By R. John Quisenberry
Sylvarsant waited patiently for the Destroyer. She knew he would come. Because of who she was and because of who he was, it could end no other way.
She had no regrets. She had done what she had to. Just as he had been trying to do what he had to do. She had been the last hope of her kind and she had helped him destroy his own kind.
At last, he arrived. Outwardly he looked the same as he had when he had come to her for help so many years ago. Still, she knew they both had changed a great deal in those years. She had finally fulfilled her destiny and become the mother of the renewed Drakon race. In doing so, she had begun her transformation into the 40 ft. Drakon form she now wore. She was proud of the platinum glory of her scales. The destroyed seemed unfazed by the changes. Bowing deeply, he greeted her, ”Hello your highness. Am I mistaken, or have I been expected?” This last was delivered with a knowing smile as he glanced up at her. ”I have brought two things with me. One is a great treasure, the other is your doom. I require you to tell me some history.”
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She lead him to another room just a short distance down the hall from the anteroom she had greeted him in. She rested on a large dias built to match her spectacular dimensions, while he sat in a comfortably padded, red chair. “Our people have no record of when we first came to know about the keystones. Only a legend remains. We had already come to rely on them heavily by the time your people came to our attention. The first to discover your ancestors saw them as just another food resource. Weak and not too bright were the words I am told were used. Our greatest folly was underestimating our,’food source’.
“As will happen in any society, we had wars. We were at a dangerous stage of one such conflict when a scrawny chicken thief stumbled into a private home. He was caught trying to steal a great treasure from that household. Too bad for him, the keystone was too heavy for him to escape with. The homeowner was amused by his antics and allowed him to struggle for a time. He did not notice at first when the scroungy creature managed to break a piece off and vanished.
“Some speculated that it was an invasive species we had accidentally allowed into our universe from another.
“When the homeowner reported this event, it was determined that such an animal would need to be studied. The homeowner was executed and eaten. The town officials set a trap with food in hopes that the animal would return. After several years, a small group of filthy things came, but they had changed. They were carrying tools and wearing more complicated clothing. Their leader was the same one who had broken in before.
“This returning thief managed to take the food without being caught in the trap and managed to make off with a larger chunk of the keystone in another of the noble houses. That family was, of course, killed and eaten for being so negligent.
“At that time, we realized that these creatures were a threat.
“The next trap was significantly more elaborate. Three of the six beings were caught alive. Two died after killing two nobles of our people. These nobles were full grown 40-foot-long Drakon that massed around 1.5 tons each.
“We eventually caught enough of each gender and we developed a breeding program. Some of us saw them as slightly risky and exotic food. Some were kept and domesticated. We eventually trained them to perform helpful chores.
“We have a special crystal system that allows us to play back stored memories that we recovered from the Drakons at the time of death. The memories are composited into a continuous experience that we can allow you to enjoy.
“Unfortunately, no recordings of that type exist from the very first time your people stumbled into our lands… Still, what we have should tell you all you need to know of what happened.” Pointing to a platform at the center of the room with a roomy mattress covered in soft cloth that shimmered in the warm lighting of the room