The Steel Dragon – Prologue
The Iron Dragon looked out from the balcony of his palace atop of Shang-Yang at a world on fire. The sky was scared beyond belief by the whirling energies of Chaos and the sound of laughing gods echoed on the wind. With mystically enhanced sight Zhao Ming could see smoke in the distance billowing from legion after legion of Chaos minions. Norscans butchered towns and sought glory in the eyes of their twisted gods by cutting down any Cathayan that might resist them while the warped forms of innumerable daemons from each of the Dark Gods giddily slaughtered innocents and soldiers alike.
With his sixth sense, the Iron Dragon knew how the rest of his celestial family was and his sorrow threatened to overwhelm him. His eldest sister made her final stand against the redeemed champion of the Blood God; Skarbrand, his Father was bound in chains of pure magic by Chi'an Ci and was being drained of his considerable mystic might, and his Mother had been captured by the Grandfather of Rot; a quick death would be the kindest fate for her at this point. And he, the Iron Dragon, was facing down an endless host led by the Daemon Prince that broke the world; the God-Slayer Mekra'Rex.
The Daemon Prince's purpose for invading the Western Provinces was known to Zhao Ming. The God-Slayer was invading at the behest of the Dark Prince for the purpose of securing the bundle held in Ming's arms.
With soft, sorrowful eyes Zhao Ming looked down at the bundle of swaddling cloth in his arms and the child that slept peacefully within. Ming's latest consort, the infant's mother, had not survived the child's birth but the tragedy of her passing was followed by the discovery of something miraculous. Zhao Ming's youngest son was no mere Dragon-Blooded, lesser not possible Shugengan; no, the boy was by some miracle born a full-blooded Dragon like his father. In an ideal world, one not being torn apart by the legions of Chaos, Ming would have been able to spend time with his draconic progeny and introduce him before the Celestial Court. The lord of Shang-Yang didn't know how exactly his father would have taken the news of a new dragon being born into the world, especially one that was sired by his disobedient son and a human, but Ming knew that his Mother would have been delighted to have a grandson to spoil and teach.
Ying on the other hand would have been green with envy that her so-called 'waster' of a brother had made such an important discovery about their kind and that she wasn't the first celestial dragon to bring forth the next generation of their family. Though, after getting over her jealousy, Ming had a feeling that his elder sister would stop at nothing to be his son's favored aunt, and truthfully, she would be a better choice than the likes of their stick-in-the-mud Yuan Bo.
… But his young son would never get the chance to meet his family, and if Ming didn't do anything then the only future that awaited him would be one dictated by the whims of the most depraved of the Chaos Gods. The totality of Slaanesh's desires was unknown to the Dragon Alchemist but he could guess that it involved the Dark Prince's insatiable desires and vile curiosities.
It was an outcome that Zhao Ming would not allow. His son would be kept safe, he would see to it even at the expense of his own life.
Simultaneously placing a soft kiss upon his child's brow and casting a gentle sleeping charm on him, Ming turned his attention from the encroaching armies to his workshop filled with shelves of alchemically treated Warp Stone and the weathered tome he had set up on his reading pew. With a wave of his free hand the Iron Dragon had the ancient Tome of Mad Kossul rise into the air and open, flipping through the countless pages of banned heretical and dangerous lore before it finally settled upon a page depicting a ritual spell titled 'The Intrepid Gate'.
As Ming's physical form focused on performing the necessary verbal and somatic components of the spell, the Grand Alchemist couldn't help but consider how his family would regard Ming's use of such dubious means to protect his son. His sister was so proud that she would probably chastise him for his actions, but her opinion mattered the least to him. His Celestial Mother, on the other hand, would have likely supported his plan to give his young dragonling a chance for life beyond the threat of Chaos… and his Father…. His Celestial Father was the wild card in this hypothetical consideration; he would have disapproved of the use of Warp Stone and Mad Kossul's book but with the current state of the World, Ming had the feeling the Celestial Dragon's priorities might have changed.
An hour into the casting of the ritual, Zhao Ming could feel that a third of his Warp Stone supply was fully depleted and watched as a tear in space and time opened before him. The Iron Dragon's sudden surge of hope at the situation nearly died however when his rift first showed the hellish realms of the Chaos Gods; the Changer's crystalline wasteland first, then Neiglen's pulsating domain, after that came the Blood God's blood-drenched realm, and finally the Lord of Excess' unsettlingly fleshy world.
Just as fast as Ming's hope nearly flickered out like a dying candle, it was then stoked into a raging inferno as the Grand Alchemist's rift passed beyond the usurped realm of the God-Slayer, the Forge of Souls, to the pure Chaos beyond. It took another hour of channeling energy from his stores of Warp Stone into the rift but eventually, his hope was rewarded as Mad Kossul's theory was proven correct.
