Ep 176. Get To Work. (5)
Ironically, had Raizel not sent Aymeia here, the former deity wouldn’t even be present.
Had Aymeia not bee, there was no telling how much Ardion would’ve taken to arrive.
And had Ardion not arrived when he did, Xerun just may be uhe dragonlord’s feet by now.
…Not that he knew.
“We will not allow further interruptions. Ardion, should you pn to participate as an elder, then find your seat above.”
“Har…must I?”
Once again, the kin’s eldest turo face his lord with a warm grin.
Though, at this point, Serenis was beginning to think smiling was the elder’s default.
“I’m quite tent where I am.”
“…This is the dragonlord’s questioning, Ardion. It’s ridiculous for a kin’s elder to stand at their side. e joihen, at the very least.”
“Hmm? But are kin not standing with her already?”
“Bruton aher have been relieved of their elder duties at the moment.”
“And the dragonlord herself is not an elder?”
“…”
“Har…with all due respect, Xerun, I’d rather stand with the mighty.”
With anh, Xerun turned away from Ardion with a scowl.
And as he looked upon Serenis, his scowl deepened even further.
“Rubbish. What she possesses is not true strength, but sorcery. Underharickery fueled by our kin’s treasure.”
Much to the dragonlord’s dismay, it didn’t seem like Xerun was alone in thinking so – the other elders gathered above were all nodding their heads in silence.
But before she could refute once more, Ardion’s ughter echoed through the hall.
“Har! Is that so? Then perhaps a wager would settle this matter, Elder Xerun.”
“…Wager?”
“Indeed. If the dragonlord’s strengths are all sorcery as you cim, then why not put it to the test? A test of pure strength, with nards to all else – magic or otherwise.”
“And you think this pretender would agree to such terms?”
Xerun’s response was instant. Aside from Ardion himself who proposed the wager, non seemed to expect Serenis to accept such terms.
Once again, the eldest dragonkin looked to Serenis – and this time, the fiden his smile was all the more evident.
“And so he says. Dragonlord…would you kindly indulge us for a short while?”
“…”
A brief pause followed as Serenis stared into Ardion’s eyes.
She didn’t have a problem engaging Xerun in a bout of strength. In fact, it was the far safer option in parison to using magic.
What irked her, however, was how fident Ardion seemed to be – not in his own kin’s representative, but in the dragonlord he’d barely met.
Afterwards, Serenis once again took a brief gnce around the room.
No other kin seemed to share their eldest’s fiden Serenis. Even Bruton aher seemed worried, all too aware of how Serenis really had been a human child before; to them, it seemed uhat Serenis would be able to do much without magic.
Following a quiet sigh, Serenis’ gaze returo meet Xerun’s.
“I don’t see why not. I accept.”
“…You accept? A test of pure strength?”
“Yes. Were those not the ditions?”
“You’d dare challenge a dragonkin without the aid of your sorcery?”
“I’d restate that I am indeed a dragonkin myself, but…the cim seems lost in your ears.”
As she watched Xerun’s face grow twisted with anger and disbelief, Serenis looked away from the seething dragon, holding back the urge to snicker.
Raizel was right. Violence did bring good results sometimes.
A long while had to pass before Xerun would rein in his ao finalize their meeting.
“…Dragonlord Serenis. You will be expected at the valley’s highest pins at sunrise. After your loss, you will be expected tn what you’ve stolen – should you decide to flee with the treasure beforehand, the sequences will instead befall upon Bruton and his daughters.”
Serenis crossed her arms, quietly nodding her head. It was quite pin how low Xerun thought of her without magic.
“And should I emerge victorious, I uand that your…’cil’...will have no further objes of my cim to the heart.”
“…Very well.”
Ohe terms were finalized, Xerun looked up towards the hall’s upper ptforms to exge gnces with the other elders present.
“I uand there aren’t any objes?”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Nodding at the crowd’s silence, Xerun spared o gre towards the dragon that had facilitated this ridiculous event.
With o look at Ardion’s beaming face, Xerun turned away to storm out of the guest hall.
“…I’ll be expeg you all at sunrise.”
As soon as Xerun disappeared from sight, Ardio out a small chuckle. The elder slowly turned around as he beamed a sorry smile towards Serenis.
“Dive his rudeness. I’m afraid he’s still just a child.”
“…As are you, in my eyes.”
