My Dragon Cultivation System: Rise Of An Empire

They soon realized they had no time left. The Hydra would be upon them by the next night. Everyone gathered around the war table with serious faces. There was no pride, no discrimination. Every voice mattered, every idea was heard. They discussed formations, strategies, weapons, defenses, and counterattacks. Nothing was left unchecked.

The meeting stretched long into the night. By the time they were finished, dawn was only a few hours away. Everyone was weary and went to rest, but who could truly sleep with war pressing so close?

Aeron could not. He walked out quietly to where Draco was. The dragon lay low as though asleep, but the moment he felt Aeron's presence, he lifted his head. His eyes studied Aeron's face, as if he could sense his fear.

"Hey, boy," Aeron whispered, reaching out to him. "How are you?" He forced a smile. "Yeah, I know. You feel it too. Don't worry. It'll be fine. We'll make it through this."

Draco gave a soft rumble, lowering his head closer to Aeron. Aeron sat on the ground beside him and leaned against his warm scales. He spoke quietly, mumbling to the dragon. Hours passed like that, with Aeron pouring his heart out in whispers.

Morning light touched the walls of the castle and from a window, Ser Devic noticed Aeron sitting with Draco. He watched for a while before making his way down to him.

"Too troubled to sleep?" Devic asked as he approached. "Even your young dragon seems restless. And here you are, talking to him like a man talks to a brother."

Aeron looked up. "Ser Devic," he said quietly.

"I have been watching you for some time from the window," Devic told him. "You look nervous."

"I am," Aeron admitted. "Like everyone else."

"But this is not your first time in battle," Devic said.

"It is my first time preparing for one," Aeron replied. "I have never felt this kind of suspense before. Waiting for war… it is worse than the fight itself."

Devic nodded slowly. "That is true. Come with me. Let me show you how a soldier prepares for war."

He turned, and Aeron followed him into the castle. As they walked, Devic said, "I do not think I have properly thanked you for what you did. For finding the princess and bringing her back from the nomads. I knew only you could bring her safely."

"It was not such a big deal," Aeron said. "They were already planning to escape before I got there."

"Still," Devic answered, "I heard what happened. The chief spared you and the princess because of you and Draco. That is no small thing."

"Either way," Aeron said, "he had no other choice."

They reached a warm sitting room with a fireplace. Both of them sat down. Aeron turned to Devic.

"Do you remember when you first asked me to find her?" Aeron asked. "It was in the forest of Ivarion. I followed you there. You told me about the Watchers then. You told me they said I would face many evils. But you never gave me the full details."

Devic was silent, staring at the fire. Aeron asked again.

"Will you tell me now? Or will you keep ignoring me?"

At last, Devic stood. He went to a shelf and returned with a tall jar of wine and two cups. He poured the drink and set one cup before Aeron.

"You drink, don't you?" Devic asked.

"I have never," Aeron said. "My mother never allowed it."

"That is a shame," Devic said with a faint smile. "You do not know what you have been missing." He pushed the cup toward him. "That is one of the good things about being away from mothers. You finally get to do what they never allowed."

Aeron hesitated, then lifted the cup. He took a sip and immediately frowned. "This is bitter."

Devic laughed. "Only for first timers. It gets better. The more you drink, the better it tastes."

Aeron tried again, then once more. Slowly, he began sipping with less discomfort. Devic smiled and took his own cup, sitting back with ease.

"I told you who the Watchers are, correct?" Devic asked.

Aeron nodded.

"Then you also remember the one who came to the palace? The one who stood before the king and called you the Dragon Reborn. She made a prophecy. Her words were these: His destiny is to save this world from the evils that are now awakening. That is the least of the evils the Dragon Reborn is destined to face. Much greater evil will rise. That is why the dragon was reborn in him. The gods themselves brought him to the world to save us, for they are aware of the darkness that awakens."

Devic sighed deeply and said at last. "All this, she spoke of you and her words mean only one thing. This is not the end of evil. More will come. Many more, across all kingdoms. But this is only how I understand it. I may be wrong."

Aeron quickly shook his head. "No. I refuse to believe it. I will not. Maybe she is mistaken. Or maybe they want people to think they are important."

"But what if she is not mistaken?" a woman's voice said from the door.

Both Aeron and Devic turned to look. A young lady stepped inside the chamber.

"What do you mean? And how did you get in here?" Aeron asked her, confused.

"Who is she?" Devic asked, as he had never seen her before.

"She is the daughter of the nomad chief," Aeron answered.

The young lady gave a small bow and said, "Hello. My name is Miriam." She looked at Devic, then turned her eyes to Aeron. "How I got here is simple. My father and I were given rooms in this palace."

"And about what you said before," Aeron asked.

Miriam nodded. "The Watchers do not belong to any one kingdom. My mother was a Watcher. I was trained among them when I was younger, until my father took me away because I was his only child."

At that moment, Nyella entered the chamber. She did not say anything, only sat down quietly with her eyes fixed on Miriam.

"So I know them. And I can say for sure, the Watchers do not speak lies." Miriam continued.

"The Watchers?" Yvarra asked in surprise as she walked in with Ronan. "What is that?"

"I will explain later," Aeron said quickly, raising his hand. "For now, I want to hear what she has to say."

Yvarra looked at him for a moment, then nodded and sat down beside Ronan.

"Continue," Aeron told Miriam.

She did. "When the Watchers receive a prophecy, they do not give it out immediately. They search for signs first. In most cases, others begin to receive the same prophecy as well. When the signs are clear, they send a messenger to deliver the prophecy. In your case, that is what happened."

"So what you are saying is… they are never wrong?" Aeron asked slowly. "

Miriam nodded again. "Maybe their words can be twisted or hard to understand, but they are never wrong."

The chamber became quiet. Then Aeron said, almost in a whisper, "If they are never wrong, it means more and more creatures will rise. It means we will keep fighting wars like this one, again and again."

Miriam's voice was steady. "If that is what the prophecy says, then yes. We must be ready for it."

Ronan frowned. "Not if we all die in this war first."

Yvarra quickly nudged his boot with her own and said, "Have some positivity, for once."

Miriam gave a small smile but her eyes were sad. "Still… let us pray. Just this once. For the sake of our lives, and for the sake of this world, let us hope the Watchers are wrong."

The chamber became silent again, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Then Devic broke the silence as he clapped his hands and spoke loudly. "Enough. Enough of all these talks about Watchers, and death, and creatures. A war will come upon us tonight, and it will be a dreadful night. But before that, we are still alive now. And while we are alive, let us at least have a little joy. A little laughter before the night comes."

He leaned back with a grin. "Let us play a game."

Ronan's face lit up. "A game? Truth or dare!"

"On a day like this?" Devic scoffed.

"Do not mind him," Yvarra said. She crossed her arms and smiled. "If you ask me, I want to play a game of what I want to be in the future. Since it is not even certain if we will live to see that future."

Devic's face brightened. "Perfect! A perfect game for such a day. Well said, Yvarra." He turned to Nyella. "What do you say, Princess? Do you agree?"

Nyella lifted her head slowly. "It'd be nice actually. A game like that may remind us of what we are fighting for."

"..."