The War God’s Favorite novel Chapter 124

#124 The Dragons Vault
Despite the Creature’s push, Cassandra pained to finally reach the upper level. She was really tired, hurting all over and not sure about what she should expect next. She just hoped that crack in the ceiling wasn’t going to have her in another deadly trap. She had already almost died too many times today… The only reason she was feeling just a little bit better was Kian. Though she had no idea how the little dragon had found her and gotten there, him being all jumpy and fine meant Kassian ought to be safe and sound somewhere out there as well.
Cassandra had no idea how long she had stayed unconscious, but she felt like it had been a few hours at least. She hoped things had moved up there, and in a good way at that. She was silently dying to see Kairen again… Cassandra didn’t want to get her hopes up too soon, but she hoped he was somewhere near. She had that strange conviction in her heart that the War God had returned to the Capital…
*Kyun!
“I’m coming,” she sighed, trying to pull herself up and catch up with the excited baby dragon.
She had no idea what to expect once she had climbed out of that breach, but anyway, she wouldn’t have been able to imagine that. This looked like another cave, only much, much bigger, and actually carved to have a roughly square shape. The walls were definitely made of the same material as the one below, though, that shining grey stone… Cassandra had no idea what it was, and she couldn’t remember having seen anything similar within the Palace’s walls. So where in the world were they?
She felt a bit too tired to stand, but she remained seated to look at her surroundings. Kian was already happily running around and sniffing everything with curious eyes. It looked like a much bigger cave, and it continued past her line of sight as if she had emerged on one end of it. More curiously, she noticed some strange, black spherical shapes. A lot of them were broken open, and looked so old they could crumble and fall into dust at any second. Stones? Their shape was a bit intriguing, and Kian too kept sniffing them with curious eyes.
Everything there was really quiet, but Cassandra could hear some sort of faint wind coming from the other side. The light was coming from a little hole in the ceiling, too. This was definitely sunlight, and this opening was too round to be a natural one. Who would have carved a window in a cave, and why? In any case, it was too high for Krai to carry her up there, and actually, she wasn’t even sure it would be wide enough for her to get through. The distance was blurred with all her surrounding looking like the same rocky walls.
She finally stood up, and the baby dragon immediately ran back to her to rub his body against her leg, somehow like a cat. Kian was apparently determined to stay around her, and though he kept venturing everywhere, he was coming back to her every ten seconds or so. Since the young Dragon looked so fearless and enthusiastic, Cassandra walked further into the cave, intrigued. There was nothing but those countless, countless broken spheres. She couldn’t understand what they were. They were not made of the same material as the stones, they were darker but gave off a similar feeling.
As she kept walking, the echo of her own steps made her slowly realize how big this new cave actually was. Unlike the one from before, this one continued for miles like some tube getting wider and wider. The breach she had come out through was already far behind her when she found another window above her, throwing light on bigger broken spheres. She suddenly realized she had been wrong. Those things weren’t spheres.
They were empty shells.
Now that she could see some more complete ones, the shape wasn’t so round but similar to Kian’s dragon egg. She hadn’t noticed before because even the material looked different, and none looked alive or illuminated like Krai’s egg once was. She was baffled. What were those dragon eggs doing here? Moreover, there were hundreds of them! Some looked so old they were almost turning into stones…
The baby dragon squealed, sniffing one of the eggs and putting his little front paws on it to look inside, but Cassandra grabbed him and carried him instead. Somehow, she didn’t like the idea of Kian playing with empty Dragon shells, this whole place felt like… some cemetery. There was a really uneasy feeling growing in her heart from seeing those empty shells. From the looks of those, they must have belonged to dragons that lived years and
years ago, maybe centuries…
Cassandra kept walking, and as her arms got tired, Kian jumped out of those to walk ahead. However, this time the baby dragon didn’t look so curious anymore. He actually had his wing close to his body, and looked more cautious than before. Was he feeling something she didn’t? Cassandra hoped they wouldn’t meet anything dangerous in there. She kept trying to understand the Emperor’s purpose. Did he know she would find the Water God in the lake and understand what that Creature was? Did he even know about it? Or was he hoping she’d find that breach and get here? She hoped the old man was alright…
“Kyuuu?”
