The Dragon Queen of Thelvadore

The topic of conversation shifted somewhat, especially once they started talking about a few more mundane adventures. Lucy quickly began to recount all manner of experiences, some from her time on her homeworld, but many also from her travels across Satien. In specific, she seemed to be fascinated with the cities and the people living there.

Of course, Calon hosted a similar number of fantasy races, although there were some major changes. First and foremost was the way draconic beings interacted with others. While Calon did have your usual cast of Dragons, Hydras, and Serpents, they were not quite as equally represented as they were here on Satien. Dragons outweighed the other two by about four to one, with Serpents being the rarest of them all. In addition, Calon was home to less intelligent dragons, those who couldn’t be considered a member of their sapient society.

Most of her explanation coincided with what I knew about Calon, although given that I had never gone into that much detail about that specific world, a lot of the details were news to me. I had to admit that I was quite curious myself what the differences in population distribution meant for the development of the local cultures, especially considering that the dragons of Calon didn’t mingle to the same extent as the ones on Satien did.

Even here dragons weren’t some population majority, but the cultural impact they had was not to be underestimated. With most of the draconic beings making their home around the Dragonfang Mountains, there were quite a few cities that were influenced by their nature and their culture. Long-lived races always had more cultural impact than their short-lived cousins, so that much was to be expected. And it meant that the cities that Lucy had visited so far felt quite a bit different than the ones back home.

I also learned more about those strange monsters that the two had mentioned earlier. Apparently there had been quite a few sightings of beasts with similar characteristics, enough that the guild had begun a proper investigation a while back. Given the close proximity of the Grunloks, I found it prudent to learn more about it.

“You mentioned these things earlier as well,” I cut in after Lucy once again mentioned the strange creatures. “What do you know about those things? Outside of the beasts chasing you, I haven’t ever seen anything like it before. I have my theories, but unless I know more I’m not sure how wise it is to voice them.”

The one to pick up the explanation was Cecily, which was to be expected. She was the far more experienced adventurer between the two of them, and she seemed to have had quite a few run-ins with those things herself.

“Very little, which is kind of the problem. From what I know, the first sighting was nearly two years back, maybe even longer. The earliest sightings came from the fringe regions towards east and the south, which is why it’s so hard to nail down where and when they exactly happened. A lot of reports from that far into the wilderness don’t ever make it back to the big cities, and the few bits of information that do make the journey are often unreliable. That said, it’s also not like they come from a certain direction, or follow a specific pattern. Much of what we know is based on the few encounters closer to the larger settlements.” Her expression had shifted into something far more serious, which didn’t surprise me at all. She certainly felt like the kind of person who took her responsibilities seriously, and strange monsters threatening the populace were definitely high up on the list of things she had to deal with in her capacity as an adventurer.

Lucy picked up the explanation smoothly. It was to the point that I thought they likely had given such a summary before, likely to other adventurers. “It’s important to note that these beasts aren’t some unique breed of creature. In all cases of sightings so far, the monsters themselves were powerful, but known beasts. Equally, the location of their sighting wasn’t much of a surprise. Some may have been at the fringes of their known territory, but none were suspiciously far outside their preferred habitats.”

She glanced back at Cecily, who nodded slowly. “The Grunloks that chased us were probably the strangest case so far, and even there you could argue that they didn’t leave their territory behind too far. If not for the presence of the cursed lands, the chase itself wouldn’t have been anything to note, from what we know so far. Grunloks are known to sometimes venture outside of their territory during a hunt, after all.”

“Okay, but then what exactly makes these beasts so strange? So far it seems that they don’t seem to act all that weirdly.”

“You didn’t notice it when you teleported between Lucy and that beast?” Cecily asked me a bit confused.

I didn’t quite know what she was referring to, so I could only give her a confused glance of my own. “I can’t remember noticing anything too strange. Then again, it was the first combat I went through after I woke up in those ruins, and I was still getting my bearings. Maybe I missed something otherwise obvious.”

“Right…” The adventurer nodded, as if only just remembering that particular detail. “So, so far we’ve managed to identify three major things that separate these strange sightings from the norm. First, and most obvious, is their ability to suppress magic by sheer proximity. I’m not quite privy to the investigations the guild made, but from what I’ve heard that magic suppressing effect only persists as long as they’re alive. Once dead, their body quickly returns to normal, with the suppression vanishing in less than an hour. Which is strange, because the effect is quite potent. Potent enough to suppress even upper Golds, sometimes even Platinum rank casters. I can’t speak of anything higher than that, given how rare people of that rank are.”

She gave me an inquisitive glance, likely inquiring how my own spells fared against them. Which would make sense, considering how I was quite a bit stronger than most. If I were to be affected just like everyone else, then it would speak to far more problematic issues.

