— ...Don't idealize us, Sora-san. — I was thinking, so I missed the beginning of Meiumi-sama's monologue. — Dragons are as alive as any other creature. We can be sad and happy, cry and laugh. We are not gods, and gods are not perfect.
— Some say there is no ideal at all. — he murmured relaxed, looking at the sea.
— They are wrong, there is an ideal, but every living being has its own, and it is almost impossible to realize it. On the other hand, life itself is an ideal.
— Hmm. — My thoughts are beginning to come together. — What do you want to tell me, Meiumi-sama? — The girl was silent for a while and looked at the horizon.
— Dragons aren't perfect, like many other creatures, — the girl spoke slowly, taking her daughter into a hug. — But we feel the world we live in and try to maintain the delicate balance as best we can. Always and everywhere there is someone or something capable of shifting it, of changing the world in the desired direction, consciously or not — it does not matter, only balance, harmony is important. Sometimes we and our similar or close races act ourselves, sometimes we find other possibilities, helpers. Sometimes it is enough to give a small push, not the most obvious, sometimes completely imperceptible, and the situation changes dramatically. — The girl was silent, caressing her daughter, who was lukewarm and satisfied.
— In the myths you are often depicted as wise, but always on your mind and with some plans ... — After a minute of silence I decided to speak, the girl smiled weakly at my words.
— In most cases we have so much fun: the hero comes for the great wisdom, gets an incomprehensible, semi-philosophical speech, and even with many subtexts and interpretations. It's quite interesting and fun to watch the hero's confusion as he tries to decipher some "prediction".
— And you are cruel... — I can't help but smile at the information revealed, I think if I were a dragon I'd have just as much fun, if not more.
— We all have our weaknesses. — The dragon just shrugged, then smiled mischievously and started to tickle Ryuko-chan, when she was done, she continued. — About a thousand years ago, the Great Spirit, the Firebird Feng-huang, who holds the balance of Yin and Yang, chose a young family of magicians and gave them his blessing. The magicians became stronger, more robust, approached the spiritual animal world, and attained the perfect Yin-Yang balance. But humans could not escape the imprint of Feng Huang's own essence — the fire of life, natural balance, virtue and order, and a stubborn intolerance of lies. — At the last words, the dragon gave me a sidelong glance that sent shivers down my spine. — The young clan had risen rapidly, built several temples to the Living Fire, and become a full-fledged clan. But the mixing of blood with the older clans brought trouble — a schism. There were two elder branches in the clan at the time, and one, the more "diluted" one, mutinied and dismissed the second, less numerous one. The threat of annihilation forced the branch to leave Celestia and move to the Land of the Rising Sun. With strength, experience and knowledge, the Branch quickly found its place here and changed its name to "Hoshino" and ceased to be called "Lan". — There was a long silence.
This is an interesting story, I hadn't seen this information anywhere, let alone assumed that the Hoshino Clan was from China. After a few minutes, the dragon spoke again.
— Why do you think Feng Huang made his decision right then? Not 'why exactly them.
— Great intention, right?
— Right. At that time, there were big and long wars going on, and dishonest and evil people began to gain the upper hand. The appearance of the Lan made the scales tilt and balance, and their qualities allowed people to trust the Lan because they always keep their word and do not try to distort the oaths.
— But... — I wanted to speak, but I was cut off.
— That was the original plan: the Lan should split up and leave China. But no blood was to be shed, for which the current Lan would be punished. — The girl was silent and looked at me, giving me the opportunity to ask her.
— Since the Hoshino clan was destroyed, has it become unnecessary in the world?
— If that were the case, would an unwanted child have been born to an imprisoned witch? No, it wouldn't. Hoshino had, has, had a chance to be reborn. .... — The dragon stretched strangely. — Even more than you realize, Sora-san. You were freed when you were betrayed, and now you owe nothing to anyone.
— What about the oaths of the clans to the Emperor? There was almost a vassal oath! — I said that a little louder than I should have, but the answer is important to me, since such oaths apply to descendants as well.
— Magic oaths are never unilateral, ALWAYS. If it doesn't show, then you don't know something, that's all. The Emperor could have protected the clan, forbidden internal wars, but he didn't, so he broke the promise and the Hoshino clan was free of their oaths.
— And the second ground? Nothing happens without it, ever.
— It's mortals who are susceptible to deception, who live too little, and who are in too much of a hurry to grab as much as they can. There is no second floor or anything like that in the oaths. The truth is the same: if you swear that you mean no harm to anyone, then the oath will be taken that way. That is, it should be taken exactly as it was when it was taken, and under what circumstances it was taken.
— I mean... — I licked my parched lips.
— You are free to fulfill your destiny as you wish.
All this time I'd tried to keep thoughts of vow reversals out of my head. I didn't have any, except for that silly "no harm to the Emperor and the clan" thing, but I was afraid of getting a family curse as an "inheritance" because I didn't know the terms of those old oaths, but I couldn't stop myself. Now I don't have to be afraid of that, and that's good, because I didn't want to go through a lot of purification rituals and ask the gods and elder spirits for help.
— Why did you tell me this, Mayumi-sama? — The only thing I needed was debt.
— Debts. — The dragon replied simply, and my hair stood on end in fear. — You saved my daughter and her life is priceless to me, so I will tell you what is important. Your mind is not at peace and I will help you find your way to balance. — The dragon was silent again for a while.
We sat in silence for a while. I was wading through a jumble of thoughts, trying to sort them out, realizing it would take a long, deep meditation. However, I couldn't help but recognize the truth of the dragon's words: I was confused. For a long time, I had lived with the distant goal of escaping the clan and the never-ending thirst to gain new knowledge and turn it into skills.