Naga Tasik Chini, the Guardian of the Lotus Lake, rose from the depths. His green scales matched the vegetation. Reed-Song of Chini. He was the master of this domain, a localized deity of immense power. He sensed an intrusion—a massive, serpentine energy entering from the river inlet.
It was Phaya Naga, the Grand Naga of the Mekong. He was a creature of gold and fire, his crest glowing with divine authority. Naga Fireball. He had come to inspect the tributaries.
Tasik Chini hissed, raising a wall of water. Drowned-Palace Tides. "This lake is mine."
Hydrology 101
Phaya Naga barely uncoiled. He looked at the smaller dragon with ancient, golden eyes.
"The lake exists because the river feeds it," he intoned.
He exerted his will. Mekong Sovereign's Current.
He didn't scream; he simply commanded the water. The inlet reversed flow. The lake began to drain. The pressure around Tasik Chini dropped.
"I am the artery," Phaya Naga stated. "You are but a capillary."
Realizing the disparity in rank—a lake spirit against the King of the Great River—Naga Tasik Chini lowered his crest. He dissolved his tidal wall and bowed low in the water. Submissive Flow. Phaya Naga nodded once and continued his patrol, the waters of the lake returning to their peaceful level as he passed.