120 A Fitting Punishmen (1/2)
”Althos... I did what I did because I wanted too. Because it's what members of my kind do.” The dragon told me, speaking candidly. There was a sincerity to its words, a bizarre frankness that made its revelations about its simplistic motivations all the more maddening to me.
”So you're just... an unrepentant killer?” I asked, while stunned by the simplicity of the dragon's motivation. The dragon thought about my words for a moment but then nodded.
”Ygaynth...” I muttered, feeling anger well up within me. I was unsurprised that its motivation was simplistic, but that didn't keep me from experiencing anger. If anything it made the anger I felt be purify and intensify.
I felt righteous anger. The sort of anger that one felt towards a cruel king whose motivations were simple greed or pure lust. There was no method to the dragon's chaos or cruelty, no greater design to it, no noble cause that offered even the most superficial justification. It was just violence for the sake of violence.
”Your actions are truly unforgivable.” I informed the dragon, now more sure than I had ever been that I needed to do something significant to the dragon.
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”Kill him.” The death domain told me, speaking directly to me as I wondered what to do about the beast. There was something appealing in so straightforward a solution to my dilemma.
”If you kill him and take his skull throughout the world below Puerto Rico, no one will be brave enough to defy you. Not only will you do your duty as a god of life, but you'll also ensure that the slaves you seek to free are actually freed.” The death domain added.
”Althos... You can kill the dragon and then reanimate him. He, like the slave-taking reptilefolks who died during the battle at the encampment, can atone for the lives he took in undeath.” The necromancy subdomain told me, whispering into my mind.
I chuckled, inwardly, at the knowledge that the necromancy subdomain had noticed that I generally only took lives if it was done to protect other lives. It was smart and was trying to manipulate me into reanimating the dragon. I didn't hate that though, instead, I thought it was funny.
For a moment I actually considered it. But only for a moment. After all, there were other dragon corpses out there. I didn't need to make one of my own. When I consciously realized this, I mentally heard the subdomain huff in annoyance.
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”How could I most suitably punish you?” I asked, thinking out loud. The dragon looked at me, but there was no fear in its gaze. Its scarlet eyes only held admiration for me and an acceptance of whatever pronouncement it knew I was on the verge of declaring.
”I have an idea...” A surprising, silken voice said, within the confines of my mind. The voice belonged to a subdomain.
”This dragon inflicted terror on this region for millennia. The pain it caused, both physically and emotionally is... beyond measurement. But if you want a fitting punishment, maybe the way you should punish the beast is to allow others to inflict pain on it.” The subdomain of pain offered. I went silent for a moment and wondered what it meant.
”The dragon is now among your worshipers. You don't need to kill or even hurt it yourself. After all, the beast didn't hurt you did it? Instead, you can allow the descendants of those it hurt to vent their rage on it.” The subdomain suggested. My eyes widened as I began to understand its suggestion.
”The beast worships you. If you order it to atone for its sin by going from community to community and spend hours each day just taking the attacks of the descendants of its victims it will obey you.” The subdomain of pain told me.
This was an interesting idea. And it was one that I genuinely liked. It punished the dragon in a way that mildly fit its crimes while demonstrating my power over the beast. It proved the reality that I had subjugated the dragon, all while giving the people of the world below Puerto Rico a fair target with which they could vent their rage.
It didn't take me long to come to a definitive conclusion: this was the best possible punishment that I could enact on the dragon. Inwardly, I sighed, thanked the pain subdomain, and then refocused on the scene in front of me.
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The dragon was looking down on me, but only in a literal sense. Its head was situated high above me, and I craned my neck upward to make eye contact with the serpentine beast. I took a step towards the beast and placed one of my hands on the same scales I had touched before.
In doing so I stole the last bit of its sanity and sighed in delight as I felt the madness that had invaded and taken control of much of the monster's mind finally fully dominate it. The dragon stopped looking at me and instead looked straight ahead. As it did so, it opened its mouth and roared.
