“Uuuurgh, you’ll make Hestia sad if you say that, Mom,” Hikari defended me, but her pleas went into the void. Mom was fully enraptured in her own world right now, and that was to enjoy her chance to hug me as if I were about to die tomorrow.
Though maybe I would just keel over in a moment when my back breaks.
“Gaaaarrrrrrhhhhh!” Hikari let out a silent shriek as the lungs were pressed out of our lungs. Poor Hikari… she was a goner.
In any case, letting Mom fill her heart with Hikari-energy would eventually end as the former loosened her grip on our body. She let Hikari, prompting the latter to take in multiple breaths as Mom gently embraced us this time, wrapping her tail around mine, playing with it like a girl twirling her long hair.
Eventually, Mom let go. “Guess Kargryxmor can still do good, even from the heavens. Good grief, though, it is a shame there is supposedly a mistake in your current form, but you look just fine to me.”
“Eh, you should know the old man better than Hestia or me. This body is newer to me than to both of you, no doubt,” Hikari stated. Biologically, we had no idea how our body actually worked, especially our new core. “I’m a bit sad I couldn’t retrieve your Mom’s spear, though. All that bragging from Hestia amounted to nothing, it seems.”
“Ah, such a small loss won’t invoke much, my dear. Don’t worry. Your grandmother is watching you above as one of Kargryxmor’s little workers, so she knows well enough what happened. If she hid that thing because she was ashamed of it, it is probably better that I never saw it. Hehe, I do not wish to embarrass my dear mother too much.” Haughtiness seeped out of her mouth like any confident empress. “Though if my parents are still the same as I knew them, I think they will forgive you for failing their artifact acquisitions. Seeing their granddaughter in her whole silver dragon splendor is… Haa.”
“… Mom, please, don’t cry. It just makes everything more awkward.”
Overwhelmed by her emotions, Mom couldn’t stop herself from crying, prompting Hikari to hug her now. Gentle caresses slowly helped her as she settled down, but my heart already understood the cause for those tears. Mom was satisfied with a daughter, but a part of her also wanted a dragon with her scale color. I guess it was similar to a human mother wanting their daughter to look similar to them. A bit toxic, but I could forgive Mom for this.
“Okay, I apologize! That was truly unneeded,” Mom said as she cleaned her tears by freezing them away. She then pulled something from a nearby box and handed it over to me. “Eat this.”
… Mana Eyes.
“What is this?” Hikari asked despite knowing the description.
“A rock. A simple one you can find anywhere in Frozen Nest.”
“I know, but why do you want me to eat a rock?”
“Because you’re a mineral dragon, Hikari! A silver dragon! Our origins come from being able to eat ores and minerals to turn our scales into the silvery shine we have now. The Nordors are primarily silver dragons aligned to ice, but you get my meaning.”
“That still doesn’t explain your thought process! Just because I look like a silver dragon doesn’t mean I can just consume and digest a rock! I—Hestia—did it once and had the worst stomachache she ever had since she became a dragon,” Hikari said, randomly reminding me of my pained past. “Let me turn it around. Why haven’t you eaten any rocks since we met? You’ve always eaten whatever we cooked up.”
“Oh, because stones barely have any taste. They are just good for nutrition. They help regrow our silver powder and are very effective for the purpose. Furthermore, they also help with digestion if you eat harder monsters like golems. I never asked Hestia this, despite her scale-dust, because her father can’t handle eating rocks either. Only Gaistrus’s children have gained the ability to eat ores and minerals… until now! Eat it, please! For your mother!”
Just like me, Hikari was too much of a filial person to ignore such a request, especially when her own curiosity was invoked. Unlike my days as a rock eater, Hikari’s fangs and teeth chew right through the mineral as if it were rock candy from a street vendor. As Mom said, the rock had no taste to it outside of some mineral taste similar to soil.
