FORGOTTEN KING

== EVERYTHING IS OWNED BY ARCADIAN SOLITUDE. THEFT WILL NOT BE PERMITTED. ==
= CHAPTER 1 =
How long has it been since I was trapped here? A hundred years? Two hundred? The dragon tried shifting his body. Nothing moved, as usual. He was completely enclosed in the ice. He relaxed his dry muscles and hissed angrily. This is all that blasted animus dragons fault.
…
What was her name again?
…
Lichen couldn’t remember anymore. He had been dead for so long that there was no point in it. Was his name actually Lichen? Or something else? It didn’t matter. He was never getting out of this place.
…
His claws scratched the ice below him, well worn tracks from years of boredom. Not being able to move any other part of your body was really annoying. He couldn’t even tell if he was facing up or down. I think my neck broke when I first got hit by the avalanche. 
…
It’s cold in an iceberg. Lichen couldn’t feel his wings or tail anymore. Who knows how broken they might be? Are they even attached anymore? Being an immortal undead zombie was rough.
…
He thought back to the SkyWings, as usual. Mainly the village he destroyed. And burned. And slaughtered everyone inside, even the dragonets. The same horrible void opened up inside his chest as he remembered the small dragonet clutching her little siblings unhatched egg, and how Lichen simply reached out and slashed her throat. 
…
How he stabbed the egg with his tail barb. 
…
How he made the dragonet’s father watch as he set fire to her corpse.
…
Lichen cried out softly. He couldn’t cry anymore. But he could still call out his anguish to the unhearing world. There was nobody to hear him anyways. He didn’t know how he could cry. There was no air here, and he probably no longer had functioning lungs, but here he was anyway, wailing gently into the ice as he had every day for decades.
…
Kings shouldn’t cry.
…
But I’m not a king. Not anymore. I don’t deserve to be.
…
At the time of the massacre, he was grieving the loss of his own children. His daughter, Caracal, was killed in a royal challenge, and the young prince was killed by a pack of hounds. It’s no excuse for what I did.
…
They were so young.
…
I should have died.
…
But I’m still here.
…
This is what I deserve.
…
This is my punishment.
…
This is my special hell.
= CHAPTER 2 =
There was a dragon in the ice.
“I’m not lying!” Guillemot said. “It looks like some weird SandWing!” She bounded over to the little green snow covered bush, and pointed with her wing to the northeast. “It’s really big, too.”
Bowhead adjusted his glasses and stared into the distance where his sister had pointed. “A SandWing? Why would one be this far north? And in the ice? How?” He said, walking alongside her. Gui shrugged and ran off up the mountain trail. Bowhead sighed and cantered to keep up.
They were rather close to the Sand Kingdom border now, but still fairly well into the IceWing territory, past the ice wall. Bowhead remembered talk of a diplomatic outpost on this mountain from hundreds of years ago, a century or two before the Darkstalker. He shuddered at even the thought of his name.
“Here!”
He glanced up towards his sister. Gui was bouncing up and down and pointing to a spot in the snow that had become exposed ice. It was getting hotter in this part of the kingdom, well above freezing temperatures, and it looked like it was melting slightly. 
Bowhead walked over the ice, digging his claws in to avoid sliding on the slick surface. “Are you sure this is safe, Gui?” he said. Her nervously clutched the observation slates and chisel he had brought in his wing pouch. It would not be good for the ice to crack open into a lake. Gui nodded. “Yes, it’s safe. I found it while hunting yesterday. Come look come look!” she said, tail spines clattering excitedly.
He arched his neck and looked down into the ice, expecting nothing but bones or a mummy.
Instead he was met with bright purple eyes staring at him out of black nothing.
He yelped and jumped away, skittering on the frosty surface. His slates flew out of the pouch and slid away. Gui jumped back, seeming to notice the eyes as well. One of the slates jumped out of the pouch and hit the ice directly above the frozen dragon’s head. A resounding splintering crack sound echoed through the clearing and the two dragonets took to the air.
“That thing is alive.”
= CHAPTER 3 =
Lichen jerked awake. Were those talonsteps? He sat silently, ears perked. They were. And they were coming this way. He tried twisting his head to look out of the somewhat clear ice, but again, his head was frozen in place. He muttered softly to himself.
It sounded like the dragons stopped next to where he was, and one of them was saying something to the other. So there are two. Probably IceWings. Young IceWings.  What were they doing here? Didn’t they have things to do?
One of them walked over, and Lichen stared directly up out of the ice. It put a lot of strain on his eyes and he grunted. Apparently they were still intact enough to hurt.
Yep. Those were IceWings. He stared the one looking at him directly in the eyes. At least, he thought it was their eyes. Everything was blurry and entirely too bright. They yelped and skittered away. Which was completely understandable. He probably looked terrifying.
And then the tablet fell.
It was LOUD.
Lichen roared, trying to rear his head back. The ice was splitting all around him,  and it was absolutely deafening. He could swear his skull cracked as well. All his muscles tensed and he felt some of them tear. He snarled again and tried to twist away.
And the ice above his head moved.
It… moved?
…
Seems like those dragons ran off. He frowned slightly, the edges of his mouth creasing dryly. He was too tired for this. I’m going to take a nap and then figure out if I can break the ice more. I’ve got nothing but time.
…
Lichen broke the ice more. So much in fact that he was able to wiggle his front talons and head out. If he stretched his neck out, it crackled horribly, but he could see just barely over the edge of where he was buried. It felt good to stretch anything. Honestly. You spend 300 or so years in an iceberg without moving and see how you feel afterwards.
He rubbed his talons together. Now to get the rest of me out of here. It was going to be rough. He wasn’t quite sure how his wings were placed since he couldn’t feel them, but he could feel his frozen tail and legs. If I can… wait, can I still breathe fire?
Probably not. He hadn’t needed to breathe for 3 centuries, so he didn’t see how he could. But it was worth a shot. Lichen twisted his neck around and faced the ice that his right wing was trapped in, then took a deep breath.
That was the worst mistake EVER. The horrid smell hit him first, then one of his lungs collapsed and threw him into a coughing fit. Which was even worse because his throat was so dry it almost broke apart.
So.
No breathing.
Ever again if he can help it. That was awful.
He did take another small breath in through his nose, just to check how the area smelled. Disgusting, is what. It was probably just him though. He was pretty sure that ancient rotting frozen unthawed dragon meat did not smell pleasant at all. Well, that scratched a very good option off of the escape list. He sighed (mentally, mind you) and set his head back down on the ice shelf where it had been resting for years.
Time for another nap. I deserve it.
…
Something poked his head and he snapped his eyes open. Lichen heard a yelp. “Hello?” he rasped, blinking in the sunlight. “Is someone there?”
He sat up as best he could and looked around. Those IceWings were back! The little ones from a few days ago! Why were they here? Lichen stretched his neck out, popping almost all of the vertebrates. There was a small female dragonet and a larger male. They both had pale grey scales with similar white patches, and the male wore spectacles. Lichen assumed they were related.
The larger one adjusted the circles of glass hanging in front of his eyes and edged closer to where the frozen dragon lay. “I don’t bite,” Lichen said quietly, resting his jaw on the edge of the hole. “Well that’s good! I- um…” the dragonet stuttered on his words. “My name is- uh- My name is Bowhead, this is my sister Guillemot.”
“It’s nice to meet you. As you can tell, I don’t get many visitors out here.” Lichen tried shifting his torso around. It was difficult to talk when your body is stuck in the ice. How was he talking? Strange. “My name is Lichen.”
“...Hi.”
“Hello.”
“Um, how are you alive?”
