Challenge #03663-J010: The Hardest Lesson
"You have everything. Wealth, houses, tons of food, staff to satisfy your every whim. Yet, you say you feel empty inside. Lonely, and unfulfilled. How about try... sharing your wealth, and gaining a type of wealth no money could ever buy?" -- Anon Guest
Not every Dragon is born with scales and wings. Many are born in Human bodies, and live like their fellows. Save for one difference - they have it all, and they want more.
Witness the young Emperor Ymmus, ruler of many lands. They have had everything they could possibly want since they could speak their wants. Like many child emperors, life has been wonderful. It has also been very empty. Gold and glitter, yes. The best and most expensive foods, also. The finest and most expensive clothes.
Everything was splendid, it was overloaded with splendour. Everything was fantastic, it was an artifice of fantasy. Everything was wanted, and the Emperor Ymmus wanted more, more, more...
A hoard of gold was not enough. A room of gemstones was not enough. Silk clothing was insufficient. The young Emperor fell into melancholy, and no entertainer could cheer their mood.
So they sent for the wisest creature in the world. An immortal Wizard who knew so many things that libraries were dedicated to hir adventures. When ze turned up with a cat on hir shoulders and a Kobold by hir side, the advisors had to wonder if they had the right person.
The Emperor was delighted at the appearance of both cat and Kobold.
"Oh what wonderful toys," the boy cooed. "What tricks do they do? Tell me! Tell me!"
"They are their own creatures and go where they will," said Wraithvine. "The cat is not mine, I am the cat's[1]. As for my friend Gikka... She is also her own being and will go where she wants. Neither of them are toys, and you should never treat creatures as things."
Nobody had ever told the young Emperor 'no' before. His brow creased at the unfamiliar experience. "You're the immortal who makes things better, is that why they follow you?"
"They follow because they choose to. They listen because I ask nicely. That is the way of kindness."
"I want to hold that cat," announced Ymmus. "What must I do?"
"You must sit and be peaceful and patient. You must be kind when she approaches. And if you try to grab her against her will, she will bite and scratch. Cats don't care about your rank. To them, you are merely a warm place to rest that may have food to gift them."
It was the first of many lessons, but the hardest one was in answer to, "Why am I always bored with everything?"
"Because you have everything. Try gifting something you have to someone who needs it. You may feel better from the action."
Emperor Ymmus stamped their foot and grew red in the face. "But it's mine! I get to keep it, it's mine!"
"Do you like it?" asked Gikka. "Do you really want it?"
The Emperor would be a long time thinking about how to answer.
[1] Cat owners will agree about this.
[Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash]
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Something tells me that empire will be in MUCH better hands after that young child-emperor has had a few years of training and education under Wraithvine's tutelage.
Much, much, MUCH better
Glad he's a patient teacher. Kid's got a lot of UN-Learning, I see, to do. And likely a lot of ministers and "nobles" will likely need an education on "how to raise a GOOD ruler" rather than how to raise a spoiled one.