Flashback: Fheldin and Arla (1/4)

Upon Lord Fheldin's return, the only proper way to describe the next few days, was that all hell broke loose.

The new champion of Drakavar rose from beneath the earth and immediately burned the palace to the ground.

Frankly, Fheldin was planning on slaughtering everyone in the palace – down to the last man, woman, and child.

However, maybe it was because of Yelkin's first and last fatherly act, but most of Lord Fheldin's enthusiasm for slaughter was quenched already.

Instead, all Fheldin did was tear the palace down and threaten to gore any of his brothers who didn't obediently leave Arra through the world gate.

Due to their father being an Elder Dragon, Fheldin was, by far, not the only "5-horned dragon" here, on this works. Plus, due to his father's warning to keep his 6th horn a secret, his siblings foolishly believed that they could defeat him.

Needless to say, any of his brothers who dared challenged him were unceremoniously slaughtered, and their flesh was devoured by birds.

All his remaining brothers – along with their families and descendants, were run out of that world completely.

In Fheldin's mind, he was thinking about the time he'd have his own children in the future. It'd be nice if they all had their own world to spread out on.

Still, the feeling of destroying his former bullies was intoxicating to the dragon. For the first time in his life, he felt unleashed and wild.

Some disastrous fire was sparked in him that day – a fire that wasn't there before.

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It didn't take very long for Lord Fheldin to commence on a conquering spree that was as bad, if not worse than his predecessor's.

World after world either burned to ashes or submitted to his rule. There was no question about there being any other options.

Since everyone thought he was just a 5-horned dragon, he did have many more challenges than his father had to deal with; some gods actually thought that they could beat him.

Soon enough, even these so-called champions all ended up the same way – as food for Lord Fheldin's belly and fuel for his fire.

The worlds who submitted all, understandably, believed that Fheldin would be just like his father. They tried sending him long lines of princesses to "keep him satisfied".

Only a satisfied dragon is a peaceful dragon, after all.

However, Fheldin only gets enraged at these offerings. He's not a lusty pig like his father! Plus, given the way he spent his childhood, he took personal offence to the idea of having a harem.

So, Fheldin sent all the princesses away without even looking at their faces.

As for the ones who tried to stupidly cling to him… he roasted them alive and ate them in one bite.

Realizing that this new dragon lord couldn't be satisfied, the surrounding worlds knew true despair.

Now, the only thing they could do was lie down on their backs, expose their necks, and pray for Lord Fheldin's mercy.

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It was around this time that Lord Fheldin began to feel that something was missing from his life.

'Obviously, stomping on all these defenseless people accomplishes nothing,' Fheldin thought. 'Why was I doing something like that, anyway?'

It's just… the feeling of letting himself loose after having to restrain himself for so long… It felt so good.

'Ugh… I thought I was in better control of myself,' the elder dragon thought bitterly.

'That's right! I'll just save my aggressive tendencies for worthy foes! Yes! A real gentleman is tolerant towards the lesser beings!'

Fheldin then remembered the one quality that he once felt the most pride in – the one thing that set him apart from the other dragons.

'That's right! I'm not tyrannical like the other dragons! I'm a righteous dragon! Plus I only pick on people my own size. That makes me chivalrous! Yes! I'm righteous and chivalrous!'

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Of course, Fheldin tried his best to sweep his previous behavior under the rug, though it didn't really work. Everyone still remembered the horror he unleashed, no matter how long he waited.

Oh well. The opinions of lesser beings aren't that important to a dragon.

Instead of fretting over useless things, Fheldin was busy kidnapping noble tutors for himself and making them teach him manners. He learned how to sit down straight, how to hold his drink properly, and what kind of books "elegant" people read.

He especially became fascinated with stories featuring knights and noble warriors. He learned of all their noble rules and official duels.

With that frame of mind, Fheldin's memories of his fight with Lord Yelken gradually shifted.

Instead of being the climax of a revenge story and coming of age tale, he gradually began to think of that moment as "the greatest duel of his life."

Soon enough, Lord Fheldin built up a false image of himself. He thought he was a gentlemanly warrior who fights strictly and with honor..., yet he still remained the same, barely restrained beast on the inside.

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And so, with a new mission in life, Fheldin began to travel the universe – up and down the world tree, even. He'd look for all the strongest opponents to fight, and he'd defeat them, one by one.

Of course, Lord Fheldin is a "chivalrous" dragon, now. He'd never barge in or attack the lesser beings. He'd even forgo a fight if the other party refused to take up their weapons.

