《Dragon's Life》 life of a human If I had a pile of wealth my problems would burn away. I could do so much with such money but first I swear I would replace that ancient TV; it can only speak in sizzling static. The tv hisses suddenly. throwing me off balance. ¡°The police have confirmed that this apartment once again was attacked by an arsonist.¡± I knew it was coming; I had seen the building on the way here. And the arsonist has become a common topic in my neighborhood. ¡°Maybe I should treat the news like a documentary.¡± All documentaries are bad. I have never seen a good documentary. Ever since I saw that documentary on how hot dogs are made. That turned me into a freakin¡¯ vegan and every other documentary is bad. All of them. Every other documentary makes me mad or sad or terrified or squeamish. The one about modern day slavery made me feel sympathetic and helpless. Those poor kids. The ones about CIA coups made me feel distrustful of this country. Why would America do that? And the one about Vincent Van Gogh just bummed me out. So I stopped watching all documentaries. The news may be next. I sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go to work.¡± The news continues to talk about the arsonist. ¡°It¡¯s shocking how someone can be so lacking in sympathy and so horrible as to want to serve suffering onto others.¡± -Voice- Spike has to speed to work as he spent too much time watching TV. He scurries there. getting his uniform on the way. Luckily, he enters the building on time. Despite his lateness Spike is studious as he works. He sits down quickly and works hard and fast. He doesn¡¯t know what it is he does though. He knows how long he works and how much he gets for it: 8 hours a day, 16 bucks a hour. But he could not say why he works. What he does know is what it is he does; he enters data: names, phone numbers, etc. Why, though? He doesn¡¯t know. He spends most of his time doing nothing of consequence. He finishes his work in the first hour and has to simply wait for the day to end after the next 7 hours simply pretending to work. One thing he wants to do is tell his boss that he has nothing to do. He would say ¡°I have nothing to do. Either give me something or let me go home!¡± Followed by a ¡°sorry for yelling.¡± even though he barely raised his voice. But because he needs the money but also because his boss would yell at him. Pretending to work is a simple way to stop his boss from screaming at him.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. -Spike- I slid the door open slowly. When did I get home? Did I walk or drive? I can¡¯t remember the trip back home. Work is a blur, probably because I didn¡¯t talk to anyone again. I want to talk to people but the problem is that people are terrifying. ¡°Maybe if I could talk to anyone I could get a girlfriend,¡± I sigh. Social anxiety, my mother called it. But she couldn¡¯t afford a therapist or psychiatrist and I cannot now. So I was never treated and likely will never be. I am amazed I could get past the job interview. She tried to work me through it herself, though. She would try to get me to talk to people, but she died before anything worked out. She couldn¡¯t even save enough to send me to college. ¡°I¡¯m 22, not in college, no friends, no parents. Why am I still alive?¡± ¡­ That smell. Is that smoke? Are they smoking again? Don''t they know that is not allowed in this apartment complex? I''ll have to talk to the landlord. Actually the thought of me talking to the landlord is laughable. I''ll stammer for miles before I even gotta talk about them smoking. Whatever, it¡¯s just smoking, what is there to worry about?¡± the fire alarm goes off and blares through my ears. It takes me a second to realize what is happening. False alarm? An accident? The arsonist? Thoughts of this being an accident leave my mind with the sound of crackling and screaming. I need to get out. -Voice- He gets up and runs to the door and stops and remembers something irreplaceable in this home: pictures of his mother. He cannot stop to think about it. So he simply runs towards his room where he keeps his pictures of his mother and grabs them. Before running out of the room and towards the door. He needs to leave fast but feels faint. It¡¯s carbon monoxide, the poison from smoke. He trips on something. And when he looks at his pant leg he sees the bottom of his pants are on fire. The sight is unreal but the pain is so real. He drops the pictures and remembers 3 words: stop, drop, and roll. First he stops in place. Then he lays on the ground in a ball. And finally he rolls back and forth. Until the fire on his pant leg goes out. He looks at his leg. happy the fire is out. Then the floor gives out from under him. He tries to crawl out of the dip in the floor but it just collapses, dropping him on his leg. Breaking that leg. The pain is unbearable but he must leave. He looks back and forth at the flaming walls. He tries to limp away but he is lit aflame again. -Spike- The apartment is filled with muffled screams as I suffocate and burn to death. Prideful Life of the Ultimate Species Deep in the forest of another world, the air is shaken by the sound of cracking. -Spike- I can breathe again, finally. Am I alive? Where am I? The world is green, more green than I have seen in a long time. A forest? How did I end up here? The green takes me back to a camping trip I took as a child. The only time I had seen green in this quantity before. I have spent so much time in the concrete forest that a real forest seems fictional. But I''m here. This is no time to be remembering my childhood, though. I need to be in the moment and a moment ago I was suffocating and burning. I should still be panicking, but for whatever reason I¡¯m not. Maybe I¡¯m so panicked I cannot tell. Can that happen? I should do some breathing exercises to see if I calm myself into a panic. Breathe in. Breathe out. Whoa, fire! Upon a heavy exhale I breathed fire. I hope I didn¡¯t start a forest fire. I look around and see nothing but the bright green foliage. No forest fire. Since when can I breath fire? It looked like some sort of flame thrower. Looking at the tree I notice something. Am I short? I¡¯m not standing, am I? I¡¯m on all fours. I¡¯d better stand up and walk around. So I stand up and suddenly I¡¯m tall. I can look directly over the tree. Is this tree small? No, it¡¯s fully grown. I''m just large. Standing is uncomfortable. I''d better get back on my hands and feet. Hands and feet? I look down to see something shocking. My hands appear to be talons. And so do my feet, though my back talons are larger. Are those my talons? I rub my talons on the earth and feel the soft blades of grass. Those are definitely mine. Why do they feel so natural? Why does this feel so obvious? I keep thinking that of course I have talons. I¡¯ve become some kind of monster. I reflect and realize the obvious: not just any monster is scaly and breathes fire. I''m a dragon. Ironic. I died by breathing in fire and now that I¡¯m a dragon I¡¯ll live breathing out fire. I feel the desire to use my power. There is so much to burn. -Voice- Spike steps forward and steps on an eggshell that he realizes he has just been hatched from. But he doesn¡¯t think of his draconic parents; he has only two parents and they are not in this world with him. He is alone for now. He thinks of something he has always wanted to do. He looks back at his scaly wings and gets an idea he abandoned long ago. He spreads his wings and begins to flap them. Air is trapped by his massive second pair of webbed hands and he has lift. He may be fresh out of the egg but he is prepared to fly and knows how through some magic. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. He is above the trees looking down to see anything of worth that he might swoop down and attack or discover. He sees a massive lake and flies low to see his full form. He is large but not too much larger than a human. He has wings, scales, and sharp serrated teeth. He is black and looks as though he is made from interlocking obsidian arrowheads. ¡°I¡¯ll call myself an obsidian dragon,¡± he says to no one in particular. He will grow to be massive and powerful, powerful enough to destroy kingdoms, large enough to stop the flow of rivers. And either merciful enough to protect the weak or cruel enough to destroy them. He does what seems to be a small dance. A dragon dance, like a video game he once loved and will never play again. Does he dance for power? Maybe. For fun? definitely. He doesn¡¯t think about anything but how happy he is to be gone from his world and into a new one where he has the power to make a difference. But what difference will he make? All of that could come to an end at this moment if he doesn¡¯t notice the beast that is stalking him hidden behind some foliage. The beast is hungry, hungry enough to do something stupid. Dragons are powerful even as infants and the beast is willing to risk it all rather than be killed by lack of trying. -Spike- I end my dance and see a beast with horns. It seems to have the body of a lion but not quite and the tail of a rat but not exactly. What is it? It is not of my earth. I do not know but it looks tasty. And I¡¯m as hungry as someone who has never eaten in their entire life. Does it know I can see it? Does it want to attack me like I¡¯m some prey animal? It doesn¡¯t know what it is dealing with. I am a dragon, the ultimate being of this earth. -Voice- The fact that a creature wants to attack him hurts his pride. That the beast believes he can kill a dragon damages Spike¡¯s pride. He will make it understand its foolishness. Spike unleashes a fireball and the beast, knowing that it has been spotted, runs towards him. And claw and paw clash. -Spike- I¡¯ll rip and tear and bite and claw my way beyond its flesh. I¡¯ll sever its spinal cord and watch it be unable to move as I devour it. It, with all its insolence, will regret facing me, the ultimate being. I go straight for the throat and rip. The beast is a bloody wreck by the time I am done with it. I look down to see my glorious mess. I was a vegan a moment ago; now look at me, ripping the flesh out of an animal. But I won''t stop now. Now I devour it. I claw though it¡¯s flesh and begin to eat and as I do I sit down and laugh. I was afraid I was overthinking this, but now I have won. But I¡¯m not safe. There could be others. Who am I kidding? Who could stop me? I''m all powerful. I¡¯ll eat this beast and love it. So that is what I do. I eat until I¡¯m satisfied. ¡°You may now evolve.