Chapter 31: The Dragon’s Last Fang

[LUCIELLE’S POV — LATER — ASHCROFT MANOR — COURTYARD]

TA-DAAAAAA—!

A small parchment map was spread across the table in front of me. I stared at it, the map stared back. At least, I assumed it was a map.

There were mountains, rivers, trees, and several strange symbols.

And...

I leaned closer.

"...Is that an octopus?"

Aurelius said nothing. I squinted harder; yes, definitely an octopus or perhaps a very aggressive tree. At this point, I had stopped trusting maps in this world.

First, I had been given a map that looked like someone had attacked parchment with crayons. Now I was sitting in a courtyard looking at another suspiciously handmade-looking disaster.

I really wasn’t built for adventure. I needed Google Maps. I needed GPS. I needed that tiny blue navigation arrow telling me where to go while a calm robotic voice said, "Turn left in 200 meters."

Instead, I had Aurelius, and judging by the sparkle in his eyes, he was about to send me somewhere where people probably got eaten.

I looked around the courtyard.

Snow covered the stone paths, the bare trees, and the rooftops of the manor. A few knights were standing nearby, while Mia remained behind me with a tray of tea.

I looked down at myself. If this turned into an adventure, I was going to die as a financially irresponsible grand duchess.

I looked at Aurelius; he was smiling way too much. "Why are you showing me a child’s drawing?"

His smile froze.

"A child’s drawing?"

He slowly looked down at the parchment, then back at me. He placed one hand over his chest with the dignity of an archmage who had just suffered a personal insult.

"Your Grace...this is not a child’s drawing."

I pointed at it. "Then why does that mountain look like a potato? It’s a mountain range."

Aurelius closed his eyes for a moment. I could practically see him reconsidering every life decision that had led him to this conversation, and then he took a slow breath. "This is a map of the Northwest."

I blinked.

"Oh." I leaned back. "And?"

Aurelius’s eyes immediately brightened again. "Did Your Grace not hear me? Did you not hear about the Northwest?"

I stared at him. "Should I have?"

He leaned closer, and there was excitement in his eyes, not normal excitement. This was the same expression a child probably had when someone told them there was a secret room behind the bookshelf.

"Your Grace..." He lowered his voice dramatically. "There are ancient territories beyond the northwest mountains. Territories untouched by the Empire. Forests that have existed for thousands of years."

I slowly leaned forward; now he had my attention.

"And?"

Aurelius smiled. "The Northern Forest."

The name itself carried a strange weight. I looked back at the map. "The Northern Forest?"

He nodded as his finger moved across the parchment. "Beyond these mountains, the forest is believed to be home to an ancient elven settlement."

My eyes widened slightly. "Elves?"

"Yes."

Now that was interesting. I sat up straighter. "So there really is an elf village?"

"We believe so."

"Believe?"

"No one has successfully located it."

"How does an entire village of elves manage to stay hidden?"

Aurelius smiled. "They are elves; they possess powerful magic; they are capable of concealing their territory from outsiders, and according to ancient records...they are waiting for their master."

I blinked.

"...Master?"

He nodded as my curiosity immediately climbed another level. "Who is their master?"

Aurelius reached beneath his robes; he pulled out another piece of parchment. I watched him unfold it. This one was smaller and older. Much more carefully drawn, and on it was a picture of a dagger.

"What does a dagger have to do with elves?"

Aurelius didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he smiled. The one that made him look like he had just discovered the winning lottery numbers.

"The elves are not waiting for an ordinary master, Your Grace." Aurelius placed the drawing carefully on the table.

"They are waiting for the master of a dragon."

Silence.

I stared at him. Aurelius stared back; the wind moved through the courtyard. A snowflake landed on the parchment. I slowly looked down at the drawing, then back at Aurelius.

"...A dragon?"

Aurelius nodded as my brain immediately began processing that information. At this point, my afternoon tea had officially transformed into a fantasy-game quest.

I was almost expecting a glowing notification to appear in front of my face.

NEW QUEST UNLOCKED: FIND THE DRAGON MASTER.

Reward: Probably death.

I looked at Aurelius suspiciously.

"Explain."

His smile faded into something more solemn.

"Long before the Empire was founded...before the kingdoms divided these lands...there was a war that nearly tore the world apart, the War of the Divine Dragon and the Demon King."

Aurelius continued.

"The Demon King commanded an army born from darkness. Wherever his forces marched, forests withered, rivers turned black, and entire cities vanished beneath their shadow. Opposing him was the Divine Dragon, an ancient being said to have descended from the heavens themselves."

