Ep 108. As Long As They’re Dragonkin. (3)
“Hm.”
The hooded figure stood atop the snowy cliff’s edge in serene silence, his gaze reaching far beyond Telberk and over into the stretching continent of Astellion.
Even when his quiet was broken by a low growl coming from behind, he had no need to turn his eyes.
In one swift motion the figure summoned a shortsword into his hand, flicking it backwards without looking. The blade cleanly plunged itself between the eyes of the lunging leopard, making the beast fall short of reaching him.
But when the leopard’s growling faded away, another voice replaced the beast to distract the hooded figure.
“How very human of you.”
“…”
A deathly figure materialized into a faded image beside the lone, hooded man. A bemused smile decorated their face as he floated over to block the cliff view.
“You know, I think it might’ve been a leopard, actually. I think a leopard ambushed me like this – snapped my neck in an instant.”
“…First a manaspawn, then a strike of lightning. A rotten meal, a malicious wasp, and now a lowly beast…”
Breaking his silence with a list of the Reaper’s reported causes of death, the hooded figure locked his cold gaze with the ephemeral death deity before him.
“I do not care how your end came to pass, Felicir.”
“Sure you do. Why else would you keep me around? You could’ve done me away for good, my dear friend.”
“…”
“Admit it. You’re scared of what killed me.”
“Felicis, no doubt. The only one you’d allow yourself to die to.”
“I’ve told you that’s incorrect at least a dozen times now.”
“Then who was it?”
“Who knows? Something white and beautiful. Like that leopard, perhaps.”
“…”
The hooded figure narrowed his eyes. He and death had never gotten along – and that certainly continued to be the case in Felicir’s death.
But even so, the Reaper did have the right of it. While he was almost certain that Felicis had finally come to her senses to kill her own brother…
‘What if…’
A long sigh followed the brief thought. It wasn’t like Felicir would tell him anyways; they owed no favors to each other, and held more grudges than either could count.
Instead of parroting his question, the hooded figure turned away to begin descending the cliffside.
“If you’ve the strength to retain form as a soul, find yourself a new vessel. I’ve no time to entertain the antics of the dead.”
The ephemeral deity began his response with a demeaning laughter, floating along to the speaker’s side.
Even in death, their wry smile was difficult to get used to. Their words weren’t much better off, either.
“Oh, I hardly think so. A soulseer like yourself may think otherwise, but reincarnations are completely different from the original. I’d rather die as myself.”
“So you’d rather be an insufferable image until your timely demise.”
“And why wouldn’t I? Like this, I get to watch mankind’s greatest hero in action again while time allows. Sounds worthwhile, doesn’t it?”
“…Do as you wish.”
Felicir snickered as he floated around his grumpy friend’s head. The deity then briefly glanced westward – toward where Aymeia’s cavern lied.
“You know…killing Aymeia won’t solve anything.”
“You’ll need a far better argument to prevent me from killing your pet.”
“Aymeia isn’t actually a dragon. You know this.”
“And yet you made her their lord. Your point?”
“My point is, you’re the biggest fool humanity has ever had to offer.”
“…”
The hooded figure returned no answer to the insult. He instead continued to walk in silence, his empty eyes gazing unto the road ahead.
There never was any other way forward.
And so, he would walk this one to the end.
✧ ✧ ✧
“Waizel!”
“Raizel.”
“Waaaaizel!”
“I hate you.”
Serenis watched with a faint smile as the two children sat across from one another on the throne room’s floor, talking(?) to each other. It was the only distraction that was keeping the dragonlord sane from the depressing reality behind them.
And Raizel, too, couldn’t bear mindlessly staring into the dungeon’s surroundings for long.
In fact, she’d gone to retrieve her parents’ remains; she’d tore down the dungeon’s cages; and finally, she’d dragged Serenis and the hatchling out of that prison. They hadn’t gone far, but they were at least back in the throne room where the lighting dimmed out the doom and gloom behind them.
Staying even remotely close to the place for hours was clearly going to drive all of them insane. If they had to wait here for their kin’s arrival anyways, then they could do worse than stay in a less gloomy room. And Raizel could do worse than befriend the only dragon that could yet converse.
Although, their conversation was failing to go beyond sharing names.
“Ugh, what am I even doing. Thought I’d finally get to snap off that cursed emperor’s neck, but instead I’m stuck here talking to a stupid kid…”
“Waim not stoopid!”
“Sure, champ. Whatever you say.”
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“Not chwamp! Theowus!”
“Theowus? Who the hell names their kid Theowus?”
“Not Theowus! Theowus!”
“Literally the same thing.”
