Lucian climbed up the ladder that led to the outer wall. The walls of the city were thirty feet high and made completely out of thick stone. Warm winds above the city blew through his short black hair and across his calm face. Climbing up onto the metal platform, he could see much further into the forest.

Though the trees that expanded in every direction for miles around blocked the view, he could tell that the Vikara were close. Lucian closed his eyes and drew in a long smell of the air. Glancing off to the sides and below him, he could see his two generals with a small squadron of warriors.

Lucian closed his eyes and steeled himself for what he had to do. Waging war was not his favorite part of being a ruler, however, he understood its necessity to maintain peace. A break of branches and the sound of foot steps drew his attention as he stood patiently waiting.

*****

Kelly had no control over her limbs as she was forced onto a St. Andrew's cross. Her arms were bound wide and her legs were clamped open. Kelly couldn't help but quiver slightly. She was bound, though she didn't mind that. What made her nervous was the furious expression on Maalceus' face. Like she had insulted him personally somehow and now she was going to pay for it.

Maalceus stayed quiet after he bound her to the cross. The room was dark and silent, almost as though it were cut off from the rest of the world.

"What are you-"

"Silence!" Maalceus cut Kelly off.

She scrunched up her face in anger and was about to retort but then decided against it when he pulled off his robe. Her hungry eyes looked over his nearly naked body beneath. While he was not as tall as Lucian, he had twice as much muscular size. He reminded her of some of those professional body builders. Thick muscles stacked one on top of the other.

His black loin cloth hung down to his knees but it did not completely hide his cock which she got small glimpses of as he moved about.

"Lynx has informed me of your disobedient behavior." Maalceus said. "Here in Vervania. Everyone is granted freedom to be who they are. Equally and without judgment." He explained as he walked behind Kelly's view.

"There are three exceptions to that. The first rule is that no one can harm or take away another person's freedom or life. The second rule is that everyone is accepted openly. No judgments or reservations. The third rule-" he pulled a pair of long black leather floggers from the wall behind Kelly and walked back towards her before stopping five feet away.

"-everyone must be respectfully formal to royalty." He cracked the two floggers simultaneously causing the sound to echo through the room.

Kelly flinched and swallowed hard. She wondered if she had made a mistake and should've listened to Brandi when she had told her to calm down.

"You have repeatedly broken the third rule. The Royal advisor has warned you and the King himself has warned you, and yet!" He cracked the flogger again. "Yet, you go so far as to berate the king in the open halls of his own palace." Maalceus tightened his grip on the flogger.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" He asked, his voice a deep rumbling anger. If a volcano had a voice, it would sounded like his. Kelly felt like she was on trial. Like she was expected to explain and plead her actions.

"Well?" He shouted.

"I'm sorry!" She shrieked.

"You're...sorry?" He asked as though he had never heard those words before. "You...are...sorry..." he said the words again, tasting them on his tongue.

A grim smirk made its way onto his face as he lifted the floggers up and then brought them down upon Kelly's bare naked flesh. The sudden stinging bite of the leather tails forced her to shriek.

"I'm sorry!" She shrieked.

Maalceus spun sideways lashing out horizontally with the left flogger and then vertically with the other. Kelly shrieked when she felt the first flogger strike her lower back and the other strike her ass cheeks.

Long red abrasion marks covered her skin as he flogged her. Each time, Kelly could only say 'I'm sorry.' Each time she did, he flogged her more and she quickly realized that the flogging was getting harder. Kelly couldn't help feeling both a little afraid and aroused.

*****

The Vikara emerged from the forest tree line in an unorganized heap. The grunts wore light armor of green and brown, wielding shields and short swords. Behind them were polemen and longsword wielders. Even from a distance Lucian could tell how crudely made the weapons were.

Nonetheless, they were weapons meant to harm the people of his kingdom. After watching nearly ten thousand Vikara warriors gather in the open space between the forest and the kingdom wall, Lucian walked to the edge of the platform and stepped off. His black wings of darkness and shadows sprang to life and carried him across the field. Hovering above the army, his voice carried out across the tide of warriors.

"Vikara warriors! Who leads you?"

From the sea of soldiers walked out a large and slightly taller Vikara. General Kuraya stood a full shoulder height taller than the others as he waded through them.

"King of Vervania!" Kuraya snarled in common tongue. "War is at your door."

"I do not seek war. Please, I will ask this only once." Lucian shouted from the skies. "Pull back your army and let us talk in peace."

"Peace?" General Kuraya snarled in laughter. "No peace! Only war! Only blood! Only your head!" He pointed at Lucian with a green finger that ended in a cracked and jagged yellow fingernail.

Lucian sighed and steeled himself for what was about to take place. He was in charge of securing his kingdom and protecting all of his people. He looked up at the moon which was slowly descending into the forests. In less than an hour it would be dawn.

'Plenty of time to do what must be done' he thought to himself as he collected his will and energy.

The darkness of the night that surrounded them all began to coalesce upon Lucian. An aura of black shadows and mist enveloped him. Lucian closed his eyes and allowed his true form to take hold. The darkness expanded with his body. Skin became scales. Fingers became claws and in the matter of seconds, a black dragon took the place of Lucian.