The stench of sulfur lay thick and heavy all around. The air in the cave was hot, dry, and staler than week old flatbread. The heat was not a problem for Gerald, because he was a fire weaver, and was impervious to high temperatures. Being careful not to make too much noise, he called forth a small flame to his hand to help light his way. While Gerald was used to hunting in the dark, he still needed light to see. Unfortunately his quarry did not. His quarry being a dragon. Only a fool would fight more than one dragon at the same time. Gerald was not a fool. He was a dragon hunter. Well, he would be soon once he killed a dragon. Very few warriors actually killed dragons, and even fewer killed them without assistance. Dragons were by far the most powerful creatures known to mankind and were to be avoided at all costs. However, Gerald had just completed his warrior training and to prove himself a worthy warrior, he had to complete a dangerous task. He chose this for himself because he wanted to prove that he would be the fiercest and strongest warrior in all Arulea.
A slight scraping noise coming from farther down the cave drew him out of his thoughts of all the glory and fame he would receive once he accomplished his task. He quickly sent his flame over to the other side of the tunnel and hid behind a large boulder. This tunnel was easily a hundred paces across, giving him plenty of room to hide. He willed his flame to glow slightly brighter to allow him to see better as well as hopefully draw the dragon out of hiding.
Dragons were notoriously smart and cunning creatures, capable of manipulating elements and slaying armies. Gerald had gotten good information from a traveling bard that a younger dragon resided in this cave. Young dragons are usually quicker to attack and less likely to think before rushing into danger. Gerald hoped to use this to his advantage. He did not know what type of dragon he would find in here, but due to the heat of the cave he would guess a fire dragon. A fire dragon could be good, he should be able to withstand at least some of the dragon's fire, especially if it was young. He was about to find out one way or another.
He nearly stopped breathing as the head of a dragon slowly snaked its way towards the flame. It turned out to be a brown dragon, but it was much smaller than he had expected it to be. He had heard the legends about them, but had never actually seen one in real life. He doubted many living people had ever seen one so close. While it was well known that dragons were very much real and lived in the mountains and valleys of the land, most people were wise enough to stay away from any place that could be a home to such a fearsome creature. Not Gerald however, he would be known as one of the greats.
The head of the dragon had finished inspecting the flame. As Gerald was getting ready to strike, the dragon drew a deep breath and blew out the flame with a sharp whoosh. Gerald was plunged into darkness. He was now truly terrified. His fire wasn’t even strong enough to withstand a single breath, and he now understood just how far out of his league he had traveled. Getting caught in the dark in the cave of a brown dragon was more than a mistake, it was suicide. Just when he thought it could get no worse, the dragon spoke.
“How dare you enter my lair uninvited.” The voice of the dragon was mesmerizing. It was clearly young, perhaps inexperienced, but strong nevertheless. Gerald gripped his sword tightly in his armored hands.
“I suggest you pray to your gods now puny human, you have mere moments to live.” The voice was even louder this time, and much closer.
He would have jumped in surprise at what happened next, but he could not manage even that. A huge clawed hand gripped him tightly from head to toe and completely restrained him. Urgently the voice hissed to him near his head.
“I’m gonna get you out of here, don’t worry! Just be quiet and do as I tell you.”
Gerald was no fool, he may have gotten caught unaware, but he would not let a dragon take him quietly. He began to call upon his element. His hands caught fire and quickly heated up. Since this was a brown dragon, if he got things hot enough he might be able to burn himself out of this predicament and escape.
“What are you doing?” The dragon whispered again frantically “if you don’t do as I say then you won't have a chance!”
Gerald had had enough of this, his whole body caught on fire and white hot flames forced the dragon’s claws to open.
“Hey!” the dragon shouted “that stings!”
