Gruwen was one of the most powerful Generals in the army, mainly because of how strict she was with her training. Gruwen believed that only by training vigorously and mastering every technique until they became second nature could you become as strong as possible, so when it came down to Radagan battle techniques, there was literally no one in the army who could perform them at a higher level than her.
But right now, Gruwen was having a dilemma. She walked over the bridge and reached a large garden where a man was feeding large chunks of meat to a dragon with dark red skin. The man was also wearing the black military outfit of the Royal Army, and he had a calm smile on his face as multiple dragons surrounded him. This man was named Talum, and he was the strongest General in the Royal Army as well as the first dragonborn to have a bond with more than one dragon. Talum had two dragons and a wyvern that had bonded with him when he was only a child, and the elders of the dragonborn said that they had never seen anyone with a higher aptitude for dragon taming. Talum had a peaceful aura of power around him that made it almost impossible for any dragon to resist his presence! He had dark blond hair with dark red scales running up his neck and cheeks. His figure was lean, but every move he made was measured and powerful, and anyone who watched him could tell just how strong he really was!
Talum chuckled roughly as his wyvern came to push him with its nose while asking for more meat, and he threw a large slab of meat into the air! The wyvern quickly lashed out and snapped the meat out of the air and Talum laughed as he continued to pet another dragon at his side.
"General Talum, do you mind if I have a word?"
Gruwen spoke up sternly when she walked into the large garden, and she frowned when she saw one of the dragons giving her a dirty look. When Talum stopped petting it to look at her. Gruwen didnât have the same affinity for dragons that Talum did, so she could only get along with the dragon that she was bonded with. Gruwen ignored the stink eye from the dragon and she focused on the General as he smiled at her while getting up.
"Gruwen, youâre as stern as ever, arenât you? Youâre not going to ever get married if you keep frowning so much."
Gruwen felt her eye twitch in annoyance from Talumâs words, and she watched as Talum dusted off his military attire. Gruwen couldnât stop herself from staring at his face for a little too long. No matter how many times she saw it, she still couldnât get used to how young this man was. Unlike all the other Generals in the Royal Army that were already in their late seventies, Talum was still only fourty years old! He was not only the youngest General, but also the most powerful of them all!
âThere are even rumors that he is the one thatâll take over from the Sovereign in the future. I wouldnât be surprised if he surpasses the Sovereign very soon with how fast he is growing. The only thing I hate about him is how he always speaks without any filters. Itâs irritating.â
"Hey, Gruwen, can you hear me? Youâre not even ninety yet, yâknow. If you keep zoning out like that, youâll never find a husband. Heâll say something to you and you wouldnât even catch a word!"
Gruwenâs eye twitched again, and Talum smiled as he fed the dragon another slab of meat. Gruwen took in a breath, and she decided that she wasnât going to let Talumâs words get to her. Instead, she spoke with a serious expression on her face.
"Iâm worried about Jaraht. He left last night with the rest of his regiment to carry out the Sovereignâs orders, but we havenât heard any news from him since."
Talum hummed, and he scratched his hair while looking up at the sky.
"Well, is that really something we need to worry about? I mean, isnât that what Jaraht tends to do during missions? He and his men get plastered, and they end up making trouble for some poor tavern before they come back. Haha, remember that time Jaraht fed Fire rum to the dragons in his regiment? He almost burnt down the whole city!"
Talum chuckled softly while petting another one of his dragons and Gruwen frowned slightly. Gruwen knew that Talum was right about Jaraht always running off after missions and doing things outside of his orders, but for some reason, she just felt like things were different this time. Normally, they would at least get a message from Jarahtâs right-hand woman, Runa, that he had completed the mission. Runa was the most professional person in that entire regiment, so Gruwen knew that Runa wouldnât fail to send the message of completion once they were done!
"If you keep frowning like that, your face is gonna get all wrinkly before you find yourself a husband."
Talum spoke up when he noticed the deep frown on Gruwenâs face, and Gruwen unconsciously reached up to touch her cheek when she heard it! Wrinkles!? There was no way she had wrinkles! Talum smiled knowingly when he saw the expression on Gruwenâs face, and Gruwenâs cheeks heated up in anger as she glared at him! She hated how easily it was for Talum to get under her skin, but she had promised herself that she wouldnât get swept up in his nonsense, so she took in another calming breath and schooled her expression back to her normal impassive look! Talum pouted slightly when he saw how easily she got her composure back and he finally decided to take her seriously as he folded his hands and said.
"Why are you so worried about this? Even if they ran into some problems, Jaraht is one of the strongest members of the army. There isnât anything on that useless Rank II world that can harm a General."
Talumâs words were the truth, and Gruwen couldnât come up with anything to counter that. They all knew that Jarahtâs regiment was sent to Earth to recover the princess, so even if they had met resistance from the people of Earth, there was no way they would lose to a world that had only discovered magic a few years ago! Gruwen sighed as she realized that she was only being paranoid at that moment, and Talum spoke up again.
"If youâre so worried about him, then maybe you can send a few men to see how things are going. The Gate is just a few hundred miles away from the city, so they can reach it in a few minutes on dragonback. This might also be good for us since we donât want Jaraht going off on another drunken bender like last time. Things are already tense enough in the castle, and the Sovereign might actually kill him this time if he does anything stupid."
Gruwen seemed to finally crack a smile when she heard Talumâs words, and Talum blushed slightly when he saw the smile on her face.
"You should smile more often, Gruwen. You look beautiful."
"Stop saying nonsense."
Gruwen shot down Talumâs words with immediate brutality, and Talum frowned as one of his dragons snickered roughly from behind him. Talum pet the dragon with a wistful look on his face before he spoke.
"Gruwen, what do you think the future is going to be like now that the dragons refuse to let us into the forest? Do you think we will ever form another contract with a creature from the Ashen Valley?"