Chapter 745 (Patreon)

Enjoy!


* * *


Beef and Hallow arrived at the hidden hatchery, their eyes wide with confusion. "Whoa, this is in the walls?" Beef asked.

"I believe it was hidden after the Dragoon's betrayal," Yin said, leading them deeper into the dusty chamber. With a light hop he became airborne, swimming through the empty space beyond the balcony with serpentine grace. "But whoever did so was sympathetic to our once-great partnership, and wise beyond measure."

Vess laughed. She had rolled up her sleeves and was covered in dust and dark grease, but mostly, she was excited. "Wise does not do them justice," she said. "It is as if the hatchery were waiting for us. Beef, I am glad you have come."

"Happy to help," Beef said. "Honestly, when Yin said my ‘reward had come,’ I didn't expect this."

"None of us did. But he is correct. If we succeed here, then your reward for aiding us in summoning the Grim Nightshade is all but assured."

“You mean—?” Vess nodded and Beef swallowed nervously. He looked down at the gleaming eyes of his breastplate. The crystal armor morphed, shifting into a pleased smile across his belly.

"How might we help?" Hallow asked.

"You can wait off to the side here. This is the Hatchery Wheel, and it is quite complicated, but I'm told it's mostly automated. We simply need you to be here when the Dragons finally hatch. Yin will guide you when the time comes."

"Oh, all right." Beef and Hallow walked off to the side, down the stairs, and settled against some unnamed machinery to wait.

On The Wing!

Spectral wings manifested upon Vess’ back and she surged into the air, flying across the warehouse to land on the Hatchery Wheel. For the final time, she inspected it as best she could. The artifact was complicated and inscribed with sigils that made little sense to her, but Yin had told her that the seals around the glass and moving parts had to be perfect, so she ensured that there were no gaps or breaks. While she did, she couldn't help but linger and look within.

Egg-shaped slots filled orichalcum plates three times the size of any wagon she'd ever ridden upon, dimpling the surface except where sigaldry spanned the flat areas. Rows upon rows were available in the massive artifact, and most were empty. She had done a quick count, estimating that the Hatchery Wheel could accommodate at least a thousand eggs at one time.

Utterly insane, did the Dragons of old lay so many at once? How was the world not overrun by them?

Yin had described how the Hatchery Wheel worked, though it was clear he glossed over some of the more convoluted parts. It was also clear that Yin himself did not know everything about them, but he was the only expert Vess had to hand.

"Once, when the Matriarchs still lived, the Dragons were able to raise our own young," Yin had said. "Yet a festering of our lines eventually made that impossible. The Matriarchs passed from this world and all we had was the ingenuity of the Dragoons to help us continue on. With this." Yin had slapped one of his five-fingered claws to the wheel.

"The Wheel inundates the eggs with Dragon's fire, the only thing that matures a true Dragon. But the fire must be supplied by a true Dragon. The Hatchery Wheel would not work without it." There was an orichalcum plate to one side that Yin had indicated contained a siphon designed to refuel the Wheel. There was even a remnant piece of flame still within the artifact—it was this that had kept the eggs intact for all these Ages. She could see it through the clouded glass, a thin crimson fire that clung to the top and bottom.

"It could keep them in stats for many more centuries, but it could not be used to hatch them,” Yin had explained. It was both too weak and the eggs were too ancient. Ages had passed since their laying, and the same was true for the clutch that Yin protected.

Presently, down near the base of the wheel, Yintarian disgorged the clutch of eggs from his Spirit. Six of them popped back into existence, all of them dark, covered with rough impurities on their faceted surfaces. He opened a small door of mithril on the side. Heat poured out, warping the air but Yin did not care. He was born for greater flames than those, and he carefully placed each of the six within the Wheel.

"That makes one hundred exactly," Vess said as Yin closed the door and sealed it once more. "Do you…Yin, do you think they will all survive?"

Her Companion closed his eyes and laid his forehead against the curved mithril surface. Crystal horns clinked against the metal. "I can only hope.”

Vess landed on the ground as Yin moved to the orichalcum siphon. "Ready when you are, Yin. Beef and Hallow, stand by."

"We are here, Lady Dayne.”

“Um, what's Yin doing?" Beef asked.

