“Hmm?”

Kamil was looking directly north. There were dark clouds gathering afar as if there was a hurricane forming. It looked really far away, thus he was unable to tell where it was going to be. It looked more like a large gray dot from where he stood. Weather disasters were rare in the South. In fact, he didn’t recall any fierce winds even, let alone hurricanes in both Lux and Ceres. He did experience intense wind and very occasional thunderstorms in Bronn, which always proved to be a pain when he was out hunting as Tom.

“Where would that be?” he mused aloud. Lara was a short distance behind him as a bodyguard. She followed his attention and looked away as well.

“Beats me,” she replied casually. “That’s the North, though.”

That looks ominous to me.

He made every reason to be paranoid. He was aware of the fact that the age of darkness was approaching. Elementals would have not lied to him. Thus, any strange signs had to be taken seriously. Therefore, once he was done with his walk, he discussed the matter with Cezary posthaste.

“That looks to be pretty far away,” said Cezary while looking out. They had to have the discussion on the balcony due to the lack of windows in their quarters. “I wouldn’t have paid any attention to it.”

A gray dot in the sky far away, indeed not many would have paid any attention.

“That’s to the North for sure,” he added.

“I want you to send an airship and find out where the storm is.”

“It’s a bit difficult to send an airship there right now, Duke.”

“How come?”

“The three kingdoms have begun mobilizing their troops. I can’t say for sure, but that gray dot that does look like some sort of hurricane is right where the frontline is going to be.”

Atra, the Kingdom of Egra, and the petty Kingdom of Narr have all begun gathering their troops. Whether a conflict would break out, it was uncertain at this point although most likely.

“What do you think? Who would emerge victorious?”

Kamil was genuinely curious.

“Impossible to tell at the moment. Too many variables to think about. Besides, Narr is a completely unknown entity at the moment.”

They knew literally nothing about them at the moment. They didn’t know who their king was and even how he came to power. Supposedly, he was the leader of the rebellion. Since they did defend themselves from Atra previously, they were competent enough although weather was in their favor at that time. Harsh winter and dwindling supplies forced Atra to back off. There was never a peace treaty signed, however, because doing so would automatically acknowledge their existence. For Atra, Narr was a pimple they wanted to get rid of and finally put an end to the Siwen.

“I also question King Karsten’s motives behind this war,” Cezary said with narrowed eyes. “I really don’t see a point in this conflict. It really is needless.”

Kamil agreed with a nod. His previous wars had justifications. His first war was a defensive one, an invasion from the Siwen. His second war was reunification of the kingdom, which again was a justified war. His third war was a defensive one, another invasion from the Siwen. And he did not start the fourth war although he was the cause by refusing to communicate with Estana. But it was also entirely possible that he meant to cross swords with them. What both of them did not know was that their internal scale of politics altered a great deal ever since they left the kingdom. The Fenchel and the Flissing were no longer seen as completely loyal to the crown, especially the latter. At this point, a knocking was heard, and a butler entered promptly. Leaning ever so slightly with a palm on his chest, he softly declared.

“Lady Izabella has returned with a small army.”

Kamil did ask Kerekes to loan an army in case of emergencies. By the contract they signed, he was also eligible to ask the Kingdom of Egra for assistance, but the very reason he was asking for an army was them, thus making that notion moot. She brought a small army of five hundred men. It wasn’t much in the grand scheme, but the fact that Estana loaned an army to Ceres was a clear show of intent that they would meddle in if any entity dared trespass. With the relief army, Ceres had roughly 1,800 men. They were more than capable of defending the city and even launching a counterattack if absolutely required.

 

“Welcome back, Lady Izabella.” Kamil welcomed her warmly at the Western gate of Ceres. The city had two gates, North and West. The south gate was never planned in order to isolate Grent’s farm even further, meaning his family had the Southern portion of the city all to themselves literally. Their estate was relocated a little inwards closer to the mountain for further protection from walls as well. In short, Grent and Vilma may have not been official nobles but they may as well be. They had maids and had their own estate which was sizable. No one was allowed to mess with them.

