"The skyways of MooShu are polluted with the ships of outsiders. Foreign intervention has brought calamity and woe to this realm!" Lord Chagatai said as we stood in front of the shrine, facing the smile of the Moodha statue. "I will not help you until you prove to me that your interests and those of MooShu are one and the same!"

"The greatest threat to Subata is the Amber Horde, ruthless Horse bandits, pirates, and mercenaries led by a barbarian named Hunan. Strike out at the ships of the Amber Horde and restore order to Subata, and I will listen to your requests."

"Very well then. I'll be about it." I promised as I turned to leave for the Santo Oro. We sailed out into the skyway to find the ships of the Amber Horde, crewed by Horse barbarians like Subodai of Rena's crew. While the Amber Horde had crossbows that could fire farther than our muskets, they paled in comparison to the power of the Santo Oro's great guns.

As the largest of the Amber Horde ships sailed away, the lookout perched on and gripping the shroud on the starboard bulwark shouted, "She's nailed her colors to the mast, Cap'n!"

That meant that surrender was not an option for the Amber Horde barbarians aboard that ship, and I shouted, "We take her a prize, men!"

Even with a wooden deck between us, I heard the roar of approval from the men, and on my mark, they delivered a broadside to the port side of the Amber Horde ship. Even so, they managed to limp away a few hundred feet before the shrouds supporting their mainmast snapped, and the giant wooden pole fell onto the deck of the ship. "We've got them over a barrel, men! Prepare to board!"

"All hands on deck!" I shouted as I heaved on the pilot's wheel, and the men emerged from the hatchways armed with cutlasses, muskets, boarding pikes, pistols, rifles, and tomahawks.

"Grappling hooks away!" The men on the shrouds shouted as they threw them onto the bulwarks of the enemy ship to reel her in, and as the boarding party leapt onto the decks of the enemy, both ships were soon shrouded in smoke, impairing the vision of the Horse barbarians armed with crossbows.

The battle was actually kind of disappointing, as the Horse barbarians could barely stand, and we soon had the survivors tied to the masts with the lines from the shrouds. As my gaze ran over the prisoners, Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned to see that it was Sarah Steele. "There's something queer in the hold that I think you should see, sir."

I nodded as I gestured for her to lead the way down to the hold, where Subodai and Milo Graytail were standing near a wooden crate. I peered inside to see a black egg with the texture of fine porcelain.

"No wonder the barbarians were so intent on fighting..." I murmured as I stroked the egg. Closer inspection of the hold revealed that the ship was low on food and water, apparently unsuccessful in raiding, and that the enemy had been starving for a week, hence their reduced combat capabilities. "Get this egg aboard the Santo Oro right away and show it to Nikolai in the sickbay."

A few minutes later after we had set sail back to Subata Temple, Nikolai bent down to examine the egg in the sickbay, and he gently rapped on the eggshell. "Hmm... It's definitely a dragon egg... And it's hardened quite a bit already..."

"What does that mean?" I asked, and Nikolai answered excitedly as he stood up, "It means that this Celestial dragon egg is going to hatch soon! Oh Matt, what a prize!"

That night, as I was sleeping in Rena's quarters, I heard a piercing whistle of the boatswain, and I practically fell out of bed as I scrambled to throw off the covers. "W-What's going on!?"

"The egg is hatching!" Nikolai shouted as he bust the door open, silver boatswain's whistle in hand. "Don't just sit there gawking at me! Come on, you're burning moonlight!"

Practically dragging me there, Nikolai took me to the egg sitting on the quarterdeck, rocking as it trembled, until finally, a dark, vaguely-triangular head poked its way out from the eggshell, bright blue eyes with dark slits for pupils staring into my own.

The dragon was thin and long like a black snake with legs, about the size of my arm, with two black frills to the side of its head and two tendrils to the sides of its upper lip. Its eyes had a certain intelligence.

Caught up in my awe of the creature, Nikolai elbowed me, and I suddenly remembered what I had learned from the book Nikolai had given me, a book by the naturalist, Sir Edward Howe of the Royal Society. "H-hello there, m-my name is Matthew Exeter. And yours?"

The small dragon gave what could only be called a shrug as it crawled out of the egg, shaking off bits of eggshell and slime onto the planking as it went, and it said in a definitely male voice, "I do not have a name."

"May I give you one, then?" I asked politely, and the dragon shrugged again as he looked at me with those blue eyes. "If you please."

Uh oh, I didn't think this far ahead. I totally blanked until a name popped up in my head, and I blurted out, "Temeraire! Your name will be Temeraire!"

Nikolai raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as the dragon nodded slowly. "Temeraire. Yes, that is my name. Do you have any meat? I am very hungry."

