...In my youth, dragons existed here.
I write these things now simply to record: to record that dragons once existed here.
When we first forged our friendship with the dragons, I no longer know. Since I was old enough to remember, my father told me:
—Miatitiir, my Child... you were born with everything.
—We grew up in the embrace of the firmament; it watches us, loves us, and pities us.
—We command the dragon race, and we look down upon the Earth.
In my long life, I have heard many proverbs and philosophies. Most who spoke them are dead, and not many who heard them are still alive.
What I still remember today are only my father's words.
Those words my father spoke.
I remember every single word.
From when I lay on the floor playing with clockwork dolls to when I independently attended The Ball, he always looked at me kindly, quietly stroking my shoulders and cheeks, telling me over and over again.
Miatitiir Doelu Uru Lapuda: You must be steadfast, cautious, and full of wisdom;
You must be eloquent, but not aggressively sophistical; you must not be keen on conflict and plunder, yet you must not be too weak and easily bullied; you can be fickle and ruthless, but not stupid and headstrong; you can be extremely passionate, but you cannot give your whole heart away;
At all times, you must leave room for maneuver, protect our clansmen, and preserve the inheritance and bloodline of the Children of the Wind.
Miatitiir Doelu Uru Lapuda, Your Majesty the Queen, your every word and action must shoulder the future of the Children of the Wind Clan.
Every time I wake from a dream at midnight, my father's words always ring in my ears, sweeping softly and fragmented across my soft pillow. Then, I would open my eyes from the dream world again, plunge back into the thick clouds, put on a magnificent gown, dress elegantly, and stand upon the high stage under the spotlight of ten thousand eyes.
Standing in the center of the cities above the sky, I would raise my wine glass and salute my clansmen.
This is my full name.
Miatitiir Doelu Uru Lapuda.
Doelu means 'True', and Uru means 'King'.
I am the new King of this generation in charge of the Children of the Wind.
We have advanced technology. The energy emitted from within the giant diamond-shaped cubic crystals can easily power an entire city—even the floating of countless cities depends on these two-man-tall, massive crystals.
We have loyal Soldiers. Robots that can fight in the sea, on land, and in the sky were developed long ago. In the lower part of every floating castle, countless ranks are stored. When we arrive driftingly, it will be the moment the enemy walks toward their destruction.
We have elegant dragons. Many years ago, before my father's father was even born, these lovely fellows settled in the cluster of cities. Perhaps it was because we could also float? In any case, they weren't too annoyed and were even curious about us. Slowly, some brave clansmen tried to make contact and live with them.
Then one day, a day not recorded in the books.
A warrior rode one and flew above the sky.
From that moment on, the Children of the Wind Clan had dragons.
We gained their favor.
As the future King, I naturally had one too—she was a Light Fury. Though her name sounded fierce, in reality... she was incredibly cute.
When she was angry, she would turn mauve, her eyes staring roundly; when she was happy, her color would be lighter, and her fair skin felt slippery to the touch. Unlike the dragon companions of other clansmen, my Little Darling was unique.
She didn't even look much like a dragon.
When I attended balls or worked, this fellow would obediently hide in a corner, staring at me with her big eyes: probably wondering where my fish and fresh meat were hidden? But when I went to see boys, this dragon, who rarely caused trouble normally, would start licking my dress incessantly, splashing sticky saliva on my head—how was I supposed to meet a date in such an ugly and rude state?
This also directly caused the time of my marriage to be pushed back repeatedly.
Oh, besides invisibility, she could also spit out fan-shaped or columnar energy storms. Father didn't like this (he had seen Little Darling blow a storm that melted the flesh and blood of a human on the Earth), but I felt that as long as it was to protect me, I didn't mind.
Dragons are just like that; besides liking those shiny gems and liking to lie in them to act spoiled or roll around, they are like our friends beneath our feet—the animals favored by those weirdos in Ancient Egypt. They sleep for a long time every day, and after waking up, they either eat or play with their own tails (some without tails will play with other dragons' tails). Once there is serious business, however, it's hard to find them.
Rather than the 'commanding' my father spoke of, it was more like'symbiosis'. Yes, with the dragon race, we could finally deceive ourselves into thinking we weren't a lonely race.
I lived and grew up with my Little Darling like this—if you were to ask why I didn't give her a name, I'd have to say you've hit the nail on the head.
Because I couldn't.
Father once told me solemnly that when you give a dragon a name, your relationship with her becomes twisted. Everyone else could do it, giving their partners unique names like 'Chimney' or 'Gemstone', whether elegant or vulgar.
But a King cannot.
A King cannot be too close to any creature—dragons included.
So, whenever other clansmen called their dragons by unique names, I was a bit ashamed to call her. She... didn't seem to care? I wasn't quite sure, but after growing up, she rarely went with me to see other dragons.
Perhaps that was caring, but she didn't want to express her care to me.
Later, as the days grew longer, I spent more and more time handling government affairs.
I met a man.
Salro Paul Uru Lapuda.
Paul means 'Vice-King'. Although this name belongs to the royalty, it is forever 'Vice'. This made them very dissatisfied—as I only found out later.
This man was full of ambition, but I didn't notice it while I was dating him. Instead, Little Darling was often injured—her leg slashed, or her head smashed open. I always thought she was just being willful and playful, and I even took her to find clansmen to tell them to control their dragons.
Later, she was poisoned.
To be honest, in that instant, I guessed the answer. But... I didn't pay it any mind—because of my father's instructions about 'being a King': how much effort should you spend on a flying animal?
So, although my timely discovery saved Little Darling's life, my indifference also broke her heart.
A few days later, she flew away and vanished.
But I still had countless government affairs to handle, and Salro's 'criminal' situation to weigh and consider. After all, he was already my husband.
—What I didn't expect was that he didn't think so.
'I am your slave, the Vice-King who can never ascend the throne. Vice, a very good name, isn't it?' He looked at me hideously, repeating it over and over again.
I finally realized that this was no longer a problem between the two of us: it was a problem between two groups of clansmen with different stances.
Thus, dragons were manipulated to spit fire and lightning, shattering the city walls.
I ran out stumbling, and this was the scene I saw: the artillery system was activated, firing randomly at the ground; every floating city activated its autonomous defense shield, and streaks of robots like meteors rushed out, blotting out the sky, massacring civilians according to orders.
That day, the Royal faction and the Vice-King faction went to war, using their own home as the battlefield.
---------------------------------
I hope you enjoy this fanfiction! If you're having fun and want to read 30 chapters in advance, feel free to check out my Patreon: patreon.com/TLScarlet
Your support means a lot so if you like the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone.