Nero: The Last Dragon

“Nero.” Blanche called out to me. I turned my head slightly, allowing her to see my glowing golden eye under my hood. “We are nearing the castle.” She stated. Her long, white hair bounced as our horses clopped over loose gravel. I grunted as a response. We've travelled for about 7 days through darkness to get here. Our horses didn't have much more in them at this point. We all needed the rest and the bitter cold was too much. I saw the castle about 15 minutes later and drew myself into the crowd of oncoming traffic. דרמסוס (Darmesus) is what the kingdom says as we approach the gates. "Stop!" A male yelled. An army turned around and drew weapons I had never seen before. They wore skintight suits that seemed to adapt to the weather. They slowly went from a slate gray color to a light blue as the cold and snow started to stick to their suits. I growled lowly, holding in my irritable dragon. Not yet, Noxin. I told my dragon. "Who is your king?" Blanche called out to the man. The man's eyes opened wide in astonishment. "Women do not ride horses nor do they speak unless given orders." Serano ordered. I lifted my head in anger, still hiding my face. "What is your name?" I asked him calmly. He jumped at the sound of my voice. Power radiated off me, making the man cower uncontrollably. "S--Seranio." He shook as he spoke. My dragon huffed as he saw the man cower back into himself. "I will say this one time, Seranio. You do not disrespect my accomplice. Do not disregard her words again." I boomed the last part out. All of the soldiers cowered in fear. "I believe she asked you a question." I commanded. "H-His name is King Xinore, sir." A young soldier blurted out. "And where is your king?" I asked. They all looked nervous as they thought it over. "Bring me to him then. And put the weapons down." I rolled my eyes, annoyed that their shaking hands still held onto them. They shuffled awkwardly to put them away and escorted me to the castle. Soldiers surrounded us as gravel gave away to the kingdom. What is this? I linked Blanche. There were no dragons in the skies. Only weird lights that lit up different parts of the kingdom. This was nothing like I remembered. Buildings abstractly stood spaced out throughout the town. It was dark, so you could see the waxing gibbous moon and stars in the sky. But everything was... Futuristic. Things have changed, Nero. I told you this. Blanche kindly stated. Noxin huffed as I looked around at the scenery. We approached a bridge when the men pulled out transportation from their wrist gear. "We do not ride horses here. We have technology to get us across. The bridge will transport the horses intact, though." Seranio stated more confidently. He did not try to make eye contact though. We followed Seranio and his soldiers over a new world bridge where lights flickered, and floating circular decoration seemed to have a magnetic pull to the bridge. What are you going to do, Nero? Blanche linked me. I thought about it for a second. Just trust me. I linked back. We caught view of the castle and I noticed it was similar to the old castle. It was bigger and more modern, but some areas remained eerily similar to the real thing in my time. "You will not need your horses. We will bring them to a safe area." Seranio stated. We dismounted the horses and the soldiers gasped as we stood. I towered over everyone at 7 feet while Blanche stood at 6'7. We entered the doors and saw large hallways filled with large opal statues and cream-colored walls. Green embroidery accented the room and it remained empty. Odd. Noxin spoke to me. I grunted in agreement. A woman walked from between the pillars from what looked like a hallway. She caught a glimpse of us and turned ghostly pale as she hurried back in the door she came out of. Do you think they'll be hostile? Blanche linked. I wasn't too worried. Blanche and I could take out a large kingdom on our own. However, I am aware of how much time has passed and I do not want to rush into something we may lose from. I will handle it if they are. I linked back. We approached a large door with gold writing on it. "המלך המוכתר" The crowned king. Blanche stated. That's odd. I linked Blanche. Blanche furrowed her eyebrows and then looked at my line of sight. Seranio had glazed over as he mind linked. That's not normal. Blanche stated. I grunted in agreement. An eerie feeling came to me as we entered the doors. The dimly lit lights quickly brightened, and I looked around the room. High ceilings reached about 40 feet. the gold and iridescent decorations adorned the room. At the ceiling, there is a large circle that opens up into the night sky. At the top of the stairs, the dragon's egg seat sat in the middle of the platform. Nero. Noxin growled, causing Blanche to look at me quickly. Please control his temper. Blanche pleaded. I scoffed. Yeah, control a dragon. Noxin, let me handle it. I told him. "State your purpose." Seranio stated. I turned my head towards him, and he shivered in fear. Weak. Noxin said. I agreed and turned my gaze back to the man at the throne. "What is this kingdom?" Blanche asked. The soldiers shifted uncomfortably as soon as she spoke. A dangerous glisten in the king's eyes made Noxin and I stand at attention. "Heraus, the kingdom of Miellus witches." King Arinon stated. His shiny black hair laid messily on his face, and he wore a white and gold ensemble. His pale skin and dark eyes means one thing... Plyreid. Noxin snarled in my mind. I grunted in agreeance. "Why Miellus?" Blanche asked. "Because of the Miellus clan of dragons... Of course, it's just hearsay but we kept the name." King Arinon said. Liar. Noxin spoke to me. I sighed inwardly. "What is your purpose for--" King Arinon started. "Where are the dragons?" I asked. He was immediately taken aback by my straightforwardness and abrupt interruption. "Dragons have been extinct for over 5000 years." King Arinon looked at the hood, confused. Shairi. Noxin cried. I felt the ground shake below where I stood as Noxin's emotions got stronger. Noxin! I commanded. He retreated and the ground stopped shaking. "This room is ancient. How does it still look new?" Blanche asked. Annoyance flickered over the King's face before he quickly composed himself. "A lot of these areas are the originals. They remained intact after the fall of the kingdom many years ago, according to history." The King answered. "What is your purpose here?" King Arinon asked. "We have traveled long and far to gather the history of the species." Blanche answered without blinking. Historians are a breed of species whose special abilities have been to learn as much as they could and create knowledge for others to learn. They are more intelligent than the average person and can also create technology to store memories from certain times. They have the ability to see the past and parts of the present that has been written down. They can also decipher the truth from lies told throughout history to make it more accurate. A little like seers but they don't have the foresight. "Okay, learn what you need to learn here. Our kingdom is welcome to you. We have a few rooms close to the gate." King Arinon offered. Blanche accepted the notion. The King pointed at 2 soldiers. "Escort them to the inn." The King ordered. The soldiers nodded and brought our horses out to us. As the doors closed, the King spoke to Seranio. "Watch them." The King narrowed his eyes and sat back in his chair. We mounted our horses as the soldiers mounted their technology. Nero, you know they'll be watching us. Blanche linked. Her brows furrowed for a second, trying to figure out what would happen next. I will explain to you when we get back. I linked back. We were lead the rest of the way to the suites in silence.