Pov Vildra

I have 7 seconds to react. I am currently falling from the sky above the peak of the mountain. Originally, I would've died when I hit the peak, but Aesmo's plan F is proving unintentionally useful.

Plan F: Open the top of the mountain so there is a direct path down into the center of my den (where I do most of my mining). This is so I can counter ambush anyone who manages to make it into my den and block the main entrance. A weak illusion is used to hide the opening.

Thanks to that, the amount of time I have is doubled. Additionally, if I survive this drop, I have cover against attacks from all sides except up. I just need to survive.

6 seconds remain. They say when you're faced with death, time slows down. That isn't quite true; your brain just focuses so much on one point of time that it feels stretched out. Your perception of everything else is reduced as all you can think about is the moment.

I cannot move. The adamantite string is wrapped around my arms, legs, wings, even neck. I cannot rely on others; the Esmos are close to the main entrance, it'll take more than 6 seconds to get to me.

The only option I can think of is to cast a spell. There are many spells that can save you from a fall. I know at least 7 more spells, but don't know what they actually are. I hope past me learned something useful.

5 seconds. Each spell at minimum power takes 0.2 seconds to cast. To cast at enough power to save me, it'll take 1 second at minimum. I have 4 seconds to find a spell.

"Feather fall" No effect

"Slow fall" No effect

"Descent" No effect

"Updraft" No effect

"Elevate" No effect

3 seconds. No standard spell worked. Testing non-standard ways of stopping a fall.

"Halt" No effect

"Break movement" No effect

"Displace speed" No effect

"Float" No effect

"Pause momentum" No effect

2 seconds. Time to test the more esoteric spells I know.

"Helios: Sunrise" No effect

"Vega reversal" No effect

"Gravitas" Slight slowing.

The spell 'Gravitas' has 3 main uses. The first is to create a point of weak gravity. The second is to nullify the gravity in a area.

The last is to create a large zone where gravity is rotated. Including pointing upwards, in the opposite direction of a fall. The normal cast time is 10 seconds, but increasing the mana used decreases cast time.

A single usage is about 10% of my mana. To cast it in 1 second, it'll take 80% of my mana. I guess it's either exhausting myself, or crippling myself. I have no other options after all.

"Bereich drehen Gravitas"

For a split moment nausea overwhelms me. Ugh, was changing gravity always so disorienting? Annoying, but can't be distracted. Slowly, my fall slows down. At the perfect moment too; I reach the walls of the fortress and land on it.

Then I kick off of it, downwards with a spin. The threads around me untangle, freeing one arm. I am rising faster than when I was falling. Above me, the strong dragon from before is looking down. They can't quite see; it's too dark.

I can see their silhouette. I know exactly where to aim.

Gravity is every dragon's worse enemy. While falling is what threatens us most, there is another danger to gravity. It does not slow down. Only speed up what is falling. A meteor can outrun teleportation. A falling dragon is twice deadly to any beneath them.

---

Pov ???

I did it! We did it! She fell for our trap! It took a lot of resources, but everything fell into place perfectly. I don't think that fall will kill her though; 4 seconds isn't long enough. But it will hurt, and she'll still be stuck.

30 more seconds. That's all I need to complete the circle. The clouds. They're working. Carving a magic circle in clouds is hard work; you need to make sure nothing moves the clouds. Luckily, these are my skies! The winds yield to me!

Let's see... once the circle is done, I just need to use some dragon livers to fuel its activation. Good thing we have so many dying dragons on the ground. Such a shame, but your sacrifices will not be in vain!

I count 8 livers available. That's enough for 'Time reversal' to revert back... 4 years I think. Back to what it was before she came here. Everything inside: her, her army, her ill-got riches; will be annihilated while this mountain returns back to what it was before her occupation.

Whoops. I'm repeating my own thoughts. I should hurry up though. I guess I should tell Hellipa to get out of there. Unlike Vildra, I won't make unnecessary deaths.

"Hey, Hellopa, what're you looking at? You should get out before I activate this thing!"

"The top was an illusion. She fell further down. There's a green glow. I can't s..."

Then a green blur pierced Hellepa's shoulder. I should've noticed. The center of my clouds were being raised. Like an inverted tornado. The gravity there is reversed.

