The Journey to Dragon City

The map the king provided was inside a book. According to the book, near the North Pole, on the tallest mountain laid the dragon kingdom. Although it's not a magical realm, the journey there was arduous and deadly.

Even if people successfully made it to the mountain, they still had to find the clues to find the hidden entrance to the Dragon Realm.

Looking at the map, Will realized the Dragon Realm had the same mythical requirements as Shangri-La. Will wondered if Dragon Realm would be as utopian and harmonious as ancient Tibetan scriptures suggested.

The scriptures spoke of a hidden mountain city, on a plateau with an eternal spring despite being at an elevation of over five thousand meters and having fertile and verdant land with an abundant supply of clean water.

The Dragon Realm was a marvelous city governed by the god beast, Tiamat, the Mother of all Dragons, who the dragons worship.

Due to the immensely powerful dragons and isolation from mankind, humans and dragons did not interact. At least knowingly, Will assumed dragons were capable of body modification magic and could take on beautiful human forms.

Despite their large bodies, massive wings, and powerful horns and fangs, dragons could speak the human language.

However, unlike humans, dragons were sexually ambiguous and had difficulty producing children between themselves like elves.

Dragons would often leave the mountain to seek out sexual partners, and then return pregnant or with an egg.

…

With its everlasting spring, the forests of the Dragon Realm were always decorated with fresh growth. The leaves were a deep green, and when you looked up at them from inside the forest, they sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight shining through the treetops.

However, in a gloomy cave lay a dying fire-breathing winged dragon. In that gloomy cave, he opened his eyes and seemed to sense something. Something, no someone was coming to see him.

"Perceval, how are you feeling?" a white Loong dragon called into the cave.

"You feel it too? That's why you came!" Perceval coughed sickly.

There was no response from the white dragon, she only looked on sympathetically.

"Stop it. Stop ignoring me! Tell me what you know," Perceval demanded.

"Your core shall save another," Tiamat comforted.

"Does it have to do with the impending war?" Perceval wheezed exasperatedly.

"I do not know? Gaia has not spoken to me since the last great schism," Tiamat said apologetically.

"Please make sure my sacrifice is for a good purpose," Perceval panicked as his breathing became labored.

"My child, I'll always protect you," Tiamat said instantaneously transformed into a beautiful mature voluptuous woman with tan caramel skin and long sexy legs, flowing white hair, and wearing a white one-piece gown. She looked like a human goddess, except with horns on her head.

"Thank you, mother," Perceval said.

"Rest child, I must get ready to meet our new guests.

…

As Will and Nisha traveled, the arctic winds and snow pelted the airship. The further north they traveled the slower the airship moved. Finally, with the target mountain in sight, the airship hovered in midair, like it hit a barrier.

When the ship landed, Will and Nisha changed into their snow wear and began a five-kilometer walk to the mountain.

They climbed up the mountain path until they reached a dead end. At the dead-end, Will found a riddle: 'You measure my life in hours, and I serve you by expiring. I'm quick when I'm thin and slow when I'm fat. The wind is my enemy. What am I?'

"Is this some kind of cruel joke?" Will wondered out loud. Answering riddles in subzero freezing weather seemed more like torture than a test.

After thinking for a while, Will answered, "you are a candle!"

From underneath the snow blinking, lights appeared offering them a hidden pathway forward in the blizzard-like conditions.

After two kilometers, the pathway led to a dead and a second riddle appeared. 'I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?'

This question was undoubtedly harder than the first. It took Will and Nisha longer to come up with the correct answer.

"You are a map!" Will called out.

Suddenly a hidden mountain door rose, and Will and Nisha walked into a cave. However, this time instead of light leading the way, a map and torch magically appeared.

Once again, Will and Nisha walked two kilometers in the dark cave before it led to a dead end. And a third riddle appeared. 'I get cut but I never bleed. I have teeth but I don't bite. I get put on a ring but I'm not a gem. I get turned but I'm not a page. What am I?

Will and Nisha spent longer debating the riddle before Will guessed, "a key."

This time a key magically appeared in Will's hands, which he needed to open a door.

Will put the key in the door, and it swung upon to a skinny rock bridge, barely wide enough for a man to cross. Worse still, was the 20-meter free-fall on jagged rocks.

Outside the door, a sign read, 'First, is the Path of the Gaia: Only a penitent man shall pass. Second, is the Word of Gaia: Only in the footsteps of Goddess, shall he proceed. Third, is the Breath of Aether: Only in a leap from the dragon's head, shall he prove his worth.'

After reading, Will realized the skinny rock bridge, which did not lead to the other side, was in the form of a Loong dragon. From the end of the rock bridge to the other ledge was a 12-meter jump. Will gulped in shock.

Nisha was the first to cross. With her animalistic abilities, she nimbly crossed the rock bridge and jumped to the other side.

"Footsteps, what are Gaia's footsteps?" Will thought out loud.

Will cast [Tectonic], his only movement spell. Will guessed the tectonic plates could be seen as Gaia's footsteps. As he crossed, he recited the little he remembered from Gaia's Bible.

