Ember Dragon
Chapter 606: Gold Dragon Council
Chapter 606: Gold Dragon Council
Aurora flapped her wings, descending lightly like a butterfly, and finally landed on the ground.
To mortals, a dragon more than ten meters from head to tail was already a gigantic creature, but in comparison to an Ancient Gold Dragon, this young gold dragon seemed slender and petite.
Cassius smiled and said, "Aurora, why are you being so rash?"
Aurora immediately lowered her head, bent her forelegs slightly, and folded her wings respectfully toward this mysterious and powerful kin. "Good day, Elder Titus. I’m sorry for interrupting your conversation just now."
"It’s fine, you don’t need to be nervous. Just speak your mind."
Cassius shook his head and, like any elder gold dragon, stroked his whiskers with his claws, fully embracing the posture of a senior.
"Aurora, according to what you said earlier, isn’t the next Gold Dragon Council still decades away? Why are you notifying me now?"
Aurora took a golden badge from between her scales and carefully handed it over.
"Elder Titus, since six hundred years ago, the Gold Dragon Council has used this badge as a symbol of identity. The current governor—Lord Crassus—sometimes uses this medal to convey messages."
Cassius took the badge. It appeared to be forged from pure gold, and its surface was engraved with a lifelike gold dragon head, surrounded by twenty-four whiskers: twelve on the upper jaw, twelve on the lower jaw.
"This is a badge my teacher applied for you in person. It’s a symbol of your identity, and the Gold Dragon Council is pleased to accept a powerful ancient dragon."
Cassius glanced at Aurora’s claws and saw she also had a badge, though the dragon head on hers had only eight whiskers, looking rather juvenile.
Aurora continued, "This Gold Dragon Council was called on short notice by Lord Crassus.
You may not know, but after the destruction of Holy Fadlan, the situation on the Fianso Continent has become extremely severe. The Abyss, the Hells, the Chromatic Dragons, and evil deities like Gruumsh that you’re fighting against are all stirring restlessly.
Lord Crassus believes that the time has come for us gold dragons to fulfill our responsibilities. That’s why all the gold dragons of the world have been summoned to this council for discussion."
Cassius gazed at the badge in his claw and let out a wry, somewhat rueful smile. "I never thought that a ’sinner’ like me would be allowed to enter the Gold Dragon Council."
"Elder Titus, how could you be a sinner?"
Aurora lifted her head and earnestly said, "You’re now the ’Dragon of Dawn’ and ’Wings of Daybreak’ sung about by bards—the hero who slew Gruumsh’s brutal minions and resisted the orcs’ southern invasion!"
"Even if—even if you have some secrets you cannot reveal, I believe the elders in our clan, those ancient and primordial dragons, can still provide you with some help."
"Perhaps so... Let’s go, take me to the Gold Dragon Council. After so many years, it’s time I fulfill the responsibilities I’ve neglected."
"Alright, Elder Titus. The teleportation spell is ready."
"Whoosh—"
Aurora took out a scroll, and ripples appeared in the air before them—a huge portal opened. The two gold dragons, one large and one small, entered one after another.
Southeastern Fianso Continent, Jacob Mountains.
Known as the ’Roof of the Continent,’ these mountains rise from the earth, impossibly majestic, soaring ten thousand meters high and stretching for thousands of kilometers.
Each towering peak is perilously steep, often covered in snow year-round, utterly inaccessible to mortals. The location of the Gold Dragon Council is atop one such snowy peak—Orlando Peak.
This mountain was named after a third-generation ancestor dragon. Legend has it that Orlando died on this mountain, wrapping his wings around it and leaving behind his tibia. He is the blood ancestor of most of Fianso’s gold dragons.
Inside Orlando, there is a massive and spacious cavern that the dragons call the ’Hall of Justice.’ This is where the Gold Dragon Council is held every hundred years.
At this moment, two more gold dragons arrived.
Cassius emerged from the somewhat narrow rift for him, quietly memorizing its coordinates, flapping his wings as he hovered in the air.