Vess swallowed and steadied her nerves. "He's fueling the Wheel."

Yin unleashed a stream of golden fire from his mouth, sinking all of it into the siphon array. The Hatchery Wheel hummed as the flames fully engaged it for the first time in Ages. Small pieces of sigaldry lit up around the various glass windows and across lines carved into its mithril surface. Inside, the eggs were bathed in a coruscation of golden flames.

"Is that it?" Beef asked.

Yin stopped, snapping his jaws shut. "No, more is required. Dragons are tied to the land far more deeply than most. We are an embodiment of the Green Wild's most primal forces, and that is why the Grim Nightshade once allied itself with my kind. Like nature itself, we are a dichotomy of forces. We are calamities as much as we are the placid fields and the fair skies that they sunder."

Yin placed a five-clawed paw onto the siphon. "Grim Nightshade, hear my plea. Your power courses through my veins, bolstering this Body even as you provide succor to this Mind and Spirit. Lend me your power so that I might instill your might into the future."

Vess witnessed a shadow cross over the light, sourceless but undeniably present. It was massive, the shadow of a giant, but she could pick out the tufted shape of ears and a long, whiplike tail. Yin's claw glowed, taking on a verdant green that was not the color of any Mana type she'd ever seen. It blazed, pouring through Yin's scales like a thick liquid before it coiled against the orichalcum siphon. In an instant, the power sank into it, absorbed fully.

The hum of the Hatchery Wheel turned into a vibrant, crystalline note that sustained through the air. That verdant power arced from the Wheel’s surface, coalescing into powerful symbols that hovered inches from its mithril sides. Vess knew only a smattering of sigaldry, enough to identify basic glyphs within the heraldry of nobility, but even she could pick out the elemental symbols for life, shadow, fire, water, earth, air, and light. The same sigils that were used to summon the Grim Nightshade originally.

The golden flames shaded toward green as each symbol fired off, encasing the eggs within a spinning vortex of flame and wild streamers of liquid light. The symbols shimmered, their glow strengthening by the moment as the plates within lifted from one another, exposing the eggs to the full force of the cyclonic power. The plates spun, turning within the machine, until a deep, stuttering crash interrupted everything. The Wheel faltered, its spinning blowing out as some mechanism within it failed.

"The plates have locked!" Yin shouted. The fire within started to dim, and he hurriedly breathed another burst of flames into the siphon. "It must rotate or the eggs will be destroyed!”

“How can we fix it?" Vess asked.

"The side hatch, it can be released manually! But this power, it's too much for you!"

"I don't care!" Vess rushed to the side, grasping the release on a side hatch and heaving with all of her might. But the metal was deformed and the release itself sealed shut by an Age of deterioration. Massive furred hands reached over her, grasping the metal alongside her own.

"Turn with me!" Beef shouted.

Together they put all of their incredible Strength behind it, twisting until metal creaked and groaned and the hatch flung open. Vess fell back, suddenly enclosed in Beef’s arms as the blast of heat and flame seared against his back. He cried out and fell to his knees, golden flame and ribbons of vibrant green dancing across his shoulders.

"Beef, are you—?”

"I'm fine! Just go. Save them!"

Vess put a hand on the boy’s furry cheek and ran off. The hatch hung open, revealing the insides swarming with a contained whirlwind of golden fire and liquid green Mana. Just within that whirlwind was a lever fully encased in the flames. Vess lunged forward, shoving her arms into the fire to grasp the lever and hauled back. Power scalded her, charring her bare skin and muscle below, but she held on, choking back a scream as she flared her Will.

I will not relent!

With a groaning creak, the lever engaged and the plates began to spin freely.

"It's working!" Yin bellowed.

The mechanism rattled, shoving back as its ancient pieces tried to falter, but Vess put all of her weight into holding the lever in place. If she let go even once, the eggs would stop again. She refused to allow that to happen. She held on. Her muscles twitched and burned away layer by layer. Fat and skin boiled and peeled back until it was nothing more than curled char around her elbow, but she held on.

I…will not…

A different fire sparked to life in her chest. A light that gleamed blue-white and red-gold, flaring within her core space—not like stars, but like moons above her golden temple. They flared, filling the mountain peaks with their ineffable radiance…and power followed.

