“They left everything behind?”

[Empty encampments. No sign of Dragonkins.]

Several scouts gave identical reports. It wasn’t as Kihet didn’t trust them, but it baffled him to think the enemy simply left without any resistance.

“Could this be a trap?” Draigh asked.

“I’m not sure. We would need to investigate to find out.” Kihet eyed the map closely, unable to think of anywhere the enemy would hide for ambushes.

If the enemy were to launch an air assault, they would be detected miles away. The camps were only hidden within a small forest which left very little room for an army to be hidden. Perhaps they trapped it with magic, but with Kihet, he would be able to detect it before they get caught in it.

“We’ll send in a small team to do reconnaissance and a small company to occupy it once it’s safe.”

As for those attending, Kihet thought best if he were to lead the reconnaissance group. Lily, Aten and three Scalemen would accompany him. The backup force would be commanded by Yizdra and Hilaqi, followed by a small force of twenty Scalemen.

The situation was too good to be true. They had targeted and planned to take the encampment. Kihet found it difficult to believe Alc’Bruk would willingly abandon any lands to the Scalemen, especially a well fortified one.

Unless something happened to its owners, forcing them to flee.

“Let’s move.” After counting heads, Kihet and those who were chose embarked on their mission.

“Oracle, wait!”

A duo moved up to the departing group and Kihet stopped to look who it was. A chameleon in a thick suit of studded leather was seen coaching a wagon, carrying a Tortoise Folk.

“Krullu, what are you doing?”

“Could I ask you to bring us too? I overheard the area you’re going doesn’t have enemies and its familiar to us. We’d like to visit that place.”

“This isn’t a field trip. There could be enemies lurking around.”

“Oracle, I believe it wouldn’t be an issue to bring the two along.” Hilaqi whispered. “The place of the encampment, doesss have significance to the Pale Dragon’s Herald.”

“What do you mean?”

“I-it’s where I was born.” Ainig stuck his head out of his shell.

“Do you have to go there now?”

“Well, umm…”

“Perhapsss the Herald wishes to examine the remains of his birthplace quietly before it is claimed as an outpost. Sssurely, you must relate to that.”

“I get it, but…”

“Rest assured, Oracle. I, Hilaqi, ssswear to the Azure Dragon to have no harm befall to the Pale Dragon’s Herald. Also, it may allow us to learn of the Pale Dragon’s selection process as mysterious as it soundsss.”

“Good point.”

Kihet had asked Hilaqi for information about Ainig’s past, but even the blindfolded Naga had nothing to share. Although the Pale Dragon was the bringer of light for Stusis, it was also shrouded in mystery for its secrecy.

“Are you sure it’ll be alright to bring them?” Lily asked.

“It might give us a chance to learn about Ainig. The chieftain said his powers are supposed to be on par with Alc’Bruk.”

[Certain?] Aten flipped a sign. [Dragonborn very strong.]

“I don’t know. It’d be nice to find hints to unlock Ainig’s blessing.” Kihet turned to Krullu. “You can join, but you two have to stay with Yizdra until we give you the all clear.”

“You hear that Ainig? You can visit your home after all these years!”

“Y-yeah!”

“If there isn’t anything else, we’re going ahead.”

Leaving command of the Great Wall to Draigh and Carmyn, the expedition force sped towards the site. Since the reconnaissance team numbers were small, they were able to mobilize faster than Yizdra’s forces. Kihet’s group arrived a day earlier and scouted out the perimeter.

The stronghold was as the scouts reported. In the middle of the opened land, a watchtower poked out of the small forest surrounded it. As easy as it was to spot the place, the open field would work against invaders as well. There was no cover until they reached the small forest.

Kihet’s group cautiously eyed for any movement. While they were sure no threats lurked in the area, they tread through the woods and stopped at its opened gates. Wooden palisades stretched far on both sides, protected by a moat filled of spikes. A platform pieced together with sturdy planks bridged the gap to the gates.

“No traps too. Aten’s in the air and he can’t find anything suspicious.”

“Does this mean it was actually abandoned?” Lily asked. “This is really strange.”

“We’ll go in and have a quick look around before calling Yizdra here.”

Everyone pounced at the chance to understand the Dragonkin’s intentions. Unfortunately, their findings came up short.

