The demon realm, nine hours after Sin fell unconscious.

  I came to consciousness slowly, like trying to push up through a pool full of jelly. So slow that I was awake before I opened my eyes. I felt the cold earth beneath me, but also what felt like warm stone against my back. Warm, moving stone. As my brain began processing that bit of confusing information, I also noted that there was a loud, but dull, booming noise in my ears. And was that the sound of a bellows? What the heck.

  It was as my eyes were fluttering open that my trek across the barren battlefield came back into my thoughts. I vaguely remembered reaching the mountains, and seeing the glassy, volcanic rock type stones, but... no that was it. I reached up and rubbed my forehead, hoping the pressure might just get the headache I felt coming on, out. Coffee would have done it.

  I reached up and gripped my chest above my heart. Ow. That hurt. It was totally that I was missing coffee and not the damn Red Raven dwarf Dural. Definitely the coffee. Or Fiervir as he said it was called. What ever it was I could really use some caffeine right now.

  "Have you awoken, little demon?" Not only was the voice like rumbling stones in a river, but as I heard the voice I also felt the warm rocks at my back vibrate. "If you are then I would ask that you stay calm and not attack me."

  "Hu?" Confused I let my eyes focus. I was in a small clearing between several large black rocky spires. And as odd as that was, the massive metal manacles attached to them were stranger still. And attached to those were chains as thick as my thighs. I followed where they stretched across the purple dirt and saw that two went to my right and two went to my left. I followed the ones on my left and was immediately eye to eye with a monster. It was a red eyeball at least the size of my grimoire. That eye was set into a face of rough, stone like scales that were a deep plum colour. "Um... what?"

  The eye narrowed a little and it spoke again. "I fed you, so you can not attack me, yes? I saved your life."

  Again, I blinked. This time I got up and took a few unsteady steps back, only so I could get the full view of what lay before me. Well, this was a dragon... It lay on the ground, its body a deep plum color, and he look not a thing like Drogin. Not even giant Drogin. There was no comparison. I could see why people looked at me like I was crazy for insisting that my little newt was just an itty-bitty dragon.

  There were no smooth or sleek lines to this beast. He was all rock-hard rough scales and plates, covered in ridges and spines from narrow, spade shamed head to its tree trunk tail. Where Drogin looked sleek and slim, this dragon was a tank. How could it even fly? Speaking of flying, its wings were massive, and that was folded. Each on a mass of bone, plate scale and leathery, battle scared and torn, membrane. Drogin looked like a piece of art, a pretty painting, compared to this creature. It screamed age, wisdom, and unspeakable power. I felt tears well up in my eyes: He was beautiful. Beautiful in a way only nature could be. Like a grizzly bear was beautiful, or a glacier... pure force of nature.

  "You're a dragon!" Was all I could say, voice filled with awe.

  The dragon raised its head up on a heavily plated swan neck, purple scales catching the light, and looked at me like he thought I really had hit my head. Even laying on its belly like it was, the head was a good ten feet above me, making me crane my neck to look him in the eye.

  "... Yes, I am." He said in that amazing boulder-y dragon voice that I decided right then and there was the absolute best.

  I laughed in pure joy. "That's amazing!"

  The dragon's eye- I could only see the one at the moment- narrowed, a red slit in a purple face. "I agree. But I did not expect you to think so."

  "Why?"

  "You do understand that most people, monster, animal, or demon, are afraid of dragons are you not?" He spoke slow, like I was dimwitted, but it just made me laugh.

  "If that is the case then why did you ask that I not attack you?" I asked, confused. He had sounded worried, but it made no sense. This beast could eat me in two bites. One if he chewed good first. I saw no reason that he should be even a little afraid of me. I doubted even my claws could get through his rock like scales and dense hide.

  "You are a Demon Queen, are you not. And I am, indeed, a dragon. But a bound one. I can not use any magic here, in my mountain top cage."

  Now it was my time to be confused. "Demon Queen? That's a thing? I thought it was just some title I had, but you say it like it's a species." Also, what did he mean cage? I saw no bars... then I remember the chains that had been forgotten in the awe of seeing my first ever real dragon. Yes, the chains did reach from the stone pillars to identical manacles around the dragon's ankles on both its front paws and rear legs. Why was it tied up?

  The dragon snorted, purple-ish smoke coiling from its fist sized nostrils. "It is a sub species of your race. How is it you do not know this about your own kind?"

