“Why are we not pursuing the rebels?”

Brightheart gazed across the table at the irate mage. There were captains and councilors in attendance, but none of them wanted to deal with Feron’s anger.

“My dear Feron, we are pursuing the rebels. We have multiple teams tracking them down. We are also gathering our forces for our attack on the Majestix. While it was originally intended as a campaign against the swamp lizards, what happened to you has convinced the council to focus on the cats first.”

There was a palpable heat emanating from the mage. Even his eyes seemed to smolder with a repressed flame. “These delays are unacceptable. The mage traitors have escaped my vengeance for too long.”

Brightheart faced down the mage, masked visage smiling broadly, breastplate shining in the mage globe light. “It was your method of vengeance that permitted the mages to escape. Your commandeering of the guard delayed notification. Rather than interdict the Academy, you went through the city, burning down homes. As a result, the teleportation network was sabotaged and we cannot quickly bring our widespread forces together.”

Clasping his hands together on the table, he leaned forward slightly. “We need those forces. We need the berserkers from the mines. We need the guards from the valley and the desert.

“We need them here and that takes time.”

Leaning back again, he waved towards the door. “If you would like to pursue the fugitives on your own, you are welcome to do so. However, if you want the might of the Empire to assist you, then it will do so. The Emperor has vowed to send that full might. That means the full might, not piecemeal forces.”

Feron glared from across the table, but Brightheart could see the light on understanding in the mage’s eyes. He may not like the reality of things, but he was willing to accept them if presented properly.

The temperature in the room began to fade. Though still scowling, Feron nodded. “Very well. Perhaps I can take this time to create something to help me achieve vengeance.” Suddenly he stood, glared around the room, then stalked out.

One of the councilmen wiped sweat from his brow. “I really thought he might have set us all on fire.” There were nervous chuckles around the table.

Brightheart shook his head. “My dear man, you merely need to know how to deal with men like that. People who only see others as resources. Many of you should be more used to thinking like that.”

The chuckles this time sounded more natural. Men began to file from the room, thanking Brightheart as they left. Once alone, he leaned back, resting a hand on the breastplate protecting his chest and the crystal keeping him alive.

He understood Feron’s desire for vengeance. That same fire smoldered within his reanimated heart, simmered along the replaced flesh of his arms, and burned in the scars on his face. He also understood the need for patience and preparing the proper response.

Those who had caused the misfortune in his life were possessing of powers far beyond anything Brightheart held in his own hands. It was only with the power of the Empire, of a united humanity, that he would be able to redress the wrongs perpetrated against him.

There was a knock on the door and Dierdra stuck her head in. Before he could say anything, she disappeared. Moments later she entered fully, followed by a familiar mage.

Brightheart extended a hand, clasping forearms. “My dear Crighton. What a surprise! We weren’t expecting you for days yet!”

Crighton slumped into a chair after the greeting. “My Beast Caller killed several mounts getting us here this quickly. One day he may forgive me for that.” The man took a deep breath before continuing. “I needed to get back here before Feron got it into his head to waste one of our most precious resources. One we’ve been meaning to tell you about.”

Cocking his head to the side, Brightheart looked from Crighton to Dierdra, who offered him a bright smile. “Indeed? And what is that?”

Crighton took another breath, then heaved himself from the chair. “It is best to show you. Let’s head to the Academy.”

Brightheart nodded and the trio made their way from the building, Diedra linking arms with him. They shared companionable silence along the way to the Academy, though a multitude of questions tried to escape him.

Once at the Academy, they entered an area unfamiliar to him, not that he’d been to a lot of the interior of the building. Down and down they went, passing through several doors that required one of the mages to do something magical to open, securing it behind them.

At some point they descended past the point where they were within the plateau itself, then continued ever downwards.

Finally, they arrived at a large door, guarded by a pair of slavard berserkers, with their handlers. There was some nonsensical exchanged between the mages, who all looked at Brightheart, then the doors opened.

Brightheart felt his breath freeze in his chest. Reaching up, he removed his mask, needing to see things with his own eyes.

An enormous cavern, larger than the entire palace, maybe even the city itself, disappeared into the distance. Even the ceiling vanished into darkness.

Laying stretched out in the center of the cavern was the single largest creature he had even seen. Buildings would have been lost in its shadow. The wings would have covered the entire city.

“Is that?” He trailed off, unable to bring himself to say it.

Crighton grinned. “That is a dragon. One of the Gods. Most likely killed fighting the One God the Majestix are so proud of.” He led the group down into the cavern, which proved even bigger the closer one got to the Dragon.

Brightheart could finally make out activity near the body of the dragon. No, not near. On the dragon. There were hundreds of people and dozens of slavards swarming over and around the body. There was a construction that crawled up the side of the dragon, dwarfed by the size of the body.

There were numerous questions racing through his mind, yet he held his peace. He would get answers when they were ready and would most likely take care of many of those questions.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The group proceeded into the construction, which turned out to frame a massive wound in the side of the dragon. The scales appeared to have been burned and torn away, revealing dark flesh that resembled stone.

