Poor Gollum! I can sometimes see why Asimov said he was the real hero of Lotr

The story is The Withered Heart by G.G Pendarves

At first I thought it was a bit too tropey but as I've got into it it gets deeper, with lots in it about family and belonging as well as the usual good and evil.And of course *dragons* 🐉 are very cool, even if they do breathe fire!

The emperor in the original Dune is shadowy and mysterious, even though Paul humbles him at the end its still a shock when it happens,but in this story we know Shaddam all too well, every dumb scheme and cruelty