System Change

“You want to go see them? Now?” Stella asked with a frown on her face. “How long will that take?” she asked. “I’m not blessed with a lot of time these days.”

“Well, that should change soon—when Alanah and Avery get back—so I don’t think you have to worry about slacking off for a day or two,” Derek said. “But to answer your question… They are all just outside of the city. To make a long story short, we found a clearing, then Tyron Blacksteel made sort of a kennel for dragonkin—which is now holding all the remaining ones.”

“And you just trust that nothing will happen?” Stella asked.

“Yes,” Derek replied. “Tyron didn’t hold back with it all. There are power dampening runes among others keeping them inside. Plus, he recruited a Beast Tamer to take care of and watch over the place. Her name was… Lindsay? I think?”

“Lindsay? Lindsay Barnes?” Stella questioned.

“No clue,” Derek said. “I didn’t get a last name.”

“Well, it has to be,” Stella said. Then, in a slightly lower voice, continued, “I can’t think of any other Beast Tamers named Lindsay—especially ones that would have the ability to even somewhat control some dragonkin.”

“So you know her?” Derek asked.

“Yes,” Stella said. “She is the daughter of the patriarch of House Barnes. They used to be a regular noble house.”

“Oh?” Derek’s brows furrowed. “Were they caught up in the noble… purge?” He didn’t know much about what all Edwin and Edward did with their investigations after he’d entered the raid and before the war. Edgar had said that there would be some sort of purge, but Derek hadn’t asked since he’d gotten back—he didn’t consider it to have much to do with him.

“Oh god’s no,” Stella replied with a chuckle. “It’s the exact opposite, in fact. House Barnes’s loyalty and character was proven to be above reproach, and Edwin chose to promote their house—among a few others—as a reward for their steadfast allegiance and exemplary service.”

“And it doesn’t hurt to show other houses what can happen if you are loyal to the crown and maintain a good character,” Derek said. “What happened with House Barnes would be the carrot, and what happened with House Torith would be the stick.”

“Exactly,” Stella agreed.

“What did happen with Gerald? I know that he’s dead, but how was it done?”

“He was publicly executed by Edwin with absolutely no dignity left intact,” Stella replied seriously. “By the time Alanah was finished with him, his mind was broken—he couldn’t even speak. Honestly, I believe the execution at that point was a mercy.”

“Well,” Derek said. “Mercy or not, it’s good that he’s gone.”

“I agree,” Stella said.

“Now… about those dragons,” Derek said with a smile.

“I guess it won’t hurt anybody if I take a bit of time off today,” Stella finally relented as she stood from her seat. “Lead the way.”

After that, Derek led Stella through the city, out the front gate, then to where Tyron had built the dragon kennels. It took more time for them to get there than it would usually take Derek because he didn’t use his Void Steps or Powerstride skills this time—he had a guest and he wasn’t familiar enough with Stella to just pick her up and take off. He’d had to do that with Alanah back when she passed out after fighting, but that was a completely different circumstance.

When they arrived, Derek was happy to see Lyra still lounging around outside the kennels. When they were within distance, Lyra glanced over at them with one eye, then Derek heard her voice appear in his head.

‘Did you come back for another attack?’ the friendly winged serpent asked, her voice sounded a bit resigned in his head.

‘Oh, nothing like that,’ Derek said. He’d actually given some thought to coming back to the area every six hours—the time it took for Lyra’s Psionic Surge skill to cooldown—but he wasn’t sure if the dragonkin who didn’t enjoy killing would like that. The way he saw it, it would allow her to practice and hone her most deadly skill without having to worry about the target, and he would get to rapidly increase the level of his Mental Resistance skill. I’ll ask her about it later, he thought. ‘I came to bring Stella to have a look at the facility and the dragonkin that are stored there.’

‘Oh yes, I see,’ Lyra said. ‘She is to receive one of my kin as a companion, if she so wishes. She seems a fitting partner—perhaps even more so than Avery. The kin she chooses would not have to worry about any mistreatment in her hands. Avery is quite fond of her as well. He views her as a little sister.’

“Hello, Lyra.” About that time, Derek and Stella made it close enough where Lyra would easily be able to hear them without shouting or telepathy, and Stella spoke. “It’s nice to see you again. We didn’t formally meet. My name is Stella Brighton.” As regal as could be, Stella bowed politely to the massive dragonkin.

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‘Yes,’ Lyra’s voice sounded in Derek’s head once again. ‘I like this one.’

That’s a point in her favor, Derek thought. Lyra’s not exactly the most sociable beast companion out of the bunch. He thought back to Silvi, Blitz, Volt, and Rocky, along with her. Silvi was very sociable under the right circumstances, and from all the rumors, Blitz absolutely loved to talk about himself. He’d never tried to contact Volt or Rocky. He didn’t really care about the former, but he did want to try to speak to Rocky one day. He was a cool wyrm from everything Derek had seen.

‘She’s a pretty good person,’ Derek replied to the serpent. ‘She wouldn’t be so close to Alanah if she wasn’t. She has very high standards for the people that she allows to get close.’

