Early Morning - Early Winter : Home
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We continued Krystallo's first lesson on magic all throughout the day after that, but before long, the sun finally set.
As usual, Mother and I met on the mountaintop for our usual science lesson, but that day Krystallo joined as a special guest.
She was extremely interested in it after seeing Mother's enthusiasm for it and came up to check it out.
I told Father he should join as well, but he ended up being mildly uninterested and decided it would be best for him to guard the treasure in the cave.
And just like that, time started to flow again.
Krystallo started routinely joining us for the evening physics lessons and would be taught general magic theory and history by Mother and Father during the day. At first, she struggled to adjust to a schedule of constant studying, but once it eventually became routine, she started finding enjoyment in it.
As for me, my schedule didn't change much. I trained with Ilios and napped in the afternoons, and taught physics at night. It was honestly a perfectly balanced schedule, but today was going to be a day that we had to postpone that routine.
"We are planning to leave for the space run tonight, so we need to start packing out things." Mother had us sit down just outside the cave and was telling us our current plan. "Both of you go find a few important items from the treasure to take with you."
-A few?- "Why don't we just take it all?" Although it was quite a lot of treasure, as long as I could make something to hold it, I could manage the weight. -Worst case scenario, I can just use thruster magic…-
"Once we arrive in Bahamut, some dragons will be sent to move it all for us. We need to bring the valuable stuff with us just in case something happens."
-Dragons have movers?- "How can we trust they won't take any of it?"
"W..well…" She quickly averted her eyes, like she didn't want to talk about it. "Haah, I guess I'll need to say it before we leave anyway…"
Krystallo and I both glanced at each other, not sure whether to be concerned or not.
Eventually, I broke the silence. "W-what are we going to talk about?"
"Our family name, sweetie."
I immediately tensed up since I understood the implications of what she said, but Krystallo didn't react.
"Alright, as you both know, our family name is Ragnarok, and Vasilias, as I'm sure you noticed after having to use an alias in Kaelallan, it is a touchy name."
I gave a reluctant nod.
"As for why it is a sensitive subject, in both human and draconic culture, the fall of the gods during the great war is collectively known as Ragnarok."
Although I had running theories that the name was connected to the fall of the gods ever since reading The Goddess of Harvest, I couldn't confirm it until now. "So, how is that event connected to our family?"
"Hooh…" Mother let out a quick breath as if she needed to calm her nerves before speaking. "As you have both learned, during the battle between the gods, there were 3 dragons that assisted Bahamut. Only one of those three survived. His name was Atlas. When he returned from the final battle, he was given the family name Ragnarok to engrave his contribution into history, but sadly, just a few years later, he ended up dying from an.. unknown cause…"
Krystallo and I stared at Mother with wide eyes as she spoke, and we finally started to realize where the talk was heading.
"To continue the family, the name of Ragnarok was then given to his eldest son and youngest daughter since they were the strongest." She momentarily glanced at us before looking at the door to the cave. "Since then, it has become a tradition to give the Ragnarok name to the strongest two of the next generation, but we won't have to worry about that this time…" She gently shook her head before turning back to us with a warm smile. "In any case, now for the important part."
-That wasn't the important stuff?!-
She continued without hesitation. "Those with the name Ragnarok are praised highly, and known by every dragon. In a way, we are akin to royalty, but that doesn't mean you can get arrogant." She quickly shot an intimidating glance at Krystallo. "You are to NEVER lean on the family name, and until the coming of age festival, outside of our home in Bahamut, you will use the name, Whyte. Do I make myself clear?"
Krystallo and I both gave a slightly nervous nod.
"Good. Something to add. Just because I say you can't use or lean on the family name, doesn't mean you need to lay low. You should have fun and enjoy your time in Bahamut. If you get into a fight, just make sure you win. If you lose, just be sure to get stronger and slaughter them like cattle next time." Her smile suddenly felt slightly crazed, and I felt a chill pass down my spine.
Trying my best to ignore her sudden change of character, I slowly raised my wing.
"What is it, sweetie?"
"W..what about the name Whyte? Where does it come from?"
"Ah, good question! It's actually your Father's former family name. When he married me, a Ragnarok, his name was changed as well."
-Ah, so it's just not a fake family name…- "So how many Ragnaroks are there?"
"Ah, just your grandmother, me and my brothers, your father, and you two… It's a bit complicated…"
Seeing her grimace, I figured it was a touchy subject and tried to warm up the atmosphere by turning to Krystallo. "How does it feel to have the weight and responsibility of the family name on your shoulders?" I gave a slightly forced, smug smile.
She quickly caught my drift and puffed up her chest. "That just means I need to become stronger and raise our name higher!"
Thankfully, it managed to cheer Mother up right away. "Haha, that's a good mindset." Her warm smile returned with a light laugh. "Anyway, I will go over the other rules once we get to Bahamut, so for now, let's start packing."
"Woohoo! Travel!" Krystallo was the first to hop up and trot toward the cave.
"Does that mean I should go pick up Maria now?"
"Hm? Oh, right, I nearly forgot about her. Yeah, go get her. We should be mostly ready by the time you get back."
"Alri-"
"Excuse me?" Krystallo cut me off just as I motioned Ilios over. "Who is Maria?" She stopped in her tracks and shot me an irritated look.
"You'll know soon enough." I paused as I let Ilios up onto my back. "She will hopefully be very useful in the future, so don't hate her too much just yet."
"Hmph…" She pouted as she turned away.
"Haah…" I let out a sigh as I watched her walk into the cave. -I wonder if Mother was like this when she was young…-
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Note: Vasilias told Zachari about Maria off screen for those wondering.