King Edward , Book XI Summary . This book is part of a twelve - part series on King Edward , as follows : Content . The Companions stayed the night at a crude but comfortable inn at a tiny village that called itself Raven Spring , located in the foothills of the Wrothgarian Mountains . The next morning they resumed their journey eastward , moving through rolling hills towards the Skyrim and Hammerfell borders , and camping the next two nights under clear early summer skies . When they resumed traveling the third morning , Moraelyn told everyone to watch the slopes north of the road for a notch opening to a high meadow that faced to the southwest . Shortly afterward everyone spotted it almost simultaneously when the group completed a bend around a rocky outcrop . Silk and Beech went ahead to scout a good route , and to look for a campsite for the evening ahead . By dusk they had covered most of the distance to the meadow , but still faced some stiff climbing the next morning . They agreed that it was time to camp once again , but happily a lunchtime picnic seemed very likely the next day . By mid - day the next day , which was Loredas the 5th of Mid Year , the Companions were sprawled across a grassy slope within the Dragon Village , having been joined by Akatosh and one other dragon . This second dragon was smaller than Akatosh , and seemed to be a female , although characteristically Akatosh had just introduced the dragon as Debudjen , with no further explanations being forthcoming . The two dragons politely chatted with the humanoids as they enjoyed their repast , though Debudjen flew off afterwards , to arc gracefully above , and then swoop down upon a steer in a grassy field some distance away . Akatosh had been watching Edward ' s reaction to this , and asked : " Why did you flinch , Edward ? Debudjen had not eaten recently , and really behaved no differently than you just have . " Edward replied with a small smile , " I don ' t think that our meal was quite that violent in nature . " Akatosh returned the smile , but then responded . " A good reminder then , that we are only similar , rather than the same . " Edward paused , squinting into the mid - afternoon sun , and then turned to the golden dragon : " Akatosh , why did you choose this spot for your village ? " " Well , it was high enough up into the mountains to suit us , but flat enough for raising the cattle with trees for the deer and it is very defensible for all of us . There is plenty of room for the humans to build their ranches and farms , and the elves are quite comfortable in the dense trees along the cliff edges . The adits in the surrounding cliff faces provide us the access to our lairs , which we have located within the mining tunnel system . All in all , an ideal site for such an experiment involving this many races of beings . It even opens to the southwest , providing reasonable warmth for the smaller beings , with some protection from the elements during the colder months . " Edward responded , " It is difficult for me to get used to the notion of a village without some central concentration of buildings , but perhaps these will be developed in the future ; at least , a few buildings for meetings and socializing . And , I suppose that there are also some beautiful sunsets to be seen . " The dragon smiled again , but replied " Quite so , but I am the only one of the dragonkind to show any interest , and that was not a legitimate consideration when we chose this site . " Then wistfully : " I wish that I could assemble the words to describe some of them . I have attempted this many , many times , but the results just are not . . . very admirable . " More briskly : " And by the way , we do intend to erect a meeting hall for the humanoids , and also some stores for barter and other exchanges of goods . " Moraelyn had wandered over and seated himself , and he asked , with a notable absence of the usual humanoid respect for dragons , " Whatever possessed you to attempt such a crazy experiment , Akatosh ? " The dragon paused thoughtfully , and then replied " As is my wont I had been analyzing , in this case one might say the history of dragon behavior . Clearly our lengthy contest of resistance to these new Aurielian gods was futile , but it took many of our generations for us to realize and accept this . Then , our next pattern was to isolate ourselves , even from each other , and to resist intrusion from any and all beings . The exception of course was to mate among ourselves and procreate our race . However , aside from that one activity , we fought any and all for our precious privacy , and really for no good reason except that we can be an especially stubborn race . " Edward said , " Then you maintained a pattern of behavior long after the reason for it was gone ? " Akatosh looked a bit embarrassed . He said stiffly , " I believe that is what I just said . We are not the only sentient race to fall prey to that . " Edward said , " The Archmagister has told me that much behavior is inborn . " Moraelyn smiled at him , " And inborn behavior patterns are a particular problem for long - lived species who change slowly as conditions