Straum
As predicted, it took us a week of travel to get from Kempfer to Straum.
I had spent the majority of that time in my cramped, humanoid form, unwilling to let others see me in my other, mangy, state.
Thankfully, My scales had al grown back in now, and I had gained another foot in height.
I guess I really had gone through a growth spurt.
Starting the day before, I realized that the flat farm lands we had been mostly traversing had been steadily changing.
Forests were now more common, the road- though still well kept- was getting a little rougher, and we had been making a steady incline as we went.
This also resulted in the weather getting a bit chillier, and the air to feel a little damper.
Straum itself was not a large town, though it did look fairly grandiose given it seemed to have been bult wedged between the river and the side of a slop.
It had been crafted along carved out tiers, giving it a very picturesque and almost layered cake vibe.
As I gazed at the stone and mortar buildings with red clay, tile roofs, I thought to myself that it would look like a Christmas card if it had been layered in snow.
Especially since the majority of the trees had gone from the leafy maples and oaks to various breeds of needled evergreens.
"This world really does have a lot of water..." I mused, as our procession continued into town, passing by the river where several men appeared to be trying their luck at fishing.
Withing the carriage Leon chuckled. "I don't know about the whole world, but this kingdom is pretty famous for its copious lakes and rivers. You will hardly find a town, village, or city not built along some stretch of fresh water, to be sure."
The prince was leaning out the window, deftly ignored by Loric, who marched a few feet ahead of us. I think the knight had grown wherry of telling Leon to stop putting his life in danger in this way. That, or the Loric simply felt safer now that we were so close to Helios.
Serenity had passed out on the bench seat an hour ago, much to Hannah's relief.
the princess had had about enough of travel now, and the young princess was starting to shower age at last. I was sure the maid- elf or not- was ready to get the girl home and in her own bed at last. Serenity, though curious and adventurous at heart, was not made for long bouts away from the comforts of home.
At least, not until she had gotten a little older.
"Is the master here also a relative of yours?" I asked Leon as we continued at a slow and steady pace. The roads here were beaten down earth, rather than cobbles, but they still seemed well maintained.
Leon shook his head, but it was Loric who answered my question, not looking back, but eyeing the sporadic towns folk we passed, and who were openly gawking at us.
Well... At me. Being this close to the capital these people likely saw their fair share of royal carriages; and dragons too, for that matter.
Yet, I was sure seeing one walking the streets never got old.
Besides, I really was a treat to look at, if I did say so myself.
Was it sad that I didn't even inwardly cringe at my own inflated ego any longer? I was sure there was such a thing as too much self confidence.
"Straum is very near the capital, and mostly under its strict governance.
" Stated Loric as we passed a few hard looking shops.
It seemed that, though this town brought in a lot of wealth for the kingdom, it was still a working town.
No one seemed as concerned over how 'pretty' things were here, as the had in Kempfer.
"As such, it's under the control of an appointed Magistrate.
It is to his estate that we are headed now.
Normally we wouldn't bother stopping here at all, as Helios is less than a days ride away.
And even now, we may get there before night fall. .."
"But?" I asked, stretching my long neck up high so that I could see over the heads of the guardsmen. The road ahead was winding, and seemed to lead upward, toward the higher tiers of the layered city.
"But, though they are regularly cleared out, the forests here do contain monsters, and the young miss is about at her wits end. I think a proper meal, some sleep in a bed, and not having the possibility of being out in the forest at night, would be better for her."
"I also agree to this." I heard Hannah sigh from within the carriage. The poor elf had really been having a difficult time handling the princess these last few days of travel.
Loric chuckled while Leon smiled over his shoulder, watching his little sister nap across the lap of her maid. "Magistrate Jorel is a stern and monetarily focused man, but he is also a retired soldier, and well respected, both here and at the capital. He will treat us well during our short stay."
"They we will be home." Sighed Leon. He looked and sounded happy about that, but also a little wistful.
He sounded like a highschooler at the end of summer break. Like he was glad that he got to see his friends after two months absents, but also dreaded having to attend classes.
"Not looking forward to getting back to Dragoon training?" I asked with a smile. It was what I assumed was the issue, at least.
The Prince shrugged. "I am at an age now where the training I can do, does not do much. And I have learned just about all there is to learn in the basic studies..."
"Most hopefuls give up by your age." Agreed Loric, shooting a compassionate glance over his shoulder.
His bead was getting a little unruly now that he couldn't trim it properly over the last week.
"But still, do not loose hope, your Majesty.
If this is, indeed, your greatest wish, then I am sure a dragon will hatch for you one day. "
Even i could hear the doubt in the guard's encouraging words.
but Leon simply smiled at the man and agreed.
