I don't own Legend of Dragoon.

The voyage to Mille Seseau was quiet. We docked at the only place in that country that could be considered warm: Furni the Water City. As the name suggests, Furni was filled with canals. Most people there preferred to travel by boat instead of walking.

I looked around. "Interesting place," I commented.

Kongol stepped off the ramp behind me. "This is my first sea crossing."

Meru sighed. "It's been a long time."

Dart looked at her curiously. "Have you been here before, Meru?"

She jumped. "Yeah, well, I'm really popular," Meru stammered.

It soon developed that Furni wasn't as placid as it appeared. Three days earlier, a wolf named Kamuy had gone berserk, attacking several people and fleeing with a boy named Teo. The local mayor was offering a reward of 500 gold for anyone who could defeat Kamuy, with a bonus for rescuing Teo. We decided to help, as it was in our path.

We went to the mayor's house to spend the night. He and his daughter Fa prepared dinner. It turned out that Fa was Teo's best friend. She hadn't said a word since the incident.

After dinner, Shana sang Fa to sleep. Haschel looked startled at the tune.

I nudged him. "What is it, Haschel?"

"That song. My daughter made that up for her future baby."

I frowned in thought. "Shana told me that she learned it from Dart. She said that his mother used to sing it for him." I looked Haschel in the eye. "I guess that his mother being named Claire wasn't a coincidence after all. He must be your grandson."

Shana and Dart went up to the roof, followed by Meru, who was evidently spying on them again. I ignored it.

"You guys chatter if you want," I said at last. "I'm going to get some sleep." I flung myself on the couch and dropped off almost instantly.

The next morning, we left Furni for the Evergreen Forest, where Teo and Kamuy had been reported. They weren't difficult to find. A wolf that size leaves enormous tracks.

The head of the local knights called out to Teo. "Teo! Come here! Leave Kamuy!"

The boy shook his head violently. "No! Kamuy tried to protect Fa! It was a different monster that attacked her!"

One man, greedy for the reward, charged forward and was promptly knocked over. The wolf flipped Teo onto his back and ran off.

Rose spoke quietly, "This is very strange. What could turn a wolf into something like that?"

The king of Serdio was equally concerned. "The animals have become savage, not just here, but all over the world. Something is very wrong."

We chased Kamuy into a corner of the woods, finding him face to face with a rather annoying warrior we had encountered the previous day. He didn't fair well. Then it was our turn.

"Stop!!!" Teo cried.

Kamuy was tough, but ten Dragoons were more than sufficient to take him out. He went down quickly, much to Teo's dismay.

Shana approached the wolf. "I might be contradicting myself, but…I can't leave him like this." She bent down. "White Silver Dragon, please save Kamuy!"

The healing magic had a very startling effect. Kamuy seemed to expand, then shrank to the size of a puppy. He started running around Teo, completely cured.

I turned to the local knight. "Is it all right for Kamuy to come with Teo?"

He thought for a moment. "He seems harmless. Fine. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."

I smiled at the young boy. "Say hi to Fa for us."

"Okay!"

Our next destination was the city of Deningrad, capital of Mille Seseau. I had heard that the royal palace was made of crystal, so I was anxious to see for myself.

Near the edge of the forest, Rose abruptly turned to the side.

"Where are you going?" Dart asked.

"I have an errand to run," Rose replied. "I'll meet you guys later."

Meru started to back up. "I'm going to go see my parents," she said. "I'll meet you in Deningrad."

"I'll miss you, Meru," said Haschel.

We made it to Deningrad without incident, and wandered into a church. There, a bishop named Dille gave us a sermon on something called the Divine Tree. He claimed that all life came from this tree, including ourselves. I naturally dismissed this as nonsense.

Dille said, "If you wish to know more, visit the library." This immediately got Albert's attention.

"The library of Mille Seseau!" he exclaimed. "I wonder if I can control my enthusiasm."

Probably not, I thought sardonically.

Dart spoke to someone near the altar, who introduced himself as Librarian Ute.

"Can't you see I'm busy!?" he barked.

Snob. I left to have a look around the city.

Deningrad was a place of cold beauty. It snowed frequently, as it was far to the north. The people, dressed as they were in cold weather gear, looked at my tight black body armor in amazement. Add the presence of the Crystal Palace, and you had a place where summer was thought of as a myth.