Slavards crawled over the former flesh, chipping away like they were mining. They didn’t seem to make much progress. In the several minutes it took to approach the wound, Brightheart only saw a couple pieces broken free.

Crighton seemed to notice Brightheart looking around, for he began the explanation. “The dragon is the reason Terrace exists. It was discovered by mages years before the city was founded. They learned that magic was stronger in the vicinity of the body. It’s what allows the spell fountains to work, which irrigates the farms. Those farms were more bountiful per acre than anywhere else on Ryode.

“Most people don’t know that the Mage Academy was the first building on the plateau. Our magical research was superior to even that of Central, all thanks to the heightened magical aura of the surrounding area.”

They were close enough that Crighton could rest a hand on the flesh. “Even dead, the body puts out a magical field that saturates the land, the air, and the water. It even affects the birth rates, which is why we have so many magically reactive citizens.

“It took us decades before we could harvest the flesh. That flesh is what allows us to create our hybrids. It is the primary catalyst in every transformation spell. It is how we created the Groka and the slavards. It is how Feron creates his monsters and other hybrids.”

Crighton gave the rocky flesh a pat before leading them up the stairs. “However, even that is not the greatest prize from the body. There is one more catalyst produced by the body.”

They arrived at another guarded door. There was a much longer conversation between the mages, this time with some emphatic argument from Crighton. The guarding mages kept glancing at Brightheart, who just smiled back.

Eventually, the doors were opened and Crighton led them inside. The moment Brightheart passed the threshold he felt a rush of energy that had his heart racing and drove him to his knees. Dierdra was instantly beside him, her hand on his breastplate.

“I should have anticipated this. The life stone is responding to the dragon orb. You’ll be okay. Just breathe and try to adjust. You will feel as if you’re running. Or doing some other vigorous activity.”

Brightheart caught her sly smile and startled himself with a laugh. “What is a dragon orb?” He continued to take short, intense breaths.

Crighton stepped into view holding a crimson crystal that seemed to glow from within. It was the size of a fist and looked like a perfect sphere. “This is dragon’s blood. Even though the dragon is dead, the blood continued to well up slowly, forming into a sphere over many months. It first forms a shell then fills itself in. Harvest too soon and the entire thing disintegrates. Too late and the sphere burst with the same result. Took us a number of additional decades to get the timing right.”

The mage turned away for a moment. There was a thunk like a metal chest closing and the feeling of energy rushing over him faded away. Brightheart was able to slow his breathing, then make it back to his feet with Dierdra’s help. He looked over to see Crighton holding what appeared to be a small metal chest, just bigger than the dragon orb had been.

Crighton smiled gently. “Sorry you had to go through that. I wanted you to experience the power of the orb in its concentrated form. This room is warded to contain the orb’s aura. It’s also the only place the orbs form. We can’t make a chip in the surrounding flesh and our other mines have found blood either, not in centuries.”

Tucking the chest under his arm, Crighton led them from the room and down the construct, continuing the explanation along the way. “Dragon orbs are the strongest catalyst in the world, or any world that we have records from. They are essential to all our largest spells, such as bringing up the magicite mines, creating the materials for the mage collars, or the spellform that channeled Leyline magic into the farms, producing the bounty that feeds the entire Empire.

“Feron also uses the orbs to create his most powerful hybrids. Normally we can only combine two subjects. Using the orbs allows for more subjects, as well as non-living catalyst agents. It’s what I used to create the first slavard berserkers and the magic resistant miners out of the original labor class.”

They exited the construct and began the trek out of the cavern. Brightheart glanced back at the dragon once before asking, “If Feron usually uses the orbs, what are you intending for this one? Why not let him create a monster to aid the attack on the Majestix?”

Crighton grinned. “Feron is not at his best when he’s this angry. He would squander the orb on a creation of limited use other than just attacking, and even then, not efficiently.

“Instead, I’m going to use it to create an elemental beast of burden that will allow us to pull an entire train of wagons, will never tire, and can be used to knock down siege walls. I’ve never had the need or opportunity, but the plans and other catalyst have been waiting for years. Now I can justify my creation.”

Brightheart nodded, then replaced his mask. "Why tell me? Why show me?”

“You already interact with the Mage Council. You have the ear of the Emperor. You are uniquely placed in the Empire. We’ve watched you bring the dreams of a united humanity to life. Now is the perfect time for you to become aware of the full resources available to the Empire.”

Brightheart bowed to the mage. He saw Dierdra smile broadly, excitement gleaming in her eyes. “You honor me with your trust. Does Xius know?”

Crighton shook his head. “It is thought that the Emperor has too many councilors who pry into his thoughts. This is not a secret he would be able to keep from them.”

“And what makes you sure I won’t tell him?”

Crighton stopped walking for a moment, turning to gaze into Brightheart’s masked eyes. “Because you have the best interests of the Empire in your heart. You want the best for humanity. You want this world and all the others for humanity.” He reached out to bright Brightheart’s shoulder. “That is what is most important to you in life and you will let nothing stop you. Not even losing a heart.”

Brightheart bowed again. “My dear Crighton. Thank you. For your trust. For your efforts. For everything.

“I believe this all calls for a drink. Let’s head to my home.”