novelraw Chapter 252: Not So Quiet On the Home Front
Chapter 252: Not So Quiet On the Home Front
“Tulztame, you’re putting that in backwards! We have to make sure they’re in right.”
“I’m not putting it in backwards! It can go either way!”
“Is your mind already going? Ahok said it has to have the sliding part pointed outwards.”
“It still slides just fine!”
Moelka sighs as Glizumi and Tulztame bicker while the kobold women work on their part of the project just inside the Citadel’s core area. They’re assembling more of the mana extractors into armor pieces for human-sized wearers. The goal will be for everyone that can use magic to wear them and try to make use of absorbed mana to help fight the mana fire on the other side of the strange portal, which the cables are flowing through. The youngest two, Levvikami and Sodenizia, are on the other side now helping Wenlianna more directly. Mana is pouring through the conductors, and while the kobolds don’t have a full understanding of magic devices, they are great at following instructions to assemble devices… Normally.
In this case, both Glizumi and Tulztame are technically correct; Ahok said it’s better to set the eyeball-closure thing so that the moving parts are facing outwards, because they could be blocked by internal components, especially if the wearer gets into a fight. Being kobolds, though, getting hit by one’s enemies typically means death, so the little lizard people focus on using their agility and slender bodies to evade ever being hit in the first place.
Since she’s the eldest, though, Tulztame is being a bit hardheaded about it.
And, while they’ve drawn attention, the fact that they have been bickering in their native tongue, which is unintelligible to most of the others around them, means no one can provide assistance.
The goblin magic artisan known as Ahok jogs over, asking quickly, “Wh-What’s the problem?”
She has a crippling fear of males of any race, but she gets along with the Kobolds fine. And, because the Kobolds are quick and intelligent, they have also been acting as assistants to go between any male artisans and workers assisting the apparent chief of this field of work.
Moelka explains, “Tulztame is putting the lens thing in backwards, and they’re disagreeing on what you said.”
“Wait, you knew this whole time and you stayed quiet!?” snaps Glizumi, who is just slightly older and thus more senior to Moelka.
Moelka is quiet as she stares at her elders, and Tulztame whines, “It’s not backwards! Tell these fools, Lady Ahok!”
“I… It will work either way, but I’d appreciate it if you make sure the moving parts point outwards. It makes working on them later easier.”
“Hah!” retorts Glizumi. “I told you so!”
“You said it wouldn’t work at all, so no you didn’t!”
“Please stop!” shouts Moelka, raising her voice for once. She usually just lets the others fight it out, but normally, Sodenizia defuses the situations because she wants them all to get along. Since she’s not present, this particular fight could go on way too long and waste precious time. The soft grey kobold with green patches on her scales adds, “The younger two fight less than you. And, Daniel and Magnir are counting on us to work diligently for Lady Ahok.” She then switches to their own language, making the warbles and yips particularly harshly, “{And, if you actually do want us to be able to establish our own village, we’ll need to be able to use our utility to justify it. So, please; stop fighting and finish the last few sets of armor.}”
Glizumi and Tulztame glance at each other, and they let out small, exasperated barks. “Truce?” “Truce,” agree the two kobold women.
Ahok sighs in relief, and she says, “If I can borrow one of you,...”
“Me!” snaps Moelka as she jumps up, immediately following the goblin. She growls in the kobold language, “{If you two start fighting again, I’m starting my own village without you two. And you won’t be welcome.}”
The two are silent. Since there’s only five of them, each with three eggs on the way, their “village” will be a long way off from being stable regardless. But, if they can earn Daniel’s and Magnir’s direct support, as well as the approval of their wives, the village will all but be guaranteed. After all, they also made a deal with the large scorpion monsters to earn their loyalty, too. The divine Yaulwembor, alongside Lord Neith completely overwhelmed them, proving they are gods that walk among mortals, even with how strong Daniel and Magnir were.
“Lady Ahok, has there been any word from the combat teams?”
“According to Wenlianna, Magnir has a lead, which is why we’ll need those armor devices soon, I think. I wish I had more time…”
“Should I retrieve Sodenizia and Levvikami?”
