//------------------------------// // I - Monarchy // Story: Ashes // by Olakaan Peliik //------------------------------// Seven years. Seven long years of war. Countless dragons on both sides slain in battle, many of them simply trying to survive, or stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time. The split between those who supported Dragon Lord Torch and the Refiner’s Fire, the rebellion against him, had widened every day, and it seemed that the numbers of those who bought the rebels’ sermons about “purity” swelled by the week. But today was not about war. Today is the day we crowned a queen. I was standing in the “royal” box to our coliseum in Crater. Normally, we held fights and shows, but today it was a coronation, and oh boy, was there a crowd. It looked like the entire city had shown up, and then some. Princess Luna and Empress Cadance came as representatives of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. King Aspen sent his wife Queen Grace as representative of the Deer Kingdom. The hippogriffs came, the Abyssinians came, the Yaks... made their presence known. I was told we even had a pirate captain as one of our VIPs this evening. I was looking forward to that conversation. “Nervous?” a voice said from beside me. I looked to see that Viing had arrived. As head of Princess-soon-to-be-Queen Ember’s security, general of her armies, and I suspected possibly a bit more, it meant that Ember wasn't far behind him. “Oh, I’m only the one who will be placing the crown on her head, and giving an inspiring speech in front of thousands before that,” I said with a wry smile. “Yeah, you're nervous. You best get on with that speech. You know how she feels about formal wear,” Viing said. I just nodded and waved to a dragon toward the top of the Coliseum standing ready with a gong. As he slammed a ceremonial warhammer against it, the sound resonated throughout the venue, silencing the chatter and calling the attention of all who hadn't already been paying attention. I stood up and cleared my throat. “Today is the day we truly acknowledge the end of an era,” I said, my voice magnified by the Coliseum’s walls. “Dragon Lord Torch’s reign as our final Dragon Lord will be remembered for eons to come. Let us not forget that his death gave us something stronger than just another Dragon Lord. But a dragon whose strength gave us the power to push back the Refiner’s Fire and turn the tide of the war!” The crowd’s roars and cheers were deafening. I took this brief moment they’d given me to remember Torch. It had been two years ago, but I remembered the day that I learned that Torch was dead as though it were yesterday. A force of two hundred rebel dragons had ambushed him; less than forty escaped with their lives, but they had accomplished their goal. Torch had fallen in battle, overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. His death had sent shockwaves throughout the entire Dragonlands, and for a while, I honestly thought that the war was over right then. Thankfully, I’d been wrong. After the cheering died down a bit, I continued. “Princess Ember stepped up after her father’s death and showed us what it means to be a true dragon in our darkest hour. She lead us in battle when our survival mattered the most. Now she comes before you all today not as a princess, nor as a mere leader. It is my honor to present…” I stepped to the side to give them an unobstructed view. “Ember!” Ember stepped through the curtain wearing a flashy red dress with gems and pearlescent metal decorations. The crowd cheered again as she stepped into view. Ember gave a short wave, and instantly the crowds were silent. Olakaan stepped up with the newly named Bloodstone Crown sitting on a red pillow. It was an elegant piece to be sure when considering it was nothing but broken shards of crystal mere months ago. In his last moments, Torch had destroyed the Bloodstone Scepter, probably wanting to stop the rebels from using it to claim power. It was Olakaan’s idea to use the shards to make the Dragon Queen’s crown. Ember subtly nodded to me to begin. I took the crown from the pillow Olakaan held, then held it high for all to see. You could've heard a feather drop, it was so quiet. As I lowered the crown onto her head, I spoke. “I now present to you Ember, First Queen of the Dragons! Long may Her Majesty reign!” As I finished the sentence, I stepped aside and Ember lifted her head with pride. More thunderous roars accompanied by dragons of all kinds firing a blast into the air creating a deadly and beautiful light show. Ember held up a claw and it became silent again. “Today is a day of celebration, but I feel as if I should remind you all, tomorrow we begin our campaign into enemy territory,” Ember announced, her voice grave. The crowd murmured softly at the reminder. “So today, drink, eat and enjoy yourselves. For on the morrow we begin re-claiming what belongs to us!” She raised her fist into the air and the dragons roared again. “Now, I present to you for your entertainment, from the southern villages, the Dancers of Fire and Ice!” I called as a troupe of dragon dancers flew into the Coliseum’s