Over the next few days, the camp was quiet. Calagrophy had worked out the guard schedule and most of the soldiers had gone to rest. Vuthe and the council likewise were trying to get at least a little rest. They sat in one of the bigger tents, relaxing as well as they could. Vuthe and Tizanta sat next to each other, tails intertwined, while Calagrophy lay on a cottage with Castaphiel, arm in arm. Corellanium was the most physically distant of all of them, and he preferred sitting alone.

They talked about this and that, exchanging old war stories, and overall tried not to think about the current situation. They knew that fretting over it wouldn’t help, so they did their best to find some peace. Archangel and Apocalyptica were absent, both preferring to keep themselves busy, while Vixus was somewhere in the tent, invisible to the senses, apart from their usual vague presence.

Just when the six of them were getting relaxed, Vuthe and Tizanta were caressing each other and Calagrophy and Castaphiel were dosing off in each other’s arms, one of their soldiers came in, alert, and saluted. He was a young black dragon, who had already managed to work his way up to become a Lieutenant.

„My Queen. We have spotted people on their way here. They don’t seem to be fighters, but they are trying to remain unseen. Your orders?“, he asked, standing at attention. The casual display of affection between Vuthe and Tizanta didn’t faze him in the slightest, dragons were far more open and accepting when it came to these things. And many more really. Vuthe turned to face him, not stopping her fingers running over Tizanta’s body.

„How many?“, she asked. Tizanta turned to face him as well, not stopping to moan slightly at Vuthe’s touch. The solder addressed her directly this time, „Six people, Ma’am. They are too far to have spotted anything yet, but they will arrive here within five minutes.“

Vuthe turned to Tizanta, and without needing to say anything Tizanta nodded, getting up and finally breaking contact with her Queen. „I’ll deal with this“, she said as she walked outside. Apocalyptica’s rune script array could probably deal with this, but Vuthe was glad that Tizanta volunteered to oversee this operation.

Vuthe got up as well, „Tell your team to be ready, and give word that the entire camp is to be at stealth alert“, she said to the soldier as she stopped before him. He nodded and saluted, before turning and walking back outside. Vuthe turned to her remaining friends, Vixus appearing next to her out of thin air, shrouded in shadow as per usual. Only Vuthe could see through the magical shadow that surrounded them, but there wasn’t any need. She knew that the face Vixus had underneath it wasn’t their true face. Calagrophy and Castaphiel had gotten up, holding hands as they stepped closer. Corellanium remained seated, but by the expression on his face Vuthe could see he was paying full attention and running plans through his mind already.

„Ideas?“, Vuthe asked into the circle of friends, although they already had a pretty good idea on why those people were interested in their camp.

Castaphiel looked thoughtful, „I think it’s a safe bet that they had noticed us blocking their attempts at monitoring. There really isn’t anything else here that they could be interested in, unless this facility has some secret that even we can’t figure out.“

Calagrophy nodded, „Yeah. I have no doubt they are here because of us. There really isn’t anything else worthwhile in the vicinity. The question is how we deal with this in the long term. I doubt they just take their people walking away laying down and without asking questions.“

Corellanium spoke up, which was highly unusual for him. He was the quiet type, soaking up all the ideas thrown his way and only then did he usually say anything. The only people that got him to talk were Tizanta and Archangel. „For the moment I will work under the assumption that they know we are here, no matter who they think we are. That leaves the question of what they want. Considering that they want to remain hidden they are most likely scouts or infiltrators. That basically just leaves the government, since I doubt that other groups would have sufficient resources to send people on such a dangerous mission. The problem is we don’t know the main players. It might be someone a la FBI, NSA, or BND, but that is just a guess and could very well be wrong. The only thing we know for sure is that we attracted their attention, although that in itself isn’t a surprise.“

Vuthe pondered that for a moment, „Tizanta is overlaying the entire area with an illusion spell. That will help us against a few scouts, but not if they send more people.“

„We could capture one and ask them“, Calagrophy offered, but Corellanium send that idea straight out the window the moment she spoke of it.

