CH 1

The Wish Dragon Event Has Began!

The message is now 3 days old, but Emperor Armond Solace still brings it up every two hours. He sits alone on the balcony of his room in the castle, drinking from a glass of wine as he overlooks the twilight. He is of the age between young and old, gray hairs only now starting to show. He sips his wine and sighs in comfort, A Emperor is not the profession of those who enjoy silence and comfort, but his opinion was never asked. As a human, being alive during an event that happens only once every 1,000 years is in of itself a feat. Albeit whether it’s a boon or a curse depends on the circumstances. For the Emperor and his country of Lasgni, it is a boon indeed.

The war between Lasgni and the Ministry of Freasur has been going on for centuries, due to the former's distaste for magic and the latter’s incessant use of it. The border between the two nations is lifeless and barren, entire mountains crumbled and forests razed in the constant battles that plagued the small border of the two nations, but the line never pushed too far in either direction… except for now.

The previous records of this event are scarce, however the ones that have survived detail it extensively. When the event begins, all magic is drained from the world until such a time as the dragon announces its price. Some think the system does this because it is necessary to create such a powerful being, others think it is to protect the dragon from being tracked and discovered in its infancy. Whichever one, it means that a good portion of Freasur defenses are mute. The line of battle has been pushed further than he dared dream. This is the opportunity to finally unite the continent and with the Goddess’ blessing rid it of magic once and for all. Even if it does mean the execution of various magical species. The Goddess mandates it for the good of the world, but that does not make it any less unpleasant business.

The Emperor smiles to himself, driving away the unpleasant thoughts. This is a time of celebration. Although he is not exactly responsible for what brought this victory, he is still more than happy for the populace to grant him credit for it. The length of time it takes for the dragon to choose its price varies, the shortest being the same day and the longest being nearly a month. With the war going as well as it is, he is quite alright with the dragon taking all the time it needs. Simply let the generals do their work and attend the occasional council. It is truly bliss.

The Price Has Been Set!

“Goddess cut my tongue!” The Emperor curses to himself silently.

The Price is: Legends

If one needs a Wish, then one must earn it! If the Dragon grants your Wish, then you must complete a Legendary act worthy of it. Only after the act is complete will your Wish be granted.

The Millenium of Legends Has Begun!

Emperor Solace takes his time reading the screen. He has never heard of a price like this. According to the texts the typical price is something that the recipient would lose forever in exchange for power. This.. this is something else entirely.

He summons a courier to his room. “Gather my council! We must overlook these coming days with care.” The courier simply nodded and left to fulfill his duty. As for the soldiers on the frontline, they know what to do. Now that magic is returning they must hold their position until they have fortified it appropriately.

“Stop advancing the troops?! We are on a divine conquest! Press them harder! The Goddess demands the heads of those heretics!” Solace heard the shouting from afar. Oh great, the fanatics are raving again.

Peace is rare on a good day, and it seems it shall grow rarer still. He cannot wait for his wife to finally give birth to his child, the faster he can hand off his crown and retire the better.

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The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The Minister of Fraesur, Phae Harrow, is a tall and slender woman, owing to her heritage as half dark-elf. She is also currently asleep and drooling on her desk filled with important documents, most of which contain information on the refugees fleeing from the war approaching their homes. The mass of work generated by the Event, along with the lack of mana is leaving her truly exhausted.

She is rudely awoken from her nap by her assistant. Her head jumps in surprise and her mouth immediately starts spouting excuses. “Oi! Don’t judge me! It’s hard managing a nation that's infrastructure and military was failing simultaneously ain’t a piece of cake-”

“Madam,” Ren cuts her off. The stout human man standing before her is fairly short statured with small amounts of muscle visible through the formal clothing always wears. “The Dragon has chosen its price.”

The Minister pauses and takes a breath. Feeling the change is hardly difficult. The last three days have been hell for more reasons than just the war. The absence of mana is hard on any inherently magical being, which includes her. The wind went from feeling like silk to sandpaper on her skin, and every breath from her lungs felt lighter and less full. But the mana returning is starting to soothe the knots in her mind. They had beast cores that generated power on their own, but they were reserved for critical functions, which unfortunately did not include her mental wellbeing.

