July 25th, 4991.
A date that's been burned into my memory like a brand. It's remembered as a day of mourning across Phyrria - as honored and sacred as the dates of my arrival or my coronation, but completely opposite in tone. In my family, it's a day of quiet contemplation. A reminder that no one's untouchable, not even us.
For even as so many dragons out there might think my wives and children and I are gods, at the end of the day we're all still dragons.
That day had started out well enough - waking up beside my beautiful wife, enjoying the moment. From the stillness of the morning air to the warmth of the scales and gentle rising and falling of her breathing, it was like so many other mornings we had during our little outing, and yet each one felt so special. I opened up my eyes first, and I took a moment to enjoy her beauty in the early light. I always loved her lavender scales, seeing her true self as she slept beside me. I rubbed her neck, rubbing my thumb across her frill. She shifted and sighed. As her eyes opened up, her scales changed to yellow and rose like a rolling tide, her smile sleepy and affectionate.
"Morning, love," She murmured, tail coiling around mine.
"Morning," I replied, smiling back at her, "I don't think I'll ever get tired of this."
"Me neither," Maggy agreed. Her wing went to my side, as did mine with hers. "Wanna just spend the day here? Let Grandy and Foxy handle things while we enjoy a day off?"
"I'd love nothing better," I said, giving her a quick kiss, "But the responsibilities of a king never cease. Come on, Stone's waiting for us."
Some nights I wonder how things might've gone, had I chosen to listen to my mate and take a day off.
Within a few minutes we were up and gathered around the dining table. Stonemover was waiting for us, as was Grandeur and Fox, and to our surprise, Sparkling. "Anything to report?" I asked, as we dove into our meal.
"I'm afraid so, Your Majesty," Sparkling reported, "I found Palm."
"Oh?" I asked, nodding for him to elaborate.
"I found her out in an isolated oasis, far off any known trails. I observed her activities for two days before making contact. Initial meeting was tense, but a display of venom and a bribe of fruit was enough to calm her down. I got her to confirm that she had indeed mated with Smolder. Unfortunately, their coupling didn't result in any eggs. I checked her home as she slept, just to be sure. Nothing. I provided her with parchment for safe travels to the Jade Mountains all the same, should she choose to leave."
I sighed, suffering from my own success. Of course my own genius would bite me in the butt later - the contraceptives that kept Smolder from having unwanted eggs were now making finding a suitable heir that much more difficult. "Any other leads?"
"No Your Grace. I've had my contacts search high and low for any remaining relations of Queen Oasis, and we haven't found any. We've asked around the camps and brothels, and no one has any eggs or dragonets that could be Singe or Scald's. Unfortunately, outside of the Rainforest Queens seem to be rather chaste, as are the Princes. It would seem that the only remaining heir to the Sandwing Throne..."
"...Is Blaze," I finished with a sigh, "Poor, dumb, easily played Blaze."
"Who's currently under house arrest here in the Palace," Grandeur added, "Being watched over by the Ice King's guards."
"Speaking of which," I said, finishing my meal, "I believe it's time we head over to the Palace. Another round of negotiations with our neighbors to the north."
"I'll be waiting for your return," Maggy said, her tail brushing against mine, "Just don't take too long. You promised to teach Stonemover a round of chess."
"I'll be back before sun-time, love." I gave her a quick peck on the cheek, got up and followed Grandeur out of the tent.
What can I say about Narwhal that hasn't been said a million times by a million other dragons? How much more can I damn someone that's been damned by the entirety of dragonkind? Well, allow me to try: Fuck Narwhal. Spirits damn Narwhal to the deepest pits of Hell. May every ghost and demon rip and tear at his screaming flesh until the heat death of the universe. I give extra money to the Zoological Sciences because they changed the name of those horned whales to "sea-unicorns", so those pure and innocent creatures will no longer be associated with that motherfucker. No Icewing has been named "Narwhal" in decades, and the name has become synonymous with being a dick or otherwise despicable dragon.
There is perhaps no other dragon to have ever existed that I hate as much as the one and only King of the Icewings. Even now, after all these years from our fateful meeting, he is the only dragon I couldn't stop myself from killing on sight.
Now how would I describe the one and only King of the Icewings? He was decently handsome by their standards, with a long snout and bright blue eyes. His expression was cold and carefully neutral, and he held himself stiff and upright as a proper aristocrat when I entered the meeting room. A trio of guards surrounded him in his chair, tails twitching with boredom and annoyance. Some nerve on them, acting as if we were late when they arrived five minutes early.
