Meal Fit for Lancers: Part 1

After he dried off, Victor changed out of his wet pants and got out a pot.

“Are we going to have a meal here?” Enderan asked.

Victor looked at him with concern. “I’m going to have you eat the dragon egg, Enderan.”

He was taken aback. “You’re joking, right?” Upon seeing his serious expression, he stopped. “If you’re serious, you really didn’t beat around the bush.”

“I’m serious Enderan. After eating the contents of the egg, we will head to the throne room.”

“Listen Victor, as much as I trust you. I’m not going to eat this egg without hearing the reason why.”

What happened to trusting me blindly?! Victor groaned, wanting to tear out pages from Babel.

“It wouldn’t have helped. Tell me Enderan, if I told you before making this detour, that you will have to eat a dragon egg and possibly curse yourself a second time, then fight the undead Dragon Tyrant, would you have gone along?”

“I have to fight the Dragon Tyrant?!” His eyes were bulging out of his head.
But he’s…”

“Undead Dragon Tyrant.”

“Guess you’re right. I might have not come here if I heard that.”

Victor sighed. “What are you willing to do to get rid of your curse?”

“Almost anything.” Enderan looked at the egg with less apprehension.

“Enderan. Your parents would have done anything to break your curse. Honestly now that I’m here, making you eat one of the dragon tyrant’s last children is making me have second thoughts.” Victor took a deep breath. “But, after coming all this way with you, your parents are now not the only people who would do anything to help you.”

Enderan looked at him and his lip trembled, before turning away and wiping his eyes. “If there really is no other way…”

A part of Victor wished Enderan wanted to leave the mountain and not look back. He had been pondering alternatives during the entire trip despite his reluctance to.

Perhaps they could have found a way to hatch the egg and think of plan from there. However, that was wishful thinking. This unborn dragon child is too much of a chaotic factor to manipulate. They most likely wouldn’t be able to tame it, and if they sold it, it could fall into the wrong hands.

Eating the dragon egg was the conclusion that Enderan came to in the original story. So, Victor didn’t feel all too bad suggesting this.

“No, there isn’t any other way.”

Enderan nodded. “But won’t the second curse kill me? Or is it because I’m already cursed that the effects won’t be as bad?”

“Yes, actually. That’s a good guess.” Victor beamed. “Because you carry the curse already, you’ll be left with the benefits that are granted from eating divine dragon eggs. Your mana production will skyrocket, and you’ll be on par with the strongest mages in the world after this.”

“Really?!”

“Seriously. Part of the reason the mothers of the cursed children joined your father and mother in their quest to break the curse, is because they had their newfound strength to aid them. If the men didn’t burn to death, they would have found themselves with the same strength.”

“But this isn’t a guarantee, is it?” Enderan said.

“I’m fairly certain you’ll be fine. But the goal is to revive the dragon tyrant and ask him to break your curse. So if you happen to have two, we’ll have him break both.” He looked at him. “So, are you sure you want to do this?”

Please say no.

Please say yes.

You’ll pick the right answer Enderan.

“I’ll do it. I trust you.”

Victor felt a sick dread fall over him, followed by a cold resolve.

“Fine. But first I want you to sleep on it. In the meantime let’s explore the palace thoroughly. Hopefully we don’t run into anything else.”

The two of them explored the rest of the palace and only found more ruins. The outside barracks were full of dragon smelted weapons and armor. They began feeding Yoki a shield and a new short sword.

-

The next morning Enderan agreed to follow the plan.

Victor gave a firm nod, then began preparing the egg.

He lit up a nearby hearth and began to boil a pot of water. He summoned the Inky Blade and cut the top of the egg with ease. He poured the contents into the pot and covered it with a lid. He placed it atop the flames.

“I hope the other dragons don’t realize what we’re doing.”

Enderan was just looking at the fire, his hand on his scarf.

Victor hesitated. “Enderan, I feel bad for leading you in the dark. So, while we wait, I thought of a few things that I can divulge that might be permitted by the rules.”

“Wait, if breaking these rules means you have to leave me, then it’s fine if you stay mysterious and sketchy.”

Victor laughed with him. “But really, I think this much is fine, especially since we’re here.”

Enderan nodded.

