The quiet hum of success from creating my first automaton knight was still buzzing in my veins when the sound of frantic footsteps on the stairs shattered the peace of my workshop. Lyov, the Ursine scout, burst through the door, his chest heaving. The look on his face told me the waiting was over.
"My Lord! Forgive the intrusion!" he panted, slamming a fist to his chest in a hasty salute.
The calm, focused energy of my experiment evaporated, replaced by the sharp alertness of a ruler. "Report," I said, my voice flat.
"The western scouting party... they've returned, Lord Hades!"
I felt a flicker of anticipation. Finally, some real information about this island. "And? What did they find? A tribe? A monster's den?"
Lyov shook his head, his expression a mix of awe and confusion. "A city, my Lord. A real one, made of stone, with proper walls and towers. And... they didn't come back alone. They brought guests. An envoy. The... the Lizardmen who live there wish to speak with you. They're waiting in the great hall right now."
A city. That changed things. A tribe you could intimidate or persuade. A city implied organization, history, potential. And an envoy was a good sign. It meant they were trying diplomacy first. Smart.
"Understood," I said, striding past him towards the stairs. "Let's not keep our guests waiting."
I left the newly born automaton knight to its silent vigil and followed Lyov up from the subterranean workshop. The two Shungmo Wardens at the main door snapped to attention as we passed. The air in the manor felt different now, charged with the possibility of a new future.
We reached the large, ornate doors of the great hall. They were open. I paused for a second at the threshold, taking in the scene.
My scouting party—five evolved Ursine who now looked more like hulking, well-armed explorers—stood proudly to one side. They had done their job perfectly. And in the center of the vast hall, standing under the high, vaulted ceiling, were three figures, bowing deeply.
My first thought was... Lizardmen. Lyov had called them that. But as my eyes focused, I realized they were unlike any Lizardmen I'd ever imagined from the stories of this world.
They weren't like Lizardmen of Tempest. They weren't the hulking, armored warriors you might find in some dark fantasy. And they definitely weren't the cute, almost human-like reptilian girls from those isekai anime. No, these were something else entirely.
They were sleek. Built for agility and stealth, not just raw power. Their bodies were lean and muscular, with long, powerful tails that rested calmly on the polished floor. Their snouts were long and expressive, their eyes sharp and intelligent with vertical, reptilian pupils. Most striking were the crests of horns that swept back from their heads, not like a crown, but like the streamlined fins of a fish. Their scales weren't dull; they had a subtle, almost iridescent sheen, catching the light in shades of dark green and charcoal grey. They looked... familiar. In a way that had nothing to do with this world. They looked like...
The word escaped my lips before my brain could engage, a soft, involuntary whisper of pure, nostalgic recognition.
"Argonians...?"
The effect was not subtle.
The lead Lizardman's head jerked up as if he'd been struck. A sharp, pained hiss escaped his jaws. His eyes, those intelligent yellow slits, were wide enough to show white all around, swimming with a storm of shock, fear, and something like desperate hope. The two envoys flanking him recoiled, their heads whipping towards each other in a silent, frantic communication of pure disbelief. The entire great hall, which had been respectfully silent, was now frozen in a tableau of profound astonishment.
"You... you...!" the lead Lizardman finally stammered, his voice a ragged, sibilant whisper. "That name... that sacred name... it lives only in the deepest songs of our hatcheries! In the stories the elders tell when the fires are low! It is a secret we have guarded, a truth we thought known only to our own souls! No outsider... no human, no beastman, no spirit... no one in all of this world has ever spoken that word to us! How... how can you know it?!"
'Oh. Oh, hell.'
I kept my face an impassive mask, the picture of calm, divine authority. But inside, my mind was a whirlwind. 'They ARE Argonians. From Tamriel. What in the actual...? How is that even possible? Did that lazy god just copy-paste entire races from other universes to fill out this island? Scholar, I need answers. Now. What are they?'
<
A wave of imperceptible energy pulsed from me, washing over the three stunned reptilian envoys.
<<...>>
<
Exogenous. From outside. So, it was true. This was a piece of my old world, sitting right in front of me. A secret that not even the World System knew.
I looked down at the trembling Lizardmen. I couldn't explain it. So, I wouldn't. I would let the mystery become part of my legend. I would let them believe my knowledge was infinite.
I took a single, slow step forward, the sound of my boot on the stone floor echoing in the dead silence.
"The world is vast, and its memory is long," I said, my voice low, resonating with a carefully crafted weight. "But most only see the surface. They see scales and call you 'Lizardman.' They see a city and think they understand its people." I let my gaze sweep over them, seeing the awe beginning to eclipse their fear. "I look deeper. I see what is hidden. I remember what the world has tried to forget. Your isolation was a shield, but it was never a perfect one. Not from me."
The lead Lizardman bowed his head again, this time pressing his forehead to the cold stone in a gesture of utter submission and reverence.
"Great Lord Hades," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "Your wisdom... it is a bottomless lake. Our scouts told us of your power, of the land you shaped from dust and will. We were impressed. We were cautious. But this... this is something else entirely. You have spoken a name that binds our souls, a name we thought was ours alone."
He lifted his head, his slitted eyes gleaming with a desperate, fervent hope.
"For generations, we have lived in the stone city to the west. It was empty when our ancestors found it, abandoned by the humans who built it. We stayed hidden, venturing out only when necessary. To any who saw us, we were just... Lizardmen. A simple name for a people they did not understand. We had accepted that our true identity was lost to all but us."
He gestured to me, his clawed hand trembling.
"Until you. You, who rules a land of miracles. You, who sees the truth buried by time. Please... we must know. Is there a place... for our people... in your Yggdrasil?"
A/N:
Hope you like the story so far, Please do comment your thoughts, any ideas you have.
Thank you.