บท 240: The Great Plague and gray dragons (2)
"You speak of them so highly, but weren't these heroes fighting against you? They killed your kin. Have you forgiven them?"
"Young man, you don't understand. You don't know what life was like for humans in those times. The black and red dragons treated them the worst. The red dragons didn't even consider them as intelligent beings. I also fought in that battle, but I never supported Nihelim in his endeavors. When he died, I was the first to order all my kin to leave the battlefield. The red dragons later branded me a traitor and demanded a new wave of uprisings against Rimmel, but I refused to participate in that madness. And after the peace agreement was reached between humans and dragons, we had no reason to fight anymore."
"Although the peace came at a very high cost," Rumy sighed heavily, "even after Nihelim's death, the humans couldn't find peace. They went mad, seeking revenge on their former masters. Once-thriving dragon clans lost over two-thirds of their offspring. As for Rimmel, he didn't care. After overthrowing the black god, he secluded himself and only appeared among humans when the Empire came to aid the dragons from Verania."
"But wasn't the first summoner killed in battle with Nihelim?"
"That's one of the biggest misconceptions. Rimmel died much later, almost a century after that battle. He was killed by the emperor himself," Reines threw a few more logs into the fire, "and that led to the treaty between humans and dragons, prohibiting them from attacking each other. However, since then, the people of Verania hold a grudge against the Empire, forgetting the reason why they invaded their territory."
"What was the essence of that treaty? How did humans and dragons manage to divide this world?"
"It's simple. Humans were not allowed to kill dragons with impunity, and the same went for dragons. The dragons occupied territories in the newly formed countries: the red ones took the southern islands of Leran, the black ones settled in the mountains and valleys in the northwest of Verania, and the white ones claimed the frosty peaks of the snow-capped mountains of Nordrune. Territorially, they were subject to the rulers of these lands, although in reality, it was more of a conditional submission. They often simply ignored the orders of the kings. Of course, the lands they obtained were not as large as they would have liked, so they began to solve it in their own ways. The red ones quickly understood the new economic conditions in human countries and started earning gold gradually, buying new lands in Leran. The black ones excelled at digging enormous caves and creating true underground cities in the mountains. You should see the scale of their kingdom. But the choice of the white dragons turned out to be the most original."
"I'm afraid to imagine."
"They go into hibernation," Ragni snorted harshly, "they are perpetually drowsy because they spend more than a third of their lives asleep."
"I see you've already encountered the white clan. But there's nothing you can do about it. White dragons, as you might know, are quite large creatures."
I mentally estimated the sizes of Ascareza, the ancient black dragon Igneous, Ultras, and ordinary dragoness Ragni... It was terrifying to imagine the size of ancient white dragons or Azura herself.
"And, as you may have guessed, we need quite a lot of food. Of course, white dragons could reduce their needs if they lived in human form, but the local climate doesn't really favor that. After all, white dragons barely survive the winter in human guise. That's why the white clan decided to periodically hibernate. All the dragons divided into groups, and once every hundred years, two-thirds of the dragons fall asleep, and after a century, they wake up and alternate with those who were awake. Exceptions are allowed only in the case of offspring being born."
"But why then didn't the father of these children come to their aid?"
"He can't. He will wake up only when they hatch and only for a couple of weeks. After that, he must leave them in the care of their mother and return to hibernation."
"So, we did the right thing," Hilda smiled, "we will protect these children until their father comes."
"Yes, unfortunately, he is unlikely to be able to stay with them..."
"Now, Lady Reines, would you please explain to me why you call my ancestor a necromancer?"
"That's what your family names literally mean – descendants of Seran, Leran, and Degar. Leran was a contractor with the ruler of hell, Seran with the ruler of angels, and Degar was a contractor with Thanatos. Except for him, only Risa was her contractor."
"But the Nords don't acknowledge necromancy; they only use ice magic!" Hilda protested. Clearly, she didn't like being related to necromancers.
"All of this happened because of the Great Plague," Rumy interrupted the girl, "after that, the Nords began preaching the cult of power, and the connection with the Yukitori clan allowed them to find another source of magic. Since many necromancers died in that war, it was easy to forget about their origins."
"Wait," Reines stopped the golem and turned to Rizel, "It's better to hear this from the source. I, too, would like to know what happened to Risa when we parted. Please show yourself, you've been here for a long time, right?"
The dragoness looked at Rizel, although it seemed her gaze passed through the girl, focusing on her shadow. For a moment, darkness enveloped the room, and then the fire blazed with green flames. When the flame returned to its normal light, another figure was sitting by the fire. A bodiless shadow wrapped in a black cloak completely concealing its body, and only a silver braid standing next to the figure left no doubt. It was the Mistress of Death, Thanatos.
"The presence of two great spirit contractors in one place could not escape my attention," the Shadow spoke with a deep voice, devoid of any emotion. It was impossible to understand what she was thinking, but it seemed like she knew everything about us, "Firstly, I would help these little ones."