Aurora whispered, "This is it, Elder Titus. Let me take you inside."
The two gold dragons entered the cavern one after another, passing through deep tunnels where magical torches lit up in succession.
Suddenly, Cassius found himself in an immense space inside the mountain, so vast he could not see its end—far more magnificent than he’d imagined.
"Trafarlan’s Magnificent Mansion?"
Cassius was astonished. Even if they hollowed out the entire mountain, it would not yield a space this large—this was practically a brand new demiplane.
As expected from the gold dragons, the most powerful spellcasters among dragonkind—just for a meeting, they could create a permanent extradimensional space.
At the top of the hall rested a colossal, yellowed tibia—at least fifty meters long, exuding an invisible sense of oppression.
Even though its owner had been dead for tens of thousands of years—enough time to see mortal empires rise and fall—Cassius could still feel the dragon’s former power.
Ancestral Dragon—this was truly the remains of an ancestor dragon. Its tibia alone was longer than most dragons today; its owner must have been 600 or 700 meters, maybe nearly a kilometer long.
Even Cassius struggled to imagine such a massive being. The 200-meter-long Abyssal Dragons he’d faced were already the largest enemies he’d encountered.
Aurora also gazed reverently at the gigantic tibia, explaining, "This is the tibia of Ancestor Orlando."
"It’s said that when he died, he wrapped his wings around the entire peak, shielding all life here from falling stars."
Soon after, she scratched her head, slightly embarrassed, "I almost forgot—you’re an Ancient Gold Dragon; your knowledge surely far exceeds that of a young dragon like me."
Cassius shook his head and gently replied, "It’s fine. I didn’t grow up on this material plane."
Then he looked down. In the center of the cavern was a stone table hundreds of meters long and sixty meters wide, surrounded by gigantic chairs for gold dragons of various sizes.
At the head of the table sat the largest throne, engraved with delicate dragon patterns and inlaid with sparkling agate and gems—extravagant and regal.
Already, many gold dragons of all sizes were in attendance: mostly adults, but also some young, mature, and elderly dragons; the oldest ancient dragons had yet to take their seats.
The gold dragons watched the two newcomers with curiosity. Some of the younger gold dragons began to whisper amongst themselves.
"Is that the Ancient Gold Dragon from another plane?"
"Is that the legendary ’Dragon of Dawn’?"
Aurora softly reminded, "Lord Titus, your seat is in the third row at the head of the table—only venerable ancient dragons may sit there. I’m afraid I can’t accompany you further."
"Alright."
Cassius nodded and walked over without concern.
Even now, there were more than eighty gold dragons in the hall—he had never seen so many gathered in one place in his life.
Cassius was calm and collected. His extraordinary charisma earned the genuine trust—and even admiration—of most of the gold dragons present.
And the true dragon sorcerer’s "Ancient Dragon Transformation" was a real magical change at its core; even the most skilled gold dragon spellcasters couldn’t see through it.
Even if a knowledgeable ancient dragon saw through his disguise, at worst he’d lose a single avatar—it wasn’t a big deal to him.
But if he could blend into the Gold Dragon Council, the intelligence he could gain would be immense—almost equivalent to grasping the movements of the entire good-aligned faction.
Cassius walked leisurely to his seat. Along the way, gold dragons nodded to him in greeting.
Cassius accepted their greetings with pleasure, thoroughly enjoying his role as an elder.
"Good day, Lord Titus."
"You must be the Wings of Daybreak—I’ve heard much about you."
"Respected Dragon of Dawn, your strength and virtue are known throughout Fianso. We all admire you greatly."
"Elder Titus, it’s an honor to meet you. Your feats—slaying Gruumsh’s minion, defending Avenderdan alone—make my blood boil. I am Angel, a young gold dragon of the Eliot clan."
A young gold dragon, with only six whiskers and a youthful face, came forward, bowed his head in respect, his expression full of excitement and admiration.
Cassius nodded in reply, a faint trace of surprise flashing through his pale golden eyes.
