Chapter 6

 

“Who stands before me? Who dares cause such a commotion in my food court?” said the Dragon Emperor.

 

Perhaps I had made a mistake.  I’d thought that between Terero and the web-toes I’d gotten a good idea of the average power of the dragons in this place. Of course, I knew the leader here would be the strongest, if he weren’t nobody would acknowledge him as Emperor.  But where I miscalculated was just how much stronger he was.

 

I had thought that even if he were twice as powerful as Terero, I would be able to slip away in the event of a fight breaking out. It became immediately clear however,  that the moment this Emperor wanted me dead I would die. That was just the sheer difference between him and I.  Worst still, most of the dragons in his entourage would easily have beaten me in a one on one fight.  

 

Now, more than ever, I was reminded of just how incredibly young I was.  

 

“Forgive me, I am new to this place.  I was simply exploring the castle when those web-toes confronted me.”

 

Though it hurt my pride I decided that contrition was the best way to escape this scenario alive. The king's eyes lit up gold for a second, attempting to appraise me.  When his appraisal failed, the Emperor let loose a jet of smoke from his nose.

 

“Am I to believe that one as young as you defeated those Water Dragons?  Surely not, reveal the one whom breathes blue fire! I would speak with them, rather than some hatchling.”

 

“My Emperor, it truly was me who-”

 

“SILENCE! You have already interrupted my meal, and claimed to wield power that is the sole providence of a Demon Prince. Another word and I will have you burned alive for the fraud you are, outsider!”

 

That got my temper up. Mocking guardians? I could handle it. Advantageous Water Dragons? No problem. Grumpy Emperors?  Piece of pie. But questioning my honor? That I could not abide!

 

I reared back, standing up on my hind legs, and activated my <Flames of Wrath>

 

“Ha!  Seems the little one is hell bent on proving his lie!” said one of the dragons surrounding the Dragon Emperor.

 

“Hmph. Let him make a fool of himself.  Afterwards I will feed him to the guardians.” said the king.

 

Damn it, damn it, damn it!  Why didn’t I ever learn! I got my hopes up thinking that the dragons would somehow be more noble and more intelligent than the humans! But I was wrong, they were exactly the same.  Savages, every one of them!  Was there truly nowhere in this world where I could find a kind soul?

 

My rage and my fury mixed into the fire growing in my belly, powering the flames further with one of <Flames of Wrath>’s abilities.  The more anger and sorrow I felt, the greater the intensity of my fire.

 

Feeling my flames reach their peak, I brought my body back down, stomping the stone beneath my feet with enough force to break it apart, and fired my breath at the crowd of laughing dragons.

 

I didn’t care that they were stronger than I was, I just wanted to burn them in the same way my anger was burning me.

 

The blue flames, now of a much deeper shade than they were earlier, spewed from my mouth for a full minute, engulfing the crowd of dragons.  When they finally stopped and I could see the dragon entourage again, they were all looking at me with astonishment. All except for the king, who’s expression was enigmatic.

 

As expected, none of the entourage were critically hurt, though some of the ones who had been closest to me were now nursing burns on their front legs.  For a moment they all just stared at me, dumbfounded. Then one of them, the same dragon who had mocked me earlier, spoke.

 

“Th-That hatchling just attacked the king! Guardians, kill hi-”

 

“SILENCE!” shouted the king. He looked out over his entourage, daring anyone to speak or move against his will. Then got up and started walking towards me.

 

I wasn’t going to back down.  Before I just wanted to escape with my life, but now I no longer cared about that.  Of course I knew that I was no match for him, but even if I died I would do everything in my power to take some part of him with me.

 

The Dragon Emperor stopped when he was a dozen or so meters away from me, looking down as he towered over my body.  I stood my ground, unwilling to let myself be intimidated by his massive countenance. 

 

I expected him to challenge me for what I had done, but instead he surprised me.

 

“Well done, little one. You’ve passed.”

 

That stopped me in my tracks.

 

“I…passed? Wait a minute…you knew I was telling the truth?”

 

The Emperor exhaled deeply, releasing a cloud of smoke, before saying “Of course I knew. You were immune to my appraisal, and you breathe blue fire?  Only one particular set of skills could give you such abilities. You wield the Flames of Wrath, do you not?”

 

“Wha-but how could you know that from just those two things?”