“No. It sounds like Hekate’s instructions to evacuate Wenlianna from the airship with haste have everyone pressuring her to work faster, so she needs the extra hands.” She shows the kobold to a hastily assembled device. It doesn’t seem to have magic components like the others, and she explains, “If you don’t mind, I need you to make an exact copy of this device. It’s some kind of timer that Daniel requested that only uses springs and cogs for its power. I need to run to the alchemy team to pick up some more components for something.”
“What’s a timer?” asks Moelka as she inspects the completed device that she’ll be copying.
“A timer? It counts down at a reliable increment from whatever it’s set to, I guess. And, when it does, it makes a little spark. Be careful of that piece. It’s not a deadly shock, but it does hurt if you get shocked by it, like a bug bite.”
Moelka nods in understanding, already analyzing the pieces and their assembly. While there’s a lot of moving parts, it looks like it’s pretty straight forward.
She asks, “What about the portal?” She gestures at the rather noisy hole in the air itself to a location surprisingly far away.
“It’s stable. If there are any problems, that lever on the side will cut off the portal in an emergency, though we need to avoid it if possible, since cutting off the mana transfer could cause an extremely dangerous situation on the airship. The mana won’t have anywhere to go to, and it’ll burst out of the device Wenlianna is running.”
“Understood. I’ll avoid touching anything there, then.” The kobold plops down into a seated position, feeling a little tight in her belly region. Her eggs should be ready to be laid in around three weeks or so, but she can tell they’re already well on their way to forming, which gives her hope. She doesn’t mind the menial assembly tasks she’s been assigned since arriving in the Citadel with Daniel and the others. Food is plentiful, warmth is endless, and the Citadel is full of kind and helpful people.
People who will indirectly help expand the village in time.
As she assembles the delicate parts for the timer while Ahok heads to the alchemy laboratory on another floor, Moelka can’t help but wonder what the devices will be for. Daniel entrusted the kobolds with his deadly weapon during the battles with the rakehorn and later the selkethian starvers, but he seems to have too many things going on at any given time. Moelka only heard after the fact that Daniel and a few others were caught in an unexpected, harrowing battle with a monster in the contract removal chamber, and even when volunteers among the goblins were being recruited, the kobolds were instructed to focus on helping the magic artisans, primarily Ahok and Wenlianna.
She was worried sick about Daniel, since she does like how gentle and relatable he is. Magnir is a bit intimidating because he’s a dragon, even if he spends a lot of time in a human-like form. And, Daniel is very relaxed and easy-going, compared to Magnir and even Neith, who take their jobs as knights and elite warriors very seriously. It’s admirable, but doesn’t ease the feeling of intimidation she feels in their presence.
I hope Daniel is doing alright out there… thinks the kobold to herself. If I knew how to help or had stronger magic…
The kobold keeps working diligently on her simple task, though. She has to study the components and the completed model from various angles to get it right, but she has complete confidence that she can match the one Ahok built.
Little does she know how important her seemingly innocuous task actually will be towards the fate of a city.
And arguably, the whole world.
***
Ryuogriar cradles Samael in her arms as he sleeps. She is worried about Daniel, but cradling her first healthy hatchling is reassuring. She’ll never forget that Daniel didn’t even bat an eye at Samael’s deep red coloring. The Citadel didn’t have any simple data on the dragons whose essence was stored long before Xyreko became one of the Citadel’s caretakers. She is among the oldest, since the feldroks would “retire” any golems at their request, which would mean their final rest, so naturally, Xyreko moved up until she was in charge of the Citadel. She has indicated that there are many bound souls deep within the Citadel’s core who have yet to show themselves due to having lost hope for a long time, since there could be no more retirements while the Citadel was inactive under Lugrae’s aggressive vigil.
Regardless, her first living child is resting peacefully in her arms, and the acolytes are tending carefully to the egg she shares with her beloved Mukori nearby. Right next to her, and within arm’s reach, Fal is fast asleep in a cradle. She also has the feldrok egg discovered in the forest near where Yaulwembor was found, though she doesn’t know if there’s anything to be done to help it the way Daniel managed to help Fal cling to life amidst a slow and obviously painful petrification.
Feeling affectionate when Fal squirms in his crib, Ryuogriar reaches carefully over and pets his head, saying softly, “Aww, our little Star… I hope your dreams are happy and sweet from now on.”
The baby feldrok somewhat instinctively nuzzles her hand in his sleep, and she smiles lovingly.
