by Virlyce
The man’s mouth fell open as he held the silent baby in one hand, using his palm to support its head while resting its back along his forearm. His wife gripped the edges of her bed with both hands and screamed again. The man’s face paled, and he stepped back to his previous position, avoiding the sight of blood and liquid gushing out of his wife. He wasn’t squeamish, but he saw no reason to develop a tainted image of something he admired. The baby in his arms opened its eyes and stared at him, but the man didn’t even notice.
Cries were heard, and Prim lifted up another baby. The man stepped forward and swapped babies with Prim. He inspected it in a similar manner as before and sighed. “He’s also hornless,” he said. The baby cried, causing the man to wrinkle his nose. “I’ll hold that one if—”
A guttural scream cut him off. The baby stopped crying as Prim and the man turned their heads towards the woman lying on the bed. Her stomach was still bulging. Her already white hands turned even paler as she clenched them and tore through the sheets covering the mattress. “Triplets,” Prim said and handed the baby she was holding to the man. The man made a face as blood dripped from his elbows onto the ground. A dark color stained the rolled-up sleeves of his robe.
Within seconds, a third baby appeared, accompanied by a sloshing sound. Prim snipped the umbilical cord and inspected the woman before turning her attention towards her lord. The woman’s belly had finally returned to normal, and short gasps escaped from her mouth. Something pricked Prim’s chest. She looked down and opened her mouth. “Milord, this—”
“Horns!” the man said and tossed the two babies he was holding onto the bed, causing both of them to cry out. He snatched the baby out of Prim’s arms and cradled it to his chest, not caring about the bloody stains it left on his robe. He laughed and extended his hands, holding the baby in front of his face. His face fell. “It’s a girl.”
“What’s wrong with a girl?” the woman lying on the bed asked as she trembled and sat up. A white light enveloped her body thanks to Prim who was standing by the bed with her eyes closed and hands clasped. The woman picked up the two babies and frowned at the man.
The man chuckled and cradled the baby towards his chest. “There’s nothing wrong with a girl. How do you feel?” he asked. “It’s amazing how you … persisted through giving birth to triplets.”
His wife’s eyes narrowed. “I feel great,” she said and ground her teeth together. “Just fine.”
The man’s eyes gleamed, and he focused his attention on the baby in his arms. “Your name will be Tafel,” he said and smiled, revealing a row of white teeth.
“What about your sons?” his wife asked as she hugged the two infant boys to her chest.
The man shrugged. “How about Two and Three?” he asked. He wiggled his finger in front of Tafel’s face, causing her to stretch her hands out.
“Gabriel and Lamach,” his wife said and smiled at her children. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m sure they’ll grow up to be as strong as their father.” She glanced at the man who was still entranced by the baby in his arms. He hadn’t heard her.
The man raised his head and laughed. “Tafel will be the greatest mage of this generation,” he said. “Black, red, white, green. It doesn’t matter what kind of mage she becomes!”
“Blue?” his wife asked as she handed the two babies to Prim.
The man snorted. “What are you thinking, woman?” he asked. “Use your head sometimes. What beasts are nearby for her to learn skills from?”
The woman frowned and crossed her arms. She lay back down on the bed, ignoring the warm fluids underneath her legs and muttered under her breath, “You said any.” She eyed the smile on her husband’s face. It looked more like a sneer. She snorted and turned over onto her side. “See if I’ll let you get your way.”
Prim turned her head away, pretending not to have heard anything.
2
Five Years Later
The human king stood on a platform in the back of a ballroom, a golden scepter in his right hand. Behind him, Gale stood with his hands clasped behind his back, wearing a white robe. To the left of the king, a youth stood with his chest puffed out. He wore a set of blue armor that was too big in the shoulders for his scrawny frame. The king cleared his throat and banged the end of his scepter onto the platform, causing the ballroom to fall into silence. Hundreds of eyes turned towards his direction, causing the youth to fidget.
