The Ballad Of A Semi-Benevolent Dragon

Chapter 21: The Dragon Returns

Once upon a time, Antaria would have been quite put out if she'd been told to sleep outside on a regular basis. However, sleeping outside was the least of her worries when it came to Doomwing's training.

Any illusions she might have had about the dragon easing off in his absence had been dispelled very quickly indeed. His construct was perfectly capable of beating the absolute crap out of her with minimal effort, and he was more than happy to subject her to any number of torments under the guise of training.

Only two things had stopped her from rebelling. First and foremost, she had absolutely zero chance of defeating his construct, never mind the dragon himself. She had considered escape several times before concluding that it was impossible. His construct would hunt her down, drag her back, and then subject her to twice as much training or worse. Second and perhaps most importantly of all the torture he called training actually worked.

Antaria had gone far beyond what she considered the limits of human ability in the span of a few months. It was, quite frankly, completely insane. She now did things on a daily basis that she would have considered completely impossible before meeting Doomwing.

Shattering boulders with her bare hands? She was lucky if that was all he asked her to do.

Fighting blindfolded on top of stone pillars over a pool of acid? She did that before breakfast, and Doomwing had taken pains to point out that the acid wouldn't actually kill her just leave her in hideous, screaming agony.

Slaughtering her way through dozens of monsters with nothing except her trusty rock and a broken sword? Hah! When she saw a monster now, she either saw a new minion or lunch.

All in all, despite her grumbling, Antaria couldn't really complain. When she had first realised just how bad a ruler her father was, she'd sought out her uncle. He and several others had counselled patience and the need for caution. They hadn't been wrong, but the delay had cost many good people their lives and had only made things in the kingdom worse.

High-minded ideals were all well and good, but they meant nothing without strength. For all of his idiocy, her father had understood that. He had used bribery, threats, and cunning to ensure the loyalty of the royal guard and the military. With them backing him, he had been impossible to remove. Her uncle's ideals and honour had meant nothing in the face of overwhelming strength.

And then Doomwing had come, and her father's strength had meant less than nothing before the dragon's power.

Doomwing had done in a few moments what she and her uncle had been unable to do for years. How? With power. It was that simple.

Now, Antaria wasn't some kind of crazy person who thought that power was the only thing that mattered. Honour, justice, wisdom those were all qualities that a good ruler should have. But a good ruler needed to be strong. Otherwise, none of those qualities would matter.

There were different kinds of strength. Her father had not been the deadliest fighter, but he had been cunning. He had known how to use the strengths of others, and that had made him far more dangerous than he had any right to be. Antaria didn't want to live her life that way, which meant she needed personal power, enough that nobody would even think of challenging her.

And Doomwing was training her to get it.

His newest training exercise involved her harnessing the magic of the land around her while she slept. By learning how to absorb magic from her surroundings, circulate it through her body to purify it, and then add it to her reserves while sleeping, she could vastly hasten her progress. Moreover, learning how to do all of that while sleeping meant she could do it automatically, no matter how tired, distracted, or injured she was.

But learning how to do all of that while sleeping wasn't exactly easy. In fact, she had spent the first few nights achieving absolutely nothing except getting lectured on the finer points of logistics, administration, and economic policy by Doomwing in her dreams. Why the dragon knew so much about those topics, she had no idea. However, he certainly seemed to know what he was talking about, and she wasn't stupid enough to ignore what he was saying just because his training was a nightmare.

In a bid to improve her chances of success, Doomwing had ordered her to sleep outside with some of the monsters she'd turned into her minions. Apparently, monsters often used a technique that was similar, if not the same, and sleeping in close proximity to them might help her learn.

Since Antaria was still determined to get a good night's sleep, she hadn't just fallen asleep next to the nearest monster. Instead, she'd called the most loyal monsters over and then picked the ones most suitable for serving as pillows and beds. The giant wolves were her choice, and they had proven to be surprisingly soft and fluffy despite their fearsome appearance.

She now spent her nights using one of the mother wolves as a bed while using a few of the pups as pillows. Yes, the pups were almost as big as she was, but they were also cuddly and warm, and it was surprisingly easy to fall asleep with them all around her. The wolves must have realised that keeping her comfortable was in their best interests because they had done their best to accommodate her. In return, she had promoted a few of them. After all, she couldn't be everywhere at once. She needed monsters who could relay her orders to the others or who could supervise the others when they left her immediate vicinity.

