~ Chapter 115: Of dreams and gods ~

[Seryanna’s Point of View]

 That night, after I went to bed, I found myself dreaming of an endless field of flowers. They were so beautiful, more so than anything else I had ever seen in my entire life. Gentle petals of elegant colors with a drop of dew gathered on top revealed the ephemeral beauty of their nature. It was as if they were blessed gems hand painted by a goddess.

Enchanted by them, I tried to pick one up and smell it, but no matter how much strength I gathered in my grip, the little flower refused to part with the ground, it did not even get mushed when I squeezed it by accident.

But, while I was being captivated by the beauty of this place, the dragoness part in me began to peek out her little head and think about silly things like how wonderful it would be to make a crown of these flowers or maybe capture the essence of the petals into a perfume bottle. Then she giggled at the idea of showing these off to her fellow dragoness friends only to follow with a shy blush when she wondered if her husband would be enchanted by them.

Back in Albeyater, I never was one to care about such things, but it wasn’t as if I was completely uninterested in them. I could still remember how happy Alkelios was when he took me out on a date night after I, under Kataryna’s advice, dolled myself up. I wore a dark-green evening dress, which I had bought one time at a whim, a pair of shoes that seemed stylish and in fashion with the dragonesses in the capital. My makeup and hair were done by Kleo, with a bit of help from Kataryna.

At first, I did not understand why it mattered for me to put on a pretty dress, wear makeup, and do my hair like one of the noble ladies at the Palace, who still swayed their tails when a handsome dragon walked by, but after seeing the expression on Alkelios’ face when he saw me, everything became as clear as day.

Walking down the street together with him and catching the gazes of the passing dragons and dragonesses made me realize that in this form, I was pretty.

Alkelios also told me that I was beautiful and more than often showered me with compliments, but I did not really feel like they mattered that much until that day. It felt good to be pretty, cute, beautiful, charming... and all of that. Alkelios felt proud to have me by his side because of this, and I felt pleased knowing that I could reward him with something as simple as this.

A dragoness’ charm was not something that should be easily cast aside, as Kleo told me several times, it was a tool and at times a weapon. The battlefield where it was used, however, had nothing to do with blood being spilled and enemies being slain. There, you could end up losing the battle if you did nothing no matter how powerful you were in combat.

“I managed to get married with Alkelios, but this didn’t mean that the upcoming years of my marriage were guaranteed to be peaceful. As a handsome man, he was bound to catch the eye of others and Albeyater wasn’t a country to forbid polygamy or polyandry.” I told myself as I stared towards the endless field of flowers.

Within my dream, I then began to walk towards the horizon, wondering what I could find there, but as I did so, I would hear the giggle of a child coming from behind me. When I turned around, I saw no one, which was a bit strange, but not creepy. I couldn’t feel their presence at all, so my initial guess was that I encountered some form of illusion. At first, there was only one child, but then there were two, and finally three. At times, the giggles seemed to surround me while in others they were far away from me.

I learned to ignore them as I made my way through the field of flowers... until... someone pulled my dress.

I stopped and after turning around, I looked down and saw a small child of no more than ten or maybe twelve years old. He resembles Alkelios a lot, but he had red hair like mine. He showed me a big smile, revealing his white teeth.

“Mommy? When is daddy coming back?” he asked and with these few words, I felt as though my happiness shattered to pieces.

The world then began to resemble my inner turmoil as clouds loomed in and hid the sun’s gentle rays from me. The flowers, despite how beautiful and indestructible they were before, started to wilt one petal at a time. As for the child, from wearing what seemed to be expensive clothes, he ended up wearing rags.

“Mommy? Why did you chase away my mommy?” a little girl with silver hair, who reminded me of Kataryna asked me this strange thing while pulling on my sleeve.

In that moment, my pretty green dress from earlier with golden and silver flower patterns embroidered on it had changed to a soldier’s typical armor worn out by constant battles and the merciless passing of time. The change was abrupt, but I felt as though years had passed already from the moment I started walking through that field of flowers all the way to the present.

“Mom? Was that the right thing to do?” another boy asked me, but this time, he was standing behind me.

I turned around and instead of the flower field from earlier, I found myself in the middle of a battlefield. There, in front of me, the boy with a dark brown hair was holding onto the body of a human woman with a sword sticking out of her chest.

“Just because we are human... why?” the boy asked with tears flowing down his cheeks.

“I... I didn’t do this.” I told him, but then, as soon as I finished my words, I fell down through a hole and into a land of darkness.

Here, there was no light, no smell, no pretty flowers to make my day, just an empty abyss with nothing in it.

“I didn’t do it...” I said as I floated in this strange place.

Sometime later, an entity of light showed up before me and then told me “You don’t fear any of that, but you are worried that you might be cast aside.”

“What?” I asked surprised.

