Path of Dragons 18 - Chapter 1 - Earth (Patreon)

Sara wanted nothing more than to flip her desk on its side and scream at the ceiling.  Or better yet, to find her brother and give him a piece of her mind.  After everything she’d done to drag Earth into the multi-verse, he’d upended all of her efforts in a single day.

Of course, he hadn’t meant to cause any problems.  He probably hadn’t even given it any thought.  Yet, sending dozens of deity dragons to a relatively newly integrated planet was a recipe for disaster if ever she saw one.

The first issue was that they upset the power scale.  There were a handful of people on Earth who were approaching the deity transition.  A few more who’d actually made that leap.  Though most of those possessed low-rarity classes that didn’t require as much kill energy to level, so they weren’t exactly powerhouses. 

So, adding a bunch of deity dragons to the mix was extremely problematic.  Keeping them under control was almost impossible.

And they’d not even fully recovered yet.  Once they were whole and healthy, there would be no containing them. 

Each night, Sara went to sleep worrying about the more pressing issue, though.  Dragons were, by nature, domineering.  Most couldn’t look at a planet and not wonder what it would be like to take it over.  Many would let that get well past simple thoughts, too. 

It wasn’t a question of if one of those dragons decided to take Earth, but when.

And that was just one of the issues facing her.  It certainly didn’t help that she wasn’t really in charge of Earth.  Instead, she only had true authority over Ironshore, and that was still somewhat tenuous.

She blamed elections.

It wasn’t as if she couldn’t win them.  The last one had been a landslide in her favor.  However, doing so cost her time and resources she would have preferred to use elsewhere.  The entire concept of democracy seemed ludicrous to her. 

But the people of Earth seemed to love them.  Every political discussion centered around everyone having a say.  Fundamentally, Sara didn’t disagree with that idea.  But as a dragon, she’d never really experienced it before coming to Earth.  Now, it just felt like an unnecessary extra step towards getting things done.

“What do you want me to do about it, Konr?” she asked with a sigh. 

The dragon, who still hadn’t fully recovered from her time in the ancestral world, leaned forward, with her hands on Sara’s desk, and said, “I want you to make it right!  We spent years on Orveth Kaal.  We all went there for progression and –”

“You gained some levels, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did!  But that’s not the –”

“You also signed a contract,” Sara pointed out.  “With my mother.”

“That’s not…I just want…we weren’t even allowed to stay and finish the trial,” Konr breathed, some of the wind having left her sails.  “I was counting on that for my Legacy.  And I was in the top twenty.  I would’ve gotten one of the top rewards.  I’m certain of it.”

“If you have a grievance with how things were handled, then I implore you to return to the Empire of Scale and file suit with one of my mother’s Administrators,” Sara said.  “Sooner would be better than later.”

“I can’t afford the travel costs! I demand recompense!” Konr hissed, regaining some of her lost steam. 

“As I told you yesterday, that is not my responsibility,” Sara pointed out.  “I am not on Earth as a representative of the Vyrin Clan.  You are welcome to send a message to your immediate superior in the Empire of Scale.  I am certain they will compensate you for travel expenses.  In the meantime, please enjoy Earth’s hospitality.”

It was as clear a dismissal as any Sara could convey, and yet, Konr remained in her office for nearly half an hour more, complaining about lost opportunities and the fact that no one from the Vyrin clan had answered her messages.  In the end, even Konr’s protests ran out of steam, and she left Sara’s office entirely unsatisfied.

Following that was a moment of peace amidst the chaos that her life had become.  Soon enough she laid her head on the desk and closed her eyes.  Inevitably, her mind drifted to Elijah.  She knew he was still alive.  Otherwise, the Hartwood Grove would’ve been greatly affected.  And it would take more than an ancestral world could dish out to kill Illska. 

But Sara still worried for her family’s well-being.

“You handled that poorly,” came a voice to cut through the silence.

Sara didn’t even need to look up to identify the source.  Instead, she just asked, “You heard everything?”

“Of course, daughter.”

Finally, Sara did raise her head to see one of her mother’s projections sitting primly in a chair on the other side of the desk.  She looked much as she always did, which was to say that she was a radiant beauty unequaled in the entirety of the Empire of Scale.  Her graceful demeanor only accentuated that perception. 

“And?”

“I would not presume to tell you how to manage your domain,” Kirlissa revealed. 

“But you don’t have any issue with telling me I’m screwing everything up, huh?”

Kirlissa smiled.  “You have begun to take after your wayward brother.”

“It’s an Earth thing,” Sara said.  “So, are you going to take care of this?”

“Arrangements are being made as we speak,” Kirlissa said.  “I will cover half the cost of their return to the Empire of Scale.”

“Just half?”

“Actions have consequences,” Kirlissa pointed out.  “They chose their paths.  It is only right that they should bear some responsibility of their own return.  This is a fair compromise.”

Sara sighed.  “I’ll let them know.”

It wasn’t perfect.  Far from it, in fact.  Travel back to the Empire of Scale would be incredibly expensive, which meant that many of them wouldn’t be able to afford even half of the fee.

Of course, they could simply consent to traveling via the Root-Bearers’ portals, but Sara wasn’t eager to reveal that Elijah had established a dolmen on Vyrin.  She wasn’t certain what the consequences of that knowledge getting out might be, but she didn’t think it would be a good idea.

