Chapter 1091: From Talrond

In the incubation chamber bathed in the faint glow of runes and warmed to a comfortable temperature, the pale golden dragon egg suddenly trembled softly. The newspaper floating just in front of it rustled lightly in response.

Betty, who was nearby gently wiping the eggshell with a soft cloth, immediately noticed the movement. She looked up with concern. “Lady Enya? Did I hurt you?”

“Ah… no,” came the gentle voice from within the golden egg. “I just suddenly felt like… shaking a little.”

Betty tilted her head in puzzlement. “Shaking? Because you’re cold?”

“No, the room is warm enough, but I just… wanted to shake,” Enya’s tone held a hint of confusion. “It’s strange. I’ve never felt this before… Is this one of the changes after shedding divinity and becoming more human?”

“I don’t quite understand,” Betty admitted honestly. Then she glanced at Enya, who was reading the newspaper, and smiled softly. “Lady Enya, would you like some more tea? It’s still hot.”

“Oh, yes, thank you, little Betty,” Enya replied immediately, a clear smile in her voice.

Betty happily ran over to the small table where the tea was kept—a table she had specially arranged to be brought in over the past couple of days, meant for tea and the day’s newspapers. She picked up her beloved large teapot and carefully poured the tea over the eggshell. The gentle sound of flowing water was accompanied by a soothing aroma that rose with the steam, filling the entire room with the fragrant scent of fine black tea.

Whether it was just her imagination or not, Betty felt that in recent days, Lady Enya’s eggshell had become thoroughly infused with this fragrance. Even after wiping it clean, the faint scent of tea lingered when she leaned close. But since Enya herself seemed completely unbothered, Betty figured it couldn’t be a bad thing.

The young maid’s mind wandered with strange thoughts, while Enya let out a contented sigh. “Thank you… for everything, little one.”

“It’s my duty,” Betty replied quickly. “Would you like some more?”

“Not for now,” Enya answered softly, then asked with curiosity, “Has your master returned yet?”

“Hmm… it seems they won’t be back for many days,” Betty scratched her head, recalling what she’d heard from others. “They say the conference will last for many days, and after the main meeting, there are a bunch of smaller ones… I don’t know why it takes so long, but everyone says this is how the big shots do business.”

“…Mortals have ever-changing hearts and differing desires. It’s always difficult for them to reach consensus, but as long as they try, it’s a good thing. Better to spend time and effort than to remain stuck for centuries,” Enya said softly. The newspaper floating in midair slowly flipped to the next page. “Tell me about this thing called ‘Mage Network Communication.’ I’m suddenly curious about the neural network it mentions…”

…

The dragons killed their gods—all of them.

Melita Pernia stood beneath the banner symbolizing Talrond. The blue dragon, scarred and battle-worn from the godslaying war, spread her arms wide. Under her command, powerful magical energies quickly resonated with the ambient power of the Oathstone Ring itself. A shimmering curtain of light descended from the sky, crackling with magical turbulence, and above the grand and solemn Oathstone Ring, a magical illusion unfolded—far larger and more awe-inspiring than any previous hologram.

Dragons possess not only resilient bodies but are masters of magic, with blue dragons especially skilled in illusion spells. Under Melita’s control, the scene in the sky stunned every attendee. Even Gawain, who already knew what was coming, felt his breath catch. He looked up to see a vast magical illusion covering the entire sky: a distorted horizon twisted and broken, raging infernos and thunderous storms ravaging the heavens. Thousands of dragons and indistinct war machines clashed fiercely against a monstrous hybrid creature that blotted out the sun—more terrifying than even the maddened war god.

But that was not all. As the devastating scenes of destruction struck fear into the crowd, the image suddenly shifted. The war-torn land transformed into magnificent temples and palaces. Dragons soared through misty mountain skies, and sprawling, prosperous cities thrived below—advanced civilizations beyond human imagining, nestled among towering buildings and factories. Yet in the next moment, flames erupted at the edges of the scene, and divine wrath razed everything to the ground. The dragons’ civilization was utterly destroyed.

