Rise of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 057 - Who we really are (Patreon)

Who do you think you are?!

Kaen turned and saw Pammon staring at the green dragon that had roared.

He is Dragon Rider Kaen.  And who are you?

When Pammon spoke, Kaen felt him projecting a boldness that surprised him.  Facing down dragons well beyond their age and containing immense power, Pammon had not flinched.  If anything, Pammon was standing taller and making himself seem larger.

A hiss echoed from the side of the cavern where the green dragon sat.  It growled as it lowered its head toward them.

I am Elynudra, and that dragon who has broken the rules is one of mine!

Kaen stared at her as he reached out a hand to his left side, leaving it there momentarily, and felt Amaranth put her head against it a few seconds later.

“It would appear she has chosen differently.”

The dragon’s eyes went wide, her eyelids stretching completely open as hate poured from them.

Kaen saw the look directed at him and, after giving a slight pat to Amaranth’s head, moved back toward Pammon with a walk that appeared he was out for a stroll.

You cannot do that!  It is aga–

A growl from the gold dragon in the middle cut off the tirade as it turned its attention to Aethux.

Enough, for now, Elynudra.  You act like a mother protecting a dragon that has aged past that time.  Do not insult both of you anymore.

Kaen saw the look Aethux had given the other, and she snorted, slinking back slightly onto her stone pillar.

The golden dragon turned its eyes back toward Kaen and Pammon and stared at them for a moment.  No one was moving other than the breath that came from their nostrils.

Tharnok warned us about you two.  I wondered at first if he was lying, but it would appear he told some truth after all.  Welcome Dragon Rider Kaen and Pammon to our lands.  Tell us why you have come.

Pammon eased up just a little, and Kaen felt himself surprised by the sudden shift in the dragon's behavior.

“I assume Tharnok already told you why we were coming.”

A few snorts came from the other dragons.

He mentioned that you would request us to aid in a fight that doesn’t affect us.

Pammon snorted, and every one of the dragon council members turned to see him shake his head.

Doesn’t it affect you?  Why should the council worry about a man bent on ruling an entire nation and actively trying to bond with a dragon?  Imagine what might happen if he succeeds and, in a century or two, he comes across the sea.  Perhaps that might affect you then.

There were slight head movements from the purple and brown dragon, but Kaen heard nothing in response to Pammon’s statement.  He wondered if they were speaking to each other or keeping any thoughts to themselves.

Hundreds of years mean nothing to us.  Perhaps you will begin to understand when you have lived for a hundred years.

The tone that dripped from Aethux’s words showed disdain for Pammon’s age.

A few seconds later, all of the dragons focused on Kaen.  Their stares still exhibited force that he barely noticed, but it was evident they somehow were so powerful that even their gaze could impart it.

Tell me, Dragon Rider.  What kind of man are you?  Will you request our help and accept or answer, or will you be the kind of tyrant you claim to be fighting against?

Pammon snorted but said nothing, obviously bothered by the questions.

“I’m not sure what Tharnok has told you, so I will start from the beginning so you may know who I am and why I do what I must.”

“That is why I am here.  Because there is a world out there, that is not only killing dragons but people as well.  I will not stand by and watch such things take place if I can find a way to stop it.”

Finished speaking, Kaen took a deep breath and let it out.  He watched the council to see how they might respond.

Some thrumming began.  First from Elynudra and then the silver dragon.  They looked at the others who had not joined in, and slowly, their laughing stopped.

The silver dragon lowered its head toward Kaen, and its black eyes locked on him.

I am called Rivenna, and my faction lives in the farthest land south.  It is humorous to hear that you would defend those who cannot defeat those who attack or kill them.  Are you offering to help my faction fight the others that overwhelm and defeat us, keeping us isolated and cut off from the much more prosperous and bountiful lands?

A snarl came from the brown dragon next to Rivenna, but no movement was made by the silver dragon.

“I am not here to change how your kind has lived longer than I could imagine.  Each of you would possibly claim to be oppressed by the other, even the one many of you might say is the oppressor.  I can say that there are men.  A race that I am very familiar with, cutting down your kind for the last hundred years as they attempt to find a new home across the sea.  That I will promise to one day seek to end as I already have made my intentions clear to the few I let live and return home.”

A few thrums came from Rivenna again, but she stopped after Aethux turned his eye toward her.

“I know the pain of loss.  Pammon knows the pain of loss.  One man has been that reason for the two of us, and something that has not happened in hundreds of years took place, bringing our lives together.  You ask the kind of man that I am.  I am a man that is committed to saving all those that I can by doing what I feel is right–”

Empty words, what you–

“I did not cut you off as you spoke,” Kaen shouted, startling the silver dragon as its head rose. “I would ask the same respect I had given you.”

