CHAPTER 598: CHAPTER 598 - THE BUG (PART 3)

After the antics between the three friends, Alstein, Celzikris and Zeldaryn, the meetings went on with other topics such as the issues with population increase, food stability, security of the territory and the increasing instances of dragons being separated from their mates due to inability to birth children.

It also seemed that even dragons rarely go in heat unlike with beastmen. If the heat itself does not happen, even if they do the deed with their mates, there was a zero chance that a dragonling will be conceived.

Another issue they noticed was that dragons do not put a permanent mark on their mates since they believe that they would need to find others to have children. It was now so rare to find dragons that have true soul-bound mates that they stay with for a lifetime. It is just that there is not much anything the elders can do about it due their circumstances.

As Alstein’s eyes continuously moved around the meeting room, I was able to indirectly meet and see all the other dragon leaders in attendance. At the same time, I had the chance to somewhat gauge their inner thoughts as to how much they were in favor of having connections with Eieneos or if they were in any way against it.

Thelatraf, the black dragon leader, looked like he was in his late 20s to at most his early 30s but I doubt that his real age is anywhere near how old he looks like as of the moment. He has black hair while his pupils were fiery red with black vertical slits.

This man seems to be one of the older ones in the bunch as I can feel the respect given to him by all of the other dragons in the meeting. As for gauging his thoughts, this one seems to be more on the neutral side. He seems to be the type to make a decision based on what is best for the race in a given circumstance so he avoids supporting or antagonizing any suggestion during the meeting.

Helrethir, the green dragon leader, somewhat appear similar in age with Thelatraf. For sure, he was way older than 30 years old but looked as young anyway.

The way he speaks particularly his choice of words though, spoke volumes of how long he has been living in thos world compared to the likes of Alstein, Zeldaryn and Celzikris. Those three looked like they were in their late teens to early 20s but they should also be a few centuries old for sure.

Helrethir, though old, seems to be the type of elder that was open to changes and to other people’s suggestions. He doesn’t seem to like someone who will force his ideas to others just because he is an "elder". This fact is honestly quite refreshing to see from someone from the older generation.

Drestharen, the golden dragon leader also looked like he was the same age bracket as Helrethir and Thelatraf. His hair was light golden blonde while his pupils were a coppery amber color with black vertical slits.

This guy seem a bit annoyed but he did not necessarily hate the idea that his kind has to negotiate with me at all. During the meeting, he seemed to have sighed more times than all the other dragons in attendance combined whenever they realize that they have no bargaining chips to negotiate against Eieneos. I guess he has already resigned himself to the fact that they really need to curry favor with me.

After the meeting, all the elders left the meeting room first, leaving Zeldaryn, Alstein and Celzikris. They simply bid each other goodbye with the blue dragon leaving first since he has to update his father urgently about the things that were discussed during the meeting.

The next one to leave was Zeldaryn as he has other things to attend to being the silver dragon leader and all. When Alstein was left alone, he sighed and murmured, "It is not like anyone is home..."

He stayed seated inside the room alone, staring forward to nothing in particular. He stayed unmoving like that for several minutes before he stood up and finally left the room.

Instead of going back to his home, he continued walking towards the nortern part of Vlaelmundr. I thought he would be going to the library again but he passed by it and just continued walking. He even passed by some gardens then barren lands then finally something that resembles a cave entrance.

He stopped by the cave entrance and I noticed how he looked around, making sure no one is following him or could see him enter the place. Once he was sure that he is alone, he walked in quickly in to the pitch dark cave.

He continued walking for several minutes before a light at the end of the narrow cave tunnel can be seen. When he finally reached the lighted area, what I saw through his eyes surprised me. It was a high-ceiling cave filled with dragon eggs.

He continued walking inside until he reached one hidden corner. In that area, he crouched down and just stared at several clusters of eggs. The eggs do not look alive at all though as their colors were dull, similar to stone or cooled down magma. The place was also a bit too cold to be a place of incubation.

He stayed crouched down just staring at the eggs for who knows how long. After so long, I heard him speak again, "If even just a few of you were born, I won’t be alone in this world."

As he said those words, that is when I realized that these eggs most likely are the unhatched eggs of his family, the purple dragons. Then I remembered the scene earlier. It seems like all unhatched eggs by all the dragon families are kept here. Did he just visit a cemetery then?

After telling the petrified eggs about how his day went and the topics of the meetings, he slowly stood up and walked back home. When he finally reached home, he just fell face first on the bed then I heard his soft sobs afterwards.