Disclaimer: I do not own "High School DxD."
{Chronostrasza}
[Yserastrasza]
PoV: Shoichiro
It's morning.
I can tell because the sun is shining through my open window, and right into my face.
Asia is still snuggled up against me, so I'm in absolutely no hurry to move.
Something Chromie said last night is buzzing in my brain, though.
"You know what your problem is? You think too much."
The more I think about that - ironic, huh? - the more I realize she's correct.
My worst defeats since I was resurrected - Freed at the apartment, Raynare at the park, not telling Asia how I feel about her - have all been a result of not just overthinking, but my inability to think beyond an initial course of action; once my plan doesn't work out exactly how I thought it would, everything goes to complete shit. I can worry about how that applies to combat later, but for now I nudge Asia awake.
"Mmm... good morning, Shii-kun."
"Good morning, Asia... did you sleep well?"
"Better than I have in a long time." I can tell she's not exaggerating by the way she's trying to avoid actually waking up.
"I'm glad to hear that... there's something I wanted to tell you."
"What is it?"
"I... I originally wasn't going to say this, but... Asia, I-"
"Niam yau?"
The fuck... it's Lysandra, and she's outside my cabin. "Asia? Where are you, niam yau?"
"In here!" Asia shouts in response. Apparently, 'niam yau' means something to her?
Suddenly my door bursts open, and the sun hits me full force in the fucking face. I am woefully unprepared for that, and I pull the covers over my head out of reflex. I hear Lysandra yell that 'she found her,' then say something in Draconic. I obviously can't understand exactly what she said -
{She said "looks like my 'little sister' isn't so little anymore."}
- and fortunately, I don't have to.
Lysandra tells Asia to hurry up and get dressed, because she has something she wants to show her. Asia agrees and hops into the shower, and Lysandra leaves with a smirk on her face that is far too comfortable for my liking. She comes out and I go in, but she stops me and asks what I was about to say earlier.
Oh, yeah... that. I guess it can wait for now. I give her a kiss on the forehead, and promise to tell her on the way back.
I take my shower and get dressed. Asia is already gone, presumably with Lysandra, so I leave the cabin and head for the low decks. It turns out we're docked in a port to refuel the ship - according to the ship's captain, we carry just enough of whatever fuel the non-diesel engines run on to get us through the Dimensional Gap since it isn't very stable in Earth's atmosphere. That makes very little sense to me, but I take her word for it.
Kaa-san is off the ship, doing whatever logistical shit will need to be done for the rest of the trip, I guess. Zephyr is off doing Zephyr stuff, and Lysandra has taken Asia into town, leaving nobody on this ship I actually know.
"Shoichiro, there you are."
Well, maybe not nobody. "Sakuya, it's you... what's up?"
"Nothing... where's everybody else?"
I tell her as best I can where the rest of our immediate family have gone. "Hmm... sounds about right. Lysandra did say something last night about wanting Asia to go with her into port today. So why don't you come with me, rather than spending all morning on the ship? We won't be ready to leave for another six hours or so."
I don't have any better ideas. "All right, let's go."
The port town is bustling with activity from the moment we set foot in the first street. The first thing I notice is, while I still can't understand the language, it does come with all sorts of different accents. The majority of speakers with similar accents all have similar skin tones, which Sakuya points out means they belong to the same flight.
Needless to say, it's a relief to hear accents similar to my own from time to time. Makes me feel like not quite such a weirdo.
We pass through the weapons district, called the "Street of Steel" because everyone who works there is a Steel dragon. Apparently they're the greatest artisans and smiths of all dragonkind, which... makes sense, if their core element is steel. Like apparently Bronze dragons are the fastest, Wind dragons are the greatest flyers, every flight has that one thing that they specialize in, that their element allows them to do better than the others.
"So, in theory, a Bronze/Wind hybrid would be a faster and better flyer than either of its parents," I spitball. I'm honestly just trying to make conversation, but the reaction I get from my older sister... the gleam in her eyes tells me I've just cracked the door for her to talk until her vocal cords crack.
