[Dragon-Level Diving]
— Pre-Stream Chat, The ‘Waiting Room’ —
‘New stream? New stream!’
‘Ancalagon’s spoiling us with Dungeon content at this point.’
‘True, true, but I’m not complaining. I can’t get enough!’
‘I kinda am… It’s just… a lot, that’s all.’
‘For sure! Counting down the days until those doors open! Hopefully, Calamitas will have her Hell-Matrix project up then, too, so us out-of-towners can get in on the action!’
‘Did anyone keep track of all the results from yesterday’s Dive? It’d be great to get a good list of everyone’s growth or whatever.’
‘I think Valkyrie and her wiki project are your best bet for that info. The only bit I know off the top of my head is that Lady and Dragon tied for the most level-ups. 6 WHOLE LEVELS!’
‘I don’t really have the context to appreciate that, but it certainly sounds like a lot.’
‘Everyone with at least one PvP elimination under their belt got 5 levels. I think Sonic was the exception there (only 3) ‘cause he got knocked out so early, but Panacea, Laserdream, Vista, the PRT troopers, Narwhal, Kaiser, Newter, Bang, and Garou got full experience from their kills and the rest of their dives. Everyone else got 3 or 4 levels, depending on how much they actually ‘experienced’.’
‘Damn, Dragon’s kill on Pyrite must’ve been worth a lot if it matched Lady’s experience count. ‘Cause other than Pyrite, she only took out Lady at the end, and the Guild party didn’t get nearly as much PvE as some of the other parties. I suppose she did win, though.’
‘Just something to note: we didn’t hear about any of the Hoard party leveling up.’
‘I mean, yeah…? They were essentially smurfing, right?’
‘I don’t think they’re max-level (no idea if that’s even possible in Ancalagon’s system), but I’ll bet it takes much, much more experience for them to level.’
‘Do you think it’s exponential, the experience system? Or based on milestones tailored to the individual?’
‘I don’t think we can really know all the inner workings of the system. With how Ancalagon describes magic working, I doubt he even knows every mystery.’
‘Yep, my thoughts are that it’s best to just adventure and see what happens. Ancalagon probably won’t ban power munchkinry, but it’s still probably best to engage with his system in good faith.’
‘Call it a hunch, but I doubt everyone will be seeing that kind of growth from a single dive once the Dungeon officially opens. The Second Dive was a whole exhibition, right? The competition was steep, and the dive was densely packed with shit to do. I’m not saying the XP was boosted or anything, just that there were a lot more chances to earn it than a more routine dive will likely offer.’
‘That’s a good point. XP profit from most dives will probably be more consistent with the first one. Maybe even less ‘profitable’, ‘cause that party had the Dungeon all to themselves.’
‘Eh, that’s fine. The rest of us will have other advantages, I’m sure. We’ll have more people to talk to about the Dungeon, after all, and more time to learn its ins and outs.’
‘I did have a thought. Something to go along with Valkyrie’s wiki: an Adventurer’s Guide kind of thing.’
‘Oh, that could be great! Hopefully, someone from the Corps will see that and sponsor it!’
‘We could also write the guidebook ourselves. Make it community-driven, ya know?’
‘All it’ll really take is some good organization and people willing to contribute.’
‘Maybe Valkyrie can organize that effort as well? I don’t mean to ask too much of her, but she’s probably the best positioned to do so.’
‘@ Valkyrie! @ Valkyrie! ^^’
‘Oh! That’s a great idea! I’ll see what I can do to start putting a system in place! It’d fit well with the wiki. A side-page or something. It’ll even help the main wiki grow, too, if a bunch of people are giving advice for how to deal with certain monsters/floors/PvP encounters/etc.!’
‘LOL, I knew we could count on our wiki warrior.’
‘Anyone know what this stream is going to focus on?’
‘I’m curious, too. I thought the excitement was over yesterday. I didn’t know there was a Third Dive in the works.’
‘Ancalagon mentioned it. He’s taking a Dive for himself to show off the highest level the Dungeon can reach.’
‘Oh, shit? We get to see the Dragon himself in action?!’
‘Absolute cinema.’
‘Man, this stream’s view count is gonna go bonkers.’
‘We got up to, what? Several dozen million concurrent viewers yesterday? No one wanted to miss the Second Dive, not after the first. I’d bet the same could be said for this Third Dive.’
‘LOL. LMAO, even. The whole world will be tuning in to see how fucked they’ll be if they piss off the Dragon.’
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Earth Aleph somehow found a way to tune in, too.’
‘Do our dimensional cousins even know about all the excitement we’ve been experiencing lately?’
‘No clue. If I were them, I’d be happy for the distance. This is all great to watch, but I think I’m in the minority when I say I don’t want to participate myself.’
‘Nah, that’s fair. I don’t think adventure can be for everyone. There are other options to get in on the fun, though. I heard from a little birdie in the DWA that the Dragon is hiring for his Adventurer Corps.’
‘Dockworkers to… Corps-workers?’
‘Big Danny looks out for us. We’re happy to have the work. Times have been tough. A Dragon offering to pay us well to be part of something special is the kind of break we didn’t even know we needed.’
