The mountains had no official name.
The people of the frontier called them "The Fangs", because of the way their peaks rose against the sky like the teeth of a giant beast. They said that no one who crossed to the other side had ever returned. Some believed that beyond them lay the end of the world.
But Vaelor did not believe in endings.
The ascent was brutal. The paths, if they could even be called that, were little more than goat trails winding through treacherous rocks and deadly cliffs. Lyria stumbled more than once, and only Umbra's quick intervention prevented her from falling into the abyss.
"Let's rest here." Vaelor indicated when they found a small natural cave on the mountainside. The sun was setting, and the temperature was dropping rapidly.
"Thank the gods." Lyria let herself fall against the rock wall, panting. "Young master, are you sure this is the right path?"
"There is no right path." Vaelor replied as he sent Echo to explore the deeper tunnels of the cave. "There is only forward."
◇ ◇ ◇
They spent three days crossing The Fangs.
During that time, Vaelor catalogued several species of beasts he had never seen in books. Stone eagles that nested on the highest peaks; crystalline snakes that camouflaged themselves perfectly among the frozen rocks. He even caught a glimpse of something that looked like a six-legged bear, though the creature vanished before he could study it closely.
'The world is bigger than I imagined', he thought. 'And more dangerous.'
On the third day, they finally crossed the last mountain pass.
What they saw on the other side took their breath away.
◇ ◇ ◇
It was an enormous valley, so vast that they could not see its end.
Unlike the cold, rocky lands they had left behind, this place was covered in lush vegetation. Trees of impossible colors rose toward the sky: some with purple leaves, others with bark that gleamed like gold under the sun. Rivers of crystal-clear water wound through green hills, and in the distance, structures that looked like ancient ruins emerged from the landscape.
"It's... beautiful." Lyria whispered.
"It's dangerous." Vaelor corrected, though his voice held admiration. Through Gris, he could see more details: shadows moving among the trees, predators lurking in silence, claw marks in the bark of trees that indicated the presence of high-rank beasts.
"This place doesn't appear on any map." He continued. "Which means no one has returned to chart it. We'll have to be extremely careful."
◇ ◇ ◇
The descent into the valley took the rest of the day.
They set up a temporary camp on the outskirts of the forest, near a small stream that Bruma had confirmed was non-toxic. Vaelor deployed all his beasts in a surveillance perimeter, creating an information network that covered several hundred meters in every direction.
"Young master." Lyria was preparing a small campfire, just enough to cook without attracting too much attention. "What exactly are you looking for in this place?"
It was a question Vaelor had been avoiding.
"Answers." He finally said. "About my curse. About my past. About... what I'm supposed to do."
"What you're supposed to do?"
Vaelor hesitated. He had never told Lyria about his suspicions of a previous life, nor about the words of the mysterious creature. But after everything they had been through together, she deserved to know.
"Lyria, there's something I haven't told you."
The maid set aside what she was doing and looked at him attentively.
" I think… I think I lived before." The words sounded absurd even to his own ears. "I don't have clear memories, just fragments. Images of battles, of dragons, of… of something terrible. But there's a certainty inside me: this is not my first life."Silence.
"Does young master believe in reincarnation?" Lyria's voice held no mockery, only genuine curiosity.
"I don't know. But I know there's something bigger at play. Something connected to the gods, to dragons, to this curse I carry." Vaelor clenched his fists. "And I need to discover what it is before it's too late."
Lyria processed the information for a long moment.
"And me?" She finally asked. "What role do I have in all of this?"
Vaelor turned toward her. Through Echo, he could sense the beating of her heart, slightly accelerated by anxiety.
"I don't know." He admitted. "But from the moment you were born, you were the only person immune to my curse. That can't be a coincidence. Somehow, we're connected."
"Connected how?"
"That's something I also need to discover."
◇ ◇ ◇
Days turned into weeks.
Vaelor explored the valley methodically, mapping territories, cataloguing beasts, searching for any clue about his past or purpose. He found the ruins he had seen from the mountain: ancient structures, built with an architecture he did not recognize from any known civilization.
"Look at this." He called to Lyria one day, pointing at an inscription on an eroded stone wall.
The maid stepped closer, squinting to see better.
"I don't recognize the language." She said. "It seems... ancient."
"It is." Vaelor ran his fingers over the carved symbols. "But I can read it."
"You can?"
"'Here lies the sealer of destinies.'" He translated slowly. "'Here fell the first who defied the heavens. May the dragons guard his sleep until the day of awakening.'"
"Dragons again." Lyria murmured.
"Yes." Vaelor felt a chill run down his spine. "Dragons again."
◇ ◇ ◇
The true revelation came a month after their arrival in the valley.
Vaelor was exploring a particularly deep section of the forest when Umbra stopped abruptly, its fur bristling.
'Something is coming', the beast transmitted. 'Something big.'
Vaelor prepared to flee, calling all his beasts to his position. But before he could move, an overwhelming presence descended upon him.
It wasn't fear that he felt. It was... recognition.
And then, the creature appeared.
It was larger than any beast he had ever seen. Its body coiled between the trees like a living mountain, black scales as dark as night covering every inch of its form. Its eyes, a brilliant gold, watched him with an intensity that seemed to see straight through his soul.
A dragon.
A real dragon.
"So you finally came." The dragon's voice resonated in Vaelor's mind, deep and ancient as time itself. "We have been waiting for you, little creator."
Vaelor could not respond. His body was paralyzed, not by fear, but by something deeper. It was as if every cell of his being recognized this creature, even though his conscious mind could not understand why.
"You do not remember." The dragon tilted its enormous head. "Good. The memories will come with time. For now, you only need to know one thing."
"What... thing?" Vaelor managed to articulate.
The dragon extended one of its wings, revealing a glowing mark on its central scale. It was a complex symbol, almost identical to one of the carvings Vaelor had found in the ruins.
"You are our father." The dragon said. "And we have been waiting for your return for a thousand years."
Vaelor's world wavered.
And deep within his sealed soul, something began to awaken.