novelraw Chapter 233: [233] Gold Dragon
Chapter 233: [233] Gold Dragon
Within the royal family of Doniatan was a well guarded secret, one that had been passed down from generation to generation.
Although the current royals were considered human by many, the first king of Donia was in fact a dragon.
Many years ago, a fierce dragon by the name of Doniatan took interest in a human woman called Tabitha.
This interest would later grow fondness, and fondness into love. But that was a thousand years ago, a time where humanity was yet to rise to their feet.
Their technology was crude and so was their thinking. Their lands were covered in blood, corruption was rampant, and a few even dared to hunt dragon kind.
It was no wonder that Tabitha was rejected from the dragon tribe. Unable to bear the thought of being apart, but too weak to war against his father, the then Dragon king...
Doniatan took Tabitha and fled the north, flying over the seas to the then monster filled plains of Donia.
And there, he established a kingdom for himself. One where he was free to do as he pleased.
Every royal bearing the name Doniatan had some degree of dragon blood running through their veins.
In the early days, these royals, the first Dragon-kin, could express Draconic features, most even being able to transform.
But as time went by, since the dragon-kin only had regular humans as partners, the bloodline had slowly weakened.
Now, in the present day, only a handful of the Doniatan royals were able to express their Draconic traits.
Well, that was until Darius, the current king somehow managed to woo Svynnah, otherwise known as the Golden Sun. The dragon that ruled over the lush mountains, north of Donia.
As a result, for the first time in over one thousand years of history, a true dragonborn prince was born.
One who was more dragon than human—
’At least, that was how it went according to the novel.’ Eliron mused as he watched Alex.
The Prince’s body was shrouded in a bright golden light, and then his skin began to morph, scales bursting out and coating the entirety of his body.
Then his body swelled, expanding so fast that Eliron had to dash away, as a hot burst of wind ruffled his clothing, searing his skin.
Standing before Eliron, staring down at him with bestial eyes bearing uncanny intelligence, was the most magestic of all dragons.
A Gold Dragon.
His scales resembled polished stone, his golden eyes were like burning embers, and each of his claws were as long as Eliron’s arms.
Standing face to face with a dragon was soemthing...
Although it would likely take one of the twelve Titans themselves to scare Eliron, he could feel a strong malovalent aura coming from Alex, one that was enough to put him on edge.
It was a sheer domineering aura, one worthy of the apex predator, a king among beasts.
Alexander breathed out a puff of steam then let out a calm breath.
"It has been so long since I have been in this form." He said thoughtfully, his voice much deeper than it had previously been.
"It feels... freeing..."
"Well that is to be expected right? You were born to be a dragon after all."
Eliron doubted that he had to consume energy to stay in this form since he was a dragon-kin, but since he was likely born in dragon form, his body was likely more adapted to it.
Alex’s eyes narrowed. "How much do you know?"
Eliron shrugged uncaringly. "Enough."
"..."
"Stop staring at me like that, it is ominous. What are you even thinking about in that large head of yours?"
Alex’s wings fluttered as though he was stretching.
"I was wondering how you would taste. Apologies, when I am in this form, my mind... it wanders."
Eliron took a step back.
Dragons did not consider any of the races as their peers, they saw themselves as the superior beings of the current world.
And they had reason to believe so. Their technology, government and nations were years ahead of any other race.
Depending on the dragon you came across, you could very well be their next meal..
"No need for pretence, I know you do not have an ounce of fear for me. We dragons can sense that sort of thing." Alex said, swaying his massive head.
He turned to face the door. "Shall we get this over with?"
"Before that..." Eliron raised a hand to stop him. There was something he was curious about, something that even the novel failed mention.
"Speaking of pretence. Is there a reason you act so cowardly when in human form?" Eliron asked bluntly.
Dragons were not weak creatures by any means. Alex was likely strong enough to take on the Grand marshal without much trouble.
Yet, he flinched at the smallest signs of trouble, feigning a sense of danger when there was none.
Eliron already knew it was all an act, but now, standing in front of his dragon form only went on to solidify his earlier suspicions.
"Well, I wouldn’t call it cowardly per say..."
Alex waited a few seconds, gathering his thoughts.
"As you already know, I was born different from the rest. My other siblings, born from a different mother, have a hard time relating with me because of this."
He paused, thinking back to his past.
"For a long time, I was... detached, to say the least. Dragons do not experience the world the same way humans do, and as such I always seemed inhuman."
When Alex was younger, the maids avoided him, the guards kept their distance, and even his siblings put him off.
Alex did not blame them for this, it was probably hard relating with someone who hardly laughed or smiled, and worst of all ate only bloodied raw meat...
He remained like this for a long time, up until the day he met Ciera, one of the trainee maids that arrived at the castle.
While Alex was weird, Ciera was weirder. She was harsh, like a coiling serpent, and it did not matter who came across her, Ciera would bite down without remorse.
But the best part was that Ciera was defective. The girl seemed to have no concept of fear.
She fascinated him to no end, and so one day, Alex demanded his father hand her to him as a pet, only to get cussed out by the girl and scolded by his father.
And so, from that day onwards, Ciera taught him to be "human."
"Humans are naturally cowards... brave people have only learned to hide their cowardice." That was what she would always tell him.
Humans would interact more with people who they could relate to. A cold, fearless prince? There was nothing common between them.
And so in order to learn more about humans and explore his human side, Alex put on an act, the personality that was now popularly known.
"So what do you think? Genius is it not?" He smiled, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
Eliron gave it a moment of thought. "If it is to learn more about humans, then I guess it is alright..."
Although Alex was a dragon, he was part human too.
"But it must be suffocating right?" Eliron said thoughtfully.
"You don’t have to act that way in front of me. I’m plenty weird myself, and as you know, I have no reason to fear you."
Alex stared at Eliron for a few seconds then chuckled. "Hahaha, I see. I guess now I’ll have two people I can be normal with."
"Now..." He smiled. "Let’s get this rusty old door open."
He placed his large paw in the groove in the door, then one by one, the runes lit up, and then there was a loud click—
Smoke poured out of the buttom part of the door, just before it snapped open.
Eliron’s eyes widened, a smirk tugging on the corner of his lips.
"This... this is..."