Certainly, not in a physical sense, but I’d learned it was the soul which set dragons apart from beasts. And since her soul came from a sliver of mine, I had to believe she was now my offspring, at least in the way that counted most.

  Peering into her more deeply with Soul Seer, I found the oddest thing. Where there was a pulsing presence of a small but still growing dragon soul, there was also a tiny strip of something else. It was golden and wrapped around the soul, almost like humans wrapped bows around a present.

  More than that, I recognized the signature of that bow. It resonated with the same frequency as Cami’s soul—not wholly human, but not draconic. Something different. That band was fused to Matilda’s new soul, prompting me to cast Identify.

  Matilda-Sandumas

  Race: Green Dragon (Demi-touched, Pactless)

  Maturity: Mature Adult (0% to Elder)

  Length: 26’9” Weight: 12,998 lbs.

  I raised my head and roared to the heavens. Bird, insects, animals, and people all over the island grew silent as I made my triumph known. Humans had tried to destroy dragonkind, but there was a path forward.

  There were so many more things I had to parse out about what Identify revealed, the least of which was Matilda’s growth. She was something like seven feet longer than she had been before and weighed twice as much. She was also deemed to be a Mature Adult by the system.

  I supposed that, relative to what her life experience, that was appropriate. Generally, true dragons didn’t have offspring till they were at that age category. The fact that her name had changed bothered me a bit more.

  It was no longer in parentheses, which had indicated ‘Matilda’ was a name that had been forced upon her. Now, it seemed she had adopted it as her name and considered herself part of my family. The qualifiers for her race were also going to require some thought, but for the moment I simply wanted to celebrate our victory.

  Cami was suddenly on her feet and she flung herself against my neck. “You did it, Nico. You’ve saved your people.”

  “Not yet, and I hardly did it alone. We have a path forward, but you are the one who did most of the work.” After saying this, I pulled back to eye Cami. She seemed to have changed.

  I knew this was the same young human I had bonded, but it was like she had matured from Young Adult to Mature Adult in one fell swoop. I knew humans aged at a ridiculous rate, but had thought her being my bonded would slow that. Now, the hatchling fat that had slightly rounded her face appeared to have drained from her cheeks and collected on her chest for some reason.

  Her face had sharper, more pleasing angles to it. She had matured into what—for a human—had to be a graceful representation of the females of their race. In her eyes, especially, I now witnessed a fire that begged me to delve into their depths… and I started to lose myself in their recesses before part of my draconic heritage sighed at such obvious mating behavior.

  Bringing myself back to the present, I changed into my human form and compared it to Cami’s new appearance. Though I was still much taller than her, she appeared to be older than me—that most certainly wouldn’t do! I couldn’t have the minions, or the freed dragons for that matter, start a rumor that my bonded was robbing the nest.

  With a thought, I tweaked my own appearance to match Cami’s—sharpening the prominence of my cheek bones, slightly lengthening my face, and maturing my features. Her stat sheet said Cami now appeared to be twenty-two… so I stopped maturing my appearance at twenty-four. That should be an appropriate difference between us.

  Ignoring Cami’s wide-eyed gaze at how I’d changed my features to more appropriately reflect our relationship, I transformed back into my natural form and continued our previous conversation as if nothing had happened.

  “Matilda is as much your people now as she is mine. Did you not see the markings on her soul?” I asked my bonded.

  Cami borrowed Soul Seer from me and I pushed over to her the notification that I’d received. She sucked in a breath.

  Matilda asked, “Is something wrong, Mother?”

  Cami groaned. “I dreamed of being addressed by that title… but, uh… not like this.”

  “Don’t worry, Mother. I know that you and my Sire gifted me a soul, but my body was still hatched from another. But you will have all my respect—not only as the dragon monarch and his bonded, but as my sire and mother. You have made me a real dragon. My mind is different now, and I can see and understand things that I never could before.”

  Cami and I looked at each other for a moment.

  I said, “You seem to have grown a great deal.”

  Matilda stretched out her wings and preened. “Yes, I’ve grown… both in body and stats. But the biggest changes have been to my mind and my connection to both the magic of Ileria and my fellow dragons. Last night, while you were both gone, I had my first Dragon Dream and dreamed of one of our ancestors, a great blue. It was a powerful experience.”

  Cami asked, “Have you noticed any negative side-effects? Have your emotions changed at all?”

  Matilda seemed to take a moment to consider the question. “I have a status condition listed as ‘Mother’s Heart – hatchling’. I don’t know if that relates to my own hatchlings, but I feel a great desire to see the other dragons who were enslaved restored as you restored me. I do hope you will be able to help them.”

  I shook my head. This didn’t sound at all like the Matilda we had known before. If nothing else, she was much smarter. Hopefully, the rest of the new dragons would be just as agreeable after Cami planted their Soul Seeds—assuming we could help them.

