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On the Way It was a very difficult and long way to the Impassable Mountains and dangerous even to go there alone, but she had to as she couldn't trust anyone but herself to do this. The relations of dragons to humans have been broken by two terrible wars in the past and are still extremely tense; it is potentially a lethal journey as the dragons that inhabit the Impassable Mountains would most likely kill any trespassers.

Thick woods with barely any mark for a safe path, near the border of the elven territories - elves being the native inhabitants of the woods west of the Impassable Mountains - are even for the most wary wanderer a dangerous adventure, but the sight of the high, almost canyon-like mountains with their steep looming slopes explained to Esin why those mountains are called impassable, at least for those without the means of flight.

The Impassable Mountains lie to the east and mark the border of the lands known to the human empire. The mountains are themselves bordered by the vast shadowed woods she treaded through alone, making it nearly impossible to see anything beyond the branches of the tall spindly pines in front of her in the dim light of the afternoon sun. She took rest from her wandering by dusk until early morning, with the first rays of sunlight falling through the dense treetops in spatters of dull amber on the forest floor below.

She was trained by her father who was the once the beloved king Juren, able to hold her own and trained as a fighter and hunter to survive even the direst of situations. She appointed her mother, Kayra, to take over the title of queen until she would return from her journey. Although understanding the reasoning for her daughter's perilous journey, those outside the palace walls would consider it as being sent into exile or worse, especially because she left without even so much as a hunting dog for escort.

In the half millennia since the last conflict, humans came to no longer regard dragons as sentient beings but as savage and greedy animals, made into terrible legends and stories to scare young children into obedience with the dragons' subsequent isolation and withdrawal from all human affairs. Yet Esin knew, as was passed down through the ruling family by those who could still remember, that this could not be the case; dragons were able to speak and wield magic, and waged a war to bring the foundations of human society to its knees; Hardly the work of animals. Esin meant to cease this status but also to warn the dragons of more troubling events; ancient powers, by human standards at least, stirring up ripples of darkness from the dark caverns of the earth, unsettling rumors centering around what was once known as the capital city of Durnven, another legend from the dragon wars long since forgotten. Attracting the occasional daring, or foolish, adventurers, treasure hunters, aspiring magicians, lore keepers, or any number of wandering vagrants, some even named it the last bastion of freedom in a world ruled by kings and monarchs, but none of whom were heard of again except in dark tales of their own. In the last century of a supposedly peaceful human kingdom, elves as black and gnarled as wyrm-wood trees being sighted along the borderlands, things more animal than human dragging off the unwary traveler and skulking about the dark corners of villages at night, even the dwarves having unexplained cave-ins, entire mineshafts going dark, and vast bottomless pits swallowing up entire mining teams with nothing but the echo of tools ringing on stone.

And last and darkest portent of all, corrupted dragons marring the skies over human, elf, and dwarf-land alike, as twisted as the great serpents of the desert sands, and scales reflecting shadow rather than light.

Esin checked on her rucksack and pockets as well, making sure that nothing had gone missing on her way, pulling from one leather pouch the blackened scale of a dragon, taking care not to touch it directly with her skin. The dragon this belonged to was a riding dragon of the same Durnveners, now undoubtedly the resurrected throne of demonkind in her mind, and even now the scale's tint shifted and swirled with the remnants of its owner's corrupted flame.

Taking stock of the rest of her belongings, her provisions for the journey had grown thin and the woods were too thick to hunt for game, if the elves who call these woods their home would let her, as protective of their home as they are of nature; she'd hardly seen so much as a squirrel since entering the straggling outskirts of the alpine forest. Nor would she be able to find any edible plants she could harvest in the dark undergrowth, but fortune smiled on her finally as she came within sight of a wide lake through the dense foliage, promisingly rich with fish judging by the ripples and occasional splash along the sun-speckled surface.

She decided to make camp near the border of the lake, gathering branches and twigs for firewood and setting up a campfire near the lake's westward shore facing the mountain peaks ahead, barely able to glimpse them over the treetops, like so many spears thrust madly against the midday sky. She looked at the water and thought about taking a bath, as it seemed to be a good idea, but a sense of unease kept niggling at the back of her mind, deciding against it she felt oddly observed by someone or something, probably one of those light-footed elves that crossed her mind earlier.

The only safe way to pass the time right now was to fish and she felt hungry already. She took her fishing rod and a pot of freshly scavenged worms, hooked in a worm and threw the bait into the lake, patiently waiting. Glancing over at some rustling from the bushes near her, she finally dismissed that as the wind as all else appeared calm, stifling her paranoid feelings of being hunted. With sun sinking slowly towards the mountain ridge, she almost fell asleep before sensing a sharp pressure tugging on the line in her hands. Instantly awake, she hauled in the opposite direction to drag the fish out of the lake. It must have been fed well in the lake for it was almost half her arm length in size, still wriggling about as she heaved it over to lay on a flat stone by the fire. Stabbing it with her knife she then examined it closely, as she had never seen such a large fish in a lake. Just one of these would suffice for an evening meal.

Distracted by the work of cleaning and gutting the fish, she hardly noticed the total silence of the wood around her until that rustling started up again, behind her now as she cautiously picked up her sword from beside her pack, scanning the shadowed boles around her in the waning light. That sword she carried with her was about as long as three of an average human's feet put in front of each other and adorned with a ruby gemstone at the pommel, slightly glimmering in refraction of the fire. The hilt itself was adorned with a spirally tail-like form and the crossguard seemed to form its wings.

It indeed was a special sword, forged at the days the dragons enforced the first form of democracy two centuries ago, The Wished, after the second war between humans and dragons. Whenever the king died and no heir was clearly announced or deemed unfit to be ruler, all humans, regardless of social status or wealth, vote on their new monarch together, and in the sword is handed down at coronation as a constant reminder and ward against the barbaric times before. She became queen at the age of 19 winters when her father died by assassins.

The leaves settled a moment before exploding in a showering flurry as her stalker leaped out at her with a shrieking cry, stunning even her trained senses until she managed to sidestep in the last moment and gripped her sword firmer, spinning to face the would be attacker. Staring back at her was the piercing gaze of an eagle, feathers on end as it turned back toward her, readying itself for another leap, but no bird this as her eyes pick out the transition from feather to fur in its quadruped form. That stalker was a wild gryphon that had trailed her scent and tracked her, impossible for her to say how long or far in the vast range of the Impassable Mountains, and a wild one most likely as it lacked the silver necklace gryphons of the Order would be adorned with.

This one had a brownish coloration on its feathers with slight hint of grey in its fur which slightly reminded Esin of wolves, another kind of beast she had to be wary of; its beak was of a darker yellow and its hind-legs resembled those of a large cat while its front-legs were those of a bird of prey, raptorial claws digging into the soft earth.

Its wolf-like eyes looked determined at her and she responded to that gesture by pointing her sword towards it in a threatening stance and watched every step that large hybrid of eagle, wolf and lion would take, holding her ground as she would be against any thief or assassin. She narrowed her eyes in a stern looking emotion while securing more distance and yelled back to the gryphon: "You DARE attacking a human?"

Gryphons, due to their magic-based nature, were inherently able to understand every spoken language, human, elven or animal and even that of dragons. It hadn't expected a female like her to be on such alert and eyed her carefully, looking for a weakness to exploit. It stepped around and towards her, trying to herd her towards the lake and put out the fire of her camp with a simple tail swipe, casting all in the dim orange glow of the sun falling behind the rim of peaks high above.

'What a clever bird' Esin thought as she noticed its intention. She raised her sword, ready to strike at any moment, knowing well of the gryphon's desperation since there are no females of its kind; they were created by misuse of magic centuries ago, and forced to take and breed through females of other species, seen as more of a plague by her people and hunted down zealously everywhere except for the miraculously tame gryphons of the Order, an organization independent of any nation but composed of all, and using their swift mounts to enforce the peace and mediate between the races when disputes inevitably arise.

She could not let him do it with her, the reason for her journey was too important. Indeed more important than the pressure of an animal to breed. There would be no possibility of reasoning with such a sex-crazed beast.

Carefully she stepped back further, as far as she could at the edge of the water and eyeing every step of the beast that would follow her. She hated to fight animals even if gryphons did have some semblance of reason, as they fight naught but for their natural instincts and needs. She looked back, making sure to have enough evasion room behind her and sidestepped away from the lake.

The gryphon screeched at her, its hook formed beak aiming towards her. True to her thoughts, she could clearly observe that he wanted her for breeding, as the furry bulging of the sheath between his hind-legs would suggest. Somewhat impatient, the gryphon examined Esin's stance and reaction more closely, waiting for an opening to strike before deciding to jump high at her with a strong wing beat.

Having dealt with both prey and predator alike, Esin raised her sword to catch the beast on the way down, aiming for where she guessed its heart might be, but the gryphon was far more intelligent than any animal, using its hardened hind-claws to grasp the sword and force it's weight onto her, forcing her to the ground as the edge of the blade dug into her leather chest-piece from the heavy mass pinning her into the grass and dirt.

She gave a fur-muffled scream after the beast furiously, knowing that none would hear her in this isolated forest, bracing the sword with both hands in a futile attempt to resist even as the gryphon shifted down over her, bringing her nose to sheath with its dark-furred nethers.

The gryphon snapped his head down and bit after her sword arm, clamping his beak down at her wrist and forcing her to release the sharp blade, and flung it to the side with a sweep of a hind-paw. He would want to take her right now but insisted on waiting until she would stop struggling, settling for rubbing its heavy scent into her face instead to mark her as the tip of his slick gryphon shaft gradually pushed out to drip spurts of pre overhead, with a deep rumbling purr rolling from its chest.

She still struggled and cursed at him with harsh words, earning a sputtering taste of the slick fluids as they dribbled down to her lips, but he stood firmly atop her, making sure she won't escape him and examined her leather armor patiently on how to get that off her as it was obstructing her form from his needs.

Forced to the ground and now unarmed, she tried to ignore the lewd display before her, looking up to the beast atop her and hoped the leather armor she wore would provide sufficient resistance until either the beast gave up or by some fool miracle, that some empathetic wood-elf might come to save her.

Right at the moment at which she was to give up any hope - having failed both her journey and her role - she heard a low reverberating growl as something massive struck the ground near them, the force of the impact causing even the strong gryphon to stumble slightly, inadvertently shoving the burgeoning length of its shaft past her lips as she opened them for a moment in stunned silence. As the feathery fur-lined bulk stood in the way, she couldn't see what it was that landed near them, occupied with the more pressing danger of choking on gryphon meat as it gave a startled half-crooning squawk above her.

The gryphon that pinned her down looked back in surprise at the, whatever it was, caught between pleasure and fear before finally deciding to loosen its grip on her, pulling roughly from her mouth by back-pedaling with its hind-claws and flapping madly into the sky.