Brother Shomaldun approaches and bows, saying softly and respectfully, “Forgive me, your Divine Majesty…”
“Is there something I must forgive, Brother Shomaldun?” whispers the dragon skeptically. She appreciates the more relaxed relationship she can have with non-dragon races now that the three tyrants are gone, but the Unity of the Divine Dragons remain closer to cultists than mere followers whether they are lorded over by oppressive despots or allowed to hold actual dragon children as relatively trusted aides. Brother Shomaldun, as a more zealous votary of the order, tends to be a bit rigid in his subordinate behavior.
“You were resting peacefully with his Divine Highness and the Young Master.”
The Keepers are respectful and deferential to Hekate, and by extension, Fal, since they are Empress and Prince, respectively, to the Fievegal and the legacy of the feldroks. But, it’s no secret that the Keepers still don’t harbor the same reverence for any of the non-dragons, which is a little disappointing. The First Dragon Empress isn’t always perfect herself, since she does still sometimes have instinctive twitches and sometimes quiet jealously when tiny goblin princesses garner Daniel’s undivided attention so easily. She has no resentment whatsoever, and in fact, instead deeply loves Daniel’s other children, but her old prejudices will also still take time to fade. It’s not an excuse, and she strives to correct her own feelings whenever she realizes they’re straying down petty and meaningless routes.
“They are both Princes of the Fievegal, Brother Shomaldun. I understand where it comes from, but I would appreciate it if you could treat Samael and Fal the same.” Since, I, too, need to do a better job of not playing favorites as well. Ryuogriar knows that Daniel’s egg contains the obvious scent markers of a female hatchling growing within, with the obvious human notes in her biology. But, her concern isn’t that she won’t love her half-human daughter. She is worried that she will favor her daughter over her red-hued son. I’ll do my best, Samael. I promise. She smiles down at her adorable hatchling, and Shomaldun lowers his head again.
“Of course, your Divine Grace. Forgive me. I genuinely respect his Highness Fal, but I have never witnessed the feldroks before her Greatness, and…” He looks to the side to search for a way to say what he means without inviting death.
Ryuogriar sighs. Yes. Hekate. My sweet, sweet little Hekate. I know what you mean, Brother Shomaldun. Truly, I do. But, she will mature, and before long, she very well may put even myself and Aramellianna to shame if she so chooses.
The platinum blonde smiles again, interrupting him so he doesn’t have to say anything that could be implied to be disrespectful, even if he’s only making an observation. “What did you approach for, though? Obviously it wasn’t simply to speak to me while the children are sleeping.”
“Yes, of course,” replies the votary as he straightens up and looks at her. As with during the hatching, he is rigid and nervous because he’s standing taller than she is in her seated position. But, she and the others scolded him for his over-reverential behavior and insistence on bowing and crawling before the dragons simply because they were seated on floor cushions. The dragons spent centuries sitting above others and had nothing but enemies, even among their own. If he looks down on her simply because his head is higher than hers at the moment, then he has no place as a worthy Keeper of the Unity of the Divine Dragons, and especially not a votary.
“The Divine Lady Emerald has requested to speak with you, your Holiness.”
Ryuogriar’s eye twitches.
She has become quite importunate since the hatching, seeing this constant and slightly annoying insistence on aiming for my favor… She’s practically hovering like one of the more fawning Keepers… She glances her eyes at Shomaldun, who is awaiting her response.
The Dragon Empress lets out a long, quiet sigh, still mindful of the children. Samael and Fal have both been quite peaceful for her, which is good. Samael would be easy to handle, but she prays Fal never has another loss of control in her presence.
“Send her in,” replies Ryuogriar.
Surprisingly, before Shomaldun reaches the door to the hallway from Daniel’s room, it opens to allow Reignleif and Geirahoel to enter, with Reignleif carrying her own violet-scaled daughter Gyualen and Jeavana’s golden-belly hatchling Willow, while Geirahoel has Enya and Clover in her arms.
The girls are chewing on broad chew-rings that are too large for them to accidentally swallow, though Clover is simply holding hers while she watches, and Willow scowls at everyone.
I wonder if Willow somehow got switched with Enya… muses the eldest female dragon.
Emerald slowly walks just inside the door behind the two Empresses, who join Ryuogriar carefully on Daniel’s bed to relax in their haven. Shomaldun quietly explains to Emerald, and she nods, meekly approaching the trio of Empresses after the three have greeted each other.
