Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 665 - 29 Golden Dragon Village_1

Chapter 665: Chapter 29 Golden Dragon Village_1

Upon leaving Icebound Town and traversing over a hundred kilometers of Snowfield, it felt like entering another world when approaching the villages of Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture. The territory of Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture was filled with evergreen coniferous trees blanketed in snow. Giant ice sculptures, each carved to resemble a dragon in various postures, covered the open fields, visible through the trees. Anyone unknowingly walking into this spectacle might mistake it for the lair of icy dragons.

The villages in the Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture were relatively small, usually populated by forty to fifty people. The largest village doesn’t exceed a hundred residents. They live in this way – farming and hunting in the summer, and habitually sculpting ice dragons during winter’s deep freeze. Every dragon worshiper was a master sculptor, at least of dragon sculptures, spending their lives dedicated to moulding a model of a dragon they’ve personally witnessed. They believed doing so would bring them closer to the dragons they worshipped, establishing a spiritual bond between themselves and these mighty beasts.

Outsiders found this faith hard to understand, viewing it as arbitrary and nonviable. However, in reality, every gifted individual within the Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture who has the dragon’s blessing and possesses some of its power is an ardent believer. They’re wholly committed to sculpting, treating it as sacred work.

Over the centuries, outsiders intrigued by their gifts, pretended to be believers and moved into the villages hoping to discover how Dragon Worshipers acquired their powers. However, they eventually realized there’s no secret art. The inhabitants lived simply and, in time, the abilities magically manifested. Others tried to mimic the worshipers, following their daily rituals, yet reaped no rewards. Some were overtaken by newcomers who received the dragon’s gifts while they remained empty-handed.

For many years later, outsiders gave up their folly of copying the tribe. They regarded them as an exception, distancing themselves. Only human villages from Snowfield continued the minimum exchange with the Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture.

A group of seven, riding a sled, swept through the territory of Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture, passing two villages consecutively. According to Mackervillain, the prefecture didn’t contain any towns but only villages. Unless there was something important, the villages didn’t interact often, perhaps only seeing each other at the decennial meeting. Although there were no cities, the prefecture had its own urban-like core, Golden Dragon Village, located nearest to the Magical Beast Forest. The decennial meeting was held here. If an important issue arose necessitating a meeting of village elders, it was held here too. However, the only reason for its ’core’ status was its proximity to the Dragon Mountain Range, considered sacred by the Drakes. There were no other distinctions in terms of size or population from other villages, with the only exception being the Dragon Altar located here.

Unlike the altars in the churches of the outside world where deity-worshiping rituals happen daily, the dragon worshipers, although they revered dragons, they did not consider dragons as deities. Hence, these small altars in each village were rarely used, often lying dormant for decades.

Due to the arrival of the liaison, Golden Dragon Village had to reluctantly select an elder to handle its affairs. Every term ends with a visit to Golden Dragon Village for a report. However, there’s usually nothing to report - five years of updates could be delivered in three minutes. Then the elder receiving the report could thoroughly forget about it in the next thirty minutes. It’s just a formality. However, this time was different. The presence of an enemy with the scent of the Guardians was detected in Mackervillain’s term. This was regarded as a significant event for the Drakes and was expected to cause a stir in Golden Dragon Village soon, and then it would be disseminated in some unannounced meeting in the future.

"So, are we just rushing straight to Golden Dragon Village?" Catherine slid up to Pannis, facing the cold wind blowing from the Snowfield, and asked loudly, "Don’t we need to familiarize ourselves with the ways of the prefecture? Like their customs and habits?"

"Not needed at all." Pannis replied loudly. "Every person here is an individual. The one you consider as the village chief, the elder, is no different from ordinary villagers. Treat them the same way you treat Mackervillain."

"Really?" Catherine asked in surprise. "But who handles any disputes?"