Gasping but grateful even with the taste of gryphon still on her tongue for the chance to breathe, Esin used the reprieve to reach for her sword, enduring the pain that shot up as she was about to raise the blade with her wounded hand, and settled low in a wary crouch.

But instead of another gryphon like she assumed, her eyes picked out a glimmering wall of scales in the darkness, following the intricate patterns to see the surprising visage of a dragon regarding her with its slitted pupils. She kept her sword held firmly, knowing that it might potentially kill her.

It was a green one and thus well camouflaged when wandering or flying over the woods and looked at her with what she could sense must be a stern expression for a dragon, though with a slight tinge of amusement in its gravely attempt at the common tongue: "It's foolish for your kind to wander alone here. Hadn't I found you here, you would've met your end breeding a new flock of gryphlets. Who are you and why are you here, near the border of our lands?"

Esin lowered her sword to show the large creature that she meant it no harm, then looked at her hand worryingly as she responded with a rather calm tone while trying to staunch the trickling of blood at her wrist with a bare hand, spitting out a sticky glob of leftover seed before speaking, "I am Esin. I came for my people because I need to speak about utmost important matters that may not only endanger us humans, but even your own kind."

She raised her other free hand, showing a gold ring inlaid with a precisely hex-cut ruby as evidence of her identity, a match for the one in her sword pommel though without its inner fire. The dragon tilted its head giving a surprised snort, a puff of smoke rising from its snout as it looked closer to her, "Esin? Esin... ah yes the daughter of that fool king, perhaps. We've had the occasional stray rogue or adventurer in the borderlands time and again, with as many such raving tales, though that sword does look familiar. Why are you journeying alone then my dear princess, without an escort? You almost became the unwilling mate of a gryphon. Show me your wounded hand; I need to look at it, lest you may fall ill to one of those nasty infections your kind is prone to." Judging from the tone of its voice, it was becoming clear to Esin that this dragon was a male.

Esin tentatively sheathed her sword, and reached her hand out towards the green-scaled beast, clearly having no intention of harm to her. She did trust the dragons, ever since she first met them as they were watching over the vote of The Wished, though only in so far as any other intelligent race, "Queen actually, my father died at the hands of assassins, as you should have known since my coronation."

That dragon sniffed at the bite mark: "You have my condolences then, afraid I've been on patrol so long I've fallen behind the news. I'll have to lick the wound to stop the bleeding. Your human alchemists may have some inane superstitions, but there is some truth to this one at least. This might feel uncomfortable, so hold still." He then carefully licked the wound to stop the bleeding and remarked: "It needs to be bandaged, but it will have to do for now as long as you are careful, of course. I will escort you to our caverns as these woods are obviously not safe for lone travelers like you."

She looked at her own hand; the bleeding had indeed stopped, a smooth, slightly itchy glaze covering the marred surface, then set about collecting her belonging, the entire inventory strewn about thanks to that feathered beast, making sure nothing was missing or broken from the fighting.

Her leather armor had taken some deep scratches, but prevented the worst and held long enough for the fortuitous rescue to arrive, although somehow she had the instinctive feeling wheedling in the back of her conscious that she might meet the very same gryphon again someday. The dragon patiently observed her, scanning the darkness to ensure no other predators had been following her trail or scent.

Dusk was close as the last vestiges of light that managed to shine through the treetops faded to a dull gray, and the dragon opened his toothy maw to speak with her as she finished collecting her things, "I'd forgotten to introduce myself. My name is TinuRel. Seeing that a gryphon has followed you, staying the night here might be dangerous as it may return to try another approach, and as you've seen they are nothing if not determined. You will be more protected on my back among the clouds than here on the ground. I shall take you to our leader, ArduRu, who I am certain you knew already during your coronation. He will likely be interested in what news you wish to bring upon him, and it is better for your safety if you stay with me for now."

He lowered himself, extending a clawed foreleg and motioning with a jab of his snout for Esin to sit between the parted ivory spines at the base of his neck. Esin looked at him with some uncertainty having never flown, but stepped forward nonetheless, carefully gripping the sharper-edged scales until she could hoist herself up by the spines.

As she settled in with a firm hold, he gave the queen little warning and reared back, massive wingspan unfurling as he leaped into the night air with a heavy thrumming beat, flapping hard to gain altitude before sailing off in the direction of the tallest visible peak of the Impassable Mountains. Skimming low enough over the jagged treetops in at a somewhat dizzying speed to Esin, TinuRel flew with speed and silence in mind, using the foliage to better shield them from the eyes surveillance of predators below and above alike and only the whispery rustling of leathered wings on air and the occasional wing-beat punctuating the relative stillness below. Dragons have the advantage in the darkness as their eyes are adapted to inhabit the darkest of caves, better than cats or bats in the deep places of the earth.

Esin finally fell asleep with the lulling rhythm of dragon flight, exhaustion catching up with adrenaline leeching out from the day's excitement, and the safe security of a strong ally.

Under Dragons She woke up in a dimly lit rough-hewn room of stone, lying on a smooth shelf which was padded well with downy blankets protecting her from the rough ground. Looking over to the side as the feeling of a dull throb from arm, she found her sword, knife, bow, armor, and various hunting equipment next to her and could feel that her wounded hand was firmly bandaged, twitching slightly. All she could remember was having flown a great distance, she must've been exhausted not to have noticed the ministrations the dragons treating her, which made her wonder of course just how long she was out.

Standing up, a bit shakily after what felt like a week of immobility clinging to her bones, and with a slight blush rising to her face, she found herself clothed in freshly washed undergarments from her pack. She donned her leathers and picked up her sheathed sword and belted it, but left the other tools, having no need for them right now. Then she looked around, the faint echoes all around beginning to hint at her just how deep within the caverns she might be, taking notice of the rather ornate trappings around her.

The room was washed in the dull glow of a glowing crystal of yellow flickering to golden in hue. Out of curiosity she walked over and touched it with a tentative finger, and the emanations became rapidly brighter, bathing even the high ceiling in sparkling radiance. Now with more brightness to see, she could make out some interesting details. The walls were worked with detailed carvings of dragons and their deeds, and other carvings seemed to tell various stories in pictures. Between the carvings, silk in red and orange had been hung up, as if separating the scenes the etched images seemed to tell. The air around her felt slightly cool and thin, but as she looked above, she noticed a long hole leading above for fresh air.

Studying the carvings further, the unfolding events seemed to tell an important story to her: One picture showed dragons flying away from even larger wingless beasts, having towering, massive proportions in comparison, tooth and claw length at about five times the size of a tall pine tree which had been etched in scale. And left behind was a larger nest full of eggs within a cave, the dragons forced to leave them to the treacherous depths below.

Another picture depicted a massive rock falling down to the ground below, engulfing the whole area - at least the left half of the image - below it in elaborately hewn flames, scouring the land above from all life while the dragons were depicted as retreating into the depths of protective caves, escaping the infernal destruction above. But next to that, the wingless ones reappeared from the cave-dark, a great war for survival sketched in a great swath across one wall, this time with a host of dragons to rival the massive beasts.

And then moving further across the mural, the dragons were hewn in a hiding pose, sniffing at the air bleeding in from above and progressively crawling farther from the cavernous depths of the earth, shrouded by the slowly dispersing black clouds above. And at the rightmost end, yet more dragons surrounding the fallen rock, half a mountain in size and with an soft aura of light slowly sinking into the ground below, an epicenter of life branching out across the land once more, but somehow different from the animals and plants presented in the earlier images.

A third pictograph showed the scene being completely engulfed in a crystalline sheet of ice, a furiously aggressive dragon of the deepest azure blue breathing ice and snow in a wide arc while animals, and even what must have been primitive hulking humans in the sparest of fur cloth with bare clubs and sharpened stones for weaponry, fell to cower before that malevolent being. To the right of that picture another, much smaller dragon in vibrant crimson spread its wings in protest, breathing fire against the other while holding a claw to its chest.

Esin heard steps behind her while looking and studying the detailed carvings and turned around as a somewhat smaller dragon in red scales flecked with gold entered, only twice her own height at the shoulder and carrying a rather delicious smelling sack hooked over a neck spine, fresh fruits and vegetables with cheeses and breads spilling out before her eyes as the red set it down and unwrapped the package with a claw-flick. Dragons still traded with elves or dwarfkin she guessed, somehow finding it hard to imagine dragons eating anything but meat.

It tilted its head and smiled as it observed her studying the pictures, "You have awoken and it looks like you are already studying our distant past. My name is Tamura." Esin could make out from the voice, and the name, that the dragon must be a female, and then smiled in return, "I had started to guess, though the events would make even our wildest legends seem common by comparison. It's strange that your kind would record history in pictures rather than through writing as you have taught us. My sleep was as deep as the rocks of this cave it would seem, but I'm glad to meet you, Tamura."

The dragoness nodded, "Our more recent history is as well written in words than in pictures, though in that time such means were as yet unlearned even to us. We hold that distant past to be sacred, as much as any of your gods and rituals. What happened during these events enabled us to evolve further than all the ages before, but these pictures also remind us never to fall to the folly of power, as our cousins, the ice dragons, did about seventy millennia ago."

Tamura smiled then continued, "If you like, I can tell you what story these pictures depict while you eat your breakfast, and the baths are available after if you choose." She took a slight glance at Esin's wounded hand then nodded to her, "Worry not, your highness. Our leader, ArduRu, is informed about your arrival and ordered preparations for your audience with him. You took quite a dangerous journey, especially alone, from what I heard about the patrol that found you."

Esin nodded as well, moving over to sit beside the offered food, the carvings lay out before her, "Yes, it is indeed an important message I have to bear. I am certain that you'll hear soon why I am here as well; dragon wings must carry news like the wind, if humans are anything to judge by. Though I am in haste, getting here by flight was far faster than I had hoped to reach by foot, and it would be to my benefit to learn more of your history."

Esin began eating while listening to the dragoness. She explained, while pointing to the first picture: "Before the Rockfall, there were animals, though mainly reptiles, even bigger than us. We called them the dinosaurs and they hunted us and our young, even those not born yet, as you can see in the picture. We used caves for sheltering, but still our kind always had to be cautious and we had to breed early and often to outbreed our losses. Our lifespan was naturally limited by them, although we had the potential to live far longer."

Esin nodded understandingly as the lives of humans were alike, simple and dangerous, though she wondered how they could know about predators and their exact details in such precision. Even the religious beliefs about monsters long past were exaggerations and only estimations from bones unearthed. She asked Tamura carefully: "How could you know the exact details of your long past predators?"

She raised her claw to tap at an eye-ridge, "Our kind inherits thoughts and the memory of our parents, grandparents and further in our bloodline. It is written within our blood and flesh and we can recall even the furthest memories at will with some training. This past is what shaped our instincts, similar to yours, and is, thanks to being common in our souls, a clear image within our minds, to even a future generation of hatchlings. Before you ask that also, we still are able to breed within the second decade after hatching, as we were when the dinosaurs hunted us, but it is advised not to do so until half a century has passed, until the time when our bodies were fully formed and only slowly continue to grow. Besides that, our race chose to become thin in numbers intentionally, lest we be a danger to all other forms of life, not that we ignore the drive entirely of course. I shall explain soon why we chose to do that."

