Shadowlands 20 B.C
Rafael sat inside the laboratory of the Castle of the Sages, his black, demonic eyes darting around, reading a new letter from his father…
In front of him was a glass tube filled with a clear liquid, and within it floated an unconscious Omar…
But the Omar who stood there had few physical features that resembled his former Valyrian self… His long, silver hair was now the color of the ocean. His forearms were covered in bluish scales, and his fingers had long, black claws. On his back, he had two slight protuberances at the shoulder blades, and a third near the end of his spine.
His face had also changed, becoming slightly more streamlined, which gave off a somewhat strange feeling compared to his human face. But other than that, and aside from some webbing between her toes, all her remaining features were still human…
Next to Omar was another similar tube, with a woman inside. She was his wife, Katya. Her appearance was very similar to Omar's, but unlike him, she had scales covering her breasts and private parts, and small gills on the side of her neck.
Unlike Omar, who had undergone a perfect racial transformation, Katya had undergone some mutations due to her previous serpentine race... Even among her long strands of blue hair, green strands could also be seen...
To Rafael's right, two bluish eggs lay inside a third tube filled with seawater and magical materials, whose temperature, salinity, and acidity were completely controlled...
These were the dragons that would belong to Omar and Katya once they completed the final process they were currently undergoing...
Beside the table where Rafael was reading his father's letter, rested a small dragon hatchling that had hatched before the others, as it was different from them...
Its size was no bigger than a pony at the time, but that was only because it was only six years old at the time and had not lived in complete freedom. Its color was dark blue with light blue scales, giving the beautiful cub a pale appearance. As it slept soundly, with each breath, ice crystals formed near its mouth on the laboratory floor…
"Today I was visited again by young Prince Aegon… He recently turned six, and he came to the shop with his two older sisters… They love chocolate and always visit me to buy it… But this time they bought my entire stock, and I couldn't say no. Sigh… I'll have trouble explaining to some important clients how I won't have anything left in stock for the next few weeks…
…Commander Tristan accompanied the children along with some knights from the royal family during the visit, and he reinforced again the importance of me getting married, so as not to attract attention or start strange rumors… After all, a lonely old widower was normal, but a rich and successful young man is not… So I'll be considering it next year. What's your opinion on me getting married again?"
Rafael pulled a piece of paper from his inventory to prepare and write a reply, before finally finishing the last part of the letter.
"Anyway, how is the young dragon you obtained? Have you chosen a name for him yet? And what about the new products you promised? All I've received so far is cocoa butter, and many nobles and wealthy merchants are waiting for more news and asking for larger stocks of chocolate... Of course, I don't want to put you in a difficult situation, and I just want an official response to give to my clients..."
With care, Anurys.
Rafael took the quill and inkwell from his inventory and began writing his reply…
"Hello, Father, time flies, doesn't it? In a few more years, Aegon will be an adult… I'm flattered that he and his sisters like my product so much. Yes, he's doing well, but he's growing very slowly; the environment here in the Shadowlands is dangerous for him to wander alone… Yes, I've chosen a name… In honor of the Old God, his name will be Varnak!*[1] As for the subject of marriage, you've always known my opinion on that… You should marry again and start a family, while enjoying your good financial situation. Try to move forward, and not get stuck in the past…"
Rafael dipped the tip of his pen again and continued writing…
"The other products are all food products; it's difficult to transport them across the oceans without them spoiling… And right now, I don't have a large enough plantation of these fruits. In another 10 years, I should have some, and I also need to solve the sugar problem; it's an input." It's important for my recipes, but it's very expensive to obtain in Asshai. I'm currently prioritizing starting my own sugar production to make my process even more independent, the same as I did with the powdered milk. Jhon helped me a lot with this, and he produced a new type of fruit from which it's possible to extract large amounts of sugar...
