The loss of a legend

“How could this have happened?” muttered a white dragon the size of a large iceberg. “How could the Original Dragon pass away just like that? It's unheard of.”

And yet you heard of it, which is why you are here, thought Kazue. Along with every other dragon in existence, it seems.

“They say there were no signs,” said a green dragon with bright blue water drop markings running down his flank, his voice hushed but still audible. “But would they have told anyone else, even if there were?”

There's no way any of us would have known about those signs either, thought Kazue, lifting her dark head just high enough to scan the crowds for any hint of the two dragons she needed to see the most. We would have had to be here first.

“Shh! Her daughters might hear you,” hissed a dandelion-yellow dragon with oily black eyes. “Apparently they're all going to be present today.”

“Do you think they'll fight it out here?” wondered the green dragon shamelessly. “Is that why they called us all to the Range of ruin for their mother's Remembrance Vigil?”

Kazue would have laughed but that would have drawn more unwanted attention when all she truly wanted to do was see her sisters and then leave for another century or so. At the centre of the rocky plateau was the body of the great dragon who had ruled and had been the living lodestone of the every other dragon alive.

Well maybe not every other dragon, she mused as flashes of grey and blue sped past a gap in the towering rocks that formed a broken wall around the Range of Ruin. Is that –?

“Greetings, Kazue, Wielder of Flame,” said a bright orange dragon that was almost the same size as her. “I grieve your unexpected loss, along with the rest of our kind.”

“You have my thanks,” replied the black dragon as the speaker bowed her head, mirroring the action. “I am sure the Original Dragon would have been honoured to know you were here. Now, if you would excuse me –”

“Yes, her passing has left a great wound in the heart of dragon kind,” continued the orange dragon, her rich voice low but resounding. “Have you come to tend to that wound yourself?”

The frantic whispers ebbed for a moment as every dragon present seemed to look in their direction. Clearly most of them had just realised she was there and Kazue had the shadow of a jagged stone alcove to thank for the brief respite. She breathed in to contain her instant reaction to the situation and smiled solemnly at the intrusive dragon before her.

“That is something I must discuss with my sisters first,” she said calmly. “I am sure you understand this is not a decision any of us can make alone.”

“Of course, of course,” said the orange one but she seemed unsatisfied by the subdued reaction of her peers. “May I ask where they are?”

The murmured conversations welled up again and several dragons moved towards the alcove,

prompting another alarmingly wide wave to follow them.

“I was about to find them myself,” she replied, stretching her red tipped wings out and rearing up onto her hind legs. “I leave the Original Dragon in your care.”

She leapt into the sky before the other dragon could protest and slammed wingfuls of air upon those approaching her before soaring away into the grey afternoon.

~~~

“Kazu!” squealed her youngest sister, Akemi, as soon as she landed on the crag they were hiding on. “Where were you?”

“Trying to make sure no one was following me,” she replied, widening her stance as the blue dragon stumbled against her and nearly knocked them both into the sea.

“It doesn't look like they did,” said Takara, the middle sister, moving at a more sedate pace as she scanned the skies. “How bad was it?”

“I reckon every dragon alive is here right now,” replied Kazue with a shake of her head. “They think we're all going to fight for her spot.”

“What spot?” asked Akemi, peering out from beneath her extended black wing.

“The next Dragon Queen spot,” said Kazue, folding up her other wing and catching Takara's eye.

For half a second, the splash of waves below them sprinkled the quietness. They all burst out laughing a second later, breathless, overwhelmed noises that couldn't be concealed by the grumble of the ocean. The eldest two tried to muffle their amusement with their wings. Akemi's laughter bounced around the niche they were tucked into and down the tunnels that eventually led back up to the surface of the island.

What'll happen if any of the others hear it? wondered Kazue, hurriedly stifling a new bout of laughter.

“I wish I could say I'm surprised any of them think that but –” Takara shrugged her wings only after she managed to stop giggling, although the occasional amused sound slipped out between her words.

“How long do you reckon they'll need to give up on that idea?” asked the darkest dragon. “ A century? Two?”

“They're all so stupid,” said Akemi, her voice shaking from a mixture of entertainment and frustration. “Why would we stay away if we wanted to take her place?”

“I honestly couldn't tell you.” Kazue shook her head.

“Why not?” Akemi's wings half lifted in anticipation, a faint scowl in her tone.

“No, that just means I don't know.”

“Oh.” Her head lowered. “I guess she really is gone, isn't she?”

“Yeah,” murmured Kazue. The darkness of the tunnels had swallowed their laughter. “We should go and say our farewells.”

Her sisters hummed gloomily in agreement and they lingered in the hidden cave for a little longer before returning to the plateau.