'Reverse gravity'? That fool! Such a spell uses so much mana, and to focus it on such a narrow area! I just need to counter it with another 'reverse gravity'. And luckily, I have a new dragon liver available. You just bought 30 seconds. Even better, you're too exhausted to do anything!

Wait, where are they? Ah, I got distracted. They must be above the clouds now. I guess this won't annihilate you if you stay up there... Oh well. Considering you have no more mana, I think the remaining dragons can deal with you.

Wait... why an I talking to you as if she's here? Ugh, I'm projecting again.

---

Pov Vildra

Fuck. I think I overdid that attack. Oh well. I have bigger problems.

First of all, the clouds above me. I thought they were meant to hide another army; I was half right. It was hiding a giant fucking magic circle. This thing is wider than the mountain, and then some.

What kind of crazy idiot would make such a big circle on something as unstable as clouds?! And what is it designed to do? I can't even read the chicken babble that the runes look like on here. Actually, that'd explain what kind of idiot would do this in the first place.

So, how do I deal with this? Well, simply, I don't. If my estimations are correct, this thing can't possibly activate in the wastes. It'd need so much more mana than is available. This was probably designed for somewhere with decently high ambient mana.

So instead, I should focus on that weird dragon over there. The one who's digging through the strong dragon's corpse. As someone who regularly cannibalizes other dragons, they're doing it wrong. But that's just me being annoyed.

I dive towards them, as silently as I can. The distant roaring of thunder helps hide my sound. They don't notice me until I knock the back of their head. Their head caves in, which is concerning considering dragons are usually more resilient. Why are they even participating in war then?

Whatever. My next problem is that thunder. It's coming from far to the north, unrelated to the clouds above me. I wouldn't be surprised if it was another army using clouds. Quite redundant now though.

Ah, and also my dad's gang is flying in from the south. Not ideal. They're older and tougher, and I just casted a big spell. I don't feel exhausted yet, but that's probably just the adrenaline from nearly dying. I'm running out of time. I guess we have to do plan A.

"Aesmo, permission granted."

---

Pov Aesmo

Please excuse my language. What the fuck is going on right now. This is way out of expectations. I thought "army of bastards" meant a couple hundred, not the thousands that's surrounding the mountains now.

This must be why Vildra was so grim. We were terribly underprepared. If not for the fact that climbing the mountain itself is challenging for the bastards, we would be dead by now.

Huh? Vildra's fighting above us now... Can we do anything? Alright, I'm going to the central chamber. Hesmo, Desmo, prepare plan B. Fesmo, come with me. You're the fastest, that's why.

"She's falling"

Upon hearing Cesmo say that, I rush to the center. What can I do to a falling dragon? I don't know, but I can't do nothing.

It took me 3 seconds to reach the center. Vildra was saying something I didn't understand. Cesmo was saying something I couldn't understand. (Which is normal I guess, but in this context is really concerning!)

Then the cave lit up. The deeper Vildra fell, the brighter the area became, glowing a crimson blue color. Vildra's scales shifted to a green. Normally the color of sickness, but in this context it feels powerful.

She landed softly on the fortress walls. Then she launched off of them, collapsing the walls. Yet instead of falling, the pieces rose upwards. As if the world was flipped upside down.

I couldn't even see her shoot past me. I simply felt the shockwave push me into the hallway. Fesmo and Cesmo and Iesmo (when did they get here?) were less lucky; they tumbled back to the entrance room.

I looked down at what remained of the fortress. Blue and red veins pulsed all around where the walls once stood. A familiar sensation, like the taste of blood in the air. Mana. The whole area was full of mana, and its source were those veins.

The smell of bones. The droning, whispers from the dreams. This was what became of the mana spire. How... no, what even is it? I want to ask Vildra, but she's... what happened to her even? Is she alright now?

"Aesmo, permission granted."

The command had a tinge of annoyance to it. Aesmo was relieved, as they went around activating small magic circles. Surprisingly, they were more powerful than planned. Luckily, that wouldn't be a problem; if anything, it's a benefit.

From the sides of the mountains, blood leaked out. The blood flowed down in rivers, then pooled around at the base of the mountain. The bastards, forced to march for days without break, feasted on the blood.