“I am back,” she replied casually, flanked by hundreds of armed men. “I’ve received a positive reply to your request from my king, Duke.”

“I thank you for your service always.”

He did mean it. Kerekes had been nothing but excellent in her duty as an ambassador. She was a fine diplomat as well. Perhaps more importantly, she was in charge of extra security for the Fenchel manor within Ceres where she deployed her ninja-like personnel to provide another layer of protection. Although it seemed excessive, she did report that several attempts were stopped even before Kamil’s own guards saw them. They were all from the Egra royal family. While assassination attempts were something to get mad about, in her own words, their efforts were rather “amateurish”, and she noted that Karsten probably didn’t have any experience in this sort of stuff. She advised not to press the matter, for the time being at least because their attempts had been laughable.

“What will you do with this army, Duke? They are under your command.”

Kamil glanced at Cezary who was standing behind him from a short distance. He nodded discreetly back, giving him an approval of some sort. Stepping forward while Kerekes moved aside, he stood in front of the men who were mostly unarmored. Estana employed agility warriors which was a stark contrast to Egrian soldiers who were heavily armored.

“Men!” He bellowed in Estana dialect. Some soldiers reacted mildly surprised to hear their mother tongue from him. And he had gotten pretty decent over the years. “I welcome you to Ceres. You are going to stay here for a while. Make yourself home therefore!”

One of the soldiers on front, who looked clearly hesitant, spoke up.

“We are mostly worried about food. We’ve heard that Egrian cuisine is very bland,” he said, looking somewhat timidly.

“Fear not! We have spice vendors here, and there is a restaurant called Seaside retreat.”

Sorry, guildmaster. You might get busier.

“Where can we find whores?” Another asked aloud, showing no shame in his question. He would have no shame indeed. These soldiers had no home to speak of because they were professional. They’d go where they were ordered to. Satisfying physical desires was down to prostitutes because, even if they were married, their family would rarely be together.

“Visit the tavern! I am sure some would be willing.”

Though honestly I have no idea. I never purchased the services of a prostitute.

He had seen how slutty tavern waitresses could be. It was where he had seen mini skirts which were never worn elsewhere outside. Seeing women’s bare legs was certainly a treat to a guy’s eyes. Seeing they were going awkwardly off topic, Kerekes clapped her hands to get attention.

“Alright, men! Move in and get your equipment sorted! You do remember the direction I gave you, right?”

Those on the front row gave her a nod and started marching forth, and others followed the suit. A pair of guards present at the gate gave him an uneasy look. They were foreign soldiers after all. Just as she waved them away to get a move on, she noticed something in the sky. She froze for a brief moment as if trying to think what it was.

“What’s that?” she blurted. Kamil noticed the direction she was looking at, thus he knew what she was thinking.

“I think it’s a large hurricane or something,” he said while following her to look at it. “Huh?”

Has it gotten bigger?’

It was just a dot when he saw it in the morning during his routine walk. He could swear that it has gotten bigger, about twice. Even then, it was just still a larger dot.

This is concerning.

He turned around to face Cezary who was also looking at it with narrowed eyes.

“Wouldn’t it be worth sending an airship to investigate?”

Cezary nodded weakly in agreement. “I shall arrange a fast ship to check it out,” he said.

“Care to tell me what’s going on?” she asked for an explanation. After all she simply spotted a dot in the sky and wondered aloud. She wasn’t aware that it had increased its size significantly in a span of half a day. Once she heard Kamil’s explanation, she agreed.

“Yes, it is worth checking it out. That direction… Isn’t that where Mountain Siwen is?”

“Mount Siwen?” Cezary exclaimed as if he realized something. “That place is very dry. A hurricane over there? I’ve never seen it in my youth.”

His hometown was Vrnojka which was relatively close to Staidone. The capital was right at the foot of Mount Siwen.

“It is in that direction, though,” Kerekes argued.

“We will find out soon enough,” Kamil added.

