1 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:08,400 Speaker 1: Hello, friends from across the nation and around the world. 2 00:00:08,679 --> 00:00:14,119 My Martin and you are listening to Dad's bedtime stories. Tonight, 3 00:00:14,199 --> 00:00:17,839 we'll be continuing with the Dragon Knights series and finally 4 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:23,480 learning about the Earth Dragon General. Our idea for this 5 00:00:23,519 --> 00:00:28,120 one comes from Luna, who actually just commented on Spotify, 6 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:35,039 and the general idea is that the Earth Dragon General 7 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:41,719 is actually Bennett's dad, and his name is Basalt, I believe, 8 00:00:42,119 --> 00:00:45,359 and he had to infiltrate the Rebels at one point 9 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:50,479 and ended up falling in love and having Bennett. I 10 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:53,439 think it makes an excellent idea, even though I really 11 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:55,840 had to go back in the story to figure out 12 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,159 what I even said about Bennett in the first place, 13 00:00:58,159 --> 00:01:00,880 because he did actually have a mother and fun the story. 14 00:01:01,679 --> 00:01:05,359 So guess what I guess His father was a step father, 15 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:08,280 A nice a nice step father of course. 16 00:01:09,599 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 2: Yeah. 17 00:01:10,079 --> 00:01:13,439 Speaker 1: Anyways, these Dragon Knight series are taking me a lot 18 00:01:13,519 --> 00:01:16,239 longer to get out, partially because they take a really 19 00:01:16,239 --> 00:01:18,680 long time to write these days. I guess there's so 20 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:21,000 much lower and so many things that have happened before 21 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:23,920 that I really can't just improvise them like I sometimes 22 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,719 do with stories. I have to write them in advance 23 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,200 and often I have to reread what I've written before. 24 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:33,480 So yeah, hopefully this summer we will finish up with 25 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:38,000 the series. After this will sort of do the story 26 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:42,799 of the Earth Dragon Kingdom being taken over than the 27 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:48,560 Air Dragons, and then hopefully the Dragon King or Dragon 28 00:01:48,719 --> 00:01:52,799 Thief as I like to call him himself. And for 29 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,799 those of you looking for Cards of Power, don't worry, 30 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,040 I'm also working on those. We're still in the Deity 31 00:01:59,159 --> 00:02:02,719 level tournament, just figuring out what creatures I want, and 32 00:02:03,159 --> 00:02:08,439 there should be another Cards of Power next week. Don't forget. 33 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,439 There's a lot of ways to support the podcast. Rating 34 00:02:11,439 --> 00:02:15,639 and reviewing it really really important, especially on Apple. Hitting 35 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:19,319 that like button. If you're listening on YouTube also very important. 36 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:22,280 You can just share it with a friend. That makes 37 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:26,280 a big difference too. And if you want ad free episodes, 38 00:02:26,319 --> 00:02:28,599 I keep that as cheap as possible, for as little 39 00:02:28,599 --> 00:02:31,360 as one dollar a month or twelve dollars for an 40 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:36,439 entire year on Patreon. But if you're not on Patreon, 41 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:40,800 we'll leave a little space for a word from a sponsor. 42 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:45,479 Now it's time to get as comfy as you can 43 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:49,719 in that bed, close your eyes and imagine yourself doing 44 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:55,199 what the kid in the story does. I call this 45 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,639 one the Salt and the Earth Dragon. 46 00:02:58,879 --> 00:02:59,319 Speaker 2: General. 47 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 1: Basalt grew up surrounded by dragons. Not stories of dragons, 48 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:11,960 or just pictures of dragons and old books, but real dragons, 49 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:17,560 Earth dragons. They lived in the mountains, in the valleys 50 00:03:17,599 --> 00:03:21,319 and the deep stone halls beneath the earth, and in 51 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:26,240 the wide open training grounds where true dragon knights practiced 52 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:31,319 their craft. When Basalt was a little boy, the Earth 53 00:03:31,439 --> 00:03:36,879 Dragon Kingdom was still free. Of course, back then, the 54 00:03:36,919 --> 00:03:42,879 world was different. Dragons and humans worked together, not because 55 00:03:42,919 --> 00:03:46,599 one controlled the other, but because they'd chosen each other. 56 00:03:47,479 --> 00:03:51,080 A dragon would find its rider, and a rider would 57 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,960 find their dragon, and the bond between them would become 58 00:03:55,120 --> 00:04:00,719 something more powerful than either one could be alone. Basalt's 59 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:07,439 parents were dragon knights, real dragon knights. His father was 60 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:13,400 bonded to a massive earth dragon named Obsidian, a dragon 61 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:19,639 with scales like black mountain glass and eyes like polished silver. 