“It’s interesting, right? This dilemma of yours.” the entity began to speak as he walked around me. “On one side, you have yourself with your loved one, but just the two of you, no one else around...” he showed me his hand on which a sphere of glass reflected my married life with Alkelios. “While on the other hand, you might need to share him, but... what if he begins to forget you... what if... he casts you aside?” he then showed me a sphere of glass on which I was reflected standing alone in the middle of that flower field. “Which one do you think I want?” the light entity then changed to Alkelios and with his gentle smile, my dream ended.

I woke up sweating and trembling, but while a small spark of hope was lit up in my heart, it soon faded away when I realized that I was all alone in my room on board of the Scorpion Dream Galleon. The sun was already up, and I could hear the sailors moving cargo on the upper deck. Outside my cabin window, a small bird was chirping while resting on the frame. I got up from my bed and looked towards the armor stand next to the desk, staring into my own reflection in the polished plate.

“Which one do you want, Seryanna?” I asked myself as I began to recall every part of my dream.

There was no way my own reflection would reply, but it felt cold and distant, almost as if it wasn’t really a part of me.

That dream was confusing, but at the same time, it weighed heavily on my heart just like what happened to me back on the Dwarf Continent after I accidentally changed into my beast form. Although I was happy that I could release my wings and feel the cold wind caressing my scales, the reason behind it, as Kataryna stated at that time, was one I had to think deeply about.

Looking down at my hand, I clenched it into a fist and wondered If I were to lose Alkelios... would I still be free? Or maybe... I fear that I can’t be free without Alkelios in my life?

Around half an hour later, after I finished my morning routine, I went up on the first deck, where Kataryna was already waiting for me and her Highness. The sailors were busy moving cargo to the lower decks and Captain Mathias was talking to an el’doraw about some sort of liquor. I didn’t stay to listen, instead I walked up to the silver-scale dragoness.

“Good morning, Kataryna, what are you looking at?” I asked.

“Good morning... that.” she then pointed at something on the pier.

There, near the road, a prestigious carriage with six beautiful horses was waiting.

With every neigh the horses gave the impression that they were the most majestic being in existence, a creature only someone with royal blood could dare to ride or, at the very least use with a carriage. The driver was a middle-aged man with gray hair tied back in a small ponytail. Silver frames rested on his nose, which reminded me more of a butler than an actual random commoner hired to take care of the horses. The carriage itself was bigger than a regular one by a lot, almost filling up the entire space on the road, making me wonder how troublesome it would be to drive through a busy city. Well, if worst came to worst, either me or Kataryna were strong enough to just lift it up and fly away with it. Unlike the draconian carriages, this one did not seem to weigh that much, as for the horses, they were no Khosinni. Although they looked smart and mighty, they would certainly fall prey even to a bunch of wolves.

“Is that the Royal Knight the City Lord mentioned?” I asked when I noticed the figure standing by the door of the carriage.

She was wearing a different armor unlike that of the regular knights and soldiers found within this city. The crest of the Kingdom of Ledmerra was adorning both her shield and the surcoat she wore on top of her full body plate armor. The crest itself was represented by two grass blades united at the base and tip and bent outwards, forming a heart-shape figure, then between two pieces of grass, a silver sword was drawn, starting with the hilt that was united at the bottom and then the blade that pierced through the point at the top by almost a quarter.

When I looked at that crest, it made me think that while the people of this nation could be seen as fragile as a blade of grass, they could cut down their foes like a well-sharpened sword fueled by the emotions that sprang from within.

The el’doraw carried herself with the pride of a knight, and the gaze in her eyes was firm and unwavering, believing that she was strong enough to face anything in this world. Her blonde hair was tied with a pink ribbon in a ponytail, and the deep green color of her eyes was certainly out of this world, but was her skill with the sword on par with her beauty or was she just another decorative flower for the higher classes?

That was my only question.

At one point, I was close to becoming someone like her... the flower of a dragon who cared not about either my family, honor, or those whom I wished to serve as a Knight. I thought as I remembered that awful dragon.

“So it seems. Callipso Emerdel was it?” I said as I turned my head to the door leading to the lower decks. “Have you seen her Highness?” I asked.

“She’s still in her chamber.”

“I’m going to check up on her.” I told her and then walked away.

That woman was indeed the Royal Knight who was meant to escort us over to the Elf Empire. We were going to pass by the capital on to the border, since, as of right now, we had no reason to spare the time to visit the capital and the nobles there. The way the el’doraw saw it, we would first have to be accepted by the elves they felt indebted to and then we could return to them, otherwise, we were as good as enemies to them.

The City Lord of Offspray was kind enough to explain this apparent rude attitude of theirs. The el’doraw were not trying to make things difficult for us or come out as rude to a foreign royal, it was just that they were a simple vassal nation to the Anui’Yahna Empire, and they had to act like it.

