Silver Scales Shine in the Starlight
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Author’s Note: First, I would like to apologize for how long it has taken me to get this chapter out. On top of it being a really hectic past few months, writers block has been beating the speh out of me lately. With that said, I would also like to note that from here on out, there will be absolutely zero schedule for this story. Since I’m planning to put my OC HFY story into full-gear in a few months, I will only be writing for this story whenever I feel like it.
If you’re curious, the story itself is a sci-fi fantasy story, and I’m co-writing it with my best friend u/Davidgames2346. The general idea is that arcane magic is a finite resource, and it coalesces around certain stars, at which is guaranteed a sapient species will arise. However, every species always ends up draining their home system of its magic, causing a catastrophic civilization collapse. There is only one exception to this, and in classic HFY fashion, it is Humanity. And the reason why they were spared this fate is rather funny: they created gods before they made widespread use of magic!
The story is called A Humanitarian Crusade. Feel free to go check it out on Royal Road if you want :3
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Chapter 5: The Nature of the Universe
>“There exists no greater universal constant for all peoples than knowledge. All cultures, all civilizations, and all people learn, share, and record it. Knowledge is what links all beings together within the grand tapestry of the universe.”
— Jakkalis the Traveler, Introduction to the Silver Archive
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Memory Transcription Subject: Dr. Erin Kuemper; Secretary Alien Affairs, acting liaison to Jakkalis the Traveler, and former S.E.T.I. Researcher.
Date [Standardized Human Time]: January 2nd, 2136.
I step off the ramp of the UN shuttle, the shuttle’s thrusters blowing frozen dirt and such around. The pawsteps of Silvet, the ex-military Venlil farmer whose farm the shuttle has landed on, crunch the frozen soil of the deep twilight as he approaches me. His tail sways behind him as he approaches, twitching anxiously.
“H-hello, Human,” he gives a half-hearted greeting with his tail.
“Silvet, right?” he flicks his ear in confirmation, then opens his mouth to verbally confirm, probably thinking I wouldn’t understand the gesture, but I interrupt him with a toothless smile as I continue my greetings. “Kam has spoken quite highly of you.”
Kam actually personally recommended that I not wear a visor, much to everyone’s surprise. He said that Silvet had seen enough Arxur to render any other Venlil catatonic. So, as he explained, the visor would probably only put him on edge, since he couldn’t see where I was looking.
“Nice to meet you,” I hold my hand out for a handshake, then quickly realize he has no idea what it means.
“Oh, you probably wouldn’t know what that gesture is,” I gave a quick demonstration. “It's called a handshake.”
“I’m Doctor Erin Kuemper,” I say after the somewhat awkward handshake. “But you can just call me Erin.”
Our greetings are interrupted when all of a sudden, the Venlil doubles over onto the frozen grass, clutching his head in his paws.
“Oh my god, are you okay!?” I frantically look back at the shuttle, about to radio them to get the medpack.
“N-no…” he says in a strained voice. “I…I-I’m alri-ght.”
After a few moments, he stumbles to his feet, regaining his composure.
“It's f-fine,” he says, the strain in his voice subsiding. “The pre…the dragon…it’s doing that th-thing again. He's…in my head a-again.”
Oh shit…that looks kinda painful, damn. Wait, why isn’t he…
“Can…can you ask him to do that to me instead…?”
Instead of a response, I am met with a tickling feeling in the back of my head, and Silvet suddenly stops looking like he is fighting the world's worst migraine. He seems to visibly deflate in relief.
{Hello, you are Doctor Kuemper, yes?} a voice not my own drifts in through the back of my head.
I brace myself for a wave of pain to wash over my head, but instead, I get nothing. Aside from the strange tickling at the back of my head, I felt nothing. I look to the Venlil in bewilderment for a moment, but I quickly remember that there is still a visitor inside my head.
{Yes. Yes, I am Doctor Kuemper.}
{I take it that you’ve arrived at the farm, yes?} the voice in my head asks.
{I have, yes.}
{Good, good.}
I was about to ask about why the Venlil was in pain when he spoke in his head, but I wasn’t; I was interrupted by a swirling sound from behind me. I turn around to find the source of the noise and see…
‘I-is that...’ I stare in awe. ‘A portal...?’