 

What the Emperor did next confused me Even more.  Rather than answer right away, the Emperor let out a deep, deep laugh from his belly.

 

Then he said “You gave it away yourself, child. The Flames of Wrath grow stronger when the user is enraged, and what better way to anger a youngster than to accuse them of lying?   I am old, stripling,  and you are not the first to use that power.”

 

Tch, so that’s what it was?  This old dragon wasn’t just strong, he was crafty too.  

 

“Tell me child, who is your sire? Who is your dam? I would welcome them to this place for the birthing of a Hero.”

 

“I…I do not know. I’ve never met my parents.”

 

“…I see. Have you any siblings, or comrades? Or anyone you would fight alongside?”

 

“No.  My siblings were all killed by humans on the day I was born. And my only friend was also killed by humans a few years later…”

 

The old dragon raised a scaled eyebrow at that and leaned down to look me in the eyes.

 

“Your story should prove an interesting one, and I would hear the beginning of the tale, if thou would care to tell it.”

 

It was a monumental request on the Emperors behalf.  There were many things in my past I would rather not recall…no, no I just couldn’t do it.

 

“I can’t…it hurts too much to remember it all.  I apologize, but it just isn’t possible for me right now.”

 

“How dare you refuse the Emperor’s-” shouted the same dragon as earlier. But the king cut him off.

 

“Silence, Eise. Unless you wish to suffer the same punishment as those two fools over there.” the Emperor said, gesturing with his wing to the two Water Dragons.

 

The dragon, Eise, clammed up immediately, though when he looked at me I could see hatred smoldering in his eyes.

 

“Looks like this one's going to be a problem.” I thought, making a mental note to keep my eyes on him.

 

Turning my attention back to the Emperor, I said “Is there anything else you would like to know?”

 

“Yes. Little one, can you remember the first words that the Voice of the World gave you?”

 

“…? I’m not really sure what you mean by that, Emperor.”

 

The old dragon looked at me quizzically, then said “When you were born, did you not hear the voice speak?”

 

For a moment I didn’t know what the Emperor was talking about, but then I remembered.  I had heard the voice speak multiple times when I was much younger.  I tried to recall what words I had heard and to my surprise, I was able to recall all of them immediately.  It was as if they had just flown to the forefront of my mind.

 

I nodded, and the Emperor said “Then tell me, what were your words?

 

“Danger, Sticks, Nest, Egg, Armor, Humans, Laughter” I paused for a moment, remembering the rest.

 

While I did there was a stir among the dragons gathered.

 

“Danger? Was that the very first word? What will be the result of this?”

 

“Armor, Humans? So the nest was attacked by soldiers then?”

 

I didn’t know what they were prattling on about, so I continued “Blade, Murder, Torture, Bag”

 

“What does this mean!?”

 

“Who is he?”

 

“Fire, Magic” I said

 

“That explains the hellfire…”

 

“Sun, Moon, Claws”

 

“That can’t be!  One cannot have two opposing blessings!”

 

“Forest, River, Skill, Dire Wolf”  I was almost done

 

“A fire dragon with both water and wood blessings? No…is he even a fire dragon at all?”

 

“…Dragon.” I said, uttering the final word that came to mind.

 

The pallor of the room shifted. Whereas before the air was full of energy, now everyone was quiet, not moving a muscle.  Even the Emperor's eyes were shining.

 

Finally, after shaking off the surprise, the king said “Child, do you know the significance of a dragon’s first words? I should think not, given that you were obviously raised by the wilds.”

 

I shook my head.

 

“Mm-hmm. Then let me tell you.  A dragon's first words are more than just words. They are blessings that are etched into their very soul, and therefore influence the way the dragon grows. The more words the dragon is given the more power they gain. Do you understand now why we have reacted to you the way we have?”

 

I sure did. What this old dragon was telling me was that my growth has been influenced by concepts like murder, torture, blade, and…humans.

 

But what did that mean for me?

 

“An average dragon will learn 5 or 6 words in their early days, and they will typically be things like ”Fire“, ”Claw“, ”Scales“, etc.  But you have learned no less than 21 words. I can not fathom how that will affect your growth in the future, though I suspect you have already felt the power some of those words have.”

 

I wasn’t sure about that. I couldn’t remember ever feeling any power from those words. The only time a word had ever made me feel weird was…

 

“Emperor, did anything strange happen to you when you were named?”