‘So what, the dockworkers will be the Corps’ mundane labor? Manning the desks, keeping things peaceful, advising adventurers, and so on?’
‘That’s what Danny said, yeah. Ancalagon started this all, but even he can’t be everywhere at once. That’s where us little people come in. Plus, it’ll be a real good (and strange) kick in the pants to the Bay’s economy, all this, and we want to be part of that revival.’
‘All the DWA needs now is for Ancalagon to clear wrecks in the Bay.’
‘Don’t jinx it, partner.’
‘Anyone from the Second Dive in the chat? I’d love it if we could get a personal accounting of the Dungeon.’
‘Laserdream here; not sure how much I can help you, though. The Dungeon really is something you need to experience for yourself. I guess I could say that ‘dying’ in the Dungeon feels like… well, like a blink. There’s pain and some trauma, sure, but then you close your eyes, everything goes dark, and it’s gone. It’s… weirdly gentle, almost relaxing.’
‘Kaiser Killer! Never been much of a fan of New Wave, but you won me over, Laserdream! What about the growth and stuff?’
‘Leveling up is… really hard to describe, too. I can only speak for myself, but you just feel MORE. Everything’s deeper and more vibrant now. 5 levels makes a hell of a difference, and it’s not just the levels. The spiritual side of things matters, too. I can tell I’m more in sync with Aphrodite now. She even showed me a spell to make my morning rituals a breeze! Showered, exfoliated, lotioned, and beautiful, all in a snap!’
‘Mm, mm… *nods. Screw leveling up for the power; we level up for the quality of life!’
‘Hnn~… As if Laserdream wasn’t already beautiful enough! It’s enough to make a Freak jelly.’
‘Oh, stop, I remember how cute you were looking in the First Dive, Madison! Absolutely didn’t expect it from the infamous SpecificProtagonist… but you aren’t lacking, girl!’
‘The Muse is telling me we could make a splendidly Freaky song together, babes~…’
‘I’d rather you and your Muse write a song for me and… someone a bit more scalie, to be honest.’
‘Deal! Let me write and realize your smutty Dragon fanfic!’
‘Ignoring that^… Countdown! We have a countdown, folks!’
‘Aww, man, a whole hour?’
‘Better start spreading the word. Ancalagon’s about to give us the show of an Age, methinks.’
‘I wonder what his Dragon-level Dive has in store for us…’
IIIII
— Dharla —
“Rest, my lord, but only for the moment. Soon, you will be called to action. Until then, let me prepare you. Let me gird you for war,” Dharla whispered, pressing herself tantalizingly, thrillingly close to Ancalagon.
It’d been much too long since she’d gotten to practice such a ritual, the sending off of her Moonlit Draconic lord to war.
The last, if she remembered correctly, was in her lord’s Second Age, when he’d raced out to prevent the Age from coming to an abrupt end not of his (or Calamitas’) making. When possible, he wished to be the only one who would Turn an Age.
There had been other times when Ancalagon set out with action in mind, of course. But they hadn’t been times of war, when the full extent of his power and importance was called upon.
They were adventures, or shadowruns, or relatively minor conflicts, issues, and favors in between that didn’t deserve his full might. Those instances were very different from Ancalagon setting out with every intention of exercising his true Draconic glory, as he now planned to do to make the Dungeon’s Third Dive a proper exhibition.
Her lord was unbothered by the prospect of war in the Dungeon before him. Not unconcerned, not unprepared, but certainly lordly enough to know the result before the action even began.
It was an unshakable confidence, the surety of a Dragon. It made Dharla weak in the knees, even after all these years in her lord’s service.
She couldn’t thank her lady Elune enough for gifting her to him.
Casually, Ancalagon lounged on a throne in his Hoard room at the top of the tower. He was in his human form, all of its naked glory, a rare occasion that Dharla took the time to enjoy.
She’d requested a few private moments with her lord before his adventure of the day, so she was the only one present to witness her lord in his priming perfection.
Dark skin, criss-crossed with scars — proof of his feats, his battles, his greatness. Noble features — high cheekbones, a sharp nose, a chiseled jawline further enhanced by his beard — yet that nobility was hardened, too — sharpened to a dangerous edge. He was a man, a Dragon, who’d seen action and adventure and Turning Ages, who’d lived life to its fullest at every opportunity, and showed it in his appearance.
Best of all were those piercing green eyes. They stared into Dharla’s soul, laid her bare before her lord. They were windows to his own, too, his Draconic core. Every glance, every blink, every scrap of directed focus carried the power and importance of a Dragon of the Moon.
He was the Dragon in her life, and half of the Moon she revered and worshipped. She treasured every moment in his Hoard. She especially treasured the moments when she could aid him in his worldly pursuits.
“Must we, Dharla?” Ancalagon asked, his voice rumbling into her soul even in human form.
“We must, my lord,” Dharla nodded in confirmation. “We simply must! I would not send you off on such an adventure unprepared.”
“I’m hardly unprepared,” Ancalagon said, his arguments half-hearted and mostly amused.
