The Dragon's Kiss

Chapter 128 - NINE: Fire

-A Short History of the Greatest Emperor-

-Anselm's Empire-

-Quotes and Inspirations from Emperor Anselm-

"Pfft," Calix snorted as he skimmed the stack of books.

"Did ol' Anselm order for these to be written about him?" he mocked, thumbing through another propagandistic publication.

"As a matter of fact, he did."

"Oh," Calix quickly set the book back on the desk and cleared his throat. "I didn't notice you there."

Stepping out from behind one of the bookshelves was a small woman with a kind face and armful of books.

The shelf in question wasn't tall enough to ordinarily conceal an entire person, but the woman was short--exceptionally so.

"Greetings, Young Lord," the woman smiled as she dropped her load of books next to the stack Calix had been browsing. "What brings you to the royal library today?"

"I'm looking for someone," Calix began before pausing to scan the woman again. "Well, I believe I'm looking for you."

"If that's the case," the woman replied, motioning to a nearby sitting area, "why don't we sit down and talk."

Despite the lack of proper introductions, each party had already ascertained the identity of the other.

Calix recognized the petite woman as Lila, royal bookkeeper and his teacher's niece.

Before setting off for Mevani the last time, Itzae instructed Calix to look for Lila if he ever had any questions about Subterra or the dragons' power. Evidently, she was equally as well-versed in ancient lore as Itzae was.

Lila also recognized the young male version of the empress as the child her uncle had taken in several years ago.

Just as he'd discussed with Calix, Itzae had also warned his niece about the earnest boy coming to seek her guidance on things related to their common heritage.

And so, with each already understanding the objective of the other, they immediately dove into a discussion about their underground kinfolk.

"I'm curious about just how deep the roots of Subterran technology extend," Calix explained. "I need to gauge if their skills can be useful to me."

"If you're going to judge based on things that have already been created then you'll be sorely disappointed, I'm afraid," Lila responded. "But the things they may be capable of creating.. that's a different story."

The woman went on to suggest several ideas to Calix.

Bombs, poison, brain washing drugs, weapons as large as a house and strong enough to flatten the entire palace.

For the Subterrans, nothing was impossible.

"Those are all very intriguing suggestions," Calix mused. "However, I need to convince the people, not that I have access to powerful technology, but that I have the power itself."

"So you need to fool them," Lila nodded. "Or perhaps, accentuate your finer qualities."

Calix smiled, somehow feeling a little embarrassed. "That's correct, I suppose."

The two soon dove into another discussion regarding possible trickery options.

Illusions of lightning, vast armies and floods came up, but Calix still had doubts of how realistically the Subterrans could pull off such massive mirages.

They needed something small and controlled but still terrifyingly powerful.

"If those are the conditions, then why don't we go with fire?" Lila reasoned. "After all, isn't that how Halrad created his empire?"

"Fire?" Calix echoed. "Was that the gift of the dragons then?"

Lila clicked her tongue. "Has Uncle really not talked about that with you? Of course it was fire."

She rose from her seat and stomped off in between the rows of shelves, muttering to herself.

"Ah, my teacher and I just.. talked about.. other things," Calix quietly defended Itzae to the woman's disappearing figure.

The librarian soon returned, this time her arms laden with various scrolls. She dropped them on the table in front of Calix before taking her seat again.

"Read over these when you have the time," she commanded.

Calix glanced at the pile of rolled parchment. There were four scrolls in total, but one was much thicker than the rest.

"Ah." Lila reached for the fat roll and offered it to Calix. "These are my grandfather's notes concerning the other three."

"Your grandfather?" Calix questioned, gingerly grasping the scroll.

"Mm," Lila nodded then, with a grin, added, "What? Did you think Itzae woke up one morning and decided to be a dragon scholar?"

"Uh, I guess I never really thought about it at all," Calix admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"I see," Lila giggled. "Well, you could say it's a family business."

For the next several days (to the dismay of Thane and Ira) Calix went to visit the palace library frequently. While his two friends made all kinds of speculations as to what he could be up to, Calix spent his time there further exploring the concept of a fire illusion and studying the precious scrolls. (Lila insisted the scrolls were far too important for a teenage boy to take from the library at will.)

Gradually, the two of them came to a conclusion regarding the illusion.

"It seems Halrad didn't use the gift of fire for destruction," Calix remarked. "Rather, he chose to brandish it and even create fearsome beasts with it."

"Creating a fearsome beast out of fire would certainly strike many hearts," Lila agreed. "Why not create the most fearsome beast of all? A dragon?"

"Hmm, this sounds interesting," a deep voice interrupted.

"Uncle!" Lila jumped up.

"Teacher," Calix greeted calmly, trying to mask the excitement filling his chest at the sight of Itzae.

"So what is this talk of dragons?" Itzae smiled, settling on the sofa next to Lila.

After the two filled him in on the plan they'd come up with to make Calix into a god, Itzae's face turned solemn.

"I think I know the perfect way to make that plan happen," he remarked. "But it's only possible because it's you, Calix."

"That's great news if you already know a way," Calix replied. "But why me in particular? Is it because I'm connected to the royal family?"

"No, this time it has nothing to do with your mother," Itzae clarified.

"It's because of your father."