La Floresian Eternalle is the single most impressive establishment in all of Anteronia, which in and of itself is the single most remarkable community in the entirety of the continent. And while it is a hotel and resort of unequal measure, even the most opulent of accommodations are not likely to see the sort of patron that currently makes his way through the lobby.
The dragon is a sight to behold—bright yellow and cream scales, rough and jagged, with spikes all along his body. He has a frame that a blue robe casually wraps around and a magnificent and gleaming automaton of an arm.
Many guests stand and gawk at the sight. This is not one of the Champions of the Tournament of Pleasure but an honest-to-goodness guest.
And a guest that is a dragon.
“Ah, great and gracious dragon, my apologies that our proprietor is not here to greet you personally. Allow me to book you a room right away and give you whatever it is you desire. It will be our distinct honor here, for quite certain!”
The host appears out of nowhere, giving the draconic guest a pause. But he chuckles and reaches into his robe, pulling out a bit of parchment. “Hey, no need for a room. I’m just visiting, is all. I’m looking for this guest of yours.”
The host blinks and leans in at the drawing. “Bright blue scales, carrying a book. Why, that looks to be one of the finalists of the Tournament, albeit at a much younger age.”
“Heh, can’t help it. She was always a cutie, but you have to admit that this is the pinnacle of adorableness.”
“Sir, you’re talking about a Champion eroarcanist.”
“I’m talkin’ about Izon. So, where is she? You said you would give me whatever I desire. Well, I desire to see her.”
“Haaa… yes, right away. Let me just look up her room number for you and let her know you’re coming, mister…”
“Engy will do,” the dragon responds.
The blue kobold appears with a blip of light right beside them, only to immediately hop up and wrap her arms around the dragon’s massive leg. “Dad!” she cries out. “It’s been so long. How are you?”
“Hey there!” Engy says, patting the kobold on the head. “Look at you, all grown up and taking on the whole cosmos by storm. All that studying has really done ya well, hasn’t it?"
She nods, giving her father a squeeze. “It has, it has. You’ve been following everything?”
“How can’t I? It’s all anyone ever talks about. A sexfight Tournament… I had always thought those things were a part of a bygone era. Eh, they say that history works in cycles, but what do I know?”
Letting go, Izon produces one of her many books from her person. “Oh, that’s fine, Father. There are many things people don’t know. I’ve been using that lack of knowledge to my advantage by supplementing my own. There’s so much that eroarcana and sexcraft can teach someone, but, uh, I suppose that’s a topic that you and I shouldn’t be going too far into detail about, huh?”
Engy shrugs. “We can skim over the finer details. But you got time to walk around town with your old man, don’t ya?”
“Well, I am only going up against Draykan after all. I defeated him soundly in my last match against him. Sure, we can go, but I’m not sure what there is around here to see.”
Engy hides a frown with a proud papa’s smile and pats her on the back. “Well, then, why don’t we roam around and find out what’s around here together, huh?”
—
The statue park that takes up a good majority of the city is a beautiful place for those taking a stroll to enjoy themselves. With a snack bought from a roadside stand in their hands, the two can just find a bench, plop down, and enjoy the afternoon air.
“So,” Engy says, munching on a piece of fried treat, “I’ve heard about this new teacher of yours, Tik Tik, through the grapevine. She seems nice. I’m glad you found her.”
“She’s fine,” Izon says, “but too short-sighted. Her concern is making friends when she has a platform to really do something important—to be someone that is remembered as the greatest throughout all of history.”
“Yeah, and you have some ideas, do ya?” Engy asks this, leaning back. “Starting by ultimately humiliating a dragon. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you resent dragonkind.”
Izon’s eyes widen. “Oh, no, no, no. Gah, dad, sheesh. Of course, I don’t resent dragons.”
“Why do you seek their power and to upstage them with it, then? I agree, the stuck-up aristocrats in the rat race of proving themselves superior to all living things are annoying and all.”
“They are, and my opponent is one of them. He’s crude and arrogant, and he-”
“You got all that just by talkin’ to him, huh?”
“What, I mean, no I….”
“You’re judging the guy before you even talk to him? Heh, and after you fucked him, too, no less.”
Izon buries her head in her hands. “D… daddy…” she groans.
“What, you didn’t think I’d be cheering you on all the way through? I’m no prude, you know.  You’re a grown woman. You can do what you want with whom you want, but I gotta say, dragon… isn’t a good look for you.”
“But-but Dad, I want to be as strong as a dragon and not some weak and pathetic creature! I don’t want to survive in this world just because of someone else’s kindness—to be so weak that when I’m left alone, I have a chance to just… just expire and to leave all of my knowledge as vapors in the wind.”
