Chương 49: Drakehaven

Uncle had chosen a pot large enough to bathe Shale in. Orion had pointed this out when he finally got around to the central settlement area. Uncle had considered the comparison, looked into the simmering stew, then replied that Shale would probably object to the onions. Now the enormous pot rested over a broad outdoor fire near the Waystation, sending curls of steam into the late-morning air while Uncle occasionally stirred with a wooden paddle that looked better suited to a boat. People had gathered everywhere.

Kaelu sat on an overturned crate beside Roy, both of them hunched over Quill in ledger form while arguing about lumber. Kiana occupied one of the benches nearby, sorting vegetables into bowls while Regina watched her and periodically rejected offers to help with the authority of someone who had already been told to stop overexerting herself by three different people that morning. Aegis sat across from Regina at a small table, appearing furious.

Uncle sat at the third side whenever he wasn't manning the pot; a small pile of copper and silver coins rested between them. Although it was evident to everyone passing by that Regina had most of them.

"This game is flawed," Aegis said. Regina placed another card on the table.

"You said that when you lost the first hand."

"I was identifying a pattern." Uncle smiled. Aegis looked toward him.

"You are cheating."

"Oh? How?" Aegis stared while Uncle waited pleasantly. Aegis looked down at his cards.

"That is what I am trying to determine." Regina collected another two copper coins.

"Take your time." Orion watched from across the training field as Aegis' eyes narrowed.

"This may be the safest he has ever been humbled." Garrick laughed, then ducked beneath Orion's practice swing. They had claimed a stretch of open grass while everyone waited for lunch. Orion stepped back.

"Again." Garrick straightened.

"You're enjoying this."

"I am learning."

"You hit harder when you learn." Orion gestured.

"Concordance." Garrick sighed. Golden text flickered privately before him as heat spread through his body. [Concordance Active: Kindle, the Hearth Drake.] His muscles warmed, heat moving through them like he had been training for half an hour instead of standing still. Orion noticed immediately.

"Again." Garrick moved faster this time. He stepped inside Orion's reach, caught the training blade on his forearm, and drove one shoulder toward Orion's chest. Orion teleported at the last second, causing Garrick to stumble through empty air.

"Cheating."

"It's an ability."

"Same thing when you're losing." A small gust of wind interrupted their match, dragging their attention upward. Zephyr came in low; the Gale Drake circled once, wings spread wide, then settled into a long, smooth landing beyond the Waystation. Talia slid down first, with Rowan in tow. Then Spark appeared - the little yellow Light Drake had apparently spent the final portion of the ride clinging happily along Zephyr's back. The instant their feet touched the ground, he saw Shimmer.

Both Light Drakes froze, then erupted toward each other. Two streaks of yellow and white spiraled around each other so fast that Aurelia barely had time to shout before they shot through the gap between the Waystation and the cottage. Nimbus joined them immediately, with the complete lack of restraint to be expected from her. A pale-blue shape shot upward, water droplets scattering behind her while Spark and Shimmer circled her in opposite directions.

Clover arrived somewhat more dignified - for approximately five seconds. The Rotbloom Drake stepped down from Zephyr, looked toward the familiar collection of drakes, and stopped. Kindle chirped, causing Clover's head to snap around. Shale raised up, and Nimbus abandoned the Light Drakes long enough to barrel toward him. Clover made a delighted sound Aurelia had not heard in months. Then everyone reached him at once.

Nimbus pressed against one side, Kindle climbed halfway onto him from the other, then Shale lowered his enormous head to inspect him. Spark and Shimmer returned and began circling overhead as Clover disappeared under friendship. Talia laughed.

"That went better than expected." Rowan stared.

"Do they always do that?"

"No," Aurelia smiled.

"Only when they miss each other." Clover emerged briefly, leaves and vine-like growth along his body fluttering from the enthusiasm. Rowan smiled despite himself. He looked around at the settlement like someone trying to understand a machine while it was already running. The Waystation; Kiana's fields; Kaelu and Roy arguing; Aegis losing money to an elderly woman. Then Rowan's attention stopped on Orion training Garrick. Garrick's Concordance changed. The warmth faded, and lightning crawled faintly across his arms.

[Concordance Active: Aegis, the Storm Dragon.] Rowan leaned forward. He had heard it - Bellhaven had not exactly kept the Knight's new ability secret after Edric forced the subject into the open. Hearing, however, was different than seeing. Garrick blurred as he moved. Not like the teleportation Orion used, but fast enough that Rowan's expression changed. Garrick crossed half the training space in a burst as Orion vanished, appearing behind him. Garrick twisted, lightning crackling beneath one foot.

He changed direction with unnatural speed. Orion caught his wrist as the next strike came in, prompting Garrick to stop.

"Better," Orion said.

"That sounds like a terrible victory."