  "Tch!" I said, annoyed. "I don't know much of anything about any race, and significantly less about my own. This is my first time to the demon realm."

  He still looked suspicious, but I didn't blame him. Without knowing context, I am sure it sounded extremely farfetched. "Well, I am afraid I do not know much about demons, other than they are a pain." Said the dragon.

  "I have been told that I am a pain." I said with a nod. "Well, how about you tell me what you do know?" I held up my hands in a placating gesture. "I promise I will not attack you if you do not attack me." Not that I would tell the thing that if he did attack me, I would be dead meat, chains or not. How the heck had this dragon though I was any kind of threat to him I have no clue.

  "Well," he said slowly. "You are what is called a Demon Queen. They are the strongest of demons. I have fought them before and as you can see, I did not come out on top." He said, lifting his left paw and clinking the chains. "They are not as physically strong as many of the males, but your magic is quite fearsome. Even compared to my own when I had use of it." He set the paw back down. "When you stumbled up here from the poisoned lands, you had gone into a feral state. Very dangerous. I encounter no Queen in that state before, but once spoke to an older dragon who had. He claimed that when Demon Queens become those with glowing eyes that even their physical strength is enough to throw a full-grown dragon such as my self. He was not a dragon prone to exaggeration."

  "No kidding... Sorry, but I don't even remember coming up here. I find it hard to believe, but if I did hurt you then I am sorry." I said, giving him the once over from a distance and not seeing any wounds.

  He shook his serpentine head. "You did not harm me. You seemed to have kept some control and held yourself back. Luckily, I had a fresh kill and gave it to you. It seemed to appease you and then, when you were done eating, you fell asleep. That was about nine hours ago."

  I frowned. "I ate raw meat?" I looked around and saw the blood slick just past the dragon. "That won't make me sick?"

  "I could not tell you. You ate It as if it were a natural thing to do. If you become ill, then you will know."

  "True. So, being a demon queen just means I am a very strong demon?" I asked. It was way better a reason than because I was destined to be the bride of the demon king or something.

  "Again, I do not know much. From what I have seen, demon Queens lead the demons. They are queens in both name and status."

  "Well, I don't see how I can be a queen without a kingdom." I sighed. Still tired I decided to sit on the ground, cross legged. "Okay then, why not tell me more about you then? Why are you chained up here?"

  The dragon sighed, causing a gust of rather unpleasant smelling wind to brush over me. "I was pretty wild in my younger years." He said sadly. "I guess the demon queens thought I had attack one or two too many of their settlements... It was an entertaining way to get food, but I suppose I could have been a tad more considerate of another, intelligent race. Anyway, they sent out five or six of their queens to deal with me. I managed to defeat most of them but then they chained me with their magic up here." He ended with an angry harrumph.

  "If they are so strong, and saw you as being such a danger, why didn't they just kill you?"

  "I am not so easy to kill. Nearly impossible in fact. They seemed to think the only way to stop me was to contain me. And so here I am. I suppose they may have found a way to kill me once I was immobilized here, but I am under the impression that demon queens are inherently lazy things. I was rendered practically powerless up here, so they just decided to let me rot the centuries away. Almost would have been better dead..."

  I wasn't sure if I should feel bad for the dragon or the demons, but the story did make me laugh. "Perhaps you should not play with your food, dragon." I said with a smile.

  "I would have though you would condemn me for eating your kind?'

  "Why? People, even dragons, need to eat. But I do not blame the demon queens for putting a stop to you either. Eat or be eaten, it's the way of nature right. But you really shouldn't sound so pouty. Where I come from, they have a saying: you reap what you sow. If you didn't want to get in a fight with bad ass demon queens, then you should not have eaten their people."

  The dragon just grumbled, making me chuckle again.

  "I don't suppose you have a name? or should I just call you dragon?"

  "I have a name. You don't get as old and powerful as me without getting one." He said proudly. "I am Rougier Death-Bringer."

  "Wow... that's quite the ominous name."

  "Indeed. When I was free to do as I pleased, all feared my wing beats. My roar meant that death was coming and swiftly! It was a glorious time. "He sighed and set his head back on his paws. "Now I am just a collared laze about. I can't even get a decent meal here you know."

  "There was an awful lot of bodies on my way here. Was that your work too?"

  "Indeed. During that last battle, oh about two thousand years ago now. Every now and a gain a lone demon or even a small group come and try their hands in defeating me, no doubt hoping to win fame. They all become my food. The ones down in the waste lands have been gone all that time though. I killed most with my cursed flames. They are so deadly that I went and killed the land too. Apparently, the demons were most aggravated about that. Its why the queens came I think."

