The Charcoal woke up in a very mystical place.
It was an enormous cavern that seemed to be endless. The young dragon was in some sort of crystal forest, where there were shimmering crystal trees and large clusters of crystals. There was even a shimmering lake nearby. It was the light source that allowed Charcoal to see.
It was until he saw the crystal wildlife that Charcoal realised he was still in his true, colossal form. Apparently, the crystal trees and clusters were just bigger than him. The young dragon wondered where he really was.
"Hrr..."
Looking down, Charcoal saw a furred Night Fury the size of his own. It took him a second to realise it was Toothless. There was a strong mana circuit connection between them. It seemed Toothless had re-established the connection after the fight was over.
'I wonder what happens to Furious and Stoick.' Charcoal thought as he buried his head under Toothless' neck. It was fluffy, and her fur felt like blanket. 'I hope they don't get away with it.'
It seemed to wake up the other dragon. "Mrr..." Toothless seemed to purr as she pulled her mate closer. "... I missed you."
"I missed you too." Charcoal mumbled.
Toothless snapped her eyes open. She suddenly pushed him away and stood from the ground. Charcoal yelped at the sudden movement. "Hrrk!"
"Charcoal!" The mother dragon exclaimed.
Unfortunately, that exclamation turned out to be a roar. They winced when they heard her voice echoed throughout the cavern. It was unexpectedly loud. They were definitely not used with their new size.
After a long pause, Charcoal stared at his mate. Forest green eyes met the acidic ones. "Hey." He started as he stood from the ground as well. "... good morning?"
"Good morning." Toothless slowly answered. "How do you feel?"
Charcoal did not answer. He moved to inspect himself.
The young dragon was definitely bigger than before. He must have grown some more when he fell asleep. From visual alone, he looked rather chubby, but there was some muscular silhouette from the fur. It was best described as bear-like.
He moved his claws along his fur, feeling dragon scales underneath. His thick fur was hiding a lot. Charcoal noted the lack of shed fur when he did this, implying its strength. The young dragon wondered what his shedding season would look like.
When he tried to cast Identify, his fur seemed to nullify them. Charcoal was surprised. Then again, he deflected plasma blasts from Furious, when it was supposed to explode. The feather-like fur on his wings must have something to do with it.
Charcoal spread his wings, revealing his prehensile appendages. He tried to move them closer to his face. After very carefully moving them, the young dragon moved to grab them. Those appendages were also covered in fur, and the tip were diamond shape.
Those appendages have mana circuits.
"Hraa..." Charcoal was amazed with himself. He walked around the forest, circling around the massive trees. His body felt heavy, yet incredibly mobile. Everything felt powerful. "This will take some time to get used to."
"It is." Toothless had moved to stand in front of him. "I'm still trying to understand... all this. I was hoping you have some answers."
"How long have I been out?"
"About two weeks." The mother dragon answered.
The young dragon widened his eyes. "Two weeks."
"Yeah... My dad moved you into his lair for your safety and privacy." Toothless nodded. "When I reconnected our mana circuits, I was changed to become like you. But I become very tired. So he put me here with you."
Charcoal looked around the place. "This is your dad's lair?"
"Yes. The Formonsus layer in Hidden World." The mother dragon softly smiled. She seemed to be reminiscing. "This is where I spent the first three years of my life. It feels..."
There was a long pause. Charcoal did not say anything. Toothless shook her head. "Well, I'm not feeling tired anymore." She admitted, before relaxing. She raised her rear and lowered her chest, like a cat stretching their body. "Oh... that feels good."
"So..." Charcoal began, getting her attention. "What happened?"
"I was too tired to move, so I kept sleeping with you here. Aymar kept me up to date whenever I was awake enough." Toothless answered the question. "Amber is giving our hatchlings tour around Hidden World. She's with Agatha, Gryphon, Henry and Harald. They came to visit few days ago."
"What about Stoick and Furious?"
The mother dragon darkened her expression. "They're alive." Toothless answered. "Longfin Empire's court is having a formal hearing. They're considering to exile Furious from Longfin Empire to Aldinnveröld layer."
Charcoal did not know anything about that layer. "Aldinnveröld?"
"The old world. The birthplace of dragons." The black-furred dragon answered. "I've never been there before, so I don't know what it look like."
"What about Stoick?"
"He's a special case. This is the first time a human became a dragon." Toothless responded. She looked pensive. "There's a discussion whether they should do the sentencing, or if it should be done by Hairy Hooligans. They're leaning on the latter. My dad's been delaying them until you wake up."
Suddenly, they heard a familiar sound of jet-like dragon. Aymar the Valstrax had arrived. He took one look at the two awake dragons, before turning around. He went off to leave the place, presumably inform others about their awakening.
"... my dad is coming soon." Toothless decided. She focused on her mate. "I'll do my best to summarise everything."
Wodensfang did not sit idle while they were fighting for their lives. He used every resource possible to bypass the barrier, including summoning other arch alpha dragons. However, they did not arrive in time.
Five minutes after the barrier went down, they finally arrived. It was followed by Merciless leading a flock of mana researchers. Everyone got to see the unconscious form of Charcoal. A massive dragon that just defeated Furious at his peak.
There was no hiding this.