“I’m not.”
“What?” Bowhead looked confused. Lichen chuckled softly. “I’m not alive. Simply put.” Guillemot walked over and looked into the hole that Lichen had managed to carve in the ice. “I died in an avalanche. About 300 years ago I believe.” He shifted again. The female IceWing started digging chunks out of the ice and he turned his head towards her.“What are you doing?” He said gently.
“I’m getting you out of the ice!” Guillemot said cheerfully, throwing a chunk over her shoulder. Lichen’s eyes widened, and he stretched his neck out to watch. She was quick, like she had done this before. Little claws with serrated edges made quick work of the ice. Before he knew it, his right wing was free. He stretched it out gingerly, gaining a little bit of feeling back. “Thank you, little one.”
“You never answered my question,” Bowhead said. Lichen turned back towards him and regarded him with stern eyes. “I’m cursed. By an animus. It’s rather simple.” Bowhead pulled out a small slate and chisel and began to carve words into the stone. “What was the animus dragon’s name?” He said, pushing his glasses up his snout again. “What was the spell they cast on you?”
Lichen growled softly. “I don’t want to talk about my past.”
“It’s only a few questions-”
“I SAID NO!” Lichen roared, rearing up angrily. He felt his left wing jerk free and his back legs loosen from the ice’s cold grip. Bowhead scrambled back. Lichen snarled angrily at him. “Get me out of here and MAYBE I’ll answer a few more. Keep annoying me and I’ll hunt you down.”
“I thought you said you didn’t bite,” Guillemot said quietly. Lichen froze. She sounds just like that dragonet. He sighed. “I’m sorry. I just want to leave this place. I’ve been stuck here for so long…” She nodded and moved towards his tail. “Watch my barb. I don’t know if there is any venom left in there and I don’t want you getting hurt.”
Bowhead cleared his throat significantly and arched his eyebrows. “So you’ll hunt me down but you don’t want my sister getting hurt?”
Lichen sighed. He had forgotten how exhausting dragonets could be sometimes. The ice was getting slick. Was it melting?
…
It took a while since his tail was farther down in the ice, but Guillemot finally managed to clear it off to where he was able to slide it out. As he clambered out of the ice, he remembered how tall he was. Lichen absolutely towered over the IceWings, almost four times their size. He frowned down at them.
I could kill them with a flick of my claws.
I should, considering how annoying that Bowhead one was.
The SkyWing dragonet flashed through his mind again and he tensed. What was he thinking? He couldn’t kill anyone. Why was he still thinking like that? I’m not a king anymore. I hold no power over anyone.
“...Thank you.”
“No problem.” Guillemot chirped, smiling at him. He smiled back gently.
“Where will you go now?” Bowhead said. He clutched his slate and gazed up at the massive dragon. “Back to my home.” Lichen said, but he paused. He had no home. He couldn’t go back to the Sand Palace. It had been 300 years since he lived there. They wouldn’t even remember him. “Back to the Kingdom of Sand. Maybe I’ll live at an oasis.” Bowhead nodded slightly.
“I suppose you want me to answer a few more questions before I go, hmm?” Lichen said, settling down onto a small patch of cold moss. The dragonet nodded again. “Gui, go back home and tell them I'll be late for supper. I’ll be back soon.”
She nodded and took off to the southwest, down the mountain. Lichen watched her go through the gaps in the trees. He sighed and turned back towards the little researcher. “Ask away.”
= CHAPTER 4 =
After Lichen left the Ice Kingdom, he found a small settlement near an oasis called Scarab’s Refuge. It’s been about 50 years since he set up his home there.
_ _ _
Lichen paced out of his tent, blinking his dark eyes in the bright sun. Dragonets were yelling and chasing each other around the buildings next to the water. It was late in the day, since he never woke up before noon, but still entirely too bright outside. He grunted and walked slowly over to the stall on the shore of the pool. The reserves of water in his house for his plants had run out.
“Hey there, Lichen!” the water merchant said, smiling as he walked towards the small tent. Lichen nodded and adjusted his hooded cape. “The usual, my good sir?” Succulent said as she pulled out a medium sized camel skin and walked out the back of the stall. “Your plants must be growing well for you to need this much!”
“Ah, they are growing just excellently.” Lichen said as he walked alongside her. “The swordleaf in particular is blooming nicely. I should be able to harvest the roots soon.” He settled down on the outside of the small barbed fence around the perimeter of the oasis and the guards tilted their heads at him. “Most of the vegetables have gotten a bit dry. I suppose I've been neglecting them.”
“Weren’t you growing those for the old folk’s home?” Succulent said, unlocking the gate to the shore and dipping the mouth of the camel skin below the surface to fill it. “Speaking of, shouldn’t you be there too? I remember you from when I was a tiny dragonet!” she laughed loudly and Lichen arched his eyebrows. “Ha ha, very funny. I’m only 50 years old, thank you very much.” he said, standing up as she walked back to the gate.
She grinned as she handed the water pouch back to him. “You don’t look a day over 90.” Lichen rolled his eyes and handed her a talonful of gold coins. Succulent handed him the camel skin and he set off back to his home.
…
After a few more stops to other market stalls, Lichen walked leisurely down the path to his small tent, humming a small tune he had heard earlier in the week. Little did he know, he was being watched.
A small SkyWing dragonet peeked over a low stone wall, the rest of her body out of sight. She looked him up and down, taking in his size. No doubt he was too large for his own good. The large pouch of water in his claws was something she could snatch easily and resell for quite the coin. He wouldn’t be able to move fast enough to catch her, he was far too old.
She darted out from behind the wall and ran past him, wrenching the camel skin from his grip and running off. The huge dragon snarled angrily and whipped around much faster than she had anticipated. She yelped and skittered off into the distance with the old dragon close behind her. 
“Thief!” he roared, beating his wings to run faster. “Stop her!” The nearby guards dropped their roasted lizards and leapt in her direction. She turned sharply down an alley she knew they wouldn’t be able to follow. As she looked over her shoulder, she saw the old SandWing she stole from angrily reaching through the gap. His eyes were a bright purple, startling and vengeful. He bared his fangs, yellowed and sharp as knives.
The dragonet wove her way through the back alleys, catching her breath. She stopped behind a tall building in the market. She rubbed the sand off of her snout and took a small sip of water out of the pouch she had stolen. I hate doing this. That old man didn’t deserve this. She wrapped the string back around the mouth of the sack and slung it over her small back with a sigh.
As she started down the trail back to her tent, she saw multiple dragons moving in the shadows and bowed her head nervously. She knew what was going to happen.
“Dahlia.”
She flinched. A SandWing dragonet a year or two older than her stepped into the alleyway, followed by two other dragonets. He spread his wings, blocking any way Dahlia could have gone. “Ironwood.” she said in what she thought was a nice calm voice. Her wings were shaking and she clutched the water pouch closer to her chest. “What do you want?”
“I want that water.”
“No. It’s mine.”
Ironwood hissed and stepped towards her, arching his tail. “I’m not asking again. Hand over the water or I'll take it from you,” Dahlia shook her head again. He growled and lifted his talon to swipe at her. She shut her eyes and curled up, waiting for the hit. But no hit came.
Shouts and yelps broke the tense air around her. Dahlia opened her eyes and saw Ironwood pinned against the wall by his neck by a dragon four times larger than any of them. His friends had skittered off in all directions, leaving clouds of sand behind them. He clawed at the huge dragon’s talon around his throat. Dahlia scrambled to her feet and stared at the huge dragon. She gasped.
It was the old man from before.
