Shade frowned as he stared up at the sky. High in the sky were dark grey clouds, like a summer thunderstorm was blowing over. It was the middle of the day, yet you couldn’t tell with how almost pitch black it was outside. With the little light that was able to break through the clouds though, you could see a vicious blizzard pouring over the mountains. Wind upward of 50mph blowing trees left and right as it swirled aimlessly, defying every known aspect of weather. This wasn’t that strange for the mountains where Endross was though. Last time Shade was here, when he had come to see what Mozan had left him, but instead went on a mission to take out a dragon hunter base, there was upward of 6 feet of snow on the ground. What was weird was the fact that where he stood, there was no snow. Not a single speck. It was a cool 70 degrees he guessed, and there was absolutely no wind at all, which was almost uncomfortable with how motionless the world felt around him.
“What is going on here?” Ashera asked, looking around the reverse snow globe they found themselves in. Having just walked through the stone archway that signaled you were approaching Endross, it was like they teleported to a whole new world. Ashera turned back around to look at the archway. On the other side of it was the same 6 feet of snow as before, and a blizzard so fierce, visibility was practically zero. She had been complaining for hours about the fact they were still for some reason walking through the hellacious blizzard, rather than flying. Shade though had found using his fire to slowly melt a path through the snow rather relaxing. “How is this even possible?”
Shade shrugged. “Your best guess at the science behind it is as good as mine, but I’m pretty confident I know what caused this bubble to form.” He said as he continued to look angrily around the picture-perfect landscape they found themselves in.
After a few minutes where both of them looked around the lush green landscapes around them in the middle of a snowy mountain, the awe began to wear off, and Ashera noticed Shades visible anger. “What’s got you so pissy?”
He worked his jaw a bit before answering. “I’m not sure how much of Endross’ history you know of. All of this.” He said, motioning to the painting like surroundings around them, as a pink butterfly flew past. How it got into the mountains, who knew. “This is all due to a device my grandfather installed. Mozan might have been an asshole, but he was no fool. The only land that was readily available to build a brand-new kingdom was here, up in the mountains. But he knew that not even dragons would want to live here by choice. This was before the laws and the war of course. He needed to make a way for this land to be habitable. He worked with Normuc to create a device that does this. How, I don’t know. But basically, it creates a mini globe of sorts that doesn’t let any moisture or wind in. Only air and sun, or what little sun there is. It also manages to contain a lot of the sunlight once in, which of course leads to the temperature being much higher than it is outside this globe. When the civil war amongst dragons broke out, someone broke the device. Not sure who, though I’m guessing it was whoever was losing at the time. This was one of the biggest reasons Endross fell as nobody else could figure how to fix it.”
Ashera stared at him impatiently, waving him to hurry up. “Yea, yea, I know the history. I did attend school you know. What does any of that have to do with you being pissed? Angry that the device being fixed means Endross might come back, and you have become king?”
He sarcastically huffed. “I don’t have to do anything. But no, that’s not the reason. I think I mentioned her in passing, but last time I was here, so was an old friend of mine, Aerith. She’s the main person trying to get me to become king, for her own selfish reasons. We got into an argument, and I threatened to…” He paused as he thought about the fact that what he threatened to do to Aerith was basically the same thing he did do to Asheras mother. “Well, it doesn’t matter what I threatened her with, I told her to leave, and I thought she did. But I doubt the other dragons who were here at the time could have fixed the device.” He paused again, thinking about the 8 naked dragons who he had told to fix it in passing, just trying to get them to leave the throne room. He put his finger to his chin in thought. “Maybe I’m stereotyping them. To be fair, I didn’t know any of them before they were enslaved prostitutes at a tavern I saved. Maybe one of them was a scientist of some sort.” As he thought about it more though, he shook his head. “No, I’m sure this was Aerith.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Ashera said, pointing down the now cleared of snow, but still broken up stone pathway that led up the mountain to Endross. Shade sighed, but nodded, and began to walk, thinking of what he was going to say to Aeirth when he inevitably saw her again.