Just as Yin contains a core of Yang and Yang contained a core of Yin, so does pure Chaos hide a path to Order. Deep in the swirling Pure Chaos, Ming found a shining gateway into infinity that could lead him to realities safe from the machinations of the Ruinous Powers. Before the Iron Dragon's eyes world-after-world untouched by the taint of the Chaos Gods swam in a sea of reality. Ming could have spent many more hours scrying these safe worlds to find the right one for his son… but the sound of battle from his balcony growing ever longer told him he was running out of time. Besides, he was, unfortunately, running out of still powered Warp Stone and was already needing to supplement the spell with his own magical energy…
… As well as energy from two sources originating from the Realms of the Dark Gods!?
Immediately splitting his attention away from his search, Zhao Ming followed one of the trails of energy terrified that he may have just facilitated the expansion of Chaos to worlds so far safe from the evils that ruined his own. Instead of finding a vile daemon trying to piggyback off his ritual, however, the least favored son of the Celestial Dragon traced the supporting tendril of magic to his Father bound in crystalline chains in the realm of Chi'an Chi.
Despite being bound in crystal chains and drained of power by the Changer's minions, Zhao Ming's father was hiding from his captors a considerable store of mystic might that, instead of using to facilitate his escape, the Celestial Dragon was using to help fuel the Iron Dragon's ritual. As if to answer Ming's unspoken questions, his Father opened his single remaining molten-gold serpentine eye and met his son's gaze sadly. No words were exchanged but the Son understood the Father and the apology that the gesture conveyed.
During this short period of non-verbal communication, the Alchemist's chance at investigating the second source of energy disappeared as the energy being conveyed exploded in intensity and a shade of his mother manifested in his laboratory. The sight of his semi-caporal mother with a triumphant but woeful smile immediately brought glowing tears to the eyes of the Iron Dragon, for he knew what feat she had performed just by her presence in his lab. Instead of facing the prospects of an eternity in the 'hospitality' of the Grandfather of Plagues, Quai Yin had exchanged her immortal flesh and most of her soul for pure energy that she was now channeling into Zhao Ming's ritual.
"Mother," Ming held out his son's slumbering form as his tears wettened the infant's blanket. "I would like for you to meet your grandson. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me find someplace safe for him to live."
Joy replaced sorrow as Moon Empress picked up her infant grandson and took in the sight of his form and soul. Her eyes twinkled with delight at the child's rust-red tuff of hair; nearly identical in color to her son Li Dao's hair, and she smiled contently at the color of his eyes which she could see by examining his soul. The child's burnished gold eyes would one day resemble his Celestial Grandfather.
"Son," Quai Yin breathlessly addressed Zhao Ming as her gaze lingered on her Celestial Grandson. "What is his name?"
"I have yet to name him mother." The Iron Dragon admitted with some shame as he redoubled his focus on the ritual. "With of the likelihood of him perishing so young because of recent events, I was afraid of growing too attached and feeling the heartbreak of his death."
"Yet I can sense your love for him anyway." The Moon Empress smiled at her son.
"Yes, despite my best efforts my emotions have prevailed over logic. He is my son, and I will protect him from the claws of the Dark Prince even if it means that I will not get to see him grow up." The Iron Dragon's resolve hardened like his namesake. "Even if it costs me my life."
"I am so proud of you, my son." The quickly fading woman placed the sleeping babe back in his father's arms. "I know it is not my place, but would you allow me to name the boy?"
"I would be honored, mother." Ming smiled tiredly as he utilized the vastly increased supply of energy from his parents to search even farther away from the edges of Chaos of a world in which his child might thrive.
"Shirou," The Moon Empress placed a final kiss on her grandchild's brow, granting a final blessing of Yin to the sleeping baby as her soul began to completely fade from the world. "Named after a good friend of mine and your Father. A god of Ind and Nippon who, unlike his peers, was a humble man who worked tirelessly for the betterment of others and for peace between his own nations and ours."
"Zhao Shirou, then." Ming smiled down at his son's peaceful sleeping face and pudgy cheeks. "He would have made such a wonderful addition to our family. My son would have been as dedicated to his duties as Bo but as passionate as Dao. Shen-Zoo would have loved to baby and spoil him, and Yin-Yin would have taken him for trips around the world."
"And he will be curious like my little Ming as well as fiercely protective of his loved ones like my little Ying." Yin's words caused a wave of warmth and energy to surge through the Iron Dragon's tiring body. Then the sound of crumbling walls, of howling daemons, the screams of terrorized mortals were carried into the lab by stormy winds.
"Son, you are out of time." Cold dread formed in the Grand Alchemist's gut and adrenalin surged in his veins at his mother's words. "Your Father has convinced your sister to abandon Nan-Gau to come and buy you as much time as she can, but you must go with your son through the Rift now. He will need to be protected during the trip through Chaos and Realms-Between-Realms, and you are the only one that can do that now. Myself and your Father shall anchor the spell and close the Rift after you depart but you must go now!"
Zhao Ming trusted his Mother's words and did not hesitate. With a small but intense burst of fire from his hand, he set the Tome of Mad Kossul alite to deny the God-Slayer the information needed to follow and then leaped into the hyper-dimensional Rift, child in hand. To better protect his son, the Iron Dragon immediately transformed into his dragon form and during his transformation, he caught a glimpse of the battle that raged above his city outside his balcony.