62 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:24,160 His mother was bonded to a smaller and quicker earth 63 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:28,639 dragon named Slate, who could move through tunnels and caves 64 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,600 as if the entire thing had been built just for her. 65 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:38,439 Basalt grew up watching them train. He watched his father 66 00:04:38,639 --> 00:04:42,120 stomp one boot into the ground and send a line 67 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:47,000 of stone pillars shooting up across a field. He watched 68 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,439 his mother lift her hand and turn loose sand into 69 00:04:50,519 --> 00:04:56,360 solid rock. He watched earth dragons carved tunnels, raise walls, 70 00:04:56,399 --> 00:05:00,879 shaped bridges, and build entire halls for the bones of 71 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:05,759 the mountain. To Basalt, it was the most incredible thing 72 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:09,759 in the world, and every night, when he lay in bed, 73 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:14,199 he imagined the day it would happen for him, The 74 00:05:14,319 --> 00:05:17,959 day he would feel the pull, the day an egg 75 00:05:18,079 --> 00:05:22,160 would call his name, the day a dragon would hatch 76 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:24,759 look up at him and say. 77 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:27,720 Speaker 2: You are my rider. 78 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: Everyone assumed it would happen. His parents assumed it. Other 79 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:38,920 dragon knights assumed it. Even Basalt assumed it. After all, 80 00:05:38,959 --> 00:05:42,959 both his parents were dragon knights. He grew up among dragons. 81 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:47,600 He knew more about earth dragon traditions than most grown ups. 82 00:05:48,439 --> 00:05:51,480 He could name the different kinds of stone by touch. 83 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:54,839 He knew where to dig for clay, where to find 84 00:05:54,959 --> 00:05:58,759 iron in the rocks, and how to hear the difference 85 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:03,680 between a hollow and a solid one. Surely an egg 86 00:06:03,759 --> 00:06:10,199 would choose him, but none did. The first time he 87 00:06:10,319 --> 00:06:13,240 was brought to the egg chamber he was still quite young. 88 00:06:14,399 --> 00:06:18,639 He walked past rows of earth dragon eggs, each one 89 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:25,120 gray brown, silver, black, or speckled like granite. He placed 90 00:06:25,199 --> 00:06:30,519 his hand near them, hoping to feel something, a warmth, 91 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:37,079 a poll, a glow, anything, but the eggs remained silent. 92 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:42,879 That's all right, his mother told him gently. Sometimes the 93 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:47,879 bond takes time. His father placed a strong hand on 94 00:06:47,959 --> 00:06:53,040 his shoulder. You don't choose the egg, son, the egg 95 00:06:53,279 --> 00:06:58,319 chooses you, and when the right one is ready, you'll know. 96 00:07:00,079 --> 00:07:03,879 Basalt nodded, because that was what he was supposed to do, 97 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:11,959 but inside something twisted. Years past, other children were chosen, 98 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:16,560 some younger than him. Basalt watched a girl from the 99 00:07:16,639 --> 00:07:20,879 lower caverns bond with a little earth dragon that immediately 100 00:07:20,959 --> 00:07:25,560 began eating pebbles from her hand. He watched a boy 101 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,959 who barely knew anything about dragons place one hand on 102 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:33,199 an egg and laugh as it cracked open with golden light. 103 00:07:34,879 --> 00:07:40,920 He watched nights celebrate, parents cheer, dragons roar, and new 104 00:07:41,079 --> 00:07:45,240 riders summon their armor for the first time, and still 105 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:50,920 no egg chose Basalt. At first, he told himself that 106 00:07:50,959 --> 00:07:55,680 it didn't matter. Then he told others it didn't matter. 107 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:00,519 Then he told it so often that he he almost 108 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:06,839 believed it. Almost but not quite, because when he watched 109 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:12,000 those other children flying on dragons, shaping the earth, summoning 110 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:16,759 armor from the bond in their chest, something inside him burned. 111 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:22,279 And it was not a good kind of fire. It 112 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:26,959 was resentment. It was the feeling of being left outside 113 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:31,079 a door that everyone else seemed to walk through easily. 114 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:35,200 It was the feeling of being told that Destiny had 115 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:41,679 a plan, only to discover that perhaps Destiny had forgotten him. 116 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:46,840 His parents noticed, of course, his parents usually do. His 117 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:49,960 mother tried to remind him that a person didn't need 118 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:54,000 a dragon to matter. His father told him that strength 119 00:08:54,159 --> 00:08:59,759 came in many forms. Basalt wanted to believe them, but 120 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:04,320 that was easy for them to say. They had dragons, 121 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:09,480 They had power, They had armor that appeared when they 122 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:14,000 needed it. They had stone and metal and sand answering 123 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:18,000 their call. They had the respect of every person in 124 00:09:18,039 --> 00:09:22,679 the Earth Dragon Kingdom. Basalt had nothing but a name 125 00:09:22,799 --> 00:09:27,000 and a promise that maybe someday things would be different. 126 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:34,159 Then the Dragon King came, although back then many still 127 00:09:34,159 --> 00:09:39,159 called him the dragon thief. Of course, at first, Basalt 128 00:09:39,159 --> 00:09:43,720 didn't understand what was happening. He remembered alarms ringing through 129 00:09:43,759 --> 00:09:48,279 the mountains. He remembered earth dragons roaring in the distance. 130 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,840 He remembered his mother grabbing his arm and pulling him 131 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,200 through a tunnel while his father showed orders to the 132 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:59,960 other knights. The earth Dragon Kingdom was built to win 133 00:10:00,159 --> 00:10:05,440 stand attacks. Its walls were not walls in the usual way, 134 00:10:06,279 --> 00:10:10,399 they were mountains. Its gates were not made of wood 135 00:10:10,399 --> 00:10:12,919 that could be burned or metal that could be melted. 