Her claw wandered to the next picture, "Our short and perilous lives changed with the event we call the Rockfall when a huge rock, far larger than any of our ancient dragons, or your tallest palace, fell from the sky. Our ancestors instinctively sought caverns, days before the Rockfall, into the deep of the mountains to escape the fires this rock caused. Almost every form of life but ours became a thing of the past. We say almost because the dinosaurs took inhabitance of the caves when they drove us out centuries ago. But while they were as large and formidable as ever, the host of dragons living on the surface had grown to a hundred times in number since, and for our survival, we hunted down every last dinosaur into the very heart of the earth, and in the life-barren years after were able to sustain ourselves on their flesh. While we destroyed our predators below, what should have been a wasteland above slowly revived again, undoubtedly from some power of the fallen stone; Life both strange and familiar greeted our sight, changed and twisted from what came before in an evolution of sorts, so we saw it as our responsibility to guide the newly formed life into this world as we now know it, including your own."

After chewing at a carrot, Esin nodded in agreement, yet that raised more questions for her: "Where did the rock come from, how did it come down to the world and where would it be now? And how would your ancestors know that a rock like that was about to crash down?"

Tamura nodded understandingly, knowing well of the humans' thirst for knowledge and exploration: "Where that rock would now be is not known even in our vast memories, and it would be probably for the better as, was later discovered, it brought magic into the world. How our ancestors sensed that it was to occur soon, this also is a riddle unsolved, but in that time we were closer to the animals you know now, and just as birds fly from an unseen storm, it is the common belief that we had some instinct to warn us."

She pointed to the aggressively looking dragon in the third picture in an accusing gesture, "Seventy millennia ago the first Ice dragon, WyrnRa, tapped into the ley lines which formed after the Rockfall from the rock itself, and bound himself to its power, mutating him into the form you see here as the magic flowed directly through his body. He discovered how to harness this power and cast magic and taught other dragons with a similar mindset to do the same, shaping them into his followers and ice dragons as well. Exploiting this power, he encased the whole world into ice to sap the life force of other beings, fueling his own into near immortality."

Tamura nodded to Esin, and then continued, "This is also the same time when we discovered your kind's intelligence, growing close to our own. We had to stop WyrnRa's madness, but it was impossible even for dragons at this point, so we gifted your kind with flame by showing you how to cause fires with wood and a piece of flint to help you sustain the cold. It was not a spell, but a simple use of tools regardless, and one of the first tools your kind refined."

She then sighed, as if in deep and grave pain, pointing to the protesting dragon in the right: "It took almost sixty millennia and thus many generations of dragons, and many more generations of your kind, to finally bring an end to the reign of WyrnRa. The dragoness Vendiri here was brave enough to study the ley lines in great detail and was the first dragon after WyrnRa to wield magic. She observed with a grim determination the deaths of countless dragons and life around her, finally coming to the realization that the ley magic now flowed through every living being, and that it could only be controlled by the force of the spirit within, linked directly to the core of the Rockfall. She sacrificed her own life force to invert the magic WyrnRa wrought, and became the first fire dragon, to purge the ley lines and not only taught us on how to cast magic, but cast it responsibly in favor for all life. WyrnRa was defeated, overcome by his own spell he casted as the spell no longer found any life form to tap at, every heart guarded by a wall of flame from within by the strength of Vendiri's sacrifice. The ice dragons fled to the ends of the earth north and south, never to be seen again as they couldn't endure the period of warmth that was to break the eternal winter."

Setting the last of the meal aside, Esin thought about on how they could obtain man-made food that easily, but then she remembered that dwarfkin dwelled beneath the Impassable Mountains and must have some common underground trade routes with the dragons. Tamura watched her and waited until Esin has finished her meal, then nodded to her, "Let me lead you to the bath." They left the stone room and when they went out, Esin stopped in awe as she saw the huge area which looked to be carved out of an inactive volcano. The structures and caves were ordered in a ring-like order, around the crater, and hewn inside the inner walls of the volcano which had been washed smooth by the lava and gases that must have shot up long ago. It was dark around her, except for more of those crystals lighting safe paths as well as those casting multi-colored glow from within the cavernous homes in the rock. A thin disc of sky, lighting through the volcano's crater innumerable lengths above, made it possible for her to guess the time of day by its coloration, and the incredible heights of the mountain range, truly impassable even by wings at that altitude, but not by digging around or below them, as it seemed.

Dragons in various colors and various sizes, some, the younger ones, almost twice her size, the older ones rivaling the size of trees, she could watch flying about in a dizzying spiral upward within that spacious volcano and as she looked below, standing near a ledge, she could see more carved-out caverns and how dragons were trading or discussing about various topics which sounded up to her, ringing in a rather unintelligible echo.

She also could make out a rich sapphire blue scaled dragon, far larger than most of those she already spotted, working diligently and thoughtfully on a band of pure silver but a few ledges above. Next to it was a table with various smaller gemstones of different colors, each cut and polished differently, but creatively. One gemstone was even similar to the gemstone her sword and ring were adorned with. That dragon seemed to have been interrupted with its work when another dragon of shimmering gold hastily sought conversation with it. She looked closer and staring a bit harder as she saw its head turned to speak with the gold, recognizing the blue dragon from somewhere.

And sure enough, as he was turning back to his work again, Esin could see that the blue dragon was the very same who had approved and watched over her coronation, ArduRu. She had never imagined that the leader of the dragon host would take such an laborious occupation as metalworking, but then hunting and wandering were hardly considered fit duties for a queen either. Some dragons watched her curiously, never having expected a human to be here, others stepped aside, seeing that she was escorted. A handful of dragons however widened their eyes when they caught sight of the sword she was carrying.

The rumors of Esin's arrival spread faster than wildfire as she was wandering amongst the dragons. After a lengthy walk to a landing near the vast base of the volcano, they finally reached the bath area which consisted of a multitude of pools filled with water heated from beneath by the lava hardened stone, a small ocean compared to her size. One of the outer pools, with slightly more distance from the other pools, was empty and seemingly reserved for her alone, just a silver and copper pair of dragons in a separate one a few meters to the right.

She could feel more eyes watching her approach the pool that was designated for guests like her, but they didn't comment or otherwise react on her arrival.

She reluctantly took off her leather armor as she felt vulnerable with so many large beasts around her, especially as that leather armor helped her protecting herself from the gryphon she was assaulted by. On second thought, however, it would be unjust to hide her skin from other intelligent beings which chose to be naked themselves. Indeed, the baths were ringed about with life-size statues and fountains, fine dwarf work no doubt, depicting dragons in various stages of amorous embrace, some openly explicit even, spewing water from various places as she spied the farther, deeper ends of the pools, and more than a few dragons taking advantage of them judging by the cascades of water splashing about and faint roars in the distance.

The air felt pleasantly radiant with the warm stones underfoot now that she was completely bare and without cover, stretching as she could feel the heat easing the aches and tension of the past few weeks. Her breasts were small yet firm and her overall figure was more that of a warrior than of an ordinary woman, steeled by hunting and wandering, and the occasional battle over time. Her well trained muscles were the envy of some of her own royal guard even, with skin that was slightly roughened through the hard work and training she chose instead of more womanly tasks. She shook out her long brownish hair, matted down as it was after wearing a leather cap so long, and slowly unwrapped the bandage from her arm, finding the cut miraculously sealed already as she recalled with a small grimace the events of the night before.

Tamura took the clothes, her weapon and her pockets, setting the sword to the side while handing the armor and the underlying clothes to a by-standing dwarf who approached after the two, for repairs and washing, and slipped smoothly into the water, settling on a warm rocky ledge on the other end. Esin set one foot lightly into the water, and as it felt warm and pleasant she stepped into the water carefully to avoid slipping on the claw-scored stone. The pool had a depth which was as high as her shoulders; she could swim in there if she wanted. It came to her mind that the older dragons probably use deeper pools while hatchlings might train their first swimming lessons in one like hers.

Lying beside the edge of the pool was a small woven basket with the usual hominid cleaning implements, a brush, soap, and more, supplied by the dwarf no doubt who had disappeared out of sight. She took the opportunity to wash and comb her lengthy hair, cleaning strand by strand from the muck of the road, and finishing that decided to lay by a small ledge in the poolside, still amazed by the sights and sounds around her, turning in the soothing waters to watch the pair of dragons beside her only to find more than the heat of the pool rising to her cheeks.

The copper, who was most definitely now a male, was lying on his side with paws wrapped around his silver mate half out of the water, angled such that their haunches were facing directly toward Esin, giving her a clear view of thick glistening inches of dragon-flesh slowly pulsing from the male's slit to slide up under the silvery twitching tail beside, and hinting at the receptive vent of the female just above the water's surface as their tails intertwined.

Esin looked back at Tamura with a wide-eyed look to see her watching the pair as well with a smile on her muzzle, answering the speechless question she could easily guess, "As I was telling you in our history, our race is adapted to frequent mating, it matters not where or how as both cave dark and mountain high have been our homes. We find it just as strange that you humans choose to take strict precautions for such a natural function. Isn't that right, Vedra?" she called toward the two.

The silver dragoness raised her head to answer with a rumbling chuckle in turn while pushing back into the coppery scales and raising a hind-leg for emphasis, "Well, of course, not that there's anything wrong with a nice intimate moment, but sometimes the place isn't as important as the company," arcing her neck to lick the male's muzzle and rolling her hips over slightly to give better access to the bulging shaft slipping over her scales.

Esin had to think about that a moment, unable to look away from the lusty drakes even as the copper found his mark and gave her a first-hand experience in dragon mating rituals, parting those silver folds with an easy languid thrust, and a heavy prumm rising from both of them, glancing back at Tamura, "I suppose if humans had a coating of scales to protect them it might not be so different, but then are you free to choose any mate as well?"

Nodding her head with a grin, Tamura answered: "Any at all, and without the human notion of bonding. Staying to care for the eggs is the only expectation, and even then there are hatcheries dedicated to that purpose. And we're hardly restricted to either gender, as you'll learn later on the transformative avenues of magic are a part of our customs. As I have been appointed to take care of all your needs, even this would not be particularly strange or unheard of among dragons."

Esin found herself blushing even harder at the suggestion, "Well, not that it's entirely unheard of among humans either I suppose, though hardly appropriate, but I'd never considered that dragons could be so... similar, I guess." still watching the pair beside her as their efforts grew more enthusiastic, a wet schlick rising to her ears, "I can't say I'm not curious, though to be honest I've no experience even with my own kind, having to meet up to certain expectations of a queen, but I did come here to learn from and understand your kind better after all..."