Once consumed, Hikari waited for a moment before she felt a slight annoyance in her stomach. I checked up on it, but it seemed like I was able to mostly digest the mineral, although not at a rate that seemed like it would benefit me more than eating normal food. When Hikari told this to Mom, she clicked her tongue and shrugged.
“Ah, well, then let us simply enjoy our usual meals.”
Hey, at least I wouldn’t have any toilet problems later on now. That was something.
Regardless of Mom’s small moment of being a weirdo, Hikari and I could agree that Mom seemed far more radiant than when she first arrived at all the destruction on Frozen Nest and after her stressful encounter with the leviathans. We would be dealing with a ton more administration problems later on, so this small family moment was refreshing.
“I shall uphold the responsibility of their core’s mana,” Tasianna’s declaration drew my attention.
Vifi and I had gone into one of the camp tents to talk with Mom and Tasianna, since we also wanted to hide what came after my family moment. There were still two big problems we had to deal with, and one of them was the fact that Tasianna was now the Ice Elemental King after she fully absorbed the mana from the previous king’s core. She was now talking with the greater elementals that Vifi had told me to capture.
I hadn’t talked much about the elementals after our victory over the emperor, but it was better to put this topic off for later. My entire talk about honoring the death was already a downer, and I only barely managed to get through it due to Sieg knowing how to support me. Not to mention, I had to get Tasianna’s opinion on them first.
The future of the ice elementals hinged on what she would decide.
[“Then you’ve accepted the role as our Ice Elemental King?”] Elk, the representative of the greater ice elementals, replied, yet Tasianna could only frown at their word.
“In a similar vein as the previous king? No, I cannot,” she said. “The mana did not come with any instructions on how I should lead you, and the emperor was more preoccupied with simply using me as a vessel for their power. Furthermore, I do not know much about your previous king, even with your stories, and that is why I cannot be similar to them. If I must be your Ice Elemental King, then I must trailblaze my own path. And as my first decision, I would ask you to tell me the history of the Ice Elemental King, Water Elemental Emperor, and the Wind Elemental Emperor.”
[“If it is tales you wish, then—”] One of the other elementals tried to interrupt her, but Tasianna raised her hand up.
“No, I do not wish for stories that only fae would enjoy. I wish to note down their past. Chronicle their achievements, mistakes, and their path to their end. I believe… I wish to become a writer. A storyteller to share these long-forgotten histories with the current world where faemancers are a rare occupation. Even if we fae deserve to live in our fairytales, our immortal race must start accepting reality and the present. Not every story must be fun and worthy of song; there must be ones for us to learn and live on for.”
Whether they understood her or not, the elementals went silent as Tasianna continued speaking.
“In addition to this, I shall also proclaim a second order—from now on, all ice elementals who wish to see me as their ‘Ice Elemental King’ must become citizens of the Empire of Kargryx, under the wardship of Clan Nordor by the authority of Sixth Dragon Empress, Melloxtressa Wisperia Nordor.”
The elementals gasped as they heard them, while Hikari snapped her head to Mom, seeing her smile awkwardly. Although we wanted to ask her about what was just said, the elementals got to it faster as they erupted in a fountain of questions.
[“Y-you’re handing us over to the dragonkin?”]
[“Y-you are our King, Tasianna! You can’t do this!”]
“Will you let me speak?” Tasianna shouted, although the elementals were unwilling to listen to her demand. I wanted to step in to help her, but Mom pulled me back, telling me to simply watch as wind burst from her body, freezing everything around her into an ice sphere within a second. “Listen!”
Inside their potion bottle prisons, the greaters did not look as intimidating as when they were at their strongest point, so watching them cower before Tasianna made her seem almost like a bully. Naturally, only if you had no context for the situation.
“Do not believe your actions have no consequences, Greaters. You all supported the Water and Wind Elemental Emperor when they had imprisoned me inside their body, working with them in their pursuit to destroy Lord Thalaxarus’s remains, causing the barrier to protect my mistress’s home to be destroyed. You are at fault for leaving the heir of the Ice Elemental King in a precarious situation.”