"Given we're at different Seals, I wouldn't consider it as bad as you're imagining." Rowan watched the electricity fade from Garrick's body. His face remained pleasant and interested, but Talia noticed where his eyes went next. Aegis, then Kindle, then Garrick. He was quickly connecting the dots of Garrick's power within his mind. She said nothing. He was here to look, so she let him.

"Hungry?" she asked. Rowan glanced over.

"Always."

"Good. Uncle cooked enough for a military campaign." From beside the pot, Uncle raised the paddle.

"I heard that." Talia smiled.

"Was I wrong?" Uncle looked into the pot.

"No." People began drifting toward the tables. The only exceptions were Roy and Kaelu, who were still arguing.

"We need the workshop first," Kaelu said. Roy shook his head.

"We need storage first."

"For materials that would be stored in the workshop."

"For materials needed to build the workshop." Kaelu stared at him.

"That logic loops."

"It is still correct." Quill unfolded. The Pact Drake stretched across some blueprint pages, apparently bored with being documentation. Kaelu pointed toward him.

"Ask your dragon."

"Drake."

"You are becoming irritating."

"Occupational hazard." Quill looked between them. Roy sighed.

"Fine. Workshop shell first. Storage immediately after." Kaelu nodded.

"And the healing house?" Roy's expression shifted.

"After I talk to Aurelia."

"She gave you a request."

"She gave Orion a request; Orion gave me three sentences."

"That sounds like enough to start."

"It is not." Kaelu smiled.

"You enjoy making this difficult."

"I enjoy making it correct." Orion walked past.

"Roy."

"What?"

"You forgot the watch post." Roy closed his eyes.

"I did not forget the watch post. I was discussing the first three projects."

"Still needs to happen."

"I know." Orion looked toward Kaelu.

"You can build that?" Kaelu shrugged.

"If your brother gives me enough lumber." Roy opened one eye.

"You are somehow more expensive now that you live here."

"I learned from Dorian." Roy looked genuinely wounded. Lunch finally began once everyone found somewhere to sit. There were not enough chairs, so people sat on makeshift benches, crates, and steps nearby. Aegis moved his card winnings—or losses—out of the way and sat beside Regina with the dignity of someone pretending not to have just lost six silver pieces.

"You do not need to count them again," Aegis noted as he stared at Regina counting them.

"I enjoy certainty."

"You watched me give them to you."

"I enjoy it twice." Uncle placed a bowl in front of Aegis.

"Eat." Aegis looked into it, then toward Uncle. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"If this is poisoned because I accused you of cheating—""It is stew."

"Those are not mutually exclusive." Regina took a bite.

"If he wanted you dead, I doubt cards would be involved." Aegis considered that.

"Reasonable." Over a few minutes, lunch became loud. One conversation crossed another as people reconnected without logistical or urgent reasons. Talia explained Zephyr's latest trip. Kiana told Aurelia that Nimbus had watered one section of the field without being asked. Roy tried to eat while answering three questions about construction. Kaelu told him to put the spoon down before he stabbed himself with it. Rowan mostly listened, which was probably smart. At some point, Garrick sat beside him.

"You made it. What do you think?" Rowan looked around.

"Busy." Garrick laughed.

"That's new."

"I thought it would be smaller."

"It was."

"How much smaller?" Garrick gestured toward the cottage.

"That." Rowan stared.

"You're serious?"

"Pretty much." That seemed to matter to him; the fact that the place had changed that rapidly.

"Your Concordance." Garrick glanced at him.

"What about it?"

"It really lets you borrow from them."

"Sort of."

"Kindle made you stronger?"

"More like warmer."

"That sounds useless." Garrick smiled.

"Feels great when training in winter." Rowan laughed.

"And Aegis?"

"Speed."

"Anything else?"

"Probably," Garrick shrugged.

"I'm still figuring it out." Rowan nodded, then his attention shifted toward the drakes. Eventually Uncle refilled the pot, then refilled it again. Roy waited until most people had finished before standing. He lifted one hand, which no one immediately noticed. When he lifted both, Kaelu commented.

"Are you surrendering?"

"No," Roy raised his voice.

"Everyone." Several conversations continued. Roy made eye contact with Aegis. The Storm Dragon sighed, then clapped his hands once. Everyone jumped as thunder cracked above from seemingly nowhere. Regina nearly threw a spoon at him after realizing he was the source. Aegis smiled.

"They are listening." Roy looked around. He stood a little straighter; something about his expression made Aurelia suspicious. Orion noticed too.

"What are you doing?"

"Making an announcement."

"Oh, no." Roy ignored him.

"For the last several months, this place has changed." Kaelu leaned toward Kiana.

"He practiced." Kiana covered a smile as Roy continued.

"When we started, there was one cottage," he gestured toward it.

"We were trying to survive winter. Then, partway through, we had Kindle." The little Hearth Drake looked up.

