House of Amarin

"Where to start…." Albert sighed, raising his cup and constantly tilting his head left and right. "Living for so long scrambles your mind…."

"For how long?" Lia asked, intrigued.

"Dunno."

"Huh? You don't know how old you are?"

"Nope."

"Ah… eh… why?" She grimaced, feeling it hard to believe.

"Every thousand years is filled with many events, good and bad alike. I can remember and recall the most important ones from around six or seven thousand years ago… but anything before that? It gets murky. I couldn't tell you if I tried recalling things from those years that they did happen or if they were just a dream. So… I don't really remember much of my early years. Well, not that it matters! If it would be important, I am sure I would be able to recall it!"

"Ugh… that sounds… very weird!"

"It is. And I can't remember if it was always like that or if I just got old. Well… as I said, no matter! I can still remember Erias!"

"What was he like?" Lia asked, looking at him with great interest. "I read a lot about him, and we have many recordings of his lectures, so I know how he looked and sounded… but it isn't like, you know, knowing him."

"What was he like…?" Albert asked softly, his face revealing a somewhat sad look, "Depends on what era you want me to talk about. Before the darkness, he was a cocky, wild, and mischievous man. Prone to get into trouble and fights and had a few wanted posters of himself in some of the empires."

"..." Lia opened her mouth to ask questions but remained silent, deciding against it and just listening on.

"It wasn't anything serious, mind you~!" Albert chuckled, "They were mostly related to plucking some flowers before time."

"He stole alchemy ingredients?" Lia blurted out, but then Albert just laughed at her question.

"Nooo~! He made sure that his girlfriends had ample experience before they married someone!"

"Of what?" She asked, trying to put them together, and as soon as she asked it, it clicked in her head. "Oh. Like Koa…" She added, smacking her lips, "I see…."

"I don't know who this Koa is, but yeah, he loved teaching girls how to do it properly! Usually, it went like this; He traveled to a smaller kingdom or empire, showed his talent, got into the court as a mage, and then wooed the princess he liked the most! He remained there and had a secret relationship with them until it was exposed, and he was chased out from the kingdom with a bounty on his head! Then he moved on to the next!"

"Pervert."

"Kinda. But I loved that part of him! It was so fun to go around and just… enjoy ourselves! Without any troubles or worries about the future! Ahh… the good old days…" Albert said, sighing with tangible longing in his voice.

"How did you meet?"

"It happened when he was still a child. He was attending a magic school after he showed talent in the orphanage he grew up. On one trip, he fell into a river, tossed over the rails by some bullies. At least, that was what he said to us… because he was washed ashore of our village!"

"A village of dragons? That should have been a pretty big one!"

"Ahahaha, noooo! We lived there in our humanoid form! It is much more space efficient!" Albert explained proudly, "Opposable thumbs are a great thing! So… Where was I? Ah, yes, yes! So the kiddo was found by Arcus, and he spent a year with us. The school thought he died, but when Arcus accompanied him back, there was no more bullying; you can bet on that!"

"It is hard to believe he was bullied…." Lia murmured.

"Well, whatever; he could take a punch, as it later turned out." Albert shrugged, continuing, "He returned to visit us many times. After graduation, he stayed with us for years, learning our magic! You know, I was the one who introduced him to the old codger, Nerifit's daughters!"

"From the House of Nerifit? Their forefather?"

"No, no, no, I mean, the original Nerifit. Nerifit, the Lord of all that is Crimson. A total douche of a dragon!" Albert groaned, "I know, it is rude to speak ill of the dead, but that old bastard was stiff as a rod, and if you ever heard tales about dragons being smug and arrogant, it was because of him! He was on and on about purity of blood, our lineage, blah, blah, blah! Well, I made sure that Erias and the apple of Nerifit's eyes, Princess Miqi, got together! Bwahaha! She was never the same after that! Went ahead and broke free from her father's ideas and ideals, and in the end, she ended up keeping multiple husbands and managing to bear children with multiple of them! One of those kids, later on, became a student of Erias and stood side by side with him to the last day, celebrating our glorious victory!"

"Woah… Wait! You said before that he got her pregnant?"

"He did." Albert said, his face turning sour, "The kid died early… he was weak and sick. The mix between a human and a pure dragon… it only bears a healthy fruit one out of ten times."

"Oh…" Lia gulped, feeling a bit bad for asking it now. "I bet the old Nerifit was furious."

"Heartbroken." Albert nodded, wiping a single tear from the corner of his eye. "He didn't say it… but he loved that kid… seeing him wither away without any way of helping him… was what made him furious with Erias. He shouldn't have brought a life into the world if he couldn't protect it. This was why Erias and Miqi's relationship ended in the end. They couldn't handle it properly. From then on, your ancestor never wanted to have kids and family. But he couldn't stand being alone, that is why he wooed so many girls… he just couldn't deal with it, not until much later…."

"What about Miqi?" She asked, hanging on all of Albert's words.

"She took it better. We always had difficulties in giving birth. Or to get pregnant. But with humans, it always worked; only the children were… weak. Their bodies were, to be more clear. Their bloodline was way too strong, and they died because of it. But Miqi was adamant about having children; in the end, she had! And…”

"And?" Lia gulped, watching the solemn light in Albert's eyes.

