Dragons were a diverse lot.
At the absolute pinnacle of their kind stood the Age of Gods Dragon Race. Created by the gods themselves, they had lived through the divine era and preserved their bloodlines to the present day. Every dragon appearing in ancient myths belonged to this group. Originally, there were twelve distinct bloodlines within the Age of Gods Dragon Race, but it seemed that less than half of them remained today. In fact, there were reportedly fewer than fifty individuals left in the entire world, even including Hiichiro and Lananon.
"And most of them are just old geezers and hags, honestly. They're all tucked away sleeping in a hole somewhere," explained Dos, the leader of the Age of Gods Dragon Race. He looked immensely satisfied as he sat there cradling Hiichiro.
Below them was the Post-Age of Gods Dragon Race. These were bloodlines born after the era of the gods. Famous examples included the Flame Dragon Race, Water Dragon Race, Ice Dragon Race, Wind Dragon Race, and Earth Dragon Race. Each tribe had clear strengths and weaknesses, along with a fierce sense of territory. While the strongest among them could rival the Age of Gods dragons, the weakest were truly frail. Their intelligence varied wildly by individual as well; some were wise and gentle, while others were little more than dim-witted brutes. There were roughly two hundred such dragons in the world.
The vast majority of the Post-Age of Gods Dragon Race served under the Age of Gods Dragon Race. To be precise, they didn't serve bloodlines so much as specific individuals. For instance, the Flame Dragon Race followed Hakuren’s younger sister, Sekiren, personally. This meant that even if Dos gave them an order, they wouldn't listen; they only obeyed Sekiren. Apparently, they might consider a polite request from Dos, but that was about it.
Similarly, the Water Dragon Race, Ice Dragon Race, and Wind Dragon Race followed Raimeiren. The Earth Dragon Race followed Marksbergark, the husband of Hakuren’s younger sister Suiren.
I see.
Wait... did that mean no one followed Dos?
"Having Hiichiro is enough for me," he declared with a heavy, prideful snort.
Draim, who was standing nearby, whispered the truth to me: Dos was so powerful that he could defeat all the Post-Age of Gods dragons even if they attacked him at once, so he simply didn't care about having subordinates. Apparently, the dragons who took the Post-Age of Gods tribes under their wings were usually the ones who enjoyed looking after others. Raimeiren, Sekiren, Marksbergark... that certainly tracked.
Aside from those two tiers, the most famous group was the Colored Dragon Race. This included the Red Dragon Race, Blue Dragon Race, Yellow Dragon Race, Green Dragon Race, and Black Dragon Race. Their numbers were so vast they couldn't be accurately counted. More accurately, they were so disorganized that no one bothered to keep track. Dos and the others weren't interested in them, so they didn't know the specifics. It seemed the Colored Dragons didn't possess enough power to warrant their attention. Rough estimates put their global population between ten thousand and twenty thousand. They were a varied bunch—some lived in packs, others were solitary, some served higher dragons, and others were openly hostile. You couldn't really generalize about them just because they were Colored Dragons.
Usually, when people used the term "Dragon Race," they were referring to these three groups collectively. However, because the word "dragon" was a symbol of power, it was often attached to other strong species. Stone Dragons, Rock Dragons, Needle Dragons, Circle Dragons, Sea Dragons... the list went on. There were many cases where people mistook these creatures for members of the true Dragon Race. Even the Dungeon Walkers in the Great Tree Dungeon were called Earth Dragons in certain regions. I used to think wyverns were a type of dragon myself.
The true Dragon Race didn't mind other species using the name. They really didn't care at all. Their philosophy was that if a "fake" caused actual trouble, they could just wipe them out. If there was no harm, they were content to leave them be.
However, there were those who did care: the people who worshipped the Dragon Race. They couldn't stand the idea of others infringing on the name of their deities. Extremists among them often took it upon themselves to exterminate the "fake" dragons. The Dragon Race usually ignored those antics too, but this time, the circumstances were different.
The trouble started with a group of Under Dragons. As the name might suggest, Under Dragons had absolutely no relation to the true Dragon Race. They were a type of demi-human—specifically, a variety of lizardman with fewer scales. They were violent, widely disliked creatures. These Under Dragons kidnapped a hatchling from the Red Dragon Race. Their goal was to make the hatchling an object of worship, hoping to bask in the reflected glory of the Dragon Race's strength.