staging area, accompanied by booming drums. “Short and to the point, my Queen, as always,” I bowed to Ember. “It’s easier for everyone that way. Is the buffet ready for our V.I.P.s?” Ember asked. “Indeed it is. Shall I escort you, my Queen?” Viing asked. “You may,” Ember nodded to him. The two of them led our entourage out of the royal box. The V.I.P. room is where all the representatives came after the speech and coronation. Since it was mostly just the royals and their guards, they actually seemed to relax and “let their hair down” so to speak, while still representing their country with dignity. I, of course, had a plus-one I had brought along. This room had an excellent view of the show outside, while at the same time remaining private enough for us all to talk freely. “Are you enjoying yourself?” I asked my date. Niirah looked up at me. Her white-silver scales caught the light perfectly; her dress only accentuated her beauty. “I feel like a doll. When can we get out of here?” she grumbled. “You could have said ‘no’ when I asked you to come with me. And I’ll remind you that you chose that dress.” I bumped her with a shoulder. She bumped me back. “I didn’t think we’d be staying to socialize this time.” I gave her a look. “Okay, fine, I should have expected it,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I promise we’ll be on that ship with Luna and Cadance back to Equestria tonight. But in the meantime, I think two things. One, you look beautiful. Two, you should go see if your brother has a thing for the Queen.” “What?” she asked, looking as though she wasn’t sure she’d heard me. “Watch how he looks at her,” I pointed to where Viing was standing. He was following close behind Ember, and he did indeed have a rather peculiar light in his eyes whenever he looked at her. Niirah walked toward him with a very familiar expression on her face. I grinned at my skilled distraction; part of me did feel a bit sorry for Viing, but the rest of me was laughing internally. I started to wander the room and search for interesting conversation. “And then Yak smash it!” Okay. Step one, avoid the Yak Prince. I found Queen Grace and Empress Cadance talking near the vegetarian food table. “Your elegancies,” I bowed as I approached. “Speaker! I do appreciate the invite, a Dragon Queen. What a momentous occasion!” Cadance said with excitement. “I was worried about where you were going with your speech earlier, but you pulled it off in the end,” Grace smiled. “How are things within your borders?” I asked Queen Grace. “I'm not sure if you heard, but your Wyvern hunters have gotten particularly…familiar with our citizens. Several half-dragon half-deer foals have been born. The ‘Qilin’ is what we have begun calling them,” she informed me. My eyes widened at the news. “Really?” I tried to picture what a half-dragon, half-deer creature would look like, but my brain rebelled at the idea. “I think it would be wise to keep that information from our chronicler Olakaan for a time. He’ll talk your ear off with questions.” They laughed at my last comment. “Speaker if I may ask a personal question?” Cadance asked. “Of course,” I nodded. “Why have you not asked that dragoness to marry you yet?” Cadance asked. I felt my face flushing. I should have figured she’d ask about that, being the ‘Princess of Love’ of all things. “I am… waiting,” I finally said. “For the right moment. Besides, I still need to carve her a betrothal necklace and that takes a lot of time.” “What’s important is that you plan to. I practically had to throw the idea in Aspen’s face, he was so oblivious,” Grace joked. “He just gets so focused on keeping the forest safe sometimes that I have to bring him back down to the real world every so often.” My personal life isn’t really something I wanted to discuss in a room filled with royalty. “If you will excuse me, ladies,” I bowed before leaving. I went to go see the new Queen Ember when brightly colored feathers caught the corner of my eyes. A Parakeetan female with an emerald pegleg stood talking to the Yak Prince Rutherford. I say talking, I really mean she was listening with a completely bored expression, looking around for an escape, while Rutherford talked about smashing stuff. I approached and interrupted Rutherford. “Excuse me, Your Highness, but our Chronicler is very interested in Yak Holidays. He was wondering if you’d be kind enough to explain a few to him step by step.” “Rutherford love to explain Yak traditions! Where Chronicler?” Rutherford yelled. Do yaks even know the meaning of the word “quiet?” “He’s the Ice Dragon over there in the corner with the pen and notebook,” I pointed. “I go now!” Rutherford announced loudly before leaving. “Thanks, I thought I’d never get away. Captain Celaeno," the Parakeetan introduced herself. “Speaker Krein Ruv. Are you-” “A Privateer? Pirate? Captain to a bunch of misfits that like to sail the skies?” she asked. “That is essentially my question.” I nodded. “I’m more than that,” Celaeno grinned. “I more or less own Kludgetown nowadays. I’ve got Mayor Capper running things and Captain Tempest is cleaning up the streets.” “‘Tempest?’ As in Tempest Shadow? Second in command of the recently killed Storm King?” I asked, my jaw almost dropping. She just nodded. “I have...some concerns,” I said. “Everyone knows she was used by the Storm King to further his goals. Nevertheless, she felt like she didn’t belong in Equestria, so Capper and I offered her a chance to change how everyone saw her.” “And?” I asked. “Kludgetown is still a home for crime and villainy, but with the three of us in charge, they can only get away with so much now,” Celaeno explained. “You should come to visit sometime. Just don't bring any kids. Not recommended.” “I’ll think about it. But if I may ask, what is your business here?” “You are at war, and if I am not mistaken, your adversaries are getting supplies from an unknown source. I would like to offer the service of my ships to help, in exchange for a percentage of any of the seized cargo,” Celaeno offered. “And what ‘service’ would you and your ships be providing?” I asked. “Interception and redistribution. We find the enemy supply lines and bring the cargo to you. Well, okay, most of the cargo,” she explained. That would be mutually beneficial, and having allies that are willing to do dirty work could be helpful in the long run. I'd also rather the criminals be working with us rather than against us. “Tell you what. I will speak with the queen about it. I will send your Mayor a letter informing you of her decision,” I smiled. “I will eagerly await that letter. Right now, I gotta fly. My crew gets restless when we've been in port too long. Good night, Speaker.” She gave a dramatic bow, doffing her huge hat. “And you Captain,” I bowed as well. She turned and left the party without anyone turning their heads. I best get back to what I was doing. I found Queen Ember sitting on her new throne at the end of the room, talking with Princess Luna. Viing stood vigilant beside her. I bowed to Queen Ember as I approached them and waited for Ember to give me an acknowledgment. She nodded to me which was good enough. “Your Highness, and Princess Luna,” I greeted them both. “How does it feel to officially be Queen of the Dragonlands?” “I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet, but so far It feels good.” Ember blinked and sighed, looking up towards the ceiling. “I like to think my father would be proud,” Ember grinned. “Now that you are Queen, perhaps it is time you start the search for a King?” Luna suggested. I could see Viing stand a little taller at the mention of the crowning of a king. “I really don’t think that now is the right time for that,” Ember stated. Viing deflated like a popped balloon. “Come now, Ember,” Luna teased. “Surely you must have your eye on some drake.” Ember blushed a bit. “Well, maybe…” “While you two are plotting and scheming over here, I’m gonna go make sure the rest of the guests are having a good time,” I bowed before leaving. “And send Niirah this way, I wanna catch up,” Ember waved me off. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. She may have matured a lot but sometimes she acts like a teen just because she knows that no dragon is gonna call her out on it. After finding Niirah and sending her in the Queen’s direction, I continued to mingle among the guests and even bid them farewell as they left one by one. Eventually, everyone except the Princesses had left. While Cadance, Luna, and Niirah said their farewells to Queen Ember, I was speaking with Viing. “How is Dwiin’s regiment doing?” I asked. “Torch’s Fire?” Viing asked. “They are still leading the fight on the frontlines. One hundred and fifty fire and stone dragons all working together to push back the enemy. If we keep pushing like this we could be at the Refiner’s Fire homeland by year’s end.” “You know, Algae is still mad with me.” “Why? It’s not like you were the one who sent him off to war,” Viing said what I already knew. “I know that, but she believes that I could have stopped the order,” I informed him. “I’ve tried telling her that Dwiin told me he wanted to go, but she’s still not happy.” Viing seemed to think a moment. “He was called to battle during a dire time. Perhaps I can request Queen Ember to give a change in the ranks. Give Torch’s Fire some time off. I think it’d be good for morale. I can’t promise anything but I can give it a try.” “That is all I ask for.” I gave a bow of respect to him and he returned it. “Until next time, my friend.” “You as well.” Niirah finally joined us just in time to say goodbye. “Farewell, brother.” “Take care of our Ambassador, little sister,” Viing instructed. “Oh, I intend to,” she grinned. Viing turned to leave with a sigh. “T.M.I...” Niirah just laughed as we departed with the Princesses and their guards.. The airship back to Equestria was waiting for us at Crater’s docks. Niirah and I went down to our cabin in the hull of the ship. “I cannot wait to get this dress off,” Niirah grumbled, ripping at the fabric. “Because you hate it, or for other reasons once we’re alone?” I asked. “Yes,” she answered, smiling at me. I smiled back at her and nuzzled her cheek. The night sky passed by outside the window, stars winking at us. We were headed home.