Chapter 5
Cold Dawn was excited, very excited.
But he wouldn't let it show, no.
Confident on the outside, firm at heart... Confident on the outside, firm at heart...
He repeated inwardly what his father had taught him about the appearance of a reputable dragon.
"You may be as emotionally stable as a waterfall, but as long as you don't show your mental state on the outside, you're one step ahead of every situation," his father had told him.
Confident on the outside, firm at heart... Confident on the outside, firm at heart...
The young dragon's heart leapt wildly in his chest. If it wasn't absolute nonsense biologically, he seriously feared that it would jump out of his mouth. And how embarrassing that would be!
He quickly shooed away the inner images that formed in his head at the thought of this terrible scenario.
He wouldn't make a fool of himself, no. Not in front of his idol. Otherwise he would only have the choice of hiding away for the next 500 years and hoping that the memories of Starbound and his aunt would have faded by then. He couldn't hope that they would die and forget the experience for good, given the longevity of those present.
He paused.
What do you mean by hope?! How can you wish them both dead or even think about it! he thought in horror.
Oh, I hope, hope, hope that Starbound can't read minds. If he can read minds —, he didn't even want to imagine the thought, then...
Oh, no, how embarrassing that would be!
Cold Dawn breathed in and out deeply to stabilize his inner state.
Confident on the outside, steady at heart... Confident on the outside, steady at heart...
"... what do you think Cold Dawn?"
Glacial Doom looked at him.
His skipping heart stopped abruptly.
Oh no.
Oh no, no, no, no, ...
He had a terrible suspicion that he had missed something important during his mental near-collapse.
"...yes?" he said hesitantly, hoping it was the right answer.
He squinted over to the tomcat out of the corner of his eye and tried to read his hero's facial expressions to see what he thought of his answer.
Starbound looked at him blankly.
Hopeless.
What have I done? Did I mess it up? Cold Dawn felt like crying.
The biggest opportunity of my life so far, just blown! He sank into a huge sea of self-pity, his thoughts revolving around the missed opportunity.
"Very well, then why don't you take our guest to the library after dinner? I'll get a suitable drink for us and then join you."
"Mhm."
The carousel of thoughts stopped. He felt a glimmer of hope that the situation might turn out well after all.
"And if Starbound is interested in the artifacts on the way there, please give him a little tour. I'll show him the library and the salon myself."
The glimmer of hope became a blazing fire.
He had no idea what he had finally gotten himself into, but what a tour he would give the cat! The best guided tour he had ever been given! A dazzling presentation, full of humorous anecdotes and impressive details!
"It's an honor," he said as solemnly as he could.
*****
"And this is the fabled Fan of Oblivion." Cold Dawn and Lord Mitten looked at the last artifact in front of the entrance to the library.
Lord Mitten's positive impression was strengthened.
The young dragon was a pleasant companion who was able to tell him cheerful and interesting information about the respective treasures on the stone pedestals. And he did so with an astonishing composure that young dragons often lacked, much to his chagrin. Instead, they pranced around him in awe and at a safe distance, not daring to speak to him, even though their heads seemed to be about to explode with questions.
Really exhausting.
How much more pleasant a dragon that approached him with the necessary respect but without shyness. So much more pleasant.
He looked at the dragon and once again decided to generously share his knowledge. Such steady personalities had to be supported wherever possible. There were enough crazy people in this world. And they also had access to precious objects.
Lord Mitten shook his head inwardly. Ignorant when it came to dealing with magical powers and forces, but unfortunately not ignorant enough to do away with themselves.
Very unfortunate.
That would have made his work much easier in the past.
The entrance to the library was closed by a large wooden gate with a round arch. Cold Dawn opened the double doors with his telekinetic ability and Lord Mitten watched him to get an assessment of his current state of development.
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Sobering. The dragon was visibly struggling with the heavy solid doors, even if he tried not to show it.
Overprotected indeed.
Glacial Doom's brother had done well to remove Cold Dawn from his mother's sphere of influence. How tragic if such a promising offspring were to be spoiled by misunderstood maternal love.
Lord Mitten sighed. The bloody end of the Age of Dragons had caused deep wounds that affected the lives of the survivors for a long time afterwards. Concern for the welfare of the offspring sometimes, as in this case, degenerated into harmful protection and withholding from the outside world.
He had contributed in no small part to the current situation of the dragons. So it was only right that he should lend a helping hand to one of their own.
Lord Mitten and Cold Dawn entered the round room, the walls of which were lined with high bookshelves made of dark wood. Thick woven rugs lay on the floor, giving the room a cozy ambience. A huge wing chair with enough room even for frost giants stood to the left, inviting one to settle down with a cup of tea and never get up again.
Unused. For it was not suitable for the stature of a dragon.
Lord Mitten had the impression that he felt the need to sigh disproportionately often today. Was he getting soft in his old age?
"So, what do you think?"
Behind him, Glacial Doom entered the room with a keg of dwarven brew.
"Invites you to linger forever," he replied honestly.
The dragon grinned with satisfaction.
"Sit down, sit down!" Glacial Doom tapped her tail on the armchair and poured him a drink from the barrel into a crystal glass. After Lord Mitten had made himself comfortable in the armchair, she described to him in detail the creative process that had led to the beautiful library, from the first sketch to the final touches. Cold Dawn, who was certainly not listening to the descriptions for the first time, sat down at the edge and listened attentively.
What a polite fellow.
"... and with that, the detail work was completed and the library was finished as you see it now," Glacial Doom finished, stroking the ornate side table next to the armchair with her mighty right paw.
"Truly impressive," Lord Mitten said with genuine admiration.
