The Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen was born on a cloudy day during a rainstorm with scales of black like his father, eyes of red like his father, dagger sharp claws like his father, and muscular, black wings, like his father.
The Kingdom of Varlen was happy to see the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen because the Dragons of Varlen protected the humans from the different Enemies of the West. But they were also unhappy because the Mate of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen had to molt in the process of giving him life, enchanting her into an unwaking sleep for the rest of her physical body’s existence, so her soul could search the Upper World until ready to settle. The Mate of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen was loved by all the people in the Kingdom of Varlen because of her kindness and her service in preventing winter from coming too early to ruin the crops.
But the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen never knew his father either, the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen, because he was slain by one of the Arrogant Knights of the Castle of Morock on the very same day of the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen’s birth. The people of the Kingdom of Varlen called this a storm from the Dark Clouds of Fate.
Villagers of the Kingdom of Varlen were scared that the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen would be attacked by storms such as this for the rest of his life, because of the ill-fortune on his birthday; but they were proven wrong when the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen proved to be a valiant protector, averting war twice and killing a Lcyophen-- which no other dragon had ever done before-- all in just fifty years. For the time, no one worried, and the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen grew and prospered and was loved by everyone; after all, why shouldn’t he have been, when he was the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen?
At this point, half a century into his life, the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen realized his life and time as guardian was nearing an end, and it was time to reproduce, so he flew to the far-off neighboring Kingdom of Beauty and searched for the Daughter of the Average Dragon of the Kingdom of Beauty, whom he’d seen in flight once before but disappeared in a chance rainstorm before he could catch up to her. Once he found her, he sought to marry her, but she resisted and agreed to only if he waited ten years and brought her a new beautiful flower each year. He agreed, because he knew that in fifty years the Kingdom of Varlen had been safe all but once, and that was forty years ago, so nothing should happen in a mere ten.
Finally, after expressing his true love for her with each new flower for the tenth time, she agreed to marry him, but only if he could beat her in a race to the Mountains of Morock to the North, past the Kingdom of Varlen. The Daughter of the Average Dragon of the Kingdom of Beauty began flying North at a very fast pace, but not too fast for the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen because, after all, he was the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen.
As they passed the Kingdom of Varlen, the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen saw it under brutal attack from the Enemies of the West. He looked ahead of him towards the Mountains of Morock and the Daughter of the Average Dragon of the Kingdom of Beauty and hesitated, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, lightning began to strike from the dark clouds above the North Fields of the Kingdom of Varlen, right where the Daughter of the Average Dragon of the Kingdom of Beauty was headed.
Caught in indecision, he turned back to look at the Kingdom of Varlen, and decided he had time to warn her and still make it back in time to avert total disaster; after all, he was the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen, and nothing could affect heritage. He flew as fast as he could towards the Daughter of the Average Dragon of the Kingdom of Beauty in an effort to stop her from flying towards sudden doom, but lightning struck his right wing and pain seized him. Spiraling towards the Kingdom of Varlen, he crashed into the Castle of the Kingdom of Varlen, causing the protective walls to crumble and allow the Enemies of the West to enter without trouble.
In his last dying breath, as his vision faded, he heard the voice of King Karl of the Kingdom of Varlen say, “Oh, why did the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen have to be born with the evil Dark Cloud of Fate hovering over him? We foolishly thought he had overcome it, but now we realize that the Lightning or the Hail or even the Rain of the Dark Cloud of Fate cannot be escaped, no matter who one’s father was or what one has accomplished! Now we suffer and die and the Legacy of the Kingdom of Varlen and its guardians will be no more because the Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen’s fate was to make the wrong decision. May the Upper World welcome us with pity!”
The Son of the Great Dragon of the Kingdom of Varlen, finally understanding what the word destiny meant, let one last burst of flame blow from his nostrils before it turned into a black, depressing smoke, and his hearts stopped beating, never getting the chance to molt.