"King Xerophilous," He greeted, nodding as slightly as to be polite, "It's an honor to meet a fellow king for the first time."
"Likewise," I replied, extending a paw for him to shake. He did, but it was a limp-wristed shake of someone who doesn't want to touch you. I squeezed his, asserting my dominance in the ensuing conversation. "I take it you've been brought up to speed regarding our negotiations?"
"I have," He admitted, his tone having an icy undercurrent to it, "But I think that perhaps, as two drakes, we may be able to find a more-"
"Let me just stop you right there," I said, raising a paw to cut him off, "We've had this conversation dozens of times, and I have no interest in going over it again. The terms remain the same: You can have your land, or you can have your princess. If you keep up the same stubbornness and arrogance of your sister, then frankly I'll have no choice but to step in and take the throne for myself."
His icy glare focused on me. "You wouldn't," He said, "You can't. You don't have the Eye of Onyx. You're not married to Blaze. You rule another kingdom. Your claim would be illegitimate."
"Oh really?" I challenged, allowing myself a cocky grin, "Because I'd say I have more legitimacy than literally everyone in the Sand Kingdom. I have the best army in Phyrria. I have the support of every other kingdom. I have the adoration of my tribe. The only reason I'm not declaring myself King of the Sandwings is because I don't want to."
Narwhal's gaze hardened into a glare. "You're not of royal blood. You have no claim to the throne."
"I'm also not a dragoness, but when has that stopped me?" I retorted, "Everything's impossible until someone does it, then everyone's desperate to follow the path I forge. Like Mastermind. Or you."
Narwhal was aghast, his teeth bared in a snarl. "Watch your tongue, you-"
"Watch yours, Your Highness. You're not Smolder or his brothers. You are not my superior. At best you are my equal. And I won't be talked down to by someone who owes me all their new power."
I turned, stepping away from the chair I hadn't even sat down in. "Remember my deal, King Narwhal," I said finally, "The Princess, the land, or neither. I suggest you make your choice by tomorrow, lest I make it for you."
I took my leave, not even bothering to look back at him. Perhaps I was too dismissive of the young drake. Maybe I should've eased him into the way things were. But after a week of dealing with his stubborn bitch of a sister, my patience with Icewings had worn thin. I believed a quick deconstruction of his position would humble the drake and get him to see reason. What I hadn't considered was that this verbal beatdown was all the justification he'd need to show me what kind of dragon he really was...
I was back in camp not even ten minutes later. As I approached my tent, I could hear Maggy and Stonemover engaged in an intense chess game.
"Check," He said proudly.
I walked in just as Majestic moved a castle across the board, taking his king and leaving her queen safe.
"Oh," Stonemover said, deflating.
Majestic chuckled. "Hey, don't worry, you were close. Keep practicing and you might win one of these days."
"Did you try getting your pawns to the other side?" I suggested, "You can replace it with a piece you lost."
"Xero!" Stonemover shouted, jumping up as Majestic pulled herself up.
"Hey, hold it there," She said, raising an arm to stop him, "Remember what I told you this morning?"
"But nothing's happened!" Stonemover protested, "Sparkling can be wrong too, right?"
"Sometimes," Majestic conceded, "But better to be safe than sorry. Now, stay here, and once I've talked with Xero, you can say hi to him, alright?"
"Alright," He said, pouting and turning away. I rolled my eyes - Maggy had been growing paranoid those few days. I thought she was being way too cautious - after all, who would be so bold and so crazy as to violate the truce at a peace conference? But seeing my favorite purple dragoness more than made up for all the troubles of the day.
Majestic turned bright yellow as she went out to greet me. "My King, so good to see you," she said, nuzzling me under my neck.
"Ah, good to see you too, Maggy," I said, kissing her on the snout, "Anything happen with you guys?"
"Kept beating Stonemover at chess," She said, "And Sparkling told me to keep my eyes peeled."
"Anything in particular?" Xero asked, feeling an impending sense of deja vu.
She shook her head, turning a light orange. "Something to do with Narwhal, but he didn't-"
Majestic cut herself short, throwing me. Literally, she grabbed me with one paw under my chest and tossed me to the side. As I landed in a sun-time hammock, a pair of Icewings burst through the tent where I'd been standing, slashing at us with their serrated claws. Before I had a chance to react, I felt something hard and heavy crack against the back of my head.