136 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:19,480 They were slabs of solid stone, thicker than houses. The 137 00:10:19,519 --> 00:10:25,960 earth Dragon knights knew every tunnel, every cave, every hidden passage. 138 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:31,759 They should have been impossible to defeat. But the Dragon 139 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:36,720 Thief did not fight like an ordinary enemy. He had 140 00:10:36,879 --> 00:10:43,879 dragons of his own, controlled dragons, dragons with glowing eyes, 141 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:48,120 and riders who didn't share their power but commanded it 142 00:10:48,279 --> 00:10:53,679 like a stolen tool. Basalt watched from a narrow crack 143 00:10:53,799 --> 00:10:58,360 and a stone shelter as fire dragons blasted flames into 144 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:06,120 the mountain entrances. Water dragons froze doors shut, trapping knights inside. 145 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:11,080 Nature dragons sensed roots through the cracks and stone, splitting 146 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:17,440 walls from the inside, and worst of all, elemental dragons came. 147 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:23,639 Not many, only a few, But a few elemental dragons 148 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:28,759 were enough. Basalts saw one land on the central training yard, 149 00:11:29,519 --> 00:11:36,720 its veins flashing with every color, every elemental power. Its 150 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:41,240 rider lifted a hand, and the Earth itself betrayed the 151 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:47,679 earth dragon knights, opening beneath their feet and throwing them inside. 152 00:11:48,039 --> 00:11:52,879 Basalt's father and Obsidian fought like heroes from the old stories. 153 00:11:53,759 --> 00:11:57,440 Obsidian lifted a section of the mountain and hurled it 154 00:11:57,519 --> 00:12:03,440 towards the invaders. Basalt's father rode atop the dragon's back, 155 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,519 commanding metal from the ground to wrap around the legs 156 00:12:07,519 --> 00:12:12,039 of the controlled dragons. His mother and Slate moved like 157 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:17,480 shadows through the stone, appearing from one tunnel and disappearing 158 00:12:17,519 --> 00:12:23,039 into another, breaking enemy formations, pulling riders from their saddles, 159 00:12:23,519 --> 00:12:28,480 protecting children and others where they could. For a while, 160 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:35,000 Basalt thought they might actually win. Then he saw the 161 00:12:35,159 --> 00:12:40,320 dragon thief himself. He stood on the back of an 162 00:12:40,399 --> 00:12:46,440 elemental dragon, wearing robes darker than a cave, with no torch. 163 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:53,960 He looked calm, not angry, not excited, just calm, as 164 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,960 if the battle was nothing more than a problem he'd 165 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:03,360 already solved. He lifted both hands, and a strange wave 166 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:10,879 of magic pulsed through the battlefield. The dragons screamed. Basalt 167 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:16,000 would never forget that sound. It wasn't pain, exactly, It 168 00:13:16,159 --> 00:13:23,720 was confusion, fear loss. One by one, the true bonds 169 00:13:23,759 --> 00:13:30,720 between dragons and riders began to flicker. Basalt's father shouted something, 170 00:13:30,799 --> 00:13:37,240 but Basalt couldn't hear the words through the roar. Obsidian staggered, 171 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:43,399 slate crashed into the ground, and then the controlled dragons 172 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:49,559 moved in. My son, sid the earth Dragon kingdom had fallen. 173 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:54,519 The true dragon knights were dragged away in chains made 174 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:59,039 from their own earth and metal. Basalt saw his parents 175 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:04,679 only once more. Or standing among the captured knights, his 176 00:14:04,759 --> 00:14:09,399 mother spotted him hiding behind a broken stone pillar. For 177 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:14,360 a moment their eyes met. She shook her head slightly, 178 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:20,320 do not come. That was what the look meant. His 179 00:14:20,399 --> 00:14:25,320 father saw him too. He didn't wave, he didn't call out. 180 00:14:26,159 --> 00:14:30,960 He simply looked at Basult with pride and sadness, as 181 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:36,200 if trying to say everything he couldn't say aloud. Then 182 00:14:36,879 --> 00:14:42,960 they were taken away. Basalt was left behind. Maybe the 183 00:14:43,039 --> 00:14:46,440 soldier thought he was too young to matter. Maybe they 184 00:14:46,559 --> 00:14:50,360 didn't realize who he was. Maybe in the chaos, he 185 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:55,360 simply slipped through the cracks. For three days, he hid 186 00:14:55,399 --> 00:14:59,519 in the ruins of the earth dragon kingdom. He ate 187 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:03,080 with the little food he could find. He slept and 188 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:07,480 collapsed tunnels. He waited for his parents to come back. 189 00:15:08,759 --> 00:15:14,480 They did not. On the fourth day, the Dragon King 190 00:15:14,679 --> 00:15:18,840 found him. Basalt was sitting beside one of the old 191 00:15:18,879 --> 00:15:25,279 egg chambers. The eggs were gone, now taken hidden. The 192 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:30,159 Dragon King stepped into the chamber alone. 193 00:15:30,519 --> 00:15:32,039 Speaker 2: You are the. 194 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 1: Son of dragon knights, he said. Basalt did not answer, 195 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:48,480 And yet no dragon chose you. Basalt's hands curled into fists. 196 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:51,519 Speaker 2: I know that feeling. 197 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:58,720 Speaker 1: The Dragon King continued to stand near power, to watch 198 00:15:58,799 --> 00:16:03,559 others receive it, to be told that you should be patient, 199 00:16:04,279 --> 00:16:10,480 that you should be grateful, that destiny has simply chosen differently. 