Darren was excited to be on his first mission. He’d wanted to join his father on a raid since he had an understanding of what they were, and finally he’d gotten his chance. Dad is so cool! He watched his father sneak up to the cave, and scout out the inside. After a while, he returned and told the group the plan. He specifically didn’t tell Darren to stay put.

I get to be part of the attack!

As the raid progressed, things started to go wrong. First, the shot missed its target. Darren knew his dad wouldn’t be happy about that. There would be lots of target practice when they got back to the ship. Then everyone dashed up to the front of the cave. Darren hid at the back of the group.

My first real fight!

The men pushed into the cave and tried to creep up on the guy inside, but a huge fireball exploded! So cool! Really hot though. Darren looked at his dad.

“Go run and hide in the woods until I come get you,” Clive told his son.

Disappointed, Darren did as his dad said. He hid in the trees near the cave, and watched from afar. The conversation didn’t seem to go well. Darren could hear his father talk, but couldn’t make out the responses. He saw his dad level his crossbow and prepare to attack again.

A great whoosh distracted Darren. From out of nowhere, a giant red dragon dropped from the sky and filled the mouth of the cave. Darren’s eyes went wide. He wanted to scream, but instinct took over. He froze and held his breath, terrified that the monster might spot him. The dragon let out a roar that shook the ground. Darren closed his eyes and made himself as small as possible amongst the trees.

The fight after the dragon landed had only lasted a minute or two, but it felt like years to Darren. He couldn’t bear to move or make a sound. He silently sobbed into his knees. Please please please let everyone be okay. I promise I’ll be good, and I won’t ask to go on any more raids! Please please please!

He heard the dragon roar again, this time with a different feeling. Joy. Darren knew that couldn’t be good. He opened his eyes again, in time to see the flames raging through the cave. Strangely, they all went out instantly, as if smothered by a giant hand. A moment later, the dragon leapt from the cave, a baby dragon in its arms.

Darren waited agonizing minutes before he left his hiding spot. He desperately wanted to see if his dad was okay, but couldn’t risk the dragon coming back. He strained his ears, searching for any sound that might indicate survivors but heard nothing. Slowly, the sounds of the night time forest had begun to return.

Finally, Darren cautiously strode into the cave. Everything was burned black. Some of the rocks had melted. When he saw the piles of burned bones, he screamed. He sobbed and pounded the ground, scuffing his fists in the process.

When he eventually regained some control, Darren noticed the other person in the room. It was the kid they attacked. His body was burned, but not destroyed. Darren watched and saw shallow, pained breaths. He’s the bad guy, but he got attacked by the dragon too. Maybe he wasn’t really the bad guy.

Carefully, Darren removed the burned clothing from the wounds on the young man. The skin was red and angry, but Darren had seen worse. A magical fire bomb they’d pillaged from a mage had exploded on a crewman while they were at sea. His father had tried to help the man, and treat his wounds, but ultimately failed.

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Dad said… take the dirt and debris away. Wash the wounds and let them get some air. The thoughts of his father brought tears back to his eyes, but Darren continued with the treatment. Sometimes the young man would start to wake up and groan, but most of the time he seemed like he was out of it.

Darren looked around a bit and found a pot of water tucked into a little side room. He tried his best to wash the wounds. The young man stopped breathing for a minute, and Darren thought that was the end, but he started again and woke up. He opened his eyes and saw Darren. Initially scared, the boy leaned away but nothing happened. The young man tried to say something, but he couldn’t do it. After a brief struggle, he fell back to sleep.

Darren looked over the young man. He’d finished what he could for the guy, now it was up to him. If the Gods want him to live, he will.

The sun had begun to brighten the sky. Darren looked around the cave, but found nothing worth taking. Maybe he was just a prisoner of the dragon. Dad said they were awful before the war.

He took the piece of silver from his pocket, the last thing he had to remember his father. With a last look at the ashes scattered around the cave, Darren sniffed and walked away from the scene of the fight. Auntie Ana will know what to do. He trudged into the forest, and slowly made his way back to Baybreach.

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All the world was pain. Enzo felt his skin burn, smelled his hair scorched from the assault. In brief moments of clarity, he saw the enormous red dragon stop her destruction. She plowed through the heat and smoke, and took the newborn dragon into her arms. She barked another roar and disappeared from the cave, taking the oppressive mana with her.

Enzo’s hold on life was tenuous. Time passed, though he had no clue how long he lay on the cave floor. Waking moments were filled with agony and he frequently lost consciousness. In the moments of darkness, the blissful moments of semi consciousness before the pain returned, he saw strange visions.

…A young boy, camping by the ocean with his father… Fishing for their meals, and learning how to clean a fish…

…Older, now a teenager, the boy bringing a girl to the same spot on the coast… Spending the night staring up at the stars, listening to the gentle crash of the ocean…

…Alone now, relaxing against a tree… A blaze forming, slowly at first, but quickly engulfing the entire beach…

Enzo awoke and found himself in an office. It had a strange familiarity to it, but he couldn’t place why. He looked around the room, and examined the bookshelf next to him. Countless books in varying languages stretched out across the shelves. He reached out to touch one, before a voice stopped him.

“You are quite slow on the uptake, aren’t you?” the voice said. It came from a figure that sat behind the desk that dominated the room.

How did I miss that?

“How, indeed,” the figure said. As Enzo paid more attention to the figure, its features became clearer. The form morphed into a rough humanoid. Clothes became more apparent, a sharp charcoal suit. A middle aged man’s face emerged, with a smirk across his lips.

As Enzo opened his mouth to speak, he felt a pull. Something was pulling him back through the floor of the office. The figure raised an eyebrow.

“Not yet, perhaps…” Enzo heard, as he fell through the floor and back to reality.

He slowly opened his eyes, and felt the pain across his body return. It had lessened, but was still quite evident. He blinked back tears, and his vision cleared. Next to him sat a child.

The boy was no older than ten. Clearly he’d been crying recently. He was mumbling something to Enzo, but he couldn’t quite make out the words. Through his sobs, the boy applied water to Enzo’s burns. The sensations stung, but he knew the wounds needed to be cleaned. Whoever you are, thank you. Enzo closed his eyes again, and fell into a deep sleep.