2865
(A/N: For those who didn't understand, these numbers above are not the number of words, but the current year.)
Gandalf, still on guard, followed the group of four to the deserted entrance of the mountain, but soon noticed small figures appearing, looking at them. "It's the queen and the prince!"
-Are those... Hobbits? - Gandalf was shocked.
"No, they're Imps, one of Smaug's creations," Hera shook her head and explained. "Although, yes, they are descended from Hobbits."
-And what else? - Gandalf asked.
Hera didn't answer and Gandalf let it go for now.
Soon an opening opened for them, disguised as fallen rocks, the rocks moved aside like magic, opening a path in the middle.
Gandalf looked at this and followed them in, the stones moving again to close the passage.
Gandalf looked at the tiny figures now visible and saw that they looked like Hobbits, except for their paler skin and sharper teeth.
Gandalf looked at them and found that he sensed no impurity in them, this relieved him, but it also increased his confusion.
The group moved forward as Gandalf became more and more shocked.
He saw the Gargoyles and almost attacked, but Hera stopped him as she greeted the Gargoyle, who responded with a deep voice.
-These are the Gargoyles. - Hera said.
"Gargoyles? Another creation of Smaug?" He asked.
Hera nodded.
Along the way, Gandalf soon saw that there were more, grey dwarves, moon elves, giant elves, thestrals, hippogriffs, vampire wolves, white thrushes...
Gandalf saw it all.
Hera also took him to the garden and even she was shocked to see how big Yggdrasil had become.
Gandalf felt the high purity of the tree and his jaw dropped. "Hera... t-that's it?!"
-Yggdrasil, Smaug took a seed from the white tree of Gondor, then he nurtured it to this size, the thrushes you saw before are called white thrushes, but they are also called Yggdrasil roots by Smaug, they have a very strong connection to it, they can be considered its children. - Hera explained calmly.
Hera brought him here first so Gandalf would lower his guard a bit, it worked, Gandalf was amazed.
-It's... it's really beautiful, its name is Yggdrasil? - He asked, approaching the tree, only to be stopped by a bunch of children of all kinds.
"They are?" Gandalf turned to Hera.
"Children, Smaug has realized that the tree loves purity and kindness; they help it grow." Hera smiled, looking at the children defending the tree from the strange old man.
Gandalf stopped, shocked, looking at the children. He wanted to sit down and smoke his pipe and think, what kind of idea is this?! Using the children's emotions to make the tree grow? But looking at the size of the tree, Gandalf fell into deep thought.
"Smaug... has he really changed sides?" Gandalf was so confused he wanted to scratch his gray hair.
Hera smiled and the group went back inside, Gandalf looked at the village of Imps that looked almost the same as the Hobbits and sighed, feeling older and older, doubting if the world was still the same.
With one last look at Yggdrasil, they soon headed towards the throne, where Smaug was already waiting.
Smaug asked to expand the area and now there were four more thrones, Aluna already wearing a Mithril ring shaped like flames with an imperial topaz, in addition to the crown with white wood and the same topaz.
Smaug's ring now also had a small Topaz.
When Gandalf saw the dragon man, with three women on thrones beside him, with Helena and Aluna on one side and Tauriel on the other, he stopped for a moment. Smaug looked like a handsome elf, but with a draconic lower body and two black horns curved back over his equally black hair.
"Smaug, the... golden one." Gandalf searched for the least oppressive title for Smaug and chose this one.
Smaug laughed and said, "Wizard, though I still like that title, just call me your majesty or king over the mountain."
Gandalf's lips trembled, and he, who had come hoping to negotiate possession of the mountain, after seeing Yggdrasil and the kingdom Smaug had built, his hopes were almost zero, now? He didn't think Smaug would leave, even if he wanted to, his subjects wouldn't.
Gandalf sighed, feeling a headache.
"Well, Your Majesty Smaug, it is an honor to see you." Gandalf nodded.
Smaug nodded, but then turned to Hera and spread his arms wide while still sitting.
Hera blushed heavily, but didn't refuse, she went to him and sat on his lap, hiding her embarrassed head on the curves of his neck, she didn't want to admit it, but she missed this place, on his lap.
None of the other queens said anything, after all Hera hadn't seen him for a long time.
Gandalf didn't know what to say. Should he talk about politeness and decorum? But this is a dragon! Politeness and decorum are something he chooses to have. In the end, he remained silent while Smaug spoke quietly to Hera, who refused to raise her head but still responded.
No one spoke for a while, and Gandalf didn't know what to do, so he leaned on his stick and sighed, waiting.
But it seemed someone else was getting impatient. "Father, what are we called?! Glamdyr thinks we should call ourselves elven dragons or human dragons, but I find them too boring, so I think it's better to call ourselves supreme dragons or immortal dragons!"
Glamdyr at the side wanted to join the conversation, but seeing the king, he lowered his head again, fear evident.
Smaug, irritated at being interrupted, looked at his son and sighed, yes, Berkas is still the same, annoying brat. "Brat, can't you see that I'm in love with my wife?"