I leaned forward.

"The dragon fought alone?"

"No."

Aurelius shook his head. "The elves stood beside him."

He looked toward the distant mountains.

"According to the oldest elven records, their king forged an alliance with the Divine Dragon. For years, dragon and elf fought together against the armies of darkness."

I listened quietly. Then Aurelius said, "Eventually, they reached the final battlefield. The Demon King and the Divine Dragon fought for seven days and seven nights, and in the end the Divine Dragon eventually defeated the Demon King, but the dragon was mortally wounded."

The courtyard fell silent.

"With the last of its strength, the Divine Dragon delivered the final blow and destroyed the Demon King, but victory came at a price...the dragon died."

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then he continued.

"The elves mourned the creature that had fought beside them. Their king refused to let its sacrifice disappear into legend, so he made something from what remained...the dagger."

I glanced down at the parchment of a drawing, the dark blade. Its hilt appeared to be formed from something resembling bone, while strange markings surrounded the edge.

"The Elf King took the Divine Dragon’s remaining bones and forged them into the blade. The final drops of the dragon’s blood had fallen upon the northern earth during the battle. Where those drops touched the land, the elves discovered that the soil itself had become saturated with divine mana."

The Northern Forest, the hidden elven settlement, and the strange magical energy surrounding the region. Suddenly, the story felt much bigger.

"The elves gathered the remaining blood and used it to complete the forging." Aurelius’s voice became almost reverent. "But the blade was not merely made from the dragon. The Divine Dragon’s soul remained within it."

I stared at him.

"...Its soul?"

"Yes."

Aurelius smiled faintly.

"The elves believed that the dragon’s spirit willingly entered the blade so that its power would continue protecting the world even after its death."

A chill traveled down my spine. "So they made a magical weapon."

"No." Aurelius shook his head. "They made a vessel."

I frowned.

"A vessel?"

"For the dragon’s soul." He looked directly at me. "The blade became known as the Dragon’s Last Fang."

Okay...that name was unnecessarily cool. I hated how much I liked it. Aurelius continued. "Every generation of the elven royal family attempted to wield it, but no one could."

I blinked. "Not even the Elf King?"

"Not even him, your grace. It is said that the blade cannot be lifted by strength, magic, bloodline, or rank. It chooses its master."

I leaned back naturally.

Naturally, the magical dragon sword had standards. Apparently even weapons in this world had better relationship requirements than some people do.

Aurelius tapped the parchment. "Every person who has attempted to lift it has failed."

I stared at the dagger.

"And the elves have been waiting ever since?"

Aurelius nodded. "They believe the Divine Dragon’s soul is waiting for the one person it recognizes as its true master. Which means...the moment someone lifts the blade..."

Aurelius’s voice dropped almost to a whisper.

"...the ancient covenant will be fulfilled."

I looked at the map again.

The hidden forest, the elves, the Dragon’s Last Fang, and the mysterious master. Suddenly, this wasn’t just some forgotten legend.

Something was waiting there, and apparently, the elves had been waiting for centuries for someone to arrive.

I slowly looked at Aurelius.

"How long has that dagger been there?"

His expression became solemn. "Since the end of the Divine War."

"So you’re telling me that somewhere beyond those mountains is an entire hidden elven village..."

"Yes."

"...guarding a dragon’s soul trapped inside a magical dagger..."

"Yes."

"...waiting for some mysterious person to walk in and lift it."

Aurelius smiled.

"Precisely."

I sat back in silence. Then I looked toward the ridiculous map, then at Aurelius. "This world really needs to calm down."

Aurelius laughed, but I couldn’t stop staring at the drawing because beneath all the absurdity, one thought had begun crawling into my mind.

If the elves were truly waiting for their master’s arrival...then someone, somewhere...was destined to find that blade.

But, in the end...there’s only one conclusion...

"...What does any of this have to do with me, Archmage? Why are you telling me about an ancient elven prophecy, a dead divine dragon, and a magical dagger that apparently has commitment issues?"

Aurelius stared at me for a moment, then his lips curved upward. That smile...that suspicious, glittering, absolutely-not-normal smile.

He leaned forward across the table.

"Shall we go on a small adventure, Your Grace?"

. . .

. . .

I blinked once and twice. My brain processed the sentence.

Adventure.

That word had never once appeared in my five-year life plan.

"...Pardon?"

Aurelius’s smile only grew wider, and suddenly, I had a very bad feeling that my peaceful unemployed life had just been cancelled.