"I never did tell you why I got my second wings, did I?" She has, in fact, not... Kaa-san explained briefly that it had something to do with dragon mating patterns, but that was all. Sakuya promises to tell me right away, as soon as we can find a place to eat.
We sit down at an outdoor cafe - she places orders for both of us - and she produces a binder that I would expect a grad student to own. It's unbelievably thick and full of notes that I cannot decipher, but there's one page in particular she's focused on.
Apparently she has spent several centuries experimenting with dragon breeding, and as a result she was knighted by the Dragonqueen and granted a second pair of wings. While I'm not a genetics enthusiast, I have to admit the subject is pretty fascinating. Her enthusiasm doesn't hurt.
We get our food - a simple meat and rice dish, although the meat tastes out of this world. It's chargrilled but still insanely tender. I'm almost afraid to ask exactly what dragons eat, what type of meat can be clearly cooked on an open flame yet still remain so soft and tender. I can imagine well enough on my own.
But back to Sakuya's experiments... she apparently had a question one day: where do hybrid dragons come from? The Dragonqueen herself got wind of this question, so she supplied Sakuya with twelve males and twelve females from each flight, and an entire fucking planet to experiment on this exact subject. And here is what she was able to discover.
Say you mate Type A with Type B; the offspring will be Type AB which naturally makes sense, but she then explains how you can easily tell their parentage by looking at their wings. Dragon wings are composed of the "bodies," which are hide-like panels between the bones, and the bones themselves. The wing bodies will be the color of the father, while the bones will be the color of the mother.
This all seems elementary enough, but it gets even more in depth than that.
Say you mate Type AB with Type AB; this always - without fail, one hundred percent - results in a triple birth: one Type A, one Type B, one Type AB.
The offspring of Type AB and Type A will always reflect the mother.
Type AB and Type AC mating results in a quadruple birth, but the sexes are always the opposite of the parents. For instance, if mother is AB and father is AC, the offspring are always: one son that is B and one that is AB, a daughter that is C and one that is AC.
It turns out AB and CD cannot reproduce, but it's when we get to AB and C that things get a little... dark, pardon the expression. "It doesn't matter what elements are involved. Anytime I mated a hybrid with a purebred of a different element, the result was always the same. And this is why Her Grace knighted me, because it's a question that has plagued dragonkind since the beginning of time."
She leans in as close as she can and whispers, "That's where Void dragons come from."
Void dragons? That's interesting... although she won't say any more about that right here and now. I can't help but imagine there's a reason for that, but I obviously don't press the issue. Perhaps Kaa-san will have more to say on the subject. For now, we finish our meals and keep walking through the town.
Eventually we end up reaching the town walls, which are manned with towers with massive ballistae at the top. "This is a peaceful town, but they don't really like flyers overhead. Most towns on this planet have no-fly zones within a certain radius, and if you fly too close they will open fire."
"That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever." Air defenses created by dragons to be used against dragons?
"I say the same thing, but as I'd rather not get shot, I abide by the rules."
...Whatever.
In any event, we're soon well outside the town limits. "I think this is far enough," she says. I start to ask 'far enough for what,' but recalling the context of our conversation at the walls answers that for me.
In an instant my sister transforms into her dragon form, complete with two wings. She lowers them to the ground, gives what I interpret to be a nod and growls at me. I don't even have to wait for Chromie to translate the growl to start climbing on my sister's back. Once I find a secure place to hold on, she takes off.
I am flying, ladies and gentlemen.
She doesn't get too high off the ground - maybe a hundred feet at most - nor does she fly too fast. But the freedom of the sky screams to the very core of my dragon spirit. It wants to sprout wings of its own and soar the skies for itself... and I have to admit, so do I. I feel an ache between my shoulder blades, like a pair of wings wants to burst forth from my back right now.
One day.
We fly around for about half an hour before landing back at the outskirts of the port town. I debate stopping to buy a couple of gifts as we head back to the ship, but... there are conversations and discussions that need to be had first.