Just like Ryuogriar, a detachment of Keepers followed as well, with Reignleif’s and Geirahoel’s eggs in strollers.
The Dragon Matriarch warns quietly, “If you wake either of these two, I’ll forbid you from approaching us ever again.”
Emerald nods, saying softly, “Thank you for seeing me, your Grace. G-Graces.”
Ryuogriar was alone, so it’s understandable that she wasn’t prepared to face all three of them again, but Reignleif and Geirahoel simply barged in without warning.
Geirahoel murmurs with a sour tone, “We belong here. I’m surprised you can stand the smell.”
Emerald’s cheek twitches slightly. She’s not irritated, but stung by her own words and actions being thrown in her face once more. Humans do smell relatively alien to the dragons, of course. And, especially depending on how they live, they can be quite distinctly… strongly-scented, to put it nicely. At least compared to fellow dragons. Like anything, it’s easy to get used to, and now, the Dragon Empresses, and likely Jeavana, have become quite comfortable around and even relaxed around their precious human Emperor.
Ryuogriar, being a little mean, replies quietly to her youngest counterpart, “I rather enjoy Mukori’s scent now, and so do the children it seems.”
“L-Like everything, it was never truly as bad as we… I… acted like it was,” replies Emerald softly, keeping her gaze down and to the side. She could try to include everyone in her statement, since it was ostensibly true that all of the dragons sat unrepentantly as superior to everyone and everything around them, and the very moment they were humbled, their conqueror did his best to simply establish trust, even if he had to take precautions while doing so.
Even dragons like Emerald, who were none too shy about vitriolic language towards Daniel and which the contract does not restrict, live better and more freely now than royalty of most territories. Even Morthybargaron had to live in fear of Lugrae, obey Vaergraes, and wouldn’t dare to attempt anything against Senn or the Strylak, meaning he would have likely lived most of his life on the continent until driven to the far east by the Devourer’s ever-increasing rate of expansion. If Ryuogriar told Daniel tomorrow that she wanted to go to another continent, he would immediately set into slaying the Strylak and making it possible to travel the world.
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Emerald sighs and says gently, “I… was hoping to provide assistance… somehow…”
Geirahoel scoffs as she lays down with Enya and Clover, letting them crawl on the bed. Enya immediately crawls to Clover and flops onto the more passive hatchling, who chews on her own tail without seeming to mind her friend’s clumsy embrace. They both make adorable squeaks and warbles, and Willow immediately fusses, reaching towards the other two. Reignleif complies by placing the second twin with her sister and Enya, allowing the more feisty twin to ‘attack’ her sister’s attacker, which amounts to a small pile of infant dragons.
The young orange dragon, looking up from the adorable scene with a fiery smirk of her own, retorts to her green elder, “Oh? Now you ask?”
“I was afraid to face the Emperor… while surrounded by your Graces and the other Empresses,” replies Emerald. Her tone sounds sincere, and obviously her fear is only of being rejected or ridiculed. She did attempt to speak to Ryuogriar alone, but her closest friends, as if sensing the moment, showed up as well.
“If I believed for a moment that Mukori would not be capable, I would be there myself,” replies the eldest female dragon. Geirahoel and Reignleif nod in agreement, and the blue Empress sets Gyualen down when she, too, fusses in desire to play with the other three, who are now nibbling on each other. Willow attempts to breathe fire to no avail, while Enya actually does have ignityal, but doesn’t know how to use it yet. She does click her teeth, ‘clawing’ at Willow as the aggressive twin tries to get her imaginary flame closer, since she seems convinced that she’s out of range.
Emerald’s eyes follow Guyalen as she crawls to the others, and she watches with focused attention as the hatchlings play. She wouldn’t dare try to kidnap one of the children, and her contract should prevent her from even attempting to do so. Regardless, none of the female dragons truly want to live the rest of their lives with no children of their own, and Emerald is only one of a few who initially rejected the possibility Daniel would ever be able to help.
Now, she can only watch as her own failure to recognize the hope for what it was crawls around in front of her eyes.
“I realized that the mana fire should have been the best chance for me to do something useful, because it is not a living being, meaning I can fight it without restriction. I just… don’t want to go without orders.” She looks at Ryuogriar for a moment.