Both the Red Dragon Race and the various tribes that worshipped the Dragon Race were absolutely livid. A massive force of worshippers descended upon the Under Dragon settlement and successfully rescued the Red Dragon hatchling. That part was fine. The problem was that, in the chaos of the rescue, the hatchling was accidentally injured.
Having their child kidnapped was bad enough, but seeing it returned with injuries sent the Red Dragon Race into a total frenzy. They were on the verge of going on a rampage that would have annihilated not only the Under Dragons but also the very worshippers who had saved the child. A nearby Wind Dragon stepped in to stop the immediate slaughter, but the Red Dragons' rage wasn't subsiding. The Wind Dragon could have simply wiped out the Red Dragon tribe to settle the matter, but given the complicated circumstances, it looked for a better solution.
In the end, Raimeiren was summoned. The request reached her through a long game of telephone, with the final messenger being Gucci of the Devil Race. Raimeiren's first instinct was to ignore it because she was much more interested in holding Hiichiro, but Gucci was persistent. He worked incredibly hard to convince her.
"When Hiichiro-sama grows up, don't you think he'll want to hear stories of Raimeiren-sama’s great deeds?"
"I have hundreds of such stories."
"And from what era are they? If they all took place before he was even born, Hiichiro-sama might find it hard to relate to them. Surely he would be much happier hearing, 'When you were a year old, this is what I did for you.'"
That finally did the trick. However, Raimeiren refused to leave until she had summoned Dos and Draim to the village to ensure Hiichiro was guarded by the strongest possible defense. I mean... his actual mother, Hakuren, was right there, but Dos was so happy about it that I didn't say anything. Draim, meanwhile, seemed more preoccupied with Rusty and Lananon.
And so, Dos and Draim were currently filling in for Raimeiren. Dos was spoiling Hiichiro rotten... I just hoped there wouldn't be a fight when Raimeiren got back. I was counting on them to behave.
Oh, that reminded me. I had a favor to ask of Dos. For a while now, Raimeiren had been transforming into an incredibly young woman whenever she looked after Hiichiro. I knew they could manipulate their physical age, so I wasn't surprised by the magic itself—though I had wondered who the stranger was the first time I saw her. The issue was that she seemed to be trying to get him to call her "Ma-ma" instead of "Grandma."
I wanted Dos to help me stop her before Hakuren noticed, but when I mentioned it, he got a look on his face like he’d just discovered a brilliant new idea.
Wait, hey! Don't you start transforming into a younger version of yourself!
Ugh, he was infuriatingly handsome. But I'm the only "Pa-pa" Hiichiro needs!
As a side note, commoners generally didn't know that the Flame Dragon Race served Sekiren. As a result, she was recognized by the public as the absolute strongest of the flame-breathing dragons and was often called the Flame Dragon. For her part, she didn't seem to care what people called her.
Another side note: there was no "White Dragon Race" among the Colored Dragons. Ages ago, they were wiped out by a white Age of Gods dragon who found the naming "confusing." Graffaloon, Draim’s wife, was a descendant of that ancient white bloodline. She was known as the White Dragon Princess.
After Raimeiren returned, she and Dos actually did end up having a bit of a duel. Since I had asked them to keep things peaceful, the damage was minimal. However, Urza and Gral were absolutely delighted by the fight. It was terrible for their education.
"Now, don't get too worked up. We're going back to the house. Dinner's almost ready."
I told them that if they wanted to practice fighting, they should ask Galf or Daga tomorrow.
"Fine, fine. I'll participate too. Just come home quietly for today."
Mentioning that I'd tell Hakuren if they kept resisting made them remarkably obedient. It gave me mixed feelings.
After dinner, I tried to soothe a dejected Dos while acting as a mediator between Rusty, Lananon, and Draim. If I was the one asking, even Rusty would let Draim hold Lananon.
"Wait, Draim. Your grip... is that okay? How did you hold Rusty when she was a baby?"
He told me he wasn't allowed to hold her until she reached a certain size. I see. That explained why Rusty was so cold toward him whenever Lananon was involved.
"Well... I'm not exactly an expert myself, but the proper way to cradle a small child is like this..."
It was a nice moment of parent-child bonding.
Wait, did Dos want to hold Lananon too? I didn't mind, but he wasn't nearly as obsessed with her as he was with Hiichiro. Was it a case of being unreserved with a grandson but feeling a bit of distance with a great-granddaughter? That seemed to be it.
Also, was he actually afraid of Rusty? Even though she was so cute?
When I said that out loud, Rusty gave me a smack.