Tamura smiled even wider at that, albeit toothily for a dragon, and rose from her ledge to pad closer to Esin in the lightly steaming water, "Well I'm glad to see that not all humans are so inflexible. I've taken care of many traveling drakes and the odd dragoness over the years, among other more, strenuous, duties. You may simply lie back and relax then if you wish, if it's not pleasing we can stop whenever you choose, and please don't feel too embarrassed to ask for anything you might desire." She settled down on her flank curled beside Esin on the ledge, facing the two amorous dragons in the background.

Esin nodded her assent, slowly letting herself get used to the rapidly changing events around her as she found a comfortable nook to settle back against, with a clear view of the copper and silver to her side. She closed her eyes, gradually releasing the tension in her muscles to float in the radiant heat around her, the wet thump of scales beside her somewhat trancelike after a moment not thinking about the source. So it came as an almost dream-like surrealism when she felt a smooth gliding touch running over her thighs, sliding along her skin like so much silk to press against the exposed lips of her sex, somehow warmer than the surrounding water in its gentle caress. It pressed and rolled sinuously in time with the pounding beat in her ears and heart, lighting the arousal in her flesh as if a burst of dragon fire flashed over her skin before catching between her folds and slipping inside, forcing a soft moan from her throat as her eyes parted blurrily enough to see the glistening ruby-scaled muzzle between her legs.

Finding nothing else to grasp with the slick stone around, her fingers found their way to what felt like Tamura's horns to anchor herself, glancing over to see the male buried deep under-tail, leaking a steady stream of what she could only guess to be the copper's seed from those shimmering silver folds, tinged a vivid fleshy pink at the inside. Her eyes closed again at the unknown depths of pleasure crashing over her as that thickening tongue-length worked its way deeper with rippling smooth thrusts, a tender lust-driven tide driving her to a wavering peak, leaving her groaning and pulling at those horns a little harder with every slick draw-back to feel the slippery scales touching her skin. Stopping just short of what felt like the back of her channel, she caught sight of Tamura looking up at her with a lusty smirk before, with a gasp she felt herself stretched wider still as the slippery appendage sliding and twisting around into a slick helix until with a cry her entire body tensed up at once.

When her sight finally became clear once more, she looked down to Tamura with a pleased sigh, only to look up again with a startled clench around the tongue still stuffing her folds to see the copper male behind the red dragoness, and looking up farther still to see silver scales above her as well. The male spoke first with a grin, rumbling a bit heavily from the previous exertion, "We couldn't help but take interest in that you wished to understand more about our race, and at such a 'personal' level. Perhaps you'd enjoy a more active learning experience?" He reached a paw to stroke along the scarlet-scaled flanks before him, "If Tamura here doesn't mind us spoiling her newest pupil a bit that is?"

The tongue between her legs gave a weighty push forward in approval, giving in with a soft moan as she glanced between the three of them, "I can hardly disagree with three willing teachers; what did you have in mind?"

The silver female she vaguely recalled as Vedra answered with a knowing smile, "Perhaps its best to simply learn by experience..., " stepping forward overhead as the copper pulled himself over Tamura in turn, muzzle-locking with her mate and slowly lowering to her haunches. Esin looked up with a half-formed question on her lips to stare in surprise at the glistening silver vent coming closer, still coated and dripping with the copper's cum apparently as a sticky white strand slipped onto her tongue. The taste may have surprised her even more in its spicier minty tang, if not for the sudden distraction of dragon-tongue slipping through her folds again and the heavy prumming moan from Tamura, looking back to see the dragoness rolled onto all fours and tail curled up under the copper belly scales above, seeing a thick bulge of dragon-flesh between the male's legs for an instant as it lunged back into those crimson depths, forcing Tamura's muzzle firmly between her own wide-spread thighs.

She tilted back to gaze a bit shakily at the messy sight before her once again, now drooling down her neck and pooling between her breasts. A few bare inches above her nose at this point, she could study every rich detail of the pulsing sex, still stretched open slightly from the male's presence and only hinting at the massive girth she'd glimpsed before, creamy ropes of seed and slick feminine fluids spilling over her body as the muscles expanded and contracted before her eyes, and with the intoxicating scents reaching even her dulled senses. She reached up and placed a hand against the sticky scales, tentatively trailing closer before sliding over and into the heated folds earning her a fresh coating of dragon seed as the walls flexed at her touch.

The muzzle between her legs had other ideas though it seemed as Tamura shoved harder into her sex once again, moans thrumming along the sinuous appendage near continuously now, rolling with the thrusts of the coppery male as he began rutting his lusty dragoness with feral passion. The silver hinds above her settled down further, letting Esin rest back against the ledge as the burning arousal began to take her again. She reached her tongue out to taste more of that luscious dragon seed, muffling her own moans in the slick channel above as the thick viscous fluids began to appeal to her, the taste filling her mouth, combined heat surrounding and consuming them all, and the tongue lashing her with sparks of pleasure rapidly bringing her to another lofty peak as her hands fell to grip tightly to Tamura's horns once again.

As the copper above grunted harder above her with his mate, she could see flames licking back and forth from their lips, the drake giving a last forceful shove, enough to lift Tamura's hind-claws from the water as his own claws scored lightly into her scaled sides. Esin clutched at Tamura's horns for dear ecstasy as the male roared out, walls convulsed and shuddering and tightening harder still, melting into the deep rippling thrusts within as Tamura loosed her tongue to writhe against every tender nerve the dragoness had found along her search as her own were set alight with the thick pillar of dragon-flesh spearing her depths, and as she gave a heavy groan, began being filled with more of that fiery seed. Esin could feel the tip slip back far enough to slide out and curl around her clit, thighs clenching uselessly to that slippery snout as a third and yet fourth swell washed over and passed by, each higher than the last it felt to her lust-addled thoughts, until with a heaving moan she fell trembling back to the water with a splash, breathing in and lapping helplessly at the slick folds slowly grinding over her, the surrounding water now a milky white with dragon cum.

Tamura slowly dragged her muzzle back from Esin, tongue pulling in a wet schlick from her entrance as the sticky muzzle looked up to her with a smile, panting hard with the copper still humping lightly at her flanks, "Hah... how did you like your first lesson then Esin?"

Esin answered quite breathlessly herself, pulling back somewhat reluctantly from the sticky silver slit above, "It was quite fulfilling to say the least. I could hardly imagine I'd have been saved from a gryphon only to receive a heavy dragon licking instead."

The copper drake leaned down to lick Tamura affectionately on the snout, looking back at Esin, "There's still one more lesson if you care to take a look..." inclining his head toward the rear with a grin.

Blushing a bit less this time at the invitation, the silver haunches over her shifted out of the way and Esin rose shakily to her feet, leaning on Tamura's plentiful scaly handholds as she made her way around in the cum-slick water. Passing around the splayed hind-legs, her eyes followed the twined copper and ruby tails down to the where she could easily see the veiny base of dragon maleness bulging from its slit. What she didn't expect to see was where she found it buried, sealed tight and deep within Tamura's tail-vent. With a heavy grunt, and a shivering groan from Tamura, the copper slowly drew back, thick waves of seed flowing with every ridge that popped out with a wet schlop from those crimson depths, running down her raised hinds to mix into the pool below.

Dismounting with a gentle splash, the copper lay back on his side and motioned a paw for Esin to come closer, "You're free to make a full inspection of the opposite gender if you like, wouldn't want to leave any gaps in your education"

Esin could only nod at this point, stepping over until she came head to head with the tapered tip, which was still drooling a thin stream of seed. The copper laid back to watch as his silvery mate and Tamura lay on their sides and began cleaning each other muzzle to vent. Esin brought her tongue in to lap at the source of all the luscious fluids she'd drained from Vedra, the taste even stronger now as she wrapped her arms and pulled herself bodily to the thick length, gauging the hefty girth as her hands could barely clasp around the thick length, feeling it pulse and throb heavily in her grip as she let her tongue slip into the cum-slit at the top to measure the volume of seed it could output. She ran her touch counting over each underside ridge, gently as she felt him twitch and grow a bit harder in her grasp, noting a full seven before her fingers touched the base, slipping into the slit for a moment to surprise herself with the feeling of fleshy orbs there before being forced to pull back as a fresh spurt of seed coated her mouth, looking up to find the male smirking toothily at her.

As Vedra and Tamura beside her writhed delightedly in each other's ministrations, lashing the water in choppy waves, she swallowed yet more of the spicy fluid to clear her throat, "I guess dragons are as productive as their history would suggest. I'd be surprised the world isn't covered in scales by now if it this is a common example."

The copper nodded back at her, "Indeed, this is but a small gathering compared to some of the more extravagant feasts and celebrations, but thanks to our magical research over the ages for a solution, females have the ability to control their own cycle of fertility, and so we have been able to maintain a steady growth even in face of our extensive lifespan. And there are more arcane rituals that are perhaps better left for others to explain I think."

Leaving the three dragons to cleanse themselves, Esin took the rest of her bath in another pool close by, using the solitude as an inviting way to think about why she was here in the first place. She, no, her people, needed to forge an alliance with the dragons to answer the threat of corrupted dragons sighted by her scouts in the bordering lands. Coming in such close contact with the dragon race as she now had, she could see that none of their conventional weaponry would serve to pierce scale, not even considering what insidious powers they might possess, and likely well beyond the relative parlor tricks of her most adept court mage.

She ceased worrying for now however as she rather should think on how to approach ArduRu, because it's not the problems that one should think about, but the way to solve them. She knew him from her own coronation, but that was about six years ago. She let herself carry by the warm water in the pool, hoping that relaxing would help her find a good way of addressing. She knew ArduRu as wise and forgiving, but to rule over dragons surely he would be just as fierce.

The Meeting Tamura helped her get into the new clothes; though dwarves generally made them for much smaller of their kind, they coincidentally had a set, consisting of thick leather breeches and a shirt of green silk intended for humans and well suited for her status. She might have preferred red or purple for the occasion, but she didn't mind the mix of silk finery with good travel clothing considering the vast distances within the volcano. The fit may have been a bit tight around the waist, but it would do regardless and she was not one to be ungrateful for any kind of gift, no matter the value.

Together Esin and Tamura went through the larger lower part of the cavernous dragon 'city' to see it for sightseeing. For Esin, everything was large, so large that she felt as if she was still was a child. Most out-carvings lacked any form of windows, only a large entrance, as it didn't make sense to have such in the dim lighting. Instead, just like her room was adorned with, glowing crystals were used and not too sparingly as it seemed. Large crystals marked various intersections with a wide field of radiance, smaller ones dotting the pathways, and along the edges where the sunlight could no longer filter through the lofty peak, still greater crystals shone embedded in spiraling rings around the walls.

