The Dragon, for he was no longer young as he had left the nesting island and he’d fight anyone who said otherwise, flew over the deep blue of the sea separating the Dragon Isles from the mainland. Luckily for him, he had been born on the closest island, and wouldn’t have to fly as long as some of his distant cousins when they came of age. As the daylight grew weaker and the shadows lengthened, he marveled at the reflections on the water. And at just how long the flight actually was, he’d already been flying for nearly eight hours and he could just barely start to see the edge of the mainland in the distance. It was at least another three to four hours of flight away, and he thanked himself that he’d had the foresight to eat his fill before leaving. He was already starting to get hungry, and would probably burn through a decent chunk of his reserves by the time he landed.
Looking back down at the shimmering water, he was sorely tempted to dive and try to grab some fresh seafood. Perhaps if he had had the idea before sunset he might’ve at least tried, but he was no Water or Frost Dragon and blind night fishing while hours away from any land was not how he wanted to die. As the two moons rose in the sky, thankfully neither were full or empty, the light they provided illuminated his way across the rest of the sea. Reaching the edge of the mainland the Dragon descended into a relatively small clearing, probably used by a number of other Dragons on their first couple of flights across the sea if the way the ground and compressed and barren in some spots were any indication. Plopping himself down onto the ground, gracefully of course for a Dragon is always graceful, the Dragon decided to take a brief rest until sunrise. Once the sun rose, he would need to hunt, but sleep was just as important and more importantly, he was exhausted.
The Dragon awoke to food trying to eat him, and failing miserably. As was expected, for Dragons were the world’s greatest creation, and even a newly minted adult Dragon who wasn’t fully grown were a league unto their own. The Dragon opened a single slitted eye and watched as a wretched creature tried to peel away the Dragonscale covering his tail. Based on the creature’s features, he figured it was the “Skinners” that were so common amongst the mainland. While Dragon’s placed a strong emphasis on learning things by themselves, that didn’t mean the inquisitive amongst the young ones weren’t allowed to eavesdrop on the adults when talking about such things. So long as they didn’t get caught of course, but really it was just another way to practice their stealth. Taking a good long look at this Skinner, the Dragon was disgusted. It was quadrupedal, with a tail and upper body that ended in a head with two clawed arms. The entire body of the thing was covered in patchwork layers of skin, which the innate Magic of the creature was stopping from decaying. It didn’t even have the dignity, or more likely the intellect, to even consider organizing the stolen skins. Several areas were dozens of layers shorter than others, which only furthered its horrid look. It was also quite small, at least compared to the Dragon, he wouldn’t even have to stand on his hind legs to tower over it.
It wasn’t the most appetizing meal the Dragon had ever encountered, but he wasn’t one to disregard such a gift. With a speed that did not match his size he rose onto all fours, spreading his wings as he did so. Turning to face the Monster directly, he darted forward, mouth wide open and full of razor sharp teeth. The Skinner tried to resist becoming the very thing it had unknowingly offered itself up as, but it was threatening to lone wanderers and smaller prey, not two hundred kilos of hungry Dragon. In two bites, it was over. The Dragon agreed with his past assessment, it was certainly not appetizing. Had he not been so hungry, he very well might’ve barfed it back up just to taste something better than the greasy, lean, chewy, and insipid meat that comprised the Skinner. Not the greatest way to start the day, but it certainly could’ve been much, much worse. He could’ve woken up to no food after all.
While he was ruminating on the various terrible, and better, ways he could’ve been woken up by free food, his sensitive ears picked up movement coming from the far side of the clearing towards the rising sun. Based on the sounds, there were at least three, possibly four, individuals running through the underbrush towards his location. Flexing his already extended wings into a proper intimidation flare, he aimed his gullet towards the encroaching noises ready to burn the intruders if they were hostile. Today was just getting better and better, food had woken him up, and now food was literally running at him! Truly, the world recognized Dragon superiority and bent itself to give them their rightful dues. Clearly nothing else could explain such things.
The underbrush burst open to reveal…a Human. Not more free food, which was quite disappointing, but he could still hear the other individuals following the Human. So perhaps not all was lost just yet. The Human in question looked horrible, with numerous light wounds peppering their body and having ripped open their attempts to replicate a Dragon’s mighty Dragonscale through leather and bone. Or just leather actually, the various bones seemed to be held in place slightly above the torn leather armor through Magic. Which was good, the Dragon was quite interested in learning about non-Dragon Magic, regardless of its inferiority. The Human male, for it lacked the distinctive bulges on its chest, had a facial expression halfway between despair and elation as they collapsed onto the ground panting heavily. The satchel they wore around their waist almost getting crushed under them as he shifted his body to protect it as he fell. A few moments later, three Monsters came charging out, bloodlust evident on each of their faces, before practically falling over themselves and each other to come to a halt as soon as what passed for their minds registered the Dragon. There was the free food he had been expecting, further proof the world did indeed revolve around Dragons.
As they desperately scrabbled at the ground, trying to get a grip on the ground and run away, a gout of flame washed over them all. The Dragon was cruel however, and stopped his flames before the Monsters could die a fiery death. It would char his food, and that just wouldn’t do. Instead, their fur had been burnt away and their skin melted, leaving only raw bleeding flesh behind as they struggled to breathe through bleeding throats and burnt lungs. They could no longer even see their ever closing doom, for their eyes had popped from the heat, creating a cruel facsimile of tears as the fluid streaked down their faces. Their attempts to leave had been reduced to simply bloody claw marks into the hard soil, the strength having been sapped from their bodies along with their skin and leaving them unable to pull themselves further. The Dragon lowered its wings, satisfied with the results, and almost stepped forwards before remembering proper manners.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
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“Would you like the first choice of the meat…stranger whose name I do not know?” a low rumbling voice asked me.