“I think you’ll find that’s MY water.” the ancient SandWing hissed bitterly at the small dragonet in his claws. Ironwood flailed desperately. His face was going pale. I can’t let him get hurt! Dahlia jumped forward in front of the dragon and tried to push him away with no luck.
“Please leave him alone!” she said desperately, spreading her small wings and putting her talons on the large dragon’s chest. Something seemed to flash in his eyes, and after a moment he dropped Ironwood and backed away. Ironwood scrambled away off into the distance, leaving Dahlia and the old man staring at each other.
He wasn’t as big as she thought. In fact, when he was settled down like this, he was only a little taller than her father. His scales were a pale sandy color with a green tinge to them. He looked as if he had gotten all of the water sucked out of him. The most startling thing about him were his sunken bright purple eyes. He was practically a skeleton. The huge dragon shifted his wings and glared at her.
“So. You’re the little criminal who stole my water.” he muttered, staring down at her. Dahlia looked at her claws and nodded solemnly. “I am. I’m sorry.” she whispered. The old man stared at her for a moment. “Hmm.”
He walked around her and picked up the empty skin. “You spilled it all.” Dahlia flinched as he turned back towards her. He paused for a moment, then ducked his head to her level. “Listen. I’m not mad. Maybe a little. But you look like you’re struggling and could use it more than I could.” He said, holding out the pouch. “There’s a little bit left. Take it.”
Dahlia reached out hesitantly and took the camel skin in her talons. It was barely even half full anymore. She looked up at the old dragon and found that he was watching her with sad eyes. “What’s wrong?”
He started slightly and looked away. “Nothing. You just… remind me of someone.” She looked at him closely.
“What’s your name?”
“My name is Lichen.”
“Lich?”
“No, Li-”
“I’ll just call you Lich.”
“...Alright then.”
“I’m Dahlia, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Dahlia”
= CHAPTER 5 =
It’s been about six months since Dahlia and Lich met in the alleyway. Dahlia has visited his home almost every day to help with his garden. He’s grown nearly twice the usual amount of vegetables he normally does, and they’re on their way back from donating them to the elderly dragon’s home and the orphanage. They have become close friends.
_ _ _
Dahlia looked around Lich’s neck from her spot on his back. It was pretty comfortable, and it’s where she usually stayed on their walks around the Refuge. Seeing everything higher up was cool too. She was pretty small for her age, to be honest. Lich twisted his thin head to look at her and he wrinkled his snout at her in an amused way. She smiled back at him.
“You still got the veggies?” he said, glancing at her back. She grinned in an evil way. “I’ve still got you, old man!” she laughed. Lich rolled his eyes and chuckled softly. “But yes, I have the leftover ones. We grew a lot!”
“I know we did, I’m impressed. I guess that’s what help can do.” he said, turning down the path to his tent. “You should probably be getting back home, it’s late.” Dahlia glanced up and frowned. He was right, the sun was setting and the sky was darkening. She sighed as he knelt down for her to climb off her back. “I don’t wanna go home, it’s boring.”
They rounded the corner together, chatting about the day they had. But something seemed off. Was the sky hazier than usual? Dahlia trailed off her story, and took a small sniff. That was smoke. Wasn’t it?
“Do you smell that?” she said, pausing and turning her head towards Lich. He tilted his head up and glanced around. “I can’t. What is it?”
“Smoke.”
He twitched in a weird sort of way. “Well, we do live in a city full of fire breathing dragons. Someone probably just lit something.” Dahlia shook her head. “No, this isn’t just some little torch, this is too strong. And close.”
Lich looked up at the sky and made a hissing sound. She looked up too and was greeted by a massive pillar of smoke stretching into the clouds. The old man darted down the path and disappeared around the next bend. Dahlia rushed after him. She had almost caught up when she heard him roar furiously.
A fire had engulfed his home. Flames licked at every wooden post, every scrap of cloth. It was blazingly hot and Dahlia had to cover her face with her wings. “Lich? Where are you?” she called out, looking around for her friend.
She spotted him sitting entirely too close to the inferno, wings askew at his sides. He looked utterly defeated. The hunch of his back radiated sadness, but his entire body was tense. Is he shaking? Dahlia crept up next to him. It was so hot over here it began to hurt a little. How was he so close?
Lich didn’t seem to notice her even when she put a talon on his wing. He was staring into the fire, his purple eyes bright and hollow. He was completely still. When Dahlia shook his wing he didn’t even look at her. He just kept staring into the flames.
What was wrong with him?
…
Fire.
Fire everywhere.
Dragons ran past Lich, screaming. SkyWings with wings and scales alight tried to take to the air. But SandWing soldiers slammed into them and they fell to the ground, dead and bleeding. He was frozen in the center of the chaos, engulfed by the yells and shrieks of the villagers.
And he was there.
The old him.
King Lichen.
He loomed over a dragonet, fangs bared and eyes burning with rage. The dragonet stared up at him and tried to scramble away. The king lunged forward and slammed his massive talons around her skull as she shrieked. Lich gasped. That was Dahlia. He couldn’t move, couldn’t cry out, couldn’t do anything. It was like he was trapped in the ice again.
He watched with a cold hollow dread as his old self gripped Dahlia’s head and twisted viciously. A resounding crack echoed through the burning pavilion and her small body went limp. Her neck was twisted into a horrible angle. The ancient king dropped the lifeless dragonet and turned to stare at Lich. He smiled, showing all his teeth.
“It’s only a matter of time before you go back to our old ways, friend.”
Lich let out a strangled sob, and he felt a single tear roll down his cheek.
…
He’s right.
…
I should never have become her friend.
…
She’s only going to get hurt.
…
All because of me.
…
“Lich!”
He jerked violently. Someone was shaking his wing and calling out to him. “We have to get away from the fire! It’s getting worse!” He felt small teeth grab his wing and pull insistently to guide him. Stumbling to his feet, he walked away from his burning home. It’s not real. None of that was real. He turned around and stumbled out of reach of the flames.
Once he got out of the heat, near the oasis, he dropped down, completely drained. The someone from earlier hugged his neck and threw their small wings around his shoulders. Dahlia. She’s alright. Lich let out a small choked cry and curled around her. She patted his back in a comforting way.
“I’m sorry about your home,” she said, stepping back and looking at him. She studied his face and her forehead wrinkled with concern. “Are you okay?”
He stared blankly at her for a moment. She was okay. She was here. She cared. He didn’t hurt her. It’s okay. It’s all okay. It’s always okay. He’s not like that anymore. And he never will be. Not ever again.
“I’m… I’m alright,” he whispered hoarsely, “Fire just brings back some… very… bad memories.” He took one of her small talons in his. “Are… are you alright?” Dahlia nodded. “C’mon. I’ll ask my dad if you can stay with us for a while.”
Lich wobbled to his feet and stared back at the ruins of his home. The oasis guards were scrabbling around, throwing buckets of sand and dirt on the flames to snuff it out. Water was already scarce enough. He blinked at the ashes. Dahlia pulled on his claws and he slowly started walking along with her.
…
Everything is going to be alright.
…
I will never hurt you.
…
I will never let the demons win.
…
No one will ever hurt you.
…
Not when I’m here.
…
I’ll never let you go.
…
I’ll never let you leave.
= CHAPTER 6 =
There was a knock at the door. Who’s coming this late? Nickel thought grumpily as he heaved himself off of his bedroll and put his scroll aside. Ah, wait, it was probably Dahlia. She hadn’t come home yet. He rubbed his tired eyes and slowly padded over to the front of the house. “Hang on, I’m coming,”
He cracked the door open and stuck his snout out. “Hi, Papa!” his daughter said, giving him a small hug. He smiled and patted her on the head. “Hey sunbeam,” Nickel said, opening the door to let her in. Dahlia stood back and glanced off to her right.
