Ep 7. Pay Your Respects. (2)
A chilled breeze brushed past Serenis’ cheek. The sun was beginning to set in the distant skies.
But other than the howling winds and the bristling of leaves, the area was dead silent.
“I am not here to ask for servitude, nor allegiance.”
The dragons could do little but to listen. None were permitted to move. Raizel took heart in the fact that they could at least breathe this time.
“And if it be against our kin’s wish, I do not plan to interfere with your way of living.”
Some seemed relieved. Some seemed confused. And yet, more seemed terrified at the fact that there was a being who could bind their brethren at will.
Once again, the dragonlord let out an exasperated sigh.
‘I’m no different than a tyrant like this.’
During her life, Serenis was accepted by all of her kin as their ruler. The kin trusted her, and she trusted them. There was mutual acceptance in her rule.
But this was nothing of that sort. She was a stranger that had barged into the home of dragons to suddenly announce that she was their lord.
“But, loath as I am to admit it…I need your assistance. As you can all see, my flesh is that of a mere human child’s. I’ve lost most of my former strength, and I plan to reclaim it by finding my heart.”
What separated the first lords from the rest of their kin?
There was a very clear distinction between the first lords and their brethren: their lifespan was not finite. Unless deliberately killed, the first lords lived indefinitely, and Serenis was no exception.
It wasn’t that their body wasn’t prone to deterioration. However, the first lords possessed a distinct heart – an infinite source of life that restored their deteriorating bodies to its prime constantly, and provided them with more mana than most archmages would ever dream of.
Even if her corpse had withered away, Serenis assumed that her heart would still remain somewhere in this world. Although her original assumption that it’d be in the current dragonlord’s possession was proven false.
“If any of you know of its whereabouts, I implore you to speak. If it’s in your possession, then I implore you to return it to its rightful owner.”
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Dead silence.
No one had it. No one even knew where it was. The silence couldn’t possibly be false in the premise of her spell that was still in effect.
“…It doesn’t have to be an exact location. Even an idea of where such an object may be will do.”
Finally, the more elderly dragons began to speak.
“It may be within the frozen remains of our ancestral kin.”
“If it’s anywhere…”
“That would be my only guess as well.”
‘Ancestral kin?’
Serenis eyed the dragon that had first spoken.
“What is this ‘ancestral kin’ that you speak of?”
“It’s a dragon that is said to have ruled us as a tyrant, many centuries ago. We were never told of its name, but it is said that the dragonkin bitterly resisted their rule, and successfully sealed them at the heart of the valley, forever to remain frozen.”
Serenis furrowed her brows. A number of theories were forming within her mind as to how such a story would come to be, and none too pleasant.
But out of them all, one theory disturbed her in particular.
‘Please don’t tell me that’s MY remains.’
“Could you guide me to it, then?”
“Certainly.”
“…Thank you.”
Serenis scanned the valley once more. The kneeling dragons were no less uneasy than before.
“The rest of you are free to go about your lives.”
As the spell broke, half her kin immediately took flight into the distance towards their individual nests. Some slowly arose and began to mutter amongst each other. Only the elder dragon that had volunteered to be her guide stepped forward to join Serenis.
Though, somewhat unexpectedly, Raizel and Ilias joined him by his side as well.
Serenis eyed them oddly, shooing them away.
“…You two are free to go as well.”
“I’m just following my father.”
“I’m just going where I want to.”
At this point, Raizel going where she wanted made perfect sense. But for Ilias…
‘Father?’
Serenis exchanged glances between Ilias and the elderly dragon.
Grey and ruffled hair, beard, sharp gaze, bulky figure…
“This is…your father?”
“Yep!”
“Bruton.”
The elderly dragon curtly introduced himself. Despite what had just happened, it seemed he had trouble accepting the tiny human boy as his lord. Understandably so, in fact.
But what bothered Serenis more, was…
“…You two look nothing alike.”
In fact, Raizel resembled Bruton more than Ilias.
“She looks a lot closer to her mother.”
“And I’m glad I do! Imagine if I looked like you, father. Blegh.”
“Hey, I don’t look that awful.”
“Yeah? Why don’t you get another daughter who looks just like you?”
“…Let’s get going, shall we? The seal isn’t far from here.”
Bruton hurriedly changed the subject. He curiously looked down at Serenis.
“Can you fly?”
“I can.”
“Good.”
Large, black wings jutted forth from Bruton’s back. Ilias unfolded her crimson red wings as well, and Serenis used a spell to grant herself the same luminescent wings.
Meanwhile, Raizel grabbed Ilias by the waist with both her arms.
“…Curse it, I should’ve flown off faster.”
“Still haven’t learned your lesson, have you.”
Serenis stared at the two younglings in confusion.
Noticing her gaze, Ilias let out a nervous laughter.
“Oh, this is, um…Raizel doesn’t have wings.”
Doesn’t have wings?
How can a dragon not have wings?
Actually, before that…
“Then…Raizel, how did you tackle me midair?”
“Oh, that? I jumped.”
“From…?”
“? The ground, of course.”
“You jumped from the ground…to tackle someone flying in the air?”
Serenis looked towards Ilias and Bruton for clarification. Both of them shrugged at her.
“She’s always been like this.”
“One of a kind, that girl.”
“…”
As they took off, Serenis began to seriously worry about her kin’s future.