Mount Siwen… What was the legend about?

He vaguely recalled the legendary dragon slayer who founded the kingdom a long time ago. He would need to look at records to find out more in detail and he did just that as soon as he returned to the manor.

“What are you looking for, Milord?” Nestor, who had just entered with Rose, asked Kamil who was going through bookshelves in the archive which was essentially Nestor’s domain.

“Sir Vogel, do you have any records about the dragon slayer from the Siwen?”

“Duke, we don’t keep legends here. This is the archive where we keep official documents such as the contract you’ve signed with Prince Atra.”

“Where would I find one?”

“You can check the public library, but I don’t think it will have it. As you are aware, the library is virtually empty.”

Dang it.

It wasn’t as if he could fly to Lux and read a book there. He was a duke and couldn’t just go where he wanted without causing a diplomatic incident. Of course, he could always source a book, but that would take time.

“Sir Vogel, do you know the Siwen legend of the dragon slayer?” Out of desperation, he decided to ask him.

“I probably know as much as you probably do. A hero slayed a dragon and founded the kingdom.” Then he looked at Rose. “How about you?”

“That’s all I know,” she replied and asked, “Shouldn’t you ask Sir Waszak? Isn’t he from the Siwen?”

He was and, had he known, he would have probably spoken up about the legend. Kamil had a feeling that he didn’t know as much as he thought he would. Only a historian would know more than an average Joe, and the only historian he knew personally was -

Greta?

The Harga house was also one of the few who wouldn’t have an issue with a sudden visit as well.

Do I dare?

Still, it wasn’t an easy decision to make. First of all, he wasn’t entirely sure how his sudden visit could be received. They would be surprised for certain, and there was a chance that his visit could be outright refused.

Unlikely, but it is possible. It’s been years after all, and so much has changed…

At this point, rather than wanting to find out more about the legend, he was struck by nostalgia. He also wished to visit Elias Hunt but had to have a proper reason to visit his newly established town. Alas. things weren’t straightforward anymore for him. Since he had a somewhat legitimate reason to visit Greta, he decided to go for it by informing Cezary and Nestor who were initially against the idea but he eventually won them out by making a promise to make his visit as briefly as possible. His scholars had a reason to reject his idea due to the ongoing troop mobilization in the kingdom. In a sense, his timing of visit was quite awkward. Noah would be busy gathering his men or he could have already moved out. In the latter case, it would be quite awkward for a foreign man visiting a married woman while her husband was away. It could create unnecessary rumors. Nestor was the one who pointed this out while Cezary remained silent on the issue since he knew Kamil’s relationship with Noah and Greta. In the end, he was allowed to go.

“Please keep your word,” said Nestor. “Make the visit as brief as possible and ask them not to let others know of your visit.”

“You have my word for that,” Kamil replied while boarding an airship. “I am going to meet them or her and ask my question and head right back here.”

Nestor nodded affirmatively. 

 

Valet was a small city with a population of about 12,000.

Situated right in the middle of numerous settlements. The place was adjacent to a small but resourceful mountain and a dense forest. The mountain had iron, copper, and quartz but all in very low quantity and quality. None of it would warrant a new industry to kick off. But the forest provided plenty of lumber, hide, and other side products from hunting. All in all, Valet was a jack of all trades, being able to provide a wide range of goods but unable to meet high demands. This resulted in the city becoming a minor trade hub where merchants would restock whatever they were missing in small quantities. Additionally, the city wasn’t that far from the deadland. It was about several days away by foot from the encroaching doom. It had yet to have any meaningful impact on their economy however. Its people were aware of the deadland, but there was nothing they could do.

“This is my first time visiting Valet,” said Kamil while looking out through a window. It was a typical walled city from afar, similar to Lux but much smaller in size. There were farmlands on the outskirts. The layout was so much similar to Lux that it could be mistaken as one.

“I don’t see a platform to land. They don’t have one, do they?” Lara asked. She accompanied as his bodyguard which was a common occurrence.