His gaze wandered over the filled bookshelves and finally stopped at the majestic dragon. A smile flashed briefly across his face and he once again made himself comfortable in the armchair.
"I'm applying here and now for a free pass so that I can settle down here at any time in the future and sink into your armchair and books," he said with a grave expression.
A delighted Glacial Doom beamed at him with her white teeth. Her tail twitched nervously, seemingly caught between the joy of recognition and the fear of destroying something with impulsive tail wagging. Finally, as a second-best alternative, it decided to hit the floor to express her joy at least somewhat appropriately.
The carpets really are sturdy, Lord Mitten thought, suffering a little with them as they were given a good thumping and a muffled boom boom filled the room.
"You're welcome anytime, old friend! The Dwarven Brew and I look forward to seeing you in my halls." Glacial Doom replied.
Her tail slowly came to rest again and her gaze turned to Cold Dawn as her powerful body regained its majestic aura.
"But enough about me."
She looked appreciatively over at Cold Dawn, who had behaved impeccably so far.
"What kind of aunt would I be if I denied my nephew an opportunity like this?"
"Have a chat and when you're done, why don't you drop by my garden Starbound? I want to talk to you about something before you set off again."
Glacial Doom rose slowly, careful not to destroy any furniture with her mighty tail. She left the room at a leisurely pace, leaving the excited young dragon behind with his role model.
Lord Mitten looked at Cold Dawn in the corner of the room.
"Well? Are you going to sit there or are you going to make it easier on my neck and your ears and come a little closer?"
The dragon hurriedly stood up and sat down in front of the armchair where Lord Mitten was sitting. He looked at him expectantly with wide eyes.
Now then, what do I do next, Lord Mitten thought. It had been a few years since his last teaching session.
Hundreds, thousands? I seem to have gotten a little out of practice.
Fortunately, his excellent memory did not fail him this time either and memories of his advisory activities slowly emerged and came to life.
"Now then," he addressed the dragon, who continued to stare at him with wide eyes.
"Let's start with a survey of the current situation. What are your strengths?"
"Strengths?" Cold Dawn asked slowly.
Hesitantly, he continued. "So far, I've focused on my ice skills."
"Ice, hm. Not surprising, almost expected. And a good decision. Have you already tested them in a real battle and know the extent of their power and range?" asked Lord Mitten.
Cold Dawn squirmed under the cat's gaze.
"No. Only in theory... and on a rabbit." The dragon seemed to want to sink into the ground.
Good. At least he's aware of his glaring weaknesses.
Realization was the first step towards improvement. And the young dragon seemed to realize his situation, the way he sat dejectedly in front of him, waiting for a devastating verdict.
After letting Cold Dawn stew for a bit, purely for educational purposes of course, Lord Mitten broke the silence.
"And do you wish to maintain the current state?" Lord Mitten eyed the dragon with narrowed eyes. What good would it do if his father and aunt were united in their desire to push him forward, but the dragon himself saw no need for action?
"No." Cold Dawn answered him firmly and looked at him resolutely.
"I want to become brave and strong like my father, to protect what is important to me."
Very good, thought Lord Mitten with satisfaction.
In his mind, he went through the different ways of learning and thought about what would benefit his protégé the most at the moment.
*****
Cold Dawn was nervous. Starbound licked his left paw extensively and said nothing. Had he perhaps failed the test?
Suddenly, the tom's voice rang out, snapping him out of his worrying carousel of thoughts.
"What makes a powerful being, be it dwarf, human or dragon?"
Starbound continued and answered the question himself: “Power and precision. Power without precision is just an uncontrolled discharge of one's own magical energy and precision without power is - you guessed it - a pathetic affair. In the first case, you harm those who mean you well, in the second case, those who mean you ill take no damage."
His whiskers twitched.
"Some have criminally ignored this truism in the past, and many of them have regretted it in one painful way or another."
"Some," Starbound wrinkled his nose contemptuously, "some have taken it to extremes and even elevated the lack of control to a revered form of combat."
"Berserkers," the cat spat out and grimaced.
"Fools who cause a lot of chaos and aren't even physically capable of cleaning it up themselves after their attack."
Large almond-shaped golden eyes stared at him.
"I think it's clear that this is NOT the way for you, is it?"
Energetically, Cold Dawn shook his head. Only a fool would think that question actually allowed for two legitimate answers.
Satisfied, Starbound nodded at him. Relieved, Cold Dawn exhaled the air he had been holding and a few snowflakes formed in the room.
"So what are you going to do?" the cat continued.
"Build up your reserves of strength and practise dealing with the element of ice, of course."
An empty, unrolled scroll materialized on the floor in front of Cold Dawn, on which texts and formulas slowly became visible.
"The <
The scroll rolled itself up, left the ground and remained floating in front of Cold Dawn.
"You will find in it all the information you need to build a firm foundation for your skills. Your aunt will certainly help you with the practical implementation, and yes - that also means hunting larger animals than rabbits."
Cold Dawn reached for the scroll.
"I'll be back in a few months to guide you further according to your progress. Hopefully you'll know what to do by then."
Cold Dawn looked at the cat in awe. Not only would he receive a personal lesson from him, but two! If only his siblings knew that.
"Yes, honorable Starbound. I know what I have to do and will devote my full attention to my task."
Satisfied, his idol nodded, jumped off the chair and left the room with his tail raised.
"Until we meet again, then."
Cold Dawn watched after him until he had disappeared into the next corridor and then reverently opened the scroll and began to read.
*****
After Glacial Doom had persuaded Lord Mitten to help redesign the grounds on his next visit, he made his way back. He left the cave and realized that it was already dark outside. Apparently, he had stayed much longer than he had originally planned.
It was time for a long nap, after all, the kraken needed to be digested.