Kaen waited a moment and continued after no other words came. “I will make mistakes.  I have made mistakes.  Just ask my dragon.  He will tell you I have acted like an eggling on occasion.”

Thrums came from most of the dragons, and Kaen felt an approving sensation coming through their bond.  He glanced and saw Pammon smiling as he was thrumming slightly.

“I will not be perfect, but I promise that everything I do is to protect all families.  To give each human, dwarf, elf, and any other race that seeks peace a chance to enjoy life with their parents and children.  If violence and war is the only language they understand, then I will unleash something far greater than they can ever imagine.”

Kaen knew his expression was probably not one they expected a human to give them.  His eyes had narrowed as he spoke, and there was no smile to be shown.

The dragons began looking at each other, heads moving slightly, cocking side to side as Kaen knew they spoke to one another.

That was one of the best speeches I have ever heard you give.  Hess would be very proud.

Resisting the urge to laugh, Kaen allowed his lips a slight smile.

I am lost about this council.  Why would they even listen to us?  What about us has prevented them from outright attacking us and removing the threat we might be?

As the minutes stretched with the council not talking and Kaen and Pammon considering what might arise from what he said, Kaen almost jumped when Amaranth spoke.

Tell me, Kaen.  Why did you do what you did?  How did you break the hold my master had over me?

What hold are you talking about?  I just knew they were using their powers to try and make Pammon and me submit.  I knew I could give some of my strength to you, and I did it.  There was no need for them to make you suffer.

Dragons are bound to their faction leader, all of whom are council members.  At an early age, we declare our obedience to them.  In time, one may gain enough strength over their life to try and resist or break it.  That usually leads to one of them dying.  The bond may be passed to another when forced to join a different faction.  It is renewed, often through force and threat of death.  When you… when your hand touched my head, it was as if you were tearing open those chains the humans had bound me with.  Slowly, one by one, they broke free.  A moment came where only a few remained, and I knew that if I promised my life and being to you, I could be free from Elynudra and her power.  The moment I did that, a… I’m not sure how to describe it.  I could soar as high as I wished, not being forced to stay close to the ground.

Kaen shifted just a little bit, considering the words she had said.

Do you realize I will not require you to make that same commitment to me?

A few seconds passed, and the only sound to be heard was the wind through the cavern.

I know that.  That is why I willingly made that commitment.  Someday, I may ask for you to release me from it, but at this moment, I know that if you were to do that, I would fall to the floor, crushed by their aura in a heartbeat.

Running his tongue over his teeth, Kaen considered what she was saying.

The aura…

She is correct, Pammon said, interrupting his thoughts.  Just like when Tharnok tried to force us to obey him the first time we met, you are the only reason I was able to resist that command.  It tore at the very fabric of who I am as a dragon.  A part of me wanted to submit.  To follow him without hesitation.  You kept me from giving in.  My bond to you.

When Pammon finished speaking, Kaen realized what the council was genuinely terrified of.

They are afraid I could free every dragon they control.

With his eyes open for the first time, Kaen realized what he had never known until this moment.

Focusing on his sole objective in life, he channeled his desire to protect others.

His lifestone roared within him, reaching a point where it almost hurt as he focused.

What are you doing?

Pammon’s concern rushed through their bond, but Kaen ignored him and his question.

He let his memories flood through him.  He was missing something, and he needed to figure out what it was.  His meeting with Lady Hurem and Ava where both of them had tried to bind him to their will.  Each time, they had failed, unable to comprehend why.  He had been unable to realize why.

Then, with Havannath.  That bastard of an elf had tried to bind him and Pammon to a life of servanthood.  A life obeying his every whim and desire.  Life as a slave.  No matter how the man had tried to lie about it or the reason why, that is what it was.

Now, all around him were older dragons attempting to do the same to those they professed to care about.  Questions flooded his mind about the things Amaranth had told him.  How they culled the strong and kept the weak in check.  They used their power and influence to keep the stone pillars they were sitting on.

His mind raced, his heart searched, and his lifestone pulsed.  It thudded in his chest, telling him the answer he knew he was missing.  It showed him what he needed.  It provided the very thing he hated more than anything.

[ Dragon Bind Skill Unlocked ]

[ Dragon Bind Skill Acquired ]

[ Dragon Bind Skill Increased x30 ]

His heart broke as he doubled over in pain, gasping for air and feeling like his mind was going to explode.

The knowledge that flooded through him.  The power that he now felt inside of him.

It was too much.  It was too dangerous.

That shock and hurt he was experiencing stopped as Kaen felt Pammon begin to laugh.

Pammon’s thrumming echoed through the chamber they were standing in.

Tharnok was right.  I never believed him, but he was right.