“Let’s just land in front of their manor. Give some distance, though.”

“Got it.”

As their airship descended, its presence alerted guards at once. The manor had a sizable front and backyard which were fenced by hedges. It was nothing grandeur, however. Several guards, pointing their halberds upward, were tracking the airship’s movement. 

“Lara, tell the pilot to stop. I am going to fly down personally.”

They were clearly agitated by the airship. Going down alone might ease them of their worries.

“Okay,” she complied without a fuss. She generally didn’t object to whatever Kamil decided to do. Whether she couldn’t care less was hard to tell. She had always been an oddball to begin with. After informing the pilot, she darted over the hatch, opening it without a care at which point a gust of wind blew in, she gestured his departure gracefully.

“See you soon, Duke.”

“It feels like you are kicking me out.”

“Never in a million years. Now, get out.”

Shrugging with a crooked smile, he cast levitation as he jumped off the airship and made his way down to the ground where a small group of guards were unsure of how to react. When close enough, he shouted to announce his arrival while keeping a safe enough distance from their halberds.

“My name is Kamil Fenchel. I request an audience with your master!”

The guards looked at each other, mostly with confused faces. 

“What is going on here?!”

A butler was arriving fast, demanding an explanation, and Kamil repeated what he said a moment ago.

“Kamil Fenchel?” He repeated, “The Duke of Ceres?”

“Yes, is Lord Harga present?”

“No, he has mobilized his troops and departed for Keviel. I am afraid that you will need to come back another time.”

“I’ve come here to meet Lady Harga actually. Is she available?”

“Well…” He trailed off and hesitated to answer. It was at this point that they heard a woman’s voice from a short distance.

“May I ask who you are?”

With clenched eyes, Greta stared at Kamil for a moment. She looked not much different before. She still had the young look on her face, and her golden hair remained the same. She was dressed in a fine dress albeit not exquisite. This was his first time seeing her in a dress, and it certainly did not disappoint his eyes. Soon, her mouth went agape, she immediately covered her mouth at once.

“Oh, wow…” She was speechless for a good moment while Kamil simply beamed a grin. “You’ve grown … a lot.”

He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as he landed down. Guards were still alert but, seeing that the lady of the house seemed clearly acquainted with the intruder, they were far less hostile. The butler himself stepped aside, leaning slightly forward.

How many years has it been? Four, five? I have lost track of time.

This had indeed been their first time seeing each other in years. She had given birth to three children since their last encounter. It must have been busy and excruciating for her, but she had done her job as the first wife of the Harga, providing the house with two sons and a daughter. It was pretty much the perfect score. Thanks to her efforts, the Harga house had fully secured its next generation. Since there were enough children, Noah wouldn’t need the service of mistresses unless he was unhappy with Greta which Kamil highly doubted.

“How have you been Lady Greta?”

He was close enough to her to address her by her first name.

“Can’t complain,” she replied just as casually. She didn’t even curtsy, and neither did Kamil. “You aren’t a child anymore.”

He chuckled. “I am married now and expecting a child soon.”

“Oh, right, Lady Flissing, yes?” She hit her fist onto her other palm while cocking her head cutely. She hadn’t changed a bit.

“Yes.”

She beamed a gentle smile. “I am happy for you.” He had to beam back a broad smile.

This really brings back memories.

They were memories of Kamil. As he lived more as his reincarnated persona, more memories he accumulated. At one point, he started to care less about his former life as Tom. Frankly, he couldn’t hold onto his past memories for so long when his new life was giving him ordeals after ordeals.

“Would you like to come inside and have tea?”

The butler looked troubled suddenly which reminded him.

“Uh, no, no,” He waved his hands dismissively. “I’ve come here to ask you something actually because you are the only historian I know.”

“Oh?” She looked and sounded curious. “You are here to ask about history? That doesn’t happen often. In fact, this is my first time to see someone go out of their way to seek a historian.”

Historians were rarely appreciated indeed. Regardless, he pointed at the gray dot in the sky.