Tables were discovered with half eaten meals left behind. Household items found scattered everywhere in one’s home. The kindling of one’s furnace still had a little bit of embers burning. There were no signs of captives dragged into cages and moved.

Kihet aimed for the most important looking facility, the gathering hall, to find clues of the enemy whereabouts. As usual, he checked for traps. His dagger managed to wedge between the door and its frame, running the blade up and down trying to feel for any tripwires.

“It’s clear. Let’s go.”

“En.”

The gathering hall was impressive for what the Scalemen could achieve. The majority of construction relied on chiseled stone, limestone mortar, straw. Yet, the Scalemen were able to create a sturdy facility to accommodate the population of a village. Several skylight openings allowed enough skylight to fully illuminate the interior.

While raiding baskets and shelves, Lily was quick to discover a painting on the far end of the hall. One skylight was dedicated to it, making it hard to miss unless someone chose to ignore it. It was of a White Dragon with six heads and two opals where its eyes on one of its heads were.

The painting wasn’t a detailed one. It was a white silhouette of its six heads and wings spread apart. The Pale Dragon was depicted without spikes on its back and the atmosphere it casted onto the gathering hall felt divine.

And though the Dragonkins despised the Pale Dragon, it was odd the painting and the place was left intact.

“Kihet, I feel like the painting’s watching us.”

“Is it? I don’t sense any magic in this building at all. Is it just you?”

“I hope I’m imagining it. Did you find anything?”

“Maps, locations and logs. There are others in the fire pit that didn’t get disposed of properly.”

“What a find! That sounds too good to be true.”

“Most of these can be verified before we head to battle. But this is what I’m looking for.” Kihet raised a half burnt letter with enough context to read it as a withdrawal order. “They actually just up’d and left with no strings attached.”

“It’s like they left in a hurry. Should I give the signal to Yizdra?”

“Go for it.”

Lily stepped away for a moment, giving time for Kihet to examine the two crystal opals. He didn’t dare reach for it as it’d probably trigger an event, but he climbed up the wooden studs to look at it from eye level.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Like Lily imagined, the gems appeared to be fixated back at him.

When Kihet heard Lily’s whistle arrow sound, he ended his staring contest. After taking one last glance at the Pale Dragon by the doorway, that feeling of being watched vanished.

Hopefully he’d have better luck solving the mystery with Ainig returned to his birthplace.

A few hours later, Yizdra’s forces arrived to survey the village. The well and food abandoned in storage were tested clear of poison. Soldiers manned the watchtower to increase security.

“Oracle, what should I have Ainig and Krullu do?” Yizdra asked.

“Let them wander around the place today. Ainig might stumble across something we can learn about the Pale Dragon.”

“Understood. I’ll have the Scalemen continuing being vigilant.” She looked over to the Tortoise Folk. “To a degree, I envy his birthplace still exists. However, I’m glad to see the Pale Dragon’s Herald excited like this.”

Ainig chased after Krullu as they entered building to building. Sometimes, the sound of clay pots shattered when entering. Other times, a loud crash rang as Ainig accidentally broke furniture upon exiting. The two of them were eventually scolded by nearby Scalemen to stop acting like troublemakers. The duo was handed brooms and ordered to sweep up the mess they made.

Lily suddenly clung onto Kihet’s back. “What should we do now? There aren’t any enemies, so does that mean we have some free time?”

“There are always things to do. I need to verify the documents we found.”

“Or we could, you know, go stroll around and have our date.”

“We can’t relax while we’re in enemy territory.” Kihet then saw an Insectoid land in the courtyard. “Aten, I found some things the Dragonkins left behind. Want to help out?”

The Dragonfly’s antennas bobbed as to show his interest and followed Kihet to the gathering hall. Once he stepped into the grand hall, he discovered a gallery of wooden sculptures and gravitated towards the arts section. As a self taught woodworker himself, Aten couldn’t contain his admiration of works done by Scalemen.

Aten’s face was expressionless, but Kihet imagined him having big sparkling eyes as if a child had the whole museum to explore.

Few days ago, Kihet relayed information he gained from Elenora about the Insectoid’s curse. The Dragonfly had already accepted the possibility of his inevitable death. Aten already lived past his lifespan, watching generations come and went. He expressed having such immortality was a curse to prevent him from rejoining his friends and family. His decision to remove his curse was adamant and if it the cost was his life, so be it.