¡± High on power as I am, I am not afraid of the voice that comes from nowhere. Wait, evolve? In a Darwinian sense or a video game sense? I¡¯m guessing the latter considering what site I¡¯m on. What can I evolve into, though? ¡°You may become one of four types of obsidian dragon. You may become a rock dragon, a magic dragon, a black dragon, or a night dragon.¡± Night dragon sounds cool! ¡°Evolution to ¡®adolescent night dragon'' will begin with one more kill.¡± ¡°Oh, I see,¡± I say as I continue to eat. New powers to be acquired: transformation, night breath, night vision, intimidation +4 others. Home Spike wanders through the forest with another beast of another strange kind in his mouth. This beast has the head of a jellyfish and the legs similar to that of a spider. He traveled south east towards more familiar things though he would not know that yet. The beast screams its final scream somehow still alive but none will save it; it''s taken by a dragon. the ultimate being. The beast dies there and then Spike feasts. The words of the mysterious being speak. ¡°Evolution to ¡®adolescent night dragon¡¯ begins now.¡± Suddenly Spike grows tired. He doesn¡¯t register why. He must find a place to sleep. He sees a castle on the horizon. He walks in a daze. Skipping steps, too tired to fly. When he gets there he smashes the door open. When he walks in he finds a carpet. He falls asleep on that carpet not noticing the piles of assorted wealth around him. -Voice- Deep in under the stars at the strike of midnight by the village of Halfsoil villagers move forward in a cage. The villagers are far, far away from any civilization so no one will hear their screams for help. They are all surrounded by the worst of the worst, bandits. They will never return home unless their family can pay. And if their families pay when they return they will have nothing. The bandits will take everything. The bandits themselves are proud. Proud of a job well done. They laugh happily and maniacally because they will be eating nicely for a long time now. They¡¯re traveling back to their home base, an abandoned castle on the hill. They travel through a well traced desire path. The foliage has parted revealing the ground underneath in a long line. Anyone could see how to go from the village to the castle. though no one would anymore because of the bandit¡¯s presence. It¡¯s dark in the middle of the night. The road is long and the villagers are in a cage. A cage lit by magic flames cast by the bandits. Meant to carry slaves eastwards taken by the bandits on the trip back westwards. This situation would be too much for any child. So a child cries and a bandit smiles. The child snorts and cries ¡°mommy¡± The smiling bandit is their leader and he says. ¡°If you know what is good for you then you will shut your little mouth.¡± ¡°Calm yourself dear.¡± says her mother. But the child continues to cry. And in response the bandit pulls out his sword. ¡°You will shut your mouth.¡± ¡°No please,¡± says the mother. ¡°AH!¡± The air is filled with a scream. But not the scream of the village child. The scream came from the castle ¡°What is it you lark?¡± says the bandit leader. ¡°Sorry¡± the bandit whispers ¡°What was that?¡± says the leader. ¡°You have to be quiet.¡± ¡°And why¡¯s that? Are you ordering me around?¡± says the leader ¡°No,¡± he pleads, ¡°there is a dragon.¡± ¡°No there is not¡± But then the bandit leader looks in the castle. Beyond the shattered doors. He sees it, a real dragon. the dragon had made their lair his den. But luckily for them he is asleep. So they are not to be afraid, for now. But either this operation ends and they leave their wealth to the dragon or they fight the dragon, A fight which is nigh impossible to win.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The bandit leader tells one of his minions to go and see if there is a way to kill the dragon. But the minion will not approach. ¡°Fine, I''ll do it myself,¡± he whispers, annoyed. He looks at the dragon¡¯s sleeping neck. To see it looks like interlocking blue pieces of steel. So like steel armor all he will have to do is slide his sword in between the armor pieces. So that is what he does: he slides the sword under the armor and slowly pushes down but the dragon pulls away. In its sleep? The bandit hopes. But when he looks at the dragon he sees it staring back at him. The leader of the bandits flies across the castle hitting the wall breaking a bone. -Spike- What is happening to me? Why is there a sword in my throat? Who are these people? I must be lucky that humans actually exist. But I cannot understand them. I take the sword out from my throat scales. The sword in the throat is the most discomfort I have had in both my lives. One of them screams some words but I don¡¯t understand him. He just yells and yells. I look around to see a strange site. Men with various weapons, and a cage full of helpless humans. The one I threw screams something and I think I understand him. I think he says attack because the other armed men attack. Not all of them though, a few run. A fight? They don¡¯t know who they are messing with. I don¡¯t feel mad this time though. I only feel pity. They are so pathetic but because of the humans in the cage I believe that these people are not worth sparing. One bandit attacks and tries to attack in between my scales but his stab misses and his sword rebounds. So I slash at him. My claw passes his armor and enters his flesh like a knife stabbing through a thin sheet of paper. As the armed men yell at eachother I learn more and more words. The words also don¡¯t seem to be passing me by. I¡¯m learning and not forgetting. I believe I¡¯ll be able to speak soon enough. I look for the man who attacked me as the other ones fail to damage me. I roar and breathe blue fire on the men under me. They get burned and run away. I look to see that the one leading the men is the one who attacked me first so I let the others go and grab him. ¡°Why are you here?¡± I believe I say ¡°This is our home,¡± he screams ¡°It belongs to me now.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s ours!¡± he says, struggling against my talons grip. ¡°Why are they in a cage?¡± ¡°Get out of our castle.¡± ¡°Why are they in a cage!¡± I roar, spitting in his face. ¡°What gives you the right!?¡± ¡°They couldn¡¯t fight back so I took them.¡± ¡°That gives you the right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then what could I do to you?¡± I get no response, only a look of hate. This man is unforgivable. So I should remove him. No I cannot do that to a sentient animal. ¡°Leave here.¡± I roar ¡°You leave here!¡± he screams in terror. ¡°Leave here!¡± I drop him And breathe fire around me to get those pesky humans away from me. ¡°Leave!¡± I roar. The armed men obey, running in the other direction. I grab the cage where the unarmed humans are and tear it open. And roar ¡°leave¡± once again. They do not need to be told as they scramble out of the cage I laugh as they do it. They all crawl over each other trying to escape. The cage fell as they scrambled. It injures none but scares the hell out of them. Their fear made me very happy so I roared some more to scare them. Before reflecting. Why was I doing that? Since when do I enjoy scaring people? -Spike- As they all run into the foliage I look around me at all the wealth that likely belonged to those armed humans And now to me. This is my home and this is my wealth. Would I have had qualms with stealing as a human? Yes, I would have, but I¡¯m a dragon now I¡¯ve lost my humanity. I look at the doors I smashed. Should I hire someone to fix them? Are there dragon repairmen? If they are as territorial as me that is unlikely, that¡¯s a bummer I¡¯ll have to hire a human. But I don¡¯t want to part with my wealth. But those doors need to be fixed. But I don¡¯t want to part with my money. Why am I having so much trouble with this? Then an ancient image from his childhood appears in his mind. A dragon sitting atop a pile of gold. It appears in kids stories, video games, movies and in novels. He comes to the realization that dragons are hoarders in all media that he has seen. And now he is a hoarder. Maybe being a dragon isn¡¯t all just fun and games ¡°Who am I kidding? this is great!