200 00:16:11,679 --> 00:16:17,720 Basalt looked up. Then the Dragon King smiled. It was 201 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:23,399 not a kind smile, but it was an understanding one. 202 00:16:23,679 --> 00:16:29,000 They told you that the egg would choose you one day, 203 00:16:29,039 --> 00:16:35,639 didn't they. Basalt still said nothing, but it never did. 204 00:16:36,799 --> 00:16:40,600 The words hit harder than they should have. The Dragon 205 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:45,919 King stepped closer. I can give you would they would not? 206 00:16:47,159 --> 00:16:57,480 Basalt frowned. What a dragon? Basalt's breath caught. The Dragon 207 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:03,399 King turned and gestured toward the doorway. Outside, in the 208 00:17:03,559 --> 00:17:09,559 ruined training yard stood an Earth dragon. Its scales were 209 00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:14,640 dark gray, almost black, and its eyes glowed with the 210 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:20,400 same strange yellow light Basalted scene in the controlled dragons 211 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:26,799 during the battle. This dragon has no rider now, the 212 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:33,640 Dragon King said, no true rider anyways, but I can 213 00:17:33,759 --> 00:17:39,359 link it to you. Not did the old way. The 214 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:46,400 old way was messy, unfair. It chooses one child and 215 00:17:46,519 --> 00:17:52,799 rejects another. But my way is better. My way allows 216 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:59,240 power to go where it is deserved. Basalt stared at 217 00:17:59,279 --> 00:18:03,279 the dragon. He knew something was wrong with it, of 218 00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:08,960 course he did. He'd seen free Earth dragons his entire life. 219 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:13,799 They laughed, they grumbled, they argued, They teased their riders 220 00:18:13,839 --> 00:18:18,640 and knocked over training targets when they fell dramatic. This 221 00:18:18,839 --> 00:18:26,880 dragon stood silent, waiting, almost empty, But it was still 222 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:32,440 a dragon, and Bassault wanted a dragon more than anything 223 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:39,440 else he'd ever wanted. My parents, he began. Your parents 224 00:18:39,599 --> 00:18:44,759 fought for a broken system, the Dragon King said, a 225 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:51,319 system that left you behind. Basalt hated him for seeing it. 226 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:56,079 He hated him because it was cruel, and he hated 227 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:59,920 him even more because some small, angry part of him 228 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:06,400 thought it might be true. The Dragon King extended a hand, 229 00:19:07,519 --> 00:19:12,319 Come with me, be Salt, serve me, and you will 230 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:20,319 never be powerless again. Basalt should have said no. Somewhere 231 00:19:20,599 --> 00:19:23,920 deep down he knew that. But he thought of the 232 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:27,200 eggs that had never called to him. He thought of 233 00:19:27,279 --> 00:19:30,640 every child who had been chosen while he stood watching. 234 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:35,079 He thought of his parents writing dragons while telling him 235 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:39,359 he mattered without one. And then he looked at the 236 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:44,599 controlled Earth dragon waiting in the yard. Basalt took the 237 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:50,680 Dragon King's hand. That was the first choice, not the last, 238 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:57,079 but perhaps the one that changed everything. The Dragon King 239 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:01,599 kept his promise in a way. The link he gave 240 00:20:01,759 --> 00:20:06,519 Basalt was not like the true bond Basalt had always imagined. 241 00:20:07,599 --> 00:20:13,200 It didn't feel warm, or natural or alive. It didn't 242 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:17,480 feel like a second heart beat in his chest. It 243 00:20:17,559 --> 00:20:23,960 felt more like holding chains. The dragon obeyed him because 244 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:29,079 magic forced it to obey. Still, when Basalt lifted his 245 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:34,480 hand and the Earth dragon stomped, stone pillars rose from 246 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:41,599 the ground. When Basalt pointed, The dragon hurled boulders. When 247 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:47,480 Basalt focused, the dragon shaped the earth itself. The power 248 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:52,160 was not inside basalt, not really. He didn't share the 249 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:57,720 dragon's magic the way true dragon knights did. But through 250 00:20:57,839 --> 00:21:01,200 the control link, he could command the dragon to use 251 00:21:01,279 --> 00:21:05,799 its power, and that was enough. At least that's what 252 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:11,119 he told himself. He trained harder than anyone. He learned 253 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:14,680 to fight from the back of a dragon. He learned 254 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:19,039 to read battlefields. He learned how earth could be used 255 00:21:19,079 --> 00:21:24,839 in a thousand different ways. Stone walls for defense, boulders 256 00:21:24,839 --> 00:21:30,759 for attack, metaled chains to restrain enemies, sand to blind them, 257 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:37,359 dust to hide movements, spikes from below, caves collapsed from above. 