Dawning Skye

Chapter 74: Books, Dragons, And A Barghest

The bookshop owner practically pranced away in his excitement. He went to his tiny office area in the back of his store, and proceeded to open a small safe he kept behind a painting. A small stack of his most valuable books were in it. The owner grabbed the one on top, closed it up, and headed back out to Skye and Tidas. He immediately handed Skye the book, and was excited to see her reaction.

It was an ancient tome that had been well preserved. He didn’t understand the language it’d been written in, but the princess did. The owner had recognized one word on it: Dragon. He had watched as Skye delicately trailed her fingers over the book cover. She stared at it a moment before reading the title out loud: “Guide des Gestionnaires de Dragons..”

It had an emblem on the cover, under the title; a knight riding a dragon with the old capital banner in the background. Skye was surprised at it’s good condition, and handled the tome like a newborn baby. She smiled continuously as she opened the cover, and begun to skim the table of context.

Tidas and the owner stared at Skye with confusion. They didn’t know the language she’d used; most people probably didn’t. The Star Continent used the same language throughout each kingdom. The other two continents used the same language generally, but a few of the ancient languages could still be heard.

It always amazed Tidas that there used to be so many different languages and cultures throughout the world in the past. He loved the concept, but could also understand why there were always conflicts due to it. Their world didn’t have nearly as many religions or cultures. The old ones had all been cherry picked and mixed to create most of the ones that existed now.

There were fragments of how their world had come about after the Great Shift. The ancient tomes that had been found gave clues and pieces of their lost past. But anything pertaining to before the old capital was moved was rare.

Normally anyone who came across a rare tome reserved it for the king. But the owner had given the princess two books of significant value in two days. Tidas knew his father would’ve much preferred that the tomes to be locked away in the capital.

.....

One of the king’s greatest fears was that the people would begin dividing themselves based upon the old cultures. That was one of the reasons he bought up the tomes as quickly as possible. He even made it illegal to not report finding ‘historical sites’. Saying that each site needed to be investigated for ancient viruses and/or contamination first. Most never followed it, but made sure to report the site after they’d searched it. Which was most likely how the bookshop owner came to possess the books.

“What does the title mean?” the owner asked.

“Roughly; The Dragon Handler’s Guide Book,” Skye replied as she kept her eyes glued to the tome.

The two men’s jaws dropped at Skye’s words. There had never been a tome like that found. Dragons were one of the lost subjects of history. There was proof of their existence on every continent. Massive skeletons that had been turned into cities or holy sites. The most famous one, aside from Dragonhorn, was in Sai. Their Senate building was almost like Dragonhorn, but the bones were a reddish color; similar to blood. The sunsets in Sai were famous worldwide for their spectacular colors and light that bathed their capital. Making the entirety of it look like a living painting.

“A guidebook to dragons?! By the gods! I had no idea.. And ye can read it? Truly?” the owner asked with excitement.

Skye began to read the book in French, confusing the men even more. Tidas knew Skye could read the ancient tomes, but had no idea that she could read the ones in other languages. ‘No one can speak them, so how.. when could she have learned them?!’ The thought made Tidas’ head want to explode, so he asked his wife flat out.

“I didn’t learn the language, I can just read it,” was all the reply the princess gave on the matter.

Truth be told; Skye had no idea how or why she could read anything. Unknown to her, the realization had nearly given her father a heart attack. It was a part of something that pertained to the Catalyst legend. Which was why Lucas and Lydia had been so scared of Skye gaining magic. The combination of the two had cemented the fact that Skye was the one from the legend to them.

The three stood and spoke for a time about the book. Skye learned Zazzy would only technically Need to consume her magic until the wee dragon hatched. After that, she would gain her magic as any other creature would. She could still receive magic from Skye as a power boost in a fight or the like, but Zazzy wouldn’t need to consume it to live.

Tidas was still concerned about how big she would get and how much she would eat. As the shop owner stepped away to tend to a customer, Skye explained dragons normally only ate once a month after a certain age. But the quantity would become rather large when Zazzy would be fully grown.