change . We elves suffer from it even more than you short - lived humans , which is why we like to keep things as they are , though life is change and to resist it utterly is death . Dragons live far , far longer than even elves , and , in consequence , breed even more slowly . Still , who can say what alterations being born into a social setting may produce , for good or ill , in dragon behavior . " Aliera had by this time joined the conversation , and observed : " The Daedra must have been long pleased with dragon behavior . " Akatosh responded , " Perhaps so , but I approached our queen with this suggestion moreso because it seemed clear to me that as a race we had fallen into a stasis , and we needed to break this shell in order to invigorate ourselves . She didn ' t quite agree with me , but , perhaps because of my reputation , she told me to go ahead and make this attempt . " By this point , all of the Companions were sitting within hearing range , and Mats asked : " Did you have to get your queen ' s permission ? And have there been many difficulties among the various races ? " " Permission is not quite accurate in this case , Mats ; being the beings that we are , it was moreso that I was obliged to tell her of this so that she would have the information . For example , other dragons regularly come to me with potential military intelligence , following this same philosophy of preparedness . " Mats grinned and said , " You mean ' just in case ' , right ? But what about these elves and humans ? " " Ah , our humanoid Lord and Lady do set a most remarkable example of tolerance and respect for differing shapes and customs . I owe a debt of gratitude to Moraelyn for the loan of his smiths and miners , who have been most generous in sharing their knowledge and skills with the Bretons that my young friend Edward and I have , ah , persuaded to attempt settlement here . It is my experience that Bretons , well , many Bretons , will do virtually anything so long as it is profitable and they gain skill and knowledge from it . The Nordic lust for individual honor and glory makes the mithril armor and weapons produced here extremely profitable - t ' was sheer genius that inspired Aliera to insist that we sell only to the nobility while the delving opens new tunnels and provides access to - that which we dragons require . " Akatosh smiled a little slyly . He was very reticent on the subject of exactly what dragons required . " Beech and Willow have made it known among their people that wood elves are welcome here , so those who have long missed their ancient High Rock homes have returned to these hills . " " Fortunate for me that I ' m now a Duke , and thus qualified to wear and carry mithril . If only I could afford more than a piece or two ! But for the cost I might retire . " Mats said . " If you retired you would not require the mithril , " Moraelyn pointed out . " And what of my son and daughter ? Thinkst thou I will beg from thee for them ? " Mats said indignantly . " My knees and wind may not be what once they were , I grant you . I ' fact I ' m somewhat tempted to remain up here , now I am here , yet I can still swing my axe with any ! " Mith grinned delightedly , " Nords can ' t count . It ' s why they seek honor and glory , not profit . Honor and glory are not amenable to enumeration much past what one can tally on the fingers . Mats , if thou art but thirty - nine , thou wert the largest ten year old humanoid I ever met or hope to meet ! " " But what then are these benefits to those who neither delve nor smith ? " Mats persisted , ignoring his old friend . " I would think that many would be terrified to live so close to such . . . formidable beings " Mats spoke the last of this with a sly grin . " Well , on the other hand , the presence of the ' formidable beings ' means that they are certainly well - protected . And this area is surprisingly fertile , so the crops seem to be growing well , and although they provide the meat for us , we allocate one fifth of each herd to them for their own consumption . We ' ve also been finding out what I have long suspected - the three sets of races , when combined , fight much more effectively than the sum of each when considered in isolation - that is , each race covers or cancels weaknesses of the others . At least it is certainly true that the local goblin population has been drastically reduced in a very short period of time . " " Aye , " Edward responded , " so Moraelyn proved in Morrowind . " " With a bit of help from his friends , " Moraelyn acknowledged . " I reap the praise , but in truth I ' m little more than the standard they wave - - and at times I feel more like the target they set up ! " A wave of laughter greeted this remark . Edward persisted , " With you and the others up here , Akatosh , I feel my borders are well guarded , should Skyrim ever feel the urge to move its borders west again . " Aliera asked : " Was it easy to convince the other dragons to move to here ? " " Actually , the most difficult part of that was moving our hoards to our new lairs " Akatosh responded with a lazy smile , " although once it was known that we had no use for the