[Will you open that path for me when the time comes?]

“You have my promise. Until we reach that point, you’re stuck being with us.”

[Thank you, Oracle.]

“I’ve told you many times it’s Kihet.”

[How spell?]

“Is that why I never see you call me by my name?”

It was saddening to think one day Aten would one day no longer be able to walk beside him.

“Hey, Kihet. Does the painting on the wall look different to you?” Lily barged into his thoughts and pointed at the wall.

“What do you mean?”

“It looks off? Some of the heads don’t look like it’s in the same position as the last time I looked at it?”

Lily always had a better memory than him. He wouldn’t have noticed it at first glance, but after pondering below the painting, there were obvious changes.

The wings didn’t look like they were in the same position, the location of the two opals shifted. One of its legs was raised slightly more than the other. The difference was minuscule, but after it was pointed out, it was clear something wasn’t right.

To reiterate, Kihet would’ve detected anything magical present, but the painting wasn’t triggering his senses. For the sake of safety, he ordered Aten and Lily to bundle up everything useful to take while he studied the painting of the Pale Dragon.

“Alright, Ainig! Last place! Tell me all about it!” In before entered Krullu and following the Chameleon was Ainig.

“Don’t we need to clean up our mess? We’re going to get scolded!”

“Psh. Chores can always be done later. Are ya going to tell me what this place is or not?”

“U-umm…” Ainig’s eyes darted all over the interior. “T-this was where anything important meetings was held. It looked smaller than I remembered.”

“You probably grew too much. Look at yourself! You’re almost as tall as the doorway!” Krullu then noticed there were others exploring the building. “Geh! O-Oracle! Fancy seeing you here!”

“Skipping out on work again?”

“No, no. Just leaving them for later. Who wouldn’t want to see what their home looks like after so long?”

[Careful. Lots of fragile works.]

“Eep!”

Ainig jumped after having to catch a glance of Aten emerge beside him. The Tortoise bumped into one of the stands carrying a wooden sculpture to which Aten immediately dove to prevent it to be damaged. Unfortunately, the stand toppled the one next to it and eventually, every historical valued pieces of that row crashed down.

Out of fifteen pieces, Aten and Kihet managed to preserved seven.

“Awawawawa! I’m sorry!”

“Don’t turn around!” Kihet yelled.

It was too late as Ainig’s shell knocked a vase next to the doorway and the interior was filled with silence after it shattered into millions of fragments.

“S-sorry!”

“What kind of ruckus are you guys making?” Lily stepped out of the office. “What are you guys doing?”

“Ainig, don’t you dare move. Stay where you are.” At Kihet’s demand, the Tortoise Folk winced and balled himself up.

Kihet managed to stop the Tortoise Folk from further ransacking the place because of his clumsiness. With the two objects he saved, he carefully set them on the ground next to the stands. He couldn’t imagine how someone could be so unaware of their surroundings that he was kind of amazed.

Suddenly, he felt a quake.

Kihet was about to sprint outside to see if they were being attacked, but no one else had the same reaction. As he wondered what had caused it, he heard something move behind. Everyone else looked above him.

He dared himself to turn around and found the culprit staring down at all of them. Six of its heads retracted, leaving one with its set of opal eyes blinked. Its wings gave one great flap, sending forth a gust of wind dropping other sculptures down from their stand.

“Wh-wh-what the hell?!” Krullu shrieked.

The doors slammed shut behind the Tortoise folk as its claws was suddenly seen reaching the top of the pillars. It climbed atop of objects connected to the walls of the building. Its body slithered along surfaces and prowled along a wooden stud, casting its eerie glare at everyone.

“My, look how large you’ve grown, little Ainig.” A slit formed where its jaws were located, curling up to a sinister grin. “It’s been a long long while. I’m so happy to see you’ve grown up. I haven’t seen you after the ritual.”

No doubt this was the Pale Dragon. Ambushed by its two dimensional majestic presence, no one dared to utter a word. As they were now, a Dragon was a creature beyond the bounds of any person could slay, let alone an Elder Dragon.

If someone like Alc’Bruk only displayed a fraction of its power, how strong would an actual Elder Dragon be? While the others shuddered to imagine having it as an enemy, Kihet was composed. The Acolytes exerted a much more sinister aura of despair unlike this foe. His hand calmly hovered over the handle of his weapon, but kept it sheathed to express he was cautious of it in case the Pale Dragon took offense.