“I can’t say I specifically noticed much of an issue with my magick,” I finally allowed, my expression thoughtful as I tried to recall the events of that combat. “But I also can’t say with any certainty that there wasn’t. As I said, it was the first fight I got into in quite some time, and I… had other reasons to be quite overwhelmed with it all. It might just simply not have registered to me.”

To my surprise Cecily simply nodded, as if already having expected as much. “Truth be told, I find it more likely that you could simply punch through the effect. If they were powerful enough to suppress the magic of a Diamond Ranker or higher, then we’d be in a whole different host of trouble.”

That line of thinking did make sense, and I nodded my agreement. Not that I would be crippled much in the case that they could. Vuthe was certainly a powerful magician, but she wasn’t limited to magick alone. Not only did I have her expertise in weapon usage, I also could draw upon her divine authority in case of emergency, loathed as I was to actually do so.

“In any case,” the swordswoman continued, “That is merely one of the ways they differentiate from your average monster. The second important factor is their increased ferocity. Not in the way a mindless beast would be more dangerous, there seems to be at least an inkling of intelligence behind it. Of course, it’s not to the point that they could be considered closing in on sapient, but there have been sightings during which beasts that are known for their very limited intelligence were able to identify and avoid traps. Not a huge leap, but important enough to keep in mind.”

I nodded slowly. “Agreed. Have any of the sightings included naturally intelligent beasts, and if so, has there been a major shift in their behaviour? I’m curious to see how exactly this intelligence boost might be expressing itself.”

“Not to my knowledge, no,” Cecily replied with a shake of her head. “Then again, as I said, I’m not exactly deeply involved. We might be able to learn more the next time we arrive at a guild hall.”

Once again I nodded, acknowledging the point, before I gestured for her to continue her explanation.

“Right. The last thing that became obvious was their behaviour towards others. While their approach to other non-afflicted entities didn’t change at all, apart from perhaps a slight increase in aggressiveness, what is of more concern is their approach to other afflicted entities. If two afflicted groups meet, even if they are from species that would normally be at odds with each other, they almost always work together instead. In a few rare cases that has led to some rather dangerous situations. Nothing that the guild hasn’t been able to deal with yet, but if you ask me, that’s just a matter of time.”

That was certainly curious, and I raised my eyebrows at the revelation. Even as someone who wasn’t exactly an expert in behavioural studies, I could see how that could be a problem. Especially if I were to extrapolate from some of the behaviour of animals back on earth. Of course, that wasn’t going to be a perfect comparison, but it didn’t need to be to make the danger clear.

“Alright, yeah, that… sounds like the sort of thing that certainly is going to become a problem.”

Both Lucy and Cecily nodded at my comment.

“Any ideas on what exactly causes all of that? You mentioned that they are afflicted, somehow.”

In reply Cecily shook her head with a shrug. “Not really, no. We call them afflicted because the magic suppressing effect disappears after their death, as if they are afflicted with something that only remains while they are alive. But really, that is at best an oversimplification of reality, and at worse a misleading assumption. We just simply don’t know enough.”

I nodded at her explanation, slightly distracted. “Fair… Talking about that suppression effect, though, you said you are capable of Void magic, correct? Just Void magic, or also Void magick?”

Truthfully, the chances that she was capable of casting Void magick was rather slim. Not only was it unlikely given that she was just Silver Rank, even if she counted towards the higher end of said rank, but Void magic was quite the extraordinary school of magic and far, far more complicated to actually use.

“I’m… not sure I follow?” Her expression seemed to show genuine confusion. “What’s the difference?”

Ah… I might have gotten a bit ahead of myself. Not surprisingly, really, given that magick was the realm of experts, with very few mortals ever reaching to those heights. I considered it part of the basic understanding of magic as a whole, but that was quite the skewed perspective. Vuthe and her friends were far from the standard by which most of the world functioned.

“Sorry, should’ve expected that you wouldn’t know about it. Most mortal casters only ever manage to perfect magic, with a C, but there is more to magic than just that. Magick, with CK, is what you would probably call the pinnacle of casting. Spells that are exponentially more complex and powerful. It’s a completely different approach to casting and requires quite a bit more advanced fundamental theory. Unsurprisingly, the study of magick is mostly relegated to the long-lived and immortal beings, as not even the elves would live long enough to consistently master the studies required to reach those heights.” I shook my head, dismissing the topic. “Really, I should’ve expected that you wouldn’t be able to cast Void magick. You are only mortal, and Void magick is likely the most dangerous, difficult, and complex magick out there.”

“I’m not sure if I should be offended or not,” Cecily mused, and I couldn’t help the embarrassed blush tainting my cheeks. Something she didn’t miss, if her chuckle was anything to go by.

“Again, apologies. I didn’t want to insult you.”

“It’s alright. I’m honestly glad to see that even someone as ancient and powerful as you still has a human side.”

I cleared my throat, and she chuckled again.

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