A Daily Life of a Fire Dragon

26. Dragon Lord

(five hundred years before the events in Gusu)

“My Lord!”

“My Lord!”

“My Lord!”

The shrill voices of several fire spirits rouse him from sleep. The huge red dragon lifts his head to spew fire at them. It won’t hurt them at all. The little devils enjoy it more than he does. His fire gives them power to grow. Soon, they will be able to take human form. Or something that resembles it. They will never look completely human, or be able to mix with humans. Maybe their voices won’t be so high-pitched anymore? One can hope, he thinks.

“Time to get the forge going,” Shi Lang says as he takes human form. His long hair got all tangled up again. But, he’s getting better at transformations. His clothes don’t burn up anymore. The dark red robes slightly reflect the colour of fire. It makes him smile. The cave at the side of the volcano is tinted red from lava. It’s hot in here, but he likes to sleep in hot places. The volcano is perfect for a fire dragon. Nobody ever comes here. He can practise his magic, forge his sword, and live in peace. If only the fire spirits would shut up and stop bothering him.

“You got your food, time to work!” He orders. The forge never gets cold, but someone has to blow hot air into the fire to make it work. The little spirits jump on the smith’s bellows to blow up the fire. The volcanic ore burns bright in the lava pit. His hammer is large and heavy. A few strikes can make or break a sword. But he’s creating something special with magic, fire and ash. Three blows with his hammer, then he breathes his own dragon fire on the metal. He cools it off in volcanic acid, before he repeats the process. It’s been years and he’s only half done. The sword is slowly taking shape. The dragon scales have appeared on the hilt. There are marks of heavy blows on the blade itself. It will take time to smooth those out. The guard he’s working on has a dragon’s shape. It curves around to the hilt like it wants to hug his hand when he holds the sword.

Working here should be impossible, but he is a dragon after all. Fire is in his blood. Fire dances on the tips of his fingers when he caresses the blade. The outline is there. The shape is visible. But it still has too much meat. His blade should be light and flexible. It still resembles a slab of metal too much. Drawing it out will take more time. Can he cut off the top part? How much can he sacrifice to still have enough for a sword? If he ends up with a knife, he will sacrifice about 20 years of his life and hard work. He sighs deeply. This thought has been with him for a few years, but he can not decide on cutting.

Like it is now, the sword weighs too much. The blade should not be this thick. He wants an elegant sword, not something barbaric. He’s not going to cut down large trees. If he draws it out to full length now, the blade will be as long as he is tall. That is not practical. Should he save himself some time? If he cuts off the top five centimetres, it should still be enough to create a longsword. The material he has perfectly tempered will be used for something else. He does need a spear and a bow, too. But, that is for later. He can’t get distracted, or the sword will never get finished.

“My Lord!”

“My Lord!”

“My Lord!”

The fire spirits are upset about something. He wishes they would stop screaming and just talk normally.

“Stop with that noise. What is it?” Shi Lang glares at them. The small dancing flames shrink in size at his scrutiny. They fear him. He would never hurt them. They haven’t done anything wrong. Killing the innocent just for being annoying would hurt his cultivation. He would also feel bad about it.

“The volcano is rumbling!” The spirits shout in just one voice. They are afraid.

“Nothing will happen. It’s just urging me on. I have to stop idling and work harder,” Shi Lang tells them. The volcano is actually cooling down. He can feel the difference. A significant drop in temperature will hurt his sword. He gets back to work. Will the volcano keep steady for a few more years? He can’t hold his human form indefinitely, and a dragon as young as him needs a lot of sleep. A few strikes with the hammer, a dip in acid, and repeat.

-//-

The shape of the sword is finally the way he wanted it to be. Those pesky spirits told him that he slept for five years, but he was just so exhausted. They don’t understand that living creatures need to sleep. Even immortal dragons are no exception to that rule. The only thing the sword needs now is a name. He’s been wandering the land in his dreams. There is a town where a lot of blacksmiths live and they create the finest blades mankind has seen. He wonders how those would compare to his own sword? The name of the town has a nice ring to it. He likes it a lot. That is why he will name his sword after it.

Shi Longyuan. Yes. It feels right. The sword resonates with a deep sound that only he can hear. He flicks out a claw. The sharp tip is metal-like with flames dancing freely over it. Infusing some magic into his motion, he scribbles the name of the sword into the guard. The finishing touch is his dragon emblem on the blade. He puts it on everything he owns. Not that he actually has many things. Most would burn up this close to an active volcano. He stored a few things in a cave on the other side of the mountain range. That place might be home for a while.

Shi Lang sets the sword aside. He is content and very happy about the way it turned out. The spear is next. Drawing out that piece of tempered metal is easy. His claws and a bit of magic can do the job just fine. There is a pool of acid outside the cave he works in. The temperature is just slightly less than his own body heat. He dips his claws into it. Then he sends his magic to the tips like he did before. The small piece of metal begins taking shape. A long, round staff is formed in just a few minutes. He shapes the end into a sharp point with backwards facing wings. If only creating a sword would be this easy. But there are no shortcuts in sword making. Magic alone is not enough if he wants the sword to last him his whole life.

After he gets some sleep, he returns to the forge. The design for his bow has been stuck in his mind for a long time. Metal is not the preferred material for a bow, but he doesn’t care. His weapons have to be the same, or very alike at least. The spear is light and it fits perfectly in his hand. The sword is a piece of art. So, why can’t his bow be as well? As a dragon, he is much stronger than humans. A metal bow should not be a challenge for him. He shapes it in the elegant curve that represents a flying dragon. After infusing his own magic and blood into it, this weapon will only obey him. All it needs is a string.

Shi Lang calls for the fire spirits. It will take all of them to do what he needs. He decided that the string on his bow will be a single dragon hair. If he’s creating divine weapons, he might as well go all in with it. It will definitely be unique. He explains to the spirits what he needs them to do. His claws are too big and not agile enough in dragon form to get a single strand of hair from his mane. Then he transforms and lays down. The spirits are not strong, but there are many of them. Eventually they manage to pull out a single hair. The length of it looks like a long rope in their small hands. He cuts off what he needs. It will make a perfect string for his bow. The rest gets stored away for later use.

Leaving the fire spirits behind makes him sad, but he can’t take them all with him. He doesn’t know where his journey will take him. Humans don’t understand spirits, and cultivators don’t like them. He is set on cultivation. Getting to know his limits. Learn something new. To fly freely through the clouds. He heard that the cultivators gather their knowledge in libraries and books. That sounds intriguing to him. So, the first thing he will do is to learn how to read.