The REAL Trial
Darin woke up to chanting.
This was, unfortunately, becoming a pattern.
He groaned, rolling over in his bed. "No. No, no, no, not today."
The chanting grew louder.
Darin buried his face into his pillow.
Maybe if I ignore them, they'll go away. Maybe the universe will finally give me a break. Maybe—
BANG BANG BANG!
His door shook violently.
Darin let out a long, suffering groan. "Greta. Greta, I swear to every god listening, if you let them in—"
The door swung open.
Greta peeked inside, holding her tea. "Good morning, dear."
Darin sat up, glaring. "Why."
Greta took a sip. "The cultists would like a word."
Darin flopped back down. "I hate my life."
The moment he said that, a group of villagers rushed inside.
"Lord Darin!" one of them cried. "We are ready!"
Darin sighed deeply. "Ready for what?"
"The trial!"
Darin blinked. "…What trial?"
"The Trial of Worthiness!" another villager declared. "To prove ourselves as your disciples!"
Darin stared.
Then he turned to Greta.
Greta shrugged. "They organized it themselves, dear."
Darin exhaled sharply. "Of course they did."
Darin stepped outside.
There were hundreds of villagers gathered in the town square.
There were banners with his face on them.
There was a giant stone stage.
There was even a wooden throne.
The villagers cheered.
"The Overlord has arrived!"
Darin's eye twitched.
Greta, standing beside him, took a sip of tea. "They worked very hard on this, dear."
Darin turned to her. "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN OVERNIGHT?!"
Greta sipped again. "You slept in."
Darin ran a hand down his face. "Okay. Okay. Fine. Whatever. I'll just tell them the trial is canceled."
He took a deep breath, then raised his hands.
"Alright, listen up! The trial is—"
The crowd immediately fell to their knees.
Silence.
Darin hesitated. "…Guys?"
One of the villagers lifted his head, eyes wide. "He is testing our resolve!"
"No, I'm really not—"
Another villager shouted. "We shall prove ourselves, my lord!"
"WE ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE!" the crowd roared.
Darin internally screamed.
Greta patted his shoulder. "Well, dear. It looks like you're hosting a trial."
Darin needed a plan.
A bad plan.
A plan so unreasonable that nobody could possibly succeed.
Then they'd all fail, and this whole nonsense would finally end.
Darin stepped onto the stone platform. "Fine. You want a trial? You'll get a trial."
The villagers cheered.
Darin held up a hand. "But this will not be easy."
He let the words hang in the air.
"You must complete an impossible task. One that only the most powerful beings in existence could ever accomplish."
The villagers leaned in, breathless.
Darin smirked.
There was no way they could do this.
With a dramatic pause, he pointed to the mountains.
"Bring me... a dragon egg."
Silence.
Then—
"IT SHALL BE DONE!"
Darin's smirk vanished. "...Wait, what?"
The villagers immediately ran off.
Some grabbed weapons. Others grabbed ropes, nets, and entire wagons.
Within minutes, an entire expedition was forming.
Darin panicked. "Whoa, whoa, WHOA, hold on! Do you guys even know where a dragon IS?!"
One of the villagers grinned. "Of course! There's an old legend of a sleeping dragon in the eastern caves!"
Darin's stomach plummeted. "Wait. Hold on. That's just a rumor. Right? RIGHT?!"
The villagers were already gone.
Darin stared after them in horror.
Greta patted his arm. "Well, dear. You're getting a dragon egg."
Darin spent the next few hours panicking.
He paced. He yelled at Greta. He considered running away again.
Then—
BOOM.
A loud explosion echoed from the village entrance.
Darin spun around.
Just in time to see the villagers returning.
Carrying.
A.
Dragon egg.
Darin's brain crashed.
They… actually did it.
Greta sipped her tea. "Oh my."
The villagers dropped the egg at Darin's feet.
"My lord," one of them panted. "We present to you... the egg of the dragon Volkran!"
Darin stared.
Then at the egg.
Then back at them.
"...HOW?!"
One of the villagers shrugged. "The dragon was asleep."
Another held up a massive burn mark on his cloak. "Mostly."
A third grinned, missing an eyebrow. "Turns out, dragons really don't like being poked."
Darin opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Then opened it again.
Then—
CRACK.
