1 Vengeance

I was eight when it happened. Caesar's army came and slaughtered my people. They killed every man, woman, and child. None were safe from them. They had come during an eclipse when my people were at their weakest. My people are masters of war, but the sheer size of Caesar's army overwhelmed our forces. I only survived because of my father; he hid me in a cave, giving his life to keep me from being discovered. After Caesar's army had killed all my people, they burned our village to the ground. He did so out of fear, fear of the Dra'ak.

I prepared myself for war from the age of ten. My commitment was fueled by the fire of hatred and anger. I forced myself to become stronger, training day and night for eight years until the day finally came; the day I would take revenge on Caesar and his city. I will Massacre his people, sparing no one, and burn his precious city to the ground. I would only spare his life long enough to see his beloved city crumble, only then will he be granted the sweet release of death.

I stood at the gates of the city, which I would soon burn, covered in a cloak that hid my features. Upon entering the city, I was surrounded by noisy humans. The subject of their chatter quickly turned to me. They kept their distance and moved out of my way. Even though they did not know what I was, they feared my stature, for I was far larger than any of them. Caesar's soldiers roamed the streets, but even they feared me and dared not anger me. My destination, the capitol building, was within sight.

When I reached the towering building where Caesar resided, I was stopped by heavily armed soldiers. They tried to detain me, but their combined strength was not enough to slow me down. When their attempts to detain me failed, they turned to their weapons, but it accomplished nothing. Their swords shattered like fragile glass, and their spears broke like twigs. After seeing the fate of their trusted weapons, they fled like cowards. Their lack of courage disgusted me, but their fear was well-founded.

When I tried to open the door to the large building, I found it was locked. But it did not stop me. It only took the slightest effort to break it open. After I had broken the door and entered the room, I saw Caesar himself sitting upon a fine marble throne. He was surrounded by many men dressed in fine robes. My entrance did not seem to phase him. He whispered a word to the servant standing beside him. After hearing what he said, the servant hastily ran off.

"What reason have you for breaking into my chambers, and interrupting our meeting?" He asked in a calm voice.

Caesar sat motionless on his marble throne, examining me. All eyes in the room had turned to me. They whispered among each other in disapproval of my interruption. None of them seemed to take note of my size.

"You, Caesar, have committed a terrible crime, and I have come to punish you," I answered in a low tone, my voice rough.

"I know nothing of this crime you speak of, simpleton," His voice was filled with irritation.

"Do not lie to me, snake!" I snarled, "You ordered your army to slaughter the Dra'ak and burn their village. You had no cause to take such action against them."

It took all the control I had to hold my fury. I wanted to kill them all, but I wanted him to know who I was, what I was. I wanted them all to know what he did, and I wanted them to suffer.

"Even if I did," he started with a smirk, "who are you, an outsider, to cast judgment upon me and my city?"

"I am," I started as I tore away my cloak, "The last surviving Dra'ak!"

A gasp swept across the room as they saw my wings, tail, and scaled skin. There were many concerned whispers among the men in the chamber. Caesar's face turned as pale as the marble upon which he sat. The reality of my threat started to sink in, and everyone in the room grew pale. They all looked to Caesar for answers, but none came.

"What say you now, tyrant?" The building trembled with each word I spoke, "Will you beg for forgiveness? Or will you accept your punishment?"

Before Caesar could answer, a horde of soldiers burst through the back door of the building and surrounded me. They formed a wall around me with their shields, and they pointed their spears at me to prevent me from moving. I did not flinch at their presence and kept my gaze fixed on Caesar. He seemed relieved when his soldiers were there to save him, but he did not know the fear they felt. They were shaking in their armor and flinched at the slightest movement of my tail.

"You have not yet answered my question!"

"You seem to be very confident for someone who cannot move, let alone administer punishment," He laughed.

My anger flared up at his laughter. I felt a mighty fire welling up inside me. I opened my jaw and bathed the soldiers before me with a mighty torrent of fire, filling the room with their agonizing screams. Upon seeing their fellow soldiers burn before them, the rest dropped their weapons and fled in terror.

"Caesar, I had intended to spare your city, if you repented, but by mocking me, you have doomed your city and her people," I said as I spread my wings. "You and your city will be scorched from the face of the earth, and wiped from history."

I took to the sky, breaking through the roof. Hovering over the large building, I looked out over the city. It was large, but I knew it would be easy to burn it to the ground. I flew around the city's perimeter, setting a great wall of fire to ensure none would escape my wrath. Legions of Caesar's army filled the grounds below. They fired their feeble arrows in an attempt to drive me off, but it did nothing more than irritate me. After realizing their efforts were futile, they retreated into stone buildings, believing they would be safe from my judgment.

They did not know that Dra'ak's fire grew stronger with their anger, and my rage burned bright as the sun. I inhaled deeply, feeling the fire well up in my chest. I unleashed a grand torrent of fire over their so-called safe haven, turning it into a molten mess. Their screams of pain and agony brought me great joy. I continued casting my judgment on the city, desolating hundreds of building with a single breath. Many humans tried to escape, only to die in the wall of fire. I spared none and showed no mercy. Caesar's dwelling was the last building standing and would be the last building to receive my judgment.

He stood in front of his building, shouting at me, begging for mercy and forgiveness. I did not listen to his pleas; I had given him a chance before, and he refused. I gathered all the hate and anger I bore and focused it into one final roaring blaze. The flame I produced was so intense it turned everything within a mile radius into molten heaps, scorching the earth itself. Caesar and his palace were no more, the city laid in ruins. I flew higher into the air and looked, once more, at the city, which felt my judgment. I had reduced the once-great city into an unrecognizable valley of molten marble and stone.

