According to the bestiary that Dallion had obtained years ago, there were a total of seventeen known dragons—dead or alive. Upon hearing that they’d be hunting a nest, his immediate thoughts were that he might set off to exterminate Dark’s family. Hearing that the location was to the north didn’t calm him down much, either. With the world being a globe, there was a chance that the fallen south could end up a lot closer to the imperial capital than one might expect.
“Lift the walls, Pierce,” Abla said in a loud voice.
Within seconds, the walls that separated the inner sanctum from the uncommon room slid up into the ceiling. The spell integrated within the structure was masterfully crafted, but Dallion’s thoughts were elsewhere.
Veil, tell Hannah she’s in charge, he said through his personal realm.
Your wife won’t like that, the overseer replied.
Tell Eury to go to the nearest monastery of the Order and ask for the offer that was promised.
That’s a bit cryptic. Are you in trouble?
I don’t know yet, but someone is.
A second layer of walls vanished up into the ceiling, transforming the entire building into one massive chamber. Even so, everyone present knew their place. No one crossed the invisible lines, demoting their status. Occasional shuffling took place as the more senior members moved closer to the center, finding their order within the hierarchy.
“You all responded to the call,” Abla said, putting an end to any whispers that were still taking place. “The veterans will know what this means. To everyone else, the Order of the Twelve Suns has been tasked with a dragon hunt.”
Eagerness and pride filled the space, emitted by virtually everyone. The emotions were so strong that Dallion felt as if he were stuck inside a ringing church bell.
“The Mage Academy made the discovery a few weeks ago,” Abla continued. “The inner sanctum was made aware back then, but fighting on the fronts made it impossible for any action to be taken. Now, thanks to Bishop Dallion Elazni, who defeated the Azure forces in the far east, we’ve been granted a window of opportunity.”
I’m a bishop now?
Dallion had rarely heard so many lies stacked in one. For starters, he was never informed of the find. The archmage went out of his way to keep it secret. Also, from a military standpoint, Dallion hadn’t achieved a victory, but rather avoided a defeat. He had been on the defensive and if it wasn’t for the Alliance’s remaining troops he would have fled back to the imperial capital with nothing. Finally, he couldn’t help but notice that there had been no mention of the Alliance’s destruction.
“The information we have is scant, but we’ve managed hunts with less,” Atla added, ending with a laugh.
A few chuckles followed from other members, though a lot less than Dallion thought there’d be.
“I won’t lie to you. The task is massive. The mages say that the nest holds several dozen dragonlets and young dragons, each of them capable of taking down several fourth-gaters. But that’s not all. The reason that the entire Order was called upon was because a grand dragon was also spotted.”
I don’t like the sound of that, Dallion said to himself.
Just like an idiot to go poking for dragons in the middle of a war, Adzorg agreed with a grumble. If I still were archmage, I’d have put the nest off limits until the nymphs were defeated.
Clearly, the old mage remained convinced of the emperor’s infallibility.
The speech went on in a mixture of praise and preparing the participants for the worst. At one point, one of the inner sanctum members made his way to Dallion. The approach was silent and faster than the eye could see. Dallion, though, had become above the average domain ruler.
“Wait for the rush, then head for the war room,” the person said. He was at least three quarters of a century old, with multiple scars on his face and neck. Even without asking, Dallion could tell that the man was a hunter and one with plenty of experience.
“Where’s the war room?” Dallion whispered back.
“Far end. The marble door.”
No sooner had he said that, than the man moved away just as quickly as he had approached.
“The emperor himself has acknowledged this as the Order’s greatest mission!” Atla’s voice boomed, spreading threads of enthusiasm through the massive chamber. In typical empath fashion, he wasn’t targeting the people directly, but the item guardians of their gear. “For that reason, all of you will receive the greatest gift the Twelve Suns have to offer.” He pointed in the direction of one of the remaining doors. “Today, every member, regardless of rank, will be granted access to the skill awakening shrine! Take as much advantage of it as your skills allow!”
If there was any doubt as to “the rush” it was now gone. Hundreds rushed in the direction indicated, bursting into instances as they did so. The temptation of endless levels shattered the usual decorum, as no one wished to be left out. The only people who remained still were those who had already reached the soft cap.
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“Disgraceful,” Duchess Elazni muttered, using her music skills to create a circle of dread around her. No one, even unwittingly, approached within ten feet of her, even if the majority had no idea why.
Don’t miss your cue, dear boy, Adzorg reminded.
Dallion didn’t need telling twice, quickly moving away from the main crowd and to the empty section of the building. It took him less than a second to reach the marble door.
Let me in, he told the guardian, noticing that the door had no lock of handle.
Without a word, a lock clicked, letting the door open a crack.
