I stood over the lifeless body of the king of the dragons. A gaping hole in his chest, his eyes glazed over, I wondered how it had all ended so quickly. I had won in an overwhelming fashion, so why did I feel so empty? It didn't feel like a victory at all; I wanted nothing more to go back to before it all happened. The entire cavern was silent. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, sensing the fear and unrest of the crowd behind me. Water slowly started dripping onto the pool of blood under the former king's carcass.

“All hail the new king!” a voice from behind me cheered. 

The declaration was soon followed by a wave of thunderous applause. Dragons all around me roared, shooting fire and wind everywhere. I had no doubt that the world above us could feel the tremors of the commotion. 

I turned around and snarled. The crowd instantly went quiet. The smell of charred earth and blood filled the silence in the cavern.

Not once had I ever felt accepted by my own race. The fact that they now wanted to cheer for me, after the crime that I had committed? Unacceptable.

“Leave this chamber now.” I hissed. “Unless you want to end up like him.” I prodded at the lifeless body in front of me. 

The crowd quickly dispersed, every dragon flying their own way, navigating their way through the tunnels of our realm. Throughout the underground land of Dralossle, there was only one that could match my might, and he was currently lying dead in front of me.

I transformed into my human form, golden light spilling through my pure-white skin. Slowly approaching the carcass, I knelt in front of it. It was at least twice my own size as a dragon, so dark that it appeared to pull light in. Its scales shimmered in the faint light of the cavern. I pressed my forehead against its snout.

“Father,” I lamented. “Did it have to end this way?” 

I stayed silent for a while, tears leaking from my eyes. I quickly wiped them away. Dragons don’t cry. I reminded myself. I could hear my father’s words ringing through my head.

“Family has no place in Dralossle. You will address me as King Iadra, and nothing else, is that understood, Styrmir?” 

I slowly stepped around the body, making my way to the golden throne. I sat down in it, and closed my eyes to rest. 

“All hail King Styrmir.” I whispered to myself.

***

“Lord Styrmir! Lord Styrm-” The attendant of the previous king’s voice was cut off by my hand around his neck.

“It’s King Styrmir, and don’t you forget it.” I released my grip on his neck. It was common practice for dragons to stay in their humanoid form, unless they were traveling or in the presence of lesser beings, mostly for the sake of convenience. It was hard living underground when you were 10 feet tall and twice as long. 

“S-so sorry, sir. I only meant to tell you that the king of Heiguang has arrived to pay his respects to the new king.” The attendant stuttered.

I blew a lock of blonde hair out of my face and waved him off, beckoning for the lesser creature to come in.

The human marched in with two soldiers by his side. The king was by no means small for a human, standing at about six feet tall, but his two attendants dwarfed him by at least a head and a half. All three of them kneeled before me.

I spun myself around in my throne while the three hung their heads in silence. Allowing my head and legs to hang off of the armrests, I waited for them to speak. About five minutes had passed and I finally decided to say something.

“Well? What is it?” I snapped.

“My apologies, Your Majesty. I didn’t dare to speak before spoken to. I come offering my most sincere congratulations on your ascension to the throne. Please accept these offerings from our humble kingdom.” The king motioned to his guards, who imbued some mana into their rings, and two massive carcasses materialized.

“Crystal Panthers.” I said dryly. “I’ve just killed the previous king and you bring me this?” I released some of my mana. Bolts of lightning shot from my body, and where they landed, ice shards began to form. 

“I-I meant no disrespect, Your Majesty. I simply thought because King Iadra mentioned that the dragons loved this delicacy, you would have the same preference for it.” The king stammered.

“Enough!” I thundered. “I have been lenient enough to allow for this disrespect, not once, but two times now! Wang Donghai, I won’t allow for a third.” I stood up, walking towards him. His guards made no effort to move.

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder. “You know by now I don’t care for any of this etiquette towards royals! Why are you treating me so differently?” I laughed.

The tension from his shoulders disappeared, and he let out a big sigh. “You haven't changed at all. You scared me half to death there. I thought I was going to be executed on the spot!”

At the mention of an execution, my smile faltered. Donghai must have noticed, because he asked me, “Where is he?”

I walked off without a word, motioning for them to follow me. I led them through the tunnels to the King’s Crypt. Despite being underground, Dralossle was a beautiful place. Dragons were naturally attuned to mana, so the land around them was always shimmering. The stone that otherwise would have been gray and dull shimmered blue, orange, teal, and brown, glowing brilliantly. We were a proud race, carving details of our feats into the tunnels. 

I looked sadly at one scene depicting my father. A massive dragon descending upon a city, offering the lesser beings salvation in the form of learning to use mana. Humans, Elves, Dryads, and Harpies all bowing to him. I clenched my jaw, remembering the humans who rejected the dragons, turning to the damned Aesir and their Aura abilities.

We arrived in front of the tomb. A massive round gate with engravings of each of the four elements on it covered the entrance. I sighed, knowing I wouldn’t be able to open it. 

“Hey.” I said to the two guards. “Which one of you can use earthen magic? I already know you’re descended from dragons, so speak up already.”

One guard stepped up, lowering his head in apology. I grabbed his hand and placed it on the earth symbol. I shot a shard of ice at the water and wind symbols, and a beam of lightning at the fire symbol. The gate flashed with each of the respective colors, and rolled to the side.

Donghai knelt and whispered a short prayer in front of the body. He turned back to look at me and uttered a small apology. “I’m sorry, Styrmir.” he said in the common tongue. “I know you and him didn’t get along, but he’s done so much for my kingdom. I had to send him off.”

“It’s okay. I understand.”

“No, I don’t think you do. Come with me. After all, I’ve never properly shown you what you and him helped create.”