The news about end-of-world scenario spread all over Hidden World. It became a talk for everyone within a week. Dragons that knew him, and used to serve under him, expressed their admiration and respect to the public. Charcoal became an overnight celebrity.
Because of this, Wodensfang moved Charcoal into his lair. This was where Gryphon, Toothless and their hatchlings reconnected their bonds with him. Nothing happened with the Valstrax and the Night Fury hatchlings, but Toothless became just like him.
The rest of that was history.
Stoick and Furious were currently held at Obelisk layer, the capitol of Longfin Empire. They were waiting for the final sentencing on the former. Arda the silver dragon, Lightflake the steel dragon, and Cadwell the wolf-hawk dragon had already testified few days ago.
Gryphon, Amber and Mimir had to get a lawyer because of their situation. The Valstrax was technically a stolen egg; the Light Fury was a high-priority fugitive; and Mimir was supposed to be dead. The court was discussing on what to do in this situation.
Ironically, Mimir became the acting greater alpha for Barbaric Archipelago. He had been on that duty since.
Berk was thankfully peaceful. Dragons came and go to give update on the situation. Nothing of note happened there, other than week-long celebration for winning that fight. There was no plan on what to do next yet, since their chief was in Longfin Empire's custody.
"Everyone would want to hear it from you." Toothless finished her summary. "But I want to hear it from you first. What did you do?"
Charcoal focused on her mate. "I think it's best if I show you the memory."
He nudged her mind through their circuit bond, before leading her to the relevant memory. It was his meeting with Marduk the Blank Fury. Charcoal waited as Toothless watched the memory. He watched for her reaction.
Eventually, Toothless pulled out from his mind. "Okay."
"Okay?" Charcoal raised his brows. "That's it?"
"I already have suspicion that this is a deviant plot." The mother dragon admitted. "There are powerful forces beyond us, and some of them are deviants. We've been in this situation a lot, so it's hard not to get used to it. And besides, this is not the first time a Night Fury foresight was intercepted."
"Really?"
"Yes. There's a reason why ancient Night Furies don't use them very often." Toothless explained. "We already know it's a prediction. It's also vague and prone to misinterpretation. There are spells and poisons that can alter Night Fury's foresight. My mother told me that foresight is the leading cause of death for ancient Night Furies because of this."
The father dragon slowly nodded. "I guess it makes sense when you think about it."
"I was expecting Sildek worshippers, or maybe Northern Alliance. I didn't expect an ancient, oppressive-war-era space-time deviant dragon." The mother dragon admitted. "Now, I'm starting to wonder if my dad know anything about this."
The two dragons heard something. Aymar had arrived with Wodensfang. The arch alpha was in his true form. Despite being only quarter their size, the deep acidic eyed dragon was powerful. Charcoal could feel that strength from there.
Aymar and Wodensfang landed in front of them. The arch alpha looked up to greet them. "Toothless." He remarked, before looking at the male dragon. "And... Charcoal?"
"That's me." Charcoal nodded.
"Please use your smaller form." Wodensfang requested. "Only dragons up to 25 metres tall allowed inside."
The massive young dragon had no idea how to do that. He tried to focus on making himself smaller, similar to how he transform to his human form. Within a second, Charcoal glowed and shrunk into a much smaller size.
Charcoal inspected himself. He was at his old Night Fury size. His draconic armour was also there. However, he was still in that strange furred form. Even his armour was accommodating his prehensile appendages.
Not long after, Toothless shrunk to her smaller size. She was also wearing her armour. The two dragons turned to face the arch alpha. "What about you?"
"I am the arch alpha." Wodensfang smiled a bit.
"Of course." Toothless mumbled in annoyance.
"Let me be the first to congratulate you." The arch alpha changed the topic. He looked at the young dragon. "Charcoal. You are the first to defeat an ancient Night Fury in a very long time."
"I had a lot of help." Charcoal seemed to shy. "There are a lot of humans and dragons fighting against him. I think they deserve some credit."
"That they do." Wodensfang slowly nodded. "But I'm curious. How did you defeat him? There is no scientific explanation as to how absorbing the Heart of Ebonclaw would provide you with advantage. Not to mention what you did with Furious and his oppressive form."
The young dragon knew this was coming. He tapped his claw on the ground. The certain pendant appeared in blue flame, revealing them to everyone. "I had help."
It took Wodensfang a second to recognise the pendant. His eyes grew wider than saucer; the arch alpha was speechless. After few seconds, he slowly tapped the pendant with his claws to cast Identify. It revealed everything about the pendant.
Including who and what the crystallised mana belonged.
Charcoal decided to speak. "I was supposed to die that day. Furious have that spear on my chest." He explained, getting his attention. "Hiccup the First came to save me. He's a Blank Fury - a time-space dragon. He said it's an evolution from Night Fury."
"Evolution..." Wodensfang whispered, as if remembering something. His eyes glistened with tears. "Marduk, you bastard..."
Aymar was concerned. "Wodensfang?"
"I'm fine." The arch alpha interrupted. His body shimmered as he shrunk to his smaller size. Standing in front of the two dragons, he was just twice as big as them. "You saw him?"
"Yes."
Wodensfang sat on his hindlegs. "Tell me everything."
And so, Charcoal told him everything. He told him about his meeting with Marduk; the nature of universe; and the deviant threat. The young dragon told him every detail about what Marduk told him about Cragmaul, also known as Drago Bludvist.