[“It was by the Emperor’s orders! How can we ignore them?”]
[“Their reasoning was true as well! What have the dragons done for us elementals since they took over the island with the establishment of the empire? Thalaxarus, our old friend, was killed by an invader, and from then on, the ice dragonkin have forgotten about us.”]
[“They treat other greaters and the young elementals like prey, like any monster. The history we shared was forgotten. We had maintained the glaciers, and we were doing what was needed to maintain the island’s ice mana!”]
“I agree, there lies some fault on the dragon side. Your act of revenge had its reason, and for that, I do not chastise you.”
I looked over to Mom, seeing her lack of reaction. Vifi was the only other person inside this tent, and she was completely ignoring everything, keeping watch as a watchdog.
“However, these reasons aren’t enough for the dragonkin who will remember the dead after my lady’s speech. They will not forget that the elementals had attempted to destroy their home, and many will reason that you were intending to destroy Iceskale as well. The many destroyed lairs the emperor had left in their wake are too conspicuous to ignore,” Tasianna argued. I had to groan in pain when I heard this, as this is why I did not want to mention the elementals at all to the dragonkin. “As you said, elders. The dragonkin have forsaken your friendship. Would you believe they would show you mercy after what happened?”
Silence was also an answer, and that was how the greaters understood their situation.
“Many lesser and normals had died in the process. How can you speak purely on revenge in this situation, when the dragonkin have an equal reason to continue their onslaught? Elk. Burrower. All six greaters whom I met in that small cave. All of you must understand the importance of them for our community, but you dragged them into this battle without properly explaining things to them. This isn’t about revenge at this point. All of you need to take responsibility as greaters! You do not need a king to make such a simple decision!”
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Considering how lesser and even normal elementals were still pretty childish, and how easily the lessers were killed by the power of most dragons, the elementals certainly had no right to complain to Tasianna right now. She was handing them a rescue line.
“I have talked about our situation to Empress Melloxtressa, and that is why we will be going under her wings. That means we will receive her protection, but as long as we obey her laws and rules. That means we must depart from the glacier and go to her nest. We will be living inside her valley. Elementals will receive normal rights as citizens of Frozen Nest, and you may enter Iceskale,” Tasianna continued her explanation on her second order. “Think about it. Dragonkin may not hunt you any longer, and that allows the lesser and normals to play as they want. A friendship can only be mended if both sides are willing to mend it.”
[“So we are to turn into hostages?”] One of the elementals protested. [“So we are to be punished for trying to change something? So Yothmlak’s crimes will be forgotten? You are saying that we have to take all the responsibility for this ‘war’ when you know the dragons are the ones to push us towards this path?”]
“He will not!” I interjected. “Yothmlak’s crimes will not simply die in the glacier his body was left behind. It will be known that he was the reason for your attack.”
“Nest and Territories are protected within the Empire to prevent the usual Territorial wars of the past. Every elder scale, and even the young scales, knows the threat of disrespecting the territory of another dragonkin. Clan wars can wipe out both clans if we empresses do not intervene immediately,” Mom added. “So, if we present that the home of the Ice Elemental King and the emperors are the peak of the glaciers, my vassals will understand that this attack wasn’t made unprovoked. We incited a Territorial dispute because one of our young scales was too greedy. When an ice dragon causes trouble within Inferno Nest, the fire dragonkin do not just blame the dragon’s clan, but also the entirety of Frozen Nest. Our relationship with the elementals can be considered foes before today. There are plenty of reasons for me to diminish the negative impact of you becoming vassals within my clan.”
