He'd never had many friends.
He was violent and easily angered and broke everything he touched.
The bison was the closest thing he'd had to a friend but he knew that one day the bison would give up on him because he was a violent delinquent who broke everything he touched.
He didn't care that the destruction he caused destroyed pieces of himself. He didn't care that the more he destroyed the more incomplete he would be.
Then he'd become the black dragon, the one who heralded destruction.
He'd found someone who could not only withstand his violence, but enjoyed causing it with him.
He wreaked havoc, his partner and him side by side. They destroyed anyone who got in their way.
Then he'd lost.
He'd lost to the gold dragon and his partner-in-crime (his friend) had been destroyed.
His partner (his friend) had been repaired easily enough, but he'd had plenty of time to think.
He realized how much it had hurt to destroy.
He watched as the blue and white dragons fought to defeat the gold dragon. He watched as the red dragon manipulated everything.
He decided that he didn't want to be the herald of destruction.
He became the herald of change (because he had changed).
He'd always been manipulative.
He always had to control what was going on around him, had to make sure it was perfect.
So he schemed and tricked and did everything from the shadows. He manipulated people and tricked everyone and hid his true self (but he'd never been able to fool the white dragon).
He was the red dragon, the herald of perfection, the one who would rule the world.
He freed the gold dragon, expecting him to obey and be a good little puppet.
Then the gold dragon had defeated him and all his carefully laid plans fell apart.
He was not a king. He was not perfect.
He was just a pawn, fooling himself into thinking he was perfect.
Then the black dragon (one of the people he had tricked, manipulated) came and talked to him. The black dragon had been grateful that he'd created his partner, thankful for the manipulation.
He fought alongside the blue, white, and black dragons against the gold dragon and they won. He apologized for his actions and he saw the blue dragon's grin, the white dragon's smile, and the black dragon nod.
He was still the herald of perfection (because he strove for it).
He was always alone.
Even if he was in a crowd, he was alone. He stood at the summit, with no one up there with him. His only constant was his partner (his partner didn't think it was healthy for him to rely so much on a toy, even if it did house the spirit of a dragon).
He transformed his loneliness into strength. He spent nearly all his time training (everything else was irrelevant when you never stayed in one place for more than a few months).
He became the white dragon, the one who stood alone at the summit.
Then the blue dragon appeared, the rookie who didn't know a thing, who'd sacrificed nothing for the strength he'd gained so quickly. The one who'd tried to befriend him, to know him (what was the point when he'd be gone as soon as he'd finished what he'd come to do?).
Then the gold dragon appeared, released by the red dragon's manipulations. The pressure from his father mounted, increasing the longer the gold dragon rampaged.
He'd tried to fight the red and gold dragons on his own, until the blue dragon came to his aid. For the first time, he could rely on someone besides his partner. After the battle, he smiled for the first time since he'd received his partner.
The final battle came and with all the dragons working together, they achieved victory.
And he smiled.
He was still the herald of strength (but now he had a reason to be strong).
He had to watch.
He had to watch as the white dragon fought as if he didn't matter as long as he won, watch as the genial red dragon became cruel and manipulative, watch as the black dragon destroyed those around him and destroyed piece of himself.
He tried to reach out to them, to pull them into the light. The white dragon pulled back (but he could hear a child's voice crying out for help). The red dragon thought he didn't need help (but a small voice asked for someone to stop him). The black dragon scorned the hand he offered (he didn't hear a voice, but he saw the sadness in his eyes).
He did everything he could to help them. He caught the white dragon when he was falling. He encouraged the black dragon to change. He forgave the red dragon before he'd even asked for forgiveness.
He saw the white dragon reach back, heard the red dragon ask for help, felt the black dragon grasp his hand. He pulled them out of the shadows (so they could finally feel the warmth of the light).
The white dragon would no longer feel the emptiness that had plagued him for so long. He was no longer a victim of the pressure his father had placed on him.
The red dragon no longer need to be in control. He learned to ask for help.
The black dragon accepted the bison's friendship and learned that he didn't have to bring destruction.
The blue dragon smiled.
He'd never thought of himself as a herald.
He would be the herald of light (and he would never let his friends slip back into darkness).