Author's Note:
For those following "Everyday Life with Bubbles", this chapter is about in sync with Bubbles' Chapter 10.
For those who followed "Glory of the Fall", this comes after the final chapter. Not every thread from that will be resolved immediately, but keep an eye out. They will be in the coming chapters.
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"Reenhalla." Treichnor said softly, looking out the window. His scales raised as he let the evening breeze blow over his body. Nearby, the many-satisfied siren lay atop the water. Soaking it in and soothing her muscles in relaxation.
He had been right, she would empty his purse, if he wasn't careful. He felt a certain amount of affection towards the woman.
"You know them?" She asked curiously.
He gave a grunt and shook his head, "No. I never heard new king. No idea who they are. Only name. Name and challenge. They killed his bride. His Salmon... Neko? Do dragons bed cats, now?"
She laughed, "Sometimes? Rhoenlytara found it detestable. He always talked about how gross the new generations were. Thought that they were an insult to the death of Irrlichdan."
"Death." Treichnor whispered.
He should have been unsurprised to find that his hatchling was dead, with all the time that had passed. He had been buried beneath the mountain, right at the beginning of that one's rule. Attempted rule, over the slavers of humanity.
All the same, he had thought that Irrlichdan would be one to die by natural causes. He had fought his hatchling in the challenge. He had also been scarred and nearly killed. There was no equal to Irrlichdan, not in combat.
"He was killed by some cursed human." The siren rolled over in the water, "From what I heard, that is. Happened on north continent. We don't get a lot of news from there. The Three Kingdoms have done our best to remain just a legend to them. That was Rhoenlytara's choice, as well."
Treichnor gave a small laugh, "Of course it was. Rhoen always such coward. Always want protect egg."
"He gave birth, m'lord."
He turned around, looking over at her in surprise, "Rho'en'lytara? He actually deemed worthy of affection? There is tale. Speak."
"I don't know much of the bride." The siren shrugged, lying her head on her crossed arms, by the edge of the pool. "The child, is another matter. She... She runs around like she's a nobody. On purpose. Speaks like the northern street kids. She's not a... She's not a salamander, at least not on the surface. Not black, not red, or anything else. No scales."
Treichnor blinked in shock, "What know of bride? Species?"
"I'm afraid not." Terhi shook her head, "The child has pink strands that float around her head. And she's soft to the touch. Soft as a toxic. Tauenlytara. But she prefers to go by Tauli."
He sucked in his breath, "Tau? Oh, by grace gods. Mercies, preserve us."
The siren looked up at him curiously, "Oh. The naming is important, isn't it? I figured it tells your bloodline, but I've never really guessed more than that."
"Tau means something special." Treichnor rumbled, and glanced out the window again, "The first of us... The first black salamander to rise up, and become king... They called Tau. They make the taurans, by bedding god, according to legend. First king, she was... Violence. Made empire, by her name. Tau'en'lytara was her name."
"The dragon empire!?" The siren sat up with a splash, "You mean the one that came up with the gateways, and all that ancient magic!?"
He nodded sadly, "Those were days."
"You... Were alive...?"
Treichnor shrugged, "I old. Irrlichdan was young, when we become hatchling. He ancient history to you. Rhoenlytara, even moreso. Yet... If I say in Common? He child, compared. I not know first king, but knew her child. Hatchlings. I became king, beat child in challenge."
"You were not born a black salamander? Or not every black is a king?" Terhi asked in an apprehensive fascination.
He chuckled softly, "Born a white. I small dragon, when born. Small and weak. Power only light. Everything different for Tau'en'lyatara. She spoke with gods. Walked with gods. Until their stupid war."
"You... Saw the sealing of the betrayer gods?"
"I made the Gate. With others." He confessed sadly. "Chose wrong side, that war. Chose Luna, over Sunni. She'll not forget. She will make me pay."
"I... Um... I thought I knew the gods." The siren slipped out of the water, standing up to tiptoe over to him, and embrace him in her full nudity from behind. "I don't know Sunni's name."
"Good." He grunted, "Hope she dead. Bitch."
The siren pressed her warm, wet, and soft, flesh into his back, "You have seen so very much. At least, now, you get a moment or two to relax, m'lord. The dragons still rule, here. Or at least, Rhoenlytara does. Three Kingdoms, three kings."
He leaned back into her temptatious body, and sighed heavily, "Are all dragon treated?"
"Every black. It is the law, m'lord." She whispered, "Though, your kindness does make it easy."
He gave another rumbling laugh, "You're determined to eat his wealth, isn't?"
"... We could call this one a freebie." She whispered hesitantly, nervously.
He turned around and lifted her chin, kissing her gently. Terhi. She felt like something that fate had delivered to him. Not just a mortal woman, who would grace his path for a moment or two and then be forgotten.
He had always known to pay attention to the signs of the gods. One could not walk beside the divine, without respecting the decisions that they made. This was one particular decision that he was more than happy to fully embrace.