"Their villages practically have no disputes, just like the dragons, everyone lives their lives." Pannis explained. "If there’s a rare small dispute, it would be handled by the oldest elder. We’ll probably need to consult that elder regarding our current request."

"This seems really straightforward." Catherine had found it hard to comprehend this lifestyle, she said with a wry smile, "So, you’re saying, we just find him, pull out your token, explain our situation and that’s it?"

"Exactly, nothing else needs to be done." Pannis nodded, "Interacting with the Dragon Clan people is really that simple."

"We will arrive at our destination, Golden Dragon Village, quite soon," said Mackervillain. His slow, deep, and distinctive voice echoed.

Mackervillain’s words were not an exaggeration. After circumventing a snowy hillock and bypassing a few unfinished dragon ice sculptures, the group caught sight of the village not far ahead. The Autonomous Prefecture’s dwellings were made of stone, towering far above the buildings in human villages. It seemed that both their doors and windows were much larger than human structures – entering the village was like stepping into a giant’s realm. The buildings were rugged in style, devoid of any external decor or grooming. It was almost as if they were carelessly piled-up boulders. Observing the placement of doors and windows revealed that their houses, despite their height, were but single-storeyed. Inside, their ceilings may very well dwarf those of numerous temples. Seeing this reminded Catherine of the information she had gathered on the Drakes. They enjoyed residing in spacious caves, which presumably had influenced the architectural taste of the Dragon Clan to favor such designs.

The village seemed unkempt, with no functional infrastructure. Residential houses were haphazardly scattered around the dwelling in the center of the village. Each house was distinctive, set a certain distance apart from each other with almost no buildings within thirty meters. This mirrored the typical behavior of the Drakes. Despite their social nature, their caves are markedly far apart for individual or family living. Therefore, despite being sparse in population, Drakes could be found throughout the entire Dragon Mountain Range. This explanation made sense of the layout of the village.

The most noticeable structures in the village were two altars. The Dragon Altar was at the center of the village, standing elevated from the ground by five meters and with a diameter exceeding one hundred meters. It was large enough for a fully-grown Drake to lie atop and sleep. It was plainly assembled with colossal stones, with only the surface smoothed to make the altar flat and bereft of any embellishments. Looking at the altar, it was easy to guess that it was likely prepared for the arrival of a Drake during the once-a-decade convention. The other altar, significantly smaller, was situated a short distance from the Dragon Altar. It was not dissimilar to the smaller altars found in other villages.

Though covered in snow, a path was barely visible in the village. There weren’t any significant road planning, it seemed that the roads basically started from the houses and extended to the vicinity of the Dragon Altar. Unlike Icebound Town, the paths were left uncleared of the snow. Some footprints weren’t even present on the snow piled up in front of certain houses which suggested their inhabitants hadn’t left for days, possibly remaining in their rooms.

The party of seven skimmed into the village, not a single soul was in sight, making the village seem as isolated as a desolate place. However, the girls weren’t fooled, having studied the habits of the Drakes they knew them to be stagnant creatures, often preferring to stay in their dens if conditions allowed. This habit had most likely also influenced the Dragon Clan, they too would remain home unless it was necessary or adequate to work.

Upon entering the center of the village, Mackervillain looked around. It had been five years since he had left, yet the village felt unchanged, as if time itself had frozen.

"All these houses look the same." Freya gazed at the village houses with consternation. "And there’s no pattern whatsoever; can you actually differentiate the owners?"

"Of course, I can." With his duty soon to be lifted, Mackervillain’s spirits were lifted too - he even seemed to quicken his speech slightly. "You might see all the houses as identical, but to us, there’s a great deal of difference. Come along now," he said, "The elder who’s going to relieve me of my duty is probably the same one you’re looking for."

As he spoke, he led the members of the adventure team up to a house and knocked forcefully on the colossal wooden door. (To Be Continued...If you like this story, feel free to vote or donate on qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation. If you are using a mobile device, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)