บท 2: Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Royal Court, Kingdom of Naxos, Continent: Barat, the Year 2041, Planet: Grimoire
After more than three hundred years of life on the Barat continent, Clarence Delarosa had enough of people fighting whatever. He no longer saw the reason for remaining within civilization. It sucked. Therefore, he cut loose from the nation he'd been tied to and disappeared one day.
The morning after the consistent refusal had dawned misty and cold. Clarence had looked outside a window, watched rain approaching from the Pacific Ocean, and welcomed the cooling fog that drifted into the room. It cooled his overheated skin.
A sigh escaped Clarence. Once again, he'd confirmed that fickle King wouldn't honor his promise. He'd broken an oath, as had the previous kings. Well, this was the last one Clarence was willing to tolerate. He no longer chose to keep any heavy reminder of his life in the palace. Clarence pointedly left behind the armor he'd once worn with pride. It had become tarnished with lost faith.
He took only the bare necessities for his journey. Anything else Clarence needed, he'd be able to conjure quickly enough. A sigh escaped him as he recalled meeting a creative and clever young lad at an oasis. "What was his name?" Clarence shook his head.
No matter that was the past. Now, Clarence needed to depart before anyone else knew what he meant to do.
He was dressed in a cloak that altered his appearance with a skill that would work on anyone susceptible to psychic suggestion. Clarence passed all the gatekeepers and went through a nearby teleport portal that would send him to a remote wilderness deep in the stretches of the mountain range that spanned the northernmost part of the western coast.
He'd found a paradise that suited his need for cold temperatures there. A faint smile curved his mouth when he exited the portal. Well, that's what he wanted any potential pursuers to think anyway. He went through four more portals until he found the abandoned ancient ruins of what had been a dragon-led city in lost times.
"Now I'm returning to a place I can fortify." He'd known about dragon enclaves set up in other mountain ranges. However, Clarence needed help to contact them. He was sure that the last known one had been completely destroyed. "A pity that happened." Clarence knew what had killed it. The greed of the Galos and Bellonia nations. Neither of them knew when to stop trying to conquer resistant lands.
"Well, that no longer concerns me anymore." Much to Clarence's relief, he could wash his hands of politics. Now, he could rest and putter about to his heart's content.
That had been a week ago. The sense of freedom Clarence had lost long ago finally returned to him. He stretched and grunted as all his joints popped. He also knew the freedom of transforming into a dragon at will without fear of being hunted.
With no family members alive, Clarence knew he would be forgotten within a decade of his departure from Naxos Kingdom. How did he know this? Clarence had seen it happen to other valorous knights, who'd also left in utter disgust.
Therefore, he had zero reason to believe that his departure would differ. He'd chosen a place to retire in one of the most inhospitable terrains within Barat. It was even in an area that no one in their right mind would approach without due caution. He'd put enough warning sigils to get rid of pursuers for at least a century.
*
This area was drenched in icy mist and frost-bitten trunks. There were no signs of life. Yet supposedly a disillusioned dragon resided somewhere in this misbegotten realm of dark, frozen, barren rocky range? Chester Jesso didn't believe it.
Nor could he believe that, with his rotten luck, he and his brother Firenze were stuck in the entourage of the crazy crown prince of Bellonia. Instead of heading into that kingdom or empire—Chester could never remember which it was—they were stuck in the middle of clearly dangerous territory.
Whoever and governed over this territory wanted no one to find him.
Firenze was beyond pissed. "So, this is what you wanted me here for?" His surly growl made Chester wince.
"No, it wasn't." Chester hissed back at his angry twin. "Not even I was expecting him to go off the deep end like this." If he had known, Chester would've never insisted that Firenze leave his bonded mate behind.
A sigh escaped Chester. What a disaster this was turning into. It didn't help that the crazy crown prince obsesses over that former dragon knight commander who'd just vanished without a trace.
"So, we're looking for a dragon knight?" Firenze was just trying to understand the situation.
"Yep, Clarence Delarosa." Chester confirmed. "He just up and poofed one day, and now our very distantly related cousin, the crown prince, has gone nuts."
Evidently, the crown prince sought to capture the prized dragon knight and turn him into a whipping boy or worse. Chester would've pitied the dragon knight, but honestly? He didn't care about the man. It was bad enough that they were dealing with a very crafty and old person. Then it struck him. "Isn't your mate a dragon?"
Firenze grunted in disgust. "Don't even go there." He muttered. "Not even he would be this blatant in putting out sigils that shout, 'Leave me alone.'"
Ah, that's right. Grifton Tinroy was more of the subtle, dangerous type who hid in the shadows.
A chill ran down his spine.
That's precisely what this one was doing, and watching them right now, too.
*
Well, that had been the plan. Clarence could tell that someone was snooping around his territory. He wasn't sure who or what would dare confront a dragon's stench. He didn't want to take drastic measures, but, if necessary, he would do so.
"First, I'd better find out who was snooping around." Once he had an idea of what he was up against, he devised a strategy to eliminate the individual.
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