  Remembering the way she’d acted when I first freed her, I asked, “No impulses to kill every human in sight? That might be understandable, but I need to know ahead of time.”

  Matilda gave me a sly grin, but then smiled. “My anger was directed at the monkey who thought she was fit to ride on my back. I am definitely not one of the sycophants still begging to get their pseudo-bonded riders back, but I’m not going to go on a killing spree anytime soon. But there is one new impulse I’ve been having, and I’m not sure I should mention it to you.”

  I braced myself for some weird mating thing. It seemed like that was a perpetual burden I’d have to bear. I guess it was hard to blame the females, dragon or human. It was understandably hard to resist something as magnificent as my august self.

  “Just tell me,” I grumbled. “Best to get it out in the open.”

  Matilda hesitated, then looked down at the ground. “I’ve been having an almost uncontrollable craving… for gold.”

  I couldn’t see my own face, but was pretty sure my eyes were bulging. “Cami…”

  “I’m already on it. I’ll check with Modessa to ensure the hoard is undisturbed.” Even as she spoke in my head, Cami was walking over to where Modessa, Galbrecht, and Cassandra waited to speak to me.

  There was a fourth human standing with them. It took me only a moment to realize that Rizal was here. He wasn’t a minion, but I was glad to see him. He might have some insights that would help me further my Living Storm Class.

  My two exalted minions and Cassandra returned with Cami.

  Cassandra said, “Both Lisella and I have checked on Matilda. As far as we can tell, she is perfectly fit. And before you ask, Galbrecht oversaw Lisella’s inspection to ensure she wouldn’t do anything contrary to your wishes. The two of them are at odds, but I think that is because she still hopes to sway him back to Miseria.”

  “I don’t care if she follows Miseria. The system is the one that decided to offer that break to Galbrecht. I have no design on becoming some grand spirit in the sky who rules over other planes of existence. I have all that I can bite down on dealing with Ileria.”

  I snorted. “Let the gods have their mystical nature. I’ll take the joys of the flesh over spiritualism any time. What could compare to the hunt, the taste of fresh cow, or a warm pile of gold?”

  Modessa smirked, then nudged Galbrecht in the ribs with an elbow. “Joys of the flesh, huh?” I heard her murmur to him. I swear I saw the corner of his lips twitch, though when my eyes met his I couldn’t tell if it had happened or not.

  Cassandra nodded and continued, “I just wanted to be upfront with you. Lady Vox has had her hands full, keeping the other dragons away. They kept trying to wake you. Most all of them are demanding you change them—now.” She paused, lips pursing. “To be honest, I believe that has more to do with the dramatic increase in Matilda’s power than any desire for a soul.”

  Galbrecht agreed. “It is hard to miss something you never had. If I understand what happened, this current generation of freed dragons never had a soul to begin with.”

  I knew that I’d discussed some of this with the adventurers, but wasn’t sure that I’d gone into any of the details. Galbrecht must have sensed my confusion, because he continued. “Lord Nico, you don’t need to worry. Part of our role as exalted minions gives us access to more information about dragons. Each night when I sleep, the system seems to feed me information about the history of dragons, along with how I can best serve you. Miseria used to do something similar, but it was never as comprehensive as this.”

  Cami laughed. “Miseria is a poor imitation for the Remnant.”

  Galbrecht arched an eyebrow at the term, but I said, “Don’t worry about it… we’ll explain later. I have some ideas about why this is happening, but it isn’t important right now.”

  “Exactly,” Cassandra said. “What matters most is how you grew overnight. It isn’t a huge difference, but I can see that you definitely grew. And Cami somehow got older, as well.”

  I glanced at Cami. She didn’t look like a middle-aged human, but she did look a bit older.

  My bonded nodded. “My status sheet says that my age is still just shy of 17 years, but that my effective age is a bit over 22, and my soul is a little over 44 years old.”

  “Hmm…” I didn’t know what to think of that, but her soul appeared to be in great shape and physically she looked much the same as before. Tiny differences in humans were difficult for me to notice.

  “Are there any other issues I need to be aware of?” I asked.

  Modessa stepped forward. “Yes. Vox ran another mission and late last night she returned with 42 more freed dragons. They all need to take their oaths of loyalty, but for now they are being kept down on the beach. I’m afraid there isn’t going to be room here for all of them for much longer.”

  I nodded.

  Modessa continued, “That brings us to the other issue. Galbrecht and I have been discussing how we can scout the southern territory. Initially, we were going to propose that you send me to get the lay of the land…” She nodded to Rizal. “But when the storm mage showed up, he brought news from the mainland.”

  “What news?” I demanded.

  Galbrecht replied, “You should probably hear it directly from Rizal, M’lord. I believe he has something he wants to ask of you, as well.”

  I liked Rizal, he’d been a decent teacher… for a human.