When the hatchling puffed his cheeks in frustration, Serenis quickly made her way to his side, cooing the little dragon in her arms once more. She beamed back a motherly smile, speaking his proper name out loud for Raizel to hear.
“Theolus, is it? You have a fine name.”
The hatchling happily nodded in succession as the dragonlord spoke his name.
Raizel, on the other hand, stared with a displeased, bewildered look.
“How do you even GET what he’s saying?”
“I suppose you grow accustomed in time. I’m sure you’ll understand once you have children of your own.”
“Seriously? You think I’ll have children?”
When Raizel spoke with the most sarcastic tone Serenis has ever heard, the dragonlord let out a brief sigh, rolling her eyes in response. Theolus likewise mimicked her and rolled his own eyes at the steel dragon, which at least tripled Raizel’s annoyance meter.
And just as Raizel angrily scoffed to the side – eyes facing the throne chamber’s entrance – their first guest came to sight.
“…What…happened here…?”
A red-haired herbalist stood at the entrance, trembling in shock.
The first thing she noticed were the collapsed wall, and two strangers sitting by the throne who were likely responsible for the mess.
The second thing she noticed was the black-scaled hatchling, squirming about in Serenis’ arms.
And, without thinking, the herbalist called out to the tiny black dragon.
“Theo!”
“? Mama!”
At first, Serenis had extended out her hand. She fully intended to blow the woman to cinders before they could lay a finger on the hatchling.
But she had to stop herself when the black dragon leapt out of her arms, speeding towards the woman to jump right into their embrace instead.
After lifting Theolus off the ground, the woman hurriedly scanned him for wounds. Confirming he was unharmed, she held him closer as if it were her own child.
“What are you doing outside?! I told you to stay under your blanket…what happened?!”
“Over dare…mama. And Waizel.”
The woman looked towards where the little dragon was pointing towards, locking eyes with two others who were staring back.
“…A…dragon?...”
“…”
“…”
When the woman’s staring continued, it was Raizel who first spoke up.
“You’re that runt’s mother?”
“No, I’m…just…”
The answering woman tried to swallow her fears with an audible gulp. The silver-haired stranger seemed human enough, but standing beside them was an unmistakable dragon, whole and hale – and their glare was far more menacing than their companion’s. In fact, it seemed like they were repressing the urge to kill her in a heartbeat.
Fearing the worst, the woman continued to force out her answer.
“I, I’m just his caretaker. Theolus, he…he just calls me mother because his parents have passed away…before he hatched…”
“…Hmph.”
Raizel shrugged at the answer in moderate satisfaction; without a single armor or weapon on their attire, it was quite clear that the woman wasn’t a soldier. And if the hatchling trusted this woman enough to jump into their arms, the youngling saw no reason to oppose them immediately.
Unfortunately, Serenis begged to differ, coldly snapping back at their given answer.
“Caretaker? A caretaker leaves a child by the rotting corpse of their kin?”
“I…I just…”
The woman had countless excuses.
She had no authority to enter or leave the dungeon chamber at will. She was bound by a curse from speaking of its existence to others. The job itself had been forced upon her, and countless predecessors – namely, her own parents – had been put to death working the same job. The emperor was wont to kill and replace those for even the smallest mistake, and she was deathly afraid of suffering the same fate.
In fact, it’d taken all of her courage to even ascend the palace hills. She’d feared the worst in having to confront the emperor without being called to the throne room – but her fear of something happening to Theolus had exceeded it.
However, the royal confrontation she’d expected was nowhere to be found. Instead of the emperor, two strangers were in the throne room, one of them an evident dragon – who seemed furious at her presence here.
‘And rightfully so, I guess…’
The herbalist bit her lips. She’d always thought this would come to pass.
That someday, the surviving dragons would find out about their imprisoned kin.
That someday, the empire would become enemies with the world’s most devastating creatures.
And that someday, she’d be the first victim of the ensuing conflict.
To Serenis, the red-haired woman was just another Akeian. And so, she had no excuses to offer to the dragonlord.
Eventually, what escaped the herbalist’s lips wasn’t an excuse at all.
“…I’m…sorry…”
“…”
A momentary silence ensued as the woman apologetically lowered her head, her watered gaze falling to the floor.
“I’m…truly sorry for what we’ve done to your brethren. I’m not sure if I can say anything else. I’m sorry…”
“…What you’ve wrought cannot be reversed with mere words.”
Serenis slowly approached the woman with ominous steps. Even Theolus began to shiver from the menace seeping out of the dragonlord’s eyes.
After coming to a stop, the dragonlord reached out her hand over the herbalist’s head.
The woman clenched her eyes in anticipation. Despite her looming fear, she knew that running away was futile.
But before Serenis’ hands could reach her, a cold grip stopped the dragonlord midway, preventing its advance.
