Meeting the Ten Imperial Dragons

Things have settled after I finished demonstrating how the barrier functioned, and with that I came to the surprise of being brought to a secluded place.

I find myself settling in a guest room inside the palace of the Empire. where here, I was being watched over by a maid who seems to be guarding me outside the room. Her outfit seemed to resemble that of a typical Victorian design which has those frilly black and white look.

I could only ever see those types of clothes back in some paintings and some museums displaying the olden times of dress codes. Either way, I've been all over the world in my past life…I've experienced a lot of things with the way I've lived my life as a thief…a well-experienced thief. I get around in life with how much I've been through and learned. So with the fact that I've been given another chance, I'll try to learn as much about this world in my own eyes…the same way I did it back on earth, but this time, I'll simply do it in an honest more moral way.

Right now, I was just laying by the bed, resting from my trip. Josy on the other hand is by the table, polishing the sword and making sure that it was at its best condition. Seeing as how he's with me still, it seems that he really wants me to go with him when we decide on finally visiting the Percival house.

"So, what do you think we should do while were here?" I asked.

"...Hmm, it seems like you'll be travelling back to Desvey town by tomorrow, seeing as how they have to prepare the things you need in your travels to the Bioma." he said.

"...How big do you think is the number of people joining me?" I asked.

"Are you wondering about the division? Hmm, I can say that with how its top priority to bring back the princess, I'd say that they would only send the best of men…I'm guessing that they would probably send the Imperial Dragons with you as the main force."

"Imperial Dragons?"

"They are a talented group of sorts under the Dragon Empire. Blessed by the recognition of the Emperor, the Imperial Dragons are knights known for their capabilities to be among the top ten most powerful warriors." he said.

"So how strong are they?" I asked, wondered by their very gallant titles.

"Rumors say that one Imperial Dragon can easily take down a hundred men with his arm tied behind his back. Another speculates that one Imperial Dragon is capable of firing an arrow that is drawn back to even reaching the moon. Each of their strength would match that of a divine beast and their skills could simply have the capacity to fill the talent that is in the numbers of the current army."

'That sounds like a myth if anything else…someone like Hercules or Artemis…." I thought as I continued to look to the ceiling.

"Sounds pretty over the top to me." I said as I looked to him with doubt on my face.

"Hmm, I too think so. But nonetheless, these people known as the Imperial Dragons are talented men and women."

"...Oh, that sounds rough, but its quite reasonable enough."

"It is…oh, and I do know a certain fellow that is a part of the Imperial dragons. He lives at Desvey if I know this right."

"What's his name?" I asked.

"I think he was called Tofan, the Silent."

"Ah him…I know him. He works for Marquess Toral right? He's quite a very hairy and large-build man. But why is he called that way? Why doesn't he have a last name? Why call him the silent?"

"Because he was an Orphan. Some people called him Tofan the silent because he rarely ever speaks to anyone. But when he was just a child, he was known for his strength through out the town. I heard that he has the strength to pull on trees from their roots and now that he's a man, I can only ever wonder how strong he is. Lord Toral came of interest in him and gave him a home, a position…a chance to be a knight." he said.

"...he seems like he's quite a man."

"Either way, there are ten Imperial Dragons…ten possible people to come along your journey across the Bioma. Are you nervous?" he asked.

"Hmm, not really, I mean I've been through the Flat Bioma myself, its not really that scary in the day. Seeing as how my job is only to deliver them, its not really my place to worry what happens during the mission, what matters is what happens after they've successfully taken the princess back."

"Is that so? Then tell me, why did you accept such a request from the emperor?"

When he stop his hands from his polishing, he turned his head to me…leaning as if curious by my matter of choice.

"Well, there's a lot to consider when you ask me that question. First off is the fact that the one who made the request was the emperor himself. No matter what I do, the fact that he himself spoke to me in request, meant that I had no choice since the beginning. If I denied his request, I might gain a bad reputation in this kingdom. Second is the morality of the plea. As a king, you have every obligation to take action in bringing back one of the symbols that a Empire has to stand with itself. That is what a princess represents, she brings hopes in her simple figure…but as a father, he might have thought of offering his life for the sake of his daughter…but knowing the position of him being a king, he has no choice to simply offer his life because of his own value. The empire wont accept him as a sacrifice…"

"...As a man, I can understand why…" he said.

