Dragon Gods Reign

[Royal palace]

Walking through the corridors of the prison below the palace, Kheduil couldn't help but smile in anticipation. Even he, someone who rarely cared for the politics of the realm he ruled, knew the implications of what Darganth brought back from his attack.

His brother who was following a step behind to his right naturally also felt similar, if not even stronger. Compared to his brother who only saw a shortening of the war, he already saw the beginning of its end, as unlikely as this result may be.

But both knew that the key to this would be the three prisoners they had gotten, more specifically what they had seen. The reason for this was what started as terrible news from Darganth's report, namely the presence of the sacrificial bomb.

The danger that any win could instantly flip to mutual destruction was obviously bad for them. Even with the likelihood of a mythical rank sacrificing his own afterlife to use it being as small as it is, a fourth rank and below would not know these consequences unless told. At most a specialist in the death element would notice that these orbs not only sacrifice the body but also the soul.

Spreading the word would undoubtedly start creating rifts among the rebel army, maybe even enticing a portion of it to desert. But at least it would make its users second guess the weapons usage. And the key to this would be the two prisoners they now had, their lack of any true knowledge regarding the matter irrelevant.

And then there also was the presence of the third prisoner, Tyren. While he was barely a speck in the grand scheme of this war, his name wasn't exactly unknown as the son of one of the kingdom's mythical ranks. The only thing that could have made it better would be if it had been the child of nearly any other mythical rank.

For these reasons Kheduil still had a smile on his face when he arrived at the cell. Sitting there was Tyren, though one would barely see that he was a prisoner. Only his hands were loosely bound together and a magic formation kept him from refilling his mana pool from the surroundings while also trying to draw away any mana that left his mana pool.

Apart from that the room seemed comparatively normal apart from the bars leading to the main corridor. Inside he had a normal bed, chair table, and even a shelf with some books.

“I thought you would let me wait longer.” Tyren said when he noticed him.

“Why would I? The faster you are out here the better for both of us.” Kheduil said.

Catching the meaning of these words Tyren couldn't help but smile. He was just about to continue when he noticed Karrazil's presence, something that made him reconsider his words. Having heard of the king's brother's talent in piecing together additional information that a person didn't want to reveal, he was naturally far more cautious when talking.

“I want Edra's punishment also lessened.” He said with determination.

“Can be arranged. May I ask why, there aren't any known connections between the two of you?” Karrazil said.

“She helped me out so often, I owe her one.” Tyren replied.

Despite keeping his reaction hidden, Karrazil was slightly disappointed. A relationship or the likes would have been a great tool to elevate the position from which he negotiated even further. While his brother hoped to reintegrate the rebels, he would celebrate every extra day they would spend behind bars.

Still, Karrazil had enough leverage against Tyren to force a deal that would at least hurt somewhat.

“Alright, freedom for two people but in return for what? We both know that your father would just say 'His fault for being weak' when presented with your imprisonment. And while you certainly inherited his talent, a disloyal soldier has little value to us.” He asked.

“My knowledge, I will openly speak out against the rebellion and even fight for you.” Tyren said, surprising both brothers.

While his knowledge was good, though somewhat limited due to his identity as only a third rank, his words would have an even greater effect. As the son of one of the most well know mythical ranks of the kingdom and descendant of a long line of famous warriors, he was naturally not unknown.

And while it wouldn't magically disperse the rebellion, it would definitely cause some of the common soldiers to second guess their allegiance. This was valuable enough without even considering the moral boost their men would have due to this. Naturally, the news would have to be spread, but that wasn't difficult to do with the help of mages.

Lastly, the matter of him switching sides, while good, wasn't necessarily a game-changer. It would help more in supporting his words than it would do an impact on the battlefield. And as for the threat of betrayal, Karrazils previous words had been somewhat exaggerated as there are many ways to prevent it. While mages would be easier, aura users still die when a powerful enough explosion goes off near them.

Realizing that he probably offered such good conditions this quickly due to his presence, Karrazil was just about to sigh when he realized that nothing went wrong. His brother had gotten the shortening of the war served on a silver platter without him even having to do anything. Inwardly smiling at how far he has come that his reputation alone had such an effect, he already turned his mind to the next matter at hand.

“Then to a happy cooperation.” Kheduil said, stretching out his hand through the bars.

Standing up with a smile, Tyren was just about to take it when his expression hardened once more.

“But once this is over I am out of the military, alright? I just can't take it anymore.” He asked, wanting to confirm that he would be allowed to.

His voice carried a certain exhaustion with it that Karrazil recognized, the same one that slipped out of his during his first conversation with Darganth. Thinking for a moment whether this would also be the better choice for him, he quickly hardened his resolve and delayed the matter till after the war.

“Of course, but only till the mythical rank. Afterward, you will fall under the same regulations as the others.” Kheduil said and after a short moment, Tyren accepted.

Calling for two of the guards, Karrazil organized for him to be brought to a temporary lodging while Kheduil continued talking to him for a bit. Once everything was finished, the guards accompanied Tyren while the two brothers made their way deeper into the prison.

While walking behind his brother away from Tyren's cell, he couldn't help but ask once they were out of hearing range.

“Do we tell her?”

“I may believe in reconciling with the traitors, but I am not stupid.” Kheduil replied and Karrazil smiled.

After a short pause, Kheduil added, “Let's get this over with, I am already reaching my limit.”

Continuing through the prison, the two of them soon arrived before two of the less welcoming cells under the palace. Inside were Edra and the other surviving third rank, Thalgus. Compared to the cell the two were in, Tyren's could be considered luxurious. Despite having the same strength, the two's value as prisoners simply paled in comparison to him.

