It took Thio almost two weeks to set their date up. The entire military was on edge because of the increase of monster and demon activity, and besides getting security clearance, everyone was busy.

He wanted to make sure that their date went well, so he made sure to go to a Dragon Pen that had a contact he knew. And through the contact, he was able to get a more personalized tour of the place.

When the day finally came to head out, Thio walked into the living room and stopped in his tracks when he saw Caroline. Her usual outfit was a comfortable cotton shirt that pinched at the waist, and a long loose fitting brown skirt that went to her feet. Outside of the excellent embroidery (done by her) on the shirt, it wasn’t a very fashionable outfit, though it was easy to move in and typical for common women in the south.

Today, however, she had on an elegant deep green and creamy white dress. The loose fitting skirt had been replaced with a layered hoop skirt. And her cotton shirt was replaced with a tight front clasping bodice, over a white top that pinched at the elbows, with frilly wide sleeves. Elaborate stitching could be seen on both the bodice and the white shirt. To hide her extra short hair, she’d worn a matching hat (that she must have purchased recently when he was at work).

She looked adorable yet classy, and for a moment he was stunned into silence by how attractive she looked. At some point he noticed her staring at him expectantly, and he realized he needed to say something.

“Oh. You, you, uh, look very good.” He finally managed awkwardly. He was having a vicious internal battle to keep himself from grabbing her and smothering her with physical affection. The sane part of his mind vaguely realized that wasn’t enough and tried (lamely) again: “The color matches you very well.”

“T-thanks.” She blushed, hands gripping the side of her dress. And then feeling a need to explain herself, she said, “I got the cloth on sale a while ago as an impulse purchase. It reminded me… of your eyes… just a bit… er… anyways. I wasn’t sure what to do with it, but Mariel said I should make a nice dress since I don’t have any. I’ve worked on it a long time. I only finished it recently. I thought… I thought since it’s our first date… I should dress up… oh! Is dressing up for dates normal here?” She touched her forehead anxiously, having realized she was basing everything on her world’s version of dating.

“It can go either way, so it’s fine that you dressed up.” He responded, relieved at her chatter since it gave him time to calm down. Looking down at himself, he sighed, “If you would wait here, I need to do something before we leave.”

“Ok?” She tilted her head in reply.

He then spun on his heel and hot-footed it back up stairs and changed quickly. What he was wearing had been meant for a causal day trip, and to match her usual outfit. But she was basically wearing a formal dress and if he went out like he was, he’d look like a slob standing next to her. And he’d promised himself that today he’d be extra gentlemanly.

He sorrowfully threw on his military uniform. It was his fanciest outfit, and the closest thing that would match her dress. He was quite lucky it was gold and white based, so that the colors didn’t clash. But it wasn’t really something to wear on a date and he felt a little ashamed having to use it.

As he finished buttoning up his coat, he vowed to go to a tailor and get something made. When he was single, he could get away with his uniform being his formal wear. He didn’t have any partners to “match” up with, and he never went to social functions outside the military ones (and only when he absolutely had to do it). Basically, if he could avoid it, he did.

But that wouldn’t work with a wife. She would be invited to social functions because of his rank, and unless she wanted to be totally ostracized by her peers, she’d need to go. Which meant he’d be going too. And he couldn’t go in his military uniform every single time. It’d make her look bad.

Walking down the stairs in a much calmer manner, it occurred to him that getting a nice suit had it’s benefits. After all, Caroline would embroider his family crest on it. And her skills were top notch, something he could really show off. His heart hummed with pleasure at the thought.

“Oh, you changed.” She observed with slight confusion at his return.

“Well, you are dressed very nicely.” He explained. “If I’d gone out with my usual attire I’d shame us both.”

“That’s not true.” Her eyes sparkled. “You look amazing in anything!”

His ears reddened, and then he cleared his throat. Really, she had so much baseless confidence in his appearance. “While I appreciate your praise, the rest of the world would not be so generous. It’s important for couples to match.”

