Valkyrie's Shadow

Winter's Crown: Act 4, Chapter 18

Winter's Crown: Act 4, Chapter 18

Chapter 18

“Deeper?”

“Yes, deeper please, Lord Mare.”

“Um…how much deeper?”

“Until I can fly.”

“…”

“Oh…you’re amazing, my lord!” Ilyshn’ish exclaimed as Lord Mare moved his staff around, “It became so huge…”

The chasm widened, its depths growing deeper and deeper. Ilyshn’ish approached the edge, watching the cavern expand before her through Lord Mare’s magic. The powerful Dark Elf had a look of concentration on his face, the tip of his tongue pressing against his upper lip.

“Hmm…”

“Was there something you noticed?” Lord Mare asked.

“I would like to take a look around, my lord,” Ilyshn’ish answered. “May I assume my usual self?”

“Um, sure?”

Returning to her familiar and comfortable Draconic self, Ilyshn’ish started preening over her scales before she noticed Lord Mare staring up at her. She shifted her wings to settle them more comfortably over her back.

“Does my appearance displease you, my lord?”

“N-no, there’s nothing wrong…can other Dragons do that?”

“I have the vague sense that it should be possible to learn how,” Ilyshn’ish replied, “but no one else in the enclave is capable of doing so, my lord – nor have I read of any Dragons in the Dwarven texts displaying such a feat.”

“Why is that?” Lord Mare asked.

“Why?” Ilyshn’ish thought the answer obvious, “Because they have no good reason to, I suppose. It took me half a century to figure this out. Simply changing appearance is just a minor part of it: one must adapt themselves to each appearance’s ‘normal’ behaviour to blend in properly, as well. The barriers to entry and usefulness are quite high; not many Dragons would care enough to invest so much time and patience into appearing and acting as what they consider to be an inferior race. In my case, I learned because I decided it would be useful in my future journeys, yet I still prefer my Draconic self.”

“I see,” Lord Mare returned his attention to shaping the cavern. “We don’t see many Dragons around here, but there should be enough available territory to have plenty of them all over the place. I thought that maybe there’s actually a lot of Dragons around, but they’re all wandering around as something else. It’d be more convenient for many Dragons to gather when they’re Human-sized.”

“I’ve lived in the Azerlisia range all of my life,” Ilyshn’ish said, “so my knowledge of the lands beyond is limited to what I could learn from Dwarven records and a few findings I’ve made from the belongings of dead Frost Giants. Maybe in some nice, advanced, nation somewhere what you speak of might actually be the case, but it’s nowhere near here if what I’ve learned so far is true. Dragons are considered little more than threatening monsters by the people in these Human lands.”

“Still, it’s strange,” Lord Mare told her. “Dragons are really strong compared to almost everything else around this place. Big sis was really excited when we came here because she thought she could finally get a Dragon for herself, but, no matter where she looked, she couldn’t find one. There must be some explanation as to why they’re so rare – I can’t think of anything besides something just getting rid of them all recently…”

The undefined spectre of a threat so dire that it could wipe out the absent Dragon population drifted up from the depths of Ilyshn’ish’s mind. She shivered involuntarily, scales rippling in a wave over her entire length.

“Um…you’re scaring me, my lord.”

“Hm? Oh! Sorry…a-anyways, Lord Ainz gave her Hejinmal, so she’s pretty happy.”

“But…what about my brother?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“He’s a pet now, isn’t he?”

“Yes?”

“I’ve heard that His Majesty desires prosperity and happiness for his subjects,” Ilyshn’ish said, “but I don’t think any Dragon could be happy with Hejinmal’s arrangement.”

“Why?” Lord Mare tilted his head curiously, “Is there something wrong with having a pet? Big sis has a lot of them.”

“Having some pets wouldn’t be so ba–I mean, Hejinmal is basically a slave now, isn’t he? He has to do what Lady Aura wants, since he’s her belonging now.”