¡± Attack! Spike is wandering around his room finding every piece of anything that is worth something: clothing, coinage, gems and weaponry, moving it to the center of the room. Dragons and piles of wealth are like cats and boxes. When he finishes he sits atop the wealth with a look of satisfaction on his dumb lizard face. As he sits he looks back and forth to look for any other pieces of wealth to move to the middle but all of it is already in the middle of the room. He is now at a loss for what to do now that his wealth is secure in a gargantuan pile. He looks around the castle and sees some hallways. He tries to enter one but realizes he¡¯s too large. He wonders when he got that large. -Spike- I remember something about transformation powers I was told I would get some once I evolved. ¡°Of course!¡± says a voice. ¡°Intruder¡± I roar before sliding off my pile of wealth and onto the charred carpet. I hold my wings up in the hopes of being scary to whatever being just intruded in my lair. But I saw no one. I simply look back and forth. ¡°Calm, calm, I''m simply here to talk about your powers.¡± says the voice. ¡°Silence disembodied voice.¡± I roar ¡°you¡¯ve come to steal my hoard have you not.¡± ¡°Have not will not. I¡¯m that video game voice that tells you about your powers and evolution.¡± they say. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really!¡± ¡°You seem less robotic than before.¡± I say ¡°You''re not the only one who evolves.¡± they say. ¡°Well then, prove it, tell me how to transform.¡± ¡°Simply say the name of the transformation outloud.¡± ¡°Skeleton godzilla¡­ nothing happened.¡± I look back and forth with disappointment. ¡°No, no, there are set transformations.¡± they say. ¡°What are they?¡± ¡°Listing currently unlocked transformations: adolescent night dragon, fairy night dragon, baby night dragon, long distance flying night dragon.¡± ¡°Baby night dragon.¡± a black light fills the room darkening the air around him and lighting up the night I shrink into my previous size ¡°I can travel around the castle now,¡± I say. ¡°Thanks disembodied voice.¡± ¡°Anytime¡± they respond. So I travel around the castle in my small form. I am about the size of a human being perfect for navigating the castle halls. I saw many sites along the way including a dungeon that is covered ceiling to floor in blood. How strange. A prison with blood trailing down the halls into the empty cells. I need to hire a janitor. And the final site I saw is a church. That is also covered in blood. Oh, really how unholy! I walk around the castle and enter a large bedroom that likely belonged to the previous owner of this castle. The bed sheets were faded and the mattress is covered in bugs. The fact that the owner of this castle is long dead fills me with joy. The castle is clearly bigger than my apartment, god even this room is. But it is smaller than that castle I visited as a child. That castle was more of a fortress; while this one is homely, other than the blood. A perfect place for me and my dragon-ness But I am stopped in my place by a sound in the entrance. My senses are keen as a dragon and I notice the sound of a dozen or so men walking in. and judging by the clanging of metal and as I close in the smell of iron they are well armored. The question is what do I do about them? Who am I kidding, attack!This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. -voice- The village guards look back and forth nervously looking for the monster they were told about. A dragon the most feared of all monsters. It is natural to be nervous; they were town guards not soldiers. But the dragon has to go. They have a simple plan, drive the dragon away or kill it and if they fail both, run. They might all die but living by a dragon can be dangerous so for their families the dragon must go. Suddenly the dragon appears over the hoard of gold. ¡°There it is.¡± says Jess, a woman with yellow dreadlocks ¡°ready yourselves.¡± ¡°Aw it¡¯s just a baby.¡± says Frank, a man with a blue bowl cut ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill a baby.¡± ¡°That ¡®baby¡¯ is massive.¡± responds Blake an ambiguous person with long silver hair ¡°We have an assignment¡± says jeff a man with spiky red hair ¡°Maybe we can go with just luring it away.¡± says frank ¡°adolescent night dragon.¡± says the dragon ¡°It¡¯s massive¡± says a good many guards. ¡°Ready your spears men¡± says Jeff ¡°and get into formation.¡± One guard yells. ¡°Jeff, can we really kill that thing?¡± ¡°We just need to lure it away.¡± jeff responds They enter a phalanx position. But with the shields over their heads as well as in front protecting them from above as well as below. The dragon realizes that they did this formation to prepare for his night breath attack. So he decides to claw at them. Like a cat. He scrunches his body defensively while whacking at them with a claw, his tail wagging behind him. The weight of his claw pushes the guards in the middle back but doesn¡¯t break the formation. So the phalanx advances slowly. Those spears could definitely kill him. The dragon in response moves backwards quickly and gets an idea. He circles the phalanx. And breaths fire on them. They try to regather their phalanx immediately by reforming on the other side but they are not quick enough. The formation breaks and they scatter; they try to leave but the dragon is now blocking the door. They all raise their shields to defend themselves, not in any formation. -Spike- I learn a great many words once I attack them from behind. Words like ¡°monster,¡± ¡°run,¡± ¡°hide,¡± ¡°defend.¡± This is enjoyable! fighting a whole army of inferiors is thrilling. Though these don¡¯t appear to be evil doers so I shouldn¡¯t hurt them too much. Plus they are as afraid of me as they should be. They seem to have their heads on right. So I breathe fire nonlethally all over them pushing them backwards before running forward to let them pass me and leave because I¡¯m so merciful. I need to make sure this doesn¡¯t happen again. Should I make peace with them? Keeping us out of conflict. Should I show I am not dangerous to humans? So that they do not attack me again. Should I threaten them? Putting us in permanent conflict? That''s a great idea. I should threaten them. I look to see the sun coming up. I should do it tomorrow though. The sun is high and I¡¯m tired. -Spike- Night falls over the village and a predator flies over, that''s me. I fly down in my massive form and hit the ground with a massive thud that reverberates through the air. I then look around to see the villagers I have rudely awakened. The villagers I see either shuffle away or cower in fear. They know what is good for them. All except for one. I roar. ¡°How dare you send someone to attack me! Come and meet my face!¡± The silver haired person who attacked before walks up to me And meets my face. Is he the mayor? ¡°Hello, sir dragon.¡± the inferior bows, knowing what to do before a superior. ¡°Someone!¡± I roar before coughing and then speak in a normal voice. ¡°Someone attacked my castle.¡± ¡°That is horrible for you sir.¡± says the silver haired mayor. ¡°Don¡¯t act like, you don¡¯t know anything about this¡± ¡°I know nothing.¡± ¡°You were there.¡± I squeal. ¡°I know nothing.¡± he says, hiding a smile. I growl at him and he grows silent. Rage falls into my eyes and I begin to fume. He holds his hands up in front of him not out of fear but to calm me. ¡°Calm.¡± ¡°You want me to be ¡®calm¡¯¡± I say ¡°Please calm yourself sir dragon.¡± he responds ¡°I want an apology.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Thank you.¡± ¡­ ¡°Will that be all sir dragon.¡± he says with an unreadable face. Anything else? Many images enter my mind with that question. But above all of them is me sitting atop a pile of gold smiling smugly. ¡°I want many things.¡± ¡°Things?¡± ¡°You know things.¡± I say, having no idea what is valuable in this world. What do I ask for? ¡°Valuable things¡­ and also food¡± ¡°You can¡¯t possibly mean?¡± he looks down sorrowfully. ¡°We can do that.¡± What, did I say something? ¡°You have¡­ two days make it good.¡± Offering Nightfalls over the town as the villagers gather. I fly over my territory scanning the ground to see what belongs to me. I wonder what the townsfolk will offer. I didn''t think of anything in particular that I wanted but demanded it anyway. A good amount of the villagers gather in the middle of town. With the man who seems to be mayor in the middle. I¡¯ll discuss my ownership of the town with him another time. I need to make sure he understands. Oh they are gathering stuff I wonder what I¡¯m getting but I¡¯m interrupted by images of my mother talking. ¡°You must not peek at the presents this coming holiday¡± ¡°why ¡°because it is less meaningful to everyone, the giver and receiver.