MIR, the sentient Wyvern.

NASA 2135

All the wyverns had been left to collect their breath saliva without igniting to produce this bomb but it wasn't enough and useless without real explosives.

We needed the chemical components of nitrated cotton, made from nitric acid.

Collecting saltpetre was exhausting and an industrial solution was needed.

That's why we had to go to a volcano to collect sulphuric acid. But the process turned out to be extremely deadly because of the invisible gases.

So I decided to organise an expedition to the volcanic mountains a little further east.

On the map, I remember an area with a skull and crossbones.

I asked the wise man what it was, but the area was deadly.

Anyone who got too close would die on the spot, be petrified or die in excruciating agony a few hours later. There was only one survivor.

They also spoke of a petrifying basilisk, the presence of dragons and a lake of blood. The water was red and you could tell by the clouds that turned red as they passed.

I had the idea of having volcanologists' clothes made, but it was useless. You needed bottled oxygen or a compressed air hose. We were in the Middle Ages. Not even the 18th century!!! with hand pumps and the first submarines made from tightly strapped barrels. It was too dangerous.

I knew I had a resistance to acid and with wooden hoses weighted like barrels, I could collect a few thousand litres that way.

Everything had to be done. Everything!

And that made me 'Chi...r'!!!. It wasn't the life I wanted!

My dream was to laze in the sun with my pregnant lizards and to help myself to a buffet in the forest and to go and eat in a restaurant from time to time, stuffing myself with cold meats, pancakes and pastry delights from time to time. I even intended to keep some cooks in my den or dungeon and do them for me from time to time.

But it was a sadly simple ambition.

I had a feeling I'd get bored eventually, but it'd be too late when I discovered I wanted more.

In fact, I wanted to 'let go'! to do nothing for 10 years and enjoy this neolithic/medieval paradise. I also wanted to go on big dinosaur hunts in the trench areas.

In the end, I just didn't know myself any more.

I refused the role of demon lord. But my dragon blood urged me to be prouder, braver, more active and even to fight to become demon king and take on other demon lords.

These thoughts crushed my brain and, like any animal, I groaned without knowing why.

The humans who accompanied me saw these "meditations" as absences. A bit like a lizard that gets excited then stops... then starts up again and so on.

They stared at me and I turned around: "What?"

A team of alchemists, orc shamans and goblins accompanied me.

A century before, Europe 2135, headquarters of the United Nations, Geneva

The Serbian-born magistrate Korosiv presided over the United Nations in Geneva.

This was because the USA's military stance and visa restrictions at the New York headquarters were no longer acceptable to most nations that disagreed in any way with Uncle Sam's policies. This nation, which was once almost master of the world, ended up contracting as a result of the mega-crisis of 2050, which almost led to a civil war. The numerous military campaigns that ruined the country and the investment in research that failed to contribute to the country's financial recovery eventually led to the collapse of the entire system.