As they crested a hill, Endross came into view, and he sighed once more. Endross, being built to house dragons, and fend off the other kingdoms, was built with a large 30-foot wall around it. This was of course because dragons can fly, no need for entrances or gates. Dragons were also quite strong, and deft with their echos, so any trade that was done, was done so outside the walls, with any products then just being flown over by whatever dragon merchant had purchased them. It wasn’t the most efficient, but the kingdom wasn’t designed for efficiency, it was designed to withstand war with the other kingdoms. Unfortunately, it wasn’t designed to withstand war with itself. The civil war had ravished the wall, leaving it broken and crumbling all around, until now it seemed. They were still quite far away from the walls, but with his dragon eyesight allowing him to see things miles and miles away, he could clearly see what was now a fixed wall. Not only that, but large red banners were hanging down from the walls, with what was clearly Shades head with a crown on top of it embroidered into the banner. “I’m going to fucking kill her.” He snarled.
Ashera giggled and elbowed him, knowing how mad he was at the sight. “Welcome home your highness. Does this make me a princess?”
“Maybe, you would be the third princess I saved from being kidnapped. Seems that’s all I do these days, save wayward and lost princesses. I wonder if there are any more that need saving?”
“Well actually…” She began.
But Shade cut her off with a finger to her mouth. “I was being rhetorical, and don’t call me your highness, as soon as I get to that wall, I’m burning those motherfucking banners to ashes.”
Being a man of his word, after the 10 minutes it took them to cross the barren emptiness outside Endross that was once farm land, they got to the newly fixed wall. Which now would need more repairs, as Shade calmy created two large black balls of hells fire the size of a small house in his hands. “What are you doing?” Ashera asked nervously, as she watched the balls of fire grow larger and larger in his hands, while his face maintained a cold blankness about it. He then threw the two balls at the two banners, and the wall exploded into a mushroom cloud of black fire, as Ashera screamed while being tossed backward from the shockwave like a ragdoll. Stones from the wall were sent flying into the air in all directions, before coming back down in waves like it was snowing inside the globe again, but snowing rocks.
While admiring his own handywork, Shade could hear screams from inside the wall as well. Many of them, hundreds maybe “We’re under attack!” One voice said. “I knew it wouldn’t be safe here!” Another said. He tried to figure out who they all were. Had Aerith been putting out flyers for Endross? He wouldn’t put it past her, but would dragons actually come back here, and actually live under him? Then someone flew through the smoke, crossbow in hand, Rygut.
“Oh.” He said, as he realized it was the dragons from the base he had saved a few weeks prior, before visiting Colandria and then going on a tour of local taverns. He still though wondered why they were here, living in a kingdom with his face on the banner. Were they really willing to live under a Shade monarchy?
Fortunately, or unfortunately, he didn’t have much time to consider this. Rygut stopped his flight a few dozen feet before Shade and pointed his crossbow down at him. “Put your hands up right now or I’ll shoot your fucking brains out!”
Shade just stared at him for a moment with a raised eyebrow. “Mate, I’ve seen you shoot that thing, there’s not a single chance you’re hitting me, even from this range.”
“You’ve seen me before, huh.” Rygut said, an evil smile slowly growing over his face.” A hunter then, must be. As I thought. Well then, why don’t you see how I’ve changed since we last fought.”
But right before he was going to pull the trigger, a venomous yell echoed over the land. “What the fuck is wrong with you!” It was Ashera, who was screaming over the ground at a speed Shade was actually rather impressed by. She must have been flying faster than anything he had ever seen Faylen do. Ashera got to Shade, and crashed into him at full speed, but Shade didn’t budge, like he was a mountain himself. She let out a loud ‘oof’ as she crashed to the ground.
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“Ashera?” Rygut said surprised.
Ashera though ignored him for now. She got back up, having lost none of her anger. “What the actual fuck is wrong with you!” She said again, as she grabbed Shade by the shoulders, and shook him violently.
Shade though maintained a flat look while being shaken like a bug on the hand of a scared child. “You’ve asked that like 7 times over the past few weeks. Are you expecting a different answer? You know what the definition of insanity is?”
She shoved him away, and pointed at the new renovations to the wall he had enacted. “Drinking is one thing, mindlessly bombing something is another. You said yourself the last time you were here there were others, you could have killed them! You might have killed them!”
He frowned, she was right. It was rash of him, he could have just flown up to the banners and torn them off, or burned them without blowing the entire wall up. He looked over to Rygut. “Well, was there anyone injured by the blast.”