[“But—”]
“Not to mention, Tasianna is correct. I do remember my former friendship with the elementals before the advent of the Origin Gods. Much has happened since then, and I presume many of my fellow ancients will understand there was a lingering bond once. Maybe… instead of seeing an uncomfortable way to mend this bond, we should think of it as a chance for a renewal,” Mom stated. “Dragons hunting prey to eat and level up cannot change. This is our lifestyle. Nature rising against us has been part of our lives for ages, and this is simply another one. We dragonkin are forced to adapt to the situation, or let the situation continue to bleed. Not to mention, with the destruction of the barrier, the elementals are equally in danger now.”
[“Without the protection of the Water and Wind Elemental Emperors, we will face conflict with fire dragonkin,”] Elk replied. [“Even if we follow the original plan to leave the island, how can we, if we do not have the Water Elemental Emperor’s protection from the sea threats? We are bound to our home, and we must protect it.”]
“A protection our side can grant, in return for aid, in the time to come. You greaters are still masters of ice, just like us elder scale, and that hasn’t changed in the two millennia since we last talked this much.”
The elementals turned silent as they started looking at each other, before Tasianna suddenly opened the potion bottles, setting the greater elementals free. However, instead of flying away, they all lined up in front of Melloxtressa.
[“Very well, then. Our options are scarce, but you are right about one thing—this is the uncomfortable path, but we must thread it even then,”] Elk stated to the elementals’ in-sync groan in confirmation. [“Empress Melloxtressa, we shall lower our neck and tail as we offer you our scales, as you dragonkin would do. However, we will make you keep your oath. Swear it upon the Kargryxmor name. On your daughter’s honor.”]
“No, not on my daughter’s. On my own, as the Sixth Empress of Kargryx and matriarch of Clan Nordor. You have my word that Yothmlak will not escape his crimes even from death.”
[“Then it is sealed. We greaters will soon have to separate and gather the younglings. As you will mourn, we must do so ourselves. Once we have had our time, we shall gather below your mountain, Empress Melloxtressa. We shall… continue when that comes.”]
“It shall. Take your time. We will require just as much and more with all the changes to come in the future.” Mom then turned to me. “I hoped you enjoyed your little ‘vacation.’ Once you are back in Iceskale, you’d better hope you haven’t gotten tired of all the bureaucracy. I still have to return to the mainland concerning the recent leviathan attacks, so you will have to take care of my part of the work as my heir.”
“Oh, goodie…” Hikari said, but we both knew this would happen. Though, to be honest, having full control as Mom’s representative was the exact authority I needed to do something very important for the future.
To the point, I could go against my own mother’s orders.
Regardless of my own thoughts, Elk continued speaking with Tasianna, [“One last thing, our king. With the destruction of the glacial peak, the river controlling the flow of the island’s superfluous mana will most likely find it difficult to flow. The divine mana of the emperors kept it flowing for Frozen Nest’s health.”]
“As much as Empress Melloxtressa considers me a ‘demi-god,’ I truly am not one. The divine mana with the demonic energy from the silver amulet was completely absorbed by Lady Hikari. Although… I presume she didn’t manage to really absorb it.”
“Whether I did or not, I cannot tell. I’m technically already living on divine mana, considering how my [Battle Frenzy] worked and with my whole usurpation thing,” Hikari answered. “Vifi said she couldn’t feel any lingering demonic energy, so I think we can presume that Tasianna destroyed it all with her finishing blow.”
[“Regardless of where it dissipated, it would eventually be turned into normal mana anyway. It is fine,”] Elk answered. [“Yet, I still insist we schedule a regular visit to the glaciers every year, Tasianna. Maybe you do not possess any divine mana, but we elementals must ensure that the flow of our island’s mana smoothly enters the ocean. Your true ice mana will surely become instrumental.”]
“It should be fun, yes. Let us… Yes, once you arrive in Nordor Valley and manage to settle down, let us plan that trip. We should investigate the area after the battle.”
And with that, the situation with the elementals has been solved. They would remain in their bottles for one more day until it was safe for them to leave to gather the lesser and normal elementals.
At the same time, Hikari told me I should take control of my body again. Once my body turned back into a fire dragonewt, I gave Mom a big hug before dashing over to Tasianna, giving her one as well.