The young dragon also told him how Marduk interfered. He was the one who empowered him to fight against Furious. Charcoal did not know why Toothless was also empowered, but he assumed it was because she was his mate.
Wodensfang paid attention. He did not respond or ask question about what was said. Occasionally, he looked at the pendant, before looking back at him. Charcoal kelt telling his tale, trying his best not to leave anything out.
When Charcoal was done, Wodensfang closed his eyes. A single tear fell from his eye.
Toothless and Charcoal fell silent. They did not know what to say. The dragoness never seen her father shed a tear before. This was something new to them.
The arch alpha dragon shuddered his breath. He opened his eyes and stared at them. "I remember now." Wodensfang whispered. "What he said to me before he died. He wished to see the world beyond."
There was a pause. Wodensfang exhaled his breath. "... Marduk died as a human." He uttered. "He died during a dragon attack. Everything went... so wrong after that day. The Great Dragon War wouldn't have happened if he survived."
Charcoal softened his eyes. He did not respond. The arch alpha continued speaking. "He's the smartest dragon I've ever known. There's barely anything he couldn't solve." Wodensfang whispered. "... I never thought he solved death."
"We don't know how he became a Blank Fury." Toothless carefully pointed out. "It could be a different Marduk."
"Before Marduk died, he performed a ritual. He invented it himself. I don't know of its function, and it doesn't seem to do anything." Wodensfang stared at his daughter. "That ritual could be the cause of this evolution, because the next day, he was killed."
The two dragons fell silent. The arch alpha moved to focus on Charcoal. " Thank you for telling me. It means a lot to me."
"N- No problem."
"Now, I strongly advise you against sharing this tale to the public." The arch alpha patiently explained. "While this timeline is invisible to the deviant threat, Northern Alliance still exists. In order to reduce the chance of exposure, it must be kept secret."
"I will." Charcoal nodded.
"The pendant Marduk gave you is more than just proof of existence." Wodensfang continued explaining. "There are things, hidden across the world, that could only be opened with this. Wealth, power, knowledge - Marduk was tasked by Divine Alpha to hide them, both in surface and underground world. The Dragon Vaults. That pendant is the key to it all."
The young dragon was confused. "Divine Alpha?"
"The dragons were unified before the Great Dragon War." The arch alpha elaborated. "The Divine Alpha is one step higher from arch alpha. The first and last Divine Alpha is Marduk's great grandfather. It was said that he expanded Hidden World from the old world, so that dragons have more space to live in."
The two young dragons were confused. It was a new information for them. Toothless decided to speak. "I don't think I've ever heard about it."
"The position has been forgotten for billions of years." Wodensfang answered, before moving the subject. "Now, there are some arch alphas that were Marduk's best friends. I will introduce them to you later. It is your decision if you wish to share this tale to them or not."
"Alright." Charcoal nodded, before pulling the pendant back into his storage mana. It disappeared with blue flame.
The arch alpha took a deep breath. "I offer you to become the Greater Alpha of Barbaric Archipelago." He revealed. "Should you accept, you will be inducted in 14 days."
Toothless narrowed her eyes. "No." She interrupted, getting their attention. "You promised to tell my mate everything."
Wodensfang was confused. "It was everything there is to know."
"It was everything there is to know because he never asks." The mother dragon retorted. She did not look happy. "Skies above, dad. We talked about this."
Charcoal was confused. "What's going on?"
"There's a lot of things going on that you need to know before you accept that offer." Toothless explained. She turned her full attention to him. "Do you know anything about Family Flock?"
The young male dragon paused. It was a new term for him. "No?"
The dragoness paused. She thought about summarising it. "You know how mutations can be inherited? Two dragon families are often different?" Toothless questioned. Seeing a nod, she continued. "For families with long line of mutations, like Haddock, Lynx and Ebonclaw, they are powerful enough to form their own faction outside of alpha hierarchy. This is called Family Flock."
"Oh." Charcoal nodded, understanding the premise. "Like human lordship?"
"Kind of like that." Toothless nodded. "You have the Head of the Flock, which leads the whole family. The Flock Viceroy represents the flock in public; they handle the finance and helping family members in need."
The young dragon slowly nodded. Looking back, it was inevitable for something like that to exist. "I assume this is not exclusive to Night Furies?"
"Yes. There are other families with different dragon species." The dragoness nodded. "Now, I've told you about what's happening. I refrained from telling you about the family aspect." She glared at her father. "Because I thought my dad would tell you."
Wodensfang raised his brows. "You could have told me what you want me to say."
"You said you're going to tell him everything." Toothless retorted, before shaking her head. "It doesn't matter. I'll tell him."
During two weeks of Charcoal's absence, the Haddock, Lynx and Ebonclaw families were having their own drama over the situation. The head of Ebonclaw family flock, Kyophis the Black Iron, had been trying to get Longfin Empire to repatriate Furious to Aldinnveröld without punishment, or at least reduced one.
The Haddock family regent, Athena, had been blocking this effort. She did not want Furious to get away from punishment; not after what he did to Charcoal. Wodensfang, being the head of Lynx family flock, also supported Haddock regent's decision. The idea was to stall them long enough for Charcoal to wake up.
