Valerian, The Legendary

After a week, all the books that could be related to dragons have ran out. As for the other magicals, Valerian never thought of their involvement with the dragon race. Just when he was thinking what could be done his soul communication bead shook.

The way to exchange connections with each other was to touch the beads and pass on a wisp of mana inside the other party’s bead through yours. Valerian fished out his communication bead from the magic pouch and accepted the connection.

‘Valerian.’, said the other party.

The silver-haired boy recognized who this person was and smiled after days as he said, ‘Finally recalled that you have a friend, Your Highness Morgana.’

Morgana replied, ‘I never forgot you, but I have been busy setting up my own information network in the empire.’

Valerian was surprised and said, ‘That is a good thing, any troubles?’

Morgana replied, ‘Yes, I wanted to discuss what shall I do to make the communication safer, the people under me are commoners, they cannot use soul communication beads, and this delay the a lot of things, also, if I practice the method to pass the details through the people, it will dilute the content and also the secrecy. If we got caught, getting our heads looped off will be inevitable.’

Valerian nodded and said, ‘What you said is correct, these methods are not safe. Why don’t you have Silk control a few birds and have them act as carriers?’

.....

Morgana was surprised and asked, ‘Is Silk not limited to handle Snare at a time?’

Valerian chuckled and said, ‘You under estimate her a lot. Just ask her and she will handle it. Did you think Silk was some low level beast? She can trigger a beast tide whenever she wants.’

Morgana was surprised and said, ‘Well, I did not know that. I will ask for her help.’

‘Hmm, good.’, said Valerian.

Morgana asked, ‘How are you doing?’

Valerian smiled and replied, ‘I am fine, could be better.’

Morgana sighed and said, ‘Is it because of the war scene?’

Valerian sighed and said, ‘Yes, I wonder if I can solve it.’

‘Solve it? What do you mean?’, asked Morgana.

The prince told her that something was wrong with his health, and did not reveal the fact that his soul was in a mess. This detail should not be revealed to anyone that he did not trust completely. Even after sharing a kiss Valerian was able to stay sane, he was aware that this seemingly innocent lady was capable of inciting such chaos in the four nations.

She was not to be trusted completely at least not till he got to know her better. Sad childhood did not mean people will be honest. He grew up in an orphanage where people had no compassion so he had deep trusting issues.

Morgana nodded and said, ‘I hope your injury heals soon. Also, congratulations on becoming an Archmage.’

Valerian knew that she was aware of his skill to cast magic in all attributes, and he said, ‘Thank you, this time I really did reach the Archmage level.’

Morgana nodded and the two kept on talking for another hour before they went to bed. Valerian looked at the sky and thought, ‘I made a mistake by telling her about my skills that day, I wonder why I did that, well fine, no human is perfect. I will need to be careful in involvement with her.’

The next morning, Valerian did not go down from the attic, and Morgana appeared beside him with a bowl of medicine. She asked, “Are you not feeling well, your highness?”

Valerian shook his head and said, “I am fine, I just wish to stay alone for a bit.”

He sat up and consumed the medicine. Priscilla could tell that he was lost in thoughts but she did not know how to help him. Her knowledge in this issue was not too deep. After the maid left, Valerian again lay on his back. He really did not wish to go outside.

Suddenly, he heard a voice, “So, do you think things will be alright if you laid here like a corpse.”

The prince sighed, “All you know is come back after so long and scold me. Do you look down on me, princess of dragons.”

The speaker was Fortuna, and Valerian had recognized her easily. The connection of their magical bond was strong. The dragon replied with a snort and said, “You be mindful of your words, human, you are meeting the queen of Dragons.”

Valerian was surprised and then shocked, he sat up in a snap and said, “You are the queen? How is this possible?”

Fortuna replied, “You are looking down on me too much. I passed the trial of the dragon god.”

Valerian sighed and said, “Where are you?”

Fortuna said, “Will reach the academy soon. Come out to pick me up.”

Valerian nodded and departed the place, and rushed to the academy gates, and just as she said, Fortuna appeared from the side in her new form. She was now a white tiger. The guards were worried and Valerian said, “Calm down, it is my companion beast. She was out training, and grew up.”

Valerian could not imagine what Fortuna would look like. It was as if her actual size was hundred times bigger than her shape shifted body. He wanted to see it but he reined in his curiosity. She approached Valerian, and the boy met her half way.

He placed his hand on her head and said, “I missed you.”

Fortuna did not deny his touch but she said, “Grow up.”

She was too proud to show her feelings in front of her, but her tail was flicking showing her true emotions. She was happy to see him after such a long time. Valerian smiled and then led her back inside the academy. The people found a white tiger as tall as humans walking behind Valerian, and they were shocked.

The tiger seemed to be a menacing existence. Valerian led her inside the battle mage tower and they sat down in front of each other. They did not talk and just sat there. Fortuna finally could not hold it in and asked, “Don’t you have anything to ask?”

Valerian nodded and asked, “How did you ascend the throne?”

Fortuna replied, “I flew back to the dragon kingdom in the center of the world. Then I decided to take the trial for ascension. I passed the trial and claimed the throne.”

Valerian nodded and asked, “Well, can I ask what the trial is like?”

Fortuna sighed and said, “Its actually just a simple thing. I was asked to climb the summit of a mountain where the wisp of the dragon god’s soul tests the metal of the royal descendants. The kin thought of me as a weakling, as I was weak, but then I managed to climb the mountain and awakened the real strength of a dragon. I am now a full fledged dragon.”

Valerian nodded with a faint smile and said, “I am happy for you also, I have something to tell you.”

Fortuna replied, “Yeah, about the partial soul?”

Valerian was surprised, but then he thought that since Fortuna was a dragon, she must have known what was going on with him and this gave him a glimmer of hope. He asked, “Since you know about it can you tell me if there is a cure to it?”

Fortuna matched his gaze, without flinching and said, “Yes, there is a cure, but the process is gruesome and brutally torturous.”

Valerian asked, “What is it?”

Fortuna said, “Before I tell you about the cure, you need to know that you will not be able to see the people in your family for an year if you started it.”

Valerian was stunned, he said, “No, at this moment, I cannot afford to be away for an year. The continent is broiling with the current of war. If something happened while I was gone, the Valkyrians will be taking over the continent and the result will not be something happy to look at.”

Fortuna nodded and said, “Fine, then we have to work fast and finish this war altogether. I can use the forces of the dragon kingdom to help you.”

Valerian shook his head and said, “You being here is enough support. The might of dragons might be able to turn the tides in an instant, but it will not leave a mark of regret and remorse in the hearts of the humans, but even make them hate your kin. Victory does not need bloodshed. Sometimes, it can simply be earned by using the swords of your brain.”

Fortuna nodded and said, “Fine, have it your way, let us teach a lesson to these idiots.”

Valerian chuckled and Fortuna laughed at this. They were going to support each other and fight this war.