Seven Days Before Departure
Lukas had already chosen the two individuals that he wanted to have along with him for this journey and it really was a no brainer.
The first individual would be Katrina Drakos, the Warden of Kuria Prison. Samuel Sterling had already agreed to take up his old post while she was gone. She was perhaps one of the best fighters that the Seas had to offer and having her along would be a great help. Not to mention, she was Rodan's daughter. Aside from Lukas genuinely wanting to reunite the two, he also had no clue on what would happen if they did ever find Rodan.
He knew his older brother was always very fond of him but who knew what would happen after all these centuries? Rodan's view of Lukas might have changed, he might even see him as competition for the throne that was rightfully his. Rodan might think Lukas was just a bastard boy trying to take what he thought was rightfully his. Katrina could be the one to defuse the situation if it ever got out of hand. She had a good relationship with her father, a better one than Lukas ever got in his past life or in this life for that matter.
The second individual that Lukas was going to bring along was Jesse Sterling. The kid had actually been the one who'd wanted to come on this trip and it was because he was one of the dragons who were born after the Great War. This meant that his entire life had been spent in Linemall for the outside world had been deemed too dangerous. He wanted to see more. He wanted to see what else was out there.
He wanted to see how much more money he could make.
Yeah, the kid meant it when he said he loved money. That hadn't changed one bit. He didn't care about meeting new people or seeing new places, he wanted to see how he could start his own businesses and expand outside Linemall's influence. Lukas could see the vision because Jesse Sterling was like a business tycoon. He would have been another hyper successful entrepreneur if he'd had the chance to grow up in his world, one of those Alex Homorzi types.
The Head of the Merchant Guild coming along with them would allow Linemall's economy, especially the Seas, to make great strides if they could expand their sources of profit from the outside world.
The only problem was that if he wanted to bring Jesse and Katrina along, he had to prevent one crucial thing from happening: the two of the Dragonborn potentially falling under the Kraken's magic.
Lukas Drakos was a Lordling, meaning he already inherited the most important Legacy of the Dragon Lords: the Crown. This meant that he was immune to the Kraken's control over the mind but Katrina and Jesse —though they had the potential to inherit these legacies in the future— didn't have that same protection.
There was a reason why the dragons had determined that the outside world was too dangerous for their kind to roam freely. A single slip up under the Kraken's magical influence and their cover would be blown. Lukas couldn't have that happening.
This was why he was in the library, searching for an answer. There was more to magic than simply casting spells, that much he had learnt. For example, the stones that had drained the water out of the Kraken's holding cell. Could that perhaps be a solution? Some kind of device that he could have crafted to prevent the Kraken from using his magic or perhaps to protect Katrina and Jesse from that particular magic?
He was going to be in here all night if that was what it took to find an answer to this problem.
Six Days Before Departure
Lukas had been in there all night. And he had not found an answer.
In fact, he had fallen asleep at his desk with piles of books surrounding him, pen clutched in his right hand. Papers filled with random notes and books of notice, yet he was nowhere near finding an answer to his solution. The imbuing of magic into an inanimate object was a very complex process that required a very specific set of skills: the magic of blacksmithing.
He had discovered through books of Linemall that the Kingdom of Dragons had not had a master blacksmith in the last 500 years. He abandoned that idea very quickly once he realized this.
He was awoken by the feeling of weightlessness and with eyes fluttering open, came to see the Lady Kaitlyn Drakos sitting across from him. The water had lifted him up and out of his seat, forcing him to stand up. He was still groggy and he frowned at the consort in confusion, wondering what had warranted an interruption to his much-wanted rest.
"We don't have much time left. Before you leave, I must teach what I can. Who knows how long it will take you to find Rodan? The single spell you have learnt is powerful but it will not be enough if you meet a powerful being in the outside world. There are those who exist out in that world who are strong enough to rival a Dragon, Lukas Drakos. You must be prepared."
The next few days passed by at break-neck speeds. He would be awake before the sun rose and the Seas awoke from their slumber. He would train with Lady Kaitlyn rigorously, practicing again and again. The process of learning magic was extremely exciting for it was something Lukas could never have imagined being in the realm of possibility in his past life.
But he would then be forced to do it again. And again. It was very different from the physical exertion he was used to as a fighter when he reached the limit of his magical capabilities. Lady Kaitlyn described this as his Mana Pool being emptied out.
It was as if something inside him, something sacred and silent, was slowly unraveling. His magic had always surged like a tide within him like when he had fought the Kraken, a living current, but now that current was ebbing; leaking, bleeding away.
It felt like betraying himself, like tearing at a wound that had never fully healed. His soul didn't scream, it ached, hollow and fragile, like he was borrowing strength he no longer had a right to.
The world blurred—not with fatigue, but with detachment, as if reality was slipping away strand by strand, and all that was left was this raw, unsteady shell still reaching for more power he knew he could no longer afford to give.
He didn't like it. He didn't like it all. In fact, this was something far different. It was like his soul was being tested every time he drained all the energy in his Mana Pool.
But every time he bounced back, he could see how much stronger he could become. This was where the beauty of the Draconic Flow was revealed. It was just like Katrina had described: This was how the dragons had been able to reach the levels, becoming legends in history for their undisputed dominance when it came to pure magical power.
