In this extended slumber, months whisked by unnoticed, and Caesar had yet to show signs of awakening. Meanwhile, tremendous changes rippled across the Red Dragon's domain. The dormant volcano warmed unusually, fertilizing the barren land with a bounty of magical fire flora, which beckoned the dainty Flower Sprites from the neighboring forest to relocate some of their kind.
Within the dragon's inhabited lands, all living beings, be it fauna or flora, felt the vast influences, allowing even the magical plants in this sweltering climate to flourish impressively. Touched by the dragon's essence, these plants could grant human spellcasters the means to concoct potent dragonblood potions, occasionally bestowing upon the bearer a trace of draconic bloodline and the power that came with it.
Caesar's followers reaped significant benefits from the war with humanity. With no need to fret over food scarcity, their breeding thrived unchecked. A hearty batch of new offspring emerged, many infused with draconic essence. While not all survived the cradle, those who did were reborn as potent Dragonblood creatures – notably, Cyrion's Jackalman pack gained a dozen of such kin.
Gnolls and Trolls followed suit, though their transformations, natural and unsupervised by Caesar, lacked the latent potential of those he personally imbued.
As for the Fire Lizards and newly pledged Griffin Knights, mutations, natural yet arduous, claimed the weak and elevated the survivors as new draconic vassals. It seemed Caesar's draconic infusions wielded a formidable potency far surpassing that of his kin. Those who survived his fiery test found their odds of embracing a draconic existence markedly improved.
Cyrion, shrewd as he was, capitalized on human desires. He had dispatched scouts to proclaim the mighty Red Dragon's dominion, titles like the 'Wing of the Apocalypse' and 'Emperor of the Crimson Scourge' thundered through human lands. As Caesar's acclaim spread across the Emerald Continent, Jackalmen mercenaries flocked back to the Karl Mountains, vowing fealty to the formidable Red Dragon.
A dragon's notoriety often sprouted from their misdeeds, their titles woven from themes like 'Scarlet Calamity' or 'Ashen Wings.' However, Caesar's monikers, specifically 'Emperor of the Red Dragons,' stood as bold and self-bestowed, a move reserved only for the audacious – and one that might earn the ire or admiration of elder drakes far mightier than he.
The demise of a high-ranking Griffin Knight rattled the pillars of the Silvermoon Kingdom and even stirred neighboring City of Order. Such an eight-ring luminary of the Paladin Order extinguishing amidst the shade of the Karl Mountains set a foreboding precedent no noble could ignore.
In the aftermath, Duke Cassius withheld his forces, knowing not the true strength of this malicious Red Dragon. A vengeful immortality was more dangerous than any fiery onslaught, leaving Cassius to simmer in restive caution.
Despite his losses, Duke Cassius remained cunning – the realm was his noose, and he tightened it not on the dragon but on the nobles who opposed his illegitimate reign.
As sacrifices for unholy rituals continued in the shadows, it became evident that Duke Cassius, now a puppet to devilish whispers, was far from acquiescent...