Tamura explained to her that those crystals had been filled with some of the ley-line energy. Contrary to metal or stone, gemstones were able to catch this light-like energy and store it until disturbed by a simple touch or vibration, enough to force the energy to radiate around them. And yet the crystals themselves once charged never lose their splendor, the energy is continuously recycled back to its source, resulting in the slight pulse or twinkling one can see around them as it reverts between light and ley magic. Dwarves invented these crystals in their ceaselessly deeper delves into the earth to uncover natural treasures like gold and gems, finding more and more of the crystals naturally formed around what they eventually understood to be a node of the ley force itself.

Tapping this source with the steady patient care common to most dwarves, they are able to loose streams of ley energy directly into the extracted crystals, a most dangerous task for any other being not as tuned to the rock and rhythms of the earth; such close contact would cause the corruption of a lesser trades-dwarf. In return they were given them all the caverns beneath the dormant volcano, a bargain the dwarves say, for all the riches they glean from old lava tubes and the unique minerals found within the vicinity are a priceless treasure to them.

Within the glow-lit rooms, rather small caverns, dragons busied themselves in various endeavors, with the odd dwarf now and then. Seeing above, now Esin could pick out dragons carrying fresh kills to those occupied with preparing them for a meal judging by the smoke and fumes from one section near the top. To the opposite side were dragons counting the wealth hoarded by the community and more beside them warding the massive vaults; But Esin seemed to notice one of the core ethics of the dragons: They didn't work for only their own survival, but the survival of the whole species. There seems to not be involved any form of currency or other goods valued for trading. They shared virtually everything among their own kind, without expecting anything in return. They went by a larger cave where a few dragons watched cautiously after multiple nests and young hatchlings. One of the small hatchlings looked curiously up to Esin and she smiled back, leaving Tamura's side to kneel at the edge of a shallow depression in the floor keeping the young drakes contained. It had a dark violet coloration, refracting light not unlike a gemstone by its glimmering scales. Another dragon, more adult, watched warily as she stepped closer, but smiled in return as Esin looked for permittance. She reached out to touch the hatchling, and Esin grinned delighted as it tilted its head to the palm of her hand and prummed to her stroking, then she asked, more to the larger dragon as she didn't expect one that young to understand her, "What is your name, little one?"

The hatchling looked back at her with that same curious gaze, but responded readily enough in its small piping voice, "My name is Shalentris and I'fe alreadty seen two vinters coursing by. You must be de queen of humans as you vield de gift-sword. I vish I couldt also gif you a gift."

So they even cared about their young together and taught them well, Esin thought, if only humans could do the same. She could hardly believe that such a young baby already knew so much about history and even a language that was not innate to them. She carefully caressed Shalendris under the chin, eliciting a warm prumm to her delight, "That's very kind of you little one, but being allowed to see your home is gift enough already. You sound like you'll be a very wise dragoness when you grow up," she smiled then stood up and nodded to the adult one watching after her, and then returned to walk beside Tamura.

They came further to a broad, well-lit area in which Esin could see how dragons trained physically. To her right were dragons she could see trying to pin each other down, restricted to weight alone it seemed to her just as in some human sports. Other dragons were trying to jump as high as possible without unfolding their wings, unfurling at the last possible second to land lightly on their fore-claws, and some even trying various forms of what Esin could only think to describe as dragon-type stretches, demonstrating a great deal of flexibility despite their often massive bulk. Tamura explained to her that this was to keep their muscles in use, though this kind of stress would normally be gained through hunting and lair-shaping, while further flight exercises were conducted in the mountains around the volcano, weighted endurance training, speed, maneuvers, and the like.

Walking over toward the opposite end of the cavern, Esin could see rows of black crystal at varying levels of radiance, according to the intensity of fire aimed at them as she came in closer sight of the dragons practicing, rapid volleys of flame hitting several at once in a dazzling display, with others aiming for distance, and more managing a steady stream of fire until they shone with near blinding brightness before cooling.

After watching these training sessions for a while they delved deeper into the intricate cave system which Esin had seen from above, seeing some crafty dragons working together with dwarfkin and what looked to be rather complex machinery of some kind in one room, giving off a steady stream of steam from pipes leading into the rock face.

Moving on, Esin observed a dwarf with a particularly long black beard, polishing an apple-sized blue gemstone which gave off a soft illumination to the otherwise mundane surroundings. Next to that dwarf was sitting a red drake, at almost five times the height of the dwarf even with head lowered to his work, checking on the quality of a large silver band for any notches or other impurities, large enough to even adorn a gryphon with.

The dragon noticed Esin while the dwarf continued to work unerringly, ignoring her. It looked down to Esin with narrowed eyes, and then tilted his head as it laid the silver band aside: "Greetings, young human. What can I do for you?" a few moments later he noticed the sword Esin was carrying and the ring: "It's you, the queen of the people..." he silently whispered.

Esin nodded, tilting her head in mirror of the Red, "Yes, it is me. Well..." she smiled, "Does this silver band happen to be made for the Gryphon Order? It may be a coincidence, but before I arrived here I was assaulted by one who was un-banded. Has there been any mention of one being caught as of late, a gryphon with grey fur and wolf-like eyes?"

The red one shook his head: "Not that I heard of, not near our borders at least. And yes, this one is indeed intended for the Order, sent for only yesterday, oddly enough now that you mention it. " About to thank the Red as he returned to his work, she caught sight of a familiar set of blue scales entering from a connecting passage, turning with a start as she recognized their owner, she echoed the Red in her surprise, "It's you, ArduRu..."

ArduRu shook his head grinning toothily, "I was rather certain I could hear a human's voice here. You are still as inquisitive and curious as when I first met you, Esin." He lowered his head respectfully, "You were asleep when you were brought here; you slept very deep, so deep, it was impossible to rouse you." He dipped his snout in a worrying gaze, "I am aware of what has happened to you. You can be sure of your safety here; we protect these mountains in keeping with their title."

Esin nodded raising the well-healed scar at her wrist, "At least it was nothing more than a beak cut, I'd not believed the tales of dragons' more unusual properties until now, and with Tamura's exceptional care and wealth of knowledge I feel as but a child once again. I would have been more careful but for the urgency in bringing this information to you, especially for the responsibility over my people. I would have been more careful but for the urgency in bringing this information to you, especially for the responsibility over my people, and I might've announced my arrival beforehand, but for the strained ties between our people."

ArduRu nodded understandingly, "I'm glad she was able to meet your needs. Rest assured that you are safe here, and I am certainly willing to hear what you are no doubt anxious to discuss. We shall work together on the amelioration of our relations and learn from each other. Let us take the time needed now though; haste is a poor reagent in working out art, and the puzzles of politics are little different in practice." He gestured outside the working cove, "Let us go to my private chamber, there we can talk about such matters without undue attention," And giving a small nod to Tamura: "I'll take care of her for now. If your usual efforts are anything to judge by, I'm sure Esin here was most satisfied, you may rest."

She gave a gracious bow to ArduRu, then stepped closer to arch her neck under his: "Even a king can use some teaching now and then," Tamura nodded to Esin with a knowing grin, "May the rest of your lessons be as thorough." Stepping out to the cave entrance she gathered herself for the leap and launched herself into the open air, not unlike a cat Esin thought for a moment, hanging weightless for a moment to her eyes before the satin black wingspan extended and the dragoness glided off, afternoon sun shafts catching in glimmering rays across the gold-flecked ruby scales.

She then went together with ArduRu through the lower part of the cavernous system extending deep down the until they came to the heart of the extinguished volcano, a wide swath of crater below the pool level, and Esin could only guess that it must be the source heating the waters above as she looked to the exposed river of lava flowing slowly outward in crevices from the center. More light was provided by crystallized pillars at the borders of the room and ringing the calm lava below them, half again as tall as the dragons themselves and as thick around the middle, fused into intricate rippling patterns in the ceiling above and rooted like trees into the rock below. Thousands after thousands of dragons might fit in here, Esin thought.

She looked up to ArduRu who started explaining after observing her facial gestures cycle through awe, curiosity, and various stages of wonder all at once, "This room is where we as a species come together, to discuss and decide over important matters. It will take a full moon cycle at least for all of us to be gathered here, and preparations are already underway as TinuRel made sure to inform me as soon as you arrived."

He smiled as he continued, waving a paw out toward the vast expanse, "Regarding the room itself, as you can probably guess it was dwarf-work, and they are quite proud of the achievement. A dormant volcano is normally just that, but after enough time they have been known to become active again, like a great release of pressure and energy from the earth. To keep our - and their home - stable, the dwarves carved out this chamber, releasing the heat trapped within and redirecting it to the pools above, and through various channels to heat our forges and furnaces." He pointed to a side passage obscured from their previous perspective until they had nearly passed it by, "Let us head to my private room where we can talk at length undisturbed. Even with our open customs, peace and calmness has its value."

She followed him to the room which was lit by lava pools as well and looked around, seemingly missing the crystals. ArduRu followed her gaze and remarked: "Ley energy is greatly multiplied at this depth within the earth; it's too dangerous to use them. A thousand feet deeper would corrupt any life form by enhancing its instinctual desires, and even at half that distance one could begin to sense the effects, which is also why the crystals in the meeting room are not of a magical nature, but rather absorb the heat of the lava and radiate it back as light."

Stepping to the side slightly, he closed his eyes, neck bowed as if in deep thought until Esin thought he might have been sleeping for a moment, until his scales began to glow that is. She watched in a stunned silence as the great dragon then shrunk in size until he stood before her on two legs, still with all the distinctive draconic features of horn, wing, a tail, and blue scales instead of skin. He smiled then looked to Esin at her own eye level, "This is to ensure we are on equal stance when negotiating. It is an ancient tradition for the larger being to make the proper adjustments, to not indirectly influence the negotiation by intimidation of size."

Esin nodded with respect, having been rather used to the power posturing common to some human 'leaders' she had dealt with on occasion, and more than a little amazement, but coming to expect what seemed impossible.

ArduRu sat down onto a pillow, then gestured Esin to do the same: "Regarding the use of crystals: Fortunately for us, the lava deep down forces the ley veins to avoid this mountain. There is but mere speculation to discern why, but it seems the ley force seeks out life, while the magma here is enough to destroy most living beings, and so inimical to it; Which brings us to the topic of history and the prime reason why we attacked Durnven in the past; it was too close to a heightened ley vein, attracted by the concentrated life forces there no doubt."

Esin nodded understandingly, continuing his thought: "And that ley vein already slowly corrupted the first settlers, much as it corrupted the ice dragons depicted in your carvings."

ArduRu responded in a glad tone, seeing that she began to understand: "Though ancient even by our standards, the ripples of history have carried even to this present time. And yes, had they been reasonable with us, we wouldn't have to start a war. But how would you warn someone about a lingering danger when they do not desire to listen? It didn't help much that the city was in a most profitable location for human society at least, settled near the crossing of several great rivers, fertile land rich with life all around and favorable weather for most any type of crop. We would have recommended them a different location they could call their home, but it was too late. Their desire was to stay there, and that desire was heightened by the ley energy that slowly crept into their hearts, corrupting those most desiring power the fastest, from king to lowly servant"

Esin nodded again, "Even If I were one of the leaders back then, I couldn't have stopped them, but this was well before my time. As our history tells it at least, the Durnveners were defenseless and we were called to aid them in battle as they still lacked their own militia. Back then we had no unified realm, but realms where each city reigned about neighboring lands. It would have been illegal for the lord of any town or village to deny them aid."