¡± I suppose this is not a gift though I¡¯m taking from them. Aw that doesn¡¯t matter, the important part is I¡¯m getting stuff. I look down at the ground to see the humans talking to each other. What are they talking about? Can they see me? I''m too high and too dark to be seen by human eyes. Why are they talking to each other so much? The group is crowded in front of a door and talking to a person inside the house looks like all of the others and doesn¡¯t seem to be important. The man in the house takes out some gold and gives it to the mayor Is that gold for me? Nice. They travel to a larger, more secure building where after they enter they appear with a large number of gems. Are those gems for me? Nice. Next they travel into a farm and grab some livestock and put it in the cart with the rest of the items. The livestock are not cows but are cow-like, their horns curve earlier and instead of hoofs they have paws and they are fully furry from head to long tail. I¡¯m reminded of a time when I watched a documentary on ants that take these weird tiny green bug things as livestock. That is what these humans are doing. Humans are like ants! I look to see the sun come up. I should go to bed, I think to myself. So I flap my wings and dart back to the castle. I decided to do something different this time; I wanna see if I can land without flapping my wings. So I soar down letting the winds slow me down for the landing. I succeed but landing is not fun and my feet hurt after the crash. I enter my castle and walk in slowly limping slightly from the landing pains. Circle around the middle of the carpet putting my head on my tail. I release my mind, close my eyes and slowly fade to sleep. Luckily I am tired so sleeping will not be difficult. So I begin to fade into that other world. The world of sleep. Good day. -voice- As the sun rises the villagers leave their safe village and travel to the lair of the beast They take the cart and travel upwards towards the castle before seeing the dragon and waking him up. -Spike- ¡°Sir dragon we have arrived.¡± says a townsperson the words slither from my mouth in a low growl. ¡°What?¡± The townsperson panics ¡°is something wrong sir dragon?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the day.¡± I say ¡°Umm is that a problem sir¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to sleep!¡± ¡°Sorry¡± ¡°No, no, it''s fine.¡± I say ¡°well what you¡¯ve got.¡± The townsfolk basically got what I said but were thrown off kilter by the praising. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°W-we have got many things, your greatness.¡± he says ¡°but first I should introduce myself I¡¯m the mayor of the town of Halfsoil.¡± Oh, so the town is called halfsoil. Wait if he¡¯s the mayor who¡¯s the other guy. ¡°Halfsoil is that town over there right?¡± I point at the town that I threatened ¡°Yes¡± ¡°I see¡± I say The other guy, the silver haired man who is not the mayor, is not here wondering why the townsfolk seem to see him as a leader and he is brave; facing a dragon should be his thing. ¡°Show me what you¡¯ve got.¡± ¡°Well first we have some razels for you to eat.¡± he says before leading some of those strange cow like creatures to me. ¡°For you to eat¡± he says ¡°are you satisfied, your greatness?¡± I begin to salivate ¡°I am so satisfied¡± I say ¡°and also don¡¯t call me something so great as your greatness. Call me your greatness lord Spike the great dragon.¡± ¡°Yes your greatness lord Spike the great dragon.¡± He actually called me that ¡°Next we have some gold coins and bars for your hoard your greatness lord Spike the great dragon.¡± ¡°Yo nice.¡± I say with a satisfied expression He notices my satisfaction smiling ¡°After that your greatness lord Spike the great dragon-¡± ¡°Stop there¡± I say ¡°I was joking before just call me Spike.¡± He says ¡°Yes Spike¡± after the fakest laugh I had ever heard in both my lives. ¡°After that we have some gems also for your hoard.¡± he says it more calmly even if the joke didn¡¯t exactly land it still made him calmer. ¡°We also have a human for you to eat.¡± ¡°What!?¡± He looked up in shock. ¡°Is that not what you wanted?¡± ¡°Umm¡± I look to the hull of offerings and notice a terrified woman tied and gagged in with the animals. I suppose it¡¯s not cannibalism since I''m a dragon and she looks tasty. Maybe eating human meat is something dragons do. ¡°No, it''s fine.¡± I say Is it fine? No it¡¯s not fine I used to be human and killing a sapient being is always wrong. Humans are off limits and I also used to be human so killing and eating other humans is wrong. And is she crying? Oh god I feel bad now. If I was just a dragon I would be unable to read human emotion but I know what crying means. I think back. did I say I wanted a live human why did they assume that? Do I send her back? That might be a bad idea if the villagers readily feed her to a hungry dragon who knows what else they might do to her. I can''t send her back. Can I keep her here? That''s a possibility I can think about. Also what do I do with the livestock? ¡°Hmm¡± ¡°Are you not satisfied, Spike?¡± says the mayor ¡°Put the livestock in the dungeon, leave the girl here, then leave.¡± I say The villagers walk the girl to me; she tries to break free of them but they put her on her knees before me. While I wait for the villagers to leave I look at the girl. The woman is young, seemingly the same age that I died. Around twenty-one she''s pretty but I feel nothing about that. She has dark blue black hair and green eyes that would have once matched her ancient bow on the back of her hair. She wears a fierce sharp expression along with her peasant rags. The clothing seems poor even for a feudal peasant. Her sharp eyes begin to glisten and leak tears but her expression remains fierce and pointed at me like she is ready to kill. This brought back some happy memories of the time my family bought my childhood dog. His name was Rex and I remember how he howled when we took him from the shelter. His entire life was in that shelter but these strange people took him away and to a new place, a scary place, but a place he would be happier. I can keep this woman! As a pet. I look at her again and those rags are ripped exposing her body, probably from a fight when she was taken from the village. She seems the type. She¡¯s still staring angrily and crying. I look around for something for her to wear. Oh yes in my hoard there is a nice frilly green dress to match her eyes. The bandits likely stole it and it looked new. And she is going to look adorable in it like a poodle. She has stopped crying as she is confused why I¡¯m looking into the air. I have to name her since she is my dog. The villagers leave and I come up with a name. ¡°I¡¯ll name you Daisy.¡± I say With dried tears and ragged clothes her expression softens as she looks confused. And like she wants to say something. ¡°Oh yea I should.¡± I open my claws making a sharp slicing sound that reverberates into the air. She screams through her gag as I slice the ropes binding her. She stops screaming and looks confused again. She stares at me and slowly removes the gag in her mouth without taking her eyes off me. ¡°Isn¡¯t that better Daisy.¡± ¡°What?¡± She looks at me confused. ¡°My name is Etheda.¡± ¡°Is it? Well now your name is Daisy.¡± Daisy keeps her confused expression. Life In Another World Marriage is expensive so I was born out of wedlock. Thus my name was only Etheda. but my parents cared for me; those 16 years of my life were wonderful. The 16 years when they were alive. We always lived in a rundown home unable to make repairs. As a result I looked for things to distract me and that thing was always reading, fiction, non-fiction. I loved it all. But even after the printing press, books are expensive. So we didn¡¯t get many so I would sit and read the same books over and over again. This gave my parents an idea that if I love reading then logically I could make a career out of it. They could send me to college and I could become a scholar. It would be hard work but I could live a better life than them. So they gave me books to help me with that; books about magic and science, things that are currently and on the horizon to be seeked out by colleges. I hated it but I was young and didn¡¯t know the importance of it, but I studied for them. This continued until I was sixteen when the sickness came. The sickness killed people all around the kingdom¡­ including both my parents. We all got sick but only I survived. I was alone but I could live alone. All I had to do was work the farm like the rest of the villagers and I would get money from the noble. Using that I could save up for books and would still have plenty of time to study. I still study for them but now with passion I have money for college but need more and now at age twenty-one I am ready to go but I first have to take the exam this coming spring. I''m a bit older than most of the other wealthier students but I¡¯ll make it. But to buy those books and make that money I had to work with those simple minded brutes that are my fellow villagers. There is very little of consequence to talk with them about. I just want to spend all my time on that entrance exam to get out of this village. But to get that money I have to work the field like the rest of the villagers constantly getting in contact with those simple minded fools. And I hate that. I can tell they view me as a wanting noble and boy do they hate nobles they are just looking for