  "You were the one who turned the land all purple and dusty."

  "Yes. My cursed flames kill all and even poison the ground. Normally I show more restraint, but I was quite aggravated when it looked like I might loose. At least, so claimed the Queens who confronted me."

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  "Well shame on you." I huffed angerly.

  Rougier looked taken aback. "How so? You were fine with me killing entire armies not two seconds ago!"

  "Well, they came to fight you didn't they. But you shouldn't go destroying the land! Have you seen it? What a waste. And you say it has been that way for two thousand years? That horrible!"

  "Hmmm." Said the dragon. "Yes, I suppose I can see your point. Had I not done it, then food would not be so scarce to say the least. The north is barren. But to the south all is well." He said indicating to the side of the mountain behind me. I looked over my shoulder but couldn't see anything from where I was.

  "So at least that means this whole world isn't a barren waste land..." I sighed, relived. "Do you have any idea how unpleasant it was walking through that?"

  "Er, my apologies?"

  "Humph." I eyed the chains on the dragon. "So, you can't get those off?"

  "Not at all. They appear to be forged in a demonic blood magic. I think one or more of the queens gave their life to make them. Unbreakable. I am stuck here till I die. Or I guess I could chew my own legs off but given how tough my scales and hide are and my lack of healing skills, I would die of blood loss before the second leg was removed. Even if I did manage it, then I would be legless. Might as well be dead then too."

  "I guess. Still two thousand years is a long time. Has no queen come by to see if you have repented? Maybe you could make a deal with one so that you could be free once again. Promise to not eat demons or ruin anymore large swaths of perfectly good mountains and valleys."

  Rougier grunted. "I have seen no Queen since the battle. Other than you that is. If I promised you, I would not eat demons or ruin lands, would you set me free?" He laughed.

  "Sorry, I'm afraid I don't know how-"I stopped mid apology. It was true that I didn't know how to break the spell. But there may be a way I could get around it. "Say... what would you say if I told you I may have a slim chance of getting you off this mountain?"

  The dragon perked up, lifting his head up once again. "You can do this?"

  "I am not sure. But I am willing to try. But- "

  "But I must promise not to kill demons and destroy the land?"

  I laughed. "No. well that would be appreciated yes, but I am afraid that it would cost you more then that."

  "How do you mean?" He asked. He looked like he would agree to just about anything to get off the mountain. I didn't really blame him. The boredom must be intense.

  "Unfortunately, you would be trading one binding for another. You see, I am a tamer. If I make that contract with you, I think I can get the chains off. But... then you would blood bound to me. A regular temporary tame would not work I do not think. It would be costly, weak, and probably the blood magic holding you would be too powerful. But if I override it with my own blood magic... then maybe."

  "And what would being bound to you mean for me?" Asked the dragon. Desperation was clearly making him consider the deal.

  "You would be stuck with me till the day I died. I could, if I wanted, have complete control over you. Though I have never exercised that power before. But you would, essentially, be my servant in the eyes of everyone. And I would definitely not allow you to go around killing anything just for the fun. Nor would I be alright with you ruining lands."

  "But I would be able to get off this rock?" He asked. "Fly, use magic, see things that are not just rocks and the occasional animal?"

  "If it works, yes. In fact, I should warn you that I have no intention of even staying in this world. I very much intend to find a way back to Hearth."

  The dragon sighed once again. "May I think on this?"

  "of course, its your life after all." I stretched out and stood. Rougier had said I ate- if a slab of raw what-ever-it-was can be called food- and I was not starved, but I could eat again. At the same time, I didn't really want to risk eating anything near this poisoned place again. Maybe its like radiation or something. "I am going to have a walk around, see what I see." I said with a wave.

  "You will be back?" He asked and I tried not to smile at the sound of desperation in his voice.

  "Yup! No way you can get rid of me that easy after all."

  I headed in the southern direction that Rougier had indicated earlier. I wanted to see what this world really looked like. Surely there had to be more to this world than black rock, dry purple earth, and the constant purple clouds. It was interesting to look at in that it wasn't what I was used to, but I was really tired of it at the moment. I would guess that I must have spent at least a week wandering in that death field. I was done with the purple landscape.

