What an amazing insight:
> The hawk did not care for the pedigree of its food or that it had worshippers who offered prayers in its name. It was lunch for its chicks and that was all there was to it. 

I love this:
> Now as I wander the wastes of this planet, sick with indigent diseases, hallucinating from plants that I cannot name, I ask; how did I get here, prince, king, emperor, god? How did I end up a vagrant on tiny planet, galaxies away from my beloved temple?

#Hubris! 
However great one man (or dragon) may be, we remain part of the food chain. Even if we are at the top of the chain, clever ones can still get to us. (Survival of the fittest.)

You packed so many epic themes into this small space - e.g. "don't kill the messenger," but he kills the witch for her prophecy:

> She did not scream or beg for her life. She smiled and said one last thing. She said before I find happiness I will beg for death. I had her burnt and the parts that did not burn, I had quartered and buried in different planets where the species devour anything of flesh and blood. I did not forget the witch or her insane words.

Did I mention "epic" is a good word for this story?