We departed from Offspray as soon as her Highness was ready. We walked down the gangplank on the pier and then went to greet miss Callipso. With a cheerful smile, she promised to escort us safely to the border of the Kingdom where the representatives of the elves would come to greet us, which meant that news of our arrival and intentions would have already reached the Empire. We chose to travel by carriage, which would give them ample amount of time to prepare for a respectful welcoming of a foreign royal.

The first part of the journey, our departure and even the first night spent outside, was extremely uneventful close to boring, actually. Kataryna played fetch with Tanarotte, but that was about all the entertainment we got, and she couldn’t tease the poor dragoness forever. Despite the relationship between the two, the silver-scaled dragoness always made sure she did not cross the bottom line with her, which was the reason why all of this abuse was seen as nothing more than a harmless play.

It was only on the second day, when the first group of bandits decided to show up. Unfortunately for them, when we saw them, both me and Kataryna jumped in to defeat them before the Royal Knight even had the time to unsheathe her sword.

“Stwap! And gibe us all ya’ gold!” one of them shouted as ten others jumped out of the bushes.

“They’re mine!” I shouted.

“NO! MINE!” Kataryna retorted as we both charged up our respective spells.

Flaming spheres of magic surrounded me, while giant icicles formed around Kataryna. The ground cracked under our powerful steps, and the wave of pressure of presence was released from our bodies. Both of us had a big wide grin on our faces as we prepared to land the killing strike.

When the bandits saw us charging up like that at them, they were left speechless and trembling like little lambs. One of them even fainted. What followed next was... well, a bit unsavory for the gaze of a lady, but it could be summarized as lots of body parts flying everywhere, the ground was gorged out, the plants all around us were both freezing and burning at the same time, and at the very center of it were the two of us, looking around for more prey... ahem, ruffians to defeat.

“I... I... what did I even come here for?” Callipso asked after she saw us returning to the carriage, half annoyed that there were no more bandits who would dare to challenge us.

The previously majestic horses were now trembling and making a mess on the ground as they had all emptied their bowels.

“I did say that my two knights were rather strong, but I guess the City Lord didn’t trust my words.” her Highness said with a sigh.

“Is... is that so?” she asked looking back at her.

“Our strength is not the great.” Kataryna grumbled as she got back into the carriage.

“What do you mean?” the silly Knight asked.

“She means that we are not that strong, there are those out there who could easily defeat us and more of them are coming out of woodwork every year.” I told her as I followed Kataryna into carriage.

“S-Stronger?!” she was quite surprised.

“I take it the el’doraw don’t have any Breakthrough-er? Or how do you call them here, Starscryers?” asked her Highness.

“They are Starscryers?!” Callipso shouted, her jaw almost dropping to the ground and her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

“Yes, but are there any in this country?” she asked again.

“Yes, but... this... this is the first time I’m seeing one in real. I heard about the Great Albarund Osh’Mall, the Wise Shermund of Shuran, and the Endless Sereya of Kassamyr, but they are individuals someone like me could only dream of meeting, let alone actually get acquainted with them!” she declared.

“Are they such elusive individuals?” I asked.

“Yes! They say that meeting them was akin to a lifetime of fortunes! As for becoming a Starscryer yourself, that is considered to be a dream that most aspire to but none who managed to reach so far.” she declared with a vehement nod.

She seemed to be extremely excited to speak about them, so we decided to let her. The three of us asked a question from time to time as we pulled more and more information from her.

First of all, the name of Starscryer was a title that was given to the strongest and most valiant of fighters who stood by the side of Empress Anui’Yahna in her hardest times. Each of them, according to the legend, were powerful enough to leave a mark on the world by changing the forests, shifting mountains, or draining the seas. There were those who moved the paths of rivers and even hid the two sister moons Nocturnia and Nocturnis from the gaze of the mortals below.

The way the Royal Knight spoke of these Starscryers resembled the ramblings of an old man who spoke about their most cherished stories or even religious figures. From what I heard so far of this Empress, I could understand why they were looking at her in such a glorifying way, she did, after all, saved them from that Mad God. But, this deity, who was he?

On the second night, while we were having our dinner around the campfire, I decided to ask Callipso.

“What can you tell me about this Mad God from your stories? The City Lord also mentioned him, and on our journey, while you described the many many... many feats of strength of the Starscryers, you also mentioned him a couple of times. On the Dragon Continent, there is no such deity.”

Her gaze fell on the campfire between us and then with a soft voice, she began her tale.

“It is said that he appeared a long long time ago... many millennia ago in the land called Lazardia or how the people of the world call it now: The Shattered Continent. There he brought havoc and destroyed all those who stood in his way, leaving the survivors to tremble at his feet in the madness he induced them in...”

