Geya lifted the carriage curtain. A pungent rush of sulfur Qi hit her nostrils, nearly making her sneeze.
Fortunately, she held it in and avoided embarrassing herself before the nobleman—
A black silk robe covered reddish-brown scales. Four lizardlike fingers, tipped with sharp black claws, held a pipe burning expensive tobacco.
Produced by the Kohlhaeron Clan specifically for Dragonborn, this tobacco contained sulfur Qi, the favorite additive of those fellows who claimed to possess Red Dragon blood.
Dragonborn were hardly uncommon in the Tyron Empire.
Even some Dragon Vein Warlocks with powerful bloodlines—the Emperor, for instance—displayed features of their ancestors, though not as dramatically as Dragonborn did.
Outside the Tyron Empire, only [Wind Sand Islet], across the continent, had a sizable Dragonborn population. The rest belonged to scattered clans dispersed throughout the land.
Now the pipe's owner exhaled a thick cloud of black smoke, faintly flecked with sparks, that nearly washed over Geya's face.
As pleasure spread across his lizardlike head, the two thick dragon horns jutting outward and the weblike membranes connecting them to his earlobes swayed slightly. The coloring there was more bronze.
Kohlhaeron Versace.
Dragonborn generally placed their clan names first.
A rising noble enjoying tremendous popularity in the Tyron Empire.
And, of course, one of her patrons.
Ever since Sotoma Reincarnation became a hit at the New Year celebration, this Dragonborn gentleman had paid her particular attention.
He had even personally selected her to accompany him to the border and chronicle his glorious achievements in "funding refugees"—
"Make a connection with Lord Versace and publicize their achievements, and wealth and glory will be waiting for you!"
Her mentor always told her that.
After all, even setting aside Lord Versace's tobacco trade in the Tyron Empire and his position as clan chief, he was a Sixth Ring