Our Beautiful King

Or...

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN SAURUS I: OUR DEARLY BELOVED REPTILIAN KING, SCIENTIST, AND VISIONARY

Volume I: I stand atop the plateau and let my voice ring across the grasslands, the citizens basking in my glory (Thus spoke Saurus)

Book I: And so, King of Triceratops, I bid ye farewell…

Chapter I: The Awakening

Saurus, as he would come to call himself, awoke from the most frightening dream in the middle of the night. In this nightmare to rule all nightmares, he saw—through clouded vision—several blue, squid-like things bathing him in their tentacles. He could feel the cold touch of various metallic tools probing his scales, and he could smell the musky odor of the liquids being poured upon him. This experience was so unusual, and so irrationally frightening, that it could not be real… but yet, it seemed foolish to deny its significance for those very reasons. Unwilling to slumber further, Saurus rose to his feet, and began to observe the ecosystem that surrounded him.

Despite having roamed these grasslands and forests throughout his entire life, something seemed different. He wasn’t quite sure as to what was off about his current surroundings; he felt, despite having several memories of his life in these lands, as if he had awoken and examined these lands for the first time: as a newborn would right after breaking free from its eggshell. And just then, Saurus began to do something that he never did before: he slid in to a deep, deep state of thought.

“How could this be? Everything seems so clear… so significant. This must be due to that green light… that mysterious, shining, green light…” he discussed with himself silently. After a few minutes steeped in silent thought, a sudden realization donned upon Saurus. He began to move swiftly, with a sense of purpose. “Yes, I see now… it is coming to me. That was not a dream! Those beings, for whatever reason, gave me the gift of knowledge. They implanted it within me; thousands of years of information! It’s all coming to me so fast… but how could I make use of it, in this primitive world?” Saurus spoke to himself.

As he continued to move ever more briskly, he noticed a peculiar site in the distance. It was a smaller—and apparently far younger—member of his species, angrily roaring at a Triceratops. “…hmm. Maybe I could somehow win the trust of my dim-witted brethren… I may be infinitely more intelligent than any other organism currently living upon this backwards planet, but it may not be all bad. Opportunity awaits…” he said to himself as he quickly approached the dueling dinosaurs.

The dinosaurs, locked in their confrontation, did not notice Saurus approaching at first. However, as the vibrations upon the ground grew ever more powerful, the dinosaurs noticed that something was approaching. As soon as it saw him, the dueling T. rex roared at Saurus with a tone of utmost anger. Normally, Saurus would have mindlessly replied to this with a similar roar, but something was different. Somehow, he could tell exactly what this dinosaur was trying to convey…

“WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE? THIS MY FIGHT. I KILL POINTY-HEAD, I GET MATE. MATE MATE.” the beast seemed to say. Saurus, who for some reason found this amusing, replied in a soft growl, which he intended to mean, “Stand back, comrade. I am a friend; my name is Maximilian Saurus, and I am here to help. I understand that if you kill this Triceratops, you will be respected and have a higher chance of finding a mate. But know this: if you accept me as your king, I will destroy all Triceratops and make it so that you could have as many mates as you wish.”

The smaller, younger T. rex stood silent for a moment. However, once he noticed that the Triceratops was beginning to flee, he responded to Saurus with a hasty growl, seemingly meaning, “RIGHT RIGHT, YOU BOSS DINO, I GET MATE MATE. LET’S KILL POINTY-HEAD.” Saurus nodded, and the two quickly caught up to the fleeing Triceratops.

The younger T. rex lunged for the legs of the Triceratops, while Saurus rammed the beast in the side. Stunned, the Triceratops fell over, helpless, as the two beasts began to feast upon its form. Saurus took great pleasure in ripping the flesh from the beast’s neck, as he awoke from his extraterrestrial ordeal with great hunger. The younger T. rex gnawed ravenously upon the fallen dinosaur’s legs, savoring the taste of its blood. It did not take long for them to fill their bellies and leave the carcass for the buzzards.

“WOW YOU REALLY STRONG, ME TAKE YOU TO OTHER DINOS. THEY SURE LIKE YOU.” the younger T. rex said to Saurus in an excited growl. Saurus simply nodded. He knew that in the morning, a new order would be instilled upon these lands… and no being, T. rex or Triceratops, would be able to oppose his might…

THIS EPIC TALE SHALL BE CONTINUED