The Dream Bison

On the wallwalk of the city wall that was behind where the emperor used to stand, a soldier watched him disappear and was awestruck. Two other soldiers were with the awestruck soldier. Their countenance was neutral, and they noticed the awe on the dazed soldier's face.

One of the other two asked the dazed soldier, "Why the look, Timmy?"

"Don't tell me you didn't see that," Timmy, the awestruck soldier, said.

"What? The emperor vanishing?" the previous soldier asked.

"Yes!" Timothy said. He was disappointed by their reaction. "He freaking disappeared. I thought there were no mages in Camelot."

The second soldier joined the conversation, saying, "The emperor is not a mage, dummy. He is the legendary red dragon."

Timmy gasped and said, "The red dragon is real. So the stories about the red dragon and the royal family aren't myths."

The other two soldiers felt exasperated by Timmy's ignorance, but they controlled themselves.

"You witnessed the truth tonight," the first soldier said. "Lucky you."

The soldiers continued their watch duty in silence. Timmy had a broad smile on his face; he now had a story to tell his friends when he meets them, which will be a while after his shift ends.

City territories within Mainland Camelot were marked out by high walls of 120 metres. Guards on all the walls within Mainland Camelot wore brown chainmail armour from torso to toe. A helmet accompanied this armour; the upper one-third that covered the top of the head and forehead was made of solid metal, while the lower two-thirds were chainmail.

Earlier, back on the battlefield, the emperor made the Barbax soldiers use tough sticks to construct a big bowl-shaped vessel that would accommodate the corpses of the fallen Camelot soldiers. He also made them load the Camelot corpses into the vessel. The openings on the vessel were entirely closed using hide.

Due to the flow and aftermath of the battle, the Camelot soldiers were tired and could barely stand for another battle, so he (the emperor) had to march them home to ensure their safety.

Returning to normal time, which is an hour after midnight, the emperor delivered the vessel of corpses to the census board in Stoßzahn city. The census board knew how to go about identifying the corpses and the families they came from.

Emperor Gerald departed from Mainland Camelot through the western gate on feet. It left some soldiers on the western wall confused, but they didn't dare stop or question their lord.

Enveloped by the darkness of a moonless night, the emperor ascended into the sky as the Red dragon after being struck by a bolt of red lightning on the ground. In midair, he changed course and travelled north.

The northern walls of Mainland Camelot were neighbours to the Blauer Sand Ocean. Hence, the cities behind the northern walls were hubs of foreign trade. The Red dragon flew past the seaports, gazing down to spot activity, but he didn't see anything apart from the guards standing on the walls for night watch. The seaports were closed for business by 8:00 p.m.

****

The Red Dragon descended on a richly vegetated island that was more than two hundred kilometres off the northern walls of Mainland Camelot. Apart from the noise of crickets and cicadas, the island was quiet. The place gave off the eerie vibe of not being occupied by any creature, but Emperor Gerald, who just shape-shifted to his normal human form, wasn't bothered. He walked towards an aperture on a 20-metre-tall rock. The rock was less than 30 metres long. The aperture began from the ground and could barely accommodate his figure, but he comfortably walked into it. It was the entrance to a dark tunnel that went below the ground. The ground of the tunnel was smooth, as if man-made.

Emperor Gerald had his right hand raised at chest level, and he conjured a ball of fire in this hand to light up the path. The path he traversed was positioned on an incline. He walked into a very big cabin that was way above 70 metres in height. In the cabin, there were stalactite-like crystals strewn over the ceiling. These crystals provided light to the cabin, which was powered by the innate mana stored in them and glowed white.

At a corner of the cabin lay a black mass. The black mass turned on its side a bit to reveal a pair of hooves under it.

"How are you doing, my friend?" Emperor Gerald asked in a friendly tone.

The black mass bellowed and revealed its head: a rhinoceros that had the horns of a bison protruding from the sides of its head. The beast bellowed three times, showing it was annoyed by the human's visit.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you in your sleep," Emperor Gerald apologised sincerely. But I came to ask a favour of you. You see my mana level...

The beast didn't let him finish. It bellowed deeply while shaking its head in exasperation.

Emperor Gerald said, "I see that you are picking up quickly on human reactions."

The beast glared at him, and he stepped back apologetically.

The beast straightened up, revealing it had the body of a Cape buffalo. The beast was enormous compared to a buffalo. It was 17 metres long and 5.0 metres tall. In the presence of Emperor Gerald, it looked intimidating.

Sometime ago, the emperor was lucky to come across a scroll that identified the beast before him. According to the scroll, this hybrid creature's name was the Dream Bison. It was classified under the classes of beasts known as Great Earth Beasts that existed in the prehistoric time of this world. The Red dragon that Emperor Gerald transforms into was also classified in this class. Strangely, the scroll suggests that all Great Earth beasts have been wiped out of existence. Emperor Gerald recalled this information, and he shook his head, murmuring to himself, "Luck is the key to long life."

He walked to the Dream Bison who lay back on the ground on its belly. He checked that his sword was still in the scabbard hanging on his back. Then he placed both hands on the trunk of the beast and closed his eyes. The bison also closed its eyes.

Soon, Emperor Gerald felt that the world around him was falling apart; the air seemed to be breaking off his skin and stealing his breath, and the ground seemed to have imploded, but he didn't fall into the unknown. The reality was that the bison had shimmered into another reality, but only Emperor Gerald's essence had transmigrated. His body was still in the cabin, and his hands were placed in thin air.