A Benevolent Evil Dragon

"Do you think… Do you think that their lives are better? Do you think they are now alright?" I am stretched as long as I can possibly go, almost stretching from one side of the wagon to the other thanks to my longer neck and tails. I am not quite there, but I do have my head peeking out, since we're far enough from everything to not need to hide quite so well. I can't help but look up at the clear sky, instead of focusing on the women sculpting by my side.

"Who? The kids? The people rescued from the brothel? The other captives?" Edith was carving something similar to an idol, copying Verah, the ox… well actually auroch woman since apparently not only are those still around, but she took exception to me basically calling her a castrated bull. Despite barely having three words in common, it didn't take long for the two to click. As I said before, Edith has a strange charm with older women.

"All of the above. I understand why you got us out. You did good. But that does mean we know nothing of their fate… Were they even rescued? Were they just forced to replace some chains with others? You may have guessed already but optimism doesn't take root in my heart easily." I can't help but tap a hole into the wooden floor out of nervousness.

Edith herself stops, drawing an eye from Verah, then puts the half-finished idol of an auroch head to the side, then she grabs one of my horns, pulling me to make eye contact. "You did all you could. I think this is the third time you couldn't do something all the way, or perfectly, and again you are frustrated, but think about it for a bit. How much can you really do while being feared on principle alone? You gave all those people another chance. The leader of an entire human trafficking group was running away because what you did made an army of guardsmen come down on him and even after escaping he still got caught by us. Chin up, Heart. You said it yourself. So many different people with so many different ways of thinking and not one muttered about you. You did something right, yes?"

I smile as best as I can, nodding my head. "I did what I could. And at least some people paid the price for their crimes… And with how many they are… yeah. Let's hope they have a second chance at a better life. Thanks, Edith."

"Tribe indeed." I turn towards Verah, puffing out air through my nostrils. "Don't anger at truth, Godling of Heart. It is good to be close tribe. Men of Sunset know not how to tribe. Not often." She puffed out even more air than me, shaking her head in her particular way, then she pulled aside the tarp covering the back of the wagon, giving her a clear view of our surroundings, seeming to think hard about her worse days.

Based on her expression, she's likely thinking back to her time as a slave, from even before the whole trafficking ring found them. This is the third time she does it in just as many days if Meruk is to be believed, so safe to say she does it often. Her and Meruk were slaves under the empire and remained together by sheer luck. Then a fight broke out and they managed to run, but still they were chained… They got caught by these smugglers and the rest is recent history. At least they got lucky. The black metal bindings they had were already mostly destroyed in the fight, the only reason they were prisoners for so long was that they had no source of mana to fill up, the little their cores made barely managed to fix their bodies as they were injured constantly…

Gruesome stuff. Thankfully they recovered quickly, especially thanks to the bone mana from my collection and the little bone and blood from the few tiny crystals that no doubt came from witchbeasts. Speaking of, I should hunt some soon enough. Their cores have some better use thanks to the way gold reacts to mana…

"You are getting lost in memories and thoughts again, young Godling. The girl worries." I take Verah's cue, moving my head over to Edith, resting it in her lap, causing her to giggle as I puff out some air in relaxation, no doubt tickling her. Meruk, who so far remained silent and focused on being our coachman, turns and smiles at the sight. I can't actually see him doing that, but my mana sense is particularly useful at seeing him and Verah, especially when they're painted in the mana from my hoard.

"Ah, the whimsy of youth… Such a beautiful sight, is it not, beloved?" He lets out a very distinct and song-like coos as he puffs up his feathers under the large cloak, his head turning to Verah in the back.

"It is, but you sound like an elder, not one barely five frosts older than the girl. And don't compare your age to the Godling. His mind is truly unfathomable. Amusement aside, you fail to translate, husband." She feigned offence, leading to her husband pretending to be outraged.

"You wish to listen in? On our Godling savior's conversation? I speak like an elder but you act like one!" From their little chuckles it seemed their banter is the peak of comedy in their culture… or just that kind of humor only the very couple can understand.

