and a lack of ambient mana works as its own defense system. Anything that lives there is far weaker than me, and anything that comes in won't have the energy to fight. Only downside is that I'll end up sleeping longer, but honestly, I won't remember anything I would've done with that time, and at least with sleeping I know I didn't forget anything.

24th of Ab, 117 years since megados eruption

Nothing important has happened since the last time I wrote something. So instead, I'll be talking writing about why I'm moving out. Once a dragon is 250 years old, they're officially considered an adult and must find a den other than their parents. Once they have their own den, they'll officially be considered as lesser dragons. From there, they have to build up their wealth, fame, repute, and strength. If you get enough of any of those, you can apply to become a greater dragon. Once you're recognized as a greater dragon, you can then seek out a mate and start a family. If you keep on growing in fame or wealth, you'll become a dragon lord. Apparently it's something every dragon wants to become, but I don't get it to be honest. Sounds like too much work.

17th of Aes, 117 years since megados eruption

Today's my birthday! The whole extended family came around this time. Wish they didn't, way too loud. Especially Bethane, he kept on singing some foreign song that was definitely not made for his voice. Too low pitched. The cake was tasty, the party unsatisfying, and gifts... honestly, the gems and stuff were clearly last minute hoard grabs. I don't need them, nor understand the appeal they seem to have to other dragons. Maybe it's an age thing. The fire extinguishing stone and poison alarms were nice though; I might use them in my future den. Note to future self: Charlie is allergic to almost all bird meat. This includes pheonixes and harpies, but not phoenixes.

Anyways, after the party, I got my stuff and flew out to my planned home. Usually your family would follow so they know where you'll be, but as soon as they saw me going towards the wastes they kinda just ditched me. Rude, but understandable. Once I got to my mountain, I marked my territory with some charcoal stakes. According to mom, other dragons will sense the charcoal and know it's someone's territory, but I won't sense anything. Maybe it's a magic thing. I marked the entire mountain and about a kilometer around it. Doing that already made me tired, so I dug a little hole near the peak and am now taking a rest there. It's fairly warm in this hole, so I might just go to sleep now and wake up more rested tomorrow.

21st of Aes, 117 years since megados eruption

It just occurred to me that i never described the mountain itself. It's a dead volcano whose sides got washed away by time, but the peak got preserved by a metallic cap. What's left is a very rocky, steep mountain that's nearly as tall as it is wide. Which isn't saying much, considering it's only about two kilometers tall. From what I can smell, the surface has some copper spread throughout, but it's too small for me to see.

The surroundings are mostly just desert, but there's grasslands to the south with some beasts to hunt. There was a scorpo city to the north-east, about 50 kilometers from the base of the mountain. I'll check it out later. Finally, about 80 kilometers west is the ocean. Nice to have a source of water nearby.

You may have noticed that it's been 4 days since my last entry. I slept for 4 whole days. Didn't notice until I saw the moon half empty. Best sleep I've had in a long while to be honest. Minor problem is I still feel sleepy. But I need to at least get the beginnings of my den done. So I'm going to try to dig out a den big enough to fit two of me for now. I made sure not to cut my claws last month so that it'd be easier to dig in stone, but to be honest I'm not sure if it'll actually help.

1st of Alm, 117 years since megados eruption

It did help. I managed to carve out a starter den in only 8 days! It can barely fit my full form in it, so I've been trying to stay in lesser forms while I carve it out. So far 'tripedal with four arms' is the best since I can move the rocks while still working, but it uses way too much energy for long term work. To be honest, I prefer the 'bipedal with two arms' form for its energy efficiency. I heard some dragons complain that the form is too similar to sapients, but I don't see the problem with that. Though I will complain about elbows. You hit it wrong and suddenly it feels like sand.

The carving process was actually quite interesting. You see, you can't just jab a claw into stone. If you do it wrong, your claw will snap and it'll become useless. What you have to do is scratch out a segment, preferably following any natural cracks that formed. Then, you have to make those scratches or cracks converge behind the stone piece. That will separate the piece and the wall, allowing you to rip it out, or break it apart. Interestingly, if two sides are exposed, then stone can easily be broken apart by striking from one side towards the other. This means that once a small chunk is taken out of a wall, the rest of the wall can be mined to that depth.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Also, I found something interesting while digging; copper and orichalcum ores! (Though technically orichalcum is a mix of copper and mythril or titanium.) I don't have any current use for these ores, but it's important to know what you're digging into. I already broke two claws discovering them. I think there's a magic item and spell to detect nearby ores. I'll have to see if I can invest in those. If anything, it'll let me know where the volcano's core is so I can avoid breaking more claws.

I'm starting to get hungry, so I'll go hunting soon. I'm excited to see what grows in the wastes.

12th of Alm, 117 years since megados eruption

I found a bastard! Didn't expect to find one out in the wastes. Looks like a wolf's. Bastards always taste good, but I hate how you have to let them sit for a day. Fun fact, impure dragon blood is actually toxic, even to dragons! It only gives us stomach pain but anything else will die from a few drops. Bonus fun fact for anthropologists, eating bastards used to be considered cannibalism by dragons. Now it's only considered inauspicious. Which isn't a problem for me, so I can enjoy the taste without any worries!

In case bastards aren't that well known in the future: A bastard is any monster that is born between a dragon and a non-dragon. They are usually unintelligent and barely even sentient. They are fairly strong, so some dragons use them as soldiers and stuff. In my opinion, the best part is that they taste nearly as good as actual dragons! And since most aren't sapient there's no moral conflict in killing them.

