Jake's POV
A few days passed from when we returned to the city before I saw the Queen again. We did have one more meeting the next day, but it was quickly decided that Deyja was too big of an issue for one kingdom alone. So, she sent messengers to their allies. Four days passed, which I spent training with both the Drakes and the Royal Mages, and even some Court Mages once the Queen found a few trust worthy ones, and making a new weapon with Ceil. At the Queen's request, I also allowed her to copy several of my memories onto magical tools for later study, but that took less than a few hours. Before I knew it, several parties of delegates from the neighboring kingdoms had arrived, and I was being called in by the Queen once more. Suma was also invited, but the Queen must have noticed how nervous she was, and assured her she did not need to attend. Which was probably a good idea, because as soon as Suma heard the words, "International delegation," I felt a wave a nervous nausea hit her like ten metric tons of brinks through our connection. It was enough to even make me feel sick for a brief second.
Walking into the castle, I was escorted this time not to the Queen's normal meeting hall, but a much smaller room, akin to where my trail had taken place several months ago. There were three pseudo grandstands, all forming a rounded triangle, and dozens of Neame perched on small posts jutting out from each one. They were chatting amongst themselves when I walked in. Some stopped and took notice of me, others didn't seem to care and continued their conversations.
"This way, Sir Sentinel." The escort said, and led me to one of the three stands. On this stand were the Queen, several Generals I'd met before, Captain Gigoales, and about a dozen Neame I'd never seen. They'd put a 'chair' out for me, but really it was just seven of the normal posts woven together with magic. It was uncomfortably tall, and my feet hung twenty centimeters off the ground, and despite being made form several posts, it was still a bit narrow. But I sat down nonetheless, and was greeted by both one of the Generals and Captain Gigoales.
An announcer who had been watching the Queen rose as soon as he received the signal, spreading his wings and silencing the crowd by saying, "Here speaks the sovereign ruler of Ambos, our great country! Queen Ompera!"
The Queen, no more than a third of a meter tall, fluttered down to an isolated post in front of the stands, and stood as proudly as she could, and spoke loudly. "Greetings to you all, and welcome to my country."
A darkly colored Neame, just a smidge taller than the Queen, but much older, fluttered off his post, and landed on another post that stood in front of his stand. Another announcer came forward, and introduced him. "Here speaks the elected High Noble of Apepdon! Chancellor Aye–Aron!"
The Chancellor spoke, "Greetings Queen Ompera. The country of Apepdon awaits."
Just then, the process repeated itself a third and final time. A Neame, this time with reddish-brown feathers, came to the post, and his announcer spoke. "Here speaks the sovereign ruler of New Lerna! King Hidra!"
King Hidra was younger than the Chancellor but older than Queen Ompera. "Greetings Queen Ompera. The country of New Lerna awaits."
Queen Ompera spoke, "I thank you all for coming on such short notice. A meeting of the allied nations has not occurred since before my father's reign, when war darkened our skies. But now, a greater threat is rising, and we must all face it together."
"Another rebellion?" King Hidra asked quickly.
"No," the Queen looked to me, and gestured for me to come forward with her wing. I hopped off the uncomfortable post and walked around to her side. "This is Sentinel, a familiar to one of my soldiers. He… is a Viking." There were audible gasps from nearly everyone, and whispers filled the room. "Please, everyone, be at ease." The Queen called out.
"Is this the threat, Queen Ompera? The return of the Vikings?" Chancellor Aye–Aron asked.
"That would explain the secrecy. Best not to let the public at large know." King Hidra added.
"No, Sentinel is a guest." She turned to me. "Please introduce yourself and alleviate their fears."
I took a deep breath before starting. "Hello everyone." There was a silence. Not the polite silence in which people just whisper when someone is talking. It was a stunned silence. Quieter than death. "I am a member of the species you know as Vikings, but we call ourselves humans. And please do not worry, only three of us even know your kind exist anymore. Until coming here, I'd never once even heard of a Neame. And too my knowledge, no more humans will be arriving, unless one of you brings them here like I was."