a chance to get rid of me. But my thoughts are interrupted by sounds of a harsh timbre. They pierce the night and shake the ground with a massive boom but they speak in my native tongue. The booming sound says "How dare you send someone to attack me! Come and meet my face!" No mistake about the origin of that sound; it''s the dragon who moved into the castle by the village recently. He occupied the ancient castle driving away those bandits. We had been told about it after a bunch of kidnaped villagers came back to the town and told the guard. The castle must be at least 3 centuries old from the predecessor kingdom to Fhreight, Misitein Fhreight. People consider Misitein Fhreight to be a predecessor kingdom to the Fhreight kingdom. But it seems to be a separate civilisation entirely; they even occupy different places. The whole war is based on claims that the kingdom makes on land. Ancient castles make excellent places for people to hide in during conflict because of their fortified nature. But this castle was taken by bandits and now a dragon so this one is not a good place to hide in. the castle itself is said to be medium sized and only recently discovered by said bandits. While I was thinking the dragon continued to growl at Blake, a popular village guard. Though the dragon doesn¡¯t seem to like him. Why did he have to piss off a dragon, no way that would ever end well. They continue to talk; the dragon demands some wealth without saying what he wants in particular. I decide that that dragon is bad news and decide to read some more while hiding until I hear the distinct sound of massive wings picking up air and when I hear it leave in the direction of the castle I lay on my bed and fall asleep. The next day is uneventful. I get up and farm before arguing with some villagers and go back to studying for the coming test before being interrupted by the sound of knocking on my door. ¡°Etheda come out here¡± I recognize the distinct midrange voice of the mayor of the village. I open the door and look at the mayor surrounded by rather large and muscular village guards. He has a neutral but not normal look on his face. He says ¡°we are gathering offerings for the dragon. I don¡¯t want to sacrifice my college fund but I can offer something ¡°I can offer some gems¡± ¡°No Etheda you won''t be needing to do that.¡± ¡°What why?¡± ¡°Because dragons like to take human sacrifices.¡± Silence fell between us because we both know what that means. I¡¯m a pretty young girl. Dragons love to kill and eat people that look like me. But I¡¯m ain¡¯t going to die tonight. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. So I slowly walk out the door and run from them ¡°Catch her¡± the mayor ¡°this is for the village.¡± I get tackled to the ground and I do the only thing I claw at them. They try to grab my arms but miss them and rip my shirt. I begin to try to punch them but they grab my hands and manage to get them behind my back and while I try to kick them it¡¯s in vain and they tie my hands behind my back. I¡¯ve been caught and there is no escape so I stop kicking. They grab my tied hands, gag me and pick me up. one says ¡°now walk to the cart.¡± They put me with the livestock that they will feed to the dragon. It¡¯s clear that this is not some unwanted sacrifice; this is getting rid of someone who they don¡¯t like. They want to get rid of me. That is why they put me with the livestock, as an insult. They have always thought of me as a freeloading nuisance. They expect me to die and are happy about it. No one looked at me with sorrow, they looked at me with neutrality because they were conflicted. A person will die but that person is one they hate. I am taken to the front of the castle where I see a foreboding thing. massive Broken doors those doors would have required machinery for humans to open but the dragon made his own way by breaking them down. We were on top of a large hill. I feared I may die from falling off it before I even met the dragon. Large moss-like trees grow out of the castle; they are called greffs and they are shaped like wine glasses. The castle was a medium sized one but to a peasant girl it was massive. She couldn¡¯t see the horizon, the castle was so large. A massive wall as far as the eye could see. Made of massive stone seemingly too large for a normal human to move it would normally make me wonder what could move them but all I could think about was my impending demise. The castle was not lit despite the large torches it was just pitch black I could barely see the only light was glowing blue eyes that stood one story over us. looking up at the eyes I hear a low growl from the dragon. The mayor speaks for a bit but I¡¯m not listening. I''m too captivated by the dragon. I can now see light reflecting off the scales of the dragon from the light of the doorway but I can still only barely see the dragon. I stare at the dragon, from what I can see to my complete shock. It''s beautiful. I expected something ugly and horrid but it is like a shimmering lizard. I had never seen a dragon before this. I expected something more furry and bat or bird-like but a lizard was the last thing I was expecting. I almost forgot I was to be devoured by it. Suddenly I hear the low boom of his voice. ¡°It''s the middle of the day. I''m trying to sleep!¡± The dragon calms down as he talks to the mayor and I¡¯m just captivated by the voice, the beauty and the terror. I can hardly believe something so beautiful and so horrid exists. It¡¯s like something from another world. The mayor introduces the offerings one by one as I wait my turn. All the while the dragon named Spike seems to be toying with the mayor enjoying the fear he causes. It¡¯s hypnotizing his power and how he uses it. My heart sinks and rises with the mayor. Though the dragon is hard to understand he speaks so casually yet it is clear he looks down on us. My heart beats faster. Finally the mayor says ¡°We also have a human for you to eat.¡± It¡¯s finally my time. I¡¯m going to be killed by that beautiful thing. ¡°What!?¡± the dragon says. The mayor is afraid ¡°Is that not what you wanted?¡± ¡°Umm. No, it''s fine." There it is, it''s fine my life is over though the dragon seems unsure he has no strong qualms about killing me. I begin to cry and scream through the gag. How could I not? It''s the end of my life I¡¯m sure of it. The dragon is silent in the dark. ¡°Hmm¡± he finally says "Are you not satisfied, Spike?" says the mayor "Put the livestock in the dungeon, leave the girl here, then leave." I say I try to break free but the guards do as he says. I am taken from the livestock and put in front of Spike the horrific beautiful dragon. And the other villagers do the rest of his command while the dragon simply looks at me. This is confusing. What is he thinking? I stair and the dragon looks up into the air seemingly thinking. ¡°I¡¯ll name you Daisy.¡± What the fuck does that mean. I¡¯m so confused. Why is he naming me? It''s as if he thinks he owns me. I suppose there isn''t much I can do no matter what I or he wants. I¡¯m stuck as long as I am tied up. "Oh yea I should." He raises his claw I scream through the gag one more time. But the slice is not meant to kill, it''s meant to free. Now I¡¯m just confused about what to do now? Obedience seems the best option to keep me safe. "Isn''t that better Daisy." ¡°What?" I look at him confused. "My name is Etheda." "Is it? Well now your name is Daisy." What is he thinking? -Spike- She¡¯s so cute I definitely want to keep her. -Daisy- ¡°Please, My name is Etheda.¡± ¡°You no longer are free to choose your name, your name is Daisy.¡± says my new owner. I no longer have a choice. This dragon sees me as lesser and I hate to say it but I am lesser. ¡°Now put this on¡± I squint my eyes as he holds a beautiful green dress from his hoard. I must obey him. I look down and realize that I am exposed because of my scuffle earlier. Embarrassed, I put on the dress. The dragon looks away politely; he seems to respect me at least that much. What am I in for? Ch 7 pet of the ultimate species Spike is rolling on the floor in a daze of pure adoring joy. Daisy is also in a daze, a very different daze, a daze of pure terrified confusion. She sits there feeling the dress fold in on itself as the room is shaken and filled with the sound of a massive creature rolling around happily all while Daisy is utterly defeated, unable to run, in a room with a dragon shaking and rolling around. A creature that could crush her if it rolls in the wrong direction or even if it breathes in the wrong direction. This beast of: ultimate power, supreme terror, and unending greed is thinking to itself. -Spike- I wish camera¡¯s existed or maybe I can hire a painter. This is so cute I can¡¯t even think. -Daisy- Unholy laughter is exiting the beast¡¯s throat. The ground shakes in turn as the beast is that powerful. But I have lived here a sufficient length of time to realize that I am not his dinner. I am his pet plain and simple. But that is not so bad. I only have to sit and look cute and all of my needs will be met. The castle is not so bad either, the toiletry still works; the waste simply falls into a river. The castle is warmer than the homes of the village and it smells better. The smell of old stone is better than the smell of fertilized dirt. The dragon, who I don''t know the name of, cooks for me with his fire breath. He¡¯s also a great cook. How is that possible though? He knows how to use various plants from the forest to create better tasting foods. It¡¯s inconceivable I cannot even cook that well. He says ¡°all you need is salt and pepper and once I found that we are both good.