258 00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:42,759 The earth was not flashy like fire. It didn't dance 259 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:48,720 like water or fly like wind. But it endured. It pressed, 260 00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:56,920 it crushed, it waded. But salts understood that he rose 261 00:21:57,079 --> 00:22:01,480 quickly through the ranks. The other soul respected him because 262 00:22:01,559 --> 00:22:06,200 he was useful. The dragon king trusted him because he 263 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:11,200 had already chosen power. Once over the old ways, and 264 00:22:11,279 --> 00:22:14,920 Basault told himself that he'd done what he needed to 265 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:18,960 do to survive. He told himself that his parents were 266 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:23,319 gone anyways, he told himself that the old dragon Knights 267 00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:28,200 had lost. He told himself many things, But at night, 268 00:22:28,759 --> 00:22:33,960 when the controlled Earth Dragon slept outside his quarters, Basalt 269 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:38,720 sometimes wondered what its real voice had sounded like before 270 00:22:38,759 --> 00:22:43,119 the spell took it away. And sometimes, though he tried 271 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:48,680 not to, he wondered where his parents were. Years passed, 272 00:22:49,079 --> 00:22:54,039 the Dragon King's rule spread farther and further. The Earth 273 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:59,720 Dragons were the fourth group of dragons to fall, and finally, 274 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:04,119 after a long and difficult campaign, even the Air Dragons 275 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:09,839 were defeated. The true dragon Knights were gone, or imprisoned, 276 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:14,240 or hiding so well they might as well have been legends. 277 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:20,920 But the dragon Kings still had one problem. Rebels dragon 278 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:27,920 knights sympathizers, pesky little groups of farmers, miners, former servants, 279 00:23:28,039 --> 00:23:32,880 escaped prisoners, and ordinary families who refused to accept that 280 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:37,720 the Dragon Knight's rule would last forever. They lived on 281 00:23:37,759 --> 00:23:43,000 the outskirts, in forests and caves and mountain valleys and 282 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:48,680 places where the King's patrols had trouble reaching. They stole supplies, 283 00:23:48,839 --> 00:23:53,720 they hid fugitives, they warned villagers when soldiers were coming, 284 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:59,839 and sometimes they even freed prisoners to the Dragon King. 285 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:06,839 They were insects, but annoying insects, and insects the Dragon 286 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,680 King believed had to be crushed before they could become 287 00:24:10,799 --> 00:24:16,920 a storm. One day, he summoned Basult to the throne room. 288 00:24:17,559 --> 00:24:21,079 By then, Basult was no longer a frightened boy in 289 00:24:21,279 --> 00:24:26,920 ruined halls. He was a young man, a skilled soldier, 290 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:30,359 and one of the most promising earth riders in the 291 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:34,759 King's army. Not a true rider, but no one said 292 00:24:34,799 --> 00:24:39,200 that part outloud. The Dragon King sat on his throne, 293 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:43,519 looking down at him with that same calm expression he'd 294 00:24:43,559 --> 00:24:48,359 warn during the fall of the Earth Dragon Kingdom Besult, 295 00:24:49,079 --> 00:24:56,000 He said, I have a special mission for you, Basult knelt. 296 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:02,400 I serve the kingdom. Yes, the Dragon King replied, and 297 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:07,319 now you will serve it in a way few others could. 298 00:25:09,119 --> 00:25:13,680 He explained the problem. A rebel camp hidden deep in 299 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:17,240 the outer forest had become more than a nuisance. It 300 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:21,640 had started organizing other small camps. They'd had spies in 301 00:25:21,759 --> 00:25:28,079 nearby towns, but had helped several wanted families disappear. The 302 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:32,720 king could attack blindly, but the rebels would scatter. He 303 00:25:32,799 --> 00:25:37,599 needed someone on the inside, someone with a believable story, 304 00:25:38,279 --> 00:25:42,039 someone he could pass as a displaced citizen of the 305 00:25:42,319 --> 00:25:47,599 Earth Dragon kingdom, someone who could tell the truth well 306 00:25:47,759 --> 00:25:53,599 enough to hide the lie. You will leave your dragon behind, 307 00:25:54,480 --> 00:26:00,839 the Dragon King said, You will go as an ordinary man, refugee, 308 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:06,319 a victim. You will tell them your parents were dragon 309 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:12,880 knights taken away during the conquest. Basalt looked up sharply. 310 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:19,720 The Dragon King's expression didn't change. That is true, is 311 00:26:19,759 --> 00:26:22,559 it not. Basalt swallowed. 312 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:23,960 Speaker 2: Yes. 313 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:30,519 Speaker 1: Truth is useful, the Dragon King said. People believe truth. 314 00:26:31,319 --> 00:26:36,279 Tell them enough of it and they won't notice the lie. 315 00:26:36,559 --> 00:26:41,960 Basalt understood. He did not like it, but he understood. 316 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:51,799 When you are accepted, you will send information back by messenger, pigeon, numbers, defenses, 317 00:26:52,319 --> 00:26:58,759 supply routes, names, anything useful, and when you have enough, 318 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:07,559 Basalt asked, then we end the problem. The words settled heavily. 319 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:14,440 Basalt bowed his head, as you command. A week later, 320 00:27:14,599 --> 00:27:19,480 Basalt walked alone into the forest, without armor, without dragon, 321 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,839 and without anything that made him look like one of 322 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:27,279 the Dragon King's soldiers. For the first time in years, 323 00:27:27,319 --> 00:27:33,079 he looked powerless. He hated how familiar that felt. It 324 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:37,079 took him three days to find the rebel camp, or rather, 325 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:40,079 it took him three days for the rebel camp to 326 00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:44,839 find him. That was how good they were. Basalt had 327 00:27:44,839 --> 00:27:48,880 been walking through the forest, pretending to limp more than 328 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:52,839 he really needed to, when a voice suddenly called from 329 00:27:52,839 --> 00:27:59,960 behind him, that's far enough. Basult stopped. He slowly raised 330 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:04,200 his hands. I am not here to cause trouble, he said. 331 00:28:05,039 --> 00:28:10,200 Then why are you here? The voice asked, Because I 332 00:28:10,279 --> 00:28:15,000 have nowhere else to go. That part was not entirely 333 00:28:15,039 --> 00:28:19,680 a lie. Two people stepped from the trees. One held 334 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:23,599 a bow, the other held a short spear. They didn't 335 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:27,559 look like soldiers, but they carried themselves like people who 336 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:31,680 knew how to survive. The woman with the bow looked 337 00:28:31,759 --> 00:28:41,480 him up and down. Name, Basalt, where from the Earth Kingdom? 