Weaves of Ashes

Chapter 167: Chapter 162: When Kingdoms Burn

Location: Grand Assembly Hall - Dragon Palace (Dragon Domain, Upper Realm)

Time: Day 214 (Doha Actual) - Evening | Calendar: 5 Voidmarch, 9938 AZI

The Grand Assembly Hall was ancient.

Older than most dragons alive. Older than the current palace structures. Carved from a single piece of mountain when the first dragon kings ruled, when silver queens sang, and the Common Path thrummed with life.

Laolong stood at the center of the circular chamber, looking up at ascending rows of seats carved into living stone. Seven tiers. One for each major sect. Hundreds of dragons filling the space—bronze, red, green, gold, yellow, copper, and his own shadow dragons holding the lowest tier by tradition and choice.

Above him, the ceiling soared into darkness. Ancient runes glowed faint silver along the walls—remnants of enchantments placed by queens long dead. They’d dimmed over millennia, like everything else tied to queens, but they still held.

Barely.

Laolong’s golden eyes swept the assembly. Every elder present. Every sect leader. Representatives from bloodlines that barely numbered in double digits now. Ice dragons. Lightning dragons. Rock dragons. Desert dragons. All the dying breeds who’d been systematically suppressed by the five major sects.

And in the highest tier—the seats of judgment, traditionally reserved for silver queens—sat the three ancient elders.

Elder Shanshe. Bronze scales gleaming in the glowstone light. Amber eyes calculating. Massive even in humanoid form. Seventeen meters in his true shape, every centimeter inscribed with runes of dominance.

Elder Dalong. Smaller, leaner. Crimson scales like living flame. Golden eyes missing nothing. Strategic mind already planning three moves ahead.

Elder Caoya. Dark green scales edged with lighter emerald. Eyes shifting between colors. Patient. Dangerous. Poison hiding under beauty.

They knew what was coming.

Of course, they knew. They’d lived through Xueteng’s era. They remembered.

They just didn’t think Laolong would actually do it.

Watch me, Laolong thought grimly.

***

”Thank you all for attending,” Laolong began. His voice carried perfectly in the chamber’s acoustics—another queen-made enchantment that still functioned. ”I know this summons was sudden. I appreciate your swift response.”

Murmurs rippled through the tiers. Confusion. Curiosity. Some suspicion from the ancient elders’ loyalists.

”I have called this assembly to address a matter that has poisoned our realm for ten thousand years,” Laolong continued. ”A lie so fundamental that it’s become an accepted truth. A crime so massive that revealing it will shake everything we think we know.”

Silence now. Absolute. Focused.

Laolong met Shanshe’s amber eyes. Saw the warning there. Threat.

He smiled.

”I’m going to tell you what really happened to Queen Xueteng,” Laolong said quietly. ”And why our entire race is dying because of it.”

***

Shanshe stood immediately. ”My lord, surely this is not—”

”Sit down, Elder Shanshe,” Laolong commanded. Power flooding his voice. Not requesting. Ordering. ”You will have your chance to respond. After I’m finished.”

Shanshe’s amber eyes blazed with fury. But he sat.

Good. Let him simmer. Let him realize control was slipping.

”Ten thousand years ago,” Laolong began, ”Queen Xueteng inherited power at age fifty. Too young. Inexperienced. Grief-stricken from losing her mother during the third Zartonesh war.”

He paused. Let that sink in.

”The official story says she was kidnapped by black dragons. That she died in a rescue attempt gone wrong. That her death was tragic but natural—result of war and chaos.”

Nods rippled through the assembly. Yes. This was what everyone knew. What everyone believed.

”That story is a lie,” Laolong said flatly.

Shock. Gasps. Denial starting to form on younger dragons’ faces.

”The truth is this,” Laolong continued. Voice hard as steel. ”Queen Xueteng was imprisoned by the dragon elders. Kept in the royal quarters under guard. Forced to create queens for sect after sect. Bronze dragons demanded one. Then red dragons. Then green, gold, yellow, copper—”

His voice rose. ”They lined up. One by one. Each sect demanding. And the elders made her bleed herself dry, creating queens for bloodlines not her own.”

”Lies!” Elder Dalong shouted. Standing now. ”How dare you—”

”I have witnesses,” Laolong said coldly. ”Shadow dragons who served during that era. Dragons who watched it happen. Dragons who tried to intervene while YOU—” He pointed at Dalong. ”—convinced them to wait. To negotiate. To be political while a young queen suffered.”

Dalong’s golden eyes narrowed. But he didn’t deny it.

”Laolong, you don’t understand what you’re—” Elder Caoya started.

”Oh, I understand perfectly,” Laolong interrupted. ”I understand that when young shadow dragons tried to rescue Xueteng, when they succeeded in getting her away, your hunting parties track them down.”