"Family regent?" Charcoal questioned. He was paying attention to the tale. "What's that? And who's Athena?"
"It's a dragon appointed to head the flock while there's no actual head of the flock. Haddock family is currently in regency." Toothless explained the situation. "Athena is your great-grandmother. She was Marduk's mate before he died."
The young male dragon was surprised. "And she's a phoenix dragon?"
"Yeah." The mother dragon nodded.
Looking back, it was possible that Charcoal's survival was because of his inheritance. Phoenix dragon was known for their reincarnation-based immortality, at least from what Charcoal read in Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons. "So, what do you want me to do, now that I'm awake?"
"We're going to need you to explain everything at the court in Obelisk." Toothless explained. "Furious claims he did everything because he doesn't want Wodensfang to assign greater alpha other than Charcoal. My dad wants you to become the greater alpha to invalidate that point, since you're the secret candidate this whole time."
Charcoal stared at her with deadpan expression. Regardless, he pondered the option.
Becoming the Greater Alpha of Barbaric Archipelago might be the best long-term option for him. He could build a place for his family; a place for humans and dragons to live together. It could be a place where he was truly free.
However, ruling over a region had its problems and challenges. There were other powers to contend with, and potential threats to face. While Charcoal was trained to lead a tribe, being a greater alpha dragon was something he never studied for.
Meanwhile, Toothless sensed his doubt. She entered his mind through their circuit bond. "Charcoal." She mentally whispered. "We should take the offer."
The father dragon was hesitant. "... I promised you to return and live in Hidden World."
"I know. But things have changed." The mother dragon glanced at him. She softened her expression. "Even with all this power, we're not strong enough to fight deviants. We need a place where humans and dragons can be together... other than family politics, that is."
Charcoal did not respond. Toothless continued sending her thought. "I don't mind staying in the surface. The hatchlings don't mind either." She assured her mate. "We can make our own little world."
The male dragon pondered that decision. If he were to make a place where humans and dragons could be together, it must be made from scratch. No system had ever succeed in bringing them together, meaning it must be something completely new.
'The great experiment.' Charcoal thought as he was reminded of a country from the new world. '... this would be something new for myself too.'
"Alright." Charcoal decided. He turned to face the arch alpha. "I'll be your greater alpha."
Wodensfang looked relieved. "Very well." He nodded. "While your induction is in 14 days, the declaration can be done immediately."
"Thank you."
"Now, I can escort you to meet your regent at Obelisk, or visit the first Dragon Vault in my territory." The arch alpha continued speaking. "Keep in mind that no one knew about the Dragon Vaults, nor they can open them."
Charcoal tilted his head. "Do I own everything in that vault?"
"It is your right." Wodensfang nodded.
"Then I want to see it."
"Very well." The arch alpha dragon stood from the ground. "Follow me. Aymar, you can go now."
The Valstrax, who had been quiet, bowed. "Yes, Arch Alpha."
After Aymar left the lair, Toothless, Charcoal and Wodensfang left to reach the Dragon Vault. The arch alpha led them through a flightway heading to a different layer nearby. Interesting enough, the flightway was quite empty.
At some point, the small flock went through a secret tunnel. Part of a wall had turned invisible, allowing them through. The wall reappeared once the flock had flown inside.
It was a short flight from there. They landed at a large clearing with glowing white crystals. In front of them was a massive stone-like door. It was painted black with some intricate carvings highlighted in gold. The centre was curved outward, resembling an eyelid.
They were not getting through that one.
However, Charcoal felt a pull. He approached the massive door. The eyelid seemed to move, before opening to reveal a massive eye. It blinked, then looked down and stare at the young dragon. It seemed to be judging him.
"Okay..." Toothless looked unsure. "Are you sure this is the place?"
Before anyone could respond, the eye closed itself back. The door groaned as it slowly slid open a bit, allowing the group inside. Wodensfang wordlessly gestured Charcoal to lead the way.
The titan wing male dragon was the first to go through the door. Considering how thick the door was, entering them could be considered walking down a hallway. Charcoal felt anxious because of how massive it was. It could crush them at any moment.
Eventually, Charcoal reached the other side. Looking around, he gaped at what he saw. "Hraa..."
It was a massive room with marble tiles, walls and ceilings. It was brightly illuminated with lights, but the source was unknown. The floor had rows of large pools and floating blobs of liquid. These fluids were glimmering dark purple, looking similar to Amethyst Scale crystal.
Around the corners were shelves full of yellow-green crystal blocks. They were stacked tall, almost reached the ceiling. At the centre of the room was a round platform with white crystal floor.
Toothless and Wodensfang entered the place. They had similar reaction. Toothless was the first to speak. "What is this place?"
"The First Dragon Vault." Wodensfang answered. He moved away to see more of the place. "The treasure Marduk inherited from the Divine Alpha. We could've used them to rebuild after the wars, but he's not allowed to touch them..."
Charcoal was confused. "The war?"
"The Oppressive War and the Great Dragon War." The arch alpha answered. Inspecting the blob, he continued speaking. "These are Amethyst Scales at its purest form. Pure energy in form of liquid. Crystallising them produces scales at its purest quality."
Toothless moved to check the crystals. "Long-term Book Stones." She commented. The walls were full of them. "They're pre-war technologies. I don't know how long they could last this long."