The sound that exploded out of the dragon's maw was an ear-shattering one. It was easily the loudest thing I had ever heard, and it echoed throughout the vast tunnel that the dragon had long ago modified. Though it didn't bother me, I could detect dissonant, maddening tones in the sound and wondered what sort of an effect such a sound might have on mortals if they had heard it.
It took perhaps a minute or two before the dragon finally stopped making the sound. As it did so, I looked at it and opted to activate my knowledge-based powers to learn more about the ancient beast.
[Name: Ygaynth Earthslide (Level 18 Magician)
Species: Black Dragon
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Personal virtue: Chastity
Personal vice: Wrath
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Magic sensing: Ygaynth is an incredibly powerful magician. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this beast is the most skilled magic user you've met to date.
Ygaynth has been viewed as a terrifying force of nature thanks in no small part to the fact that it is so magically powerful. Even among the magically inclined dragons, Ygaynth is a colossally powerful living disaster. Ygaynth's soul resonates with the school of ecomancy, magic that transforms the environment. It is through this magic that the dragon creates tunnels, caverns, and more.
Faith sense: Ygaynth is now insane, even by the standards of black dragons. What's more, is that Ygaynth's insanity is entirely due to your corruptive influence. The dragon's mind is currently scrambled and it is in a transitional state. It is adjusting to the new reality your vile madness presents it with.
Ygaynth's rewritten mind, its distorted perceptions, and even its very sense of reality will all be subject to your whims. The dragon will become more like an abomination than another dragon, and it will be obedient to your will.
Authority detection: Black dragons are notoriously independent, even amongst dragons. Among its own kind, Ygaynth is grudgingly respected but has no particular authority. The dragon is the undisputed ruler of the reptilefolks who live in the world beneath Puerto Rico. It doesn't have any nonreptilian followers.
Soul-sense: Ygaynth isn't naturally pious and so the beast wouldn't make a particularly good member of any religious class.
Draconic knowledge: Black dragons are wrathful embodiments of the earth's fury. They are powerful creatures who are well-known for embodying the destructive fury of an earthquake. As a species they tend to resonate well with ecomancy, one of the most dramatic schools of magic.
One of the powers that comes with a black dragon's ties to the earth is that they possess the power to take a deep breath and then exhale a considerable number of small rocks as a surprisingly effective ranged attack.]
I leisurely read through the entry, grateful for the tidbits I picked up that I hadn't already known. Some of them, like the word ”Ecomancy”, informed me of bigger things to keep an eye out for, since before today I had never heard that word. Others, like the ability of black dragons to breathe rocks, were just handy bits of trivia I ought to keep in mind in the future.
When I was done reading the profile I willed it away and focused on the dragon in front of me.
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”Hello, Ygaynth.” I said to the massive and dangerous beast now that was done roaring. There was a confident smirk on my face as I spoke to the beast. The dragon looked down at me and there were new emotions in its gaze that hadn't been there before.
There was a joy I hadn't seen visible in the scarlet iris of the dragon's eyes. There was also an eagerness that the dragon radiated, now that it was done roaring.
”Master...” The dragon replied, speaking to me with an odd respect and reverence audible in its tone.
”I know what your punishment will be.” I informed the creature, speaking calmly to the gargantuan monster.
”Please, share it with me. Or inflict it, if that is your wish.” The dragon told me, speaking in a way that made it clear that it was ready to accept whatever I wished for it to endure.
A small part of me, a sadistic part, felt mildly annoyed the dragon was so ready to endure whatever punishment I deemed appropriate. I recognized that that small part of me wanted violence. And to be fair, a fight against a creature as powerful as Ygaynth would have been kind of fun.
I sighed and mentally silenced that little voice. It only took me a second to refocus and did Ygaynth my full attention.
”You only have one life to give.” I told the dragon, lying to the beast and to myself at the same time.
”Since you only have one life to give, your punishment shall not be to die. Instead, your punishment will be to suffer. It will be to feel pain since you can at least endure pain.” I told the dragon. Its eyes widened, but as quickly as they widened they narrowed once more. It didn't reply and waited for me to expand on my cryptic pronouncement.