She slammed her hand on the desk and stood up, doing her best to invigorate herself for what is to come. Her assistant holds out the scrying orb they use to communicate to other people of importance. A small thing that fits in the palm of one’s hand. Typically they are a pearl color, but during the 3 days each were as black as coal, cutting even their communication. She held her hand on it and sent a mass message to all her contacts. She can see almost a hundred faces in the sphere, but 3 were of main importance. The face of a young elven woman hidden deep in the forest, a wrinkled dwarven face covered with a thick gray beard overlooking a scorched field, and a handsome human man meditating in his study. Each holding an expression wrought with tension and anticipation.

“The time has come for retribution! These people strike at use in our moment of weakness. These seek to invade our homes and kill us for the sin of existing! It is time to punish their arrogance! Scout Kriss, activate the magic traps on the border! General Sefferen, Gather your troops and prepare a counter attack! Archmage Druan, gather your mages from hiding. You all know your parts. Together we shall bleed Lasgni for all it’s worth!”

The speech draws no cheer for victory, but a grim resolve. The Empire has only marched across fairly rural areas, but still too many villages were in the path of the marching army. Many fled, many didn’t, and all felt the loss of home and kin. The battle plan would inevitably be leaked to the Empire, but

Minister Harrow can check the messages of the Event later. For now, there’s work to do.

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It feels as if the oppressive darkness is squeezing me as I float still in the silent abyss. It’s not even a feeling of drowning, but something I’ve never felt before. It’s like my skin peeling off, my gut is contracting, and my eyes are drying up. It’s as if my entire being is deeply starving.

I NEED TO GET OUT!

I still can’t feel my body, so I can’t swim, I can’t see an exit, and I can’t feel a wall. I am not fucking dying as soon as I’m reincarnated on this damn world! Not when I have the chance to finally fucking do something! Becoming a being of legend, gaining a chance to truly influence the world and do something great. I will not let that be thrown away!

So I do the only thing I can. Instead of feeling outwards, I go in, attempting to feel the energy inside myself. Or any energy in general. If this world has magic, then that’s what I’ll use. Even if I have no idea what I’m doing.

As I look in at myself, I feel my panic, my stress, and my anger from this situation. They are as turbulent as ever, but I feel something inside those emotions… excitement. I feel excited. After all those boring mundane days passing by, I’m doing something. I may be fighting for my life, but it’s exciting. I can’t feel anything else, no mystical feelings of deep power no matter how hard I look. Perhaps I can’t feel it over my turbulent emotions, but calming down isn’t currently an option. My sarcastic internal monologue is my only piece of calm in my mind. I start to feel my chest contracting against my will, my body finally responding to the panic of my mind. That’s something… not helpful, but something. I feel like I’m coming closer and closer to death with every second I flounder.

At the end of my rope, I cling to that one sensation that I reliably can. I cling to that excitement, to that sense of wonder and thrill. It feels like… cotton candy but smoother? Some sort of ethereal tangible smoke. And it responds. That definitely never happened on Earth. My hope reignites and I pull at it, only for it to slip through my grasp like wet noodles. My panic takes over once again as I attempt once more to grab it, but it simply happens again and again.

I can feel my time running out. The strangest part is that it doesn’t even hurt, it feels like I’ve been anesthetized and am now being consumed by a fire. This deep uncomfortable feeling that I am now becoming less and less… real.

I try to shut down my panicked responses. Pulling at it isn’t working and if I keep at it I will die. I need a different approach, so I try and instead condense it. This prompts a resistance. I worry that this isn’t right either, but I have no more clues or time to try them, so I push. I push and push, flexing every ounce of my mental and spiritual strength to condense the emotional essence. I can feel it beginning to take a shape, but I can’t tell what yet. And just when I feel like the very last piece of me is to fade away to nothingness, the essence snapped together.

I feel POWER flood me. A visceral feeling of suddenly going from almost nothing to more than I ever was before. More… Me. I feel new and, beneath the mental and emotional exhaustion, rejuvenated.

And like that, the darkness around me begins to crumble into light. As the pieces fall around me I look up and see a clear blue sky, and beneath that a canopy of trees covered with leaves of exotic colors. The passing thought that it must be Fall crossed my mind. I look to the ground and find pieces of a bluish-purple shell around me. I have but a single thought before my consciousness fades contentedly.

This is beautiful.