I'm in love with Asia, that much is clear. But I also love Lysandra in a way, and in a very twisted and perverse sense it could at least be said that I love Karawarner as well. Each of them brings a different response out of me, and so part of me hopes I could keep a relationship going with all three of them. But is that something I'm even allowed to do?
I voice my concerns to Sakuya. "Of course it's something you're allowed to do... why wouldn't you be?"
"I don't know... it's just not something humans do."
"Are you a human?"
"Well..."
"Okay, bad question... although if I'm being one hundred percent honest, Mother would be a great person to ask about the subject."
Of course... why didn't I think to ask the person with a husband and a wife about handling feelings for multiple people?
We get back to the ship, and Kaa-san is overseeing final preparations for our departure. It's another four hours on the ocean, and if all goes smoothly - and according to her it always does - we should arrive at Her Grace's palace by sunset.
Which is naturally good to know, but I have more pressing concerns at the moment.
I decide to pull her aside once we're finally underway, so the environment kind of drowns out our conversation. We can speak normally and hear each other, but we don't have to worry about being overheard.
I tell her what's on my mind regarding the three women I am currently involved with, and her response is so indifferent it's baffling.
"So date all three of them."
"What if they won't let me? What if they each want me to themselves?"
"They certainly have the right to choose that type of relationship for themselves, but you owe it to them and yourself to be honest with them and let them make their own decision."
That really does make sense... "So, is that what happened with you and your spouses?"
"Kind of... it's a very long story, but Genjuko and I grew up together, and then we met Alexander at school. One thing led to another, and we all ended up married to each other."
"And yet you take human lovers all over the world?"
"I do." She makes it sound completely normal.
"Why?"
"I told you before, I enjoy the human mating ritual so much, as well as all of the various experiences different lovers can bring."
"Huh... so did you ever marry a human?"
She sighs. "No... one downside of humans is they don't live nearly as long as we dragons."
"How long do dragons live, anyway?"
"On average, between 25 and 30 thousand years. The Dragonqueen is the lone exception... Her Grace's lifespan is exactly one hundred thousand years. Then she lays a single egg a year before she dies, which hatches on the day of her death. And the hatchling becomes the new Dragonqueen."
"Interesting... so how long do demidragons usually live?"
"Anywhere between three to five hundred years."
{Yog tias kuv tsis muaj dab tsi hais txog nws.}
Chromie interjecting herself into the conversation shocks me, but Kaa-san just laughs it off. "Chronostrasza is correct... being possessed by an Aspect means you will most likely enjoy a significantly longer life than most of my other children."
That's good to know, I guess... although that brings up another question. "You said you never married a human because of their short lifespans... well, what about your human children?"
She looks at me with confusion for a moment - I admit I haven't exactly phrased the question in the best way possible - but only a brief moment, before she smiles and hugs me. "Marriage is a love I choose for myself... my children are the love I put out into the universe. Does that make sense?"
Wow... I was not expecting that. And it does make sense. She's saying that to her, romance is about receiving love while being a mother is about giving love.
That actually gets my line of questioning back on track. "So, is it really love if I feel differently about all of them?"
"Do you think I love all of my children the same way? Do you think I feel the exact same way about my husband as I do my wife?"
She puts her arm around me once again. "The glory of love is that it doesn't have to look the same or feel the same all the time. Nor is it limited by the number of people you choose to share it with. Tell me something: do you like pie?"
Of course I do; I love pie, and she knows it. She always brings me a small pumpkin pie for my birthday instead of a cake. It's the one thing I look forward to most about my birthday every year.
"So many people think that love is like pie, in that there's only so much to go around and once you run out, you run out. But some people think of love like pi, as in the Greek letter."
Interesting... I'm extremely familiar with that concept of pi, the constant that represents the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Most science and math problems use a value of 3.14 if a calculator isn't available, but last I checked it had been measured out to a million digits - not that I'd never need quite that much precision.
Kaa-san continues, "Love is like pi, in that it is infinite... not to mention utterly irrational."
