Aise opened his eyes and looked around. He recognized Daeren's place back in Pentaleven. He sighed as he looked around, thinking back over everything that had happened. He slayed the king, then got beat by that dragonnewt. Why had Gratia even had him there?

"I thought Gratia hated dragons... Why would the king house one in his castle...?" He mumbled to himself.

"I think I can answer that," A voice replied.

Aise sat up and looked at the door, where his eyes met the yellow slit-pupil eyes of the dragonnewt. His head was bald, and covered in glistening red scales. His mouth seemed to be a sort of reptilian beak. His scales continued down to his arms, where the fingers ended in small claw-like nails. Smaller and less lethal than a dragoness' claws. He was dressed in plain grey clothing, but where there should be boots, he had a pair of claws, with three toes forward and one back, each tipped with a claw. His body itself was mildly effeminate. He had slight hips, shimmering tail, and wings.

Aise leaped from the bed and summoned a blazing sword, "Who are you?! Where are my friends?!"

The dragonnewt smiled and held up his hands, "Relax, Aise. I'll explain. I never meant you harm. That ratty little man was my owner. The emperor invited us to the palace for talks - I'd assume due to the thorn in his side you presented. I had a collar that required me to act for his benefit. The moment he died, the collar was released. At that time, I halted the fight. Your friends barely stopped enough to listen until they saw the slavering collar."

Aise kept his grimace and the sword, but he relaxed his stance slightly, "So they're still alive?"

The dragonnewt nodded, "Indeed. But I'd like to speak with you for a moment, if I may."

Aise nodded, "Go ahead. Speak."

"Thank you, Lord Aise. My name is Tyvan. I'm an older 'newt. I took this form nearly a hundred years ago. The man I originally loved died approximately fifty years ago. That ratty little man you saw die in the palace captured me and kept me as a slave. So what I wanted to ask was this: Is there a home for me in your empire?"

Aise released his sword, as it dissolved and was reabsorbed by his body, "Tyvan, my empire is home to any and all dragonkin. My goal is to create a place for all races to live as equals."

"Wouldn't that be the Free Stretches?"

"Kinda of. The Free Stretches are just that - Free. Each village, town, and city can make its own laws. What's to stop a settlement from suddenly declaring that all of a specific race are slaves? In my empire, it'll be law that equity reign supreme. One's status should reflect his contributions, not his race, creed, or what-have-you."

"How will you ensure that the people follow this law? I mean no disrespect, Lord, but how can you possibly enforce such a law across a land the size of a continent?"

"Because the punishment for breaking that law is total obscurity. The ones enslaving will be met by sword. All records of them and their family will be expunged and tossed from the annals of history."

The dragonnewt chuckled at his wording, "Annals... Like anal. That's funny, M'Lord."

Aise shrugged, "Perhaps. But more to your point, yes. You'll have a home here. I need to go check on things. Follow. I don't yet trust you enough to let you run loose in my lands."

Tyvan stepped aside and bowed, "To the ends, M'Lord."

Aise sighed, "Stop that 'M'Lord' crap. I've not yet claimed a throne. There's still work to be done."

The dragonnewt nodded, "Yes sir."

"Now, let's get out of here."

Tyvan followed behind the young half-dragon, who led him outside. As they stepped into the sun, they found a crowd awaiting them.

Aise stood and waited, looking out over the crowd. Tyvan stepped back and stayed silent.

A few moments passed as the crowd shifted and moved. Soon, a handful of people stepped forward through it. Aise let out a breath of relief as he saw Laz, Sey, Chalia, and Traza, followed closely by Kelleece and Cerrei. He hugged each in turn, "I'm glad you're all okay."

"We would have been if not for Tyvan. He carried you to safety after he explained. The dragons torched the palace, but they weren't able to bring it down fully," Laz said.

Sey smiled, "Would you like to address your people, Aise?"

Aise stood and looked across the gathered crowd, "I should, huh?"

He flapped his wings and lifted into the sky, before setting down lightly on Daeren's house. He heard the doctor mumble, "Sure, just stand on my house. That works, I guess..."