“Do you see that? I believe that it is hanging above Mount Siwen.”

She clenched her eyes once again and studied the dot. Shortly after, she looked around as if making sure that Kamil’s assumption was correct.

“That sounds about right. It could be hanging over Mount Siwen, but I wouldn’t claim that with certainty.”

“Either way, I’ve come here to see you to ask about the Siwen legend, the dragon slayer.”

“Florent Mazet, the dragon slayer?”

As expected from a historian, an important name rolled off her tongue naturally.

“Yes, yes, could you tell me what you know about the legend and the guy?”

She gazed into an empty space, dusting off her memories.

“Florent Mazet and his followers climbed the mountain in order to slay a dragon which was terrorizing the entire region,” she explained in a storytelling tone. “Once he was successful in his quest, he founded the Kingdom of Siwen. The place they founded their first city would be named Staidone. Florent himself was a warrior with a two-handed sword. How he managed to defeat a dragon is unknown.”

A dragon and … Mount Siwen?

“Are you implying that there used to be a dragon living on the mountain?”

“Mount Siwen used to be volcanic. It hasn’t erupted in thousands years, though. It is understood that a dragon made its lair atop of the mountain.”

“Is it possible for the dragon to come back?”

Looking down, she placed her fingers on her chin. “We … know nothing about dragons. In fact, we don't even know what they look like. As far as I know, it hasn’t appeared in thousands of years. We don’t even know they exist for real.”

Kamil looked at the dark gray dot in the sky again. It had to have a meaning to its existence. 

“Hypothetically speaking, if it were to come back, would it appear from the mountain?”

“There is no evidence to support that theory,” she replied firmly.

“That gray dot appeared out of nowhere one day. It has to bear some meaning.”

“It could be just a storm, and that you are making a big deal out of nothing.”

She had a point, but he had a strong feeling that it wasn’t so although he had no evidence to support his uneasy feeling.

No, it is a sign. It’s too bad that I cannot convince people about this.

However, Greta’s reaction was understandable. There was no evidence to believe doom and gloom Kamil was trying to convey. He was acting skeptical only because of what elementals had told him previously. No one else had his connection to be able to talk to them. It was also completely illogical to even think that dragons could come back. If it was a creature, a mortal being, it would need to be born from a parent and it would need to grow. What would it even eat? Wouldn’t people notice something like a dragon nearby while it grew? There were so many questions with no answers.

“Is there a book I can read about the legend? I am afraid I can’t stay for too long.”

“There is indeed a book regarding the legend, but I don’t have it here. I do believe there is one in Lux. The title of the book is ‘The Dragon slayer of the North’.”

Of the North? Why specify direction?

“Of the North? Is there another dragon slayer?”

“Yes, there is. The Dragon slayer of the South would be the hero of Estana, another legendary figure who slayed a dragon and founded his own kingdom. His name was Kozma Rajmund.”

All along, he thought that there was only one dragon. It turned out to be false. This sudden revelation made him rethink several things.

“Are there more dragon slayers?”

“I am uncertain. My knowledge covers only the North and the South. We know nothing about the holy kingdom of Rem for example.”

“Ah, Rem… speaking of which, have they sent you a priest here?”

“Yes, they’ve. They asked us if they could establish a temple here. We agreed since they paid us a lot of money.”

He chuckled in response because he, too, was paid handsomely. It was clear that it was their tactic.

“Anyway, I believe it is time to go. It is good to see you again, Lady Greta.”

It was at this moment where a young boy ran toward her, eventually bumping into her skirt. He looked exactly like Noah with blond hair and bright blue eyes. The boy took a peek from behind.

“This is Ragna,” she said while patting his head gently, “My first child.”

“Greetings to you, young master.” Kamil leaned forward with a palm on his chest. “I am called Kamil Fenchel.”

Ragna looked afraid to speak, but Greta gave a gentle nudge on his back. Stepping out, he also leaned forward with a palm on his chest. It was a bit awkward as if he had just been taught how to show respect.

