Chapter 1056 — Concerning the Third Story
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
Thirty minutes later, Karador completed his circuit of the entire camp. He returned to the platform, where the three leaders were waiting for him.
"How did it go?" An Qian looked at the red dragon alighting on the platform. "Was any dragon in the camp praying, or doing anything of the sort?"
"No, not a single one was praying," Karador shook his head, his expression somewhat odd. "Though by rights, who would even think of praying? ...We paid such a terrible price precisely to break free of our shackles and the corruption of our minds. To turn back now and rebuild the gods, wouldn't that be throwing away every ounce of what we paid?"
An Qian was still frowning. Beside him, Ba Yang'er spoke in a low voice: "...Yet not every dragon has a clear head. Under severe pressure, and in the mental haze left by the backlash of the enhancers, those of our kin whose will is not strong enough may still pray to some supernatural force to save them... And such prayer was, for a very long time, their 'instinct.'"
"But normally speaking... the shackles cannot be rebuilt in a short time. Not within a single cycle of racial memory, at least," An Qian shook his head. "And even if the shackles and the brand came back, it would take an immense body of faith to sustain them. That is not something a handful of survivors could achieve by 'converting' under pressure—and besides, Karador has already made his rounds. There isn't a single dragon in the camp praying at all."
"But Tarond is vast. We cannot be certain of what is happening elsewhere," Ba Yang'er gazed instinctively into the distance, as though searching the wilderness for something. "What if... somewhere there is a great number of survivors, and after awakening they choose to rebuild the church, and their number passes that threshold..."
"The odds of that are far too low," An Qian said at once. Then he noticed that Hragor had been silent all this while, and could not help saying, "Hragor, what is it? What have you thought of?"
"I am thinking that you all have a point," Hragor finally raised his head from his brooding. His gaze swept slowly over his two old friends. "We paid a great price to perform the Rite of Adulthood, and within at least one cycle of racial memory, the effects of that rite are irreversible—moreover, I do not believe the will of dragonkind is so weak that they would bow their heads in so short a time. Even if some of our kin could not bear the pressure and began praying again, the number of dragons surviving in Tarond is far from enough, and the time is far from enough... He cannot return. It does not fit the theory."
An Qian and Ba Yang'er exchanged a glance, and in each other's eyes they both saw a grave expression. An Qian was the first to look at Hragor: "But you did sense something, didn't you?"
"I did sense something... but doesn't it strike you as strange?" Hragor's expression was unusually serious. "Why is it that only I sensed it? Why was there not the faintest echo in your minds?"
An Qian and Ba Yang'er fell into a thoughtful silence as they heard him continue: "If 'He' had truly returned, then 'His' voice should be everywhere. That is the most fundamental authority of a god, and no individual will can withstand it... Since you heard nothing, that means what I heard does not belong to a 'god'..."
Ba Yang'er frowned. "You mean..."
Hragor did not answer at once. Instead he lifted his head and looked toward the ruins of Agondor, narrowing his eyes slightly, as though carefully sensing some subtle connection in the atmosphere. The sensing went on for several minutes before he drew his gaze back from the distance: "...I sensed it again just now. But you still heard nothing, I take it?"
Ba Yang'er and An Qian looked at each other and shook their heads.