"Uh, yes! Somebody get some meat from the galley!" I said, and Nikolai ran for the kitchen. After Temeraire had eaten, I wiped off the bits of meat and eggshell and slime from his body with a spare blanket, and he was now sleeping soundly near the footboard of Rena's bed. I smiled as I stroke his triangular head, and then I curled up against his warm body as well, blanket covering me as I went to sleep.

"Very well. I was reluctant to set another foreign vessel loose in Subata Skyway, but you have proven your loyalty." Lord Chagatai said as we stood near the Moodha shrine. Temeraire had insisted on coming with me, and he now was draped over my neck like a scaly scarf. If Lord Chagatai was bothered by his presence, he didn't show it.

"You may now travel throughout Subata, with my leave. My ships will not fire upon you... so long as they are not provoked." Lord Chagatai continued, looking at me very pointedly, and I nodded. "You have come seeking access to the Scroll of Secrets. I grant you passage to the Library of Contemplation, to seek it out. Librarian Quan-shi is the master there, and you must speak to him if you wish to learn how to find what you seek."

I bowed low to Lord Chagatai, and Temeraire nodded, the dragon's version of the gesture, and we both said humbly, "Thank you, Lord Chagatai."

We walked slowly to the library, because Temeraire kept asking me to stop every few paces so he could look at everything around us, but we managed to get there within due time. The Library of Contemplation was built in a round shape, with bookshelves hidden behind clear waterfalls that emptied into a running stream surrounding a central platform with bridges to the outer rim.

Rena would've loved this place... I thought, and as I turned around, I was fact to face with the tip of a Goat monk's wooden staff, and he growled, "There is no more for you to take!"

"Wait, wait - I'm sorry!" I pleaded as Temeraire growled at the Goat monk, who was already backing down on his own accord. "Oh... you are not one of them? My apologies. I mistook you for a pirate of the Amber Horde."

"Apology accepted, sir. I am a pirate, but not of the Amber Horde." I said as I returned his bow. "I'm looking for the Scroll of Secrets."

"You are out of luck. It was here, but was taken. Your only hope is Shunzang the Wise." The Goat monk, probably the librarian Quan-shi said.

"Who is he?" I asked, and the Goat monk scratched behind his head as he struggled to answer. "Well, he's wise, obviously... and... just ask him the rest! He's in the Temple of Eternal Serenity! Atop the great hill!"

I awkwardly thanked him as Temeraire and I left for the Temple of Eternal Serenity atop the hill overlooking the library. The temple was built similarly to the library, but with no bookshelves, and a Crane wearing a bamboo hat in the shape of a flat cone stood on one leg in the center of the temple, his eyes closed. He wore golden robes with a green sash across his chest, and as I was about to speak, he held up a hand to stop me.

"Say nothing! No secrets are hidden from Shunzang the Wise! I can see that you are a pirate, and you are on a quest... a quest for... a missing piece of Marco Pollo's map! But it was denied you, no? So now you are here for the Scroll of Secrets!"

I nodded as I held out the pieces of Marco Pollo's map, but Shunzang the Wise shook his head as he looked at them. "I cannot translate the markings on the pieces of the map you possess, for they are Caoist sorcery, and I am a Moodhist mystic! Knowing this, you are undoubtedly lost and do not know what to do. But I will tell you, because I am Shunzang the Wise! Listen!"

I slowly sat down cross-legged on the floor as I leaned against Temeraire curled around me, and Shunzang the Wise began to speak. "When the mountains were but hills and the skies were still young, there was a sage even wiser than I: Cao Tzu! Father of Caoism!"

"Cao Tzu wrote the Scroll of Secrets, full of ancient wisdom. When Marco Pollo came to MooShu, he studied the scroll, and used it to make his map! Cao Tzu dwells upon the Celestial Shrine, which sits upon the back of Maruzame, the great turtle that swims the skies of the higher worlds!"

"The great turtle can only be summoned to this realm by throwing five Turtle Balls into the Eye of Harmony... no small task! I, Shunzang, once visited the Celestial Shrine. With me were four heroes: Monkey King, Pigsy, Friar Sand, and Dragon Prince.

"These mighty heroes helped me on my journey to the west wen I discovered the teachings of the Moodha and brought them back to MooShu. Each of these heroes carries one Turtle Ball. The last was entrusted to me."

"When our great quest was done, the Celestial Ministers sent the heroes to watch the four Temples of the Winds. They are still guarding them. Well, all but Monkey King, who got in some trouble and forced the ministers to drop a mountain on him. If you can get those four Turtle Balls back, I will help you find the the fifth!"

A/N: Yes, Temeraire is a big shout out to the series of the same name by Naomi Novik. If you haven't read it, read it!