Gerald hit the ground running. He threw flames out in front of him in order to see where he was going and ran for his life. Heart beating rapidly all he could think about was how awesome this story was going to be. If you can’t kill a dragon, the next best thing would definitely be almost getting eaten by one. He didn’t hear any wing beats behind him, that was a good sign. Hopefully the brown dragon was burnt enough that he would not want to give chase. He ran as if his life depended on it, because it did, and when he turned a corner his heart sank. There standing as tall as a castle, was a massive red dragon.
“Hello there small human” the massive red chuckled “why are you leaving so soon?”
Gerald was frozen with fear. He could not move or think. He tried to run, but his legs would not move. He tried to call forth fire, but his hands remained cold.
The great red looked away from him and down the tunnel and called out, “Rakon! Get over here, you need to finish what you started”
As soon as the massive dragon looked away, the spell was broken. Gerald was running again, dashing around the red dragon's trunk like legs and heading towards the entrance. He was going to make it, he was going to-
Crunch!
“Look what you made me do Rakon!” The red dragon roared around a mouthful of Gerald. “This was supposed to be your first kill, and you let him get away. You are never going to be considered a real dragon if you can’t finish off a puny fire user! It’s bad enough that you’re half the size of any other dragon your age, but you don’t even have the killer instincts it takes to survive. I can’t protect you forever you know”
Slowly the small brown dragon eased his way from around the corner, his head hanging low. Rakon was a brown dragon and indeed very small for his age. Very small was a pretty loose term however, as he was still the size of a small home. He was a brown dragon with control over the earth. Brown dragons were usually the largest of all dragons, the largest and quite often the dullest. Rakon was not your usual brown dragon however. Yes he was small, but he was also much smarter and had a much better control over earth than many of his elders. This was what kept him alive, that and the fact that his adopted father was Emberheart, king of all red dragons. He was the most fearless and vicious of all dragons, even the other three dragon kings showed him respect.
It is not common for a brown dragon to live with a red dragon, especially one so small as Rakon with one so mighty as Emberheart. However, on the night that Emberheart became king, a terrible accident occurred. When he returned to his cave after defeating the previous king in combat he found his mate dead. His hatchling was taking his last breaths when he rushed to his side. Scattered around their bodies were a few dead human warriors and mages.
Immense sorrow was immediately replaced by overwhelming rage. Emberheart followed the tracks of the remaining humans to their camp and slaughtered them all. One mage fought most ferociously and his desperate measures caught the attention of Emberheart. After the battle he investigated the humans belongings and found a smaller brown dragon egg in the mage’s belongings. Taking this as a sign from the Gods, Emberheart took this small egg to his own cave and cared for it as if it was his own. He raised it to be strong, but with only so much success.
“I’m sorry dad” Rakon said quietly, with his head still hanging low. “I just don’t see why he needed to die. He didn’t really do anything wrong.”
Emberheart sputtered in disbelief, fire shooting out of his snout. “Didn’t do anything wrong?? My dear young dragon, he would have killed you given the chance! He is a human, and that is reason enough to kill them. If humans enter our domain it is fully within our rights to end their miserable lives. The humans know this, and they explore at their own risk.”
Rakon nodded slowly and spoke quietly. “I’m sorry I disappointed you again. I just don’t think they’re all bad, I mean they can’t all be bad, right?”
His father shook his head in disbelief. “Oh to be young and naive again. Rakon, one day you will learn for yourself how evil the humans truly are, until then please trust me.”
Emberheart stared at Rakon a moment longer, then said “you’re dismissed. I want you to go and think about what you can do better next time.”
Rakon kept his head low and made his way toward the entrance of the cave. Although he was a brown dragon, he had always enjoyed the fresh air. When he reached the entrance to the cave he lifted his head high and took a deep breath.
“What could I do better?” he thought to himself. He supposed he could have been a little quicker at telling the human what kind of danger he was in. Perhaps he could have buried him alive and then when Emberheart left the cave again he could have let the human go. Rakon wasn’t sure how long a human could hold his breath and, unfortunately, there is a chance that idea could kill them, they are quite fragile.
