As always, spelling corrections and suggestions are welcome, especially those related to suspension of disbelief. My primary goal is to explore the real-world consequences and complications that were to arise from such a setup. If you feel that characters have taken choices that are not the best choice they could have made, that's fine. If you feel they have taken a choice that they would have not gotten to had they been rational, thinking beings – that's an error on my part, and rectified it must be.


The King

Not long after the Great Reveal, representatives of the major world forces gathered together to discuss what was, in a sense, the eradication of evil. The Committee for Disarmament of Hostile Groups faced a lot of antagonism at the time of its inception, since most of the major parties had aimed at world conquest at one time or another, and after continuous deliberation they managed to agree on a definition of primary targets for disarmament, willingly or otherwise. The number of entities wholeheartedly aiming for the unequivocal destruction of the entire world was alarmingly high, and a subcommittee was appointed in each country to identify all major threats and deliver factual evidence of their willingness and efforts towards world destruction.

By pooling their resources and authorizing use of excessive force, many a demon lord and essence of evil soon found him/her/itself restrained and brought before a court to be judged according to its answers, although many more had to be stopped by more permanent status effects, up to and including some of the more advanced stages of death. Entities of pure malevolence and hatred were simple enough to deal with, mindless destruction types even more so. In those beings that expressed sentiment other than revelling in death, the death penalty consequentially became harder to impose. Moral quandaries were raised over whether "Soon, the entire world shall be crushed under my heel" was a statement towards rampant destruction or simply conquest, whether being cast out to the cosmos was ethical to that which was cast out and to others who may or may not exist within the galaxy, and what rights various beings had in this new world order.

The major heads of the factions being humans, the decisions of the Committee had a distinct bias towards humanoid life-forms. Other intelligences, especially non-biological or bacterial, were looked upon with suspicion by most, and were rarely granted full rights unless a member of the race presented itself to the council to explain its culture, modes of communication and history.

This left the more territorial races and those whose modes of communication were alien to humans at a distinct disadvantage, and many at risk of extinction. Anthropologists rushed to every scene, tirelessly recording every facet they could while each group still kept its distinct cultural values and traditions. Many populations were lawfully exploited, the law not being fully equipped to deal with magical and technological sentience or xenohuman rights.

The 74th level of the dungeon was the Lair of the Dragon King, and he was having none of it. Dragons are egotistical and solitary creatures by nature, and it was only through Dungeon-given status as the Boss of the level that he was named King, but the natural pride of dragons made him take his duties very seriously.

When first adventurers arrived at the level, each dragon occupied his own personal space, and they tended not to get involved in the affairs of others. With careful preparation, a group of 5 adventurers who had survived the 73rd level could dispatch of a lone dragon, and the spoils were well worth the risk.

Even a dozen adventurers could not hope to fend off two dragons at once, though, so rather than group the dragons into squads, which would severely impact their sense of autonomy and independence, the King assigned two guards to stay hidden at the sides of the entrance to the level, with orders to dispose any adventurers who dared enter. He backed this up with a severe warning that should they fail to show up to guard, the Dungeon would provide a replacement to them, with the added incentive that all loot from the adventurers would be split equally between the two guards. He provided no guidelines on how the split would be made, knowing that the guards may wish to resolve the issue by less-than-peaceful means.

For a long time, no adventurer passed the entrance, but the King knew this would not hold. The adventurers knew of the guards, and had set up encampments right beyond the entrance to the level, sending magical attacks, gas canisters and other long-distance attacks to damage the guards. Eventually, the would break through, and if they were not diverted to the later levels of the dungeon, they would expend all their energy on his subjects. An alternate path would have to be constructed.

The King ordered, and participated in, the construction of a rudimentary fort in the center of the level, encompassing approximately a quarter of the level. Each dragon who wished to construct his own den in the fort was welcome to – otherwise, he told them, he could not assure their safety.

With the fort constructed, the King issued a proclamation at the entrance that all who wished to pass could do so, but they must offer a toll of both knowledge and goods, and relinquish their weapons at the entrance, whereupon they would be escorted the the exit and their weapons would be returned to them.

The proclamation stood for days, none daring to risk the passage. Finally, a summoned animal was sent, toll in its mouth, and was escorted to the exit, where it promptly desummoned and returned to its owner. A few brave souls then dared enter the passage and be escorted to the other side, and returned living, and the passage was open for business.

The logistics of the passage became complicated and risky with the rise of adventurers. With only twenty dragons at his disposal, and with at least two dragons needed to guard both entrance and exit and another two to escort the those passing, every dragon would need to be on duty a third of the time, which was too much to ask of such individualistic creatures, even as their king.

The passage was blocked with slabs of stone and the passage was opened only once every three days, and when that proved to be too much, once per week. A few fools decided to break the slabs, which were no hindrance to an adventurer who had so far survived 73 levels of the dungeon, but they were greeted by an army of ten dragons, which definitely were. As was to be expected, the dividing of the ex-adventurers' equipment was fierce.