Besmo's poison is spicy to Esmos, causes stomach pain to dragons, and is lethal to anything else. Fresh dragon blood is volatile; impure fresh dragon blood is quite toxic and lethal to most things. Tarilite mixed with aluminum in water becomes a strong, boiling hot acid.

The army of bastards died off quickly. The few who did not consume blood became covered in it, corrosive metals eating away at their flesh. Before long, the mountain's base was widened by a kilometer in all directions. The blood continued spreading.

---

Pov Leviamuth

This is the bloodiest war I have seen. Strange, as most who have died are not bleeding. Blood as a weapon. A unique concept. This is unlike anything I have seen before.

They're using it as a poison. That is nothing new.

You're not wrong, but not quite right. See, the blood's acidic. It's eating away at the flesh, so that the poison can get inside without needing to be consumed. Such a method has not been done before.

Ugh. The smell is intoxicatingly horrid. Just what did they mix in there?

I smell a combination of tarilite, aluminum, water, iron, sugars, salts, mi...

And why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be with them?

Unfortunately, Behethan was too slow to witness the battle's beginnings, so they sent me so that I could record the events and tell them later. Conversely, you are more relaxed than normal. What tension have you relieved?

That's not for you to know!

Oh! The meat is boiling! How exciting! And is that sulfur I smell? What a nostalgic smell. Yes, this is certainly different from anything we've seen before. To think that I feared stagnation.

The sulfur is from the tarilite, which when mixed with aluminum and water, becomes a strong acid that reacts with organic compounds. The reaction produces oxygen gas, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gasses.

Oh good, so there's no risk of it exploding.

Oh no, it is quite explosive at high enough concentrations. Especially if the gasses can't escape.

Like when the reactions begin inside of a body?

---

Pov Vildra

Plan A: nicknamed 'Bloodbath'.

As part of preparations, several jars of blood with aluminum dust and Besmo's poison mixed in are placed all around the mountain. Tarilite dust was mixed with water, then spread all over the mountain as mud. Each jar has an explosive magic circle on them, activatable remotely from inside the mountain.

Aesmo actually did the preparations without telling me, and I forbade them from activating it without my permission. This is due to the fact that, once activated, it essentially poisons the mountain, and everything around it, for months. I wanted to avoid that for as long as possible.

Of course, seeing as yet another army is at the horizon, I'd like to believe there is no other option than dirtying the area. Honestly, with how many bastards there are, I think the area would have been poisoned anyways.

Anyways the other armies. Fuck, just thinking about them makes me sick. Or is that the lack of mana? Whatever, I have to deal with dad's gang next. If they're as I remember them as, then this will be annoying.

Oh wait, I have a solution to my sickness issues. Fun fact; the liver of a dragon has a lot of mana. And I have two dead dragons right here. Ah, wait, were they planning on using that to fuel the giant magic circle? If that's the case, then clearly they didn't research before-hand. Just because a liver is dense in mana doesn't mean you can use it to fuel a circle directly. You have to process it first.

It might be a bit too late to mention, but I think the dragon whose skull I crushed was my older sister. Well, sort of? She's a bit crazy you see, I think mom disowned her a few decades ago. Never did learn why.

Now, if I had a book for every time I ate a sibling's liver after almost dying, I'd have two books. It's concerning how I'm running out of siblings. (Hm? No, I didn't almost die with Mike. He's too much of a coward to kill me.) Actually, now that I think about it, how many of my siblings have I eaten? Strange, I can't quite remember. Oh well, at this point I don't think anyone's keeping track anymore.

Now that I've replenished some of my mana, I... no wait, I still feel sick. Weird. Whatever, I don't have much more time. I'll take the strong dragon's liver with me, if I need it then I can use it. Now, how to deal with dad's gang.

BOOM

---

The explosion happened in three main stages. First was the ignition of gasses within the bastards' bodies. The pressure built up rapidly, until the bodies couldn't withstand it anymore and burst open. As the hot gasses exploded outwards, it ignited the other gasses that weren't being contained. This multi-stage explosion blasted burning hot gas and boiling caustic blood several kilometers.

Luckily, thanks to the mountain, Vildra and the Esmos were mostly unharmed. The explosion did shake the mountain a little, and the shockwave pushed Vildra high up, but otherwise caused no injuries. This was not the case for the incoming dragon and bastard army.

