Dragon Gods Reign

[Crimson Scale Clan]

Sitting opposite of Darganth, Bator listened to the former with an increasingly shocked expression. Even as he finished, he stared on for a couple of seconds before regaining his composure.

“You give me this entire continent to rule over, just like that?” Bator asked in disbelief.

“I'm giving you the mandate and task to do so, the rest will be up to you.” Darganth corrected him.

“Ha, as if there is a difference for me.” Bator said dismissively.

“Don't underestimate the beasts of this world, from what I know there are three that may be able to match even you. Well, with two I can't say for sure as I never met them, but at least with one of them I can guarantee that she could defeat you.” Darganth warned.

Curling his lips into an amused smile, Bator chuckled slightly as he nodded in response to Darganth's words.

“You probably mean the two ancients that have claimed the deep sea as theirs to rule but I can say with confidence that they aren't my opponent, at least not individually. Though I am interested in who you believe could defeat me?” Bator asked.

“Neandra.”

“The beast empress? Not a chance.” Bator said.

Seeing Darganth shaking his head in disagreement while chuckling slightly in amusement, Bator furrowed his brows.

“While I have to agree that she is stronger than the other two and probably slightly above even the strongest fire dragon, I have to disagree strongly with the notion that she could win against me.”

“And a year ago you would have been right, probably even longer, but since then she ascended.” Darganth said.

Staring back at him with wide eyes, Bator momentarily doubted his hearing. Only after realizing that Darganth's calm expression didn't shift in the slightest did the process of realization start and the words truly set in.

What followed was a second of confusion, though this was short lived as it gave way to a perceived understanding of the events that had transpired.

“She made the same deal, just for the central continent, didn't she?” Bator asked.

Before Darganth could answer, an amused chuckle escaped Jennia's lips.

“Nah, she went for a considerably closer alliance.” She said, looking at Darganth with a teasing grin as she did so.

Sighing in response to her antics, Darganth nonetheless had an amused smile on his lips.

“As much as Jennia is implying, correctly, our alliance has grown from the fact that I am currently trying to essentially form my own faction and my acknowledgment of her talent and goal, making her a prime candidate.” Darganth said.

“Seems like Vunreon will go through a chaotic period.” Bator murmured in thought.

“Piqued your interest?” Darganth asked in response.

At those words, a small smile spread across Bator's lips. Lifting his head from the hand he had rested his chin upon, he nodded slightly.

“Absolutely. And I'm not alone with that, the older fire dragons that live on this continent have been frustrated for millennia. For them, this world is essentially a prison that traps them in eternal boredom. Leaving it is practically impossible as ascending isn't an option and the mana density isn't enough to reach the power necessary to leave this universe without doing so, leaving them to wait till their natural growth gets them to that point.

But the problem with that is that, apart from outliers like the beast empress, members of other species just can't keep up with them. So after some point, they only have other dragons of their generation to measure themselves against, with the other rivals they may have had either dying or getting left behind as they hibernate to delay their demise.” Bator explained.

“Wait, Irsyr even attacks dragons when they ascend?” Allaire asked shocked.

“For his sake, I hope he doesn't.” Darganth said with narrowed eyes.

Recoiling slightly when he saw the look in Darganth's eyes, Bator shook his head.

“Of course not.” Bator quickly denied, but added after a short pause, “Well, at least as long as they listen to him. Because while he doesn't stop dragons from ascending, he still kicks them out of this universe as soon as they do. That's also the reason why so few fire dragons attempt it as they only know that every one of them that tries to ascend just vanishes without explanation.”

Satisfied with this explanation, Darganth's hardened gaze faded. Leaning back, he relaxed and wrapped his arms around Jennia and Serania's shoulders.

“Seems like he learned.”

“What do you mean?” Bator asked confused.

“That Irsyr tends to use loopholes in the rules I established for dragon-kind when he sees use in it. Admittedly, he also allows it if others do it with his rules and mostly does it for a positive result so I rarely intervene. The exception to that is if someone blatantly disregards his authority so I was momentarily worried as this universe does count as his territory so many of the rules protecting weaker dragons from stronger ones wouldn't apply any longer.”

Humming in understanding and keeping this interesting piece of knowledge in mind, Bator took a moment to think about his answer one last time.

“I'll do it.” He finally said, surprising no one with his decision.

“But I still have a couple of questions, nothing that would change my answer but still.” Bator added after a short pause.

Initially raising an eyebrow questioningly, Darganth shrugged and motioned for him to start asking.

“What exactly do you hope to gain out of this?” Bator asked.

“In what sense?”

“What humans would call tither or tax. Because I doubt you want to control this continent just for doing so.” Bator answered.

Nodding in understanding at the clarification, Darganth answered the question a moment later.

“What I want from this continent, and any other territory I may give others to rule in the future, is fighting force. When someone talented enough appears I'll invite them to work directly for me, the rest will still be under your command and get their assignments through you.” Darganth said.

“So a bit like how pantheons and their subordinate groups operate?” Bator asked.

Thinking for a moment, Darganth agreed with the assessment.

“Then I only have one more question, what should I do with the current powerhouses of this continent? There are quite a few ones with good potential, especially if we include the ones that stay in hibernation, but it's unlikely that they will be loyal without some good incentives.” Bator said.

“Depends on the individual and I don't know them, so I'll leave the decision whether one is worth the effort to you.”

Frowning slightly, Bator nonetheless nodded.

“I'll see what I can do but I doubt many of the older ones will listen. Some of them predate the discovery, or rather rediscovery, of the other continents so their mentality is still stuck in a time when only fire dragons were known to them.”

“Wasn't that nearly eight hundred millennia ago?” Serania asked.

“Roughly.” Bator said.

Hearing his confirmation, Darganth was both surprised and slightly impressed by the individuals in question.

“They've managed to stretch their lifespan that much in a universe with a mana concentration this low?” He half asked, half said in astonishment.

“Only three or four, but yes. But what does it do for them when I can name twice as many beasts currently active on this continent that are stronger than they are?” Bator said with disdain.

“They still live. Few species have the privilege that we dragons have and don't need to worry about old age, the others either wither with time or have to spend centuries sleeping to slow the rate at which they lose their life force.” Darganth said.

Reluctantly recognizing and accepting the logic behind the decision, Bator nonetheless had a frown on his face at the thought of it.

“Maybe, but it's still a cowardly way to live, if one can even call it that. Spending a few centuries like that and having tens of years more in lifespan remaining is still understandable, but they just don't lose the time they have remaining.” Bator grumbled.

Shrugging, Darganth couldn't bring himself to be interested enough in some random mythical rank's decision to have a strong opinion about it.

“Right, my decision.” Bator said, noticing Darganth's disinterest in the matter.

“Then I'll start making plans for the supreme clan and beast lord meetings, should I notify you when I leave so that you can join?” Bator asked.

“When it's time for the beast lord meeting, yes. I don't see a reason to participate in the other one.” Darganth said.

“Great. Till then the facilities here are always open for you, and if there should be anything else, just notify me.” Bator said.