All the deities that we currently know were made by the Creator’s hand, to assist him in giving further life to the world he had wrought from nothing.

  The Creator has many titles- the Maker, the All-Father/Mother, etc. But nothing resembling an actual name. The only people who would know it are the false gods that currently govern the world in his absence, but they cannot be trusted either.

  Some people have come up attempting to claim they know the Creator’s true name, but those people are liars. Hopefully. Such people are heretics and should be ignored.

  -Gaian Codex

  Finally, after the events of the day were about to close, things had finally settled to something resembling peace. Octavia was sleeping inside a barrel. Stephen was busy scribbling something in a notebook that Rex dearly hoped was not anything involving him or any of his immediate family. Arandia had found the liquor on the boat, and was taking full advantage- too exhausted to notice Usagi grab a bottle from the pile she was working through. Spacey was trying to fix her unstable cannon- and Rex secretly hoped she wouldn’t repair the damned thing, lest she cause all of their deaths.

  Regardless, there was something important he needed to broach. Putting on his best “important speech” voice, he spoke up.

  “Ahem. Subjects!! Now that we’ve all had a moment to breathe… there’s something important we need to discuss-”

  “EVERYONE!! ASTERON HAS DELIVERED AN IMPORTANT PROPHECY!!” Celeste’s shrill voice had gathered the attention of everyone else on the boat- and stolen Rex’s thunder. He sighed loudly,

  “Excuse me, I was in the middle of attempting to broach a very important topic as well. Do you MIND?!”

  “Oh, okay! You can do your thing first, it’s probably less important!” Celeste said, the cheer in her voice never fading. Rex couldn’t tell if she didn’t notice how high-strung he was at the moment, or didn’t care- and he had to struggle not to lose what little decorum still remained after the indignities of the day. Good rulers don’t silence their subjects… even when they’re getting on their LAST. NERVES.

  “Thank you. Ahem!”

  Finally, all the attention was focused on him- for a given value of ‘focused’ for some of these people. There were no interruptions, and he could finally reveal the purpose for which he’d been attempting to gather allies in the first place! It was time to plead his case to his erstwhile compatriots, and hope that his natural charisma would win him the allies he needed. After clearing his throat, he began.

  “My name is Rex Malum Brimstone. I am the heir apparent to the throne of Dragonia, a once-great kingdom. I was meant to rule it- but the Gaian Empire took over on the day of my coronation, forcing me to flee and leaving it in the rule of their puppet!”

  “Ever since, I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to strike- the plan is simple. Obtain the Orbs of the Creator, and use the ultimate power they grant to oust those fools from their ill-gotten posts!!”

  Celeste piped up. “Didn’t you just find out about them today? What was your plan before-”

  Rex’s eye twitched at the sudden interruption. I have been practicing this speech for WEEKS, and of course someone has to interrupt!! “Of course I KNEW about them before, but having confirmation that they actually exist is something else entirely!!”

  “Anyway… the dangers will be great- taking on the Gaian Empire directly is unheard of- better nations have failed, even with armies at their disposal. But! If every man shied away from a task because it was dangerous, then nothing would ever change! However, if we manage to accomplish this task, the rewards would be unimaginable. Ultimate power would be at our disposal! The Empire’s coffers would be open for looting! And most of all, justice would be done for all of their terrible atrocities!! And if we manage to kill the Seven, the bastards at the very top- we can make them SUFFER for their misdeeds!!”

  He held out his hand, revealing the birthmark of Brimstone on his palm- a darkened patch of scales, resembling a burning flame. “IF ANY OF YOU WISH TO JOIN ME ON THIS QUEST, STEP FORWARD!! We shall swear an oath on this crest, the mark of the Brimstone bloodline, and cement our bond!!” Rex announced in his most dramatic tone.

  For a whole minute, nobody said anything. Please work, please work… otherwise all the nonsense I’ve went through today will be for nothing!!

  Celeste was the first to break the silence, talking to either herself or her unknown deity again. “Uh… are you sure you’re okay with swearing an oath to someone else?” She paused. “I mean, it’s not another god, sooooo… I guess it’s fine.”

  She turned back to Rex. “All right, Asteron gave me this duty, and I will accomplish it!! Without him, I’d probably be a nobody in a ditch somewhere… and besides, saving the world in his name means tons of new converts to Asteron!”

  That’s one… but she was a given. What about the others-

  Stephen gasped “It’s just like one of my novels!! Grand adventure… intrigue… drama… potential love interests… I accept!! If nothing else, it’ll be a great source of inspiration…”

  “If I show up anywhere in your tripe, you’re being ejected from the party…” Rex grumbled. Stephen either didn’t hear what he said, or didn’t care.

  “Perhaps I’ll finally meet my soulmate! Someone who completes me… heals the aching hole in my-”

  “ALL RIGHT, I GET IT!!” Rex groaned. If I have to hear any more of his overly dramatic whining, my brain is going to melt out of my ears!!

