There was nothing new about the heir wars. It was a Dragon Clan tradition that would take place every time an old Dragon Emperor decided it was time to end his reign.
This one was special mainly because of the circumstances behind it.
Nobody was ready for it. Not a single person expected it.
The Dragon Emperor always seemed like he was in good health, and even the greatest experts believed his vitality would allow him to rule for another 100,000 years without a problem.
However, they were wrong.
The Dragon Emperor never revealed any weakness and never directly told anyone why he decided to start the heir wars now. As such, most of what was said about him was just guesses.
Still, historically, there had only ever been one reason for a Dragon Emperor to step down.
He was dying.
While speculations about his health flew around in many communities, that didn't stop people from preparing for the heir wars.
There were three main rules that absolutely had to be followed in this time of preparation.
No violence was allowed. Until the heir wars had truly begun, the several dragon clans weren't allowed to get into altercations with each other. If they did, they would lose their spot entirely. Their clan would essentially be blacklisted.
The participants had to be under a hundred years old.
Logically speaking, this rule didn't make sense. Why would children compete to become the Dragon Emperor? They didn't have the experience, the power, or the maturity to take on such a position of power.
The Dragon Emperor wouldn't die immediately. Once the heir wars were announced, the Dragon Emperor's lifespan could be estimated to have at least a thousand years remaining.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})The dragon who stood above all others and rightfully earned the heir position would be personally trained by him and instilled with the values of an Emperor from their youth.
Adults were too stubborn. As they'd lived their entire lives developing their own opinions on the world, it was impossible to tell them what to do and expect them to follow. The position of Dragon Emperor was simply too important. That person would gain absolute control over all dragons, and someone who would abuse those privileges couldn't be allowed to sit in the seat.
A child who was raised to be an Emperor…while there were many factors that could cause such a prospect to go horribly wrong, it had never happened before. This was the method that allowed the Dragon Clan to function as it had for the past several eons.
The second rule usually didn't make the competition any less fierce, since people under a hundred years old could still be sufficiently powerful.
However, in the current situation of the Dragon Clan, it created problems.
Dragons had powerful reproductive systems. When they mated with other races, they were guaranteed to create life every time. When they mated with other dragons, who had systems that were just as resistant as they were powerful, it became more difficult.
There was a reason why there were so many more dragonkins compared to True Dragons. Only one to three dragons could be born to a royal pair every century.
This century was a rut. Across the board, Dragons had found themselves less fertile than they were used to. As such, the children under a hundred that were able to participate in the heir wars…
All of them had been born in the past twenty to fifty years.
They were young, weak, and reckless.
Since the wars hadn't begun yet, nobody could say what that would mean. But for Damien, it meant only one thing.
'This kid can probably compete.'
If Damien wanted to raise a participant in the short span of time he had before the event began, he still had the chance to do it successfully.
As long as he followed the first rule, and, of course, the final one.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})The third of the three was a bit stranger than the rest, and oddly enough, it was accommodating.
Usually, a Dragon Emperor would be chosen from one of the Holy Dragon Clans or one of the established Royal Clans. This was mainly because the talent of those children had far surpassed their peers.
However, others weren't barred from participating.
Anyone with a sufficient level of talent and bloodline could aim for the Dragon Emperor position, and to make sure those with lesser backgrounds wouldn't be too outmatched, the third rule provided them with something like compensation.
It simply stated that anyone who wanted to compete needed to register at one of three locations in the central region. These facilities were constructed specifically for testing the qualifications of those who weren't affiliated with or backed by a major clan.
It didn't seem beneficial, but from what Damien had heard…
'...if they deem someone talented enough, that person will be given the same amount of support as a Holy Descendant.'
The entire Dragon Clan favored talent over status. After all, status was just a concept. Talent was a direct manifestation of powerful dragon lineage.
Now, if Damien bolstered his faux lineage a little and de-aged his body and soul to seem sub-100 years old, he could absolutely murder this competition.
But…he wasn't going to do that.
The heir wars were meant to choose a Dragon Emperor.
If Damien won, then wouldn't that defeat the entire purpose?
Rather than gaining the favor of these dragons, he'd only earn their ire.
'I could also ignore the heir wars completely, but…'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})This was the Azure Dragon's final wish. As his memories in Damien's mind became clearer, that fact became painfully obvious.
The child in his care was born for the sole purpose of taking that throne.
It definitely wouldn't be easy to raise a dragon, especially when it needed to be done over the course of a year at most, but Damien was up to the challenge.
Hadn't he been looking for ways to put pressure on himself? Even if he wasn't directly participating, supporting and backing a contestant was just as much of a challenge.
Raising a disciple wasn't easy. When that disciple needed to inherit the techniques of the Azure Dragon Clan rather than Damien's inherent techniques, it became even harder.
'That senior…I wonder if he saw this coming.'
The power of a Holy Dragon couldn't be underestimated, especially not when he was one of the first Holy Dragons to ever exist.
'A lot has changed since he left the Heavenly World.'
The Arulion that existed now was nothing like the one in the Azure Dragon's memories.
And, from what Damien could gather, the Azure Dragon bloodline that existed in the current Holy Dragon Clan…
'...it's a fake.'
It wasn't the same bloodline that the child possessed. Since Damien hadn't seen it in person, he couldn't say anything for certain, but he was sure of it.
'He didn't leave this world voluntarily.'
There was a consOriginal behind it all that needed to be unraveled.
And Damien had no plans of letting darkness fester for any longer than it already had.
The Heavenly World could only ever be a beacon of light.
Otherwise, it was impossible for them to stand against the malevolent darkness of the Sacred Abyss Universe.
