Aise and the others flew up, over the lake as they awaited the dragons flying ground troops across. Rukka hovered next to him, looking a mix of anxious and excited. Hamen rode Loralei next to her.

As they waited for Draco to return, Rukka spoke with Aise, "So... I'm a celestial dragon. Do you know anything about us?"

Aise smirked, "You come from the far north. Your breath is weaker than other dragons, but your saliva has healing properties. Your scales are prized for their gleam, but aren't as strong as other breeds, so less useful for functional armor, but they make great jewelry."

Rukka nodded. Hamen glanced over, "And why does she look like this? Shouldn't she be a dragon?"

Aise sighed, "There's some debate over what exactly causes a dragon to take on a humanoid form, but in general, there are three criteria and one thing that's specifically known. First, the criteria are that the dragon has strong emotions for a humanoid. I'd guess Rukka loves you, so that's covered. There needs to be shared materials. Most commonly is semen, but I suppose other things like blood or flesh could work. Third, the dragon needs to want to be with the human. Meaning that Rukka had to actually want to be with you, independently of their love for you. As for what's specifically known, it's a form of magic from the Dragonic goddess. It condenses their power to a smaller frame, meaning she's technically more powerful now than she was before."

Rukka sighed, "You know quite a bit."

Aise shrugged, "I'm a dragonling. Plus I'm the reincarnation of Lord Draconis."

Hamen nodded, "Draco told us about that. What's a dragonling? Just like a side race of the humanoid dragonkin?"

Aise chuckled, "I'm actually the child of a human and a dragoness. My mother is Cerrei, the blue dragoness that was carrying the large black sailor earlier."

Hamen and Rukka both looked away and blushed. "So... Dragonesses and humans can... Have children...? How does that work?" Rukka asked.

"Are you really not sure? It's the same as any other humanoid races. Penis goes in vagina, guy cums, sperm meets egg. The dragoness carries an egg for six months, they birth the egg. Then the egg incubates for 6 months, and voila, you've got a dragonling."

Rukka opened her mouth to reply until she saw Draco flying towards them. "Aise, the ground troops are ready at both routes. The dragons carrying beasts will drop them when you give the signal."

Aise nodded, "Good. Let's go. Loralei, signal when the castle is in sight!"

As they flew, the castle came into sight. The white gold dragon inhaled, lifted her head, and let loose a gout of flame accompanied by a brief roar. The flame rose and exploded into sparks.

Aise gave his final address. "Today we make history! Today we show the world that peace can happen! And today we begin the new Age of Dragons! CHARGE!"

The dragons roared and descended upon the city, led by Aise and the celestial dragon Rukka.

They flew overhead, tearing at rooftops and walls. Dragonfire of varying colors flooded the streets and gave way to crackling orange flames as the houses ignited.

Aise cried out, "Spiral formation! Castle!"

The loose collection of dragons converged and moved in, spiraling inward, closing in on the castle at the center of their formation.

Aise landed on a balcony and stepped down, into the room as screams and the scent of roasting flesh rose from the city and courtyard below. Aise looked around the throne room. Sitting on the throne was a pudgy man dressed in fancy clothing and adorned with jewels. An oversized crown sat atop his head.

Aise swept his gaze left and right, meeting the guards that closed in on him.

"Kill him! He's the imposter of Draconis!" The king cried out.

Aise smirked and two gouts of fire erupted from his hands, before solidifying into a pair of swords. He dropped his helmet, which seemed to disintegrate into fiery embers. "I'm no imposter, my lord. My dragons rip and shred your city, my troops slaughter your nobles and annihilate every sign of life in your castle. But you? You're mine."

As he finished speaking, his voice devolved towards a growl. His eyes changed into the classic slit style of dragons, and his fangs seemed to grow longer. He lowered into a fighting stance, his arms crossed over his chest and the blades seeming to frame the menacing visage his smiling face had become.

The first guard rushed in and was quickly dispatched as Aise began the dance he had perfected against Chalia. He struck left and right, dancing forward. The second guard found a blade in his throat, in the gap between breastplate and helmet. The third found a blade in the eye slit of his visor. The fourth saw the world rolling as his head rolled along the ground, freed from his body.

After the first six had been killed, The remaining twelve stepped back. Aise stopped his advance and looked around them, "Whose next?"

One guard, hiding behind his shield, advanced one step closer. Aise spun and threw one of his swords. It pierced through the wooden wall and into the man behind it. Aise inhaled and slowly opened his mouth. The guards saw a glow beginning in the back of his throat. Before they had a chance to respond, a beam of flame ripped through them, igniting the very stone behind them. The beam missed the emperor, on his raised throne dais.

As the beam died down, the stone crackled and the remnant flames quickly put themselves out as they ran out of flammable materials within the stone. Aise smacked his lips as he inhaled fresh air. He took a step towards the king, over the still-dying guards who had been cleaved in half by the extreme heat of the cutting torch.

The king whimpered and tried to run. Aise drew his hand back and threw his remaining sword, taking the coward through his calf, and sending him sprawling to the ground with a cry of pain.