„If we do they know something is up. For now we can still pretend to not know anything or better yet, let them think this is a natural phenomenon, but once we capture one they know that something is up.“

Vuthe nodded her agreement to Corellanium, „Yes. I agree we shouldn’t act too hastily. I’ll have Vixus and Shade follow them back to base, maybe that’ll help us finding out more.“

The others nodded. „Sounds like a plan“, Calagrophy said. Castaphiel and Corellanium agreed as well.

With that Vuthe turned to Vixus. „You heard me“, she simply said and the shadow figure nodded, before melting back into the darkness of Vuthe’s Shadow, vanishing from sight.

„Still gives me the creeps“, Castaphiel said with a frown as he watched Vixus vanish. Calagrophy nodded, „Yeah… Especially since that time they acted like Cas and slept with me. I mean I don’t mind sleeping with them, but don’t try and act like some other guy“, she shuddered and the others snickered.

„Well, we all know what to do. Lay low for a few days until we have answers or the situation changes. There are too many unknowns for us to do anything else for the time being“, Vuthe said and dismissed the meeting.

Perspective: Vixus Umbara

With a speed completely abnormal even in the Council‘s ranks Vixus made their way through the shadows to the base of operations from which the spies worked out of. It had taken them the better part of a day to find out the exact location and entrance to that place, a small office building at the edge of town.

Vixus was far and beyond more well versed in traversing the shadows than even their Queen. Shade Dragon Vuthe de Thal had long since perfected her understanding of Shadow magic, but she had never been able to use it so instinctively, despite her race. True blooded Shadow Dragons were the peak of Shadow Magic users, there was nobody who could use that specific type of magic as well as they could. At least when it came to overall uses.

In that Vixus was an exception. Not only did they have the blood of a Shadow Dragon running through their veins, but they were also a mutation between both a True blooded Shadow Dragon and a very strong human magician bloodline. Instead of a usual crossbreed half-dragon, they were of a completely unique race, one they had never once found a reference for.

And while their Queen knew a good bit of what they were capable of, they had never disclosed their full abilities. That wasn’t a decision made because of treacherous thoughts, but out of loyalty. The less people knew what they could do, the less they could do against them, and the easier of a job Vixus had at protecting their progenitor.

Arriving at the building Vixus slipped inside, set on delivering a perfect report to their Queen with no delay. However, once inside they quickly realized that this might not be as easy as they first imagined it to be. The residents of this world were extremely weak, especially compared to Vixus, however, even the weak have their tricks. And it appeared that a few of the more capable demi-humans were perceptive enough that they had a slight chance to spot the living shadow creature.

And that was a problem. Not that Vixus didn’t believe in their own abilities, but it could spell trouble in the long term, should their adversaries decide to send them to spy on the camp. It was unacceptable, completely so!

Drastically slowing their approach Vixus began to weave through the shadows and observe the people present. In general, they were nothing special, most of them seemed rather run-of-the-mill individuals. However, one person in specific stood out to Vixus. Not because they were particularly strong, or seemed especially cunning or perceptive, no, it was their fine aura control that set them apart.

Aura was a part of magic that didn’t seem to be well known in this world. So far Vixus had not seen anyone who was especially good at it, and most of the demi-humans who were using it seemed to do so subconsciously.

However, this individual, a man with a small frame, had scalpel sharp control. Maybe even the most advanced aura user around. Too bad for him that Vixus had to surpass even their own progenitor to be able to do their job to an acceptable degree. If they would be any less skilled this would be a nearly impossible situation to deal with. However, now this was merely an annoying inconvenience. One Vixus had to be careful around.

With the most control they were capable off, Vixus send a shiver of magic to the man, piercing the surface thoughts and diving into his deeper mind. They had to concentrate a lot to make it happen without alerting him, however they managed, albeit only barely. His mental defenses were incredible.

What they found there was… disappointing. The man knew very little about the specifics of the mission, being merely posted here to keep the unwanted out. Apparently, he was known to be incredibly sensitive to other people‘s thoughts and emotions. And while he wasn’t a Mind Mage or a Psycher, he would be able to pick up on the presence of nearly everyone.

It stunned Vixus that they delegated such an amazing tool to such an unimportant and frankly unfitting post. Although, they admitted to themselves, they had never understood the way humans thought. It didn’t make much sense to them, and maybe the humans in charge did have some plan in mind to make such a decision. Thinking about it was futile.

