The Viper ONC 2020

Chapter Three

   "Wait," Scarlett whispered before the man had a chance to open his mouth. He gave a small eye roll but listened intently.

   "You never told me your name," the man seemed taken aback for a second before letting out a small smile. Scarlett took notice and proceeded to take her hand back from his grasp and take a sip of coffee. 

   "My name is --- Bahamut." Scarlett nearly spat out her coffee; she had never heard of such a ridiculous name. 

   "Like, a dragon?" The man nodded and glanced downwards to his hands. Scarlett looked deep into his eyes; she looked for any sort of deception but found none. This man was telling the truth.

   "I ---" Scarlett paused for a second, there was no way to take in this information easily without laughing. She took a staggering breath while she shook her head, disbelieved. After a moment she recollected herself and met eye contact with "Bahamut", "really? Is that your actual name?" 

    The man let out a laugh, but Scarlett wasn't in the mood for jokes. The man quickly picked up on this and quieted himself. 

   "Yes, that's my name. But for the sake of my identity, just call me Brandon."

   "Okay, Brandon. Tell me this story." The man let out a breath before looking Scarlett right in her eyes. Scarlett could see the seriousness, the utter desperation. 

   "You have heard of fairytales, where the prince slays the dragon and gets the girl. But, do you know the story of how the dragon got there?" Scarlett was already intrigued. She was a huge fan of mythical tales and fantasy; this was right up her alley. 

   "I would assume if you're telling me this story that whatever I think is wrong. So just spit it out." Scarlett pulled her hair into a messy bun, multiple strands fell into her eyes, but she didn't care. She was secretly interested but knew she had a facade to put up.

   "Aren't you a little ray of sunshine?" Scarlett let out a scoff,

   "So I have been told." 

   "Anyway, let me tell you what really happened. Let me start this off by saying that those fairy tales are real as are dragons." Scarlett held her hand up to stop him,

   "You're joking?"

   "And you have glowing red eyes and a horrid temper, would you like to stop interrupting me?" Scarlett shot him a nasty glare before she directed her gaze downwards. 

   "As I was saying, dragons are real. I know it is hard to believe, but I can confirm it because, well, I am one. Now, before you rudely interrupt me again, let me explain. Then you can ask questions. It was a long time ago, longer than the history books had written. It was a millennium ago, one thousand years. The world was at war, much like today, but, instead of tanks and missiles, they had magic and gods. Let me ask you a question, do you believe in God?" 

   "I'm not super religious, but, yeah, I believe in God." The man nodded before taking a sip from his drink. He pondered something while Scarlett looked at him curiously. She only wondered what was going on in his mind. 

   "You're not wrong. There is God, the supreme ruler of all life. But, there are lesser gods too, deities. They rule certain portions of land and act like a king or queen to all the little creatures below it. So, long ago there was a kingdom in the middle of a massive war. At that same time, there was also a famine going on because the crops had been tampered with, making them inedible. So the king of this kingdom, King Leonard _, had prayed to the gods and only one had answered. This was the goddess Tiamat, the mother of dragons. She had made a proposal to the king in return to kill a hundred men and women. Now, let me explain a rule to you. A deity can not be involved in mortal affairs unless granted authority by a mortal. It is similar to the constitution. So as soon as the king said yes, Tiamat had all the ability to create whatever chaos she wished during that war. However, this was only for one command only. The king, after they were victorious, decided to go back on her demand. This prevented her from taking the lives because God would have stripped her from her title and put her in the underworld, or hell, for short. Do you follow me?"