Crown of Purple Fire (English)

~XIII~

Dragons came in two forms: ice or fire. Ice dragons have long been extinct, because of their fast reproduction and need of more land, they were wiped out by the power of King Thiago Aschere, Tessa's great-great grandfather. The fire dragons are now in power of ALL of Targeyna. And it shows, considering the first thing Tessa and her gang of lords detected was the heat.

It had been three complete minutes of utter darkness, where Tessa was blinded. Though her heart and mind panicked, her body didn't feel so bad. She felt weightless for a while, as if her soul had now lingered in the edges of dark chaos...

When all of a sudden, She felt a talon grab tighter on her own. In her mind, a voice whispered, Not yet, princess. Not yet. Your death, I said, would be at the hands of my blood. And I don't make promises I can't fulfil.

Roman's laugh echoed in her head, and Tessa was once again on her guard. The darkness had vanished, and she saw lush green hills, and flowers all across the green grass they now stood at.

"Don't be fooled by the land's beauty, my Queen," Matteo warned. "This is still the City of Dragons. The fear this land will induce would not be the kind you expect."

Tessa nodded, and she looked at Rhian for reassurance, but she instead found him gazing the land peacefully, as if he had not heard a word of what the gryphon lord had said.

"Snap out of it," Tessa said to him. "We are hear to find an audience with the High lady of the dragons." She turned to the two lords. "Do you know where her castle is?"

"The dragons don't live in castles or houses," Efren said. "They have one sanctuary called the Diamond, in case the apocalypse ever comes. It's big enough to house all the animals in Ravanyn, but they aren't so generous for us to even look at it. We are now looking for a dragon to notice us, so they can bring us to meet Jacintha."

"Where do they go for shelter, then?"

"They don't," Matteo said. "They fly through the skies, hunt for any unfortunate slave to have strayed from their dragon master, and make meals for themselves. The exception are the hatchlings, which thrive in Jacintha's personal nest, where their mothers nurse them until they come of hunting age."

"I assume you mean both male and female dragon alike?"

"Yes. The dragons of Targeyna are very equal in terms of gender. The only ones who aren't allowed to hunt are the newborns, the elderly, and the pregnant."

That makes sense. But..."Where are the dragons, then?"

Matteo looked up at the sky. It was still very much the height of midday. "The sky should be full of them by now. It's lunch time."

"Why didn't we just shadowpath travel to High Lady Jacintha's..well...wherever dragons lodge?"

"One, it's rude to meet with a territory leader without permission, unless you are the Queen or the King yourself. The punishment for that is beheading," Matteo said. "Two, even if it wasn't a violation of basic political courtesy, Jacintha never has a temporary lodging. One moment, she could be sleeping under the Lake of Elara, the next she'll be in the clouds above a volcano."

"It's the dragon way, general," Efren clarified. "Better not to ask unless you are a dragon yourself." He sighed, then looked at the sky once more. "Come on, let's walk a bit. Maybe the dragons have all already hunted for their mealtime."

They walked through the Elaran hills for a bit, and when they reached the top of one, Tessa saw a wide lake of pure cerulean blue. It seemed so peaceful, it unsettled her a bit. "Lake of Elara?"

"Aye, my Queen," Efren answered. "The birth and deathplace of the greatest dragon who ever lived."

"Have you met Elara?"