Hera protested slightly and punched him softly, even more embarrassed.
"You love your wives all the time, how can you let us be nameless creatures? Just nod to one of mine and I'll leave you alone." Berkas nodded, arms crossed.
Tauriel's mood, which had been good for more than two years, quickly fell, her teeth gritted in anger, but she didn't speak yet, waiting until later.
On the other side, Helena laughed happily and Aluna smiled slightly with a motherly look at Berkas.
Berkas, of course, saw his mother's look, but he'd bet on this with Glamdyr and wanted his gold! Don't try to take gold from a dragon!
Smaug sighed deeply to calm himself and looked at Tauriel beside him who looked a little embarrassed, in the end she put the blame on Smaug, that certainly didn't come from her!
"Well, I hadn't thought of that, whatever, if it makes you happy, you'll be called Dovahkiins." Smaug nodded calmly.
"Dov- what?" Berkas asked, shocked. "No, no! Mine are better, what the hell is Dov-whatever?!"
-It's the dragon's tongue, it means born of the dragon. - Smaug spoke unhurriedly.
-Born of the dragon? - Gandalf nodded to the side, that's a good name, but since when do dragons have a tongue?
Berkas in front of him looked even more shocked. "Language? Since when do we have a language?!"
Gandalf at the side mentally gave Berkas a thumbs up.
"From now on, I created it, do you like it? That's the first word, Dovah is dragon, Kiin is child or born, there you have it, two words." Smaug nodded in satisfaction.
The group next door was shocked.
Helena laughed a lot, as did Aluna, Tauriel sighed and Hera rolled her eyes, still hidden in her neck.
Glamdyr was writing something down on paper, feeling very happy, Gandalf and Berkas were shocked by the randomness of it, Alduin and Hela who had just arrived also exchanged strange looks.
"Do you think he's going to create an entire language and then make us learn it?" Alduin asked quietly.
With a dejected look, Hela asked back, "What do you think? Our father isn't called 'The Creator' for nothing."
She was right, Smaug began to think about creating his own language, the dwarves and elves have languages, why wouldn't he, a dragon, have his own?
Beside her, Helena also looked excited, Aluna and Tauriel also started to participate, thinking of words, Hera even took her face off his neck to comment.
-Hey, Glamdyr, come here and write down the words we thought of. - Smaug saw Glamdyr writing beside him and called him to help.
"Yes! Your Majesty, don't worry, I'll write everything down!" Glamdyr was very excited! This is culture! Art! The language of dragons, will this be the official language of the Dragon Mountain? He's seeing history! Bards will write songs about this day, and he would be the first!
Gandalf scratched his beard in confusion and Berkas beside him went from being shocked to being able to suggest words too, his words were always difficult and loud, so everyone ignored him, he even wanted to make Berkas a word for "Invincible", "magnificent" and even "beautiful".
Smaug almost wanted to throw this narcissistic boy into the bottomless pit around him, if a word should mean these things, it should be Smaug!
Alduin and Hela seemed interested and soon joined in.
In the end, Gandalf stood by, not knowing what to do.
In the end the old man lit his pipe and listened, after all he would probably learn this new language in the future, the old man even suggested a few things.
Smaug used some words he already knew from Skyrim and the rest he made up, in the end they decided on about 100 words, then left it to continue later.
Glamdyr was also rewarded for the mission with the title of royal scribe, which he was very happy about.
Hera was rewarded with, well, it's not appropriate to talk in front of children.
Olwyn was rewarded with gold and was able to shed the title of Hand of the King, which she mostly enjoyed, but she was still Berkas's teacher.
Berkas was rewarded by being dragged away by his mother and beaten for running away and embarrassing her.
In the end, Gandalf was taken to dinner with the family and before he could speak, Smaug dragged Hera away.
Gandalf has never been so speechless as today, it was the strangest day of his life on this earth in almost three thousand years.
-You are the gray wizard, I've wanted to meet you for a long time. - Aluna, from the king's side of the family, smiled at Gandalf.
-You... I feel like you're different. - Gandalf looked at the woman with confusion.
Aluna transformed into her spirit form and Gandalf was shocked.
-You! You shouldn't be here! Has something changed?! Why were you sent? - Gandalf almost jumped out of his chair.
Aluna returned to her human form and spoke. - I was not sent by the Valar, I was a Balrog.
-Balrog! - Gandalf almost fell back, confusion was evident, he couldn't understand what was happening. - How did you...
"Smaug, he removed the corruption from me, he gave me new life." Aluna placed her hand on her chin with a gentle smile. "If it weren't for him, I would still be a corrupted monster who knows only death and suffering."
"But... how did he do it? I've never heard of dragons being able to do that." Gandalf shook his head.
-Who knows, I didn't ask, he can do it and he did, so here I am. - Aluna sighed and spoke thoughtfully.
-So... you married him? - Gandalf held the table to calm himself.