The others found me near the entrance. "Hey, Kyle!" Dart yelled.

I looked his way. "Did you find out anything useful?"

He shrugged. "Not really useful, but interesting. There was a lot of information on Winglies and the Dragon Campaign." Dart chuckled. "Ute almost had a heart attack when he found out that I'm a survivor of Neet."

"Neet?"

"My hometown."
"Oh." I saw movement in the corner of my eye. "Here comes Rose. And she's not alone."

Rose came over with her companions. "These are Sister Luanna and Sister Setie," she said. "I met them in Neet."

We adjourned to a hotel, where Luanna began conversing with Dart.

"Your body has undergone some changes recently," she said. "You carry immense power."

Dart nodded. "I believe I can explain that." He held up his Dragoon Spirit. "We are the Dragoons, the Dragon Knights. We are those who rule Dragons."

Suddenly, the ground started to shake. At the same time, Dart keeled over in pain.

"What's going on!?" Lavitz yelled. "Is this an earthquake!?"

"No," Rose said. "It is the Divine Dragon, the king of Dragons. Eleven thousand years ago, the Winglies sealed him in the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon."

Krista gritted her teeth. "I'll bet that Lloyd freed him. He seems to like a challenge."

Luanna said, "You had best go to the Crystal Palace. Queen Theresa will want to talk to you."

Just outside, we ran into Meru. "Hi, guys!" she yelled.

"We don't have time to chat," Dart said. "We have to get moving."

The Crystal Palace was even more impressive on the inside. The walls were like mirrors, yet there was a homelike atmosphere. The guards were more courteous than one would normally expect, given the rampaging Dragon.

We reached the throne room just in time to see the head of the knights get a slap in the face from a young woman. "You idiot," she snarled.

Another female with a killer instinct. Wonderful.

"Miranda, we have guests," the queen said.

Miranda turned to face us. Unperturbed by her glare, I studied her carefully. She had fair skin, blond hair, and wore a red and white outfit. Attractive, certainly, and with the same aura of danger that so often surrounded Rose, she carried a bow and arrow as though it were an extension of herself.

Dart ignored her, instead addressing the Queen. "Your Majesty, we are here to help. We will deal with the Divine Dragon."

"And just how do you intend to do that?" Miranda asked with contempt.

In answer, Dart held up his Dragoon Spirit. "We are the Dragoons, the Dragon Knights. There is no one but us who can defeat the Dragon."

Miranda snorted. "Are you saying that you are the Dragoons of legend?"

I looked at her sidelong. "We were not alive then, but we inherited their powers. Or, in the case of Krista and myself, acquired entirely new powers."

Rose spoke next. "The Winglies made two objects to deal with Dragons. One was a sword to kill Dragons, the Dragon Buster."

Meru started violently.

"Lloyd has that, however," Rose went on, "so we will need the Dragon Block Staff." She turned to Meru. "It seems that Meru knows something about it."

The Water Dragoon hesitated, then answered, "Um, I think it's in the Forest of Winglies." She sounded resigned.

"All right." Miranda faced the Queen. "I will go with them to the Forest of Winglies, and ask for the Dragon Block Staff."

We were about halfway out of the castle when Dart stopped. "Where's Shana?"

I frowned. "Could she have been left behind?"

Miranda looked annoyed. "We'd better hurry and find her. We don't have much time."

We found Shana in a room called the Chamber of the Signet. She seemed dazed.

"Miranda, what is this place?" Dart asked.

"I don't know exactly. It had something to do with the ancient Winglies."

Without warning, the White Silver Dragoon Spirit lifted off of Shana. It hovered in the air for a moment, then lowered itself around Miranda's neck. "What is this!?"

Dart's jaw dropped. "You are a Dragoon, too!?"

"I can't feel it anymore," Shana moaned. She blacked out.

"Wait!" Miranda said urgently. "What are you talking about!? What is this stone!?"

Shana woke an hour later. "I don't think I can go with you anymore," she said.

"Don't worry," Dart said. "I'll come back for you."

I paced for a moment. "Now we need to get to the Forest. The Dragon could come back at any time."

As we filed out, Shana spoke to Miranda. "Miranda…please take care of the rest."

"I will."

Author's note: The next chapter will have a surprising twist.