“I, I am called Ragna Harga. It’s an honor to meet you.”

Kamil beamed a smile. Placing an index finger on his lips, he said, “Could you not tell this encounter to anyone? This is best kept a secret. You can tell your father, though.”

The boy looked up to his mother who nodded in return.

“Okay, I will not tell anyone but daddy.”

The butler seemed to have gotten the message as well.

“Farewell, Lady Greta. I hope to see you and your husband together soon.”

Casting levitation, he launched himself into the air rapidly, reaching the airship in seconds.

“Welcome back, Duke.” Lara welcomed him while closing the hatch.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Yes, sir.”

Dragons have to exist. Otherwise, two dragon slayers from the North and the South? It cannot be a coincidence. It is time to ask Lady Izabella about the history of Estana to confirm.

As soon as he arrived back in Ceres, which took about half a day, he immediately summoned Kerekes to inquire about the founding history of her nation.

“Kozma Rajmund is our founder,” she replied candidly. “He slayed a dragon in Deltalago and started his kingdom there.”

So far, the common theme was that those who slayed a dragon founded their kingdoms.

“Do you believe that dragons exist?”

“They do. We’ve a preserved skeleton of a dragon in a tomb underneath our capital.”

His eyes went wide. He did not expect such an answer.

“Our founder, Kozma, left numerous records and warned us that dragons might return one day, and it is better to keep eyes on the skeleton.”

“Wait, hold on. Why keep eyes on the skeleton?”

“He left a statement that a dragon will keep reusing the skeleton to come back. We were skeptical and tried to break the bone. It won’t budge. In fact, we can’t even scratch it.”

He was dumbfounded for a second. Instead of visiting Greta, he should have asked her although he didn’t regret the decision.

“Have you tried moving them?”

“We cannot move it at all, either. It’s as if it’s magically locked down. Either way, we are keeping our eyes on it in case it returns.”

If true, it meant that the dragon which Florent Mazet slayed would have left its skeleton as well. It must be somewhere within Mount Siwen.

“Why do you ask with such urgency?”

He confessed, “It is my gut feeling that a dragon might be coming back from Mount Siwen. I think that is what the gray dot in the sky is trying to tell us.”

She fired back a doubtful look while tilting her head slightly. Then folding her arms, she went into deep thoughts for a moment. Eventually, she spoke.

“I have not heard that our dragon skeleton is coming back. If the dragon from Mount Siwen is coming back, so should ours in Deltalago. It is our understanding that they come back all at the same time.”

They all come back at the same time? That’s new to me. It does make sense, though. If the age of darkness is a universal event, then everything would begin at the same time. But, if so, shouldn’t there also be other gray dots in the sky?

“Is it possible that they have simply forgotten to check regularly?”

It would have been a boring and fruitless job for what was eternity for humans. It was entirely within the realm of possibility that those in charge of checking the dragon skeleton became lax. While she fired back yet another doubtful look, she could not deny such a possibility outright.

“I will send a message to the capital right away and tell them to check.”

If dragons are indeed coming back…, this potential war … is going to be meaningless. In fact, it is going to be a bloodbath when a dragon strikes them in an open field.

Then he remembered that those he cared about were going to be present on the battlefield. Noah would be there, and so would Edmund.

I sincerely hope that I am in the wrong here. Oh, Gods…

He still had one more question to ask. It was about Rem.

“Lady Izabella, do you know the history behind Rem? Do they have another dragon slayer?”

“Unknown. I believe they’ve purged their own records and made up a new one.”

Looking confused, he asked, “I beg your pardon?”

“They rewrote their own history and made it center around their religion. Thus, they don’t have any ancient records.”

He facepalmed. “Why would they do that…”

“Why, indeed,” she agreed. Estana cherished their ancient records while Siwen and Rem couldn’t care less. In his mind, ancient records were important to prepare for what was to come. This was why he let Flora translate the ancient texts from Tantan.

Whatever the case, it looks like all I can do is wait for the time being and hope that my concern is not on the money.