The raining blood seemed mundane at first. Though a bad sign for the bastards, the dragons didn't care for common intimidation attempts. Then it started burning. The optimal response would be attempting to wash the blood off. The panicked response was to use ice magic on it.

Tarilite absorbs mana from spells, making it incredibly resistant to magic targeting it. A small amount of tarilite can absorb a large amount of mana. It also heats up a little in the process. If the dragons had used magic to create water, then the tarilite in the blood wouldn't even be noticed.

Using ice magic was a terrible move. It didn't cool down the burning areas, it only froze the flesh around it. Instead, it only heated the blood up more, which made the acid react more quickly. The high difference in heat caused their scales to crack, seeping the blood deeper and shielding it from their own attempts to remove it. By the time one wisened up and tried using water, the blood was too deep to wash away easily.

Then the secondary effects of the blood started. Once it reached the muscles and bloodstream, Besmo's poison began spreading. Vildra knew that ingesting the poison was non-lethal. However, they never tested what happens if it got into the bloodstream of a dragon.

First there would be pain, spreading rapidly around the point of first contact. (In this case, it was all over the dragons' body.) Once it reached the brain, a feeling of nausea would overwhelm the senses. Muscles were weakened, suffering from hypoxia as the poison prevented blood from delivering oxygen. Within a minute, the dragons' wings are too weakened to maintain flight. For those that can still think straight, they will do a controlled landing; others simply fall out of the sky.

At 3 minutes, the dragons' immune system would be able to clear enough poison from the bloodstream for oxygen to flow back to vital areas. However, any poison that manages to find their way out of the bloodstream persist. They enter individual cells and inhibit several cellular functions. The immune system detects these infections and treats it like a virus, killing affected cells. This does not work for cells in the eyes and brain.

At 5 minutes, most symptoms will have cleared up, except for lingering headaches, nausea, exhaustion, minor pain across the entire body, and a foreboding sense that something is wrong. Of course, that is ignoring the acid currently burrowing in deeper past flesh and muscles. Depending on where the blood first hit, some dragons have already died. Others are attempting to heal, but are finding that since the tarilite reached the bloodstream, they can't cast any spells. Not that they could save everyone; they already spent too much mana.

At 10 minutes, the acid would have neutralized itself enough to stop eating through flesh. The surviving dragons would also have enough cognition to recognize the need to retreat. Those that can still walk drag those who can't, either from broken bones or severed nerves or not having half their legs. The walk out of the wastes will take about 2 hours due to their conditions.

At 30 minutes, some dragons will notice an impairment to their vision; either an overall blurring, or reddening of their vision. Additionally, they aren't able to focus distance correctly. Their vision will continue to worsen, though their brain will attempt to compensate for as long as possible.

At 1 hour, some dragons display signs of brain damage. There is no help available. The damage is permanent.

At 2 hours, the dragons finally exit the wastes. This is also around the time their body should have cleared the tarilite out of their body. Thanks to this, first-aid magic can finally be applied. The process is lengthy, but with enough time, most of the injuries can be recovered from. Unfortunately, healing magic does not fix what the body cannot; broken scales remain broken, there are holes in their hide, their eyes remain impaired. Lost nerve connections cannot be healed using magic, nor can brain damage.

At 4 hours, it becomes clear that all have some form of brain damage. It will only get worse.

Besmo's poison has a half-life of 41 hours. It will take weeks for all of the poison remaining in the dragons to decay naturally. During that time, vision will continue to worsen, as will damage to the brain. At worst, they will die, or become vegetative.

There is no treatment available for a dragon's brain.

---

Pov Vildra

I'd like to think I'm lucky. That explosion made dad's gang retreat. Probably because they realized that it's not worth fighting me. The pool of blood around the mountain should be a good enough signifier. Though I do find it weird that they're walking home. Did the explosion hurt them?

That's the second reason why I think I'm lucky. Since I was right above the mountain when the explosion happened, most of the shockwaves bounced around me. The winds still pushed me up, but it was more like a strong hurricane than an explosion.

Now that I won't have to deal with dad's gang anymore, I should focus on those clouds over there. I swear if it's another army of... oh shit. It's Leviamuth. The clouds weren't from any spells or anything, it was the smoke coming off of their body.