“Wait here, there’s someone I want you to meet,” she chirped, bouncing off around the corner. He sighed and watched her go. Did she finally make a new friend? That’s good. She needs to meet more dragonets her age that don’t want to attack her on sight. He rubbed his eyes again and blinked. He must have fallen asleep while filling out his work scrolls. As he took his talons away, he saw a little ink smudge on them. Oh, great. Did I just smear ink all over my face? He caught himself about to sigh again when he heard a muffled commotion from the corner alley.
“Are you sure about this Dahlia? What if he doesn’t-”
“If he doesn’t let you stay here, I will cry on him.”
“You’re being dramatic.”
“No I’m not! I will literally cry actual tears on him. Now c’mon, stop being a coward and come meet him.”
Well, that wasn’t a dragonet. Something was wrong with that dragon’s voice. It sounded… hollow? How odd. Nickel stretched his neck out and squinted at where Dahlia ran off to. Who on Pyrrhia did she bring with her? Dahlia hopped around the corner, wings flapping in a happy little way. She’s been doing that ever since she was little. It was adorable.
The thing that came around the corner behind her was not.
A massive male dragon walked slowly next to her. He was old, like some of the ancient scrolls Nickel had on his shelves. His scales were as dry and cracked as parchment, ribs poked out of his chest, and he looked as if he had practically no weight to him. 
But the most shocking thing about him were his sunken glowing eyes.
He was staring at Dahlia, but then he looked up at Nickel. It was terrifying. Nickel felt as if his entire body got thrown into a lake of icy water. His heart dropped as Dahlia stopped in front of him and grinned. No. This can’t be her friend.
The giant dragon wasn’t that much taller than him, but he still towered over both of the SkyWings. He smiled awkwardly at Nickel, as if he wasn’t sure he was at the right place. Nickel stared back at him in disbelief. He didn’t know what to think. I mean, he looks nice enough, but something feels… off. Nickel shook his head slightly and looked down at his daughter, putting a slightly strained smile on.
“Dahlia… who is this?” he said, as politely as he could. In reality, he was scared out of his mind. “This is Lich!” chirped Dahlia, whacking the old dragon with one of her wings. He jumped slightly, then nudged her back. She laughed and smiled at him. Nickel felt a flash of irrational jealousy. She never did that with him.
“I’ve been helping him grow food for the past like, 5 months. I kinda stole his water and spilled it everywhere, so I’ve been paying him back with my help.” Dahlia rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.
“Your daughter has been a real help, sir,” Lich said, spreading his wings and tilting his head. “I’ve grown far more plants than I thought I could with her assistance.” His eyes seemed to glaze over and his eyebrows furrowed. “Although, I guess I won’t be doing that anymore.” Nickel flicked his ear and looked at him closely, confused.
Dahlia nodded sadly. “About that… um, his home burned down earlier? And now he, um, needs somewhere to live?”
Oh no.
“So, can he live with us?”
“No! Absolutely not!”
“Huh?”
Nickel shook his head angrily. “Dahlia, I have never met this dragon in my life! Why would I let a complete stranger into my home?!” he growled. “Something seems off about him anyways, haven’t you noticed? The way he stares at you?”
“Papa-”
“No! I don’t want to hear it! I don’t care if he doesn’t have a home, he can live outside. I am not going to let him in my… house…”
Lich loomed over him, teeth slightly bared. He wrapped a wing around Dahlia and moved her back. “Listen here, young man. That is no way to treat your elders. I don’t know where Dahlia learned her manners, but it clearly wasn’t from you.” he spat. “I have nowhere else to go. If I go on the streets, I may not even last the night.”
“Your home is plenty big enough for three dragons. I’ll stay out of the way. You don’t have to worry about food or water for me. All I need is a place to live for a little while.”
Dahlia looked at Nickel with sad eyes. She looked genuinely upset. “Please, Papa. He’s not that bad. I know him, he’s really sweet.” she pleaded, stepping closer to Lich and putting a talon on his claws. He wrapped his massive talon around hers gently. Nickel hesitated.
He didn’t want to let Lich into his house, that’s for sure. But Dahlia seemed crushed and upset. I don’t want her to be more upset with me. I barely get any time with her anyways. He thought for a long while, with both Dahlia and Lich staring at him expectantly. Lich was looking at him with those narrow, terrifying eyes, and Nickel really felt as if he could only give one answer to keep him and his daughter safe.
“...Fine. For a little while. He can stay. But no funny business or he’s out.” he sighed, stepping back from the doorway to let them both inside.
“Yaaaay!” Dahlia said, bounding inside and hopping on her claws. “C’mon Lich, I’ll show you my room!” She darted off up the staircase to the bedrooms. Nickel watched her go with a strange sense of dread.
Lich ducked his head to fit in the door, tucking his wings in to fit. He looked even bigger in an enclosed space, and he took up almost the entire hallway. He stared down at Nickel and frowned.
“If you EVER try hurting Dahlia like that again, you’ll have to answer to ME.” he growled quietly. “And stars above, I am NOT above killing a few more SkyWings.” He turned and walked slowly down the hall and began going up the stairs, flicking his venom barb at Nickel menacingly.
Nickel watched him go. His face was paler than the moons in the sky. Killing a few more SkyWings? What was that supposed to mean? Did Dahlia just bring a murderer home?
He can’t be trusted.
Not around my daughter.
I have to be careful.
I can’t let her get hurt.
Not again.
= CHAPTER 7 =
Well, that’s not what I wanted to say. Ah well. Seemed to get the point across. Lich glanced back at Nickel who was still standing in the doorway. He hated scaring dragons like that. But sometimes you have to.
He walked up the staircase where Dahlia had run off. She was standing at the top of the stairs waiting for him. “What was all that about?” she said, tilting her head. Lich hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “It’s nothing. I was just speaking to your father,” he lied. He got to the top of the stairs and Dahlia grabbed his talon, dragging him along behind her.
She opened a door and went inside, jumping into a large pile of pillows and stuffed toys in the corner. “This is my room!” she chirped. Her voice was muffled and she stuck her head out of the mound. Her room was a pale yellow, like the rest of the sandstone brick house, but there were small scrolls with a child’s drawings on it hung up around the room. A chain of flowers hung over the pile of animal skin blankets she slept on. It looked like daisies and… well, dahlias. Small candles and torches bathed the light in a pale orange glow. Dahlia smiled at Lich, and he grinned back. “Hang on, I’ll show you the guest room. That’s where you’ll stay.”
She jumped out of the plush pile and walked further down the hall to another door. “The one at the end of the hall is Papa’s room, we’re not allowed in there,” she said, unlocking another door. It didn’t seem to open at first, but she shoved it and it finally swung open. “It gets stuck sometimes,” she chirped.
It seemed like a near empty room at first, with only a small stack of blankets and pillows along one wall. But there was a low table and a scroll rack on the other side, near the window. It smelled old and dusty. How fitting. Lich looked around for any light sources. It didn’t seem like there were any. Dahlia seemed to notice too and ran out of the room back to hers. She came back with a small brasier with a few glowing embers still in it. She paused for a moment and looked at him.
“Are you okay with a little fire or candle?” she said quietly. Lich hesitated. Most fires scared the wits out of him, but only if they were large enough. He nodded. “Yes, a small fire is fine. I’ll be alright.” he said gently, taking the small torch from her. “Well, wait, hang on, I’ll light it for you!” she said, pulling it back towards her. Dahlia arched her little neck and breathed a small burst of flame into the coals.
