They say that this beast came from the north. Those who saw his body call him a dragon, as it was said that he disregarded every arrow aimed at him as rotten wood and steel as glass. Those who saw his might call him djinn, as it was said that there was no mountain that he couldn't turn to ash. Those who heard his roar call him a lion as it was said that he put fear in the heart of the mightiest. Those who heard about him call him the devil as every spirit that was roaming the desert had bowed to him, as for truly he was a king to them all. He was calling himself a brother to fiends and companion to serpents.

And those whose fate turned against them and had to come against the devil have been buried under the eternal tomb of the sand as the dragon laughed.

It was dead of the night when the beast first came. The nomads who saw him said that he moved silently through the desert like a vengeful ghost, making use of the darkness which only left his glowing eyes visible to all. All of those who witnessed that said that the beast was going in the direction of Dhahab Alsahra', one of the greatest fortresses in all of Arabia. The one guard that survived the onslaught said that none saw what was approaching. No noise broke the silence, none saw his yellow eyes glister in the desert.

They were supposed to protect the fortress like any other night. Nothing could pass them, not even the tiniest of scorpions. Like most of the nights the only thing that was there with them was the coldness of the desert. That was to be expected, no bandit, scavenger or fiend was stupid enough to try and take the Dhahab Alsahra' for themselves. Many tried and many have fallen. It had to be a third hour after midnight when the northern wing had raised an alert. Many of the guards have been killed by a spell coming from behind the dunes. Those who were hit by it had died immediately, without making a noise. It was a bold attack, but none of them could fight with the feeling that something was horribly wrong. What mage could aim so precisely from such a distance? Not any that was a human. Then the western wing raised an alert.

This time no were killed, but all of them saw a shadowy figure moving between the dunes, coming closer and closer to them. It moved unnaturally fast compared to anything that lived in those lands. All of the guards were sitting low on the ground, covered in sweat, shaking, their eyes constantly scanning the area as if trying to see if the danger was away. Whatever they saw must have been nothing that they have been used to, ending in such state. None could speak clearly, only muttering "al shaytan". Then the southern part raised and alert.

The great wall, the first and final line of defense, had crumbled down now into nothing but a pile of sand. Half of the guards were torn apart, their bodies buried under the sand. No one heard anything but those who survived claimed that a lion's roar had made the wall fall. When they first noticed something moving in the dark, they released arrows which cut the air. The shadowy figure only stood patiently before the dunes, all of the arrows seemed to bounce off its skin. That was when the wall crumbled. At that point it was clear that it was the last night of Dhahab Alsahra'. Whatever was attacking them now was beyond their understanding. At last the eastern part raised the alert, but it stopped as soon as it started.

All of the guards who survived gathered at the eastern wing. The shadowy figure was standing the closest it ever stood to the fortress. But it wasn't alone. Fiends that walked on earth, fiends that soared the sky and even some fiends who terrorized the seas were standing beside it. The dragon has ordered its brethren to conquer the fortress in its name. This was the night when Dhahab Alsahra' was baptized under a new name of Dhahab Mulatakh Bialdam. The lone survivor managed to crawl his way back to the town.

The news about the fall of the fortress quickly spread over the north-western part of Arabia. The current sultan had ordered his army to slay the beasts that have taken over it, mocking them and their might. Three days later, the thirty thousand of finest soldiers were marching towards the Dhahab Mulatakh Bialdam. Clad in their red robes, standing so close to each other, they looked like an ocean of blood that was coming over to drown the fiends. It was around noon when they had reached the fallen fortress. Encircling it, they were ready to storm inside and slaughter any monster that dared to stand in their way. They stopped in their tracks when the black dragon came to greet them. He stood proudly on the roof, his glory for all to see. It did not speak to them, either unable to or thinking of them as unworthy of hearing his voice. His yellow eyes seemed to gaze straight into theirs, paralyzing them in fear. Then the dragon raised one finger.