It continues to form for a few more moments until the shape has become a solid purple outline of a perfect, two-story-tall oval. Once the outline is fully completed, the center suddenly explodes with color.
Replacing the frost-covered forest landscape of the twilight is a glacial landscape. On the ground, frost-covered grass is replaced with thick, dense ice. In the background, windswept trees reminiscent of earth pines are replaced with a rocky cliff face next to a gargantuan icefall. In the sky, the dark sky, lit only by the tiny amount of light from the twilight, is replaced with a sea of stars.
After spending probably too much time gawking at it, I step through the portal and into the icy landscape. The moment I step through, however, the cold hits me like a freight train. I can almost feel my body shut down in shock at how utterly frigid it is. I looked up, and in front of me stood a massive figure.
To me, my brain was already going into shock from the rapid change in temperature; the figure was the size of a mountain. Gargantuan wings that enveloped half my world, with piercing purple eyes that saw through my very soul.
As my brain began to shut down, I could make out the figure moving before I saw a flash of purple, and suddenly everything was clearer. I felt warmer, and I could see and think more clearly. I could see the dragon that I thought was the size of mountains, but was actually only a few times my height. I could see concern in the dragon’s eyes as he looked at me with worry.
“Whew, that was a close one,” he said, exhaling a cold breath onto me that made me shiver involuntarily. “I’m glad I could get that spell up quick enough, else I’d probably have to have set something on fire…which I’d rather not do here.”
“I…I’m alright now,” I said.
I remembered why I was here, and a rush of adrenaline at the thought of delving into the unknown once again had me almost spontaneously recover from near death three seconds ago.
“Nice to meet you, Jakkalis,” I greeted.
“Well met, Doctor Erin Kuemper,” he replied. “I am Jakkalis the Traveler; Grandmaster of the Silver Archive, Grand Historian of the Sword Coast, Seeker of Echoes, and The Silver Wordsmith!”
“That you are,” I said. “Well, I’m ready to talk about everything. How about you?”
“Well, aren’t you eager?” the dragon said, chuckling. “We’re quite the kindred spirits, you and I. Aren’t we?”
“I suppose so, yeah,” I chuckled back.
“Well then,” the dragon began. “Before I bring you into the facility, I believe we should address our previous lines of discussion.”
“That sounds reasonable,” I said. “Would you like to begin, or should I?”
“I have some questions that I must ask to discuss with you properly,” the dragon began. “For you see, I have traveled to many worlds across the vast Material Plane, and each world may view one such as I from different perspectives. So, in order to establish from what perspective you shall engage me from, I must ask a set of four questions I have refined over the years.”
That’s a lot to take in, though I should just roll with it, suspend my disbelief, and all, I think. I am talking to a literal dragon, after all.
“Uhh, sure...?” I say. “Ask away, I guess.”
“Ibahaliitik!⁽¹⁾” the dragon growls out unintelligibly, flashing a set of razor-sharp teeth the size of swords at me. The foreign word fell flat on my translator implant, clearly unable to parse a completely unknown language.
“Now, my first question should be simple: what is the prevalence of magic within your world?” he continued. “For example, does your society use magic in its technology?”
“Can you elaborate on what you mean by ‘magic’, please?” I asked.
“Magic? You know, drawing on the Weave to cast spells?” the dragon said in confusion. “You know what, here’s an example.”
The dragon’s eyes briefly flashed a brighter purple before a large chunk of ice formed in front of him rapidly, and it rocketed away from him at incredible speeds, crashing into a nearby cliff with an explosion of ice.
“That was Ice Knife,” Jakkalis says.
His eyes light up once again, but this time, instead of launching ice at a cliff, he conjures a number of small blue orbs of light that dance around him in a mesmerizing fashion for a bit before disappearing.
“And that was Dancing Lights,” he says. “Both are relatively simple spells. Is that sufficient elaboration?”
“I…Yes, it is, and my answer to your question is none,” I say. “Magic…magic has been relegated to the realm of myth for our entire history. So no, we use no magic in our technology.”