“Ainig, you alright bud?” Krullu nudged his unresponsive friend.

The Tortoise suddenly screamed in agony and collapsed on his knees. His expression was not being struck with fear, but confusion. Krullu standing next to him could see Ainig’s irises move rapidly and could tell something was being transmitted into his friend’s mind from the Pale Dragon.

“Ainig! Snap out of it! What are you doing to my friend?!”

“Do not touch my Herald, faithless one!”

“Eei! I’m sorry!”

Kihet hesitated whether to mark the Pale dragon as an enemy. It was obvious Ainig was in pain, but what could he do against it? One breath attack from this mythical creature and this structure with everyone else outside would be annihilated instantly.

Before Lily or Aten acted in emergency, Kihet made a gamble. “What are you doing to him, Ishverial?”

He previously heard its sacred name from the priest he slew to infiltrate Stusis anonymously. If it was anything to get the attention of a deity, it would be their names not publicly known.

“The Dragon God has bestowed that holy moniker onto myself, but none have spoken it in eons. What are you, mortal?”

“The Oracle.”

“And so you are, regretfully that is not the answer I seek.” It hissed. “I am the Pale Dragon, one of the four sacred deities to bless Stusis with my light. Your status does not concern me. Your identity, your history, your stories are what speaks to me of your worth.”

“I don’t care. I am the Oracle and that’s the final answer you’re going to get. I don’t worship you.”

“There are those who are brave, and ones who are foolish. Which one do you think you are to challenge me?”

“If you think you’re able to threaten me, think again.”

“Kihet, what are you doing?!” Lily whispery scolded him. “You’re going to anger it!”

“That just means a deity is merely a narcissistic creature who can’t stand anyone who said no to it.” Silver flames combusted over his left arm. “But that is only my imagination, right?”

The building trembled as the Pale Dragon crawled over the other side of the ceiling. It formed a frown and stretched a long neck above Kihet, examining his racial traits closely. The greyed, almond size pupils were one thing that it was interested in most.

“Quite peculiar. Your eyes convey not pride nor anger, and not sorrow nor confidence. It is those built upon efforts of stepping onto the path of hope from nothingness. You have the face of that I yearned to witness on my Heralds.”

“I’m not interested in your kinks. Stop whatever you’re doing to Ainig right now.”

“Regretfully, he is in the middle of awakening. My little Herald is at the stage to test his resolve. Afterall, only he and the Crimson’s Wrath are the only two champions left standing.”

The magic’s song filled the room. While Kihet was the only one capable to hear it, others could feel a disturbance emitted from Ainig’s neck, the amulet Kihet delivered by the priest’s request. A familiar aura rivaling the Crimson’s Wrath enveloped Ainig as the Tortoise Folk began transforming into its draconic form.

“And so, his memories have returned.”

Ainig wrapped his head and fell flat on his stomach, wailing much louder. White light shined from the cracks on his carapace. His body was forcibly transforming as pieces of his shed scale, revealing a runic symbol of the Pale Dragon engraved on his whitened shell. A single large horn pointing in the same direction as his nose faced grew on his forehead. His forearms bulged and was reinforced with polished scales with a spectral of color.

Though it was beautiful to observe, Ainig was not safe to approach.

“Aten, get Krullu away!” Lily shouted.

Aten immediately clothesline tackled Krullu as Ainig brandished his arm at them. The Tortoise’s opalescence forearms scrapped along the stone floor, carving a buckshot of fragments that was catapulted to destroy several pillars in the path.

In mid-swing, Ainig used the momentum of his spin to fling at his next target, Kihet.

Kihet was caught off guard by Ainig’s swift fluid motion and was forced to block a devastating downward blow. He casted [Repulsion] to stand his ground.

“No way!”

Not even Alc’Bruk and the Acolytes could overcome Kerse invisible barrier. Whereas Alc’Bruk was thrown several times into the air because of Kihet’s magic, Ainig overwhelmed the opposing force by slowly pushing through. The Tortoise’s attack was immensely slowed, but Kihet had to pull himself away using his [Chain].

The interior was struck with an earthquake that brought everyone onto their bottoms from the devastating smash. Thanks to the Pale Dragon, the building didn’t collapse. It observed Ainig with its blessing curiously.