Chương 1652: [1556] – Y07.056 – Shadows Over Arisa I

"That young man…" the Sleeping Dragon of Arisa began. At first she had thought her Seneschal had been underestimating him, but from what she had seen, what she had surmised, what she had sensed through her aching arms, it wasn't just the grandson of the Mad Dog, but that other fool, also known as the grandson of the Mad Dog. Yet, beyond that… The Faro remained silent, for if the Sleeping Dragon of Arisa was going so far as to think that deeply, she would need to wait.

There were few who held the keys for her family's long life and further fortune, and the Sleeping Dragon of Arisa, who she had invested mountains of gold into, was one such figure.

"Even at my strongest, I am uncertain," Kal Salma admitted finally, though the words coated her tongue in sourness, so she sipped on the fine wine of the Faro, that which would be considered almost poisonous to others, yet the alcohol burned away the sourness, though filled the sourness within her heart.

'I thought he was powerful, but…' Lady Sabreen's heart shuddered at the thought of the monster that was the half elf, and yet her thoughts then fell to them, those who kept that monster upon a leash.

"Why did the Iyr reveal him?" Kal Salma, fuelled by her alcohol, let out a soft sigh, for if the Lady was this much of a fool, wouldn't her family fall before the century passed?

"The little boy did not eat, not even from the hand of his father, not from the hand of his sister, and though his mother had not brought food to his lips, he would have refused her too." Lady Sabreen reached up to her forehead, her head pounding violently at the stress of the situation. Could it really be that obvious? The Iyr had stepped out only for the sake of telling the world about how far they would be willing to go for the sake of the children?

There may have been more to it, but Lady Sabreen al-Yasin of Arisa recalled the few times such word came to her in her training from a little girl, to take her place as the Faro.

'When it comes to the Iyr, the quieter, the better,' her father had said, before he had finally taken his position as the Faro.

'The Iyr? Do not worry of them, for we shall never draw our swords against them, and thus they will not draw their swords against us,' her grandmother had informed her, before feeding her one of the small, soft balls of gulab jamun, those which were covered in coconut flakes.

"Do you know what we call those of the Iyr in our tongue?" Kal Salma asked.

"I cannot recall." The woman spoke the words of the dragon's tongue, allowing it to marinate in the air, causing a darkness to seep within it.

"Deathsingers. You might know of them as Iyrmen, but we know them as Deathsingers, and have known them as such for millennia. It is those Deathsingers who hunted not just dragons, but even the Divine themselves."

"Is that not a myth?"

"A myth?" Kal Salma stared down at the empty cup before her, seeing not just the darkness within, but the emptiness.

"A myth? I suppose you might call it that, for you live to a century at most. Even if it is a myth, even if you hear rumours, when it comes to those known as the Deathsingers, these Iyrmen, whose Iyr you should not provoke, you should assume them to be true. All of them."

"All of them?"

"Do you know how the Iyr was founded?"

"I heard they were a group of people who almost died, and then, with a sudden ferociousness, they pushed back their enemies."

"The Iyr, which once almost disappeared into nothingness, returned with a greater force, a greater will, a greater story." Kal Salma stared at the cup, into the nothingness, into the darkness, into the past. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

'The blood of dragons, those who rules the skies, those who pierce the heavens, those who defy the Divine themselves, runs through your veins,' the large, vicious, magnificent creature once spoke, threatening to burst the little babe's ear drums.

The tiny girl, within her little clothy, had already covered her ears, but she brought her hands down, and then beamed up towards the old dragon, whose scales were black as the night sky, eyes as wicked as the most dangerous of beasts, his strength which could move mountains.

'It is that blood which is a blessing! No! You do not have to worry of mortals, monsters, or those menaces who call themselves Divine! As long as you do not trouble the Iyr, no, even if you trouble the Iyr, as long as you do not harm one of its babes, you shall only know fortune, the greatest of life, the most wonderful joy!' How many times had her father warned her?

That behemoth of a creature, who claimed a span of territory of ten thousand miles, who even the Shen worried for, that her father of hers, even though he had not woken up in decades…

"I am but a step away from the Peak," the half dragon finally said.

"It is title mortals speak of, though very few will ever reach of it, but in the martial circles, there is a realm beyond, known as numerous titles, but the most common is Idol. Such a realm, you could consider many dragons to have reached that realm, even my father would be considered such, but within such a realm, one would not consider my father so weak as a typical Idol." Lady Sabreen remained silent, as the Kal raised her cup to stare at it, her own reflection from the light that caressed its side.

Then, for a moment, fear reflected back, and the Kal reached up to cover her eyes, remaining silent for a long moment.

"That young man, he is strong, in the sense he is able to defeat the Fariqi of this land, however, what of the Hearth of Floria?" Lady Sabreen swallowed, for why would she mention someone like that?

"Though Aldland has four times as much land, four times as many warriors, four times as many Orders, Floria has that old man, someone who would make even Slumber Claw pause." Kal Salma decided against mentioning that compared to that old man, even Slumber Claw, Lord Veisswing's father, was just a child.

"Perhaps if the Orders united, they could dare to raise their steel against the one known as Lord Asa, but even then, I would bet upon the Lord, for though you mortals may not know of him, those with long lives recall that monster."

"…"

"It is that kind of monster which does not frighten even the Iyr," Kal Salma said, leaving the matter there, for how could she say it? That three such monsters had recently gathered within the Iyr? That the Iyr would not have allowed such, not unless they were prepared to face all three at once? No. Not even the Iyrmen themselves knew the depths of their own strength, but they knew the depths of that word. Iyr.

"Even then, there is one thing all are allowed to know, and all should know," the Sleeping Dragon of Arisa, considered among the strongest all across Aswadasad, even Aldland, said.

"When it involves children of the Iyr, the Iyr would risk destroying itself than to allow the world to think it can take their children. They say not even their Lord of Death can take the life of a child from them."

"…"

"We should be thankful, for if the half elf fought like this behind closed doors, it must mean he does not wish to reveal it to the world just yet."

'Why did he not wish to reveal it?' Lady Sabreen thought, but she did not speak the words, for they were dangerous.

"Is there a need to think so deeply, Lady al-Yasin?" Kal Salma asked.

"He is a fool of a father."

'That young man, does he merely wish to spend time with his children?' Lady Sabreen thought.

'He may be worse than the Shen.' While the Lady thought of such, it was within one of her estates where that fool, more of a fool than even the Shen, gathered his children. He knelt before them, the five children who he called his own, because they were, and the world would know it, by blood and steel.

"Did you see?" the half elf asked.

"Yes!"

"This father of yours…" the half elf began, almost afraid to speak the words, "is he weak or is he strong?"

"Daddy is the strongest!" the children said, but it was one child who spoke louder than the others, for she was the loudest child. Adam clenched his fist, the emotions bursting through him.

"I'm definitely this strong at least, so you don't have to worry! If you want daddy to grow stronger, daddy will grow stronger, and stronger, and stronger!" The children smiled, for finally, their father was acting like the fool they knew, but within his eyes, the children noted something. Yes. It remained. That look of worry. Adam wished to warn them, but as he saw their eyes, his own flashed brightly, and he smiled.

"Do you understand? Even if your father is a fool, he'll grow stronger for you!"

"Daddy!"

"You! You adorable little punks! Come here right now!" the half elf embraced his children, and it finally gripped his heart, the fear, the anxiety, the thought that It might appear within this world. He had grown strong too quickly, so he would need to refrain from growing too much more powerful at this time. Yet, for the sake of his children, he would do so. Just this once.