338 00:28:42,119 --> 00:28:47,440 That changed their expressions for a moment, the forest seemed quieter. 339 00:28:48,759 --> 00:28:53,599 What happened to you, the woman asked. Basalt looked down. 340 00:28:55,039 --> 00:28:57,799 My parents were dragon knights. 341 00:28:58,279 --> 00:28:59,039 Speaker 2: True ones. 342 00:29:00,039 --> 00:29:03,920 Speaker 1: When the Dragon King took the Earth dragons, my parents 343 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:06,000 were captured and taken away. 344 00:29:07,039 --> 00:29:08,079 Speaker 2: I escaped. 345 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:15,039 Speaker 1: I've been trying to survive ever since, all true, every word. 346 00:29:15,759 --> 00:29:19,680 The rebels brought him into their camp. It was hidden 347 00:29:19,799 --> 00:29:24,119 in a valley surrounded by thick forest and rocky cliffs. 348 00:29:24,839 --> 00:29:29,039 There were small homes made from logs and mud, gardens 349 00:29:29,119 --> 00:29:33,200 tucked beneath the trees, and watch posts so well hidden 350 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:37,759 that even Basalt only spotted half of them. Children ran 351 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:44,079 between shelters, Adults carried water, sharpened tools, patched clothing, and 352 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:49,240 prepared meals. It wasn't an army camp exactly. It was 353 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,960 a village, a village made of people who'd refused to 354 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:59,880 give up. At first. They watched Basalt carefully. They asked questions, 355 00:30:00,599 --> 00:30:04,839 many questions. He answered them well, because his story was 356 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:08,079 true enough. He told them about the fall of the 357 00:30:08,119 --> 00:30:12,240 Earth Kingdom. He told them about his parents being taken. 358 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,960 He told them about hiding in the ruins. He did 359 00:30:17,079 --> 00:30:20,000 not tell them about the Dragon King finding him, of course, 360 00:30:20,039 --> 00:30:23,960 And he did not tell them about the controlled Earth Dragon. 361 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:28,079 And he did not tell them that Every few nights, 362 00:30:28,119 --> 00:30:31,200 when the camp slept, he crept out beyond the trees 363 00:30:31,279 --> 00:30:34,480 and tied small notes to messenger pigeons hidden in a 364 00:30:34,519 --> 00:30:41,799 hollow stump numbers, guard rotations, paths through the forest, food stores, names. 365 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:45,440 He told himself he was only doing what he had 366 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:50,200 to do. He told himself. These people were rebels, and 367 00:30:50,319 --> 00:30:54,960 rebels broad danger wherever they went. He told himself the 368 00:30:55,079 --> 00:31:00,400 Dragon King would crush them sooner or later. Anyways, each 369 00:31:00,559 --> 00:31:05,039 day he spent there, the words became harder and harder 370 00:31:05,079 --> 00:31:11,240 to believe. The rebels were not monsters. They were farmers 371 00:31:11,279 --> 00:31:15,279 whose crops had been taken, Miners who fled the quarries, 372 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:19,880 parents hiding children who had spoken too loudly against the king, 373 00:31:20,799 --> 00:31:25,599 old soldiers who still remembered the true dragon knights. And 374 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:32,640 then there was Bennett's mother. Her name was Mirah. Basalt 375 00:31:32,759 --> 00:31:35,799 met her by a stream while carrying two buckets of 376 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:39,839 water back to camp, or to be more accurate, he 377 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:42,559 tripped over a root while trying to look more tired 378 00:31:42,559 --> 00:31:46,799 than he was, dropped both buckets and sent water spilling everywhere. 379 00:31:47,839 --> 00:31:54,119 Mira burst out laughing, not politely, not quietly. She laughed 380 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:57,640 like the whole force had just told the world's funniest joke. 381 00:31:58,799 --> 00:32:02,519 Basalt sat in the mud, staring at the empty buckets. 382 00:32:03,519 --> 00:32:08,480 I suppose that went well, he said, It depends what 383 00:32:08,559 --> 00:32:12,200 you were trying to do. Mira replied, if you were 384 00:32:12,319 --> 00:32:17,039 trying to water the path, you did beautifully. Basalt tried 385 00:32:17,079 --> 00:32:21,599 not to smile, but he failed. Mira helped him up, 386 00:32:22,039 --> 00:32:24,519 handed him one of the buckets, and walked with him 387 00:32:24,519 --> 00:32:29,519 back to the stream. She was clever, kind and stubborn, 388 00:32:29,599 --> 00:32:33,720 and the way that forest people often were. She knew 389 00:32:33,759 --> 00:32:38,640 which berries to eat, which mushrooms were, you know, not poisonous, 390 00:32:39,079 --> 00:32:42,359 and exactly how to insult a person while making them 391 00:32:42,359 --> 00:32:46,920 feel better at the same time. At first, Basult told 392 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:51,279 himself that he should probably avoid her. Then he told 393 00:32:51,359 --> 00:32:54,119 himself that getting close to someone in the camp might 394 00:32:54,359 --> 00:32:57,880 help his mission. Then he told himself he was only 395 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:00,799 asking to sit beside her at dinner because she knew 396 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:05,720 useful information. He told himself many things, but none of 397 00:33:05,759 --> 00:33:09,920 them were really true. The truth was he loved her. 398 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:14,759 He didn't mean to, he didn't plan to, but it happened, 399 00:33:15,359 --> 00:33:17,640 and for the first time since the fall of the 400 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:22,599 earth Dragon Kingdom, Basalt felt like he wasn't just surviving, 401 00:33:23,359 --> 00:33:27,720 he was living. The rebel camp accepted him more fully 402 00:33:27,839 --> 00:33:32,920 after that. Mirah trusted him, and others trusted Mira. That 403 00:33:33,039 --> 00:33:37,319 meant they trusted him too. Over time, he stopped feeling 404 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:41,440 like an outsider pretending to belong and began to feel 405 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:45,799 like a man who accidentally found a home that made 406 00:33:45,839 --> 00:33:50,880 the messenger pigeon thing harder. Each note felt heavier than 407 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:55,559 the last, Each piece of information seemed less like strategy 408 00:33:55,720 --> 00:34:02,279 and more like betrayal. But he kept sending them because 409 00:34:02,319 --> 00:34:06,279 by then he was trapped. If he stopped, the dragon 410 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:10,719 king would know if he confessed, the rebels would hate him. 411 00:34:11,079 --> 00:34:15,559 If he ran, soldiers would come anyways. So he stayed, 412 00:34:16,639 --> 00:34:21,199 and then Bennett was born. Basalt had thought he understood 413 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:25,519 love when he met Mirah, but he was wrong. The 414 00:34:25,559 --> 00:34:30,079 first time he held his son, something inside him changed, 415 00:34:31,039 --> 00:34:36,880 not softly, not gently. It cracked like stone under pressure. 