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It had been quite some time since Shira had dared to even walk into the domain of the tyrant, let alone attempted to enter the castle. Shi occasionally, longingly looked from afar but hadn't actually walked to his lands in some time. However, shi had heard that the once great ruler - revered by all who had the pleasure of seeing him - was quickly losing control of his territory. The once great highways, packed with merchants and travelers, were already reduced to little more than dirt paths that would be nearly impassible with a cart. Guards, once plentiful, were simply nowhere to be seen. Even the creatures in the fading trees seemed to be quieted by the isolation, as only a single bird chirped in the solitude.

As the morning sun crept over the treeline the wear and damage became even more apparent. The withering trees showed signs of clawing that could have only come from an enraged dragon. Large footprints occasionally crossed the walkway, seeming to have randomly flattened a caravan here or a thief there, with no regard for life or any sense of mercy. No other signs of civilization were visible at all until the castle came into view, set in a clearing that the forest was slowly beginning to reclaim. Ivy and moss had begun to grow upon the once-immaculate walls; cracks spidered through the stone. Shira felt shi had to make hir way carefully through the clearing - shi had been unwelcome by the king for some time - but the assassin-like movements were almost entirely unnecessary. When shi stopped to look, there were no guards manning the ramparts. The drawbridge around the moat had been broken; the chains had snapped off near the top of the wall, clearly destroyed by a creature larger than most.

From within the walls of the castle, things became even more eerie. There were finally signs of life but they were barely living. A fox plodded along, clad in a heavy robe and collar that made even walking a challenge. His gaze never left the ground; he didn't notice the shimmering scales of the uninvited guest and Shira wondered if he would even dare to speak if shi were spotted. He made his way to a decaying wooden building and pulled open the hollow door; Shira was uncertain if the creaking came from the fox or the old materials. He walked inside, letting that door slowly close behind him.

Making hir way further into the walled town, other signs of decay had set in. The door to a grain silo had been ripped off, revealing that there were scarcely a few bags worth of food left for the residents. A pen for livestock was completely empty; cobwebs had already begun to form on the long unused shepherd's crook and the gate animals once walked through. A street that surely once bustled with merchants had just two people manning sparsely-appointed stalls. Their works were twisted by their desperation to simply survive, to be anywhere or do anything more than this. Yet here they sat, as if they'd resigned themselves to their fate, their caste, to treat their very lives as penance for the crime of being unfortunate enough to give tribute to the king.

Suddenly, a roar shook the very ground, followed by a violent *crack* that could have been easily mistaken for thunder at close range. Shira moved along quickly, ignoring the broken doors and collapsing walls, until shi reached the entrance of the palace itself. Even this had fared poorly with the ravages of time and neglect. Nobody had bothered to maintain the statues of dragons that loomed by the entrance, towering over those that dared to approach the king's residence. Their scales hadn't been polished in ages; their claws were dulled and cracked. The wrought iron doors were dented from abuse, attacked both inside and outside, and no longer closed from their abuse. The drake made hir way inside, pulling forth a small torch and lighting it to make hir way forward.

Even the inside of the castle was not spared the damage caused by neglect. Shira remembered this place well and, despite the way in which shi was exiled, hir heart sank as shi saw how poorly the place shi once called Sanctuary was maintained. Once vibrant tapestries had faded to little more than tattered rags. The opulent sculptures of gold had tarnished and no longer glistened with the glory their master demanded. Hallway after hallway was empty; the servants, once myriad, were simply nowhere to be found. Shira recalled that shi, too, once was among their number, yet the room shi once occupied was empty, with its furnishings smashed to mere splinters by some untold yet violent force. Another roar echoed through the building, shaking Shira to the core; shi knew where shi was and that the king's chambers were close.

Despite what shi had already seen, Shira used the utmost caution in moving forward. Shi was not welcome here. Part of hir knew shi would never be welcome here again. Hir punishment for being caught would be hard to contemplate, though; the king seemed intent on not giving hir the chance to atone last time. One moment shi found hirself pleading with the king; the next shi was simply far, far away, banished from his presence. Shi pushed those thoughts from hir mind and walked to the wooden door. Shi took a moment to calm hir nerves by taking several deep breaths. The door itself was deeply gouged both high and low by dragon claws; the mahogany hadn't been polished in ages. A knothole had been worn open, giving the drake a convenient opening to peer in without risking being caught.