"Apep's voice…" Someone from the other stands said, probably amazed I could speak.
I continued. "The threat Queen Ompera brought you all here for is not my people, but I am going to help you solve this situation. And hopefully we can work out a plan today that will save lives."
I glanced at the Queen, and she nodded her head, saying in a firm tone, "Tell them."
Looking back to the stands, I finished, "The Chaos Dragon that scarred your world is returning, and soon."
"What is the meaning of the Queen Ompera?" King Hidra nearly shouted.
"Surely this is some ruse. A joke is not appropriate for a meeting of this magnitude." Chancellor Aye-Aron scolded. The rest of their stands were either in shock by my presence and the news, or nervously talking amongst themselves about one or both. Our stands were quiet, apparently already filled in on the situation.
"Your Majesty," I turned to Queen Omera and asked, "may I silence them? I have more news."
"If you can." She said glancing at the increasingly uproarious stands.
I'd like to say that I started studying more about Sound Magic after what happened on Sangu-Dragon with Harbinger, but that would be a lie. Instead, I used a skill perfected during my lifetime as Zachariah, and one that nearly countless Neame had tried to teach me as Jake, but I'd always failed to learn; casting by instinct. Rather than relying on my knowledge of soundwaves alone, I'd focus on what effect I wanted from the spell. As Zachariah, I'd used it to shut up plenty of mouthy council members who cut me off, but combining it with the knowledge of Jake would perfect the spell. It was cast in an instant. All soundwaves not matching my voice would be cancelled out. Instantly the room was quiet, and I was free to speak again.
"Listen." I said, keeping my voice calm and even. Everyone was shocked, some screaming silently at me, but uselessly. "This is no joke or ruse or anything of the like. This is real, and if we do not work together to solve this issue, your world will be destroyed. I know where the dragon will come from, and I have a general idea when it will arrive. But I do not yet know how to stop it. That is the purpose of this meeting." With all that said, I ended the spell, and chaos ensued. They started with the obvious questions. And I answered them as best I could.
"Where will the dragon come from? You said you know." Chancellor Aye-Aron asked.
"The dragon is currently trapped in the Aether, in a split between world used by the dragons to travel from one world to another. The split is under a mountain called Dragon's Hoard just outside a military training base in Ambos."
"How do you know all this?" Chancellor Aye-Aron asked.
"Is he in league with the beast?" Someone nearby in the Apepdon stands whispered, but was shot death glares by Chancellor Aye-Aron.
"No, I am not. I know this because I was responsible for sealing the dragon away during the Ravaging alongside my then summoner, Ambos."
"But that was so long ago. How old are you?" King Hidra asked.
"My body or my mind?" I asked rhetorically. "I have the memories of Zachariah, the partner of Ambos. I've come to think of Zachariah as a kind of… past life. Once, I even possessed a portion of his soul, but that's a long story. It would take me like… two and a half books worth of paper to do it justice."
"When will this happen?" King Hidra asked.
"Very soon. At best, twenty-one days."
"And at worst?" This time it was Queen Ompera who asked.
"Maybe it already did…" I acknowledged.
"And what would you have us do? Raise an army perhaps? Would that be enough?" Chancellor Aye-Aron asked.
"It's a start." I said.
"Is there a way to seal it inside this 'split' you mentioned?" He asked.
"I have no idea."
"But I thought you said you had all of Ambos's familiar's memories? He did it, yes?" King Hidra pointed out.
"Not exactly. Zachariah sacrificed himself by dragging both himself and the dragon into the split, but he never sealed it. He kept the dragon there by force, eventually he and the dragon were affected by the raw Aether, and melded together. One half of his mind wanted to leave, the other wanted to stay. They were trapped there." I said, fishing through my memories.
"Then something has changed, I presume?"
