( 2 out of 2 chapters this week)
After checking the carved drawing on the wall in one of the caves, the pair walked deeper into the cavern.
For this trip, Raynor prepared a specific compass that looked for eggs. For this, he carved tribal markings on a wooden plate and then dropped a dragon scale from Verrmax on top of it.
It was the same style of compass he used to find the secret room in Storm's End.
"Heh, it's working."
"What is that? I sensed a surge of nature magic." Sera turned around and looked at him.
"I used carving symbolism magic on wood I acquired, then I used tribal style carving to make it hold a meaning. To finish it, I placed Verrmax, my dragon's scale, to show the direction of fossilised dragon eggs." He explained to her as he looked around to find a specific direction.
"'Come, follow me. Let's explore!"
He motioned her to follow as they proceeded to walk deeper into the cave system of this place.
After passing some sharp obsidian points and reaching a more open area, one must fly up to continue the exploration. The Leviathan helped him to fly up there as they continued to delve deeper into the cave.
Eventually, they reached a point where the tunnel branches out, or more like connected with other tunnels.
They continued to walk until the pair realised that they were pretty high on the volcano, and the heat had significantly increased as they got closer to the magma itself.
"Unless they had dragons, no one here had explored. Assuming the Dragon Lords have mounted a proper expedition to explore the caverns."
Serafall said as she cleaned up some sweat from her forehead.
"You wish. The Targaryens are too arrogant to do such a thing. That bunch left this island for their children to rule. As if some small management task for future Kingship. But they didn't even do that. It was a symbolic title. Even if they did, they stayed in the castle and played lords."
Raynor said with a slight grin as he started to dig up something with his hands.
Moments later, he was holding an orange egg.
"Oh…so that's how it looks…" As she said that, he handed the egg to her.
"... It's still warm…but feels like a rock…" She said that after inspecting the egg.
"Because life inside of it is dead, but magic is still there. We must sacrifice a life to give life back to this egg."
"I see more symbolism…this place is full of these." She said that with a nod before handing the egg to him
Raynor stored it in the inventory.
He then picked up the compass and restarted another search.
"Well, well…we have a clutch of eggs." He happily said that while looking at the compass.
The Wolf King, with a grin, walked a few steps forward and started to dig once again.
This time, he got a brown, dark chocolate-coloured egg.
He stored it in inventory before digging the area not far from there as the compass pointed there.
He found a light blue egg.
"...Wow…this one is pretty…"
"Hmm, this reminds me, do you want a Dragon of your own?"
"...Huh?"
"The rebirth ritual is quite simple. It will remould your body. I can add some Beast taming traits, and you can have a dragon."
"...You would do that?"
"Of course. Why shouldn't I do it? One dragon, for me, is enough. These eggs have to go somewhere." He said it quite plainly.
At that moment, Serafall had a throb in her gut. This guy— is so weird.
"I guess…having one sounds fun! How many other people have dragons of their own?" She pumped her hand into the air. She will be the first Satan to have a dragon of her own!
She is pretty sure Sirzechs would get jealous of her having a dragon mount!
"Besides, if we add your blood into the mix, the dragon could potentially be Demonic by nature and wield ice just like you. Via Beast taming, you could link with it to get a boost in strength. As you already noticed, they are like furnaces which make more and more magic."
*Gulp*
The Leviathan gulped down; she started to imagine all that stuff as she listened to him explain the benefits of such a mount!
"They get even more powerful with age. The one used by Aegon the Conqueror, that beast was at least two hundred years old when the invasion happened. The thing was so massive it could cast a shadow on the whole city.
And they had such a creature without proper linkage only through that blood bonding. If you have the possessive magic called Skinchanger, you can link with the dragon at the consciousness level. The best part is that I think one could teach the beast to wield that furnace properly they have inside of them.
Like transforming into pure magic-like beings."
*GULP*
"... it's like dragons from our world… only that these would be like mounts, unlike the egocentric beings in our world!
That's great! I am on board with this!"
"Glad to hear. Now, let's continue gathering the eggs."
He stored the light blue egg in his inventory before looking for more.
"...Wow, this one looks quite nice as well!"
Serafall said that as he saw him pull out a white, almost platinum-like egg.
"Yeah, maybe I should hatch this one for myself as well. Having black and white dragons." He said that with a joking tone.
After storing the white one, there was no more around in this area.
They proceeded to look for another clutch.
"Before the Dance of Dragons, the event which killed the last dragons off, six untamed dragons lived in this area. One of them was known as Cannibal. It was quite a large one; then there was Sheepsteller and, I think, another Grey Ghost."
"The names are quite explanatory." He added this as they proceeded to walk. Eventually, they reached an edge and saw Dragonstone Island stretching before them.
"A dragon which feeds on other dragons. Another one that feeds on sheep and a ghost-like dragon?"
"Yep. If my sources are correct, we could find a Grey Ghost nest on the East side of Dragonmont."