  Arandia let out a loud belch and rolled her eyes. “Fffffuck it. As long as I get paid and fed, I couldn’t fucking care less what the job is. At least you seem more competent than my last boss… Fine. But you were talking about ‘unimaginable wealth’, right? You’d better live up to that.”

  …not the biggest vote of confidence, but beggars can’t be choosers…

  Usagi, meanwhile, was far more interested, a mischievous grin unfolding on his tiny, fluffy face. “So, you’re willing to take on the Empire? A dangerous proposition to be sure. But they’re sitting on untold riches that need… redistributing, shall I say. We can discuss my share of the winnings later… but for now, consider my interest piqued, your highness-”

  “Stop calling me that!! The way you say it makes it lose all its luster!!”

  Usagi shrugged. “Rex it is, then. Looking forward to my share of the profits! And besides, if this will lead to running all over the world, I’m sure I’ll find some… ahem, companionship at the end of that.” He turned to the spider woman, who was still chugging her latest bottle of alcohol. “Oh, Arandia, I bet you can’t rack up more from stealing things than I can. Let’s make it a wager, shall we? I get more, you have to donate half your winnings to me.”

  Arandia grunted. “The hell- you’re on, you fucking rabbit! But if I win…” She grinned. “YOU gotta buy me food. For a month. And I can eat till the fucking cows come home!”

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  “Ho ho! I accept. May the best thief win!”

  With that, the duo of criminals returned to their libations. Rex made a mental note to get a drink himself later- he’d need it trying to manage all of these buffoons.

  With these two, I’m probably going to need all that money to satisfy their greed… and gluttony… and everything else…

  Octavia had woken up from her barrel, and was giggling like a maniac. “Hehehehehe!! I can mess with the Gaian Empire?! Those idiots are all about ORDER, and stuff… they’re LAME. If going on this thing means I get to burn them down, I’ll do whatever you say- can I break any of their bones?!”

  “...if we manage to confront any of the Seven, you have my express permission to murder them in as brutal of a fashion as you see fit.”

  “AHAHAHA!! I can’t WAIT!!” Octavia was positively giddy with excitement. Rex knew he’d have to rein her in later… but later was not now, and right now he was desperate for people to help his cause.

  This. This is the one I’m going to regret.

  “The Empire…” Spacey was the last one to speak up, in a far more serious tone than anything Rex had previously heard from her. “Weeeelll… I do have some things to settle with them… My mom went off to fight them years ago, and never came back. If I can find her… that’ll be reason enough.”

  “Wait. Mother?” Rex was dumbfounded. Constructs can’t… reproduce, can they?

  “Oh, I’m adopted. Tania? Tamaranch? Do either of those ring a bell to you?”

  Wait… it can’t be THAT Tamaranch…

  “The gold dragon ruler of the Isle of Rejects? The one who’s said to incinerate anyone who approaches? THAT Tamaranch??”

  “Okay, I don’t know where you heard that, but Dad’s not THAT bad. He only incinerates people who try to steal things. Or Empire people. Or… people who annoy him…”

  Rex narrowed his eyes.“You’re not exactly inspiring confidence.”

  Spacey’s cartoonish eyes rolled. “Please, it’s not like you’re ever going to meet him! Probably! Oh, wait, one question. I’m not gonna be expected to help RULE said kingdom after we win, right?”

  Finally, someone sensible!!

  “That would be up to you, alternate forms of rewards are perfectly acceptable within reason-”

  “Because, my goal is to meet the right dragon to be captured by, and spend the rest of my life being doted on like any self-respecting princess!!”

  Rex couldn’t even form the words to respond to that statement.

  What in gods’ name has she been reading??

  “What… what are you TALKING ABOUT?”

  “You’re from Dragonia! Your bloodline’s descended from dragons directly, right?! I gotta ask- do you know any eligible singles, or something?”

  Rex responded indignantly, “NO!! Most of my relatives are dragonborn, not full dragons!! There’s a DIFFERENCE!!”

  Spacey sounded completely undeterred. “...most, huh? Anything’s good!!”

  “Well, there is my great-grandmother, but I don’t think-”

  A cartoonish frown appeared on Spacey’s flat face. “I said BACHELORS, not bachelorettes. I don’t swing THAT way… darn. Not even, like, a distant cousin or something?”

  Rex was struggling very hard not to lose his mind over what he was hearing. It wasn’t working. “I- I don’t- Stephen!!”

  Stephen stepped in, a huge grin on his face. “Yes?”

  “Please handle this conversation about seducing… dragons. I don’t have the words for this, and you probably do, given your… literary interests.”

  Spacey gasped. “Wait. No, it can’t be. Stephen… romance novel writer… are you THE Stephen Myer??”

  “Why, yes, the one and only.”

  “OH MY GOSH!! I’VE BEEN READING YOUR STUFF FOR YEARS!!” Spacey threw open her bag and pulled out a very well-loved copy of Scales of Passion. “This book’s AMAZING!! Oh, the tragedy of being in an arranged marriage, but your heart wanders to someone else- let alone the princess of your political rival!!”

  Stephen was beaming. “YES! THANK YOU!! Finally, someone gets it! The drama! The painful choice, to pursue your star crossed lover, or resign yourself to your fate!!”

  “THAT’S NOT HOW IT HAPPENED!!” Rex raged. Unfortunately, both parties were too wrapped up in their newfound common ground and defiling of his ancestry to care about his indignation.

  “You must know so much about matters of the heart! Can you give me some pointers?? I’ve been, uh, rather unsuccessful in that department… as of late… dragons aren’t typically easy to make a crack at, and I REALLY don’t want to ask my siblings about this, that would be SO weird!”

  “Of course! It’s so nice to meet someone with similar interests!! Anyway, the real problem with trying to find one is getting past the initial ‘you’re so much lower than I am’ phase…” Stephen immediately began spewing a massively long diatribe of the PROPER way to court draconic bachelors- which Spacey was listening to with rapt attention.

  Rex felt like he was losing more of his brain with every word these two were saying. I don’t think she know that most dragons- or most people for that matter- don’t work like that… at least they’re getting along? Maybe??

  Celeste’s shrill voice suddenly interrupted the activities of everyone else on the boat. “OH RIGHT, I FORGOT ABOUT THE PROPHECY!! Everybody listen, this is important!!” Clearing her throat, Celeste began to speak, her eyes glowing as her voice took on a deep, powerful echo.

  ORBS OF POWER, SEVEN THERE ARE…

  BURIED IN THE SAND, BY FELINE GUARDS.

  HIDDEN IN THE FOREST, BY FEY OF OLD,

  IN THE CITY OF RICHES, SET TO BE SOLD.

  THE DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN, IN THE DEEPEST PIT,

  HELD BY DARK SISTERS, A PLACE UNLIT.

  HOARD OF INIQUITY, THE PRETENDER’S THRONE,

  THE FALSE PROPHET’S CLUTCHES, IN A CASTLE OF BONE.

  FIND THEM ALL, FIGHT TO YOUR LAST BREATH

  OR THE WORLD SHALL LANGUISH IN DARKNESS AND DEATH.

  After the last word was uttered, Celeste’s eyes returned to normal. Stephen was busy writing what she just said down, but everyone else was very, very confused.

  Spacey muttered. “That’s… not a lot to work with. Anything more specific?”

  Stephen, still scribbling away, piped up. “At least it rhymes. This Asteron has something of a way with words…”

  “Dark sisters… Oh, GREAT.” Arandia groaned. “That’s gotta be those Sisterhood of Assassins assholes…”

  Usagi tilted his head. He didn’t have eyebrows, but the tone of his voice sounded like he would raise one if he did. “Oh ho ho. Is there some history, perhaps?”

  “I got fired. I don’t want to talk about it. They don’t like me very much. So… where are we going, again?”

  “Uh… ask Rex, he’s the leader!!” Celeste pointed at him.

  “You’re the one who- argh. Fine!”

  Most of those don’t sound particularly welcoming. I don’t want to deal with the Sisterhood right now if I can help it, they’re… not friendly to outsiders. Ocean, only one of us can breathe underwater. The Pretender’s Throne… that must be my former kingdom, but… as much as I would desire to run back and grab it immediately, at our current stature we would be routed most easily. And I have no idea what ‘city of riches’ or the forest one mean, those descriptors are far too broad… the only one left would be…

  “Ahem! ‘Buried in the sand, by feline guards…’” Rex announced. “That is most definitely referring to the desert kingdom of Pyrarin, governed by the Tabaxi of the desert. If there is any place we should start, it should be there. Now, unfortunately, we don’t seem to have a sense of direction at the moment, so… we should try and find land, first thing. Once we do, we abandon this ship and set out for the desert. ANY OBJECTIONS?”

  When no one responded, Rex breathed a sigh of relief, then continued. “Good! Now… Usagi, you said you knew how to sail a ship?”

  “Indeed. Thankfully the compass is still intact- we left from Kalport, so if we due south, we should end up somewhere near the southern continent. It’ll be a bit of a trek, but we can figure out the details once we’re not on a stolen vessel.”

  “Good. Talk amongst yourselves, or some such. I’m going to bed.”

  With that, Rex staggered into the captain’s quarters, and immediately collapsed into the nearby bed, the sheer stress of the day finally taking its toll.

  Well… I suppose this day wasn’t a total loss… I have gathered powerful allies… I can only hope that they won’t be the death of me!

  That thought comforted him, only slightly, as he drifted off- hoping that when he woke up, the ship wouldn’t be on fire or some other terrible fate.

  What's your favorite of the main cast so far?