He was sitting at the window, scrolling in his phone, his great uncle and his cousin went out to investigate the new piece of land that appeared recently, and he was alone at their house, where he has been living for a few months now.
He still felt that it was surreal, like, to be surrounded by nice people.
After some time, he saw a post.
[Dragon Edge - We're now open!
You are welcome to visit the dragon paradise and find a reliable companion!]
He was confused for a moment, but soon curiosity took over.
And, if it's not a scam, he might have found a solution to his problem.
***
Stella came back surprisingly carrying a big barrel of weapons and with a bag on her shoulders without breaking a sweat.
"These are some weapons that I made yesterday" She said as she put the barrel on the ground.
She walked to the table and started taking things from her bag and naming each thing in front of them.
There was Changewing acid, Speed Stingers venom, Death Song amber, Monstrous Nightmare gel, Fireworm Firecomb and Firecomb gel and many other items that Duke had seen the day before, but this time there was a little bonus.
"These are the ingots" She said, giving them to Thorin "I usually have a few stored like this so I don't bother the Gronckles when they are asleep and I want to work on something"
Duke watched as everyone started to see the products one by one, he had already seen them, so he was more interested in something else.
"Can I see the armor?" he asked.
He was curious about the armors made of scales.
"I can show you one of mine" She offered.
The stone on her earring shone and she suddenly was wearing a white armor that reminded him vaguely of Melchior.
Oh, so the earring was a Knight Gear.
A Knight Gear was a piece of equipment that let you store armors and wear them quickly in a moment of need, even some weapons could be kept in them.
Duke raised from his seat and walked to her, looking at the armor with fascination.
"Is it hard to make an armor with the scales?" he asked.
"More or less" She said "It can be tricky sometimes.
Duke raised a brow to that.
"How come?"
"Depend on the dragon scale" She said "Take a Light Fury armor for exemple, Light Furys need to coat themselves in their own blasts of plasma to use one of their abilities, so I need to to make sure my armor will cover my whole body so I won't burn myself when Mel use this ability when I'm flying with him, but I also need to make sure that it won't affect my mobility and balance, and there's also…"
She crouched, passing her hands in leather strips on her shins, then got up once again, now with an unfolded pair of leather wings, she pressed something by her side and then turned to reveal a dorsal fin.
"Flying Dragon!" She said "It help you to plane even without a dragon, it's good for emergencies and can be a lifesaver"
"How ingenious!"
Now Thorin was lively.
At some point the dwarf had left the ingot on the table and approached the girl.
"I can see you used leather of normal animais" He said "Frail and easy to tear apart, but good for practice and will sustain a human of comum proporcions in the air for some good amount of time, I can think in some good substitutes to that"
"I do have better materials" The girl said "Some Demonic Beasts approached many times in recent years, mostly by flying or swimming, but the Sentinels and sea dragon's around the Edge dealt with them, I just didn't want to waste anything precious just to test my protopies, so I kept using yak and sheep leather"
Thorin nodded at that, but Duncan could only think of one thing.
"Sea dragons?"
He had seen some really interesting dragons since he arrived at the Edge, some he wouldn't ever imagine to exist.
But a sea dragon?
Like the ones the sea folks worshiped?
"Oh yeah" The girl said with a chuckle as she stored the extra parts of the armor "Bewilderbeast, Scauldron, Seashoker, Submaripper and many more, the Tidal class have some really incredible dragons, I can show them to you guys later when it's the dragons meal time"
Class.
She mentioned that once again.
He was about to ask about it when a loud growl interrupted him.
But, at least this time, it wasn't a dragon.
"Can I have something to eat?" Clara asked sheepishly.
That only made Stella laugh as her armor disappeared.
"Of course" She said "I'll prepare some sheep for us"
***
Lark had to admit, the food was wonderful.
Everyone that ate the sheep was extremely satisfied, and even Lark and Sally, who couldn't stomach meat, found themselves eating something Stella called Vanaheim Fruit.
It was delicious and even Clara and Cleiton, who's diet was composed practically of meat, liked it.
Stella explained that that fruit was usually used in Vanaheim, one of the islands of the archipelago, where sick and old dragons stayed to recover or pass their last years, all dragons could eat it, regardless of the diet.
"Are you guys up for a ride to the next island?"
After the meal and some conversation about the products, Melchior returned to announce that the forge was ready.
"Yes!" Clara and Cleiton exclaimed in excitement while following the girl out of the cabin.
"No offense" Sally said "But I don't think Melchior can take everyone, even if it's one by one"
In fact, the dragon was only big enough for two people, and only if they were human sized.
An ogre like Clara, two times bigger than an adult human wouldn't be able to fly on him.
"Oh don't worry" Stella said "Just I'll be going on Melchior, you guys will be going with Chronos"
With everyone following her, they saw as she cupped her hands, brought them to her mouth and let out a thunderous roar that no one would believe to come from a young girl like her.
"If any of you buy a dragon" She said "It would be good to learn their calls, it easy to learn and since each call is different depending of who do it, your dragon will always know that it's you calling"
That was a good thing to know, but Lark wasn't sure if he could learn such a thing.