"Our current technology is a fraction of the pre-war society. They have answers to everything that exists." Wodensfang told the lore. "So much knowledge were lost during the wars. Time devoured most that remained."
The young titan wing dragon moved to the centre of the room. He approached the platform, before standing on top of it. His mana circuit was connected with the crystal under him. It seemed to be analysing him. After some time, it did something unexpected.
Charcoal's mind was suddenly filled with knowledge about the content of the vault. It was definitely full of knowledge and liquid variant of Amethyst Scale - Amesite, the vault supplied his mind. It revealed to him how valuable they were.
It was just one of many vaults scattered across the world.
The knowledge was vast, but there was nothing about technologies. They were mostly about logistics, industries, economics, society and other governance topics. The only mention about technology was agriculture and manufacturing. Even then, they were supplement for different topics.
Charcoal was somewhat familiar with them. He read plenty of European literatures those topics; it was part of his chiefly training. It seemed pre-war dragons had it figured out. Compared to the humans, the knowledge in Dragon Vault was extensive.
They would be important for him after he was inducted.
"Well, none of them are about technologies." Charcoal remarked, getting their attention. "It's mostly about nation building."
Toothless was interested. "That could be useful."
Wodensfang smiled. "Longfin Empire was founded by Marduk. Initially called Longfin Realm, it was named after his pet fish." He commented. "It made sense that he put all governance knowledge in a vault so close to Formonsus."
The dragoness glanced at him. "Isn't Formonsus used to be his lair?"
"Yes." The arch alpha answered, reminiscing the past. "He planted every plants and created every crystals in his lair. He allowed me to live there. After he became human, he gave the lair to me. I have been maintaining them since."
Charcoal did not know what to say. There was so much wealth and knowledge in one vault. He wondered what kind of things he would find in other Dragon Vaults. This was something he must find when he have the time.
The young titan wing dragon willed something to the vault. He had some empty canisters in his storage mana from the experiments few months ago. Charcoal wanted them filled with Amesite liquid. They would be necessary to fund his reign.
The vault did just that. It took the empty canisters from his storage mana. Few seconds later, seven glass canisters appeared in front of him. The top and bottom sides were made of metal, while the rest were made of glass. It had the same size as the ones used for draconic cannon, which was about ten litres.
"This should be enough." Charcoal decided, before pulling them into his mana storage. They vanished in blue flame. "I wonder if I can..."
The young titan wing dragon willed something once more. He want to carry every knowledge stored within the vault. Charcoal stumbled in shock when something slid into his mind. The vault had injected his mind with every knowledge within the vault.
"Hrrk!" Charcoal yelped in surprise. He was expecting Book Stone copies, not this!
This was not without consequence, however. When the vault was done, the young titan wing dragon felt light-headed. It was followed by pounding headache. "Krrh..."
Toothless felt the pain through the bond. "Charcoal!"
Charcoal collapsed to the ground. The pain was unbearable. Disconnected from the vault, everything suddenly went black.
Charcoal woke up feeling fatigued.
The young titan wing dragon tried to get up from the ground. However, someone tried to push him down. "Don't get up yet. Your body is still recovering."
Charcoal opened his eyes. The young dragon was in a large cave clearing. It was illuminated with all sorts of crystals. There was only one cave path to leave. Looking around, he realised there were dragons present. Amber the Light Fury was also there. She looked concerned.
The young dragon laid back down. He had to look down to see the other dragons. Having other dragons around made him conscious of his own size.
Regardless, Charcoal wanted to know. "What happened? Where am I?"
"You're at the Mercy Public Hospital in Obelisk." Amber answered the question. "Don't panic. We've applied some spells to numb the pain. You'll get headache if you move."
The young dragon squinted his eyes. "Did Toothless carried me here?"
"Yes. She summoned me right after they brought you here." The Light Fury nodded. "Your mind was injected with foreign knowledge. Wodensfang had to bring Master Henrik Carlsen to help you."
"Who's Henrik Carlsen?"
Before Amber could answer, she was pushed away by a Night Fury. It was an old-looking Night Fury with green-yellow eyes. He looked rather impatient. "Ah! You're awake!"
Charcoal raised his brows. "Are you Henrik Carlsen?"
"Yes, that's my name. This is not the first time I've treated something like this." Henrik answered. He was inspecting him, specifically the appendages. "A pre-war contraption messing with your mind. You're lucky it's not malicious!"
"Malicious?"
"Yes. I believe that's how archaeologists usually die. Mind-based defensive contraptions are popular back in pre-war days." The very old Night Fury sagely nodded. "You're lucky to be left with seven days of pounding headache."
Charcoal balked at that. "Seven days?!"
"Yes." Henrik gave a scrutinising look. "It certainly is better than being left brain dead, or worse. Those contraptions could rewire your brain if you don't know what you're doing."
The young dragon paled at that. He was lucky that the Dragon Vault was not malicious to him. After what happened, he must be extra careful when dealing with Dragon Vaults in the future.
Regardless, Charcoal tried to remember what happened. The vault had injected his mind with all sorts of knowledge. Every knowledge within the vault had been crammed into his head. Whenever he thought about his chiefly lessons, those knowledge would come up on its own.