Soon, Will reached the end of the skinny rock bridge and then something terrible and unexpected happen.

At the end of the rock bridge, Will's mana pool was suppressed. He could not use mana. He could not cast a single spell. Will panicked. How was he expected to jump 12 meters without magic? Without magic, he was just an ordinary man like was on Earth.

But, even on Earth, he was still an extraordinarily wealthy and successful man.

Will stood on the dragon's head that marked the end of the skinny rock bridge. Believing in himself and the primordial gods, Will closed his eyes and jumped as hard as he could.

After he jumped, Will felt himself float into the air on a soft cloud and easily made it to the other side.

Will laughed, the blind jump was over a wind tunnel. As long as a person jumped the air current would easily push them to the other side.

"We did it!" Will said telepathically to Nisha.

"You were scared!" Nisha joked.

"I was not. I was cautious," Will childishly retorted.

"Well done you two!" said a big dragon descending from the sky. Will watched as the giant dragon's outlines changed down to human size. The woman wearing an icy blue robe and a square hood over her head. Will could tell the woman was flawlessly beautiful, even more, beautiful than the elven queen.

"Greetings—" Will's introduction was interrupted.

"Mother Tiamat already told me. Welcome William vont Ballard and Nisha," the dragon said telepathically.

Will and Nisha bowed upon meeting their first dragon.

"I am a priestess and maid servant to Tiamat. My name is not important," the woman said telepathically answering Will's question.

Please follow me, she said leading through a hidden crack in the walls. The way the crack was made, gave the illusion that the rock wall was solid.

Thanks to Queen Sylvania of Yllamoira's moon dance, Will knew dragons were some of the first creatures created by the gods.

"There's no need to be so polite with me," the priest replied reading their thoughts.

"You all did a wonderful job, answering the riddles. I thoroughly enjoyed watching you all. Although William, I wasn't sure you'd jump," the priestess smiled.

"You watched us," Will said out loud.

"Yes, Mother Tiamat asked me to be your guide after all!" the priestess said very seriously.

"You couldn't step in and just bring us here. Did we need to go through all that?" Will asked exhausted and hungry.

"Yes, every guest must prove their determination, persistence, and faith to enter Dragon City.

The scenery changed. The cold mountain air was replaced with a balmy spring breeze. Snow and ice were replaced by a perfect green grass carpet.

'Shangri-La does exist?' Will said to himself astonished at what he was seeing.

He and Nisha had just crossed into a mountain oasis. And the most surprising thing was watching dragons sleeping, playing, flying, or lumbering around.

Will saw three different variations of dragons: Loong Dragons, Winged Dragons, and Wingless Dragons. The Loong Dragons looked similar to the Chinese dragons. The Winged Dragons looked similar to the European Dragons. The Wingless Dragons were Earth dragons.

The plateau was so incredibly bright and warm. Now Will understood why this place was talked about as mythical. Who could believe paradise existed in one of the most inhospitable places on the planet?

The priestess led Will and Nisha into the largest cave, it was larger than the biggest domed stadium on Earth and Terra combined. When Will looked up to the ceiling, he gulped again? He saw two bright eyes looking down at him. A large white Loong dragon looked at Will and Nisha curiously.

"You've done well, Will and Nisha. Please leave us alone and bring some tea please," the dragon said telepathically before shrinking down the human size. The old dragon looked the same age as Will and her body glowed with warmth.

"I am Tiamat and I know what you came for, reincarnator, or should I say, I know who you came to meet," she introduced herself to Will and Nisha.

"Greetings, your majesty," Will and Nisha bowed nervously. Will wondered how she knew he reincarnated here.

But then Will peeked behind Tiamat and to his heart's delights saw enough gold to fill the Pacific Ocean back on Earth. And he no longer cared how she knew he reincarnated.

"Your mother was right about you," Tiamat laughed.

"You spoke to my mother?" Will asked.

"Yes," Tiamat said lovingly.

Will wondered how Tiamat had met Helen vont Ballard. Even if Tiamat was in human form her beauty would have stood out kilometers away. Compared to Tiamat's beauty, the priestess and queen looked like pigs.

"Thank you for the compliment, most men are too afraid to compliment my appearance," the dragon goddess chuckled at Will calling her maid a pig.

"This is cloud tea, we grow it organically in our garden," the maid said.

"Thank you," Will said taking a sip. The tea was nothing short of transcended.

"Can I buy this tea from you?" Will asked.

"I know full well that you have also come here to buy and to bargain. You may not remember me when we met once. That was long ago now. Your mother brought you here to play with the hatchlings. But all you wanted to do was play with my gold," Tiamat laughed.

"Will, you are free to go and do as you please. After your tour tomorrow, I'll take you to meet Perceval he's been expecting you.

"Wait, tell me when you met my mother Helen vont Ballard?" Will asked.

"Not her, your real mother," Tiamat said before turning back into a dragon and laying down to rest.

'My real mother on Earth?' Will thought.

"This is your cave tonight. You are free to walk the grounds as you wish. We do not often get human guests, I'll do my best to cook something appetizing for dinner, the priestess said.