¡± whatever that means. But there is one problem: boredom. There is simply nothing to do. I would normally spend my time reading but all of the books are useless for getting into college, so old that simply reading them can destroy precious history, and old enough that the language is hard to parse without a guide. Other than carefully reading useless old impossible to parse books there is simply nothing to do. And talking to that dragon is simply too terrifying; I don''t know how he will react to any word. He could kill me by stepping on me. But is that worse than my boredom? That is the question. Maybe I would be happier with her old books from the town. But how can I get them? I cannot leave this place that might anger the dragon so the only way to get out of this scenario is to ask the dragon to grab her books. But is that possible, what would the dragon say? Would it attack me for my insolence? Dragons are prideful beings and hate being ordered to do anything. So she must ask and not order and be ready to apologize at a moment''s notice. ¡°Umm¡­ sir¡­ sir dragon¡± I say, my voice wavering and high-pitched. Normally my voice stays low and I use that to sound annoyed so I won''t need to talk to anyone. But here my life is on the line. What should I do? What is he thinking. -Spike- Oh my god her voice is so cute I¡¯ve never heard a voice that cute. She speaks! I didn¡¯t know she could do that over the last few days. I''ve never heard her voice. She just sits and never speaks, that is what is normal. What do I do with this information? Should I force her to say words from now on or should I let her speak on her own, leaving it as a welcome surprise. Her voice is so cute though, what do I do? -Daisy- ¡°Please, call me Spike,¡± he says coldly. ¡°sorry, spike¡± I say ¡°c-can I impose on you? Can you do something for me?¡± ¡°Shoot,¡± Shoot? What does that mean? Is it some kind of dragon slang? Seeing my confusion he continues ¡°it means go ahead and speak.¡± his voice booms Nervously I say ¡°back in t-the town.¡± He stares at me with a sharp scaly smile while I hesitate. ¡°There are some books that belonged to me.¡± I say ¡°I would like them back.¡± ¡°They were taken from you?¡± he says. ¡°yes.¡± ¡°If they belong to you why didn¡¯t you fight to take them with you?¡± losing something that belongs to you and not fighting back must be madness to a dragon. ¡°I was taken from the village before I could grab the books¡± ¡°Taken?¡± he says with a low gravelly voice. My heart sinks, have I chosen the wrong word. I open my mouth but I cannot speak. I¡¯m too afraid. What will it do now that I have offended it? he''s going to kill me I¡¯m sure of it. What should I do? -Spike- I¡¯m so stupid. She is a human, something I used to be. She wouldn¡¯t willingly become the pet of a ferocious dragon. Why did I think that? Is it even moral to keep her as a pet? I look at her in her frilly dress. It doesn¡¯t matter, she is too cute for me to think about the morals of it.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I should grab her books, they belong to her. And now that she belongs to me it goes to reason that the books are mine so I¡¯ll grab them for my hoard. She looks at me terrified. Why is she afraid? Whatever. ¡°I¡¯ll get your books.¡± ¡°Really?¡± The fear is gone from her face and replaced with hope. ¡°But the books belong to me. Understand?¡± I say ¡°I¡¯m letting you read them¡± I turn around to face the village and begin to flap my wings before realizing something. I turn around again. I point down and say, ¡°stay.¡± -Daisy- After Spike points down he turns around again and flaps his wings to fly away. I am offended by the gesture but what can I do? There is no escape. The village rejected me. I cannot return there and I¡¯m far away from any other civilization. So I¡¯m just a pet now, nothing complicated for me to comprehend I had a dog once he¡¯s treating me like I treated my dog. He¡¯s so human but so dragonlike. He speaks casually like a human. I have read on how dragons speak and they are not so casual. He speaks like I am a long time friend he has spent his life with. But at the same time he looks down on her not like a noble looking down on a peasant but like a person viewing a pet. Though the treatment seems nonsexual; she¡¯s like an actual pet. I just sit there hoping for his return with everything I hold dear. These books were all I had of my parents. So I want to keep them. They were expensive but the reason they bought me them was to send me to college. Is that still feasible? I don¡¯t know if the dragon would like his pet being out of his sight for too long. When I lost my dog while walking it I was so afraid. He seems to care about me like that. Not as a separate human being but as a pet, something without dreams beyond him. What does this mean for me? I get a pit in my stomach, is that dream over? Am I stuck here forever? -Spike- It¡¯s a bit of a flight to the village. strange how natural it feels to have a third set of limbs and to use them to fly. I used to be human but I am aware of my wings and can feel them in space. Now that I think about it I have never wondered why I¡¯m here. But I am here. Who or what decided I would live here made me live the way I died, from fire. Was I chosen or am I here by accident? It feels so right but I know I am doing wrong. I know morality. I was taught it by my parents but I don¡¯t feel a need to follow it. I demand things from people, I ignore clear signs of distress, and I enjoy the killing of animals. Eating animals is not abnormal but enjoying their death is something new to me. Thoughts enter and exit my mind as I arrive at the village. ¡°Villagers! Come and meet your lord!¡± I roar Through the night candles are lit and I can see through the flickering the shaking of hands. What is natural for me, being nocturnal, is abnormal to them. So they arrive slowly and with great fear. A small number of villagers appear. They appear slowly one by one, running, and bow down to me. The mayor also arrives and bows with the rest. All while the other villagers board their houses while others still are already boarded. ¡°Mayor Illdi of the village of Halfsoil is here.¡± says the mayor ¡°Yes,¡± I say, so his name is Illdi. Good to know. ¡°I¡¯ve come to collect offerings once again.¡± ¡°What else do you want from us!¡± says an ambiguously gendered silver haired villager. ¡°Blake no,¡± says mayor Illdi. ¡°Daisy said she had books; I want them.¡± I say. ¡°Who is Daisy?¡± the pair ask at once. ¡°She¡¯s the human you gave me.¡± I say. ¡°What do you mean Etheda?¡± Illdi says. ¡°Does she go by Daisy now? What does that word mean?¡± ¡°I named her that a-and don¡¯t change the topic. Where are my books?¡± I say. ¡°We can deliver the books.¡± Illdi says. ¡°Have them delivered to my castle by the end of the night.¡± ¡°I¡¯m very sorry sir Spike, but it will take a while to deliver the books.¡± ¡°Well when can they be delivered?¡± ¡°Midday tomorrow,¡± says the mayor ¡°I¡¯ll be asleep.¡± ¡°We can have it delivered tomorrow evening¡± ¡°Do that¡± I respond ¡°you will deliver it by tomorrow evening.¡± ¡°Yes sir Spike¡± satisfied I flew up into the air and back to the castle. -voice- Daisy strangely found herself happy when Spike returned. As scary it was to be doted on by the beast it was lonely to be without him. So she ran to the door to greet him. He looked happy as she was acting very dog-like. She spoke more casually than she had before to the dragon when she said ¡°do I get to have my books back?¡± ¡°Yes, yes you do, they will be back by tomorrow evening.¡± Spike says. She looked very happy as Spike made dinner. He prepared a razel by butchering it so he could remove the ribeye and filet mignon. He then lit a fire with his breath under a steel plate as a sort of primitive stove setup. He mixed the steak with some garlic like plant and some forest leaves he thought gave some good flavor all while Daisy waited patiently. He gave Daisy the razel ribeye and filet mignon and ate the rest of it whole. Daisy has adapted to Spike¡¯s nocturnal schedule but still rises before him. Not too long before though she doesn¡¯t have much to do before her books come so she mostly just sits and stares at Spike before he rises to dote on her. But that would no longer be necessary as her books would be returned today. So Spike wanted to make sure her books were actually being gathered. So he looks across the city ¡°Daisy, where was your house?¡± he says. Daisy responded ¡°towards the east of the city.¡± The east that would be over there but they are gathered on the other side. Why are they there? Spike looks more closely to see the mayor talking to a well dressed man in front of a cage filled with long eared humans. ¡°Elves in a cage.¡± I say to myself ¡°Oh yea.¡± Daisy says solemnly ¡°They are elf slaves¡± ¡°Slaves?