Lich stared into the fire for a moment. Don’t start spiraling again, you old fart. For her sake he thought to himself bitterly. He blinked and looked away, shutting his eyes. Small wings wrapped around him, and he looked down. Dahlia was hugging him again, holding the sconce away from him, out of view. He sighed, relieved. “Thank you. Now get to bed!” he said, scooting her out of the room with his wings. “I know for a fact that it’s way past your bedtime.”
Dahlia tried to protest but was interrupted by a huge yawn. She paused for a moment. “I hate that you’re probably right,” she sighed, ducking her head. “Okayyy, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Lich laughed softly as she stormed off to her room and shut the door. He was about to go back into his as she stuck her head out again. “Goodnight Lich!” she said happily, then ducked back inside.
He smiled. At least she’s happy. That’s the most important thing.
“Ahem.”
Lich turned his head. “Oh, hello, Nickel.” he sighed, looking the grumpy pale orange-pink dragon up and down. Nickel frowned. “Look, I’m sorry about earlier. I lost my temper. I didn’t mean-”
“Stop. That’s enough.” Nickel said, holding up his talon. Lich was taken aback. No one ever interrupted him when he was speaking. He stared at the SkyWing in a mildly dazed way. “I don’t know what your intentions really are, but as long as you don’t hurt my daughter, we’ll be fine.” Nickel said, arching his neck slightly. Was he seriously trying to make himself taller?
Lich snorted despite himself. Nickel’s eyes widened angrily. “Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?” he growled. Lich realized what he just did and flinched. “No, I didn’t mean it like that-” he said quickly. He shook his head and pressed a talon to his eyes. “I’m sorry. I really am. I love Dahlia like my own daughter, same as you. I’ll never hurt her.”
Nickel frowned again. “If you do hurt her, in any way, you’re out of here.” he hissed, narrowing his eyes. Lich took his talon away from his face and nodded. His mind still felt like it was stuck on one of the moons.
“If that ever happens, I’ll be gone by the next day.” Lich said softly. He shut his eyes and sighed, remembering his horrid daydream from earlier. “Good…” Nickel said, looking at the old dragon closely. His face seemed to soften and he turned back to his room. “...Goodnight, Lich.”
Lich watched him go, talon on the doorframe. “Goodnight.” he whispered hoarsely. He ducked back into his room and shut the door, leaning against it. Lich sighed and stared at the brasier that Dahlia had given him. Small flames licked at the rim of the metal. The burning village flashed through his mind again and he had to slam a blank wall over his thoughts to snuff it out.
Groaning softly, he trudged over to the stack of blankets and batted it over with one massive talon. I don’t even know if this is enough for me to sit comfortably. He rolled his eyes and settled down, setting his head on a fur pillow. It was more comfortable than an iceberg, that was for sure. Even after almost 57 years he remembered how absolutely freezing it was. He shifted around a little more then sighed contentedly, curled up in a ball underneath a soft blanket, and drifted off into sleep.
…
“Aw, look at you, sleeping so peacefully.”
Lich jolted awake. Oh no.
He sat up, disoriented. “What- what do you want?” he choked out.
The nightmare cackled darkly. “Is that any way to greet an old friend?” King hissed, stepping towards Lich. The gold crown on his head glittered menacingly in the dim lighting. He walked around Lich, flicking his black tongue at him. “You’ve gone soft, Lich. Caring for a SkyWing? Really?”
“Stop it, just… leave me alone. I’m not like you anymore.”
“Don’t you remember what they did? To Meerkat?”
“Don’t EVER bring Meerkat up to me!” Lich snarled at King. “It wasn’t even their fault. He was killed by hyenas.” He looked down at his claws and saw they were stained with blood. King saw them too and his face split into a menacing grin. “Whoopsie… looks like you can’t even keep the dragons you care about alive!” he said in a cruel sing-song voice. Lich choked quietly.
No… Not Dahlia… please, not her… he let out a strangled sob and shuffled backwards, smearing blood on the floor and blankets as he tried to get away from himself. “You're trying to trick me,” he shouted at the dark figure in front of him. “She’s still alive! I just saw her!”
King rolled his yellow and purple eyes. “Oh, you’re no fun at all. You used to love fighting and now you’d rather roll over and die.” he muttered, stepping away from Lich and tossing his head. “Just go! I know this is a dream; you can’t hurt me here!” Lich snarled. “HAHA! Maybe not, but I can certainly try!” King crowed. He lunged at Lich and pinning him by his shoulders on his back.
“Just give in to your darkest desire, dear friend!” he shrieked.
Then his jaws bit down on Lich’s throat, and all went dark.
…
Dahlia blinked her eyes in the sunlight. She groaned and covered her eyes with a pillow. Getting up was not on her list of things to do today. Alas, she had to.
A few minutes of huffing and puffing later, she tossed off her blankets and headed to the back of the house for a quick dust bath. Nickel must have headed off to work already. As she headed there, she walked past Lich’s door. Dahlia heard a lot of muffled grunting and… sobbing? Is he having a nightmare?
She knocked on the door with her claw, and when he didn’t answer, she opened it a crack and stuck her snout inside. The blinds were still drawn shut and the room was dark. The brasier that she had given him the night before was knocked over, scattering burned out coals on the stone underfoot.
Shredded blankets were strewn across the floor, scraps of green and blue intertwined and mixed. A feather pillow had been torn open, adding more to the mess. Dahlia put a talon to her mouth. Papa is gonna be so mad…
Lich was curled into a ball in the corner, clutching a gold blanket in his claws in a deathgrip. He was twitching, tearing small holes in the fabric and wailing quietly. Dahlia ran over to him and shook his wing. “Hey, wake up! You’re having a nightmare!” she yelped, prodding his face with her snout.
His eyes snapped open with a gasp, and he immediately started coughing. “Are you okay?!” she yelped as he sat up slowly, wheezing. He coughed a few more times and waved a talon at her dismissively. “I’m fine,” Lich said through gritted teeth. “I just- had a bad dream, that's all.” he sat silently for a moment as Dahlia patted his back. “Yikes… guess I really tore it up in here huh?”
“Yeah, you did. And Papa isn’t going to be happy about it,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him and putting on a big frown. “You better help me clean!” Lich jumped to his feet and tried to get away as she started poking him with her claws. He darted out of the doorway and down the hall, cackling. “Hey! Coward! Get back here!” she barked, running after him. “You can’t hide forever!”
She heard a faint laugh from the other side of the house and ran in that direction. Dahlia rounded the corner and slammed into his chest and he made a little oof noise.
Crack.
Wait-
What was that?
“Um-” she said, stepping back and looking at him. He was still grinning, but he stopped chuckling and glanced down at her, tilting his head. “...I think I might have, uh… broken one of your bones.”
“What?”
“Yeah.”
“You didn’t, I didn’t feel anything,” he said, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion and looking down. He pressed a talon to his collarbone. “Nope, nothing broken.”
“No, look! It moves right there!” she yelped, pointing to the left side as he pushed on it again. Sure enough, it shifted in a place it wasn’t supposed to. He took his talon away quickly and laughed in a nervous way. “Let’s go get you some breakfast, shall we? Growing dragonets need good food, after all!”
Dahlia stared after him as he whisked out the door towards the market. What just happened? He had clearly broken a bone, but he didn’t even notice when it happened. And he was old too, it wasn’t safe for him to be injured and still moving around! He wasn’t even in pain either. 
What is wrong with my friend?
