"Welcome everybody to Kraken News! The only news service for ocean dwellers. We've got some developing stories, old legends resurfacing, and a potential war of draconic scale brewing. All this, and more, coming up on Kraken News!"
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"Hello current riders and wave dwellers! I'm your host, Kevin the Kraken, and I'm here with Sarah the Scylla-" "tthatt'ss mmee!" "And today, well, let's just say things are heating up!" "Ooohh, why thankk yyuoo~" ("no, not you. You're already too hot." "ttruly? Undoubtedly?")
"Anyways, let's get right into the news. First up, we have an update on last week's news. Remember that mountain that no one's allowed to go near? Guess what happened" "tsts, ssomeonne wwentt nnear itt?" "Of course some idiot went near it! Dude got blasted by fire, then his village got ransacked, and finally his kid got mauled by goats!" "Wwwhattt? How ccruelll~"
"But wait, there's more! The idiot lived! And now he has a vendetta with a dragon lord!" "Ooohh pplease, they aint sspecialll. Pplenty hhate the dragons. They ccan'tt doo anything~" "Oh, but this idiot was stupid at just the right time and place. Sarah, how much do you know about the 'Dragon Slayer'?"
"Ugh, that's sssuch a ddumbb title. bbut I guessss they ddeserve itt... They're the only non-dragon that killed a dragon in 3 centuries. And they killed 300 dragons at that. (Ugh ffuCkk, Mmy tHroaT. Can't Ttalk lLikE thAtt ffOr tooo lLongG.) bbut sstrangely, they've ddissappearredd early thiss year. LLast sighting wwass in An."
"Well, at least that's what the public knows. But legends can't keep hidden forever, eh? There's been rumors spreading that the 'Dragon Slayer' moved continents. And lucky for that one idiot, that continent is Holdil. So what do you think is the best case scenario?" "Fffor whomm? Ffor thatt fool, it'd bbe iff that dragon lord gets sslainn. For the dragonss, it'd bee iff the slayer wasn'tt here. Andd ffor me, it'd be if the rumorss are ffor a ddifferentt, nnew sslayer of dragonsss~"
"Interesting insight. We'll be keeping an eye out for the 'Dragon Slayer', and hopefully bring you listeners an update on this blooming story. Next up, more dragon scale conflicts, and some advice from us on what to do, coming after the break!"
Kraken News is sponsored by Iesmon Fabrics and Textiles, your only source of pure Emso silk. To learn more about their newest fabric, flannel, tune in to channel 2 in 2 hours!
"We're back? We're back! Welcome back deep striders! Let's get right back into the news! We have yet another dragon war. Sarah, what's the details?"
"Messy tto say the lleastt! Itt sstartss with a young andd ddumb llesser dragon deciding sstealing iss a ggoodd idea. Which isn'tt the case whenn you ssteal ffrom a greater dragon way sstronger thann you. Of course the ggreater dragon declaredd war. Whatt they ddidn't know wass thatt the lesser dragon's pparentss were nearby. Uponn finding outt they're outnumberedd, the greater dragon asked some ffriendss ffor a ffavor. Thiss repeatss a ffew more timess. LLong sstory shortt, 20 dragons are involved in this wwar."
"I guess messy is an accurate assessment. For those of you who haven't been keeping track, this is the biggest dragon war in about a hundred years!" "Andd unlike llastt time, it'ss sspreadd acrossss 2 continents!" "Yep, which unfortunately means there'll be some fights above water. So for those of you between Tilmil and Holdil, be prepared for dragons overhead!" "sshit, that'ss where I llive."
"Well, in case you live there, here's some advice; don't interfere. I shouldn't need to say this, you're not a ciel or daevva, you won't even damage their scales." "Here'ss some actuall advice; sstay att lleast a whale's heightt beneath the ssurface. Waterr is a vvery goodd shield againstt almostt everything."
"That's all the news we have today. A surprisingly uneventful week this time around. From here on out, me and Sarah will be doing a Q&A. If you want your own questions answered, send them in at 47.7 minutes down Bilfie Current, West of the wastes of Nuvil-" "Orr 15.2 minutess downn Galioll Current, East of Holdil. Whichever iss cclosestt~"
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Pov Vildra
Unfortunately, there was nothing notable in Tilmil. Wait no, that's not right. What I meant was that there was nothing notable to me in Tilmil. No sign of Aesmo or Cesmo or Liberos. This annoyed me, as each day I don't get clues, something bad could be happening to them. Ah fuck, I'm sympathizing.
Anyways, my next destination is Holdil. But first, a small snack. It's been a while since I last ate anything other than dragon. If I remember correctly, there's pheonixes around here. Looks like snake, tastes like apricots. I rate it a 6/10. I wish I learned how to cook.
I doubted I'll find anything in the ocean between continents, which is why I'm flying at full speed. At this speed, it'll only take me a day to cross the ocean. At least, normally that's the case.
Annoyingly, some dumb dragons blocked my path! I tried going around them, but they didn't let me. Something about a war? As if some war was going to stop me. I ended up brute-forcing my way through by grabbing their throats and flinging them into the sea.
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But wait, there's more bullshit. Some egotistical idiots saw me minding my own business and assumed I was part of the war. By this point, I was quite irritated. I told it that if it continued to pester me, I would imprison it. Of course, it didn't stop the fool.
I should really thank Rephantasia. Without her, I never would've used my mind palace. She still won't let me see it, but luckily I can still send others there just by looking at them. No idea how that works though.
Thankfully, the rest of the journey was uneventful. I reached Holdil in only 6 hours. From here on out, I'll have to fly slowly so that I don't miss anything. I'm sure having a few extra eyes will help though. I just need to get used to having a few extra eyes.
