I Became Part of the Dragon's Hoard-Chapter 73: Time’s Deflector

Once again, Bery rode on Valerie's back. After the two of them rocked the boat, Valerie decided to store it away, so the two would be able to reach the shore of the northern continent faster. Valerie told Bery that it would take weeks to reach the continent if they used the boat. Bery wasn't sure what to expect of the place, but she already felt the freezing winds biting her skin.

She could see a large glacier sticking out of the water, and she briefly wondered what would happen if their ship collided with it. She wasn't sure, but she was certain that it would be a titanic disaster.

The kitten shivered, and a warm glow surrounded her body. The dragoness cast her magic, giving Bery a sense of heat. The kitten rubbed her hand against Valerie's smooth scales and grinned. "Thank you, darling. I am not overly fond of the cold."

Valerie flapped her wings. "I know that, kitten. You are used to the temperate climate."

As the dragoness said that, the land finally started to come into view. As far as Bery's eyes could see, there was whiteness coating the land. She marveled at the sight of snow everywhere. Even the sandy beaches were coated in a layer of it, and there were several blocks of ice floating on the water.

Her eyes flickered towards a large white drake laying down and taking in the sunlight. The creature was much different from the previous drakes she'd seen. This one had webbing on its feet and sides, and she saw another one diving beneath the water's surface. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Wow!" The kitten exclaimed. "Valerie, do you know about those kinds of drakes?"

The dragoness responded by blowing a puff of smoke from her mouth. "I know of them, but I do not know their names. I didn't bother to learn all of the drakes names in the dragon tongue, but since our language is so simple, I can probably guess. Though, maybe it would be better to ask Rephe."

"Rephe? This is the first time you said her name like that."

Valerie nodded as they flew over the land. "Qomrephe is a much more boring name. It basically translates to snow white."

"Snow white?" Bery asked with a tilt of her head. "Does that mean Rephe is white?"

"Nope," Valerie said with a hearty chuckle. "More literally, it means pale."

Bery's ears wiggled, and she watched the landscape flying by them. Off in the distance to the east, she could see rolling mountains, and she saw the first glimpses of a civilization. Towering black walls could be seen, and the strong scent of blood reached the kitten's nose.

She focused instead on her dragoness, trying to tune out the smell digging into her nose. The kitten knew that had to be the vampire kingdom. Instead, she turned her attention back to Valerie.

"Then what about your name? Valericae? Does that mean red dragon?"

"Not quite, my name is actually three words in my tongue. Val-eri-cae, it means valiant red dragon."

The dragoness's eyes narrowed, and she started to descend abruptly.

Bery held on tightly to one of her dragon's horns, until the two landed on the snowy ground. The surface vibrated, and Bery found herself confused at their sudden stop. However, the reason for it became known.

A large black and red dragon appeared in front of them and landed. "Valericae, for what purpose have you landed on my northern continent?"

"Viseri? I believe that I don't have to explain myself to you at all."

Viseri groaned, and his purple eyes flickered towards the kitten on Valerie's back. "You cannot simply fly here and expect me to not say anything. Do you realize how much you've frightened my people?"

Valerie shrugged her wings. "None of that is any of my concern. Why would the progenitors be scared of such a thing in the first place?"

"You should know that anywhere you go causes fear to form in people's hearts. Also, those progenitors are wise to be afraid. They've lived long enough to know your terror. I hoped we would never meet again."

Valerie blew a puff of smoke in agitation. "There is no need for any of this. I am simply visiting my old friend on her request. I have no intentions to do anything else here, unless you want to try and stop me?"

Viseri shook his head, but after a moment, he appeared startled. "Why would she seek you at this time? Is something happening?"

"I have no idea, and that is also not your concern. Though, I should warn you that recently I have been busy. A few of our kin have fallen."

Viseri shook his head in exasperation. "It always ends up coming down to that. Very well, I will not impede you. Go to her."

Valerie grit her teeth as the guy flew away. "I have no idea why that guy is always trying to order me around."

Bery looked down at her dragoness with a confused expression. "Was that the dragon who lords over vampires?"

Valerie started flapping her wings and took to the sky once more. "That he is. He's also a royal pain. That's why I hate coming over here. I have no idea why he lives in Qomrephe's shadow or why she puts up with it."

Bery raised an eyebrow and ran her fingers along Valerie's scales. "What about what he said? Why are those vampires so afraid of you?"

Valerie sighed. "It is not really my fault. I killed one of their precious ancestors when they tried to start a conquest."

"A conquest? I never heard of anything like that."

"It was a very long time ago and most likely not recorded in human history. It was the usual cause. Someone amassed a lot of power and suspected they are bigger than they are. Normally, I don't intervene if countries are going to war with other countries, but this one would have been really bad for the world."

Bery wanted to ask a follow up question, but the air stopped her. A blizzard formed in front of them, and whiteness coated the surroundings on all sides. It wasn't long until she could barely see anything.

Valerie groaned and cast another spell, clearing away the air in front of them. Though, her doing that revealed something truly terrifying.

All along the ground, there were ice statues of creatures who'd tried to brave the blizzard. There were even people frozen in time. Many of them had fox tails trailing behind them with fluffy ears.

Bery's eyes widened at the scene. "Kit'sai'a?"

"It is their fault for trying to traverse this place. Do not feel bad for them, kitten. They know to not disturb the white dragon, yet they came anyways. The greedy hearts of mortals is their own undoing."

Bery looked at the poor frozen foxes before her attention flashed to the largest mountain she ever seen in front of them. How in the…

Valerie answered her silent question. "Qomrephe created this storm, and her spell hides the mountain. As it is part of her authority as the natural deterrent. She is also known as the deflector."

Bery's brow scrunched up in confusion. She couldn't believe that such a huge mountain lay hidden from the world. It pierced well beyond the clouds, and she could not even see the top. She turned her attention back to her dragoness.

"Why is she called the deflector?"

"The eternal white as people call her. Though, the nature of her magic, the thing you call 'white,' is not as it seems. Her paleness is more like the rejection of time. She is time's natural deflector. Think about the natural conclusion of freezing things. You will eventually stop their time altogether. If I wanted to, I could thaw out those people, and they would still be alive as they were on the day they were frozen."

Bery's ears flinched, and her tail waved uncomfortably. "All of those people and creatures are still alive?"

"I would not call them living. If you stop someone's experiences, then that makes them functionally unliving."

Bery had so many more questions, but Valerie flapped her wings hard at the base of the mountain. She twisted with her rapid ascent, and the ground below them started to fade away quickly.

Valerie pierced into the heavens, arriving at the top of the mountain within seconds.

And at the very top, Bery saw what she didn't expect. She expected to see a large white dragon resting in the snow, but the scene was a bit different. The top of the mountain was a bit hollowed out as if it was a volcano, but the inside was a vibrant meadow of grass and flowers. At the very center of it all, there was a white wooden cabin, and a girl stood there watering watering the plants.

She had white horns coming out of her head, and a scaly white tail came from her back. She wore fluffy clothes that coated much of her body, but the oddest part of her was her pale white eyes.

Nonetheless, the woman smiled as Valerie landed in front of her.