ArduRu acknowledged that explanation and smiled: "This is actually similar to how our clans are structured. We were formed in clans until we concentrated to live in this volcano and beyond the mountain range. Now every clan is united and takes care of the young and each other together."

Esin combed her hair with one hand as she hadn't thought it would be that easy to get a similar route of thinking with ArduRu. She thought for a moment on how to respond or even ask the offer, but chose a different approach, "I think it would be a great to learn more of each other's history. There is much, very much, to learn from your kind and I wish to be your first human student. And I hope to forge a peace treaty or an alliance in time perhaps, but for now haste, as there is a danger I must warn you of and beg your help to counter, a possible threat we had discovered towards the end of the last Durnven conflict, but dismissed as impossible before. The last, and perhaps gravest of the demons of Durnven, were able to corrupt dragons. "

As his gaze darkened in thought, she took out the blackened scale. Examining it closely with nostril and eye as he took it in his claws, he spoke in a rumbling hiss as if a great enemy could hear them, "Indeed... this scale is from a corrupted creature and a dragon at that."

He deeply sighed, "My memories instinctively hint that it seems to carry the scent and blood of an ice dragon, perhaps even a very ancient one, yet it does not show the crystalline characteristics of that species. But which ice dragon could possibly live here? Even then, the scale looks more bone-like than metallic or crystalline, as if it was from a dragon of neither species, more of a dragon before the Rockfall even."

She shrugged: "I'm no expert to the race of dragon, but from memory of you at the coronation, I could hardly believe these were of the same race. If you are as corruptible as I and my people are, then the world is truly in danger. "

ArduRu shook his horned visage, "On the scale of that which WyrnRa brought upon us about almost seventy millennia ago. If that is the case, then an alliance will be paramount in assuring our survival, and that of all life. The call to gather will stand for the approval of the dragon race, but as I said we will have to wait a full-moon cycle of days, many of us still carry a wide-roaming spirit, inhabiting and exploring lands half a world over. We shall use the time to gain experience from each other's history while we are waiting for those who will come.

History lessons And so they did. What Tamura had gone over in brief, ArduRu expanded upon with great detail, from the fall of the ice dragons to origin of gryphons, some much of the elves and dwarves history as well as her own being revealed in the process.

Two weeks went in the preparation for the meeting of all dragons already, and ArduRu offered to train Esin within the remaining time in some of the arcane arts she had seen used around the volcano, while getting her better acquainted with some dragon customs and culture. Esin accepted and learned simple, yet useful magic and how to form what she desires with her own mind. She could, if she had the willpower, literally move mountains, but not even one of the massive elder dragons would be able to do that.

One of the customs of dragons that Esin learned of was that decisions between two factions of dragons that would critically affect either side as a whole were to be honored by mating between the leaders twice, once each in both side's desired ways. This mating is to be held in public, in view of every dragon involved or interested.

In the case the leaders are of the same gender, or at the request of either side, either one, or both could undergo the change to become hermaphrodites and stay bi-gendered for the duration. The idea behind this was, if that mating resulted in hatchlings, that they were the symbolic uphold for the pact and that breaking the pact would dishonor them and their origin, and thus most pacts held enormously long, some becoming of permanent record.

Considering the thought of an inter-species mating might be immoral for humans, and relatively obscure even for dragons, not to mention the 'logistics' behind it, ArduRu suggested foregoing this tradition. Esin however rejected the foregoing, stating that traditions are more important in this case, and, however it might appear to others, it felt intriguing to her, not to mention that Tamura had already given her some recent motivation. And she also stated that going about something that might put revulsion to others even furthered science in some aspects.

ArduRu entrusted her with a secret regarding the sword she carried as well. It was no ordinary sword but enclosed the essence of a mighty dragon which voluntarily chose to sacrifice part of its life force to protect the wielder with it. Though no human king had yet had been able to harness it, ArduRu assured her that the power within was capable of turning one into a dragon at will, provided that will was a match for a dragon at least.

She asked ArduRu for assistance on how to possibly use the magic within, yet he could only tell her to concentrate on and trust that power as much as she would trust her life to it in battle. She even tried to feel 'one with the sword' as her old sword master would say, and had a strange feeling, but sensing the enormity of the veiled strength behind it was beyond her comprehension at first, and she lost her grip. Setting the weapon aside for the moment, they decided to have a short break, well into the evening at this point but Esin didn't wish to stop. She didn't let go of the sword this time, both mentally and physically, but instead felt its presence in her mind progressively filling her conscious mind in its intensity as her body started to grow, skin hardening to scales and shifting into a brilliant violet hue as ArduRu watched with rapt attention, falling to her clawed hands and feet as her own clothing merged within her body unharmed and seemed not to cause any complications within her body.

She grew amethyst wings and a lengthy tail extending from her haunches, as well and long, majestic horns sprouting behind where she vaguely remembered her ears to have been, as her head lengthened with her neck into the fine curve of a muzzle. She had turned into a dragoness and looked around confused at first, a disorienting dizziness overtaking her as she stumbled to the ground. ArduRu quickly changed back to his dragon form to hold her.

Esin rested for a short moment on ArduRu's claws until she managed to get used to her new form. Even her voice had changed to that of a dragoness, feeling oddly calm despite the rapid changes, "Let us learn in your form for a while. I believe I could get used to this and make use of it form during the ceremony when all the dragons come to decide over the pact."

Though they continued to discuss various historic topics, Esin used this time to learn more about her dragon form, putting into practice the very training she had seen before, learning fire and flight, actions as mundane as eating and evacuating presenting new challenges for her, ArduRu took care that they remain hidden during these times, flying only at night so as not to rouse undue suspicion of him being seen with a foreign drake, not unusual to hear of from among the wilder lands beyond the mountains at least.

Some dragons voluntarily decided to become these so-called renegades, Esin learned, leaving the community without returning, giving rise to the rumors of 'wild' dragons that banded and mated together. Some might return, but most of them prefer to estrange themselves from their civilized kin, preferring the house of earth and sand rather than solid stone.

After earning her wings by leaping from the rim of the volcano for the first few attempts, they began flying together, eventually taking her to heights above the clouds as he intentionally teased and provoked her in ways to get her off balance, catching and wrapping his wings around her when she would slip into a fall in a mirror of the traditional mating display, daring gravity it seemed to her as the ground rushed toward them, but she trusted even that to him eventually, clinging thrilled to his scales for the always surprising wing-snap before just grazing the pines below. He remarked that she shouldn't take it personally, because it's needed to train her for the coming ceremony should she use the form there and to harden her flight skills which are vital to any dragon, and she readily agreed, responding in kind even as the flights grew longer and she became more sure of her own abilities.

The Proposal The decisive day now dawned and what looked from the ground like a swarm of dragons in widely varying hues and sizes descended upon the meeting hall at the base of the volcano. It was a fearsome sight for Esin despite her time getting to know them, like being a rat amidst a crowd of humans, within danger of being stomped on accidentally or even intentionally.

They were all gathered to listen to the proposal Esin wanted to bring to ArduRu and he went with her into the middle of the hall. Esin watched warily; most of them looked curiously at her, though some watched her with clear disdain and snarled, though as lowly as possible, in her direction. A quick glance from ArduRu silenced them, she noticed with a small smile, and so she walked with some confidence by her side into the heart of the dragon's lair.

ArduRu began the speech, a glittering sea of scales before him in the lava light, "Before us stands a strong and wise female of the human race, a race we have taught and guarded to greatness to one day become equal among us." He looked down to Esin and continued: "She has endured many dangers and a most perilous journey to negotiate something we commonly covet yet never have sought to reach. She is a just leader, voted legitimately over those she ruled and confirmed by our own." He nodded to Esin: "You have the word now. Tell us what you propose."

Esin breathed in deeply, smaller even than hatchlings, yet she spoke in as powerful a voice as she could, letting her experience as a ruler take over any misgivings, "I have indeed walked a long and dangerous way, had to disguise myself while leaving my people as the proposal I desired to make was not to be entrusted to a simple messenger, much less a diplomat. Nor could I convince any guard to follow against the stigma of our past conflicts. But I know that your kind does not kill without reason, or even for the thrill of killing, and I have come to understand much more than from my time here studying your, and thus our, history. Yet even my mother, who I entrusted with leading while I became absent, disapproved of my proposal, believing that my place was to be guiding the people in such dark times, for grave danger which was once sighted centuries ago, now casts its shadowed wings across our lands." She took out the scale of the corrupted dragon and handed it to ArduRu, who lifted it to a dragon's height in his claws for all to see, pulling in the light around it even now. Esin took a moment to register the shock on some of the outright gaping muzzles before her, and soon rippling across to the edges of the cavern, "My people have seen corrupted dragons, what was once feared is upon us now. Dragons that serve under Rastaban, that not only betrayed you, but your ideals and what your kind was fighting for as well."

She sighed shortly, knowing that a few dragons showed the first signs of rejection, but she continued, "I have come to propose peace between us humans and you dragons. We ceased to trust each other when the city of Durnven was founded because of mistakes from both our sides. We disdained your kind more although you fought for our freedom and to at least prevent half the race of mankind from falling under Rastaban's grasp. In the past we might have shot you down just as you would have burned us to the ground, but now that only exists for the idea of our own protection. I seek to cease that stance and begin a new alliance between humans and dragons as the danger is not each other, but was and always has been Rastaban."

After Esin finished her speech and remained calm to signal that she has said what she wanted to say, the listeners looked curiously at her. Some appeared ready to protest judging by the rumbling heard among the crowd, but Esin looked to ArduRu. He nodded and added his voice to hers, "Anyone having any objections to this alliance? I for one would accept such an offer, although not lightly, but I was the one to watch over the election when she became queen, even the first female ruler of mankind. I do not deny my trust towards her in confirming that position, and I know with certainty that she would not plan to plot against us."

He looked to one larger dragon while continuing, "But it is not my decision alone. It would be an alliance that not only affects one single clan, but our species as a whole. Thus I ask you for counsel, for your approval or for objections."

A black dragon stepped forward and nodded, "I have sighted the danger Esin spoke about very well, yet saw those renegades never fly even near the mountains. I don't think that those slaves under Rastaban seek our harm. They are after humans, after skin, not after scales. I would rather not like to see our race involved in another war."