"Then Shale." Shale continued eating part of an old timber beam.

"Nimbus." Nimbus floated proudly.

"Clover." Clover chirped.

"Spark. Shimmer. Aegis." Aegis inclined his head.

"Zephyr." Talia smiled.

"And Quill." Quill unfolded one wing. Roy looked around the gathering.

"Then people started coming." His gaze moved toward Garrick, Talia, Kaelu and Kiana, Regina, and Uncle.

"We built somewhere travelers could stay. We've begun growing food, gathering water, establishing trade… and we now even have representation in Bellhaven. This isn't the cottage anymore, it belongs to the people who chose to be here." Kaelu's expression softened, Regina stopped counting Aegis's money, and even Rowan looked attentive. Roy took a breath.

"So it needs a name." There it was. Talia sat forward, Aurelia smiled, and Orion became visibly wary as Roy's expression brightened. He had clearly thought about this.

"For something that represents what brought us together." Kaelu's eyes narrowed.

"Roy."

"What?"

"Just say it."

"I am building context."

"You are frightening me." Roy ignored him.

"A name that recognizes the drakes, and our relationship with Bellhaven." Orion's eyebrows rose.

"And what this place is supposed to be." Roy spread his hands.

"A refuge, a home, and a haven," he smiled.

"Drakehaven!" Silence followed. Absolute, beautifully comedic silence. Roy waited for some sort of positive response. Aurelia stared at him. Orion looked toward the ground. Talia pressed her lips together. Garrick failed first with a cough covering laughter. Kaelu slowly leaned forward.

"You took Bellhaven…And replaced Bell with Drake." Roy's smile faltered, then he frowned.

"That is an oversimplification."

"That is exactly what you did."

"No," Kaelu pointed into the distance before continuing.

"Bellhaven," he noted, before pointing toward the ground.

"Drakehaven."

"Yes, but the relationship between the names is intentional!"

"That makes it worse."

"It represents unity." Orion finally looked up.

"It represents theft."

"Names cannot be stolen."

"Apparently they can." Aurelia smiled.

"I don't hate it." Roy turned.

"Thank you."

"I did not say I liked it." Roy's shoulders dropped. Regina took another bite of stew.

"I've heard worse." Roy brightened.

"There." Everyone looked at her. Regina shrugged.

"What? I'm not naming it." Kaelu looked toward Kiana.

"You?" Kiana immediately shook her head.

"No comment." Talia leaned back.

"Absolutely not." Garrick raised both hands.

"Not touching this." Orion looked toward Aurelia, who just laughed.

"Roy already said it in front of everyone."

"That does not make it law." Roy looked offended.

"I am the settlement representative."

"That definitely does not make it law." Kaelu sighed.

"Fine." Roy blinked.

"Fine?"

"I am not spending the afternoon inventing a better name." Roy smiled slowly. Kaelu pointed at him.

"This is not approval."

"It counts."

"It does not."

"Drakehaven." Roy looked around.

"Any formal objection?" Nobody spoke, mostly because nobody wanted responsibility for what came next. Roy nodded.

"Excellent!" And that was how Drakehaven was named. The rest of the afternoon somehow became louder. Perhaps because once the settlement had a name, everyone immediately began using it sarcastically.

"Where is the lumber going?"

"Apparently Drakehaven."

"Where is Aegis?"

"Losing money in Drakehaven."

"Who ate the last bread?"

"Crime in Drakehaven." Rowan stayed several hours. He watched, asked questions when he had them, spoke with Kaelu about work, and watched Kiana explain the field to Talia. He spent time standing near Shale until Shale decided he was acceptable enough to ignore. He never formally asked to stay, and nobody had yet formally offered. As things wound down, and some individuals prepared to return to Bellhaven, he found Talia near Zephyr.

"I still want to come back." Talia smiled.

"That was the idea."

"I mean longer."

"I know." Rowan glanced toward the settlement now known as Drakehaven. The ridiculous name already felt strange in both of their heads.

"I'll talk to Edric…and Garrick."

"You don't need Garrick's permission."

"I know," a pause.

"I still want to." Talia nodded.

"Then do it." One by one, people began leaving. Zephyr carried Talia and Rowan first, with Spark joining them. That caused another round of Light Drake distress until Spark and Shimmer remembered that separation was less dramatic when they could move objects instantly between each other. Garrick waited for Zephyr's return with Clover. Before mounting, he found Aurelia.

"One message." She stared.

"You have been gone zero days."

"I am establishing expectations."

"You are already breaking your promise not to be annoying." He smiled.

"Tomorrow." Aurelia pointed toward Zephyr, which Garrick obliged and climbed on. Aegis stood nearby, appearing blissful that he did not have to accommodate passengers. Orion looked at him.

"You're still flying to Bellhaven sometimes." Aegis's expression collapsed.

