The Dragon Queen of Thelvadore

Every once in a while Lucy took some notes, although even though I couldn’t see perfectly what she was writing down, those were bullet points at best, not some lengthy explanation or something.

Eventually, she sighed, rubbing her temples before finally turning her attention back to me.

“Alright, gathering information about him was far harder than I had anticipated. To start with, the name itself didn’t give me any reaction. That was a bit strange, but not unheard of, so I decided on a different approach. I had to go through a few potential queries, such as ‘Who was Vuthe’s former student?’ or ‘Who were the most powerful entities present at the Fall of Thelvadore?’ and so on, and even then I didn’t find much. That said,” she paused, quickly glancing at the notes. “You said that he had weird magic, right?”

“Yes. Despite teaching him for quite some time, I never managed to translate even a single rune, nor did he ever reveal to me how his magick works.”

She nodded at my words. “Anything you can tell me about its potential effects?”

That made me think for a moment, trying to articulate what I knew. “Kind of? His magick is very… vile. I wouldn’t say necessarily evil, but certainly quite malicious in its intent, and oftentimes has effects similar to curses and the like. They aren’t curses in the traditional sense, and a Remove Curse spell would not be enough to remove them, no matter how powerful the caster, but the effects are similar enough to be a viable comparison.”

When I finished, she nodded again with a sigh. “Yeah, that figures… That was about what the System told me. And only that. There was some indirect mention of him being involved in Thelvadore’s downfall, but it was little more than a confirmation that he was present at the time, not what he actually did to assist. Nor was there much in the way of history about the fall itself. Nothing more than what I could piece together from your tale, anyway. Even mention of Thelvadore is vague. Not quite completely absent, but it has that same ring to it when the System is keeping knowledge to itself.”

Her comment made me chuckle, and I shook my head. “Figures… To be honest, I’m not really surprised by that revelation. It’s pretty obvious that something is trying to keep the history of Thelvadore at bay. It was once one of the most important kingdoms of this continent. We had conquered nearly everyone. If only we had pushed a little harder, back then… Maybe all that disaster could’ve been avoided.”

I rubbed my face with my hand, letting out a long sigh. Part of it was acting to keep the role of Vuthe believable, but part of it was also the very real influence I felt on myself when thinking about the topic.

“There’s another thing…” Lucy continued, looking at me with a complicated expression. I could see the smile she wanted to push through, but it was held back by thoughtfulness and a frown.

“I’m all ears.” With a wave of my hand I invited her to continue.

“If I remember correctly, Thelvadore was founded to fight against the slavers, right?” She waited for my reaction. When I gave her a nod, she sighed, and nodded in return, her expression now fully settling into the frown, the half-smile falling away. “I figured… I did try to ask the System a few questions through that lens. Not only now, but also in the evening, trying to learn a bit more. I checked your titles again, and I got curious. Anyway, the results are pretty much the same from the perspective of the information gathering department. That said…” Her frown now developed into a full on grimace, unhappiness clearly wafting off her in droves. “You might want to keep that name under wraps. Slavery is still alive and well, and if our assumptions are even remotely correct, then I wouldn’t be surprised that most don’t even know the name, and those that do, would most likely not look kindly on it.”

That… made sense. Even though I really, really didn’t like the implications of that. I could feel my own emotions quickly dropping, anger surging from within me. It took me a moment to squash the feeling, not entirely just my own, and calm myself.

“I hadn’t even considered that… Not that I planned to start throwing my name around anyway, but… To know that all that we worked for was basically for nought, I can’t help but feel… annoyed.”

“Yeah, sorry… I’m not sure how it compares to what you remember, but it’s still a reality. Miss Cecily mentioned to me that it’s not that bad, but quite frankly, any form of slavery is inexcusable.”

I chuckled at the sudden comment, surprised by it until I remembered that Lucy, too, wasn’t of this world. From what I remembered Calon also had Slavery, but it was an entirely different beast, reserved for the most dangerous criminals and nothing else.

My outburst made both of the women look at me in confusion, and I quickly waved my hand to dismiss it. “Sorry, I was just surprised by the mindset, is all. I forgot that you also didn’t grow up here.”

The realisation made Lucy chuckle as well, and a smile finally snuck itself back on her face. Our moment of reverie was interrupted by Cecily.

“I do stand by what I said,” she noted with a note of seriousness in her voice. “From what I heard, it used to be much worse back in the day. Bad apples still exist, and so does the illegal slave trade, but with the guild actively helping the kingdoms to ensure it doesn’t get out of hand, things aren’t at least not completely dire.”

I fully believed that Cecily believed those words, but the mention of the guild had me scoff, a reminiscent frown slowly growing on my lips. Neither of the two women missed that, and I could feel their curiosity wash over me while my gaze was locked on the table in front of me.

“It’s nothing, just… I know that the adventurer guild isn’t the same as the one I was trained in, but the mention of a guild trying to help stop the slave trade, brought up some very old memories…”

It was sort of strange how things surfaced that I knew only from being the author of the story, now as actual memories shining through from Vuthe. It made everything so much more… real. As far as I could tell, not everything came across quite that actively, but stuff like the guild, her time as a slave, and certain other, important events definitely did.

“Uhm… Would you mind explaining?” Unsurprisingly, Lucy was the one to ask, her eyes wide with curiosity. It was sort of adorable how her tail stood up straight, ears flicking with the eagerness to learn.

