> “We walked far and fought long, only to find none where once we won wars.”
> -An old rifle, rusted to uselessness.
It was said that the beat of a dragon’s wings heralded the coming of a storm, be they fiery of breath, waterlogged of scales, or strewn and stuck with gems like opals, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and the like. They were singular and enormous, and no other group of dragons encapsulated that archetype better than those that withstood the test of time, of dragons old enough to have witnessed and been a part of the world’s creation itself. So goes the sayings of the oldest of legends and myths, scribbled upon the walls of caves all but lost and buried by the movement of the earth itself. This lesson too was imprinted upon the memory of living flesh, as instinct told all to avoid volcanoes and caves, to avoid fire at all cost, and to never hoard anything of value in one place.
It was a lesson mortals failed to heed time and time again, and time and time again, the dragons would reap what lesser beings have sowed by being careless. It was a game to them, and to the despair of everyone else, it became their favorite kind of game to play. Soon, all life became co-opted into a cycle of destruction and reconstruction, where everyone was a piece on a board and nothing ultimately mattered, not so long as the dragons were enamored with their current way of life. It fell then to a dragon to undo it all, the first Chaos Dragon, Caineris Suneater the Kinslayer, for that was what he did with the help of a princess named Putri Sayu. With guile, deceit, and the occasional overwhelming force, the pair picked apart the Dragon Hegemony until it was no more, freeing all from the tyranny of predestination.
The two parted ways soon after, establishing themselves into the new world which was quickly reorganizing itself under the rule of those that called themselves gods and goddesses. Caineris’ line did not partake in such foolishness, but Putri Sayu’s did, recognizing the potential of putting into practice what had always been the dream of their founder. In this the division grew until allies became rivals, and rivals became enemies. Wars were fought once more upon the world which scarred it immensely, until a passing being—a Visitor— saw what was happening and felt sickened to its stomach. It turned the world inside out and made infinite the finite, putting to rest the quarrels of resources and living space and replacing it with the quandaries of an unending world filled with immortal beings.
Decay was inevitable.
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Navigating one’s way across the Retribution Fields were tricky for a number of reasons, but chief among them was the bending of space and sometimes time that could lead inexperienced travelers into stable ‘loops’ without them being any wiser. Many hypothesis were forwarded as to why this phenomena were not evenly distributed throughout the Retribution Fields, but the more persuasive ones talked about how the destruction wrought by the ancients interfered with the otherworldly magic of the Visitor, creating a fractured mosaic wherein madness warred with order. Whatever the explanation, it was this obstacle which had delayed Anagas Song’s arrival to Blood Falls endlessly. And it annoyed him to no end.
He was tempted to rip his way through the winding mirages and false-ends that stood in his way, but dire acts meant dire consequences. Even if he alone is without equal in the universe, it did not mean he was free from responsibility. As he was attended to by an endless parade of servants and worshippers, the heirling sought refuge in the deepest parts of his soul, where his sister, Kiasan Sanjung, lay in dreamless sleep. In this realm wholly bequeathed to her by him, she was enjoying the feel of the moon before it had gone dark of heart, when its light healed where it now scoured. She was the vision of beauty that could claim the hearts of all that saw her, and Anagas was no exception, for she and him were bound much more deeply than any other.
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“You seem restless, Dek. Have you had enough sleep lately? You know late nights aren’t good for you.” Kia spoke with motherly affection as her brother took his place beside her and rested his head upon her shoulder.
“This whole things seems pointless to me. Why must we put up a charade of caring what others want? Don’t they know who we are, what we can do to them in our sleep? How can they make demands of us like we’re equals? I could be doing something useful, like, well, you know.” Hearing his complains, Kia’s face became one of thoughtfulness, carefully selecting her words as she softly rubbed the top of her younger brother’s head.
"Dek, sometimes being strong isn’t all there is to life. Thinking that we know what life is for, what life should be, is how people start believing that only their life matters, and no one else’. And when you only value your life, you stop seeing others as people and start seeing them as things. Things to move. Things to break. Things you can never come to care for. That is how the world would come to an end, if you keep thinking the way that you do. That’s what I think.” Anagas stared with quiet awe at his sister’ insight, even as some small part of himself still warred at the notion that he could somehow be in the wrong.
“So should I always care about what they say about me? What about what I think about them? Should they know? Would they care? Do you think they should care?” Even more questions came from the anxious heirling, eager to get them out of his full heart.
“I think some questions should be answered by yourself, dek. It’s your life. Now go and live it. I’ll be here, like always.” Kia tiptoed on her feet and gave a small kiss near the top of Anagas’ head. The heirling blushed at his sister’ display of affection and hurriedly left, shyly waving goodbye as he did so.
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“Your Divine Worship, we’ve encountered a small problem.” The ship’s captain spoke before his master, Anagas Song. “There appears to be a barrier put in place around Blood Falls that we’re unable to pierce through.” The heirling frowned upon hearing such an assessment, especially given the quality of the servants and equipment that his family possessed far outstripped most other gods and goddesses by several magnitudes. The captain seemed to have captured Anagas’ worry, and quickly added, “With respect, your Divine Worship, we are able to pierce said barrier, but not without significant collateral damage that would render our mission impossible to complete. We are working on alternatives to breach the containment within a day, at the longest. You have my word that the mission will be completed without further delay.”
“A day?” Anagas unintentionally growled upon hearing how much longer he would have to stay. “How about if I just go down there myself? It shouldn’t be too hard for only me to go through this barrier without any ill-effects. All of you can wait for me to either come back or follow inside if the barrier dissolves. How does that sound?”
“With great respect, your Divine Worship, that is a terrible plan and not a single one of us would approve of you demeaning yourself in such a way. We would rather die than suffer such a dishonor.” The captain spoke as plainly as he could within decorum. “This mission was entrusted upon us personally by your father, and as-“
“Sir, he’s already left the ship. He’s flying down to the barrier right now.” A sailor leaned in to whisper into the Captain’s ear.
“ … Initiate the emergency protocol. All hands on deck to return His Divine Worship, Anagas Song, from his excursion into Blood Falls.” The captain gave the order as he massaged his temples to soothe the sudden migraine that appeared.