“Fascinating...truly fascinating,” the dragon rumbles. “Your insight is extremely helpful, thank you.”
“Y-you’re welcome...I guess...?” I say awkwardly. “I- uhh...honestly? I am gaining insight into your world from the questions, as well.”
“Well then...shall we move on to the next question?” Jakkalis asks.
I nod, eager to learn more about the fantastical world of a creature once relegated to fantastical tales.
“You certainly are eager...well, in any case, my next question should be as simple as the last,” The dragon begins. “Are you aware of anyone having visited your world from another within the confines of the Material Plane?”
‘Hmmm...well, from what I understand of this ‘material Plane’ that he explained to Charles and Jikri, it is a sort of...multiverse...?’ I muse. ‘Yes, that seems right.’
“Well...from your explanation of this ‘Material Plane’, I believe the answer is no,” I say. “In fact, only a little less than half a year ago, Humanity hadn't met a single other sapient species.”
“I see...” the dragon rumbled in thought. “Well, that leads nicely into my final question: what do you know of the material plane, as well as the other planes?”
“Wait...other planes?” I asked, confused. “So far, you have only mentioned the Material Plane.”
“So you truly do not know of any other planes?” the dragon rumbled. “Not even the Seven Heavens of Mount Celestia or the Nine Hells?”
‘Hold on a minute, the Nine WHAT now!?’
“I- uhh...the Nine Hells...?” I said, worriedly.
“Hrmh,” the dragon huffed incredulously. “I suppose you truly do not know. Well...this is why I am asking these questions, after all.”
“I- uh...then could you tell me please explain it...?”
“Hrmm...where to start...” the dragon mumbled in thought. “Well...this will be a rather complicated talk, and I suspect this conversation may take some time, so allow me to provide a more comfortable environment for us to continue in.”
I nodded, sensing that I was a little in over my head.
‘Though, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t absolutely enjoying getting to explore and learn about the unknown again.’
I watch as the dragon’s eyes once again glow purple, and purple energy swirls around him. However, this time, the purple energy coalesces in an oval shape that...
‘I-is that...’ I stare in awe. ‘A portal...?’
It continues to form for a few more moments until the shape has become a solid purple outline of a perfect, two-story-tall oval. Once the outline is fully completed, the center suddenly explodes with color.
Replacing the dark, icy landscape of Venlil Prime’s Night Side is an enormous expanse of smooth stone. Fluffy clouds surround the area, giving it a heavenly feeling. Enormous broken pillars ring the area, piercing through the clouds.
The dragon steps through the portal, and I follow him through, continuing to stare slack-jawed at the sight that seems straight out of a Greek painting of Mount Olympus.
“I have transported us to my primary lair,” Jakkalis says, noticing my expression.
The sound of the dragon’s rumbling voice snaps me out of my reverence, and I turn to him, prompting him to go on.
“This part of my lair is the Open Court…” he says, trailing off as he accentuates his statement with a sweeping, theatrical gesture with his wings. The theatrics are taken to the next level, as the gesture causes the clouds surrounding the court to clear away, revealing a breathtaking view of the surrounding region.
“…Where I like to host visitors in grand style,” he finishes the statement.
I just stare at the sight, slack-jawed for seconds, until the dragon causes the clouds to return with a simply wing gesture, pulling me from my stupor.
“Ah-hem,” the dragon clears his throat. “I apologize if I went a bit too far with the theatrics, Dr. Kuemper.”
It takes me a few moments to regain my composure, but I eventually do. “N-no. No, it’s perfectly fine.”
“Good, good,” Jakkalis says with a nod. “Well, with that out of the way, are you ready to begin, Doctor?”
I smile eagerly at the big dragon. “Ready as I have ever been!”
“Zi edrok!⁽²⁾ Let us start with the Material Plane,” Jakkalis says. “Hmm…Well, since you mentioned it earlier, I assume you have seen my reading of Elegy For The First World, yes?”
“I have, yes,” I reply. “It was quite...interesting.”
“Very good. Then, as you know, all the worlds of the Material Plane are tiny fragments of the First World; ‘Scattered into infinite seedling realities,’ as the story states.”
