Historian's notes:
The following is the only remaining record for what happened in 3 BDF. It provides important insight to the rise of the Esmo Empire.
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?? of Ab, 121 years since megados eruption
It's been cloudy all week since I woke up. Can't see the moon from down here, and I'm not bothered to check (she's being lazy again). I slept pretty well this time around. Must be the bed. It was especially comfortable thanks to that pillow. Aesmo said Iesmo made beds for everyone. I wonder if I should reward her. (Don't, unless you want to reward everyone else who made so many contributions.)
Anyways, the first thing that happened when I woke up was a messenger crow flying in. Crow means whoever sent it expects a response. Sucks; crows taste nice when mixed with fermented bastard blood. Not that I have any right now, but still.
Here's the message. I think I'm allowed to write it down.
"To the True Neutral, your opinion is required.
3 greater dragons (party a) currently owe a debt to another greater dragon (party b). They attempted to pay in bronze, but due to a recent drop in copper prices, the value of their bronze decreased below what they needed to pay. They have no other way to pay their debts. Under normal circumstances, party a would have to reconsolidate their debt into a stable gem-loan. However, this is the third time they have done this within 500 years, and thus their interest rates are 16%. Based off of their current wealth gain rate, they will take 1262 years to pay off this loan.
We cannot in good faith approve of these loans. However, without them, party b will not receive what is owed to them. The council have not been able to come to an agreement for any course of action. Thus, we require your unbiased and minimally informed opinions.
-Dragon Lord Council"
First of all, they gave me so little context. What's the debt for? How much is it? Why do they assume I'm unbiased? Why would you pay in fucking bronze.
Now that i got those thoughts out, time to give an answer. I'm going to intentionally give the worst options, so that hopefully they never ask for my opinions again.
"I can think of 3 options;
1. Have party a dismember themselves and sell their body parts to sapients. I heard the corvidians wanted a dragon claw to research. I'm sure party a can find enough buyers to repay a debt.
2. Have party a work off their debt by working under a different, unrelated dragon (party c). Party c will pay the original debt to party b. Party a will then have to work under party c until it has been determined by either party b, party c, or the dragon lord council, that party a have worked off their debt.
3. Party a will be declared as (Insert name here). Their debt to party b will be forgiven. Instead, party a will functionally have 0 wealth, and any wealth they gain will go to party b. This will be permanent, or until party b decides party a is no longer (placeholder).
Each member of party a can choose any option, and party c can be party b. I hope this is helpful for you to reach an agreement. -Dragon Lord Vildra"
There we go. Three options that nobody would ever choose. Option 1 is just straight up stupid. Option 2 is masochistic. And in my personal opinion, the third option is too risky, as if party a dies then party b will never get their wealth.
Whoops, option 3 is actually potentially worth the risks. Oh well, that's not my problem. Hopefully they don't even consider the first two. The corvidians can't even afford a dragon claw. (They'll hate you so much if they even trie option 1 then.)
Anyways, the next thing that happened when I woke up was Lesmo unintentionally blinding me by pointing a laser into my eye. In other news, Mesmo turned the light gem into a laser. Basically a reverse of the focused light experiment that we did previously. Now with only a little bit of lightning, we have a beam of light as bright as two suns.
The last thing that happened this week is Oesmo learning how to swim. In the blood lake. Because of course they don't swim in normal water. That's not thematically consistent. (You sound way too sarcastic) [I am! Since when did you care about theme?]
?? of Aes?, 121 years since megados eruption
It's been a month, and it's still cloudy! That's not the problem though. The problem is that there's no moon. And can you guess why there's no moon? I'll give you a hint; a certain little gem carver, magic obsessor, and crazy talking centipede trapped it into a gem. To "talk to the rabbit" apparently.
Technically it's just an illusion, but still. I tried to force Jesmo to undo the illusion hiding the moon, but apparently they can't because "Cesmo stole it." Cesmo went out on an "adventure" last week. This is a fucking wild goose chase isn't it. I swear if Cesmo sold it to someone or something I'm going to start a
Okay. I calmed down. I'll deal with that later.
For now, I'll focus on what Gesmo made. First, let me preface this by saying that quartz is weird. When lightning is passed through it, it vibrates. Those vibrations are consistent no matter what. Now imagine if you made it so that every time it vibrates, it sends a pulse of lightning. Now guess what happens if you connect that to the toggle-able magnet coil.
If you guessed "melt any metal that goes within the coils", then you guessed correctly. If you didn't guess that, I don't blame you. How the fuck does a magnet melt metal? And can we use this to replace the furnace? Well actually no, because it's both too small, and doesn't work with ore. Only with pure clumps of metal.
At least it looks cool.
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Interlude: The legend of Cesmoy
There once was a little boy, who went by Cesmoy. And that is the only rhyme within this story.
Cesmoy heard tales of a wonderful thing called a moon. He wanted to meet the great big moon in the sky. Yet the night sky only ever had stars, with no moon.
Cesmoy thought that the moon was just somewhere else. So they left their little village in search of the moon.