'No wonder I was knocked out for seven days.' Charcoal thought. 'That was really painful.'
"So..." The young titan wing dragon began. "Can I leave?"
"After I talked with Wodensfang about your situation, you may leave." Henrik responded, before turning around to leave the place. "Stars above... you're just as impatient as your great grandfather."
Charcoal widened his eyes. He was about to ask more, but the very old Night Fury had already left the place. Other dragons around him were leaving as well. Grumbling under his breath, the young dragon relaxed himself.
Amber was the only dragon that stayed behind. "I'll see if Toothless can come and visit."
"Thanks, Amber."
The Light Fury nodded. She turned around and left the place.
After everyone left, the young dragon stood from the ground. He looked over himself, before determining that there was no signs of injuries whatsoever. The headache was gone, and he felt healthy enough to move around.
It was then Charcoal noticed something. One of the large glowing crystal seemed loose. The young dragon approached the crystal, curious to see what was behind it. He pushed the crystal a bit to confirm. When it wiggled, Charcoal pushed the crystal.
Only to see the annoyed face of Henrik Carlsen the very ancient Night Fury.
"Kraa!" Charcoal leaped away in surprise. He did not expect a dragon there. "What are you doing in there?!"
"Just to see if you're going to escape." Henrik mildly stated. The crystal went back in place before the young dragon could respond.
The young titan wing dragon pushed the crystal, but it did not budge. Feeling paranoid, Charcoal sat back down on the ground. He resorted to staring at the empty cave path. The young dragon wondered if Hidden World medical dragons were like that.
Not long after, Amber came back with the whole flock. Toothless was the second to enter, followed by the Night Fury hatchlings. "DAD!"
The hatchlings tackled their father. Charcoal stayed put as they latched themselves onto him. They were snuggling his fur. "Hey, kids."
"Hraa..." Calian the forest green eyed hatchling burrowed himself into his fur. "It's like mom. Very fluffy."
Winter, Helena, Amelia and Iris had squeezed themselves under Charcoal's outfit through the thick fur. The father dragon felt like worms crawling all over. "Whoa, slow down, kids."
Hamish was standing on top of his head. He moved to bite the prehensile appendage there. It was solid, and Charcoal barely felt anything. The father dragon moved that away. "Careful there."
"How's it going, greater alpha?"
Charcoal looked up to see Henry the Woolly Howl, Agatha the Deadly Nadder, Harald and Ronald the Dramillions. The father dragon was happy to see them. "Doing great. Everyone came to visit!"
Harald snorted. "Not even a decade, and you became the greater alpha." He commented, inspecting his appearance. "The most resilient dragon I know. I wish I was there to see you fight."
"It was a desperate fight." The titan wing Night Fury admitted.
"I was there at the border when everything happened." Henry added, getting their attention. "Arch Alpha Wodensfang summoned the whole army to help. No one could get through the barrier."
"We were all there." The older Dramillion added. "Turns out, he doesn't need help, after all."
"I'm just glad I'm still alive." Charcoal expressed his relief. "I'm surprised the arch alpha summoned the whole army. Did the war with Mongolian serpent dragon really ended?"
"Yup! I'm a lieutenant now." The Woolly Howl nodded. "They unconditionally surrendered. Now, everyone can enjoy the peace and quiet. What do you plan on doing after this?"
"Well, the work is not over. Ending the Dragon Rebellion in Barbaric Archipelago is just the start." Charcoal grimaced at that. "I'll have to do a lot of research and planning to keep the peace."
"No rest for the wicked, they say." Henry commented.
"Yup." The titan wing dragon looked at the youngest Dramillion. "What about you?" He started. "How's your school, Ronald?"
"I just graduated few weeks ago!" The young Dramillion chirped his voice. He was very happy to see him. "I am officially a registered medical professional, specialising in physical health."
"That's good! Did you get yourself a job?"
"I did! My school referred me to someone. A hospital in Hidden World offered me a job, and I accepted." Ronald told his tale. "The dragons are nice; the pay is nice; I made a life on my own there."
"That's good." Charcoal nodded approvingly. He glanced at the eldest Dramillion. "What about you, Harald? I hope Merciless isn't still going after me."
Harald snorted at that. "Wodensfang declared you as greater alpha, but he declared your mate as potential minor power arch alpha." He commented as he glanced between them. "If my eyes didn't lie, he understated your strength. Both of you are at the same level."
"Charcoal is overqualified. That's a good thing." Toothless agreed. "Surface world greater alpha is one of the most sought-after position across the world. He needs to be more powerful than average to take that position."
"And he's still 15. An adult for a Night Fury, but when you compare that to Merciless, he's nowhere near this level of power." The eldest Dramillion responded. He glanced at Charcoal. "Just so you know, we didn't blame you for trying to reclaim those Help Kelps."
The titan wing dragon paused a bit. He thought about sending message to Merciless about his apology. "I can't really say anything about it." Charcoal admitted. "We were desperate for a cure."
"It's not like he can take that back now." Harald shrugged his wings. "You took down Furious at his peak, and he's a prodigy."
Charcoal was surprised. "Really?"
"He was the youngest dragon to ever become a greater alpha. At just under two hundred years old." The eldest Dramillion nodded once more. "You superseded him. You're 15, and you'll only get more powerful from here."