  When I called out to him, he quickly appeared in front of me—without taking a single step. His body transformed to air and rocketed forward. When he reappeared, he bowed.

  “I heard about some of your exploits in Forlay, Nico. I’d call you my student, but you apparently have a legendary class. So perhaps the student has become the master.”

  I so badly wanted to point out that it was always a matter of when and not if this would happen—such was inevitable when dealing with dragons. But the lessons of what had happened to dragons in the past because of our pride were still raw in my mind. For some reason, the image of Tiamat being beaten back through the portal from Earth was a stark reminder that there was always more for me to learn.

  “No, Master Atreides. You taught me storm magic before I knew what my class could become. I won’t bowing or anything, but I would appreciate receiving your continued insights. Perhaps together we can push the storm even further. Now, though, I believe you have some news for me?”

  He smiled. “I’d like that, Nico.” Then his expression darkened. “Sadly, I do have news. The Headmaster asked me to convey this information to you directly. Two dungeons have erupted in the southern part of the continent already, and another dungeon near the city of Taleia is close to erupting.

  “So far, the monster hordes have only displaced the desert tribesmen and local wildlife, although a large blue dragon was seen flying north yesterday. I was told to stress to you the Emperor did not foresee these eruptions and does not believe that they are natural—especially since they are in territory which was intended to become Scale Nation.”

  I let his word sink in. An enemy had started against us before we’d even rallied the freed dragons. This wasn’t good. It also felt like I was being goaded forward into something I could not yet see.

  I didn’t want to have to fight hordes of monsters to claim the land dragons would settle. Dungeons could, as far as anyone knew, produce nearly infinite numbers of monsters. My memories were limited about such things; if there were any dungeons which were fit for dragons to enter, they remained unknown.

  We dragons preferred to collect our gold after it had been brought forth from a dungeon. It was simpler that way. We didn’t have to squeeze into tight spaces and we were more than happy to relieve adventurers of their excess weight, making their travel easier. I thought all this, but didn’t repeat it out loud.

  Instead, I said, “Thank you for the warning. I can’t allow it to change my current plans, but we will have to factor it in.”

  Rizal clearly wanted to say something more, so I asked, “Is there something else?”

  “I resigned my position at the university. I wanted to teach about the splendor of storm magic, but realized that I’ll never find a human student who is your equal. Since I’ve arrived, I’ve learned more about your accomplishments… as well as learning what a minion is.”

  He straightened his shoulders and then gave me a deep bow, from the waist. “I would be honored if you would consider accepting me as a minion.”

  Apparently, the system approved, because I got a new notification.

  A new position is available.

  You may offer it to him, and Rizal may accept a new opportunity.

  Dragon’s Mage

  Dragon’s Mage – This mage is the dragon monarch’s representative for all things magical. They are a combination of battlefield commander and researcher all rolled up into one. The Dragon’s Mage is responsible for advancing the dragon monarch’s magical resources, which includes recruiting and training new mages. When words fall flat and blades grow dull, the magic of Ileria will never fail. The Dragon’s Mage will gain greater access to the magic of Ileria than any non-dragon ever could.

  This class was created by the system at the specific request of the Dragon Monarch (Rank Empress) Tiamat. The Dragon’s Mage may act as a magical conduit for the dragon monarch they serve, as well as gaining far greater control over the magic of Ileria for the purpose of creating grand magics to slay the monarch’s foes and strengthen his minions. The types of magic which the Dragon’s Mage may control are primarily but not exclusively related to their previous class and abilities, as they will also gain access to other types of magic based upon their relationship with the monarch.

  My eyes lit up. Rizal and I had only spent a short time together, but this class would fulfill another need that I had—namely for someone to create magical defenses as well as augmenting my armies with magic. Rizal must have gotten the same notification because he dropped to one knee and said, “I would be honored to serve as your Dragon’s Mage.”

  I smiled; he was only stating the obvious. But in truth, I didn’t want to look down on my former teacher. Rizal was exactly what I needed. So without giving it too much thought, I offered him the position.

  He would become my final exalted minion—until I accepted the previous reward and decided if I wanted one more exalted minion and twice as many regular minions, or three more exalted minions and only 50% more regular minions. I was still weighing the pros and cons, but seeing how these three performed might sway my decision one way or the other.

  Dragon’s Mage (Storm) is a Legendary class.

  At each level, you will gain:

  Strength +3

  Durability: +6

  Agility: +4

  Mind: +10

  Stat gains will double at levels 21, 25, 30, and every 5 levels thereafter.

  Ability/Skill Modifications:

  Magically Anchored (+70%/20%) - Your form is suffused with the magic of Ileria. This makes you more resistant to any force contrary to that natural order and gives you a lesser chance to reflect such attacks against you back to their source. The very magic of Ileria serves to passively protect you.