“…That was Talrond in its prime, our homeland at its height…”

“…That was Talrond not long ago, when our gods crossed the threshold of madness, and the entire dragon realm was consumed by destruction…”

As Melita’s deep voice narrated, the scenes in the sky shifted one by one. The audience watched helplessly as a once-glorious kingdom crumbled in flames. The stark contrast between the dragon realm before and after devastation was laid bare. As the splendid palaces and cities burned and collapsed, some delegates couldn’t help but sigh with a mixture of regret and shock—an instinctive reaction to witnessing the destruction of something beautiful.

“…We once lived in a very comfortable environment, a cradle and a prison both. The details would take a long time to explain. What I can tell you here is this: Talrond was far more peaceful and comfortable than the so-called ‘safe zones’ of the Loren continent today, and the dragon kingdom was far more powerful than your nations.

“But none of it escaped the fate of destruction—as you have just seen.”

Melita gently lowered her hands. The runes surrounding her rearranged instantly, and the illusions in the sky changed in a flash. The golden halls and apocalyptic wars vanished, leaving only a wasteland. The earth was cracked and scorched, coastlines shattered and twisted. Deadly elemental rifts scarred the sky, and frenzied elemental creatures and rogue spirits ravaged the barely recognizable ruins of cities.

Deep within this wasteland, faint lights flickered stubbornly. Small refugee settlements stood like candles in the wind, and battered dragons guarded the outskirts against the threats of the wasteland—reminiscent of Gondor seven centuries ago.

“This is Talrond now,” Melita said gravely, and the illusions covering the sky faded away.

If anything could shock the delegates more than seeing a dragon descend to join the mortal alliance, it was the staggering truth Melita had just revealed. The entire assembly was plunged into profound silence, unsure how to process what they had witnessed. The intense negotiations, the secret alliances, the suspicions among the three great empires—all suddenly seemed trivial, like a child fussing over toys inside a safe house, only for the walls to collapse and reveal a burning, harsh adult world outside.

What could be more disorienting than that?

Once, there was a dragon kingdom stronger than all the nations of Loren combined, a Talrond far safer than any land on Loren, standing for 1.87 million years—its history far surpassing all mortal records. And then, it was gone.

In a single day.

After a long, wordless pause, some delegates gradually shook off their shock. Their minds began to race, and many immediately thought of the war between Typhon and Cecil. Some classified internal documents had partially revealed the truth behind that conflict. They recalled the descriptions of the war god’s loss of control, and the terrifying rumors they had heard through their intelligence channels—truths once doubted or rejected, but now powerfully corroborated by Talrond’s revelations.

Their thoughts spiraled further. They recalled the holographic scenes around the Oathstone Ring and felt a chilling fear grip their hearts. Some representatives fell into serious contemplation, while others’ expressions darkened—not just with worry, but something deeper.

Gawain observed all these changes carefully. He recognized that many of these troubled delegates came from kingdoms where the church held strong influence, where gods permeated every social layer. Their reactions were therefore expected.

Yet, no one stormed out in anger or immediately stood to refute the truth. This aligned with Gawain’s initial judgment: even in the most theocratic nations, the delegates sent to this conference were mostly secular leaders. And the greatest theocratic empire—the Silver Empire—had already sided with Cecil.

“Thank you to the Talrond ambassador for her speech.”

Gawain’s voice broke the silence. Only then did the crowd seem to come back to themselves. Applause gradually spread throughout the hall. After a brief nod of thanks, Melita Pernia returned to her seat. The clapping slowly died down, and Gawain rose to scan the assembly before continuing.

