7 Ch.7
Shaking off the lava from my body as a new day started and I was finally hungry so I stood on the platform I made for me to rest outside the lava. As I get older the less I needed to eat or drink as my body becomes more reliant on magic as the source of energy. My body is mostly magic now and as I get older I will only grow stronger in this aspect. With a final stretch, I jump into the air and fly out of the volcano landing on its mouth and looking out over my domain.
After enjoying the sunrise and morning air, I jump off the volcano freefalling until halfway down when my wings snap out halting my fall. As I passed the wyvern's place of residence they all greeted me in a roar. Now that I'm halfway through my adult period of life, these past five hundred years have flown by. As I flew in the sky, I decided to hunt in the ocean at the deeper area where these giant squids, whales, and sharks resided. They all tasted good in their own right and I was in the mood for a few of them.
As I flew over the ocean, I dipped down and used one hand to test the water's temperature. Much to my disappointment it is still cold as ever, though I can take another relaxing swim in lava to warm me up. As I flew a few miles off the coast of the island I found the prey I was searching for, a whale that was the size of an average wyvern. Before it could dive back down making my hunt all that more annoying, I grabbed it dug into its body, and flew it up in the air.
The whale struggled in my grip making weird noises, which I assume are in protest of about it being killed soon. Once I landed back on the beach, I dropped the whale from a high height killing it on impact as it ceased its movements. Landing next to it, I gut the whale removing the organs I won't eat and tossing them back into the ocean. Then with a quick breath of fire, I cooked it enough to my tastes. The fatty skin and outside were crispy, while the inside was warm and juicy.
After eating the whole whale, leaving its bones on the beach for whatever to come and clean I took a stroll through the forest. For the most part, I do not have much room while walking through the forest, but on this island, for some reason, everything is much larger than what I would have normally believed it to be. Though I suspect the days of me walking through the forest will soon end once I grow even larger and older.
The years went by with me living a peaceful life as my kobold clan grew to be in the millions and inhabiting the whole volcano with several hundred as wyvern riders. The kobolds breed much faster than wyverns, plus the kobolds have adapted a new hierarchy. Much like humans now, with the descendant of Rok being the King of them and a Nobel faction of kobolds which are from the families of the first wyvern riders.
The humans seem to have forgotten about our part of the island for whatever reason. As it is extremely rare to see one in these parts, though I've reached the final stage of my dragon life. However, I feel as if I can live for thousands of more years still, which normally when a dragon reaches this stage has at most a thousand years of life left.
I became more like a god to the Kobolds as rarely do dragons reach the stage I have. I've passed into being an ancient dragon, then reached the stage of a 'Wyrm' and then finally hit the last stage of a 'Great Wyrm' a few centuries ago. My size far surpassed my mother's when she was alive. As of now, I believe I'm roughly 1200ft (366m) long and my wing span is 1500ft (457m) making me the largest known true dragon to ever exist. Because of my long life and appearance, the kobolds have begun calling me the 'Golden God'.
With my age, I rarely eat and that is good because I feel I'd have to eat everything on the island to sustain myself. Though it appears my body is now basically all magic as that is what keeps me alive. With this time the amount of spells I learned increased as well. I've also noticed that now my shapeshift form takes on my real physical strength as well, though I can still be just as easily 'killed' in my human form. It took me a year just to learn to control my strength in shapeshifted form.
The years have become very peaceful as I spend most of my time inside the volcano relaxing or napping the time away. The kobolds will come and visit once in a while to check in on me and tell me the ongoings of the clan. Though the peaceful days came to an end when one day I was resting inside the lava as I normally do. Then I heard a voice of a female human as she somehow entered the volcano that I call my home.
(AN: For the full list of the spells, look at the chapter called "MC Info", as I've updated it.)
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(POV Unknown)
The Emperor had called all the noble families to war for the first time in millenniums. My father and two brothers had to go and assist the empire with the war. As the Emperor wanted to take over the last of the places on the new land the empire discovered in the west. The people there call themselves the Rhoynish and surprisingly they have a Queen in charge of their people called Nymeria.
Our empire doesn't allow women to become fighters as we are the household caretakers. Though I want to fight alongside my brothers and father, my mother and sisters do not understand my feeling. After having another fight with my mother, I decided to go explore the forest, there at least I can be alone.