Reignleif finally speaks to her, once more waiting for only the right moment to say something constructive, since she is likely the most gentle, even while apathetic, of the dragons, let alone the Dragon Empresses. “You are not a living golem, Maeraskhalashta.” Motion catches the eyes of all four adult dragons, as well as Willow and Gyualen, who look to the Keepers. All of them have slapped their hands over their ears as if they heard a word that will curse them to death. They respect the nature of a dragon’s name, even their ‘friendly’ true names, because of the intimacy, both good and bad, using a dragon’s name entails. It is a right reserved for other dragons, normally, though the Empresses have all but settled on their Valkyrie names as their new ‘true’ names, and their old names merely relics of the past.
Reignleif continues, “You are bound not to enthrall you to Mukori’s will, but to ensure your teeth are dulled against him and our entire family and allies. You may fly to the ends of this world right now, and none of us would give chase, even if we should because of the possible secrets you could be carrying. You don’t need our permission to leave the Citadel, nor to go to the battlefront. You wish for us to take away your agency in these decisions so that you can tell your heart you had no choice but to obey, and so long as you grit through it, you will get what you want. You aren’t cursed anymore. But, your obvious desire for the last living greater dragon, or one of the ancient ones and their essence, which only the Citadel can grant you access to, is as…”
Before Reignleif can finish her icy speech, which is surprisingly long given her typical laconic and taciturn nature, her final point is annihilated with a brutal suddenness that none of the dragons were ready for.
This includes the one whose job it is to have been prepared for this exact moment.
Without warning, the air feels like it is split by a terrifying rift, even though it is supposedly little more than sound. The true problem lies within the powerful, sickening mana that instantly went from a candle’s gentle and inconsequential glow to something rivalling the otherworlder Harbinger of Calamity’s most terrifying weapon instantaneously.
Daniel’s room, a haven for the Draven Empresses, has become a den of unthinkable agony with the ear-piercing sound of cries that don’t just pierce and pain one’s means of hearing, but feels as if it reverberates painfully down to the bone and every nerve ending. Even Ryuogriar’s soul feels like it is being scorched, which could very well be the case as the powerful and sudden waves of strange mana explode violently outwards, becoming a raging ‘heat’ against her as she does the only thing her instincts prioritize; shielding Samael with her body as she scrambles across the bed and away from the source of her discomfort.
Her instincts moved the fastest, and as she realizes it several yards away, she looks in terror over her shoulder.
The one she is most responsible for is also the one causing this terrifying phenomenon, wailing and projecting his own pain in every possible way he knows.
All of which evolved into devastatingly terrifying levels of sinister aura that repulses living beings.
Or, at least, most living beings are simply repulsed.
The acolytes have bravely endangered their own lives to take the eggs, including the unliving feldrok’s egg, and they are already fleeing for the doors, while Geirahoel and Reignleif snatched up whatever two babies they could get their hands on and fled away as well.
Samael is squirming in Ryuogriar’s arms, undoubtedly screaming along with the other four hatchlings, but Ryuogriar can’t hear it over the terrifying cacophony coming from one tiny being.
Ryuogriar’s heart is racing in terror, a primal, soul-shaking fear she hasn’t felt since the attack on the Orbicharium and the subsequent ambush by Brosjak. She has a momentary flashback to her own childhood as a tiny dragonling only as big as one of the adult goblins.
She rarely thought about the adult feldroks, since she only met them in her childhood before Morthybargaron somehow managed to annihilate them from the world. But, the one she did meet was a titan, larger even than Yaulwembor in her natural state, as Ryuogriar remembers the ancient black being, and when she looked down upon the dragon adolescent, Ryuogriar vowed to never, ever confront the feldroks over anything.
Even though Fal is tiny as little more than an infant, his presence carries the weight of an apex predator; a creature capable of actually hunting and preying upon a greater dragon like Ryuogriar.
She manages to snap out of her trance briefly, returning her focus to the baby feldrok as she tries to keep Samael safe. Fal is crying not because he is an apex predator, but because he’s in pain. He is a baby, after all.
But, there was no apparent trigger. He was sleeping peacefully in his crib, and Ryuogriar was right beside him.
Regardless, the situation quickly gets worse. One of the Keepers, an elderly ogre, wasn’t quick enough to escape, and during her attempt to flee, she fell to her hands and knees. Her shoulders and back were trembling, and now her arms and shoulders shake and buck, as if something is happening to her.