“Ah, so that’s it, is it? Sit back, kid. It’s time I give ya ‘the talk.'”


Izon sits in silence a moment, holding her treat clutched close to her chest, squeezing the packaging, and letting the food ooze out between her fingers. “I, uh… ‘the’ talk? Dad, uh… isn’t it a little late for that? I’m in the championship of the Tournament of Pleasure.”
Engy blinks, staring at her, off-guarded. The dragon breaks the silence with a hearty laugh. “No, no, no! Hah, I wouldn’t know the first thing about sex as a kobold, and you’re a smart enough girl to figure out all the intricacies yourself… well, at least I thought you were good with that. No, this talk is something a bit more serious.” He shifts, leaning forward, placing his food aside and lacing his fingers together.
Parkgoers play and relax in the sunshine amidst the lavish artworks of the Anteronian masters, their voices mingling together into a cacophonic hymn of life and society.
“You see all them over there, Izon?” he asks.
“What, the crowd?”
“Well, that answers my question—you don’t. That’s not a crowd there. Each of those people is an individual—someone with a life and dreams, and worries. Just because they aren’t world-shaking individuals doesn’t mean they don’t matter, you get what I’m saying?”
“I… I’m not sure.”
“Look, I know I’m a dragon. Nothing is changing that fact. No amount of magic or fake mustaches or charm spells can change that simple truth. That’s what I am on the inside, no matter what. And dragons… we tend to see the world as nothing but collectibles and things that aren’t ours that should be ours. Heck, lots of people out there fancy themselves dragons because of their greed. The thing is, though, that dragons… well, we just don’t see the world for what it actually is.
“Sure, some of us might catalog and display our hoards. We might take pride in the purity or the rarity of what we gather up and store in our lairs, but no one truly sits back to ask our hoard how it feels to be a part of that collective.”
“That would hardly seem logical.”
“Heh, maybe not. But in every single copper coin that rests on a bed of gold, there’s a story and a purpose. It might have been used to buy a beggar’s last piece of bread, and maybe later, it gave a kid happiness when they bought some sugary delight. Point is that every piece of accumulated wealth is important.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
He shifts to lay back now, draping his arms over the back of the bench. “With you? That depends. You may have hatched a kobold, but you were raised by a dragon, and try as I might, I couldn’t stop you from falling into the pitfalls of what growing up as a dragon means.”
“I’m no dragon,” Izon says. “Not yet. I’m still stuck with my kobold lifespan, and I need to do something with it—something grand and spectacular so that the world will never forget my power!”
“Let’s talk about that power, shall we?” Engy asks, holding up a mechanical finger. “Out of all of your new eroarcana spells, which is your most favorite?”
“M… my what?”
“Can you tell me the history of all of the spells you learned?”
“We-well, some of the competitors used techniques, and I just copied those and….”
“And what is the importance of those techniques? Why did those competitors use them? How important were such skills to the Champions that they would put their position on the line just by using them?”
“I… I don’t….”
“You don’t know?”
She shakes her head, squeezing her oozy treat.
“That’s what I’m getting at here. Whatever you accumulate, it’s important to know all the nuances about them… to really know and acknowledge the importance and weakness of every little thing. Being a dragon means we can do much, but we have to decide what we do with that power. What are you going to do? Become a sorcerous queen? Rule the world with an iron claw?”
“W-well, maybe not rule, but show that I am the best.”
“And what does that accomplish? Would you really be remembered if you were just another deific being sitting out there, slinging spells and flaunting their power? The cosmos has one of those around every hill and valley and world. You gotta make sure you do something important—something that’ll really make you memorable.”
“W… what’s that!?” she’s standing now, on her toes, tugging at her father’s robe. “What must I do?”
“What do you think?” he asks, patting her head, giving it a gently rough fatherly rub.
With one eye opened and the other under his palm, Izon ponders this question, watching for his approval when she opens her mouth. “S-should I make other kobolds not feel like I do? So weak and useless and forgettable? To help bring them up to the heights I’ve seen instead of trying to get more myself?”
Engy lifts his hand up and grabs his snack. “Well, now, that sounds like a lofty goal to me. Those little things have been needing a bit of a pep-talk for generations now. The Council gave them the short-end of the Draconic stick. Maybe it is about time that someone takes care of them.”
The dragon yawns and stretches, picking himself back up. “But, that’s enough for now. All that seriousness has me pooped. Maybe I’ll check out that hotel you’re at after all.”
“Dad, you're not going to… watch my final match, are you?”
Engy shrugs. “What? Do you want me to cheer ya on? Or would it be too embarrassing for me to shout 'That’s my girl!' as you’re riding that guy?”
“Daaad!” Izon groans, covering her face. “You’re so embarrassing."
“Just doing my job,” Engy says, patting her.