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Pov Liberos
Today is a nice day. On days like these, guests like to visit. I hope I don't recognize them. Yet it feels like less and less new people visit. Maybe I need to move again. Hey bookshelf, give me a population map for 3 years into the future. Ah wait, give it to me after the guest leaves. Don't want a repeat of last time.
Sure enough, my door opens to reveal a familiar 'dragon' using a tripodal form. Though, for once, I don't feel contempt for recognizing them. I honestly can't hate Vildra; she returns all the books she borrows and never destroys them, and she keeps to herself. I can't even use the speciesist excuse of "they're a dragon" anymore since she isn't a dragon anymore.
Putting on a neutral smile, I go through my regular greeting, taking note of her extra eyes. I don't look at them though, Lapis taught me to be careful when dealing with angels. Ironic.
"Welcome to my bookstore. I have everything you need, want, and hate. Just tell me what you're looking for, and I'll find the perfect book for you."
"Hi Liberos, it's been a while huh? Do you know where mom is?"
My facade breaks instantly. Of course she's here to talk about that.
"Before I say anything, I need to specify that your mother is the only dragon that I don't hate. I also don't hate you, as you're not a dragon. Finally, your little... friends? pets? family? whatever you see those Esmos as, they came through here some time ago. I'm sure you'll find them soon enough. They probably know the details."
"Thank you. This makes me dread whatever the answer to my original question is."
"I don't know where she is."
I couldn't hear the silence over my own heart. Before me stood Vildra, 'empress' of the Esmo Empire, dragon lord, victor of the war in the wastes, last surviving angel, survivor of manacus and manauriunt, and sole remaining daughter of my best friend. The only entity I know of that could kill me in my own bookstore.
Beneath the floorboards, dozens of tendrils contract, ready to spring up. My desk grows denser, ready to withstand everything for even a moment. Bookshelf leaks ink, a portal ready. My eyes slowing down even the air around me.
"...That's it? You scared me for a second there. I thought you were going to say she's dead or something."
I hold onto consciousness only by rage.
"'That's it?' The one person I cared for is missing and I know nothing! Do you understand how frustrating that is as the Liberos? I have every book, nay, every written thing, past present and close future, and none of it tells me where she is. I can't do anything either, my sacrifice so long ago is fucking me over now instead of helping when I need help the most!"
"Of course I don't understand. But that doesn't mean I don't have my own frustrations, my own dissatisfaction. I haven't succeeded yet, but neither have I failed. You think you've done everything you can? Bullshit. There's still more we can do, which means there's still more to do. Neither of us will give up until there's nothing left we can do. I won't allow it."
I feel the hug before I see it. Neither house nor bookshelf had time to react. How strange. I should be scared by her speed. Yet, I'm comforted. A hug... dragons only hug those who are dying, or those who wish to die. Though I guess neither of us are dragons.
"I truly cannot hate you, Vildra. I'd like to make a deal..."
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Ugh, fuck. I guess this is what 'erase memory' feels like. Oh, thanks for the tea, house. Hm? Bookshelf has something to give me?
Oh, thanks for the map. I completely forgot about it. Hm? Hey, why isn't there any dragons? They aren't supposed to go extinct for another... ah fuck, it's already been 100 years huh.
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"Notice, another entity is flying towards us."
"That looks like a dragon. Why'd you call it 'entity'?"
"Notice, the entity is not a dragon. However, entity is similar to previous unknown entity encountered several months ago. Previous entity was named 'Vildra', and claimed to be a dragon despite clearly having several biological differences."
"Shit, tell us this earlier! Quick, someone make us more visible or something!"
"Oh, I know how to do that! Deus, excuse me for a second. Just have to talk to your little lightning gem for a second."
"Cesmo, lightning won't work. There's no clouds fo- where did you get a light gem?"
"Notice, this is very uncomfortable."
"Ah! Too bright! Aesmo, get Cesmo to tune it down!"
"Hehe, look! Not-dragon is coming towards us. Sounds like empress, looks like empress, must be empress!"
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3rd of Ab, 226 years since megados eruption
I found Aesmo and Cesmo and Eesmo (who I didn't even know was missing) and also the dragon slayer? Who's apparently named Deus? And apparently came with Cesmo and mom to rescue me from the dragon lords?
The whole story is a bit hard to understand, considering Cesmo is... Cesmo, Aesmo and Eesmo hid after the fighting started to get too dangerous for them, and Deus over detailed everything that happened. What I did get though, is that something happened with my arm and a bunch of eyes, and that all of the other dragons there disappeared. Aka, I'm going to be having a long conversation with Rephantasia whether she wants to or not.
At least I now know that the last place mom was at was in the council room.
I also managed to find Liberos. She was... depressing. Something about never being able to leave her bookstore, and not being able to find mom. I felt like I needed to hug her. Just in case she wanted to die. I can't let mom's friend do that to herself.
Fuck, since when did I care for others so much.
16th of Ab, 226 years since megados eruption
Rephantasia was hiding quite a lot from me. And she's still hiding something. To put it simply, I'm technically an angel (Not surprised, considering everything that's been happening with my body... and also Liberos already told me I wasn't a dragon anymore).
But wait, there's more! Apparently I have some demon fragments hiding in my mind palace! Good news is that Rephantasia was already dealing with it, and that my mind palace was strong enough to not be permanently damaged. I took it as a compliment.
Finally, she theorized that she was the cause of my newfound sympathy. She was lying, in a strange 'technically not wrong' kind of way. Kind of like saying 'spells are caused by mana'. She was necessary for the change, but not the actual cause of it.