"Yes. I did. I came to this world, and drew their attention in the Aether. They both saw me, and wanted to use me. The dragon wanted to escape, but the other sought to finally finish what he'd… I'd started. A portion of his soul was placed into mine, twice, but the Aether had twisted them up so much that their magic did not work properly, and they only managed to cause me injury. Long story short, the dragon took back the portion of his soul, but the man did not. This caused an imbalance, which is exactly what is allowing the dragon to go free. Now, one of them has the power to force out the other, and free themself." I explained. I kept it short, and as simple as I could make it.
"Then the solution is clear! Familiar, you have a duty to once again seal the dragon away! No matter the cost." Chancellor Aye-Aron said flatly. I knew exactly what he was saying. He was telling me to sacrifice myself.
"If it comes to that… I will. I've made friends here, a family. If I must once again drag Deyja into the split, then so be it. But my soul is damaged. The man and dragon have both taken a toll on it." I said, remembering what I'd heard when I gained Zachariah's memories. "There is no guarantee that doing that would work a second time."
"I see." Queen Ompera said thoughtfully. She covered the tip of her curved beak with one of her wings in consideration. "Is there anything about the mountain that is special? Why is this 'Split' there?"
"It was once the home of Ahshem." I said. The Queen did not react, she probably already knew, but Captain Gigoales and several Generals by him looked shocked. "There are also… guardians, of sorts."
"Guardians?" King Hidra asked.
"Creations of Apep the Thunderer, left behind to guard the Split. They will attack the dragon I assume, but they will attack us as well."
"Lord Apep?" Chancellor Aye-Aron said. "Are you sure."
"Well, others helped, but it was mostly him I was told." I said.
"Tell me, do you know what happened to Lord Apep?" He asked.
"He left with Ahshem during the Deyja's rampage, the Ravaging."
"Why?"
"… I still don't really know." I said. It was something that plagued me in this life and my last. It doesn't make sense. Why leave one of your own kind to destroy an entire world? My answer did seem to satisfy him, but he didn't have a follow up for it. He shook his head disappointed.
"Tell us more about the guardians." Queen Ompera said. "What do we need to know?"
I thought back to my meeting with them in boot camp, and seeing them as Apep proudly showed them off to many onlookers. "They are fairly smart, fast, poisonous, and do not need light to see. They can sense mana quite well, but do not use magic in the same way most familiars can. They were designed that way to prevent issues with the Aether portal. Apep decided it was better for them to be physically powerful rather than magically gifted, partially to take advantage of how they usually fight in enclosed spaces, and because using too much mana near the Aether can cause… well, he called it 'dissonance'. But I don't know what that means."
Queen Ompera interrupted. "I hope you all now see why I brought Sentinel here today. He will act as a guide, a repository of knowledge, but we must quickly devise a plan to do what our ancestors failed to do, and defeat the Chaos Dragon."
"What do you suggest then, Sentinel?" Chancellor Aye-Aron asked.
I thought for a moment, "Well, I guess we need to do the first thing you always do whenever something impossible comes up… we start by moving a mountain."
"Can you explain what you mean by 'moving a mountain'?" Chancellor Aye-Aron asked, his head tilted slightly to the side.
"We get a bunch of mages to literally level the mountain." I explained.
"Why?" King Hidra asked, stretching out the word quizzically.
"I've seen your people fight. Tight spaces slow you down, limit your abilities. If we are going to have any chance of success, we need all the mages at their best, and we need as many mages as possible to have line-of-sight on the dragon. Meaning, they can't be underground."
"So, you are suggesting that we expose this Aether-split to the open to allow more mages the ability to attack it, yes?" Queen Ompera asked.
"Exactly. The dragon won't be impeded by the tunnels, his people could fight anywhere. So the advantage would be his under Dragon's Hoard Mountain. But if we expose the portal, the Split, then we can place as many mages as possible around it and allow them to fight as they please." I said.
"But what about the vision you showed me mere days ago? The dragon seemed to be able to kill Neame simply by coming near them. Do you have a way we negate this spell?" The Queen asked.