While she continued to tell us the story of this entity, we listened carefully to her words. The Mad God’s legend was one that appeared to be shrouded in an almost mythical if not fairy tale mist that would make any other foreigner see these stories only as some sort of fantasies made up by a bored man’s mind.

To us, however, they were a small clue to the past and also a chance for us to deepen our understanding of both the elves and the el’doraw.

As such, we listened to the Mad God’s legend of how he destroyed Lazardia and turned it into what was now known as the Shattered Lands. In the el’doraw tales, he plucked thunder from the sky and rose fires from the depths of the world. The lazarusians tried to fight back against him, but they were unable to scratch him in any way, shape, or manner.

Then she told us of how the Mad God arrived on the Elf Continent and with one sweep of his hand turned half of the ancient elves into his obedient slaves, while the other half were left to be hunted down for his own enjoyment. For hundreds of years, they were hunted down by the corrupted ancient elves until the Mad God changed the rules and allowed the survivors to have a chance to fight back. It was an insane choice, a gamble that was against all odds, and yet the one who prevailed was none other than the first Empress of the Elves Anui’Yahna.

From there, the legends turn to history. After fighting back the armies of the Mad God, the Empress was able to release the ancient elves from the corruption of the Mad God and eventually became the species that was now known as the el’doraw. The time spent under his influence was enough to alter them substantially.

“Besides our own legends, there are tales of the Mad God everywhere in the world. I am surprised that those on the Dragon Continent have no such tales... or maybe they haven’t spread as far as your esteemed Albeyater Kingdom?” Lady Callipso asked as she looked back at us.

“We might have some, but the name of this entity might not be the Mad God. For example, there’s a tale about a mysterious being covered in a black fog which is told to appear in the middle of chivalrous battlefields only to destroy both armies and further increase the chaos between countries. We call that entity Dor’Makur.” said Kataryna while scratching the back of her head.

“I have heard of him, indeed.” the Princess nodded and then added “The dwarfs also told me of a being called Zelbust the Wretched, a creature so vile and powerful that it could rip the very life out of your body and turn the most brilliant of minds into the dumbest of idiots.”

“They sound so different, yet I can’t shake the feeling that they might be the same.” Callipso shook her head.

“Whether they are different or not doesn’t matter, the question is if this entity actually exists and where it is hiding right now.” the Princess said.

“True, if this being is real, and by some sort of unholy luck it will target the Albeyater Kingdom or even the entire Dragon Continent, we might need to be prepared for it, although... can you prepare yourself for the coming of an evil god?” Kataryna asked.

“We can only try.” I told them as I looked into the fire. Would Alkelios be able to do anything about this entity, or would he fall to despair upon meeting him? I stopped thinking for a moment and then shook my head No, he wouldn’t despair, he would struggle to find a solution, he would fight for a future in which all of his friends managed to survive.

“The Mad God... he exists.” said Callipso in a weak tone of voice. “For both the el’doraw and the elves, this is a fact not a fantasy...”

It was difficult for us, draconians to take into consideration a threat which appeared only in myths and legends, but at the very least, we could learn the possible signs of this being’s appearance. Chances were that this Mad God would never appear before us in our entire lives, so wasting time and energy worrying about it was useless.

Thanks to Callipso, we learned of the dark history of the el’doraw and why they were so willing to be the vassals of the elves and not seek out their own independence. This made the success of our negotiations with the latter several times more important now since if they denied a trade alliance with us, then the el’doraw wouldn’t be far behind them.

The hope for our Queen’s cure also rested in the hands of the elves, so at the very best we prayed that no form of trouble would come to seek us out over there. I did not think that it was impossible for me to flee with her Highness from this continent if need came to be, but I definitely didn’t wish for things to reach such an unfavorable point.

Callipso continued to tell us a few more heroic tales of the Starscryers of the elves and those of the el’doraw, but the Mad God didn’t appear in any of them. It was apparent, however, that they were against slavery and disapproved of any form of law which was against the goodwill of the people, but what sort of hero would approve of a corrupt noble anyway?

Then, as everyone went to bed, I took out my sword and began to polish it while keeping guard in front of the fire. In my mind, I hummed a song, a lullaby I hoped to one day sing to my children.

Oh, young one, sweet dreams~

My sweet whelp, sweet dreams~

May you rest well in your bed~

Mother will always make sure you are fed

And nightmares beware,

This child is not yours to scare~

Father protects him with fire and shield

In front of no danger he will yield

Oh, young one, sweet dreams~

My sweet whelp, sweet dreams~

Now hush, little one, my sweet little one

Your mother will sing you the song of her heart

So you and your father from her will never part

Now, whelp, my sweet whelp, close your eyes and fall asleep~

For mother and father in their embrace, you, they shall keep~

Oh, young one, sweet dreams~

My sweet whelp, sweet dreams~