Chp.9: Morality lesson from a dragon

Despite himself, Rhaegal discovered that his captor was well versed in dragon matters. Indeed, after having gone far enough, Black Vulture hadn't just deprived him of his sight through a blindfold, but had also plugged his nostrils and ears. Furthermore, she had given him something, probably a drug, which had greatly diminished his senses, including that of perceiving heat and that of picking up electricity. Rhaegal therefore had no way of knowing where she was taking him; for the very first time in his life he was completely in the dark. The only clue he had was the movement of the air over his body, which could tell him when they entered an enclosed space, but it still wasn't very useful.

Rhaegal was pretty frustrated. It was the first time in his life that he was unable to perceive the environment around him and this worried him quite a bit. Unfortunately, however, he could do nothing but wait for Black Vulture to take him to his destination. As she did so he had counted the seconds one by one, so as to at least have an idea of ​​how far he was being carried from his initial location; even if that method might not seem efficient, if he had divided the result by the speed of the wyvern he could have understood how far it would have traveled, and based on the direction in which they were going and the variations in trajectory he had perceived through the movement of air he would have been able to establish roughly where exactly he was.

After a long time he felt himself leaning on the ground and the claws of the wyvern finally let him go. Rhaegal knew immediately that he had arrived at his destination and sharpened his senses even more, obviously within the limits that were allowed. He felt himself being dragged along, a clear sign that he was being carried somewhere, and then he was still again. At that point he heard a voice, very muffled due to the plugs in his ears but still audible: "Give him back to his senses"

Black Vulture's hands (he recognized her from the touch) untied the bandage and removed the plugs from his nose and ears, and then also completely freed his mouth (which until then had been left half closed, just to allow him to breathe). Finally free Rhaegal let out a gasp of relief, then looked up and saw a woman in front of him. She wasn't Black Vulture, since she was still beside him, but Rhaegal had the impression he'd seen her before, if only from a distance. It took him a moment to remember. "You are Hara, one of the legendary levels of the Jurao Kingdom"

"The saint of magic. Yes" the woman replied. "I'm the one who found Haku next to the body of the hydra"

"I know. I was there that day too" Rhaegal replied narrowing his eyes.

Hara looked surprised, but not too much. "Mh. So I wasn't wrong... there really was someone watching me that night" she said. "I guess you saw my gesture as a kidnapping. I apologize for that, but know that I was trying to save your brother's life"

"I know, and that's the only reason I'm not spitting in your face right now" Rhaegal growled. "By the way, my brother was very appreciative of the care and hospitality you gave him. Seriously, he loved it so much he didn't want to leave for over a year! I had to pick him up myself, otherwise he wouldn't have plus get his ass off the magnificent mansion you so generously offered him!"

He would have continued, but a hard kick landed on his jaw. "How dare you, dragon, speak to Lady Hara like that!? Show respect!" Black Vulture yelled. "Apologize immediately!"

Rhaegal wasn't intimidated. He couldn't know because of the mask, but he suspected the woman was furious right now. "Or else, little hit girl? Will you kill me?"

Black Vulture grabbed him by one horn and raised his head with a dagger at his throat. "I could do it right now. Don't tempt my patience, dragon! With a flick of my fingers I can drown you in a pool of your own blood!"

But Rhaegal wasn't intimidated at all. He knew that the woman was only bluffing: there was no point in kidnapping him and then killing him immediately. A corpse would do them no good. "And that should be a dagger? Tsk! My brother and I scratch each other's throats with claws much sharper than this blade!" he teased her. "Do you really think I'd be afraid of a coward who doesn't even dare to show her face, just because she's got this ridiculous dagger in her hand? Come on, you can do better than this!"

Black Vulture's body trembled. Rhaegal was sure that if she hadn't had the mask he would have seen her eyes flash. "You disgusting...!"

"That's enough" Hara said aloud, and immediately Black Vulture let go of the dragon, albeit a bit brutally. Rhaegal let out an annoyed snort, but he was satisfied that he had angered her, even though it had been pretty easy.

