Empress Selena of the Blazing Dragon Realm suppressed a rebellion while pregnant and gave birth to Ryan amid battlefield dangers. When Ryan’s fire dragon vein went unstable as a child, Selena repeatedly cut her palm, using her dragon blood to save his life.
At Ryan’s coming-of-age ceremony, before hundreds of lords, he snubbed Selena, called his father’s mistress Helena “mother”, and gifted her the protective dragon scale and crown Selena had prepared for him. Crushed by his betrayal, Selena stripped Ryan of his palace, lands, dragon riders and royal backing, disowning him.
Manipulated by Helena and his lover Vera, Ryan racked up massive debts and embezzled dragon rider pensions. At the Dragon Lords Banquet, Selena declared the royal house would not cover his debts. Desperate, Ryan mortgaged his dragon crystal mine and Helena’s castle. Ignoring warnings, he suffered heavy losses from defective ore and signed away his right to the throne.
Meanwhile, after seven nights of nurturing the royal dragon egg with her blood, Selena hatched golden dragon Luna and named her the new heir. Ryan returned begging for mercy, only to discover Selena was the one who saved him as a child. Still consumed by jealousy, he plotted with Vera to sabotage Luna’s coronation and faced royal punishment.
Years later, Helena kidnapped Luna to force Ryan to seize power. This time, Ryan took a dagger strike to protect Luna. Selena honored his sacrifice but refused to pardon his crimes. Luna remained heir. Ryan discarded his royal token and left the capital, finally realizing he could not squander his mother’s love.