While they similarly both had one bed in their respective cell, it consisted merely out of a mattress on the ground and some blankets. Apart from this, there was no further furniture and even the formations and chains were far less pleasant.

Instead of keeping them from utilizing their mana by preventing them from refilling their reserves and sucking away any little bit that they moved out of their heart, this formation simply drained their reserves without care. While this wasn't dangerous, it would leave mana users inside in a constant state of exhaustion that was far from pleasant.

Similarly, their chains weren't simply cuffs between their wrists that left them enough room to move their arms. Instead, they were bound to the wall by wrists and ankles, those that they still had, with long chains that allowed them to move at most to the bars before their cells.

Still, both were comparatively happy with their accommodations, especially considering that their wounds were healed beforehand. While Edra was still missing her left arm and Thalgus was still missing one leg from the knee down, her crushed legs and his deep gashes were both healed.

“A visit from the king himself, how did we deserve that?” Thalgus said, half surprised and half mocking.

“Did Tyren ask you something? And if yes, please don't tell me he did something stupid for me.” Edra asked concerned.

“No, our presence here isn't due to something he requested.” Karrazil said, knowing that if his brother were to tell this half-lie it would be easily seen through.

This shocked her somewhat, but it also brought her a wave of relief. Before she could continue asking anything, Kheduil spoke up.

“How much do you know about the little tool that your former colleague used? More precisely about its cost and effect.” He asked and Edra instantly guessed that she may have underestimated why they were there.

“You mean the one that the dragon destroyed? Nice play, by the way, letting a dragon lay waste to our camps. The commander is probably racking his brains as to what happened.” Thalgus asked cautiously.

“A lucky ally, certainly. But yes, exactly that orb.” Kheduil answered.

“I just know that it managed to prompt even a dragon to take action. But your presence here means that there is more to it, doesn't it?” Edra asked slightly anxious.

Upon hearing this question from her Karrazil knew they had already won. As much as she tried to hide it before them, he had already inferred that she was someone who deeply cared for the well being others. Now they just had to present her with the truth and she would gladly help them out.

“Well, as you probably guessed it uses the user to fuel its power and unleash a devastating explosion. What you probably

don't know, probably most of its users don't know, is that it uses not just their mana but everything. It will destroy your body and soul to fuel it, denying whoever uses it every chance at an afterlife.” Kheduil said.

At this explanation, Edra's face drained of color while even Thalgus gasped from shock. Even in a comparative backwater universe like this one, it was common knowledge that souls that don't linger on for whatever reason will go on to the realm of death with their memories and personality intact. While there are conflicting accounts of what happens there with them, they all share the fact that the person lives on, just in a different form.

The complete destruction of a soul is consequently heavily frowned upon among most species and even wounding the soul is mostly reserved as a last resort. This is also one of the main reasons as to why death magic and its users generally hold a bad reputation, with it being the element of the soul and the only one that can achieve the destruction of one, at least before ascending.

Similarly, soul magic, a branch of magic related to death magic that is similar to conceptual magic was practically completely outlawed. The only species of even some significance that doesn't forbid its use are the dragons, a fact that the five rulers regularly wished they could change. But with Batoim not even considering it the effort remains fruitless and with it the attempts to wipe the branch of magic from this universe.

Thus the knowledge that this tool would also destroy the user's soul naturally impacted the two dwarfs greatly.

“How can we help?” Edra instantly asked.

“We want your help to spread that matter, more specifically your memory of the moment of activation. With the few visible runes and the mana signature, it should be easy to lay open the full spell that the orb was imbued with.

Oh, and we would like to keep our ally's identity a secret, so you would just have to pretend it was one of the dragons living in the mountains that interfered due to it posing a danger to his layer.” Karrazil proposed with a smile.

“Natural-” Edra said but was cut off by Thalgus.

“What do we get out of it?” He asked bluntly.

Having already feared that he would not be as naively trusting as she is, Karrazil was naturally prepared for the question. Just as he was about to make his offer, Edra started arguing in his favor.

“You want to use our kin's suffering for your own benefit?” She asked outraged.

“Sigh, you are as trusting as always. Sometimes I wonder how you even made it into the army.” Thalgus said with a sigh. Though while he said this, he was well aware that she joined up because she could use her talent for the protection of others, the thought of having to fight fellow dwarf’s never crossing her mind. It's also why she had hesitated previously, still not being comfortable with the civil war.

Seeing an opportunity to use these words to his advantage, Karrazil instantly acted.

“Well, he is somewhat right. A quicker end to this war with fewer casualties is in our interest. At most five years, no mana suppression and full healing.” He offered.

This instantly shattered Thalgus's opposition. For a dwarf that would normally live well past two hundred even without mana, five years were nothing especially if he would also get his wounds healed. Adding onto that the condition of no mana suppression which meant that he could still train in aura and he had to keep himself from jumping to accept.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he saw no flaw in the offer. Thus his last bit of hesitation quickly crumbled.

“I accept.” He finally said.

At those words, Kheduil smiled. When Edra directly followed this with her acceptance, even Karrazil couldn't keep a smile from forming.

“Then we just have to clear up a few details and you will directly be brought up a few levels. I will find the fastest possible date for your trial, though you will have to first fulfill your part.” Karrazil said.

Internally both he and Kheduil were smiling at how well this went. With at least using death magic to sacrifice a soul on the table, they would be dealing the rebellion a serious blow that may even end it entirely. Of course, there was still the possibility that it wasn't just that but soul magic which would be even better.

Sadly for them, while Darganth could read the runes and tell what effect the spell would have, differentiating between death and soul magic requires knowing the exact spell. And as he barely could do so with chants in common due to only ever using magic circles to cast, he didn't even attempt to do so for runic spells.

Nonetheless, both brothers knew that this day was a win for them no matter what the result of this will be.