Her brow wrinkled and she bit her lower lip. “Is that so? Maybe I should change then… I wasn’t trying to pressure you into—”

“Ah, no, no.” He hastily denied. “I like how you look. I like that you dressed up so nicely for me. Truly. I was simply not prepared for it. I’ll just have to return the favor properly someday.” Unable to stop himself, he reached out and slid a finger gently across the side her face. Her eyes rounded at the sudden, intimate contact.

With a great deal of difficulty, he lowered his hand and took her hand in his. He put her hand in the crook of his arm and smiled warmly.

“It’s getting a bit late. Shall we go?”

She gulped and nodded. When was she going to get use to his smiling? Right now, his whole face lit up with his smile and it made her weak in the knees. The urge to reach out and cover his face was kisses was almost paralyzing. She should be glad he hadn’t laughed, otherwise she really might have jumped him just then.

Caroline quietly lamented her physical weakness. Being like this was so frustrating!

While her brain was busy being distracted, Thio cast Transportation (x2) and they re-appeared in a new location. She immediately moved closer to him, a little startled at the drastic change.

“W-woah.” She said in amazement once she got a good look around.

He had brought them to a mountain, between two peaks. There was a small valley, with a perfectly still lake in the center, that looked like it was made of glass. Near the lake were many stone buildings and also some very strange mounds. Even though the bright green grass and the mountain flowers blooming made it seem like spring, she couldn’t help shivering slightly. It was colder up here, and windier.

“Hm, it’s a bit cold isn’t it?” Thio commented as he shivered too, and then spoke a spell. Instantly, the wind died down and the temperature warmed up around them. “Ah, much better.”

“Heey oooh!” Came a voice below them, getting their attention. They both looked down from where they were standing.

They had arrived on a outcropping of rock, which had a narrow trail leading down into the valley. A man, warmly dressed, could be seen jogging up the trail. He was going surprisingly fast, considering the sheer drop down on one side of the path.

It took him very little time before he’d gotten to them. A light sheen showed on his forehead, but otherwise there was no sign of being strained. Caroline suspected (and rightly so) that magic had been involved somehow. She couldn’t help feeling annoyed over people who could just magic-away exhaustion.

“Archmage Thio, thank you for the visit!” He saluted, hand over heart and bowing slightly. He then turned to Caroline, “And you must be Mrs. Caroline! I’m glad to see you’ve recovered!”

“O-oh, yes. I’m much better.” Looking flustered she asked, “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

“Ah… did the Archmage not say?” He laughed, not the slightest bit offended. “I’m Dragon Mage Forest and, though you might not remember, my dragon and I have been at your service before!” He gave a flourishing bow.

Caroline snapped her fingers, “Are you, by any chance, the Dragon Mage who brought me to the Capital when I was ill?”

“Indeed, that would be me!”

“Well then, you are one of the people I owe my life to. I’m very grateful for what you did, thank you.” She thanked sincerely and offered her hand.

He blinked in surprise before taking her hand and shaking it. The handshake was firm, which made him raise a brow. Ladies didn’t generally shake hands, and when they did it was very lightly, practically with the tips of their fingers. She was sending a lot of mixed signals, she shook hands like a man but was dressed like a lady.

Well, Forest was actually more surprised she looked like a lady than that she had a firm handshake. Female Adventurers were rare. Women who went into such a profession were oddballs themselves, and often lacked any femininity. But since he was an oddball too, he was not inclined to judge.

Thio coughed politely, staring pointedly at their shaking hands and then at Forest. He then asked, somewhat stiffly, “If it’s fine with you, I would like to Teleport us down to the next location.”

The Dragon Mage let go of Caroline’s hand, a mischievous grin playing across his face. So the Ice Prince didn’t like other men touching his girl, huh? Not even out of politeness? That could be used for teasing later, how amusing!

“Please do, Archmage.”

Thio did the spell again, and they reappeared in the valley, near a small stone building.

“Why didn’t we Teleport here to begin with?” Caroline asked, looking around.