416 00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:42,119 The baby was tiny and wrinkled and angry about being cold. 417 00:34:43,039 --> 00:34:47,679 He had Mirah's eyes and Basalt's serious frown, which everyone 418 00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:51,199 found funny except Bennett himself, who seemed deeply offended by 419 00:34:51,199 --> 00:34:55,559 the entire world. What should we call him, Mira asked. 420 00:34:56,519 --> 00:34:59,320 Basalt looked down at the little boy in his arms. 421 00:35:00,159 --> 00:35:04,079 He'd spent most of his life chasing power, wanting a dragon, 422 00:35:04,599 --> 00:35:09,480 wanting respect, wanting to be chosen. But this child had 423 00:35:09,599 --> 00:35:13,800 chosen him, without knowing anything about him, without caring what 424 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:19,079 he'd done, without caring what he'd failed to become Bennett, 425 00:35:19,519 --> 00:35:26,039 ba Sault said softly. Mirah smiled Bennett. For a short time, 426 00:35:26,239 --> 00:35:30,960 life was wonderful. Danger still existed beyond the forest, of course, 427 00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:36,079 the Dragon King still ruled, patrols, still searched, rebels, still 428 00:35:36,119 --> 00:35:40,880 whispered about supply lines and safe routes. But inside that 429 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:46,039 small hidden camp, but Salt had something he'd never expected 430 00:35:46,079 --> 00:35:51,280 to have a family. He held Bennett while Mira slept. 431 00:35:52,039 --> 00:35:55,719 He fixed roofs. He carried water without spelling it. Most 432 00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:58,719 of the time. He taught some of the younger children 433 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:02,239 how to tell the different kinds of stone apart. And 434 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:05,559 each time he looked at his son, he felt the 435 00:36:05,599 --> 00:36:10,679 truth pressing harder against his chest. He couldn't keep doing this, 436 00:36:11,679 --> 00:36:15,519 He couldn't keep sending messages. He couldn't keep feeding the 437 00:36:15,639 --> 00:36:18,920 Dragon King information that might one day bring soldiers to 438 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:25,360 Bennett's door. Then the order came. The message arrived by 439 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:30,000 pigeon just before dawn. Basalt opened the tiny scroll with 440 00:36:30,119 --> 00:36:35,840 shaking hands. The Dragon King had enough information. The camp 441 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:40,239 would be attacked in three days. Earth dragons would seal 442 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:45,440 the exits, fire dragons would burn the shelters. Wind dragons 443 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:50,119 would stop anyone from escaping through the trees, the rebels 444 00:36:50,159 --> 00:36:55,639 would be captured. Basalt read the message three times, then 445 00:36:56,159 --> 00:36:59,039 he burned it. For the rest of the day, he 446 00:36:59,119 --> 00:37:02,280 moved like a man and made of stone. He helped 447 00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:06,639 repair of fens. He carried wood. He smiled when Mira spoke. 448 00:37:07,159 --> 00:37:11,960 He held Bennett, but inside the earth itself seemed to 449 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:17,280 be splitting open beneath him. That night, when Bennett was asleep, 450 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:22,719 Basaul told Mira the truth, not all at once. He 451 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:28,199 tried to begin gently. He failed. I have something to 452 00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:32,960 tell you, he said. Mirah looked at him, immediately, knowing 453 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:33,719 it was bad. 454 00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:35,400 Speaker 2: What is it? 455 00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:42,360 Speaker 1: Basault took a long breath. I wasn't a refugee when 456 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:48,800 I came here. Mira didn't speak. I was sent here. Still, 457 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:54,320 she said nothing. The silence was worse than shouting. Basaul 458 00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:59,079 told her everything. He told her about the Dragon King 459 00:37:59,239 --> 00:38:02,840 finding him. He told her about the controlled earth dragon, 460 00:38:03,039 --> 00:38:07,039 about being linked to it. He told her about becoming 461 00:38:07,079 --> 00:38:12,840 a soldier. He told her about the pigeons. Mirah's face 462 00:38:13,079 --> 00:38:19,559 changed with every sentence, confusion, hurt anger. By the time 463 00:38:19,599 --> 00:38:23,480 he finished, she looked at him like he was a stranger, 464 00:38:23,519 --> 00:38:27,800 wearing the face of someone she loved. You gave them 465 00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:34,199 our names, she whispered. Basalt didn't answer, But that was 466 00:38:34,239 --> 00:38:39,639 an answer itself. I was wrong, Basalt said, I know 467 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:43,320 I was wrong, but I can still save you. The 468 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:47,760 Dragon King is coming three days from now. You need 469 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:55,159 to leave tonight. You and Bennett. Mirah's eyes narrowed. You're 470 00:38:55,199 --> 00:38:55,960 not coming. 