~~~

“Honoured daughters, which of you will be taking over from the Original Dragon?” asked one of the gathered dragons, a green fiend with a pattern the shape of brown leaves across his flank.

That's not what you're really asking us though, is it? thought Kazue as she exchanged swift glances with both of her sisters.

The moon had barely risen and many of the others were ready to return to their mundane lives. They simply wanted to ensure they wouldn't miss out on the battle of the century before doing so.

Takara nodded subtly, passing on the responsibility that was usually hers to the eldest, who silently damned the crowd for being so adamant on sticking to old expectations and manners.

And they're not the only ones, she thought. If I'm going to get rid of one inconvenience, I might as well get rid of them all while I have the chance.

“First, thank you to everyone who's come here today,” she said, raising her voice which could be impressively loud when she wanted it to be. Several dragons close by twitched in the absence of their formal collective title. “The Orig- Our mother was well loved by a lot of you and I'm sure that won't change.”

All around them, dragons looked at each other. Some in confusion at her informal speech, others in alarm, and some even with varying degrees of disgust. All slipped from her scales like dried mud.

“And, to answer your question, young one,” she continued, looking at the green dragon. “None.”

“What does that mean, Wielder of Flame?” he asked after a potent pause.

“None of us will be replacing the Original Dragon,” she replied. “Not now, or ever.”

A similar pause, much like a breath held in apprehension, swelled over the island. The air congealed as they all waited for someone to change their mind or declare that it was an inappropriate joke. Takara's shoulder brushed briefly against her right. Akemi lifted her head until it was visible in her peripheral vision, even as her little wings quivered on her back.

Kazue breathed in until the cold air cleared her mind and waited.

The bubble of uncertainty burst quickly. A ripple of voices rolled from the furthest edges of the range, it seemed, colliding with the outburst of those standing closest to the trio.

“No one will be replacing her?”

“There won't be another Original Dragon?”

“How dare you cast aside your mother's legend so easily!”

“Someone has to take command, otherwise –”

“Maybe it should be me then. Our kind need a dragon who will be present instead of disappearing into the shadows of time.”

“That's right,” said Kazue at once, her sharp teeth reflecting the moonlight. “Us dragons should be led by someone who wants to lead us.”

“And by someone who deserves to,” added Takara in the short lull between their indignant voices. “Not just anyone.”

“Surely that must be one of you then?” asked a wizened dragon with dull moss outlining her pale grey scales. “Who else is worthy of such an honour?”

“We don't know,” said Kazue. “And that's why we're leaving it up to you to find out.”

“This is unacceptable,” cried out someone from further away, conveniently concealed by the darkness. “The Original Dragon is not so easily replaced. Do you believe she would have sacrificed her time to raise you all so well if she did not expect you to succeed her?”

Kazue almost laughed out loud but Takara's shoulder pressed lightly against her own before the bitter sound could crack the cold night atmosphere.

“I hope so,” she said instead, glancing back at the huge corpse with brown scales that lacked the sheen they had had when the Original Dragon was still alive. “She was our mother.”

“Even so, we must be led by either you or one of your sisters,” yelled someone else. “Or no –”

“– Or what?” Kazue straightened up and the flames rising in her chest flickered across her tone. “It doesn't matter how many of you there are. You can't force anyone to lead you.”

“Unless we give them a reason to,” said another dragon, their voice loud enough to be heard clearly but soft enough to avoid identification.

“Oh?” Kazue's gaze sliced the shadows like a blood-red blade, her wings lifting slightly off her back. “And what kind of reason would that be then? Because it sounded suspiciously like a threat to me.”

The dragons glanced at each other and muttered vehemently amongst themselves but none of them repeated the barely veiled call to action.

“Do you think that's a good idea?” asked Takara, speaking up for the first time since the conversation had begun. “If anything happens to any of us, we don't be able to lead you at all.”

“You have made it clear that you do not intend to do so already,” said the orange dragon who had spoken to Kazue earlier that day as she moved towards them through the crowd.

“So attacking us would be pointless,” snapped Akemi as both she and Takara stood up straighter. “And stupid.”

Although she was the smallest of the three, she still outclassed at least half of the creatures around them and beat them all when it came to expressing vitriol, particularly in self defence. Kazue held back a smile.

“It would be,” agreed the other dragon gravely. “Which is why I believe we would be better served by the solution I propose.”

“And that is?” asked Kazue, her eyelids lowering suspiciously.

“That the Original Dragon's core is taken to the Temple of Rebirth,” she replied. “So that she may return to us in a new vessel.”