The Shadow extended a "hand", if one could call it that, in the direction of the eggs. A dim green light emanated from her skeletal fingers and split into multiple beams, covering the clutch.
"What are you doing??" Hilda was alarmed by what she saw, but it was still too terrifying to object to the great spirit.
"I only saved their lives, nothing more. They had been without maternal warmth for too long. Their souls would have left their bodies before hatching. This way, they can survive until morning."
"Thank you."
"Hmm, and how did I not notice it myself," Reines shrugged apologetically.
"You were a necromancer for too short a time. You spent quite a long time in captivity, Reines."
"Yes, it seems like more than a thousand years. I wonder if the others survived."
"At least two did, although they are currently beyond my reach. But only two of your brothers reunited with me after death, which means the rest must be somewhere in this world."
"At least some good news."
"So, do you want me to tell you what happened during the Great Plague?"
"Yes, and these children should probably hear it too."
"Alright, but first," Thanatos pointed at Asura, "let this little thief stop hiding."
"Aha, I've been noticed," a white shadow detached from Asura, and the snow in the room began to gather into the shape of a person. Within a couple of seconds, a beautiful woman in a white kimono appeared before us. "I knew I couldn't hide from you."
The girl sat down next to us by the campfire.
"Lady Shiva, how long have you been here?" Asura jumped up in surprise.
"How long? Since the moment we met in the crypt. I knew who you were going to fight, and I didn't want you to die like many from my clan during the plague. Only by personally following you could I protect you from the spider's mental attack. But I have limited power in this world, so I had to conserve it. I think I'll have to return to the crypt soon," the girl moved closer to the campfire and held her hands to it. "Aah, how warm. I haven't felt this good in a long time."
"Um," Asura looked at the ice spirit's hands with caution, "did you notice that you're starting to melt?"
Indeed, the snow that composed the spirit's body began to melt, shortening her arms, and it looked quite frightening.
"Oh, it's true," the girl hurriedly moved away from the flames, "but it's not often that the White Goddess manages to leave her slumber."
"And you..." Hilda tried to find the right words, "are the founder of the Yukitori clan? The legendary warrior who received power from the goddess Azura?"
"Well, you could say that, although I'm more of my own spirit. Though Azura's power made me immortal, I didn't find the spirit world hospitable enough for me, so I returned to the Sanctuary of the White Heart. Later, other spirits of powerful Yukitori warriors began to join me, and in the end, we created our own world centered around the magic of the Heart."
"So, you were also my ancestor?" Hilda raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Partly. But what Thanatos said is also true. The golden or white hair, as well as the blue and green eyes of the Nords, are more of a merit of necromancer magic. And by the way, you wield ice magic, but you still draw magical power from the world of the dead."
"But if that's the case, why isn't this mentioned in our history?" Hilda sadly lowered her gaze.
"It's simple," Thanatos spoke, "because necromancers were to blame at the beginning of the Great Plague, and that's why the Nords blamed them. Although necromancers were also responsible for healing."
"And why did they need it?"
"Just a slightly foolish human race. They tried to hold onto the slipping power, and thus, they created such a disease," Thanatos delved into memories. "In the first millennium after Rimmel's death, the world split into three countries ruled by the families of the most powerful mages. Nordrune was ruled by the Degarun clan. Degar himself died during the Second Dragon War, and his five children, great necromancers, divided the throne, making a pact with the spirits of the dead. They were decent rulers and even though they came up with this rigid class system, they solved all issues peacefully and for the benefit of their people. Diseases and plagues bypassed their state. The necromancers protected their cities from any monsters, and the country flourished, but it couldn't last forever. The necromancers were still human and always vied for the love of their subjects, striving to make their lives as good as possible. But after a millennium, it was time for the birth of a new summoner. And the first had to be a summoner from the world of the dead."
"And you chose Risa?" Rizel looked at the spirit with doubt. "Why did you choose her specifically?"
"Chose? It seems I misspoke. No one chose her; a girl with the summoner's gift was born, and as the most depleted of the worlds, the world of the dead had to take care of her," Thanatos's voice had a hint of mockery and surprise.
"Wait! What do you mean you didn't choose her? I've always believed that the summoner's gift is bestowed by the great spirits."
"Don't talk nonsense, young man. To bestow such a gift upon someone from the other side of the spirit portal, the spirits themselves must pass through them. So far, only demons have succeeded in this, and only the most powerful ones. But even their power in this world is only enough to maintain their physical form. The power of a summoner is born in this world independently of our influence."
"So, all summoners are descendants of Rimmel?" Katrina voiced her guess, "then that would explain everything."
"Impossible," Rumy shrugged, "he had no children, nor did his relatives. No one from his bloodline survived."
"Now I'm completely confused," I rubbed my nose, trying to gather my thoughts. There was something missing in this story, something that neither the spirits nor the dragons knew.
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