He might lose his voice in the process.
"What kind of dragon Chronos is?" Lark asked.
Lark was well aware of how many species of dragon existed out of the Edge since he was part of Dragon's Pride and did like some, but all these new species were actually more interesting then the ones he knew
Each species had their own characteristics, they were different in every aspect, unlike the ones he knew, who's only difference was what they spit and, sometimes, if they had wings or not.
A dragon that can produce a metal better than mithril? Unimaginable.
A dragon with two heads, one of them capable of producing a flammable gas that can be stored and used to explode something? Unheard of.
A dragon that can make venom capable of paralyzing any creature in a few seconds regardless of size and that worked in extremely efficient packs? Simply fantastical.
So yes, he was a bit excited to see more of these fascinating creatures.
"Chronos is a Titan Wing Crimson Goregutter" Stela said.
"Titan Wing?" Roland repeated "Is it a variation of Crimson Goregutter?"
"Kind of" The girl said, keeping her eyes on the sky "Titan Wings are dragons that survived to an old age, but basically? They are old as hell to their species standards and even mutated a little, looking a bit different from the normal dragon you'd find, and they are bigger too"
"Bigger!?" Duncan nearly screamed "But Crimson Goregutters are already-"
He was interrupted by a deafening roar, even louder than Stella's, they soon were covered by a gigantic shadow and hitted by a wild wind.
Lark looked up at the beast, its holey antlers were ruge and sharp, its wings were extremely long and Lark knew that one strong hit from that tail would kill a Minotaur.
It was terrifying.
But also magnificent.
He could feel its strength from the wind its wings produced as it went down, from the ground tremor that came after it landed, and from the low growl it let out as it layed on the ground in front of Stella, who approached the behemoth.
"Hey gramps" She said gently while caressing its snout "Could you give our potential customers a ride?"
It cooed softly, a gentle look on its eyes.
"Thanks" She said "I'll give you some yaks latter and ask Glacier to bring one of that sea Demonic Beasts you like"
It growled in content as the girl turned to them.
"Hop on" She said "This old guy will take you to the forge"
—
The flight to the forge was surprisingly good.
The feeling of flying was just as priceless as Roland's childish face during the journey.
The dragon himself was good too.
From the moment they climbed him to the moment they took flight and even when they landed again, he was nothing but patient and calm, even when Clara started to walk on his back while flying.
He didn't have this kind of tranquility the last time he mounted a dragon as it made violent turns and twists, but now he kind of understood why Dragon Tamers loved to be in the sky so much.
It was calming.
The feeling of freedom he felt didn't pass even after they saw the process of creation of the Gronckle Iron.
It was that feeling that made him desire his own dragon.
"How much is a dragon?"
They were back at Stella's cabin after looking around the surface.
("Can we look at the crater?" Roland asked.
"It's better not" She said "There are too many dragons there and not all of them like humans, unless you're invited by Melchior or the alpha, you can't really go, even I couldn't at the start")
As much as he felt disappointed for not being able to see the crater from inside, he was satisfied with what he saw on the surface.
So now he wanted to know what everyone wanted to ask.
The girl just smiled at his question as she trew a fix to Melchior before turning to the dead yaks in front of her and started to dismantle them to throw the pieces in Chronos's open mouth, bone and meat together.
"Depend on the dragon" She said "A Terrible Terror? Ten low grade cores, a Grounkle? Twenty middle grade cores, Bewilderbeast and Foreverwing? A sixty high grade cores and a hundred high grade cores respectively"
He was shocked by that, not expecting such a drastic difference in price.
"The price don't change according to the size" She said "Before you ask, but by relevance"
She tore a leg from the yak with ease, throwing it in the gigantic mouth.
"Bewilderbeasts and Foreverwings are Alpha species" She explained "Unless it's a dragon of the same species and a higher rank or a stronger species, not many dragons can compete with them, and alpha species are naturally capable of controlling other dragons, Glacier is the second highest rank alpha species around here, so no alpha species or comun dragon, apart from the Alpha of the Edge, can disobey him, the alpha species because he's stronger physically, and the normal dragons because he can control then forcibly even if they try to resist, and alpha species can't control other alpha species"
She stopped for a moment to look at Melchior, who was trying to steal a bite of a yak, and gave him a dirty look, making the dragon retreat slowly as she threw another leg into the Titan Wing's mouth.
"All apha species are in the high grade shelf" She continued "Many comum species and rare species are in the middle grade shelf, while a little few of them are in the low grade shelf, for any Titan Wing, there will be a fifty percent increase in price, and eggs can be bought by a third of the price, but you can pay for a training service, witch cost fifty middle grade cores a month and ten high grade cores a year, to help you learn how to properly care for and ride a dragon or teach them how to behave properly, it's easier to train from the egg, but you can also- argh! Mel!"
A fish had hit her in the head from behind, but, before she could even turn around, the piece of meat in her hand was stolen by a white figure that soon ascended to the sky with a loud laugh like growl as Melchior escaped with his prize.
"That better be a present for your son!" She yelled at the dragon.
The dragon roared from afar and soon disappeared in the distance.