  I clambered over rocks and was careful on the gravel lest I slip. It took only a few minutes of traversing the rocks for me to reach the other side of the mountain. But what I found was even more mountains, clearly a range of black and purple spires. But between the peaks, in the distance, I could see a glow on the horizon. Perhaps a sun? It was the first time I had even gotten a hint that there was a parting of the clouds. Also, the air smelt a little better over here. But was that the poison or the dragon. I laughed a little to myself, thinking what the dragon may say if I told him I thought he may have had bad BO.

  I sighed. It wasn't as long of an adventure as I had planned, but there wasn't much else I could do. There was a large drop off here and I wasn't about to go to the northern side. The east and west had large walls that would be a hassle to climb. Too much effort to bother. So, I decided to just sit and relax for a bit while Rougier thought. My hand went up to pet Drogin, but of course he wasn't there. Sadly, I lowered my hand. I hoped he was alright. I was worried about Vendaval, too, of course, but he was more capable than poor little Drogin. And the little newt wasn't used to being without me anymore.

  I also wondered about what had happened to Roran. Wouldn't surprise me if Vendaval ate him. Truth was I wouldn't care if he had, nor would I care if he was still alive, having a grand old time as the High Priest again. I hoped to clobber him, but it wasn't like an all-consuming need for revenge or anything. I mean, I already took his arm. Seems like a pretty good punishment to me.

  I tried not to think of Vale or the heroes, or even the other Red Ravens. It was an odd feeling, caring for other people. It was easy to accept caring for my monsters, but for some reason it was not as easy to wrap my head around people. Well, it was what it was I suppose. I would just have to return to them as well.

  I gave the dragon another hour before I got up and made my way back. He was still laying on the gravel, his head resting on his paws and his large red eyes closed. I still couldn't believe I was seeing a real, honest to goodness, dragon. And maybe, just maybe, he was going to be my dragon.

  "I am back Rougier." I said, perfectly aware that he could smell me and hear me a mile off more than likely. "Come to any conclusions? Or do you still need time?"

  "No." said the dragon, opening red eyes and lifting his head. "I am ready."

  "Okay," I said, stepping off a rock and approaching the dragon. "And?"

  "And, I have decided that I will go with you." The dragon got to his feet, and I saw that he was easily twenty five feet tall. "weather with you or on this mountain, I will be chained, but with you I can see more than just this mountain, and I can use my magic once again. Perhaps even fight. Now I am in chains, with you it is more like a collar. I can accept this."

  I smiled broadly. "Fantastic! I would be honored to have you with me." Perhaps that was an odd thing to say. Yes. Rougier was a dragon, but he had admitted to slaughtering what appeared to be an army of 100,000 men as well as more than one Demon Queen. I was sure any normal person would have at least thought about, not only allying myself with him, but even just setting him free from his bindings.

  "What is it that needs to be done for this binding to take place. Is there anything I need to do?" Rougier asked, sitting, chains clanging.

  "I just need some of my blood and some of yours. Barely more than a drop. And I need my-"I patted my sides, looking for my bag which was obviously not here. I was wearing nothing but a dirty, two-thousand-year-old piece of scratch cloth. Where was my book? "Did I drop my book?"

  "It is right there." Said Rougier, pointing with his nose to where I had awoken. And there it was, sitting on the ground. Mind you, coming to the demon realm hadn't gotten it taken from me so no doubt, even if I dropped it in the ocean, I could some how get it back. I just didn't know how. I would need to read the book again. It seemed to like adding information once I thought of a question I wanted answered.

  I picked up the book but didn't bother looking for the answer just yet. I was about to get myself a freaking dragon. I flipped past Vendaval and Drogin's seals with a pang and turned to a blank page.

  "I need to draw a magic binding circle in my blood on the page. Then I use some of your blood to write your name on the space above it... I have never tamed anyone with a name already." I realized. "I am not even sure if the naming part is necessary but it best to do it anyway." This I said to myself more than to the dragon.

  "Very well. You will need to take the blood from a wing I think." Said Rougier, partially extending one of the leathery appendages my way. "The rest of my body is too tough to pierce by normal means. The inside of my mouth would be easier to cut as well, but id imagine the wing would be better all round."

  I chuckled. "You are probably right." Using a claw, same as the last two times I did this, I punctured my palm and let the blood pool for a moment before beginning to etch the familiar circle. It took much less time to do this time. Apparently, I was getting used to it. That done I reached out for the wing. It was thicker than I would have guessed: maybe was wide as a finger where Drogin's was nearly paper thin- or parchment thin I suppose. I located a vein in the warm skin quite easily, also noting that his wing had several small rents in it already, as well as places of scar tissue and frayed tips. He was truly a creature used to battle, his wings one of the few places even really capable of taking damage. I had to use a good amount of force for my claw to pierce the skin and when I did the blood flowed quite easily.

