r18novel Chapter 13 Damon's Manor
Chapter 13 Damon's Manor
The first three murals on the walls of the secret chamber depict Damon's experiences in this world, from riding the blood dragon Korakshu through the rift to arrive in another world, to learning the magic system of this world from scratch, and then building the manor on the island in the middle of the lake brick by brick.
But the fourth one is different.
Viserys stood before the fourth mural, motionless for a long time. The outline of the fourteen volcanoes, the collapsed dome, fragments of a dragon sculpture. Damon stood before the ruins, his figure small against the backdrop of the ruins.
Hermione walked over, said nothing, and simply stood there, looking with him at the lonely figure in the painting.
"This is Valyria from our world," Viserys said, his fingers tracing the outlines of the fourteen volcanoes. "There was an ancient book in my father's study that depicted the same fourteen volcanoes. Valyria's Freehold, the home of the Dragon King, was destroyed in the apocalypse four hundred years ago."
His finger traced the outline of the volcanoes and then stopped. One of the volcanoes had a broken line, with tiny runes etched at the break, the same kind as those on the murals.
"He found the Valyrian ruins of this world," Viserys said, his voice slowing, "and found them to be exactly the same as those in his memory. The location of the volcano, the layout of the ruins, exactly the same."
"Is Valyria the same place in both worlds?" Hermione asked.
“Not the same world, but the same place. Two worlds overlapped there.” Viserys pressed his fingers against the broken edge of the volcano's outline, his knuckles turning slightly white. “He found the way back, and this is the way back.”
"Then why didn't he go back?" Hermione asked.
“Dumbledore said Damon stayed here for thirty years, and then disappeared.” Viserys’s voice was slow, as if he were piecing together a picture that even he himself couldn’t make out clearly. “But no one can say for sure how he disappeared. Some accounts say he found his way back and rode Corakshyu through the rift. Others say he tried, failed, and died in the rift with the dragon.”
"Every version of the story has its believers, but none of them have any evidence. The only thing that's certain is that he actually tried it."
"What the outcome will be, no one knows." He withdrew his hand from the mural and let it hang at his side. "But if he has succeeded, this door won't still be locked. If he has failed completely—this secret chamber won't be waiting for me here."
The runes on the altar were still flowing, and golden-red light flickered along the engravings. Directly in front of the altar stood a slender stone platform, slightly taller than the altar, on which rested only one item.
A crystal bottle. The bottle is slender, and the liquid inside is pale gold, shimmering with a very subtle glow under the magical light. It is placed here alone.
Viserys picked up the crystal bottle; its base was inscribed with dense, small characters, including Higher Valyrian and other languages.
He read the inscription on the base. "Main ingredients: Valyrian dragon blood, phoenix tears. Secondary ingredients—" He paused, his brow furrowing slightly.
"What are the ingredients?" Hermione asked, leaning closer.
"I don't recognize these names; they're not Valyrian or English." He handed her the crystal bottle.
Hermione took the bottle and leaned closer to examine the inscription on the base. Her lips moved silently, reading each word aloud, and then her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Latin, I recognize these." She looked up, her speech quickening. "Dictamnus dasycarpus, my father's clinic uses dictamnus dasycarpus extract in their disinfectant, used to prevent infection after dental surgery. And this, rue, an herbal antibacterial agent, you can buy it at Muggle pharmacies. This, comfrey, the ancient Romans used it to set bones. These are herbs, herbs that exist in the Muggle world too!"
Her excitement lasted only a few seconds before her brow furrowed. "But he didn't write the name of the drug, nor its uses. He only listed the ingredients and manufacturing method. Did he know the person coming would recognize those ingredients?"
"Perhaps he's waiting for someone who knows these ingredients," Viserys said.
Hermione looked up at him, then down at the pale golden liquid in the crystal bottle. "Dictamnus disinfects, Rue is antibacterial, and Comfrey heals tissues. If the properties of medicine in the Muggle world apply equally in the magical world, this combination should be effective for treating wounds and infections. But I'm not sure; this is the magical world after all, and the same herbs might have completely different effects in potions. I—"
Viserys gently took the crystal bottle from her hand.
He uncorked the bottle, and a very faint sweet smell wafted out, mixed with the aroma of burnt wood and honey. He brought the bottle to his lips.
"What are you doing—" Hermione reached for his sleeve, her movements faster than her thoughts. "Wait! I just said I wasn't sure—"
"I know," Viserys said.
He took a sip.
The liquid was cool as it slid down his throat, but warmed rapidly once it entered his stomach, a warm current spreading from his chest to his limbs. The burn on his right arm began to itch, and the dull pain was fading. He looked down at his right arm; new skin was growing from the edges of the wound, closing inward and leaving a faint red mark.