Silence.
Darin looked down.
The egg was hatching.
A cold, horrible realization washed over him.
He turned to Greta.
"Greta," he whispered. "I am going to die."
Greta sipped her tea. "Oh, absolutely, dear."
CRACK.
Another fissure split across the shell.
Darin stared in horror.
Greta took another sip. "Well, dear, I suppose we should've seen this coming."
Darin whirled on her. "NO, WE SHOULD NOT HAVE SEEN THIS COMING, BECAUSE THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING!"
Another crack.
The villagers gasped.
One of them clutched his chest. "The dragon... is awakening!"
Darin panicked. "No, no, no, no, no. Nobody panic. I am panicking, but YOU should NOT be panicking!"
The sorceress suddenly stepped forward, her golden eyes gleaming.
"This is fate," she murmured. "It has answered your call, my lord."
Darin spun toward her. "NO, NO IT HAS NOT!"
She ignored him.
The egg cracked further.
A tiny, clawed foot poked through.
The villagers fell to their knees.
A man grabbed his friend's arm. "Even dragons kneel before the Overlord!"
Darin pointed wildly. "IT IS NOT KNEELING! IT IS JUST BORN!"
A small, black-scaled snout emerged, sniffing the air.
The villagers sighed reverently.
A woman wiped away a tear. "To be born in his presence… what an honor."
Darin's entire body went cold.
"Oh gods," he whispered. "They think I'm its parent."
Greta sipped her tea. "Well, dear, you did demand a dragon egg."
Darin's eye twitched violently. "It was SUPPOSED TO BE A JOKE."
Another piece of the egg fell away.
A pair of glowing yellow eyes blinked up at him.
Then—
The tiny dragon sneezed.
A small burst of black smoke shot out of its snout.
The villagers erupted into cheers.
"THE PROPHECY IS FULFILLED!"
Darin took a deep breath.
There was still a chance to salvage this.
Maybe if he just acted normal, the cultists would stop losing their minds.
Yes.
Good plan.
Just be normal.
Darin slowly crouched down to the tiny dragon's level.
The baby dragon sniffed his hand.
Its tiny tongue flicked out.
It let out a soft chirp.
Darin's heart melted just a little bit.
Okay. Maybe this wasn't all bad. Maybe—
The dragon suddenly pounced onto his arm.
Darin yelped.
The cultists cheered louder.
"IT CHOSE HIM!"
Darin flailed. "NO, NO, IT IS BITING ME—OW!"
The dragon, tiny as it was, clamped its jaws around his sleeve.
It wasn't painful—just very, very clingy.
Darin shook his arm. "LET GO, YOU TINY MENACE!"
The dragon chirped and clung tighter.
The villagers watched in awe.
A young boy whispered, "It clings to him as we cling to his wisdom."
Darin froze. "Excuse me. WHAT."
The sorceress's eyes gleamed. "It recognizes you as its master."
Darin's soul shattered. "NO, IT RECOGNIZES ME AS A PIECE OF MEAT!"
Greta hummed. "Well, dear, technically, you are both."
Darin whipped his head toward her. "NOT HELPING, GRETA."
She took another sip. "Oh, I wasn't trying to, dear."
Darin turned back to the dragon.
It stared up at him, wide-eyed, still chewing his sleeve.
Darin sighed deeply.
"Okay," he muttered. "Fine. Whatever. I'll just... return it to its nest or something."
The moment he said that, the entire crowd gasped.
A horrified cultist clutched his chest. "YOU WOULD ABANDON YOUR SACRED BEAST?!"
A woman shook her head, solemn. "The Overlord tests us once more. He wishes to see if we will defend his chosen creature."
Darin groaned. "NO, I AM NOT TESTING YOU. STOP INTERPRETING EVERYTHING I SAY!"
The villagers ignored him.
A man slammed his fist into his palm. "The Overlord's beast must be protected at all costs!"
An older woman nodded firmly. "We shall build it a shrine."
A carpenter crossed his arms. "A shrine? A mere shrine? No, we must build a castle!"
A third villager grinned. "A castle is not enough. We shall raise an army to guard it!"
Darin wanted to scream.
The baby dragon, still gnawing his sleeve, wagged its tail.
Greta patted his back. "Congratulations, dear. You're a father now."