Dragon Realm
Episode 18's

He's laughing a little. Even lizards are sometimes stupid.

Azran leaps forward into the moment of decision making. Brown had unsheathed the Horned Sword, and the magician was happy to see that his first sword had not lost its power since it was stolen. The Dragon King said something. The sword was lifted into the air—

The memory was cut short. Azran was cursed by some of his evil gods. He returns to the scene in the manor, and it is apparent that Lady has just attacked. Seeker's gaze became distorted as she turned her head to and fro. Frustration emerged. The magician still had no idea what his opponent's face was like and who he really was. There are pieces that can be formed into assumptions, but …

Then, as he watched the fight, even to the point where the stranger unleashed his power, he could not believe it. He stared at the face again and again, knowing from the look and feeling that what he saw was true. He had never seen the boy, never really knew his mother, except as his servant. His father saw that.

My son, he thought bitterly. My son is still alive.

He would train the child carefully, making him strong but obedient. Her father is a fool who cares about Azran's upbringing, only taking care of Dayn, who is older than both. Giving up teaching to amateurs is a mistake that has cost him dearly. Azran quietly switched to a more desirable magic power, called dark power. Once enchanted, he never wanted to be free.

Releasing the Seeker from her touch, Azran orders the creature to leave. Nathan's stain is clearly visible on Cabe; the boy may have to be destroyed. Letting him train with the Lady or the Gryphon was tantamount to suicide. He, Azran, will be the first target. Against Gwen or Gryphon, he would be the winner.

Cabe, however, is family. That made him more dangerous than the Dragon Monarch.

Yes, his son must be arrested, and there are only two who can do it. It will be hard to call them. Azran should rest another day. Even though they were forced to obey, they still had the urge to fight back. They would do so, knowing that they would weaken him and possibly cause him to make a fatal mistake.

The dead never make things easy.

FAR BELOW the Tyber Mountains, in the middle of the magma stream, lay eggs. Most of them were ordinary people—wyvern, weak-minded ferocious beasts were hardly suitable to be called dragons. The smaller group, glittering in the light of the flames, were those that would hatch into a firerake.

There are two other groups. One consists of two eggs. People who are not suitable. Mutants. Whether they hatch or not, it doesn't matter to the Dragon Monarch. They are allowed to grow only as long as they do not harm others. If they do not deserve to live, they will be killed, like most smaller drakes.

The fourth and final group consists of a handful of colorful, banded, and speckled eggs. They are much larger than others and are carefully watched by the strongest and wisest dams. This will be the hope of the future. New Kings to replace those who have died or perhaps soon.

The first egg began to break.

DRIVING HAS NEVER BEEN SO painful. It was not that they were being urged; in fact, Darkhorse had almost flown across the land. The problem is in handling speed and length of time. The woman was determined to reach the Penacles as quickly as possible and asked her horse to run as fast as safety allowed. Cabe got the impression that his idea of safe speed was very different from that of his two colleagues.

However, it was Gwen who was finally forced to stop. He was still unfamiliar with the needs of his system, and nearly fainted, almost causing both riders to fall off his mount. Only an immortal maneuver kept the two humans alive. Slowing down to run, he gives Cabe a chance to help Lady. His decision was made almost the moment he opened his eyes.

They were now on an open road, one of the few in the Dragonlands. Darkhorse was deadly and ran into a small forest of oak trees. After descending, Lady opened her bag and took out some food. Cabe grabbed one of the water bags. The two sat under one of the trees while their transportation pretended to graze nearby.

Gween. “How stupid am I! Even a beginner knows when their body can only receive so much!”

Cabe nodded. “Every point in my body hurts.”

They split the food. Chili bit the biscuit and found that, despite the bad taste, the biscuit satiated her and revived her tired muscles. He asked what it was.

“This fairy bread. Eat enough and you may want to face the Dragon Emperor army alone.”

Cabe was tempted to spit out the piece in his mouth.

“Nathan and I used to picnic a lot. It made us feel like ordinary people, not high-level magicians. Still, I wonder how many ordinary people could protect their picnics from dragons. Or ants, in this case.”

“What's my grandfather like?” He hesitated when he saw his face. "If you don't mind telling me, that's it."

