A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

Post-traumatic stress disorder—PTSD.

While it was natural for most monsters, especially those with strong predatory instincts, to adapt to their violent nature and live with ease compared to the humanoid races, all monsters could develop trauma. While fear and pain were adept teachers, even bloodthirsty beasts would think twice to avoid facing similar painful memories.

Dragons, with their lengthy lifespan, were victims to these memories. Those on Miononbolax and who survived the Kargryxian Civil War have sworn to themselves to never repeat such a mistake. Whatever their methods, every ancient dragon wishes to avoid the worst, never letting history repeat itself, and this was a fatal flaw for many, as these phantoms would haunt them in shadows they personally imagine.

One of these would be the war between the Kargryxmor children. The battles between [Battle Frenzy] users were destructive as they transcended the normal limits of a rank S due to the raw increase in their stats. Destruction followed wherever they went and clashed, leaving behind countless dead dragonkin that littered the ground with their broken scales and mana. The elemental contamination in the earth, sea, and sky forever reshaped the continent of Miononbolax.

… And once again, the world would know the reign of Kargryxmor’s scions. A true master of [Battle Frenzy] hovered above Coral Beard’s floating city, exuding his magnificent aura as black flames formed behind his armed wings. A circle formed with the black dragon tyrant right in the middle of it, creating the appearance of a giant flaming eye.

The sight of this blackened eye in the sky caused all ancient dragons currently roaming Coral Beard in its defence against the leviathans to freeze in the spot. They stared at the appearance of their emperor in shock, while those far younger than them kneeled, lowering their tail in between their legs as they showered the necessary respect to the First Son of Kargryxmor, the Scion of Destruction, and the Second Emperor of the Dragon Empire, Kargryx.

Eltharion … a name of worship and a symbol of fear and power.

However, the mere appearance of the dragon emperor, even after it had become a rarity for him to fly and visit his domains, wouldn’t have conjured such a reaction. For the dragon emperor had only recently made his appearance in Coral Beard known to prevent a battle between the dragons and drakes against their oceanic rivals in the leviathans and adamantoises. The mere presence of the Scion of Destruction was enough to prevent a full escalation of the situation, as even the boisterous leviathans could not risk his wrath.

No, what caused the ancient dragons to face their PTSD caused by the civil war was the appearance of all his empresses right next to him. Gyadiosa, Gaistrus, Forminaxtrass, Virrflax, Yuilengreill, and Melloxtressa—the titanic sizes of five of them and the pulsating glow of a kirin’s dragon paths.

Even with her being barely the size of Gaistrus’s scales, Yuilengreil felt magnetic to all those with mana. Even if they couldn’t see her, the flow of her dragon paths made it obvious to all that she was amongst this group and ready to fight with the pure, element-less mana of the world.

Is this an omen? The ancients asked themselves as Eltharion roared once again, invoking the deepest fears the ancients could feel—the start of a draconic war.

They braced themselves, though. Many among them were fed off from the leviathan’s meddling, not to mention Wendriosa’s lack of control over her support base, reducing the opinion on her with the old guard. Even the younger, more battle eager dragons shared the same thoughts, and seeing their elder scales getting ready for a fight caused their scales to rattle as they readied to transform back into their dragon form.

Weeks have gone by since the leviathan sea blockade, drastically reducing incoming ships. Trading ships coming from Altrust’s Loatryx and Caedhul had always been Miononbolax’s source of off-continent trade, granting them the wealth and resources to lead their idyllic life if they so wished.

Meanwhile, Caedhul and their dragonewt colonies would receive the bountiful resources Miononbolax could produce through their elementally-drenched land. Minerals and items otherwise non-existent on Altrust were stored in bountiful storages in the land of dragons, and even if some items were to run out, they could be swiftly refilled by gathering at their respective sources.

However, Miononbolax was reliant on their seafaring trade vessels, as such, a blockade would slow down or stop trading completely, especially between the mainland and Frozen Nest. While it was possible for trading to resume with sky routes, it wasn’t a feasible long-term plan as dragons were too prideful to act as a “mule” to transport goods, while wyvern caravans could only work within the continent.