In that exact moment the heat became unbearable. All of the soldiers looked up to see what was the reason for that. Many of them had fallen to their knees, some even died of fear. Right above the dragon was the sun. There were no other words to describe it. A sun had come down to the command of the dragon and was hovering over them. Dragon slowly pointed his finger at them. The sun followed its master. It had covered the entire area. Nothing was left, but the fortress and the dragon. The entire sand around the Dhahab Mulatakh Bialdam became glass and it was reflecting the beast's malicious grin. It was said that the red sun was seen in all of Arabia. No one then dared to come anywhere to the part of the desert on which the fortress stood.

A few moons have passed after the successful conquest and the fortress still belongs to the dragon. In fact, his rule over the nearby land had increased as more and more fiends were joining him after hearing the story about his power. Soon enough the fortress was filled to brim with his followers. Although calling Dhahab Mulatakh Bialdam a fortress wasn't making it justice for in truth it was more like a tower buried deep under the sand with only the top floor peaking above it. The dragon himself was going to the makeshift throne room that once was a mere weaponry of the top floor, or so he thought, as he noticed someone sitting on the throne of sand and copper. Even though the light was dim, gently seeping in through the small windows, the dragon still was able to make out who was waiting for him.

He looked like a man in his early twenties. His brown skin was creating a beautiful contrast to the yellow sand, his body slim but muscular was covered by a perfectly white tunic. Silver eyes were peeking from behind his grayish hair which were reaching to his cheeks. He put away the golden chalice filled with the finest wine and looked at his master.

- Baal, how many times do I have to remind you to stop sitting on my throne?- Baal only chuckled.

- My lord, we both know that's the best way to get your attention. So what brings you there? Haven't you fought enough angels? Do you want to take me on?- the younger man smirked. While Baal was the most loyal of his followers, his affection or rather the ways he was showing it were still left a lot to be desired. Dragon only commanded him to get off the throne.

- When will you learn to speak to me in such a way, let alone in this form?- despite the harshness in his words the demon could tell that his master wasn't angry at him- Have you seen somewhere the key to the lower library? I am sure that I saw it somewhere around here

- Sadly I haven't. But I still don't understand why you need to keep it under a lock. I get why it would be so for our chamber but a library?

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

- There are too many valuable books and I don't want any of them to get damaged. most of the devils there haven't even seen a book in their entire life. And stop with such comments

- Fine, fine. But remember to take some rest after you are done. I see that you are more on edge than usual- Satan only scoffed at that. Everything was fine. He made sure to give himself an hour of rest every week, it's not like he could stop his studies right now. Not when the angels were still hunting for them and when there were still so many books in the library that he didn't read- Oh and the key is in the treasury. I ordered Decarabia to put it there- Baal added as his master was already on his way to the lower floors.

Satan entered the treasury. The floor littered with emeralds, sapphires and rubies was an eye sore to him. He should really get some chests and fill them with those gems. To think that humans could live in such a mess. But after a second thought it wasn't all too surprising to him. The treasury in Hell was the same, even worse, in managing its valuables. And somehow Lucifer and his lot still managed to tell when something was moved, let alone missing. And in that mess, the old iron key was lying in a pile of rubies. At least Decarabia hasn't lost it.

He quickly made his way to the lower library. Even after visiting it so many times that he lost count, it still was covered in thick layers of dust. It seemed as if everything was made of only dust and even if the slightest wind came nothing would be left. Most of the books contained long gone history of Arabia, its wars, the blood that has been spilled, the rulers that lost their lives. Some were describing the wildlife, others told stories of various deities that roamed the land. He and his crew even managed to find some spellbooks but they were of no use to him. In fact all that was here was of a little use to him. That was until he once stumbled upon a bunch of pages so worn that time that he thought that by even looking at them they would turn to dust.

Those pages have been hidden between pages of various books or even bookshelves. At first the letter in which they were written was completely unknown to him. It wasn't any human language or even enochian. Then it must have been some sort of coded message, there was no other logical explanation to that. After hours upon hours of trying to decode the pages, the letters started to move, forming descriptions of worlds, dimensions so alien to him that at first he thought of them as the ramblings of a madman. Then the letters were speaking about someone known as Guardian of the Throne. An aid to the most powerful kings. Those visited by him would rule for eons, holding dominion over all. Or so he read.