Ryuogriar didn’t lay eyes on Kernuules herself before he was annihilated by the Fiendbreakers, but she heard what happened to Floria to put her into her near-death state, as well as what definitely happened to one of the members of Grendel Six.
The Fievegal came to the later conclusion that Kernuules’ undead feldrok ‘core’ was some sort of profane magic mutation caused artificially.
And, Ochibenara mentioned a few things about Fal’s danger if he goes out of control.
The ogre woman lets out a scream muted by the hurricane that is the unending wail of the feldrok child, but Ryuogriar can see it clearly enough.
She is mutating on the spot as she spits up blood. It’s not wood that sprouts out of her body, but the phenomenon shares the feel of how those who saw him described Kernuules and his true form.
The polished stone floor of Daniel’s room becomes one of the ingredients to a monstrous being that takes shape around the ogre woman, growing in size and rising to a towering height as its ‘skin’ becomes an almost liquid-hybrid of the once-solid stone it is pulling in from its surroundings. Fal’s strange mana seems to supply the excess needed to ‘summon’ additional mass, but the former-woman is now taking on the ‘element’ of her surroundings as she becomes a monster against her will.
Ryuogriar is startled by an ambush attacker seemingly flashing into her field of view like a lightning bolt, aggressively clawing into her personal space before she can react. Before she knows it, her precious first child is snatched out of her arms with a flash of green, and she only just manages to try to react.
Green hair, wings, and a shiny green tail race away from her, directly towards Reignleif and Geirahoel, sailing through the air to cross Daniel’s large quarters with ease. Ryuogriar is still stunned by the apparent attack and dazed by Fal’s power, but her focus is on Samael’s kidnapper.
Except said kidnapper simply shoves the baby red dragon into Reignleif’s arms, whirling to face the mutated ogre woman, now taking more of a monstrous golem’s form. The Citadel’s golems are called so due to their non-biological, magic-driven nature, even though they actually have formerly-living souls in the sapient bodies like Xyreko, Balamae, and Ucahote.
This being moves more like a lumbering, maddened beast, turning to search the room. It’s no longer directly affected by Fal’s wails or power, unless one or both sustain the golem’s madness. If it truly is similar to Kernuules, its creation was the only required step.
Daniel’s bed is flung into the golem, slamming it back as the green dragon rushes to Ryuogriar. Her voice finally penetrates the matriarch’s daze, though it’s only audible via telepathy that is nearly drowned out by the stiflingly potent radiated mana from Fal. “{Ryuogriar! You need to stop the baby! I’ll try to draw the golem away!}”
“{F-Fal… I…}” Ryuogriar glances at Samael, who is being evacuated by the other two Empresses. Teleportation isn’t safe in the proximity of intense strange mana, which Fal radiates when he’s in his chaotic state like he is now. Shame grips the Dragon Empress when she realizes it once more. Her own child took priority, which isn’t unreasonable, but she also pledged to be ready to take care of Fal, who needs extra care.
“{Quickly, Ryuogriar!}” snaps Emerald. “{If this goes on, more people are going to turn! I would do it myself if I could!}”
This manages to snap Ryuogriar out of her fog, igniting a fire within her as Emerald’s words sink in.
“{Do what exactly!?}”
“{If we can’t stop him any other way…}”
Ryuogriar smacks Emerald with her palm. It wasn’t full force, but the message was delivered. She doesn’t have time to reprimand Emerald, especially because it’s not nearly as effective via diminished telepathy.
More importantly, something triggered Fal’s extreme response, and Ryuogriar’s job is to either calm him down or get him to a secure place. She dashes to Fal’s side, feeling a burning sensation on her skin and deep into her body as she braces against it. She quickly cradles Fal against her chest.
According to Daniel, he didn’t need to scream to sing to Fal. While Fal’s voice is physically loud, his wail is actually more intense for anyone with mana, and in direct proportion to how strong they are in magic.
That means Ryuogriar only needs to focus all of her effort on her tone of voice and keeping it soft, singing sincerely and affectionately in spite of anything else going on around them.
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star…”
Daniel taught them several lullabies that seem effective on the baby feldrok, and Ryuogriar has been singing them each to Samael and Fal every chance she gets, especially while feeding them. She thought she could be an unbiased, unshakable mother to any and all children, having suffered for so long.