...But the price of chocolate-based products is likely to remain high and inaccessible to ordinary people, since production depends entirely on keeping the main ingredient secret... The next two products I'll send; the first is a variation of chocolate, I call it white chocolate... As for the second, there are three perfumes, one of which is a fragrance reminiscent of chocolate. All three should become successful as luxury items. They will reach you in at most another four or five months..."
Rafael then dipped his pen one last time before writing one last piece of information:
"You mentioned in your last letter how to invest your money since you were earning a lot and didn't know what to do... My tip is: Don't buy any more land in the south of Westeros…"
With care, Rafael.
Rafael finished the letter by placing his seal and noticed that Omar had woken up inside the tube and was now smiling at him as he lay motionless in the water. His once-violet eyes now glowed the same blue as his long hair.
Rafael smiled back and said:
"You made me stand guard here for almost six years… Look at Varnak, he's barely grown in all these years… Dragons aren't meant to live like this…"
Omar jumped out of the tube, being pushed by the water around him. After that, he grabbed a cloak from his bag and finally replied:
"I said I wanted the quick method, but you chose to do the Racial Alteration slowly. I know this avoids any problems, and it also helped you collect more data from the experiment, but I still preferred the quick method..."
"Well, in the end, everything worked out. Only Katya suffered an unexpected mutation. But I managed to prevent her from suffering too many after-effects... In the end, she even gained some benefits from the mutation."
Omar looked lovingly at Katya, who was also waking up. He then ran a hand over her neck, making sure she didn't have gills, before breathing a sigh of relief. Although he could hide Katya's gills using Alteration if she didn't like them either... With a slight twitch of his fingers, his enormous claws shrank and returned to the size of normal nails. But suddenly, a noise caught his and Rafael's attention.
"Burble"
"Crack-crack"
"Gurgle"
The two eggs inside the water tank began to crack and were about to hatch. Katya also heard the noises, and soon the three of them approached to see the newborn baby dragons.
The first one to break free from the egg still had its eyes closed as it stretched and began to float within the tank. Soon, it opened its eyes, revealing blue draconian eyes, and began swimming around the tank in an extremely fast and natural manner.
It had the head and body of a true dragon, but its color was a shade of blue, with scales that shifted between blue and green in the water. Unlike Rafael's new dragon, which had a more robust body like its Valyrian relatives, his was more slender and streamlined, with gills well hidden in the scales on its neck and legs that resembled natural flippers. It also had a long tail that allowed it to make short maneuvers at high speed in the water.
Soon, the second egg hatched, and the dragon that emerged was smaller than the first. But it also had features that made it unique. Its color was also blue, but it had green streaks all over its body, while its scales were a deep emerald green. Like his first-born brother, he already displayed a frightening natural ability to move in the water…
Rafael remained where he was while the couple approached the glass, attracting the attention of the two hatchlings…
It wasn't long before the larger one took an interest in Omar and the smaller one in Katya. No matter which direction they walked around the tube, the two hatchlings followed as if mesmerized by the couple.
As soon as the lid of the glass tube was opened, the two dragon hatchlings leaped out of the water and used their small, retractable wings to glide toward the bodies of Omar and Katya…
Rafael noticed that the two remained paralyzed for a moment when they touched the hatchlings' bodies, but then they began to smile and stroke their small, still-wet heads.
It seemed Rafael's concern about this experiment was unnecessary… Omar and Katya's new breed was a success, and from these two young dragons, a whole new line of beings could be born…
"I'll leave you two alone with the dragons. Use the next few months to get used to your new breed and better understand your connection to the dragons. I'll return to the Tower of Distortion to place Varnak on the frozen floor, where he can live wild, and I'll make the final adjustments to prepare our saltwater lake to welcome the four of you in a few months."
"Thank you, Rafa!"
"Thank you, Brother-in-Law!"
"No need for thanks between brothers, see you in a few months…"
****
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[1] It should be some like "Vasifrys" in High Valyrian, but I decided to use the pronunciation in the language of the "White Walkers" since his future nickname will fit more...