It was not yet dawn when Set's mental voice woke me.
"Kay, come see, come see," he urged me.
In the near dark, I found Set and Sky outside of the village. Both had happy glows and smiling faces.
"That tickle, in my throat, that we couldn't identify, remember?" Set rambled as I joined them.
"Yes, I remember," I replied, trying not to be cross at him for both waking me and not getting to the point.
"Sky worked me through it. Turns out, I have lightning!"
Perhaps lack of sleep made me fuzzy brained, but I could not grasp what he was talking about. My confusion must have been plain to the dragons. Sky asked Set to demonstrate. Away from the village, Set focused on a stone sticking out of the ground. He made a strange noise and opened his mouth. A bolt of lightning shot from his mouth and split the stone. Fully awake, I marveled at the sight. Set returned to my side.
"See! I have lightning!" he nearly shouted in my head.
"How is this?" I asked them both, "Dragons only have one or two breath types. Set has three?"
"Or more," Sky replied, "Emperor dragons are unique and very little is written about them. As the new queen's rider is learning, queens, as mothers of all colors and types of dragons, have every breath type. Kings top out at four, perhaps five, but usually only three. Our little Emperor here may have every type like a queen. Who knows? He may develop one only Emperors possess. Alas, he only has the first stage of these abilities. His fire is barely as hot as a human's forge. His ice melts quickly and can be broken. This lightning is only a single bolt with the same force as a dwarf wielding a hammer. Useful as they are, they are not yet where they will become with age. I, as an old dragon with lightning, can strike many foes at once or bounce the bolt from target to target, covering great distances. Maybe your chronicles of Set's abilities will educate others of the unique nature of Emperor dragons."
I laughed, "By the time another is born, my pages may be dust."
Sky and Set laughed.
By now, dawn was full upon us and my sisters were asking my location. Set and I returned to them, explaining our early activities. Upon reaching them, Sarah asked to see where, inside Set's mouth, this was being made. He sparked a bit to show her. We had a quick breakfast and returned to our trip to our planned destination.
The trip was pleasant enough. The hills and nearby mountains blocked the wind that could have made this a very cold trip. Our guides, even after being told of Set's new skills, still spoke openly with us, telling us of family and home.
By evening, we arrived at the next village. The attack upon it must have been weeks ago as there was very little evidence of destruction. The Gengan, a female here, greeted us warmly and chatted easily. We explained our delay to which she smiled knowingly.
"We Gengans keep in touch through mirrors and seeing stones. They told us last night what you had done for them. I must say that getting a dragon to keep watch and deter invasion was a clever move. You are definitely trying to aid us."
Se took us to another barn as their "tall house" was still under repairs. We were treated to a nice meal and good company. Set became a center of attention by the children, being of the perfect size for the gnomish young to ride two or three at a time. Bo was the focus of another group, scholars mainly. Apparently ko-a-tie were also very rate and not well known. Anna was in great spirits, learning what her parents, fearing the "curse", did not tell her about her gnome heritage. "Brownies", it seems, are a type of gnome that favor engineering and crafting. It is more of a title than anything else. Barcabas, as this type, was well suited as a blacksmith, although wizard skills seem to be a race-wide ability. Even children use magic nearly effortlessly, playing with spells like human children play with toys. Dawn was not avoided nor ignored, but they seemed more interested in the other two.
It was well past dark when the gnomes left us to go to bed. As we settled in, Anna informed us she would find it very pleasant to live among the gnomes for the rest of her days.
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