= CHAPTER 8 =
Has it really been 3 months since I started living here? Lich fiddled with the small wooden NightWing Dahlia had bought him at the Refuge Bazaar. It looked old and well worn, the spines smoothed down near flush with the tail and neck. The wings had small stars engraved on them. It was cute.
He rolled his blanket up and set it in the corner. His nightmares had gotten less awful in the past few weeks, and he wasn’t shredding things in his sleep anymore, which was good. Dahlia wasn’t up yet, which gave him a chance to sneak down and cook her something for breakfast. He got to the kitchen and grabbed what he would need. He was going to make his famous cactus fruit cakes. He grinned as he plucked a coal from a sconce and tossed it into the sandstone cooking oven to light it.
His left talon caught on fire.
Lich yelped and beat it against the rug, which didn’t do anything. Panicking, he ran outside and dove his claws into the sand. It went out, which was good. He sighed and took his talon out, looking it over. Ah, yep, singed. Not too bad, but his palm was rather charred and blackened. He sighed again. I’m gonna have to hide this from Dahlia, too. Pretty sure she wouldn’t react well if she found out her best friend is a 387 year old zombie.
He shook the sand off his scales and looked around outside. The sun wasn’t up yet, but he could see the faint colors of a sunrise on the horizon. Not many other dragons were awake at this hour. He saw maybe one or two other SandWings walking around, carrying bags of fruits or baskets of cacti. A pale gray bespeckled IceWing walked past him, holding a sheaf of scrolls. She waved at Lich. He nodded at her.
Behind her was a small SeaWing dragonet holding one of the scrolls and looking at him. That’s Heron, the neighbor’s son. One of Dahlia’s friends . Lich stared at him and tilted his head. He’s up awfully early. The dragonet seemed to notice Lich looking at him and flinched, clutching the scroll tighter and glaring at him. Lich narrowed his eyes right back at him. They didn’t like each other much. Dahlia spends too much time with him.
Lich blinked at him and went back inside. He had to check and make sure that he actually had the ingredients for the cakes. As he walked back to the kitchen, he brushed past Nickel, who frowned at him slightly.
“What are you doing?” Nickel said. He sounded tired.
“I’m making Dahlia breakfast, what does it look like?” Lich said, spreading his wings ever so slightly.
“I make her breakfast.”
“You don’t seem to be making it right now.”
Nickel sighed and pushed past Lich. “I’m in a rush, I’m late for work. Go ahead and make her whatever you want. Just don’t poison it or something.” He opened the door and flew off towards the Bazaar. Lich rolled his eyes and started to the oven. Opening the storage baskets, he found all the things he needed for the cakes. Except the cactus fruit. Ack. Plain breakfast cakes it is. He hoped Dahlia didn’t mind.
…
“Dahlia?”
He opened the door gently, pushing it open with one claw. She was sitting at her desk, scratching on a small art scroll. 
“Hey.”
She jumped in a spectacular manner, hitting two inkwells off the low table. She yelped and managed to catch one, but the other hit the floor and cracked. Dahlia picked it up carefully and curled her talons around it. “LICH! You SCARED me!” she nearly shouted, placing the broken inwell in a small stone bowl. Her claws were covered in dark red ink. “Now it looks like I killed somebody!”
Lich stared at the ink pooling in her palms. Oh no. No no no. “Did you cut yourself? Are you okay?” he barked, rushing over and holding her talons gently in his, looking them over. She blinked at him, then down. “I’m fine,” she said quietly. “I was joking.” She drew her talons back, leaving stains on his. Lich looked down at them in horror.
It’s not blood.
It’s not blood.
It’s just ink.
You didn’t do anything wrong. She’s okay.
He clenched his eyes shut for a moment, then sighed and relaxed. “Okay. We’re okay,” he whispered, shaking his head. “Let’s go get you cleaned up. I made breakfast!” Lich stood, trying to ignore the flashes in his head. Dahlia looked up at him, then down at her claws. He turned to look at her. “C’mon. The longer you wait the more stained your claws will be.”
…
Lich sat at the table while she went outside to rub sand on her talons to get the ink off. He realized he was shaking and clenched his claws. That was the first… incident in a while. He sighed and pressed his eyes with his palms. He’s gonna have a nightmare tonight. He already knew that much.
Looking out the window, he saw Heron walking over to where Dahlia was sitting. Lich frowned. She’s gonna be outside even longer now. He watched them as they talked. Was Dahlia acting… nervous? She was sitting up taller and her tail was flicking back and forth, scattering sand everywhere. Lich squinted at the two. Heron was acting weird too.
Oh boy.
Don’t tell me they like each other.
A SkyWing and a SeaWing? Really?
Lich rolled his eyes and slumped down on the cushion. Great. That means Heron is probably going to be over a lot more. He grumbled and carved a line in the sandstone below him angrily. That SeaWing was annoying to no end. But if Dahlia likes him, that’s what matters. And Lich was just going to have to deal with that.
The front door opened and he sat up, waiting for Dahlia. She came around the corner. And that moons-blasted SeaWing did too. They frowned when they saw each other. At least it was mutual. Dahlia bounced over and sat next to Lich, bumping him with one of her wings.
“Hey! I hope you don’t mind if Heron hangs out here today,” she chirped, pointing her other wing at the blue sea dragon. “His mom took his brother to the beach today so he doesn’t have anything to do.” Heron walked over and settled down on the other end of the table, and Dahlia walked over next to him and sat. She usually sits next to me. Lich narrowed his eyes slightly and put on a strained smile.
“I don’t mind. I’m only a guest here after all. It’s your house.” he said, passing one of the cakes to Dahlia. She tore it in half and handed a part to Heron. The three of them ate in silence for a while. At least, the dragonets did. Lich didn’t need to eat anymore. Dahlia never questioned it. Everyone knew SandWings didn’t eat much. He just stared out the window, watching the sun slowly creep over the edges of the buildings.
Dahlia poked him and he flinched. “I’m gonna run outside and grab some water. You okay here with Heron for a little bit?” She said, looking up at him. “Yeah, we’ll be fine.” Heron said before Lich could answer. She turned towards him and smiled. “Great! I’ll be right back, then.”
“Try not to get mugged!” Lich called after her as she walked out of the doorway. He heard her laugh faintly as she took to the air and soared off. Heron squinted at him. “Mugged? What?” he said, confused. “Don’t worry about it. It’s a joke of ours.” Lich said, shrugging his shoulders. His wing joint popped spectacularly. He stared down at it, a little surprised. “Pardon me. That was loud. Comes with old age, I guess.”
“How old are you?” Heron said, shifting slightly.
“Ah, about fifty? Haven’t been keeping up with it.”
“Really?”
“Mmhm. I’ve been told I look older, though.”
“Like, 387 years older?”
Lich froze.
“AHA!” Heron shouted, slamming his talons on the table and spreading his dark blue wings. “I KNEW you were lying to Dahlia!” He grabbed a scroll out from under his wing and dropped it on the table. Heron rolled it to a chapter towards the end and pointed at the title. “King Lichen. This you?” he said, twisting the paper around.
Lich’s heart dropped as he saw the portrait of his old self in the golden crown. It was a history scroll, all about him. He hissed furiously and jumped to his feet, but Heron made a clicking noise with his tongue. “One more step and I’ll scream loud enough that the entire Refuge can hear me.”
“Don’t you dare show Dahlia that scroll.”
“Why not? She deserves to know she’s living with a genocidal SandWing king who, let’s see, wiped out an ENTIRE village of SkyWings?” Heron said, pointing to another paragraph. “That forced a traveling NightWing animus to give him eternal life or he’d destroy her granddaughter’s egg?”