"I have to say, your proficiency in languages is rather inspiring, Meruk. Your lessons are also rather intuitive, despite this supposedly being entirely a work of talent." It was one thing that he could apparently speak Vernian, but the man also knew how to speak Kamish and even Berk, Berkel's tongue. He even learned all of them just by listening rather than by having a teacher.

"Ah, please, you did much the same. I also had years for my accomplishments, yet you are already decent in the Freetongue. Your Kamish needs work, but it took a mere three days for you to become capable of guessing meanings and making simple sentences. By the end of the week you will likely be able to learn a few simple words in Berk. I simply wish I could help you with the written part, but alas, written words are not common for my folk, I never quite got them and the slavers would have hanged me for daring to even try to learn."

I nod as Edith looks down in deep thought. She was a bit guarded before, but by now she's gotten to the stage of beating herself up for letting old tales and the hate of others influence her thoughts. It's good that she throws out preconceived notions rather quickly. Then again, I probably would do so too if I was her. She's somehow ended up on a dragon's side after all.

Regardless, with Edith knowing that I am feeling better, I turn to Meruk, pulling away and showing my curiosity. Although I can speak decently well, I think Verah's accent and dialect makes it harder to understand her sometimes by comparison. Also Meruk is better when it comes to pondering the world, while her expertise lies more in battle as a huntress which is a whole can of worms.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Ah, speaking of languages, I have been curious about a thing. You have similar words for dragons and gods, but the ones you worship… Protective Souls? Guardian Spirits? It's weird you name them something fully different."

"Hmm, that is a good question, young Godling. I don't know the whole tale, but I know what an elder told me when I was still young and unclaimed. Gods and Godlings are similar in all that they are. Beings of unmatched power and dominion over mana and the world. The only difference is that gods are usually born of mana and detached from the world, while Godlings are born of flesh and remain grounded. That is why my kin respects yours more so than we do the gods. You are born of the world, part of the natural cycle even if you often rise above it."

He takes off his hood, looking up into the sky as the wind suddenly picks up for a moment. I smell feathers and talons, I feel freedom and the glee of soaring the skies. It's that unique mana of theirs, but much stronger, yet also far more ephemeral.

"As for our Guardian Spirits, we simply call them as they are. They are the spirits of wildlife that guard us Freefolk. We learn their teachings, talk to them and once we are old and wise enough to hear the call, we claim our parent and they claim us in turn. Unlike the gods that live above the world or the Godlings that often live in their lonesome citadels or lording over lessers for their own passing enjoyment, Guardian Spirits love us and we love them in turn. Even here my winged father whispers me encouragements to make my long walk home. He also expresses his thanks."

I nod along, having actually seen and felt the interaction between the spirit and Meruk. So spirits that resemble animals, divine creatures lording for above and world devouring monsters born from the world… This world is a dangerous mess…

"Though I must say, you resemble a Guardian Spirit in your kindness. I wonder if a Guardling would suit you more!" He chuckles, earning a sigh from me. It took him very little time to clock the fact that I don't even want reverence, just deep trust and he has been quite aloof from that very moment. Verah's still very reverent, even though she's very blunt with me when she needs to. I like her. Damn do I miss Ayrah…

I rush through the woods, feeling the air rush past me. A small stampede approaches from the right, making me smile. I tighten my grip around the slingstaff, its pouch filled with sharp fragments of rock. I breathe deeply, pouring mana through my limbs as I wait. It takes a breath, then two, and in my third I see the deer rushing past. A swing of my sling and two collapse immediately, a third joining them as I leap and bite its head off. My eyes move to the ground, seeing the trail of blood coming from another wounded one, one I could pursue and catch, but this is enough to fill us.

A moment after, while I prepare to carry these things back, Verah joins me, a bit of sweat dripping down her patchy fur as she breathes hard. "I needed that… Been a long time since I last ran wild! Used to outrun my cousins, and yet here I am…" She sighed, then trailed two fingers over a wound, before lifting them to her mouth, licking the blood. "Good ones. Healthy. I thank you for this meal and I pray you join mother's hallowed fields. Blessed be this flesh, fairly taken." She finishes her prayer, smiling as she picks one up.

"Does it… not feel strange to eat your cousins?" I hand over my sling to her, since she doesn't need her hands to walk well, but I do. While she gives me a strange look, I put the two remaining carcasses on my back, holding them there with my wing-hands. Finally it seems she gathered her words enough to answer me.

"Do Godlings not kill their lesser kin for reasons even less reasonable than hunger? Ah, and don't think I did not notice your curious gaze when I ate that dried meat while on the road. I said it before, I say it again. I am no cow, I am the daughter of the hooved mother." She huffed, looking me up and down as we walked over to our temporary camp. "We live in harmony with the wild, we live, we die, we eat, we get eaten. We take flesh as we need it and return our own when the time comes. And while I may feast on nature when needed, meat is the true essence of life for us flesh folk. You should know."

I nod as I realize that despite being a big lady, I don't think she has four stomachs crammed in there. From what Meruk said they start out as humans, so I doubt her tastes change too much. Ayrah enjoyed meat far more than fruits, but she was also starving and about as big as Verah… The whole nomadic hunter-gatherer tribe vibe they have also makes me think they get far more meat than plants, especially when they have winged mages and superhuman predators as hunters.

Well, I'm not complaining, especially since Verah seems like an apt cook, especially with the spices Edith bought from our last stop. Who would've known, I can actually taste the difference between raw meat and well cooked meat.

"Good day and good tidings! How goes the road ahead? All good I hope!" Edith cheerfully greets a group too small to be called a caravan. It's just two wagons going between nearby towns, though at least these are common folk and not some magic hunters or whatever else kind of bullshit that I could stumble across.

"Ah… no… big kingdom speak! Apologize!" A man starts out first, only to be silenced by the one riding on the second wagon.

"No, no, apologies, Bartek! Apologies! Apologize is demand!" They began speaking a bit quickly in Kamish, but I got the gist of it. The second man clocked Edith as someone that can use magic from her jewelry and told his friend that he almost got a noble mad, before addressing Edith again. "Ah, yes, sorry for my friend, my lady. Empire folk don't ride this far north usually, lest they come to hunt great beasts, that is. The path ahead is somewhat calm, but the territory of a great family of witchbeasts is a day's ride from the next town over! I would suggest not bothering with them, though. Heard only one of the beasts ate two young knights. Promising boys. Not worth the hassle, no."

She nodded along, keeping up her cheerful demeanor. She then reached into the back, causing me to retract my neck as she takes a wine vase, We have a few more and even a barrel, so it's not a huge loss. "I thank you for your advice. Say, is there a place where we can rest, beyond the next town, I mean. A nice clearing, a calm lake? Ah and do tell if anything big has happened recently."

The man happily takes the pot, nodding along, clearly eager to earn the drink. "Ah, after the beast's territory, say a day or so, There's a large tree growing with a stone in it. Weird sight but you'll know it. There's a less walked path a bit from it, follow it and you'll find a nice spot next to a fresh river! As for news… Ah, there's a hunt happening, some noble youth learning to hunt small witchbeasts. Didn't hear where, but it should happen around the next few days? It might be fit for a foreign lady like yourself!"

He seemed to think a bit longer, then snapped his fingers in a strange excitement. "Ah! in the next town over there's a wedding taking place. Heard they were low on drinks!" He opens the wine pot, taking a few sniffs. "Yes, yes, wine like this would go well! If you have more, bet they'd buy it for a steal. Groom's a baron's son, fourth or fifth, but the baron still pays the tab."

"Thank you for the advice, good man. Good luck on your road!" Edith waves and gets back to her seat as we start moving again.

"May Hodorin grace you in your travels, fair lady!" They start riding again and I can hear one tell to the other that this is the kind of generosity a noble should have. Pity for them that there's nothing noble about our lot.