But, she still has a lot of growing to do, it seems.
Regardless, she does her best to force the pain in her ears and body out of her mind by thinking about the man who taught her such a gentle song from his own childhood.
“How I wonder what you are…”
Daniel is a human from another world, and if circumstances had been different, Ryuogriar wouldn’t have given him a single thought if Morthybargaron had won the control of the Citadel. Things would have simply continued as they were, and unless Morthybargaron knew about the curse itself, which he never indicated, Xyreko would have almost certainly kept it secret, even as his servant.
The dragons of Stoerykame would have slowly wasted away until they faded from history, isolated and forgotten by the world.
“Up above the world so high…” I love you, Fal. Truly, I love you. I love you, and Samael, Hekate and Erimaya, Jieka and Tekten… And, Mukori. I truly, truly love this family that Mukori made possible for me. Forgive me for my moment of weakness. I swear I will protect you first, next time.
While she sings and thinks sincerely about the people she has come to love, in spite of any differences, origins, or strengths and weaknesses, she hasn’t forgotten about the mutated ogre woman who is looming over her.
True to her word, Emerald has distracted the monster that the former Keeper became. Ryuogriar doesn’t know enough about Fal’s power, so it’s impossible to know if the woman can be helped now.
And, as that notion passes through her mind, Ryuogriar realizes she was a little unfair to Emerald to slap her for the suggestion she made. Hearing the words was unthinkable to Ryuogriar as the dragon is now. She has had too many good things happening recently, and her very fragile Mukori regularly faces danger far above his ability to withstand.
But, the thought of terminating a child that is simply crying because they are failures as guardians…
I’ll apologize to her after this… Please, Fal… Wait! That’s it. Fal…
Ryuogriar closes her eyes, focusing on the infant in her arms as she activates her telepathy once more. There’s no actual reason that telepathy won’t work on an infant, other than they don’t yet know the language, typically. Even a feldrok like Hekate has to have a baseline of language before her peculiar automatic translation works. But, the voice of the one using telepathy would still reach the target, and virtually anything that can be said can be transmitted.
Ryuogriar continues singing audibly, but she connects her mind telepathically to Fal to help sing directly to him as comfortably as she can.
What she had no way of expecting was yet another surprise the tiny black soulwyrmling has unleashed upon her this day alone.
If she didn’t know any better, she would believe she is under the direct mind attack of a powerful entity reflecting the aura Fal’s terrible frenzy shrouds the powerful little cub within.
Chaos fills her own mind, and she is momentarily halted from singing. She stammers to keep the song going, but she feels like she is suddenly within a chaotic, unintelligible dream clawing at her attention from all around her.
“T-Twinkle… T-Twinkle… Little s-starrrr…”
Ryuogriar’s eyes dart around, and she holds Fal as close as she can, trying to protect him. Monsters are flickering into existence all around her, as if trying to pounce her. Blood dances before her in sudden sprays like crashing waves sweeping in without warning from every direction, keeping her completely off balance.
But, then, something even more strange gnaws on Ryuogriar’s senses, like a foreboding sense of deja vu. The centuries-old dragon has experienced many of the shared visions that the east often used as a premonition, and Dawnseers would more deliberately search the future for the foretold event.
It’s not quite the same, but she feels a very distinct sense that something is wrong from some of the images flashing through and around this strange, chaotic ‘dream’. She’s not sure if she’s unconscious, but she’s not seeing reality.
At least, she’s not seeing it with her own eyes.
A flash of green draws her eyes to her right, not because her mind is truly present within Daniel’s room, and thus, Emerald’s movements have caught her attention. She’s still in a chaotic, foggy void that is nearly pitch black, strangled by red and black vines or roots tangled all around her and pulsing.
But, beyond and through the gaps in those strange aerial roots are flickers of green, changing places intermittently with images of shiny metallic grey, bright white, blue, and even a pale color capped with a honey-amber or brown color.
The colors are what Ryuogriar recognizes, because their shapes are but blurs beyond a choked fog, and the green is the only exception, seeming to appear alone, while the other colors are appearing in various combinations, now with the distinct bright violet light no dragon is unfamiliar with, as well as the intense orange and red of fire.
A gust reaches Ryuogriar, but not truly. It carries with it a sort of pressure, and she realizes it contains pain, but is masked by Fal’s intense aura, which has shocked Ryuogriar’s normal pain experience.