To force a wyvern to fly through the ocean with packs of goods on their back would be amoral. They weren’t as swift as dragons when it came to flying and without the speed to quickly make it over the seas, the flyer required resting spots to replenish their strength. This was why Miononbolax still used trading vessels for all their intercontinental trading. If only Kargryx could invent a sort of manatech air vessel that would allow their dragonewts and wyverns to sail the sky without needing a dragon to ferry them, an aerial trading route would surely be the new norm for the sky-conquering dragons. They would not have to endure their sea rivals then.

Knowing all this, it was understandable why the dragons and drakes were itching for a battle. They did not want a full on war, especially since Kahalameet and Wendriosa would soon do battle for the throne anyways, but somebody had to finally teach these “annoying fishes” a lesson.

Yet …

“Stay down!” Gaistrus’s voice boomed like a dungeon explosion, sending a shockwave around her as strong as a giant mortar bomb. Trees and boulders would be ripped off the ground, while the clouds above her were blown away by her ear-shattering voice.

If Virrflax hadn’t softened Gaistrus’s voice with her manipulation of air, the echo of her words could have destroyed Coral Beard in seconds. Yet, the effect still had its effect as every dragonkin outside of the ancients froze in place, the eagerness of before vanishing as if they never existed.

The ancients did not understand what this was supposed to mean, but they couldn’t question their empresses before their emperor’s wings flapped, creating a tailwind strong enough that it sucked in all the clouds Gaistrus’s had blown away. The near supersonic flight, held back by Eltharion’s care for his elven allies, led him right in above the gathering place of the leviathans blocking the trading route. The wind blast pushed the water to the side until Eltharion could see the head of a massive turtle-like creature.

With a thick shell decorated in thick metallic bone, shaped into the form of an icebreaker, the snapping turtle-headed adamantoise could barely retreat his head inside his shell when he saw the dragon emperor reach his hand out. Yet, fearless as he was confident of his strength, Eltharion reached into the adamantoise’s shell, grabbing the turtle by its mouth to pull it out.

Adamantoises had a relationship with their leviathan cousin similar to how dragons treated drakes. There was a mutual respect between the two as they both had traits the other would envy, but couldn’t obtain as receiving it would weaken their niche. Leviathans were swifter swimmers and had better control over the water, while adamantoises were bulwarks of defence even tougher than an earth drake when it came to shrugging off damage, to the point even the pressure of even the darkest depths of the ocean wouldn’t be able to crush them. A feat that varied between leviathan types, while most adamantoises were deep sea inhabitants.

So adapted to being defensive, adamantoises have the lowest offensive potential of all true dragonkin species, but they still have a devastating bite, strong enough to puncture through dragonkin scales and crush their bones if anything was foolish enough to enter an adamantoise’s attack area. Although their powers were less explosive than a leviathan, these creatures were still true dragonkin—forces of nature able to raze entire countries through brute force alone.

… However, in this very moment, the rank S adamantoise was shocked when his sharp incisors were unable to break through Eltharion’s scale barrier, fortified by his max leveled [True Draconic Barrier]. Not even a dent was created when his head was forced out of its shell.

Raising his left hand in the air, Eltharion pounded on the adamantoise’s shell, each causing enough power to collapse a dwarven-made underground hold, yet none of the blows managed to demolish the many rows of metallic bony carapace, only cracking them.

To sustain a rank SS’s attacks like this, the adamantoise’s pride was mildly restored, allowing it to finally question why Eltharion was here in the first place. Was he having a tantrum? It would go against the information he and his companions had received from his leader about how the dragon emperor had lost himself in lethargy, a symptom of the collapse of an old soul. Having seen it happen to his own father, the adamantoise accepted the information without questioning it.

Yet, to see the dragon emperor finally battle instead of roaring, the dragonkin couldn’t help but question his prior cowardice. Yes, his roar was imposing enough to shake the confidence of a rank S, but this striking power was meager at best. Not a threat to a long-living adamantoise. He questioned why the ancients told him and his companions to not engage the dragon emperor in battle, but he believed sending in a few adamantoises would be enough to conquer Miononbolax for the Goddess of the Depths.

The ocean will one day take over the land! Leviathans and adamantoises will send dragons back to the sky where they belong!

As the adamantoise roared in victory, it inevitably raised the morale of the leviathans and adamantoises swimming below him. The words of their elder scales—their fathers and mothers—had made them want to flee, but seeing their companion shouldering the power of Eltharion, they all began to congregate below Eltharion like a school of hungry sharks, ready to pounce on the emperor with blistering rage.