The wolves had a good grasp of the hierarchy. In particular, they understood that she could kill just about any of them without too much effort. By obeying her and executing her orders, they stood to benefit. Not only would she happily murder their enemies but she would also share their corpses, and the easiest way for monsters to grow stronger was to eat other monsters.

Daphne found the whole thing hilarious, and Antaria would have been more annoyed if the dryad wasn't more than pulling her weight when it came to the other projects Doomwing had left them with. Honestly, the dragon was so demanding.

Plant more crops.

Plant better crops.

Find suitable leaders amongst the villagers.

Make better farming equipment.

Clear the area around the villages of monsters.

And he expected her to do all of that on top of her training. Daphne took a lot of the pressure off her. The dryad was able to reproduce the seeds of almost any plant she had encountered in the past, which meant that she could create seeds of the crops used centuries ago before the kingdom had fallen into its current state of disrepair. She also knew a lot about farming and farming equipment. Between the two of them, they were able to get the villagers to adopt new methods, equipment, and crops with surprising speed.

The fact that Antaria now had a small army of monsters at her disposal probably helped too.

Those monsters had also been quite helpful when it came to farming. Some of them could dig with incredible speed whilst others had a variety of different abilities, like making water, shaping metal, or just being really big and strong, that could help speed up the process. To their credit, the villagers had adjusted quickly once they'd realised that they weren't about to get eaten.

It was all working out rather nicely, which meant that Antaria now had to worry about infrastructure issues. More crops meant they needed more water, better roads, and more buildings to store produce. Already word had begun to spread to neighbouring lands about a tyrannical princess who ruled over monsters. Crops were said to grow faster in her domain, and people were kept safe from bandits and monsters by the princess and her own monsters.

Now, she preferred to believe that she wasn't tyrannical since that was more Doomwing's thing, but she wasn't about to turn down more people although she had been careful to examine the new arrivals for signs of treachery or general malevolence. She'd asked the villagers to keep a close eye on them, along with the animals that Daphne had, as well as some of her stealthier monsters.

There were some unsavoury types, but they'd gotten rid of them without too much trouble, and the rest had settled in nicely. The handful who'd tried to commit serious crimes were given to the hungrier monsters as a way of reminding anyone who was thinking of doing the same that she was not about to put up with any real evil in her domain.

Was it brutal? Yes. But having gotten to know the villagers, she had no intention of letting anyone prey upon them. They were good, kind, decent folk, and people had better treat them well or else. The fact that the villagers were excellent cooks who always had a hearty meal waiting for her they'd even learned how to cook monster parts! was a complete coincidence.

"Get up."

Antaria opened one eye. Doomwing's construct loomed over her. She grumbled and was about to roll over before thinking better of it. Doomwing kept a fairly regular schedule, which meant that any deviation from it was probably important. Antaria pushed her way out from under a giant wolf pup and sighed as another clung onto her back like a barnacle.

"Leave the pup," the construct said. "Consider it weight training."

Antaria snorted. The wolf pup wasn't nearly heavy enough to trouble her, not anymore. Even so, she let the young canine cling onto her as she followed Doomwing away from the pile of sleeping wolves. "What's going on?"

"I will be returning shortly." The construct smiled. It was terrifying. "I have a gift for you."

Antaria was immediately suspicious. "Does your gift involve pain?"

The construct actually stopped to think. "Only to a manageable level."

"I don't believe you."

"It doesn't matter what you believe. Go to Daphne. I have many things to give her, so it will be more convenient if you go there." Doomwing paused. "Also, grab the other wolf pups. I will use my magic to lash them onto you. You can run to Daphne's tree with them on you."

"" Antaria sighed.

"And no using runes or spells. Circulate as little magic through your body as possible. You will have noticed by now that your base physical abilities have already increased substantially."

Antaria nodded. "Yes."

"It is one of the consequences of long-term magic circulation. In essence, circulating large quantities of magic through your body will permanently increase your physical abilities. Admittedly, the increase is not very large at all, but it will add up over time. Currently, you are already noticeably stronger than you were before, even without using magic to enhance yourself. Since most forms of physical enhancement operate on your base strength, increasing your base strength through physical training remains a useful activity."

Antaria sighed as Doomwing used magic to attach the pups to her. She was now carrying several times her body weight in giant wolf pups. "Is that why dragons are so strong, even taking their size into account?"

"It is one of the reasons. However, dragons have myriad other abilities, and our muscles are simply stronger and more efficient than yours on a pound-for-pound basis." The construct shrugged. "Sadly for you, when the First Gods were handing out gifts, dragons got more than humans."

