Raising A Dragon
Tim McCoy

Blood poured 

across my hand as the blade penetrated his stomach; only fools stood before me. I was King Bane of Asgard, the warrior that had defeated the last of the old gods and brought about a new age of power. I ruled with supreme authority over a society that now flourished with magic. Some fools however still looked to the fallen gods for help; this was the simple result.

I booted the man's body across the room and re-sheathed the blood covered knife, the blade would probably rust but I could easily get another. Fury flowed through my veins and drove me out of my beautifully crafted golden castle and into the soldier's barracks. There were no soldier here anymore; in a world of magic instruments such as swords were now thought of as unnecessary and pointless. The fact that I still favoured cold metal over magic was something that tended to give me an edge against the complacent mages who constantly challenged my right to rule.

In this empty, hollowed out shell I could finally think. Mage Kings were popping up across the world and claiming ownership of one or another of my territories. They seemed to believe that I no longer had the strength to control my empire. While this was a long way from the truth it did create a very large problem. I could not hold my land together if these little wizards kept rising up against me; I needed something that would stop them in their tracks. The only problem was that to really crush the momentum of their pathetic rebellions I would need one of the great spells.

To summon such energy was forbidden and it was the one law that all of these rebellious mages still followed. The reason for this was simple, great spells could only ever be partially controlled. No human could direct the forces that were supposed to be channelled only by the gods. When I had killed them I had also destroyed any chance humankind had of harnessing the greatest and most potent magical forces. Now not even I could safely summon those powers without risking death or the destruction of this entire planet.

Growling I threw out my hand and the buildings around me burst into white hot flames. Lightening poured from a cloudless sky and hammered the earth around me. I could lay waste to entire armies but I needed something that would terrify those who sat just below my own power level into submission. Perhaps my only hope would be to summon one of the Guardians, the creatures that had been created to watch over the Kingdom of the gods. I had killed most of them when I began my rule and had bound the rest of them sorcerously. Now I felt was the time to show the world once again that there was no limit to my power or my brutality.

“Ksharan seakoth emarinu. Jerkarthen saaraac, ferthesh eloht,” I cried and the ground beneath me split apart.

I flung myself skyward and hovered just out of reach as flames exploded from the cracked earth. A dark shape began to slowly take form over the opening. This was Nidhoggr, the devourer. With this dragon at my side none could ever hope to challenge me. Smiling I finished the binding spell and watched as the powerful black dragon was bent to serve my will.

Now the people would remember why I had been the one to destroy the gods, now they would remember why I was their King! 

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