Leviamuth is basically a giant flying worm made out of molten... something. No one actually knows, considering its so hot it glows as bright as the sun. The only reason I can look at them right now without squinting is because the smoke is only showing their silhouette. Why are they here? The dragon lords should've been keeping an eye on them.

The worst part of seeing Leviamuth is knowing that Behethan might be nearby. I mean, sort of good if they distract each other, but bad if they actually fight. I need to evacuate the Esmos. Who cares if others find out about them, I can't risk losing them. I can always make a new home.

"Esmos, gather at the entrance. We're evacuating."

...No response? Did the explosion do something?

I hurry over to the entrance and break in. I don't have time going the long way.

Inside, the Esmos were curled up and glowing. What. The. Fuck. Fuck it, I don't have time for this. I scoop them up and put as many on my back as possible. They bite into my back, which hurts. The good news is they aren't drinking my blood... wait no, that's really bad. Something is very wrong with them.

I got everyone but Aesmo. Where is she? I curse her incredible skill to hide and start searching her standard hiding spots. Not behind rock #1, not under rock #2, not on the roof. I rush through my den until I find her, dangling in the center. Half in 'gravitas', half out, she floats while glowing. Normally I'd say it looked cool, but the lack of any reaction is worrying. I jump up, grab her, and ride 'gravitas' up out of the mountain.

Fuck, where do I go? I need time to analyze the situation... up! The cloud should give me cover in case anything else is targeting me. Though I guess with Leviamuth present, I shouldn't worry about that anymore.

Now, what's up with the Esmos? They're glowing, curled up, and are mostly unresponsive. They do seem to be conscious though, which just makes this worse. Let's see... what can cause glowing? I can't think of any traditional effects, which means it's most likely magical in origin. Maybe 'gravitas'? Or the giant magical circle in the clouds (that is now glowing... I'm evacuating anyways)? Could the high density of bastard and dragons have some sort of effect on them? After all, they spent their entire lives in the wastes...

Eesmo, where is she? Fuck, I never confirmed her location. She definitely succeeded in her primary objective, but did she attach to any of my cousins? I didn't check since I was being rushed. Alright, where were they? ...In the blood pools now. That's not ideal.

"Eesmo, can you respond?"

My shouts don't incite any response. I glance over at where Leviamuth was and pale. A large stone aphid was approaching them. Behethan. I was running out of time. Then I heard a whisper from my back.

"78.3 forward. 161.9 left. 11 down."

Cesmo? That sounded too sane for Cesmo. Whatever. I'll assume the measurements were in meters, and move accordingly. I reached the position given, but encountered a minor problem. 11 meters down was under the blood. While considering my options, I felt a stinging pain on my back. Someone was biting harder, and it hurts.

Then the blood spiraled. The spiraling blood parted to reveal the bottom, uncovered by blood. There, hiding within a burnt dragon corpse was Eesmo. Surprisingly uninjured, I grabbed them, then flew up. The blood rushed back to fill the void.

Eesmo wasn't glowing. This gives me valuable information. The cause for the Esmos' glowing is local, found closer to the mountaintop where they were at. The two main suspects is 'gravitas' and the circle in the clouds. Whichever it is, it can't reach us if I fly away!

---

Excerpt from 'The Effects of the Wastes' Chapter 11 'mana sickness'

...A sudden increase in ambient mana can cause issues for those that have adapted to the wastes. The body struggles to properly control the absorption of mana, causing there to be excess and thus cause manauriunt. Luckily, this is usually harmless, if nauseating. The problem is when the change in ambient mana is too large. If more mana enters the body than can be expelled by manauriunt, then mana starts to build up and solidify. This is known as mana sickness. If exposed for too long, then the body becomes stiff, while the victim remains conscious.

Luckily, this causes no more discomfort than manauriunt, and if ambient mana levels are lowered sufficiently, then the body naturally reverts back to normal. There are no physical injuries due to mana sickness. Additionally, some say that mana sickness can grant natural magic power, independent of spells. However, this has not been proven...

---

Pov Vildra's sister, Uildra

Ugh. It hurts. My face. I can't feel my face. That sucks. At least I can still see. What happened?

I was going for Hellipa's liver, then everything went black. Ah, did I get killed? That sucks. So this is what happens when 'contingency' doesn't have enough mana. My injuries don't get fixed.