"As a man, you simply have to stand your ground and walk your path for the ones you love…the king walked ….and he talked to me with the intention of having to even plea that I do this request…I have to respect him for that at least. A father does what a father can, is what the saying goes."

"Is there a third reason?" he asked.

"The third reason is but simply an offer of opportunity. By having to accept the job that only I can do meant that my value as a person is simply higher…and since I've requested that I may have a wish to be granted by the emperor himself, in any possible form by his power, its pretty cool to think of the possibility of what I can gain with this so called wish."

"Hmm, that's very true."

As we talked in the room, all of a sudden, a knock came to the door.

*Knock**Knock**Knock*

"Hmm? Who is it?" I asked.

"I'm here to deliver a message from Marquess Toral. He is waiting by the Holy-Stonetable in request to discuss the matter of the operation."

"Ah, yeah we'll be right out."

"It is important that you are to come alone."

"What?" I asked, seeing as how I wanted Josy to come with me to this so called Holy Stonetable.

"...It's fine. The details about this mission is secret to those who are not a part of it. So I'll be waiting by the entrance gate once you are finished. Because after this, we'll be going to meet the Percival house to present the magic sword. He said as he turns back to polishing his sword.

"O-okay, just wait for me then. It probably wont take long."

"Goodluck."

Before I left, I had to bring with me the sword handle that I was supposed to sell for 15 gold. Hiding it in my shirt, I then walked out of the room.

As I exited the guest room, I was greeted by the maid who was facing me with her calm and elegant figure.

"...please follow me Mr. Shay." and with that, she turns around and walked to this so-called Holy-Stonetable place.

As I walked with her, I came across the view of the Botanical garden outside the palace. It made me think of what the possible plants were in this place for me to use in my garden. From crops to even some plants that might have some other benefits that I could use.

"...Say, what's the staple food that commoners eat in this empire?" I asked, seeing if they had the chance to say something like bread or rice meals for me to take account the situation of their agriculture. Because if she were to say something like rice, then I can lean in to a more Asian type of plantation back in my forest, or if she talks about wheat, then I can make do with bread and other types of food.

Either way, I have to figure out the food choices that this world brings me. The only thing I know is that they have this bread like figure that comes from a wheat-type substance called Barly Dust. Other than that, they have meats and other choices.

I also have to investigate about the vegetation and such. Like corn or any other type of vegetable.

Coming into this world really pulls me into a new path of cuisine that I have to thread lightly in. This isn't Earth anymore…

"Most of what the commoners consume on a daily basis is bread and anything that is available at the market. Nobles on the other hand have the capacity to spend on things more nutritious. From fresher bread, vegetables and meat caught that day, and they leave it all to their cooks to handle the preparation for their food."

"Hmm…Do you have anything grain-like? something like rice or corn?" I asked.

"Hmm, we do have a staple called corn in the area, but rice…hmm, I've never heard of such thing." she said as she began thinking deeply in this question.

"Ah, but I do know that some of the other kingdoms have some type of luxury food that they themselves own. Food that rarely ever come to our home. I heard that somewhere down south, a plant that is the shape of a red ball is a staple. I don't know its name, but I heard that its quite a luxury."

"Hmm, red ball huh…"

The first thing to come to mind was that of a tomato…but I didn't really have my hopes up for that.

After a while, we finally made it to the Holy-Stonetable place. There, as I opened the door, I was meet with the gaze of a dozen or more people.

One of them being the emperor, Marquess Toral, Tofan, Shirley and Serena's father.

"Ah, you're here." said Toral as he noticed me entering the room.

This room in particular was quite the spectacle. With an oval-shaped table found in the middle, marked with the features of a dragon and a sword colliding. Along with it, a dozen stone throne chairs surrounded this table with an Eire feel to it. Each stone was different from one another by the use of a different color and design.

Walking forward, I greeted the emperor.

"Now then, we can make preparations and discuss the details of the mission."

"But first off, we have to introduce you to the ten people you will be sending across the Bioma. They are the Imperial Dragons."

"Hi, I'm Tyson Percival. " said the person nearest to me as he shook my hand with a smile on his face. With the first thing to notice about him was that he was quite the friendly fellow, someone who seems to have this kind heart of gold. With his Silver hair hair tied to a bun, strong muscular figure that contends to that of a body builder and the sword that hangs by his hip, he was quite easy to approach with how extroverted he was in meeting me.

"And that there is Tofan, you've already met him back at Desvey town." said Marquess Toral as he pointed to Tofan from a distance.