-Yes, funny, isn't it? I thought it was impossible, he said I would fall, I actually fell, he's a really interesting dragon, who would have thought this could happen, especially from one giving birth to Melkor. - The woman sighed.
Gandalf shuddered at the name, but did not answer. "The mountain of the dwarves..."
-Yes, I've already talked to him about it, I'm sorry, he won't give up, I'm sure of it. - Aluna didn't care and was direct.
Gandalf sighed and nodded. "I figured so."
"But you don't need to worry too much, he's on the good side now, at least, as long as Sauron wants to corrupt this continent, he won't be on his side," Aluna explained. "Yggdrasil is proof of that."
-That tree, it wasn't just the children, was it? - Gandalf didn't believe it would be that simple.
-No, but I won't talk about it, I'm sorry.
Gandalf nodded in exasperation. "This kingdom he created, I didn't expect to see anything like this, all these new races, they're orc hybrids, aren't they?"
-Yes, some, but he cleaned up their corruption, no need to worry. - Aluna nodded.
Gandalf paused for a moment and nodded, he had managed to cleanse a Balrog, not only that, he had not felt even a hint of corruption in this mountain, so he believed in it.
-Then why? Why would he do something like that? - Gandalf couldn't understand the dragon's idea.
-He said that Sauron is a problem and that he doesn't accept allies, only servants and slaves. - Helena, who was eating nearby, said.
"You need not fear him, Mithrandir, he brought light to this world and will bring even more." Tauriel spoke beside him.
Gandalf didn't care about the use of his elven name, he looked at Tauriel, a wood elf, Hera a human, who was still young by the way, as well as Olwyn, also a moon elf, which he created and now a Maiar...
The dragon is indeed greedy, but much less than he expected, he saw the people happy, truly happy here, this left him divided, but not too much, after all he saw kingdoms flourish and fall.
Could the dragon be trusted? He didn't know. He wanted to ask his old friend Saruman for advice, but he promised Hera to keep the place a secret until it was revealed. Given what he saw here, he also saw no reason to break that trust.
-And who are these? - Gandalf finally finished the formalities and looked at the other members of the table with a smile.
Aluna smiled at Gandalf and said, "Hela, daughter of Smaug and Hera."
Gandalf saw the girl, she looked very much like her father's elven form, but it was evident from her human ears that she was half human and half dragon, she nodded to him and went back to eating without caring.
"Alduin, heir of Dragon Mountain, son of Helen." She pointed to Alduin, who smiled kindly at Gandalf. Gandalf smiled back, pleased that the heir at least seemed kind, considering he was half-elf, he would live for a long time.
-Berkas the youngest you already know, he is Tauriel's son. - She pointed to the red-haired boy, Gandalf really wanted to hit the boy with his staff a few times, him and that Glamdyr who called him a beggar.
"Wynah, Alduin's wife, a recent princess." Aluna smiled at the short young woman with short hair, who nodded back a little embarrassed, then nodded to the wizard with a serious face.
Gandalf looked at her and thought she looked quite serious, but Alduin beside her looked quite happy, so he supposed they both loved each other.
Gandalf liked what he saw.
"Gandalf, you're welcome to stay in the kingdom for the next few days. You can evaluate it as you wish. Just avoid restricted areas, but there are usually guards in these areas. Gargoyles also patrol there, so you can locate yourself through them." Tauriel smiled at Gandalf and offered.
Gandalf nodded and agreed, so he hoped to be able to speak to Smaug on the second day, but when he asked he discovered that he could spend days with his women.
Gandalf was impressed by the dragon and also a little exasperated, in the end he had to wait a week to see the dragon again, every day one or two women disappeared, only for the dragon to continue.
-How do you sleep? - Gandalf couldn't help but ask Hera.
Hera, though very embarrassed, still replied, "Well, you'll end up fainting, so the noise doesn't really matter."
Gandalf's lips trembled and he regretted asking.
When he saw Smaug, he wanted to speak quickly to avoid surprises.
-Smaug, the creator. - Yes, Gandalf discovered some new titles of Smaug, including one with panties that was still spreading quietly, cough, Berkas, cough... - I found out from Aluna that you cleaned Moria, I wonder if the dwarves can be taken there.
Smaug stopped eating, looked at Gandalf, and said, "Of course, if they can deal with the Orcs and Utumno below her, you can let them go back."
Smaug shrugged and went back to eating, anyway, he could open his own entrance, in the end it would just be more complicated, that way Aluna wouldn't be sad, so he accepted.
Gandalf stopped, his eyes wide. "Utumno?!"
"Yes, the dwarves dug a hole all the way there, they're lucky they only saw a Balrog." Smaug shook his head.
-So that's what was there?! A Balrog... wait, so Aluna...! - Gandalf connected things.
"Yes, she was that Balrog." Smaug nodded.
Gandalf stopped, there was no point in reconquering Moria anymore, if what he said was true, then that place was a danger and should remain sealed.
"You don't mind if I go there, do you?" Gandalf probed.
"Be my guest." Smaug shrugged.
Gandalf nodded, he had a new destiny.