I see my circle is still intact. It's even being fueled somehow. Not that it matters. I can see Vildra flying away. And she has her ciels with her. That's dad's gang over there. How did they die...urk. Right, I don't have much mana right now. Can't keep using 'omniscience'. Gotta get out of here first.

Ah, a problem; I appear to be missing feeling in my lower half. And my central organs. And wings. I'm immobile. How cruel! She's forcing me get annihilated by my own trap! Jokes on her though. I can change the circle, even without mana.

I can only change the radius of the circle though, and considering the primary targets are long gone, I might as well shrink it to the minimum... Oh. I appear to still be in range. Just barely.

Fuck. Left arm extend. Fuck. Left arm pull in. Fuck. Right arm extend. Fuck. Right arm pull in. Fuck. Left arm extend. Fuck. Left arm pull in. Fuck. Right ar

---

An explosion in the center of the mountain rocked everyone who could see it. Vildra, who was flying full speed away, was the least affected. From her perspective, the shockwave was about as strong as the strongest storm. Nothing to scoff at, but still managable.

The greater problem was the heat. Not for Vildra; dragons can withstand high heat easily. No, the danger was to the Esmos. The heat was enough to burn them half to death. Luckily, Desmo saw the incoming heat before Vildra felt the explosion. Desmo, struggling to move, curled their body upright. When the shockwave hit, it immediately knocked Desmo down. However, that moment of protection against the heat prevented any of the Esmos from dying of burns.

Sure, they were still severely burned, but not enough to not feel it. And if you can feel pain, you're still alive.

The mountain, for the most part, was undamaged. If Vildra had turned around, they would have seen the pillar of fire coming out from the hole she dug. Most of the explosion was directed upwards, into the sky. It looked like an eruption, except with barely any fragmentation.

Then the magic circle activated. 'Time reversal' focused into the center of the mountain. In the same area as both 'gravitas' and the explosion. The three effects mixed, fighting against each other. The explosive gasses were remade by 'time reversal', then reignited and exploded, only to be undone again. 'Gravitas' pulled the unexploded gasses away from the heat, preventing explosions, only for 'time reversal' to send the gasses back down.

In the middle was a mana spire. Fueling both 'gravitas' and 'time reversal', only to be annihilated by the explosion, then brought back by 'time reversal'. There was a paradox. Something that fueled its own destruction and recreation. left alone, it could last forever.

However, there was something else, something on the edge of the paradox. Something that could change. Uildra, dying and reviving over and over again. Each time, she remembered the previous second, only to be blown up. Then remade with memory of that explosion, and nothing else. A near-eternal hell. One that she had the key to.

Magic circles are incredibly precise; a single wrong rune causes a wrong effect, assuming it even activates. Uildra reached out in the split moment between explosions towards 'time reversal', changing rune 17 from 'pol' to 'pil'. Immediately, the reversal of time accelerated. The circle was now 'time fall'; a spell that accelerates time. Since time was being reversed when it was used, the acceleration of time was towards the past.

The explosion was undone, then before the gasses could reignite, the gasses themselves were undone. Gravitas was uncast, the area it was in reversed to before it existed. The hole was refilled, all of Vildra's mining undone (the side rooms and hallway was out of range though). Then time went even further back. Uildra regressed rapidly, before shrinking down to an egg, then non-existence.

Then the circle ran out of mana. The mana spire could no longer fuel it, and so it stopped. Since the person who made the clouds didn't exist to maintain it anymore, they dissipated away. The mountain was now a little younger. The circle has sent its center back 400 years ago.

And at the top was a cap of pure gold, shining the sun in all directions.

---

22nd of Ax, 119 years since megados eruption

No one ever tells you much about the post-war negotiations. It's only a passing sentence in history books, or a reference to a non-existent document. Sometimes there'll be analyses about it, but no one actually reads those.

There's a very good reason for that; negotiations are fucking boring. Especially when compared to the chaos of war. Now, luckily for me, the negotiations took place a few days after the war. This gave me plenty of time to rest and relax before having to struggle through the negotiations.

Long story short, I got a new pickaxe. Honestly that's all I really needed; I spent basically nothing on the war, so there was nothing needed for reparations. It's not like I could get anything; when a dragon dies, legally speaking, their belongings go to their kin or anyone mentioned in a will. And since most of the attackers died, I couldn't get anything from them. That's why you don't kill a dragon in war.

