“See,” said Aglithia, “there is something about King Ashen the White that makes him a bit different from all of the other kings our clan has seen on the throne of the Eastern Kingdom. For a long time, we cared little about other tribes fighting over this throne, as we knew none of them to be the real heirs to this land. But King Ashen... might be the first one in a while to have us recognize him as the real heir.”
Cessilia’s eyes went back and forth between Elder Olea and Aglithia, confused. What was it about Ashen’s blood that made him different from his predecessors? They wouldn’t recognize someone who wasn’t related to the Dragons’ heirs, and they had been against his father too... Suddenly, Cessilia understood.
“...His m-mother.”
“Yes,” nodded Aglithia. “...She was a Cheshi.”
Chapter 23
Cessilia was rendered speechless. Ashen’s mother belonged to the Cheshi Clan... She would have never guessed. Yet, it made a bit of sense. His mother had to belong to a clan for a single woman to be able to live in the Capital in such troubled times, and even be able to raise three boys by herself.
“I d-don’t understand. If she was a Ch-Cheshi, then why d-didn’t you help her when…?”
“That woman had chosen a way of life different from our own,” sighed Elder Olea. “She was trained, educated, and raised like any child of our clan. However, when she came of age, she refused to marry her fiancé within our clan and left. Soon enough, she was carrying another man’s child... Little did we know, she was to conceive the Tyrant King’s heirs.”
“So... Ashen d-doesn’t know?”
“Most likely not,” said Elder Olea. “His mother had cut all ties with us, and once she had decided to carry on with her life outside of the clan, we didn’t intervene anymore. Still, we never let one of our own really fall far from our sight. Hence, we kept observing that young man and his younger brothers, although we did not wish to get involved... We did extend a hand to his mother in difficult times, but that stubborn woman never accepted it. His father, being the man he was, made us doubt his sons would be any different after their mother passed.”
Darsan scoffed.
“You guys... I think you missed my sister’s point here. Nobody gives a dragon’s fart where that guy came from, or who his parents were. Her boyfriend’s your damn King, he fought hard to get there, even without your help. You should just stop talking and help him.”
Cessilia smiled at her older brother, a bit glad for his help. Despite his external appearance and blunt way of speaking, Darsan was soft-hearted, and he did like Ashen a lot as well.
“We did help the young King, for a time,” sighed Elder Olea. “In indirect ways, we tried to protect those boys, sometimes providing food in such ways they wouldn’t suspect our meddling, and guarding them safely when possible. Sadly, the situation wasn’t such that we could afford to watch estranged children of the clan more than our own. Yet, the young Ashen gathered even more of our interest when he rose from the dead, carrying a dragon’s skin at that. We had a hunch he had gotten some... help, from the Dragon Empire, but we were especially surprised to see a princess arrive at his side. Since then, we have been reconsidering him as a more fitting leader, but a lot happened, of course.”
“The way he got rid of the Kunu Tribe made us be especially careful,” added Aglithia. “To see a whole tribe killed and chased down overnight... It wasn’t just us. Although the Kunu had gone overboard, a lot of tribes feared that King Ashen was too similar to his father. No one wanted to become his next enemy. As for us, we decided to withdraw, and wait and see how he would mature as a King.
“Of course, his reign wasn’t only marked by such terrible events,” nodded her grandmother. “The way he picked a wise counselor despite the Lords’ judgment, or how he erected walls despite the protests to keep the Capital safe were commendable, but there was a lot to be done. Sincerely, we thought we would witness him evolve for better or worse in the upcoming years, but the Lords pushing for him to pick a wife did get our interest. Just when we thought he’d reveal his true nature when choosing his bride, you appeared, Princess Cessilia. Needless to say, our clan was quite shaken up by the news. We thought we should meet you first. Aglithia and the triplets, who were already planted long ago in the castle, did watch you from afar, as you already know, until today when we decided to make contact. I am sorry we did not find the right timing to reach out to you sooner, and as for King Ashen, I am truly sorry we did not pay more attention to his mother’s lineage, but that woman... she was rather... clear, when she cut ties with our clan.”
“Only b-because she refused t-to marry her fiancé?” Cessilia frowned.
Aglithia and her grandmother exchanged a glance.
“...She was betrothed to my father,” Aglithia finally said.
Cessilia was taken aback. So, Ashen’s mother should have become the Clan Leader’s wife... No wonder her situation became complex and peculiar for the clan after she cut ties and basically ran away.
“Most of the Cheshi Clan’s people are aware of King Ashen’s lineage,” said Aglithia. “For a long time, the elders were quite divided on whether we should finally take a more active position or not. Some were still... offended by his mother’s actions, and want us to not consider him as one of us anymore. Others think we should have acted earlier. Thankfully, your arrival did simplify things a lot.”