Leaving the trail of magic in the man’s mind, it was easier than ripping it out, they left and continued their surveillance.

Humans were weak, incredibly so. But to Vixus it was clear that their Queen had to prepare better for the incoming adversaries, as they seemed to be a little better than first anticipated.

With that in mind they started their way through the facility, meticulously going through every office, every file, and even those strange machines called computers. Of course, they knew what they were, they had been taught by Her Majesty and Archangel, however despite that training they had difficulties using them. So, they only learned very little from them, careful not to leave any trails.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

What they learned was… dangerous. The people in charge were trying to find out more about the surveillance blind spot, and were even prepared to send in the military, if need be, which could be very dangerous.

Thinking about that for a moment Vixus decided to try and delay them as much as possible without alerting anyone. And so, a plan came to mind. A plan they would never tell even their Queen, as it wasn’t necessary. They would make sure she wouldn’t even notice anything as they dealt with the danger, she did not need to worry anymore. And it was Vixus task to protect her at all costs.

Some would say that it was treacherous, but Vixus thought differently. Their only priority in life was to protect their Queen. And that meant to not bother her greatness with anything that could be resolved without her help. That was Vixus job, after all.

Perspective: Vuthe

Another few days went by in which the camp stayed rather quiet. For the first time in a long time Vuthe’s soldiers had time to treat their wounds and relax. The camp was filled with the sounds of pleasant conversation, laughing, and now and again pleasurable moans from the more active members of her army. Nobody really minded.

The ruling council also took the time to relax and kick back. At least as best as they could. Vuthe and Tizanta spent a lot of time together, same as Calagrophy and Castaphiel. Corellanium busied himself with tactical plans and Apocalyptica worked on his arsenal of weird, and often questionable runes and rituals. The only one unhappy was Archangel. Soldier through and through, she hated sitting around doing nothing. Especially since she didn’t have anyone to train with. A trueborn dragon would be strong enough, but her technological gadgets could easily hurt or even kill them. And while she wasn’t a fan of the fantastical races, she was loyal to Vuthe. Hurting or killing her men would be a betrayal in her eyes, no matter how many times the others tried to convince her that wounds during training are normal.

Therefore, she busied herself with learning the languages of earth. It had taken her a little while to learn the common language of the other world, and the languages of earth were even more foreign to her. Although, she discovered, the English language had drastic similarities with her own native tongue of Amnellal, which she found highly interesting.

Days turned to weeks, with Vuthe getting periodic reports from Shade and Vuthe about their missions. There were several scout squads send to their location, but Tizanta’s magic and Apocalyptica’s rune script kept them away for the time being. One evening, Vuthe was eating dinner with her friends, Vixus appeared right next to them, clad in shadow as per usual.

„My Queen. I bring news. The government faction which instigated the scouts has send an armed force this way after they had gotten reports from the scouts that they felt a compulsion to leave this place alone“, they said, kneeling in front of their Queen in salute.

Vuthe frowned, „Huh… We made a mistake it would seem“, she said to Tizanta, who nodded gravely. They hadn’t planned for the possibility that the enemy could discern what type of magic was affecting them, a blatant oversight Vuthe realized in hindsight.

„We should have realized they figured it out, truth be told. It isn’t some secret form of magic, so this turn of events should have been obvious“, the Astral Serpent said with a thoughtful and unhappy look on her face. Usually, they were pretty good to get at least the most basic risks covered, but this time they had overlooked the most obvious one and it bothered her.

„How long until they arrive?“, Vuthe asked as she turned to Vixus, her displeasure quite visible on her face.

„They should arrive here within three hours“, the shadow figure replied, not moving from their kneeling spot. Vuthe’s frown deepened, her tail flicking unhappily behind her back as she thought about her options.

„Three hours aren’t enough time to move the camp without raising suspicions… How many did they send?“, she mumbled, her thoughts racing to come up with a solution to this situation that didn’t end in bloodshed.