“This is the current state of Talrond. It may surprise many of you, but there is one thing I must clarify: although Talrond’s civilization suffered a cataclysmic disaster like Gondor’s empire seven centuries ago, many dragons survived the extinction event. The surviving dragons have formed a provisional government, and Miss Melita Pernia represents the current Dragon Council in reaching out to us.

“The situation now is that the dragons have gained their freedom and are generally willing to coexist peacefully with other mortal nations, even eager to join our future alliance. But they need help—just as the remnants of Gondor did seven centuries ago. On the other hand, not all dragons have maintained order after the war. Communications across the Talrond wasteland are cut off, and an unknown number of dragons remain isolated from civilized society. Miss Melita and her people are doing everything they can to bring these lost kin back into the fold, but their resources are limited.

“Some of these dragons are beyond the control of the provisional government and outside the bounds of order. They may have turned violent, and one day, they might come to our continent.”

As Gavain’s words hung in the air, he gave the delegates ample time to process and react. Soon enough, someone snapped to attention—a representative from the Northern City-States Alliance couldn’t help but stand up, eyes wide with disbelief: “Are you saying the dragons might actually attack the human world?!”

“Not just the human world,” Gavain replied calmly. “It includes the lands of the Grey Elves, Dwarves, Fae, the Spirit Folk—every mortal realm. No one is safe.”

“Talrond deeply regrets this situation,” Melita said with a heavy sigh, genuine remorse etched on her face. “We bear some responsibility, but our current strength is limited. We can only ensure that those kin under the Council’s control maintain order. As for the dragons isolated beyond the Wastelands… our social governance is simply overwhelmed.”

A murmur rippled through the hall.

The disasters previously shown through holograms were terrifying, but still somewhat distant—more like stories than immediate threats. But now, the danger was real and pressing: countless starving, desperate dragons prowling in the shadows; countless others, powerful enough to raze entire city-states, already en route to ravage the human world… The sword hanging over everyone’s heads gleamed sharply.

Delegates from the small northern kingdoms of Loren were the first to feel the weight of this crisis. Anger naturally welled up within them, but they quickly realized there was nowhere to vent it—

They looked toward the dragon ambassador seated beneath the crimson banner embroidered with gold, only to find they didn’t even have the courage to glare at her.

The image of the dragon host descending from the sky was still burned into everyone’s minds. Any sane person now understood the reality: Talrond’s glorious civilization might be gone, but the dragons remained. These inherently powerful beings—so long as they lived—were far stronger than many isolated small kingdoms.

The dragon ambassador wasn’t here to play the victim… in fact, just coming here to warn the nations of the continent was already a sign of responsibility.

“So, what should we do?” Another delegate finally stood, voice thick with worry.

“Dragons have never shirked responsibility,” Melita said gravely. “If any kin commit wrongful acts, they must be held accountable. The Talrond Council has decided: any dragon who disobeys Council authority, attacks the nations of Loren, or violates the Alliance’s agreements will be stripped of their dragon status. After three warnings, all member states of the Alliance—and Talrond itself—have the right and duty to bring them down.”

Silence fell over the Oathstone Circle. The delegates felt the iron will behind the ambassador’s words, moved by the spirit it embodied. But soon, many realized an even more unsettling truth—

Bring down a dragon… yeah, right!

They were dragons! Everyone had seen them descend from the sky with their own eyes. Their wings could sweep away entire stretches of city walls. The magical aura radiating from them seemed capable of igniting the very heavens!

For mighty empires like Cecil and Typhon, with their powerful aerial forces, maybe it was manageable. But what about the weak border kingdoms? How were they supposed to shoot down such creatures? Gather a bunch of battle mages to hurl fireballs into the sky? Or send the king up there to try and reason with the dragons?

(Quick book recommendation: a recent July release called The New Tome. Yes, that’s the actual title. Sounds strange, but it’s a serious story about a time traveler battling interdimensional offspring. Honestly, the main reason I recommend it is because I’ve always wanted to use that title… and someone beat me to it, haha.)

(End of chapter)