In the briefest half-seconds between getting smacked and hitting the ground, I couldn't but remember the last time I got hit in the head like this, and thought, Ugh, not this shit again…
What are dreams?
Before the death of Oasis, I didn't hold much stock in them. They were, at best, the brain attempting to catalog information it acquired throughout the day, and at worst the random and senseless hallucinations of the subconscious mind as the body rests. And yet ever since I first felt the Eye of Onyx touch my paws so many years ago, my dreams had been anything but random. Perhaps the best example of this was after getting knocked out a second time in the Sandwing Palace.
I found myself on a plateaued pillar, standing amid a massive, agoraphobic-inducing abyss. My feet were bound in chains, anchoring me to this spit of rock in the void. This felt oddly familiar, and it only took a few seconds to recognize why.
You have a lot of nerve showing your face here again.
"Shit," I murmured, "And here I thought I was done with you."
You will never be rid of me, you pathetic whelp. Burn's voice echoed all around me, resonating in my bones. There was a whooshing of wings, and a torrent of flame landed in front of me. The fire shifted and wavered, and solidified into the form of a dragon. From this emerged Burn, but not as I remembered her. It was as if her corpse had crawled out of the dunes to haunt me - a revenant, a vengeful spirit here to take her pound of flesh.
You abandoned me. The Thing That Was Burn stepped closer, heat and smoke shimmering off her mummified scales. Her rotten teeth were bared in a soundless snarl. You betrayed the royal family. You betrayed your tribe.
"I served someone who didn't deserve my talents," I hissed back, "You were a murderer and a monster, and I was too much of a coward to leave sooner. You could've ruled the world, but instead you wasted all your time hunting vermin!"
And now you're a king of fruitmunchers and tailbenders. Burn snorted, a jet of flame lighting the darkness. You fight broken kingdoms with some fancy toys and you think you're some spirits-appointed emperor of dragonkind. You should've stayed in that jungle with your whores and bastards.
"Shut the FUCK up, you rotten cunt!" I snapped, an the embers of resentment flaring into an inferno of indignant fury. With what movement I had I flared my wings and raised my tail, ready to fight. "Say whatever you want about me, but you mention my family again I'll make sure you STAY dead!"
You can't beat me. You're nothing but a runt. The zombie snarled, liquid fire oozing from wounds in her chest. Every day of your life, you lived upon my orders. You wrote down my words, you made me my weapons, you held organs and flesh from victims I slayed. You will be broken by my claws, and you will serve me again in Hell.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!"
We both looked up, and I was in awe of what I saw. An almost blinding light shone down upon us, and from that light emerged Maggy. She was every bit as Majestic as her name, bedecked in gold and silver armor that only added to her chromatic beauty. She held a spear unlike any I'd ever seen before: A blood-red, two-pronged fork that twisted and narrowed half a dragon's length before ending at a needle-sharp point. Wings and frill flared in red righteous fury.
Look, your whore is here to defend your honor. Burn snarled and took flight, rushing up to meet her. Don't worry, she'll keep you company in the pits!
I tried to move, to aid my mate in battle against the ghost, but my feet remained locked in place. I could only watch helplessly as two Queens did battle above me for my soul. Majestic drove her spear through Burn's wing even as the larger ness grabbed her legs, dragging them down to the platform. They tumbled and rolled on the ground, biting and clawing and kicking. The spear rolled and stopped before my feet, almost within reach. I tried to move, to reach out and grab it and help my mate, but still I remained stuck in place. Maggy looked like she was getting the better of Burn - Rainwing claws and venom tore through rotten flesh, as broken claws scratched uselessly against resplendent steel. Her tail would jab again and again, only for my queen to dodge or my armor to deflect.
Victory seemed all but assured. I knew it, Maggy knew it, even Burn knew it.