¡± inferiors taking each other as workers. There was no distaste in his mouth; he didn''t think much of it. ¡°What do they think they are doing in my territory?¡± while he didn¡¯t feel any distaste from the actions he felt distaste from his previous life. He remembered what it was called by himself after watching a documentary. A disgrace, a scar on human history. But those thoughts were gone now he was superior to them and didn¡¯t need to think of them. ¡°Our town sits between two massive mountain ranges¡± says Daisy ¡°Hmm¡± Spike responds ¡°So a lot of traders use this town as a halfway point.¡± Daisy is speaking in a low voice. ¡°There''s a war right now between our kingdom the Freigt kingdom and the forest of elves to the west. They fight over territory and take war prisoners and send them east to the kingdom as slaves. Through our town. The kingdom of Freight sees our town as nothing more than a trade route.¡± ¡°Where is the elf forest?¡± Spike asks. ¡°That way?¡± Daisy says ¡°why¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to save them.¡± Pet of The Ultimate Species Part 2 Under the full moon the elves pray to their foreign goddess of the moon. The elves are near death but to the slavers all that means is that they might lose some coin. The elves are in various states of despair, some curl up in terror, others lay defeated, and a few curse in a language not known. But their words can be guessed and all those words do is annoy the slavers. ¡°Mantis knight deal with them,¡± says the baron Gress Flam currently behind the cage. The knight moves towards the cage, swords in hand. Ready to maim. An elf moves in front of the others hoping to protect them from any possible harm knowing she cannot do anything to help them. Her name is Sefia and she was a war hero. But now she is not even a martyr to her people, she is just a failure and she feels like it. The knight grabs her through the cage by the cranium. Slamming her into the bars. She whimpers and resists pushing against the bars. but before she can the mantis knight takes out his sword. The knight points his sword forward and stabs shallowly into her eye. This makes her bleed out but she holds in her voice and simply grunts. All the slavers laugh at this. To them you see the elves are not people, they are simple animals that look like humans so they treat them like beasts. -spike- I fly high off the ground but can still see the tiny details. I can see the animals that look like sheep and the bugs that fly around them. I can see the large trees unlike any from my origin world. I can see the narrow road and tracks in it. I can see the slavers who walk along this road probably thinking they are safe. They think they are safe because they don¡¯t know about me. I look down to see the elves. They are fairly stereotypical: long ears, otherworldly beauty, but there are differences, for one these elves only wear rags, they seemingly haven¡¯t been fed since their capture, and have this hopeless look in their eyes. Indeed they are only skin and bones. I don¡¯t feel sick at their treatment but I know it is wrong logically. The elves I remember are beautiful yes but also in tune with nature and ancient and legendary. It¡¯s hard to explain the feeling of looking at something from legends packed tightly into a cage utterly emotionally and physically destroyed. The slavers are in carriages next to them. All the carriages are pulled by normal looking horses. They are all brown and large, not as big as me but large for horses. The slavers look well fed and in front I can look into the carts and see the men in armor are in front of the cage while the well dressed men are behind it. The men in armor are the mercenaries or soldiers who are hired to protect the cage while the men in the back are the nobles. So I know who to kill first now. I stalk them from the night sky I¡¯m too high for them to see. I¡¯m raring to go. My belly is a dark blue making me blend into the night. I¡¯m perfectly blended into the sky perfect for a surprise attack. The night and the full moon send me into a fury that makes me want to kill and there is no one better to put my sights on. I dive. The dive is silent like an owl. From something of my size you would expect the sound of a jet plane but nothing is heard. All that is there is the silent field. So the first sound the slavers hear is the sound of a torrent of flame. The flame is a light blue this time similar to the moon and the slavers'' carts are reduced to ash. I soar and see that I missed a cart so I breathe once again. I look at what I have done and see nothing but charred black grass. And an armored man standing on a burring blue cart. He has a mantis¡¯s head for a helm and two long curved swords one in each hand but he doesn¡¯t scare me so I ignore him. ¡°Danger, danger.¡± a voice speaks in my head. I look behind me and luckily no fire has hit the cage. I land on the cage and prepare for takeoff. But before I get off the ground I hear a terrified yell from a man hiding behind a cart. ¡°Mantis knight, don''t let that dragon steal the slaves.¡± I look behind me quickly and growl at the knight in response. He lunges at me with swords in an X formation. I have complete confidence so I let him try to slice me. In a slice, my self-confidence was shattered by a sharp pain in my right front leg. I jump away and roar, breathing fire at him. The mantis knight narrowly dodges the flame and runs at me, this time going towards my throat. This is easy to dodge. So I dodge out of the way only moving my neck before swiping at him with my claw. He narrowly dodges this as well. One would expect a human to be afraid at the sight of a dragon but this ¡°mantis knight¡± doesn¡¯t have a care in the world. What is happening? I''m all powerful. Who is this mantis knight? I have to kill him or I¡¯ll be killed. I flap my wings floating into the sky. Reaching the zenith of my accent I fall and boom! I slam onto the ground right on the knight. I move too fast for him to dodge. His helm is now unrecognizable as a mantis but he is still alive and ready to strike. he slices at my throat again and I dodge again this time though he uses his other sword and slices the base of my long neck. Blood rushes from the wound and drips onto the ground. I jump back and roar again but this time it hurts a bit. ¡°You are definitely not human.¡± I say. ¡°...¡± ¡°What are you, creature?¡± I demand.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I¡¯m human.¡± The mantis knight says, ¡°I¡¯m just someone who knows how to carry himself.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I say. ¡°But I¡¯ll put you down like a dog.¡± The mantis knight raises his sword, and I ready my breath. He runs to the side as an inferno of fire rushes at him. He runs at me and I decide to make a risky move. I spin around and whip my tail into him, sending him flying. In the air he spins his swords around him and through some magic he stops himself and floats down to the ground. ¡°What!?¡± ¡°What is it dragon? Do you not know about wind magic?¡± the mantis knight says. The mantis knight spins around on the ground, raises his swords for a second spin and then launches at me with a gust of wind. He angered me I¡¯m mad he just gloated about his ability in front of the great me. I¡¯m mad so I do something stupid. I bite at him. He spins in midair one again cutting the inside of my mouth but through the pain I bite down. He manages to resists this by pushing my mouth open. so I throw him at the cage. He slams into it. Causing it to rise off the ground for a second before landing on the ground again. The mantis knight uses the cage as leverage to get up; he''s unhurt. How is that possible? But the mantis knight turns around and seems to be stuck to the cage. He tries to move for a moment long enough for me to see what is happening. An elf has grabbed him, a female elf with a fresh cut across her eye. Looking angry, despite her emaciation she grabs hard and the mantis knight cannot seem to break free. The perfect chance. The mantis knight struggles for a moment before pushing her off by her face. He is then met by my teeth which bite through his neck. I then rip off his head and spit it out under me. I hear a scream from behind the cage. There is a well dressed man cowering behind the cage. ¡°How could a mantis knight lose this is inconceivable.¡± I jump on the cage once again and look down at him. He screams. I just stair. ¡°Who are you?¡± I say. ¡°I-I am the baron Gress Flam.¡± he says ¡°a-and if you don¡¯t want dragon hunters after you, you will leave me be. I-in fact if you help me take these slaves to the capitol you will be handsomely rewarded.¡± I laugh at him. ¡°Me, help you?¡± I continue to laugh, making the earth shake. the man cowers even harder. ¡°Please let me live.¡± ¡°Maybe I will if you deliver a message to your noble friends.¡± I say. ¡°What? What do you want me to say?¡± says the baron Gress Flam. I put my head in front of his, he is so small his entire body is the size of my head. ¡°Anyone who enters my territory be warned I have a distaste for slavery and next time I see a cart full of slaves the ones carrying them will be burned alive. Be so kind as to tell the entire kingdom please. Unless you want to become my dinner.