Chapter 28

  “So you all wish permission to settle here?”

  A short time ago, after helping Ryuko and Hiroko with Yujiro's remains, Ves’s presence was requested to join in talks with the dragon. Ves soon found herself inside the stone fortress, and was sitting around a table with Setsu and Farren. Across from them was the dragon. To fit in the fortress, the dragon had taken a humanish looking form. That of a woman, looking to be around her early thirties. She had dark skin with a toned, muscular body, curly green hair, and wispy white eyes. Ves had heard dragons could shapeshift from the old stories, but to see it herself was something else. It didn’t hurt that the dragon in this form was gorgeous.

  Still, even if this form was less intimidating, Ves could see that everyone in the room was nervous, as this was still a dragon. They were practically out of myth, often the villains. Adding to Ves’s increasing discomfort, the dragon seemed to be keeping a very close eye on her. Could this be who Old Gray warned her about?

  “That is correct, my Lady Dragon,” Setsu spoke up.

  “Senotraxia” the Dragon replied. “Unfortunately, while I can grant you permission as the current leader of my flight, that is about all I can give you”.

  “Is this related to the gnoll’s words?” Xeeta asked.

  Senotraxia looked solemn as she continued. “Unfortunately, the brute’s words had some truth.”

  “But you’re dragons, we saw firsthand how powerful your people are just this very night,” Farren spoke up.

  “While it is true that I alone could devastate a town or perhaps a small city if I caught it unaware. Our elders, especially my predecessors, could single handedly destroy nations.” Senotraxia explained.

  “I heard from Old Gray that undead were invading the mountains as well.” Ves chimed in.

  “Already knew about that as well, did you?” Senotraxia sighed and slouched in the chair. “They are a nuisance and not very strong, but they have numbers and are persistent.”

  “You’re spread too thin,” Setsu mused.

  “Exactly, this is a large mountain range, and many have their eyes on it. The more outsiders learn we can’t properly defend it, the worse the situation will become,” agreed Senotraxia. “I know that’s not the news you wanted to hear. That doesn’t mean I can’t do anything for you, though. I do have a deal to propose.”

  Ves could see Setsu’s eyes light up while the old foxkin looked wary.

  “I can permit you to settle out here. I can even give you a scale imbued with my essence to make it official that you are under my flight’s rule. Reputation alone will keep many at bay.”

  “That would be a great boon, Lady Senotraxia. I’m not sure there is a person alive who didn’t grow up on stories of fools who incurred a dragon’s wrath. Many of which are so famous they predate the descent,” Farren said before adding in a cold voice, “What’s the catch?”

  “FARREN!” Setsu chided him for his disrespect.

  The dragon simply ignored her and smiled, “What makes you think I want anything in return?”

  “The fact we are still alive for one. Second, the only trait of dragons more well known than their wrath is their greed.” Farren explained as Setsu looked like she was about to faint.

  Senotraxia laughed, “That is very true. Very well then, I will explain what I want in return. I ask that you hold the western front. I won’t ask you to do anything rash, like try to drive off an invading army or anything like that. Just that you deal with the threats you can. Be a presence in the area. Remind people that these are my lands. Be my eyes out here and keep me informed. If you run into trouble and I can help, I will, but my focus needs to remain to the east, so don’t assume I can fly over at the drop of a coin. The undead need to remain my priority. For now, though, that isn’t your problem. Perhaps you can assist one day,” Senotraxia gave Ves a glance, “But not yet.”

  “I will warn you, if you agree, it means you and yours will become mine.” Senotraxia went down the line, looking each of them straight in the eyes.

  “What do you mean, become yours?” Ves asked warily.

  “You will become my subjects. You will forgo any ties to other nations and give fealty to me. Any settlements you build here will belong to my flight. As the Queen of my flight, I will be your ruler.” As Senotraxia spoke those words, everyone could feel the mana stir in the air. These were not mere words or formality on paper. To agree would truly bind them to the dragon, body and soul.

  “Yes, my Queen, we-” Setsu was speaking before Farren cut her off and earned a glare from the dragonewt.

