Chapter 56: The Past: in the Eyes of The Dragon King
Chapter 56: The Past: in the Eyes of The Dragon King
The Greatest Imperium of the Past
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A Long, Long Time Ago an Unlikely Friendship was Born
In an age long forgotten, when the Empire of Arkanus stood mightily across the world of Centuury, a magnificent tale unfolded—one of power, friendship, divine wrath, and rebirth.
At the heart of the vast continent lay the Great Capital City of Arkanus, with its majestic palace housing the Imperial Throne. Upon this seat of power sat Emperor Arkanus the Wise, a ruler whose reputation had spread across the known world. He governed with an iron fist toward his enemies and extended a gentle hand of prosperity to his people. The streets of his capital gleamed with polished marble, fountains of crystal-clear water, and gardens that bloom year-round beneath the watchful gaze of dragons that soared overhead.
Emperor Arkanus hadn't always commanded such power. Before the land became an empire, he was merely a noble with vision and courage. His legacy truly began when he forged a blood pact with the Divine Beast, Ignis Auralith Aetherion—the Primordial Skyforged King of Dragons. This majestic creature was the divine companion of the God Solarik, a Grandmaster of the Divine Elemental Arts who commanded both Primordial Fire and Heavenly Lightning.
Aetherion's scales shimmered like molten gold when bathed in sunlight, each one etched with ancient runes that glowed with inner fire. He had been forged in the very likeness of his master, bearing the essence of the Origin of Fire, the brilliant Sun that illuminates the darkness of Space, and the tempestuous power of the God of Lightning.
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The Pact
The pact between mortal and dragon transformed the destiny of an entire civilization. The people of Arkanus became renowned as the original Keepers of Dragons, a distinction that elevated their empire to unparalleled heights of power and influence. Even the mightiest foreign kings trembled at the thought of challenging Arkanus, for how could mortal armies stand against riders mounted on ancient beasts that breathed fire and lightning and every other elemental aspects of their respective dragons?
What began as a bond between two friends—emperor and dragon—evolved into a sacred guardianship. Aetherion and his kin protected the Empire and guided its people in the mystical arts of magic. The newly evolved Centuurians, the Arkanians, in turn, revered these magnificent creatures, building vast temples and breeding grounds where dragons could thrive.
As generations passed, some dragons formed profound bonds with specific human families, and the elite among the Arkanians became known as Dragon Riders. They soared above the clouds on the backs of their scaled companions, their silhouettes casting long shadows across the empire's expansive territories.
Emperor Arkanus and Aetherion, both blessed with extraordinarily long lives, witnessed the empire's growth from humble beginnings into a magnificent Imperium that encompassed three-quarters of the continent. So vast were their dominions that the continent itself became known simply as Arkanus. Its people, the Arkanians, were the first humans of Centuury to evolve the ability to channel magical energies—a gift bestowed upon them through their draconic alliance.
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Divine Punishment
Tragedy struck on a fateful day when Aetherion decided to journey beyond the empire's borders. His purpose was noble: to unite the scattered dragon clans of the world, many of whom were descended from his own bloodline and had established their own domains beyond the continent.
The Dragon King did not witness the destruction of his adopted homeland, though his divine master had warned him of the calamity to come. The Heavenly God King, father of Solarik, had discovered the breaking of the most sacred heavenly law—a forbidden communion between mortal and god.
It was the young prince Tiberius, son of Emperor Arkanus, who had committed this gravest taboo by falling in love with a celestial maiden. Before Aetherion could return to warn his friend, the heavens themselves trembled with divine fury. The Heavenly God King's voice thundered across creation in rage and anguish, for his own daughter had willingly participated in the forbidden union.
In his wrath, the God King seized the child born of this forbidden love and hurled the infant down to Centuury. The divine child, wrapped in celestial light, crashed into the very heart of the Arkanian Empire with the force of a falling star. The impact shattered the once-whole continent, splitting it into three massive landmasses. Great continental rifts formed on both sides of the impact zone, spanning thousands of kilometers.
When the rifts opened, two parallel rivers emerged—the Central West and Central East—dividing the continent into three sub-continents: the Western, Central, and Eastern realms. The geography of the entire world was redrawn in an instant by divine retribution.
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A Burning Sea of Fire
Aetherion, his heart heavy with foreboding, abandoned his diplomatic mission and raced back to the empire he had helped build from its foundation. When he arrived at the impact zone, the great civilization that had stood there for millennia was no more. His friend, the Emperor, had perished along with his people and their magnificent achievements.
In place of the shining capital now lay a burning sea of fire. Molten magma and lava that once flowed deep beneath the earth had erupted to the surface, forming a colossal crater that spanned 210,000 square kilometers forming a perfect circle—consuming the entire Capital City of Arkanus and its surrounding territories.