Luckily, the surviving members of dad's gang can pay reparations, which again, was a pickaxe. Not any cheap old pickaxe though, but a very good one. Now, since most dragons don't just have a pickaxe lying around, I have to wait for them to get it, but I'm fine with waiting. Not like I can't mine without one, just a lot slower.

Now the next issue is the post-post-war-negotiation-meeting with the dragon lord council. Normally this is just a formality for the victor, talking about strength analysis and wealth change and stuff like that. Unfortunately for me, there was a lot more to talk about.

We started with an analysis of my strength. Since I took down a dozen other dragons without injury, that meant my strength was incredibly high. In my opinion, that's wrong; I fought mostly one at a time, and they were at a disadvantage for being in the wastes. Of course, the council ignored my argument and gave some big number for my strength. I'm sure this will only lead to future problems.

Next was fame. So apparently a lot of people know about me now? Honestly I'm surprised the fact I'm a cannibal wasn't widely known among dragons. I guess that's something to talk to mom about. Anyways, my habit of going out and buying stuff instead of stealing worked in my favor, in that half the sapients in the world knows about me in some way now. My saving grace is probably that they don't know my name. At least not yet.

Now repute was the most shocking for me. Apparently my sister's been going around and telling everyone that I'm "a monster who eats even their own siblings" and "seeking world domination with an army of ciels" and stuff like that. Which was a problem, as she had 'omniscience'. That made everyone believe at least part of what she said. So now every dragon knows me as either "potential dragon lord who eats their own siblings and has a powerful hidden army" or "aspiring world conquerer and dragon lord with a hidden army capable of killing dragons, designed to hunt down any resistance to eat."

Obviously, both are exaggerated. At best, I'm a "potential dragon lord who just wants to mine, who just so happens to have several ciels and is also a cannibal". Actually now that I think about it that might be even more problematic. Yeah, there isn't really a right solution to this. I guess the council's decision to immediately promote me to dragon lord might actually have been the best decision in the long run.

It's very hard to write how fucking annoyed I am at becoming a dragon lord. They didn't even ask if I wanted to be one. They just made me a candidate when war was about to begin, then did nothing about the war. Though, I guess they might have been busy with the daevva that showed up.

What the fuck was that about? Why the fuck did they show up? I don't fucking know, and at this point I'm only glad they left without fighting. Saved me the trouble of finding a new home.

Fucking fuck my home. The central tunnel aka my bedroom and mine, is now completely filled in. Reversed to before I ever showed up. Luckily, since my entrance room was originally my bedroom, I have somewhere to sleep. Ugh, I have to re-mine the center again. I guess it'll be faster since I have more experience and a better pickaxe.

I guess there is a good thing that came out of this. The top of the mountain is now capped in gold. Well, technically a gold-mythril alloy, which I guess is better than gold. Except that it'll take forever to make that second entrance now. Plus I have exactly 0 uses for gold or mythril, other than as emergency funds. Well, at least I have it, rather than not.

 

7th of Ay, 119 years since megados eruption

You'd expect a dragon lord to have a lot of responsibilities, right? Well turns out that technically, the only responsibility is 1. making sure other dragon lords don't abuse their power, and 2. keeping an eye on the daevva.

The whole dragon council meeting thing is completely voluntary, though periodically you should voice your opinion so that it isn't just the same 10 dragons making decisions. Also they send out votes or something, but again that's entirely voluntary.

Anyways, they're not done troubling me. They asked about the poison I used, which was apparently causing permanent damage to the survivors. Now, luckily, my response of "it caused permanent damage to dragons?!" made it seem like that wasn't the original intention. Unfortunately, it also meant I knew about it.

They tried getting me to reveal how I got it, but I refused. I promised that it would be impossible for any other dragon to use it, but they seem quite dissatisfied by that. I'll just have to hope they don't investigate further.

This news is really bad for me though. It means that, technically, Besmo can be classified as 'daevva'. Honestly, I can't say I'm surprised. It's my fault for not properly testing Besmo's poison against dragons. I'm just glad Besmo's the only one to undoubtedly be 'daevva'. All of the other Esmos are still 'ciels'.