“This valley is Hawk Dragon territory, and they’d considered any unaccompanied guests intruders.” Explained Forest. “It’s not like they’ll attack you just for that, but they’ll raise an alarm and make the most God-awful noise you’ve ever heard. And they’ll keep doing it until every single one of them has been reassured their territory is safe. Last time it happened, it took us all day to calm them down.”

“I see!” Caroline nodded, eyes aglow with curiosity. “Hawk Dragons… is that the specific sub-species that lives here? And is that trait unique to their species or dragons in general?”

“It is and Hawk Dragons, specifically.” He replied with a smile. It was rare to meet an outsider who shared his interest in Dragons. “Though dragons in general are pretty shy around strangers. It’s just how they treat strangers that varies. Some attack, some run, some raise alarms. It varies. Hawk Dragons are some of the… nicer… dragons to deal with in that sense. I mean, better to get screamed at than eaten!”

Caroline gave a chuckle at his dark humor and nodded, “That’s true.”

“Follow me please,” He waved them to the door of stone building. They entered a small sectioned off entry way, which had shelves for boots and several boot scrappers as well. Forest led them through another door, into the main room.

“So this is our Outpost Office. Hey there Greg.” Forest greeted a younger man sitting behind a desk, who was writing in a large book. “This is Archmage Thio and his wife, Caroline. We’re doing a tour!”

“Ah, the guests you told me about.” Greg stood up and saluted Thio. “Welcome sir. Welcome ma’am. Let me know if you need anything.” He then sat back down and got back to his business. In other military branches, such a short greeting for a high ranking officer would have been offensive. But Dragon Mages (and Mages in general) weren’t the type to stand on ceremony.

“So, as you can see, there’s not much going on here. We have a communication crystal for contacting Headquarters. Very top of the line. Actually transmits voice and picture.” He pointed to something that looked like a small crystal ball sitting on the desk Greg was at. “Someone has to be in the office at all times in case we get an emergency call from Headquarters. We take turns. The other thing we do here is keep track of Hawk Dragon health and behavior, as well as our finances and inventory. Which is why there’s a ridiculous amount of books.”

On three of the four walls were rows of bookshelves. As well as stand-alone shelving behind the desk. In fact, it would have been easy to mistake the place for a library.

“How many years back does the bookkeeping go?” Caroline asked.

“Hm… back to the founding of the Pen, I think. So…” He did some math. “About 300 years?”

“Wow… this place has been around here that long?”

Forest raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t call it long. There are Pens that date back to the founding of the Empire. This is one of the newer ones.”

“Right… I forgot that the Empire is pretty old.”

“At least a thousand years… no one’s really sure.” He then clapped his hands. “Well, I’ve gotten the boring stuff out of the way. Let’s go see some dragons, shall we?” And with that Forest turned on the heel of his foot and led them out of the building, saying a farewell to Greg as he exited.

They walked down a narrow path, Forest talking the entire way.

“Dragon Mages live here, in the valley, with the dragons. All those stone buildings you see are for us.” He pointed to a cluster of stone buildings on the other side of the lake. “New recruits live in dorms, while the higher ranks get their own houses. Dragon Mages get married and have kids like everyone else, so we’ve got a tight-nit community as well. We’re essentially our own town up here, with a blacksmith and Doctor and even a General Store.”

“It’s common for children of Dragon Mages to become one themselves. I’m third generation myself.” He winked. “It’s easier to become one if you’re living right next to the dragons, obviously. But it’s also less of a cultural shock too.”

“Cultural shock?”

“Oh yeah, Dragon Mage communities are pretty isolated. Between being a military life style and the Hawk Dragon morality, how we Dragon Mages live is a pretty far cry from regular people in cities and towns. People from the outside tend to get confused, sometimes upset, so most of us keep our distance. I, personally, find it a bit amusing myself.”

“Ah…” Caroline tilted her head, muttered for a moment, and then smiled. “Actually, I understand. My Dad was in the military, something like the Air Defense, and the communities were similar.”

Thio blinked. This was something he hadn’t heard before.

“Your Father was in Air Defense?”

“Yeah, something like it. It was different there but..” She paused. “Have I not mentioned that before?”