Cessilia was conflicted about the Cheshi Clan’s actions. Although she understood some of their decisions, her heart was still aching for the young Ashen who had gone through so many hardships, all because of the adults’ selfishness. She glanced at her brother, but Darsan simply shrugged with a smug expression.
“So?” he asked. “What’s your position now? Because my sis could use some support right now. So could that King, from what we’ve seen.”
“No matter what,” said Aglithia, “we never got along with the Yekara Clan, but they were also cautious to avoid messing with us. What happened last night, though, was definitely a turning point. My father agreed for us to meet you, and offer you the strength of the Cheshi Clan.”
“...You know, tale-telling is not going to cut it,” groaned Darsan, raising an eyebrow. “That was a nice story, but how is that helpful to us?”
Elder Olea chuckled, and stepped forward.
“Our clan is not only about keeping the memory of the Dragon Gods. For a very, very long time after the siblings that originally carried their souls passed, we also vowed to protect the will of the Dragon Gods. Their ultimate will was their progeny’s safety and a peaceful land for them to prosper in. I think we will agree that sadly, the Eastern Kingdom is no longer at peace. Thus, it is indeed time for us to act, Princess Cessilia. Come with me.”
Following the old lady, they all left the prayer room. Cessilia couldn’t help but glance one last time at the beautiful mosaic of the dragons behind her. She had no idea a portion of her family history had been hidden here all along, so far from the place she called home. It felt like they had truly dove in and unburied some secrets that were missing without them even knowing they needed that piece of the puzzle... She had been raised with dragons, and Cece, Krai, and all the other dragons of her family members had always been such a big part of her life. Still, Cessilia had consistently been one of the most curious among her siblings, and at times, she had wondered what made their family so special for them to be life-bound to such majestic creatures. Now, at least, she had some answers. Of course, there were probably some creative parts in the legend, or things that had been lost and changed over the years, but she could still see how it fit with her family history. In fact, it explained a lot of things...
“There is still something I don’t understand,” whispered Naptunie while they were following the grandmother-granddaughter duo. “If the legend is right, and from a scholar point of view, well, I’m still very, uh... surprised. But, if we were to believe the legend, then... why did Lady Cessilia have a dragon, and Tessa didn’t...? Not that I think you shouldn’t! I understand your brothers have water dragons because your mothers were part of the Sea Dragon’s descendants, and so, it probably prevails on the Earth Dragons somehow, but...”
Cessilia frowned, thinking about how to answer this when she only had pieces of information, but before she did, they both heard Darsan sigh behind them.
“Our mom told us about that legend thing, about a very old Dragon God she once met underwater that saved her life. She always stayed vague about it, but Kassian, Cessi, and I heard that story a lot. ...I mean, we never really knew how much of it was true, and we were kids when she told us that, but... what’s true is that Mom wasn’t around after Kassian was born. He was born during the war against that screwed up uncle of ours that Dad and Auntie Shareen got rid of, but Mom wasn’t there after the war. Kassian always says he has no memory of Mom before I was born, and Dad doesn’t talk about it either, but the aunties from the Onyx Castle all said he was alone with Kassian for a long time. No one wants to say what happened to Mom, but... we heard some stuff.”
Cessilia nodded.
“It d-does match what Elder Olea s-said a bit...”
“I see...” muttered Naptunie, visibly absorbed in her thoughts again. “So your mother would be... Oh...”
Cessilia glanced ahead, but if Aglithia and her grandmother had heard anything of their exchange with Naptunie, they were both pretending otherwise.
As the Cheshi duo guided them through the property, Cessilia was only beginning to realize how vast this place really was. From what she could see, their main residence had high walls and many large square patios, where they crossed paths with some people bearing similar tattoos to Aglithia, and some who had none. Either way, all those people were surprisingly very physically fit. Perhaps because she had never seen the other Cheshi before, Cessilia was even more surprised that they didn’t really seem to match the rumors. In fact, only the Cheshi with tattoos were seen carrying around large volumes, in corners reading or writing, and exchanging with other people who also had tattoos. On the other hand, all the Cheshi that didn’t have any were more often than not training, or clearly on their way to, carrying weapons or in a fitting outfit.
“Lady Aglithia,” she asked. “C-can I ask... about those t-tattoos you have. I see a lot of you have th-them, is there any p-particular meaning to them?”
“There is,” nodded Aglithia, a bit proud. “It means we are holders of some of the clan’s secrets! You see, we not only know a lot about dragons, but our family has specialized in transmitting our knowledge orally, as much as possible, and some of that knowledge is centuries old. Thus, to know which of us holds a particular knowledge, we receive our tattoos when we complete learning a particular course of the clan. We are all free to study what we want, but those with the most tattoos are basically the most knowledgeable among us.”
“What my proud grandchild fails to mention, is that it is also a means of defense,” added her grandmother.
