Dragonlord

Ep 156. I’ve Been Here Before. (2)

Ep 156. I’ve Been Here Before. (2)

It was another uneventful day at the Dragon’s Valley.

In fact, almost every day was an uneventful day; hardly anything happened except the occasional explorers who were lost, or too brave, or too reckless.

But recently, it’s been one event after another.

They’d had the strangest visitor to bring them to heel and declare themselves king; her family had ventured into the kin’s forbidden grounds, and she’d nearly (and unintentionally) poisoned said king. The entire brood had been summoned to the northern continent, only to return with brethren they’d thought lost for good.

“…”

From the insides of her nest, Aether glanced towards a peculiar, unmoving door.

Once upon a time, it’d housed two younglings who’d bicker and fight nearly every morning – but it’d grown quieter and quieter as the two spent more time outside than at home. Aether and Bruton had repaired the room at least hundreds of times, but it’d been years since they’d last had to tinker with its make.

With her gaze fixed on the door, Aether called out to her husband by the dining table.

“Bruton? Where do you think they are right now?”

“Hm? Eline said she was taking Theo to look for more of those wriggly plants.”

“Not them. I mean…Ilias and Raizel. Even Serenis.”

“…I’m not sure about the other two, but Ilias would be back in that human town, no? You talk as if she’d have gone elsewhere.”

“Oh? You don’t think she did?”

When Bruton’s hesitant remark was met by his wife’s disapproving gaze, he scratched his head, shrugging in resignation.

“Well…the lord did promise she’d send Ilias back home…”

Aether quietly snickered at the lack of confidence in Bruton’s voice. At least one of the two knew how unplausible that was.

“You didn’t seriously believe that, did you?”

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“I mean…it’s a king’s oath.”

“That’d mean something if Serenis was one of those kings from the picture books Ilias brought home.”

“…”

Bruton’s eyes quietly avoided Aether’s teasing gaze. He’d never admitted to reading human books, but…sometimes, he didn’t really need to admit things for Aether to know.

Bruton’s expression stiffened as he placed his chin against his fist.

“So what? You’re saying she took Ilias with her?”

“Serenis would’ve done what Ilias wanted to do.”

“…So she took Ilias with her.”

“Uh huh.”

An exasperated sigh escaped the elder dragon’s lips. Even though Aether seemed to remain nonchalant, Bruton’s mind was becoming muddled with worry.

“Guess we should’ve brought Ilias with us back then…”

“Oh please, it’s not like she went overseas. We say northern continent, but it’s only a few hours of flight away.”

“…Aren’t you being too permissive? The kin do not leave the valley. This has been our standing law for ages.”

“Says the one who took both of them to the forbidden grounds.”

“That was…beyond my control…”

“Pfft, sure. If you really wanted to preach that law, you should’ve tied them both down here. But you didn’t, did you?”

“…”

For decades, Raizel has gone wherever she’d fancied – the steel dragon never went too far out from the valley, but she was definitely not home very often.

Ilias’ case was worse. The red dragon had gone out way further than her friend; she’d flown to almost every corner of the Waylan continent, and even settled down for a handful of years within a human city.

Beaming a soft grin, Aether came to sit by her partner’s side.

“Remember when they went out of the valley for the first time?”

“…When they snuck out together? Of course I remember. They were still tiny. You were worried sick.”

“Yeah…I was. Even when they came home safe and sound, I scolded them for hours…like they’d done something wrong. But after Serenis appeared, I’ve been thinking…”

“Hm? Thinking what?”

“Why shouldn’t we leave the valley?”

Bruton blinked in confusion, wondering if he’d misheard his wife.

He’d heard the question hundreds of times from hatchlings – every elder had, and they’d all answer in similar manners. But this was the first time Bruton had heard the question being asked by another elder – his wife, no less.

Clearing his throat, the dragon calmly began to answer.

“You know just as well as I do. The elders sued to warn us all the time. They said…”

“That ill fate would befall those who left the valley.”

“…Yeah. That.”

“So no dragon should ever leave the nest unless absolutely necessary.”

“…Exactly. We were all raised like that.”

The couple each brooded over the kin’s ancient wisdom.

Truth be told, neither of them had truly believed in those words. They’d preached it like some unbreakable law, but the truth remained that both of them had let Ilias and Raizel roam free throughout their childhood.

Case in point, staying at the valley hadn’t done them any favors. The empire’s invasion had made that point all too well.

Minutes after, Aether carefully parted her lips.

“Maybe our elders weren’t as wise as we thought. I mean…look at us. We’re the elders now, and we still don’t know what they were warning us against.”

“…True.”

“And besides, both of them always managed to come home. The most dangerous thing either of them saw outside were each other.”

“…Haha. Also true.”

“And Serenis even found our lost families for us. That never could’ve happened if she stayed in the valley like we did.”

“…”

“So, maybe we should-“

Before Aether could continue any further, her nest’s front door was torn open – quite literally, as the piece of wood fell limp onto the floor, trampled beneath a single, giant claw.

Realizing her mistake, the youngling outside hurriedly reduced her form to step through the fallen door.

“Mom! Dad!”

Standing beyond the fallen door was their ever-so-familiar daughter. And slump over her shoulders was their other foster child who, strangely enough, seemed somehow smaller than before.

“…Ilias? Raizel?”

Panting heavy breaths, Ilias raised her wary gaze to meet her parents’. But instead of exchanging pleasantries or greetings as usual, she instead began their meeting with a question.

“Where’s…where’s Eline?”

Both elders squinted their eyes at their daughter’s seemingly rushed tone. They first looked at each other, though Bruton soon turned back to answer his daughter.

“If you’re looking for Eline, she’s out with Theolus. She said she’d be looking for some strange herbs or something…”

“Herbs? Where?”

“…Uh…”

“Actually, stupid question, she can’t fly. I know where she’ll be. Thanks, dad!”

“Wait! What happened to-“

Even as Bruton hurriedly called out to stop his daughter, Ilias was out the door in moments, still carrying Raizel in tow as she took off into the air. He’d expected her to at least put the steel dragon down, but when even that didn’t happen, the elder’s frown deepened further and further.

“What in the world…? She could’ve at least said hello.”

 But while Bruton crossed his arms grumbling, Aether hurried to her feet, wrapping an arm around her partner’s waist to pull him along.

“Come on! Let’s go after her!”

“…After her? Why?”

“Didn’t you see Raizel?!”

“…Over her shoulders? Yeah, why?”

“Oh, for the love of…just come!”

As Aether dragged Bruton along with brute force, her eyes remained fixed on the red speck in the distance. She quickly took flight to follow her daughter in the distance.

…As well as Raizel, who she could swear was scarred and mutilated.