Dragon god of techniques, Vershnos, the weakest

- You are the weakest of your kin, the dragon of energy Vershnos. You are the last dragons created personally by me. Unlike your older siblings, you'll have to learn from a blank slate. Your siblings all have gained their powers with the knowledge of using them as well. But fear not, for you have the potential to become the strongest. For you have the power of energy. Both physical and spiritual. Once you learn how to use them perfectly, there is no being in this world that can beat you. Besides my kind of course. So move forwards and begin your journey. But be wary, the path of greatness is not one that can be taken lightly.

These are the words dragon Vershnos heard when he came to be. The words of his creator. He began his journey to become the mightiest of all dragons. Of all beings.

The first thing he learned is that he can make sparks of electricity by concentrating the physical energy and moving it at a fast speed. This was his first step to greatness. He studied it day and night, barely sleeping and eating. But when it was time to eat, he used it to train his fighting abilities to hunt his prey. Most of his prey consisted of bugs and rats.

Once eating, he focused on the spiritual energy of things. By not letting a single thing past, he consumed the energy carried by the spirit of his prey. It took some time to master, but he learned in the end how to do it like it was breathing. Absorbing the energy of the land to him and absorbing it.

But this was something that he realized was not the right path. If he absorbed too much of the energy of the land, the plant life would wither and so would the animals to follow. He learned how to not absorb too much energy from his surroundings and continued from there.

He had to learn to move his training ground little by little, so as to not absorb too much energy from the environment. He had encounters of formidable foes along the way. He learned early that most fights he cannot win. He learned to hide his presence by watching hunters get close to their prey.

With much training, he could now move as fast as lightning if he concentrated, but now he was starting to be on more of a bigger size. This made finding peaceful places to practice more difficult, as the others of his kin started to notice him much more easily.

To solve this problem, he learned to change his appearance to a much smaller creatures. He learned how to dig holes as well and make his own places he can call home for a short time.

Much time passed, and he noticed a bad energy coming. He then realized that mass extinction was about to take place and so he dug as far down as he could to find shelter for the incoming doom.

He did survive, but so did his most powerful kin as well. The dragon lords. His siblings.

There was much silence for a while in the world until the voidborn brought new life to inhabit the world. Among them were these creatures called humanoids that came from many kinds. Humans, elves, dwarves, best folk and the likes. He had a close eye on them, since the voidborn seemed to be invested in them.

He learned to shapeshift to humanoid and followed the other humanoids that were taught many things from the voidborn. One of the voidborn noticed this and took him under her wing. There he learned much more of the spirit energy than he had ever before.

Later one other voidborn noticed this dragon in disguise as well, and while he was tempted to drive the dragon away, he later realized the possibility of that dragon and became his teacher.

While he was not the one who created him, he was one of the most suited to train him, as he was master of physics. He taught Vershnos how to use his powers over physical energy most efficiently and Vershnos later became a powerhouse of a dragon. He was no longer the weakest, but he was still not the strongest.

The two voidborns then taught him, along with their other humanoid students, how to fight using their body. The two voidborn later made Vershnos study under normal humanoids that had already mastered their arts. And so began the journey of martial arts.

He traveled from continent to continent. To the coldest reaches of the world, to the hottest places of the world. He also met up with his siblings multiple times and had a battle with them, in their dragon form of course, and he came on top for most of them. But the defeats weren't something he had to worry about, since they were few and he would learn more techniques from the other masters of the arts and defeat the ones who he lost to later.

He later became a master of each art he studied and it honed his skills over combat even higher.

It was a long journey, but he finally defeated all of his siblings. Though some of the techniques he learned from humanoids weren't effective on dragon to dragon combat, his reaction speed had reached new highs. He would crush his opponents either with blinding speeds or devastating strength. He had now become the strongest of his kin.

Now was time to fight the overlords of this world. The voidborn. So he fought them one by one, with each of them being close calls. Even though the voidborn had to hold back their power over the void, they were all impressed by this dragon's might in the end of these battles.

But once he won against his creator, the creator said to him.

- You have grown strong, my child. Once you were a tiny little worm who was covered in fear, but now you stand tall over the defeats of your enemies. I bestow you the title of dragon lord of thunder, for you are worthy of that name now. And now is your time to choose. What will you do with your unbeatable strength? Will you bring the world to ruin? Or will you choose to spare it?

Vershnos now was in a predicament. What will he do now?

So he spent his days wondering what to do. Sometimes he had a challenger or two coming to prove their worth, but each time Vershnos would win.

Many days passed, until he saw one of his siblings be consumed by rage and he'd have to end her rampage. For what reason he did this? He simply felt that all those things that were weak could once become an opponent who could, perhaps, beat him. He did not want life to be wasted because of one person's rage, so he bit off the heart of his sister and consumed the rest of her lifeforce.

He saw a memory of his sister and the pain she felt in her heart, so he decided to give one strike to the man that hurt his sister and be done with it.

Once again his life was stagnant. Nothing would come and nothing would go until the false gods started their campaigns.

Vershnos fought fiercely, but he could not save his siblings that were slain in those battles. Try as he might, some people had to die. Then he gained some momentary power from the voidborn to defeat the false gods. Along with the power they gave, the voidborn said to the dragon lords "Onwards into death! May the victor be the powerful!" and the peace was finally back.

Though many painful memories came from that war, so came newfound power. Then Vershnos thought to himself, "What do I do with all this power?" The same thoughts came and went as he lived.