Hermione's hand was still gripping his sleeve. She stared at his right arm, mouth agape, speechless for a moment. Then her expression changed from surprise to anger.
"How could you drink that straight!" Her voice echoed in the secret room, a whole tone higher than usual. "I just said I wasn't sure! It could be anything!"
“You don’t need a potions textbook,” Viserys said calmly, handing her the crystal bottle. “You recognize the names of those herbs, and I remember their effects. But I don’t know anything about this world, and you’re not sure about things in the magical world. So the best way is for me to try them.”
Hermione was stunned.
He pushed the crystal bottle forward a little further. "Dictamnus dasycarpus, rue, and comfrey. It's effective for burns and bruises, on your arm." He pointed to the charred area on her sleeve, where the red mark below hadn't faded yet.
Hermione took the crystal bottle and stared at it for a long time. Then she raised the bottle and took a sip. The red mark on her arm faded visibly, from red to pink, then from pink to pale white, until only a barely visible mark remained. She rotated her wrist; she felt no pain.
"This is—" Her voice returned to normal, but much softer, "You were believing me just now."
Viserys pressed the cork back in and placed the crystal bottle into the inner pocket of his robe. His gaze shifted from the altar, swept across the stone walls of the chamber, and then stopped.
There is another door deep inside the secret room.
All his attention had been drawn to the altar and murals, and only now did he notice it. The door was small, embedded in the stone wall at the deepest part of the chamber, with a relief on its surface depicting Damon riding Korakshyu and holding the Dark Sisters.
But this door is different from the outer entrance. When the stone door of the entrance first opened, Damon's relief was dark, and so was Koraksh. Now, Damon's outline is lit, but Koraksh is completely shrouded in darkness.
Viserys approached, his fingers touching the edge of the dragon relief; it was cold. Beside him, Damon's silhouette glowed and radiated heat, as if responding to him through a shared bloodline. The contrast between these two reactions was too precise: his bloodline acknowledged his Targaryen lineage, but the dragons did not, because dragons did not exist, and he currently possessed no Valyrian dragons.
He looked down at the bottom of the door, where a line of small characters was engraved on the edge of the base: "Only Targaryens traveling with Valyrian dragons may enter this place."
Viserys withdrew his hand; he understood Damon's intention. The array of incantations outside was a test of talent, the stone door a test of logic, and the altar and murals in the secret chamber revealed the truth about this world. The condition for this door was clearly inscribed: you had to hatch a dragon before you could open it.
He turned to look at the altar. The dragon egg was still trembling slightly in the flames. The egg was waking up, but it was still far from hatching.
He turned around, pulled Hermione along, and walked outside.
"What's behind that door?" Hermione asked. As he pulled her along, she didn't forget to look back one last time at the Damon relief on the door.
"I don't know," Viserys said. "But he stated his conditions."
He paused before the stone steps, turning back to glance at the silent door deep within the secret chamber. Damon was lit, Corakshue was dark.
Then he walked up the steps.
"Go save the dragon first."
Hermione picked up the dragon egg and followed him. When they reached the stone steps, she looked back at the relief on the stone door.
Halfway down the stone steps, Viserys turned to Hermione and said, "You memorized the pattern of those symbols in the corridor in just one go."
"Those patterns are predictable," her voice came from below, "not difficult."
"You read the names of those herbs in the secret room without making a single mistake; they were in Latin."
"My father was a dentist, and his clinic had many medicines with Latin names—"
"That potion," Viserys interrupted her, "some of the ingredients listed on it can only be bought in the Muggle world. Can you help me find it?"
Hermione looked up as the magical light from the chamber shone on the dragon egg in her arms, causing the shell to glow and dim.
Are you inviting me to join you in this research?
"I'm asking for your help with this," he said. "Only you can do it here."
Her lips twitched, then she nodded quickly, her hair swaying as she nodded. "Okay."
As they reached the last corner, Hermione's voice came from behind again, very softly, as if afraid of disturbing something. "Viserys, how do you know the potion will be alright?"
He paused for a second at the corner. The magical light emanated from the secret room, outlining a blurry silhouette behind him.
"I don't know," he said. "But I believe you."
Hermione stood still, her hands unconsciously tightening their grip on the dragon egg.
Her parents praised her for being smart, and her teachers praised her for being hardworking, but no one ever entrusted themselves to her with just five words.
Hermione stood still, her hands unconsciously tightening their grip on the dragon egg.
She opened her mouth to look at his back, but said nothing. She lowered her head and rested her chin on the warm shell of the dragon egg.