“Wait, if I may interject...how exactly can you confirm this story is not just a fantastical tale?” I say, before cringing as the dragon’s expression turns dark.
I scramble to try to backpedal, not wanting to anger him. “I meant no offense, Jakkalis, sir! It is just that...well, I am a woman of science. I would be remiss to simply believe a claim such as yours without being able to verify it.”
The dragon dips its head in understanding, and I internally sigh in relief. ‘I really would rather not piss the massive, magic-wielding, extradimensional flying reptile...’
“I understand your perspective, I suppose, without any prior knowledge...the story does seem rather fantastical,” the dragon says. “Well, the reason why I put so much confidence is that, unlike all other mythological scripts, Elegy for the First World can be verified...at least in part.”
‘I certainly was not expecting that...’
“You see, we dragons...we are living proof of the story’s truth,” the dragon begins. “By our nature, we are beings of magic. Our hoards are where we store our power, and our lairs can change the very land around us. But it goes beyond that...for every dragon is linked to an echo on each world of the Material Plane. These echoes, they can differ much; from a slightly different eye color or mannerism, to being the complete opposite of the other in every way possible.”
“That...that...I guess that would be pretty solid evidence to prove the story's truth...” I murmur out loud as I consider the implications of this revelation. “...though for much of it, it would simply just give more credence to the story, rather than prove it...”
“Yes, that is the sole reason it has yet to be incorporated into every single mythology,” the dragon states. “For if you could definitively prove one single creation myth, all others would swifty become irrelevant.”
‘I imagine it would...which makes me wonder how this might affect Human religions.’
“But...can you, yourself, prove that...here?” I said. “Because if you can give me irrefutable proof, such as demonstrating your claim, then...it would change things. Many things.”
“Hahaha!” the dragon harumphed. “Why, to ask a greatwyrm if he can prove the existence of echoes...ohhhh, Human! You have no idea how ironic that is...to ask me if I can prove echoes! Haha!”
“I...what...? W-why is that ironic?” I stammer in confusion, worried I’d made a fool out of myself. “W-what is a greatwyrm...? A-and why d-does that...affect the question?”
The dragon’s laughter slowly dies down, and he composes himself to answer me.
“Well…I am the proof, and that is no metaphor,” the dragon states, only adding to my confusion. “A greatwyrm is a dragon who has transcended...by uniting with their echoes.”
‘OH- OH THAT IS IRONIC...’
“Oh...” is all I manage to get out in response, as it dawned on me.
“Yes, so you see now? Why is the question you asked so ironic to me?”
“Y-yes, I can see it now,” I respond. “S-so...I suppose you can’t prove it to me, can you? After all... you’ve ‘united’ with your echoes.”
“On the contrary...” the dragon chuckles, a knowing smirk on his silver-plated face. “I am close to my younger siblings, and they are not greatwyrms.”
“Which means you can show me one of their echoes?” I guess excitedly.
“Indeed!” the dragon says, beaming. “It may take some time for my brother on this World to get here, so would you like me to bring you to one of his echoes right now?”
“Would I ever!”
He nods emphatically before turning away. His eyes once again begin to glow purple, and purple energy swirls around him. Just as before, purple energy coalesces into a two-story-tall portal. But this time, the view was replaced by a lush, beautiful landscape that could only be described as straight out of a fantasy movie.
My attention is grabbed by movement through the portal. I see as gleaming silver wings crest over a hill, flying toward the portal. I examine the figure as it (they?) soars through the sky, approaching closer and closer.
It is another dragon, a silver one just like Jakkalis. In fact, the two share quite the resemblace. The main difference is that where Jakkalis is slender but powerfully built, this new dragon is much stockier. They also lack Jakkalis’ signature scar across the right side of his face, and hold none of the golden accessories that he did either. They had very similar eye colors, scale colors, and even facial structures.
All in all, they very much looked the part of siblings. Though Jakkalis is clearly the older sibling.
As I was examining the new silver dragon, they had gotten close enough to begin their descent for a landing. The portal dragon soars downward, before landing, much less gracefully than Jakkalis had done so far, in front of the portal. Their landing kicked up dirt, their talons digging into rock.
