Westminster Bank

What exactly *is* a Dragon?

Ever since the study of mysterious creatures was established as a discipline, this has been a popular topic of discussion and research among Alchemists in both the West and the East.

First, Dragons are not subject to the same reproductive isolation as Magical Beasts like Unicorns and Sea Sirens. The existence of "Dragon Descendants"—a population so vast it could rival the entire Magical Beast Race in number—is a testament to this, in both the East and the West.

After World War II, so-called "Dragon-men," or "Human Dragons," even appeared in India. This non-human species, described as "powerful but short-lived," was strongly condemned by the International Association for the Protection of Mysterious Creatures.

Second, if one were to classify Dragon Species by bloodline, then only those of the Third Generation Species and above—with Dragon Blood accounting for more than fifty percent of their lineage—could truly be considered part of the Dragon Race.

The survival instincts and behavioral patterns exhibited by these Dragons are completely different from those of ordinary Dragon Descendants and Magical Beasts. They are, in fact, almost a mirror image of humanity.

The East describes Dragons as having eyes of lightning and tongues of blood, vermilion scales and fiery manes. They can grow large or shrink, ascend or become invisible. When large, they summon clouds and exhale mist; when small, they conceal themselves among the creatures of the sea. When they ascend, they soar through the cosmos; when they hide, they lurk beneath the waves.

Thus, they compared men to Dragons, a metaphor for lofty ambition, and regarded them as auspicious creatures. This belief led to the creation of the Dragon Tamer profession.

The West, however, describes Dragons as great, winged lizards capable of wielding immense power. They covet Gold and jewels, are easily angered, and can destroy cities and nations in their rage. This gave rise to the Dragon Slayer, a profession that operates outside the Law.

These two descriptions highlight the differing Eastern and Western views on the form of Dragons and the attitudes toward them.

Initially, people couldn’t understand why, despite both being called Dragons, the differences between them were so vast.

Recently, however, with the advent of the Renaissance, Alchemists discovered long-hidden, ancient inscriptions upon Stonehenge, located on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire—a structure previously believed to have been built by the Giant Race.

After half a century of tireless, day-and-night analysis, the Alchemists quickly reached a conclusion:

The Dragon Race was once a civilization. The Rune Runes that Alchemists currently use to construct Alchemy Arrays were, in fact, their creation.

If "tool-making" was the standard that distinguished primitive humans from animals, then the Dragon Race—capable of creating a written language to transmit information—had undoubtedly rocketed to a stage that could be called a "civilization."

From these inscriptions, Alchemists also unearthed legends of the Dragon God Pulansantos—one of the Seven Great Old Gods—as well as his subordinates, the Three Great Dragon Kings, and the Red Dragon.

There was also the "Otherworld" of Prole, a legendary realm ruled by the Dragon Race for tens of thousands of years. It was a place no Alchemist had ever detected, leading many to suspect it was as ethereal and unreal as a dream.

[Author’s Note: In Celtic Mythology, the "Otherworld" refers to the Netherworld, which lies beneath the mortal world, and the Divine Realm, found at the end of the sea. It can be simply understood as an "Immortal Realm."]

It was through these legends that Alchemists finally solved the long-standing mystery of why Eastern and Western Dragons had such different forms.

From the inscriptions, Alchemists also discovered that a Dragon’s status and Tier were determined at birth, much like the class system of a feudal society. All they had to do was survive to maturity. They had no need to hunt to reach a higher Tier, unlike ordinary Magical Beasts.

Their minds were not like those of Low Tier Magical Beasts, which are driven by instinct and only gain complexity upon advancing. Instead, just like humans, their intellect sharpened with age and learning.

If the history of all life was a book, then compared to the history of the Dragon Race, the story of all other creatures—including human society—would be nothing more than a single, thin page.

As for the Pure-blood Ancient Dragons, who represent the highest echelon of Dragon society, little more needs to be said. As wielders of the most primitive Rune Runes, they have undoubtedly stood at the apex of multiple eras.

To evaluate them using the professional terminology of today’s Old Descendant World:

They are—Golden Tier.

Wax Dragon Bad was just such a being.

And now, he had appeared here, bringing with him a gale that battered both the bodies and souls of all present!!!!

For a moment, everyone forgot the Baron’s earth-shattering act of drawing the Dragon Spear. They could only stare, dumbfounded, as Wax Dragon Bad circled within the storm clouds, where interwoven Thunderbolts crackled with a serpentine hiss.

"How could this be... Why would Wax Dragon Bad appear in the Dracul Mountain Range..."

"According to the legends, isn’t he supposed to soar endlessly in the upper atmosphere, never to descend...?"

The Dragon Guides were clearly stunned, their minds still reeling.

"The Dragon Calamity... has it come early because of him?"

Held captive by the Baron, Isabella tightened her grip on the Red Spear.

’So that storm cloud was Wax Dragon Bad... Does that mean the threat I felt earlier wasn’t from the Griffin, but from him? Could this also be the reason those Dragon Devourer Cultists, disguised as Dragon Guides, entered the mountains?’

In a flash of lightning, the Baron saw Wax Dragon Bad’s form clearly. It was just as the legends claimed: he had no complete wings. The wings that had seemed to appear earlier were merely an illusion woven from gales and lightning.

He recalled the rumors about Wax Dragon Bad he had heard on Ben Mountain. It was said that the dragon never stopped flying because its wings had been torn to shreds by a Red Dragon. ’And I carry a Red Dragon Aura...’ The Baron suppressed his Red Dragon Aura.

"Wax Dragon Bad..."

Outside the mountain range, the Patriarch of the Beowulf Family and the other Dragon Slayer Patriarchs were momentarily lost for words.

They knew all too well what the appearance of a Pure-blood Ancient Dragon in the Dracul Mountain Range signified.

There was no time to ponder why Baron Constantin had drawn the Dragon Spear.