Karawarner springs to mind at the word irrational. By all metrics, I should have tortured and killed her the first time we met, as penance for her trying to kill me. Yet not only did I spare her life, but I also had sex with her twice. Which could be forgiven and chalked up to the fact that, you know... she's a woman, and an incredibly hot one at that. But it's more than that; I also find myself wondering about her safety between our visits. I know life can't be easy for the fallen angel who singlehandedly sabotaged their entire plan to steal Asia's Sacred Gear.
Kaa-san and I continue talking about the merits of multiple relationships for a while longer - it dawns on me that this is the longest we've ever talked uninterrupted - until someone comes to tell her we're making our final approach. That is apparently her cue to go to the bridge, and my cue to go get dressed. From what I understand, we're not meeting the Dragonqueen until tomorrow morning, but we still have to put our best foot forward when we're admitted into the castle. My clothes are simple enough - a white button-up long-sleeved shirt and tie, simple black pants and black shoes - but it's what goes over it that really gets my attention. I have to wear a cloak made of some unearthly material with metal shoulders at the very top, presumably to hold it in place. It goes down to the middle of my calves, but it's unusually light for as long as it is. It's a dark shade of gold, with my mother's black rose and three wings on each side of the front, and her full sigil stitched in black and gold on the back. It doesn't overlap in the front, but I can only presume that's a design rather than a flaw. There's a simple chain that hangs loose across my neck to keep it together. Overall, it looks pretty good.
Once I'm dressed I head to the bridge to find Kaa-san. She's fully dressed as well, wearing a cloak that's almost identical to mine with three notable exceptions. Her pauldrons are shaped like wings, and she looks to have three of them if I understand correctly. Across her neck is a clasp with that same black rose with three wings, and she has gold fringe around the edges of the cloak itself. She's wearing an armored corset and skirt over a full-body suit of chainmail - why is she dressed for a battle?!
She banishes me to join Asia and my siblings before I can get a satisfactory answer, whom I can see from here are on the middle deck. Asia is dressed exactly like me, down to the tips of our shoes. It then occurs to me that these were the 'preparations' Kaa-san was making while we were docked: getting our outfits made to meet Her Grace. She looks unbelievably adorable, with her braided hair laying over her right shoulder.
Zephyr's cloak is the same dark shade of gold as ours, but the similarities end there. His pauldrons have four wings, as does the wolf's head stitched onto the front. On the back is a pair of wolves facing a single fist grasping a handful of lightning bolts. So badass. He's also wearing the bracers and shinguards he once told me about, although he still refuses to tell me the story behind them.
Lysandra's cloak is white with black fringe. Her pauldrons also have four wings, but they're fire engine red. Her neck clasp and front symbol are a red fist with four black wings, and on her back is a red fist surrounded a dozen black roses. A perfect match of her parents' heraldry - the Black Rose of Arceus, and the Golden Fist of Alexander and Genjuko, with her own color scheme added. Her... outfit, if it can even be called that, has clearly been painted onto her; it's a skintight amalgam of white leather and red lace, but underneath her cloak I can see a steel gauntlet on her left arm that goes all the way up to her shoulder. She also has a sword on her left hip.
Sakuya is dressed modestly by comparison. Her cloak is just like Kaa-san's except it sports two wings instead of three, and she's wearing a simple white collared shirt and black skirt.
They're gathered to get the first glimpse of the palace as it comes over the horizon, and I have to say I'm glad I'm here with them because the view is absolutely stunning. The palace is on a mountain island, and looks to be built into the mountain itself. There's not much of a palace to see other than a window here and there, which Sakuya explains is a defense mechanism built in the age of the third Dragonqueen.
Apparently the assassination of the first queen made her successors rather paranoid.
Eventually we dock as the sun begins to set, and Kaa-san has finally joined us as we prepare to disembark. She lines us up very precisely: herself in front, followed by Lysandra, Zephyr, Sakuya, myself, and Asia. Everyone is all oddly spaced out except for Asia and me, who are side by side.
