I Guess I'm a Dragon Now (Part 1)

Aftermath

"Humans... Murderers!" Kronak, chieftain of the frost trolls, said in a pained tone as he leaned on his staff while wheezing as he clutched the wound in his stomach. They would have completely annihilated the enemy if the dark one's army hadn't arrived, though why they had attacked Kronak's village to begin with, he didn't know. The frost trolls and the demon king had already been negotiating an alliance for several years now, so why would they attack now? And why did they have to attack on the night of the sacrifice?!

Looking over the long stream of survivors from his village, Kronak almost spat in disgust in how his people were forced to flee from their own homes. They were beaten and battered, but it was the clouds above them that interested Kronak more. The specific sacrifice that their god had asked for had failed, and now Kronak gazed at the sky nervously as the sound of crackling thunder rumbled above them. Their god was angry, and Kronak was fearful that he and his people were now in more danger than ever, even more-so than when they had been under assault by their enemies.

Feeling another shock of pain spread through his body, Kronak held clutched his staff tightly and waited for the feeling in his stomach to fade. However, the pain was instantly forgotten when several bolts of lightning suddenly shot down from the sky and struck the sides of the canyon ridges above him. The rock had shattered instantly, creating a deadly landslide that fell from the sides of the mountains and onto the frost trolls that had been leading the refugees through the canyons.

With the sound of thunder now so low and constant that it almost sounded like growling, all Kronak could do was stand in place and look on in horror as several more strikes of lightning hit the mountains around them, burying his people in rock and other debris before the lightning started hitting them directly. Thousands of his people's lives were erased in the blink of an eye, and Kronak gathered his breath to let out cry of pure anger as he watched the last of his people die before him. Once his roar ended, Kronak started shouting lines upon lines of curses up at the sky, hoping that it was directed at the god who had slaughtered his people. He continued his curses until a final flash of lightning blinded him, and suddenly, Kronak couldn't feel the wound in his stomach anymore. He felt as if his being were quickly fading away, and the only thing that came to mind at the end of his life was the cruel laughter echoing throughout the air around him.

* * * * *

"The king will see you now." One of the royal guards stationed at the door suddenly announced, and Sera stood in grim and fearful silence before beginning her solitary walk through the long and nearly empty t.hrone room. Even though the castle was normally brightly decorated by golden decorations and red banners, it seemed like a frightening place at the moment as Sera walked towards King Emric to report yet another failure. And after what he'd told her last time...

"And the commander returns..." Emrick said in a mocking voice as Sera finally reached the base of the stairs leading to the throne before kneeling. "And without my future spouse."

"I apologize your majesty, I have failed the task that you gave me." Sera announced with her head bowed.

"So I see, though I understand why, at least." Emric sighed before getting off of his throne and beginning to pace around it. "All throughout Ligan the elves are causing riots and escaping to the east, through the orc's territory. They've even been spotted actively serving in the demon king's ranks, and so, I have labelled all of their race traitors to the kingdom."

"All of them?" Sera asked, knowing that at least some of the elves were married to some of the other races that made up Ligan and wouldn't be likely to revolt.

"All of them." Emrick declared before snapping his fingers, and as soon as he did, a group of royal guards entered the room while pulling chains behind them. Those chains were attached to five elven women who seemed so beaten and starved that Sera wouldn't have been surprised to hear that they had been in the castle dungeons for the past few months. They'd clearly been being abused since long before the elven revolt, though Sera kept her opinions to herself as the five women were dragged across the floor until they were in front of her.

"I have declared that every single elf is to be hereby considered a traitor." Emrick continued. "And while we're on this subject, I'm going to give you a chance to prove your loyalty and earn your forgiveness for your recent failures, Commander."

"Your majesty?" Sera asked, wondering what he wanted her to do.

"Stand and draw your blade, Commander." Emric ordered. "It is your duty as a knight to end the lives of the kingdom's enemies, am I correct? If so, then kill these five wenches and prove that you have what it takes to fulfill your duties."

"Kill them?!" Sera asked in shock, looking up from her kneeling position at the five women who were so beaten and malnourished that they didn't even seem coherent.

"Yes, kill them." Emric replied in a serious tone, though it was completely in contrast to the mad grin that the man had for an expression. "Prove to me that you are capable of making hard decisions for the kingdom that you serve, and I will forgive you."

"I-" Sera stood with shaking limbs as she gazed at the women in front of her. None of them seemed to have the will to live anymore after what they'd been through, and Sera put her unsteady hand around the hilt of her sword as she thought furiously over her situation. She, as a knight, was honor bound to follow her king's orders precisely and without a moments hesitation. However, there wasn't any honor in slaughtering helpless and tortured people such as this. And as she thought about it, Sera's mind returned to King Farell's words about how the elves had been targeted by Emric since even before they had revolted. So... was this really the kind of knight that she was? Someone who followed orders blindly and slaughtered innocents just because of another man's words, even if that man was the king?

"Do it!" Emric suddenly yelled, and Sera's hand stopped shaking before she repeated the process that she'd done at the frost troll city. Drawing her blade, Sera raised her sword in front of her before letting it drop to the ground in front before remaining unmoving as silence reigned over the throne room afterwards. She didn't care what the man would do to her, be it execution, flogging or torture. She would never obey an order such as this, even from the king that she'd sworn to serve.

"I'm disappointed, Commander." Emrick sighed, and Sera's eyes grew wide as he suddenly disappeared from where he'd been standing, only to appear right in front of her with his golden sword lightly pressed against her throat. "You had such potential, both as a soldier and as a mistress. However, I will not tolerate disobedience in neither my castle nor my kingdom."

After speaking, Emric thankfully pulled his sword away from her, allowing Sera to drop to the ground on her knees before she looked up in horror as all five of the elven women collapsed in front of her. While he'd disappeared, Emric had somehow managed behead all five of them before reaching Sera, though she hadn't even seen it as the entire attack had happened in the blink of an eye.

"Despite your disobedience now, you still did your best to serve me for quite some time and even had quite a few accomplishments during your service, among your many failures." Emric stated in a strangely happy tone as he sheathed his sword and walked over the bodies to his throne. "Therefore, I will spare you any major punishments such as execution and torture."

"Y- You are to kind, your majesty." The words felt sour in Sera's mouth as she bowed her head again, though she still had to see what the man had done as blood started to stream across the floor until it started to gather underneath her.

"I am, aren't I?" Emric laughed, causing Sera to clench her fists. "Now then, I suppose banishment is the only other option, isn't it?"

"Banishment?!" Sera asked in shock.

"Yes, banishment." Emric replied lazily while sitting sideways on his large throne, his feet raised in the air as he looked into a handheld mirror. "Try to survive in the Land of Legends or even snuggle up to the orcs for protection for all that I care. Just get out of my kingdom."