SIDE STORY - SECOND ACT

There was once a land that stood out among the countless worlds of ten moons and nine suns. It was a land of people beloved by nature, and as such had come to love life back just as much. A land of Brightfolk like no other.

Above that wondrous place, there now was a palace in the clouds.

In that palace, resided a black dragon once famed across the countless worlds. He was the King of the palace, and the countless dragonkin under him each was a legendary warrior of great renown. For a few seasons now, they had come to treat this land as their new home.

…

Indescribably long ago, the now Black Dragon King and his subjects were but a small yet renowned group of mercenaries. Yet, their undeniable expertise and fervor was sought by all. Especially so in an age of unending conflict and war.

The black dragon fought in many historic battles, siding with and facing off many of the powers from those ancient eras. Following the call of treasure and honor, he and his dragonkin corp of elites aided the rise and caused the fall of empires spanning worlds. In that while they had collected countless precious resources as payment and spoils of war.

One fateful morning, the Endless Slaughter came to an abrupt end. A Jade Emperor had appeared, uniting all lands into a Heavenly Realm under Him.

And by then, the black dragon unit had amassed untold wealth.

With but a portion of the treasure from his endeavors, the black dragon had recruited the best workforces across the many worlds. Then, he requested them to build the largest floating fortress the countless Planes had ever seen: he sought to retire from the battlefield, crowning himself King of a kingdom in the skies.

Over the many years on the frontline, the black dragon had made many allies.

They all attended the crowning ceremony that followed, and it's said that it was so extravagant and sumptuous to have rivalled even that of the Emperor. The countless who came left with their own choice of treasure from the black dragon's vault: even that barely put a dent in the dragon's hoard.

Once the Black Dragon King was recognized by the many powers of the countless worlds as a legitimate ruler, he showcased the flying fortress, as well as the designs of many more flying fortresses currently underway. They were, simply put, an astonishing pioneering of ancient technology. A product of the brightest minds among the many worlds.

The King revealed his ambition of dotting the many skies with flying cities and creating a kingdom for the dragonkin in the clouds.

Over the many years, the black dragon had also made many enemies.

These people who had lost homes and dear ones to him had despised the black dragon since long ago, but could only avoid him in fear of his strength and status.

And yet, from now on, they would also have to avoid flying in the stretch of sky that was considered his kingdom?

And soon, they might not even have a place in this sky where they could avoid his forces?

And later, even, he had set his eyes on other Planes, on the Heavens of all other worlds?

By then, would they be forced to swallow their resentment and submit if they ever wished to fly freely again?

Just the thought of it was humiliating… A horrifying nightmare!

But then, the few among them who had personally attended the ceremony and witnessed the countless treasures found in them the chance at revenge. The overflowing treasury that had been publicly displayed was more than enough of an allure to convince more people to join their cause. They thus conspired together and sought to rebel against the Dragon King!

Some were the few who thirsted for payback from those happenings of eras long past. Others, most of them, more than there were stars in the sky, sought to fill their bellies with those rumored precious treasures, materials, and elixirs.

Time passed. With just sheer numbers, the conspiracists would be able to wipe out ten armies of the Black Dragon King, let alone just the one.

Still, they waited. They dared not underestimate the greatest mercenary and his famed entourage. The Black Dragon was that fearsome an existence in their minds. They dared not leave anything up to chance.

Even more time passed, and the conspiracists would now be able to swarm a hundred Black Dragon Kings and his flying fortresses, let alone just the one.

Still, they waited.

And waited some more.

And some more, again.

Again, and again.

Until, when they eventually struck, it would be with the joint efforts of more enemies than the black dragon might have faced in his whole life put together, if he had lived a hundred more of them.

The exalted King of dragonkin could only retreat, fueling the engines of the state-of-the-art flying fortress with all his might as he attempted to flee. Ultimately, even more overwhelming than the endless pursuers was the power of money, as, under the stunned eyes of his enemies, the Black Dragon pulled out treasure after treasure, divine artefacts after mystic relics, and the fortress flew faster and faster. Somehow, in spite of it all, he managed to escape in the end!

