[826] – Y03.126 – Troublesome IV

[826] – Y03.126 – Troublesome IV

Victory!

XP Gained: +500

XP: 14 300 -> 14 800

‘Did you split the XP with everyone?’

[Yes.]

‘Damn!’ Adam raised his brows. He supposed it made sense that so many hydras would give them so much XP, but he hadn’t even thought how it would be split among roughly fifty or so people. ‘Hold on, should I be splitting XP between the children? Will they randomly begin to get a bunch of skills? How does that work?’

[...]

‘Bell?’

[Yes?]

‘How does that work?’

[It works.]

Adam let out a sigh, realising why he didn’t speak to Bell often.

Jurot’s eyes remained focused on the dead hydras, which had been killed with Iyrman efficiency. The hydra had torn into his side, and though it had broken through his skin, Jurot did not gather the wound was too serious, outside of a light medical touch from one of the priests.

He stared at the hydra. Its scales. Those heads which had provided those who could deal with the vicious creatures ample leather and scale to be used for armour, and so many other items. Hydras were quite a popular resource within the Iyr due to how easy they were to farm their materials. Many an Iyrman in each generation was often tasked with such, though...

‘Seven hydras?’

Jurot hadn’t heard of so many hydras together. One was uncommon, two was rarer, and three rarer than even that. Four? Yes, there were some stories with four, and one with five. Six? Jurot hadn’t heard of such a story, though perhaps it was because six hydras together could deal with almost every grouping of warriors to have walked the land in the last few millennia.

Jurot’s thoughts fell to the several figures he had met who wouldn’t have had to struggle against even ten hydras. The flames appeared in front of his eyes, which narrowed.

‘Stronger.’

“We should be careful,” Jaygak said, her eyes scanning the forest around them. “I’ve never heard a tale with seven hydras.”

“What do you mean you’ve never heard a tale with seven hydras?”

“The most I’ve heard numbers five,” Jaygak said. “It was...”

“Tamin, Sharat, Manfan, Zojyn, with the support of the East Rain Sword, Strong Fist, and Dawnblade,” Kitool said. “The Iyrman each held their own against the hydras while the trio of Aldishmen assisted them, in a similar manner as we have fought.”

“Ah? Are they famous heroes of the Iyr?” Adam asked.

“What did she do?”

“It was during the time of the Great Plague, during the time of the nascent Confederacy, the group had adventured, and were some of the few survivors who were able to return to the Iyr well. They had each managed to gain favours from dragons they had let free. The Chief at the time stepped down and allowed new blood to step into the role, which they advised. It was in the chaos of the plague in which several dragons decided to act up across the land, trying to enforce their will onto the nearby lands.”

‘Damn, that must have been brutal,’ Adam thought. ‘It makes sense the dragons made a play during the plague, since everything would have been so chaotic. Trust an Iyrman to call something like that acting up.’

“In the histories of the lands nearby, the dragons who acted up during the time are considered a footnote, barely appearing within the plague. They brought some devastation, but the histories say they were pushed back by brave warriors, probably those of their noble blood...” Jaygak almost rolled her eyes.

“What happened?”

“The dragons who acted up were numerous, but more importantly, it was one of the few times three Ancient Dragons acted up. One in the north, one around the south of Aldland and the west of Aswadasad, and one in East Aswadasad. There are more tales of the Ancient Dragon who tried to bend East Aswadasad to his will, but there are few of the pair who tried to ravage the nearby lands...”

Jaygak leaned in. “Chief Manfan, with the previous Chief as her advisor, and Tamin the Scourge as one of her Commanders and Sharat the Bane as another Commander, not including all the other great figures of the time, understood these dragons needed to be forced away, and so they forced them away. She watched over the next generation of not just Iyrmen, but Aldishmen and Aswadians alike, making sure the order was maintained. Though the plague should have led to the a great collapse and more chaos across the land, it was Chief Manfan’s wisdom and might which kept the land stable. The next generation, the Quiet Generation, was filled with a time of very few stories for we Iyrmen. The Iyr had grown quiet. Not silent, quiet.”

Adam could see within Jaygak’s eyes something dangerous. It was that kind of dangerous, as though she knew a secret Adam wanted to know, daring him to ask.

‘Should I?’

“Though we Iyrmen love our stories, and though she presided over a time which brought in the fewest stories to date, but the stories which were brought were unlike any other.”

“Chief Manfan was not just a Chief for the Iyr, but a Chief for the lands around,” Kitool said. “She is considered among the greatest not because her name appears in the lands around, but because her name did not. The Aldishmen do not know of the fortune which was Chief Manfan, because it was what Chief Manfan had chosen.”

‘I know they’re pretty shadowy, but considering how they’re talking about Chief Manfan...’ Adam raised his brows. “Well, that’s pretty great for the Fan family. Though... it is weird hearing about a Chief who wanted peace across the land considering you’re Iyrmen.”

“You may name any Chief of the Iyr and it is likely they had undermined the nearby nations in some way, while keeping the land balanced. However, how many were able to keep the status quo during a time of the greatest calamities? It was always hard work, but for Manfan.” Jaygak held up her hand, writing in the air. “She wrote it to be the case, and so it was.”

“It was that easy?”

“It was difficult, but she had done so greater than any Chief previously. The first few Chiefs are among the Iyr’s greatest Chiefs, and she had matched them in some ways, and surpassed them in other ways.”

“I see...” Adam said, thinking about Jaygak’s words. “I guess that means Chief Iromin’s going to be considered as great as Manfan then.”

Jaygak coughed, almost snorting with laughter. Tears formed within her eyes as she tried not to laugh too wildly. She glanced towards Adam’s smirk, which set her off into raucous laughter.

Kitool let out a soft sigh. No doubt Adam was joking, but the fact it could be taken seriously caused her forehead to pound.

It was crazy to think that Chief Iromin may truly be considered on the same level as Manfan.

Manfan who not only quietly kept the peace across the nearby lands for a generation during one of its worst calamities, but had gained favours from not one but four different Ancient Dragons.

It was something which surpassed even the feat of the most well known Fan ancestor, Razfan, the White Wolf of the North, was something that brought too much stress to her shoulders.

Who will cause more trouble? Four Ancient Dragons, or a father of the most adorable kids?