“Did he tell you that he was unhappy?”

“Not in as many words,” Ilyshn’ish said, “but he seems so unnaturally chipper now. Something must be wrong in his head.”

“Maybe he really is just happy?” Lord Mare suggested.

Ilyshn’ish’s sigh cast a frozen puff of air out over the ledge. Watching the crystals of frost drift down into the chasm, she struggled to comprehend Lord Mare’s words.

“We’re not some sort of domesticated animal,” Ilyshn’ish told him. “Not like those…those things that look like mutated wolves. I see them around the city and in the farms – sometimes people walk them around on leashes or style their fur in absurd ways. Gophers.”

“Dogs.”

Ilyshn’ish blinked twice and looked down at Lord Mare.

“A-are you sure about that?” She asked.

“I-I think so?” He answered, “Anyways, big sis takes good care of her pets – none of them look sad or lonely or anything like that. Plus you can get passive and active buffs from your master, depending on what classes they have.”

“I can?” Ilyshn’ish shook her head violently, “No, wait, I’m not interested – just curious…what are they like?”

“Hmm…in general, they’re benefits that allow you to help with whatever your master is doing. A Bard’s familiar might help with performances or do little things to help out in general, and they gain skills and abilities they never had before.”

“Bards can have pets? I didn’t know that…”

“They’re not very strong compared to the Bard,” Lord Mare told her. “A Bard about as strong as a Gold-rank Adventurer might have a songbird or something like that.”

Did that mean she could have a weak little Human as a pet? Was it allowed? The way Lord Mare put it, owning a pet didn’t count as slavery. Pam was nice and non-threatening – maybe they could arrive at a beneficial arrangement.

“If it’s a cavalry class,” Lord Mare continued, “their mounts gain bonuses that help them perform well in the type of combat that their rider engages in. This is especially important since most common mounts are a lot weaker than their rider, so if they don’t get those benefits, the mount can be charmed or just killed under them as they ride into combat.”

Nope. That sounded like pure lunacy. No creature would be so insane as to volunteer for this terminally stupid vocation.

“What about Lady Aura?”

“C-could it be that you still want to become her pet?”

“N-no, but she looks impossibly strong. How can someone like Hejinmal even help her?”

“Well, not every pet has to be the fighting kind,” Lord Mare told her. “Big sis has a bunch for that already anyways – she just wanted a flying pet. I guess if she wanted to, she might be able to train him up so he can fight better? Her buffs are really strong across the board, so even a weaker pet can become a threat.”

“I see,” Ilyshn’ish nodded in understanding. “So they trade their freedom for power…”

“It isn’t just about power,” Lord Mare corrected her. “A pet is a close companion, and a good master will give them a lot of love and care.”

“Love and care mean very little to my kind,” Ilyshn’ish told him. “Becoming more powerful is clearly the main benefit here.”

Lord Mare stopped what he was doing, looking up at her with his big, watery eyes.

“My lord?”

“I was just thinking that my own Dragons act pretty differently from you.”

Ilyshn’ish’s idly swishing tail stopped. She reviewed Lord Mare’s words several times before moving her head down closer to him.

“Y-you have pet Dragons?” She said in a low voice, “Are there any fine gentlemen, perchance? If so, perhaps you could introduce me…at great risk of sounding desperate, I’m getting desperately desperate these days.”

“Desperate?” Lord Mare tilted his head curiously.

"I, erm…how should I put it,” Ilyshn’ish said carefully. “I am currently in season, and Lady Shalltear will not let me leave to find a mate. All of the Dragons here are my brothers and half-brothers. I’m keeping myself together so far, but my mind and body are in a terrible mess…it’s getting really bad now, so I think my time is almost up. You understand my predicament, yes?”

Ilyshn’ish’s conversation with Lady Shalltear earlier in the day made her aware of how strangely she had been acting in the past weeks. Compared with the cool, calculating self of her memories, her life had become a tempest of emotions and impulses. Being conscious of her current irregular state helped, but doing something about it was still a monumental challenge.