“I’d like to thank you all for coming here today to celebrate my son’s coming-of-age ceremony,” the king said and gestured towards the youth with his free hand. The well-dressed guests applauded while a few of the armored guards in the back whistled. The king waited for the applause to die down before continuing. “As many of you know, he is an exceptional fighter with great aptitude in holy magic. Six years ago, I announced he would become the leader of the holy knights, but today, I am renouncing that declaration.”
A few murmurs of confusion floated up as the nobles looked around at each other. The king waved his hand to silence them and paused, letting all the eyes fall on him.
“Today, he will become the first dragon knight!” the king said and slammed the end of his scepter against the platform. His voice boomed and echoed off the walls. “Elise!”
The metal doors swung open, and a woman with white hair holding an orange chain walked into the ballroom. She tugged on the chain that was as thick as her thigh, and a carriage-sized, sky-blue dragon lumbered through the entrance. Its eyes were wide, and its head was lowered like a dog that was caught chewing on a pillow.
“Nearly five years ago, the Red Blade Adventurers risked their lives to obtain a dragon egg. The result is in front of you,” the king said. “Elise has done an excellent job as a beast tamer, raising the baby dragon all on her own. For her efforts, I will bestow her with the title of viscountess.” A few nobles clapped but the majority remained silent in fear of drawing the dragon’s attention to themselves. “With the addition of a dragon knight to our troops, we will be able to exterminate the demon menace at our borders and reclaim the lost city of Flusia.” The king smiled as the nobles edged away from the walking dragon. The men trembled, and a few ladies fainted. “Even the demon lord is incapable of defeating a dragon. When we conquer the demons, we’ll move on to the elves. We’ve been oppressed for far too long; our time is nigh!” The king paused and let the armored guards in the back howl and cheer to their hearts’ content. He patted his son on the shoulder and said, “Rudolph, go and claim your prize.”
“Thank you, Father,” Rudolph said with a wide smile on his face. He strutted towards the dragon and held his hand out towards Elise. He made eye contact with the dragon and shivered before wetting his lips with the tip of his tongue. The dragon stared back at him with its wings and tail raised. Its lips were slightly parted, revealing a row of yellow teeth.
A twelve-year-old brat wishes to bond with a dragon. Ridiculous, Elise thought as she smiled at the prince. She put her hand on the dragon’s snout, stroking it a few times before grabbing Rudolph’s outstretched arm with her other hand. A pillar of white light emanated from Elise and illuminated the room. The dragon roared while Rudolph screamed as runes of light formed in the air and swirled around them. The dragon shook its head and slammed its feet against the floor while its tail thrashed around, knocking over tables filled with wine and food. Rudolph fell to his knees, held up only by Elise’s grip. After most of the tables were overturned, Elise released her hands, and the light faded away.
“It has been done,” Elise said with her forehead covered in a sheen of sweat. Rudolph panted as he stared at his wrist and grinned at the green runes spiraling up his forearm. The nearby nobles had screamed when the dragon rampaged, and they were just beginning to calm down.
The king waited until everyone fell silent. “As expected of a master-class beast tamer, the bond was established on the first try,” he said. Sparse applause rang out, and Elise took a bow. Her body trembled, and a hint of longing appeare
d in her eyes as she stared at the dragon. It mewled at her, as if knowing she would be leaving.
Elise turned her head away and curtsied at the king. Her lips quivered, but her voice was steady. “It was nothing,” she said. “It was an honor to be of service. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must rest. Forming a bond is quite exhausting.” She turned around and pursed her lips, ignoring the whimpers coming from the dragon as she walked outside of the ballroom.
The nobles began to chatter, softly at first. Rudolph stared at the dragon with his mouth slightly open. It had light-brown eyes with round pupils. It’s mine, I have a dragon, Rudolph thought while almost squealing.
“What are you going to name it?” a voice called out, slurring the words. The voice belonged to a red-faced noble who had his arm around a scantily clad woman.
Rudolph met the dragon’s watery eyes. “Johann. I’ll name him Johann.”
