"Amber!" Alex entered the bridge deck with all the grace of a wind-blown leaf, startling Amber, who had been fiddling with something in her hand. She looked up to see him hovering in the window like some sort of overzealous bird of prey.
"Stop fiddling around with that knife and put it away, and make sure nobody... Not even dragons would see them." Alex instructed, his tone a mix of fatherly concern and an overdramatic sigh as if she was a kid playing around with a knife (Which she was).
Amber nodded in confusion as to why the very same dragon that gave her the knife was so worked up over it being seen by her own species.
"Not even dragons... Okay?" Alex's voice dropped like he was explaining the importance of not feeding a wild bear candy.
Amber now nodded firmly. Alex seemed satisfied with the nod, that was the response he was looking for. Though it was questionable if he was even aware of what he just asked. He did not press on and watched her put the dagger away on a leather strap on her thigh underneath the deep navy skirt, which looked more like she was hiding a small sword than anything else, but hey, safety first.
"So, how many more days until we reach Wistmere?" Amber tried to break the tension with small talk, clearly not interested in whatever dangerous 'knife-averse dragons' nonsense her father was spouting.
"Two days," Alex replied, pulling out his pocket watch like some dramatic old-timey wizard summoning mystical forces. He flipped it open with the flair of someone who'd just discovered timekeeping magic. "In fact, half a day more and you'll start seeing wyverns flying about."
"Huh?!" Amber was surprised, as this information was wrong on so many levels based on her understanding of the world. There are no wyverns, right? Even if the wyverns are dragons, Mom and Melina told me that there are scare amount of dragons who go to Wistmere. So how come we will be able to see wyverns flying around?
As if reading her thoughts, her father smiled and began explaining things to her. "Your mother and Melina were trying to play a little joke on you. They do enjoy that. Don't ask me for the details though, I don't understand their humor. And frankly, I don't care."
"So there are many dragons who come from our land to the wyvern capital Wistmere?"
"No, that's where you are wrong."
"So what is it then?"
"You see, there is a very thick barrier separating the land of the dragons, or as if the older dragon called it Terra draconum. I do not know the properties of this barrier, there are records of how it works in the house, but that's for your Grandfather, Mother, and Melina to read I am too smart to read books."
"Wait!" Amber interrupted him, "Aren't books supposed to make you smarter?"
Alex paused, he answered her after thinking for a moment. "Someone asked me the exact same question before, and do you know what I told them?"
Amber sighed, clearly in for one of his wisdom speeches. "Tell me, Dad. Enlighten me."
"I told them that I do not need to read, why should I waste my life buried in books when life is just there to experience, a world to be experienced? I don't need a book to teach me more than I have to experience myself, I will create a history that others will read."
Amber blinked, the gears of her brain struggling to turn. "But, Dad, that sounds like a really fancy excuse for not reading a book."
Alex chuckled and shrugged nonchalantly, "It's not an excuse, it's a lifestyle."
"Learn this, Amber," he said, all serious now, though still proudly smirking, "Knowledge comes from what we live, not from dusty old books. Sure, books might say something, but I prefer to live it and tell the tale."
Amber was about to ask how he'd ever learned to read in the first place, but decided against it. After all, his opinions were often like his favorite ale— bitter, strong, and best taken in small doses.
"Dad," she finally said, smiling innocently, "When we reach Wistmere, I'll give you a book. A really good one too. I want you to read it cover to cover, and then you'll tell me the story."
Alex's expression morphed into one of dread. "But… Did you not just hear my entire philosophy about reading? I—"
Amber smiled sweetly. "Okay?"
"Dad, do you love me?"
Alex looked at her, confused, but softened. "Of course, I love you, dear."
"Then read it. For me. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
"Alright," Alex sighed, resigned. "But remember, I'm doing this for you, not because I've had some sudden change of heart about books." He let out a dramatic sigh, as if taking on an insurmountable burden. "Now, about those wyverns... Due to the barrier, going to and fro needs a key as well as the rune of traveling. So, the dragons inside Terra draconum and outside it seldom cross the borders. But you can teleport outside if you have at least one of the countless keys, even without the rune for traveling."
"Now that there are countless dragons outside the border who do not come in, you know why there are countless wyverns outside the land of dragons."
"So they never transform into true dragons?"
"There are people who have never transformed into their racial forms in their entire life— probably reading books or something."
This too came as a surprise to the young girl who had never experienced the world, she began to think about her father's words, while she disagreed with the book part, she agreed with him about having to experience life and the world.
Amber smiled, humor still playing on her lips. "Dad, just promise me one thing. When you die, don't go out in a library."
Alex's face lit up, like the scene in an old comedy play. "Ah, Amber, I most likely will die in a library!" He chuckled. "Because my whole family is obsessed with books, unlike most other dragons. I have to save you all as the only one who doesn't go insane from reading too much. You can thank me later."
"At least I'm not a bookworm," Amber quipped back. "So, you better keep your eye on the others, especially Judge."