“I-I don’t think it will work,” Lord Mare said in apologetic tones. “You’re not the same type of Dragon.”

“I-I see,” Ilyshn’ish sighed.

“Sorry.”

“It’s nothing you should need to apologize for, my lord,” Ilyshn’ish dipped her head. “As I mentioned, I’m in a bit of a mess right now. I’ll just have to wait for it to pass.”

“What happens if you don’t find a mate?”

“I don’t know,” Ilyshn’ish replied. “My mother never had any problem finding a mate. This is my first clutch – everything is new and frightening and weird. I don’t really like how I am right now…”

“Well, maybe we should focus on our work, then.”

“Yes, maybe we should,” Ilyshn’ish nodded. “Thank you, my lord.”

During their discussion, Lord Mare had continued to shape the stone, moving it around until he had opened an underground chasm roughly three kilometres long and five hundred metres wide. It was not deep, however, looking to be about three hundred metres to the bottom. Her brow furrowed at how shallow the space was.

“I went down until I found groundwater,” Lord Mare said. “Any deeper and it will just flood.”

“There aren’t any cave systems below the city?”

“Nothing like the one that connects the Dwarf Kingdom underground.”

“That’s a shame,” Ilyshn’ish said. “The Realm Below is quite expansive, but this city seems to have no connection to it.”

“The Realm Below?”

“Yes,” Ilyshn’ish replied. “I think I’ve also seen it occasionally mentioned as the Underdark. The cave networks that run under the Azerlisia Mountains are only a tiny part of a vast system that stretches under the entire continent. The Dwarves have explored a bit of it because of all the mining that they do – there’s a lot of nastiness down there.”

Lord Mare blinked slowly several times.

“M-maybe we shouldn’t let that nastiness in…” He said.

“M-maybe you’re right,” Ilyshn’ish quickly agreed. “Please forget I said anything, my lord.”

“Is this really going to be long enough?” Lord Mare looked out across the cavern, “Adventurers can move a lot faster than regular people.”

“Once we give it the appropriate weather…er, powerful Druids can change the weather, yes? I hope that book wasn’t some fanciful story…”

“Yes, I can…hmm, this cavern should be large enough to have its own weather…”

Lord Mare raised his staff.

“?Control Weather?.”

Several seconds passed before clouds started to visibly form over the chasm. A light drizzle started, filling the dusty air with the scent of rain.

“Mmh…it takes a bit to cool things down in here.”

“Yes, my lord,” Ilyshn’ish said, “We’re underground, after all.”

It inevitably did cool down, however, and the drizzle turned into a flurry. When fat snowflakes started drifting through the air, Ilyshn’ish hopped off of the ledge, taking wing to examine the cavern. The freezing winds whipping around her were a comfort after a morning filled with anxiety. She flew around lazily, through snowfall that would have reduced visibility to near nothing for any of the local inhabitants.

When ice started to cake on the walls of the cavern, she flew up and latched onto the sheer surface. It appeared that her ability to move about on icy surfaces as a spider would on walls and webs worked even if the terrain was magically created. She crept around, absorbing the layout of the entire area. At the bottom of the cavern, she found that groundwater had indeed flooded the entire floor, but it only went up to her ankles.

Taking wing again, she returned to the ledge overlooking the chasm. She folded her wings neatly over her back and rested beside Lord Mare. Her tail idly went back and forth again behind them.

“You didn’t have trouble flying through all that?” Lord Mare asked, “There are supporting structures in the way as well, so I thought you might crash.”

“Feoh Berkana has huge support pillars that span between the ceiling and the floor,” Ilyshn’ish answered. “They’re all over the city, so I’m used to navigating something like this. As for the weather you’ve created, fierce squalls and blizzards are ideal hunting weather for Frost Dragons. We have no issues flying through what others might consider impassable conditions, and those same conditions are severely debilitating to our prey, making it all the easier for us to overwhelm them.”