Which meant that some of the dragons would be stuck on Earth, at least for the foreseeable future.  In turn, that would upset the balance of power.

The only reason they hadn’t already started planning for conquest was because of Sara – or rather, because of her family.  Despite the fact that she’d reached demigod and was fast approaching the peak of that tier, she was still much too weak to exert any real authority over her chosen domain.  Especially when dealing with deities.

Thankfully, she had her family to back her up, though she knew that even that wouldn’t protect her for long.  There was a reason the Scales of Peace were necessary back in the empire.  Without that influence, the dragons would have long since adopted an attitude that said only those strong enough to protect their assets deserved to possess them. 

That would create chaos.

On Earth, there were no Scales of Peace.  No tangible restraints to hold them back.

“How are you?” asked Kirlissa.  “You no longer send me messages.”

“You can spy on me anytime you want,” Sara pointed out.

“I can, but I don’t.”

Sara didn’t believe that for a second.  She loved her mother, but she didn’t really trust her to mind her own business.  In fact, Sara suspected that Kirlissa’s chosen path made her fundamentally incapable of doing so. 

Still, she decided to go along with the ruse and explained the situation on Earth and on the various other planets where she’d established a vested interest.  Atticus had become her partner and a tool for the expansion of her economic domain.  She wasn’t a Merchant, but she still benefited greatly from that relationship.  So did he, which was why it was a fantastic partnership.

She spent quite a while going over everything with her mother until, at last, she asked the question that was really on her mind. “How is Elijah?”

“He is well.”

Sara sighed.  “It’s been more than a week.  Orveth Kaal is cutoff for now, right?  What is even going on in there?” she asked.  “And where is Elijah?”

“Elijah retreated to Silvara,” Kirlissa answered.  “My perception of that realm is weak, though I can assure you that he lives.  As do his companions.  Beyond that, I may not reveal their fate.”

“Why?”

“You will understand when you transcend,” Kirlissa responded.  “Suffice it to say that there are powerful beings in that realm, many of which I have no wish to anger. Spying on their realm too strongly would force a confrontation.”

“But you can sense him?  And he’s definitely okay?”

“I can, and he is.”

Sara let out a sigh of relief, which drew a look of disapproval from her mother.  Kirlissa tried to be a loving parent, but she couldn’t escape her own personality.  Nor could she unlearn thousands upon thousands of years of experience, all of which had culminated in the unflappable dragon known as Prosperity.  It had long since ceased to be a mask and was just who she was.

As such, she disapproved of outward displays of emotion – unless there was a purpose.  A means of manipulating enemies and allies alike.  She never stopped scheming, which to Sara, seemed like a very lonely way to go about life.  Looking at everyone as tools to be used or enemies to be overcome had to be exhausting, and Sara refused to go down that path.

Of course, when she’d said as much to her mother, the older dragon had simply responded that she would have more perspective when she was older.  It was an infuriating statement to which Sara had no real counter.

“But enough about that. I do believe you have an issue that demands your input,” Kirlissa said.  “Remember that you are my daughter. I support your choices.  You speak with my authority.”

“I have my own authority here,” Sara said, her stomach twisting into knots at the cryptic statement. “What’s going on?”

Kirlissa said, “You will see.”

Then, surprisingly, she stepped around the desk and leaned down to embrace Sara.  It was the first time in years that she had felt her mother’s touch, and the feeling of it overwhelmed any other objections she might have had. 

Elijah had told her that their mother had advanced enough to physically affect the world with her projections, but Sara still hadn’t expected Kirlissa to hug her.  It was a nice surprise, to say the least.

“I must go now,” Kirlissa said.  Sara only hugged her tighter.  “Be good.”

Then, suddenly, Kirlissa was gone, leaving Sara clutching only air. 

Before she had time to process it, Okar burst into her office and declared, “We’ve got a big problem.”

Sara blinked, then focused on her fiancée.  Okar hadn’t actually asked for her hand in marriage.  Not yet.  But that was just a detail.  Sara had already decided to marry him, and she almost always got what she wanted.

“What is it now?” she sighed.

“One of the dragons killed someone.  The Adjudicators are already involved.”

“Dammit,” Sara groaned.  “Who did they kill?”

“Does it matter?” Okar asked.

She shook her head.  “Not really?  Not unless it was self defense or a fair duel,” she ventured.  “It wasn’t though, was it?”

“It was not,” said the halfling, one of his hands resting on the pommel of his sword.  “Believe me, the dragon deserves whatever punishment the Adjudicators decide to mete out.”

“So? What’s the problem?”

“That dragon has friends.”

“Dammit.”

“Right,” Okar said.  “So…we should probably go mediate before things get really messy.”

Sara didn’t disagree.  So, she pushed herself to her feet and wondered aloud, “Why can’t things ever be easy?”

“Because dragons are assholes,” Okar answered.  “Present company excluded.”

It wasn’t the first time he’d disparaged her people, and the worst part was that he wasn’t wrong.  The longer she spent outside of the Empire of Scale, the more she’d come to realize that dragons were, indeed, assholes.  Not all of them.  Certainly not that.  But enough that they’d earned Okar’s disdain. 

And as a serpentor of the empire, he would know dragons as well as anyone.

“Come on.  Let’s go stop a fight before it gets started,” she said.