With snarling undertone, a green dragon, and Esin recognized him as it was TinuRel, stepped next to him, protesting, "I have not seen them with my own eyes, yet, as my patrol borders our lands alone, but if what the queen says is true, we'll be dragged into war not long after her people are vanquished, if not at the same time. When I saw her, assaulted by a gryphon, it was my responsibility to save her. And I say we shall have the responsibility to save them, and to purge this evil before we have to save ourselves."

ArduRu looked to each and nodded: "As demonstrated, we have two contradicting positions and two theses. One which says we shall not forge an alliance with the humans in order to avoid joining into a war while the other thesis says we should forge an alliance because it is our responsibility." He shortly nodded again, thinking, "Thus I ask all of you to divide in order to determine which of these theses is the most popular, and henceforth, the wished one. To the right of me if you say 'yea' to an alliance, those of you who are not sure or wish to abstain from voting stay in front of me, and those who definitely say 'nay' to an alliance, step to my left."

Esin watched in astonishment as she saw the huge mass of dragons moving, but it was slightly more than the majority, including TinuRel and Tamura, that stepped right of ArduRu. Only a few stepped in front of him and even fewer left of him. She was glad that most of the flight desired an alliance with her realm, but she remained silent and stifled any signs of approval herself. ArduRu waited a few seconds after the masses stopped moving, then counted the dragons, drakes and hatchlings and shortly nodded, counting again to assert that he counted correctly: "As I see, we have a large majority of us approving of the proposal. Such a proposal is of critical importance to our race, as had alliances between clans been before we united into one flight." He tilted his head: "This will lead to a decision between tradition and ethics. Our tradition demands to honor such bonds with the mating of the representative leaders, but the leader of the humans is, well, a human, and they have their own rules and traditions to abide by. How else should it be?" He chuckled shortly and the other dragons, and even Esin, laughed with him.

All dragons remained silent for a moment to think, even ArduRu did. Then all eyes were directed to Esin as she broke the silence: "A human might be considered depraved and immoral if they desired to do it with an animal, but your kind is far from lacking in intelligence, and it would be a far greater wrong to consider dragons, or any other intelligent being as such. While many principles are founded to protect us from wrongdoing, others are proven wrong themselves in the course of history. I for one am fine to forego this false ethic against dragons in the interest of forging an important bond that will save both of our races."

The Mating Slowly she removed her garments and laid down her sword besides them in front of all the dragons, laying each piece before her with an air of finality and showing no shame or fear as she came to stand nude in front of them as they themselves in one way or another were without clothing. "I am sure that even someone else in my place would sign an alliance in such a way as we would do now if the continuation of both species - human and dragon - hung on it."

ArduRu looked surprised at her for a moment, then bowed his head to her in agreement, and turning to the throng of dragons, who clearly had not expected such bravery from a human female from the shocked expressions on some shifting to grins on others, he dared any to challenge him, "So be it concluded that my flight, and thus all dragons and I accept such an alliance, and so as to satisfy tradition, this pact shall be sealed by mating in the desired manner of both parties; myself as leader and representative of dragons with you, Esin, as leader and representative of the human race."

He closed his eyes shortly and shrunk in size before her as he progressively stood up on two legs, once again taking the human-like form as when they had talked history and politics together. He then focused to weave another spell, this time forming a magical aura around them that seems to magnify the outside for them and the inside of the aura to the outside, like a magnifying glass, but now and then shifting view to focus on a different perspective. Yet it gave them a semblance of privacy as the noise was shut out to a dull rumble in the background, though Esin suspected it was also amplified to the outside, and she could notice with a slight blush that more than a few dragons were already getting interested in the display.

ArduRu stepped to her side, wrapping a wing around her as they looked out at the sight together for a moment, "While as a ruler I have shared in a many privileges and celebrations, this will be the first that I have lain with any other than a dragon, so I must beg your forgiveness for any lack on my part. As the addressing party, the first shall be for you." He took her in his arms and hugged her closely. It was indeed a pleasurable feeling to feel her soft breasts close to his scales.

Running her hands over the smooth scales of his back while she returned the embrace, his arousal became clearly evident to Esin as she felt a slick firmness starting to slip between her thighs. She whispered back to him, "I must admit I'd done nothing of this sort before coming to live among your kind, as is expected of the queen and mating outside of marriage is looked upon rather harshly amongst us humans. Still, thanks to Tamura I've also learned and come to accept much since coming here, please be gentle to me."

ArduRu leaned back to look into her eyes, smiling somewhat relieved as she was now, "Then perhaps you should take the lead in satisfying your desires," releasing her with a brief flick of his tongue at her lips to lie back on the warm stone, wings, limbs, and azure scales spread before her.

Esin looked on in surprise before a small smirk crept to her face at the sight of the leader of dragons so easily at her mercy. She squatted down to kneel over the prone drake, tail flicking agitatedly between her legs. The tip of his length bulged from a ventral slit, not unlike the copper as she recalled, showing barbs on its tip which would assist in keeping it in, with a hint of the ridged shaft pushing out and dotted with smaller knobs meant to massage and force the folds wide open, while a smaller tail-vent she could see a short distance lower slowly tensed. She looked intimidated, but quite intrigued by the powerful example of dragonhood, trailing her hands over the fine belly scales before easing a finger into his slit to urge the rest of him free into her palm, gently curling her hand around those fleshy barbs. She looked up as she felt a firm press of smooth-scaled tail between her legs, finding ArduRu prumming heavily as he watched her with rapt attention. Settling herself onto the base of that wriggling tail with a grin, she let him feel the warm lips of her sex grinding against his tail-vent as she found the room to slip all of her fingers into his slit, earning a lustful grunt from the roused male as her touch located the same internal orbs as well. She gave them a soft caress before wrapping her hand around what she presumed to be the base of the thick dragon flesh and smoothly pulled it from the heated confines with a wet schlick to the open air. Spreading her legs a bit more for the thumping tail, she gazed happily at her work for a moment and tasted the rather sweet flavor on her fingers compared to the copper's, before smiling back to ArduRu, who was slightly panting now she noticed, "Heh, you're as wet as a female in there I see."

ArduRu looked back at her with a grin to match, lifting her up teasingly on her perch with a roll of his tail, "And you're quite a bit better than you let on. I hope Tamura hasn't spoiled you too much for me. A mating may take place at any time, so the fluids keep us ready for anything." He glanced out at the aura around them, focusing until the dragoness in question came into view above them, surrounded by no less than six dragons he noticed with a rumbling chuckle, and many more in various stages of arousal around them.

Esin took notice as well with some surprise before she recognized those ruby scales with a chuckle as well, letting her hand slip down to tease over the freshly revealed ridges in front of her as it seemed the scenes around them were roughly matched to their own progress, "Hmm, well there is one aspect of dragon anatomy I've yet to, directly, experience, though Tamura more than hinted at it" she said as she let a slippery finger trace lightly around his tail-vent, "And I think I can satisfy both those desires at once, if I may?"

ArduRu stared at her with genuine surprise this time, but slowly turned back toothily to that lusty grin once again, and the slightest hint of green she could see rising to those blue-scaled cheeks as he raised a paw to caress her cheek, "The rules of the pact are binding, Esin, the mating is to satisfy the desired manner of both parties. Most dragons are well acquainted with all aspects of their body, and you may rest assured that I am no exception."

She nodded and smiled, pressing her hands to his chest and lifting off his tail for a moment as she spun around to face his hind-paws instead, giving the dragon a perfect view of her slick sex as she settled her hips over the tip of his throbbing length, gently grabbing hold at the base, looking at the images of dragons shifting into position around her, and then back at ArduRu with a half-serious grin as she pressed the head to her lips, "Then let the mating begin."

Slowly, she let her weight fall onto that thick dragon shaft, groaning as she felt the tip parting her folds start to slide into her channel, not half of a half so big as the copper's, but more than enough for a human it felt to her as untested nerves sparked to life. The hard length sinking into her was a stark contrast to Tamura's sinuous tongue, stretching from the beginning and yielding no quarter as each ridge locked itself into her depths with a slick suddenness that kept her on edge despite the languid pace. She could feel the barbed tip brushing her walls as it surged into the narrower extents of her sex, stopping a moment as she hovered above the last bulge before the base, then closing her eyes with a deep breath, she let her weight drop completely, a sharp gasp escaping her throat with a hiss from ArduRu as she felt those scales pressed firmly to her backside.

Resting for a moment while getting used to breathing with the pulsing heat trapped inside, her hand reached down between their spread thighs, slicking her fingers with some of his vent fluids and more than a little of her own feminine juices before she reached further, rubbing carefully along the sensitive scales in between to press gingerly at his tail-vent once again, watching with an intense lust-induced focus as her finger slipped into the tight ring of flesh hidden under his scales. Sinking straight in she noticed with a grin, she added a second beside the first, spreading apart slightly to expose the heated depths, and eliciting a pleased grunt and a heavy throb from ArduRu as she touched a somewhat firmer nub within. Grinding her hips patiently for a moment as her walls gripped tight to that thick length, she looked over the twitching blue tail before her, smooth as any snake she thought, and then with a smirk leapt to a conclusion about just what ArduRu meant by 'acquainted' with, reaching out to catch the tip as it curled toward her and pulling it in between them.

Before the blue drake could say another word, Esin had them both hissing in pleasure this time as she pulled herself up, watching the spread of her sex as each ridge gave a lewd pop from her sex, then taking the tip of his tail in both hands as she kept balanced on the tip of his shaft, she angled it sliding down the underside of his shaft to coat it in those slick fluids before pressing the tip to his tail-vent, pulling it in as she pushed herself down onto that thick spire of dragon-flesh once again. She watched with some amazement as nearly half of his tail disappeared before her eyes, the rest of it wriggling back and forth as she came to rest against those scaled loins once again, hearing nothing more than pleasured groans mixing with her own from the dragon.

Shaking her head with a small laugh, she gave it up to the endless wonders of dragons she had seen since coming to the volcano, and taking some initiative from the lascivious panorama around her, she lifted her hips again finding the ridges running at the perfect angle against her clit and dragging at some hidden center of pleasure within as her legs began to tremble. She used the tail for leverage now as she began taking her desires out on the blue drake, who was more than willing to oblige her it seemed as he finally sat up to wrap his soft-scaled paws about her waist. Unused to this smaller form, ArduRu was regretful to find that his peak was closing fast with the doubled pleasure assaulting his senses, but he clung to her nonetheless, groaning deeper as he felt the rippling walls around him begin to clench and twist around his length, humping sharply into the slick folds that had brought him to such overwhelming pleasure as she bucked back against him.

Feeling the warm embrace of scales around her finally led Esin to her own shuddering climax as she felt her body tensing and relaxing uncontrollably, pulling on his tail for dear ecstasy and wrenching him over the edge with her in a breathless roar as she felt a thick bulge of dragon seed lance deep into her sex, followed by more and more until she lost count in the sea of hot pleasure flooding her depths.