"That spell would take the dragon time to cast. As long as we begin our attack the moment he emerges from the portal, he should not have the wherewithal to cast it." I said. "A much bigger issue is the dragon's pure mana capacity."
"I'm sorry for interrupting, but what vision?" King Hidra asked.
Not so stupid as to cast it without permission a second time, this time I asked first. "It was a memory of mine from the dragon's previous rampage. One of our last great stands against him. May I show it to you?" He nodded in approval. Chancellor Aye-Aron also requested to see it. "I'll warn you both, it is an… intense memory."
"Your concern is appreciated, but I earned my kingship in the arena. Bloodshed is an old acquaintance of mine. I'll be fine." King Hidra said.
"I too, shall endure. Proceed." Chancellor Aye-Aron said. With that, I cast the spell and showed them both the memory. Their eyes glowed a dull yellow for a moment as the spell took effect. A short time later, the spell faded. King Hidra shook his head and ruffled his feathers, clearly shaken, but gathered himself quickly. Chancellor Aye-Aron remained wide-eyed and silent for a bit.
"Are you okay, Chancellor?" One of his aids asked.
"I… will be fine." He answered, unblinking and as a whisper.
(Woops) I thought.
"He'll be fine." King Hidra said. "I saw him make that same expression after eating a fermented Gyo at a summit a while ago. He recovered like a champion then as well. Just give him a few minutes. Anyway, Sentinel, that vision… I see what you mean. His mana would be overwhelming to an unprepared mage."
"And since he will be coming straight from the Aether, it will be pouring out of his body in a fit. The mages need to be prepared to deal with the backlash." I said.
"How can we train them for that?" Chancellor Aye-Aron asked, still slumped slightly on his perch, but once again making eye-contact.
"See, just like the Gyo."
"King Hidra, please…" Queen Ompera said, her tone stained; clearly annoyed.
"I believe I have as much mana as the dragon does, at least normally. So I could play a few games of Mana Circle." I heard a few confused mumbled behind me, and I definitely heard Captain Gigoales groan. Queen Ompera looked surprised, confused, and in disbelief.
"What is Mana Circle?" Chancellor Aye-Aron asked.
"You know, Power Player." King Hidra said. "It's like Display Dominate, but without the borog tusks."
"Oh… what? Why would you play a children's… oh. Actually, that could work." Chancellor Aye-Aron said, figuring it out. By now, he was perking back up.
"It'll get the mages used to an overwhelming mana. But there's only one of me, and only so much time. So, we should quickly decide who to send to the front lines, since they'll be the ones who need the training the most. The rest will be further away, and won't be as affected by his mana; I think." I said. The game we were talking about is one I'd first seen as Zachariah played by young dragons, and again years later as Jake when Suma and I first joined the Drakes. It is one in which an opponent forces out their mana, creating a fog of magical power around them. I've done it myself by accident during fights, and seen others do it when their emotions get heightened. But it is also something dragons in combat do to more quickly access mana in the environment by saturating it with their own.
"Our special forces should lead the charge, supported by the main bodies of our armies." King Hidra said.
"No, you heard Sentinel, and saw the vision. What we need are ritual spells. We should send in our special forces, but only as a distraction. The main forces should focus on casting ritual magic meant on immobilizing the dragon. That is the point, yes? To keep it within the Aether so that it is destroyed?" Chancellor Aye-Aron said.
"Exactly. How many special forces units can be deployed from your countries?" I asked.
"All the Drake Squadrons can be mobilize, except the ones that are on missions. Which means we have a total of five ready." Queen Ompera said.
"Nine King's Fangs can be ready in time. And you'll have my Royal Guards as well." King Hidra said.
"After the attempted coup last year, our forces are limited. I can spare three Serpent Squads." Chancellor Aye-Aron said.
"The coup? You still aren't finished with that?" King Hidra asked.