Kian had stopped, looking a bit wary of whatever was ahead. Cassandra caught up with him with a frown, and indeed, there was a noticeable change in their surroundings. The eggs around them were considerably bigger, and unlike the previous one, they still had some color on them. They were getting closer to the end of that strange . tunnel, she could feel it.
Moreover, she was starting to realize where they were standing. She had forgotten about this place, actually. Suddenly. Kian froze, and ran back towards her, hiding behind her leg. Something was scaring him? He wasn’t growling, but his eyes were focused on something right after the next turn… Cassandra walked over. The wind she had heard before was getting louder, and coming in little waves. It wasn’t wind, but breathing. They finally met with an impressive mountain of golden scales.
“Glahad!” She exclaimed.
What was the Emperor’s Dragon doing there? Recognizing the magnificent creature, Cassandra ran to it, but the gigantic dragon looked uninterested. He was curled upon himself, his ruby eyes half-open, looking incredibly passive. He didn’t even seem to care about them and didn’t react. Seeing that Cassandra wasn’t scared, Kian came out, too, and carefully scurried over to look. The difference in size between the two was impressive… Kian was like a big cat, while Glahad was like a little mountain by himself.
However, the baby dragon kept looking around the giant dragon and poking at him curiously, and the older one didn’t seem to care. Cassandra realized he was somewhat his grandfather, but the golden dragon looked completely disinterested in anything. He was so calm that Cassandra had no fear approaching him.
“Glahad, what is it…?” She asked.
He could answer, but the ruby eyes shortly shifted to her, without any other kind of reaction. It looked like he was… depressed. That realization carved a hole in Cassandra’s heart, as a scary thought sprouted in her mind. She shook her head, chocking up a little, and tried to look around. There was nothing else but empty dragon shells here. This was definitely the Emperor’s Dragon Vault, but what was Glahad doing there? (3
Abandoning the old dragon for a few seconds, Cassandra made the detour around his body which occupied half of the way, to check what was past him. She gasped.
A gigantic door. It was made in the same stones as all the walls there, but this square shape and the gigantic handle on it couldn’t be mistaken. Cassandra was amazed. So they really were in the Dragon’s vault! Moreover, didn’t Shareen say before that this place was right behind the Throne’s room? Meaning they were just a few steps away from getting back inside the Imperial Palace! Cassandra hurried over, but somehow, she couldn’t even understand how to open that door. That handle was way too heavy! She couldn’t even move it at all, how was she supposed to pull on it? She suddenly realized this was how the Imperial Family members were the only ones who could get in. It took superhuman strength to get that lock open… or a Dragon’s help. Lady Kareen was human, yet she had been here before to retrieve Kian’s egg. She couldn’t have done it by herself. However, with the help of a dragon…
Cassandra turned back to Glahad. Would the Emperor’s Dragon help her? Opening that door would be a matter of seconds for him, but how to convince a dragon?
She walked over to him. Kian, a bit lost by her back-and-forth, decided to sit down and tilt his head, observing her
movements. Cassandra didn’t have time, she just went back to face the dragon’s head. She knew Glahad wasn’t going to hurt her, as the Emperor did like her. Wouid he help her, though? She wasn’t sure of the situation outside, but it was very probably Glahad had somehow been forced in there. He was the Emperor’s Dragon, though. Even if there was something locking him in here, he was the only one strong enough to break out! He only needed the will to.
“Glahad, please, you have to help me get out of here,” she said.
This time, he didn’t even move an inch. The golden dragon looked like he had absolutely no intention to do anything. Even if he was depressed, he couldn’t simply stay here! Cassandra walked closer, desperate.