With a slight grin, Aise turned his attention to the crowd, "People of Pentaleven! We've won! We fought an empire with a hodgepodge, tossed together army and somehow we've emerged victorious!"

The crowd roared with approval. "I must thank you all for your contributions! You've offered food, shelter, company, and most of all, Support. Without the kindness of each and every one of you, my endeavor would've been doomed to failure. I would like to build my castle just north of here, with Pentaleven as my center of power in this new empire!"

More cheers and applause followed. Aise held his hands up to quiet them, "Tomorrow, we begin the arduous task of building anew, from the ground up. But that's a matter for tomorrow! Tonight, EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY!"

The crowd roared. Aise stepped off the roof and held his wings out to ease his drop to the ground. He smiled as the crowd dissipated, leaving him and his friends and family.

"Well said, Aise," Traza said.

"Aye, sonny. Ya done good, kid. Ya gotta know when to fight and when to party. When to let people have time off," Kelleece said, patting his back.

Aise looked around everyone, "I didn't do much, really. I planned, but I only killed one person-"

Chalia walked forward and lightly smacked his cheek, "No, Aise! You killed THE guy! Big difference!"

He rubbed his cheek and smiled at her, "Even still, it was easy. His guard wasn't even all that strong."

Chalia smirked, "Because you've gotten a lot stronger than you used to be. I'd guess you'd be able to kill Tyvan here, but you were distracted at the time."

Aise looked over at the dragonnewt, "Perhaps. He's far more muscular."

"You're faster," Tyvan said. "I saw that even in our brief scuffle. You're strong enough to get through my scales, but you're easily three times as fast."

Aise shook his head as he stepped away, "Tyvan, come with me. I want to check out the remains of the castle."

He beat his wings, the dragonnewt following right behind.

***

They reached the castle within ten minutes.

"Why'd you want to come here, Lord Aise?"

Aise looked over the burnt ruins of the castle. He inhaled deeply and let loose a beam of flame that slammed into scorched brick, exploding and sending the remnants to ruins.

Tyvan stared in awe, "So that's the power of a dragonling..."

Aise smacked his lips as he filled his lungs with air again after the breath, "Only me. Each dragonling has a specialty. Mine is my breath attack. Draco can change individual body parts. Loralei can access her draconic abilities while in her human form."

Tyvan looked over to his new emperor, "You're actually rather impressive. You are aware of that, right? Your breath melted stone. You hit the lowest part, superheated the stone almost instantly, which caused the explosion. And that's in addition to the plain kinetic force the beam itself hit with. My breath is strong, but you... It's almost terrifying."

Aise shrugged, "It is what it is. You've got a stronger body. I've got a better breath."

"But, if I may say, why did you want to come here?"

"I wanted to see what remained. And to ensure that nothing but rubble remained of the previous emperor's legacy."

After a long moment of silence, watching the remains smolder, Aise turned to Tyvan, "I want you to lead my army. The dragons, when they return, won't be met with the warmest of welcome by the people. They've lived in fear for so long, it won't be quick to change their views. The remaining military may even choose to attack. We'll need to be ready for it."

Tyvan narrowed his eyes at Aise, "Why would you trust me so quickly?"

"Because," Aise started, "You overpowered me. You had the chance to kill me and my friends. But instead, you chose to help us."

Tyvan turned and placed his hand on Aise's shoulder, "Lord Aise, you freed me from my slavery when you had my master killed. That was enough for me to side with you. I will lead your armies and protect your empire, but my loyalty is yours. Not because you killed my oppressor, but because you set me free."

Aise smiled and looked into Tyvan's eyes, "You know, you'd have to talk to the others, but... I wouldn't be opposed to having a guy join my harem. Five people, seven days in a week... You joining would still leave me with two days to rest and relax."

Tyvan's eyes twinkled, "You caught that, did you? Yes, I became a dragonnewt when I fell in love with a man. So I'm not opposed to joining the harem of another, especially a half-dragon as powerful as you."

Aise turned and spread his wings, "Shall we return?"

Tyvan nodded, "Yes, let's head back."

They beat their wings and took flight, heading back to Pentaleven. Aise began the layout for his new castle just north of the town.