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""

Antaria started jogging toward Daphne's tree. By some miracle, the wolf pups continued to snooze away, possibly because of Doomwing's magic. It wouldn't surprise her at all if he was nicer to them than he was to her. It seemed like his cruelty was directly in line with his expectations. He expected a lot from her, so he subjected her to absolute hell. He expected less from the wolves and was largely content to let her manage them, so he was, overall, nicer to them. A malicious part of her hoped that changed soon.

She was panting by the time she reached Daphne's tree, and she took a few moments to catch her breath as Doomwing's construct removed the wolf pups and put them down nearby. They remained asleep, snoring softly as Daphne tried very hard not to laugh. Several of her animals were there, munching on fruit and exchanging nuts. Antaria's eyes narrowed. They always used nuts to bet, so what had their bet been? She'd have to find out later. One of the raccoons was always happy to tell her if she slipped him a few extra pieces of fruit.

"So" Antaria looked around. "Where are you?"

Doomwing's construct pointed. "There."

Antaria felt a ripple of magic and then Doomwing appeared. The dragon was as majestic as always, a mile-long living cloud of ruby and sapphire scales that glittered in the morning light. However, he was not alone. Dozens of tree folks floated in the air around him, and they seemed to be handling the flight with far more aplomb that Daphne had. But what really drew Antaria's attention was the ship sailing through the sky alongside Doomwing.

"You came back with a flying ship." Antaria blinked. "I didn't even know those existed."

"It is the first of its kind to fly since the end of the Third Age." Doomwing's voice came from his construct as he and the makeshift fleet around him circled overhead.

"I see." Antaria nodded sagely. "I want one."

"Of course, you do." The construct snickered. "But you're not getting one from me."

Antaria made a choking sound. "You said you brought me a gift, right? Why can't my gift be a flying ship?" She loved flying, and as much as she loved Swiftstride, the idea of having an actual flying ship made her heart race.

"I could make one," the construct said. "But I won't. If you get one, it will be after the dwarves have worked out how to make more."

"You brought dwarves?" Antaria's mind whirled into action. "Are they working for you?" If they were, she could already imagine dozens of things they could do to help her. Dwarves were master engineers, masons, metal workers, and builders. They could build better buildings more quickly than the villagers could, to say nothing of the roads they could make. They'd have to be paid of course, but if they were going to be serving Doomwing, they'd need food and the villagers would soon have a huge abundance of that. Dwarves were also said to be quite fond of fruit since they had a hard time growing it in their lands.

"Their leader has agreed to serve under me as king of his people while I shall be emperor." The construct chortled. "As for my gift for you"

Tree folk and plants began to descend from the skies before Doomwing himself landed with a thump. The sky ship headed north, and Antaria watched it leave with disappointment. Objects began to appear in the air around Doomwing, and a big lump of stuff floated toward Antaria.

"What is that?" Antaria winced. "It looks like meat or something." The wolf pups had awakened, perhaps drawn to the smell and the abundance of magic the meat contained.

"It is part of the heart of a powerful sky whale." Doomwing smiled. He was speaking this time, rather than his construct. "And you're going to eat it."

Antaria blinked. "I I see. What's the best way to cook it."

"You will be eating it raw."

Antaria's mouth opened and closed. "Raw? You want me to eat that raw?" The portion of sky whale heart had to weigh several kilos, not to mention, it looked incredibly tough and chewy. "I can't eat that raw!"

"You can and you will," Doomwing replied.

"But do I have to?" Antaria asked.

"Yes. I kept a portion of it specifically for you." Doomwing peered at her, his titanic form casting the whole area into shadow as the tree folk ambled over to Daphne. The dryad greeted them cheerfully, and it wasn't long before they were deep in discussion. "Eating it will greatly increase your power and hasten your progress. I was concerned that you would be too weak to consume it, but your progress has been acceptable. You will not die if you eat it."

"Wait. What? Eating it can be fatal if you're too weak?" Antaria squawked. "Are you absolutely sure I'll be fine if I eat it now?" She hadn't come this far just to die from eating something weird.

"I am mostly sure you will be fine. It is not an exact science." Doomwing shrugged. "But I am confident I can either heal you or teach you a technique to survive if necessary."

"" Antaria's eyes twitched. "And you're definitely going to make me eat that?"

"Yes. Your current progress is acceptable, but the acquisition of the dwarves will allow me to proceed more quickly than I had originally planned. However, I wish for you to greet their leader as an equal. He will be a king, but you are merely a princess. To make up for the difference in standing, you will need to awe them with your might. Eating the sky whale heart will help."