Stepping inside, Dallion found five people already present. All of them had the distinct appearance of hunters, along with a few others. Of them all, the only one Dallion was remotely familiar with was Astra. The woman had traded her usual fancy outfit for a full set of sky silver.
“Close it,” the hunter who had approached Dallion earlier said. “It’s enough that we have to hunt with that rabble.”
Clearly not a people person, Dallion thought as he pushed the door shut.
“Hi, Dal.” Astra offered a smile. “I see you’ve already met the Count, and everyone else, for that matter.”
One of the hunters snorted in amusement.
“Pleasure.” Dallion nodded, glancing at everyone in turn. “I thought titles weren’t used in the inner sanctum.”
“The Count is our exception. He’s the last of the old guard, and if he’s to be believed, the second greatest hunter on the continent.”
The second? Dallion asked within his realm.
The emperor’s the first, obviously, Adzorg replied.
Obviously, Dallion thought.
“Let’s get on with it,” the Count took his seat at the small marble table in the center of the room. “Forget everything you heard out there. We’re going after the great dragon. Everything else is for show.”
“Why gather all the other members, then?” Dallion took one of the free seats as well.
“Time,” Astra replied. “With the war, we can’t spend years chasing the creature. The common and uncommon members will spread out so we can cover a large area. Once they find the nest, it’ll be our turn.”
“Didn’t the Academy find that already?”
“I told you to forget everything you heard out there,” the Count hissed. “They found something, tried to take it, then ran off once something larger came. They geared up and tried a second time, but the dragons were gone.”
That sounded disturbing. For the Shimmering Circle to fail, the dragon had to be very powerful.
“In short, they find it, we kill it, then bring the prize to the emperor.”
“Sounds a bit excessive. The emperor must love his trophies.”
Half of the people at the table looked away, two let out a mocking laugh.
“Oh, the trophy is worth the effort.” For the first time since he’d met him, Dallion thought he saw the Count’s lips twist into a grin. “A dragon that big is bound to have a Moonstone.”
“Moonstone?” Dallion’s heart skipped a beat.
Now, that explained a great many things. Moonstones were a lot rarer than he initially thought. Initially, the mage’s trial had left him with the impression that they were rare, but findable resources, no different from artifacts. Since then, he had revised his opinion. All the time and money spent on ruin hunting had only earned him one additional Moonstone. Technically, he could obtain another if he destroyed the awakening shrine of his domain, but he didn’t consider doing that even as a last resort.
“More than one, if we’re lucky. For there to be a nest, there have to be two of them. Two great dragons. It’ll be a difficult kill, so we’ll have to split up. You have the highest magic in the Order, so you’ll focus on the stronger one. Pierce will deal with the other.”
“By deal, I assume you mean protect you lot?” Dallion clarified.
“Whatever works,” the Count ignored the question. “What’s important is to kill them fast and not let a vortex form. If one does form—” the man pointed at Dallion “—you’ll have to deal with that as well.”
“Naturally.”
From what he could remember, dragons contained so much magic that upon death, part of their energy tore a piece of reality, giving birth to a void copy of the creature complete with skills and memories. If the dragons they’d face were stronger, the hunting party would have to kill them twice: once in their normal form, and once again in whatever form followed.
“There’s still some time until the skill leveling is over, so take care of any unfinished business by then. And you.” The count gave Dallion a stern look. “Gear up.”
“Sure,” Dallion replied. “But before that, I have a question. I know I’m the newest one here, but are there any songs or records about facing a great dragon?”
The silence was absolute. Even the emotions emanating from the people moments ago abruptly stopped.
“Not even one?”
“The Order of the Seven Moons erased all knowledge on the matter.” Astra was the one who spoke. “We know that there’ve been dragon hunts in the past. Thanks to the Academy, we also know that Moonstones are obtained by slaying a great dragon, but other than that…” she shrugged.
“We know that not all past hunts involved mages, so they can be defeated,” another hunter added.
“Magic only kills if it’s stronger than the person it’s facing,” Dallion said. “For all we know, killing the dragon might turn it into something much stronger.”
“Which is precisely why the emperor gathered the entire inner sanctum,” the Count stressed. “All of us are close to a hundred. We’ll handle the matter. The only question is how many we’ll lose in the process.”
Only a hardened hunter could say that. Dallion had suspected something back when access to the skill shrine had been offered. There was no such thing as a free lunch. Back during the War of Inheritance in Wetie province, a similar offer had been made to anyone willing to join the army for one side or another.
Once again, I ended up like my grandfather, Dallion thought. Does anyone know how to fight a great dragon?
No, Harp replied. I didn’t face any back in my age, and the Order was thorough in erasing all other knowledge. I might have killed one in the hands of my owners and I wouldn’t even know.
That sounded rather excessive. With all information on the matter erased from the world, Dallion was heading into the hunt blind. Protecting Abla, not to mention himself, had become a whole lot more difficult.