They first asked the great big tree where they last saw the moon.
"To the south, I'm certain. Where the grass is greener, and air not so dry." The tree then gave Cesmoy a branch, so he could defend himself from beasts.
Yet no matter how far south Cesmoy went, they found no moon. The moon must have moved on to somewhere else, he thought.
So he went to a fox and asked where they last saw the moon. The fox likes to travel, so surely it would've seen more than a tree.
"Take three days east and a day north. There you will find a hill. That was where I last saw the moon." The fox then gave Cesmoy a foxfire, to light the way at night.
For four days Cesmoy traveled, until they found the hill. Upon it was not the moon, but a rooster.
Disappointed, Cesmoy asked the rooster if they saw where the moon went. They're where the fox last saw it, maybe they saw as well.
"I do not know, for I only look at the sun. However, I know where the moon is not. It is not outside." The rooster then gave Cesmoy a feather to fly with, though he did not know how to use it.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Cesmoy was distraught now. For if the moon was not outside, then where could it be? He could only think of one place not outside. The caves of Yanthim. A prison within a dragon.
The moon was imprisoned! By the cruel dragon of Yanthim no less. How could Cesmoy ever meet the moon now? The only way is to sneak in.
And so Cesmoy journeyed to Yanthim. There, the dragon greeted him with a wide grin.
"I heard you were searching for the missing moon. I apologize, but you will not meet them here." The dragon then opened their mouth, ready to bite.
However, Cesmoy stuck out the branch, stabbing it into the dragon's mouth. It prevented the dragon from closing their mouth, permanently keeping it open.
Cesmoy went into the caves of Yanthim, calling out for anyone. The many locked rooms were empty, and it only got darker the deeper he went.
Then the foxfire started to flare. Fueled by darkness, it only got brighter. Cesmoy eventually found a room with someone within. A white rabbit.
"Thank you for saving me! The dragon ate me and kept me here for so long, I almost disappeared." The rabbit shook Cesmoy's hand.
However, Cesmoy was incredulous. This was not the moon he was seeking! But maybe the rabbit knew where it was.
"The moon? It is in the sky, just hiding. I am sure if you go high enough, you will find it." The rabbit then taught Cesmoy how to use a rooster's feather to fly.
And so Cesmoy flew. The sky got dark, then bright, then cold, then hot. Eventually, there was no sky left to fly to. Cesmoy felt lost, for the moon was not here. Where can they go now?
In despair, they curled into themselves. On the edge of the sky, the little boy grew. He grew until he became the new moon.
The rabbit and rooster and fox and tree rejoiced at the return of the moon, before wondering if the moon ever met that little boy who wanted to meet them.
And the dragon? They died, unable to get the stick out of their mouth. They deserved it.
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11th of Alm, 121 years since megados eruption
Finally caught Cesmo. Moon's back to normal now. Everything is alright.
Now that that's done, I think I'll start mining again. I want to know what's below the fort. Aesmo bets it's an ancient city. I bet it's nothing. Everyone else has their own bets. Except Fesmo.
As always, I'll mine until something significant happens. We'll be selling everything except a jar of each metal and the gems.
22nd of Ar, 121 years since megados eruption
So far there's nothing below the fort. I did find some new ores and stuff, but it's nothing notable. Oh, actually there was some trace amounts of adamantite. There might be more.
Now as for why I stopped mining, Aesmo told me we can't sell the metal anymore. As in the value of metal has dropped to a point where selling metal barely gets us anything. So that sucks. At least mythril's value hasn't changed.
Now, I'm assuming the price change is mostly local, and caused by us flooding the markets. In that case, going out to a different continent should give us better pricing. So I'll be going out to trade again.
In other news, Pesmo took over the government of a city and is now ruling over it by manipulating the king with string. That's a slight oversimplification of the madness that she's causing. I don't know if I should be proud or concerned. Well, it doesn't affect me, so I'll just ignore it.
Next we have what Lesmo, Gesmo, and Iesmo did. I don't know how I didn't notice since they did it right above me while I was mining. Basically, they strung up a lot of those laser light gems all along the wall, all pointing upwards. They connected them with metal string, all to a series of lightning gems, with only a piece of quartz between them. When the quartz receives lightning from the side, lightning from the gems can pass through and power the light gems.
What results is a powerful beam of light beaconing out the top of the mountain. Looks badass from a distance, but otherwise useless. I mean, I guess if anything is in the path of the beam it gets disintegrated, but that's too much of an edge case to worry about.
Next news; Oesmo is "lost" in the blood lake. They're doing fine, so I recommend we don't do anything. Not like any of the other Esmos know how to swim.
Last and most definitely least, some idiot sent me a book. It's a romance book. To represent how disgusted I am, I ingested some of Besmo's poison just so that I can vomit. I sent it back to whoever sent it, with a "fuck off" in blood on the cover. I'm sure that'll deter them.