“Har! And I thought my hal days long over…”
After another hearty chuckle, the elder dragon briefly lowered his head in a respectful gesture.
“I would ask more of your time, but I’m afraid the other children are wont to make trouble of it. I do hope I speak with you aime, dragonlord.”
“…Of course.”
As Ardion turned around, Aymeia tio stick at the elder’s side to support his walking.
“Oh, elder, um…I’ll walk with you.”
“Mm. I would appreciate that, young dy.”
As the two began to leave, Aymeia briefly looked towards Serenis, mimig Ardion in a curt bow.
“Dragonlord, um…I’ll…”
“Take your time. I’ll let the others know where you’ve gone.”
Serenis remaianding in pce as she watched Aymeia leave with the elder dragon.
And, much to her dismay, she would soohe other elders taking their leave – with nary a gnce spared towards their eldest kin.
? ? ?
“…This would be the highest pin within the valley.”
As Brutoured to the open field before him, the dragonlord’s curious gnce sed over the distant horizon.
“So tomorrow at sunrise…I was curious if anything would have ged, but not much has ged here either, I see.”
“Has it? ing from you, I’d guess that means it hasn’t ged for aire millennium…”
“More than that.”
Serenis leisurely walked through the grassy pin. Uhe two worried dragons with her, the dragonlord’s expression remained free of worries.
Uo bear the unease any longer, Aether finally caved in to her own fears.
“…Serenis? Are you sure you’d be alright with this? Xerun might not be as strong as Ilias or Raizel, but he’s still…a…dragon.”
“You sound rather vihat I am not.”
“Well, we know you are! But you…well…”
“Aren’t a proper dragon?”
“…”
That had always been the implication: the dragonlord couldn’t morph into a proper dragonkin’s form. That was what Bruton had known, and that was what the rest of the dragonkin had been told.
The only exceptions were Raizel and Ilias, who’d both seen Serenis proper – but her of them had been in the valley until retly.
‘…It’s small wohey don’t see me as kin.’
Soon, Serenis shrugged off the matter with a small chuckle.
“It’ll be alright, Aether. You worry about it.”
“Are you sure? But in that form, you’re…”
“I assure you, I’ll be alright.”
Seeing the dragonlord’s indifferehe fear iher’s eyes finally began to give way.
Though, that soon opened room for aopic for the dragonlord.
“But, if you wouldn’t mind…I’d like to ask about that elder dragon? Ardion, was it?”
“Oh, Elder Ardion? I believe he’s actually the eldest of us all now...”
“Bruton has told me as much. How old is he, exactly?”
“…Um…”
Aether briefly opened her mouth, then closed it back.
Lag an answer herself, she soon turo her husband instead.
“Dear, do you know how old Elder Ardion is?”
“…Not a clue. Probably over 800 now…?”
Aether turned back to Serenis with a small shrug.
“I’m sorry. I’m not sure if anyone would know the ao that…I don’t think Elder Ardion would know it himself.”
“…Mm. It’s alright.”
“I do know that he’s been bedridden for the past few decades…everyohought his age was finally catg up to him. He only retly began to recover with Eline’s help.”
“Speaking of…Xerun didn’t seem too fond of nons. Would that include Eline?”
“…Yes. No one speaks of it, but some of us are still uing of Eline living with us…they’re only tolerating her for those that are unwell. Elder dragons aren’t too fond of outsiders in general. Especially humans.”
“I would assume that’s due to what’s happened with the empire, then.”
“…Mhm.”
A bleak shadoed over Aether’s eyes as she answered. The current elders could remember Akeia’s invasion like yesterday.
Which fused Serenis all the more.
“…Is that so? Ardion seemed rather fortable with Aymeia’s presence.”
“He…is. Even though Elder Ardion’s been demanding the rest of us to remain wary of outsiders, he’s been very friendly to human travelers himself. We just assume it’s his age getting to him, but…it’s one of the reasons why the kin are a bit…divided, on how they feel about him.”
“So he does the opposite of what he preaches. I suppose that’s why Xerun seemed rather harsh on this elder, then.”
“Uh…well…that too, but…”
As soon as Serenis made her ent, Aether’s expression twisted into a frown.
And, following suit, Bruton even budged iweewo to interject.
“Actually…Xerun in particur isn’t too fond of Elder Ardion. Because…”