He looked around to see where the sun was.
"...Hmm…I will need you to carry me to the other side of the volcano. People here said that Grey Ghost was nesting close by."
"...Alright…"
~~~
As the pair landed in another high cavern, hot air slammed into their faces.
Serafall frowned briefly before releasing some cold air to counter the heat.
"...we struck gold. The compass is going crazy here."
"Great. Let's see what colours we get~" The Leviathan almost giddily said that to him as she wondered what colours they would find!
Raynor nodded before walking deeper into the cave and started to dig into the soft and warm ground.
The first egg he found was pale yellow. It looked like dull gold. It's not as beautiful as the Sunfyre was supposed to have been.
'I wonder if I could find Sunfyre if I get into the Dance of Dragons era. According to the source material, Aegon the Second claimed the dragon instead of hatching himself.'
The Wolf King thought about it before storing the egg. He then proceeds to dig next to where the previous egg was. What he found next was a Crimson egg. It looked like someone made it from blood!
"...Ohhh…Sir-Chen would love to get this egg~" Serafall giggled, seeing this egg.
"Well, he would need to pay quite a bit if he wants a dragon egg from me."
He said with an eye roll before storing the dragon egg. Then, Continue to dig.
The third egg in this best was metal colour, which looked like aluminium.
"...Not bad, looks like a steel-type Pokemon egg," Raynor said jokingly.
"...I agree. I didn't know you play Pokemon." Serafall was impressed to hear that he plays something like Pokemon!
"One of the best games for raising and collecting beasts. Maybe that's why I got Shaman powers." He said with a shrug before storing the egg.
He then got up on his feet and looked around for more. The compass pointed out another clutch of eggs in this cave.
"Grey Ghost wasn't a young dragon. He could have lived for a hundred or so years. Their laying egg patterns are something the Meisters have not understood yet." He said that as he was wondering how they lay their eggs, is it from a saturation of magic? Or is it a mental state?
"...So it can be random."
"IT is random. Over a hundred years, Grey Ghost could have laid hundreds of eggs depending if it had a season like other animals."
"...I guess? But it's a beast created through blood magic."
"Yes. That's the point. We have no idea." He shrugged as he walked to the next clutch.
"The thing was that they are linked to magic at a natural level, like furnaces of magic. The Dance of Dragons was a brutal conflict where Targaryens used Dragons as nuclear weapons.
They were throwing them at each other without care in the world. They died because of man's stupidity. Only a single dragon left from the previous fifteen or sixteen? I don't know the exact number.
The thing is, there was a natural change; it was as if the dragons didn't want to be born anymore. The last one born was deformed and without wings. It bit a girl's finger off before the guards killed it off."
Raynor explained to her, as he was digging through the ground, that Serafall was listening closely and trying to understand this phenomenon.
"...I see. It's possible symbolism as well. Maybe even magic is working against them." The current Leviathan pondered.
"A possibility. The dragons may have a link through magic, and the newborn felt what happened to their parents. If they were to be born, they would die."
Her eyes widened for a bit. That made more sense.
"That's a possibility!"
"Indeed. I can see the future; I'm sure dragons can also; those beasts are living magic furnaces." He shrugged at her.
"...You can see the future; that's an impressive ability!" She exclaimed with some awe.
"I guess. But the feeling is a shit. Imagine someone hooks you by your neck, yanks you out of your body, and throws you into a network of branches of timelines.
While it helped me to dominate the war, it's a disturbing feeling."
She grimaced upon hearing that. While she can't imagine the feeling, it feels disturbing.
A few seconds later, he pulled out another dragon egg.
The egg was bland yellow, like an autumn leaf ready to fall off a tree. It wasn't as pretty as the pale yellow one he found before.
"Meh, let's see the next one."
The next one was milky pink; Serafall looked at this egg with a loud 'oh!'
"Gorgeous!"
"Hnn, yeah. I guess it would fit with the Magic girl thing you have."
"It's not a 'thing'! It's a lifestyle!" She sagely said that while raising her finger.
"...I guess. I mean, you are a devil who was around for a couple hundred years. You eventually end up with a strange hobby." He casually commented as he stored the milky pink egg.
"Gahhh!!! Don't say that to a girl!" Serafall stomped her leg when she said that. She started to puff her cheeks.
"Only telling the truth." He ignored her outburst; then, he pulled another egg.
"Hmm." Serafall saw the egg and tried to forget that 'dig' she received from him.
"This is bronze; it reminds me of Bronze Fury, the mount of Jaehaerys—the last proper King of Westeros."
"The tone of your voice doesn't say much about it." The current Leviathan could sense his indifference.
"It's amusing in a sense. That guy had like ten kids, and only a few survived. Some of his choices were petty, and well, it was more like a clash between Valyrian culture and Westerosi."
"You do know I have no idea what you are saying." Serafall sighed.
