Dragons Are Demanding (Book 1)Complete

17.) Work to be done

Cerastes rode in his personal carriage down the mountain. It would be faster and to go down the mountain by horse but it was daytime. He hated being out in the sun. it physically drained him.

To look weak infront of others especially humans was something he could not afford to do.

Jis brothers and father all maintained a dark appearance in  hair, skin and eyes. Cerastes was born different. When Cerastes was born his father had been so ashamed he did not hold a greeting ceremony, to introduce his new son to his fellow dragon kin.

The humans had a word for what he was, albino.

White hair and skin, red eyes, and a weakness to the sun. But that was not the only reason for his fathers shame. Cerastes was born without wings.

This was why upon his birth his father named him Cerastes.

A horned snake.

There was irony that the black sheep of the Green Mountain clan would look so white.

He was lucky in a way, the hatching of his kind had become rare. Killing him even due to a weakness would cause the clan more shame than letting him live.

That was more than a couple hundred years ago, hatchings now were almost non existent. The offspring that managed to hatch were of lesser quality and always male.

Dragonkin as a species was on the decline.

Sure they could live for centuries but without new offspring there days were numbered. But there were other problems that also affected dragonkin.

The rebels underground were always trying to bring about the down fall of his kind. Doing their best to gain control over towns, recruiting people, and sabotaging taxes.

Spreading propaganda against dragon kin sovereignty. Humans while harmless alone, could be problematic in mass.

Cerastes looked down at the city at the base of the mountain. A hundred years ago it was barely more than a town now Greenview was the largest city in the territory.

The least liked son was saddled with the least liked chore,tax collecting.

It wasnt a difficult job, but it was daunting dealing with the skippers. Around fifty years ago he set up a system called the city council. They were a select few who had been given privileges in exchange for collecting the taxes for the territory and amassing it in one convenient place for pick up.

They didnt receive any of the tax money but they did get power to propose city rules that Cerastes would sign off on, if he felt like it.

Although he usually didnt. It didnt really matter if he signed one rule or none.

The image of being in direct contact with the kin was enough to garner fear, respect, and bring in people who wanted to curry favor. The city council lived very well.

Having a city council, was good but he still had to do the dirty work of having his personal retinue gather up those who didnt pay, and dolling out punishing them himself. Punishment was an authority owned exclusively by the kin.

...

Over an hour later Cerastes's carriage reached the city center, the blacked out carriage stopped infront of a large stone building.

City hall.

The only one of it's kind in the city.
The carriage door was opened and Cerastes ducked his head to step out, preventing his horns from catching on the roof. His white clawed feet gripped the steps with an odd clicking sound and his alligator like tail never touched the ground.

The long black mantle exposed the lower part of his legs to the sun with every step but the rest of his body was carefully concealed under his clothes.

He walked into the building, while the human coachmen unloaded his baggage.

The people were well trained. Every door was open before he reached it, the meal was on the table before he asked, and his bath was heated after his meal.

Cerastes hadnt needed to speak one word to anyone but it was to be expected. This was the same routine as every year.

In the city hall, there were few rooms. The council members did not live there, they had their own homes. The building had a large entry way and the walls were painted with the history of the town and figures of dragon kin.

The front of the building was for usual business. The back of the building was for Cerastes's use, during the week or so it took him to do his work.

All the doors were more than ten feet in height and five feet in width. When Cerastes had had this place built, he had it designed to accommodate his kind.

Although he did not have wings, his father and brothers did and should they ever come here it was important that they had sufficient height and wing space.

Now that Cerastes had finished with his immediate needs. He dressed and went to the meeting room where four men and one woman waited for him at the table.