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"Little Blue? My name is Nidnia."
The blue dragon internally retorted when she heard George call her "Little Blue," but on the surface, she answered George's question with complete submissiveness.
"It was Alduin who resurrected me. He has returned from the spacetime to which he was banished and intends to completely destroy the world this time..."
"Alduin, the World-Eater!"
Upon hearing Nidnia's explanation, the knowledgeable Savos felt his pupils contract instantly. He turned to Korir with a grave expression.
"Jarl Korir, I believe you should report this matter to Solitude as soon as possible."
Immediately after, he shared the intelligence he knew regarding Alduin, the World-Eater.
He didn't actually know many details, only that Alduin was known as the World-Eater, a legendary dragon prophesied to end the world, who was later slain by the three Nord heroes of old.
"I will send someone to notify Solitude immediately!"
Korir took the matter very seriously and quickly summoned one of his subordinates to give instructions.
There were nine major holds in the province of Skyrim. Solitude was the capital, Windhelm was the seat of the Stormcloaks, and Whiterun remained neutral.
The remaining six cities were nominally loyal to the Empire.
In reality, however, using the neutral Whiterun as a dividing line, the cities to the west—Riften, Winterhold, and Falkreath—were more supportive of the Stormcloaks.
Those to the east—Morthal, Dawnstar, and Markarth—leaned more toward the Empire.
*(Translator's Note: The cardinal directions mentioned in the original text contradict standard Skyrim geography, but the political alignments described by the author have been preserved.)
Therefore, the place Korir actually instructed his subordinate to send the message to was not Solitude, but Windhelm.
However, for the College of Winterhold, which neither questioned nor participated in the war, it didn't matter whether Korir sent the message to Solitude or Windhelm.
"Find a place nearby to rest. Don't go too far; I will notify you if I need you."
While Korir was instructing his subordinate, George gave an order to Nidnia, who had recovered some of her stamina.
Although everyone knew he had subdued the dragon, they still looked at Nidnia—who had just been ravaging Winterhold—with eyes full of fear. It was better to have her leave the immediate area for now.
Hearing George's command, Nidnia's heart skipped a beat. She immediately nodded her massive head, flapped her wings, and flew off like an arrow.
On the other side, Savos directed the teachers and students of Winterhold to disperse and treat the injured soldiers and villagers.
This world possessed Restoration magic, which was incredibly effective for treating external injuries. As long as a person still had a breath of life left, they could generally be slowly brought back from the brink using healing spells.
Watching Nidnia fly away, a look of worry appeared on Savos's face.
"Mr. George, legends say that dragons are cunning creatures. Letting her leave like that... she may not necessarily heed your command to return."
He was concerned that Nidnia was only feigning submission due to George's immediate strength and would flee the moment she turned her back.
George smiled and waved his hand.
"Rest assured, Arch-Mage. I have a special method to track her location. She cannot escape."
"That is good to hear."
Savos was momentarily stunned by George's response but nodded subsequently.
In truth, he didn't quite understand George's explanation. Even if you knew the Blue Dragon's location, if she was flying in the sky and determined to escape, what could you do?
He did not know that George ran faster on the ground than the Blue Dragon flew in the sky and could easily catch up to her if she tried to flee.
However, he didn't ask further questions. Since George appeared so confident, he must have his ways. After all, such a powerful warrior couldn't possibly be a fool.
"I have prepared a banquet at the Jarl's Longhouse. Would you gentlemen do me the honor of attending?"
After dealing with the miscellaneous affairs, Jarl Korir extended an invitation to George and Savos.
Originally, given his temper, he had no desire to invite Savos, the head of the College of Winterhold. But seeing the Winterhold mages treating the injured soldiers and citizens, he changed his mind.
As the Jarl of Winterhold, he could not act on impulse.
With the resurrection of dragons and the civil war in Skyrim, situations like today's might become common. It was necessary to restore a relatively good relationship with the College of Winterhold.
"We would be honored, Jarl Korir."
George and Savos accepted with smiles at the same time.
For George, there was no reason to refuse a free dinner. For Savos, improving relations with the Jarl of Winterhold was something he had long desired.
Thus, once everything returned to normal, George took Arvel, and Savos took several teachers from the College, to attend the banquet at the Jarl's Longhouse.
The banquet was sumptuous, and the conversation was lively and pleasant.
After the banquet concluded, Korir personally saw the group out of the residence.
Just as George was preparing to ask Savos about joining the College to learn magic, his heart suddenly stirred. He addressed the group:
"Apologies, it seems my newly tamed mount wants to escape. I'll go handle it and be right back."
Indeed, he sensed that Nidnia, who had been staying nearby, had suddenly accelerated and was flying west. Furthermore, she was not responding to his telepathic communication through their soul connection.
Clearly, now that her body had recovered, she wanted to flee far beyond George's control.
"It doesn't matter, Mr. George, please attend to your business first."
Savos and Korir were visibly startled but nodded in response.
They knew the "mount" George referred to was the blue dragon, but they were curious as to how George intended to retrieve and subdue the dragon again after she had already taken flight.
However, in the next second, they watched George crouch down and leap. With a loud whoosh, his entire figure vanished from the spot, tracing a high arc across the sky before landing on a glacier to the west of Winterhold.
With another leap, he disappeared completely from their view.
At this moment, they finally realized George's plan: he actually intended to rely on his own speed to chase down the fleeing dragon.
Sure enough, this was indeed the way of a warrior.
But... could a human really outrun a winged dragon on two legs?
Before today, they would have certainly thought it was a joke.
But now, a vague feeling arose in their hearts that it might actually be possible.
He had knocked a dragon unconscious with his bare hands and leaped such incredible distances; perhaps the dragon really wasn't faster than George.
"Little Blue, if you stop right now, I can let bygones be bygones. But if I have to catch you, you're going to be in for a world of pain."
George leaped rapidly between the icy mountains, using soul communication to threaten the fleeing Nidnia.
Ahead, Nidnia was flapping her wings westward. Hearing George's voice in her soul and sensing his soul signature accelerating toward her, she was terrified.
She didn't dare reply. She flapped her two wings so furiously they were practically smoking, desperately accelerating her flight.
She believed that no matter how powerful George was, he shouldn't be able to catch up to her flying in the sky while he was running on the ground. If that didn't work, she would just fly higher—as high as she possibly could.
Even if he caught up, George couldn't possibly jump to the altitude she could reach.
As long as George couldn't catch her, he would likely lose patience and give up soon enough.
After that, she would hide in some remote corner of the world and wait a hundred or two hundred years. Once this human named George died of old age, she could come out and roam freely again.
(End of Chapter)