The stories they had heard from the ancient sea dragonkin had created this image of a grand tyrant that ruled over Kargryx with an iron-fist, with flames so strong they could purge any invaders, even the denizens of the depths, from conquering his land. It was a picture of awe that was now ripped open to reveal the truth—an aging dragon that would soon die.

Why should they wait for Wendriosa’s match with Kahalameet when they could simply expedite it? Soon, a new empress would carry the weight of the crown of Kargryx, and she would be a “leviathan.”

… Correct, all sea dragonkin gathering at this location have never experienced the Kargryxian Civil War before. They were all new generation rank S, similar in age to Siegragxus or Fehrkatruk. All were below a 1000-years-old.

With age came wisdom, and that was the intelligence to listen to their elders and absorb their knowledge, yet they were still dragonkin. Plagued by pride and their rivalry towards dragons and drakes, in this very moment, they were all lured towards the bloody bait Eltharion had laid with a simple show of weakness.

It was too late for them to react when the flaming circle behind Eltharion’s back was filled with black flames, creating something similar to a 2D black sun. In an instant, the water was dyed with a black hue as Eltharion’s throat turned red. This was all the warnings he would show before his mouth opened to release a dragon breath so hot, the very air would turn into blazing plasma.

Searing off the adamantoise’s shell with the dragon breath, the attack struck the water below him, causing it to evaporate into a maelstrom of steam until the flames reached the depths, melting sediment and the oceanic crust until Eltharion had enough of this scare tactic.

Intentionally missing the adamantoise to not kill him, Eltharion peered at the shocked younger dragonkin with flaming eyes. The adamantoise couldn’t move, as if his soul and muscles were paralyzed by some sort of magic. He could barely even think when the dragon emperor threw the small island-sized adamantoise in the air, slashing at his still protected stomach with flaming claws, leaving a deep gash as his broken shell stood no chance against his attack.

T-this is why they warned us! The leviathans and adamantoises quickly understood. Old as he was, Eltharion was still the Scion of the Destruction. The mana he nurtured throughout two massive wars had gone unused for too long, and it was ready to be unleashed on problematic “guests.”

Yet, the sea dragonkin froze in place once again when Eltharion willingly dived into the water to grab a nearby leviathan by the head. Dragons conquered the sky, while the leviathans ruled the oceans—that was an undeniable truth and one that kept the strained peace between the two sides. It was also the main motivator for their rivalry as both saw this inconvenient truth as a weakness and hit to their prides.

Yet, this dragon would try to invade their territory? They couldn’t have it, nor could they flee when two of their companions were in danger of dying.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Shaking off their sense of fear, the leviathans immediately activated their Territory, but were quickly overwhelmed by foreign ones. They stared up, only to see five of the six empresses had already reached their location, emitting their aura to protect their emperor while leaving him to rampage.

Five ancients versus over a dozen of younger rank S was not a fair match for the latter, especially since Melloxtressa was a rank SS and had experience fighting a rank SS leviathan. Even then, the last of the empress was slowly making a way towards them by walking through the ocean ground, yet her size was large enough to keep her head above the ocean surface.

Her titanic size, dwarving even her emperor and Melloxtressa, was large enough to walk through the open ocean, deep enough for multiple Empire State Building long true dragonkin to swim around. To see such a colossal being approach them, with a mouth large enough to grab their bodies, the leviathan knew this was not a battle they could win.

They accepted their defeat and retreated their Territories before the accumulated arcane corruption could cripple them. They intended to run, but the empresses did not let them, trapping all inside a dome of magic, with Gyadiosa creating a whirlpool strong enough to prevent even the best swimmers from bypassing it.

“Empress Gyadiosa, please!” the sea dragonkin pleaded as they raised their heads above ground, as the water was slowly warming up from Eltharion’s mere presence inside it. Cooked or steamed fish? Sadly, anything swimming in these waters would soon stop existing.

“Our parents know you! We’re supporting your daught—Arrrghhh!” the leviathans screamed in agony as the heat finally evaporated all the water inside the elemental dome. The leviathans flopped around as the plasma created in this process scorched their bodies.

“… Never attack Miononbolax, again!” Gyadiosa proclaimed with an icy voice.