I wondered why the Prince hung on so tightly to this path?
He must be the oldest person in his lessons by a long shot.
.. and it wasn't like he couldn't peruse any other job his heart could desire.
He was a prince after all, and endless opportunities must be at his finger tips.
As we neared the middle of the layers, I contemplated the issue.
the only thing I could think was that Leon must really, and truly, love dragons.
I could sympathize with him clinging, almost futilely, to his dreams. Heck, that had been what I had been doing before my own untimely demise in my previous life.
Even after my death, it had only been through the dedication of my sister that my dream had, eventually, been realized.
I could only hope that Leon didn't have to wait till death took him to see his own dreams come true...
I wondered what it was that those other damn dragon's expected from their chosen knights that the prince didn't fit the mold.
I had seen him fight, and knew he was talented in that respect, even given is thin build.
He was smart, dedicated, and passionate about becoming a dragoon.
So why would none of the eggs presented to the prince hatch?
I decided to ask him about it the next opportunity I got. I figured he wouldn't want to talk about it here, amongst so many others, even if he did decide to confide in me at all.
As it turned out, Magistrate Jorel, was everything Loric said he would be.
We showed up at his small estate (Well, small compared to the Duke's mansion at least) and were greeted by an older man dressed in fine, tailored cloths.
He had a bit of a pot belly, but I could still see the strength he had in his massive arms, and the straight back that military training had instilled in the man.
And, even though his hair was white, and his beard was grey, he still, somehow, made me think of a much younger man.
I was willing to bet that, even though he had a cushy desk job now, this man still trained with the sword every day.
Unlike the Duke, Magistrate Jorel had not been informed of my presence before a rival.
But that didn't seem to bother the man any, as he simply introduced him self in a polite manner, and offered to have a large hog brought to me for a meal.
I thought about it, be in the end declined.
The towns people worked hard to raise those, and I was perfectly capable to hunt my own food.
And it would help them if I managed to rid the forest of a few more monsters while I was at it.
Having been on the road with the royals for so long now, I had not had the opportunity to hunt and fight monsters like I had been doing before leaving my original forested home. i shouldn't let myself get rusty.
So, as the Magistrate organized everyone, and escorted the royals into his estate. I followed the older man's directions toward the densest part of the forest, aiming to get a work out and a meal all in one.
Luckily the forest was dense in monsters, and not trees.
The foliage was spaced enough that I could see between the pines to the loamy forest floor below.
Though, I did have to question how Loric defined the word 'dense', because I didn't think there were all that many monsters at all.
Then again, I may have been a little biased due to being born in Zolftar forest, where the monsters were almost more numerous than the trees.
I wouldn't say that I had been starving in the last weeks I had been with the royal procession, but I hadn't been eating as much as I once had, and taking on my humanoid form was more of a magical illusion than an actual shape shift, so my apatite stayed the same, no matter the form.
Though, how that magic worked I had no clue.
.. Leon had tried to make an explanation of it for my, but much like math in my previous life, the information went in one ear and came right out the other with a lot of confusion in between.
So, now that I had free reign on a forest of tasty delectables that just so happened to like to fight back, I decided to make the most of it.
Not only did I dive from above and take out a few goblins from the skies (I did not eat these, goblins taste as bad as they smell.
I killed them as a service to Straum.), but I also decided to take on some others using magic.
Over the course of my travels I had gotten some use out of my navigation skills, but hadn't really had much need for my earth magic at all.
So, for the next two hours I flew over the forest on the side of the steep hillside, located monsters, landed, and proceeded to fire stone bullets at the monsters I found.
This proved to be trickier than I had anticipated, if only for the simple reason that I failed to calculate that most of these lesser monsters got absolutely terrified the second I landed near them and attempted to flee.
Apparently dragons were scary... who knew?
But that meant that I had to fire my bullets at fleeing targets.
Still, it was good practice and I managed to level up the skill a little.
Had the terrified monsters bothered to attack me at all I would have been able to get some use out of my sand wall magic as well, but I decided not to worry too much about it.
After a hearty meal of several medium sized rabbit monsters and one fairly large badger looking thing, I took a quick dip in the river to wash off the gore, and returned to the Magistrate's home and my friends.
Hannah had already put Serenity to bed early, figuring that the young princess needed the rest, but Leon came out to join me on the cobbled slab out side the magistrates estate.
I was pretty sure this area was normally used by maids and servants for tasks such as washing the laundry in large tubs, or even buttering animals.
At least, there was the feint smell of both soap and old blood about the area.
