Arc 2: Exploration and Devastation


It has been several cycles of the planet, each revolution around the gas-giant we orbited bringing changes of the seasons, the passing of life and the birth of new. I slowed my hunting of essence, only taking what was needed to sustain me. There were occasional essence hunts, such as finally devouring that damned panther-eel. It was a rather anti-climactic fight.

I swooped down, took it into my claws and threw it at one of the flying mountains...twice, before consuming its corpse.

For several...months, I flew across the world. Forests, mountains, valleys and oceans provided breathtaking views… The prey were all just that; prey. My breath weapon was powerful to begin with. Constant use and improvement made it devastating to anything living.

Great rhinophants even larger than the biggest in my home territory roamed vast plains alongside immense herds of horse-beasts. Variations of the panther-eel, lion-lizard and jackal-eel were my favored prey during my travels. Their specialized physiology provided minute improvements to my form over the long months.

For such a vast world...the life upon the land and in the sky was limited. Oh, it was numerous beyond comprehension but...all variations of the same base species. The biggest surprise I found was the species of giant flying jellyfish. They were tasty and their tendrils provided interesting adaptations that I implemented into my fangs and claws, alongside my already venomous bite.

I eventually returned to my home territory, though I vowed to explore the ocean depths in the far future. And time was on my side, since as a Zerg...I had all the time in the world.


I sat upon my mountain top, surveying all the land and sky.

I am Fire.

I am Death.

The skies are mine to rule and everything below...it is all mine.

The panther-eel...it is beneath my notice. The former-apex flyers? Mere prey. As for everything else...vermin.

I am the shadow of death.

I am the fire of destruction.

I am a Dragon.

A Dragon – a beast of myth – is a supreme ruler.
Since he can kill all beings, he can therefore claim the sacrosanct, divine presence wielded by the gods.
A Dragon – a beast of power– is a lord.
Since the power to kill all beings is in his right, he therefore looms over all mortals.
A Dragon – a beast of wrath– is a devil.
Since of all mortals who live in the world, none can assum-...

[Arrogant][Dramatic]
[Reproach]

Ok, fine! Ruin my inner monologues… So yes. I am a dragon; I can fly, breathe fire (sorta) and destroy any who dare oppose me!

This world...I've existed here...for several cycles now, observing and occasionally terrorizing the natives. It was fun at first, raining fiery death upon the vermin below and devouring any of these...Na'vi that tried to either tame or slay me.

You'd think that after the twelfth warrior instantly died connecting us together, they'd stop that plan. But no, they still tried doing it. Even Na'vi from other parts of the planet attempted to tame me, using the spiritual connection of the neural queue, the tswin, iconic to all species on this world.

These idiots all die, providing me with more of the natives' strange essence. This essence I gain from them is different than the usual stuff. More...elegant and lifting; the best comparison my human memories can make is going from eating regular meals and then being treated to a five-star chef's most famous dish.

It was supposedly the same stuff but so much...more.

Other than the the folly of my would-be riders, the Na'vi attempted to slay me in a variety of ways. My favorites were striking during the night when I was 'asleep' and poisoning meat for me to 'scavenge'.

The first merely gave me more of the...luxury essence and a collection of weapons. The second enhanced my already incredible immune and digestive systems, rendering me even more venomous with each meal.

The crazy cat-people even tried dropping a tree and a few boulders on me. They missed completely each time, but you've gotta give them points for desperation.

So, back to what I was saying before.

I spent many cycles being the always-present terror of the forest and mountains, the Na'ring and Ayram alusing. I tended to just watch the Na'vi going along their daily lives, amused by their antics and such.

It was all quite dull and serene...until they arrived.


One night (a variation where it was dusk...the whole night for half a year), a star fell from the sky. I watched it with half-interest…

...until the smoke cleared and it opened to reveal technology.

A rover exited the the drop pod and began its explorations.

I had watched with keen interest and approached it from far above. The rover was kept safe by my overwatch, the creatures and Na'vi long having learned to take shelter when I rode on the winds.

It took samples for many weeks until it finally ran amok of a pit and was destroyed. I eagerly waited of more...that rover, though insanely advanced, was clearly human in design.

Humans existed in this universe!

I was no longer alone...well, I was never really alone in the first place...but humans!


Time passed and more rovers...and eventually people arrived. They tore open the forests and the Na'vi struck back in retaliation. They kept the skirmishes small, fearing my possible appearance.

