“That’s right, Princess,” nodded Elder Olea. “Your father is a descendant of the Earth Dragon’s master, and your mother, a descendant of the Sea Dragon’s mistress.”
“No, wait. It doesn’t make sense,” said Darsan. “I get it for Dad, but... Mom ain’t got a dragon. None of her people did.”
“That’s also explained in the legend,” answered Aglithia, “or more like, there’s a reason for it.”
“Once the siblings’ souls were bonded to the dragons,” nodded Lady Olea, “the dragons began to know pain, disease, and aging for the very first time since they had been born. They had traded their immortality, just like they had wished. However, as they were now too attached to humans, the dragons began to also be drawn into human conflicts. The brother and the Earth Dragon fought many wars, while the sister and the Sea Dragon healed many. However, once their humans grew into adulthood, the dragons began to differ on the future they wanted. They loved each other, but when time came for their humans to carry their own children, and the two gods realized their own progeny were to come into the world as well, they just couldn’t agree on the wish they wanted for their future generations. The Earth Dragon wanted its progeny to be as strong as its human, and go on for a long time. The Sea Dragon, however, felt sad about their offspring being tied to humans and their wars forever, and wanted to be sure they were born in a safe place. Hence, they transmitted their wish for the next generation to their humans.”
The old lady sighed, and got back up, walking up to the mosaic. She put a hand on the Black Dragon, staring at it with an enigmatic expression.
“First, the Earth Dragon’s children would carry its strength and power, and pass it on to his sons and daughters. As the first master had been a man, only men would carry on the blood of a dragon soulmate. Masters of the Earth Dragons would remain strong, for the sake of protecting their own families. Indeed, when its first sons were born, the Earth Dragon witnessed the birth of his own first offspring. The daughters also carried its blood, but no dragons were born, for only males could partner with the Earth Dragon.”
Elder Olea smiled, and then moved a bit, this time to face the White Dragon but not touch it, her hands on her cane.
“Meanwhile, the Sea Dragon decided to lie in wait, and pray for a while longer, for a time when its children would be born safely. The Sea Dragon passed on to the sister all of its knowledge and hope, and told her its blood would protect her daughters forever. However, it still feared men’s greed would harm its offspring, and so, no more Sea Dragons were born, and it only kept aging and aging, staying by the side of the sister’s daughters instead. When the Earth Dragon, who had lost its immortality after giving birth to too many heirs, was ready to finally die, the Sea Dragon made him a promise. ‘I shall wait,’ it said, ‘until the time when our children meet again, and our bloods become one, like when we were born. When that time comes, I will know your children made the world safe for them, and my offspring will finally come into the world. I will meet my human again, and give her the rest of my life, so I can join you in this blissful rest they call death. Then, you and I can rest peacefully, as I will have witnessed that our children will live on, safe and together.’”
A faint silence followed her last sentence, all a bit moved by the story. Nana sniffled, wiping the little tears in her eyes.
“It’s so sad and beautiful at the same time,” she mumbled. “What happened to the Sea Dragon, then...?”
“According to the legend,” said Aglithia, “it didn’t die with the sister. The Sea Dragon stayed by the Earth Dragon’s side until it died, and then, it went into hiding, in a safe place where no human could reach, to wait until it could witness their offspring being reunited again.”
“S-so you’re saying...” muttered Cessilia, “my mother’s Rain T-Tribe was... the Sea D-Dragon’s daughters’ p-people?”
“Mom and Auntie had songs like that,” said Darsan, “about... scaled women, and a Dragon God. That... I mean, that could be it, right?”
“I’m sure those legends perdured in many ways,” nodded Elder Olea, “but yes, Princess, that is true. Your parents are the descendants of each of those Dragon Gods’ very first soulmates.”
“As you probably guessed,” added Aglithia, “the Dragon Empire was conquered by the children of the Earth Dragon. As promised, they had regained all the lands taken by the other tribes, and ruled over them with their dragons by their side. They once ruled over everything, but the Eastern Kingdom appeared later, when more tribes arrived and gained back territory. There were too many humans by then, so they became rulers instead, and kept winning as many wars as needed to preserve their territory as it is today. Meanwhile, the descendants of the Sea Dragon, who refused to wage war, went into hiding in more isolated places, where no one would be likely to attack them.”
