Admittedly, he did not like Vargas's presumption. 'You will answer' had such a terribly authoritarian ring to it. But for now, he basked for a moment in Draco's warmth and considered all the rest that the Leviathan had said.

It didn't surprise him that Imp had drawn Nemean graffiti across the caves. Hell, Imp had mentioned as much. But it still didn't sit right with Dragon, and the alligator eyed Vargas somewhat levelly. "We were told--we were all told--that she was a betrayer. If you Masters decide to pit us in wars against one another, it would be best if you warned us first. We did not know she was a Master; only that she was a traitor to Aquarian." He paused, and let that hang for a beat before adding--in a more 'cheerful' tone--"But you were not a Master then. I suppose you didn't know! Or couldn't tell us."

An insult, wrapped in respect. Or was it respect, wrapped in an insult?

It was mostly insult, in the end.

"As for the Hunger-spawn?" Dragon laughed, and it was real, a guttural guffaw. "Take my advice, Master Vargas," and was there just the faintest bit of mockery in the title? "If the creature has even a fraction! of my bloodline's fire, you won't ever tame it. Train it... maybe. I think it may be the literal fire in our veins--or is that stone?--but we are, at least, always burning. My advice is to direct it, not to tame it. Give it something to destroy, something you want it to destroy, and reward it for doing so. Or send it to me," he added, "and I will teach it properly. If you tell me what to teach," he added. Curiosity struck him. "Who is this spawn, then? Have I seen it?" He couldn't picture it, not offhand, and he wondered.

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas grunted. "I will bring it to you. Cetus, yes-? Do not let it run away; I don't want to have to hunt it down again. I will think on what to ask you to teach it--magic, hunting, obedience. As much as you can. The creature is an idiot," he added, dourly.

He might have been annoyed with Dragon's tone, before, but the mention of Chaos-One had distracted him. After a moment, he shook his head.

"Send me Eurydome, and I will speak with her. And I will bring you Chaos-One." He eyed Dragon for a moment. Will he try to turn it against me? It would be reason enough to kill him.
Hm.

He could address that if, and when, it arose; even fully-trained, Nidhogg would never be a threat to him.

"Will that be all, then?" he asked, drawing himself up to go.

The lack of effort didn't go unnoticed. Dragon had offered him advice, and Vargas's response had been to irritably agree to pawn his own spawn back off on Dragon for training.

It spoke to either the Leviathan's lack of dedication, or to his being overwhelmed with work, and either one pleased Dragon to no end. I hold no loyalty to any of you, but I am pleased that we are working, at least, with Aquarian and with Farina. They certainly seemed to be better options, though admittedly, Vargas wasn't... the worst of them.

"There is nothing else--ah! But! I am curious, before I go..." Dragon glanced around, boat-shaped head tipping toward the Black Spire. "Why is this cave as it is-? Dark, moving. It smells rotten, and it feels... broken," he said, struggling to put a name to the corruption.

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas merely grunted.

"Draco, you mean. Do you not know of Chaos..?" Vargas eyed the alligator, curious. Granted, he himself carried no sign of corruption, but in his era, it had been the norm. To know of those unfamiliar with the Creator's touch... it would have been unheard of.

"This is the magic of our Creator," Vargas said, stepping back and raising one spined forelimb to gesture to the Black Spire, to present it as though he were priest to some great mythical god. "The dark power that you feel is his, a reservoir, a source of it. This is the magic that his Hands carry, and that flows through many of our creatures. It is the magic of this Oilstone. Corruptive and chaotic--it spreads itself, and it is unpredictable." He glanced back, and gripped the air as if to pull power directly from the Black Spire.

He drew it to himself, lashed magic underneath him, and stepped back as he felt what he had done; a kick toward it ignited the patch of ground in a roaring blaze of fire. It singed his skin, but not too badly, and he gestured to it. "To call on it as I do is entirely unpredictable. Those who share its element--the Creator's power--can mold it, but it never really obeys." Any more than you claim your fire does. "This place is a concentration of it! It is living power. I would not stay here too long," Vargas added, and there was a grin in his every word.

exit vargas i guess-

Dragon watched, interested. The fire burst that Vargas formed, and then triggered, fascinated him and he wondered if it was a magic he might one day learn.

"Interesting!" he boomed, watching the orange flames lick at the air and then disperse, leaving the already-black stone just a little more blackened than before.

"Well, then. I thank you for your time, and for your honesty, and your information! I look forward to meeting your... Chaos-One?" Had that been its name?

When Vargas offered him a curt nod, he stepped back, his long body sliding along the rock. He sought his magic, desperate not to have to walk the whole way back--the spell wouldn't last him all that long but every few minutes he spent in flight was an hour or so he wasn't hauling his lame leg across the rock and dirt. Bloodlit power coiled around him, fanning out into spined, draconic wings; spiral horns twisted from his head and jaws, all of it flecked with smoky black. It was not the most powerful, and it would not last as long as he hoped--he could feel that even now--but it would do. "Until then," he said, and took flight.

The vast wings beat, lifting him skyward in aftertrail wisps of black and red; the effect of draconic flight was somewhat ruined by the fact that the alligator hung perfectly vertical in the air, his immensely heavy tail pointed straight downward as he swept away.

exit Dragon