They never noticed my presence, keeping the predators from joining into the fights…

A compound was set up and negotiations began...failed...and eventually settled. The humans began mining for some strange mineral similar in taste to the red stone I consumed every so often…

...each time I consumed a few hundred pounds of it, a feeling of...restrained power both grew...and loosened?

A human woman with red hair often talked and was welcomed by the local Na'vi clan, the Omaticaya. A few cycles later, she was in a body...a body like the natives. It had both the scent of the Na'vi and of humans.

Perhaps some sort of cloning technology?

It didn't matter. There was an incident then...she no longer ventured out. The soldiers of the compound began terrorizing the Na'vi and I decided to reveal myself.


A dragon was attacking.

CJ was crazy; certifiably insane, actually. But right now, being insane was nothing compared to the fucking dragon burning the land around the compound. He and the boys had been messing with the furries when it swooped out of the mountains, roaring like an angry god!

The AMP suited soldiers open fired on it, but their guns did shit! Bullets bounced off and rockets never fucking hit the monster. Everyone started running back to base, but the AMPs, who had outpaced those on foot quickly all died in a flash of fire.

...the fucking monster could breath fucking fire.

Getting to the compound was terrifying and CJ had shit his pants running.

But when they got there, the place was on fire too.


Colonel Miles Quaritch, head of security at Hell's Gate, cussed up a storm as a damned dragon flew from the skies and started burning everything. The security forces guns did jack shit, their AMPs died fast and their air support?

After losing seven copters, he'd ordered everyone to take cover as best they could. Attempts at evacuation to the space station above were utter failures.

Turns out orbital shuttles, clad in the finest materials, burned just as easy as the trees on this goddamn planet.

"Get to the fucking lower levels! Seal up the access tunnels and let the fire systems do their jobs!" His orders were followed as quick as possible and Quaritch hauled Sefridge to safety.

The coward had passed out in fear when the dragon swooped past the command center…

"And someone take this pile of shit to safety!"


I let loose an echoing roar that sent humans and other creatures scurrying for safety. Finally deciding to reveal myself to the visiting humans, I did what any dragon would do to announce his presence:

I burned everything.

Let me tell you, burning human settlements and the people in them was surprisingly fun! These humans were so much more entertaining than the Na'vi. They had more sense when to run, when to fight and when to finally die in the fiery beams of death and destruction.

My former human self would be disgusted by what I'm doing...but these were just vermin that needed to be shown their place. It wasn't like they were important or anything! Morality aside, I didn't do too much damage; just a few hundred of millions in property damage.

[Self-Deception][Deluded]
[Honest][Superior Species]
[Predator][Unapologetic]

Sure I killed dozens of security members and civilians, but I stuck to the stuff attacking me! If they didn't want to die in flames, they should have taken shelter. Granted, I burned several buildings that could have possibly been the shelters...and the shuttles they tried to escape in...and the giant dump trucks with the other-stones...

But other than that, the only other people I killed were a few that I caught out in the open. I had been wondering what human essence would taste like and decided to test it out…

...and its bland…

...bland and...salsa-y.

[Essence][Useless]
[Extracting Memory]

I did gain some better adaptation for speaking and articulation of my mouth...and some knowledge of random stuff that I'd probably never need…

...on the bright side, I finally learned the date!

To humanity, it was the year 2151. There was a big war on Earth years back that left a lot of soldiers without jobs...the company is called the RDA, Resources Development Association...red haired woman is something-Augustine…

...still have to sort all this stuff out. More bullets and even a rocket smashed into my side, jarring me from my thoughts. I retaliated, burning the gunship from the my domain and went for the soldiers...no, mercenaries still trying to fight back.

I burned them. I burned them all; the scent of burnt metal and cooked flesh filled the sky.

I was getting bored...

I turned my attentions back to the compound, Hell's Gate. Seeing a few soldiers trying to get another…

...AT-99 "Scorpion" Gunship, I took a steep dive and rammed the entire thing. The ensuing explosion set off a chain of explosions that ended in the entire hangar crashing down on me. I waited a few moments until I could pick up the sounds of relief from the mercenaries and scientists.

Erupting from the wreckage with a triumphant roar, I took to the sky. Burning a few more vehicles and one of their shuttles, I left back to my mountain to rest up and sort through the knowledge I gained from the devoured humans.