Devaguea gave the leader an unimpressed look, before tilting his head slightly at his accusation. "Your attempt at baiting is poor, even for a follower of the Lonely Lie. And my claim was of the things I knew of. No heralds arrived to tell me of their duties, no wisps flickered out of the shadows to warn about enemies, no prayers from the faithful to request help, no lists of holdings or possessions arrived, and no books spoke of him in more than passing. I may of claimed what I could from his ashes, but all I was given was a crown and my returned kingdom, damaged to the point of near collapse. I had no time to go looking for His people, when they couldn't be bothered to let me know they were now mine. And now, finally, here I am, willing to help, and all you can say is that I am too weak, too slow?"<br/><br/>He rarely bothered to loom over his own people, but this one had accused him of incompetence, even if indirectly, and he did not take such accusations kindly. "I defeated the Lantern King, is true, but I did it with the help of others. With advisors that cautioned against haste and sloth, foolishness and brashness, with companions of all walks and trainings, to ensure stability, prosperity, and unity. At no point in that journey did I make plans without consulting those that would be effected by it, or those chosen to represent those same."<br/><br/>The dragon King very clearly took a long deep breath, before continuing, slowly lowering himself back down. "And finally, after consulting a cleric to try and learn more about my vanquished foe's plans, and learning that the Caravan of the Night mentioned in two books in passing wasn't a metaphor but a mistranslation, and coming to find you rather than wait for you to find me like even your own Laughing Lie would, you accuse me of mistreating you. Amongst my people, there is a rule and a saying. Competency rises, complacency kills. And the saying is parasites are to be shunned. If you don't have any ideas how to remedy your own situation beyond get someone else to do it, why would I want people in my care that are THAT helpless?"<br/><br/>Devaguea leaned back, and let him see if he enjoyed being baited.