Tier Link IV Has Advanced To Tier V!

Strength flowed into her arms as that power filled her, firming her grip and dimming the pain. Even the Grim Nightshade's power reacted and a verdant green swirled around her limbs with greater force. The lever still burned, cutting through muscle and into bone. It wasn’t enough.

You need the child of death, a voice whispered to her. A tufted-eared shadow darkened her vision. Life and Unlife are pieces of the same puzzle. Bring him.

"Beef, I need your aid!"

He was at her side in less than an instant, shielding himself from the intense heat. "How are you still holding that?”

“We need your necromantic Skills," she said, reaching out for him with her charred hand. The lever lurched, but she braced against it. "Ungh! Take my hand!"

Beef took it gingerly between two huge fingers. Images unspooled from within a verdant shadow within her chest, and it flashed into him, propelled by a dark intelligence that lashed its long whip-like tail. Understanding dawned as Beef's own attention turned inward.

"Unlife," he muttered. "Entropy. The decay of things."

Yintarion shouted, his spirit curdling with panic. "The eggs! It has been too long for them. The Wheel isn't enough!"

Within the flames, barely visible, they could see them. They were withering as a dark, almost rot-like formation crawled across their gleaming shells.

"Beef!" Vess cried.

"Entropic Paradigm!"

The rot pulled away as Beef's Skill commanded death itself. He yanked it back, hurling the power behind him in a wave of sudden chitin structures that speared upward in wild, unconscious forms. Machinery creaked and groaned as it was punctured, but Vess didn’t care. She whipped her head back toward the flames, back to the eggs.

They gleamed, their gem-like shells pristine and free of occlusion and rot. Death was gone, and only life remained.

A deem, harmonious hum took the air as the Hatchery Wheel fully engaged. Ancient arrays kicked in, sparking off the Grim Nightshades power before releasing a deluge of liquid Mana. Air, fire, earth, and many others flooded the Wheel, adding to the cyclone of power that swirled through the eggs…until all of it collapsed. It dropped to the spinning plates, and soaked immediately into a hundred eggs.

“Watch out!”

The lever snapped out of Vess' hands and Beef yanked her back just as the hatch snapped shut on her. The plates slowed to a lurching stop.

She groaned as she stood, inspecting her hands. To her surprise, they were remarkably unharmed. Her skin had burned, but now it was just a layer of char above perfectly healthy flesh. Vess felt at her breast and at the burning wounds within, expecting more pain but feeling nothing but light.

A deep cracking sound filled the air, as loud as a ballista bolt firing.

"Vessilia, it has begun!"

The eggs were hatching.

Vess rushed to Yin's side as he opened up the Hatchery Wheel. The plates rotated out, a platform mechanism extending the entire thing so that they could reach them all easily. All across its divoted surface, the eggs wiggled. She watched with bated breath as the first broke through, a tiny crimson snout followed by tinier claws tearing away at the gem-like exterior.

Vess reached down just as the baby broke free, and it plopped awkwardly into her hand. Its eyes were wide open and the color of a summer sky. It gave a tiny squeak that resonated within her Mind; a vocalization she knew to be recognition. The others began to break as well, revealing tiny palm-sized lizards with wet scales and wide eyes that ranged through all the colors of the rainbow.

Analyze.

Name: Flame Dragon Hatchling
Type: Draconic
Level: 0
Lore: Born from eggs laid in ancient Ages, these Hatchlings have absorbed the flames of a Dawn Drake, the power of the Grim Nightshade, and the undaunted Will of Vessilia Dayne.

"Unclouded heavens," Vess whispered, overcome. The crimson hatchling had climbed into her hand and was poking around curiously while two more wandered closer. "They are beautiful."

System energy bombarded her chest, but she held carefully still despite the intense discomfort. Her hand remained steady for the Hatchlings.

Draconic Bond is level 72!
…
Draconic Bond is level 95!
Adept Tier!
You Gain:
+50 STR
+50 VIT
+50 AGL

Draconic Bond Has Grown! You And Your Companion Share Level Benefits!
You Gain: +30 AGL, +25 STR, +30 VIT Per Level!