He refused to believe that all humans were completely evil. It just didn’t make sense to him. There had to be some humans out there that didn’t want to kill dragons, right?
The next day Rakon woke up a little tired. He had thought all night about what Emberheart had said the day before. Usually it did not really get to him, but what if he was right? What if he would never be able to protect himself? Rakon wasn’t really worried about humans, they were incredibly small. Maybe if a group of them attacked all at once it could be a problem, but he was more worried about larger dragons. Dragons were usually pretty solitary creatures. They do have kings, but they really only have duties when something calls for the attention of all dragons. This happens rarely, as humans and dragons alike do not want another war. Humans however, have much shorter memories than dragons do, and do not remember the consequences of the last interspecies war.
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Casualties on both sides were astronomical. Some of the older dragons that were there still talk about how dragon blood seemed to fall from the sky like rain. Most human cities were burnt to a crisp and there were very few survivors on both sides. The remaining warriors decided to make a truce, and dragons retreated into the wilds while humans started to rebuild their cities.
As centuries passed, humans forgot the truce that was made that day. Occasionally a warrior or two will wander in the mountains to find a dragon to slay, but rarely will any of them actually be successful. Dragons have no problem killing any fool that strays too close, but they remember well the consequences of an all out war.
Flying through the valley looking for breakfast, Rakon thought about his greatest strengths. Without a doubt it was his control over his element, earth. All dragons have a basic control over their element, the eldest dragons have near complete mastery. Rakon, while still young, has control that rivals many adult dragons and clearly outclasses all dragons his age. That, along with Emberheart’s protection, has kept him alive for this long.
Smelling prey, Rakon landed on the ground near a grove of large trees. Keeping his body low to the ground he crept into the wooded area. Once he reached an area with enough underbrush he froze still, and then disappeared. He didn’t exactly become invisible, but to most observers he did. Using his control of earth, he is able to almost become the earth. His entire body changes color in an instant to match whatever he is hiding by and it makes it almost impossible to see him. He still isn’t sure if he is changing himself to blend in, or changing his surroundings, or perhaps some combination of both. This isn’t a skill that all brown dragons have, as far as he knew he was the only one. This wasn’t completely uncommon though, many dragons with a higher degree of control have unique abilities linked to their element.
Frozen near some bushes, Rakon waited for his prey to appear. He didn’t have to wait long before a deer slowly wandered into his clearing, ears high on alert. Rakon held his breath, if the wind didn’t change he would be fine, and he would have his breakfast. He had no problem killing, even if Emberheart didn’t agree. He just didn’t like killing people. To him there was a huge difference, people were much more intelligent and could communicate. Deers… well they couldn’t do that obviously.
The deer crept closer and closer, seemingly oblivious to its impending doom. All of a sudden its head snapped up, it smelt something.
Please no, please no, Rakon thought to himself. He tensed his whole body to lunge at the deer, and then the wind shifted. The deer bolted without a second thought, Rakon threw himself at the deer, and missed. His quarry was just too quick. Rakon was quicker however, and he gave chase.
Leaping off a fallen trunk, Rakon flew through the trees. Twisting this way and that to dodge the large trees of the forest, Rakon followed closely behind the deer. He had wanted to kill it quickly to avoid scaring it so badly, he thought that was pretty mean the way some dragons played with their food. There was no way around it now however, Rakon needed to eat and his deer was being a problem.
Rakon flew low to the ground, and when he got within a few dragon lengths he landed down hard and slammed a foreleg onto the ground. A small tremor traveled from the ground to the deer and earth erupted around the terrified animal. Rocks and earth shot up around his prey and trapped its legs, completely immobilizing it. The deer writhed in terror, fighting desperately to free itself.