471 00:38:57,239 --> 00:38:57,840 Speaker 2: I can't. 472 00:38:59,079 --> 00:39:04,599 Speaker 1: You mean you won't. Basalt flinched. Maybe she was right, 473 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:08,960 Maybe he was still a coward. Maybe he was still 474 00:39:09,039 --> 00:39:13,360 that resentful boy in the ruined egg chamber, taking the 475 00:39:13,519 --> 00:39:18,199 king's hand because power was easier than pain. But there 476 00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:21,880 was one thing he knew for sure. If I go 477 00:39:22,079 --> 00:39:27,039 with you, he will hunt us. He'll search every forest, 478 00:39:27,159 --> 00:39:32,159 every mountain, every village. But if I return, if I 479 00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:35,800 tell him what he expects to hear, if I stay 480 00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:39,519 inside the army, I can keep him away from you. 481 00:39:40,599 --> 00:39:45,760 Mira shook her head. You expect me to believe that, no, 482 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:50,800 Basalt said, I don't, but I need you to go anyways. 483 00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:55,119 He took a small stone from his pocket. He was 484 00:39:55,199 --> 00:39:59,840 smooth and dark, polished by years of worry. Between his fingers. 485 00:40:01,199 --> 00:40:04,360 My father gave me this when I was young. Give 486 00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:07,239 it to Bennett when he's older, or throw it into 487 00:40:07,239 --> 00:40:10,480 a river if you'd rather. I don't deserve to ask 488 00:40:10,559 --> 00:40:14,679 anything of you. Mira stared at the stone for a moment, 489 00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:21,199 then she took it. Before dawn, Mira left with her son. 490 00:40:22,039 --> 00:40:26,320 She didn't say goodbye. Basalt watched from the trees as 491 00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:31,159 she disappeared into the forest, carrying Bennett wrapped against her chest. 492 00:40:32,079 --> 00:40:36,400 Then he walked the other way back to the Dragon King. 493 00:40:37,679 --> 00:40:42,320 The rebel camp fell two days later. Basalt made sure 494 00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:48,400 many of the people escaped, not obviously, of course, never obviously. 495 00:40:49,519 --> 00:40:53,679 The Dragon King considered the mission a success. The camp 496 00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:58,800 was destroyed, several rebel leaders were captured, supplies were seized 497 00:40:59,559 --> 00:41:05,760 and besie well. He was rewarded. Over time, he rose 498 00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:10,559 higher and higher in the army. Eventually he became the 499 00:41:10,639 --> 00:41:15,559 earth Dragon General. He had more soldiers under his command 500 00:41:15,599 --> 00:41:20,159 than he'd ever imagined, He had a powerful controlled earth Dragon, 501 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:26,559 and he had the Dragon King's trust. He also had nightmares. 502 00:41:27,239 --> 00:41:31,039 He did many things he wasn't proud of. He crushed 503 00:41:31,079 --> 00:41:36,760 rebel supply lines, he broke mountain hideouts, but he kept 504 00:41:36,800 --> 00:41:41,920 his promise. He kept soldiers away from Mirah and Bennett 505 00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:47,559 through spies scouts and carefully placed lies, but assault watched 506 00:41:47,599 --> 00:41:51,800 from a distance. He learned that Mira had traveled far 507 00:41:51,880 --> 00:41:58,079 beyond the ordinary patrol routes. He learned that she'd eventually remarried, 508 00:41:58,119 --> 00:42:01,360 a good man of four worst rebel, who knew how 509 00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:06,320 to survive, and who loved Bennett as his own. That hurt, 510 00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:11,519 but it also helped, because by all reports, the man 511 00:42:11,639 --> 00:42:16,559 was kind. Bennett grew strong. He learned the forest, He 512 00:42:16,679 --> 00:42:20,800 learned to hunt, to build fires, to read tracks, to survive. 513 00:42:22,079 --> 00:42:25,880 Basalt heard stories of him from time to time, and 514 00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:32,480 one day a very interesting story arrived. Bennett had found 515 00:42:33,079 --> 00:42:39,119 an earth dragon, a real one, a free one. He'd 516 00:42:39,159 --> 00:42:44,559 become a true dragon Knight. For a long time after 517 00:42:44,639 --> 00:42:50,360 reading that report, Basalt couldn't move. His son had been chosen. 518 00:42:51,159 --> 00:42:54,840 The thing Basalt had wanted his entire childhood had come 519 00:42:54,880 --> 00:43:01,000 to Bennett, and to Basult's surprise, he didn't feel resentment. 520 00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:10,239 He was happy for his son, but also worried because 521 00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:13,800 a true dragon Knight wouldn't be able to hide forever, 522 00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:19,480 not with the dragon kings searching, not with strongholds being 523 00:43:19,599 --> 00:43:24,039 taken back and the fire dragons being freed, and the 524 00:43:24,119 --> 00:43:28,559 water dragons rising up, and that whole nature dragon thing 525 00:43:28,639 --> 00:43:32,760 he just heard about recently. And now, according to every 526 00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:37,159 report coming through Basalt's spy network, Bennett and the new 527 00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:43,239 Dragon Knights were coming for the Earth Kingdom Stronghold, his stronghold, 528 00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:49,440 the place where controlled Earth dragons waited and rose, their 529 00:43:49,480 --> 00:43:55,400 glowing eyes fixed ahead, their riders ready for war. Basalt 530 00:43:55,559 --> 00:43:59,639 stood at the highest balcony of the stronghold, looking out 531 00:43:59,719 --> 00:44:07,920 over the mountains. Everything was prepared, Everything was ready except Basult, 532 00:44:09,039 --> 00:44:14,119 because soon his son would come. Bennett would come wearing 533 00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:19,039 true dragon Earth armor, riding a dragon that had chosen 534 00:44:19,159 --> 00:44:24,119 him freely, and Basult would have to decide what kind 535 00:44:24,159 --> 00:44:28,519 of man he really was. Was he the resentful boy 536 00:44:28,559 --> 00:44:32,559 who took the Dragon King's hand. Was he the soldier 537 00:44:32,599 --> 00:44:37,079 who betrayed a rebel camp. Was he the general who 538 00:44:37,159 --> 00:44:42,880 served the dragon thief? Or was he still somewhere deep 539 00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:47,559 beneath all that stone, the father who had once held 540 00:44:47,639 --> 00:44:51,960 a tiny baby in his arms and named him Bennett. 541 00:44:53,079 --> 00:44:59,079 He went to sleep that night slightly uneasily, because he 542 00:44:59,199 --> 00:45:04,000 knew that tomorrow would likely be the day he'd have 543 00:45:04,079 --> 00:45:06,480 to decide. 544 00:45:07,159 --> 00:46:16,760 Speaker 2: Good Night everyone, m. 545 00:50:04,920 --> 00:52:30,360 Speaker 1: M M 546 00:55:02,480 --> 00:55:02,519 Speaker 2: M