The sea broke open as Lukas rose from its depths, his vast draconic frame shimmering in the open sun. Each step he took onto the shores of Linemall left deep impressions in the sand, seawater spilling from the grooves in his scales.

To Lukas, this draconic form of his felt truer than flesh and bone. The weight of wings, the strength in sinew and claw—this was how he was meant to exist.

Behind him came Selene of Dawn, her crimson scales blazing like a banner in the sunlight, her bulk cutting a proud silhouette against the sea. Katrina followed after, her form long and serpentine, blue scales glistening as though the ocean itself had shaped her body. Upon their backs, there were two riders: Rosalia astride Lukas' mother and the Lady Kaitlyn seated with poise upon her granddaughter's shoulders having remained in her humanoid form.

As they strode upon the shore, the people of the coastal towns gathered in reverent silence. Dragons of the Earth and the Seas alike pressed back from the streets, eyes wide with awe. Whispers spread like fire through dry grass. They had all heard rumors—that Lord Jaren's bastard son, long thought dead, had awakened—but rumors were one thing. Now, faced with the subject of those rumors, they bowed. The white halo above his head shone with its own light, even beneath the sun.

Lukas let the Crown's power ripple outward, a silent greeting that touched every mind that met his gaze. It was not fear he sought, but recognition: the bond between Lord and people. Yet as the bows deepened and voices murmured prayers, Lukas felt a pang of humility. These dragons of the Earth honored him because of his name, because of this Legacy; because of the Crown that sat atop his head. The people of Linemall had always and would always look to their Lords as guardians. Whether of it was the Lord of the Seas, the Earth or the Flames, the Great Houses carried their trust and respect.

Here in these towns, the dragons of the Earth and the Seas lived among one another. Lukas saw scales of ochre and sapphire alike, heard the clink of Tritons—the currency that had been introduced by the Sea's Merchant Guild—exchanging hands in bustling stalls. It seemed like the influence of the Guild's coin had reached even the coastal towns of Linemall.

Trade flourished here, binding regions that politics strained to keep apart.

For a moment Lukas wished he could linger, to walk among these people not as a figure of myth, but as one of their Lords. Lukas wanted to learn more about their lives, to bridge the distance between Crown and commoner. But time was a luxury that he did not have.

The Draconic Summit waited in the Ancestral Lands, and to reach it he would have to cross the regions of the Earth. Other routes existed, but Lukas chose the harder road. The fighting among the Great Houses had to end. Peace could not be forged from avoidance. House Teralyon awaited him, and Lukas would meet them face to face.

So their journey pressed on.

Through the day they moved and when his loved ones grew weary, Lukas bore them upon his back; his steps tireless. The Divinity of the Seas coursed through him, sustaining body and spirit alike.

The moment they crossed into the regions of the Earth and left the coastal towns behind them, Lukas began to see the biological differences within their race.

The dragons of the Seas were born of tide and current. Their forms were sleek and fluid, their scales fitted close like a second skin, built for speed through water. Many carried fins and ridges along their backs, some even with gills slitting their necks, their bodies sculpted by generations of life beneath the waves. Some of their anatomy were much like the creatures of the deep which was why Lukas' new appendage did not bring much attention despite the Kraken's gruesome appearance.

But the dragons born of the Earth were nothing like them.

At first, Lukas thought the regions of the Earth were quite empty; thinking that the population was sparse. It was only when a great boulder shifted and rose onto clawed limbs that he realized the truth. The dragons of the Earth had been all around him from the beginning, hidden in plain sight. Their scales were coarse, patterned in the browns and grays of stone. Some were ridged like shale, others thick and craggy like slabs of granite.

Entire forests seemed to grow from some of their bodies—vines trailing down their flanks, moss clinging to their wings, branches sprouting from the ridges of their spines. One ancient wyvern lumbered past with a sapling rooted between its shoulders, leaves trembling as though the wind itself bent reverently before the creature.

They were not simply inhabitants of the Earth; they were living expressions of it. When they moved, the forest moved with them. Trees groaned as massive shapes disentangled from the undergrowth. Rocks stirred, vines lifted, the ground itself seemed to shift until Lukas realized it was no small hill but a dragon, bowing low to him.

Lukas felt the Crown respond in answer, its authority acknowledged even here, among beings so ancient and silent they seemed carved from the land itself.

Unlike the coastal towns, there were no tiled roofs or market stalls here. It seemed like the dragons of the Earth lived in harmony with the wild—hollowed trees, caves veined with crystal, streams that doubled as their lairs. Their presence was subtle but immense, as though every stone and every shadow might conceal watchful eyes.

Lukas could not help but marvel at this world of Linemall he had never seen until now. He remembered Magnus's words now during their first lesson as the Head Mage told Lukas that dragons were creatures of magical origins. It was why many of them were born with Pools of Mana, even wyverns like his mother were granted this gift when so few humans could say the same. Now, looking upon the living forests that bowed before him, Lukas understood the truth in those words in a way he never had before. And with that understanding came a surge of affection for this Kingdom that was his to protect.