"She died protecting them in the war… At least she didn't have to see them die, one by one, and face the grim reality that only one survived the war. Erias… would have never forgiven himself if he didn't. He made sure when the House of Nerifit was established, it carried that name with a proud and straight back!"

"I… I never knew about it…." Lia said, sniffling a little.

"Erias hated talking about it. He hated dealing with sad, depressing, and heavy things. He always tried to run away from them. He always swept all his problems under the rug, ignoring them until they went away or stopped bothering him. He was someone who tried to escape the bad and only enjoy the good part of life."

"But…" Lia squirmed in place, putting up another pot of tea to brew, "He… The Dark Ages…"

"That is why I said it depends on which era we are talking about," Albert said, falling silent for a moment, and Lia let him think, recalling his memories while the new pot of tea was brewing. "I only know the next part from Arcus. I was not present for it. The two ventured into a Sub-Realm where they found Undead. Hundreds of them." Hearing just that made Lia gulp, feeling her stomach drop, "They were… weird. Inactive. As if they were in a stasis or a trance. Arcus said Erias found something that he did not understand back then, not until the last day of the Dark Ages."

"What was it?"

"I don't know," Albert answered, shaking his head. "But both of them realized something was brewing. He and Arcus tried warning everybody, but few listened. Yes, the Undead was a problem. Always have been. But they were mindless husks. Easy to hunt and keep in check."

"Yet nobody looked underground…." Lia murmured.

"Yes." He nodded with a heavy head, "But WE listened. We started to prepare, convincing others but only our kind, the Magical Beasts… only they believed him without questions. We felt his sincerity. He was not lying."

After saying it, Albert fell silent for long, long minutes. Lia felt that his thoughts were wandering sometimes his face contorted with pain and twitched, showing genuine fear, and he only regained his clarity when Lia stood up, putting her small hand atop his.

"Ah… khm! Well… even with our preparations, my kind was almost wiped out. We died in droves, and as we couldn't replenish our numbers as well as you or the mixed breeds… We were doomed to this slowly dying fate."

"I'm sorry…."

"Ahahaha! Don't be! Life is about being happy and enjoying the little things!" Albert laughed, patting her face with a grin, "Remember the good, forget the bad! Erias was right about that!"

"Um… how did he change?" Lia asked, returning to her seat, driving the conversation back to its topic.

"The constant battles did. He realized that there was nowhere to run. The fact that he can't run because if he does, there won't be a Meriath standing anymore to hide him! So he had to step forward when nobody seemed to do so. When everyone started doing what he always did… ignoring the problem. Hoping it would go away or someone else would deal with it. He stepped forward and took on a leading role. That was what changed him."

"It was not easy… I guess…"

"It was not." Albert whispered with a heavy voice, "As the war became more and more bloody and brutal, he had to make sacrifices. He left behind civilians, innocents… friends. Every time he knew he was sending people to die so he could save others, he blamed himself. I remember Erias as a happy, playful man, a prankster. Because that is how I want to remember him! But the reality is, those two hundred years of carnage changed him. He forgot to smile, laugh and play. He didn't flinch when someone called him a butcher when he forced others to flee and ignore their plea for help… He turned his back to those voices. When he marked a city as fallen, we stopped defending it and retreated, sometimes leaving millions to die."

"..."

"If not for the fact that the Undead horde was very real and he was keeping us in an alliance, I think many would have loved to see him executed."

"Really…?" Lia gulped, not expecting something like that.

"Yes. When we retreated to Windswept Fields, he was the sole leader of all of Meriath… and said that until the Undead are exterminated, he will be the despot of all living beings. Anyone who disagreed was executed."

"What?!" Lia jumped in place.

"It is true. What Erias said was the law. I ate dozens of people who went against his orders. Period. I would do it again in a heartbeat."

"I didn't know that…."

"Because after our victory, he stepped down. He was happy to do so… believe me." Albert said, leaning forward, his voice weak and trembling, "I wept with him that day."

"..."

"While we were at Windswept Fields," Albert continued after moistening his lips and throat with tea, "He went on establishing this school. Teaching the most talented people and raising them to the same level he was at. By the end, we had nineteen mages who could wipe out hundreds of Undead with a wave of their hand… but that was just the start. It was insufficient! We still had to fight tooth and nail to reclaim our Realm!" He continued, his voice strengthening and letting some of his draconic presence seep out, shaking Lia to her core. "Many died… and you know that only six survived from that initial nineteen…."

"Um…" She nodded, finding it hard to breathe.

"When it was finally over, Erias took four wives."

"Our four branches!" Lai answered, knowing that part well as it was part of the family's history books.

"Oh, you are broken up into branches now?" Albert tilted his head, "Logical… but yes, he had four wives, all of them bearing children for him. When he was with them, I could see the old Erias back, resurfacing… but when the kids were away, he was always grim, his eyes dark and heavy."

"Why?"