“That’s pretty cool…does that mean that Frost Dragons can transport cargo through any kind of weather? I think Shalltear had you deliver something to the Adventurer expedition camp southwest of here last week.”

“If it’s just violent winds and heavy snow or rain – even hail – it shouldn’t matter to any of us. Being struck by lightning would be terrible, but we can just fly above that…”

Her brows slowly started to furrow as a shard of her memory threatened to pop the fragile bubble of her composure.

“…what did you say about Lady Shalltear sending me to do something, my lord?”

“Um…I asked if Shalltear could deliver something from the city to the Adventurer expedition camp, so I think she sent you?”

“They’re…they’re as bad as I thought…” Her voice sunk into a moan.

“Huh?”

“A-and Lady Shalltear – why did she do that!?” The moan became hysterical, “I was so scared; I even told her I didn’t want to go near any Adventurers, but she sent me straight to them right after I said so!”

“C-come to think of it, she did say something like that…”

“Something like what?”

“That you were super scared of Adventurers for some reason, so she sent you out there to see if you had some sort of violent allergy to them.”

“Does being hit by a sword count as a violent allergy?”

“I-I don’t think I’ve heard of an allergy like that before…someone hit you with a sword?”

“Yes! I walked up to drop everything off and a Human screamed really loudly and hit me on the nose! They didn’t even seem to care that it happened – it was like some sort of joke to them…they’re uncivilized brutes, truly.”

“I don’t think they’re trained to randomly attack new people they meet, never mind our own Frost Dragons…I’ll have to do something about that.”

“Please do, my lord,” Ilyshn’ish said. “My life has been harrowing enough as it is.”

For a long while, they watched the snowfall together in silence, and Ilyshn’ish basked in the peaceful sensation after she recovered from her unwelcome realization. As she gazed down to the chasm floor below, she was reminded of what she had observed there.

“Lord Mare,” Ilyshn’ish asked, “would it be possible to make the bottom a bit deeper?”

“I can, but why?”

“To have something like a river,” she replied, “or a small lake. There are species in the Azerlisia Mountains that may dwell underwater. Also, this is a survival exercise, so it is another feature that should be present. I assume that these Adventurers will favour valleys with more hospitable conditions for their kind as they explore, so having bodies of water nearby will be a common occurrence.”

Lord Mare hopped off of the ledge, and Ilyshn’ish followed after him. The Dark Elf slowed down to float over the water at the bottom. He flew back and forth a few times, looking this way and that.

“A river running all the way through might take up too much space,” he said after Ilyshn’ish settled into the water beside him. “How about something like this?”

He flew off, adjusting the terrain as he went. The cavern floor became a slope, with lengths along the lowest portions filled with water. Several small lakes were formed, with the largest of them in the centre of the cavern. Ilyshn’ish slowly scanned the surroundings, imaging the wintry scene that could be portrayed with the right elements in place.

“I believe it will be suitably convincing once all of the details are added, my lord,” Ilyshn’ish said. “If the cavern ceiling is obscured by this weather, people of races not adapted to frozen climes will not be able to see through to it.

“Alright,” Lord Mare replied. “What about plants and terrain features?”

“It should be conifers – fir, spruce and pine of various types – hearty shrubs and grasses, mainly. Lower elevations will see a broader selection, obviously. Also, I understand that we’ve just begun, but the terrain should also look more natural – rougher ground with stone and loose soil. Maybe some shallow caves where animals and small tribes shelter, too.”

“Do you think a cave with a Dragon in it might work, too?”

“A cave with a Dragon…wait, by Dragon you don’t mean me, do you?”

“Your place is being renovated, isn’t it?”

Ilyshn’ish blinked away the tears that suddenly started to well up in her eyes. Lord Mare was truly a good and dependable person.

“…that’s very considerate of you, my lord,” she sniffed. “I will take you up on your kind offer.”