3.

 

 

“Master Kin, it worked. The potential Dragon took the flyer. I saw him!”

“I knew it would work. Did you ever doubt me?”

Kin’s yellowed eyes glowed eerily in the dim light of the tunnel as he observed his minion, a young, eager boy from the Jornel species. They made for great underlings and several had jumped on the bandwagon during the recruitment phase. The teachings of Chaos were highly persuasive as it was but having an actual concrete goal to focus on was truly inspirational and seemed to be exactly what the Jornel had been hoping for.

So, it was little wonder that when Kin had settled on the Jornel’s planet in search of followers, he had ended up with more than he knew what to do with. Nearly thirty of them had accompanied him to Earth, which was far more than his ship should have been able to accommodate. Fortunately, the little men were half the size of Kin’s own species, the Graven, who had ousted him long ago as a heretic who could not abide by their laws and government. They would have had him executed, but they had already signed a pact with the planet Fiora that execution was too cruel a form of punishment and nobody would be subjected to that.

Banishment was instead chosen as the preferred choice, and Kin had been banished many centuries ago and had been plotting his revenge for all that time. It was fortunate that he had come upon the teachings of Chaos, for it strengthened his convictions and gave him a sure way toward achieving his goals. It was a boost of power; a community. A way to truly begin to wreak havoc among the petty do-gooders of the universe in a way that could make the time put into his vengeance worthwhile. 

“No, of course not, Master,” the Jornel said eagerly. “Why would I ever doubt you? Your wisdom is all powerful. I have witnessed that for myself time and time again. You are the only being I trust in this world.”

“As I should be,” Kin replied, pleased to hear that his lackey was as devoted now as he had been in the beginning. “Now, you know what to do. Once we lure the potential dragons to the club, we will start to track them. They will inevitably lead us back to the sacred artifacts that Chaos has ordained for us to retrieve. Only then will we be able to secure his place among the petty efforts of the shifter people to create a universe united in peace.”

“How can anything exciting ever happen if all the world knows is harmony? There are too many conflicting beliefs and needs in the universe for anyone to be truly happy.” The Jornel was citing the obvious to receive points from his master, but Kin was willing to play the game with him to keep him happy. Anything that would allow him to stay on the hook was a good thing as far as Kin was concerned. It was important that they remained excited about serving him. If he had to drop a few crumbs for them here and there, so be it.

“Absolutely correct,” Kin replied. “We have to keep that from spreading before it’s too late. If that happens, then all we hold dear will cease to exist. There will be no individuality anymore. We will have no identities. All we will be is carbon copies of each other, treating one another the exact same way.”

“Identities eroded, nothing left to work toward,” the Jorgen agreed. “It is a true hell.”

“We will put an end to the mere possibility. With Chaos as reigning leader, there will be no more chance for the aggravating positivity to create such a dull world. We will destroy the universe before that happens and make sure that when we die, we do so as individuals with the freedom to make our own choices!”

“Yes, Master Kin. That is true happiness.”

“People think they want peace,” Kin murmured, scowling off into the distance. “But what they really want is an excuse to feel special. They want to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves. It is actually very selfish. Why would they choose to destroy everything that is good about existence for their own purposes?”

“I truly don’t understand,” the underling said, shaking his head sadly. “Chaos makes far more sense. We do not have to try so hard for an end that does not serve everybody. At least if we are able to disrupt this negative outcome from happening, we will be spared countless years of torture and die with our pride still intact.”

“That’s what it’s all about,” Master Kin said. He gave an approving nod to his minion and then took a deep breath. “Now, I’m going to need you to undertake the greatest task today. I want you to be able to show me exactly where everybody who took the flyer lives. I know you were able to put a tracking spell on each paper. That is the first step in locating the Dragon born shifters and the potential descendants. We have to prevent any more Golden Children from being born. They are the anti-Chaos. We need to keep the Sun Dragons and the Loni descendants apart so they are not able to procreate. You know the child of such a union is a direct threat to our mission.”

“Yes, sir. Let’s do that right now. I have the first person’s location already mapped out.”

“Great,” Master Kin said, very pleased with himself for the foresight of utilizing the Jornel people for his task of stopping the Dragon shifters before they were able to achieve their aggravating idyllic goals. They were small and not very warrior-like, but they were exceptionally organized and made for brilliant strategists. Kin’s own people were powerful and densely muscled, made for war and spilling blood. That was why it was so hard for Kin to fathom how they had come to enter a peace treaty with the people of the planet Fiora. It made no sense to him.

“It may take some time, so if you have other things you would like to do with your day…”

“No,” Kin interrupted quickly. “That’s exactly how I was hoping to spend the afternoon. Come. We will go back to the base to retrieve some supplies and then locate each paper. In the name of Chaos, we will stop these good for nothing Dragon shifters once and for all, before it is too late.”

The Jornel nodded dutifully and soon, they were off, Master Kin leading the way back to the lair, where the other Jornel were hard at work in plotting the eventual downfall of the entire shifter species. Secretly, Kin’s war was a selfish one, waged against the people he perceived responsible for ousting him from his home planet. He would have preferred to die over exile of this sort, and he was going to make sure that the Dragon shifters suffered, if it was the last thing he ever did.