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Rosalia and Katrina shared his wonder, their gazes darting from one colossal shape to the next, trying to drink in every sight.

Yet Selene and Lady Kaitlyn carried themselves with calm composure. They had seen this before, Lukas realized. In another time, before the Great War, they had walked through this same path they took now.

One thing did stand out to Lukas, however.

Among the Earthborn, there were none who took on humanoid forms even those he knew to be dragonborn. When their eyes flicked toward Rosalia or the others who took on their humanoid forms, there was a glint of disdain.

But it passed quickly.

The Earthborn were a quiet people, not prone to open conflict. Their bows were solemn, their silence reverent.

The journey through their lands was not troubled with words, but heavy with meaning. To Lukas, every step they took made him realize how little he knew of his own kind and that there was so much more to learn about the draconic kind.

For five days, their journey through the regions of the Earth remained undisturbed; the silence of the land broken only by the rustle of trees and the distant cry of beasts. That quiet ended when Selene brushed Lukas's shoulder with her own, her crimson head angling sharply toward the treeline.

They had stopped before a giant mountain when Selene noticed something was wrong.

"Something moves," she said to him through the bond established by the Crown.

Lukas followed her gaze.

At first, he saw nothing but shadow between the trunks—then the shadows themselves seemed to shift. Massive figures emerged from the forest, each step heavy enough to stir the roots. Their presence hit him like an landslide. The air thickened, saturated with a Divinity Lukas had never felt before, and the ground quivered as though recognizing its masters. The very trees leaned in response, their leaves whispering under the weight of their magic.

The Dragonborn of the Earth surrounded them in an instant.

They were larger than the dragons he had seen thus far—hulking forms clad in stone-colored scales that seemed hewn from the mountains themselves. Jagged ridges rose from their backs like broken cliffs, moss clinging to their armor of flesh. Their eyes glowed faintly, reflecting power older than most kingdoms. They circled around the group slowly, snarling low, a rumble that vibrated through Lukas's chest.

Word of Lukas' passage must have spread.

The Dragonborn of the Earth had come to stand before him, preventing them from going any further.

Rosalia tightened her hold upon him, nails biting against his scales as her tension bled into him.

Katrina was less restrained. With a single motion she slid her warhammer from her back, the head of it gleaming ominously. She was ready for battle, simply waiting for Lukas to give her the order.

The air grew taut.

Lukas did not know how many of them there were, but it was clear they were outnumbered—ten to one at least, perhaps more. He stood tall, forcing calm into his limbs, still towering over a great number of them. He would not provoke them, not unless he must. His wish was for peace, for an end to the tension between House Drakos and House Teralyon. But that wish was fragile compared to the instinct burning in him now; the desire to protect the people he loved stronger than any other.

The silence stretched, heavy as stone.

The dragonborn's Divinity swelled, building with every breath, until the ground itself seemed to tremble beneath its weight.

Lukas prepared to release his own power—when he saw where Selene and Lady Kaitlyn's attention truly lay.

Not on the circling dragonborn.

But on the mountain beyond.

Realization struck him like a blow.

The dragonborn had not attacked because they were waiting just like Katrina was.

They waiting for their orders.

They were waiting for her.

The mountain stirred.

What Lukas had thought stone and cliff began to shift, massive plates grinding against one another. The slope heaved, tearing trees from their roots as something unimaginably vast rose from beneath the earth. Tremors rolled outward as the Dragon Lord of the Earth lifted her colossal head and opened eyes that gleamed like molten amber.

And there she stood.

Erandyl Telaryon, first of her name, Dragon Lord of the Earth.

Lukas was vast, the largest dragon he had ever known aside from Thalarion Drakos himself and he had only seen his forefather in the worlds within the Crest. Before her Lukas felt small, as though reduced to a hatchling in her shadow. The Head of House Telaryon was ancient, her sheer size the testament of unbroken centuries. Dragons never ceased growing; with age came both immensity and authority of which Erandyl had both in abundance.

Her Crown ignited and at once Lukas felt the weight of her mind press into his. His own Legacy flared in response, their thoughts brushing against one another like a clash of blades.

"So you must be the new Head of House Drakos." Her voice filled his head, gravelly yet edged with a faint amusement. That amusement faltered as she probed deeper and sensed the breadth of him—the maturity, the depth he carried far beyond what his youthful form suggested. The years he had spent within Kairos Castle had shaped him into something else altogether.

Respect touched her thoughts, reshaping her tone. "I am Erandyl, Head of House Telaryon. Dragon Lord of the Earth."

But then her gaze slid past him to the Royal Consort who stood calmly at his side. The Lady Kaitlyn Drakos stared up at the ancient Dragon Lord without the slightest trace of fear, still in her humanoid form. Her expression was unreadable, but her voice when it came was steady and sharp.

"It's good to see you again…grandmother."

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