The Dragon Lord (3)

"Why, Desmonde?" Fiona whispered. Her voice cracked. "You were one of Dad's... most trusted aides."

"You've always been naive, Princess Fiona." Desmonde snickered and coughed a bout of blood. His body writhed, as the steady stream of cold ice qi flowed into me.

"There were reasons why I was kept only fourth-in-command although I was with him the longest, from before you were even born, Princess Fiona. There were reasons why he'd never let me spare with you and why I never left his side."

"He knew all along that I betrayed him... for..." His body lurched forwards as he convulsed for the last time. I knew he was gone--my body absorbed the last remnants of his blood into my cultivation. I released my arm, and he fell to the ground with a thud. Blood trickled from his mouth and his body, making a small pool. In it was a small, black scorpion that swam about, which Desmonde vomited out.

It crackled with whispering, intense buzzes that stole our attention. I turned towards Fiona, wanting to ask her if she recognized the thing but alas, she fell in a trance again. Desmonde's words must've gotten her thinking again and hopefully this time it's good memories of her past.

The Dragon Lord spoke up first, breaking the silence. His red eyes bore into me up and down with a glint of appreciation. However, I felt shivers and my breath growing out of control. It was as if he could see through all my secrets.

"Interesting, choosing ice as your element. And that was some form of Devil Arts. Are you not afraid of the backlash if the devil takes over your soul? The consequences will be dire, especially for Princess Fiona Idaroth Anslein." He mused.

"I choose to cultivate it especially for her. Anything for her. You must know about our circumstances since you've called us here," I answered in one breath.

"Indeed, I surely do. It's a pity Willes has failed," he muttered turning to Fiona, who raised her heads slowly. I could see the regret in both their eyes as they locked together. He turned to me and the black scorpion, still writhing in the pool of blood.

"Since you're finally here, I shall explain more about the past, present and future that you're curious about, and what the two of you shall face. But first, get rid of the Hell's Scorpion. It's listening in on our conversation."

I glanced at the thing that twitched. It waved it's stinger in the air. "How so?" I asked, wondering how would I kill this thing. To step on it? Slice it into two?

Fiona's voice answered from behind me. "I got it, daddy," she whispered and the blood around the scorpion froze into an ice cube. And with a snap of her fingers, the cube shattered, crushing the frozen scorpion into bits.

The shards of ice slowly melted in the pool of blood. I walked over to Fiona and scooped her into my arms. "Now," I glanced towards the Dragon Lord. "Let's talk."

...

...

...

"I shall speak about my past, the Forbidden Lands then about Willes and Princess Fiona. And since you've adopted her, listen carefully, since you're now caught up in this storm."

I nodded carefully, caressing Fiona. "You can rest, Fiona. I know there is alot to take in now. I'll tell you all about it later," I murmured into her ears.

The Dragon Lord began. "Thousands of years ago, the continent wasn't the same. There were no kingdoms and no cultivators. No spiritual qi, and no battles. All was peaceful. The races lived in harmony: humans, beast-man, elves, dwarves, beasts, the devils, and last but not least, the dragon-kin."

"All minded their own business, and hunted peacefully to survive. Some races didn't even know the other existed until one day, the world tree sprouted. You have seen in before, right int the middle of the Forbidden Lands in the Dark Forest."

"The tree, from the deepest depths towered to the heavens, above the clouds. Engraved on it, were text with the languages of the different races. They all stated one thing: [The one shalt ascend the heavens with the power from the heavens]. And so, the ancestors of the each race placed their palms and claws and whatever on the tree. That was the beginning of spiritual qi. The world fluorished under the blessings from the heavens. The air was pure, the forests were lush and spirutal qi was abundant."

"The humans were the first to embrace this and were the first to discover the way of cultivation. They gained a head start on this so called 'path to heaven' over the other races, and suddenly, the delicate balance and harmony broke. You all should know how power corrupts."

"The devils were first exiled to the very corners of the continent. After the dragon-kin, they were the second most powerful of the races, and posed the most threat with contradicting ideals and a blood feud between their respective leaders. And since us dragons enjoyed the peace of the world, never bothering with such matters, we took off into the skies, trying to fly our way to heaven."

"The elves, dwarves and beast-men formed an alliance, worried of human attacks. But they never came. The humans respected their strengths--the elves were master archers and alchemists, creating many potent medicines and pills. The dwarves were master craftsmne and blacksmith and the beast-men were known for their brute strength in battle, among other skills like tracking."

"Then came the bottleneck. The human's cultivation weren't soaring anymore, and they moved farther and farther away in hopes of enlightening and more powers. The alliance, still afraid of the humans remained in the forests near the world tree. This lack of contact led the tree to slowly wither into what it is today. Around it, the humans settled in and developed the four kingdoms and sects around the continent."

"And when the human ancestors slowly passed away, leaving behind warnings about not to enter The Forbidden Lands of fear over the cursed tree. Since then, the area has been restricted and the alliance has been left alone for years to come. However, it was not until the Great War of the kingdoms erupted."

"The four kingdoms were now pitted against each other. Some cultivators that spent years in bottleneck and could not ascend to the heavens now sought a different kind of power. A sovereign. A hegemony under the heavens."

"The Great War saw humans finally intrude into the Forbidden Lands. The warnings about the curse tree disappeared and eagerness and hope emerged for discovering treasures or inheritances from the ancients along with new ways and routes to attack neighbouring kingdoms."

"And that was when they discovered the other races for the first time in hundreds of years. Some were kidnapped as slaves and exploited for their talents. This was before the time when I slaughtered my entire clan, in hopes to ascend. But it never happened, and I too was cursed and plagued with regrets and nightmares."

"I took the role to lead the alliance and asked to be chained down to repent. And that was when I met Willes."