After the less-than-graceful landing, the new dragon gave a faux flap of their wings, presumably stretching them out, before walking up to the portal. They stopped about a (dragon) neck’s length from it, then flashed a warm smile.
“Greetings, brother,” the new dragon said in a much deeper voice than Jakkalis’ (which I didn’t think was possible). “It is a pleasure to see you once again. What brings you here today?”
“Greetings to you too, Kellavas,” Jakkalis says to his stockier brother. “And the reason for my visit is somewhat...peculiar.”
“Oh?” his brother prompts.
“Well…you see, I am currently visiting yet another new world, and I needed to prove the existence of Echoes to this one,” he looks pointedly down at me.
“Ooh! I hadn’t noticed you, little one!” he says cheerfully. “I am Jakkalis the Defender! Who are you?”
“I am Doctor Erin Kuemper,” I introduce myself. “I am the United Nations’ liaison to Jakkalis.”
I tip my head toward the massive dragon next to me as I finish, garnering a nod of understanding from the portal dragon. Before they could respond, however, Jakkalis spoke up.
“Apologies, but I must cut your introductions short. We have much to discuss, and I would rather not do so for three days straight.”
Kellavas looks to Jakkalis with a...strange expression on his face.
‘It looks almost...knowing,’ I think. ‘WAIT! HAS THAT HAPPENED BEFORE!?’
“It was nice seeing you, however briefly, but I truly must go now,” Jakkalis says, before I can voice my concern. “I will try to visit you again soon, dear brother.”
Kellavas flashes a warm smile, moving his wings in a motion that I can only interpret as the dragon equivlant to a wave. Jakkalis nods, and then his eyes begin glowing purple once again. We step into the portal, returning to the beautiful, cloudy Open Court of his lair.
I am surprised to see Jakkalis’ brother sitting in the middle of the court, right in front of us. I look back and see the portal and catch a glimpse of Kellavas as the portal quickly collapses into a pinprick of purple before dissipating entirely in a small burst of purple.
Now that that was over, I turned to look at Jakkalis. He was leaning down to look me eye-to-eye, something I noticed was a bit of a trend for the big dragon. He always leaned down when he was talking to someone small (at least compared to him), and if I was honest, I found the mannerism a little endearing.
“Sooo…about that thing with talking for three days straight…” I start, worry in my tone. “That, uhh...that washyperboly...right...?”
Jakkalis chuckles darkly.
“Well...I don’t need to eat, drink, or sleep sooo...” he paused for dramatic effect, flashed an ominous grin at me. “Haha, no. I’m just messing with you, do not worry.”
I audibly sigh, glad to know that something like that would not happen to me.
“Although...what I said was true, I do not eat, drink, or sleep,” the dragon said.
“Wait...what...?” I said in shock. “H-how...how does... how does that even work?”
“Well, ascending to become a greatwyrm comes with many benefits,” he explained. “One of which is no longer requiring the basic needs of mortals.”
‘Okay, I can't keep myself from asking anymore,’ I think. ‘He keeps referring to us as mortals...implying he isn't*.’*
“Excuse me for being blunt, but…I need to ask,” I start. “You keep referring to others as 'mortals', which would imply you are…not mortal. Are you immortal…? How… how old are you…?”
“Hah!” the dragon laughs. “Did no one teach you that it's impolite to ask someone’s age, little one?”
“I only jest, of course,” he says with a smile. “I understand your confusion, especially if you are not at all familiar with my kind.”
I was briefly worried I had upset him somehow, but his jovial attitude quickly slapped those worries away.
“But to answer your question, yes, I am immortal. All dragons are, by their very nature,” he says.
“All dragons…?” I ask.
“As you have already seen, there is a certain truth to Elegy For The First World’s teachings,” he begins. “As it claims, we are the children of the original creator of the world, from whom all others originate. We are inheritors, ruling the remains of creation itself.”
‘I get the feeling this will be another lengthy explanation…’
“And that is why you are immortal?” I guessed. “Because you are a part of creation?”