Even as he burned money, the Black Dragon King didn't dare slow down, even just to take a single glance back. He like so travelled many Planes of Existence, crossed the many worlds under the Heavenly Realm, and only stopped by the time most of his vaults had emptied, and his own Long-Huo gem had dimmed dangerously. By then, many, many, many years had passed.

The dragonkin met the Brightfolk and settled in their land, a lower world far removed from the happenings of the higher planes. They prospered for many years, and it looked as if that peace would last forever.

The King thus distanced himself from the land of the Brightfolk and his flying fortress, for but a few days. 'He' was looking for a way to utterly seal off the place from any prying eyes.

His timing couldn't have been more terrible, leaving for just one day, perhaps just a few hours, too long.

The pursuers had erroneously trusted in the Greed and Arrogance of Dragons. They had believed until the last minute that at the end of their arduous journey, they would be met with a treasury still filled to the brim with treasures. Never for a moment had they considered that the King would only have stopped when all his haul had been burnt up as fuel.

Misunderstanding the meaning of a Dragon's Pride, they had all along followed in his tracks, and were dumbfounded to find the truth. They could only leave empty-handed, incensed when they came face to face with the unthinkable reality.

Angry and uneasy, they fled the scene. By then however, the damage had been done.

The King would come back at dawn. A dawn of flame and ash.

'He' would find lands upturned, still ablaze. Mountains had crumbled, lakes had dried. Prairies were seas of fire, valleys and canyons had been filled.

Beyond the horizon, where a black smoke cloaked the rising of the suns, his flying castle had crashed down. What little remained of it was in ruin, a wreckage of broken structures and piled corpses.

A warning even, discouraging him from ever showing his face to the world again, had been painted on those ruined garrisons with the blood of his kin.

Scales had been scattered to the winds, shattered horns ground to dust and trampled upon. The pride of all Dragons, the Long-Huo gems, gone. Stolen, lost, desecrated. And even viler...

The Brightfolk dotted that canopy of death like smothered stars.

Even in death, they still shined brightly in that sea of corpses. Their cadavers smiling as always.

Even as they had come to finally know pain, their last look to their loved ones remained a warm smile, lips parted in uttering of one last, comforting whisper.

In their small arms, they tightly held those that in those few years had become dearest to them, in a tight embrace, even when they couldn't reach all the way around.

Taking in the sight of their final brilliance, the King's vision went dark.

A chilling shriek like glass shattering escaped his maws.

The ancestral deity of an entire race. A victor of a million battlefields. King. Dragon.

No longer.

…

A dragon's possessions were undeniably precious, only below the love for their kin in fact. Normally, robbing just a single coin would have been enough provocation to last many generations.

All 'He' had owned, the haul 'He' had gathered and showcased with Pride, had been burnt as fuel in his escape.

And yet, 'He' had given up any thought of vengeance.

A dragon's kin were untouchable deities in the eyes of all dragonkin. A drop of blood spilt could, and had, started wars on the spot.

Of 'His' many dear ones, many had fallen during the desperate escape and exodus across the countless worlds.

And yet, the hearts of those who had survived had been mended by those strange beings that had such tiny bodies and yet had the largest, most loving smiles.

'He' had been willing to live here. To dream. To forgive for the first time. At peace, for as long as 'He' and his kin drew breath.

The people of this land and their frail bodies had housed a warmth more resilient than any Dragonflame, wearing down even a dragon's Pride.

But now, not even an ember remained. Even the cradle had been upturned.

The rage that seethed in his chest at the sight of those precious beings piling up into mountains of cold corpses broke him: it took away everything good in his Dragon Heart and buried it where it should never see the light of day again. Pride characteristic of a species, for the good and the bad, was lost that day.

Only a frenzied, mad King of an empty Kingdom in the clouds was left. An 'He' turned calamity.

The wandering cataclysm that rose into the sky that day had a Long-Huo Gem long dimmed and consumed. All 'It' had were a weary body covered in broken scales, as well as its chipped, scarred, dull talons.

Uncaring for the danger that would befall 'It' in its journey, the Broken followed the trails of blood into the boundary between Planes, across worlds.

The feral dread thus set off on its journey of self-destruction.

And until that road reached its end, all who were unfortunate enough to come across 'It' would have to face its Vengeful Talons.

End of the SECOND ACT