 

“No, but I was named by a member of my own species. If one is named by a different species the name itself may impact their growth as well.  I can only assume you’re asking me this because you are one such creature?”

 

I nodded.

 

“I was named by a human child…”

 

Many of the dragons in the room made disgusted noises, as if I should be ashamed of my friend. The Emperor on the other hand just nodded, as though he expected this.

 

“Go on then. As a courtesy, I will tell you my name afterwards.”

 

“Very well. My name is Illumen.”

 

Once again, gasps and shocked faces. Though fewer this time, as the dragons seemed to expect such things out of me now.

 

The Emperor raised a colossal brow and said “And mine, Emperor Reyzo Vulcan, of the High Fire Dragons.”

 

High fire dragons? What could that mean? Was there a class of dragon above normal dragons?  All of these questions, as well as a hundred others, swirled around in my head. The day had solved some old mysteries, but for every one question answered another two were asked. It was maddening.

 

Emperor Reyzo interrupted my thoughts to say “I trust that there are many things you still wish to discuss but for the moment, feeding time is over. Incidentally child, have you anywhere to stay?  If not you are welcome to my castle.  Being that you are no ordinary dragon, you are free to join my entourage and I while we sup.  In fact I demand that you do so.”

 

Damn this elder dragon, he’s thought of everything. Like a starving rabbit to a trap, he’s caught me with his knowledge.  If I leave now none of my questions will ever be answered, and on top of that he’s more or less forced me to stay by his side where he can keep a big red eye on me.

 

The only question is…

 

“Then, if I may ask you one final question-”

 

“DID YOU NOT HEAR-” shouted Eise, for the third time, but once again he was silenced under the Emperors’ smoldering glare.

 

“Go on, I will allow you a final word.” said Emperor Reyzo

 

“Thank you, your highness” I said “What I want to know is…why extend all of this courtesy for me?  I’m just some outsider whom none of you have ever met and even I can tell that your interest in me is unusual.”

 

The Emperor looked down at me, his eyes betraying no emotion.  He turned his head and glanced to a corner of the room, only for a moment, and then turned around and walked toward another massive doorway that led deeper into the castle.

 

“H-Hey, wait! You said-”

 

“I said I would allow you a final word.  Nothing more.”  and with that it was clear that our conversation was finished.

 

All I could do was stand there dejected while I watched the one who knew everything walk away.  It left a hollow feeling.

 

Though the Emperor had said that feeding time was over, a number of high ranked dragons remained to finish the meal that I had interrupted, including Eise who was staring at me with malice in his eyes.

 

I blew a puff of blue fire out and flicked my tail in his direction, unwilling to be intimidated.  Though part of the reason I taunted him was also to blow off steam at the Emperor.  All Reyzo had left me with was that corner of the room he had looked into.  

 

Being the curious dragon that I was, I decided to take his bait and inspect that corner. It was  a 200 meter walk to that end of the room.  From the distance I started at all I could see was a small white speck. It didn’t appear to me moving, but as I got closer I saw that it was, in fact, another young dragon.  It was roughly the same size as I was, but a great deal slimmer.  In fact when I saw its rib cage stark against its scales I realized that it must have been starving.

 

I hurried over to it, wanting to make sure that it was still alive.  It must have been healthier than I thought though, because when it heard me approaching the dragon raised its head up to look at this newcomer.

 

It wasn’t dead, but it’s entire body was wracked with shakes just from raising its head.  It would die soon if nobody aided it. It’s eyes held a monumental sadness, as though this pitiful creature had never known joy. 

 

I hesitated.  It wasn’t my place to meddle in the affairs of this dragon. I didn’t know its circumstances and I could just as easily prolong its suffering by trying to help it but…but it just wasn’t in my nature to look away from something so desperate.

 

“Would you like something to eat?” I asked 

 

The dragon didn’t respond, but just opened its mouth and closed it again.

 

“Ok then, I’ll be right back.”

 

By this point all of the high ranking dragons had eaten their meals, and now the rank and file were entering the room. The two water dragons had also woken up and were eating the remains of a rather large bovine creature.

 

I almost went after those two, but decided that it was enough for the day to burn them alive.  Instead, I targeted a rather fat dragon with a horn on the tip of his nose.  He was half as long and tall as the water dragons, but he was much stockier and he was surrounded with meat that he had pilfered from weaker dragons. If I’d had to guess his strength, he was only slightly weaker than both water dragons together.