I had a feeling I knew the answer, but asked regardless.
“Well…that is just one example of the benefits from being inheritors,” the dragon answered.
‘As if completely ignoring reality and the laws of physics, being an invulnerable giant flying reptile, and being immortal wasn’t enough.’
“Now that I have established a foundation in understanding your world, shall I bring you into the facility?”
I noticed the dragon grimace slightly when I nodded, which added to my worries. He began walking toward the facility, and I followed behind him. Now, I don’t claim to be an expert on dragon body language, but the way he walked slowly through the ice, head low, looking to the ground…it wasn’t hard to figure it out.
‘He must have found something in there…something terrible,’ I worried.
But as we approached, my worrying was, blessedly, interrupted when I noticed something…
‘Jakkalis is far too large to fit through those gates...’
“Uhh...Jakkalis, sir?” I say, prompting the dragon to stop his trek toward the facility, turning back to look at me.
“Yes?” he asked. “Is something the matter, Dr. Kuemper?”
“It’s just that, uhh...” I stammered awkwardly, rubbing a hand on the back of my neck. “You don’t look like you’ll uhh...fit...? You look a bit too tall and large to fit into the facility.”
“Oh, ahaha!” the dragon boomed in laughter. It took him a few moments before his laughter had died down, and he was able to collect himself.
“I can understand your confusion, my friend,” the dragon said. “Worry not! You see, metallic dragons, such as I, are innately able to change our shapes.”
“Really?” I said, amazed. ‘Where do the reality-breaking, physics defying ablities of these dragons end!?’ I added, thankfully, only in my head.
“Indeed! See for yourself,” the dragon said.
Unlike all previous times Jakkalis had used magic, his eyes did not glow purple. In fact, this time, there was no purple energy involved.
Instead, a radiant glow seemingly shines both through and from his scales. The way this energy seemed to both originate from underneath the scales and directly from them at the same time was impossible to explain; my brain was struggling even to comprehend it.
The energy continued to grow in lumenescence until eventually all I could make out was the silhouette of Jakkalis; thankfully, before the incomprehensible sight could drive me mad.
I watched in slack-jawed awe as the quadruedal figure of Jakkalis, silhouetted in the radiant glow, quickly morphed into a bipedal one.
His posture shifts upwards, his entire form shrinks massively.
His legs only shift slightly, subtly changing shape to accommodate the new bipedal stance.
His neck grows shorter, closer to broad shoulders that form as his front legs are pulled to the side.
His posture shifts upward, his legs shifting slightly, changing shape slightly as well.
As his posture shifts upwards, his entire form shrinks massively. His massive wings and tail, shrinking to scale with the new size, seem to meld into each other and form a smooth arch atop his back. His neck grows shorter, closer to broad shoulders that form as his front legs are pulled to the side. His legs only shift slightly, subtly changing shape to accommodate the new bipedal stance. Despite his significantly reduced size, he still towered over me at nearly 9 feet tall.
While his body went through these drastic changes, I could also make out the ornate, purple banner-like drape on his chest going through a similarly drastic change. It went from a banner-like stretch of fabric, nearly as wide as I am tall, to a purple dressing that resembled a toga. It was much more flowing than what I remember of its historical counterpart, and was attached to the golden band around his neck.
“Your concerns are appreciated, but unwarranted,” the dragon said, flashing a row of razor-sharp teeth with a smile. We stared at each other in awkward silence, my brain still rebooting from what I just witnessed.
Jakkalis turns back to the facility and continues walking towards it, and I wordlessly follow. It isn’t until we are right in front of the facility that one of us speaks.
“Before we enter, there is one final matter I must address,” Jakkalis said with a grim expression.
“…And what might that matter be?” I asked.
The dragon lets out an almost…wistful? Sigh, before responding. “It has to do with what I found in the facility.”
This certainly piqued my interest. Up until this point, Jakkalis had barely mentioned the mysterious facility. When he did, his tone was grave, almost sad. The words that Jakkalis relayed through that Venlil farmer echoed in my mind…
“I must warn you against optimism, Dr. Kuemper. What I have discovered beneath the ice is not a happy tale, to be sure.”