“This is true,” Dharla agreed. “You are rarely ever unprepared. But you could be more so, my lord. I ask that you let me have this.”
Chuckling, Ancalagon waved permission to her, “Have it, then. Enact the ritual in your mind. Just don’t think I’m not wise to the fact that you’re making this up as you go.”
Dharla gasped, scandalized, “Making it up? Never, my lord! You are going off to war, and you must be prepared! Your armor must be cleansed and oiled, your weapons must be sharpened, and your mind must be set for the battle ahead!
“You will be showcasing yourself to this Age in full for the first time, my lord. And how could a Dragon such as you ever dream of showing anything but your very best? Furthermore, I have personal reasons to ensure your best showing. You represent yourself, and the new Turning of the Age, my lord, but you also represent the Moon and my lady Elune by proxy.”
“Yes, yes, so you convince yourself,” Ancalagon waved. “Don’t make this ritual of yours linger, Dharla. I intend to start the Dive within the hour.”
“As you command, my lord~… Yet…” Dharla purred and demurred. “I must know your heart is in this. I wouldn’t go through all of this effort if you wouldn’t appreciate it.”
Ancalagon raised a brow, “You wouldn’t?”
“No, that was a lie,” Dharla freely admitted. “I would; it will just be an utter shame if you don’t enjoy my preparations for your person.”
“I’m sure you’ll convince me to appreciate your efforts,” Ancalagon said, gloriously dismissive.
Inwardly, Dharla grinned at the challenge. Her lord was playing aloof and hard to get. It was thrilling, to have his attention and to not.
He would not truly ignore her, but even if he did, that would be worthwhile in its own way. In the end, she was a faithful attendant, and he was her lord; the attention he paid her was his to give.
Outwardly, she merely bowed her head in submission and moved to begin girding her lord for his coming war.
She approached his throne and struck a soft song. She did not sing herself; instead, Moonlight came into the tower, even at noon, beckoned by magicks of faith and carrying the strings that would underpin her ritual.
Her lord was cast in a silver sheen. He sat still on his throne, watching her with those piercing Draconic eyes. Dharla put some sway into her movements, synchronizing herself with the song she sang.
Sheer silk shifted throughout her approach to her lord’s throne and person. It was see-through in all the best places, so revealing and not; a perfect representation of Moonlight in the night.
In public, her usual attire gave tantalizing glimpses for free and for her own thrills, enough to capture the covetous eyes of any audience she wished to perform for. But those glimpses were never truly revealing, always just a hint to keep attention on her wherever she went.
In private, before her lord, she didn’t bother maintaining the enchantments that kept her clothes so indecently decent. She was his, a faithful servant of his Moon, and he deserved to see every inch beneath shifting silk or without that covering entirely.
Dharla shivered blissfully under her lord’s eyes. Now, in this moment, he looked at her and her alone. She was the only moon in the sky to his eyes.
Her nipples stood at attention, anticipating the ritual and all it entailed. The rings that pierced them rubbed against sheer silk, stimulating and stoking Dharla’s lust. Lace hugged her smooth skin, molded to her curves.
She was soft. Sensual. A vision of lust in the Moonlight. Dharla knew that fact well, and she intended to show it to her lord however she could.
For a Dragon preparing for war, could there be a better attendant than a woman of his Hoard who would wait, so lustfully, for his return?
When he returned a conqueror, his Draconic core in the heat of glory, she would give him everything. But now, while sending him off, she could only give him a promise in the form of her body.
“Sit back, my lord,” She said sweetly. “First, I shall ensure your human form is glorious.”
“I doubt this form will see much of the action to come,” Ancalagon replied.
Dharla shook her head, “That matters not to me. It is you, and it should be just as prepared as your war forms.”
She came to sit on the arm of his throne and began to groom her lord in his human form. Ancalagon let her trim his beard — he liked it full but well-maintained —, arrange his hair — wild but not unkempt —, and massage every inch of his body.
The last was all Dharla, she would freely admit, and she did it for the pleasure of lavishing her lord with the best oils and fragrances she could find in his Hoard.
She stroked her hands across his skin, tracing his scars and the cut lines of his muscles. She kneaded his neck and shoulders, ran her nails down his chest, and counted his abs with teasing fingers. Lovingly, worshipfully, she worked fragrant oil into his skin so that it combined with his Draconic Musk into the most delicious bouquet for her faithful nose.
Holding his thighs, she sank to her knees between his legs. She stroked the muscular walls that now bordered her and looked up to meet Ancalagon’s piercing gaze. He didn’t blink, didn’t look away from her for a moment.
The thrill that focus sent through Dharla raced straight to her core. She practically blinded herself with her replying smile, so great was her joy at kneeling before her lord.
He was the Moon before her, hanging full and heavy… No, that heavy fullness was more accurately attributed to a specific part of her lord’s anatomy that was on full display in his naked glory.
In his human form, Ancalagon wasn’t nearly as endowed as the dragonkin form that Belladonna so Freakishly enjoyed. That was not much of a loss by Dharla’s standards. As devoted and faithful as she was, she did not have the Witch’s Freakish enthusiasm; Dharla’s enthusiasm presented itself in different ways.