He nodded. “None killed though, I think at least, it just happened a few seconds ago, but I saw all the people who were assigned to work over here as I flew over.” Rygut then looked over to Ashera. “Who is this human you’ve brought here just to blow up our kingdom?”
“This is Shade, you’ve already met him, he just looks like this so when he goes to taverns people avoid him for how drunk he is, not what species he is.”
Shade laughed, then looked over to Ashera with false genuine shock. “Wait, you can be funny? I thought you just perpetually had an entire forest of trees stuck up your ass.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She said with crossed arms. “Would you like me to be more jovial around the man who raped my mother.”
“I mean, I would appreciate it.” He said with a shrug.
That answer really pissed her off, but before Ashera could lash out again, a new voice rang out. “What’s going on over here?” It was Aerith who came through the smoke. She looked at the carnage, then down at the man she knew had caused it and frowned, before flying down to land near him. “Really now Shade, a little much don’t you think?”
“I thought I told you to leave.” He said, meeting her eyes with a cold stare, and monotone voice to match.
“You did.” She replied.
“So why are you here?”
“Because I’m calling your bluff.” She said with a smile. “You seem to be telling people you’re trying to be a better person. Hell, I offered you a willing harem of girls for you to play with, but you turned them down. Raping, and impregnating me wouldn’t fit that better person plan, would it?”
Asheras anger only grew as she listened in. “That’s really who you are, you just rape and kill, kill and rape? Threatening people weaker than you because you can?”
Shade ignored her, keeping his unwavering stare right at Aerith. “I’ve said I wanted to be a better person; I’ve never said I’ve been succeeding at it.”
“Fine then.” Aerith replied, then tore off her clothes, leaving herself completely naked. “Do as you must.” She said, with arms wide open, inviting Shade in. There was a few minutes of silent standoff, while everyone waited and watched Shade to see what he would do, all while Shade stared into Aeriths eyes. Eventually, his flat face turned into a scowl as he growled, then pushed his way past her. “That’s what I thought.” Aerith said, but then after a few feet, Shade stopped and looked at the ground.
On the ground in front of him was a piece of one of the red banners with his head on it. It had mostly been blown up, and was charred black all around the edges from the fire, yet in the center of the piece was the entirety of his head, still intact, with the kings’ crown on top. He slowly looked up towards the cloud filled sky, wondering if that piece being intact and landing where it did was fate. He then slowly looked back down at the piece, and silently stared at it, as he considered what he was going to do.
Aerith was one hundred times smarter than he was, and a hundred times cleverer. He was rather naïve to think a simple threat would scare her away. She had immediately seen through it, and called him on his bluff. He knew she wasn’t going to stop until he became king, and that didn’t even include the fact that now some fate nonsense was pushing him in various directions. Not only that, but Colandria herself, an actual god, told him he needed to return and become king. If Aerith, Fate and a God were all pushing him to become king, how long could he run from it? Was his fate all but sealed?
That wasn’t the only issue rapidly bouncing around his mind. He slowly turned his attention towards Rygut, who was pretending not to be looking at the naked Aerith, who was slowly putting her clothes back on. Rygut had been here, protecting this ‘new’ kingdom, potentially with his life. After running from Endross all those years ago, and having committed a multitude of horrific acts, he had always assumed nobody would ever be willing to live under him as a king. These people though, seemingly were willing. They were already living in, and rebuilding a kingdom with his face on the banner, even without him there to rule.
He frowned though as he shook his head in frustration. None of that still changed the biggest issue with him becoming the king. He didn’t want to. It was never just that he was running from his past, he legitimately had no interest in being a king of a kingdom. The bureaucracy and politics were of no interest to a nomadic drunk like himself. So, what would be the perfect compromise? How could he become the king everyone, including gods apparently, wanted him to become, while he still maintained the freedom he craved. As he stood there, pondering, something Ashera had said just a bit earlier popped back into his mind, and he began to laugh as he had an idea, before turning around and facing the three of them once more. “Ashera.” He said, with both Aerith and Ashera turning to look at him. “You seem rather upset I would threaten this woman with the same thing I did to your mother, but there’s a good reason why I did that.”