Around this horrific wound in the earth rose rows of jagged mountain peaks and sheer cliffs, averaging two kilometers in height, with some reaching twice that altitude. These newly formed mountains encircled the magma field crater like the rim of a gigantic caldera, containing its fiery contents and preventing further devastation to the lands beyond.
Aetherion roared his grief to the heavens, his lament echoing across the transformed landscape. He deeply regretted his absence during the catastrophe, though in his heart, he questioned whether even his immense power could have altered the decree of the Heavenly God King.
In his sorrow, the Dragon King made a solemn vow to watch over this place for eternity, or at least until a new emperor worthy of Arkanus's legacy might arise to restore glory to the shattered continent.
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The Guardian, The Overseer
For several days, Aetherion perched upon one of the highest peaks overlooking the sea of fire, his massive wings folded against the heat that rose in shimmering waves. Then came a summons from his master, Solarik—a heavenly order passed down from the God King himself.
Aetherion was commanded to become the eternal overseer of this devastated land, ensuring that no mortal would trespass upon the place where the breaker of divine law had lived. Yet along with this public decree came a secret message, delivered directly from the Heavenly God King to the Dragon King's consciousness.
It was then that Aetherion understood the full truth: within the heart of the fiery crater lay the divine child, the half-mortal and half-god infant whom the God King had cast down in his fury. This child was not merely the catalyst for destruction—he was the God King's own grandson.
Bound by both his master's command and the hidden plea within the God King's message, Aetherion took flight immediately. He dove deep into the magma pit, his divine nature protecting him from the extreme heat generated by the molten rock. For days he swam through the sea of fire, searching the crater floor for any sign of the young deity.
The Dragon King's search was not in vain. After long days of tireless search, he discovered the divine infant, still wrapped in a cocoon of powerful celestial light that had protected him from both the impact and the fire. The Heavenly God King, despite his rage, had ensured his grandson's survival, coating the child in protective divine energy before casting him down to the world below.
Aetherion marveled at this contradiction—that even in his tremendous anger, the God King had preserved his grandson's life. Yet the Dragon King also recognized the cruel irony: the child had become the instrument of his parents punishment, his arrival obliterating an entire civilization from the face of Centuury.
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The Passing of Time
A millennium passed before the great sea of fire finally began to cool. The scorched earth remained barren for another thousand years before healing commenced. When life at last returned to the devastated land, it manifested as a massive, vibrant forest both within the Great Caldera and beyond its mountainous walls. This new woodland stretched across 4 million square kilometers, and at its heart, within the caldera itself, formed a vast, pristine lake encompassing 40% of the caldera and the remaining 60% a forest.
Aetherion and his dragon kin claimed the mountains surrounding the Great Caldera as their domain. Their territory extended along the immense mountain range that now divided the continent from its northern reaches to its southern tip. Many mythical beasts came to dwell in these mountains and forests, most acknowledging the Dragon King's authority, though some remained wild and untamed.
Throughout these centuries of transformation, the divine child remained encased in his celestial shell, physically unchanged—still an infant after two thousand years. Aetherion vigilantly protected the child from harm, though he increasingly wondered when and how the divine cocoon might finally open.
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The Tribe of Arkon
Several centuries after the Great Caldera of Arkanus had fully cooled, a group of nomadic tribal people ventured and migrated into the forbidden territory. They navigated the dense forests and treacherous mountain paths until they stood before Aetherion himself—a colossal dragon stretching twenty-one kilometers in length, with wings spanning twice that distance.
The nomads had been permitted to journey this far only because Aetherion had willed it so, keeping the forest beasts from attacking them during their perilous trek. The Dragon King had a purpose in mind—one that concerned the still-slumbering divine child.
After two millennia of watching over the unchanging celestial cocoon, Aetherion had formed a theory: perhaps what the child needed to finally emerge was something a dragon could not provide—the warmth of human touch, the nurturing care of mortal hands. Something it had been missing all these years, and these wandering humans might be the key.
The Dragon King presented the tribespeople with an offer: they could settle within the protected caldera, establishing new lives in this fertile land. In exchange, they would raise the divine child as one of their own when he finally emerged from his cocoon.
As the nomads cautiously approached the glowing shell that Aetherion placed before them, something miraculous occurred. After remaining unchanged for two thousand years, the divine cocoon began to crack and splinter. Light poured from the widening fissures, and the nomads shielded their eyes as the shell finally burst open completely.
From within emerged a newborn child with eyes that reflected the stars themselves and skin that faintly glowed with inner light. The young deity announced his arrival to the world of Centuury with his first mortal cry—a sound that echoed across the caldera and marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of a broken continent.
And so began the tale of how a divine child, born of forbidden love and cast down in heavenly wrath, would grow among mortals under the watchful eyes of the Dragon King—the last guardian of the once-mighty Arkanian legacy.