"Just what does it do exactly?" Antaria tried not to wince as she eyed the sky whale heart. Just the thought of eating it raw

"Eating it will increase your agility, endurance, and strength. It will also increase the size of your magical reserves. You are fortunate. This much of a normal sky whale's heart would only boost your progress by several months. This sky whale was amongst the largest and strongest I have seen in some time. You can expect at least a year's worth of benefits if you consume it."

"A year's worth of benefits?" Antaria gaped. "Just how big was this sky whale?"

"He was bigger than I am a mile and a half long. Our battle was enjoyable although there was never any doubt that I would be victorious."

Antaria tried to picture something that much bigger than Doomwing and failed. "If I eat this, what will it feel like?"

"Every mouthful you swallow will be absolute agony. You will feel as though your blood has turned to fire and every muscle you have is being torn asunder. In a sense, that is not far from the truth. You will also need to purify the power you absorb from the sky whale's heart by circulating it through your body as quickly as possible. Failure to keep up will mean serious injury or death."

"Wait that's why you've been teaching me how to do that in my sleep, isn't it? Because if I can do that in my sleep, I should be able to manage it even when I'm in hideous agony."

"Precisely."

"And I can't I don't know try to eat more than one mouthful at a time, you know, really cram it in?" Antaria eyed the sky whale heart with increasing horror. There was so much of it there. Just how many mouthfuls would that be?

"I would strongly advise against that."

"Oh. Damn." She shuddered. If even Doomwing thought that was a bad idea "I guess it'll be one mouthful at a time. Can I at least drink something with it?"

"Introducing other substances into your body during the process would be unwise."

"And by unwise?"

"Potentially fatal."

"Is there a time limit to how long I'd have?" Antaria asked.

"It would be best to complete it in a single sitting. Normally, it would be impossible for a human to eat that much in one sitting, but you are no longer a normal human. As you consume the sky whale heart, your body will be rapidly digest and absorb it, assuming you are able to circulate your magic properly. It should, at least in theory, be possible for you."

"And if you're wrong?"

"I will accept responsibility for the mistake." Doomwing paused. "And heal you of your injuries if that proves to be the case. Naturally, if the mistake is on your end, you will have to deal with the consequences yourself."

Antaria took a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm actually going to do this." She sighed. "But that much progress? I mean I can't really give that up. And I am pretty used to agony by now." She frowned. "Did you ever give Elerion anything like this?"

"I gave him part of the heart of an ancient hydra. That greatly increased his healing, stamina, and durability." Doomwing paused. "It took him several days to stop screaming." He paused again, longer this time. "I may have forgotten to remove all of the blood from the heart."

"Isn't hydra blood extremely toxic and corrosive?"

"Hence the screaming."

Antaria grimaced. "Is there anything you need to remove from the sky whale heart before I eat it?"

"No." Doomwing paused. "Not that I know of."

"Wait I'm sure you ate some of it, right? So shouldn't you know if there's poison or something in it?"

"I am a primordial dragon. It is entirely possible for me to consume poison that would kill you trillions of times over without ever noticing it." Doomwing nodded. "But I am confident there is nothing like that in the sky whale heart I will be giving you."

"Am I the only one who has to eat this thing?" Antaria asked. If she was going to suffer, it would be nice if she didn't have to suffer alone.

"Of course not. I have some for Daphne as well."

"Hah!" Antaria cackled. "Can I watch her eat her portion first?"

"Of course."

Ten minutes later, Antaria could only stare in disbelief as Daphne 'ate' her portion of the sky whale heart by digging a pit, throwing the sky whale heart into it, and then letting her roots latch onto it.

"That is such utter bullshit," Antaria grumbled.

"What?" Daphne giggled and threw an arm around her shoulders. "Did you think I was going to eat it with my mouth? I'm a tree. I can have my roots eat it for me. Besides, what sort of person would even try eating that with their mouth?" She shuddered. "I can feel how tough it is with my roots. It'd be like eating the hide of a monster."

Antaria covered her face with her hands.

"Oh." Daphne patted her on the back. "Well, good luck."

Antaria just sighed and patted her stomach. It was a good thing she hadn't had breakfast yet. "Let's just get this over with."

"Excellent." Doomwing's magic flexed. "There. We are ready."

"What did you just do?"

"I put up a silencing field. There is no need to torment the villagers with your screaming."

"The nearest village is a mile and a half away."

"I know," Doomwing said patiently. "But it would be a shame to torment them with your screaming."

Antaria took another deep breath and reached for a piece of sky whale heart. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

A few minutes later, Doomwing had to increase the strength of the silencing field.

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