章 22: Presents

A name immediately popped up in his head. Sleipnir. The horse that belonged to the Norse king of gods Odin. One of the best horses, it was a fitting name for the one in front of him. Being bred by the god of war himself while also being reluctant to part with it must mean that it was his best creation.

"Sleipnir."

He started stroking the horse as it neighed in acceptance. Seeing the joyful look on Sleipnir's face, it seemed really happy of its new name. Crouching slightly, it indicated for Amadeus to get on top while the others watched.

"Does the fire hurt?"

Amadeus shook his head as he was currently in control of, what he thinks, the most powerful flame. While the others were curious, they didn't get close as they felt their instincts go wild when they neared the flames. Amadeus then mounted the horse who immediately took off with a cry. Amadeus had to take hold of the horse's neck to avoid falling off. Before he knew it, the horse started to step in the air and took off towards the skies.

This feeling was different from when he flew in his dragon form. That was more like he was in control while this felt more reckless. He had always loved riding horses, but this was a whole new experience. Looking behind, he saw the trail left by the horse and knew that it to the spectators, he probably looked like a comet. Amadeus knew that, even for a warhorse, it was swift and with an extra set of legs allowed him to carry more weight. And from what he was currently experiencing, it was the best warhorse that he had ever seen.

Even the prided ones he had trained on, couldn't hold a candle to Sleipnir. What came next surprised Amadeus, Sleipnir had taken him to such a height that allowed him to see the whole capital and the setting sun over the horizon. It halted and reared itself and breathed out fire. This surprised Amadeus as he realised, he now had a flying, eight-legged, horned, fire breathing horse that looked like a comet when it runs and had hellfire for a mane and tail. It was like all the best horses from his mythologies in his previous life joined together to make one symphony of perfection.

What ruined this moment was a figure flying towards him. It was a rather large western dragon that appeared next to him,

"Eh?! Your highness, what are you doing here?"

A rather smug looking Amadeus replied,

"Testing out my new horse. What do you think of it?"

The dragon took a careful look at the horse,

"It is a fine steed, probably one of its kind."

"It indeed is. Hahaha!"

With a laugh, Amadeus descended back to the palace with the Dragon following and notifying his comrades that it was just the crown prince. Amadeus directly went down towards the banquet hall and smashed through its window. The classic elegant party had once again been obstructed by the sound of breaking glass.

This time though, screams followed as everyone dodged the flying flaming horse. With a neigh, Amadeus landed next to his family with a proud look. Everyone looked horrified seeing the majestic horse and their crown prince on it.

Baldrik looked horrified at it but maintained his composure. Looking at all the guests that had wide eyes, Baldrik decided that it was time to end. Clearing his throat, he addressed everyone,

"I think it's time to now end this special evening. I thank everyone in attending my son's eighth birthday…"

Everyone got the message that it was time to leave and started leaving one by one, not leaving without glancing at the steed their crown prince was riding in envy. Some also left knowing that the presents they had chosen with such great care was nothing compared to the horse that was gifted to Amadeus. Anyone that was slightly clever knew that it was a gift from someone otherwise they would have known. Amadeus didn't mind the looks of envy and happily showed off to his parents.

Baldrik allowed the dukes to stay behind as they also admired the horse. Their children joined them later. Once everyone had left, Baldrik turned to Amadeus. He didn't mind the early commotion as that was in a way showing the power of the royal family causing people to wipe out the nefarious ideas they had.

"Who gave you this?"

Amadeus immediately replied,

"Granny did."

"Granny?"

Milo's voice rang out,

"It was this old woman that said she got it from the god of war."

The others were even more confused so Baldrik had to clarify the situation. Upon receiving his explanation, they all gave looks of wonderment towards the horse that was given to Amadeus. It was as if every cell was shaped to perfection as its hooves gave out slight sparks of fire.

Arius who was carried by Lily wanted to ride on it eagerly. Amidst the envious gaze of his father, Amadeus picked his little brother and went for a ride with the latter's excited scream. Mid-ride, Arius turned to his older brother,

"Oni-tan, I want one, I want one."

Hugging his brother Amadeus shook his head,

"I feel like it is the only one of its kind."

This caused Arius to have a cute pout which was then washed away by the excitement he felt.

- In the God's Realm -

"WAAAAAAA! MY BABY!!"

Granny who had just returned was welcomed by the horrifying sound of a grown man crying. What was worse, was that this man was extremely muscular and stood at around 8 feet tall. His veins looked like they were pythons streaking across his body and his muscles looked like they were made of stone. He had an ox head and a ring on his nose which was currently covered in snot and tears.

An annoyed voice was heard,

"Someone shut him up!"

Granny just sighed at this and returned to her residence, while feeling an itch that carried her walking stick.

'It's just a horse, why is he crying so much?'

All dragons were unreasonable at times.

