Dragon Slayer

One night, when he was about three months old, Brianna had just dozed off with our son nursing contentedly at her breast. I smiled as he lifted his mouth from Brianna's perfect nipple, and he almost seemed to look straight at me. I waved; a futile gesture since no one could see my astral form. But Merle stretched out his tiny hand in the direction of my non-corporeal face anyway. I smiled as his hand brushed the air where my cheek would've been, wishing I could have actually felt my son's touch. So, you can imagine my surprise when I actually did feel him touch my face moments later.

"Wait a second, you can't -", I began.

My infant son's mouth opened in a grin, but an ancient voice echoed through my mind like a tidal wave of sound and power. "I can, actually. And I would thank you for the role you've played in my return, but I think the pleasures you've had while gathering my power were reward enough."

I *FREAKED*. I reached down with my physical hand and pulled the ring off of my dick, but nothing changed; my astral self was still hovering over Brianna and Merle. My son shook his head and grinned at my attempt to flee his presence. His tiny baby mouth opened again, but the words formed in my mind instead: "Sorry 'father', but I'm not done with you yet."

I clamped my hands over my ears, although it didn't make a difference. The voice was still there, louder than my physical ears could have withstood without going deaf. Every syllable was like the thundering of Niagara Falls, but with the clarity of a musical instrument on a sound stage. "Tomorrow, you will 'accidentally' meet my mother at a place of my choosing. She will fall in love with you, and you will marry her after a brief courtship. I will be your perfect son, and you will be a perfect father. In private, you will be my servant and will help rebuild my power the same way you've been building it until now. And until I have regained my full power, you may not speak my true name except when you address me as your master." The voice, impossibly powerful and old, paused for a moment and then resumed. "My mother only thinks she chose my name. Do you know what 'Merle' is short for?"

I could only summon a tiny voice to squeak out, "Merlin?"

The baby giggled happily, and then I abruptly returned to my physical body. I was lying in my bed, face towards the ceiling, wide-eyed and horrified at tonight's revelation. Any other new father would have felt his heart melt to have spent time with his firstborn son, but mine was a leaden weight in my chest. Now everything made sense: the ring itself, the compulsion I felt to use it, and even my overwhelming urge to get women pregnant. As I got women pregnant, the ring (and Merlin) gained strength. It was already long past the point where I could stop if I wanted. I was already a slave to the ring - and to its maker, my "son".

"I am damned," I whispered to myself.

****

A Realm Beyond Earth

Hooves sounded on the cobblestone road, each step shaking the rider and making the metal of his armor jingle. A knight, whose shimmering armor could be seen glinting in a distance from the light of the sun, was making his way through what looked like a war-torn countryside. His helmet's visor hid the grimace on his face as he rode by burning buildings and charred bodies.

Ser Alec Longstroke (his last name a call to an ancestor who used a spear-like sword to defeat a foe one) had been riding his horse, which was wearing a white and red cloth caparison and who's name was Fira, for almost a week now. He was a knight of a guild and he specialized in hunting what had done this to the countryside, dragons. His destination was the Castle Rooker, a place that a dragon would have rested before it moved on. It was his hope that the dragon was still there and that the stone of the castle would bathe in its blood. Alec sighed, hoping that one dragon didn't happen to be many. Such things happened and the knight at that point would be overwhelmed.

One of his missions, besides slaying the perpetrating dragon of the country's destruction as to look for survivors. The beast had been thorough; even children lay charred on the road side. He was approaching the smoldering remains of a town that surrounded the hill which Castle Rooker stood. As he made his way through the desolate town, Alec felt a surge of rage within him. After slaying the beast, he would surely come back and at least put up a grave marker or something for the dead here.

The road he traveled on eventually made it's way to a moat dug at the base of the hill and walled by bricks that disappeared into the water. He went parallel to the castle until he hit a drawbridge. The thing was thankfully down and unmolested by fire. The horses hooves would echo on the wooden bridge, and so Alec dismounted his horse and led her to a beam of wood that once belonged to a house.