It was both concerning and intriguing. On one hand, I cannot imagine what kind of horror would cause someone like Jakkalis to pause like that. On the other hand, a mysterious facility, buried in the frigid wasteland of Venlil Prime’s Night Side, where supposedly no one had ever gone, was the wet dream of explorers like me.
The dragon snapped me from my musings, finally speaking up after what felt like an eternity of silence.
“What I found in there…” the dragon paused, and I thought I could see him shaking. “It…it…is a grave…”
The dragon’s features suddenly morphed. He pulled his neck up, no longer leaning down to my level. His face twisted into a snarl, and I could see icy fog seeping from his mouth. He is angry…no, furious.
“Coi ui wer mlaen di vi kraskdao!⁽³⁾ A murder! Frozen in time beneath the ice! The last words of a murdered people, forever silenced to never be heard! I- I- I-” as quick as it came, the dragon’s rage fizzed out.
“I- uh…I…” A thousand words shot through my mind. And none were enough.
What felt like an eternity passed in silence. None of us dared to speak, but for completely different reasons. I just simply couldn’t form any words that felt remotely right, but Jakkalis was desperately trying to keep his composure. Trying to keep himself together. Whether it was for himself or me, I knew not.
But after a torturous amount of time, Jakkalis was the one who broke the deafening silence. “I made an Oath.”
“I- uh…what?” I said, blindsided by the sudden change.
“I am a silver dragon. We are known as the ‘Dragons of Truth and Justice’. We have a reputation…and I do not take it lightly,” Jakkalis continued, barely acknowledging my response.
“Do…do you want to tell me the Oath…?” I said meekly.
This certainly got the dragon’s attention. His head suddenly snapped down to me, his eyes locking onto me.
And in those eyes, I could see sadness, mourning, and loss violently swirling around like a maelstrom with anger, hatred, and fury. He opened his maw, and in a tone that I had never heard before, and that shook me to my core, the dragon spoke.
“The tragedies of this world are countless, its horrors unending. The final acts of the last heroes of a dying people illuminate the darkest of secrets to me. I have seen the plight of a people long since murdered, in their final days. I see the ashes of a world, burned away after only shimmering, and I vow to avenge them! I vow to shine in vengeance for the world that could not shine in happiness!”
I was speechless.
Several minutes passed with nothing but the sound of howling wind around us that was blocked by the spell Jakkalis had cast earlier.
Jakkalis finally broke the silence, saying only two words. “The Federation.”
“Wh-what?” I stammered in confusion. ‘I have a bad feeling about where this is going…’
“They did it,” the dragon said. “I will fight them.”
‘That's all? Just ‘they did it, I will kill them’? Seriously?’
The sudden lack of the dragon’s typical verboseness aside, it seemed pretty obvious how I could get him to tell me more.
“Well then…I can certainly help you with that,” I said, flashing a downright predatory grin as I was brought back to all that I had lost because of the Federation.
The dragon looked to me, his previous fury having subsided somewhat, replaced with a look of surprise. He quickly imitated my grin.
“The I take it you have fought them before?”
‘My home, my family, my friends were in Toronto…All of them, vaporized in an instant’ I thought. ‘We extended a hand of friendship, only for it to be slapped away with hatred and genocide.’
The dragon must’ve noticed my sudden change in demeanor, as he hissed. “Xsio aegra sotiri! Wer vile kavari!⁽⁴⁾”
The foreign words still fell flat on my translator implant, clearly unable to parse a completely unknown language. But from the tone of voice, I would guess that it was curses or insults.
After a few moments, the dragon looks at me with a grave expression. “They will answer for the crimes. By my talons, teeth, and breath, I will make sure of it.”
As we turn to enter the facility, I can hear him mutter one last thing in his unintelligible tongue. “Nomag wer filkiati di bahamut ocuir ekess wer sulta di nomeno lpuul aegra…⁽⁵⁾”
————————————————————————————————————
Translations:
- “Glorious!”
- “Very good!”
- “It is the sight of a murder!”
- “Damn evil monsters! The vile fiends!”
- “May the justice of Bahamut see to the end of this foul evil…”
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