“Glahad! I don’t know what happened to his Highness, but…”
This time, the golden Dragon growled as a warning, his ruby eyes opening wide. Cassandra jumped back in surprise. She wasn’t prepared for the Emperor’s dragon to actually get mad at her once she’d mention his owner. Kian, upset at Glahad’s growling, jumped between her and his dragon ancestor and growled back. His attempts to growl were once again no more than a kitten’s meow compared to the fierce growl of a proper adult dragon. Still, it at least got Glahad’s attention on him.
…but you can’t abandon Kairen, continued Cassandra, careful with her words. “You know he is the… the favorite son, the one that should take the golden throne. He and Shareen ought to be out there. You can’t let Vrehan and Lephys do this!” 2
Despite her plea, the golden dragon didn’t move much. At least, he kept his scarlet eyes on her, looking like he was listening, but not reacting much to it. Cassandra was desperate. She wasn’t even sure how much Glahad understood her words. Krai had always seemed able to understand her, but maybe he was just imitating his master and reacting to her words. Cassandra wasn’t sure of anything anymore, but she glanced down at Kian. Kassian was in danger out there, and so was his father. Maybe convincing the golden dragon was the last chance to save them.
“Glahad! You know the Emperor didn’t want this!”
The golden dragon resumed his furious growling, but despite her fear, Cassandra continued.
You can’t stay there and do nothing. Kairen needs you, Shareen too. The Emperor has a new grandson, Kassian, my son, and you can’t let him die!”
This time, the dragon stopped growling, apparently having heard her. Cassandra grabbed Kian off the floor, though the baby dragon was still fearlessly growling at Glahad.
“You have to help me get out of here, please. Vrehan will kill them! Kairen, Shareen, even Prince Opheus, Prince Anour, and Lady Kareen too!”
Having heard about the Imperial Concubine, Glahad finally raised its head, making Cassandra sigh in relief. The Emperor’s love for Lady Kareen may save their lives, after all? Her name had definitely made his dragon react.
“I know… I know His Highness wanted Lady Kareen to be safe. He loved her, and wherever she was, he was fine with it because she was safe, right? As long as Vrehan is out there, she won’t be safe anymore, Glahad. You can’t give up on the one love His Highness wanted to protect. 1
The Dragon suddenly emitted a long higher-pitched sound, that sounded like a wailing to Cassandra. She was actually crying. She didn’t want to admit the Emperor may have been dead, but the thought was making it’s way in, ineluctably. So many things were pushing her towards it, no matter how much she didn’t want it to be true. She wasn’t ready to hear it, but neither was Glahad, and yet the golden dragon knew.
“Glahad, please…
With a growl, the golden dragon finally moved. His humongous body slowly rose up, and Kian made himself very small in Cassandra’s arms, obviously as impressed as he was scared. Glahad was incredibly big, and once he was standing, his body occupied more than half of the space there. Cassandra had to retreat against the wall to not risk being crushed. It seemed like he knew exactly what to do. The golden dragon turned around, his ruby eyes
going to the gigantic door. Cassandra couldn’t imagine how Glahad had been made to stay there, but she doubted there was anything that could efficiently contain the most powerful creature of this Empire.
He growled and raised his paw to grab the giant handle. The size of his claws made that only two of those could pull, but still, he had no trouble lifting it unlike Cassandra earlier. She felt a wave of hope as the door started making an awful ruckus from the pressure. However, it wasn’t moving so easily. After a few seconds, it became obvious Glahad had to use considerable strength to try and open it. Something was blocking it, but the golden dragon was not giving up. He started growling furiously, determined.
“Come on, Glahad… Please…” whispered Cassandra.
In her arms, Kian started cheering too with excited little growls and squeaks, his eyes riveted on the adult dragon. Glahad struggled more and more. The dragon growled furiously against that door that was not opening and kept pulling. Cassandra god worried to see the base of his claw starting to bleed, but he wouldn’t stop. He kept using all of his strength, arching his back and putting all of his body into it. Cassandra felt the tension as if she had been pulling too, and silently cheered for him, praying that this was going to work.
Finally, the door moved.