***
“Alright, Vur,” Vernon said as he alighted to the forest’s ground. The trees bent backwards due to the force of his wings slowing his massive body down. Vur was sitting on Vernon’s snout with his legs straddled over a golden ridge of scales. He was completely naked with tangled, brown hair that hung down to his shoulders. Vernon lowered his head to the ground and tilted his snout to the side, letting Vur jump off. “It’s about time you learned how to hunt for yourself, you damned freeloader … err, beloved son. All dragons learn how to hunt when they turn five.”
Vur blinked at Vernon, a blank expression on his face. “Hunt?”
“You’ll figure it out, I think,” Vernon said and furrowed his brow before shrugging his shoulders. “Just do what you feel is right.” He spread his wings and jumped into the air, abandoning the naked five-year-old child in the forest. The dragons had never taken Vur hunting before, opting to bring him a dead bear once a month instead.
Vur scratched his head and looked up at the golden speck in the sky before wandering off into the forest. His feet and hands were calloused from five years of crawling around naked on the hard ground through many summers and winters. His body was tan and lean, and he crept through the forest on all fours like a cat. A rustling noise caught his attention, and his head turned towards the sound. He bounded ahead and brushed aside a bush blocking his view. There was a small, four-legged creature eating berries off of a bush. It had a squiggly tail and hooves on the end of its feet. The baby boar’s eyes widened, and it let out a surprised squeal as Vur smiled and tackled the boar. He held the boar up. It was half his height with round, golden eyes and black stripes running down its sides, contrasting with its light-brown fur. Vur tilted his head as the boar squealed and squirmed in his grasp. He furrowed his brow because he wasn’t quite sure what hunting entailed.
Up above, Vernon nodded to himself and began to descend after Vur caught the boar. It wasn’t a bear or even an adult boar, but it was something. The child hadn’t resorted to magic either. He furrowed his brow as Vur flipped the boar over onto its back. The child seemed to be forcing something into its mouth. As he approached the ground from the air, a flash of golden light, shooting out of Vur, blinded him, causing him to crash into a tree. The tree groaned and snapped while the ground trembled. Vernon shook his head and blinked his eyes a few time. He stared at Vur and the boar in his hands. His mouth fell open as a golden rune flashed on both Vur’s and the baby boar’s forehead. Shit. Sera’s going to murder me.
Vur turned around and beamed as he held the baby boar aloft. “Look, Papa,” he said with a smile on his face. “I did it. I hunted.”
“That’s great,” Vernon said with his voice trailing off. His face fell as the boar’s irises and pupils glowed and changed shapes, becoming similar to Vur’s. He bit his lower lip and sighed while shaking his head. “Excellent job. Let’s go home, okay?”
“Un.” Vur grunted and nodded while hopping onto Vernon’s snout, using his nostril as a stepping stone. He cuddled the boar in his arms, and it licked his nose in reply.
Vernon’s face cramped as he flew into the air and headed back to the valley where he lived. They passed over a sea of green and multiple mountain ranges. The boar in Vur’s arms stared at the scenery with wide eyes. At last, the trio alighted in front of a cave with veins of golden ores decorating its exterior.
“Sera, dear. Are you home?” Vernon called out. He cleared his throat and sat on his haunches, praying she wasn’t. His prayers were unanswered.
“You two are back already?” Sera’s voice asked. A pair of golden eyes appeared in the depths of the cave before her sky-blue head came into view. “How was his first hunt? Did he kill a bear?”
“Uh.” Vernon scratched his head, causing the baby boar to squeal. Vernon’s left eye twitched. “He, uh”—his voice fell to a whisper—“imprinted a boar.” He closed his eyes and covered his ears with his paws.
“He what?” Sera asked and rushed out of the cave, causing the ground to tremble and dust to fall from the ceiling. Her eyes widened at Vur tossing the baby boar up and down into the air like a ball.
“Mama, look,” Vur said while dangling the boar out in front of him. The five-year-old smiled wide and hugged the boar to his chest. “I named her Snuffles.”
Sera glared at Vernon, who was still isolating his senses, before directing her gaze to Vur. “Did you imprint it?”
“Imprint? No, I hunted her,” Vur said while shaking his head. “Papa said I did a good job.”
