Some Dragons Never Change
Three hundred years ago, in a settlement ravaged by an imperial invasion...
Imperial Soldier 1: Heh heh heh. You gave us some trouble there, friend, but you're cornered now.
Dragon: To think a human would dare...
Imperial Soldier 2: Bwaa ha ha ha! And to think that YOU, a mighty dragon, would fall like this! It's time for us to free the world from the clutches of you arrogant wyrms!
Imperial Soldier 1: Wait, is that lightning? What the... GYAAAAAAAAH!
Jupiter: Who are the arrogant ones here, hmm? ...Are you all right, my brother?
Dragon: You're the Lightwyrm!
Jupiter: Heard of me, have you? How delightful!
Dragon: But yes, the proud ruler of thunderclouds has been pandering to the humans and aiding them in a fierce battle—or so say the latest rumors, at least.
Jupiter: I'm actually not ACTIVELY pandering. I just happen to find them intriguing and wanted a front-row seat to their goings-on.
Dragon: While I thank you for saving me, Lightwyrm, I cannot consent to your ways. You must stop aiding the humans at once.
Dragon: Do you not see this land? Their folly has turned the waters stagnant, befouled the soil, and polluted the winds. Such actions cannot be suffered to stand!
Dragon: I hate the humans, and can never forgive the horrors they have wrought. As a fellow dragon, surely you must understand this!
Jupiter: Oh, I absolutely see why you'd think that if you only consider the Empire types. But...
The present day, in a city of commerce built up by the countless folk coming and going in its streets.
Humanoid Jupiter: Goodness, but three centuries of time certainly do change a place. To think this used to be that broken-down little hamlet!
Townsperson's Voice: Oh no! This is terrible!
Townspeople: The city's being attacked by a dragon!
Dragon: My hatred for humans burns my very soul, and I will hold back no longer!
Ranzal: Hey, bucko! Why the hell are ya attackin' the city?! What'd it ever do to you?!
Euden: Please calm down and tell us what happened. Maybe we can help.
Dragon: I have waited three hundred years for your kind to reflect upon their misdeeds and show nature its due respect.
Dragon: But you have NOT changed! Your ugly conflicts continue apace, and it is we dragons who suffer for them!
Luca: Now hold on just a hot minute there! It's the Empire who's causing you all that trouble, and the Empire alone.
Dragon: The political bundling of your kinds is no concern of mine. My fury comes for all!
Euden: I don't want to fight, but...
Humanoid Jupiter: You waited the full three hundred years? Now THAT'S discipline!
Euden: Do you know this dragon, Jupiter?!
Humanoid Jupiter: I helped him out three centuries ago when he was being attacked by the Empire.
Humanoid Jupiter: He was yelling about the same kinds of things all the way back then, so I stepped in to help smooth things over.
Dragon: I hate the humans, and can never forgive the horrors they have wrought. As a fellow dragon, surely you must understand this!
Jupiter: Oh, I absolutely see why you'd think that if you only consider the Empire types. But...
Jupiter: While they might be foolish now, I think it's a tad premature to start employing the forceful hand now.
Dragon: Explain yourself.
Jupiter: Compared to we dragons, people are little more than babies. And just as you wouldn't expect perfection from an infant, so too should we expect them to still be growing.
Dragon: Be they adult or babe, I will not turn a blind eye to those who do harm.
Jupiter: A fair point. So how about this? In exchange for my having saved you, please give them a little more time.
Jupiter: Let's see... A hundred years is too short, and I'll get bored of waiting if we go to five, so what say we split the difference at three hundred years?
Jupiter: After all, three centuries is but an eyeblink to us dragons, right?
Dragon: And what happens if I wait?
Jupiter: We'll have new generations of people, the trends of the times will shift, and the state of things will change for the better! ...Or that's my hope, at least.
Dragon: An ambiguous argument.
Jupiter: That's because I don't know the future, which is what makes it so interesting. Certainly more interesting than killing all of them here and now, no?
Dragon: Very well. I will give them three centuries. But if they fail to grow and learn, do not expect me to show any mercy.
Jupiter: Then I'll see you in a while!
Dragon: ...I did as you bade, Lightwyrm, and waited three hundred years to see if people could reform themselves. They did not.
Dragon: They have not changed in these years. They destroy nature, make us suffer, and fight with unspeakable violence!
Luca: Wait, but—
Dragon: No excuses! I will not hear it!
Ranzal: I don't think we're talkin' our way outta this one.
Humanoid Jupiter: Hmm... I see. There's certainly some truth to what you say.
Euden: Jupiter...?
Humanoid Jupiter: I'm sorry, Euden, but I'm taking his side on this.
Jupiter: From now on, I am your enemy!
Euden: WHAT?!
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