Michael stood still for a few moments, feeling the full attention of the gods turn to him as soon as he heard the dragon’s request. It had been some time since it had been so totally focused on him, and he could feel the accumulated power they’d gained as their worshippers had grown. What had felt like a shaft of bright light breaking through clouds was now a blazing sun shining on him. His body began to respond, with a gold glow appearing across him outputting small plumes of smite across his skin and through his armor.The dragon noticed the change and nodded. “There… now you are truly in a position to negotiate.”~Have you not taken enough already, Parthax? ~The voice was Estaid’s, stern and feminine, but it emerged from Michael’s mouth. He didn’t fight the sensation, if the gods wished to negotiate directly he was fine with being their vessel. This particular bargain seemed to be above his pay grade anyway.The dragon shook his head.“The scraps I take from my worshippers are sustaining. They give me a longer life and allow me to keep my fatal wounds from reopening, but they can not truly heal. Besides, if I want to truly benefit from worship in the way you do, I need more.”~And you wish to compete with us directly? Not even the aelven overmind or the gods of the dwarves are so greedy. What will you do with such power? Before we intervened your kind burned whole villages and ate all they desired without limit~This time the voice was Seras’s and with it came flashes in his mind of humanity’s struggles from before the time of titles and deeds. Goblin raids, aelven slavers, and Troll incursions all paled before the fear in humanity’s heart when a dragon appeared. He saw men in crowns appearing and fighting the dragons, whole groups of titled knights dedicated to slaying them, and powerful titled weapons being used against them.The rumbling sound Michael heard before from the dragon's throat began to start (...)