As the tolls accumulated and the knowledge widened, the branches of knowledge started being defined and the society of the dragons started taking form – some dragons assigned themselves roles as Loremasters, Defenders or Mystics, and each started studying its field, the dragon's natural pride being a much more powerful compulsion for self-improvement than survival ever managed to be. Those who did nothing but their guard duty were looked upon as slackers, and after a while there were none left. The fort was rebuilt, the entrances sealed by increasingly complex magical charms, and diplomatic relations with the Dungeon Management commenced. Observers were worried about the rapid escalation in the development of the dragons, their concerns growing when observers noticed that some of the dragons had gained levels, a development which was unheard-of in the Dungeon so far. Traders started negotiating for Dragonmade enchantments, but hit a snag when the traders inadvertently referred to the dragons as "not real people". The King was told as an apology that since the dragons were formed by the magic of the dungeon and the dungeon was created by Han Jee-Han, a human, the dragons were technically Human summons, and the King responded by saying he completely understood and by banning all trading with humans until they were officially recognized, other races clamouring to fill the space left by the embarrassed traders.

Despite them being evidently intelligent and capable of human speech and moral reasoning, the recognition of dragons as independent, self-sentient beings took three months. During that time, other races had started gathering in the dragon fort, especially with other unrecognised species seeing it as a refuge and sanctuary from the incomprehensible, humanoid-biased laws that registered creatures such as mudkips as possessions.

As stalls, workshops and even smithies began emerging around the fort, it slowly became clear that these were not simply temporary constructs – a city was being built here, right before their eyes, a city in which the human laws held no sway. Many came to the city, hoping to establish monopolies or grab ground while they could, but the King made it abundantly clear that all lands in the level were his, and his alone. Individuals from other races were asking to become citizens, and the Dragon King welcomed them into his land, but declared that he would rule over his own people, and would make decisions based on the advantages to dragons only. But everyone knew that in actuality, all had equal rights in the lands of the King, and anyone who attempted a Breach of the Peace, say, by harassing or discriminating against other races, would be held accountable in a way usually solved by a considerable amount of money being given to the victim, and a little on the side for the King.

Taxes were imposed on all sales, and an economy started to emerge. The Lair of the Dragon King became the Realm of the Dragon King, advisors to the King were selected from amongst the dragons, with the duties of guarding and peacekeeping having shifted slowly over time to the other races, who were compensated in turn by the King. The inner fort became a place of learning and advancement, with lectures given daily by the dragons themselves and by visiting adventurers.

Even with all this, though, the animosity between the realm and the humans remained, with the King and the Dungeon administration reaching a formal status quo. The administration knew that were the dragons to go to war, it would be more than just a simple battle. It would be an all-encompassing war between those who saw themselves as humans and those who did not. Were the dragons to attempt to claim levels beyond their own, no-one was in a position to stop them, but they appeared to be satisfied with their own borders.

With every passing day, the realm grew, the dragons at the center of it all becoming wiser and more knowledgeable, those who chose the path of the Defender honing their skills and tactics. It was said that a single Defender could clear out the next ten levels of the Dungeon with ease, and although this as an exaggeration, it was not much of one. They needed no sleep, no companionship, no food. What drove them was the extent of their pride in their abilities and personalities, and the kingdom thrived.

In the center of it all stood the King. There were those who speculated it would not actually be that difficult to dispose of him, and in his place there would respawn a different king, one who had not levelled up and who did not understand the intricacies of the diplomatic web surrounding him. But most agreed that were it to come to that, diplomacy would be continued by other means.

And thus was the Kingdom of Dragons forged.


Okay then, I have several ideas for the next chapters, and if any of them sounds interesting I would love to hear from you, plus all suggestions are welcome of course.

The Research Assistant – scientifically measuring the power of prayer at a church of healing in a battlefield. Gods definitely exist, no doubt about it. God, who knows? Now you're getting metaphysical.

The Builder – how the reconstruction of the fort, and later the city, went down. If The King was a very Civilization-type chapter, then this is a much more Sim City one. How do you get running water, and where do the sanitary outputs go, in a level with only a set of stairs leading in and out? Luckily, teleportation is a thing we've established, so we'll be thinking with portals, gettin' into da infrastructure and boldly splitting infinitives no man has split before.

The Economist – a report on the financial and industrial achievements of the Party system and the shopping areas, and the devaluing implications that the money-loot system may or may not have on the rest of the world outside the Dungeon.

The Librarian – A shapeshifting artificial mana experimentation subject, or maybe a clone, has passed the tests and will be monitored remotely, and is now free to live its own life. As it searches for self-definition, it finds it in books, culture and the careful categorization of knowledge in the halls of the Dragon King.

The Blacksmith – An elder blacksmith sets off in an attempt to create a modern artifact. Very much a crafting tale, a little on the quest-y side.

You may have noticed there's not all that much fighting going on (no duh), because that's not the story I'm here to tell, there are many others that tell it much better than me

Peace out! ^_^