His last sight of his world was that of his sister battling the Daemon Prince that broke the world while around them hundreds of Jade Longma Riders did battle with thousands of flying Chaos minions; furies of each denomination, Rot Flies, and Screamers and Dread Knights of Tzeentch all taking part in the battle. The cost of the Storm Dragon's last battle against Khorne's champion was evident by her missing left arm but even with only one claw remaining, Miao Ying did not stop fighting. Her magics slowed and damned the daemonic legions, masses of shadowy talons ripped through ranks of Tzeenchian horrors while whirling balls of razor-sharp flower petals eviscerated mortal norscans. And when Mekra'Rex's greater daemon allies tried to close distance to engage the Storm Dragon in close range; her lighting, her claws, and her fangs would rip the monsters to shreds. Ying was a whirlwind of sorcery and fury when the God-Slayer himself flew towards her on tattered wings.
Just before she flew to meet her fate, however, just for a moment her draconic gaze met with that of her brother and caught a glimpse of her nephew. Like her Father before her she offered no words, she had not time to do so, instead, she only regarded them both with a respectful nod of her head before she turned and sent the Final Daemon Prince hurtling into the city below with a swipe of her tail.
Then the Rift closed, and Zhao Ming beheld nothing but Chaos and Madness for eight whole years. The loss of his prize had enraged the Dark Prince immensely, and the shockwave of her displeased roar had caused the Winds of Magic to blow the interdimensional traveling dragons off course from their initial destination but through sheer force of will, the Iron Dragon fought against Pure Chaos and salvaged the situation. The Moon Dragon's blessing protected Zhao Shirou from starvation and the ravages of sleeping through time, and eight years after jumping headfirst into the hyperdimensional Rift, Zhao Ming and his son made landfall in a world far from the clutches of Chaos.
The first thing Zhao Ming beheld when he opened his tired eyes was a world on fire, not too unlike the world he had fled eight long years ago. Yet despite the unsettling sight he almost burst into tears with joy for the magical flames, while somewhat cursed with pure evil and malice, held not a trace of Chaotic taint. Using the sudden surge of jubilation as fuel, the Iron Dragon grunted as he shifted his large draconic form such as he could because what once was resplendent and majestic was now broken and ruined from his trip through the Pure Chaos. His sheer mass smothered a large amount of the malignant flame that had been attracted to the accumulation of life-force that Ming and his son represented, and while the flames licked at him and tried to consume them both, they were no match for even his ruined scales.
But therein lay a more pressing problem, his son was waking from his eight-year-long slumber, and he would be confused enough from the transition from being an infant to being a child without a dragon also being involved in the mix. Compared to his son's mental wellbeing, Ming's rapidly dwindling life and oncoming death meant very little. Then he heard a noise other than the dying evil flames, one that turned into the answer for his troubles.
A mortal, a man, was out there walking through the wasteland of crumbling concrete and ash. He was injured but desperate to find just one person to save. He was the answer to Zhao Ming's troubles.
With a final great effort, Ming shook off the rubble that had covered his draconic form when he had crashed into this ruined city and that threatened to crush his son without the Iron Dragon there to protect the dragon child. With a pained cry, Ming then proceeded to transform back into his human guise for the first time in eight years, and following that he abandoned all his pride for the sake of his child.
"Help!" The son of the Celestial Dragon called out in a voice just loud enough for the frantic man to hear. The rest was a blur as the last of his strength left him and he could hold on no longer.
As the light of his consciousness faded, he witnessed the human, one Kiritsugu Emiya implant a powerful magical artifact with astounding healing properties into his son. His last act as a spirit was to burn up his spiritual essence for energy similar to what his mother had done, and he then used that energy to implant an archive of knowledge into his son's soul, taking inspiration from the one Emiya had attached to his soul.
Then Zhao Ming; the Iron Dragon, the Grand Alchemist, the Lord of Shang-Yang, and the Western Provinces of Cathay passed into oblivion with closed eyes and a smile on his lips.
The Father passed but the child; Zhao Shirou survived, taken in by Kiritsugu Emiya and raised as Emiya Shirou. The retired mercenary would try to keep his adopted son ignorant of the Moonlit World but that was not to be Emiya Shirou's fate. For Emiya Shirou was a dragon and thus possessed a draconic magical core as well a powerful Family Crest created by the Grand Alchemist of Cathay; one of the illustrious sons of the Celestial Dragon and the Moon Dragon Empress.
From the moment he began his life under Kiritsugu's care, Shirou was destined to take up the title of the Steel Dragon.
So... I'm back for now. It has been one hell of a year since I last posted anything and I hope you all are doing ok after such a serious pandemic. My prayers go out to everyone affected by the COVID-19 virus.
This fic and my school work will be my main focus for the upcoming future. I have finished four additional chapters of this story and I will be posting the next one in three days.
Glader out.