“Lord. Stop.”
“…Raizel? What are you…”
“You’re scaring the kid too.”
“…”
When Serenis finally took a moment to lower her gaze, she could see the tiny hatchling shivering profusely in the herbalist’s arms. His little arms were tightly holding onto the red-haired woman, his expression mirroring the horror his caretaker was feeling.
The dragonlord retreated her hand with a pained, lost expression. She couldn’t even tell what was right anymore.
After an exasperated sigh, it was Raizel who turned to face the woman, tapping them on the shoulder to gain their attention.
“Hey. What do you actually do here? Humans didn’t hire you to be this runt’s caretaker, did they?”
“Huh? I, um…I check the dragons’ states and report it to his majes…I mean, the emperor. He…prioritizes extracting materials from the healthier dragons, and my job is to facilitate that.”
“? How’s this kid fine then? Isn’t he the healthiest in there?”
“…The emperor never knew about Theolus. He was an egg until just last year, and I…falsely reported that he died before hatching.”
“Why would you…actually, never mind. How old are you?”
“I’m…26…?”
“Just checking.”
Raizel kicked her tongue upon confirming the woman’s age. True to her suspicions, this woman hadn’t even been born when Akeia was invading the dragonkin’s nest.
The herbalist’s gaze shifted over to meet the hatchling’s in her arms. He was frantically waving his short arms to wipe his caretaker’s eyes.
“Mama’s cwying!”
“…It’s okay. I’m okay, Theo. Look, see? Mama’s smiling. You smile too.”
“Mrgh!”
Serenis watched in silence as Theolus and his caretaker smiled at each other.
She then turned her head to face the dungeon for another brief moment – right at the worn blanket the hatchling had been hiding under.
‘…It should’ve been obvious…’
A hatchling couldn’t survive in an environment like that outside of their egg.
Presumably, his parents were dead; had they been alive, no doubt Theolus would’ve been holed up at their side, not some old blanket. And the other imprisoned dragons were in no condition to care after a child, especially when it wasn’t even their own.
Then, someone must have. Someone had intentionally nurtured the hatchling in secret, keeping him under what covers they could provide to keep him outside the emperor’s eyes.
Indeed, it wasn’t even just Theolus. None of those dragons could’ve survived an entire century in such an environment had someone not taken care of them.
Serenis stared down at her trembling hand.
Mere moments ago, she’d tried to kill the woman before her.
Had Theolus not leapt in between them – had Raizel not stopped her hand – the hatchling’s caretaker would’ve been long dead.
A repulsive feeling began to well up inside the dragonlord. What she should’ve done was the complete opposite.
“…”
Soon – and to everyone’s evident surprise – Serenis solemnly lowered her head towards the red-haired stranger. A dragonlord was lowering themselves before a human.
But so what?
The empire had wronged her kin, but that did not mean Serenis could place its blame on every single Akeian out there. The responsibility of the empire’s wrongs fell on its emperor, and those who willingly partook in Akeia’s wrongs.
- ‘The fault lies not within the kind, but within the individual.’
It was a principle she’d preached for eons in persuading her brethren of mankind’s potential: the evil rested not within mankind as whole, but within the few individuals that comprised a mere portion. It was her who’d claimed that the blame should rest solely on the shoulders of wrongdoers, not their kind as a whole.
Shamefully, Serenis had momentarily lost sight of her very own words – and nearly murdered the person she was indebted to.
“D, dragon?! What’re you doing?! Please, raise your head!”
“…Forgive me for my earlier words. I wrongly placed the kin’s misfortune on your shoulders.”
“Please, there’s no need! You, you’re absolutely right, a proper caretaker should’ve done so much more. You’ve no reason to apologize…”
“…”
When Serenis raised her head, an apologetic smile curved her lips.
Despite all those she’d wronged, the dragonlord’s wrongs fell on her own shoulders. Her kin was not responsible for those she’d wronged in the past.
Then, it was only right that she’d do the same to others – to not see them as a mere piece of one whole, but as an individual of their own.
And right now, the woman standing before her was someone who’d went lengths and beyond to help her kin.
Another brief silence passed until Theolus excitedly clapped his paws together in the disappearing tension. Serenis quietly laughed at the sight before she spoke her next phrase.
“Thank you…for caring after us.”
During the previous era when Serenis had welcomed those of any race into the kin’s nest, the dragonlord had firmly believed in their future – where everyone would live together as kin, wishing nothing but well upon each other.
Conflicts would inevitably arise. There were bound to be those with ill intent from time to time. It was naïve to expect that such things would never happen.
But as long as there were those who shared in their lord’s ideals, she would never stray from her path.
‘Thank you. For believing in us.’