It did not matter who they were, but to endanger Miononbolax’s territory and destroy its ecosystem in such a brazen attack, Gyadiosa and the other empresses could not stand such disrespect. “Dragons do not like giving up their territory or rule.” Kahalameet’s lesson to Hestia was not something to be ignored.

To attack Frozen Nest wasn’t just a spit to Melloxtressa’s pride as its ruler, but it also besmirched Gyadiosa’s obligations as the land’s peacekeeper. This wasn’t about keeping the succession crisis’s peace, any longer. This was about protecting the empire from opportunistic skinks.

And they would remind the world why Kargryx is the greatest empire on Peolynca.

“Kriffiek kllka bleta tratakronik ri drahk!” Eltharion roared as the [Battle Frenzy] consumed his body.

“I will protect my bloodline and my clan!” … This was the Eltharion’s translated words as his [Battle Frenzy] reached the critical stage at once. A 100% increase in all his stats gave the Scion of Destruction a power that normal rank SS would never achieve until they reached the maximum possible level.

With a force similar, or even more cataclysmic, than a meteorite strike, Eltharion rearranged the surface of Peolynca, leaving behind a massive elemental scar as he unleashed an inferno that would leave a smile even on the face of the God of Fire.

… Yet, it was filled with mercy as none of the leviathans and adamantoises died, only having lost consciousness from the incredible heat. This was not a killing spree, and as a master of [Battle Frenzy], he could control himself even at the critical stage where even his brother, Inrikk, could only maintain his sanity for a total of a bell until he lost all sense of self.

This was a show of might, but it also acted as a way to appease the dragons of Frozen Nest. The battle between Karydrinos and those who destroyed his carefully built underwater farms, but this showing would assure that the ice dragons would not lose their temper and accidentally kill a leviathan. To destroy another’s territory was simply an eye-for-an-eye, after all.

Like how Frozen Nest would not fully recover from the injected sea scorpion venom any time soon, neither would this portion of the open ocean. Fire mana had corrupted this area like a nuclear fallout, morphing physics as a giant hole was created where water once existed. Like a black hole, it sucked in the surrounding water as the latter flowed into it like a waterfall, only to be turned into steam as plasma danced inside it like the surface of the sun.

Although the fire mana would not spread from this concentrated area, this landmark would remain here for centuries until dragons and leviathans slowly removed it by absorbing the mana away. Trading routes would have to be rerouted and constructions needed to be made to prevent the heat from affecting those around it.

Thankfully, it was far enough from the elven island that it wouldn’t affect them too terribly, but it was clear from this day onwards, Coral Beard and the Elven Kingdom of Kel’Thun would soon face stronger rains, maybe even a monsoon. The might of a rank SS reared its head.

Let this be a reminder to all living beings to never tempt the power of those closest to the might of the divine in the mortal realm.

***

“… Father held back,” Wendriosa stated after she witnessed her father’s fury.

“Mother and Empress-Mother Melloxtressa will most likely dampen the effects of that hole so it won’t destabilize Coral Beard and Kel’Thun, but it will affect the fishing industry. That heat will kill everything around it, leaving it desolated. Guess Coral Beard will have to rely more on other harbor cities for our fish.”

“… Iceskale won’t like this, they just lost a portion of theirs. Seriously, Father is making some more problems for everybody, haaa.” Wendriosa slapped her forehead. “Well, this does stop any leviathan interference in Coral Beard. The super heat makes it harder for them to annoy the ship, and as long as we fortify our trading vessels with metals improved with volcanic rocks, it shouldn’t bother us too much. This actually might save our trading fleet, although the cost …”

“It’s worth it. You said it yourself, right? Miononbolax had lingered enough in stagnancy, so I spoke with Mother and Empress-Mother Forminaxtrass before I reported everything to Father. There are ways we can overcome some of our issues, like making more fishing villages, involving the wyverns more in aerial transportation, and most importantly, a little plan the latter had heard from one of Hestia’s friends.”

“Hestia? What does our little sister have anything to do with your ideas?”

“Those otherworlders, remember? They mentioned something about a creation called a ‘zeppelin,’ a type of ship that sails the sky with technology and gasses. The dwarves have recently gotten a bit fascinated by the idea, but no plans have been made on it since they valued their trains a bit. Mother believed with a small sponsorship from Kargryx, we might be able to entice them to finally fix our dependency on the ocean for our trading.”