She loved every one of her lord’s forms, every aspect of him. She loved his scales, his skin, his true Draconic divinity. Still, she did hold a special place in her heart for his rarest, most human form.
To her, it represented Hidden Things, a facet of his Moonlit mantle. He was a Dragon, even in his human form, but just the masquerade of mortality added a bit of spice that resonated deliciously with Dharla’s faithful heart and loins, for she knew it to be so, so false~…
“Shall I send you off… unburdened, my lord, so you may better focus on the war ahead of you?” Dharla asked, hoping — praying — that Ancalagon would agree.
“Unburdened? Is that part of your ritual?” Ancalagon asked, not bothering to hide his amusement.
“Oh, yes,” Dharla shamelessly nodded. “To fight at your best, you must be a Dragon of solitary and supreme focus. Distractions must not enter your mind. I am willing to give my time and effort to ensure even a small portion of that focus.”
“Of course, you are,” Ancalagon drawled. “And I’m sure that wouldn’t be asking too much of you, would it?”
“I am your faithful, my lord,” Dharla smiled. “Nothing you could ask would be too much for me.”
Ancalagon chuffed, “If you truly think this will be a beneficial use of the short time we have together right now… knock yourself out.”
“Oh, I would never,” Dharla’s smile only grew. “If I knocked myself out, I would not be able to revel in your Draconic glory, my lord. I would not be able to help raise your Moon high into the sky. I would not be able to do my duty to you, that of girding your Draconic person for war.”
“Forgive my ignorance,” Ancalagon chuckled. “I’m still struggling to see how draining my balls will gird me for war. Not struggling enough to stop you, of course; I’m sure you’ve thought of all the details here, and that you’re not just using this ritual of preparation as an excuse to indulge.”
Some of Ancalagon’s other carnal partners might have blushed at being called out so blatantly. Dharla did not. She had no shame, none at all, where her lord was concerned.
He deserved her faith and her service; it was why she was a part of his Hoard. If she let a small thing like shame stop her, she would be a poor attendant and a poorer apostle of his glorious Moon.
And so, without shame, Dharla reached for her lord. Between his legs, her hands ran up veritable tree trunks. Ancalagon’s impressive and intimidating tower began to stir as she set to work.
“Blessed be this Moon we revere and worship,” Dharla whispered. “Let it be prepared for anything that may come.”
Her prayer was spoken in sync with her attentions. She stroked her fingers up Ancalagon’s thighs and across every inch of skin she could reach, making sure he felt her devotion and what he should be aiming to come back to.
Dark, scarred skin contrasted with her supple pink hue. Dharla traced one of those scars, and another, and another. She treated all of them as evidence of the past. No matter how ascendant her lord was, he too could be brought low by enemies at his level.
“A lesson here. A lesson there,” Dharla whispered to each scar, continuing her ritual (that was not at all improvised; she would claim that until the end of Ages, for everything she so faithfully did was perfectly in line with her lord’s will).
“Evidence of feats and deeds so great, so terrible, so powerful, so important, so Draconic. And motivation, my lord, that you might overcome even the worst the Ages throw at you. You have done so before, and you will do so again. In that, I truly believe.”
“Take heart in my preparations, my lord, and indulge me,” She requested. “I have every faith that you will make them moot, such is your power and importance… yet still, I persist. I simply must attend to you. It is only proper.
“You have flown to war before. You have conquered and won those days. You will do so again today, and it will be glorious, even if your warring adventure now will be something of a repeat of one you’ve already overcome.
“Still, this lowly servant of your Moon… worries, my lord. She will always worry for you. I will always worry, for you are as much my lord as Elune is my lady, and even in faith, doubts will inevitably surface.”
“Such is its nature,” She sighed so sweetly. “Fallible, and so much more worthwhile for it. I would not take my faith without my doubts. Yet I also would not be much of an apostle if I didn’t work to quell them and emerge more faithful. Thus, I do what I do to assuage my own worries just as much as I do what I do to prepare you properly.”
She took Ancalagon’s swelling member into her gentle hands, so loving and faithful. She cradled him as he grew to full mast, an erection before her eyes as full and heavy as the Moon in the sky.
She clasped her hands around the shaft, leaned forward until his Draconic glory was pressed against her face, closed her eyes, and prayed aloud.
“You will rampage with all of your power, my lord. You will prove all of your importance. You will show this new Age of ours what it means to be a Dragon True.
“We will be watching-… No, I have every faith that you will ensure we do not just watch, but witness. Give us something powerful, something important, something Draconic to witness, my lord, so that none may doubt your Authority, your Nature, your Spirit, and more.
“You are a Dragon of the Moon, the Draconic divinity I put my faith in alongside my lady Elune. You hold up the night sky. You mount Turning Ages. With every passing moment, you prove Draconic truth.
“You were the greatest of Dragons in your First Age, a claim to Authority that has not faded. You changed with your Second Age after that first Turning, distilling, refining, and actualizing yourself through so many adventures that you exceeded what that Age understood as Draconic Nature. You mastered Spirit in your Third Age, putting it to use for your worldly aims and ambitions.