We walk down the ramp and are greeted by a palace official. Chromie is in my ear with the play-by-play; Kaa-san has identified herself as Arceus of the Black Rose Clan, here to seek an audience with Her Grace the Dragonqueen. She then unfurls her wings and bows, putting them away when she stands up. Not until the official returns the bow do Lysandra and Zephyr proceed. Kaa-san introduces them in turn as "Lysandra Voidwraith, Lady Champion of the Crimson Fist" and "Zephyr Stormstrike, Lord Champion of the Iron Wolf." They uncase their wings and bow as well. Then comes "Sakuya of the Black Rose Clan, Second Knight in the service of Her Grace, the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza the Seventeenth." She does the bow with the wings out as well.
Finally it's our turn... we are "Shoichiro Seiryuu, son of Arceus and the Aspect of Time," and "Asia Argento, the Aspect of Life." We don't have fancy titles, I guess.
Nor do we have wings, so we just bow when Chromie gives us our cue. The official returns the bow and escorts us inside, talking the whole time. Chromie says that Her Grace has been expecting us, and will receive us at dinner in an hour.
That's definitely a change of plans, and I can't help but feel a little nervous about it.
He then goes back outside, leaving us in a massive hall. Kaa-san, Lysandra and Zephyr go their own separate ways, leaving Sakuya, Asia and myself alone. Sakuya takes it upon herself to show us around the castle, although it's so damn massive there's no way we can see much before it's finally time to make the long walk to the dining hall for dinner.
Apart from the palace staff, there aren't many others here. There are at least a hundred tables in the dining hall, but only a few of them are occupied near the very front. Their occupants give off familiar magic signatures, but I can't place where I've sensed them before.
Now I'm even more nervous than I was before, and fighting myself not to show it. I'm trying to stay cool for Asia's sake, but holy fuck...
The three of us are seated at a table in front of a high stage overlooking the rest of the hall. We're surrounded by these other beings, who seem oddly focused on us.
I really, really wish I had my sword right now...
Finally a door opens nearby, and through it enter a bunch of people I don't know - although one of them does look oddly familiar - and several people I do know and am extremely relieved to see. They all come and join our table, with Lysandra sitting directly to my left and Zephyr sitting to Asia's right. Kaa-san and Sakuya flank our group, and four of the new people sit around the rest of the table, leaving one seat open.
A guard makes an announcement, and Chromie 'gently urges' me to my feet. The entire room is standing, and three more individuals enter the room. Two of them are dragons in human form, a little taller than Kaa-san if I had to guess, and in between them is a dragon with five wings that shimmer with all different colors. She towers by at least a full foot over her guards, has two horns that grow towards the rear of her head, and eyes that change colors with every step she takes.
This has to be the Dragonqueen, Her Grace Alexstrasza.
She takes her seat, and everyone else sits as well. She says something that I presume from her body language is directed at me, but I can't understand a word of it.
{She says "welcome."}
That's nice... can you tell her I said thank you?
{It would sound much better coming from you.}
She teaches me the phrase 'ua tsaug,' but between my nerves being on fire and my accent I can only imagine how horrible it sounds, confirmed by all the strange looks I'm getting.
Her Grace says something to Kaa-san, who is suddenly mortified. "I seem to have forgotten something," she says as she produces two pieces of chocolate. "Eat this, both of you." She doesn't bother to explain why, but... she is my mother, so I eat one and pass the other to Asia. It's a very strong and bitter taste, but it's really good. I'm not much of a chocolate eater even back home, but still... this stuff is good.
That doesn't make me any less nervous, especially since Her Grace has watched me eat it. "How does it taste?" she asks.
"It's a very particular taste... wait a second... Your Grace, I can understand you now!"
She tilts her head back and laughs. "Excellent... your mother was supposed to have given you that before you came in, so you can comprehend the ancient tongue of the dragons."
I want to be surprised at that, and yet...
"I bid you welcome to my hall, Shoichiro Seiryuu and Asia Argento," the monarch continues as she produces a sheet of parchment. "You have come before me on this day to discuss the Covenant of the Aspect, set down in the age of Alexstrasza the Second..."
That is in fact why we're here. Asia and I have been holding hands under the table this whole time, but now we're squeezing each other.
The table falls silent for a moment until the parchment bursts into flames.
"...and set aside in the age of Alexstrasza the Eighty-second."