|| Book One of the Dragonkind Duology ||
𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙛 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙩; 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣.
For years, dragonkind and humankind had been at war, alternating between short-lived truces and all out...
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After a few more discussions, it was quickly realized that no real battle plans or strategies could be made until they knew who would side with them. It would be a while until Moric was ready with his selected troop, forming a plausible enough excuse to leave Langerich altogether, but that didn't mean the rest of them couldn't start. Thus, two pairs set off beforehand: Iver and Tarkana leaving for Ichorwood while Ordephus and Argent teleported back to the tower. It was closer to the border of Nortempress, after all.
From the tower and into Paraglia, the journey was rather uneventful. It was almost as if nothing had changed at all. Argent once again had brown eyes, and Ordephus donned the mask of Darin. Argent still refused to call Ordephus anything but Guardian, however, but Ordephus didn't mind in the slightest. No one would suspect anything, anyway, since it wasn't too unusual for a child to call an adult something that wasn't their name. If anything, if Argent was a respectful child and raised with proper etiquette, he would have called him Mentor or something of the like from the start. But, alas, he was not, and Ordephus wouldn't have had it any other way.
"I miss them," Argent said one day as they grew closer to a port city. He didn't remember what Ordephus had called it, but it wasn't like the city itself was important. What they were really after was a boat to Charia, an island far from the shore, which served as Nortempress' only connection to the rest of Amaredeia. He almost felt nervous to be so close to his home.
"You mean you don't like traveling with me?" Ordephus teased with a grin, and Argent returned it with a slight pout.
"You know that's not what I mean. It feels weird without Noctifer and Iver here."
Ordephus chuckled. "I know. I miss them, too, I'll admit."
"Even Noctifer?"
"Even Noctifer."
They continued to walk with only the wind and the sound of their footsteps filling the silence. All the while, Argent glanced at Ordephus almost timidly. He knew that look. The boy was building up his courage to ask a possibly heavy or sensitive question. While there were some things he refused to answer—such as him deeming a subject too mature for the boy—but he always made sure there was something to be gained. He didn't want to discourage the boy from asking questions at all, after all. If anything, Argent reminded him of himself when he was at that age. Tarkana had narrowed down the boy's age to be between eleven and twelve, and within a few years, it would be blatantly apparent how the dragonkind child aged slower compared to human children. It was around this age where the people of Nimn had become aware that the heir wasn't human at all. Sometimes he wondered if that was the moment where the seeds of resentment had been planted.
His musings were interrupted when Argent finally spoke.
"Guardian, what's it like to live so long?" He glanced up hesitantly to gauge Ordephus' reaction. "Is it . . . is it lonely?"