“You look good!” I told her, causing her to giggle. “So, what’s the title, blessed of Zephira? What kind of power can I expect to usurp from your blessing?”
Tasianna smiled as if she wanted to laugh, but suppressed it before bowing slightly. “I am a Champion of the Wind Pantheon—the [Chronicler of Fae Tales].”
“Not very windy.”
“Fitting,” Tasianna corrected me. “I presume you have heard what I told Elk, yes?”
“That you would become a writer? I never thought you would be one.”
“A lover of fiction and fairy tales; I certainly do not fit the role of a chronicler, but I think this is what I want to do with my life, my lady. I want to give the fae the ability to grow from their current whimsical self, especially the fairies, as we were born as a reflection of elves and humans. What better way to do so than by writing the stories about our former primarchs?” Tasianna wobbled her head, smiling as she stared at the ceiling, almost as if she was trying to imagine herself in the future. “I must return to the library, though. Learn the ways of writing such tales. I must find a teacher for that, and not to mention travel the world to find documents concerning the primarchs. I wish to also find the Fire Elemental Emperor’s remains, if there still are some in Carmaniate.”
“If that is your dream, then it is Aurora’s dream as well.”
“It doesn’t fit our goals, though.”
“And?” I raised my arms up, dangling them around as I raised my voice to make light of Tasianna’s words. “You need to go to Saelariel. You need to return to the fairy village. And then you need to go to Carmaniate. If you ask me, we have to go to Carmaniate eventually, considering Saori, Grimnir, and Ellaine still aren’t done with their part on that side of the planet. Sure, much can happen in two more years, but the dream to perform throughout the world will allow you to journey where you wish, just like how Saori’s dream can be fulfilled within Aurora. Visiting Carmaniate will be important for my Quest with Aurena, and that would allow you to do some investigating.”
“Don’t forget about me, just because I’m standing here all alone!” Vifi cried out, causing Tasianna and me to laugh as Vifi turned back around. I should not forget to eventually bring Vifi back to her adoptive family’s home for her personal reasons.
“I guess the two-year wait will allow me to learn how to become a storyteller, then,” Tasianna giggled, prompting me to snap my fingers.
“You can do one better—become a playwright. If you wish for the fae to learn from your stories, the best way is to perform them for them to visualize them better. If you need a singer or opera specialist, you got me to ask.”
“Hiehie, so I would become similar to a bard? Or maybe those adventuring fairies who overdramatize their stories too much? … I cannot believe that I would actually follow in their footsteps when I hated how they presented their stories in such a manner. Though I’ll make sure I tell the truth. I will learn all I can about the elemental emperors, so their names will not be forgotten even after another millennium,” Tasianna declared with the widest smile she has had since we arrived on Frozen Nest. “I think it would be a good time. Let me brew some t—”
I raised my hand. “You’re not my maid any longer. It might have been a dream, but you need to break away from your chains. You are now just a normal adventurer of party Aurora.”
“… Then, would you like to share some tea with me… Hestia?”
“Only if you sit down as well. Don’t stand up and pour. Put the pot down, and we can enjoy it together.”
“Hiehie, of course, He—Actually, I can’t get used to addressing you like that. Lady Hestia is still Lady Hestia to me, regardless of whether I am no longer your maid. I am still your retainer, and I will remain as such until I perish. I would gladly ‘offer you a scale’ once again.”
“And I will enjoy our years together as best friends!”
And so, another tale on Kargryx has come to an end. Our journey through the frozen wasteland of Frozen Nest was certainly an explosive one, but it had granted all of us much time to change. Whether physically or mentally.
A long time of rest and planning awaited us, as I still had to learn all the upgrades my companions had gotten, especially with Tasianna, as she got a huge number of improvements. Though that would best be reserved for tomorro—
“Hey, guess it’s a good moment now, right?” I jerked up as Nong suddenly rushed into the tent, raising his voice to the point I nearly had a heart attack. “Thought it would be important to mention this before I somehow forget about it. Little scamp, you remember how you complained to me about how I was gone for nearly a month when you were stuck in that cave?”