“Now, in your Fourth Age, you combine the fruits of the first three to create something truly special. I consider myself blessed beyond reason to be a part of that, my lord, all of your efforts.
She opened her eyes, looking up at her lord past the darkening eclipse of his cock, “Wherever you go from here, I shall faithfully follow forevermore.”
Ancalagon stared back at her. He looked about to say something; then, he sighed and changed his mind, “I was about to tease you for claiming that wasn’t improvised to hell and back, but even if it was, it was also clearly from the heart. I can’t rightly tease you for that devotion, Dharla.”
Shamelessly, Dharla smiled once more, “All of the best prayers are from the heart, my lord. Sticking to a strict structure only intrudes upon one’s personal relationship with faith.
“Still, I have a request, if you would hear me out…”
“I would,” Ancalagon nodded. “Go on.”
Dharla felt her smile turn a touch more vicious, “After all you’ve done in this Age, few doubt you, my lord. But none truly know you at your full might and glory. I would ask that you show them the heights of your power in this exhibition, so that they can never deny the Dragon that Turns their Age…”
“That was the plan,” Ancalagon chuckled. “Rest assured, I won’t refuse your request.”
“Then, my lord, all that’s left to do is to send you off… unburdened~…” Dharla purred. “So that you may focus on your plan and my request.”
She raised herself up on her knees to reach the tip of his cock and laid a faithful kiss there, gazing up at Ancalagon with sultry, devoted eyes all the while.
“Sit back-…” She began, intercutting her words with more kisses to the Dragon’s cock.
“And let me-…” Another kiss, painting the head of his cock the color of her lips.
“Ensure that you are-…” Her kisses descended his shaft, hands stroking every inch her lips couldn’t touch.
“Fully-…” Her kisses reached the base; she returned the way she came with lavishing strokes of her tongue.
“Truly-…” At the top, she spoke and spread her lips to engulf his throbbing tip.
“Faithfully girded~…” She dove deep and pulled herself off with a thrilled gasp, the pleasure of service already ruling her heart and mind and loins.
“For war~…” Once more, she whispered before diving deep again and holding her lord in her throat.
She milked him like that, embraced from all sides by warm, swallowing, silken sweetness. An appreciative rumble sounded in Ancalagon’s chest. Dharla reveled in the sound of her lord’s pleasure and returned the favor with a moan around his cock.
As she did, she thought, repeating the last line of her heartfelt prayer, ‘Wherever you go from here, I shall faithfully follow forevermore.’
IIIII
— Ancalagon —
At the top of the hour, I stood at the doors of my own Dungeon in my Dragonkin form. I bore no armor but my scales, no weapons but my teeth and claws, but all the power and importance of a Dragon.
This would be an exhibition of just that. The true introduction of a Dragon for this Age. For the first time, Earth Bet would watch me in earnest action-… No, as Dharla said, they would witness me.
I left the running of the stream to my Hoard, but tuned in to the chat via a nifty spell that would let me enjoy the reactions and reception I was bound to receive.
They were watching — witnessing — already. I could feel the eyes of the Age on me. This would be yet another point where it would Turn…
‘Oh, God-. Oh, Dragon! It’s starting!’
‘Settle in and wait for the whole world to fucking change, my dudes. I don’t think there will be any going back from here.’
‘Yeah, why does it feel so… momentous? Sure, it’s the last test dive of the Dungeon, but I can’t help but feel there’s more here.’
‘We’re gonna be staring straight into the absolute peak of power, that’s why. It’s like if Endbringer fights were streamed and not… just horrible for everyone involved.’
‘Nah, I have good money on the bet that Ancalagon would slap the shit out of an Endbringer. Maybe all three at once.’
‘Sucker’s bet. He’s pretty clearly on a level we just don’t have the context to comprehend. And that’s just adding up the feats we’ve actually seen, not anything he may have done in the past.’
‘Power Rating: ‘Pray’ across the board + the TOWER + MAGIC + the DUNGEON and its true-to-life-simulation + the Growth System + pulling Hookwolf back unharmed from Vista’s NUKE? Yeah, I think it’s safe to say he’s at the ‘out-of-context’ level. All we need to see now is him in combat.’
‘We’re about to…’
I pushed open the doors of the Dungeon. It welcomed me like an eager puppy, excited to play. In preparation for today’s Dragon-level Dive, I’d vaguely told it which past adventure I wanted to pull from. There were only a few that would let me go all-out.
The rest of the details, the scaling, and the spicing up of that past adventure were left up to the Dungeon’s discretion, though. It would be a good final test of its readiness.
I passed through the Dungeon’s doors and descended the steps into its depths. Past a certain threshold, the dark staircase, bordered by void, went white, and the Dungeon happily pulled me into its inner world.
I found myself at the base of a mountain that reached into the heavens. It was surrounded by churning clouds, gray and angry. The sea lay below to one side, dark and stormy. The earth lay below to the other side, reddened and hungry.
At the top of the mountain, there was a city of the gods. One that was prepared for war, ready yet still wary of the foe they would face.