“In fact, you haven’t.” He couldn’t help feeling a little unhappy and it must have showed.

“S-sorry. I wasn’t purposefully trying to hide it or anything. I just… sometimes I don’t remember details until the topic is brought up specifically so…”

Seeing her panicked look, he sighed, instantly forgiving her. He knew she hadn’t done it on purpose, but it was still frustrating. How many things did that jumbled up mind of hers forget?

Forest, who’d been watching, asked, “Haven’t you met each other’s family? I don’t know how they do it on the outside, but for us we meet each others family before we get married…”

“Oh! No, well, I’ve met his Dad but,” Her face cramped at the memory. She didn’t know how to continue without saying something really mean.

“It’s fine, Caroline.” Thio said, smiling slightly at her fluster. He had an idea what she was thinking just then. “Forest, Caroline is something of an… orphan, I suppose you could say. I have no way to meet her family. As for mine… the less interaction she has with them, the better.”

Forest’s eyebrows shot up at his flat tone. “My apologies. I meant no offense.”

“None taken. Let’s continue with the tour.”

Forest nodded, cleared his throat, and continued the tour: “Most people, when they think of Dragons, assume they live on the sides of mountains or in caves, hoarding their treasures. Some do, but not Hawk Dragons. They find places like this, flat with a water source, and they build nests on the ground. We call them “Dome Houses” because they’re built a lot like human houses. They start with a frame and add material from there. But… well… Hawk Dragons have lower living standards than people. They’ll just smash anything on the walls and ceiling. As long as it keeps out the elements, that’s what they care about. They end up looking like weird mud huts in the end.”

As he said this, the path curved and they saw rows upon rows of large mud piles, with sticks and trees and who-knows-what else, protruding from all sides. They were roughly dome-shaped, and if you squinted you could kind of see how they resembled houses.

“As I said before, Hawk Dragons are shy. But that’s only to outsiders. Once they’ve included you in their Community, they’re super friendly. There’s a neat legend about how Hawk Dragons came into the Empire. Do you want to hear it?”

“Of course!” Caroline answered excitedly.

“Great! So, Hawk Dragons aren’t native to the area, ya see. They’re from the East. Anyway, legend says this area use to be infested with Fire Dragons. The land was great, but no one could live here because they got barbecued by the local fauna.”

“Emperor Travis—I mean the first one not our current one—had befriended a Hawk Dragon and they’d both fly around exploring unchartered lands. Apparently he took a real shine to this area. Well, other than the Fire Dragons, it is beautiful so I don’t blame him. The legend claims he killed or drove out every Fire Dragon within a 50 mile radius, with just him and one Hawk Dragon.”

Thio snorted in disbelief. A single person taking on a horde of Fire Dragons was just nonsense.

“I know, it sounds unbelievable. But it wouldn’t be a legend if you can believe it.” Forest shrugged and then continued. “Anyway… Dragons are territorially, that’s universal to the species. Since the Hawk Dragon was involved with driving out the Fire Dragons, it claimed their territory as it’s own. The problem was the Fire Dragons hadn’t given up. They feared the Emperor, so they didn’t fight him directly. But they’d sneak back in, trying to reclaim their lost territory. And the moment the Emperor died, they’d definitely commit a full scale invasion.”

“The Hawk Dragon saw the danger and convinced a large portion of his Community in the East to move here to help him defend his new territory. He then asked the Emperor for assistance. The Emperor formed the pre-cursor to the Air Defense, and that’s how Dragon Mages came into existence. We’re the oldest division within the Air Defense.” Forest gave a superior look and smirked at Thio, who didn’t respond at all. Disappointed that his jab had missed, Forest continued:

“That’s why, originally, Hawk Dragons and Dragon Mages dealt almost exclusively with Fire Dragon extermination. But, obviously, the more Fire Dragons you destroy the less there are, and as time went on fewer and fewer intrusions happened. This left Hawk Dragons and Dragon Mages with a lot of time on their hands. They needed to justify they’re existence, so they expanded their mission to include general defense and attack and rescue. We’ve been at peace for a while now, so we do mostly rescue missions. Like saving you.” Forest gave a cheeky grin and tapped Caroline on her shoulder.