“Oh, right, I did forget about that!” I said, causing Nong to pose as if he had something to be proud about.
“Good, then listen up. Remember that anti-dragon blood we found smeared on that monkey’s weapons?” Nong said, drawing even Mom’s attention. “Well, the reason for that was that I was investigating that stuff. It took a long time to find any traces and the evidence for them, but I got the bastard’s journal stored inside the guest room of your mansion in Iceskale. Told the staff not to clean it for my sake.”
“You crazy—You went on an entire detective arc without me?”
“You were stuck under a mountain of snow.”
“I would have loved to be Sherlock Holmes, okay? Not to mention, anti-dragon blood is illegal, so that entire affair would have to be solved eventually. Bah, but I guess I can’t complain. Anyways, who was it?”
“Your elven doctor.”
… Say what now? Mr. Illvenus?
“The mana surgeon?” Mom yelled, her eyes flaring up as if she lit them on fire. “The one who examined my daughter?”
Nong snapped his fingers. “The evidence is found in the journal I found. Furthermore, you will learn about it soon yourself, Mother-empress. Rootcaller is an ‘astronomer’—remember those Kle’Thuen Edjurian fanatics I talked about, Little scamp? Busted through his alchemist hut and home, found some clues that fit the analysis our house’s alchemist gave me, went to Kel’Thun when I found out he had left Frozen Nest. That cult had a little hideout on the island.”
“So you killed him?” Mom asked.
“His associates, yes. And, yes, I presented myself properly to not cause any possible diplomatic issue. In any case, the man wasn’t there, but I found his journal of notes.” Nong ended his report. “Illvenus is a man marked for death for threatening Kargryx by orchestrating the entire incident with the dragon-slaying monkey. Vifi said you elementals met an elven alchemist, right?”
[“Correct. His name was not known to us, though,”] Elk answered.
“Another charge. This is the main reason for this issue between the dragonkin and elementals. He is dead. Once I find him.”
“Report to your mother first, Nongramos.”
“I already said, she will know when—”
“Report. To. Her.”
Nong frowned, squinting at Mom as if he was about to defy her orders, but relented with a growl. “Waste of time! The further he goes, the—”
“No. I am telling you this because you cannot do anything to him if my deduction is correct. Have you not learned when the man departed from Frozen Nest?”
“Uuuuh, a few days after the leviathan attack. When I was already journeying with Hestia and her crew.”
“Anti-dragon blood to hunt dragons, which was planned far in advance, considering Yothmlak’s time of death. He knew about Yothmlak’s greed, but how? Could it have been that the young scale had been given some sort of information? Why did the mana leave the moment the leviathans attacked? All of these coincidences may be baseless, but if we start putting them together, aren’t all these points pointing at something?”
“He wanted to harm Kargryx. We already know that.”
“Correct, but why? Why did he do all of this? His plan surrounding Yothmlak couldn’t have been caused by Hestia being a foe to the Edjurian sympathizers, correct? She wasn’t even born yet when that elf migrated to Iceskale to establish his alchemy shop. This was caused by another reason.” Mom paused before continuing. “The Bole’Tarians had no reason to antagonize us until the very end, since they only recently progressed with their anti-dragon weapon plans, but that doesn’t mean they had to wait to sabotage us. If we consider the elf worked with the demonkin, he would still need a safety plan after he enacted everything. Where can he find a refugee until he can be extracted by his allies?”
“… Caedhul. The Aquapolis, fuck!” Nong shouted. “Right in the middle of those water skinks!”
“Right in the middle of enemies we are currently trying to make peace with after everything…”
… I just wanted to say that we still had the whole civil war between Kahalameet’s and Wendriosa’s faction. I did not want to add another issue on my damn checklist!
Fuck me!
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