Hara approached him and looked into his eyes. "You know, I've been wondering all this time why Haku refused the king's extremely generous offer for a whole year, but now I finally know. He had someone he had to go back to, someone waiting for him. Who would have imagine this..." she murmured with a sigh. "I know you're angry with me, but please calm your fury. I've only done my duty. I didn't like the fate that had been chosen for your brother either, but it was the king who decided it, and also he had his reasons for doing it. I don't ask you to forgive me... but at least you understand that no one has hurt your brother just for the fun of it"

Rhaegal was silent for a moment, then let out a hysterical laugh. "For some reason, everyone says that. 'I didn't want it, I was just following orders... it was done for the common good'. I've heard this line so many times that I've forgotten who is the first person that I heard said this. Even Haku tried to hide behind these excuses once. But let me tell you a great truth: these are just falsehoods! They are a mask no different from the one your servant here is wearing right now, with the difference is that these lies cover your heart and not your face. This woman here, whose name I don't even have the privilege of knowing, hides behind a mask stating that this is necessary for her mission, but that is just an excuse not to reveal to others or even herself that she is too cowardly to show her true face to her enemies. My brother and I have hidden ourselves many times, but unlike this woman, we have never used the hypocrisy and we always admitted to ourselves that we were afraid of our opponent as it was stronger, and therefore it was better to be sneaky. And you, 'Lady Hara', as she wants me to call you... you are hiding too. You say that what happened was not your fault and that you had only good intentions, but this is false. If you were really against it, you would have helped my brother. People who remain silent in the face of an injustice are complicit. Your comrade, Carrion, had also built a mask of heroism to justify his hatred, and so did all his men. Haku once tried to hide behind a mask, and the result was that I nearly lost my brother. Because if you justify your actions by claiming they are for the greater good, then it will always appear to you that you are right, no matter how stupid you are acting. Just like he was convinced he was right when…" He stopped before saying the last words, but his body visibly shook with a shiver.

Hara had turned pale and remained with her mouth half agape, clearly not expecting that answer. Black Vulture instead was clenching her fists, whose fingers trembled slightly. Rhaegal was upset after bringing up unpleasant memories, but still he tried not to show weakness and continued to stare at Hara until she looked away in embarrassment. Taking advantage of that brief moment, Rhaegal darted his gaze elsewhere, trying to get as much information as possible from the room where he was. It was a very small room (at least for him who measured over ten meters) and without windows, with only a couple of torches to illuminate everything. Whoever furnished it had been very minimalistic. As he'd expected, after that quick glance Black Vulture leapt towards him, clearly understanding his intentions, but before he could strike or say anything the door slammed open. "His Majesty is here!" a voice proclaimed, and a few guards swarmed into the room followed by a man in a crown. Rhaegal recognized King Marcus, who to his surprise began to applaud. "I heard everything through the door, and I must pay you my compliments" the king said with an amused expression. "A morality lesson from a dragon... I'm pretty sure if it were known around, no one would believe it even if it was a god telling them. I assume your brother is the pragmatic one in the family, while you are the emotional one, right?"

That wasn't the case at all, but Rhaegal knew he couldn't say it aloud, or the king might realize that there were other dragons besides him and Haku, if he didn't already suspect it. So he simply replied: "Something like that"

"I thought so. After all, Haku would never have revealed his existence if he were in your place" the king said. "Funny, isn't it? You made all that speech against cowardice, but your brother is the first one who would have chosen to go into hiding. You want to deny it?"

Rhaegal's eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid you misunderstood me" he said hostilely. "I have never said that hiding is wrong. The predator must hide from the prey in order to capture it in the end. Knowing when to hide and when to show oneself isn't cowardice, but simple cunning. What I can't stand, and which is true cowardice, it's the pathetic hiding behind false beliefs to clear the conscience. If I do something, I do it because I want to do it, and I don't hide behind 'I was just following orders' or 'it was for the greater good'. I have seen... very closely... what the self-convincing of always being right does, therefore I can only despise everyone who do it. Your mage here has captured my brother and brought him before you and she left him to rot in that arena for a year because she wanted to, not for the common good or because you told her to. And this pathetic killer here is hiding behind a mask even though she knows I can't do anything against her, although right now she could just blindfold me and take it off in front of you all, because she's afraid to show her true self, because she knows that if she were to take off her mask then she would face the burden of being recognized for who she is. I know it from how she behaves. Short and concise answers, long explanations when talking about his plans, flat calm during fights, silence in the face of uncomfortable questions, outbursts of anger... it's the same behavior my brother had when he tried to put on a mask himself. Come on, little vulture... tell me I'm wrong"

Black Vulture visibly trembled, but clearly it wasn't because of the derisive nickname Rhaegal had just given her. The dragon smiled amused, realizing that he had managed to read inside her perfectly. He had spoken quite intuitively, but apparently he hadn't been wrong at all. The king remained silent, as if to give Black Vulture the opportunity to say something, but seeing that she didn't seem to be able to answer, he took the floor again: "Very clever answer. I'll think carefully about it later. Damn, everyone in your family can really speak well"

"It's a gift" Rhaegal replied with a mocking smile.

The king's eyes narrowed. "I'm happy about that. If you like to talk this much, then you won't mind answering a few of my questions, right?"