"I fear for dragons who dare to challenge you." Henry the Woolly Howl commented, getting their attention. "Merciless is stepping down. His replacement is not the brightest. I have a feeling he would antagonise you for ending Dragon Rebellion."
"Harr..." The titan wing dragon exhaled his breath. He remembered the name of the replacement. "How bad is Antaris Quisling?"
The eldest Dramillion was the one who answered. "Worse. There's no good candidate in Greater Archipelago. Merciless just picked the one closest to his conditions." He grimaced. "And that's the worst part. Of all the conditions he set, Antaris only fulfilled one: power."
"He's a violent, bigoted, mindless old fool." Henry sardonically commented. "Real piece of work. He came to visit my barrack a year ago."
Charcoal was curious. "How did it go?"
The Woolly Howl simply stared at him. "You don't want him in your barrack."
"Gar..." Harald cleared his throat, getting their attention. "Regardless of what happened, I will not be there to see it happens." He explained. "Once Antaris has been inaugurated, I will migrate to Hidden World along with Merciless, where I will live there together with my brother."
Agatha the Deadly Nadder stepped forward. "I plan on migrating as well."
"After everything that happened, I can understand." The titan wing dragon was apologetic. "What about your hatchlings? How are they?"
"They're heading to Hidden World as well." The Deadly Nadder answered. "I plan on coming back after raising them. I still want to see the blue sky."
The eldest Dramillion raised his brows. "I thought you plan on retiring."
"That's the plan." Agatha nodded. "But I think Charcoal need us to rebuild Barbaric Archipelago. I want to see what kind of place he wants to build."
"Not a bad idea." Henry nodded in agreement. "After honourable discharge, I might come back and serve Charcoal once more."
The titan wing dragon was surprised. "You guys are coming back?"
"Of course. You have our loyalty." Harald smirked at him. "Don't think you can get rid of us anytime soon. Now that you won the war, I want to ride this to the end."
"Me too." Ronald chimed in.
Charcoal softened his expression. He was glad to have them on their side. "Thanks, everyone."
"That's what friends are for."
Shortly after that conversation, Henrik Carlsen came back with Wodensfang and some medical dragons. The doctors performed some diagnosis on Charcoal, before declaring him healthy. He was discharged from the hospital after that.
Wodensfang led them out from the hospital. Avoiding crowded hallways, they went for the rooftop exit. When they reached outside, Charcoal got to see the capitol of Longfin Empire from the highest corner of the layer.
Obelisk layer was almost endless; it might just fit Charcoal in his true form with a lot of room left over. The ceiling had bright blue and yellow glowing crystals, illuminating the places below, as well as millions of dragons flying around.
The structures themselves were enormous. There were massive nest-pillars supporting city-sized platforms on top. Underneath those platforms were glowing crystals, illuminating the place underneath with soft blue and yellow lights.
Interesting enough, those structures looked human-like. They were clean, straight and bevelled structures with all sorts of carvings. It looked like a massive concrete jungle instead of conventional roosts and nests.
There were even streets on the ground! Charcoal could see yellow lights stretching throughout the structures underneath. There were rivers flowing along the streets, and there were dragons drinking from them.
He had never seen anything like it.
"Hraa..." Charcoal breathed out. "It's massive."
"It never gets old." Agatha whispered, staring at the view. "One day, I'll own a roost in this layer."
"Same." Harald nodded.
Toothless was amused by that reaction. "It's not the biggest Hidden World layer out there, you know."
"Not all of us lived our lives in Hidden World, especially in metropolitan layers." Amber the Light Fury pointed out. "The empire is too big for dragons to just come and visit Obelisk."
Wodensfang stood in front of them. "Lieutenant Henry, I trust you to lead Charcoal and my daughter to their hotel." He ordered. "The hearing is in two days. Make sure they are accustomed, especially Charcoal."
Henry the Woolly Howl straightened himself. "Yes, Arch Alpha."
"I will attend my duties." The arch alpha stepped back. "Good evening, dragons. I hope you enjoy your day."
With that, Wodensfang flew up into the sky. He entered the traffic of flying dragons and disappeared into a nest.
The group decided to split, since they had different goals in mind. Toothless, Charcoal and their hatchlings stayed with Henry since the father dragon had to tour around the place. The rest of the dragons had gone with Amber, mostly since they wanted to see the other part of Obelisk.
Regardless, the Night Furies spent their day touring around Obelisk layer.
"Is this the place?"
Charcoal was standing in front of a restaurant. It looked rather modest; the young dragon was reminded of Chinese structures he read about in his books. The walls were made of woven bamboos, and the entrance had red curtain covering it.
"This is the place." Henry nodded, before walking into the place. "Come on. I'll show you."
The interior seemed to reflect the outside appearance. The floor was made of bright red wood, the table were made of stones, and there were glowing crystals hanging on ceiling with hemp ropes. The walls were made of bright red wood. There were red tapestries with drawings of serpent-like dragons there.
The place also smell like cooked spices. There was a large wooden counter with a door behind them. It was definitely a restaurant. What was missing was the lack of customers and waiters.
The Woolly Howl approached the counter. "Hou Jiashu!" He called out. "Are you at the back?"
"Just a minute!" They heard the response.