Either way, the feeling of travelling the universe, looking for strong opponents and intermingling with the lesser beings… He felt unrestrained and free… but not in a destructive way, like last time.

On his travels, Fheldin defeated many Elder Dragons. To his disappointment, none of them were nearly as strong as his father was. It was probably because they weren't Halnith-kae.

Other than dragons, Fheldin fought and defeated many gods – including the Death King himself.

Quite literally, fighting and winning was like a drug to him. Searching for the next fight was restless and tiresome, and scoring a victory have him a mental high.

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Eventually, Lord Fheldin began to tire of his endless travels and his pointless duels. He always won those fights anyway. He was starting to get the feeling that there was no one out here who could defeat him.

Sure, he's traveled without a destination for a long time, but never once has he felt lost.

What's with this empty feeling inside?

Even still, Fheldin had nothing else going on in his life, so he continued roaming and conquering.

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One day, as Fheldin was casually flying through the skies inbetween his random duels, he saw a few Felkin slinking stealthily through the clouds. They all wore special ointments to hide their smell, but their shiny feathers couldn't evade an Elder Dragon's eyesight.

Perhaps it was in a moment of curiosity, but Fheldin chose to hold in place and watch the flock of phoenix as they gathered herbs from the side of a cliff.

He followed one of the Felkin down, and he, surprisingly, asked her out for a drink.

They hit it off pretty nicely, and they introduced themselves to each other.

He thought they were just going to have a friendly conversation and part ways, but she ended up figuring out he was a dragon almost immediately. Even still, she didn't act terrified like everyone else he'd met.

Instead, Arla put her wallet on the table and said, "I know who you are. You're a dragon. That means you're rich."

She pointed to her coin bag, which was noticably empty, and said drearily, "Now, I'm just the youngest sister in my coven, so they all think that I'm too young for my ideas to be any good."

"What's this about?" Fheldin crossed his arms.

Inwardly, Fheldin was thinking, 'If you bring up that you want to be my bride… Well, let's just say that it's not the first time I tasted roast Felkin between my teeth.'

"I want you to take me with you when you leave," she told him. "Living in my coven is just holding me back, at this point."

"So you mean…"

"Yup!" Arla nodded. "If you fund my research and give me space to keep my equipment, I'll let you own the rights to… let's say… half of my inventions?"

"Girl. I just wanted to share a drink with a pretty lady. I'm not into starting a business," Fheldin hissed.

He may have been putting up an aggressive front, but something in this girl had intrigued him. Part of him was wanting to test her character – see how she'd react when a dragon threatens to get angry at her.

Pleasantly surprising him, the woman called "Arla" remained unfazed. "Fine, then," she shrugged. "I could just become one of your brides and make a couple of children for you. That's what you dragons all want, right?"

"…"

"What?" Arla shrugged – a little startled at the dragon's unmoving stare.

"Little girl," Fheldin said dismissively, "you shouldn't be selling yourself off like that. A life is worth more than mere money. Besides, we just met."

Normally, he'd have bitten her head off at being proposed to, but something about this girl's proposal felt different. She wasn't coming across as some entitled princess thinking she was the gods' most beautiful creation. Rather, she was just making a simple business proposal.

That much, Fheldin can tolerate.

"Why would it matter if we 'just met'?" Arla asked – genuinely puzzled. "Love isn't some magical thing that just HAPPENS to people – some whimsy spell that the universe gives and takes away randomly. Love is a result of correct choices."

She pointed at Fheldin. "Love is born from respect, and respect is a choice." She shrugged. "So long as we're respectful of each other, I can't see why we can't be happy."

"What if I turn out to be an evil jerk?" Fheldin asked with raised eyebrows. "You couldn't possibly know just from meeting me once."

"Life is full of gambles," Arla shrugged. "Besides, I have a feeling that you at least won't be cruel to your people. That's good enough for me."

"It's 'cuz I'm rich, right?" Fheldin blurted out.

Arla's profession face cracked, and her lips momentarily crumpled into a smile. "Hee hee. Yup! Besides, if you turned out to be abusive, I'd just run away."

"Arla… I'm a dragon," Fheldin warned in a low voice. "Dragons don't LET their possessions run away."

"Then I'd fly," she chirped immediately.

"…We don't let our possessions fly away, either."

"I'd dig a tunnel, then!"

"… Fine," Fheldin sighs. "Do you have any notebooks on you? I want to see your ideas. I'd hate to allow a slacker into my home."