He turned to address the entire assembly.

”Queen Xueteng escaped. With Juteng, the black dragon heir who loved her. They fled to the human realm. Lived in hiding for nearly a century. And they were happy.”

His voice dropped. Became softer. More deadly.

”Until the elders found them.”

***

Silence like a held breath.

”The official story says Juteng tried to force himself on Xueteng,” Laolong said. ”That she blew her Crucible Core to escape assault. That Juteng was the villain.”

He paused. Let tension build.

”The truth—confirmed by the one black dragon witness who survived—is very different.”

Laolong’s golden eyes blazed.

”The elders found Xueteng and Juteng. Demanded she return. She refused. Threatened to reveal every crime they’d committed if they forced her.”

Gasps now. Real shock spreading through younger dragons who’d never heard this version.

”So the elders left,” Laolong continued. ”And days later, Juteng went missing.”

His voice hardened to ice.

”Queen Xueteng found him captured by a human mage. Enslaved through contract magic. And standing with that mage were the elders of multiple dragon sects.”

Uproar.

Absolute chaos erupting through the assembly hall.

”IMPOSSIBLE!” someone shouted.

”Dragons don’t collude with humans!”

”He’s lying to undermine—”

”SILENCE!” Laolong roared. Essence signature exploding outward. Crushing pressure that forced every dragon back into their seats.

When quiet returned, he continued.

”The elders used a human mage to enslave Juteng,” Laolong repeated. ”Promised Xueteng they’d release him if she returned and continued creating queens. She didn’t believe them. Knew they’d keep both of them enslaved. Keep using them. Keep taking until there was nothing left.”

His voice broke slightly. ”So she chose death. Blew her Crucible Core. Killed herself, Juteng, and several elders who’d been standing too close.”

Silence. Horrified. Complete.

”The black dragon witness who reported this was tried for treason,” Laolong said bitterly. ”Found guilty. Executed. Because the dragon realm refused to believe that the elders would collude with humans. Would enslave one of their own. Would destroy a queen rather than lose control of her.”

He met the ancient elders’ eyes one by one.

”But three dragons in this chamber know the truth,” Laolong said quietly. ”Because they were there. They remember. They KNEW what they were doing.”

Elder Shanshe stood slowly. Deliberately. His massive form radiating killing intent.

”You have no proof,” he said. Voice dangerously calm. ”Ancient accusations from dead witnesses. Hearsay. Speculation designed to undermine legitimate authority.”

”I have testimony from shadow dragons who served during that era,” Laolong countered. ”Dragons still alive. Dragons willing to speak under truth oath.”

”Shadow dragon testimony!” Shanshe scoffed. ”Everyone knows your sect is desperate to consolidate power. This is political maneuvering, nothing more.”

Murmurs of agreement from bronze dragon loyalists.

Laolong smiled. Cold. Vicious.

”Then let’s discuss what happened AFTER Xueteng’s death,” he said. ”Let’s talk about the other silver queens.”

Confusion rippling through the assembly. Other silver queens?

”When Xueteng died, there were an estimated three to five other silver queens alive,” Laolong said. ”Adult queens. Capable of maintaining the Common Path. Capable of creating sect queens. Capable of restoring what was lost.”

He paused. Let that sink in.

”Within fifty years, all of them were dead.”

Shock. Absolute shock.

”Claimed to be natural deaths,” Laolong continued. ”Old age. Illness. Accidents. But five silver queens dying within fifty years? When they should have lived for tens of thousands more?”

His voice dropped to a deadly whisper that somehow carried to every corner of the hall.

”They were hunted. Systematically. Eliminated. Because the elders realized silver queens were too dangerous to control. Too powerful. Too likely to unite dragons against elder rule.”

”LIES!” Dalong shouted. ”Where is your proof of this genocide!”

”The proof is sitting in your seats,” Laolong said coldly. ”You three ancient elders are the only dragons alive who remember when multiple silver queens existed. Who remember the Common Path functioning. Who remember what our race was before it all broke.”

He let that hang.

”And you chose to break it. Deliberately. For power.”

***

Elder Caoya stood now. His voice honey-smooth despite the venom underneath.

”Even if we accept your... creative interpretation of history,” he said carefully, ”what do you propose we do about it? Xueteng is dead. The silver queens are dead. The past is past. We must focus on—”

”The past isn’t past when you’re still perpetuating it,” Laolong interrupted.

He turned to address the entire assembly.

”Let me tell you what you don’t know about the queens ruling your sects right now.”

Oh, this was going to hurt.

”The bronze dragon queen. The red dragon queen. The green dragon queen. The gold, yellow, copper queens. Every single one of them.”

Laolong’s voice rang with contempt.