Anyways, the bastard I found was wandering the desert to the west, going towards the ocean. Looked fairly beaten up and exhausted, maybe even dehydrated, so it was easy to hunt. I made sure it wasn't sapient before killing it. I'm not evil. It's currently being laid out on a rock table I made, draining the blood into a hole I dug. I can use it as a sauce once it ferments away the toxic part. Tomorrow I'll try making actual furniture for stuff like this.

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It smelled water. Towards the rising sun. Only a day away at worst. Finally its thirst can be fully quenched. It might even be able to heal its wounds. Mother might be right. The rising sun is salvation.

It forgot about the setting sun. In that direction came pain. Short, sharp, but mercifully less than what father gave. The beast, no, father-like stared into its eyes and whispered into its mind. It didn't couldn't understand. The father-like, no, not-father granted it one mercy. It close its eyes, and there was no more pain.

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11th of An, 117 years since megados eruption

Here's a rhetorical question. How the fuck has it been a month? I swear I only slept for like a week! I only realized its been a month because the blood finished fermenting. Is it the wastes? Maybe choosing to den here was a bad idea. Nah, I already carved out a starter den, I can't just abandon it. But I need to get my sleep under control. I think there was a magic item that released a signal when a certain amount of time passed. They should be fairly common, so I'll go to the city nearby to see if they have anything like that. Worst case scenario I have to fly to mom and ask her for some advice.

Anyways, the den is starting to look more spacious. I can sleep in my full form without touching a wall! The problem is all these rocks piling up. Or more specifically ores. I know ores are valuable and stuff but I have no current use for them. But a part of me is telling me I can't just throw them out. Luckily it's an ignorable part of me. Oh wait, I might be able to use them to trade for some magic items. Sapients love to trade for stuff right? Exchange of goods and services and all that. Well, to be honest, I can always just take it with force, but that's just rude. And evil. I'm not evil.

15th of An, 117 years since megados eruption

Went trading today. The scorpos seemed confused more than the usual scared. Guess they don't see much dragons around here (of course they don't). Got some nice deals for three magic items; an 'alarm bell' thing (loud sound!), a metal detection plate (it looks like a shield but they called it a plate?), and a pickaxe that can fix itself (a 'horsemans' pick, didn't know centaurs mined).

To be honest, they seemed quite frantic about giving me these stuff. Maybe I underpaid (or overpaid)? Oh well, their fault for not giving me a proper price (aka didn't ask). In other news, I've been feeling an itch on my back for a while now. I'm not sure what it is. I hate how my arms can't scratch it. Rubbing against a wall also doesn't seem to work. Maybe it's an early shed. If it is, then I'll know in a few days. Otherwise this might be concerning. (sorry!)

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Brildlid was a reputable store. Possibly the best in Throldhaven. Its owner, also named Brildlid, was old for a scorpo. His carapace had many scars and just as many honors tattooed. Brildlid was also known as an impenetrable vault. Rumors say that even the king has valuables stored in Brildlid. This is to say, when the king came panicked to Brildlid, he wasn't concerned. He knew what the king, that klutz, was like. The king probably owed someone big, or forgot to take something out of or put in the vault.

Brildlid was not prepared to meet a dragon. The massive creature was sitting patiently outside the castle. It had dull scales and undamaged wings. Rich and powerful then. But why was it here?

The king bowed to the dragon. "Oh great one, I have brought the best tradesman of this town. Th..."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. What's your name?"

"Me? I'm, uh, Brildlid."

"Cool. Look, I got some stuff I don't need, and need stuff I don't got. And I'm wondering if you have some stuff that I want. A potential trade, you know?" The dragon gave an insincere smile. Brildlid had to think fast.

"oh ok. What is it that you're looking for, great one?"

"Well, I'd like something to wake me up at a consistent time. A magic item that activates after a certain amount of time has passed. I'd also like something that can detect metal, and a pick would be nice."

Brildlid held down the fear that was brewing. This dragon was here for three of the city's five treasures! He'd need to speak to the king... no, he's already passed out. He can't just lie either. This dragon clearly did its research to know about the treasures.

"Yes, well, we have some items that might be what you're looking for. First is the alarm bell on the church's east tower. You can set a time and it will ring at that time everyday. We also have a plate of metal that gets hot when near other metals. Finally, we have a horseman's pick that repairs itself when in direct contact with metal. These three items seem to fit your descriptions best. However, each item is valuable, and we cannot part with them ea..."

"Ah yes, payment. Will something like this be enough?"

From its pouch the dragon took out 5 boulders. Each had a sharp, green pattern and smelled of pennies. Copper ore. Two had silver stripes as well. Orichalcum ore. What happened next was a blur. Brildlid's vault was opened, the church bell plucked. Smiths and alchemists and miners and even the town fool was called upon. A single boulder of copper was worth a castle, orichalcum the city. The fool tasted titanium, and the chemist confirmed it.

Rumors flew around like carrion crows after war. A kind dragon who lowered itself to the level of sapients, for it traded for goods. A condescending dragon who bought the city's great treasures with trash. A foolish dragon who overestimated the price of the treasures (though they were priceless to begin with). A rich dragon, who called boulders of ore as 'stuff I don't need'. A cruel dragon who forced the king to hand over treasures, and left behind ore out of pity. No matter the rumor, some things stayed the same; a dragon so wealthy it didn't need or want boulders of orichalcum, came and got the treasures of the city, and left with no more damage than some cracked roads.

Brildlid was once a trader, and so he understood the values traded today. A single one of these boulders could fund the recreation of all three treasures, though the history was lost. The king should be happy about this outcome; when dealing with a dragon, there is no such thing as an unhappy outcome.