The Dragon Father

Epilogue

They used to say... that dragons and humans could never coexist; that there would always be discourse.

And they were right, there was never absolute peace, but there was still peace.

Dragons would lay in meadows and the children from nearby villages would come running. There would be laughter as the children climbed over the beast and chuckles as the parents and dragon spoke. Dragon hatchlings grew up with humans. Widowed dragon mothers were offered protection by humans. Bachelor males and females would protect cities from dark guilds in exchange for food and shelter. Dragons danced in the sunset with human friends on their backs. Humans threw celebrations and the dragons laughed along. 

Peace reigned over the land.

And the humans say, that when the threat of war shakes the sky, they will come.

The Dragon Kings and Queen, the brood of Acnologia, the dragon heirs. So many names lay over their heads but they are universally known far and wide as the rulers of the new world. Their hatchings are revered among dragon kind, even their heirs who do not possess dragon slayer magic. They are children from different guilds but of the same nest. Their parents are forces of absolute power, and it is expected that they will grow to be the same.

Rebels of all species quiver when the grand roars of the Kings and Queen shake the clouds. Challenger dragons tremble when they spy the sun glinting off their scales. Human up-risers flee when their wings scrape the sky. Such power is to be feared, but the power is never abused.

The seven are careful... most of the time,

They must be cautious, or they will grow to become the very thing they fight against.

The world of peace does not worry because they know, they know that their saviors will never fall. They know because once a year, every year, the seven kneel before a statue of their master, the last lone Dragon King; and they swear to uphold his wishes. With their children on their knees, they tell of the Dragon King's final stand against his master, of the war, and of Acnologia's and his son's greatest sacrifice. 

And as long as history is remembered and kept in the back of one's mind, as long as forgiveness remained at the heart of all those hurt, and as long as the scars of the past remain on the skin, the seven will live and fight for what they always have; family.

The demons who live in the northern mountains say, that when the earth shakes, it is the Dragon King reminding the world that his soul still rules.

They also say that when the storm's thunder makes their house quiver that it is their eldest brother; Jackal, shaking the sky, so... who knows how much weight their superstitions hold.

The dragons who respected the rule of the Dragon Kings and Queen say that their empire is a fair and just one. The Brood of Acnologia protects those that respect them, they offer compassion and hope to the wounded and oppressed, they give terror and pain to those that stand against them.

The dragons also say, that when the seven come together, whether for battle or simply to feel the exhilaration that a dragon nest gets when they ride the winds and skim the clouds, there is another dragon. A larger beast that flies with them.

He cannot be seen.

He cannot be heard.

But he is felt.

The dragon slayers know it.

He is the voice in their head, the warmth in their heart, the fight in their soul. He is the protector of their family, the worker of everyday miracles. They see him in each other and in themselves; he is always with them.

And the Dragon Kings and Queen, well... they say - Acnologia never left.

And so the ghosts watch the Kings and Queen and their descendants grow, day after day, year after year.

Ghosts of dragons, and of parents forgotten that watch their children and grandchildren age with pride. And at the center of those ghosts is a familiar blue-haired mage with his blonde-haired wife and a rowdy orange-haired child.

And the ghosts wait - perhaps that seems cruel, but they know that there is no escaping it - they wait for the day that they will be able to embrace their children again. When that day comes, their child will come home, and waiting for them will be the Dragon King.

He'll laugh and rub their head after they've greeted everyone else. He'll smile and ask them how they've been even though he knows the answer. He'll then hug them and hold them close and they'll breathe in his scent and their faces will light up in happiness as they realize that they've come home. And the Dragon King will whisper just soft enough so that only they can hear "Well Done."

And maybe... just maybe... he'll have a cardboard box ready for them.