Flicking his tongue, ArduRu rumbled rather huskily into her ear, "Seems you learn very quickly my queen, not unlike a dragon at all considering how well you've stirred up the rest of my flight. I can see - nnf - and feel why the sword chose to reveal itself to you," arching his muzzle around to draw her into a kiss, though a bit clumsily as Esin leaned back to help him with a chuckle. Lifting an eye to glance at the aura above them as a dexterous dragon tongue explored her mouth, Esin squeezed a little harder around the pulsing length filling her sex as she saw Tamura getting stuffed by no less than four large drakes, muzzle, tail, and two spreading her vent wide, with another four behind them in a rather messy but no less impressive display of draconic lust when combined with the swirling mass of such images around them.

They released the kiss with a soft moan, lying back panting together against the warm stone a moment to calm down and relax in the afterglow of their deeds. Once she felt the flow of fresh cum begin to slow, Esin raised up on her elbows to watch, finding that tail still buried deep under his tail-vent, and drawing another moan from her as ArduRu slowly slipped free of her depths with a wet schlorp and a thick stream of sticky white seed to follow as the seal was broken. Leaking more over his belly scales as she leaned in closer to examine all the details, she brought her lips to the tip of his drooling shaft and slid her other hand down to his slit, and with another grin she grabbed hold of his tail, sucked the head of his length into her mouth, slipped her fingers in to gently squeeze those internal orbs, and tugged hard, forcing a breathless cry from the helpless drake in her hands with a last heavy spurt of sweet dragon seed onto her tongue. The full taste rather reminded her of the sea salt ice creams her ocean-side city was known for, rolling the thick heady flavor about thoughtfully as she released his tail and watched it gradually recede from the stretched hole, leaving his clean fleshy insides open briefly to her inspection before gently clenching shut.

Her curiosity satisfied beyond its expectations, Esin found the strength to rise somewhat shakily, and stickily, to her feet, turning to face ArduRu with that same smile dancing on her lips, and extended her hand to grasp his clawed pad. She pulled him up into a kiss this time, and his eyes widened slightly at the familiar taste of his own seed as he wrapped his arms and wings tightly around her in the passionate embrace.

Pulling back with a mock growl in his voice, ArduRu replied, "And now you've learned more secrets of how to unlock a dragon's hoard than any human before. I'm glad we're to be allies, otherwise I might have to keep you here among dragons." He dispelled the magical aura with a claw wave, no longer needed because what has to be seen was seen. Looking out at the sea of rolling, shifting, rutting scales before them, somehow all eyes and muzzles were still turned to face them in various states of ecstasy, pools of dragon cum spattered across the floor of the gathering room now, and the walls too as Esin spied more than a few dragons clawing rapturously at the edges.

Esin turned back to ArduRu with a slight blush, having caught sight of the dragon that saved her from the gryphon, TinuRel, cumming at the end of a small chain of males, with an opposite chain of females connected by the tail beside. With a gesture to her sword, Esin smiled, "And as your ally you can expect the utmost security of these 'secrets', though I believe the greatest of them has already been entrusted to me."

ArduRu nodded with a smile to match. They were however not done yet and Esin had merely to concentrate now as she picked up the sword to feel the warmth of blazing dragon fire washing over her, flames licking away to reveal the violet scales beneath as the inferno consumed and grew with the fiery lust around her until she was revealed in her full draconic glory before them. A smile crept to her finely shaped muzzle, the startled amazement apparent in all the other dragons that, frozen by collective shock for a moment in their wild rumble, looked at and even sniffed in her direction to assure that this was not an illusion. In a challenging gesture, taught by the training by ArduRu and spurred on by the instincts of the form she carried through the sword, she rose to her hind legs and roared to shake the crystal pillars from their foundations, and was joined by countless others in shattering climax around her.

Her paws falling back to the smooth rock, she turned to face ArduRu, finding him returned to his true form in the aftermath, and gazing at her form with renewed fire in the shifting crystal lights, speaking to her alone now having found his voice, "In your hands Esin, it has become something truly unique to both dragon-kin and humanity, and as lovely as you are for a human, seeing you like this is somehow more beautiful than all the weeks before, a queen to your own, and now a queen to mine," and he stepped toward her with slow powerful intent, no longer to fulfill his role as the leader of dragons, but as a dragon having found his dragoness.

Esin returned that gaze with a vivid blaze of her own, the fire in her heart now a match for the one still burning under her tail as she turned her back to him with a lusty growl and unfurled her wings, readying for the leap as they had practiced, but with a feral intensity she had never felt in any of their sessions, heart beating with what she felt was the thrumming of every dragon in the room.

Her tail whipped up behind her as she lifted off for the narrow opening the volcano would have spat out lava when it was active, ArduRu naught but an instant behind her as he shot up to chase after her. Many of the heated throng followed them both, as if to cause the volcano to erupt with dragons rather than lava as they rose up in a twisting circling mass from the depths. Racing through the warm air of the volcano gave her a blurring speed as the updrafts hastened her ascent, all of her training coming to bear in the powerful wing beats carrying her directly to the relatively narrow girdle of jagged rocks at the top, building up stronger behind her twitch the rousing wings stirring the currents below until with another triumphant cry she breached the outer rim into fresh air, clouds, and glorious sunlight.

Dazzled temporarily after the long days under stone even with sharp avian eyes now, a brush of scales at the tip of her tail caused her to snap around, catching a glimpse of a greater cloud of glittering scale beneath and the blue of ArduRu's muzzle at her flanks before she whipped him aside with her tail with a contemptuous grin and climbed higher still, vaporous streamers trailing from her wings as she broke into the thicker clouds above.

In the thick haze obscuring the ground below and the sky above, ArduRu finally managed to reach her, rising near silently in the heavy cloud bank beside her, and finding the light growing brighter once more, he angled a deft tilt to his wings and twisted about in front of her, meeting the fierce light in her eyes with the spark of fire in his own as his clawed pads locked tight around her scaled haunches in the brilliant coronal radiance of the afternoon sun.

Hanging weightless with wings struggling together to keep them both aloft, Esin twined her tail with his in firm acceptance, completing the helix as his neck wrapped to hers, tongue flicking gently at an ear-fin in rumbling approval, "This flight was worthy of any dragon, and more, a testament to the human spirit which shall not soon be forgotten. You did well, my queen." Unlike the previous training, there was now no pretext of holding back. While other pairs of dragons began to break the clouds around them in similar passionate embrace, Esin pulled her neck back to lock her muzzle with his, the slow warmth of tongue struggling pale in comparison as she desperately arced into the firm strength of his scales, pressing her vent to the slick underside of his surging length to impart even a fraction of the heat eating away at her deep within as ArduRu shifted in line with her. With a smooth roll of his hips, every thick ridge and sticky barb of that slick dragon shaft was buried to the smooth scaly hilt in her sex, and as an impassioned croon slipped between their muzzles, her wings folded under with his following suit around her as the soaring climb reversed in a plummeting rush to the earth.

Yet all was sweet roaring pleasure in their minds while the wind and currents ripped past them unheeded. Fire came unbidden to her throat as his fleshy barbs stroked the blazing nerves within her, and with nowhere else to travel she released it to the hot muzzle sealed wetly to hers, earning a hard groan from ArduRu at that, as he began to match each thrust against the deeper violaceous scales of her underside with a fresh volley of his own inner inferno, trails of steam marking their path through the sky as more began to fall around them in a reign of fire ringing the hollow crater below.

Esin could feel all of him now, breathing deeply of the hot male scent with every thick pulsing bulge and vein distinct to the sensitive clenching tightening walls of her channel as she clung tighter still around him, and sensations both alien and familiar gripping her conscious in vivid reality as the intense but flowing rhythm wyrmed its way to unknown depths within her. The dexterous member finally brushed against some hidden barrier at the core of her being she felt, with a rippling clench of her passage and a harsh moan against his muzzle. Letting loose a heavy roar and a great gout of flame as ArduRu broke the kiss, his neck snapped down to latch fangs at the base of her neck, instinctively triggering the release within her as he speared the last few inches past the tight seal of her womb, thick swells of seed backing up behind the narrowly cinched tip before bursting free at in a heavy torrent.

She cried out with him at the shuddering waves of pleasure racking her body, forgetting the spiraling land beneath, the pressing cares of a ruler, and even the terrible looming malevolence of Rastaban in the release of blissfully rhapsodic elation as liquid fire consumed and smothered the incessant heat of her nethers, breathing again only with the startling jolt of gravity as she looked up to see the magnificent cobalt wingspan of ArduRu, her mate above, managing a halting glide as he continued to pulse fresh dragon cum into her, for their waiting eggs she thought hazily for a moment, before shaking to clear her head with a smile as she watched him and glanced down at the strands of seed leaking from her sex to the rising ground below, a lush forest surrounding a dragon-sized clearing as she could see many having landed or come out to watch the display already, and several groups she noted having continued the, celebrations, on the ground. To another end of the field were open roasting pits releasing salivating smoked aromas and enticing many a flying pair to their side, and to which she could tell their path was shifting now as ArduRu neared a clear area for landing a respectable distance from the food, though in passing by she might have sworn she spotted a few dragons actively engaged in 'preparing' the animals before they were seared by intense flames from the white and silver scaled drakes close by. Flapping hard enough to land rather gently on his hind-claws, his legs were still twitching slightly in the aftermath as he fell down with his forepaws held tight around her neck, rolling his hips gently through hers and Esin clung to his scales until the slick shaft finally slipped free of her vent with a wet schlick.

Leaning down to lick her muzzle appreciatively, ArduRu replied with a deep rumble of contentment, "Well my dear Esin, you have satisfied all tradition and custom for my people and this alliance, though human you truly have the soul of a dragon, and you shall be forever marked as one of us now even when you return to your human form."

She watched as he then moved down with the intention of cleaning the trickle of seed from her vent, but she thought better of it, and pulled his muzzle back to hers with a kiss, "And you have brought more pleasure to me than I could have imagined my ardorous Ardu, and there is more yet that I would love to learn from you. I want to leave your seed there for tonight at least so that there will be no doubt even from those who haven't seen, and I shall remain in this form until such time as it will be necessary to return. Besides, we're hardly the only ones," she noted with a chuckle as another pair touched down beside them.

ArduRu nodded with a grin himself as he shifted over, wondering how she would have recognized his hatchling name but thinking nothing of it as Esin rolled around to her side and onto her claws facing away from him, arcing her back and curling her tail, not unlike a cat she thought as it stretched out her muscles wonderfully after the tense flight, releasing more of his seed to run down her legs as she stretched her neck to look back at him coyly, finding the flexibility to touch tail-tip to snout quite enjoyable before she shook her scales into place and stepped to his side.

As they walked toward the fire pit, it became clear to Esin from the sights and sounds around her that this could end up being a long night indeed, and as ArduRu explained and gestured out to greater points of interest around her, she couldn't help but feeling a little more like home. One thing he mentioned stood out to her as they came closer to the smell of food, what are dragon sandwiches?