metals , gems and jewelry that we accumulate , everything went much more smoothly . " But then more seriously : " Essentially I had to approach each dragon personally , and convince them that this idea had merit . Again , once I had persuaded a couple of our especially independent specimens , things went much more smoothly . However , there are only nine of us living in this area and there is really only room for two or three more of us . We shall have to see what develops hereafter . " Aliera now observed : " I think that now the gods and goddesses might look very favorably indeed on dragon behavior . " " That may be so , Aliera , but again that was not really why this was done . Besides , they still may remember and resent our long opposition to them . " Beech asked deferentially " But what is the name of this village ? " Akatosh sighed , and then responded " I fear that we shall never reach a decision , since each race has decided opinions in that regard . Perhaps once the initial building phase is completed , we will able to be more contemplative about such matters . " Beech replied " That just doesn ' t seem right ; everywhere should have a name , shouldn ' t it ? " Willow chuckled and then said " Perhaps to us this is so , but who knows how dragons think ; and I ' m sure that the humans and elves will squabble over the style of the name , besides the specifics of it . " Moraelyn interrupted with great drama , " Surely you don ' t mean to imply that an elf can be overly stubborn ! ? " and the discussion dissolved into a period of laughter and teasing amongst the group . Presently , Akatosh said , " I favor the name ' Section 22 . ' " Beech stared at him , " Akatosh , I see what thou dost mean about thy difficulties with the poetic . If you will allow my frank opinion ? That is the single worst village name I have ever heard . " Akatosh sighed gustily , then pardoned himself hastily to Beech - humanoids found dragon sighs quite unpleasant and sometimes actually hazardous . " Then thou seest what I mean by differences . To me , it is very meaningful , and most appropriate . Is ' Section 16 ' any better as a name ? Not ? Then is it the word ' Section ' that offends you ? In what way is it inferior to ' Keep ' or ' Reich ' or ' Glen ' or ' Hold ' ? " Edward said , " But Akatosh , a name should make some sense . At least humans think so . You should have 21 other sections first , if you ' re going to name this place ' 22 ' . " " Really ? " Akatosh said , " Why is that ? Are not all numbers equally valid ? They serve well to distinguish one place from another . There could be many ' Greenvales ' for instance . I myself know of four such villages . The number ' Twenty - two ' does appeal to me . . . aesthetically , as well as possessing some ' sense ' - at least to me , " he smiled secretively . Moraelyn said , " I think Lord Akatosh is enjoying what some call an ' in - joke ' . Were I so rash as to instruct a dragon in manners . " " Who , " Silk said , " would e ' er accuse Moraelyn of being rash ? " A bit later , Edward asked Akatosh : " Do you think that we could play a game or two of Battle ? I brought the board and playing pieces with me . " Moraelyn interrupted " I ' m afraid that Akatosh and I must discuss some matters this evening - and you ' d only lose again anyway " he added with a fond smile . Edward replied " But I can beat everyone else . Akatosh , will I ever win a game with you ? " " No , Edward , you won ' t " , and Akatosh was slightly bemused by Edward ' s startled expression , and then the hearty laugh that quickly followed it . " That wasn ' t very diplomatic of you , Akatosh . But why won ' t I ever win ? " " Because I have been playing for much longer than you have Edward , and so long as I continue to play , you will not be able to catch up to me . Besides , this game is what I am starting to think of as a ' bounded problem ' , and that sort is most easily dealt with . " " What do you mean by ' a bounded problem ' , Akatosh ? " asked Mats . " That is a problem that has a countable number of possible actions and results , Mats . There are only 81 squares on the board , and each side has exactly 27 playing pieces , each piece moves in a specific way , and so on . " " But the game is like a real battle , isn ' t it ? " asked Ssa ' ass . " No , it is very good practice for learning , and for thinking about how to execute a battle - but my Elven Archers never become tired or demoralized , and my Master Mage always does what I want . Such things seldom happen in a real battle . " Moraelyn nodded in agreement , and asked with mock slyness " Then what is an example of an unbounded problem ? " " Certainly a real battle . . . but also , to me a poem is an unbounded problem " " But any poem can be analyzed , Akatosh " Aliera said chidingly . " Of course - but only after it is written . I am unable to define , or bound , the act of writing it , though . . . that is , the act of creating it . If I start to write a poem . . . there are so many possibilities " and then wryly " I never get beyond the first line , because I start imagining all the things that I could put into the beginning and . . . "