"Right…" He rolled his eyes at her.
"Think this way. A Knight society ruled by a descendant from a sorcerer society. You can feel the clash of values and principles."
Raynor shrugged as he placed the bronze egg into the inventory.
"I see. At least that explains something to me."
"Yeah… I think there is one more here…" Feeling the dirt around himself, the Shaman made the earth rise and reveal a pale green egg.
"Oh, not bad, green is Ajuka's colour. He wouldn't mind having a dragon." Serafall commented from the side with crossed arms.
She didn't hear any sort of comments on that front. Raynor knows well enough that the Satan he made into his summon is trying to use him to strengthen the Devil Kind.
Instead, he pulled out the compass to look for more eggs.
"Hmm…"
"It's spinning around."
"Yeah, this means we are out of eggs," Raynor explained to her as he pondered if he could find more.
'Summerhall, and Valyria itself. I could find something there as well. That crazy nut from Iron Islands got a horn and a plate armour of Valyrian Steel.
There should be some eggs there as well. They used to have stables and hatcheries from the memories I saw.'
"Pity… I was starting to enjoy this game of looking for dragon eggs." Serafall sounded disappointed that this was it.
"Don't worry, we will be going to a place so potent with dark magic that magical parasitic worms could infect our bodies. We will seek lost knowledge, dragon eggs and magical artefacts." He said with a bright smile, making her gulp nervously.
"...you know…I have no idea how my demonic energy interacts with this world's magic! I mean, you beat me easily!" The girl exclaimed with panic.
"Yeah, Yeah, if you haven't realised in that fight, I, on purpose, explained how my magic worked; I distracted you so that I could place my blood magic on you." He shrugged at her.
"Otherwise, I would be dead. The power disparity between us is so high that I kill you, or you kill me. Thankfully, I had a plan B, which was blood magic." He said that while storing his compass away in his inventory.
"...Do you even know how crazy that is? That's a gamble with your life." Serafall was shocked, but then again, at that time, she was crazy with the urge to protect Sona from a dark mage wannabe.
Turns out, in that fight, she could have died as well. As crazy as it was, she felt a cold chill wash over her.
"You say that to me? Do you realise that this was like in Pokemon Gold And Silver? I am minding my business, and a wild Suicune attacks me? I have no pokeballs and no Pokemon with moves which inflict status ailments.
And guess what? I can't run away." He explained in 'basic' terms.
"GAHHH!? Now you are treating me like a Pokemon!?" Her cheeks inflated, but then she calmed down.
"At least you are treating me like a Legendary. That's— acceptable." She looked away with crossed arms.
"Yeah, anyway, let's get out of here. I am starting to sweat."
"...You don't say you are still wearing your hunting gear." She pointed out the madness of Raynor; the guy is wearing furs in a volcano! How he didn't melt away?
"Enchanted gear. If the enchantment fails, I simply empower my clothes with souls."
"...*Gulp*..."
Serafall didn't comment on the fact that he is using human souls for such a mundane thing!
~~~
Raynor waited for the ladies to finish their study session with Sona and her 'Queen'. The Hunter doesn't get much in what she is teaching. He trusts that the girl is doing her best since she wants to be the principal of a school dedicated to an essential aspect of Devil society.
Once everyone finished their food, the Shaman took them to the painted room. The room holds a massive table in the shape of Westeros. It was a map and a table.
"...So what did you do today?" Sona asked him; she looked at smug-looking Serafall. The first thing which came to her mind was if he lewd her sister the whole time!?
"We went Dragon Egg hunting."
"""!!!"""
The whole group looked at him with wide eyes.
"...you found more…eggs?" Daenerys asked with a gulp.
"Yep. Not just one or two, Ray found a bunch!" Serafall did a victory sign with two fingers.
"Yeah, I found a bunch of clutches of eggs that turned to stone." As he said that, he started to pull them out of his inventory.
One, two, four, eight, and then ten dragon eggs; on top of that, he pulled out the chest and opened it.
Inside of it were two more dragon eggs. It had a cream-coloured and green eggs.
In total, twelve dragon eggs.
That's enough to have a very dangerous 'army'.
"...If you have this many…" Daenerys looked around at a large selection of dragon eggs; there was some hope she might have an egg of hers!
"You want one?"
"...Yes."
"Good, then I will give you a dragon—" her happiness surged, but she heard the other half of the sentence." If I see progress."
"...Progress?"
"That's right. Dragon is not a pet; it's a flying mass of destruction. I won't allow you to use this mass of power if you don't know the consequences of it.
Your ancestors are the best example of it. They never worked for it; they were given that power as a birthright. At the very least, I want you to work your way for that power. Maybe that way, it won't get into your head, and you won't end up as Rhaenyra."
"...How did she end up?" Serafall asked him curiously.
"Few toes and a leg," Raynor revealed with an eye roll.
~~~
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