And then, while the green is centered in the field of view, almost taking a famliar shape, orange explodes forward, obscuring the full field of view.
It’s when that view is met with a smell that all dragons know, as well as the squirming of a baby in her arms that Ryuogriar pieces it together.
She is seeing the field of view of a creature that has received Fal’s “power”.
She is seeing Emerald from the point of view of the nearly-blind monster trying to kill her, or the vision is being distorted by some other factor. Regardless, she is seeing through the eyes of the former ogre-woman Keeper of the Unity of the Divine Dragons.
Which raises the question, if Fal experiences this attachment to beings exposed to his power and turned into monsters, who or what is the other one, and what is it fighting?
The colors are familiar, but…
Ryuogriar gasps, again, halted from her slow and less focused singing.
No… Neith, Magnir… That must be Zuzia… If that’s true… Mukori!?
Ryuogriar’s eyes water as the helpless feeling of fear starts to grip her, and she can hear the tone of Fal’s crying intensify.
Her own feelings are making it worse, but how can she remain fearless and calm? If something spawned by Fal’s power is fighting against three of the Fievegal’s strongest, what is the fate of her beloved Mukori?
She clenches her eyes shut, but it does no good. The visions are within her mind, like a dream, and she can do nothing to avoid them.
No… I am Ryuogriar gur Lawson, Second Empress and Matriarch of the Fievegal. I must be strong. I must be nurturing. I must… Fal,...
Focusing on the tiny kit in her arms, Ryuogriar swallows her fear as forcibly as she can, taking a breath and committing to her next act.
If she fails, she will lose herself and possibly Fal.
She dreams of being a mother whose love and grace serve as unshakable foundations and unforgettable memories to her children for centuries to come.
She lifts Fal towards her face, and she kisses his forehead, then pressing her own to his gently. “Fal, my sweet child, I know why you are in pain. I know you are afraid. But, Mommy’s here. Mommy loves you. And, so does the rest of our family. Daddy, Big Sister Hekate,... All of us love you. Please, please feel what I feel… What they have given to me…”
She dedicates every last shred of her thoughts to every moment of the last year or so; the most significant year of life she has ever lived.
Daniel’s kisses, scooping Ryuogriar up onto his shoulder, carrying her like a maiden, and even when he ordered her to slap him as hard as he could. She envisions Hekate laughing brazenly, and then drooping her ears and tail as the momentary pride is deflated just as swiftly. She makes a plethora of cute expressions and is undeniably sweet and affectionate. Never was it more obvious than when Hekate comforted and truly forgave Ryuogriar for the past, which Ryuogriar will still never consider a debt truly paid, even if she remains mischievous with her young rival.
Geirahoel, Reignleif, Jeavana, Treia, Gwenesphia, Baeka, Veiranoei, Sundenelle, Erimaya, Roetta, and so many more serve as the foundation Ryuogriar needs, not because she lacks strength, but because she once lacked purpose, companionship, and true family, things she never realized she wanted, and now can’t live without.
She does everything she can to share that feeling with Fal. Whatever is happening out in the field, whatever the faux-golem does in Daniel’s room, Ryuogriar is the Matriarch of the Fievegal, and her duty is to protect the children and family in their home.
When she opens her eyes, she can see normally again, and the faux-golem has Emerald pinned down. Fal’s crying is fading, but he’s still causing the strange mana to radiate powerfully and sickeningly. Ryuogriar has no idea what the consequences will be, but she has no regrets.
“Watch Mommy closely, Fal. I am weak compared to Daddy, but I swear to protect you.” Her final syllable is emphasized by a singular, telltale spark that ignites the hottest known fire in the world.
The First Dragon Empress doesn’t want to kill a Keeper just because she was turned into a monster against her will. But, if she must choose, the choice becomes obvious.
Either way, she starts with a simple attack to avoid destroying Daniel’s room entirely, as well as minimize damage to Emerald.
She ‘spits’ a deceptively small fireball.
The fate of a loyal Keeper of the Unity will be determined in the next few minutes.
And, if she can help it, she will find a way to help Fal now that she has seen behind the veil of what truly causes his frenzied states.
When it’s settled, she can determine exactly what’s occurring on the faraway battlefield of Ahmpur.
***