While waiting, Charcoal moved to check the decorations. The tapestries had drawings of dancing serpent dragons. They were definitely Chinese; it had writings on them. The young titan wing dragon struggled to read the written language.
They were definitely Sinitic, and it resembled Literary Chinese. Charcoal wondered where those characters derived from. Perhaps dragon version of Yue variant?
"I'm here! I'm here."
The young titan wing dragon looked at the counter. There was a serpent dragon floating there. Charcoal recognised this variant as Chinese serpent dragon. He was roughly the size of an average Deadly Nadder.
The serpent dragon had light, vibrant cream scales and blue hair. He had a long whisker-like appendage with the same colour as his hair, and a pair of cream-coloured horns with golden edges. He also have brown-yellow eyes, which was something Charcoal never seen before.
However, the most interesting part was how he fly. The serpent dragon was quadruped, but this one was literally floating off the ground.
"Hou Jiashu!" Henry chirped his voice. "Are you open for the day? I don't see anyone."
"That's because I just opened." The serpent dragon, now known as Hou Jiashu, nodded. "My daughter just came back. She's on vacation from her college."
"That's good." The Woolly Howl smiled, before introducing the others. "Hou Jiashu, these are my colleagues. That over there is Charcoal, the new Greater Alpha of Barbaric Archipelago!"
"Ah!" Hou brightened at that. "So, you're the one who ended Dragon Rebellion? It's good to see that there's finally some peace in the surface world!"
"I had a lot of help." Charcoal seemed to blush.
"Modest too." The serpent dragon sagely nodded. "Anyway, welcome to Jiashu's Dining Place. Pick a table and I'll be right with you!"
The group went to the large table at the corner. After getting themselves settled, Hou Jiashu brought the menu in form of a Book Stone. Henry and Toothless did most of the picking, since Charcoal barely knew anything about Hidden World food. Their hatchlings also stayed put.
When the food finally came, Charcoal got to see and smell the delicious cuisines. There were fish pie, cod soup, and some other he did not recognise. There were also draconic variants of the conventional Nordic foods.
For example, Lutefisk was basically a dried filleted cod. They were usually served during Snoggletog at Berk. According to Henry the Woolly Howl, dragons considered them celebration food. He ordered them because they were celebrating Charcoal becoming a greater alpha.
They were not deprived of bread, either. They have their own type of grain that they use for their breads. Perfect for dragons, but deadly to humans. Charcoal did order something that looked familiar. A sandwich.
His very first draconic variation of a sandwich.
They were long-foot sandwich if long-foot was three metres long. It was filled with assortments of shrimps, fishes, and vegetables. One bite was enough to send him to the heavens. It took some restraints for him to not order more and tried other dishes.
"Harr..."
By the end of the food session, everyone was stuffed. The hatchlings were laying on the ground; their bellies were full. Charcoal was staring at the empty stone bowls that used to hold their food. He was wondering how they never have something like this at the surface world.
"How's the food?"
Charcoal glanced at his mate. "It's good." He nodded. "Then again, it's my first time."
"Most of the food in Obelisk layer is inspired by humans." Toothless explained the context. "Returning dragons that went through readaptation moved into large layers like this. They brought cultures from the surface world with them."
"I actually wondered why returning dragons need to be resettled at the Entrance layer." Charcoal questioned. "Other than culture shock, I don't know why it's not made easier."
"Not all dragons are as civilised as you. Some dragons are too feral to go deeper." The mother dragon explained. "Readaptation helps dragons get used with the new environment. This is important, since surface dragons aren't as educated as us."
The father dragon thought it made sense. Barbaric Archipelago and Greater Archipelago were the only regions ruled by dragons. It was considered the most advanced territory compared to other places in the surface world.
However, it served as indication of how terrible the living conditions were at the surface. There was no access to education or health care; food was something they have to hunt themselves; agriculture was basically non-existent. Labour was barely paid as is.
It was considered normal for surface world dragons to starve to feed their hatchlings.
Charcoal felt guilt for enjoying himself. Here he was, having the best time of his life. It ignored the fact that he would be inheriting a poor, downtrodden region wracked from centuries of war. It angered him that Furious never bothered improving the lives of those dragons.
This guilt turned into resolution. He would have to figure out how to improve Barbaric Archipelago somehow. Charcoal would see through it. If peace was ever to remain, he must create an administration that worked.
For the sake of everyone in Barbaric Archipelago.
"Here's the bill."
Charcoal snapped from his thought. Hou Jiashu had returned with a stone bowl. There was a small Book Stone crystal inside. Henry the Woolly Howl tapped the Book Stone, before ejecting some Amethyst Scales into the bowl.
"Thank you." The serpent dragon expressed his gratitude. "I must say, this is the first time a greater alpha ever visited my place!"
"He haven't been inaugurated yet." The Woolly Howl clarified. "Thanks for the food, Hou. It's just as good as always."
"My pleasure!" Hou Jiashu nodded, before floated away to the back room.
"Harr..." Henry exhaled his breath, feeling relief after eating that lunch. "Right." He started, looking at the others. "Next stop. The central bank. We need to get Charcoal set up for his administration."
Toothless looked at his mate. "When you store the canisters, can you leave one for me?" She requested. "I have something to do in a different bank."
Charcoal was confused, but agreed anyway. "Sure."