 

I wasn’t naive enough to think that he would part with his food willingly, but I decided to at least try and talk to him first.

 

“Excuse me.”

 

“What do you want, bra-” he started, but then stopped and took a closer look at me

 

“Ain’t you the one what roasted them twins over there?” he said, pointing to the two water dragons

 

“I am.  And I was wondering if you would be willing to part with one of those goats.”  I said. I was glad that he’d recognized me. Hopefully it meant that we’d be able to come to an agreement without starting a fight.

 

Of course it didn’t go that well.

 

“Ha! Well this is lucky for me then. Now that you’ve pulled them two off of their high horse all I’ve gotta do is crush you! Then everyone will know that I’m the toughest minor dragon in our little group. Now, tiny, get ready for-”

 

Then I burned him with my Flames of Wrath.  After I was done the great oaf slumped to the ground, causing a minor earthquake.  Just like the twins, I left him alive.

 

I dragged a mostly uneaten goat carcass over to the starving dragon, then tore off a leg and gave it to them.  They tried to take a bite out of it, but the creature lacked even the strength to chew, which meant…

 

I bit a chunk of meat off of the leg and chewed it up for the starved dragon.  When the food was soft enough I motioned for the dragon to open its mouth, which it did.  We then repeated the action a few times until the dragon shook its head when I tried to feed it.  Then it rolled over and closed its eyes.

 

I worried for a moment that it hadn’t been enough and the dragon was about to die, but after a cursory examination I determined that the dragon was in fact asleep. I also discovered that this starving dragon was a female.

 

She awoke a few times during the night, nudging me awake to feed her more.  By morning she had consumed half the goat and I ate another fourth of it for myself.  It took her a moment, but she was eventually able to stand up on her own four feet, though walking still seemed a chore for her.

 

So instead of walking, I sat with her for most of the day. I tried talking to her a few times, but she either couldn’t or wouldn’t talk back.  She would nod or shake her head to a yes or no question though.

 

Eventually the Emperor walked back in for suppertime again.

 

“Emperor Reyzo.” I said, offering a begrudging bow.

 

He nodded and took his place upon his throne.  The hunters hadn’t returned yet, so I thought this the perfect time to approach and question the Emperor some more.  But when I tried to get up, the half starved dragon weakly grabbed me, as if to keep me from leaving.  Her eyes were filled with fear.

 

“Does she think I won't come back?”

 

I looked toward the Emperor, who was lazing around with his entourage waiting for his meal to be served, then I looked at the starved dragon begging me with her eyes not to leave her alone.  My head wanted to pester the old dragon for answers, even if he wasn’t forthcoming he might slip and reveal something important.

 

But my heart felt like leaving this dragon alone would be a mistake.  She seemed sad,  and lonely, and in desperate need for a friend. Just like I was when Rickurd found me…

 

I heaved an internal sigh and sat back down, allowing the female to hold me.  From the corner of my vision I thought I saw the king glance in this direction. It only happened every so often, and even then only for a moment or two but from the Emperor's atmosphere it seemed as if he approved of what I was doing.  

 

It was especially apparent when, after he got up to leave, he said “Pleasant evening to you and your friend, Illumen.  It seems I was right in welcoming you here.”

 

“Hmph, another test?”

 

“Oh nothing of the sort. Enjoy your meal, little one.”

 

Again I was left wondering if Reyzo had planned this or not. It all seemed too convenient for him that I now had a dragon to look after, keeping me from pestering him with questions. 

 

From my left I heard the sound of the females’ stomach growling.  I heaved another sigh and left her for a moment to get food. She didn’t resist this time, but stared at me as I walked away with the same sad eyes as before.

 

For some reason the Emperor wanted me to take this dragon under my wings, and my instincts told me that he wouldn’t answer my questions if I didn’t.  Not that that mattered, I would have restored her with or without his meddling.

 

“I just can’t seem to turn away lonely things.” I thought, as I returned to her with most of a cow.

 

I wondered for a moment if she’d be grateful after she was healthy again, or if she’d turn out to be just as stupid and selfish as every other dragon I’d met. But when I looked into her eyes those worries dissipated.  

 

She was crying, and she immediately grabbed onto me again and held me there.

 

And I hoped that this time would be different.