Valerian, The Legendary

92 Excitement.

Fragrantia rushed away from the tree with Valerian in her arms. She was afraid of the terrifying flow of mana emitting from the tree. This flow was way stronger than what a human can ever have.

She was running with her back to the tree, this action of her was nothing more than just a projection of maternal love she had for the child in her arms. While Valerian could see the tree trunk and leaves to be lit up with dim golden light.

He patted her back frantically and said, “Stop, it is not something dangerous.”

Fragrantia could sense the confidence in his tone and stopped. She was startled by the sudden spike in the mana, but now that the child has pointed it out, and she sensed that the mana was not hostile. Letting out a breath, she let Valerian down from her arms.

When they turned around the golden light had begun to dim. Slowly, everything returned to normal. Valerian looked at her with a stinky face and asked, “Aunt, are you not a bit too scared for your status of an Arch-mage?”

Fragrantia flicked her slender finger on his forehead and said, “I am balancing out the scene here. Let’s go and see what is happening with the tree all of a sudden.”

The two of them walked closer to the tree and what they saw made their eyes open wide. In the middle of the night, under the pale moonlight, a tree hollow appeared. This hollow was big enough to fit three human heads together. Inside this hollow, they saw a silver orb, glittering.

Fragrantia’s vision was locked on to the words written at the edge of the hollow. She read them loudly, “Fortis opus non est felix, felix vires non egent.”

She thought for a bit before she could say anything. Suddenly, she spotted Valerian reaching inside the silver orb and bringing it out of the tree hollow. His gaze wandered over the patterns on the orb, and he said, “Do they not look like scales to you?”

.....

Fragrantia was shocked, and her body was shivering. She had never expected to see this thing in front of her eyes. She quickly looked around and waved her hand, a wall of vines suddenly erupted around them, and quickly it formed a dome over their heads, blocking everything out, even the moonlight.

However, after the momentary dark, the dome was lit up, from the inside. The orb was radiating a dim glow. Valerian was surprised and asked, “What is this thing?”

Fragrantia said, “Look carefully.”, her tone was very soft as if the afraid of waking up a baby from sleep.

The empress pointed her slender figure at the shining orb and Valerian saw, a dim outline behind the scales. His curious mind raised the orb above his head and finally, he could make out what was inside the orb. As soon as his brain registered what it was, his hands shivered and he almost dropped the orb.

He looked at Fragrantia with his wide-open eyes, and asked in a whisper, “Dragon egg?”

Fragrantia was not sure what to say when she became alert. An ethereal voice sounded inside the dome, “You are very smart for your age, Young Valerian.”

Valerian was surprised, he looked around and found a flower blooming in the void. Boo-too had arrived. Fragrantia was surprised and said it out loud, “Bloomkin.”

Boo-too nodded to the empress, who bowed her head to greet her, and turned her tiny head to the boy as she said, “You may be thinking how come there is a dragon egg inside the tree where your mother rests, right?”

Valerian nodded and Boo-too continued, “The egg you hold comes from the queen of dragons, Senium...”

She had yet to finish speaking before Valerian spoke up, “Forgive me, Your grace, but is the egg laid by Her Majesty Senium inside the territory of the driads?”

Boo-too might have smacked away someone but this child did not forget her majesty and used the appropriate address. She was strong enough to be greeted by an archmage that symbolized her status. She liked smart people, and said, “The egg laid by Senium was inside the territory of the driads until your mother took it out from there.

The driads did not live up to their promise of looking after it, my people, the bloomkin helped her with the transfer here. During her end times, Flos had asked for our help and we provided it, just like, Divinus had provided us help once. Today, you came across this egg, it was fateful.”

Valerian asked, “Olivis told me that the egg laid by Her Majesty Senium was cracked, but this one seems fine, does it not?”

He was not sure whom to believe at this point. Boo-too smiled and said, “He was correct and that tiny crack was the reason Senium almost eradicated the driads.”

Valerian nodded and asked, “Your grace, do you know how can we hatch this egg?”

“My queen had told me that this egg was sealed by Senium herself, the situation of the world a decade ago was not good for the dragonkin. What a waste.”, sighed Boo-too.

She looked at Valerian and said again, “I am not aware of the process to unseal this egg. Dragons were so mysterious that even us, the mysterious magical’s have no idea about them.”

At this moment, Fragrantia said, “The strong need not be lucky, the fortunate need not be strong.

Valerian stands for strength, but ever since you were born, you were not lucky. This egg was lucky to have survived for so long, yet the embryo is not strong enough to break the shell.”

As soon as she said this, Valerian and Boo-too looked at her in surprise. The bloomkin doll asked her, “What do you mean?”

Fragrantia could sense the urgency in her voice and said, “Your grace, it was written in magic text around the hollow where we found the egg.”

Boo-too flickered and appeared in front of the hollow. She read the engravings and said, “Indeed, what you said is true. Maybe the way to unseal hides with Valerian.”

The surrounding turned silent after this, Fragrantia had momentary eye contact with the child beside her, while Boo-too had been mumbling a lot around the two of them. Suddenly, she said, “Valerian, Flos was my friend, I will not harm you. Do not worry. The magicals owe your parents at least one life, so you can be at ease with me around.”

Valerian smiled and said, “I apologize, Your grace, how come my mother helped so many people, yet when she was in need and dying miserably, none of the so-called friends came forward to help her? She died under that tree, and not some luxury palace.”

Boo-too did not mind his tone or words at all, it was normal for a child to raise such questions. She said, “She had forbidden us from appearing in front of her, one of the two of the bloomkin who came closer to her were scared off by the aura of decay from Senium.”

Valerian shook his head and looking at the egg in his head, he said, “You will know when the egg will hatch, Your grace. Please allow me some time in silence.”

Boo-too could not digest that she was evicted with such sophistication from a child. However, she still left. The reason she had appeared here was to see, what the glow was about. This territory of the forest is watched over by the Bloomkin.

She did not care about the dragon egg, because once it hatches none of the intelligent lives in the world could control it. The dragons were elusive, and untamed, even when they are kept in captivity, they will grow to a level where one snort could lay waste to armies.

Bloomkin were strong but they were still nothing in comparison to a grown dragon, thus, they would never offend one of them. Someone among the magicals tried to attack a dragon child, and just a few minutes later, that person was left to watch the death of his entire clan.

Dragons were very curt to other races but when they found their kin in trouble, they would set the world on fire. The arrogance and conceit of a dragon, the kingly creatures of magic and strength, were never to be offended. Bloomkin did not like to be troubled.

Boo-too greeted the empress briefly and vanished from the place. Valerian, on the other hand, was using his brain to figure out the seal on the egg, when he subconsciously, tried to input one attribute of mana inside the egg. He discovered that the egg seemed to have suction power.

He became excited and began to pour mana inside, however, after a few seconds the mana was repulsed by the egg, Valerian thought for a bit and changed the attribute of the mana, and again it was absorbed. The process lasted for half an hour before a faint crackle sounded.