"I said nothing." Zephyr lifted, climbed, then vanished toward Bellhaven. The settlement grew quieter as the night dragged on and a few others departed. By evening, the three siblings returned to the cottage. Aurelia decided to make pie because she wanted to, which she frustratingly realized was something Garrick would've approved of. He could wait to find out until tomorrow. Roy sat at the table surrounded by papers. Orion sharpened one of his smaller blades by the hearth.

For a little while, nobody talked about anything related to recent events. Aurelia rolled dough, Roy complained because she moved one of his papers away from the flour, and Orion told Roy that if his council documents were close enough to be covered in flour, that was his problem. Roy argued that civic responsibility required table space. Aurelia threw a small piece of dough at him. He caught it, then ate it raw.

"You're disgusting."

"I'm efficient." For several minutes, it felt almost exactly like before. Just the three of them in an old cottage with dinner not yet made. The world could have still been small, for all they knew from where they sat. Then Orion looked toward the window. Lights burned beyond it from the Waystation. Drakes were moving in-between structures. Paths were cut into ground that had once been untouched.

"Drakehaven," Orion said. Roy looked up.

"It grows on you."

"Not a chance." Aurelia laughed. Roy leaned back.

"It will."

"You named it three hours ago."

"That is enough time." Orion shook his head, then smiled.

"Still strange."

"What?"

"All of it." Aurelia slid the pie into the oven.

"We just wanted to fix the roof." Roy nodded.

"That escalated." Orion looked toward the window again.

"People live here now." Aurelia smiled.

"Yeah." Roy went quiet. For once, he did not immediately turn the thought into a construction problem. Before it could, a knock sounded. Then the door opened before anyone answered; Uncle entered carrying a covered pot. Aurelia stared.

"You brought food?"

"Yes."

"I'm making pie." Uncle looked toward the oven.

"That is not dinner."

"It could be."

"No." Roy pointed.

"I agree with Uncle." Aurelia looked betrayed as Orion stood to help with the pot. They made room for Uncle to sit. Aurelia cut some bread while Roy moved his papers. Eventually, the four of them ate around the same table they had eaten at countless times before. Conversations drifted between several different topics. Roy complained that everyone had suddenly discovered buildings they wanted after he became busy. Uncle told him that was what happened when people believed he could build things.

Roy considered becoming less competent, but nobody believed him. Aurelia looked around the table. Drakehaven existed outside… but inside, Uncle was telling Orion he was cutting his bread too aggressively. Something about that made her smile.

"What?" Roy asked.

"Nothing," Aurelia shook her head.

"It just feels normal." Orion looked around.

"Here?"

"Yeah." Roy leaned back.

"That's because nothing in this room has changed." Aurelia looked at him. Roy glanced toward the window.

"Everything else did." That was true. The cottage no longer felt isolated or protected from the world. Aurelia wondered whether that should have frightened her, but it didn't. A chime sounded, causing all three siblings to freeze while Uncle continued eating. Golden text appeared above the hearth. [Community Quest Completed] Aurelia smiled immediately. Roy sat up as Orion leaned forward. [Accommodate Guests Successfully] Roy laughed.

"Finally." Aurelia grinned.

"We actually did it."

"That one was almost pleasant." Orion looked suspicious.

"Do not say that."

"Why?"

"Because the System listens." Roy rolled his eyes.

"We had guests, and some of them stayed." Aurelia raised her hand.

"Regina nearly got attacked by stairs."

"That does not count."

"It counted to Regina." Roy smiled.

"Still," he looked at the message.

"One completed community quest." Aurelia relaxed. They had built something, people had used it, and the System agreed. It felt nice and clean for that moment. Then a second chime sounded, and everyone's expression immediately changed. Golden text replaced the old message. [New Elevation Quest Available] Silence. The last Elevation Quest had ended with an adolescent dragon attacking them and several of them almost dying. Roy slowly set down his spoon.

"No." Aurelia looked toward Uncle, who had stopped eating now. Orion stood as the next message appeared. [Elevation Quest Objective: Prepare for Velkaryn, The Glass City] Nothing else: No description; no conditions; no explanation. Orion read it twice.

"The Glass City."

"Velkaryn," Roy said. Aurelia looked toward Uncle.

"Why would the System—" Weave erupted near the hearth, causing all three siblings to jump at once. Orion stepped between the light and Aurelia as she reached instinctively for Weave. Golden strands spiraled through the room; not violent nor hostile, but familiar. Roy's face changed.

"Oh." The Weave condensed into one object, before creating several. Five shapes settled onto the floor beside the hearth as the golden light faded. Five dragon eggs. Nobody spoke. Outside, Drakehaven was quiet. Inside the cottage, five new eggs waited. Above them, the System's final words remained. [Prepare for Velkaryn, The Glass City]