“The swamps,” nodded Darsan. “Yeah, Mother said nobody wanted to live there until her tribe’s people were raided to be taken as slaves...”
“That’s... amazing!” shouted Nana, almost jumping on her feet. “Cessi, I can’t believe your family’s story is so amazing! It is so epic, I wish it was in a history book so I could read it again and again! No, in several books!”
“Our family forbids the legend to ever be written down,” said Aglithia. “It shall only be passed down orally, to prevent anyone from ever getting to know the secret of the dragon owners, except themselves!”
“But... then, how do the Cheshi people know so much?” asked Nana, tilting her head. “If you’re not... you know, neither the sister’s nor the brother’s descendants...”
Elder Olea smiled, and turned to Cessilia.
“Can you guess who we are, then, Princess?”
“...You’re all th-the others,” she said confidently. “The Cheshi p-people are the rest of the siblings’ t-tribe. The f-first humans who c-came and befriended the Dragon G-Gods...”
Aglithia smiled and nodded proudly.
“Exactly! Therefore, we don’t usually meddle in the affairs of the Eastern Kingdom... Our people decided to stay where they had always been, near the area they first arrived. During their conquest, the heirs of the Earth Dragon went to the west, but we decided to remain here, as our tribe’s history is here. The Sea Dragon was also last spotted here, on the beach of the Soura... The history of this continent is so deeply rooted into the legend that we treasure so much, our tribe decided to remain here forever, regardless of who the ruler of the land was. We are much older than any of the tribes here, and more familiar with dragons too. That’s why we couldn’t help but to observe you from afar...”
“What a-about Ashen?”
Cessilia’s angry tone gathered their attention, even cooling down Naptunie’s enthusiasm. Behind her, Darsan crossed his arms with a scowling look. Cessilia stepped forward, visibly upset.
“Th-thank you for t-telling us the history of our d-dragons, but as we s-speak, the Yekara C-Clan is still trying to t-take over your homeland. They t-tried to kill Ashen t-too. I c-can’t simply sit here and listen t-to your stories if you’re not g-going to help us at all. I d-don’t understand what your intention is here.”
Aglithia exchanged a look with her grandmother, the two of them giving a quick nod. Then, the young woman stepped forward, calmly.
“As I said, Princess Cessilia, the Cheshi have never gotten involved in the wars of this Kingdom. To us, the legitimate rulers of the Eastern Kingdom are the Earth and Sea Dragons’ heirs. We vowed to never get involved, unless one of the Dragons–”
“The D-Dragons are gone!” Cessilia suddenly shouted.
Her fists clenched, she stepped forward, furious, running out of patience.
“The dragons you were t-talking about are b-both gone,” she said, “and my family did not t-take back the Eastern K-Kingdom either! We may b-be the descendants of those Dragon G-Gods, but this is a story from d-dozens of centuries ago! You c-can’t just ignore the p-people living here now and k-keep living in the past! This is something that is happening n-now, and you are s-staying aside for the sake of a centuries-old t-tale? You c-can’t do this! This K-Kingdom needs your help, now! Ashen n-needs you to side with him to t-take back his home! He is the only K-King these people need!”
A long silence followed her words, where everyone stood perfectly still. After a few seconds, though, a faint smile appeared on Aglithia’s lips, and she turned to her grandmother.
“...See? I told you she was a great princess, Grandma.”
Elder Olea chuckled, nodding.
“Indeed, indeed. Ah... It makes me so proud of what our venerated dragons’ blood has become. Princess Cessilia, I am sorry for the lengthy explanation, but I am happy with your response.”
“You are?” Darsan asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes. See, our Cheshi Clan has sadly become very divided over this precise matter and the current situation. Some of us fully agree with what Princess Cessilia said. We cannot stand idly by and be passive forever... this may no longer be the home to the dragons’ offspring, but this is still our homeland. Some of us would like to support King Ashen the White, but others were more mitigated. We have pondered for a while whether to help him out or not, whether that blood of his was enough for us to finally get involved in the Kingdom’s succession.”
“...What? His b-blood?” muttered Cessilia, confused. “What are you t-talking about?”
Aglithia put on a dampened smile, caressing one of her tattoos with her fingers enigmatically.