He is mine, Burn howled with frustration, MINE, do you hear me?! Her stinger lashed out, striking along Majestic's colorful wing. She roared in pain, pulling back just enough for Burn to pull free of her grip. The zombie Sandwing charged at me, claws out and flames licking up her ruined neck. Unable to move, I was a sitting duck for her unrestrained wrath. She made a mad leap for me, and it was only by the narrowest of margins that Maggy grabbed her tail and pulled her back. There was the snap of bone as her tail broke, and the Sandwing rolled across the platform. The Rainwing rushed in front of me, grabbing the spear just as the Corpse got to her feet and leaped again. Maggy held it up just in time, and Burn impaled herself upon the red spike. The former Princess gave a choked, gasping hiss as she sank, until her rotten face was close enough to smell of sand and decay.
"Go back to Hell," Majestic growled, "And never bother My King again." She spat more venom than I'd ever seen onto Burn's face. Flesh and bone dissolved until it was sludge at our feet. With a mighty twist and flick, Burn's remains were tossed into the pit, falling ever downwards until it vanished into the inky blackness. The cavern was silent, and was just me and my mate standing in a singular beam of sunlight.
"She's gone," She declared finally, flashing gold, "You won't have her haunting you anymore. "You are free."
"Thank you, my love," I sighed, tugging on my chains, "Now we can get out of this horrible place."
Majestic said nothing. I turned to see she was blue, her frill drooping as she looked at me with sad, mournful eyes. "...Maggy?"
"...I'm not going with you, Xero."
"What're you talking about?" I pulled the chains as far as I could, taking one step closer.
"I have to leave you," She said, "Where I'm going, you can't come."
"Maggy, what're you saying? You can't leave. There's so much work that needs to be done."
"I have faith in you, My King," She assured me, flecks of yellow and gold sprinkled across her body, "You will do everything you wish to achieve, and more."
"But, but you must come with me. I am your King. It's an order."
"I'm sorry, Xero," Maggy said, shaking her head, "But some things that go beyond even a King's power."
"But... But what about Batty and Nessy? What about Rio and our eggs?"
"I know." Her breath caught in her throat, and I could see tears forming and falling in her eyes. "And not being there in our child's life hurts me more than you can even imagine." She put on a forced smile, her gaze meeting mine. "But I have faith in our mates, and our friends, and in you. I know she'll be alright. You all will be alright." She craned her neck around mine, her wings wrapping around me in a hug. "I will always watch over you, my love. Always in your heart."
"Maaaaggyyyy!" We both turned and looked at a sudden opening of light, like a window into the sun. Sitting on the edge was a tiny Rainwing dragonet, the color of raspberries. "Maggy! Come play with me! There's a whole world I have to show you!"
"Coming, Gallant!" Maggy called. She gave me one last, sad smile, and took flight. Her form seemed to shrink and glow, until she was as small as a dragonet herself. Gallant flew around her, both of them spinning and twirling before flying into the light. The light grew brighter then went out, leaving me alone in a deep, dark abyss...
Waking from that painful vision, I found myself laying in bed, my head throbbing with familiar pain. Carefully opening my eyes, the ambient light from outside indicated that it was early morning - I'd been asleep for almost an entire day.
"Lord Xerophilous," A guard said, stepping closer with an offered cup of water, "Easy there, My King. You received a nasty bump to the head earlier. The healers were worried your brain might've taken some damage."
I took the cup and drank deep, my throat never having felt so parched. "Thank you," I croaked, "Where's Maggy?"
The guard shifted his eyes away, his scales turning the deepest greens and blues and grays. He was sad, mourning even, and yet terrified. Why?
"Soldier," I demanded, my raspy voice like sandpaper on my throat, "Where's Queen Majestic?"
"I, um," The guard hemmed, avoiding my gaze as he backed away, "I'll get General Grandeur. She, uh, has important information for you." The Rainwing ran out before I could press him for more, and I closed my eyes as I felt an icepick deep in my skull. Time passed - seconds, minutes, hours, spirits know. Just as I started to fall back into unconsciousness when I heard someone walk in. I opened my eyes, and saw Grandeur as she walked in. She looked... awful. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, her scales the dark blue of mourning, her wings and frill and tail drooping around her.
"Grandeur," I asked, "What happened? Where's Maggy?"
Her scales turned dark gray, and before she said a word I knew. Spirits damn it, I knew.
"Dead."
"Dead..." The word fell from my lips, numb. Have you ever felt loss before? That crushing, unbearable finality? I felt my heart being ripped out of my chest. I felt the world fall away and out of focus. A weight had been placed upon my back, and I felt myself falling, falling, falling.
My friend, my wife, the mother of my first child was gone, and no amount of science and luck was going to bring her back.