Chapter 16

// Warning! This chapter contains mentions of sexual assault and abuse. Read at your own will.//

As Tai and Hide made their way through the sandy plains, Hide couldn't help but feel remorse. He had abandoned his friends for someone he barely knew. Of course, he was going to feel awful, but what was he to do about it? Beg for forgiveness when he basically just told them to fuck off?

As someone of his status, it would be difficult at least. Terrible at best. He had a power he had no knowledge of, let alone a clue of controlling. He had used it a few times before, but they were usually on accident, or on a whim. He had to focus on a color, and never stray from it, at all. No other thoughts could cloud his mind before something would happen. Or at least, that's what Hide thought.

Hide heard their wingbeats fill the air around him. He kept his gaze on the plains below him.

"Hey, I believe the elemental temple is an old castle, that had serpent magic overflowing from dragons that had the touch. It should be a few miles inwards, if we keep on the path, we're on now." Tai said, nudging Hide with her tail.

"Serpent magic? What the hell is that?" Hide asked.

"Seriously? Your kingdom is terrible with knowledge. And that's saying a lot." Tai remarked.

Hide nodded. If he were thinking clearly, the Moon Kingdom's library was never truly full. It had maybe fifteen scrolls in it, filled with useless curses and enchantments. Only a select few were used for his education, and they were thousands of years old. Meaning the information never got updated. New versions of the scrolls had never even reached the Moon Kingdom's speech waves, let alone getting copies. Even though the kingdom had endless trade routes to new kingdoms, which had endless knowledge, it was still lacking even scrolls that were updated hundreds of years after the original was written. It was odd, to say the least. The royal library was no less. There were only seven scrolls that Hide could never read. They were forbidden to be read until he reached five years of age. He always thought they had to do with war and the thousands of dragons who had died to claim the land he had grown up in.

As Hide's mind clouded him with endless questions and memory, Tai caught him off guard.

"Hello? You gonna listen, or just think the whole flight?" She asked.

Hide shook his head and looked at Tai.

"Continue?" Hide said, confused.

"I'll start from the beginning since you weren't paying attention." She said, a cocky smirk on her face.

"As I was beginning, Ahem... Serpent powers and seals were discovered millions of years ago, as our ancestors were beginning to find out clans, and kingdoms. Serpent magic was introduced in the Pineforests, and Rainforests, as they were beginning to make a clan out of themselves. They had powers like adaptations. Powers that helped them survive until today.

They mainly revolve around physical changes, but some places have village changes and territory changes. Serpent magic has also taken some form in dragons across all of Solia. Most, if not, all dragons in a kingdom may go centuries without seeing Serpent magic in action. It resonated in the rainforest, by a dragon named Kinkijou. She was the first dragon in Solia to spread her magic all across the nation and mate with others. Once the Pineforests found out about her magic, they made a deal with her, to live with them, in exchange for peace between them. She took the deal, but the Pineforest dragons forcibly bred with her, exchanging her, once they found out her offspring kept the power she had.

They traded her all across the nation, being beaten and raped as dragons needed her power for themselves. She died once she reached the Kingdom of Night, and bred one last time, before dying while giving birth. Her offspring in the Night Kingdom were making new children, and it kept going until you were born. I suppose you got Lady Kinkijou's power, just like me." She said.

Hide's eyes widened at the newfound information. Tai was a dragon with Serpent powers, but so was he. He was a descendant of this female from a Rainforest, trying her best to keep the peace between the clans.

"Any more information?" He asked.

"Well, I have some information on the temple." Tai offered.

Hide nodded.

"Well, the temple held the Serpent seal kept around the grounds as a mist. The seal kept the Kingdom or Clan hidden from anyone who actively searched for them. They had the body of Lady Kinkijou turned to stone and preserved in statue form. The temple had her facing the sun, as more of a power-movement. Showing how much effect she had on the world, and for the other kingdoms, and for her own clan. I even got the pleasure to see it when I was a week old.

When the seal was broken by the Kingdom of Fire, the statue's ruby eyes glowed with fury. The entire palace began crumbling around us, under the sheer weight of power under it. The grounds rose, and the temple now sits on an elevated ground, made by the spirit of Lady Kinkijou. The power she had still persisted after death, and the power she could use in that form overreached the barrier and killed any dragon who dared stay in there. If I remember correctly, she took out hundreds of thousands of dragons and dragonets, who happened to be sleeping at the time and couldn't wake up in time, pack, and escape. Their bodies must still be there today, frozen in time as they died tragically. When we're there, we have to make sure to never cross paths with the statue or make a single loud sound." Tai explained, terror lacing her voice.

Hide was so excited to see this woman. Her tragic past made him intrigued. He'd never heard of a dragon with any sorted past like hers, and it made him excited. He couldn't wait to see her and finally know who he was. Who he was made from. Why he had these powers?