"I… don't know." He said, but Lia felt that he just didn't want to share it. "What he always told us and to the five others; The Undead were not exterminated. Only defeated. They will be back. He was making them swear that they would keep vigil. Keep watch… keep raising mages to stand up against them. Even after he was gone."

"He died too suddenly… maybe the years took a toll on his health that nobody else could feel but him?" Lia murmured, and Albert opened his mouth but forced himself to be silent. "Haaah… Thank you for telling me this!"

"Ahaha! Sure! It was good to start turning the old brain box's wheels again! Before I get as grumpy as my age would suggest! Haaah! I should find a girl for myself who is into older guys! Do you know any? I like the company of my hand, but the last time I used it, the previous Headmaster complained that the lava flow below us was overrun by salamanders… I can't help it! I am still fresh as a young dragon! Just as potent as anybody else, bwahahahaha!"

“Ergh… um…” Lia flinched, many thoughts swirling in her head. At first, she wanted to mention Ceiline, but listening to Albert, she immediately decided against it. "Sorry… no."

"Ahh… too bad, too bad!" Albert shrugged defeatedly, "Sadly, I can't leave the Island! My essence was used in its creation. I am tied to it. If I ever flew off, it would plummet to the ground, which would not be… good."

"Yes! Please, don't leave; that would be catastrophic!" Lia groaned, turning a shade whiter.

"I know, I know!" Albert chuckled, "It was designed that way. If the Undead ever returned and the Realm was in danger of being lost, we would use the Island to drop it on them. A kind of… last resort, you see."

"Please don't do that…."

"Ahahaha, relax! I am not that senile to wander off yet! I know my duties!"

"You sure?" Lia asked, looking at him, and Albert, for a moment, saw Eiras in her.

"Hmph… sure, sure~" He smacked his lips, standing up, "With this much talking, I got sleepy again! I think I will nap a little!"

"Err… O-okay…” Lia answered, twitching her mouth.

"By the way, if you head that way," Albert pointed towards the middle of the forest, "An hour of walking will get you to where the four lilies are. Good luck with harvesting them! You will need it!"

"Huh? Why?" Lia asked, faltering a little, feeling suspicious.

"You'll see. Lucian did not send you here for no reason… Go."

"You are not really helping me here…."

"I entertained you, no? Ahahaha! Go! Gather them, and we can talk a little more when coming back!" Albert said, turning back into a giant dragon, going in circles, just like a cat, before lying down, ignoring Lia completely.

She wanted to say and ask many more things, but seeing his reaction, she couldn't help but sigh. As she was leaving, she thought Albert might not want to remember more of that part of his life, and it would be rude to start asking questions. At least… now. He said they could talk again when she returned, so Lia was already taking notes in her mind about what to ask him next time.

When she was gone, Albert slowly opened its eyes, looking at the trees, feeling that someone was materializing atop its head and he was not wrong. A slightly transparent, blonde woman could be seen there, completely naked, only shrouded in an unnatural, white light.

"It is rare to see you… Somia." Albert spoke while the woman crouched down, stroking his scaly head.

"I dislike manifesting myself like this. I like my current form better."

"Heh… you were always weird… discarding your body without thinking."

"It was more efficient this way," Somia answered calmly, looking at where Lia had disappeared. "I can think way faster and access many more things like this. Even if they are thousands of kilometers apart. I don't need to worry about the restrictions of a physical body. But I have been mostly focused on her since she came here."

"Oh? She caught your attention?" Albert grinned, blowing out smoke from his nostrils.

"No. I am doing it because Erias has asked me. When his kid managed to cast the mixed flames, I contacted him and showed him her data. He was…"

"Ecstatic?" Albert guessed while Somia nodded.

"Well… it is just one girl and the mixing of two elements. I don't see the big deal about it. But he asked me to provide the girl with everything she asked for. So I did. I think my descendants also know I am alive. Kinda. But he kept silent about it, and he did let me extract some sensitive information and give it to the girl… I am sure he noticed my presence when I bypassed the Marduks' securities in their library. He is a good boy."

"I still don't get it; why are you keeping yourself hidden…."

"I don't want to deal with family stuff. Here it is good. School is fun." Somia answered calmly.

"Weirdo. How's Erias?"

"Not good." Somia shook her head, "He says they are going to try again. He is saying that since the start of the fourth era."

"That the Undead are coming?"

"Yeah. He is sure that they are ready with their new plan. He is working hard to delay them, but he says it is inevitable. But…”

"But?" Albert asked, his voice firm, cold, and deadly serious.

"He says he solved it. He just needs time."

"Time? He is in No-Space; he should have all the time he needs!"

"He already went beyond No-Space." Somia corrected him, "I gathered the idea for leaving behind our bodies from him in the first place. But yes, time is what he needs. The farther he goes, the stronger their resistance is. But he sent back a message just this morning… saying he found them. He just has to gather enough forces to go in and wipe out the source and free Meriath…."

"And he wants the kid to get strong and hold them back here while he deals with them there."

"Yes. So… contact the rest of the Six, Albert, Twilight of Dragons. The Undead are coming." Somia said, slowly disappearing, and if Lia could have heard her tone in those last moments, she would have realized it was the same as the System.