  Farren then explained, “Please wait, Setsu, while I know to most of the dragonewts this is an easy choice as you revere dragons. It’s not the same for the rest of us. To swear fealty here is akin to swearing off returning to our former homes and lives after the war ends.”

  “What he says is true. Take some time to think on it, I was not expecting you to answer on the spot, and in fact, I am glad you didn’t. Despite being the Queen of my flight and having the final word, I would at least like to inform the others of what we discussed before anything is final. Do know that if you don’t agree, while I won’t be so cruel as to force you to leave on the spot, I also cannot allow you to settle here long term either.” Said the dragon.

  “Is it truly so important that we swear ourselves to you? You rule this massive forest and mountain range. One settlement isn’t even a drop in the well,” Ves asked.

  With curled lips, Senotraxia looked at Ves, “It seems you do not understand what Farren meant when he said dragons are greedy. To our very core, we are beings of avarice and pride. Asking a dragon to be generous would be like asking you to stop breathing. It goes against our very nature. That is why you must become mine. If you are mine, I am not helping you, I am protecting my possessions.”

  Ending the conversation, Senotraxia sat up, “Now then, I have spent enough time out here, and I really must return. I will return soon for an answer. Setsu and Ves, would you two see me off? I won’t waste the others' time as I know you must all be busy with clean up after the attack.”

  “Of course,” Setsu responded without hesitation.

  “Sure,” responded Ves, a bit more warily.

  “If I may, Lady Senotraxia, how did you even know we needed rescue?” Ves.

  “An old acquaintance whom we share informed me of the gnoll and his party as I was on my way back to the mountains. I turned back as soon as I heard, knowing you all were the likely target.”

  There was only one being that came to Ves’s mind, “Old Gray?”

  “Correct”

  Ves and Setsu followed the dragon deep into the woods. Ves only now realizing far out of the sight of anyone else.

  “Umm, what’s this about? Why are we out so far?” Ves questioned.

  “I suppose this is far enough,” Senotraxia mused to herself.

  Stopping, she turned to face Ves as the dragon's eyes glowed for a moment, “Apologies for this, but I can’t be too safe.”

  Before Ves could react, vines sprouted up from the ground, constricting her and trapping her in place. While at the same time, a sphere appeared around them, blocking out all sight and sound from outside. It reminded Ves of the gnoll's magic. Only much more powerful, and much more controlled.

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  “What? Why!” Ves shouted.

  “Lady Senotraxia, what is the meaning of this?” Setsu said in a panic.

  “A precaution, by your reaction and how easily it seems you welcomed Ves into your community, I assume you have no idea what she is?” Senotraxia explained.

  Setsu stood there, puzzled for a moment, pondering the question.

  “What do you plan to do with us?” Ves stared coldly at the dragon.

  “For now, just questions. For you and the one inside you. So why don’t we have a proper conversation?” The dragon snapped her fingers, and Ves felt magic touch her mind, “Now all four of us should be able to speak.”

  ‘Four? You can hear me?’ Nell asked.

  “We can now.”

  “Nell? Is that you?” Setsu asked.

  ‘Yes, it is Elder Setsu,’ Ves/Nell smiled warmly at Setsu before turning back to Senotraxia.

  “Telepathy? I didn’t know such a thing was possible,” Setsu spoke in awe.

  “For most, it is not. But the progenitors of the dragons were Fae. Some esoteric magics come easier to us than others”.

  “Wait, the fae are real?” Ves asked in shock. She had heard stories, but she always thought they were just that, stories. Though in retrospect, hadn’t Xeeta mentioned something about Fae magic? As far as Ves knew, Fae were supposedly beings from another realm that wielded magics considered impossible for all but the gods themselves. They were also supposedly utterly insane. Most stories involving them read more like a drunken escapade or the fruits of an addled mind.

  “Yes, unfortunately, they are. They seldom visit our world anymore after the pantheon’s descent. So, I’m not surprised you didn’t know.”

  ‘Why have you bound us, Lady Senotraxia. I don’t understand.’ Nell Interjected, pulling the conversation back on track.