”I am going to send you from community to community throughout the world underneath Puerto Rico. I will tell the people of the world beneath Puerto Rico that you have been humbled and this is your way of atoning for your sins.” I told the dragon, beginning to explain the scheme devised by the subdomain of pain.
The dragon remained stoically silent. I almost admired its passivity to the punishment my subdomain devised.
”The purpose of this is punishment is twofold. The first part of it is to cement that you are my humble servant by allowing creatures weaker than you to freely inflict pain on you. When they see the pain you are in and that you refuse to fight back they will recognize my power over you. The second part of it is to allow them to vent their anger, loss, and hate on you, the source of their anger, loss, and hate.” I told the dragon, lecturing it quite easily. The dragon finally opened its mouth to speak after I said that.
”Will this... Please you?” The dragon asked, looking at me as it spoke. There was a genuine curiosity in its gaze that I recognized and decided to indulge.
”This punishment allows you to feel a bit of the suffering you inflicted on others. So yes, it does please me. Eventually, it will end. You are a powerful creature. I desire powerful servants. In time I will free you from this punishment, and I will make use of you in other ways.” I informed the dragon, speaking to it frankly and honestly.
The dragon considered my words, and then it felt satisfied with whatever inscrutable thoughts it had mulled over. I studied it for a few moments, curious as to what the beast was thinking. When I scanned its brain, all I learned was that the simple creature was satisfied that I had a punishment for it that I deemed somewhat fitting.
None of this was satisfying to the crueler part of me that existed deep in my heart but that I often ignored or actively suppressed. And frankly, it was hard for me to say that that part of me was wrong. I did want the dragon to legitimately feel pain.
Ygaynth was known, even to the system, as a natural disaster given form. And yet that titanically powerful creature was now my minion. It felt anti-climatic for the beast to submit to me, but I recognized the whole-hearted sincerity I felt emanating from deep within the beast. The conflict between us was over. But that didn't mean I had to be done. I turned inward, curious to see if the system had an idea I could use to satisfy the dark urge I felt in my heart for pain.
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”So... I think we can all agree that there is something unsatisfying here, right?” I asked internally. Within the confines of my mind, I spoke to the system primarily, but also to the domains and subdomains that lurked within me.
I was initially met with silence. That silence didn't last long though.
”You could have just killed the dragon you know. It's not our fault you insisted on keeping the thing alive.” One of the domains, the domain of death complained. I chuckled at its remarks. Another domain proceeded to verbally berate the domain.
”Shut up! Althos did the right thing. And obviously he did the hard thing too. He is keeping Ygaynth alive and will likely use the beast as one of the weapons in his arsenal to ensure that slavery is abolished. We should be proud of him.” The domain, the goodness domain to be exact, replied. There was anger in the thing's voice, but the anger dissipated after the domain's response to the death domain. Another domain quickly chimed in as well.
”My... somewhat rude, fellow domain is correct. Althos you did the right thing by not killing the dragon. Admittedly, I have concerns, about your decision to bend it to your will using the offputting powers of the eldritch domain, but that is less important than your objective success here.” The life domain told me, acknowledging the success of my unorthodox methods of transforming the dragon into my worshiper even while politely complaining.
”I am actually happy that he used the powers of the eldritch domain. It's nice to see him take to a domain's powers so swiftly.” Another domain, one with a dark and unsettling voice, replied. I knew which domain was talking, the domain of evil.
”You would like that he takes to the eldritch domain so readily!” Snapped the domain of goodness. I chuckled at its short temper.
”Well, I also like the eldritch domain...” Muttered another, softer voice. The kindly voice belonged to the subdomain of fungi. As if to back this remark another domain interjected and shared its insights.
”Well, sweetie... You would like it, since both the great old ones and the outer gods were fond of fungi and the worlds they controlled are still filled with the stuff.” The domain, the domain of law, pointed out. The subdomain of fungi sighed in annoyance at this contextualization of its fondness for the eldritch domain.