  "Do not worry about the flow." Rougier said when he saw my worried look. "For one of my sizes it is really nothing. Plus, the little pin prick will seal its self in a moment or two."

  "Alright..." I used my finger soaked in blood to begin writing his name. I briefly thought to ask the way to spell it to be sure, but figured the dragon had little use for correct spelling one way or another. I also debated weather or not I should add the 'death-bringer' part. I put it down all the same, after all it was how he had introduced himself. "You ready?" I asked.

  "Yes." He rumbled.

  Without another thought I said: "Seal. I name thee, Rougier Death-bringer."

  That instant I realized something that really should have crossed my mind well before ever attempting this binding: What rank and power would a named, multi-millennium, dragon have? I still did not know, but what I did know was that my mana flew from me at an unprecedented rate. So fast and in such an amount that I felt pain from its passing. Had I of been on Hearth, I would have died. Right now, I was at 100,000 mana and I could tell that that number had fallen to nearly zero. What kind of monster was Rougier? And what did that make me?

  The binding clicked into place, and I fell back onto the ground, mind dizzy and limbs week. I was just barely holding in the mystery meat from earlier. I turned my head to the side, but Rougier didn't look like he was changing any, like the other two had. Probably the name was not a gift from me but one he already had. That may have saved my life, I realized. Had he taken more mana to change himself then I may have died. But I could feel his consciousness. The tame was a success.

  "Are you alright?" Rougier asked. He sounded more curious than concerned.

  "Yeah... stupidity on my part." I panted. "I am guessing you are an SS Ranked monster. A very strong one at that. The stronger the monster, the more mana to tame them. You drained me out."

  Making the ground shake a bit, the dragon took a couple steps to reach me. "I made no secret that I was powerful. Greatly so. Though I have no idea what an SS Ranked monster is. I would guess this is a term from Hearth."

  "I guess, I never really thought about the fact that something like that would be different here. Then again. I never thought I would be here period."

  "I am still chained." Said Rougier, stating the obvious. "I can tell that we are bonded, but did it not work the way we had hoped?"

  I waved my hand up at him weakly. "No, I don't know about that yet. I must cast another spell, but the binding has tapped me out. I need to wait for at least some of my mana to return."

  The dragon nodded. "I understand. Perhaps you should rest. In a couple hours we can try this other spell of yours, then I can take you to others of your kind."

  "Huh?" I said, confused.

  "You say you used up your mana yes? Then you likely need to eat. Food here is few and far between. We need to get you fed again before you go red eyes again. Besides, your goal is to return to Hearth, right?"

  "Yes, that's right."

  "Well, I do not know how to do that. We will need to find other demons, and hope they know. Do you know which family you belong to?"

  "Family?" I asked. I was so exhausted that even single word sentences were a chore.

  "Yes, every demon family- or clan I think they call them selves- is different. To me it looked as if all the demons who looked like one another and who had similar powers kept to one another. I assume you also must have a clan you belong to."

  "Ugh. Maybe, but I do not know. I guess I will just have to go and find out."

  "Then rest just long enough to use your spell. Once I am free you can rest more while we fly."

  "Fly?" I asked, perking up out of my exhaustion a bit.

  The dragon looked at me like he was worried about my brain function. "How did you expect to get out of these mountains? Walk? I can guarantee that once I get the ability to fly, I will be using that ability to the fullest."

  I smiled, wild with excitement. Who wouldn't be crazy excited about flying, much less flying on the back of a dragon? But then I frowned. "You haven't flown in two thousand years... Are you sure you still can?"

  The dragon snorted out a puff of smoke again. "Dragons are born with the ability to fly. It is not just something we forget you know."

  "Okay... but what about the fact that you haven't used those muscles in that long of a time? No offense, but you look like you weigh more than a herd of elephants, can your wings even lift your weight right now, much less with my weight added to it?"

  Another condescending look from Rougier. "You do know that dragons' flying is more about magic then bodily ability do you not? If it was just a matter of wing lift, my wings would need to be so large that I wouldn't be able to walk."

  I settled back against the dragon and grumbled. How was I supposed to know that? Rougier eyed me for a moment while I pointedly ignored him, then sighed before curling his big body around me, a wing blocking out the chill wind.