¡± I say ¡°oh yes if I do see another slave caravan I will find you and personally put you on my plate. Understand.¡± ¡°Yes, yes I understand.¡± says the baren. The elves look at me with fear but I came here to save them so I must leave them. No, I must save them. I¡¯ll feed them and take them back to their home. With my leg and neck already healed, I jump on the heavy cage and easily fly away with it. Some screams and gasps escape the cage but they soon die down as I take them to my lair. -Daisy- I wait for Spike until morning when I see him flying with a cage in claw. He should be headed to the elf forest now but he seems to be coming this way. He saved the slaves but why? I¡¯m happy he did it of course but dragons don¡¯t care about humanity and nothing I have seen from him would make me think otherwise. He swoops in front of me with the cage in hand causing a gust of wind all around me. I see he is covered in blood. But who¡¯s blood? ¡°Spike, are you hurt?¡± I say. ¡°No, I took some cuts but I¡¯m better now.¡± he says. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll heal you.¡± I say. ¡°Can you heal? If you can, I am not the one who needs healing.¡± he points his head towards the elves. ¡°I see.¡± I say. Spike drops down from the cage and rips the door off of it with his bare claws. The elves stay still for a moment until an elf with a slice over her eye steps out after that the others follow. The elves are covered in scrapes, slices, and look like they haven''t eaten in days. ¡°Oh my god.¡± I say. The elves are covered in bruises and cuts and look like they have taken quite the beating, ¡°Daisy, if you can heal them please do.¡± Says the dragon. ¡°While you do that, I¡¯ll cook some food. I¡¯ll whip up some razel meat.¡± So while he cooks I heal the elves with my level of magic. I can only heal so many at once but I start, nonetheless. Healing them one by one. Soon I healed the one with a slice through her eye. It seemed to have happened soon enough that it can still be healed without a scar. ¡°Crazy,¡± she says ¡°What is?¡± I ask. ¡°That dragon helped us, it helped anyone.¡± she says ¡°I¡¯m Sefia by the way.¡± I say. ¡°He¡¯s definitely strange but we¡¯d probably be worse off without him.¡± ¡°Do you or Spike side with the elves?¡± asks Sefia. ¡°No we don¡¯t.¡± I say. ¡°We don¡¯t have any beliefs about the war. I don''t know why he helped you.¡± ¡°Dinners ready!¡± says Spike. All the elves come to the plate. ¡°Woah slow down I know I¡¯m a good cook but you can wait your turn.¡± said the dragon. They ate and ate before sleeping right there in the field. The elves hadn¡¯t had a good night''s sleep in days. The next day the elves get ready to leave. ¡°You know if you get back in the cage I could fly you to the elf forest.¡± Says spike. ¡°With respect we never want to get back in that cage.¡± says Sefia. ¡°That¡¯s fine but do you know where you''re going?¡± Says Spike. ¡°That¡¯s the village of half soil right?¡± Says Sefia. ¡°Yup.¡± Says Spike. ¡°Then that is the forest of Akas.¡± she says. ¡°Yes.¡± I say. ¡°Then we can get back, no problem.¡± says Sefia. ¡°We may not look like it anymore, but we are soldiers.¡± -Voice- So the elves leave Spike and Say their goodbyes and watch them. After a week of trekking through the wilderness the elves make it to a stronghold belonging to the elves. After they get let into the stronghold they leave two days after for the elf main city. Where they meet up with their families once again. Sefia meets an old man surrounded by guards. ¡°Sefia is that you?¡± says the old elf. ¡°Yes father, I''m back.¡± says Sefia. ¡°I thought I would never see you again.¡± says her father. ¡°You escaped?¡± he asks. ¡°No, we were saved.¡± Sefia''s father looks at one of his guards. ¡°Hey, tell the knights, the nobles, and the city the princess has been saved.¡± ¡°But by whom?¡± asks her father the king of the elves. ¡°You''re not going to believe it but.¡± Another Perspective It¡¯s a good thing that The Freigt kingdom is at war with the elven kingdom to the west. There are many reasons that war is great for our great nation. It creates jobs and increases patriotism. But one of the best benefits of the war with the elves is war prisoners. The reason is simple: war prisoners equals war slaves. Slaves do many great things for our nation. They feed our great kingdom by working the fields. Without them we would have pre wartime food supplies where only the nobles eat. There is the idea that the nobles could eat less extravagantly, but this will never happen, so slavery is the better alternative. They are great for other types of labor as well as. They build our buildings and work longer hours for no money at all. This builds our cities larger and faster than working with normal hired civilians. It¡¯s a positive for our great nation. And now that supply is threatened and less importantly, I¡¯ll lose profits. I suppose I could live for the next few years without running out of money but I¡¯ll have to give up my lifestyle and how could I do that. I have much sympathy for the slaves though, being forced to work is something I had to do. I became a soldier to get money and as a soldier I Respect them as fellow warriors. But it is natural to protect one''s own country over other countries and the people of those countries. ¡°Sir, albert?¡± said the soldier I called into my room. I had been standing still thinking, making him rather confused. ¡°He didn¡¯t say much but during his battle with the mantis knight he said¡± the soldier pauses and gulps down ¡°¡®I¡¯ll put you down like a dog¡¯¡± ¡°So he got away from the mantis knight?¡± I say ¡°No he didn¡¯t¡± the man says with a tremble in his voice. ¡°Hmm¡± I respond ¡°He k-killed the knight.¡± the soldier says. I look at the soldier ¡°What? Did he say anything else important?¡± The soldier looks at me and says. ¡°He threatened to eat anyone who would come through his territory with slaves.¡± I pause for a second ¡°I see.¡± I say ¡°Thank you for your report. What was your name?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Frasis.¡± says the man ¡°Thank you Frasis, you may leave.¡± Frasis bowed and left trembling. The Freigt kingdom is split into two parts because of a massive mountain range splitting them. The war is between the western part of the kingdom and the elf nation to the north. The war is for land between them. slaves come from that war. And have to make their way to the east of the kingdom. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The only flat land between the two halves of the kingdom is between two mountain ranges and in between those mountain ranges is the flat land split by the Halfsoil village. Halfsoil is the perfect halfway point. for the transports they get their food and shelter but that may no longer be doable. Sea transport? No impossible we are landlocked and something as unpopular as the slave trade is not going to get people wanting to expand to the south Mountain travel? No Mountain ranges are deadly not just because of the common dangers of hiking but because of the danger of monsters and unknown dragons. But one dragon made the mistake of coming close to civilization. Money must be made and the best way is to get rid of that dragon. How to do that though? This is a powerful dragon who killed a mantis knight. Adventurers are the obvious choice but how to get them on my side? They are freedom lovers and will not support the slave trade. What to do. I¡¯ll have to convince them of the evil of the dragon Soldiers won''t be strong enough and the knight¡¯s owners don''t want to lose anymore knights. So what is there to do? I can''t let this dragon run free. I ring a bell and a butler walks in. ¡°Servant, get me the person from the group who talked to the villagers.¡± I say A few minutes later the man appeared, the man who talked to the villagers about the dragon. ¡°Hello sir Albert Flen.¡± he says ¡°No need for pleasantries let''s get down to business about that dragon tell me everything you know.¡± I say. ¡°Well the dragon took residence in an ancient castle as dragons like to do.¡± he says ¡°Did he take anything from the villagers?¡± I ask. ¡°Why of course.¡± he says. ¡°What did he take?¡± I ask. ¡°He demanded an offering but didn¡¯t say what he wanted.¡± he says. ¡°What did they give him?¡± I ask ¡°Some gold, gems, food, and a villager.¡± he says. ¡°They gave him a villager?¡± I ask. ¡°Yes, a woman from the village,¡± he says. ¡°Do you know her name?¡± I ask. ¡°Etheda¡± he says as I smile. ¡°Write that down for me.¡± I say ¡°servant.¡± ¡°Yes sir¡± says my servant. ¡°I need to design an adventurer request.¡± I proclaim ¡°slay the dragon, save the girl.¡± ¡°You may leave,¡± I say to the man who talked to the villagers. ¡°Yes sir Albert Flen.¡± says the man Every adventurer party wants the chance to save a helpless woman. It¡¯s in their genealogy. ¡°Oh yes servant one more thing¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Make sure my name isn¡¯t on the request.¡± Albert continued ¡°and ¡°refer to the woman as a girl.¡± ¡°It will be done.¡± Your era will end before it begins, Spike the dragon. -voice- In the distant castle a voice rings in a sleeping dragon''s ears ¡°danger, danger.¡± it says. The dragon looks back and forth but sees nothing, the voice disappears and the dragon returns to sleep.