"Bastard!" She growled before turning to them "But yeah, I help with training and care, you can pay to learn or you can try by yourself, some dragons have strong personality, so it might be hard to build a relationship, but it's hardly impossible, the easy way is to raise from the egg, but it isn't that different from raising an adult one"
She approached a second yak after the one in her hand was finished, starting that one quickly.
"So" She said "Any dragons in mind?"
***
Roland couldn't help but sigh as he watched three of the Hunters he brought play around with their new dragons.
Well, two tecnicaly, Thorin was actually talking with Stella to make sure he would know what to do to take care of his new Grounkle.
Sally had gotten her Monstrous Nightmare, a cheeky creature that tried to bite her hand the moment she approached, but proved to have a very docil a lovable character.
Stella had explained that this one was quite the oddball among the species, being calmer than the rest, apart from the first meeting, he does that as a prank.
Now they were both on the ground after Stella taught the trick to make Monstrous Nightmares especially calmer, both had a content expression on their faces.
Lark got a group of Speed Stingers, similar to Stella's, with a leader that was much taller than the others and eighteen subordinates.
The leader had claimed Lark as his protege and now wouldn't let Lark off his saddle, so he's now running around with a delighted Lark on his back.
Roland had an orange and yellow Deadly Nadder sitting by his side, she had been calmly waiting for him to climb the saddle.
Clara and Cleiton were sulking by the side, not allowed yet to take a dragon, especially when none of them had the proper place to keep them, and Duncan didn't take his Crimson Goregutter this time, as he was planning on preparing a place for her in their house located in a more distant part of the city.
("Technically he is her's" Stella told Roland as they watched the dragon melt in Duncan's touch "Finders keepers")
The house used to belong to Roland's father, a Dragon Tamer, but he left it to him, as it was also a perfect place to meditate and study magic without being interrupted.
Roland would bring the Deadly Nadder with him to report to the Emperor and the rest of the guilds, along with Thorin, to make sure he would not lock himself in the forge and make him attend a meeting with the blacksmith association.
Sally and Lark would be staying to train for a few days and get used to their dragons, Lark's party would be coming soon to train with him and the rest of the pack.
Sally's party probably would come to make sure she was ok and not killing anyone.
"It's a pity that you guys won't stay to see the dragon's feeding time"
Roland turned to Stella, she had a smile on her face, Melchior was nowhere to be seen, gone to the crater and his son, as she had said, but Chronos was still around, letting the Speed Stingers climb up and down to him as he laid on the grass.
"It truly is" He said "But we need to return and report what we found, there's a lot of curious people wanting to know about this place"
She nodded, not seeming surprised by this.
"Just tell anyone to come by boat if they want to visit" She said "And, under no circumstances, attack, the Sentinels and sea dragons don't take aggression lightly, they will attack, and, at worst scenario, the Alpha will wake up, and no one want to see Pan awake"
Roland hummed in agreement, silencing his doubts.
He hasn't seen the so-called Alpha yet, but, by the way, all the dragons visibly tense at the mention of its name, he doesn't think he wants to.
With a last goodbye they left, the Deadly Nadder was happily perched on the top of the ship for most of the time, taking Roland to the air at some point.
He was marveling at the sensation of being in a dragon's back once again when he received a massage.
It was from Sally, a normal message, followed by a video and another message.
[Meal time!] Was the fist, and [LOOK AT THIS SHIT!]
Curious, he watched the video.
They were in the air with an absurd amount of dragons flying in circles, Sally was recording everything in her phone, the vídeo changed to show Sally and Lark at the Monstrous Nightmare back, Sally with a smug face and Lark with an awkward smile.
{Look!}
It was Stella's voice.
The vídeo changed back to show Stella, now carrying and spining a strange staff, in the back of yet another dragon, it had four pairs of wings without front legs and only a pair of hind legs, its neck was turned at an angle that only an owl could show to look at Sally, who was flying above it.
{That's Gargoyle, the Stormcutter} The Fae introduced before pointing the camera at where Stella was pointing with her staff.
There he saw three figures swimming in the sea, circling a huge mass of something.
{Seashokers} Stella screamed through the wind.
One of them jumped out of the water, revealing its stingray-like body and its two heads before returning to the water.
He was curious about what would happen when something came out of the water, something that nearly made Sally drop her phone.
A gigantic Beast, far bigger than the Titan Wing Crimson Goregutter, it was white and had a pair of long and thick tusks, along with beautiful blue eyes.
In its mouth, he saw a huge amount of fishes, the now identified mass that the Seashokers were surrounding, and, after closing its mouth, it spit out all the fish, making it rain fish.
{Good job Glacier!} Stella screamed to the dragon as she stopped spinning the staff and the dragons stopped flying in circles to pick the falling fish.
The dragon let out a thunderous roar, louder than Chronos' and more imposing, as it disappeared once again in the water.
The video ended like this.
He stared at his phone for a moment before putting it in his pocket and sighing.
He patted his new dragon with a tranquility unknown to himself.
"Things are kind of crazy nowadays huh?" Was all he could say.
Well, if that was the Bewilderbeast and second in command of the Dragon Edge, he definitely wouldn't want to see the Alpha.