Unlike the Duke's mansion in Kempfer, here in Straum they did not have a designated resting place for dragons.
It was so close to Helios that a dragon would normally just fly straight there to sleep or relax after travel.
It was less than a half-hour to get there as the dragon flies, after all.
SO Straum had never needed a place to make dragon guests comfortable.
The Magistrate had apologized greatly for having me sleep outside 'like a hunting dog' like this.
But, I assured the man I was fine. I was a wild dragon, and it wasn't like sleeping on padded beds was the norm for me at all.
Here was as good as anywhere, and should I feel uncomfortable at all, I would just find a nice mossy patch in the forest to call a bed.
The older man seemed grateful for my assurances, but no less aggravated.
I had a funny feeling that, as soon as we left Straum, he would be ordering the construction of some sort of dragon roost so that this situation never happened again.
"Was the hunting good?" Leon asked as he brushed out my scales with a stiff bristled brush.
Dragon's tended to get dirt and dust between their scales, and even more so as the scales got larger, and I had started to become accustom to the prince doing this every night.
I knew it made me a little spoiled- he was a freaking prince after all- but I enjoyed it all the same.
I hadn't even realized how irritating the tiny pebbles between my scale had been till I got used to them being removed for me.
"Yes, I would say so." I stated, enjoying the easy companionship between us. "How was your meal?"
The prince chuckled, passing the brush over my spine with a swooshing sound.
"Quite good. Serenity certainly enjoyed not having to settle for rations and stew.
I don't think she will be going on any out of town excursions for quite some time, no matter how much my father insists that it is good for her. "
"I imagine not." I laughed.
We stayed in a companionable silence for some time after that as the sun began to set behind the mountain.
It was a pretty sight, and I hummed with satisfaction.
Apparently dragons did that; humming. I realized that it was sort of like a cat's purr, even if the two sounds were not the same, they were made for the same reason: contentment. I saw Leon smile over his work.
"You are good at this." I said, pleased.
I really had no clue if he was good compared to others, as he had been the only human taking care of my needs till now, but he was definitely satisfactory.
"I don't see why you don't have a dragon of your own yet.
What would possibly make the other dragons pass you over. "
I had said it in irritation, unhappy that my friends skills were being dismissed by dragons still locked in their eggs, unable to know what it was they were missing in the first place.
But I realized quite quickly that it may have been the wrong thing to say.
Leon face went from content to a little sad, and his hands stopped moving along my pink scales.
"Er, sorry... I didn't mean to bring up bad memories or anything." I said awkwardly, shuffling my paws on the cobbled ground.
Leon flashed me a sad smile and shook his head, his hands getting back to work. "No, its fine. I mean, it isn't like most everyone knows, anyway. Anyone at the palace, or the academy, at least..."
He thought in silence for a moment, his hands working as if it were unconscious, before he spoke again. "You remember when we were in Kempfer, and you asked about skills? And how many skills a few of the races tended to be given?"
"Yes." I said, worried for my friend. Did he have some kind of skill that dragon's didn't like? And how would the little dragons in their eggs even know about what skills the prince did, or did not, have?
"Most humans are born with at least five skills, even if those skills are seemingly useless. Skills like: swordsmanship, archery, cooking, farming related skills... they are all common and come in many variations."
"Okay..."
"I have none of them." He said, seemingly avoiding my eyes.
"Alright." I didn't see the issue. So he couldn't farm or fire off arrows with next to no practice?
I was sure that- given his choice to become a dragoon- that people with combat skills, who could grow at an astronomical rate compared to those who had to learn the traditional way, would make some trouble for him.
But other skills could make up for that, couldn't they?
Leon flashed me a self-deprecating smile. "I have no skills. Not a single one." He stated, returning to brushing off my sides.
"Oh." I sad sadly, and a little lamely.
Leon chuckled. "Yeah... It isn't exactly unheard of, but it is a rare occurrence.
Normally, people like me tend to be ostracized.
People think that there must have been something people like me must have done horribly wrong in a past life to be abandoned by the gods like this.
And, I don't know, but maybe they are right.
Still, I was lucky enough to be born a prince, and managed to avoid most of the nasty looks and sneers from others.
And it helps that the common people have no idea.
Though, I do get a few hissed insults thrown at my back when people think I can't hear them, or when they think they can get away with it and not be punished. .."
I frowned, now angry. "So what!?" I snapped, somewhat heartlessly.
Even if I thought that that was a stupid reason to ostracize someone, it was clear that Leon believed it all.
"You are a good person, and they have no right to speak poorly of you for things you can't even help.