I laughed at her expression, shaking my head absentmindedly. The smile quickly fell, turning into something far more serious. “Sure, sure. But it’s not exactly… a pleasant tale. You went through my titles, right?”

She nodded, and the two exchanged glances. Likely they talked about them to some degree, which I didn’t mind. I had given Lucy permission to do just that for exactly that reason. And I doubted that there was anything they could’ve found among them that was truly damning to me. Anyone who knew of Vuthe knew of most of the legends connected to her anyway, so it wasn’t like this was some grand secret or whatever.

“When I was just freed from slavery the first time, an organisation approached me. The Order of the Scythe. It was an old Assassins Guild, operating under the official support of the crown of a kingdom that is long since history. Of course, they were a shadow organisation, operating outside the limelight. After I was freed, they approached and recruited me, although indoctrinating might be a better word. While they called themselves a guild, they were more like a cult of cold-blooded murderers. There, I learned most of the foundational knowledge I have about fighting and killing. Anyway, they promised me that they were operating to stop the slavers. That’s the pitch they sold me to get me to join. I was young, naive, scared, and felt powerless. They promised to make me strong and to help me get my revenge for what was done to me. It just turned out that they were lying. And that I wasn’t as fanatical as they hoped I would be when I found out.”

My expression grew cold, my eyes hardening, my gaze not moving away from the table in front of me. “I killed them. All of them. The guild. The monarchs. The nobles. Their people. Every. Single. One. It was a bloodbath that cost me all of my strength, and I wouldn’t have survived the ordeal if not for an old friend of mine. It was just a single night, but in that single night the streets ran crimson with blood, and the screams… They echoed far across the lands, carrying the knowledge of the deed into the ears of all those that listened.”

Finally I raised my eyes, locking them onto the woman who was watching me with wide eyes, her mouth slightly opened in horror, and her skin as pale as ash.

“It was the night I earned myself my first title. The Blade of a Thousand Screams. Naturally, there were consequences. Not only did I nearly die multiple times during the whole ordeal, you can’t just effectively wipe out an entire kingdom, even if only a small one, without any repercussions. But I didn’t care. I made myself a promise that night. I would never accept slavery. Never.”

Silence reigned for a moment, and I fought with myself to keep myself under control. I had already noticed that my psyche was greatly influenced by Vuthe in some ways, and the memories that shone through from her of seeing the people enslaved in their pens was enough to enrage me.

Finally, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment. With some effort I managed to quell the rage that had taken hold of me, pushing it back down into the black pits of my soul where it belonged. When I was more in control of myself once again, I opened my eyes, trying for a warmer expression. Not that I had any hopes of it actually succeeding.

“Sorry… I didn’t plan on getting so heated, but the topic always… gets to me.”

“The guild isn’t like that!” Lucy almost shouted after a moment, her eyes still wide, raising out of her chair and slamming her hands on the table. “I can’t speak for them all, and I know they aren’t perfect, but they are trying! They do their best!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle, despite the situation. “I know. And I also know that I am very biased. I have my own experiences, and I know that despite the fact both call themselves a guild, they aren’t the same. As I said myself, the Order of the Scythe was more a cult, rather than a guild. And I don’t think the adventurer guild is conducting blood rituals as the entrance ceremony, is it?”

Both of them shook their heads, and Lucy slowly sank back down to her chair.

“Sorry for ruining the mood,” I sighed after a moment of silence, then got up. “I think it might be better to postpone my other questions. Perhaps we should get going.” I paused, my expression falling yet again. “That is, in case you’re still fine with me joining you. I can’t fault you for changing your mind after learning that part of my past.”

Both of them shook their heads, although it was Cecily who spoke, also rising to her feet. “Let’s be real here, Vuthe. Neither of us could stop you anyway if you were truly determined. I rather have someone with me to step in and help if things get dire then get distracted by having to watch all the shadows all the time. I’ve worked together with a lot of adventurers I would trust far less than I trust you. And unless you are some truly sadistic bitch, which Lucy is sure you aren’t, then I can’t see you just stand there to watch us slowly get slaughtered if things go dicey.”

I watched her closely. Her logic seemed sound, mostly, although it still felt… I wasn’t sure how to put it. Not convenient, per say, but too easy? Like, they seemed almost entirely at ease with my past and all the atrocities I, or perhaps Vuthe, had committed. It made me wonder just who was trying to convince whom, and who was truly the more worried one in this scenario.

“Not to mention,” Lucy added with an energetic grin, also getting up from her seat, “I would love to learn more about you. You are the first dragon I actually spoke with. That I know of, anyway. And a goddess at that! How often do you get the chance to chat with someone like that?”

Lucy’s explanation, at least, I could get behind. It was clear to anyone with even half a functioning eyeball that she was the overly curious type, who got herself into far more trouble than it was worth due to her own curiosity. A true Catkin, through and through, it seemed.

Cecily nodded her agreement, obviously having talked about this beforehand. “Now, is there anything else you might need to do, or can we get ready to leave?”

With a sigh I rubbed my face, shaking my head. “You both are hopelessly naive and give me far too much credit. But, I won’t argue with the verdict. I think I’m ready to head out.”

Join my patreon to read up to five chapters ahead!