Chapter 3360 Dragon Hearth (Part 1)

"You should have told me of your plan!" Leria grunted. "I have nothing to add to the pyre."

"It's fine." Aran shrugged. "It won't remind Grandpa Valtak of just me, but of all us Verhens."

***

Later, as the last bit of the sun slowly descended below the horizon, the Wyrms formed a circle and breathed bursts of Origin Flames until their lungs ran out of air. Valtak's corpse had already been removed and all the piles of treasure merged into one funeral pyre placed exactly over the Father of Fire's spot.

Each Dragon breathed their own Flames without mixing them with those of others, creating a multi-colored corona of fire.

To honor Aran's contribution, the Fire Dragons used Primal Spark on him and Leria, allowing them to use their mana to breathe bright yellow Origin Flames. A large blackened area now marked the floor as a testament to its previous owner.

As the Flames burned high, the Wyrms conjured an air wall from every side to ensure that not one speck of ashes would be lost. When the fire died down, the Fire Dragons had the first pick under Erghak's attentive gaze.

Only one human handful could be taken. Lith and the others were considered Fire Dragons and went first, Kamila included.

"I didn't know Valtak well so I'll split my ashes between Elysia and Valeron." She said. "I want them to have something to remember him by once they get old enough to understand what happened to him."

Once the sun disappeared, the lights in the cave went out and the guests moved outside to say their farewells.

"That's very thoughtful of you, Kami." Solus would have liked to give some of her ashes too, but Valtak had died for her and she wanted to always remember his sacrifice.

Under the light of the moon, the stars, and the spells, the Wyrms raised a final toast at Valtak's memory.

"One moment, please." Lith said. "There's something I need to do while we are still under this sacred covenant in honor of our fallen friend."

The Dragons lowered their glasses and moved their eyes to the Tiamat.

"After thinking long and hard, I came to the conclusion that my first assessment was right. Many people participated in the mission to rescue my beloved friend and relative Solus Verhen, but Valtak's contributions exceeded everyone else's by a wide margin. "He gave it everything he had and some more. It's only right that I return the favor. Not to him because he's beyond such matters now, but to his family." Lith took the Ears of Menadion out of his pocket dimension.

"Erghak, this belongs to you and your Brood now. Inside, you'll find the instructions on how to use it." Lith winked from the eye on his forehead so that only the Fire Dragon standing in front of him could see it.

A neatly folded piece of paper was attached to the inner lining of the helm, containing the basics of how to use the Ears, its unlock code, and how to seal the artifact again if needed.

"I accept your generosity and applaud your wisdom." Erghak gave Lith a deep bow, quickly followed by the rest of the Fire Dragons. "Elder Ronak, if you please!"

The bearded Wyrm, son of Valtak, stepped forward, giving Lith a polite nod and looking at Erghak with curiosity.

"We have yet to decide who among us will imprint the Ears of Menadion and be its true master." The younger Wyrm said. "To avoid strife and plotting from the less honorable members of our kind, I propose we split this responsibility."

Erghak took the piece of paper from inside the helm without opening it and explained its meaning to the Elder. Then, he stored the instruction inside a dimensional ring and handed it to Ronak.

"This way, I can't access the instructions and neither can you." The Fire Dragon continued. "I can now entrust the Ears to our council of Elders since without the code the power of the Ears is more than halved.

"Even if someone manages to steal and imprint the Ears, it won't do them much good." "Excellent idea." Ronak stored the ring inside his own dimensional amulet. "Without our greed blinding us, there's hope we'll put the good of our Brood above our own. Sadly, the same can't be said about our brothers."

The Elder Wyrm glared at the crowd of Dragons staring at the Ears like a pack of hungry wolves standing in front of a wounded deer.

Most of them either cleared their throats or blushed a little before turning their heads in embarrassment. Very few ignored the remark and kept staring,

Ronak gave the Ears to another Elder who stored it away, snapping even the greediest Dragon out of their greed.

"To Valtak!" Erghak raised his glass, resuming the toast.

"May your flame burn even brighter in the next world!" The Wyrms followed suit as one, their voices rising to the sky as a booming echo to Erghak's.

***

Soon after the toast, the sun disappeared past the horizon and the Dragons left the Blackfang Mountain after saying their goodbyes.

"One moment, young fellow." Lith and the others were about to leave as well when

Ronak stopped them. "Since you have contributed to add one more page to our traditions, we'd like to keep a sample of your Origin Flames in our Dragon Hearth."

"My Flames?" Aran echoed in disbelief.

"What's the Dragon Hearth?" Leria asked.

"A room inside our ancestral home where we store containers like this one." Ronak took a glass vase with a metal lid and bottom. "It's called Firekeeper and can contain a small wisp of Origin Flames indefinitely.

"We use them to collect the essence of the meritorious members of our Brood, like our Champions and Fathers of Fire. The Dragon Hearth is lit solely by Firekeepers and we believe that by standing in the light of our benefactors we can obtain their guidance." "But I can't breathe Origin Flames and I'm not even a Dragon." Aran lowered his gaze and tormented his fingers.

"I can help you with the Flames like I already did during the funeral." Ronak replied. "Sadly, I can't make you a Dragon, but I believe in you, Hatchling. I'll keep your fire and as soon as you reach the deep blue core, I'll petition for adding your Flames to the Dragon Hearth. What do you say?"

"It would be my honor!" Aran furled and unfurled his wings in excitement.

Leria stared at the Elder Wyrm with a pleading look but Ronak shrugged and shook his head. He opened the Firekeeper and put his hand on Aran's back, activating the Primal

Spark bloodline ability.

Aran could have produced magical fire from any part of his body and Primal Spark would have turned it into Origin Flames but he chose to do it from the mouth, imitating how he had seen Lith doing it to the best of his abilities.

"Too much enthusiasm, Hatchling. I need a wisp, not a river!" The Elder Wyrm chuckled, smothering most of the Flames until only the equivalent of a candle remained.

Lith used the Eyes to study the Firekeeper, discovering that it wasn't much different from the bottles the Dragons used to store and sell their flames.

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