She smiled at him, and Cabe was once again amazed at her beauty. She was aware that this woman was old enough to at least be her grandmother, and almost already was.

“I met Nathan when I was an intern. My teacher is an old wood witch. He and Nathan's wife, Lady Asrilla of Mito Pica, are best friends. Tica, the witch, even acted as a midwife when Azran was born.” Face's cloudy. “He killed his mother by birth. Nathan should have realized that his second son was the first in crime.”

Cabe said nothing, but his thoughts were on his new family. It's not one where loyalty plays an important role. Father against son. Will this be repeated?

Gwen did not notice her distant gaze. “I was fascinated by the power attached to Nathan. The color is brighter than I've ever seen. Color, which I'll teach you to see, is the true aspect of any magic user's character. Until trained, they are generally bland. Whether one chooses the power of darkness or light determines the final rainbow. Azran becomes a gloomy combination between black and gray.”

Darkhorse snorted, but did not say anything.

“Tica can't teach me anymore, but he knows I have incredible potential. Therefore, he asked for help from this great magician. She was an impressive sight in her blue robe and hood, a stern face staring at this scrawny young girl. I think I first started to love him. His eldest son, Dayn, had just completed his internship, and his younger brother was being mentored elsewhere. Because of the friendship, he accepted me. I did my best to meet the standards I thought he expected. I almost committed suicide. Progress comes quickly, but at a great cost.”

The food was long forgotten. Cabe sat there, digesting everything.

“One day, when I was scolding myself for breaking a fairly simple spell, Nathan came to my room. There was sadness on his face, and I thought he was going to throw me out of his house. Instead, he just sat in a chair and talked to me. Talking to me about his wife, his dream, the Dragon King, and my future. In front of my eyes, she imagined the image of a woman.” She smiles. “At that time, I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I told him this, expecting it to be the shape of his late wife. No. gabe. Nathan said that he was showing me a picture of myself, once my strength really materialized. I'm appalled. Tica never had this much power. My admiration has increased. That's when he leaned over and kissed me. That'sthat's all. Just kissed me. He didn't say anything else. I saw him walking out speechless.”

Lady looked into Cabe's eyes deeply. “It was only later that I learned that he had just received word that Azran had killed his own brother.”

Cabe's confused. "What—what did Nathan do?"

"What's he doing? He tried to forgive her. Trying to bring him back to the light. Trying and failing. Azran has been digging too deep. He even made slaves of his tutor. Worse, he searched and found the Seekers. Find them and make them his slaves too.”

“Finders. That bird creature. You said it was Seeker.”

He's nodding. “Nobody knows the history of Seeker. They were said to be older than the Dragon Monarch. Older. They live in dark rookeries somewhere near the Plains of Hell. Few men have found Seeker, and fewer still survive.”

"Are they?"

“They once ruled this land. Now they're looking for. Always was. Always looking for information. No one knows why, even Azran, I suspect. He might have enslaved them, but he could not dominate them completely. They are tools to keep an eye on.”

Given the demon and the creature's strength, Cabe could only nod in agreement.

Lady continues her story. “I understood after that meeting that I had pushed myself too hard. Nathan allowed me to ease things. Surprisingly, my lesson seems to be simple. I followed his words until the letter, ignoring any mistakes. Mistakes are becoming fewer and fewer. I soon realized that I was now one with my strength. Instead of rushing out, it was now flowing smoothly. Three years later, I was the picture I saw. That's when Nathan told me how much he loved me.”

His eyes stared unconsciously as he recalled the memories of what might have happened yesterday. He had even forgotten the presence of Darkhorse. The hell horse was still pretending to graze, even though Cabe realized that the creature was very silent. After a minute, he blinked, wiped one tear, and pretended as if he never stopped talking.

“Para Master is Nathan's idea. His and Yalak. They are determined to destroy the Dragon King, who has ruled for as long as humans can remember. This lot is the worst. They destroyed all resistance and whatever progress people made beyond our current level. All the servants were ordered to specifically search for witches and such and kill them. Fortunately, their servants often lacked energy. The masters grew in strength and numbers until they were ready to challenge. Thus, the War of Reversal began. ”