„About hundred and fifty men. They seem to be of the opinion that a particularly dangerous monster has appeared here“, Vixus replied immediately. As usual, once the situation had turned dire even their playful attitude changed to one of seriousness. It was one of the reasons Vuthe tolerated their otherwise mischievous attitude.

„That group is too large for compulsion magic to affect them without someone getting wind of it. That means we can no longer hide… Shit. I was hoping we had more time. At least we have a good amount of information about the current local political climate, with some geopolitical insights as well. I dislike the form of government they took, it seems unlikely they will cooperate or grant us our independence and I sure as hell won’t be working for them“, Vuthe said, getting up. Her thoughts were running quick, things had advanced too quickly.

They had managed to get a halfway decent supply line going, with Tizanta’s Illusionist capabilities and compulsion magic acting like the supplier for a local grocery store to buy entire truckloads of food. It was a little risky, if anyone ever double checked the documents their cover would be blown, but the risk was relatively low as they made sure everything was in perfect order.

Their saving grace was that a good amount of their populace were draconics of some type or another, which meant they only needed the ambient magic to survive. And while the low level of magic meant that the ambient magic around the camp had fallen quite drastically, they could survive here for another few years before they had to worry about that. And even then, they had enough ways to supply the draconics with magic for another few centuries, considering the absurd number of magical items in the treasury.

Under the illusion spell Tizanta had layered over it, the camp had undergone considerable changes. A good part of it had been moved underground, into the old factory facilities, and it had been fortified. It looked more like a medieval town but was far stronger than any modern walls.

If they were unlucky, this fortification would now be put to the test. As Vuthe left the Command Tent she sent a trickle of mana through the camp, alerting and waking every soldier. The camp was a beehive of activity, her people putting on weapons and armor with fluent, well-trained motions, before assembling in the middle of the camp at attention.

„An armed force is on its way here. Tactical teams, go out and prepare an ambush. None of you is to attack, even in retaliation, unless I give the signal“, she barked the orders down with trained ease, before waving them off to prepare for the arrival of the armed forces.

The people of Thelvadore had long since learned that Vuthe didn’t do things by half measures and that she always had their best interest in mind. There were very few that weren’t completely loyal and even those were quickly swayed by the rest. It was the result of long and painstaking efforts to better the life of the people, something Vuthe and the council took great pains to achieve. The loyalty of their subject was earned, not bought, and so they didn’t have any doubt that they would listen. And should the people disagree with them they would speak up.

From the very beginning, Vuthe had made it very clear to everyone that they should speak up if they were displeased and she would listen. While she couldn’t promise to rectify every situation, she and her friends did their damndest to find a solution to as many as they could. Vuthe was harsh to rulebreakers and fair to those who abided. She quickly learned that honesty and brutal effort was the best way to convince her people that she meant what she said. Over the years that ended with her being very popular, especially since she wasn’t above going out there and solving things herself.

In times of need, she had shared her food and water, had ripped out all the treasures from her palace to supply her people with what they needed, and even slept on the street herself to open every room in the palace to those in need. She had bled and cried with her people, had suffered, and prospered together with her charges, and never complained when her people were unhappy. She had rooted out the corrupt, decimated their enemies, and built up a place for all to feel safe.

As the soldiers saluted in assent to their Queens orders, Tizanta stepped up next to her, pointing into the direction from which the forces would arrive. „I think its best if we just welcome them in and explain ourselves“, Vuthe said to her friends as they settled in to wait for them to arrive, „I’m certain we could win a confrontation, but we’re only five thousand people. They have the advantage in numbers in the long run, not even considering the war of attrition we have to face if things go south“. Her friends agreed unanimously.

After three hours Vuthe could hear the Engines of the Armed Vehicles in the distance. „It is time“, she said, getting up. During their wait Tizanta had fashioned a gate in the direction of the incoming forces, partly out of boredom, partly to leave a good first impression. Vuthe walked towards that gate, which opened as she stepped closer, and waited there with the dignified expression and stature of the Dragon Queen. Her friends stood at attention behind her.

Vuthe could see the humans having a discussion in the distance. They had stopped about a kilometer away in the deeper parts of the forest, which gave them natural cover, but her eyesight had long since been good enough to pierce through even the deepest darkness in the plane of shadows. „They’re moving“, she told her friends, although she knew that Tizanta already knew. She was subtly scrying the location as per usual. At this point it could be called a tick of Tizanta’s, to always have a scrying portal open to somewhere.