This adventure had been part of my Second Age, taking place in a realm adjacent to the main realm, much like the hell Calamitas hailed from. It was, as Earth Bet would understand, Olympus, brought about by a bit of divine bleedover between worlds and Ages.
The gods that called this realm home bore names and aspects that Earth Bet would recognize. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, Athena, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hephaestus, and so on.
They were not the exact same as the myths of Earth Bet, nor were they the divine spirits of the same names from the Sixth World; they were gods that bled over into the melting pot that was my Second Age, much like Dharla’s lady, Elune (though she was a special case even then). That Age had been my most diverse by far, consisting of several adjacent realms all tied together by a throughline of Nature.
My past adventure encountering them, coming to this adjacent realm, had me fighting my way to the top of Olympus, through all the gods who guarded it. I would now be repeating that gauntlet, for the prize at the end was well worth it, indeed.
‘That’s… That’s Olympus. I’d bet my left nut! How?!’
‘Honestly, I’m not surprised by anything from Ancalagon at this point.’
‘What Age is this adventure from? It… really doesn’t look like what we’ve seen from the Sixth World.’
‘Unless it’s a metaplane or something.’
’Vista here; nah, Zeus says he’s just as surprised as the rest of us. He’s not familiar with this version of Olympus (and it is definitely still Olympus). He’s excited to see what this is all about.’
‘I don’t think we’ll ever be able to fully catch up on everything Ancalagon and the Hoard have seen and done lol. They likely have stories for literal days.’
‘I mean, we know his Second Age had, at the very least, a passing version of hell and demons and stuff (from Calamitas). Why not Olympus, too?’
‘LOL, honestly, that sums up Ancalagon well: Why not?’
Olympus knew I was coming. The very mountain, that divine realm, glared down at me at its base. The seas roared and reared with towering waves. The earth cracked and spat flames. The sky thundered at the enraged whims of its king.
I weathered the anger directed at me, casually stretching instead of cowering. I shifted my form to one more fitted for war. My body grew, massive and devastatingly Draconic. I didn’t hold back.
‘Oh, fuck… He can go bigger than we’ve seen. A. LOT. FUCKING. BIGGER…’
‘He’s still been holding back?!?!’
‘Yeah… why not?’
With a flap of my wings, a flex of Authority, Nature, and Spirit, I took to the skies around Olympus. Immediately, the fastest god, the wisest goddess, and Olympus’s twin divines sallied out to meet me.
Hermes darted in on winged sandals, divinity pushing him far past physics, far faster than light. He wasn’t a blur, but a blink. He rent space-time in two in his wake.
I wasn’t faster than him, but I didn’t have to be, not when he’d telegraphed his path so clearly. I guessed at his position, where he would rear back to strike me with his staff. I guessed correctly.
One of my wings brutally slapped him out of the air. The nimble Messenger tumbled away as quickly as he’d come, straight into the void surrounding the realm of Olympus.
‘Who wins: fastest god in the west or BEEG DRAGON?’
‘I think we have our answer to that question now.’
Apollo was next, shooting an arrow of pure Sunlight. I opened my mouth, a starry void visible within, and swallowed the arrow straight into the void.
Artemis, the fool girl, tried to use the Moon against me. Like her twin, she summoned Moonlight into her arrows and let loose. They spashed against my scales, harmlessly, and were absorbed by their Moonlit sheen.
I matched her energy, calling upon my own mantle of the Moon. True to size, a realized vision of it appeared at my flying back. Even Artemis, Goddess of the Moon and Hunt, was forced to gape at the power and importance of a Draconic mantle. The pure, conceptual gravity of my Moon beat her own divine mantle to humbled smithereens.
Mid-air, Artemis fell to her knees. She stared at my Moon and wept.
‘Freaking… mood, girl. I get it. What. The. Fuck. How does that even…? How do you even respond to that?’
‘It’s just straight up THE moon. Even if it’s an illusion or something… just damn. I can’t even see the curve of it.’
‘Please, please, please, Ancalagon! Drop the moon on Olympus and my life is yours!’
‘That’s… certainly one way to convert people to Dharla’s cult-… ahem, I mean faith.’
Apollo set himself after me for so stunning his sister. He gave chase in a swooping chariot of the Sun. I left my vision of the Moon to rise over Olympus, proof of my presence. It cast Apollo’s Sun in shadow, eclipsing a portion of his power beneath a Dragon’s.
As he drove hard after me, I spiraled away with the aerial mobility of a dragonfly. More Sunlight arrows shot toward my tail. I danced through the rays of golden light, letting them inevitably hit the Moon that now dominated the sky above Olympus and be reflected right back at Apollo.
His mantle turned on him under the weight of mine. Sunlight struck the Sun, and even Apollo found himself burned when his light was so usurped. He quickly fell back in a retreat, sweeping his twin along with him to safety, safety that would be hard to come by with the Moon still hanging overhead.
Then, Athena, in all her Wisdom, tried for diplomacy, “Must we always do this, Drakon?!”
“You are the ones who attacked me,” I replied. “I was even coming to present myself politely. It is not my ego that caused this conflict.”
