Author's Preface
As Ryan flew on Alyssara's back, he saw it in the distance. It wasn't grand and decorative like every other kingdom, but it reached through the skies. His eyes widened.
Alyssara chuckled. "That is our capital, as you all would say. That tall building that reaches the heavens is the palace of the Dragon King."
The building was white, made purely from stone and magic. Beneath it were streets made of the same material, full of dragons of every size walking around. In the skies near the palace, dragons with armor on their backs flew, each of them different colors. Red, blue, green, white, and gold.
Alyssara landed on a large slab that stuck out into the sky near the top of the tower. She transformed again as Ryan jumped off. This time, the little girl was gone. What stood before Ryan was a grown woman with blue hair, razor-sharp teeth, and one horn sticking out from her forehead. She smiled at Ryan as he stared at her. "Come, there are others you must meet."
As Ryan walked behind Alyssara, he stared in awe at the massive hallway they walked down. A few doors opened as dragons poked their heads out to see who she had brought back. The first time it happened, a massive red dragon head appeared and caused Ryan to jump.
"Fucking dragons, man."
The hall wasn't decorated. Dragons had no need for lustrous decorations. It was massive, though, wide enough to allow two dragons to walk side by side.
Finally, Alyssara reached two massive doors that covered the entire hall. She transformed again and shoved the doors open. As they opened, light began to shine through.
Ryan walked in and noticed large white statues of dragons surrounding the room. Where humans would have glass windows, the dragons had no need. There were simply holes built into the walls like archways.
"This is our meeting hall. Those statues are of every previous Dragon King. That one..." Alyssara pointed. "That one is of our god, the progenitor of dragons."
Ryan stared at the statue of the god. "This is unreal." Ryan slapped himself before looking back at her. "So, who is it you wish me to meet?"
Just then, five dragons flew through the archways that led into the hall from outside. One blue, one red, one white, and two gold. Each of them transformed into a grown humanoid dragon before taking a seat at the table in the center of the room.
"So, this is him? The Man of Shadows, Alyssara?"
"It is, Mother," she said to the other female blue dragon.
The white dragon raised his hand and flicked his fingers. Ryan felt wind hit his face as the enchantments on his mask were disabled, and his mask fell to the floor.
"A boy? A young one at that. He is the one with his power, huh?" The white dragon smacked his teeth.
Ryan slowly bent down and picked up his mask. He snapped his fingers, and behind the dragons appeared his five generals and their subordinates.
"Look, you sought me out. I didn't come here to be ridiculed, and to be honest, dragon problems aren't my own. I will gladly walk out, go home, and leave you dragons to your bullshit. I couldn't care less."
The red dragon roared loudly. "You will care if what we fear comes to pass. Now, sit and recall your shadows."
Ryan looked at Alyssara. She simply nodded, so Ryan recalled his shadows and took a seat.
The blue dragon stood. "I am Alessia, the Queen of Dragons and Alyssara's mother. First, allow me to thank you, Man of Shadows, for answering our summons."
Ryan raised a hand. "Just call me Kade."
"Very well, Kade. To my right is my father, Yru, the leader of the red dragon clan." The dragon closed his eyes and lowered his head. "Next to you, the one who disabled your enchantments, is the leader of the white dragon clan, Tyrus. The two next to him are royal guards of the gold dragon clan, Serak and Kiru."
Ryan nodded to each dragon as they were introduced, then stared at the empty seat next to Alessia.
"Ah, yes. This seat belongs to my husband's brother, the head of the green dragon clan, Ixur. He is the reason we sought you out."
"Okay, so can you tell me exactly why I am here?" Ryan looked around the room and watched as all the dragons looked among each other.
Yru stood. "Among the many things our progenitor has given us, he also gave a warning and hope. When a king flees, the continents will fall under the reign of acid if the Man of Shadows does not step up."
Ryan looked at Yru. "Step up? You brought me here for some silly-ass prophecy like that?"
The two golden dragons both stood and slammed their fists on the table. Kiru spoke. "It isn't silly. It is a future foretold by our god. If you disrespect him again, I will rip your head off with my teeth."
The moment the threat and killing intent came, Bubba appeared from Ryan's shadow and stood behind him.
"The next time you disrespect my lord, I will bash your dragon brains in with my warhammer."
Ryan looked back at Bubba. "You can fucking come out like that?"
Bubba looked down and smiled. "Apparently."
Alyssara stood. "Stop, all of you. We do not have time for this. Father is missing, and Uncle means to use that to seize the throne." A tear ran down her cheek.
Ryan noticed and sighed. "Damnit. Look, I'm not sure what I can do against dragons, but I've come to like your princess here. So I will do what I can to help."
Tyrus chuckled. "Do you even know what you are saying? What you are walking into?"
"Why don't you elaborate then, Mr. Great Fucking Dragon?"
"When the throne is empty, we do not handle things like you primitive two-legged creatures. We are DRAGONS! We have pride and strength. The throne is taken by those things and those things alone. Ixur will come with his army and allies, and whoever is left standing will take the throne."
Ryan stared at Tyrus. "Let me get this straight. We are primitive, but you grandiose dumbasses kill your own kind in an all-out war for the throne? So dragons willingly fight and die, never knowing who won or who sits on the throne? Seems counterintuitive. Maybe you should take some fucking notes from us primitive creatures. Maybe then you wouldn't be in the situation you're in right now."
Tyrus scoffed and laughed. "I shall not entertain ideas from the likes of you, who are weak."
He turned, transformed, and flew off into the sky.
Alessia sighed. "I am truly sorry about that. Dragons are prideful. Not many accept the help of a man. But we do believe the prophecy. Our god told us you would be of tremendous help and to trust you. Right now, with my husband gone and the discord between clans, I see no other course of action. Please help us."
Alessia stood. The remaining dragons stood as well, and they all bowed to Ryan. "Please help us."
Ryan looked between them all and waved his hands frantically. "Seriously, stop bowing. I'm not a savior or Jesus Christ. But I will do what I can."
"Is Jesus Christ your god?" Alyssara tilted her head as she asked.
Ryan giggled. "I suppose at one time he was."
Ryan looked up at the high vaulted ceilings. "Seriously, gods sure are fucking annoying. Keep dragging me into their shit like a puppet."
He looked back at the queen. "So, when do we start?"
As the words left his mouth, an explosion erupted in the streets, and the sky rang with the sounds of horns being blown all over the city.
The queen looked over at Ryan. "Right now."