  “Really? Are you truly ignorant of what you are and the threat you pose?” Senotraxia said, raising an eyebrow at her captive.

  “Lady Senotraxia Ves and Nell helped rescue our people fighting alongside us at great risk to themselves. They have been a boon and welcome members of our community.” Setsu pleaded.

  “So, I have seen and heard. It’s the only reason they still live.” Senotraxia said as she walked around Ves and Nell, looking them over.

  “Why do you consider us so dangerous? Do you know what we are? Cause we don’t,” Ves said, not trying to hold back her anger.

  “Funny you should say that. Are you truly that ignorant of your own self?”

  ‘Yes, we are. Please explain Lady Senotraxia.’ Nell responded.

  Turning to Setsu, Senotraxia asked, “Do you believe them? Do you trust them?”

  “Yes, with my life.” Setsu stated without a hint of hesitation before adding, “As without them most of us would not be here today. I’d like to think I’m a good judge of their character in my old age”.

  With a sigh, “By my ancestors, I hope I don’t live to regret this”. With that, Senotraxia snapped her fingers and dispelled the shroud and binding vines.

  “Please, Lady Senotraxia, what is Nell? What do you know?” Ves asked.

  “I will explain what I can, but bear in mind that most of my knowledge is through rumor. First of all.” Senotraxia leaned to the side, looking into the darkness of the forest. “You there, you’re not as subtle as you may think. You may as well stop hiding and join us at this point.”

  Setsu and Ves looked into the darkness, confused, until after a moment, Ryuko appeared and walked over. “My apologies, Lady Dragon. I was concerned.” Ves could see the woman’s eyes were swollen, but she had at least stopped crying.

  “If you are here, I may as well get your opinion as well? Do you trust these two?” Senotraxia gestured towards Ves and Nell.

  “Yes,” Ryuko firmly replied. Hearing those words, Ves felt a pang of guilt. How could she say that after Ves failed her brother when he needed her most?

  “Ahem, here is what I know, and again, this is mostly based on rumors. A little over a decade ago, far to the north, there was an accident, and a group of unknown beings were summoned,” said Senotraxia.

  “Void-sent?” Ryuko asked.

  Senotraxia relaxed her stance, “Basically, void-sent is just a catch all term for how the temple labels anything that doesn’t originate from the worlds that fall under the pantheon’s control. Despite the negative connotation that word has gained, it’s not good or bad. Simply a title for outsiders. In this case, though it was very bad.”

  Ves gulped; she could tell Nell didn’t like where this was going. So, she gave Nell a reassuring mental nudge. Ves couldn’t quite speak to Nell telepathically yet, but she was getting close.

  “For years, the northern kingdoms waged war against these summoned beings. It was a close call, but with an alliance, they managed to defeat the bulk of the void-sent. I hear they are now on clean-up duty, hunting down any survivors.”

  ‘And what makes you think these void-sent are related to me?’ Nell asked.

  “The void-sent were parasites, their true form a small black slug-like creature that would crawl into others' bodies and take control. Sometimes, even changing their bodies.”

  “Ah…” was all Ves said as she held out her claw, looking at it.

  Senotraxia looked at Ves, a bit surprised. “That’s not quite the reaction I expected.”

  Ves shrugged. “Aside, now potentially knowing Nell’s origins, this doesn’t really change anything. I’m obviously already aware of the mutations, I even have vague memories of when Nell crawled into my head.”

  Ryuko’s eyes went wide at that.

  Ves continued, “But it doesn’t really matter, as I trust her. Nell is my partner, and we have already decided to stay together as one.”

  Senotraxia rubbed her chin. “Interesting, the hosts are supposed to lose all autonomy and control. You should be effectively a puppet at this point.”

  ‘I have a guess on that. I was born prematurely and forced into Ves’s dying body. This forced me to merge more with Ves to survive rather than simply take control. Making our relationship more symbiotic.’ Nell explained.

  “Someone else placed you in Ves?” the dragon asked.

  “Far as we can tell, yes. The issue is we were both dying at the time and only vaguely remember. Based on your story, I’d guess it was one of the void-sent that fled from the north. By the time we properly came to, they were already gone. My master was actually on a hunting trip with a Justicar. I think the creature they were after is the same.” Ves answered.

  “Hmm, I’m not sure what to make of that. For now, though, I will consider you a unique exception to the norm for your kind,” Senotraxia said then, with a glint in her eye, continued, “Which brings me to my next question. Nell, you are a queen, correct?”

  ‘What do you mean I’m no ruler?’ Nell asked, confused.

  “Not in a political sense but a biological one, like ants or bees have a queen. I heard the void-sent were similar in nature. With the queen and a few others being the ones with intelligence, the rest being more akin to mindless drones.” Senotraxia clarified.

  ‘Ah, if that’s what you mean, then yes, I think I am, we have laid eggs.’ Nell said.

  “Where are you going with this Lady Senotraxia?” Setsu questioned worryingly.

  “From what I heard, the void-sent are basically a hive mind, with a few queens at the center being the only ones with actual sentience. The rest are just an extension of the queens. They had perfect coordination and could often infiltrate the ranks of the alliance to infect others.”

  “Was that how you controlled that wolf?” Ryuko asked.

  ‘Yes, after it was infected, we could control it like it was an extension of our body.’ Nell answered.

  “Wait, you’re not suggesting we go around mind controlling others to build you an army, are you?” Ves worryingly questioned, thinking back to the dragon’s undead problem.

  “Effective as it would be, that’s not what I’m suggesting. I’m not so cruel as to suggest a branded essentially enslave others. What I am suggesting, though, is to possibly convert beasts and monsters like you did with that wolf. As well as rumor has it, the void-sent were also able to create monstrosities of their own without a base host.”

  “If these void-sent are truly so powerful, how did the northern alliance defeat them?” Ves asked.

  “One, they started few in number. Two, while yes, they could infect and take control of others, the void-sent were terrible at masquerading as others. As soon as the alliance learned what to look out for, it was relatively easy to spot the infected.”

  “I see, if Nell and Ves can figure it out, it would make up for our lack of numbers,” thoughtfully responded Setsu.

  “Exactly,” happily responded Senotraxia.

  “Even assuming we can figure this out, we are still left with a big problem. As you noticed, I am branded.” Ves said

  “I thought you and Nell sorted that out? Isn’t that how she saved you from the slaver?” asked Ryuko

  “Sort of, we have equal control of our body. If we both try to control it at the same time, our body just trips over its own feet and flops around on the ground.”

  “My concern is if anyone gave me more powerful orders. The slaver could only order basic commands. If my master or the royal family gave me orders, it would be much harder to counter. It’s bad enough if it was just me, but what if they used me to steal control of an army?”

  Ves looked down at the ground. “We just don’t know the limits of what Nell can counteract and lack a means to test it.”

  ‘And let’s not forget, from what you told us, there is an army to the north that just fought off what we assume to be my kind. If we made an army down here, wouldn’t that just attract more attention?’ Nell added.

  The conversation faltered, no one sure how to respond.

  After a moment, Senotraxia seemed to have an idea and began to look over Ves. Ves felt uncomfortable under the dragon’s gaze.

  “Umm, what are you doing?” Ves finally had to ask.

  “I’m debating a gamble. I do have one idea that may not entirely solve, but would heavily mitigate the issues you and Nell brought up.”

  “Which is?”

  Senotraxia gave Ves a smirk while reaching out and ruffling Ves’s hair. “Not yet. I need to verify a few things first to see if my plan would even work. If and only if it looks like a viable option will I explain further. There is a decorum to these things.”

  Ves was even more confused.

  “For now, I suggest you push yourselves, try to find your limits. I will return, then we can discuss it further. I do warn it would require binding yourself to me on an even deeper level than becoming my vassal,” Senotraxia warned.

  Ves said nothing in response. Having just gained her freedom, she was already wary of swearing fealty to the dragon. Now she was debating asking for even more?

  “Understood, Lady Senotraxia” responded Setsu with a bow. By the time she looked up, the dragon was gone.