“The King is wroth,” Athena admitted. “But it comes from a protective place in his heart. Can we not come to a peaceful agreement for her sake?”
“Can we?” I asked, throwing the question right back at her. “I think you know the answer to that already. Zeus, in his ego and jealousy, will never allow me to pass unopposed. I’m sure he’s ordered you to strike me out of the sky so I can never return.”
“Indeed,” Athena sighed. “He rages against your ‘audacity’. I do not necessarily agree, but I have my King’s orders.”
“Could I possibly bribe you into delaying those orders until I am past you and no longer your problem?” I asked.
“… Perhaps Zeus is right about your audacity,” Athena shook her head. “It would have to be quite the bribe, Drakon.”
“Oh, look,” I casually said, summoning forth a scroll from my Hoard. “A treatise on the ‘Confusing Consequences That Come of Combining Certain Contrasting Concepts’. Where did that come from? Oh, no, it looks like it’s going to fall down to the base of the realm, where one could read it in peace…! Oh, the divinity!”
Athena glared at me, but I knew her attention had been caught, “… You are a scoundrel, Drakon. I don’t know what she sees in you.”
Still, despite her reproach, the scroll began to fall, and Athena hurried after it. I was left free to continue climbing Olympus.
‘Did he just trick the Goddess of Wisdom with a bribe…?’
‘She definitely went along with that willingly, but that’s still a feat and a half.’
‘LOL, she probably thought the wisest option was not getting in the Dragon’s way after he already defeated Apollo, Artemis, and Hermes.’
‘I was kind of expecting them to fight to the death. This seems almost… friendly? Half-hearted? Routine? I can’t help but wonder what the story is here.’
I flew close to the mountain as I climbed. Below, the streets of Olympus were bustling as usual, not paying any mind to the battle their gods were engaging in overhead.
The next Olympian I encountered in the gauntlet was Ares. He stood ready for war, ready for a true fight. The spear in his hand had slain monsters, titans, and enemy gods. The shield in his other hand had weathered attacks from all the same. He was a God of War, one who’d stood strong against the greatest divine foes… but not the greatest Draconic foes.
He stood atop an arch that mounted one of Olympus’s great streets, barring my path with a phalanx presence that stretched to the horizon.
I bullrushed straight into and over him, overpowering the God of War. Unstoppable force met an object that wasn’t as immovable as it thought it was.
I broke his shield, I turned his spear, and I flattened Olympus’s strongest pure fighter beneath the power and importance of a determined Dragon.
So flattened, he looked up at me as I flew past. The divine Battle Junkie was grinning.
“I’ll hold the line against you next time, Drakon!”
I snorted, “And I wish you the best of luck in your next attempt.”
‘Dragon Charge OP, pls nvr nerf.’
‘Yeah, if he can knock a god on his ass, he’ll probably knock Behemoth straight into space.’
‘*Sigh… I guess I’m adding that to the bucket list of things to see before I die.’
‘Yep, Effiel Tower, Great Wall of China, Dragon punting an Endbringer past the stratosphere… You know, the usual things.’
I found the remaining ladies of Olympus in my way next: Hera, Demeter, and Aphrodite. The former two glared at me with slightly different but still judging expressions; the last simply smirked.
“If you hurt her, so help all things divine, it will be the last-…” Hera began with a threat.
“It will be the last thing I allow myself to do, too,” I interrupted, reassuring her. “But that is a matter between the two of us, truly, and we both know the score.”
Hera hurrumphed, “Hmph… At least you aren’t as bad for her as one of our brothers…”
Demeter, on the other hand, glared with a sort of disappointment, “And you bring her nothing? No, no, that won’t do! Here, take this, and this, and tell her I made it with both of you in mind!”
The Goddess of Bounty materialized a sandwich of such size that it matched my full Draconic form. Amusedly, I indulged her and took the offering with me as I continued.
As I flew past, Aphrodite cut in with an encouraging purr and slap on my Draconic ass, “Go get her, Drakon!”
‘Okay, my Muse’s senses are TINGLING! There is absolutely a story here, and a good one! Who is ‘Her’?! The people demand to know!’
‘I’m sure you’ll find out with a bit of patience, Madison.’
‘But Tay-tay~… I wanna know noooooowwwww!’
‘Some of the Olympians are hostile, and some are welcoming… I am kinda wondering what that could mean.’
Then, continuing up the mountain to its peak, there were three. The Big Three, ruling gods of Olympus: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. The first was as wroth as Athena said. The second looked like he was stifling laughter behind a hand while trying to act intimidating and regal. And the third very much looked as if he’d been dragged along for the ride and was only putting on the show his Kingly brother expected.
“Drakon!” Zeus roared. “You’ve come too far! This ends now! I will cast you down and save her from your decadent depravations!”
“Decadent depravations?” I stopped and raised an eyebrow. “Zeus, I’ll be frank. I think you’re projecting here.”
“He absolutely is,” Hades deadpanned.
Poseidon lost his fight with laughter, “AHAHAHAHA! Brother, how twisted your mind is! You cast accusations on his intentions after he’s come this far?”