"I have to leave you here. If I don't return, mourn for me," he said, holding out a handful of oats for her consumption. She took the treat with enthusiasm and after the snack, Alec tied his horse to the pole before heading across the bridge. The scene past the gates had an even more apocalyptic setting. Where the once gray walls had been, everything was black and covered in soot. When the knight stepped upon the soot, there was a cry, and he found himself in the midst of attack.

The creatures were small and lizard like. They were kobolds and the swarming variety. The Knight was barely able to get his shield up before an onslaught of small stones, and spears bounced off of its shimmering surface. He drew his sword, a regular knight's swords, and he began his counter attack.

The air quickly filled with screams as his sword bit into flesh. It was called 'Piercer' after its ability to somehow find it's way into weak armor areas. Too bad for the kobolds that they wore little armor and so the steel ripped through the leathery skin. Alec lost himself in battle like most men of violence did. He found himself almost always itching for a fight and when this current fight was over, he felt a sense of having been robbed by such a quick battle.

Bodies of the fallen kobolds lay everywhere in the courtyard of the castle. It was only when Alec stopped to see the efforts of his exertion. There were much more dead bodies that Alec would have guessed there was. He wasn't sure, but he could tell that this troupe was left her for an overwhelming ambush. Luck had been on his side. His armor had deflected so many blows that if he hadn't been wearing the polished steel around his body, there was a chance he would have been overwhelmed. It also meant another disastrous moment to, the dragon knew he was here.

Re-sheathing his sword, the knight took out a potion and drank it as quickly as he could. The thing was bitter, but it was infused with nutrients that would restore both his constitution and stamina. Once it was gone, he tossed the glass vial to the ground and headed up to the door of the castle.

The doors of the castle were made of thick wood that stretched tall. On the door was open, but not far enough to allow sight into the castle. Sighing, Alec was sure the whole thing was a trap, and so he drew his sword and squeezed between the doors and into the castle.

Fires flickered lazily as they burned in the corners of the courtroom. Castle Rooker had a design that the main doors led straight into the throne room. It was a castle of meeting, and though no king called the place home, it was kept up for ceremony by a group of dedicated clerics and protected my a garrison of troops. The town was established to help keep Castle Rooker relevant with trade and served as a halfway point between the capital and border cities.

The interior of the castle was bathed in firelight. Where once the place probably sported ornate tapestries and items that would speak of wealth, there was nothing. Everything was bare, and there were spots where it seemed great care had been given by the dragon with its flames. Alec wasn't surprised at all. If it glittered or shimmered, it always caught a dragon's eye. Shield in front and sword at the ready, Ser Alec made his way down the court's hall.

Smoke started to thicken, and the smell of charring fleshed filled his nostrils. Across his path, obscured by the smoke, was one of the pillars that ran along the entire length of the court. It was too massive to climb over, and so he looked for a way around. Luckily when the column had fallen, it had left some space between it and what used to be its base. When Ser Alec crept around the pillar and made it to the other side, he was greeted by a wonderfully impressive sight.

There in the middle of the court between the fallen pillar and the throne was a pile of tapestries and gold. Ser Alec was often accused of having dragon's eyes himself and the sight of the valuable pile almost made him forget why he was there. After he took care of the dragon, Alec wouldn't even be able to touch the hoard of treasure. If he were caught, the guild would lose face and crimes like that would put a bounty on his head.

He approached the horde of gold cautiously. The dragon was here somewhere. Dragon's never abandoned their horde and he looked around the room carefully. When he arrived at the horde, it was, of course, arranged in what looked like a particular order. Jewels were in the middle and then the coins. On the outside was anything that held a pleasant glare and in one the silver plates, Alec spied the glow of yellow eyes behind him. They were watching him, but he didn't give any indication that he had spotted the dragon watching him from its perch on the fallen column.