Lufuna pulled her thoughts away from the memories, and the charcoal pen paused on the paper. She wrote the last few words - the second year. Then she added a period at the end.
The period was very heavy, and the pen tip paused on the paper, leaving a small ink pit.
She closed the diary, picked up the water bottle on the table and took two more sips. The water was not cold anymore, but it was not warm either. It was the kind of lukewarm water that becomes neither hot nor cold after being left for a while, neither good nor bad to drink.
The sound of birds came from outside the window again, the same few birds were still quarreling.
Lufuna stood up, picked up the scholar's hat on the table, put it on his head, and walked towards the door.
Vagrian. The country ruled by the legendary Red Dragon Emperor--Valerirus.
It is said that this place was originally an inconspicuous small country in the depths of the continent, with a small population, not many cities, and many ethnic groups living together here. Because it is far inland and far away from the spheres of influence of big countries such as Karelia, Saint Junxi, Victoria, etc., it has neither been coveted nor protected by anyone.
It exists quietly in the cracks of history, like a puzzle piece forgotten in the corner, taking up no space and no one cares whether it is missing or not.
About a thousand years ago, the red dragon came here with his family members. It was not an invasion, not a conquest, but a more accurate term - arrival.
Just like a red storm sweeping from the mountains in the east, when the storm dissipated, the red dragon was already standing at the gate of the city. The ruler of the city at the time - a little-known little king - is said to have knelt down the moment he saw the red dragon.
It wasn't that he was scared, but that he saw something in Long's eyes - not the desire to kill, not the desire to dominate, but something stronger and more unshakable, something like "This matter has been decided, it doesn't matter whether you agree or not."
He had no suggestions, no negotiations, no bargaining. He chose to kneel down. No one knew what he was thinking. Some said he was smart, some said he was cowardly, and some said he just understood the situation before anyone else.
In any case, the red dragon accepted his surrender and allowed him to continue to manage the city, but from now on there was only one real ruler - Red Dragon Emperor Valerirus.
More than a thousand years have passed. That small country has become Vagrian, a country whose territory is not large, but no one dares to despise it. That city has become Valerirus, a capital named after a giant dragon that claims to have the largest palace in the world.
The descendants of that little king are still there, and are now a governor who manages the daily affairs of the city. The title sounds great, but it has only one power - to implement the decisions Red Dragon Emperor has made.
Red Dragon Emperor--Valerirus. It is said to be the oldest dragon on this continent. His age is a mystery. Some say he lived for five thousand years, some say he lived ten thousand years, and some say he has existed since the previous era.
No one knows, and no one dares to ask. He is the eternal ruler of this country. After a long time, no one can shake his rule.
Neither can his children. Those dragon princes have noble blood and strong power, but the only thing they can get from their father is the territory elsewhere - the not-so-rich frontiers far away from the capital.
Some of them accepted it and took their dependents to distant places; some did not accept it and are still here, but they dare not do anything because they are only the sons of the red dragon.
Lufuna Pushed open the door of the library and walked to the square outside. Outside the door was a short set of stone steps. Below the stone steps was a neatly paved stone road. The stone road led to the main road of the city, and the main road led to the huge castle in the city center.
She looked up at the castle - a palace that was almost as big as a mountain, and was known as the largest palace in the world. From the base to the highest spire, the entire castle was made of red granite, glowing dark red in the sunlight, like coagulated blood.
The city wall is said to be thick enough to allow ten carriages to run side by side, and the tower is said to be so high that one can see the coastline on the other side of the continent from the top.
The dome of the main hall is inlaid with a huge red gem, which is the symbol of Vagrian and the symbol of Red Dragon Emperor. It is said that the gem will glow at night, and the light can illuminate the entire palace.
The name is indeed not in vain. Lufuna said in her heart. She has stayed in Vagrian for more than a year and can see this palace every day, but every time she sees it, she is still shocked by its scale.
It's not the kind of "wow, it's so big" kind of shock, but the kind of "human beings are really insignificant in front of it" kind of shock with a sense of powerlessness.
A little girl with short dark brown hair stood at the foot of the stone steps. She was a dragonborn. The dependents brought by Red Dragon Emperor were not only his kind, but also those races who were attracted by his power, followed him, and signed some ancient contract with him.
They are called Dragonborn, and they prefer to call themselves Ignis People. The little girl stood there with her hands behind her back and her toes drawing circles on the ground.
There are two pointed, slightly backward-curving horns on its head. The color of the horns is dark gray, and there are some small scratches on the surface, as if they have been rubbed by something.
There were several faint red scales on her cheeks, which were not on the surface of the skin, but more like a faint blush coming from underneath the skin. Her eyes were dark amber, with vertical pupils, just like the curator.
But her vertical pupils were not as steady as the curator's, but a brighter, more restless amber color, as if there was fire burning inside.
Lufuna smiled.
"You're here."
"Yes." The little girl responded and stretched out her hand behind her back. In her hand, she held a stone, the size of a palm, dusty, with a thin layer of soil on the surface.
She handed the stone over, flipped her wrist, and the stone landed firmly in Lufuna's palm. The movement was very fast and casual, like throwing something that didn't need to be handled with care.
Lufuna lowered his head and looked at it. This stone really didn't need to be handled with care. It looked dusty and had an uneven surface, as if it had been randomly picked up from a river beach.
But she knew it wasn't. This stone was actually a very ancient ore, and the energy in it had almost been dissipated, but there was still some information in the texture of the ore that was not clearly visible to the naked eye.
"Thank you." Lufuna took out a few silver coins from the leather bag on his waist.
The silver coin was Vagrian currency, with a circling dragon on it. The dragon held an unknown gem in its mouth, and there was a circle of fine lines on the edge that looked like dragon scales. She handed the silver coin over.
The little girl took the silver coin and counted three in her hand. "I don't know why you collected the stones." The silver coin turned over between her fingers, making a crisp, tinkling sound. The sound was very pleasant.
Lufuna smiled lightly. She put the stone away and rubbed her fingers on the rough, cold surface of the ore. "This thing is quite useful. Its history--"
"Okay, okay." The little girl knew that she was going to say something she didn't understand again. She had heard Lufuna say it once before, about the age, composition, origin, and use of a stone. It lasted almost half an hour, but she didn't understand a word of it.
Since then, she has learned to quickly interrupt after Lufuna says the words "its history" and then change the topic.
Lufuna put the stone into the leather bag on his waist and tightened the rope at the mouth of the bag. "You didn't get beaten, did you?"
The little girl was stunned for a moment, "... No." She answered, but it was a little late. I'm not lying, I didn't expect to be asked this question.
She doesn't have many friends here, and no one asks her such things. When asked suddenly, she doesn't know what tone to use to answer.
Lufuna looked at her, thinking about what she wanted to say, but finally did not say it out. This is a country ruled by dragons, but the status of dragon-born does not seem to be much higher than that of other races.
They are not aristocrats, not the ruling class, and even the status of "Red Dragon Emperor's dependents" does not bring them any actual preferential treatment. Here, people look at strength - if you can fight, you will have food to eat; if you can't, you have to endure.
The parents of this dragonborn child may or may not be powerful, but she is still young, and the thin dragon blood in her body has not brought her any benefits other than allowing her to grow two horns and a few scales.
Lufuna wanted to say something - such as "If you are unhappy, come to me", "If someone bullies you, tell me", etc. But she didn't have time to speak.
Huh?
Lufuna raised his head.
Heaven, is it dark?