"Their means were vile, but their concerns were valid. Fixing issues takes manpower and time. Both of which I have lacked as of late."
"You are already doing a better job than the previous Chancellor. What a tyrant she was." Hidra said.
"How many Neame total is that, and how powerful are they?" I asked, getting us back on track.
"A Fang usually has about ten Neame, all at least High mages."
"And one Serpent has six members, but determining their power is more difficult. They are an eclectic lot, ranging from construction specialists to… well, less kind methods of combat."
"Oooh. Scary." King Hidra teased.
"As you know, the Drakes have between five and eight members per squad. All trained to at least Rank eight; lower-High mages." Queen Ompera said.
"So Nine Fangs, three Serpents, and five Drakes. That's ten times nine, ninety-" I started to say, but someone cut me off.
"One-hundred and thirty-eight." Someone nearby called out.
"Thank you." I said. "Only about one-hundred-forty mages. I doubt it would be enough, even for just a distraction."
"We could bolster the numbers with long-range specialists. Position some Neame above the Split, and have them ride updrafts while casting spells." King Hidra said.
"Long-range magic is typically weak. In order to effectively contribute to the attack, we need power. You saw the vision, the dragon hardly noticed the weaker attacks."
"Well, what is the most powerful long-range attack spell?" I asked.
"I believe your 'Railgun' spell may qualify." Queen Ompera said. "Its power is on par with close-range bombardment magic, and its distance is longer than most Wind Magic Spells."
"Oh yes, I heard how you crippled a fortified Southern Union base on Taldre. Those reports were interesting." King Hidra said.
Queen Ompera's feathers ruffled. "And how are the spies you placed in my kingdom? Lost, I hope."
"Nah, they know they way around by now." He said, chuckling. "What about yours Chancellor? How are your spies?"
"I could tell you their names, and you would still never find them." He answered smugly.
King Hidra laughed, "You're probably right about that."
"Yes, yes. What pretty flight-feathers you both have. Now if we could focus on the issue at hand." Queen Ompera said.
"Sentinel, if you really do know of such a spell, then for the sake of our countries, no, our world, then you have a duty to teach it to us." Chancellor Aye-Aron said.
"Are you serious? Learning a spell of that scale would surely take longer than a mere twenty-five days." King Hidra said.
"Is it possible?" Queen Ompera asked.
"I'll try." I said.
"Then let us review the plan." Chancellor Aye-Aron said. "First, we mobilize our special forces units and place them, and a sizable support core, into the Country of Ambos, at Dragon's Hoard Mountain. We use these mages to dig the mountain out, revealing the Aether-Split. Sentinel trains our special forces and the closest of the support mages to resist the powerful mana cloud from around the dragon's body, while also trying to teach our long-range specialists his powerful spell. We have ritual magic set up and ready to hold the dragon in place."
"Agreed." Queen Ompera said.
"Agreed." King Hidra said.
"Then we should all depart and begin mobilization. Who should take on-site leadership?" Chancellor Aye-Aron asked.
"It is Queen Ompera's country." King Hidra said.
"I agree. That would free me to take on other responsibilities." The Chancellor said.
"Then I will accept the role." She answered.
"Well then, Queen Ompera, if you don't mind..." King Hidra said.
"I declare this emergency meeting of the three powers, concluded." She said, and a spell was cast that opened the walls of the room so that everyone could leave.
As I was getting ready to walk out, Queen Ompera stopped me.
"Sentinel." She said, calling me to her perch.
"Yes, your Majesty?" I asked, walking over as everyone, including the other ruler, flew out.
"Much of this plan resides upon your ability. If you need anything, please let me know." She said, looking up at me from her perch.
"Thank you, I will… actually; there is one thing." I said, remembering something.
"Yes?"
"I'd like to change my name. Can you make sure it goes through?"
"Of course. Is that all?"
"For now." I nodded.
"What is your new name going to be?"
"Farnír."
"Does it have a meaning?"
"Yeah. It means, 'bonds between generation."