“Your mother didn’t take part in the feast of the dragon eggs.”

His eyes widened. “That doesn’t make sense. I have the curse. Are you telling me she isn’t my-

“No!” He shouted, causing Enderan to jump in surprise. “No, no, no!” Victor was now laughing. “That’s not what I was getting at. Your mother was opposed to eating the dragon eggs.”

Victor paused before catching a gleam in his eyes. “I want to test your observation skills for a second. Is there anything you noticed about the bodies we found so far?”

“All of them?”

Victor nodded.

“Well, there was quite a few outside in the courtyard with dragon and lancer corpses. And in here there were several dead lancers with divine dragons in their human forms.”

“Perhaps it would be more peculiar, if you knew that divine dragons are at their strongest when in their dragon forms. So, why would that make things weird?”

“The dragons here should have just fought them outside of the castle if they knew they were coming. And because of the castle’s location, that should have made it easy.”

“That’s right. And as I told you, the dragons outside would have been aware of their presence days in advance.”

“And they are extremely strong.” Enderan pondered. “Before coming here, I expected to see a dragon graveyard throughout the mountain range. At first I attributed the lack of corpses outside the castle to the other dragons feasting on them. But now that I think about it, no matter how strong the Ashborn Lancers were, they would have suffered heavy casualties to get here, or at the very least, there would have been signs of a battle along the way.”

Victor clapped. “Because I already have been given the answers, it’s amazing to see for myself how someone might come to a possible conclusion,” Victor said. “So, seeing all this, what could be the reason why? And here’s a trick when coming to conclusions. Sometimes the most logical answer is the correct one. Instead of piecing together some convoluted narrative, it’s better to keep a focused scope.”

Enderan thought to himself. “If they got this close to the dragon king without them knowing, then they had to sneak in here. That might be likely because they had mages in the cohort and had powerful allies.”

“Good guess. But no, that’s not the answer.”

“If that’s not the case, then they had to climb or fly up here.” Then he recalled Victor’s words.

We’re following in your parent’s footsteps.

“If they used the dragon carriages, then that means they were invited here…” He looked at Victor.

“The Ashborn Lancers had a parley with the old Dragon Tyrant.” Victor said, watching the egg cook. “The Dragon Tyrant was wounded badly by your father in their last battle. Seeing he was short on time, he wanted to guarantee his family’s safety. And believing your father and mother to be noble people, he parleyed with them.”

Looking at Enderan’s sick expression, he continued. “And your parents were noble, don’t get me wrong. However, their cohort full of vengeful men and women, couldn’t push past their hatred and suspicion. So, lead by Vikrum Galebrook, they killed Drakan’thar and Elori’sha.”

Enderan’s eyes shook.

“A common addition to the legend of the dragon tyrant’s defeat is the detail that the cohort were low on supplies and had to resort to eating the dragon eggs. They didn’t eat out of necessity. They threw a celebratory feast for the dragon tyrant’s demise. “And they saw it fitting that the main course was his unborn children.”

Enderan looked at the pot with remorse.

“However, your father and mother didn’t attend, not consuming a single bite. Then, when they heard the screaming, they learned of the first part of the curse.”

“So, when did my mother get cursed?”

“During their search for a way to break the curse, they had to venture into the dream and nightmare realms. You know now that knowledge of the nightmare realm is forbidden so I have to forgo specifics. What you need to know is that they encountered a threat that pushed the cohort to their limits. The last of the Ashborn Lancers had died there while your parents were on the brink of death.”

“That’s the reason all the mothers went missing all at once?”

“All the mother lancers anyway. Anyways, they brought along two dragon eggs. Your parents had hoped that they would be of use to find a way to break the curse. They thought they could have been used for research or to strike a deal.”

“They had given up one egg in the dream realm, and ventured into the nightmare realm with the other. Your parents found themselves in a perilous situation. So, to get them out of their predicament, your mother ate the remaining egg.”

Enderan looked at the fire. “So, if my mother had me sooner, I wouldn’t have been cursed. And she would still be alive.”

Victor shook his head. “You may not have been cursed, but I told you back on the first day we met, your mother had to give up her life to give birth to you, no matter what.”

“Right. But it still bothers me. What was she?”

“I’ll tell you after we get off this mountain.”