BLACK TALONS, WHITE BRANCHES, AND A PURPLE MOON

SECOND ACT

In one world of ten moons and nine suns was a palace in the clouds.

In it, lived a black dragon.

'He' was the King of the palace, and the countless dragonkin under him were legendary warriors from many worlds.

Long ago, the Black Dragon King and his subjects were once just a small group of renowned mercenaries, yet their strength was sought by many. The black dragon led this dragonkin corp of a few elites, and they often found themselves alongside the armies of many superpowers of the ancient eras, all the while facing just as many. They aided the rise and caused the fall of empires spanning worlds, collecting countless treasures as payment and spoils of war.

By the time the Jade Emperor appeared and forcefully halted the Endless Slaughter announcing the founding of the Heavenly Realm, the black dragon unit had amassed untold wealth.

With but a part of the treasure from his endeavours, the black dragon 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, the black dragon had made many allies.

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

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

Then, he 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 they also avoided him in fear of his strength.

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, and on the Heavens of 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!

Fortunately, the few among them who personally attended the ceremony and witnessed the countless treasures found in them the chance to have their 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 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 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 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 again.

And again.

Eventually, when they struck, it was 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 the 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, it 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 look back. He 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.

One day, the dragon distanced himself from the land of the Brightfolk and his flying fortress, for barely 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, or 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 find a treasury 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 like so the meaning of a Dragon’s Pride, they 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. By then however, the damage had been done…

The King would come back at dawn.

'He'd 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 discouraging him from ever showing his face to the world again had also been painted on the 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 a Dragon, the Long-Huo gems, gone. Stolen, lost and desecrated.

And even viler...

The Brightfolk.

Even in death, the Brightest people shined brightly in that sea of corpses. They smiled, even as they had come to finally know pain. Their last look to their loved ones remained a warm smile. 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.

This.

This, was what broke 'Him'.

A dragon's possessions were the most precious, only below the love for their kin. 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.

Of his many dear ones, many had fallen in his desperate escape. 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.

Still, 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.

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 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.

The wandering cataclysm that rose up 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, dulled talons.

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

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

And before 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