HEARTHOLME Chapter 2: The Abridged History of Dragons

The second most notable note about William Targryn is that he is the son of Sigwald Targryn, the Lord of Heartholme. The third is being the younger brother of Tywin Targryn and the fourth is his passionate study of history. The history of Heartholme is deeply connected to the history of the Targryn's themselves. One of these topics alone would fill a fifty thousand word novel, such as the one William is currently reading in his bookshop. To inquire with any degree of interest in these topics to the bibliophilic dragonborn would put one in as deep a peril as skulking around a treasure trove of gold coins wherein a dragon may rise from its slumber and breath an iconic breath weapon of fire upon you until you are a heap upon the treasure you once sought. Replace gold coins with books and fire with feverous trivia and you have William Targryn and his lair of librariam.
An abridged version of both topics are provided for the safety of the townsfolks of Heartholme. Their details are as follows. The Targryn family bears its name from the Silver Dragon Targe, the Shieldbearer. It is not the only family blessed into dragonhood. It is the predominant line that has a direct line to the dragon's power and responsibilities. The other lines confirmed are the dragonborns of Targaros and Targarius. A heated topic among historians is if a certain silver haired dragon queen should be included to the bloodline for her affinity to both ice and fire. Alas this traces back to the Dragon Queen Tiamat and society generally shies away from this fact for fear of incurring the wrath of an angry power that could swoop in and force them to cease and desist in this sacrilege.
The Targryn line is responsible for the administration of Targe's altruistic desire for the people of Heartholme to live happy, peaceful lives in a violent world that would otherwise make that a difficult charge. At the center of Heartholme is the dragon's greatest gift, the Dragon's Heart. Tall as a house and made of a silver white and purple mineral is a crystal that hovers inches over a pool of sacred water to which every creek in down pools gently into. This artifact radiates strong abjurative properties that pushes back the malice of the world beyond its borders and permits dragonborn, human, elf, and dwarf alike to live in relative harmony.
William turns a page on his abridged book and takes great pride in his bloodline's responsibilities. He has studied every corner of the origins. He has debated every nuance with anyone willing to spend the time to match his obnoxious wit. He wrote the abridged book in hopes of getting this information out to the citizenry faster than his lectures would allow. An academic smile of glee flashes across his face as he pictures the men and women reading this and filling with the same pride and joy that fills his own. He hugs his book.
These abridged versions would be helpful if the townsfolk were literate. Many are not. Information is transferred via oratory means and thus the idea of mitigating the risk of encountering William's favorite topics was a failed one.
The thin dragonborn releases his amorous hug on the leather bound paper so that he may read it further. "This revision shall be better than the last," he thinks to himself. Indeed he has gone as far as adding illustration despite being a rather inept artist. His depiction of Targe closer resembles a rodent of rather unusual size instead of a dragon of appropriate size. Yet this is how William spends a majority of his time. With the literacy of the townsfolk being low, outside of other dragonborns of the Targryn line, his bookshop gets few visitors. Placed close enough to the Dragon's Heart that he can witness foot traffic through his store window, this would bother William if he pulled away from his book. It is not enough for him to have an idea, but it is his responsibility to share it and bring it to reality.
Not everyone shares William's ideas nor has much desire to see this as reality. This is especially true with his elder brother, Tywin, who is consistently plagued with William's attempt to 'save' him from a heart condition that is common to the first born of the Targryn line. Their father, Sigwald, had it, but the symptoms were not as severe as the ones appearing in Tywin that can lead him to blacking out in times of great duress. In his broken heart, Tywin is deeply grateful for his brother's efforts in attempting to alleviate this situation. The timing of these attempts could be better.
It is with this fact that giving William a distraction is the best cure for managing his experiments less they explode in his face. Tywin knows that a little board game will keep him at bay as the Day of Hearts approaches. Traditionally this holiday is a bittersweet event that occurs with the changing of the seasons. It marks a day of great stress and loss for the Targryn family as they push the darkness aside to administer ceremonies to keep the Dragon's Heart healthy for another season. These triggers are especially worrying for William who monitors Tywin's condition like the mother both of them no longer have.
It is that precise thought that draws William from his book as his smile faces like a sunset on his inquisitive face. His violet eyes cast past his book to the store window. They gaze upon the Heart as it slowly turns in place like a top upon the water's surface. The open sky above ripples with the ribbons of the sky aurora and plays a melody of light upon it. It looks divine, but William can't see it that way. It is a complicated blessing and a curse in his eyes. His eyes, as they close, consider that all blessings and curses are the same if all things come at a price in equal measure. The book closes with a resounding thwap.
Wiliam sorts out his robes, a form fitting affair adorned with belts and buckles to hold enough arcane baubles that he jingles as he walks back to the shelf where the book belongs. He turns his head to the back room where research and experiments are conducted. A large door of Oak that veils the secrets of the bookstore's owners mental machinations. It begins to call him to burn away the remaining hours of the day in theory, test, recording, and research. The allure is magnetic and difficult to resist. To have a problem and find the solution. To pick a problem so dear to him, such as his brothers health, only magnifies the desire. To have such a clean, optimized solution, the glory and the goal. His eyes practically shine with academic fire and cold precision. What if, today, he tried light theory upon minerals exposed to the Dragon Heart's purified water when closest to the Day of Hearts. Would the properties change enough to resonate? His notes! Wasn't there an experiment that failed due to an insufficient amount of catalytic reaction?
The door to his shop opens as he is lost in thought. He does not hear anyone enter as, thanks to an incident last month, his doorbell chime is broken.
It is not until a large wolf, a small human girl, and an impatient brother are surrounding him that William realizes that he has guests. "Ah!" he screams as reality shifts back into focus.
"That was effortless," Kyrin says to Iris. She nods. They are disappointed once again with their desire to get one good shock out of the day.
"William," Tywin says as he steels himself for the most important question. It is the sort of thing that requires courage and dramatic vigor. It is the question that is asked without fear of judgement or shame and rings true to the best past time Heartholme has to offer.
"Do you want to play Monsters and Mazes?" Tywin asks.
"Yes!" he shouts back with clenched fists of excitement. And with one final declaration the party has assembled. All they need now is to find the Maze Master and now that the old man is retired, they know just where to find him.