The Era of Dragons (2)
“Phew. So this is the world as Mother sees it.”
The black dragon, Erebos, looked around in wonder.
“To think it could change so much just with my scales. Truly fascinating.”
“It would have been impossible without Mother's scales. I drew out Mother's information from them and manifested this body with my own power.”
“My information?”
Information about the body—like genes or something?
“But even pouring all my power into it, I couldn't perfectly replicate Mother's body.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
He looked a lot like me, but his size was less than half of mine.
Erebos, who was darkness itself, couldn't create an identical body even with all his power... Am I stronger than I thought?
Lol... no idea!
Unlike Erebos, who had successfully formed his black dragon body, Sylphid seemed to be struggling. She couldn't seem to infuse her power into my scale, which fluttered in the wind.
“Take it easy. First, focus on pouring all your power into Mother's scale.”
「My power... ugh...」
Sylphid kept trying to infuse her power into my scale, but it wasn't easy.
「Maybe only Erebos could do it? What if I can't?」
“I don't think so... You're probably just not getting the knack yet.”
「The knack...」
“I figured it out by entering that little guy's body first. Maybe you should try the same, Sylphid.”
At Erebos's words, Sylphid eyed the small dinosaur corpse on the ground.
「That little thing... Hmm... It smells kinda funky, makes me iffy.」
“It's not like you're keeping it forever—just borrow it to get the feel. Why not try entering it first?”
Sylphid hesitated, then approached the fallen dinosaur.
「I don't love it, but... if it means flying with Mom...!」
Sylphid entered the dinosaur's body. She wanted to fly with me that badly? She flew with me as wind before, but maybe she craved a proper body.
As Sylphid entered, the dinosaur's skin strangely began turning white.
Erebos turned black, Sylphid white—fitting their natures?
“Ugh... A body feels so heavy...”
“I know the feeling. Had no idea flesh and blood weighed this much.”
The dinosaur with Sylphid inside slowly rose, moving heavily. Bodies must feel incredibly burdensome to kids without them.
“Still, I think I've got a bit of the knack now.”
Sylphid, in the small dinosaur body, wriggled around and even hopped. Her fidgety movements made me chuckle involuntarily.
“Once you're somewhat used to the body, try entering the scale. Remember the sensations of having a body, then use Mother's information in the scale as a base to form your own.”
“Okay... Not sure I get it, but I'll try!”
Sylphid exited the dinosaur and entered my scale.
「The feel of a body... Mother's info...? Anyway, manifest it with my power...」
Sylphid gave it her all. She produced scaly messes, wingless lizards, and more through trial and error.
“I did it!!!”
After a few hours, a pure white dragon emerged. The odd part? Two pairs of wings.
“Mom! Look! Such a sleek body!”
“Yeah. Thinner than mine.”
Slim and slender overall, with double wings—perfect for speed.
“Took a while, but this should do.”
“Hee hee hee. Now I can fly happily with Mom! The others will be so jealous, tears and all!”
“They can't cry without bodies yet.”
I smiled at their bickering.
“Alright, let's teach the others.”
“Yeah! Mom! It feels unfair if only we get bodies!”
“Hmm. Meeting the others in person... first time.”
I chuckled softly at Erebos's words. The others were fixed in place, unable to move—only hearing about us from me and Sylphid.
“They've only known us through stories. This'll be fun.”
“Don't worry, Erebos! They're all great!”
Erebos nodded slowly at our words.
Okay, start with Ifrit, the closest...
“Oh, the others might struggle with the knack too, so maybe bring this little corpse along?”
“Good point. Just like Sylphid.”
The others might be the same. I picked up the dinosaur corpse—cold, starting to rot, but no big deal.
“Let's head out. Ifrit first.”
With my two newly embodied kids, I flew toward the burning volcano.
The others' body-forming had some hiccups, but everyone succeeded eventually. The little dinosaur corpse, overworked for “practice,” lost its shape and got buried.
Anyway.
“Never dreamed we'd all gather like this! Hi! I'm Ifrit!”
The slightly smaller red dragon greeted brightly. His childlike vibe made him seem the youngest.
“No more lonely endless seas for me. I'm Thetis. Nice to meet you.”
The blue dragon with fins instead of horns introduced herself calmly.
“Yeah. Sagarmatha.”
The transparent gem dragon was terse, unlike the others. Why gems for him? Scales don't follow color rules I get.
“I'm Yggdrasil. Moving like this feels so awkward, but please take care of me.”
The green-scaled dragon spoke softly.
“I am Erebos. I came up with borrowing Mother's scales for bodies. So, you all owe me one.”
“Erebos, don't say that.”
“Yes, Mother.”
The first to succeed, Erebos boasted a bit, but deflated at my scolding. How'd he turn out like this?
“I am Shamash! I'll be the most beautiful being ever!”
The golden dragon bragged about her scales. Sagarmatha and Shamash—why these scale types? Tied to their attributes?
“You all know me already! Sylphid! I met you all before bodies!”
The white dragon with two wing pairs beamed.
Everyone's smaller than me—Sagarmatha, the biggest, half my size.
With fresh bodies, I wondered what they'd do next. Exciting.
I scratched my exposed lower jaw, where I'd plucked scales to give them.
Every dragon has a unique scale on their lower jaw, growing backward unlike the rest.
Old records claim it was a weakness—self-proclaimed dragon slayers pierced it to kill dragons. But most “dragons” they slew were drakes or wyverns, so probably not a real weak point.
As questions about this reversed scale, called the reverse scale, grew, a scholar once asked an empire's Guardian Dragon.
The dragon, annoyed, summed it up bluntly:
“I have no reversed scale.”
— Record of a Scholar Obsessed with Dragons
The empire's Guardian Dragon, with shining silver scales, had no reversed scale on her lower jaw—just bare skin the size of one.
This dragon, humanity's shield, teacher, beacon, and friend for ages—forgotten even in name—what happened to her?
A deeper mystery for dragon scholars.