After turning away from the young dragon, Cassius’s mouth twitched—after impersonating for so long, he’d finally run into the real one.
That odd feeling quickly passed. Cassius calmly took his seat in the place reserved for "Ancient Gold Dragons," closed his eyes, and quietly waited for the other council members to arrive.
Soon, the younger and more active gold dragons started whispering again.
"Look—another Ancient Gold Dragon!"
"That elder’s scales are covered in runes, almost entirely—just like Lord Titus."
Hearing this, Cassius knew who it was.
He turned and saw that golden figure covered in mysterious runes—Elder Beatrice, the Ancient Gold Dragon of the Eternal Order Realm.
Cassius nodded politely: "Long time no see, Lady Beatrice."
Beatrice smiled in return, replying, "Good day, Lord Titus. When I asked Aurora to invite you, I knew someone with your abhorrence of evil would not miss a meeting like this."
Cassius said, "Thank you for having Aurora invite me."
Soon, under Cassius’s gaze, the many renowned and powerful gold dragons of the material plane took their seats along both sides of the table.
With this opportunity, Cassius roughly understood the number of gold dragons in the material world—or rather, those still active, since the long-hibernating ancients weren’t included.
The Hall of Justice was almost full. Excluding his own ’fake Ancient Gold Dragon’ identity, Cassius counted carefully.
There were two ancient gold dragons, four old gold dragons, nine very old, and fifteen elder gold dragons—this was the upper echelon of the gold dragon race in the material plane.
Over twenty mature, forty adult gold dragons made up the backbone, bearing much responsibility. The rest were young dragons, many not yet grown their whiskers.
The only vacant seat was the extravagant main throne at the end of the table—by council protocol, the ’Lord Crassus’ Aurora mentioned was likely a Primordial Gold Dragon.
"No wonder they call themselves the ’Messengers of Justice’—what a formidable force," Cassius couldn’t help but secretly marvel.
As natural leaders among metallic dragons and Bahamut’s favored children, the gold dragons were indeed powerful—just those quickly summoned were so many, including several strong individuals.
If that unseen Primordial Gold Dragon were counted, even Cassius’s real body would have trouble fighting this shining host.
If the empire’s dragonborn legion had to face them, it’d be a massacre.
"Dong—"
A deep bell tolled, echoing through the closed hall and shaking every gold dragon present.
Even the lively young dragons quickly sat up straight, their parents urging them into solemn postures.
They all knew—the current council governor, the Primordial Gold Dragon at the top of the material plane’s power, the ’Gilded Sage’ Crassus, was about to arrive.
Cassius looked to the side of the Hall of Justice as the heavy stone doors slowly opened—a massive golden form appeared before his eyes.
—It was a gold dragon of unimaginable size, nearly forty meters long, clearly beyond the normal limit for their kind. The countless whiskers around his mouth marked the long years he’d lived.
The Primordial Gold Dragon’s eyes were narrow and deep, his pale golden pupils like faded pools of gold, filled with age and wisdom.
Atop his head was a platinum crown, and in his claws, a scepter carved with milky star nebulae and the pole star—symbols of the governor’s authority on behalf of Bahamut over the gold dragons.
The Primordial Gold Dragon strode in at a relaxed pace, heading to his seat. Even without intentionally projecting his aura, his mere presence commanded awe and authority.
"Good day, Lord Crassus."
The gold dragons all greeted him—even the proud ancient dragons naturally lowered their heads.
Cassius also bowed his head, but his eyes narrowed as he secretly sized up the approaching Primordial Gold Dragon, carefully assessing the council governor’s strength.
This Primordial Gold Dragon had a physique far beyond the norm for their race, and judging by the dazzling magical gear, was clearly ambitious—no mere idle, slumbering dragon.
[Gilded Sage - Crassus]
Challenge Level: 28 (125,000 XP)
"A formidable old one... what a worthy opponent. It’d be fun to fight him."
Cassius’s eyes flashed with excitement. If he didn’t have to keep up his ancient dragon dignity, he’d probably be licking his lips.