“… Brother? When have you become so engrossed in technology?”

Kahalameet went outside and picked something out from the back he had brought with him, revealing it to be one of the newly made recorders. A “test model” for Formiaxtrass to experiment with to give feedback to the dragonewt artificer who made it under the mentorship of the digital media guild.

Wendriosa, though, scowled. “… This abomination of a manatech. Mother used Empress-Mother Melloxtressa’s to film me when I played with a few whelplings, you know? Embarrassing isn’t even close to what I wanted to call that, and this isn’t even mentioning how Ryranakus is being plagued by his mother’s obsession in recording every single action he does! They are still borrowing it, but you are telling me Hestia is already mass-producing this! Does she not understand what every child’s mother will do with these!”

Kahalameet frowned, fully aware of the reaction the ancients had when Hestia showcased it during the senate meeting. He knew exactly what every parent would do the moment they got this recorder in their hands and he couldn’t help but shiver. His own mother had a good memory, but even she had forgotten some smaller details during her lifetime. A fact Kahalameet was thankful for as some parts of his childhood were best left unremembered.

Ignoring his own fears in this, he continued, “That’s not my intention with showing you this. I actually heard of something interesting when I spoke to Hestia during one of our dinners, together. A small fact she blurted out that was so normal to her that she didn’t even mind it, but it stuck with me. You do know that some countries in the world vote for their leaders, correct? In a senate-like system?”

Wendriosa nodded.

“Well, have you heard of any that uses a system of voting where the entire populace does it?” Kahalameet asked.

“Yes, a few villages I’ve visited have done so, especially for self-governing towns. Governors are voted into power with little connection between the previous and current one outside of their place in politics. It is not common, though, as most would rather rely on the heir of the one holding the title of [King] or [Queen].”

“Correct, and our empire is one of them. This is something we cannot change, though, as Kargryxmor will continue to rule the throne as we have the might to bring everything together. Our culture is that of power and it will affect which of us would become the heir apparent. If I make it to rank S before you, I will win,” he said, but paused as he saw his sister’s calm eyes. “And I know you are hot on my tail. I know you recently reached the same level as Phsothophus.”

“… The new leader of my supporters might be a brute, but he is a good motivator when it comes to training. I have access to the dungeons of the oceans, while you keep staying in the one on Miononbolax.” Wendriosa smirked. “As such, we would never meet each other, but I can keep watch over your progress. You have to constantly wait for the dungeon boss to respawn for your experience gain, but I have access to many. I still need far more time to catch up to you, but as long as I can prove that I am equal to you in strength when you reach rank S, I can delay the decision. This only—”

“It risks the chance for a civil war to explode. The longer we take this, the worst it gets if Father doesn’t recover. Even if you can catch up to me, if you do it too slowly, Father might just crown me emperor before you can make your plan.”

Wendriosa bit her lips, agreeing with her brother. Her confidence had not shattered, it only rose as her impatience took over.

“As such, I proposed an idea to Father. There is a better method to achieve this without hurting ourselves on our paths. Everybody fears that we Kargryxmor children would fight, so why not subvert this?” he said, intriguing Wendriosa. “The plan is to become dragon rulers. Only those who become a dragon ruler may become worthy of the throne.”

“And then?”

“I do not think you are thinking my words through, Little Sister. The plan I submitted was for us to fight our supporters and give them a punishment for using us as pawns,” Kahalameet growled, leaving Wendriosa flabbergasted at the absurdity of the plan. “Correct, what I am saying is that we are to prove our strength against rank S. I must defeat Maustoovaka for the title, and in your case, it would be to take over our maternal clan and reign in the supporters of your faction. Caedhul, after all, doesn’t have a proper dragon ruler system like we do since the ocean is humongous, but even our stubborn ancients will be forced to agree that you are indeed just as worthy as they believe I am.”

“… Continue.”

Kahalameet nodded. “This proves our strength and makes us eligible to become the empire’s ruler. After this is done, we will enact Hestia’s idea with this recorder—we will campaign and present our ideals to the populace and allow our empire to choose the next step in our future!”

“… You are putting our future in the hands of voters?”