I raised my head as I processed everything that had just happened, and looked at the carnage behind me. The three remaining Monstrous animals were still living, if only barely. My breathing and heart rate had only just finally started stabilizing, and at some point I had lost control over the magic keeping the remnants of my Bone Armor together. Then the question finally wormed its way to the forefront of my mind, and I realized I probably shouldn’t keep a Dragon waiting.
“My name is Koir sir Dragon, I am glad to make your acquaintance. As for the meat, I shall leave the prime cuts to you, I simply ask for the largest legs as well as their skeletons.” I have to push myself up off the ground in order to properly give it a slight bow, despite the protests of my body. The pitiful remains of the bones that had protected me for so long sloughing off me as I did so.
“Thank you for the privilege Koir. I wouldn’t suppose you would happen to be carrying the materials needed to make a firepit in that bag of yours would you? It certainly doesn’t look large enough, but I’m not sure of the capabilities of non-Dragon Magic.” the Dragon stated, as the beast lumbered gracefully, and far too quietly, over to the mewling Monsters. With two quick motions of his front legs, the largest legs were separated from the Monsters, and were then further reduced to be easily handled by myself.
“Unfortunately, I do not. Just some dried fruits, jerky and some personal items.” There was no way I would ever tell a Dragon I was carrying gold ore on me, even if I fully intended to use it rather soon to bargain for his assistance. “May I ask for your name sir Dragon?”
He flinched. He flinched? His name could not be that bad…could it?
“My name is Grand Dragon.” The low rumbling voice was even lower, and he was looking quite intensely at the still living meat. Studiously avoiding my eye contact. I walked over to the detached legs, picking them up off the ground, despite the burning of my hands as I did so. The pain was torturous, but the damage wasn’t anything I couldn’t fix later. And I needed to show some appreciation for what he had done for me before I said anything that may upset him.
“Thank you for the food, and I am sorry about your name. It’s not the worst name I’ve ever heard at least.”
“That would be my smallest and youngest brother, Runt Dragon. Unfortunately, our mother never bothered to put effort into increasing her intellect. And since the sole weakness of my glorious species is our lacking natural intellect, as it is the world’s only way to ensure that we have any semblance of a challenge in life, she is…quite stupid. I have never heard her speak more than ten words within as many minutes.”
“That is…unfortunate.”
“Indeed.”
Several minutes passed in near silence, the only sounds being that of the dying Monster’s wheezes, and the chewing of meat from the both of us. Honestly, the meat was quite good, though I understood why he had asked if I had the supplies to make a fire. The meat could’ve probably used a good thirty minutes or so above a fire to achieve that melt in your mouth consistency, and also some salt. Then again, most things could use a pinch of salt. Now was the time to bargain if there ever was one though, and it was of utmost importance that I successfully did so.
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“Sir Grand, I would like to ask for your assistance in something.” Koir said, collecting as many bones as he could now that there were no longer even meat scraps hanging off of them. Dragons are many things, wasteful is not one of them.
“I’m listening, though I will require payment of some kind.”
“Of course. I merely wished to ask for your assistance in helping my clan fend off the incoming Monster Horde. It’s only a small one, but still, a Dragon would more than turn the tide in our favor. Assuming we got there in time of course.”
Grand considered the proposal, he had nothing against it. Though he was both quite shocked that he was being asked for help, and not at the same time. He was shocked because, when the Human had stood up, and they had gotten closer to eat, the Dragon had realized that the Human was quite large. Over two thirds the size of himself when standing on all fours, and he wasn’t a short Dragon for his age. He was comparable in size to those who left the nesting islands decades later than him, it was a major reason for his mother naming him as she did. Because truly, only the grandest of Dragons would be as favored by the world as he was. If the rest of his clan was built anything like Koir, if there were enough of them they should easily be able to fend off Monsters of this caliber, though they would take losses. Either he was an outlier, his clan was a small one, or this Monster Horde was large enough to pose a danger large enough that he would bargain with a Dragon.
“Perhaps. What would you give me in return for using my glorious body as a shield your fellows can hide behind?” Grand fully expected the Human before him to simply offer the Monster meat from the Horde, perhaps some spices to go along with it. Which he would’ve rightfully grumbled a bit about, a Dragon can never seem too easy to please after all, before assisting his clan. What he was not expecting was for the Human to reach into his satchel and pull out a chunk of gold ore slightly smaller than twice the size of his hands.
Koir shivered as the Dragon’s eyes constricted to the size of slits at the sight of the ore chunk. It was well known that Dragons, and their Kobold spawn, were avaricious when it came to almost anything shiny or golden enough. There was no longer any question that he would assist Koir’s clan. The question was now how quickly the Monster Horde would be exterminated so he could claim his most dragonly reward. Grand lowered his wing to allow Koir to climb on his back, which he hastily did. The Human was not willing to question such generosity from the Dragon, and showing hesitation would’ve most definitely been an insult, that he was most sure of.
“Which way to your clan?”
The Human leaned forwards and pointed towards a point roughly thirty degrees to the west of the rising sun, making sure that Grand could see his arm as he did so. Even if it was a bit awkward to stay upright while both leaning off the side of a Dragon and holding onto a bundle of bones at the same time. With a single powerful flap of the Dragon’s wings, they were airborne and on their way. The Dragon most confident in his abilities to deal with this Monster Horde in a most brutally graceful manner, and collect the promised gold afterwards, while the Human on his back struggled to stay upright with their eyes open against the rush of wind.