When his mana was completely drained, when every drop of essence had been poured out into the world through the spells he had cast, that was when the Flow became its most potent. In the silence that followed magical exhaustion, the Flow coiled inward, like a dragon slumbering in the depths of his soul, drawing in ambient energy not just to refill, but to grow.
The mana pool didn't just refill, it expanded, refined, strengthened. With each cycle of depletion and restoration, Lukas' magical stamina stretched further, his connection to the world deepened, and his presence began to hum with the quiet power of something ancient remembering itself. This was a cultivation technique that had been passed down for generations.
While he was showing exponential growth in his mastery of the Divinity of the Seas, he could not say he was having as much luck when it came to dealing with the Kraken's magic.
Two Days Before Departure
He couldn't stand it much longer. Their departure was imminent yet he wasn't closer to a solution to the problem he had on hand than he was four days earlier.
Lukas ran a hand through his hair, his fingers trembling with irritation as yet another scroll crumbled into uselessness. The air in the library felt stale, thick with silence and old magic, but none of it was offering him the clarity he needed. He'd searched through scrolls older than most nations, chased whispers of forgotten enchantments and theoretical constructs but still, nothing. No breakthrough. No solution.
Just more questions that he couldn't find an answer to. The problem gnawed at him like salt in an open wound, and the weight of responsibility pressed against his chest. He wasn't used to feeling helpless. But now, seated among knowledge that spanned centuries, Lukas had never felt more lost.
He had thought about magic contracts. As someone who'd signed a bad deal before when it came to his professional fighting career, he thought he could possibly bind the Kraken to some kind of contract to ensure he wouldn't use his magic on Katrina or Jesse. But the complexities and conditions to ensure that a proper contract was formed was too much for Lukas to consider as a proper solution to his problem. Not to mention that was assuming that the Kraken would agree to the conditions which was a whole another issue to handle if it arose.
His eyes were bloodshot, lips pressed in a tight line as he scanned the next page of yet another scroll that came to a dead-end. The tension in his shoulders hadn't eased in hours, maybe longer. He wasn't sure anymore. The library's silence was sacred, but it couldn't hush the war waging in his mind.
When his mother entered, the quiet remained. But it shifted. It became softer. Warmer. There was clear concern in her eyes when she finally spotted Lukas in the deep depths of the library.
"You're going to collapse if you keep this up," she said gently, her voice threading through the stillness like sea foam lapping at the shore. She walked over, tugging at his arm gently. "Come. Eat something. You haven't touched anything since dawn."
"I'm close," Lukas murmured, though he wasn't sure he believed it anymore. Maybe there wasn't an answer he could find to this question. He gestured vaguely to the stacks surrounding him, a fortress of knowledge and the source of his frustration. "I just… I need something that works. And I'm so close to finding an answer, I just need more time. I don't have enough time."
Selene didn't argue. Instead, she reached down and picked up one of the discarded scrolls he had barely glanced at; one of the many irrelevant ones he had tossed aside in his frenzy. Her eyes skimmed it with practiced ease. Lukas was surprised that she could understand it considering she was a wyvern, the part of the draconic kind who didn't have the ability to cast magic of their own. But he shouldn't have been. She'd had to study many different kinds of magic to know how to counter them in battle. Compared to Lukas, she had a greater understanding of the mystic arts than he.
"This…this is old. Contract magic for livestock. I haven't seen this spell in centuries." She remarked with great interest.
"Livestock? Then it's useless," Lukas muttered, slumping against the table.
She raised an eyebrow. "Not exactly. You know, my family used this on our fish farms. It was how we made a living. It's a magic that binds a slave to its master. Seemingly gentle but it is designed so even the most stubborn creatures wouldn't swim off into currents or turn on each other. It's rooted in familiar-based contracts. Not quite sentient, but enough to hold a being still. This mark…once made for the sake of agriculture and farming. But its intentions have become much more sinister in recent years. Especially after the Great War."
He turned to look at her, something stirring behind the frustration in his eyes. The look of innovation. An idea was forming in his head and it wasn't just any random idea. She recognized the look and her eyes became wary. She knew he was up to something.
Selene's voice darkened, barely above a whisper now. "This same magic is being used now on our people. On dragons. On wyverns. The ones captured during the Great War. Branded and bound like beasts." She wanted him to know what it meant if he were to use this magic, for whatever reason it might be. She was warning him not to do anything he would regret.
"Do what is necessary, my son. Do not abuse this power. I trust you know what you are doing, Lukas."
All he could do was nod and hope her trust was well-placed.
His mind snapped into place like a current surging into motion. This was the answer he'd been looking for. A leash made of magic older than any enchantment the Kraken had mastered. The answer had been buried in something mundane, something cruelly overlooked. He felt horrible that the draconic kind were forced to become nothing more than pets put on a leash to be put on display or as weapons of mass destruction that could be used when needed. But he also knew that this was it. This was the perfect solution to his answer.
He held the scroll with reverence as Selene left him to his work.
Then he let out a soft laugh. Finally, all of those endless hours, late nights and mental torment he had put himself through. All of it had been worth it.
For the first time, Lukas Drakos finally felt ready for the journey ahead.
And as Lukas stared at the scroll, a slow, wicked grin spread across his face. Not only had he finally found the answer, but he was absolutely going to make the Kraken regret ever slithering out of whatever cursed hole he came from. He was going to enjoy this immensely.