The dragon frowned at the question, before shrugging with his wings. "Because most leaders started somewhere near the top. Nobles, merchants, people who got at least two meals a day and a roof over their heads when they slept. I didn't. I know what it is like to live enslaved to something you can't fight, can't reason with, can't run from, and hates everything about you."<br/><br/>Devaguea didn't feel like dealing with the emotions that came from being more specific about his past, not out in the wilds where something could jump them at any second. Or burrow up into them. Or the plants might... He cut that line of thought off before it became a self fulfilling prophecy, and continued. "So being kind and compassionate is, in a way, also self serving. By being those, I convince them that I will listen, which in turn makes them listen to me. That it also means I can sleep at night without adding to my nightmares is a bonus, and that I can spend time with my children without feeling like a hypocrite. And by risking my own life, I am simply sending the best countermeasure against the problem as soon as possible, thereby preventing it from getting stronger. And if I get killed, well, it isn't like death and I aren't old friends."<br/><br/>The last was added in a tone that was completely sarcastic, remembering his tombstone with the numbers on it. Five deaths, and that before he was an adult. It was enough to make someone doubt everything.