Speaking of the Esmos, they're recovering from burns caused by an explosion. Well, except for Desmo and Eesmo. They're mostly unharmed. More importantly, the Esmos are currently recovering from mana sickness. Apparently the war caused the ambient mana to increase? or something like that. I don't know exactly what caused it.

In similar news, I also had manauriunt. Again. Can't actually remember the last time I had it, but this time it was fairly manageable. I may or may not made part of the wastes have weird gravity, but other than that, nothing bad happened. That 'gravitas' should end within a year while in the wastes.

 

26th of Ay, 119 years since megados eruption

I was supposed to prepare for hibernation, but then Aesmo got up and told me that Hesmo dealt with the blood lake around the mountain, Fesmo regrew the hydra tree from a leaf, and Iesmo made me a bed.

Let me go through that sentence one part at a time. Aesmo talked, like what Cesmo could do, except it wasn't nonsense. They did it through the combined effort of Gesmo, Kesmo, and Iesmo. First, Gesmo turned one of the gems I had into a spell gem using the information from the scroll she read. Spell gems are believed to only be made naturally. Where did that librarian get that scroll?

Anyways, Kesmo "programmed" the spell gem with a spell that translated sound in real time. That's some advanced magic inscribing that I didn't even know was possible. Then Iesmo made a silk pendent for the gem to rest in so that Aesmo could wear and use it. Using it, centipede sounds get translated into understandable words.

Next, Hesmo dealt with the blood lake. As in, she collected all of the blood somehow, and moved it all to an empty basin. 60 kilometers to the north. I'd like to note that the basin didn't exist beforehand, it was made when Jesmo tested how big of a fireball a dragon liver could make. The answer was 'very'.

I guess the good thing about that is the mountain no longer perpetually smells like a battlefield. Also, the removal of the blood reveals just how much damage was caused to the environment. Or rather, the lack of damage; there was no visual evidence that the blood was ever there. Not even corpses, which have long since dissolved into the blood. Sucks that i couldn't get any bastard materials from it, but that's the cost of using acid.

Alright, how about Fesmo? She regrew the hydra tree, which got destroyed during the war by being drowned in poisonous acid blood, by using a leaf. The hydra tree's leaf, which most definitely would not have grown a whole hydra tree unassisted. Fesmo has not revealed how she did it, and I'm concerned she did something she shouldn't have. Well, I'll deal with any consequence later.

Finally, Iesmo made me a bed. It's as simple as that. It's a bed made of silk, looks more like a hammock to be honest. To be even more honest, this was what I originally wanted in my bedroom last year, but thought it would take too much. I tried it out, and fucking love it. I hope it wasn't too hard to make.

 

?? of Az, 119 years since megados eruption

Hibernation time! I told Aesmo that they can write in my diary if they want, but they mentioned something about 'teaching the others'. I'm both excited and concerned for what I'll be waking up to. I hope it isn't to a burning home.

---

Interlude: Vildra demands reparations

 

"She wants what? A pickaxe? What does she take us for, penny eaters?"

"No, you misunderstand. She said 'a better pickaxe than what I have now'. The pickaxe she has now is some grand treasure of a rich city state! The same city state with a church bell made of gold! That pickaxe is mythril at minimum!"

"...She's tricking us! I bet the pickaxe is only a treasure because a dragon has it now! It's probably made of steel."

"Oh, do you want to go and check? D-"

"NO!"

"..."

"...So you said it's at least mythril. That doesn't leave much room."

"We can afford alloys and enchantments."

"And if it isn't enough?"

"...I have adamantite. I wanted to use it to propose to JJ, but that won't be happening anymore. Do you know a good smith?"

"The only smith I know of that can work adamantite is Mint, but they're sick."

"Damned it. What are they sick with?"

"Some sort of lung virus. Something about internal bleeding as well."

"That's it? We can cure that. Anything else?"

"It should be enchanted. Or at least more than mundane."

"I know an enchanter worthy of dragons... but they're very hard to work with. Too much alcohol."

"Well just send Lortmund. He's good with drinks. So what's the cost looking like?"

"Affordable. Not cheap, but it won't bankrupt us."

"Good. I hope it'll all be enough. I really don't want to know if Uildra was right or not."

"Well, at least she doesn't have an army of ciels."