“Oh.” Ashera mockingly said. “Please, let me hear what noble reason was behind threatening to rape and impregnate someone.”
He pointed to Ashera while turning his attention to Aerith. “Do you know who this light dragon is?”
Aeirth quickly looked to Ashera, then back to Shade suspiciously. “No, but I assume you’re going to tell me I should.”
He shook his head. “No, you’ve never met her before, in the outside world at least.” Aerith raised an eyebrow to that, while he turned back to Ashera. “You know how I raped your mom in an experiment to see if we could get her pregnant?” Aeriths other eyebrow then raised as her eyes went wide, and she slowly turned to face Ashera as she quickly realized what he was insinuating. “This woman here is the one who came up with the plan. The one who wanted to run that experiment. I’m not trying to absolve myself, what we did was awful, and I’m as liable as anyone. What I am saying, is the reason I threatened her with it, is because she had already planned, and taken part in doing it to others herself.”
Asheras head slowly turned to face Aerith. “Is this true?”
Aeriths head though jolted back to Shade. “Are you sure? We didn’t see the experiment out. Once we knew it was a dragon inside the knight, we left her on the road somewhere. I assumed they would have just killed the child once it was born.”
Shade shrugged. “Pretty sure. Not one hundred percent though. I first ran into her at the base that I’m sure you knew I was going to, as somehow Alexis knew and was there as well, ironically enough, as he was the reason you became interested in the experiment to begin with.”
“Alexis was there?” She said with a gasp. She did know that the man was going to ask Shade to save his child, and she had guessed that Shade would, which she did inform Gaelin of. She didn’t know though that Gaelin had apparently told Alexis. She would have to speak with Gaelin later, as Alexis is known to despise Shade, and there meeting could have gone sideways rather easily, which would have ruined all of her plans.
He nodded. “As I’m sure you could guess, it wasn’t the most cordial of reunions, but that’s a story for another time. When I met Ashera, she had told me she hated Lucifers, when I asked why, she told me. Her story sounded very much like the experiment we ran. So, before we came back here, I went and visited that supposed goddess Colandria.”
“You spoke with Colandria?” Aerith replied, her shock growing with every response.
“Probably. I spoke with a sexy ball of water claiming to be Colandria. Whether it actually was her, and whether she is actually a god, who knows. But she did tell me that Ashera was my child, and was the result of the experiment. My guess is that if Ashera was born a Lucifer, they would have killed her, but since she was a light dragon, even being a dragon, they found it hard to kill a creature of light, and let her live, albeit at an orphanage.” He then smiled. “The point is, I don’t need to impregnate you, I already have a child. A child you’re going to take care of. You seem desperate for me to become the king, but if I was the king, that would make her a princess. And princesses need servants to serve them. You’re going to be that servant. You want to anoint me as king, fine, do whatever, I don’t care. But here’s my first royal decree, I'm not going to act as a king, I’m going to go around doing whatever I want, whenever I want. I leave Ashera here to run Endross in my stead, she is your leader, and you, her servant.”
“What?!” they both exclaimed while staring at him.
He shrugged. “Kings can do what they want, right? And honestly, I think this is the best solution. The main purpose of me being king is nothing more than the fear it instills in the rest of the world. I’m not dumb enough to think everyone wants me to be king for my genius economic knowledge, or my suave foreign policy. Its fear. You, and everyone else want a king that would make other kingdoms think twice before going to war. But I don’t want to be a king. So, what’s the perfect solution? I become the king in name, and face, but Ashera, and whoever she chooses as advisors, actually runs the day to day. You get the face and the fear it brings that you want, while I get the severe lack of responsibility that I want.” He then looked at Rygut again. “Rygut, you can be Asheras personal protector. Though as my second royal decree, I command you to learn how to fight without that crossbow. I don’t know what’s gotten into the water around the continent, but apparently extremely powerful people using weak ranged weapons they suck with for no reason is all the rage.” He then clapped his hands together, while turning into his dragon form. “Now that that’s all settled, if you don’t mind, I’ve got a present, or a problem, Mozan left for me somewhere I’ve got to go find.” Then before anyone could respond or protest, he took off like a speeding bullet, through the smoke and fire of the wall, towards the statue of Mozan in front of Castle Endross.