„They are sending a delegation to investigate and make contact. I used a little trickle of magic for them to be more susceptible to that idea“, she said with a smile, „The rest of their forces are setting up in the background to be able to launch an attack if things go sideways. But our troops are behind them.“

Vuthe nodded and stepped forwards as she could see a small group of people in the distance making their way to them. They seemed a little taken aback that the five dragons walked towards them, but they didn’t turn back around. The two groups roughly met halfway, keeping a distance of a few meters between them.

The other group consisted of an older man who appeared to be high ranking, although Vuthe had no idea of military ranks here on earth, and two soldiers who were clutching their weapons, but keeping them pointed downwards, which Vuthe appreciated as a sign of peace.

Vuthe’s group had weapons visible on their persons, but nobody had their hands near them. What shocked the other party the most were the visible draconic features each of them showed. Vuthe and her friends were so used to remain in their Hybrid form, keeping their horns, tails, and wings, that she hadn’t even thought of that.

„I greet you. I am the Shade Dragon Vuthe de Thal, Dragon Queen of Thelvadore“, Vuthe spoke with a neutral tone, her face expressionless. „Whom have I the honour of addressing?“, she asked the older man in the middle, who looked a little surprised, although Vuthe didn’t know why that was.

„I’m Major Blake Durr of the Magical Response Army“, he said simply. His voice was rough and deep, a typical soldiers voice. It told of a life spent yelling orders and disciplining soldiers. Now it was Vuthe’s turn to be surprised, and she gave Castaphiel and Corellanium a quick glance before she returned her eyes to the Major and spoke again.

„Are you, by chance, related to the two brothers Blight and Micheal Durr?“, she asked with no small part of curiosity. She didn’t know much of their previous life, but they did say that their dad was quite into the military.

He nodded, „Yes, Ma’am. They’re my older brothers, although I have never met them. I was born after their disappearance“, he said, with a hint of curiosity in his tone. Vuthe nodded, a small smile forming on her lips. She had felt the tension of Castaphiel and Corellanium, unsurprising when a member of their family stood right in front of them.

„What a coincidence indeed“, she said, looking the older man over. With a wave to Tizanta she signaled her to create some suitable furniture to sit down, which promptly appeared out of thin air, startling the three soldiers. „Please, be at ease. I find it tiresome to remain standing, wouldn’t you agree, Major Durr?“, she said as she sat down and waved them to sit down on their offered chairs.

„What the bloody hell was that?“, the Major asked suspiciously. Vuthe motioned to Tizanta, „My good friend Tizanta isk Thesekar is an Astral Serpent. She can form reality to her wishes“, she explained, well aware of the impact of such a claim in the other world. Here she wasn’t so sure, as earth magic was quite young. They might not have heard of draconics yet.

The Major’s eyes narrowed, „Serpent? Is that what you are?“, he seemed unhappy, maybe it would be more correct to call it suspicious.

Vuthe nodded, „Yes, partly. All of us are draconics, with her being a serpent and the rest of us dragons. A good amount of people in our camp as well. Would you like a demonstration?“, she asked, still in a neutral voice with a small smile on her face. The Major took a step back, his entire posture getting ready for a fight. He was about to open his mouth then Vuthe sighed, „I don’t mean a combat demonstration. I have no intentions of harming the brother of my subordinates, nor his men, if I can avoid it“

„Brother?“, he narrowed his eyes even more, confused and suspicious. Vuthe nodded, then gestured to Castaphiel and Corellanium, „Of course. You just told me yourself that you are related to Blight and Micheal Durr, did you not? They are standing right here“, she gestured and the two men stepped forward, dropping their Hybrid from, and returning to their Humanoid form. While they did have unique features, they looked eerily like how they looked in their previous life, like all the other Reincarnators. For some odd reason they never looked a day older than the day they were sent to the other world. Dragons did age differently, but by this point all of them should look to be around thirty, yet none of them did.

„Hello, Brother“, Castaphiel said with a smile, „We’re back“