"You have received your punishment in full," I said aloud and flew to the mountains, which overlooked the once-great city.

After I had taken my revenge, I felt at peace. I no longer felt the overwhelming anger, but rather, an overwhelming sadness. I was the last member of the Dra'ak. I had thought I knew true sorrow when I lost my family and my people. I did not realize, true pain would come many years after. The immortality of my people prevented me from joining them. My honor forbade me from taking my own life. If I did not die by the hands of another or by the hands of mother earth, I would be eternally shamed by my people in the afterlife. I was doomed to spend my immortal life in sadness and loneliness.

Because my heart was no longer filled with rage, I had no other choice but to face my sadness. I grieved for many years wishing I had died with my people. At times I stayed in my cave for weeks without eating or drinking. Decades flew past. Every night, I prayed for death to take me, but death never came; it only seemed to grow further away from my grasp.

It took many years before I made peace with the loss I suffered. My people would not approve of me mourning over them for the rest of my life. I wanted to join them, but I knew the only way to make my people proud, was to live an honorable life as a true Dra'ak

As the years passed, I turned to the ways of my ancient ancestors, who had inhabited the lands millennia before me. I began walking on all fours and became accustomed to hunting like the beasts of the wild. After a century, I could no longer walk on my hind legs. I was still able to retain my humanity, but there were none with whom I could converse, and so I grew more animalistic with each passing year.

After the passing of many years, I noticed a new civilization building at the edge of the once-great city. They seemed to be of the same descent as those who once lived in the great city, and spoke the same language. In a matter of a few decades, they established a reasonably large city.

I kept a close watch over them and occasionally followed their hunters into the forests. My presence brought them fear but did not cause them to take up arms against me. They seemed to idolize me as one who wards off evil. Often, upon leaving my cave, I would find a bull tethered to a tree left there as a peace offering.

One day, when I flew out of my cave, there was something that caught my attention. A young woman stood near the tree, where the peace offering bull was usually tied. She was frantically waving her arms in the air in an attempt to draw my attention. I was surprised by the unusual sight. They had never before tried to make contact with me. It made me curious as to why they would want to contact me now. I changed my course in the direction of the woman and landed ten yards away from her. She seemed surprised.

"Mighty, protector my people have need of you," She said, bowing.

"I am no protector child,"

"You speak?" She said, surprised at my voice.

"Of course, I speak. Do not bow before me, I am no god, nor am I a noble," I said, and she slowly rose. "Why have you come here, human?"

"Our settlement is under siege from the king of our former land," She said frantically.

"You think I will just grant you my aid? Why does your leader not come to me, himself? Why did he send you, a woman?"

"I was not sent; I came on my own accord. My people fear you," she started weeping, "I fear you, but I will gladly give my life if it means I can save my people."

"Rise child. I will grant you my aid; however, I expect payment in return,"

"Yes, whatever you want. We will gladly pay it," She said, tears of joy streaming down her face.

"You will accompany me in flight," I said, lowering myself, "you will show me those who will feel my wrath."

She was hesitant to touch me, but she climbed onto my back. When she sat, I took off. It only took a few minutes to reach the city. It was surrounded by tents, different colors, and machines of war, capable of throwing large boulders at the city wall. I glanced at the woman on my back.

"Our warriors are marked with the red lion, as are their tents," She said, pointing at the arrangement of red tents.

The invader's tents were all grouped together a few miles from the red tents. The invaders seemed to have thousands of tents, but I only saw a few hundred red tents. My anger flared up at the coward who would send such a large army to fight against a small resistance.

I flew to the edge of the invading army's border. Many soldiers looked up in awe at the sight of me, but they were only awestruck for a moment before terror set in. I gave them no chance to fire their arrows and bathed them in an all-consuming fire. The fire burned down half their tents, killing thousands of soldiers. Upon seeing what my fire had done, the remaining soldiers fled towards the sea.

I unleashed a second mighty flame, wiping out the last standing tents and killing the remaining soldiers. I gave a ground-shaking roar, securing my victory before I flew into the city I had saved. I landed in front of a large building, which I assumed belonged to the city's ruler. The king himself came to me when I landed.

"You have saved our city. You are truly a great protector," He said joyfully.

"I only did so because I was promised payment," I said as the woman climbed off my back.

"No price is too high for the good you have done. I will personally pay any sum you request," The king said with a smile.

"I wish not to be paid in gold or trinkets. The payment I desire is a place amongst your people,"

My request came as a surprise to the king and people who had gathered around. The crowd whispered among themselves, unsure of my request. They did not know if they should fear me or praise me. I was sure they witnessed what I had done.

"Why do you wish to live amongst people who are not your own?" he asked.

"My people were killed many years ago, by a tyrant. I have been living alone, slowly losing my sentience. I long greatly for the luxury of fellowship,"

I saw sadness, and a hint of pity in his eyes as he spoke, "I will gladly grant you this payment for what you have done for us,"

He gave me a piece of land in the center of the city and ordered his men to build a shelter, in which I could reside. I lived as I had lived before, but with the added luxury of fellowship. The citizens quickly grew accustomed to my presence in their city. I would often be visited by scholars who questioned me about my kind. Children would come to me asking for tales of my past. I grew to love the city I had saved, and I spent my days providing my services to its many people. I became a symbol of the town, their guardian, their protector, their vengeance.