“But ye know, we’ll probably only have to deal with that after the first five years. Generally speaking, that’s how long it takes for a dragon to reach maturity.. Unless she’s put in danger, or is a descendent from Nidhug,” Skye had spoken like Tidas knew what she was talking about.

“Descendant of Nibblehug?” Tidas replied mockingly.

“No, Nidhug.. She’s the guardian of the world spring in an ancient religion. Legends say she was the largest dragon; a Colossal Class. Which means bigger that the one that makes up Dragonhorn,” Skye’s eyes never left her book as she talked.

As she read from her book, Tidas was shocked that he’d never realized Skye’s full abilities before. Every day he was learning something new and amazing about his wife. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. She smiled and finally pulled her eyes away from her book to lean up on her tip toes and kiss him.

The two chatted and bid their farewells to the shop owner before heading out. Tidas had one specific smith he wanted to check out. Skye tried to convince him to stop for food fist, but the prince knew he wouldn’t have the time he needed to talk if they stopped now. Instead; Tidas bought her a candied apple that was being sold from a street vendor.

The smith Tidas wished to see had made the sword he used in battle now. He used to be the head contractor for the military’s armory. When he’d retired, the king took his suggestion of another smith, but Tidas still went to him specifically for maintenance of his armor and sword. Since he was the man that had made them for the prince, Tidas was only comfortable with him doing the required repairs.

It was a short meeting; the man was named Gentry Walkins. He told Tidas flat out that the chances of finding someone with the ability to work with the dragon leather was slim at best. It would take him at least three years to go over Snare’s instructions and make the actual armor. Something to do with steam, not fire.

Gentry mumbled as he flipped through the tome Tidas had brought. Skye caught small details as he grumbled, and occasionally made an ‘Eureka’ noise. She’d made a mental note about the pages he’d stopped and looked through. But ultimately told the prince he would have to wait extra anyways.

“My presence has been requested at the Mage Trials. So I can calibrate the combat suits properly. Apparently the king won’t trust anyone else with the task. He thinks others may be bought off. Aside from Athena herself of course,” Gentry replied.

“So ye can’t do anything to help?” the prince looked like a disappointed child.

“Tell ye what; bring the materials with ye for the trials, and I’ll see what I can do then. The capital’s library might have some books on steaming techniques. It’ll require lots of heat and water to make that armor for ye. Dragon hide isn’t like metal,” Gentry replied after smacking Tidas’ back hard.

It was about five o’clock or so by the time they’d finished with their running. Skye was plotting how to go about making Tidas’ armor as they slowly trotted down the streets towards the gate. She already knew the perfect place to make the armor.

The hot spring Maevis and Skye had created would work perfectly. She would be able to control the temperature of the water, and pressure if needed. It would still take some time to read through the book, but Skye was determined to make her husband’s armor for him. The thought hadn’t left her head the entire time, and she couldn’t shake the feeling. It was like she had to be the one to make it. It was akin to the feeling she got whenever she thought of going to the Highlands with Tidas; it was something she HAD to do.

The couple stopped at Zas’ tavern, but he wasn’t there. Mary told them he was off training Klaus. She didn’t have any more stew, but offered to make them sandwiches to dip in some beef broth she still had. They ate a total of five sandwiches with two bowls of broth. They chatted with Mary a bit; hearing stories of when she was happily married.

They paid their tab and gave her an overly generous tip that she tried to return. But Tidas wouldn’t have it. After a bit of arguing, Mary accepted the money, but still sent them off with a loaf of freshly baked bread and some blueberry jam as a snack.

The townspeople swarmed them as the headed towards the gate. They thanked the royal couple for their generosity and help as they slowly went down the streets on their horses. As the gate came into view; Klaus came running through it, going as fast as he could. The moment he saw Tidas; Klaus screamed at the top of his lungs for help.

“The General! He needs help! There’s... There’s a Barghest in the forest!”