“That supposedly died 300 years ago? You don’t want me to tell her that?”
“I’m going to tell her myself. One day. When I’m ready.”
“Will that day come before or after you kill her?”
Lich choked on his words. I- I would never-
“Yeah, you’d never kill her, right?”
“I wouldn’t-”
“Trust me. A guy like you? You will. It’s only a matter of when.”
“...”
“Please. Just give me time.”
Heron was still for a moment, then sighed and rolled the scroll up, putting it away. “Fine,” he said. “But I’m going to tell her in 3 months. If you don’t fess up by then, too bad.” He sat back and took a bite out of the cake Dahlia gave him. “You don’t seem like a bad guy. I’ll give you a chance. I guess spending 300 years in an iceberg can reform anyone.”
Lich flinched. How did he know he was in an iceberg?
“Who… who wrote that scroll?”
“An old IceWing named Bowhead.”
Bowhead.
That little dragonet from all those years ago.
It was HIM.
“Where did you get it?” Lich said in a strained voice.
“The market. From an IceWing's stall.”
Good. Now he knew where to go.
Dahlia can’t read that scroll if she can’t find it anywhere.
…
Dahlia had come back, and she and Heron went to play outside for a while, leaving Lich to his own devices. Now it was night, and Dahlia was sleeping in her room. And time for his plan to take action.
Lich flung his black cape over his wings and slung the hood over his horns. It was heavy on his old joints, but it obscured his identity, which was fine by him. He whisked outside and started pacing towards the empty Bazaar as fast as his ancient claws could carry him. Hoping the IceWing wasn’t still at her stall, he ducked behind the tents and slowly walked past each booth, looking for scrolls.
The store at the very end of the row was the only one with any sort of parchment. Lich ducked underneath the back flap of the tent and began looking around. It was pitch black in the tent and he couldn’t see. He growled angrily and shuffled back outside again, grabbing a small torch off a nearby building.
Now that he had a light, he could see a few bags of scrolls strewn about the storage area of the booth. He plucked one out at random and looked at the title.
15 Recipes for Terrible Cooks (Includes Scavenger Preparation!).
Wrong.
Curious Gorge.
No.
Well, I can’t even read this one. Something about moon pies?
Whatever it was, it wasn’t what he was looking for.
A Complete Guide to the SandWing Royal Lineage.
That’s it.
He clenched it with a seething rage. All because of this little scroll, the life he had right now could be turned on its head at any moment. He checked to make sure the whole bag was the right scroll, then heaved it up onto his shoulder and snuck out of the tent again.
Lich walked out of the town, past a few dunes. He dumped the sheath out onto the sand and brought the torch down onto the pile. He saved one, for him to read for himself later, but the others went up in glorious flames. This was the one time that he was glad there was a fire.
He waited until the papers had burned to ashes, then kicked sand over it. He would spit on it, but he couldn’t. As he turned to go back with the last scroll in hand, he thought of what would happen if Dahlia found out. And then he stopped thinking, because it hurt. 
She would hate me.
If I don’t tell her, she’ll find out in the worst way.
It’s not even Heron or Bowhead’s fault.
This is all me.
= CHAPTER 9 =
KING LICHEN OF THE SANDWINGS
King Lichen ruled the SandWing kingdom along with his wife, Queen Atacama (see: Queens), from 3912 AS to 3929 AS. He had 2 dragonets, Princess Caracal and Prince Meerkat (see: Heirs). He was 17 when he took the throne, and 32 at his time of death. He ruled for 15 years.
The king was not a kind soul, and enjoyed fighting in the palace arena against anyone who would go up against him. These fights usually resulted in the death of the other dragon, due to the king’s berserker rage that would take hold during combat. His favorite method of killing was either brutally snapping his opponent's neck or stabbing them through the heart with their own tail barb. In one recorded instance, he was so furious, he ripped the other dragon’s head clean off with brute strength.
Princess Caracal took after her father in almost every way. She was as barbaric as he was, and had her eyes on her mother’s throne. Prince Meerkat was his father’s favorite. During a small hunting trip, he snuck away from his guards and tried to take down a hippo at a watering hole. A pack of hyenas overwhelmed the young prince and unfortunately killed him. King Lichen was devastated and full of rage. Due to a detonated dragonflame cactus found near the dragonet’s body, he assumed that a SkyWing assassin had killed his son.
Filled with grief and malice, he took a wing of his strongest soldiers and attacked a bordering SkyWing village. They slaughtered everyone inside as an act of revenge, even the dragonets and the unhatched eggs. Both queens were furious with him. The SkyWing queen demanded a yearly tribute from the Sand Kingdom to repair the damage dealt and compensate the families involved.
Later, it was found that the prince himself had accidentally lit the cactus in the struggle against the wild dogs, and no SkyWings were to blame. The king seemed to show no remorse, and didn’t believe the report.
About two years after the mass genocide, Princess Caracal challenged Atacama for the throne. Atacama was still angry with her husband. She knew that Caracal had become very important to him, and that he was expecting her to win the challenge. During the challenge, Atacama snuck a dragonflame cactus into the arena. She lit it under her daughter’s talons, and the resulting explosion almost killed Caracal right then and there. She later bled to death on the sand.
King Lichen was furious. This incident drove the two rulers even farther apart than they were before. The king knew that a rumor was spreading around the palace, that the queen was supposedly planning to have him assassinated. A traveling NightWing animus by the name of Europa visited the Sand Palace with her family in order to seek shelter from the rest of the tribe.
The king stole her granddaughter's egg and forced her to give him eternal life, or he would destroy her great grandchild. She reluctantly obliged, and left the palace immediately afterwards. Lichen gloated about how Atacama wouldn’t be able to kill him. Soon afterwards, the IceWings reached out to the SandWings for assistance in stopping mysterious attacks in their kingdom by something that vaguely resembled a dragon of unknown origin.
During the journey there, an avalanche struck the outpost the royals were meeting at. Both queens managed to escape alive, but the other dragons were buried, including King Lichen. No effort was made to save them. Atacama moved on very quickly, and settled down with a new king named Brand. Their daughter took the throne some time later, and the SandWing kingdom stabilized.
The old king didn’t perish in the avalanche. His spell prevented him from truly dying. He spent 324 years in the snow, which slowly turned to ice around him, and mummified his reanimated corpse. During the great Southern Gusts, the southeast mountain where he was buried began to warm. It reached the melting point and the ice he was trapped in began to thaw.
My sister, Guillemot and I investigated the ancient outpost when we were young, and we encountered the ancient king. We set him free in an accident, but he would have gotten out eventually. He told me his story, and then flew off. If you’re reading this scroll, be on the lookout for a large, pale green-yellow SandWing. He’s prone to sudden angry outbursts. Dragonets shouldn’t be left alone around him, and even fully grown dragons should be wary. He may be dead but he is still massive.
I am writing this scroll as a warning for future generations well beyond my time.
DO NOT TRUST THIS SANDWING.
…
Lich rolled the scroll shut and quietly walked to the window. It was still bright outside, the sun high in the sky. Too bright. He whisked the curtains shut. Silence filled the room as he stood in the center.
He snarled suddenly. Gripping the end of the scroll, he turned and hurled it at the wall. It knocked the tapestry off its hanging rod and it clattered to the ground. Lich slammed his tail against the ground and stomped off to the pile of blankets, burying himself. He began methodically tearing one to shreds.
It’s not fair.
I’m not like that anymore.
But nobody will believe me.
They’ll think I’m lying.
They think I’m a murderer.
Aren’t I?
I haven’t changed.