He nodded to Wendriosa’s scowl. “We both believe what we are doing is the correct way for our empire, but we’ve only spoken with the true dragons. You know yourself that lesser dragonkin, dragonewts, and levianewts, are our citizens as well, but their voices matter little in the grand scheme of things as they would never speak against their clan’s true dragonkin.”

Kahalameet walked back to the table, sitting down and gesturing for his sister to do the same. Once she were seated, he continued, “If you wish to change our culture of power, you need to see where its source is—dragon power. That show is enough to prove to you that overturning this culture is impossible and trying to spread powers to the world to keep the peace would only resort in situations like this. Your ideals will have us ‘conquer’ other countries and have them rely on our strength, while we forsake those unwilling to work with us. You will only spread our culture of power while increasing the number of the ‘weak.’ Those who rely on us and those hurt by the fact we are not protecting them.”

He slammed the table, waking Wendriosa out of her scowl. “Yet, I agree, what I am proposing won’t change much. In either case, the culture of power would remain and more like Fargryneill would endure the consequences of our decision. As such, we need to make a change in how the dragonewts and wyvern view each other. We need more wyverns who are brave enough to speak up against a dragon, especially when the latter is wrong. Dragonewts who blindly follow their clan’s decision without speaking up are damaging as well! This is why we need to work on a world where their voices can be heard as well, to remind the true dragonkin that we are not making this empire for them alone, we are making this an empire where our dragonewts and wyverns can thrive as well. Loatryx is our vessel, but they our ‘children.’ Since when do dragon parents abandon their children, right?”

“… Hehe, you sure are something. A week with our youngest sister and you somehow gained some revolutionary ideas. Meanwhile, multiple centuries with me, and you only kept on being stubborn,” Wendriosa smiled, hints of snarkiness and genuine interest suppressing her actual reaction to this.

“I wouldn’t say it that way. I do not believe your ideals are faultless. I have not changed my opinion on this, but our youngest reminded me that I am your brother and that you are my sister. We are family first and foremost … She is right that I might have deluded myself into thinking that I still feel the same love towards you as I did when you were first born. That familiar love between us has shattered, correct?”

Wendriosa only nodded, feeling a sting in her chest as she remembered her admiration towards Kahalameet. Those wondrous memories soothed her once, but nowadays, they only disgusted her.

“We can’t go back to those times because we both have a vision. We want to lead the world in our ways, and we’ve still not been able to come to a compromise. It might never happen, but maybe, just maybe, all we needed was a method that wouldn’t rely on our power alone to win … but through our words and ideals.”

“… Yes, maybe. Hie, I will take it though, because I know I can beat you in a battle of words and charisma.”

“I hope it will be enough when the people remember that I can protect them.”

The son and daughter of Gyadiosa stood up and grabbed each other’s hands, shaking them for the first time in a century.

Kahalmeet smiled. “Help, of course, is allowed. Defeating a rank S is hard since they will have supporters, too, so let us make sure we stomp them out. We will stop this civil war before the flame erupts.”

Wendriosa reciprocated with a warm giggle, feeling at ease all of a sudden. “Father’s action, as long as he left those leviathans alive, will not cause a war between us and Caedhul and will only lead to their ancients scolding their children for what happened. That political dilemma will steal most of our empress-mother’s time, but that, ha, is their duty as their wives. However, we will still need to handle Caedhul, so I think I have to visit the Aquapolis.”

“Bring somebody with you, in that case. Don’t worry, I’ve talked with Father for an apology gift.”

“He does feel bad for leaving us to our own devices for that long, huh?”

“Finally lucid, I say. He told me Kargryxmor had spoken to him, and I guess having to hear the old man nag was enough to light a fire in Father’s chest. Hehe, or maybe he still can’t admit that hearing that his youngest—a mere rank B—fought alongside the Frozen Nest ancients against those leviathans who attacked Iceskale. Reports say, unlike the ones off our shores, they were ancient dragonkin. He might not admit it, but that fatherly care for his children is still there somewhere. Hidden and trapped behind a veil of trauma and regrets.”

“… Since when have you become so poetic, Brother?”

True democracy? No, not one bit… but the talks between two siblings were starting to change parts of this old empire. A small influx of unrestrained knowledge to the right ears could create ideas and change people. Trivial at best sometimes, but on the off-chance it is allowed to grow, it might alter an entire culture.

Just like a small little dragoness wishing to make other people smile for a day.