A flat island of white gravel rose from the depth of the ocean, its texture rough and harsh, erected especially for one specific purpose, putrescent feathers of pure black fell heavily to ground, burdened by the weight of dark blood, bits of gravel moved to the side as Loimos stepped forward, hundred of them exploding in every direction like bits of a shrapnel as the two dragons landed soon after, all either going past the undead, or decomposing into nothingness before they could hit.
"My name is Solast, a close confidant of Dragonlord Ronarkatast, ruler of all with draconic blood or origin, who exactly… Am I addressing?" speaking with uncertainty, the sun dragon turned to his companion, one of his three heads signalling for a translation to be given to the undead.
Loimos rose one hand up, the movement simultaneously lethargically slow and instantaneous, silencing the other dragon right in his track.
"I understand you perfectly, Solast, what is it that your lord wants from us undead?" responding with another question, Loimos conjured up some rot, manifesting a simple chair for him to sit on.
Dressed in the exact same way as always, boots and gloves seemingly made from dark leather, mantle and pants of dark fabric, the former's collar reaching as high as it could, helm forged out a lustrous dark iron, all was fake, all was formed from primeval rot.
This very island, as well as this very chair were all products of rot, of pure decay, Solast could see through the facade, even if it was not as simple as it should be, the sun dragon found it much too difficult to see that the objects, the structures were all made solely from putrefaction, it should be easy, and it was the opposite.
"A simple diplomatic incursion, now, may I know who I am speaking to?" the dragon behind Solast shifted uncomfortably.
'This little fool is as easy to read as an open book!' the three-headed dragon cursed in his mind, the only reason this young dragon had been brought along was because of his ability to translate anything thanks to his unique draconic nature relating to speech, but this one was still naught but a youngling, and he allowed his fears to show.
"I am Loimos, Champion Of Death, General Of The Vanguard, but if it is diplomacy that you seek, I may also help in this regard" the putrid undead's voice carried an air that could be mistaken for utter, nonchalance doubled with apathy, but the truth was that there was an inherent mystery to this tone devoid of all that was, is and will be.
A deep unknown, a void that terrified those that heard it, Solast could feel it, but knew how to suppress such intense dread after numerous encounters with older dragons and Ronarkatast himself, this terror was not the same however, it was malignant and seeped through the skin, rolling over the bones, slithering and constricting over all organs indiscriminately.
Nothing but sheer sludge bringing out the worst feelings and emotions from the bottom of all the souls of all beings, the frigid hands of death reaching for them personally, nothing like the simple might carried by the dragonlord in each and every of his words and movements.
The young dragon could not handle such alien sensations, and truthfully, Solast was not at ease in the least in the presence of Loimos, the sun dragon had observed many of those undeads, assessed their strength, and he was certain to have taken notice of this Loimos on a few occasions, yet, never had he even spared him a second glance, this undead was uncanny.
"I see, pleasure to meet you… Loimos, champion and general of the vanguard, does that mean… That you are not the highest executive power?" paying his younger fellow's behaviour no heed, he probed a bit deeper.
"I am but an undead amongst all others, if one wishes to meet with The Prince Of Death, then it would have to be Dragonlord Ronarkatast in person, but as leader of the vanguard, I, Loimos, is trusted with all affairs relating to the outside, is it commerce? A treaty? A simple visit?
Would it perhaps relate to Belliste or to Dragonnerie itself?" none of these actually sounded like questions, all spoken in the same flat tone.
"I sense a multitude of feelings swirling within you, Sir Solast, curiosity, fear, trepidation, a mesh of contradictory feelings, but most of all, it is fear that is above all else, certainly because you have taken notice of what becomes of suns, and sunlight within our empire? I assure you, light and death, are not anathema to one another"
Solast shook his heads.
'He is trying to destabilise me' or so he guessed, gleaning anything from the corpse in front of him was too hard, and he felt like anything that he might understand or notice about him might as well be a trick, Loimos did not seem like any other undeads at all, in fact, Solast would rather liken him to a pure spirit, only that he was formed from death force itself.
"Mister Loimos… My lord-" but once again, the undead cut him right off.
"The dragonlord you say? Let us not engage in lies as we are enjoying a peaceful discussion, you would not want me to lie to you, would you Solast? That is why this other dragon was brought under the pretence of translation, is it not?
Surely, a civilisation as advanced as yours, one that travels the world as often as yours, would already be knowledgeable of ways to translate languages without requiring to parade an inexperienced dragon such as this one…"
"...No, he is here to appear like that is his duty, but really, it is all a bluff as he serves as a lie detector, Sir Solast, I know those that lives very well, I have even brushed tails with the most lively of all livings, I am meeting you outside of the miasma as a sign of good will, now, what are you here for again?"
The three-headed dragon definitely got the message, behind those many words and eloquence, Loimos was really just telling him to quit his bullshit or suffer the consequences.
"You are- You are quite good at this, I must admit, it is true that the incursions and such are all of my own volition, of course, I take into account my lord's own wishes and… And I know that he would be interested in the undead dragons of your empire, as such, throughout a long span of time, I have travelled to the other continents, most of which share close ties to Dragonnerie, and representing my own continent as well as theirs, I have come to make an offer"
"An offer, that I hope you will not refuse"