The First Legendary Beast Master

"Why don't we rest here first? Nothing is going to bother us in the Tiny World when we're right next to the Hippos, and I can do my crafting.

That gives everyone time to relax in the sun, go swimming, check on the eggs, or whatever it was that you wanted to do with your spare time." Karl suggested.

Prince Nathan shrugged. "You're not going to get any arguments from me about that. The mountain that you made is perfect for naps, and there are actually enough spots that I'm not stealing someone's favourite."

Karl chuckled as he remembered that there was already a large group of dragons here, who had come to watch over the eggs, which were due to start hatching any day now.

Everything was in place for them, and the teachers had even dragged Button into proper classes. After being properly horrified by the fact that the little forest dragon couldn't read, of course.

Button didn't see the issue.

They had tried to explain it multiple times, but they kept writing the reasons on the board, and as she couldn't read them, they really didn't make much of an impression.

In fact, life seemed better without reading, if problems only existed when you could read them.

Librarian Ike looked up from his books in the Tiny World's Library. Someone was thinking about his lessons, he could sense it. But it wasn't time for one, so he didn't have to go hunt for the Forest Dragon just yet.

Karl took out a stack of equipment to work on as he ate, while Dana brought out a low desk so she could write skill books as she relaxed on the beach next to the water.

It would make them all sorts of friends to be able to sell a few rare skills, even more than just selling gear.

They were getting close to where they wanted to be, where dragon controlled territories gave way to Dwarven ones.

So, a city on the border between a Dragon controlled nation and a Dwarven one might be perfect for their purposes, as it would let them more easily recruit from both species to get all the craftsmen that a Darklight Host Guild House would need.

Most of the dragons from northern Gathuzan didn't have trade skills. There was no need for Nobles of their lineage to take up something as mundane as a day job, so they had never bothered.

However, seeing the Mythic pair from the Darklight Host at work, they were tempted to start.

Just the profit that could come from such a rare skill would be worth it, and then there was the recognition that would put them above their peers. With the System fully active again, it wouldn't be long before the battle for family leadership got much more intense, instead of going to the only strong heir in the younger generation.

That sort of upheaval would completely change the culture.

"You know, I can talk while I work. You all look like you have questions that don't have to do with my Runecrafting." Karl suggested.

"You were in Gathuzan during the last resurgence, right? How were things then? There was a war just after the end of the resurgence, and we lost the majority of the Elders from the older generation." Prince Nathan asked.

"It was actually early in the last resurgence. I went to Gathuzan as a tutor, assigned to help a young Princess who was late to awaken her Class. The logic was that she just needed a little nudge to get her on the right path in life, you see.

Things were good, stable.

The Shadow Dragons were a bit snobby, given that they were the top of the food chain, more so than they are now.

That far into the resurgence, the Nobility were entirely Shadow Dragons, and the others were either guests, commoners, or Clerics of their gods." Karl began.

The dragons sat down on the sand around him, and Button settled in his lap, ignoring the fact that Karl was still trying to work.

He moved the little dragon to his left so he could continue carving with his right, and waited for a follow-up question.

"So, it's true that the Shadow Dragon Clan used to be all powerful in Gathuzan? That's startling."

"While they were the entire Nobility, they weren't quite all powerful. There were plenty of other powerful dragons in the world at the time, and I'm told that the Queen who took the throne just after I left gained Immortality."

"Oh, to have lived in those glory days." Prince Nathan sighed.

Karl laughed. "You know, it wasn't all that it might seem. Sure, the Shadow Dragons were powerful, politically. But that meant that everything was a competition among the families.

Nobody inherited anything that they weren't willing to kill to earn.

Even while I was there, there was a bombing in the Palace. A Princess that had been born at Ascended Rank was showing too much promise, and it threatened the Queen, who was about to become the Queen Dowager.

Though, she wasn't the Crown Prince's mother. He was born of a concubine that was killed in the palace ranking struggles. But he was the most powerful of his generation by quite a bit, so he was Crown Prince anyhow.

The rumour was that he favoured that little half sister, and was going to give her a position in his administration."

The Shadow Dragons blinked. "And that was enough for a Queen to attempt to assassinate a Royal Princess? The old days were much more bloodthirsty than the records indicate."

Karl nodded. "You're not wrong about that."

"What Princess was it? Perhaps there are legends that survived the ages." Nathan asked.

"Princess Rue. Later the Immortal Queen Rue."

"The Queen of Destruction." Prince Nathan realized. "You were sent to train The Queen of Destruction, and presumably help her reach Immortality.

But that doesn't make sense. If you could teach her to become an Immortal, you should be one yourself."

Dana laughed, and shook her head, the tufts on her fluffy fox ears wobbling.

"Time is a relative concept. As an Avatar of the World Dragon he has been living a non-linear existence. From his point of view, those are recent events. For the rest of the world, they were millennia ago."

"Ah, Temporal Magic. That explains a lot. Including why our Royal Regulations expressly prohibit Temporal Dragons from the Palace."

Karl was surprised that they didn't prohibit him and Misty by name.

They'd probably earned it.