“I am the only one who sees the Drakon for what he truly is,” Zeus hissed, the sound of building lightning.
“You do not,” I calmly retorted. “You have eyes, but you cannot see Mount Olympus.”
“Wha-?! I RULE Olympus, cur!”
“Then, as ruler, as proprietor of this realm, should you not be offering me, a guest, guest rights, as you would expect your faithful to do if you visited their homes?”
“That-… No, I am not scared of hypocrisy!”
“So I can see. That much is blatantly obvious to anyone who knows your legends.”
“Exactly! SO! In defense of her purity, I shall cast you out of this realm, Drakon! Your ‘calling upon’ ends here!”
Zeus raised his Master Bolt, the weapon that had struck down titans and helped Turn an Age in its own right. But then, it was a mere weapon to Turn an Age; I was a Dragon to do the same and more.
The first time through this adventure, I’d weathered Zeus’s lightning bolts and knocked him off Olympus to access my prize. This time, in this slice of the past, for just a moment and for just an individual, I froze the Turning of the Age.
Zeus… stopped. In the highest place of his power, he found himself subject to the weight of a Turning Age as directed unto him by a Dragon, and he could do nothing but stop.
Poseidon and Hades backed up a step in shock, having expected their Kingly brother to do his best to smite me. The smiting never came, stopped as Zeus was.
“He will free himself eventually,” I told them. “But until then, will you stand in my way as he tried?”
“Absolutely not,” Hades said flatly.
“No, no,” Poseidon waved me through. “Go on ahead. She’s waiting for you.”
‘Fuck, man… Did he just put the Greek King of the Gods in time out?’
‘Honestly? Deserved.’
‘And he made the other two back down like it was nothing.’
‘Hnnnnnnn, how am I even going to put all of this on the wiki in a way that does it justice?!’
‘@ Valkyrie - just link to the stream VOD and call it a day.’
There was a smile on my face as I continued into the core of Olympus, shrinking my form for more polite company as I did. There, a breath of fresh air, a breeze from the past, and the warmth of a hearth struck me.
“Hestia,” I greeted, genuine care in my voice.
The Goddess of the Hearth was just as I remembered her, perfectly recreated by the Dungeon and even channeling a small thread of herself from my Second Age. Unlike the Invae of the Second Dive, I would allow the Dungeon to bring about such resonance. Eventually, I might be able to speak to her directly this way, not just the shard of her that I knew the present Hestia, Ages away, would be feeling on the edge of her mind.
She was a vision of home, one I’d been forced to leave behind in that Age. Not the only home I’d known — I’d taken my Hoard with me, after all — but a significant one all on her own.
She was beautifully divine, with dark hair that burst into warm, comforting flames at the tips, tanned skin, and gentle, lovely curves. Just as I’d left her. Hestia — home — hadn’t changed a bit.
Hestia blinked, “Ancalagon…? How have you-…? Oh, it doesn’t matter, not truly. What matters is-…”
She smiled, the expression as bright and open as the lingering embers of a hearth, “-Welcome home.”
I smiled right back, “I’m home. Just in time for another of our conversations by the fire. Would you like to hear what all I’ve been up to since I was last able to visit your home?”
“I would love to. Come, come, sit and speak! I’m sure you have quite the tales to tell, and you’re always welcome at my hearth!”
‘… Yeah, that’s something worth fighting all of Olympus for. I get it now.’
‘LOL, Zeus is definitely not at all jealous of Ancalagon for wooing his best sister (X to doubt, anyone? The big guy’s all but crying in my spiritual ear).’
‘All that power… He’s a Dragon, and he showed it. But he’s also… strangely human? Or understandable, at least. Even Dragons want someone to come home to.’
‘What’s power for if you can’t use it to reunite with old friends and lost loves?’
‘He straight-up summoned the moon earlier, and I still think I’m going to remember this scene for longer. It’s just so…”
‘It’s home. I think we can all feel it. It’s just… home.’
Hestia leaned against me as I sat beside her around her hearth, and sighed, “… Welcome home, Ancalagon. I’ve missed you.”
IIIII
[AN: This ending was a ton of fun to write. I love seeing not just Ancalagon’s past adventures, but also sometimes what he was forced to leave behind. Hestia might become a recurring character within the Dungeon (maybe as a vessel for slice-of-life), but she almost certainly won’t be coming over to Earth Bet or anything. As fun as she is (always), that way risks character bloat in an already character-bloaty story lol.
The reason Hestia isn’t part of the Hoard (other than the META reason that I only came up with her character in Ancalagon’s past for this chapter lol) is that she just… really isn’t Ancalagon’s to take.
As much of a jealous, petulant brother in law as Zeus is, he and Olympus do have first claim of Authority on Hestia. Plus, can you really imagine Hestia (any version of her) abandoning her home to galavant through the Ages? Just doesn’t fit, does it?
That’s just the way things are sometimes, even for a Dragon. For all his power, people/things/moments inevitably get left behind. ‘Course, at the same time, the benefit of all that power is not having to accept that inevitability forever. With the Dungeon, Ancalagon can make a way to go back to some of the things he was forced to leave behind :]