I still have those thoughts.
I still want to kill everyone who ever wronged me.
I still think about hurting the dragons I love.
I shouldn’t.
But I do.
Dahlia is going to get hurt.
Heron is right.
I should leave now.
Dahlia would hate me for it.
But she would be safe from me.
I don’t want to leave.
I won’t leave.
Even if I shouldn’t.
I’m going to stay.
= CHAPTER 10 =
Another month had passed since Heron started visiting more often. Dahlia had noticed that the weird vibe between him and Lich seemed stronger than usual. They hated being in the same room with each other, and Heron usually took her out flying or shopping. It seemed like he was trying to avoid Lich.
Lich’s nightmares were also getting worse. Some nights he didn’t even sleep at all. She would wake up and he would be standing in the doorway, watching her. His eyes seemed to be getting brighter too, with hints of a strange yellow. He seemed very distant now. Something felt… off.
Dahlia would come into his room and find him reading a scroll almost every night. The same one, by the looks of it. When she would walk in, he would quickly roll it shut and stick it in a scroll rack by his desk. There was also another scroll, with what seemed to be a calendar inscribed on it. Three months. The first one was already all crossed out, and on the very last day of the third month, there was a large blot of dark red ink, as if someone had poured an inkwell on it. There was so much that it wrinkled the parchment underneath when it dried.
It was concerning, to say the least.
“Dahlia, come on! Your breakfast is getting cold,” Lich called from downstairs. She shook a blanket off her wings and walked down to the kitchen. Smells like he cooked up some meat today, along with some toasted date cakes. Yummy.
He was scrubbing his talons with some sand in the corner as she paced in and sat at the table. Nickel walked in and settled next to her and she leaned into him. He grinned at his dragonet. Dahlia saw Lich turn towards them and frown slightly as he joined them at the table. The two SkyWings filled their plates and began eating. Lich didn’t, as per usual. Dahlia didn’t question it.
“Why do you never eat, Lich?” Nickel said around a charred strip of camel. Lich flinched and shrugged his wings. “I just don’t feel hungry most of the time. SandWings don’t need to eat much.” He said, tracing circles on the table with one of his claws.
“I know that, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat. Not even once.”
“And?”
“Well, it’s just odd to me. Everyone needs to eat, but you never do.”
“I’m fueled by pure self-loathing.”
“...”
“...”
“And on that note, I leave for work.”
Nickel stood up from the table and shook out his wings, scattering sand everywhere. He nudged Dahlia’s snout with his own and walked out the door. Lich watched him go. Finally. Now that he was gone, he and Dahlia could actually spend some time together. It had been a while since they had been able to. Heron was over practically every day to bother them.
He turned towards her with a smile on his face, and found her looking out the window at Heron’s house. How irksome. Clearing his throat, he walked over next to her. She glanced up at him and grinned. Just like Meerkat.
Lich sighed, then bumped her with his wing. “Want to go bother your dad at the market later? Yay absolutely yes?” he said, putting a talon on her shoulder. She glanced down at it, then back at him, then over at Heron’s house again. 
“Actually, I want to invite Heron over today. We started playing a sort of card game yesterday and I really want to beat him at it!”
“So, you don’t want to spend time with me?”
“No that’s not it! We can hang out later, I promise.”
“You’ve said that the last five times. What’s so wrong with me? Why do you keep hanging out with him? He’s a bad influence!”
“What is your problem with him?!” Dahlia said, pushing away from Lich and catching him by surprise. “He’s not that bad if you would just give him a chance!”
“Is it because he’s a SeaWing? Do you hate them or something?”
“No, I don’t! The only tribe I hated was SkyWings, but that was a long time ago!”
“...You hate me?”
“That’s not- look. I’m old. I’ve been through a lot. You wouldn’t understand. Trust me when I say you should stop hanging out with Heron.”
“Why should I believe you? You keep lying to me!” She spread her wings and glared at him. “You never eat and say it’s because of your tribe! Even when I know you’ve been hurt, you just glaze over it! I’m sick of this!”
“You’re a CHILD, Dahlia! You don’t know how the world works!”
“Yes I do! I’m not stupid, Lich! I know you’ve been hiding something from me!”
“Oh for all the sweet moons- I’m not hiding anything Dahlia! I’ve answered every question you’ve asked me, haven’t I?”
“Then answer a few more.”
“No.”
“Then you’re lying to me.”
“Stop it, Dahlia.”
“Answer my questions and I’ll stop!”
“No!”
“Just tell me the truth!”
“SHUT UP!” Lich roared, lashing out with his claws.
He felt his talons strike something.
He heard a small yell.
He felt something drip onto his tail.
A deafening silence filled the room.
No.
No no no.
I can’t-
I won’t open my eyes.
It didn’t happen if I don’t see it.
She’s not dead.
I didn’t kill her.
She’s still-
“...Lich?”
She’s still alive.
He opened his eyes.
Dahlia stood in front of him, clutching her neck with one of her talons. Scarlet beads were welling up in between her claws and dripping down onto her shoulder and wing. She flinched away when Lich tried to reach out to her.
He looked down at his claws and saw the same crimson red staining them.
It was him.
It was his fault.
His fault.
He hurt her.
It felt as if the floor had dropped out below him and he was falling into an endless void. This was his worst nightmare. This was exactly what he swore he would never do. The SkyWing dragonet from the village flashed through his head again and he clenched his talons, stepping away.
He couldn’t say anything. He could barely move. He just stared at Dahlia, at her neck, at the blood. At his own foul claws. At his reflection in the window.
Why did he ever think he could have a family again?
Why did he think it was okay for him to get close to anyone again?
Why did he think he could do this without hurting her?
He hasn’t changed.
He still hurts the ones he loves.
He’s still a murderer.
Clenching his talon shut, he turned and walked quickly to his room. He knew exactly what he needed to do. Dahlia paced quietly behind him. Lich flung the door open and stalked over to the scroll rack. Fumbling around for a moment, his red claws wrapped around the history scroll and he paused for a moment.
If I do this, I’m really ending any hope I had to start over.
She’s going to know.
And she’s going to hate me for it.
He turned slowly, clutching the scroll to his chest. Dahlia was cowering in the doorway. He walked past her, his face masking his emotions as best he could at that moment, and went to the front door, pushing it open softly.
“Wait… Where are you going?” she whispered. Lich felt another dagger of guilt and regret stab into his unbeating heart.
Just go.
Give her the scroll and go.
Don’t tell her where you’re going.
It’s safer if she doesn’t know.
But she has to know.
“Away.”
“Why?”
“I made a promise.”
The scroll felt heavy in his shaking claws. He gripped it one last time, in sadness rather than anger, then turned and handed it to the small dragonet behind him. She was so small. So young. So innocent. With the brightest future ahead of her. One without him in it. She didn’t deserve to have it ruined by a tyrant’s ghost. He could see that now.
“Chapter twelve. King Lichen. Don’t come looking for me.”
“For your sake.”
And then Lich turned and flew. Far, far away from her. From the Refuge. Away from the life he thought he could have had. From anything he could hurt. Or hurt him. From his home. From his past. The ice. The Sand Palace. His crown. His dragonets. His wife. The life he thought would last forever. The life that he had ruined with his own talons.
It all started with him.
And it was going to end with him too.
It’s time to let myself rot.
Everything that I’ve ever done just hurts others.
Hurts me.
Hurts everyone.
No one should live forever.
Not even a king.
I deserve to be forgotten.
-
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The sequel, FORGOTTEN KING: Reminiscence, can be found here.
Thank you for reading!
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Fanfictions (Completed)
Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon)