by Eric Vall
“What about your father?” Morrigan inquired, and I smiled to myself that all of my women took an interest in the Qianlong’s heritage and family.
“Just like my mother, he was a mix of the person he was by blood, and by how he was raised. I wouldn’t say my father was angry, but he certainly didn’t have an ‘inside voice,’ his voice was always raised, no matter if he was happy or upset. I would call him passionate, he threw himself into all things wholeheartedly but most of all, he loved my mother more than anything on this earth, except for me, of course. To him, I was the miracle of both nations, the combination of two mighty tribes. A lot isn’t known about him, though there isn’t a lot of information out there about both of them, but I’ll tell you a bit, even the mundane things if you like.”
“Please!” Haruhi shouted, then covered her mouth with both paws embarrassed. “It’s just…really exciting.”
“I understand, my parents were phantoms, footnotes at the end of the Canartian dragon’s reign. You are a librarian, a seeker of information, and it is only natural that you would hunger for the memories I have locked away of them together.” Heijing nodded, her voice soft and kind as she smiled over to the sage.
My women chattered to the dragon the entire journey down, but each time they asked a question, Heijing would smile and give them the answer willingly. The Qianlong was soft-spoken just as she described her mother, and I remembered the faces of her parents from the drawing Adrian showed me. She looked exactly like them but in a tiny form.
We were close to the city, but the Qianlong showed no sign of nervousness. She’d been alone for so long that I’d assumed she’d be anxious about stepping into the town full of cat-people, but she showed no such emotion on her face. Heijing’s thoughts were clear and worry-free, but I stopped and turned to look her directly in the eye. The dragon simply raised her eyebrows in question.
“What do you miss most about those times?” I asked in a firm voice. “What does your heart long for when you think about the times you spent with the city filled with dragonkin?”
Heijing didn’t think about the answer, didn’t pause or hesitate but answered in an honest tone as her eyes never left mine.
“I miss my family, not just my parents but everyone in the sanctuary. I was the next leader of the Qianlong people; I was loved and adored by all. I was treated like a daughter in the homes of strangers. I wouldn’t call it a sense of community; these people were my brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts, and uncles,” Heijing answered honestly. “I would do anything to get back to that feeling. My people were lost to me within a matter of minutes, and I will never get them back. That is why this journey is so important to me. I need to discover the world for myself and in turn, find myself.”
“What happened to the dragonkin? We all know that they died off but…how?” Annalise asked, and Heijing’s face tightened into a pained expression.
“Don’t you know?” the dragon asked as she looked into each of our faces. “Not even you, Dark One?”
“No, I was thrown from the heavens and locked in a dungeon for thousands of years. I have no idea what happened to the dragons or your people.” I answered as I stared down at the tiny woman.
“Then you must not know what your kind did to mine,” Heijing stated, and my eyes widened in surprise. “The dragons of Canarta are dead because the gods attacked us. Is this not a known fact?”
“We…just thought you got sick or something,” Carmedy admitted in a low voice.
“There is no recorded history of what happened to us, is there?” the Qianlong asked as she turned towards Haruhi, and the sage shook her head.
“No, there was no actual explanation as to why your kind died out. There was speculation that, as Carmedy said, you died off from disease or something like that. Or the industrialization of the islands had something to do with it, but no actual proof.” Haruhi told her, and Heijing’s expression stayed the same as she took it all in.
“The gods killed your people? Why?” I questioned, and the Qianlong’s icy blue eyes settled on me.
“Jealousy? Hatred? In a way, dragons were revered as gods on earth. We ruled both earth and sky with iron fists. The gods didn’t like it; only they were to be worshipped and praised. They attacked us one morning without warning, my parents hid me away in a secret chamber below the temple right as the attack started, and when I emerged a few hours later, my people were dead. I, not over the age of three hundred, found my father cradling my mother’s bloody corpse. Both of them were taken from me at such a young age. I buried all of them, my entire city, alone and frightened. That’s where I stayed, the last Qianlong, the keeper of the sanctuary.”
“Heijing…” Carmedy muttered as she held out her hands to the dragon, but the blue-haired woman raised a hand to stop her.
It wasn’t a slight to the feline, Heijing wasn’t an emotional being, and though she’d rejected the cat-girl, Carmedy didn’t seem offended by it.
“It is a sad story, I know, but please, do not feel sorry for me,” Heijing stated in her monotone voice. “It is a burden that I have carried for most of my life, and the load is not as heavy as it once was. Yes, I agreed to come on this journey to help you, but I also did it for an entirely selfish reason too.”
I inclined my head back as I stared at her. Heijing was resolute as she stepped directly in front of me and placed her hands into her long sleeves. Her icy blue eyes cut into me as she reclined her head back to look up into my face. I towered over her, and if I could guess, the little woman barely came up to my ribs. She was petite and delicate looking and deep in my chest; I wanted to protect her.
“I’m going to destroy the heavens,” I said plainly, and the Qianlong nodded solemnly. “That is why you want to join us.”
“They took something from me that I can never get back,” Heijing growled through clenched teeth, and I felt her hate for the god’s realm practically roll off her. “I can be an ally and an aid to you. You can travel to the heavens easily; your women cannot. I can be of help. Let me come with you and tear down the heavens by its heels.”
I stared down at the tiny woman for a moment. I hadn’t decided which group she was going with yet but it was clear that she wanted to help us on our journey. Heijing was speaking in long-term, she wanted to join us and battle against the heavens too.
“Please, Master? Can she come with me, Annalise and Rana? She’d help us out a lot.” Carmedy begged as she grabbed onto Heijing’s arm and pleaded with her huge, emerald eyes.
“Also, uh, don’t know if this is an added bonus, but she’s a fucking dragon,” Rana snorted as she gestured towards the tiny woman. “Who wouldn’t want to have a dragon on their side?”
“I have to agree with Rana on the advantages of a dragon ally, though it would be better if she came with us, Master,” Morrigan uttered as she stepped forward and placed a delicate hand on Heijing’s shoulder. “I may have magical abilities, but the Qianlong will add more chances of winning the fight against the Holy Band.”
“Hold on a second,” Annalise said as she raised her hands into the air then turned to address the dragon. “We all know you’re the Qianlong, but do you have any other skills other than turning into a beast? Do you know how to wield a sword?”
Heijing didn’t answer, only let her hands drop from in front of her. Her left hand crossed over her front and moved into the air as if she were clasping the hilt of an imaginary sword. The air around her hand glimmered, and when she pulled her hand away from her body in the motion of drawing a sword, flames came to life in the air. Heijing stood firm as she held a blade the same length as Bloodscale or the Eye of Alipsis entirely made from roaring flame.
The high queen’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as she stared and Carmedy gasped loudly. Morrigan remained stoic but simply lifted a single eyebrow in surprise. Rana squealed loudly and held her paws up in front of her grinning mouth. I was impressed too as the Qianlong took a few quick swings of the weapon and moved like
an expert swordswoman just like Annalise.
“It’s made of fire, but I would consider it a blade,” Heijing said thoughtfully as she examined the weapon.
“Never mind, I think she’s good. No complaints here, have her come with us.” Annalise squeaked in a high-pitched voice as she lifted a thumbs up into the air.
Heijing opened the hand that held the hilt of the fire blade, and the weapon disappeared with a loud sizzle. Her attention settled back on me as she leveled her icy blue eyes on my face. She waited for my answer patiently and didn’t press me with words or questions. She was right when she said that I’d need help to bring my women to the god’s realm. It was a difficult task to bring mortals into a world of heavenly beings, and if she were a part of our party, then it was another thing that I didn’t need to worry about. Heijing was a skilled warrior and, in her dragon form, a terrifying adversary.
“Heijing,” I uttered in a low, husky voice and the Qianlong’s pale blue eyebrows lifted for me to continue. “You will go with Rana, you will help her find her family, and then we will decide if you will be helpful to the party in our war with the heavens.”
“Thank you,” the dragon muttered as she bowed low to me then straightened gracefully. “I will bring honor to you and your women. I will become a worthy ally to all of you along the way. I understand, I have not proven myself to you yet, but I will.”
I nodded once then turned back towards the path ahead. My women followed after me, and I smiled to myself. Though we would be separate within the next few days, and we would be apart for a short time, I was eager for the future. With Heijing by our sides, the coming battles against the Holy Order and the Heavens would be easier. As each day passed, I had more and more allies by my side. First it was the four horsemen we’d met in Tintagal, and now it was the last remaining Qianlong.
I would destroy the earth and reform it in my image, then I would move on to the heavens. There was nothing standing in my way, no obstacle that I couldn’t overcome.
I was a god, and I would soon become Master over all. I would stop at nothing until every living, breathing creature was under my control. Acquiring the Qianlong was completely by accident, but I was glad to have her as an ally instead of an enemy. Each move I made now put me one step closer to the end that I wanted and deserved.
I would exact my revenge on the heavens not only for my sake but also for the Tichádáma and now Heijing too. I could feel everything I wanted brushing against my fingertips, and every step I took, it came closer than ever before. I could almost taste it on the tip of my tongue, the revenge and victory over all those who had scorned me and tossed me out of the heavens.
Soon, I would be the Master over all things on earth and in heaven.
End of book 6
End Notes
Thank you for reading Dungeon Master 6! You all gave me some great review feedback with the last book, and I super appreciate it. I think we’ll have two more books after this and then the series will be over. Reviews will still help get other people into the series, so if you have 30 seconds, please leave me a review! Thanks again!
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Eric Vall
