//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Who am I? // Story: Achieving Divinity: A New World // by The Joeker //------------------------------// When did it all go so tits up? By the Divine! A year ago I was saving the world from the Damned One! Now here I am, in my Battle Tower trying to kill time. Rather harder to kill than Damien & the Black Ring wouldn't you say? Let me explain. Whilst I was off saving the world I never had time to figure out who I was. Since I was born I was trained in magic, melee and ranged combat every day for hours on end. I never had time for me, to figure out about myself or about emotions or basic social etiquette. My 'downtime' was spent studying, training my mind to focus, to be mentally strong. Now, here I am, 1 year later, 20 years old and I have no idea who I am. Sure I interacted with people but conversations mainly consisted of: "Please go here I ;insert menial problem here; So I need help!" Then my line: "Never fear citizen! I am here to help!" I was a bit of a comedian so maybe that factors in? Anyway, you didn't come here to listen to me complain about my life. You came for action, you came for romance(...maybe?) you came for my good looks.(Don't lie.) but above all, you came for adventure, the thrill and excitement my story will bring. Well my friends I shan't disappoint, so fret not. But! My state of mind at that point is extremely relevant to the story as a whole. Well, we should begin at the beginning, the day it all changed... "No, no, no, stop." I said with a sigh, little emotion in my voice as I shook my head I had my helmet off. "My Lord?" Asked my dancer, Salome, stopping in her tracks. "Is there something wrong mi'lord?" Asked Kirill, my bard, strumming an off chord by accident in surprise. "Yes!" I exclaimed, standing up from my throne, sighing in exasperation, also feeling confused, I walked forward a little, my two entertainers stepping back to either side of my throne. "What is it, Lord?" Asked Salome. "Don't you both have families to go to?" I asked with confusion, they had been with me at my Tower for a year since the previous owner Laiken kept them prisoner here. If you wish to meet him you may have to scrape what's left of him from the left armrest of my throne where I grabbed him and smashed his head into the stone armrest repeatedly until he stopped squirming. And twitching. Anyway, they both looked at each other... almost worriedly. As if they'd offend me by what they would say. "Well..." "Err..." They both spoke at the same time but stopped when I raised my hand. "One at a time. Ladies first Salome." I nodded to her. "Well thank you, My Lord Dragon. I do have family, but..." She trailed off. "But..." I said, rolling my hand in gesture for her to continue. "Well yes I do, but I like it here. Plus I've got everything here." She smiled, I sighed. "Does no one have a mind of their own in this damned place!" I exclaimed in frustration, my voice shaking the earth and causing both bard and dancer to become absolutely terrified. "I- I'm sorry milord-" She started, almost crying. "No, no I'm sorry for my outburst... What about you, Kirill?" I asked. "No My Lord, they all died in Broken Valley." He said. "I'm sorry Kirill." I said, looking at the floor. "No, no My Lord, it wasn't your fault, there was nothing you could do to curb Damien's wrath at that time." He said. "Thank you Kirill." I said, I always did feel guilty for what happened to Broken Valley... ... -1 year ago- 'So, when I go back to Broken Valley I need to find a way into the Mines?' I thought. 'Yes Dragon-Knight, but beware! Ba'al has taken the Mines to find the sigil to open the Hall of Echoes for Damien!' Warned Talana. 'Hah, Ba'al. Oh please, he's just a Demon with an ego boost because he's Damien's favorite pet.' I thought as I flew into the Broken Valley passage from the Orobas Fjords. 'Hahaha your bravado is great, but so is the power of Ba'al.' Informed Talana. 'Yes but so is the power of my ddddd- What the fuck...?!' I trailed off in my own mind as I saw Broken Valley, gassed by Damien and destroyed with his flying fortresses everywhere. 'Damien was here... And now this unfortunate valley is dripping with fog as black as Acheron.' She said. "All those people..." I said, looking down at the gas below, saddened by the loss. I looked up as one of Damien's Dragon Commanders rushed toward me and Damien's flying fortress defenses started to lock onto me and I prepared for a fight... ... -Present day, nightfall- I was in my quarters in the Battle Tower sitting by the fire with a glass of brandy. I was thinking, when my steward, Sassan approached me, I looked up slightly from the fire so she could address me. "I think I shall retire for the night mi'lord. If there is anything you need..." She said and started to leave. "Wait, Sassan..." I said, she turned to me with a look of question. "Yes My Lord?" She