Though of course, my mother sent a few house guards to go after me for protection. It took me an hour or so before I lost my followers in the woods. However, I quickly discovered I myself became lost in the woods. Then I heard noises and low speaking of draconic. What came out of the woods scared me as we've all heard stories from the escapees of the forbidden forest. Small dragon-like creatures live there and hunt humans on sight.
Some even say that a huge dragon resides in the forest, as the few captured dragon creatures talked about their King of the Volcano. Seeing the stories were somewhat true as a few small dragon-like creatures ran out of the forest throwing spears at me. I was able to dodge them and urge my horse to run away.
After forcing my horse to run, I heard a few dragons roar above me and I looked up excited hoping that it was some riders of the city looking for me. However, I noticed these dragons were being ridden by the small dragon creatures. I forced my horse to run even harder away. Though no horse can outrun a dragon, one of the dragons dove down blasting a wave of fire at me. It missed luckily though the force from the fire threw me off my horse and made my horse become heavily injured as it whined in pain.
I ran to a small opening I saw in the mountain side leaving my horse as a distraction. I ran blindly into the cave deeper and deeper. After what felt like hours of running, I stopped to catch my breath and found myself even more lost than I began.
"I should've listened to Mother," I say out loud in a small voice feeling death surround me.
Though I did not plan on dying yet, so I blindly started walking trying to retrace my steps. After hours of walking and taking a few short rests since I feel I've been in the mountain for a few days or so now. I eventually saw what looked like the light at the end of the tunnel I was walking in and I ran to it extremely excited to finally be out of this place. Though I fell to my knees to discover it didn't lead me to the outside as all my hope disappeared and I felt death approaching me.
"Mother, Father, I'm so sorry I didn't listen sooner!" I say while crying helplessly since I'm going to die here inside this volcano.
Then I feel the ground start shaking and I close my eyes with a bitter smile thinking the volcano is going to end me. Then I heard shifting like something was moving inside the volcano. Opening my eyes I see the largest dragon ever to exist, its head alone looked to be a hundred times the size of my family's estate. The size of this dragon was unimaginable, though instead of fear I felt amazement as it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. The golden scales glistened in the light from the lava and the golden eyes of the dragon showed what looked like millennials of experience.
"Human, who did you get inside my home?" the dragon says with a voice so deep and heavy that it makes my body vibrate from it alone. Then my eyes widen.
'Did the dragon just talk?' I think while the dragon stares at me with eyes that show indifference, but I can see pity in them too.
"Human I will ask once again, why and who are you here?" the dragon says to me snapping me from my surprise.
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(POV Talrit)
I found a lone human that was haggard and looked to be on the brink of collapse. The small female human looked ready for death, but at the sight of me for the first time since I'd met humans did not show any fear. She showed amazement and excitement at my appearance making me surprised. Plus from her appearance, I felt some pity for this human as she appeared to be lost.
'This time I might let her live… the Empire is of no threat to me now or my clan, which is prospering. Plus this human is the first that doesn't fear me,' I think to myself before asking the human what she is doing here. Though I have to ask twice due to her surprise at my ability to speak.
"Sorry…uh…my lord… your highness," the woman says trying to say a title that humans use for themselves.
"Just call me Talrit," I say having no care for titles. As everything like pride and titles seems meaningless to someone like me who has lived millenniums and will continue to live many more.
"Ok…Talrit. I'm here because I got lost in the forbidden forest…which I assume is the place you rule?" the human says to me with some curiosity.
"I guess if that is the place that my clan the Kobolds reside, then yes it is," I say while resting my head on my forearms with a yawn since it's been a while since last waking.
"Kobolds? Do you mean the small dragon creatures? They can ride dragons too? Was that you who taught them that?" the woman says to me having no fear toward me.
"Yes that would be them and they do not ride dragons. Those things you call dragons are no dragons. They are wyverns, which are a very distant cousin of us true dragons," I say to her with an amused look since like I said pride means nothing to me anymore. Why would I care what lesser beings think of me when I could crush their city with one hand.
"Oh…" the woman says to me not sure what to say next.
"So you have gotten lost and made your way to me. I would assume you come from the city on the other side of the mountains? Would you like to go home?" I say to her and her eyes widen at my questions.
"You'll let me live? And you'll take me home?" the woman says with surprise in her voice as I let a chuckle loose shaking the whole inside of the volcano.