If looks could kill, Vernon would’ve died right then and there. Sera took in a deep breath and smiled at Vur before speaking, “Tell Mama how you found him.”
“Snuffles is a girl; she has eyes like Mama. I was hunting, and I saw her, and I tried to feed her to hunt her, but she kept trying to run away, so I did what Papa does to me when I don’t eat, but then she stopped moving, but I didn’t want her to stop, so I hugged her and a bright light appeared, and then Papa came,” Vur said in one breath and tilted his head to one side. “What is she, Mama?”
Sera looked at the trembling boar. That is most definitely a male. She sighed. “We’re going to have a long talk, Vur.”
Vernon opened one eye and uncovered his ears. “You’re not mad?”
Sera smiled, showing her teeth while narrowing her eyes. “Come, dear. I think both of you can learn something new.”
“Ah,” Vernon said as he dropped Vur onto the ground and turned around to walk away. “I just remembered I had something to do. Prika needed me to—”
Prika’s voice called out from below the cave. “Don’t bring me into this!”
Vernon whimpered as Sera bit his tail and dragged him into the depths of the cave. Snuffles looked up at Vur who trotted after the two into the darkness. “Mama loves Papa,” he said to the boar and stroked its forehead.
***
Elise sighed at her empty stables. There was so much space now that Johann had left. A month had already passed since she handed his reins to the prince, and she still hadn’t replaced the partition he occupied. She was about to enter, but a fluctuation of magic caused her hair to stand on end. She whirled around just in time to see a half-naked old man appear out of thin air.
“Elise,” the old man said as he ran a bony finger through his white beard.
“Exzenter,” Elise said, unfazed by the man’s appearance. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“The king sent me to bring you to him,” Exzenter said. “Apparently the dragon’s broken or something. He wouldn’t let me take a look though. A shame really, I was hoping to study it a bit. Both you and that man are so stingy.” He clicked his tongue.
Elise sighed and held out her hand. “Please teleport my clothing too.”
“That’s really not up to me,” Exzenter said and smiled as he grabbed her hand. Elise’s vision went dark. Moments later, the color reappeared, and she found herself standing in the center of a room with a red carpet on the ground. She glanced down and exhaled in relief when she saw all her clothes had remained with her. Exzenter released her hand and stepped to th
e side as she raised her head.
“Elise.”
“Your Majesty,” Elise said and knelt on the floor. A mewling sound caught her attention, but she resisted the urge to raise her head.
The king was sitting on his throne with the prince and the dragon by his side. Rudolph was sitting on Johann’s back. “Why can’t Johann use magic?” Rudolph asked. The dragon flinched when it heard its name.
“You may rise,” the king said.
Elise stood up and observed the men in front of her. The prince was frowning, and the king wasn’t smiling. Gale was like a statue of a bishop as he stood behind the king with his hands clasped and face expressionless.
“Johann has not been imprinted. All magical beasts can imprint their young to grant them their lineage which contains their innate magic,” Elise said and lowered her head. “Without an imprint, a magical beast is just a beast.”
“Then get him imprinted,” Rudolph said and smacked his hand down on the side of Johann’s neck. Elise resisted the urge to frown, but her eyes grew cold.
“Is that possible?” the king asked.
“Only if you can find a dragon willing to imprint him,” Elise said.
“What about a different beast?” Exzenter asked. His eyes lit up as if a lightbulb appeared over his head.
Elise shook her head. “Johann is no longer a child. Finding a mother willing to take him in as her own would be quite difficult in and of itself,” she said. “And even if you could find one, if you imprint Johann with, say, a magical boar, then his potential and abilities will be limited to the level of the boar.”
Exzenter raised an eyebrow. “Then if a dragon imprinted a boar?”
Elise shot a glance at the old man who had managed to lose another piece of clothing through his teleportation. “Then that dragon’s beyond stupid,” she said. “What kind of question is that?”
“So there’s a chance,” Exzenter said and nodded, causing Elise to sigh.
“Can’t you find me a dragon, Dad?” Rudolph asked the king.