Tofan, The Silent. Well, there was nothing to say about him seeing as how he just nodded at me the moment we came to see eye to eye.

The next one I came to see was Shirley. And just like Tofan, she was just as silent and introverted…but we've already known each other to see that she's a caring person. So I just smiled and waved my hand at her. I didn't really expected that she was part of the Imperial Dragons, but looking back on our time at the Great Eden Wall, I remembered that she fought toe on toe with Tofan, so I can say that her skill probably lives up to the name of a Imperial Dragon.

"Its good to meet you. I'm Orion, the Elder Brother of Tyson over there." said the person who came to shake my hand as well. He carried a spear by his back and was wearing a set of light armor. With his hair cut to a buzz cut, I can say that his over all presence was that of a mature version if the happy go lucky Tyson. Knowing that he was a Percival, I can understand that there were two brothers who gained the chance to become an Imperial Dragon. It just shows the greatness that this family brings to the Empire.

"I'm Alexander Modelva, its great to meet you."

"Modelva?"

"Yes, as you can see from my red hair, I am Serena's Brother."

"Oh, its great to meet you too." as I look to him from to p to bottom, I can tell that he was somewhat like Orion who gave off this big brother vibe. So its pretty nice to meet Modelva's Brother.

There were also five other people who were part of the Imperial Dragons.

Ther was a young man named Louis, carrying a battle mace by his side and had this dark brooding feeling circulating around him. It reminded me of that of an edgy teen. He was probably the youngest one out of them all seeing as he didn't seem to keen with saying anything to me aside from his name.

Another was a man named Bedever Daradan. He had this black skin the same as that of the Africans back on my world. Asking how or where he came from, he told me that he was once a slave that came from somewhere around the other side of Astra and he was found and bought off by the Percival family in recognition to his talents as an Archer. Tyson and Orion treats him like a brother just as much.

Another person was someone who I can say was the one who seemed to seep off a familiar feeling that I came to resemble. Someone that was like that of a thief. His name was Martin Canada. He had this sky-blue eyes that clearly is quite visible for anyone to notice, and his main use of weapons was similar to that of a assassin, seeing as how he carries a lot of long ranged weapons like darts and a crossbow, as well as a twin dagger. He seemed to spit off this dangerous feeling around him, but his gesture for a kind handshake really speaks well to me…

Another person to speak of was Genevieve Whitny. A person who didn't seem to carry a weapon, but instead she carried a book around her, something like a bible. She was more of a healer than anything out of the whole group…they called her the saint dragon as seeing as how she was said to be blessed with the powers of healing that can affect almost anyone. All I can say to myself about her was that she was like that of a Messiah, someone like Jesus…and her attitude was similar of a nun in a church. Kind and soft, but somewhat sharp with her words. Seeing as how when we came to shake hands, her eyes furrowed in a scared manner. But I didn't really question her about that, seeing as how I probably felt threatening to her.

Last one was Rocky, Rocky was the oldest of the group. He carried a large battle axe behind his back and he seemed to seep off of wisdom for each breath he expelled. He was the most experienced one out of the whole group and the first impression I can only speak to myself about him was probably that…he needs to go to retirement sooner or later. Seeing as how he was having a hard time reaching out to shake my hand.

Now that I meet all of the Imperial Dragons, we began discussing about the details of the whole operation.

It took us about an hour to finish discussing the details, and after taking notes of each important factors, I left the room. There was nothing else to talk about, but before I could leave, Shirley went and reached out to me.

"Hmm? Is something the matter?" I asked as I turned to look at her.

"...The Lady wants to meet with you." she said.

"Serena?"

"She said that she will be waiting for you at the Percival House."

"...Why would she meet me there?"

But after asking her that, she didn't answer and simply left the room.

AN: MY IMPRESSIONS FOR EACH OF THE IMPERIAL DRAGONS. DON'T HATE ME FOR THIS.

Tyson Percival - Hyper soft boy of the group.

Tofan - The silent strong man.

Shirley - Agile gal with a loyalty to match the heavens.

Orion Percival - Big brother of soft boy.

Alexander Modelva - Brother of the lady serena…and gives off big brother in law vibes

Louis - Edgy teen of the group

Bedever Daradan - The black man of the group and is a brother from another mother with the percival brothers. Also gives off the best friend vibe with Orion

Martin Canada - Canadian Ninja.

Genevieve Whitny - The lady that does good.

Rocky - Old man in need of retirement.