16th of Auv, 121 years since megados eruption
Don't you hate it when you become a major figure in a new religion? Like what are you supposed to do in response? If you do nothing, then they don't stop. If you try to get them to stop through violence, you become an evil deity. If you politely ask them to stop, they'll become even more zealous. If you send someone else to stop them for you, they won't believe the person you sent.
The only strategy I can think of is disappointment. Let their faith fail them, and they'll stop having it. Now, the problem is twofold. First, I don't know what they want, so I don't know what not to do. Second, if they never expect anything from me in the first place, I can never disappoint them.
Ugh. It's like Dad all over again. Except this time they aren't afraid I'll kill them... actually no they probably are partially afraid I'll kill them, but doing that wouldn't deter them would it. Let me ask mom. She probably knows how to deal with religion.
Anyways, I found out about the new religion because I went out to sell my metal. At least I got a good price for it. Not worth the questions though. Asking a dragon their age is pointless you know. After 250 there's no point in keeping track!
At least there's good news back home. Through the combined efforts of everyone basically, we made a homunculus. These things are super hard to make, and usually take months of costly work. So why did we make a homunculus? Because the Esmos got curious.
Iesmo weaved together a body, Hesmo gave it blood, Gesmo and Desmo gave it a heart, Cesmo gave it a voice, Pesmo gave it muscles to move, and Jesmo, Kesmo, Mesmo, and Nesmo brought it to life.
So what does a homunculus do? Well it's basically a better golem in every way. It's nearly sentient, minimally sapient, and totally loyal to its creator. For now we have no use for it, but Pesmo brought it with them to that city they took over to learn how to emulate life. I'm sure we'll find a use later.
So now that we made one, what's stopping us from making more? No seriously. We spent basically nothing to make one. At this rate we can make hundreds and have an army. Less efficient than bastards to be honest. But smarter. Oh I know! What if we use them to automate ore processing while I mine? That way the Esmos can spend time doing what they want instead.
7th of Ax, 121 years since megados eruption
Once you learn how to make one, it's easy to make a dozen more. Sure we used less material this time to see if it makes a difference (it made them weaker, but that's it), but that doesn't matter for what we'll use them for.
Basically, they'll work the furnace, transport material, and assist the Esmos. Me? I don't need assistance. If I get any, then I'll just get lazy.
So anyways, with these prepared, we'll test them by mining for about a month. If things go smoothly, then next year will be so much easier. Worst case the homunculi break apart and we have to make new, stronger ones.
Fun fact; most dragons don't bother with homunculi, as it's cheaper and easier to uplift a whole race into sapients and have them work for the dragon, than to make just 2 homunculi. Plus, sapients are self-replicating. Oh wait, that's something we can experiment. Self-replicating homunculi. That'd be extremely useful.
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Interlude; Dragon Lord Council Transcript 4
The following is a written transcript for the Dragon Lord Council meeting that took place on the 14th of Ax, 121 years after the megados eruption. Participating members; 5/25
"The meeting will now begin. First on the agenda is the debt of Greater dragons Wilson, Belten, and Creo to Greater dragon Nithinhem, presented by Belenova."
"Thank you. Given the options recommended by True Neutral Vildra, Greater dragon Wilson chose self-mutilation and sold their claw and part of a wing to gather enough money to pay off their part of the debt. Greater dragon Belten will be working under Lesser dragon Queb, until at least two parties believe they have worked off their debt. Finally, Creo chose to become beholden to Nithinhem. All things considered, all parties are accepting for these conditions."
"Wonderful. We should thank Vildra later for giving such creative suggestions. Next, the anomaly that occurred at the start of this year, the disappearance of the moon. Reported by Delson."
"Yes. Starting on 19th of Bo, last year, the moon suddenly vanished from the night sky. Analysis of tides suggest that this was only illusory, and the moon did not completely disappear, only visually inhibited. Despite thorough investigation, we could not find the cause. With the illusion being reversed on 9th of Alm, no issues have risen due to the anomaly. I recommend monitoring the moon to ensure this doesn't happen again, or if it does, then a rapid response can be done to search for the cause."
"Alright, I guess that's that. Finally, we have the declining dragon population. Combined with recent events, the population of dragons has fallen below 1000. However, as the cause of deaths are primarily other dragons, I suspect that the population will not decrease beyond a certain point. This of course is not a good thing. What is everyone's opinions?"
"We knew this would happen eventually. Like the angels and demons before us, eventually we will kill ourselves in our own way. I will not do anything to stop it."
"How pathetic. You accept our extinction? No, what we need to do is unite dragons so that we do not engage in such frivolous conflicts that will kill."
"To be honest, the issue is that dragons like Vildra exist. They lack sympathy and empathy, and are willing to kill if allowed. I'd like to cull those, but recognize that that statement is hypocritical. Alternatively, we let the population of dragons fall to a minimum to minimize conflict. The age of dragons would come to an end, but we will still live."
"In that case, who lives?"
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??th of Az, 121 years since megados eruption
Whoops. I mined for too long. Yeah these homunculi are super useful. We'll make some more, but only after I finish my hibernation. I don't want to wake up surrounded by a hundred of them.