After arriving at the hidden base of the Order of Sages and reuniting with his friend Velaryon, Rafael was taken by Omar to see the progress of everything he had discussed during the meeting.
After personally witnessing the development of the tunnel that would connect Asshai to this place, Rafael saw that it was being dug by the new creatures Omar had created. They resembled armadillos and were the size of horses, slow to walk, but efficient at digging. Each apprentice controlled three of these animals and worked tirelessly, using the removed earth to reinforce the ceiling and walls with magic. He was quite pleased with the speed, but calculated that it would take several more decades to complete.
After inspecting the main tunnel, he inspected the mines and all the various veins they had found. There was even a small vein of gold, which in a few decades would be completely mined, bringing a small fortune to the Order...
Afterward, Omar took Rafael to his laboratory, showing him everything he had learned over the last 30 years of research on the animals and dragons of the Shadowlands.
"So, how many types of dragons have you discovered living here in the Shadowlands?" Rafael asked after seeing the ice dragon eggs and some remains of other dragon corpses.
"It seems the most common are shadow dragons, with ice dragons being the second most common... There are some bone dragons, and others corrupted by acid breath or the cursed type. But these seem more like they were some kind of failed experiment, left in this region, which ended up reproducing and mutating even further..."
"And the Vulcan samples, along with the wyvern I bought at the auction? Did you try any experiments?"
"After the wyvern reached adulthood, I made some alterations to its eggs, adding Vulcan's traits to the mix, but I never managed to get anything that wasn't as aggressive, or even more so, than the two original test subjects..."
"So the physical alteration tests worked well, but they're still aggressive..." Rafael murmured, placing a hand on his chin.
"Do you have a solution to this problem? The Valyrian dragons didn't have this excessive aggression and violence... Speaking of which, what happened to Vulcan?"
"I lost consciousness when I left Stygai and ordered him to take me back to the caravan, but when I woke up, I was in the depths and he was gone. This proves that the Beast Garden and Esmer's techniques are very superficial, and that although Vulcan is considered unique and a partial success of Esmer's, he is still very selfish and behaves instinctively and violently..."
"So, should we try to improve the technique or reduce the aggression?"
"To be honest, you and I could both tame one of Valyria's surviving dragons using our blood... But that still leaves us with the problem of never being able to change our race... If we're truly going to create a dragon, then we should also create a race that follows the direction of the dragons we create. Do you understand what I'm saying? But instead of something similar to the weak Valyrians, we can work on something with a longer lifespan... But unfortunately, that race is no longer an option for me, but it might be for you."
"Does this have anything to do with your black eyes?"
"Yes... I had to do what was necessary to survive, and my previous plan to create a certain race has now been thrown into chaos, so I still need to make some adjustments to it."
"It's a big decision... I'll talk to Katya today and get back to you soon. Feel free to use the lab; we have more of them on the lower floors of the castle."
After Omar left, Rafael continued working alone in the lab until the next day, when he finally met with his friend again.
***
"So? What did you decide?" Rafael asked.
"It shouldn't be that difficult to create something better than the Valyrians, especially with all the research I've done recently. But if the focus is on having a strong connection with dragons, I might miss out on one or two good things that racial change would give me... Can you solve the dragon rage problem?"
"Yes, I can... I've learned Primordial Magic in recent years, and I understand the elements in a way I never did before..."
"Primordial Magic? It has a name that makes it sound powerful..."
"Yes, it is. I learned how the temples use magic, but it currently has many restrictions... I'll teach you everything about it while we're on this experiment. I also plan to tell you the truth I discovered about the Shadowlands and the supposed gods of Asshai..."
"Whenever you talk about magic, you're easily distracted from the topic... Can you handle the dragons' fury?" Omar asked, smiling, feeling nostalgic for his old friend's peculiar manner...
"Uh-huh, force of habit*, sorry... Yes, as I said before, I understand the elements much more now... We should give up on a fire dragon. The fire affinity has characteristics that amplify the temperament of its bearers, making them more short-tempered, proud, and courageous... And there are old studies that prove this. The second element with these characteristics would be the body... But if we work on a water or ice dragon, we can achieve a significant reduction in this effect."
"Haha, you say that because you haven't seen the ice dragons in this place..."
"Of course, magic is just a fraction or an amplification of an existing problem. The problem certainly lies in the type of hormones these dragons have, and I understand that well enough to make the necessary changes... So... Shall we begin?"
"YES!"
And with that, almost 30 years have passed again...
****
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