During one of such times he was studying those pages he felt the presence of someone else in the library. At first he was ready to scold that demon who disregarded his orders, but then he felt an aura that didn't belong to any of his followers. An intruder then, but who could enter the fortress without being unnoticed? Then he felt that presence standing right behind him.

- You have a wish of being a king don't you?- a bunch of voices echoed through the library. Satan turned around but saw no one. The aura never left, so where its owner could hide?- I come to those with such a wish- he turned once again. For a split second he saw some black figure standing close to the table on which he places the pages. As soon as it appeared, it vanished.

- If you agree to do what I say I will make you a king mightier than Lucifer himself- now he felt that presence right in front of his face.

- Enough of that! State who you are, now!- Satan's voice boomed through the library. Then he saw a figure with a sickly thin ash colored human body. Hell he could even count ribs that the thing had. His lower half while being covered by a black cloth with golden trims still showed ever crawling tentacles. Where the creature head should be, was something that resembled two striped horns which were entangled with each other.

- I am but a Guardian of the Throne. And you my excellency could really use my help, just as I could yours- the figure bowed. Satan still was wary of the being in front of him, but he liked being called an excellency.

- So I am supposed to believe that you are the one who makes the mightiest of kings? An interesting claim but how can I be sure that you are not lying?

- Why should I lie in the presence of the future king of Hell, the savior of all demons?

- Now you are overdoing it- Satan scoffed- But tell me how you know about my plan? I don't remember ever seeing or even hearing about you before

- I know everyone who has the ambition to become a true monarch. And it is my task to let it happen. It does also help that I know a lot about you

- If you claim to know so much about me then why help me? You should know that I only care about demons, so if you want a place in my court then tough luck

- Ah I would never dream about living in your glorious kingdom- the Guardian of the Throne bowed- And like I said, I help everyone on their way to be a king. And I do know that you need to dethrone Lucifer in order for your dream to become a reality. Just as I know you also need to grow stronger to kill him. And that's where I step in

- And what is that you can do for me to help me get rid of Lucifer?

- Lucifer is a seraph, or at least was- this only confused the dragon further. Of course Lucifer was the seraph, but what was his "guest" getting at? How would that fact help any of them?- What if I told you that there is a way for you to become one too? That would give an edge over him, wouldn't it?- that only further increased his confusion. How could he become a seraph? How would it even be possible in the first place? And even if it was, then would it be enough for him to dethrone Lucifer?

- So what do you say? Do you want to make your dream a reality?- Satan still needed some time to reconsider the proposition. There was a great chance that it all was a fraud, but if there was this slim chance that the being before him wasn't lying then he could save his mind from the hands of the tyrant.

- Will you take upon the title of monarch- Satan extended his hand. Guardian of the Throne quickly followed through and finalized their agreement with a firm handshake- I see a truly brilliant future before you- even though the guardian didn't have a face, Satan could see the smirk creeping in.

- Now would you mind telling me how exactly do you want to turn me into a seraph

- With pleasure! But first, let me tell you about this little thing knows as chaos

And that brought to this very moment. Once again he was sitting alone in the library and just like before he felt that alien aura. This time Guardian didn't play hide and seek with him and simply appeared before the black dragon, bowing deeply before taking a seat at the opposite side of the table.

- I guess that your little soul gathering went well?

- But of course. Although I don't think that those puny angel's souls are enough for me

- Now, now. Don't be impatient, we need to slowly accustom your body to such surges of power. I promise with a hand on my heart that it all will repay you back in the nearby future- Satan once again scoffed.

- You better don't lie unless you want to lose your head. But I think that's finally time you let me utilize that "chaos". My Red Sun is aching to grow stronger

- Ah, a ninth tier might be a little too much for you for now. How about we start with something simpler- seeing the grimace on the dragon's face, Guardian quickly tried to reassure him- I promise that once you get basics, your sun will shine the brightest of them all

- So what are you waiting for? Open your court- Satan demanded. The world for a while turned white, only to a second later become covered in sand. Great onyx towers were rising in the distance, all of that under the eerie black sun that always was at the zenith. Black dragon and the Guardian found themselves standing at the opposite sides of a great stone square, as if it was an arena. The Guardian started gathering the mystical energy that was promised to the dragon.

- Show what you are capable of, King of Chaos