asked. "... Am I a bad person?" I asked. "My Lord?" She asked again in confusion. "Today I took a break from the usual routine on Hermosa's suggestion. Said I was becoming too good and she needed time to practise so she at least presents a challenge." "So? My Lord, You spent months stopping Damien's plans and saving the world and yet you still train everyday to make sure you're ready when he returns. You deserve a break My Lord." She said. "Mayhaps. But I should've spent the time practising magic or sharpening my blades or exercising. I snapped at poor Salome for no reason." I said. "Well you do get mood swings unlike you used to, you used to be smartass, making light of any situation. You still do but you seem like a different person everyday. It doesn't mean you are a bad person, it just means you need to work on yourself a little." She said. "No! I mean, I don't have time, I've got training, magic practise... Theres just no time." I said quickly and turned back to the fire. "Very well My Lord." She said and walked out. I stayed staring at the fire for what felt like hours. Eventually I headed to my bed and curled up, a bit of a draconic trait, we feel more comfortable either on our stomach or curled up. I also was curled around a pile of coins because of my Draconic obsession with gold or anything of value. My Dragon Chest was overflowing so I had to store them in piles of coins around my room because of the wealth I accumulated over the year I was adventuring. ... I had a dream of one of my adventures from a year ago, when I was completing the Maxos Temple Trails to become a true Dragon-Knight, every now and then I dreamt of the trials to remind me of why I became a Dragon. My oath to protect the innocent. The next day, like clockwork, I awoke at 7am sharp. By sharp I mean as I woke up I rolled out of bed onto a sword on the floor and almost gave myself a second asshole. "I need to clean my fucking room." I said, rubbing my sore ass. I had my breakfast, who knew gems tasted so good if you were a Dragon? The best by far has to be Malachite Gems though, and by best I mean they taste AMAZING. I only have Malachite on VERY special occasions. Today I was having a bowl of Amethyst in milk to start my day because it wakes you up, it's like an energy drink. It also sobers you up if you're plastered. I also have a glass of raw egg each day to fill up on protein and a glass of milkshake. The day went by very routinely. Breakfast. Make sure my equipment is in top condition with Wesson and Gina(which can take an hour or two with all my stuff). Training with Hermosa. Dinner. Make sure Creature is OK on the Necromancer Platform with Jonelath and Grimm. Oh yeah, I should mention my Creature achieved sentience when we started using prime human parts from my strongest human enemies, we just call him Creature because that’s what he prefers even though we gave him free reign to choose a name. Then I go to my alchemy lessons, I read my alchemist, Barbatos' mind for the theory part but I have to properly apply myself for the practical part. I've been told I'm doing quite good. Despite the fact i've had to use magic more than a few times to get my hair back to it's natural colour again. After that is tea. Then for the rest of the day I retreat to my study on the second floor to practise magic for hours on end in privacy... Pretty much... I've got a Goblin down there called Erlking who has a sworn allegiance to the Lord of the Tower. He is responsible for picking out spells for me to practise and doesn't let me move on until I have perfected the spell he has picked out. Over time I have expanded the library immensely with magic and brought the books from the Maxos Temple to fill the spaces. I now have the biggest collection of books on draconic lore in Rivellon and the biggest library of powerful magic as well. I also perfected my Dragon Form after I killed Ygerna so I don't need to use the Dragon Stone anymore, now its use is to get to the tower from anywhere in the world... All I took was the books... What? Oh ok I also brought all the gold from the Maxos Temple as well. What? I'm a Dragon! "Erlking, buddy, whats on today?" I asked, I had to read his mind to communicate with him because Laiken cut his tongue out to stop him from revealing the name of the demon he was soul bound with. 'Today Dragon we are trying something exceptionally challenging, I have noticed lately that you have been a little down. So I have found a special spell for you to try, it will take you all of our session to simply chant. This was Maxos' last spell before he disappeared.' He thought. "Ok, I'm ready, give it to me." I said, Erlking presented a book and I flicked through it, my Dragon mind taking in the information pretty much instantly. 'Ok Dragon, it's time!' He exclaimed. I started chanting the words in the old language and began. I finished the spell 4 hours later and...