One day on the isle of man, in a cave where Vershnos had lived over a thousand years alongside the fairies that visit him, he saw a small human boy wandering towards the inner chamber. At first he thought "Perhaps it's another challenger." But his guess was wrong. The boy was weak not only because of his age, but because he was ill with something.

Once the boy saw the dragon's silhouette, he simply said with a peaceful tone of voice.

- Oh hello mister dragon. Or miss. Sorry to bother you, but may I lay down here?

The dragon was confused for a moment but then said.

- Do as you wish.

The boy then sat down and started sleeping. He slept for a day and once he woke up, he started coughing blood. Vershnos had checked his energy and noticed that it was growing weak. Out of curiosity he asked.

- Why have you come here in your current state?

- I simply wanted to let my parents finally give up on me.

- Give up?

- Yes. You see, I was born sick and the shaman who inspected me said that I wouldn't live to adulthood. I have received medicine for my entire life and it has only gotten worse. It's progress is slower thanks to the medicine, but it still progresses all the same. My parents say that I should keep taking the medicine, but they are only delaying the inevitable.

- So you left them so that they won't have to suffer anymore?

- Yes.

- But now that you are missing, wouldn't they be worried sick?

- They probably are, but I can't watch them waste their lives on me anymore. I cost them too much and I think it's time for me to leave.

- Hmmm… Your parents sound like good people. I'm sure that even though they had to spend more resources on you than they planned, they surely want to spend as much time with you as they can. Especially since your time in the world of the living is limited. You should go back.

- But… I've already made up my mind.

- Hmmm… Perhaps it's time for me to go.

- To go where?

- To the afterlife.

- Are you dying?

- No.

- Then why should you?

- I have seen many things in my life. I have defeated many opponents and killed many enemies. I think it's time I give something now that I'm at my apex.

- I don't understand.

- Wait a moment.

Then suddenly light comes from Vershnos and the boy is stunned by the big dragon. Then light seems to gather in one spot and in that spot appears to be a gemstone that was in a process of being made. Then when the gem was finally complete, the light dimmed and only a little light came from the little fairies that had been there alongside the dragon. Then Vershnos does something that surprises the boy. He lodged the gem inside the boy's chest and stuck it to his heart. When the boy woke up, Vershnos said.

- Now you have part of my vitality. This should help you fight against the illness in you. Now you should go home now. The fairies will show you the way.

The fairies start to pull the boy and the boy follows a bit until he asks the dragon.

- But wait. If you give me this vitality, you…

- It's alright. I have come into peace with my decision. Go now and live happily.

- Then at least… at least tell me your name.

- It's Vershnos.

Then the boy leaves along with the fairies and Vershnos is left along with the few fairies that didn't leave him. It wasn't all of his vitality. That part was coming later. The gem would slowly take away his vitality as time went on. He had been severely weakened by this, but it mattered not to him. He had given a child life that he didn't dream of having before. In Vershnos's eyes, this is how true strength should be used.

Thirty years had passed since Vershnos gave part of his vitality to the boy. Then one day the boy, now a man, came to visit the dragon, for he had a strange urge to do so. Once he was there, he said.

- Hello Vershnos, long time no see.

- Well, for me it hadn't been that long.

- Oh right. For dragons thirty years is nothing.

- Why are you here?

- I had a strange urge to come and see you again because I had a feeling that if I waited a little longer, I might not be able to see you again.

- Well, your feelings were right. I'm dying.

- Is it because of the gem you put in me?

- That is part of the reason.

- Then take it back.

- I refuse.

- Why?

- Because it won't delay my death that much anyways, yet it will make yours significantly longer.

- Then why are you dying?

- A wound that I received in one of my many battles made my time in this world limited compared to other dragons.

- Is there no way of healing you?

- I have the power to heal many things, but this wound is something even I can't heal.

- So you are just going to wait for your time.

- Hmmm…

- What is it?

- Perhaps I can give you something more.

- What else would I need from you? You gave me time that I didn't have, so isn't that good enough?

- I can give you my skills before I go.

- Your skills?

- Yes. The powers I wield. The techniques I learned. All of it.

- But why?

- It is something that all great masters should do. To pass on the legacy you have built. That is how civilizations grow.

- What will I do with that power?

- It is your path to choose. Be a protector of the innocent or be the destroyer of kingdoms. And when your time is done, give it to someone you trust. You still have a long way ahead of you. So you have time to choose your path. I would think that even though you are a human, you will be able to live as long as elves do.

- That's…

- Are you ready?

- I… *Breathes in and out* Yes.

- Then here we go.

Then an energy comes from Vershnos in a bright light and goes to the man's chest. The man feels a strong pain in his chest but he endures. When the light is gone and the energy stops flowing, Vershnos gives a small chuckle and says.

- Build a legacy you feel proud of. I know I have.

Then the dragon who had become the strongest and held himself high fell. As Vershnos's head hit the ground, the fairies wept and so did the man. Before the man left he said to the body of the dragon.

- Goodbye and thank you. I will make you proud.

And so the cave was sealed from the humanoids and the man started his journey anew. With the legacy of his savior in his heart, he saved many things and gave the clans of that area the teachings he had now learned.

In the afterlife, Vershnos would watch as the man continued his journey. He saw that once the man was satisfied with his deeds, he settled down and built a family. Giving the dragon's legacy to the one he trusted.

And many centuries later the dragon saw that his legacy was activated once more and it was used to end a war that was brewing. He watched with great interest as the man who was holding his legacy continued his journey with the one he loves. He was glad that it had found another wonderful host after some time of silence.

But how will that man use his powers? Will he be consumed by it or will he learn to find his inner peace? This was something the dragon watched with great interest with his fellow dragon lords.