”They’re false.”

Pandemonium.

”Artificial creations,” Laolong continued over the chaos. ”Dragons twisted through forbidden rituals to mimic queens. Abominations wearing queens’ shapes. This is why your eggs fail. Why fertility collapses. Why wyrmlings die. Why our entire race is dying.”

He pointed at the ancient elders.

”THEY created false queens after murdering the real ones. Convinced you these creatures were legitimate. And we’ve been dying slowly ever since because false queens actively make the problem worse!”

”How dare you!” Elder Shanshe roared. ”The bronze dragon queen is—”

”A broken, unstable creature whose presence makes dragons uncomfortable!” Laolong shouted back. ”Have you ever actually stood near her? Really paid attention to how wrong she feels?”

Silence. Uncomfortable silence.

Because everyone HAD noticed. They just never admitted it.

”Real sect queens exist,” Laolong said. ”Unawakened. Born with queen bloodlines but unable to access their power without a silver queen to perform the awakening ritual. They’re hidden among you right now. Waiting. Suffering. Knowing they’re supposed to be more, but unable to reach it.”

His voice softened. ”And real silver queens can return. Will return. Are returning.”

***

”What does that mean?” someone from the ice dragon section asked. Young voice. Confused. Desperate.

Laolong met his eyes. ”It means we have a chance. One chance. To restore what was lost. To fix what the ancient elders broke. To save our dying race.”

He turned back to the three ancient elders.

”But first, we have to acknowledge the truth. All of it. The enslavement. The murders. The genocide. The lies. The false queens. Everything.”

”And then,” Laolong continued softly, ”we have to decide. Do we repeat history? Do we let the same elders who destroyed us continue ruling? Do we risk the same fate for any silver queen who returns?”

He let silence build.

”Or do we do something different this time?”

***

Elder Shanshe’s amber eyes blazed with barely controlled rage.

”You’re tearing our realm apart,” he said quietly. Dangerously. ”Creating division. Undermining authority. All based on unproven accusations and political ambition.”

”I’m revealing the truth,” Laolong countered. ”Something you’ve suppressed for ten thousand years.”

”Truth!” Shanshe laughed bitterly. ”Your ’truth’ will cause civil war. Sects will turn on each other. The realm will fracture. Is that what you want?”

”I want dragons to know what was stolen from them,” Laolong said. ”I want them to understand why we’re dying. I want them to choose their own future instead of living in a lie.”

He addressed the assembly again.

”The Common Path once connected all dragons. You could speak to any dragon, any sect, across any distance. Feel their joy, their pain, their triumphs. We were unified. One people despite our differences.”

His voice carried the weight of ancient loss.

”Sect Paths coordinated individual bloodlines. Let sect queens guide their people. Created bonds that made sects families instead of political factions.”

Longing rippling through dragons who’d never experienced this. Who’d only heard myths.

”The elders took that from us,” Laolong said. ”Deliberately. Knowingly. And they’d do it again to any silver queen who returned if we let them.”

He met Shanshe’s eyes.

”So yes. Maybe this causes civil war. Maybe the realm fractures. Maybe everything burns.”

His golden eyes blazed.

”Better that than letting you do to another queen what you did to Xueteng.”

***

Chaos erupted.

Dragons shouting. Some supporting Laolong. Some denying everything. Some demanding proof. Some calling for the ancient elders’ removal. Some defending them.

The assembly dissolved into shouting matches. Threats. Accusations flying like weapons.

And in the center of it all, Laolong stood calm.

This was necessary. Painful but necessary.

The lie had to burn before truth could take root.

The realm had to fracture before it could rebuild.

Dragons had to choose: repeat history or create something new.

Above him, the ancient enchantments flickered. Silver runes pulsing like dying heartbeats.

Waiting.

Hoping.

For the queens to return and make them sing again.

Laolong caught his father’s eye across the chaos. Lanhuo nodded once. Approving.

Then caught Yulong’s gaze. His wife. His queen. Unawakened sect queen who’d sent their children hunting for her own salvation.

She nodded too. Fierce. Determined.

Go, she mouthed. While they’re distracted.

Right.

Laolong had dropped the truth bomb. Revealed the crimes. Shattered the lies.

Now his children needed to leave. Before the ancient elders realized that shadow dragons weren’t just revealing the truth.

They were hunting.

For the last silver queen alive.

For the salvation of their dying race.

And this chaos—this political explosion—would give them exactly the cover they needed to disappear before anyone noticed.

May the gods protect them.

May they find her.

May they bring her home alive.

Before the ancient elders realized what shadow dragons were really doing and sent their own hunting parties after the prize.

The war had begun.

Not with swords, but with truth.

And truth, wielded properly, burned kingdoms to ash.