Thio glared at Forest while Caroline chuckled at his sauciness. “So Hawk Dragons go all the way back to the founding of the Empire.”

“Yep, as far as anyone knows anyway.”

“I wonder what the first Emperor was like…” Caroline asked, thoughtful. Her own knowledge of the Empire was focused mostly on recent history. She knew, by word of mouth, that the current Emperor (Travis the 3rd) was a stern but fair man. He wasn’t an expansionist and preferred to trade rather than make war. He’d been the reason this area of the world had been relatively peaceful, or so everyone told her.

“I know a lot of scholars now think most of the tales of the Emperor and his Hawk Dragon are exaggerations but I don’t know… Every Dragon Pen today still talks about the Emperor with respect and admiration. They do oral histories of their own communities, and humans aren’t usually included. But the Emperor is, and in a big way.”

“What do Hawk Dragons say about the first Emperor?”

“That he was impossibly strong, so strong he could have split mountains in half if he’d wanted. But he was also very kind, and just. He would save people for the sake of it, without demanding anything in return. And he really liked Hawk Dragons. He treated them as people, and his own Hawk Dragon companion was counted as a friend, not a mount.”

Caroline’s brow crinkled. “But aren’t most dragons people?”

Forest blinked and then laughed. “Well, obviously I think so, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many in the Empire who’d allow for it.”

“Really? But Douglas…”

“Douglas is a strange fellow to begin with.” Thio commented, and then added for Forest’s benefit. “That’s someone she worked with in the Guild.”

“Ah. Well, Adventurers have always been quirky.” He chuckled and then gave a slightly troubled look. “Unfortunately, thinking dragons are people is not widely accepted in the Empire.”

“Why?! You just said they build houses, keep histories—!”

“I know, but the Empire is strongly pro-human. It’s not that non-humans are forbidden or even mistreated per say, but the underlying view is that humans are superior.”

“…human supremacy… I had no idea…” Caroline looked genuinely alarmed.

“I don’t see why you’re so surprised.” Thio’s eyebrows raised slightly. “It’s common knowledge that every few centuries an extraordinary human is born, someone who can influence the world and change the course of history. The first Emperor is believed to be one of those types. Though Forest is correct that their abilities are believed to be exaggerated. Even so, no other intelligent race has that. Between that and the strength of the Empire, it’s not unbelievable that many humans would think their race superior.”

“…do you think humans are superior and that dragons aren’t people?” She asked Thio, watching his face closely.

Seeing that she was taking this subject seriously, he thought about it deeply for several minutes. “I think humans are… unique. Special in some sense, perhaps. But superior? No… I’ve seen too much ugliness in humanity to be so naive. And I’ve not thought much about the personhood of dragons, but I think you’re observation is the correct one. At the same time, humans and dragons are obviously not the same. So dragons are a different kind of “people” compared to humans. But being different is only that. It doesn’t make one better or worse than the other.”

“Hear, hear!” Forest agreed. “Though not all dragons are the same. I’ve always thought Drakes should be counted as giant lizards rather than dragons. They’re dumb as rocks. Insults the rest of the dragon races lumping them all together like that.”

“Yes, well… good luck changing anyone’s mind about that. Goblins are still classified as a type of sub-human, despite all evidence pointing to them being a type of ugly fairy. If we can’t divest ourselves of goblins, I don’t see why Dragons should be able to divest themselves of Drakes.”

“Ah… that’s true, that’s true..” The Dragon Mage nodded with a chuckle.

Caroline listened to their banter, relieved and amused. She’d never suspected that human supremacy was a thing in the Empire. She supposed, since all she’d ever been around was humans, such an ugly mentality never had a chance to manifest itself around her.

And Thio was generally a traditionalist with his outlook on life. So she had been a little afraid he might believe in human supremacy too. Seeing his response, she felt a little guilty for doubting him. Still though, she was glad she’d asked.