Draconic Bond Has Grown! All Titles Ranked Rare Or Higher Will Be Shared Between You And Your Companion.

Draconic Bond Has Grown! Allows For Convergence And Reverse Convergence! Both Companions May Rest Within One Another's Spirit!

Draconic Bond Has Grown! You Have Gained The Ability To Share Physical Characteristics Such As Sight, Smell, Touch, Hearing, Taste, Or Even Discreet Body Parts. Sharing Will Last For 1 Minute x Skill Level And Consume Mana To Activate And Maintain.

Goodness, she thought, wiping at the sweat on her brow. And the tears. “I did not need a reward for helping, but I am grateful nonetheless. That they are alive is gift enough.”

"All alive," Yintarion said, his voice deep enough to shake the air, "save for this."

One egg did not move. Its gem-like surface was covered in dark occlusions that modeled its faceted surface. Yintarion lifted it in his claw, and his mustache tendrils drooped. "One did not survive the process. It was perhaps too far gone for even the Green Wilds to rouse its Spirit." He held it out to Beef. "It will require a new one."

Vess’ heart clenched even as it trembled with hope.

Swallowing heavily, Beef took the egg with a measure of reverence that Vess had never seen before. He held it up, looking around at both of them. Vess simply nodded, smiling at him.

"Hallow Rise," he said. His power mustered, pouring from his palms to splash against the egg's shell.

Nothing happened.

Beef frowned and licked his lips. “It didn’t work.”

Hallow hummed. "We must marshal the power together."

“Are you sure? What if—”

“Do not question, Beef. Trust.”

Beef clenched his jaw and nodded. He lifted the egg again, and they spoke the words together.

“Hallow Rise!”

Their power rolled through them and poured out through Beef's palms and the crystalline gauntlets of his armor. It inundated the egg, completely covering it and turning its dark occluded lavender to a dark green scattered with black veins…only to shatter immediately.

“No!” Vess cried.

The egg shards fell away, and revealed a Hatchling within. It’s Body was so small compared to Beef's giant hand that at first she took it to be a runt, and its black scales looked like they were burnt to a crisp…but its head lifted and its eyes opened. Blackened green light poured out.

Beef swallowed hard. "Hallow, are you in there?"

"No," she said from his breastplate. "A piece of me is, but that is all."

The Hatchling let out a squeaking cry and necromantic light poured from its mouth like fog. "It retains much of itself," she added.

"Your normal Risen are frozen upon their demise, never to grow or advance again, but Dragons cannot be contained. We are an aspect of the Green Wilds." Yin smiled and his mustache tendrils whipped in the air. "She lives as part of you now. She will grow."

Beef held up the little Hatchling and stared at it as if it were the greatest thing in the world. Vess understood.

"Hi there," he said.

Congratulations!
You Have Earned A New Title!
Step-Mother of Dragons (Legendary)!
You have helped to birth the first Dragon Hatchlings in an entire Age, and they have recognized you as an ally. Though too young to verbalize, their Needs speak to your Spirit.

Vess felt the beginnings of a rudimentary bond forming between her and every single Hatchling on the table. It wasn't a full Draconic Bond like she had with Yin, but she could immediately sense images from them all. They were unclear, like a vision through clouded glass, but Vess could feel hunger and thirst emanate from the pack like the words had been shouted at her.

"We need food and water," she said, and ninety-nine pairs of eyes turned toward her at once. “Now.”

"There's a cistern in the back and food shouldn't be hard to get," Hallow said. "What do they eat, Yintarion?"

"Meat, a great deal of it." He snorted smoke from his nostrils. “Find a servant, and we can get as much as we can down here.”

“Blind gods…”

Vess snapped her head to the side, gazing into the astonished eyes of three Dragoons upon the balcony. She had missed their approach in all the chaos, and now they looked at Yintarion and the facility with a deep fear. The Hatchlings however, set their Spirits rising into awe.

"Lady Dane, Lord Hammer, we... Siva's Grace, what is this?"

Vess turned to them, her expression hard. "The future. And a secret you will keep, Dragoons, if you value your lives.”

They exchanged glances before saluting. "Yes, my Lady!”

“What brings you here?"

"We were sent by the king, my Lady. He calls upon his council."