Aise walked up and grabbed the man by his neck, lifting him as he choked.

"Please, spare me! I can give you gold, women, land, anything!"

Aise cocked his head, "Anything?"

The man nodded, "Anything, I swear! I'll give you whatever you want! Please, don't kill me!"

Aise grinned, showing his teeth, "I want my life back. You ordered your men to kill everyone in my village when Loralei sent them to capture my family. Your empire held us imprisoned for years. Tortured my mother and sold my futa-father to a kingdom that betrayed her. If you're offering me anything, then turn back time and give me my life back. No? Can't do that little thing for me? Then I'll take your fucking throne..."

As he spoke, Aise's smile faded back into the snarl at the end. He leaned in and opened his mouth. He exhaled a slow, relatively cool flame into the man, sending it down the man's gullet. The man's muffled scream was drowned out by the crackling of his skin and hair as his flesh melted.

Aise watched with grim satisfaction as the corpse burned from the inside out. He dropped the corpse and severed the head. Aise walked over to the window overlooking the city, used by the emperor for addressing his subjects. He let out a loud roar, drawing everyone's attention to him. The dragons stopped their rampage and the few citizens that remained looked up.

Aise held the emperor's head high, "THIS IS YOUR RULER NOW! I'VE TAKEN HIS HEAD, AND NOW I CLAIM HIS THRONE AS MY PRIZE! THIS CASTLE WILL FALL IN THIRTY MINUTES! IF YOU WISH TO LIVE, FLEE! GRATIA IS NOW MY EMPIRE! THE SEAT OF MY POWER IS PENTALEVEN! CHIPSEA IS NO LONGER HABITABLE BY CIVILIZED INDIVIDUALS! TROOPS AND DRAGONS, FINISH IT!"

Aise tossed the head as the dragons recognized the signal. They began hunting for individual targets, wiping out beasts and nobles with equal fervor. The commoners were allowed to flee. He stepped off the ledge. As the wind whipped by him, he spread his wings and took flight. He flew up to the top of the castle and spiraled back down, breathing a mild flame against the wall - the prearranged signal for his troops to flee the castle.

He made his way back to the entrance to the caves below the castle, next to the lake.

He sat down and waited for his troops to emerge. They began to file out. Not long after, the dragons began to set down nearby.

Laz was the first to reach him. She saw him and raced up to him, wrapping her arms around him, "Aise! You're alive!"

He smiled, "That's right. I'm alive. And the emperor is dead."

She pulled back and grinned up at him, "I know. I saw the head falling after your speech. You've won."

He shook his head, "We've won."

He felt hands on his shoulders and turned to see Kelleece, Gharol, and his mother. Kelleece spoke, "We won because you led us. Because you've grown and learned how to lead and fight. You done me proud, boy."

She mussed his hair playfully. He grimaced, "Really mom?"

"Damn right. You may be a high and mighty emperor now, but you're still my son."

Gharol chuckled, "You young, but you wise. Orcs proud to help, bend knee."

Aise held his hand out to the orc chieftess. She clasped his forearm, and he did the same. He looked around, "Laz, where's the others? Sey, Traza, and Chalia?"

Laz sighed, "They were near the back of the charge. I lost sight of them not long after the assault started. But I'm sure they're fine. They've survived this far, and we've won. The army has won. They're safe, I'm sure."

Aise nodded, but the weight of worry remained heavy on his heart.

Twenty minutes after his announcement, he grew impatient. He ran inside, "Everyone stays here! I'll find them."

He ran in, tracing the corpses that littered the hallway. For every one of his, there were at least ten of the enemy. The bodies got thinner as he entered the royal guard barracks.

"AISE!"

He turned to see Sey and Traza held aloft by a massive mountain of a man in a full suit of plate armor. Chalia was held by a man, smaller than the one in plate armor, but still taller than the elven warrior he held.

Aise growled, "Let them go and your death will be quick. Harm even a single one of them, and your torment will be unending..."

The smaller man chuckled, "You really don't know how to negotiate, little boy! Call off your dragons and I'll consider leaving one of these whores alive..."

Chalia met Aise's eyes. He nodded. The man opened to speak, but blood dribbled out as Chalia elbowed him, twisted, and slipped the dagger that was at her throat into his throat in one smooth motion.

At the same time, Aise rushed forward, using the same illusion he used against the king, making his face look far more monstrous. Aise shoved his claws cleanly through the plate armor, his claws digging into the man's heart. Sey and Traza dropped to the ground.

As he retracted his claws, he heard the sound of plate boots on stone. He stepped back just in time to see the knight swinging a large mace. It connected with Aise's shoulder, sending him sprawling. He turned onto his back and stared up at the knight walking towards him.

"You think that's where my heart is?"

The knight removed his helmet, revealing the scaly face of a large dragonnewt - a male dragon in humanoid form. Aise crawled back, his left arm not cooperating after the hit made the whole arm go numb.

Before he had a chance to fully process, Chalia and Sey pierced him with their weapons, while Traza ran around to Aise and began chanting a healing spell.

Aise watched as the dragonnewt turned to the elf and wolfkin, before he lost consciousness.