‘She has great willpower,’ Lyra replied. ‘Such a low level, yet she can communicate so seamlessly with me.’

‘That’s from hanging around with Alanah all the time,’ Derek said. ‘She’s very used to certain controlling-type skills, so she won’t have any problems with most passive suggestions—or, if she does, she’ll get over it soon enough.’

‘Good,’ the dragonkin replied. ‘Very good.’

If anyone were to look at the three of them, it would be quite the scene. Derek and Stella were just standing close to the massive winged serpent, stock still, and with no movement. Lyra, on the other hand, was still coiled up in a comfortable position with only a single eye staring at the two. They were all communicating telepathically, but Lyra was holding two different conversations at the same time.

‘Is the Beast Tamer still inside?’ Derek asked.

‘She has not left since the blacksmith called for her,’ Lyra replied. ‘It appears she is very dedicated to her duties. It seems she wouldn’t want to take a break even if commanded. The ability she has to dedicate to her profession of Beast Tamer is quite admirable.’

‘She did seem to be quite the animal lover,’ Derek said. ‘Perhaps she would make a good candidate for a companion to one of the extra dragonkin. What do you think?’ There were only two dragonkin that weren’t spoken for—three if Alanah chose to not take it any further with the wyvern that she tamed—and he would rather them either be set free somewhere far away from people, or end up with a companion that would treat them well.

Currently, he was thinking about Bones and Ogre, but those two weren’t exactly the most trustworthy people yet. Even with the contracts and oaths, they were still former assassins and, though they had certain codes, they had gone around killing for a living. With those two, it would take time to see how well they performed. Bones was actually performing quite well, but he hadn’t seen Ogre in a while.

So, with Lindsay Barnes being how she was, and with what he’d just learned about her noble family, she didn’t seem like a bad candidate if needed. Though he wasn’t exactly in a rush—none of his people seemed even close to being able to tame their own. Jacks is probably the closest one to having enough power to do so. And I hate to say it, but Brandi may be second—it all depends on what kind of wild things she ends up building next. He could totally imagine the young smith falling out of the air in a full suit of armor rocking Black Sabbath or AC/DC.

Thomas, though… I’m definitely going to have to take him sparring to get an idea on how well he’s been doing since I left. Hopefully, he’s been working hard on his skills, Derek thought. And I don’t think Jacks would like the idea of Rayna battling against a dragon while pregnant. I can only imagine the looks I would get from Malorie if I suggested that… he shook his head, but was broken out of his thoughts when Lyra answered.

‘Yes,’ she said confidently. ‘She would make a very good companion for one of my kin. I have observed her over the last few days, and I have learned some things. Though she is a Beast Tamer, as you say, she has not yet bonded with any beast. I do not know if she wants to avoid that because of the difficulties that come with it, or if she just has not found the proper beast for her. Either way, she would be a good companion.’

‘I see,’ Derek said. ‘Do you think she would even want to if the reason is because of the problems that come with forming a bond?’

‘Bonding to a powerful dragonkin eliminates much of those difficulties,’ Lyra started. ‘The biggest difficulty that I know of, based on my limited understanding and experience, is the problem that occurs when either the bond or the bonded dies.’

‘Yeah,’ Derek said, thinking back to his conversation with Bronson when he accidentally bonded with the best and most fearful companion in the world… a bunny. ‘Something about a soul-sickness. Sounds pretty bad—not something I’d ever want to experience,’ he replied. Though… the loss of the bond would be worse than any kind of stat loss or sickness that happens because of it, he thought, but didn’t say.

‘Indeed,’ Lyra said. ‘And the loss of the bonded to the bond is more than that. From what I understand with my conversations with Avery, the loss can drive the beast mad—and that is terrible on multiple fronts.’

‘Especially if the beast is strong,’ Derek said.

‘Yes,’ Lyra replied. ‘But both the beast and the person would eventually be able to get back to normal after the loss—it will just take much time.’

Derek couldn’t help but think about his evolution caused by the other system—the Origin System, as Dave had called it. It had been pretty adamant about severing the bond between Derek and Silvi, but he had refused. Thinking about it, would have it been such a terrible decision? The Origin System had told him that with its help in severing, no harm would have come to either of them, and her growth would no longer be based on his own.

Would that mean that she would be able to grow on her own now? Like a regular system user and not a beast? It had been such an unexpected prompt, and he had rejected it as soon as it appeared. Still, even if he had thought more about it, like he was doing now, there was no doubt in his mind that he would have come to the same conclusion and rejected it. If the only problem other than the obvious is that growth will be a little harder, then that’s no problem, he thought.

Increasing his level was something he’d not had a single problem with since he arrived in Cydaria. He’d even been able to increase his skill levels relatively quickly too, so why would he need even easier growth?

Derek clicked his tongue and shook his head before getting back to Lyra. ‘Well,’ he sent to the amphithere. ‘It’s not something to decide now, but it’s certainly an option that should be considered.’

‘Agreed,’ the dragonkin replied.

“Thank you again for keeping Avery safe,” Stella said out loud from beside Derek and bowed again before turning to him. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s go see them.”

‘Good chat,’ he sent to Lyra. ‘See ya later!’