- Orbis -

Amadeus had put Arius into bed as the boy had fallen asleep due to exhaustion. He had specially requested for Sleipnir to remain free and not be bound to anything. After constantly warning, Sleipnir not to damage any of his mother's flowers, he let the horse free.

After, going through all the presents, he found them lacking compared to what he got from the horse. Yet it didn't mean that they were not valuable, but they weren't as good as Sleipnir. He felt bad comparing them to his one of a kind horse.

Going through, there were some rare materials, weapons even specially made toys surrounding them. Lily looked at it and realised that they would most likely go to waist. Suddenly an idea popped up in her head,

"What if we extract all the good materials and give it to the blacksmith who can probably find some use when he will be creating the horses armour and saddle."

Amadeus knew that creating those items was a waste and that the horse was likely to grow even more. But, when including some draconic magic, they were able to add a function that adjust itself to suit the wearer. It was similar to the magic Amadeus used when he turned into a dragon and was able to keep his clothes safe and wear them back when he returned to his human form.

After extracting the important ones, he set the toys aside for Arius and looked at the remaining materials. First was a branch of tree that radiated life force while the other was a black material that gave of cold and had a bluish glow. Next to it though was a scarlet metal that looked like it was on fire. The others were either good subsidiary materials or scraps at best. All the weapons and armour were given to the blacksmith to find some use.

If it was any other time, then they would have just put them into the treasury but as war was approaching, they had to make use of everything. Lily also looked at the branch and gasped.

"This is!"

Picking it up,

"This is a branch of Yggdrasil, the world tree."

Amadeus also gasped in shock. It was said that the tree was the first to come into existence alongside the sun and moon. There were rumours that the branch was able to hold itself against the fire of the sun and ice of the moon.

Amadeus felt his title 'Loved by the Goddess of Faith and Luck' play a part in this as it was the perfect material to use for his weapon. Amadeus had tried many weapons, but none could handle the heat and cold from his innate ability. They would always show signs of being destroyed at some point.

Lily looked at the unknown black material and once more gasped in shock,

"Meteoric Mithril!"

This was something that even Amadeus had never heard off. He knew there was meteoric iron in the world from his previous life, but this was something different. As for its size, it was as big as an adult's fist but according to Lily, it was enough for his weapon and his armour. The two daggers given to him by Atia were made from an alloy consisting of three different metals. Mithril that was famed for its lightness and its properties of nullifying magic, Orichalcum that was famed for its sharpness and strength, and lastly, Adamantium, famed for its resilience and magic resistance.

Meteoric Mithril was a few stages above normal Mithril and was obviously rarer. What made it stand out more was that it carried properties of the ice from the moon. And lastly, Lily looked at the last scarlet metal and gasped of shock, nearing the point of fainting.

"Hihi'irokane!"

This was also a new name for Amadeus. Apparently, this was as rare as Meteoric Mithril and had the opposite properties. It was said that it would form within the flames of the sun and came from the same metal family as Orichalcum but obviously was a few stages higher that the latter.

With these three materials, Amadeus' felt the situation unbelievable. Feeling suspicious, Lily enquired about the origins of these three materials and found that, apart from the branch which was presented by an emissary from the Elven Kingdom, the other two material were from unknown origins. None of the servants remembered taking these metals from anyone. It was as if they appeared out of thin air.

Amadeus went to touch the two metals, when Lily tried to top him before remembering his powers. She watched Amadeus hold the two and close his eyes.

As soon as Amadeus held the two metals, he immediately felt a familiar feeling. He felt a bit of the sun's essence inside the Hihi'irokane and the moon's essence within the Meteoric Metal. Immediately, he felt his vision turn black and he appeared from in between the sun and moon. They would give off faint flashes as if saying,

"Did you like out present?"

Amadeus faintly smiled and nodded his head. Opening his eyes, the smile remained as he turned to his mother,

"No need to find out. I know exactly who gave it to us."

Lily was perplexed but nodded, trusting Amadeus. She then gave him a note with a slight grin. Amadeus looked at it and saw it was a letter, the letter stated:

Dear Crown Prince Amadeus,

Congratulations on your eighth birthday and awakening. I regret to inform you that we don't have the right birthday present to give as you dragons are wealthy enough.

I, Varrulir Ferrarius, the current chief of Dwarves and the descendant of the God of Forge swear upon my name, that I would create my best weapon with the materials I provide for you. Or, I would create my best Weapon and my best Armour with materials you provide. However, the second option is only valid if you provide the best materials anyone in the world has to offer.

Yours Sincerely,

Varrulir Ferrarius.

P.S. a keg of the best draconic wine would allow us to perform out best.

Amadeus got the same grin, lily had to the letter. It was as if everything was a jigsaw puzzle, falling into the right places making it complete. Lily had an epiphany and ordered all the blacksmiths to stop the process of making a saddle and armour for Sleipnir. Considering that this pie had just fell out of the sky, might as well make the most out of it.

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