How would the little ones even know whether or not you have skills and what they are anyway? "
Leon looked taken aback by my indignation, and, after a moment of wide eyed staring, he smiled.
Then he laughed. He leaned against my side, holding his ribs, and doing his best not to laugh out loud and call attention to us.
Feeling embarrassed by his mirth, I waited in silence (Glad that dragons couldn't, visibly, blush) till the princes bout of giggles subsided.
He wiped a stray tear from the corner of his eye and smiled at me, this time looking actually happy, rather than mildly sad.
"Thank-you. it is nice to have someone be angry for me, even if its a little silly.
" he sighed, then slid down my side so that he was seated against me, the brush in his hands dangling between his knees.
"The baby dragons are told of the skills dragoons in training poses during the presentation ceremony.
" He told me, face now turned to the pink clouds above us.
"As I am sure you know, being one once yourself not too long ago, baby dragons can hear what is happening outside their shell once they are mature enough to hatch. "
I nodded, glad that he no longer looked sad. Though he did appear a little tired now. Or, maybe wistful was a better term.
"Well, when a person agrees to be a dragoon, they also agree to have their potential assessed by the church, and, during the ceremony, each dragoon's skills are listed out to the baby dragon so that the dragon can make a fully informed decision on whom they choose as their dragoon."
I grumbled. "I guess I can understand that... though I still don't like it. And why must they make this announcement in front of everyone, and not just the dragon egg then? It seems wholly unnecessary to tell everyone else your personal information too!" I was back to being angry again.
"I used to think that too. And It is true that, every ceremony I attend, I get more and more disappointed.
.. But it is a traditional ceremony, presented before not only the honorable young dragons, but also the gods themselves.
And, really, other people like me have to suffer much more than a yearly embarrassment and the disappointment of a dream left to fade away. "
"Well I don't like it." I huffed in a rather childish manner making Leon laugh again.
"Me either. But I can hardly blame a dragon for not wanting me, especially when there are many other hopefully with great and varied talents to choose from. In all honesty, I should have given up on this dream several years ago."
Another silence stretched between us, a little sadder now, but no less comfortable, till I eventually broke the extended quiet. "If you did have skills, what would you like to have?"
"Hmmm. I always thought that swords skills would be practical, and I have been working at my swordsmanship the traditional way... But I think what I really would have liked to have would be some kind of healing magic."
Surprised, I looked down at the seated prince. "Really?"
He nodded. "I mean, I would also like to have combat skills, but... if the gods were to give me just one single skill, I think I would take healing over anything else. Believe it or not, healers are quite rare, but unbelievably useful and needed."
"I mean, that sounds true." Heck, hadn't one of the first skills I had taken myself, been a healing skill?
"Many times, even when the gods gift people with such skills, people decide to invest their points into other skill sets.
things that could aid themselves more, with their work and daily life.
Dragoons are no different. In fact, people who want to be dragoons- though the different job titles can widely vary- more often than not, want to be dragoons so that they can fight. "
I figured that that also made sense. If a person wanted to be a healer, then there were probably more practical jobs to pursue than the very exclusive dragoon option.
If someone wanted to fly around on a giant fire breathing lizard, i highly doubted they also wanted to be a priest or doctor.
They would just go and do those things in the first place.
"When I was younger, I would pretend that I was a dragoon paladin.
" He told me, his cheeks going a little pink and laughing at himself.
"My great-great-grandfather had been a very famous one.
There have only been a dozen or so in all of history, but each one had gained fame an honor in at least some small way.
I would like to be able to help people like they were able to do. "
I could see the classically handsome prince being a paladin, fore sure. Though, he had a smaller build than what most video games in my last life would have depicted a paladin decked out in plate armor would have.
As we sat in companionable comfort, chatting into the night, I thought that it was very unfair that this prince, who had so much talent and heart, was being forced to give up on his vastly unselfish dreams.
It was true that, back on earth, there was no grand magic, and fantastical dragons.
People were not able to realize those fantasy style dreams. But, at least for the most part (On a fundamental level, with class or money taken out of the equation), all people were put on the Earth relatively equal.
If you wanted to be a doctor, the was always the chance- no matter how far fetched or slim- that you could achieve that.
But, with this worlds reliance on skills.
.. you either had them or you didn't. No matter how much hard work and effort you put in, you couldn't just 'become' a mage.
You needed the magical skills to obtain that.
Sadly, in this world, people were not born equal.
As we chatted and watched the sky grow dark, I worried over my friend. But I had no clue how to help him achieve even a small part of his pure hearted dreams... Heck, I didn't even know how to comfort him with out it just sounding placating and disingenuous.