And then... shi saw him.

The king seemed to have lost his mind, given his wild, haggard appearance. Now that he no longer had foreign dignitaries to entertain, thanks to his wild temper, he had clearly placed less emphasis on maintaining his appearance. His claws were still as vicious as ever, judging from the deep cuts in the plush carpeting and the armrest of his throne. Apparently, the roaring was due to his displeasure with yet another servant. It looked all too familiar to the drake; shi barely needed to speculate as to what happened. The smaller one likely dared to speak something the king did not want to hear - or perhaps simply spoke at all - and now was cowering in the shadow of the tyrant as he rose from his seat.

"Know... your... PLACE!" he roared once again, before simply kicking the servant across the room, nearly through the door behind which Shira cowered. Those words sent chills through the dragoness; shi had been told the very same thing before shi had been sent away from this place for once and for all. This servant may be less fortunate, given the trickle of blood that flowed from the fresh wounds in his side. The king rose up, his appearance dull from the lack of maintenance, and walked closer to the creature slowly trying to get to all fours. Every step made the ground shake; he deliberately stomped his way across the room until his shadow overtook the quivering form of his once-loyal servant. He paused again, contemplating his next move, before simply kicking his broken plaything once again.

Shira quickly scampered back, watching the battered form crash through the doors and land in a heap against the wall. The king snarled in rage and quickly slammed the doors shut again, making his way back to the throne while ignoring a servant that had simply done the wrong thing at the wrong time. Some things never changed, it seemed... the servant likely was just asking for a little more, be it a bit of food, a mere acknowledgement of work done, or a brief moment of the king's attention, but the king never seemed to want to hear any of it. "Know your place" was his command, and that place seemed to be to be silent and abused however he wanted, when he wanted, and to simply suffer in silence if one was displeased with their fate.

A chill ran through Shira as shi looked over at the creature lying on the ground. This is what shi once wanted. This is what a part of hir still wanted. The chance to serve a king, despite his flaws or perhaps even because of them. Shi wanted to be given the chance to be used and abused, to serve, to provide what little shi could to try appease a larger dragon in the hope of getting some small enjoyment for hirself out of it. But as shi once again saw the creature trying to crawl away, calling out for help from another servant in the hope of surviving, shi knew that it was something shi could never have. Not just because shi knew it would kill hir but because shi could never truly give hirself up for such a thing. Shi longed to watch it, perhaps even participate as the victim occasionally, but shi knew shi could never truly dedicate hirself to serve someone - even a dragongod - who could not recognize the value of even the most dedicated servants.

Part of Shira wanted to go over and help the servant. Shi could treat his wounds or help him escape but shi knew that it wouldn't change anything. The few that were still loyal to this twisted tyrant would need to make their own decisions and to escape while they still could. For some it was already too late; their minds had been warped into accepting whatever the king demanded of them, on his terms, and didn't dare speak except to tell the self-proclaimed dragongod what he wanted to hear. They were already broken, mentally. Those that were not were broken, physically, with the expectation they would comply anyway. If they still wouldn't bow down they were simply disposed of, cast out, never given the chance to please the king in any other way again. Shira was one of those exiles. Shi knew now that this was perhaps the greatest gift this so-called god ever gave to hir.

Swiftly, Shira turned to leave. Shi didn't look back. As shi made hir way through the front door of the palace once more shi heard another loud, rumbling bellow from within, causing a wall to crumble. Even the palace could not withstand the ravages of an insane dragon, Shira thought solemnly. Why could any servant ever hope to fare better? The king was going to simply frighten away everyone who would dare offer themselves to him and be left with nothing more than the crumbling remains of a kingdom, desecrated by his own rage, with nothing to entice visitors to his domain. With a heavy sigh, Shira thanked the heavens for the burden of being exiled to make hir own way in the world, took to the sky, and left the kingdom behind hir once more.