Once upon a time, there lived a girl from a village with spotless opal skin and raven hair soft as silk running along the riverside in search of a drink. That was until she came upon the most magnificent creature sipping among the clearest lake water she had ever seen. Its body was longer than any snake or bug she had ever seen, yet it exerted a nobility like that of a royal steed. Its white scales ran along its body in near-perfect symmetry, complementing its horns that emitted a dazzling glow before completing its look with the most captivating sunset eyes.

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After noticing her, its perky nose and slitted pupils studied her with profound curiosity before halting and transforming into the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen. It wasn’t long before the two fell in love and had a child, one more beautiful than both the girl and dragon combined. His skin, in conjunction with his sunset eyes, amassed into an unexplainable radiance that shed tears if anyone were to look away from him. The boy was named Oriana. 

 

One day, a witch disguised as a common resident was traveling through the village, looking for livers to put in her next potion. Just as she was about to pick her first victim, she noticed a golden glow emanating from the window of a house. When she looked inside, she found the young Oriana lying in peaceful slumber. The witch's heart melted with affection, causing her warts to fade, voice to soften, face to smooth, and heart to grow a thousand times. At that moment, the now beautiful woman ran throughout the village and spread her joy. 

 

News spread quickly, faster than any plague or fire anyone had ever seen, causing royals, nobles, and peasants alike to flock to the town, bringing gifts of spices, incense, and other precious materials just to get a glance at the child. Years passed, people came, and on one olive-scented sunny day, Oriana lost his mother to a fatal disease. Stricken with unfathomable grief, the celestial dragon abandoned his life on Earth and ascended into the heavens. Yet Oriana didn’t care as he had become tremendously prideful. He became possessive of his miraculous good looks and began wearing an inky veil over his face to hide it from anyone who wanted to see him. Soon, he demanded payment, a day's worth of income for five seconds of his presence, or anything that equated to that. As more years passed, Oriana became so wealthy, luxurious goods that would cause common eyes to faint seemed like utter waste to him. Well, that is except one thing. He loved gold. It shined brilliantly, reflecting his luscious, good looks in ways he thought more magnificent than he. It captivated him. Soon, Oriana usurped the income rule and started to demand exclusively gold. Yet in those times, fewer and fewer visitors seemed to appear at his doorstep with each passing day.  

 

“Hm, it must be because the peasants don’t have any gold to give me,” he thought to himself.

Of course, there should have been an obvious conclusion as to what caused this predicament, as large, ugly red stains started to grow on the boy’s body. His celestial dragon scales, which were once invisible and painted him in glorious light, were starting to bleed from being tainted with hubris. Yet Oriana paid no mind, and with each passing day he received fewer and fewer visitors until eventually they were no more. 

 

“These fools must be getting jealous of me and my gold. No matter, I won’t fall for their petty acts.”

Oriana never faltered in that respect, for even after the village returned to dust, he never moved from his giant pile of gold. Eventually, his words became so bitter and unable to change that they dissolved into poison and fire so that he could no longer speak. Some say that if you stood on the ground where the old capital used to stand, you could hear the sound of wailing from beyond the southern hills. 

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