Rakon swiftly flew over to the struggling beast and with one swift strike put it out of its misery. He flattened the earth to its original state with one claw, then began to eat his breakfast. He usually tried to refrain from using earth to hunt, but sometimes he was just too hungry to care. Most dragons were big enough or fast enough not to rely on their element, but Rakon’s element was definitely stronger than his physical attributes.
After his meal Rakon went to a river to wash up, eating a whole deer isn’t exactly a clean task. While looking at the water, Rakon wondered what it would be like to be a water dragon. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to hold his breath for hours at a time and swim in the lakes around Arulea. Water dragons were usually pretty solitary creatures, not many adventurers bothered water dragons. Reaching their underwater caves is usually more trouble than it’s worth. Tales would be spread about large hordes of treasure being protected in these hidden lairs, and a few greedy treasure hunters will think it’s a good idea to go after them. Water dragons are generally known to be some of the smaller dragons, and this will lead to misconceptions about them being weak. Full disclosure, if you enter a lake where a water dragon is living, it is instant death.
A snapping sound shook Rakon out of his thoughts. Two quick large steps took him to the treeline where he immediately morphed his coloring to blend him into his surroundings. He held his breath and waited for whatever it was to show itself. He suspected it was a human since animals usually weren’t so heavy footed. Either a human or another dragon, neither options were very good for him.
Still holding his breath, all dragons could hold their breath for a long time, but brown and blue especially, he watched a young woman make her way carefully out of the tree line to the river. She pulled a canteen out of her pack and started to fill it from the river, never taking her eyes off of her surroundings. She was young, probably around twenty years old, shoulder length brown hair, light blue eyes, and strong. She looked like a survivor. She wore simple brown pants that looked flexible, but not too loose. A dark green jacket that looked the exact shade as much of the nearby foliage fit her well, clearly designed to give her full range of motion. Completing her attire, she had a strung longbow around her back and a simple longsword at her waist.
When the girl finished filling her canteen, she switched it for her bow and set off south along the river bank. Rakon followed at a distance, curious at what would bring this young hunter out this far away from the nearest town. While it was not uncommon for hunters to come out this way, they usually did not come alone.
While Rakon was a small dragon, he was still a dragon. Dragons were not known for their stealth, especially in woods where there are many dry leaves and branches ready to snap. Being stealthy was one of Rakon’s strong suits however, he may not be great at fighting, but he was good at hiding. Each step he took, he tapped into his control over earth and almost completely silenced his footsteps. He had the earth absorb his heavy footfalls so that each step was as quiet as a mouse. He worked hard to develop this skill, as it came in very handy while trying to hide from larger dragons, as well as Emberheart when he was grumpy. He was not able to move very fast this way, but he could follow this human girl without her noticing him.
After a few dozen yards the girl started to get a little shifty. Rakon checked himself, made sure he was still quiet and invisible, and continued to follow. He saw the girl grip her bow a little tighter in her hand as she made her way through the woods. Maybe he should just abandon this, but for some reason he felt drawn to the girl.
Without a word the girl spun on her foot while notching an arrow to her bow and let it fly, straight at Rakon. How had she known he was there? There was no way that he could have been seen, he was practically invisible and almost silent. His power over earth made sure of that.
The arrow flew true, hitting him straight in the shoulder with a clink! Thankfully his scales acted as tough armor in most places on his body. Only magic weapons or the toughest steel could penetrate his hide.
Quick as a flash two more arrows came flying at him. Rakon dodged both of them, and as soon as the first one bounced off of him he was moving. While he had very tough armor, there was no need to sit around and see how good of aim she was.
What do I do?. He didn’t want to kill her, but he didn’t want to draw attention to the area. There could always be other dragons nearby as well as other villagers. Other villagers wouldn’t be a terrible problem, but there was always a chance that they would come back with more. He was not worried about his own safety, but if Emberheart found any humans nearby he would kill them all. And if there were other dragons nearby, then that could be a large problem for both himself and this human girl.
Thinking quickly he pounded a foreleg at the ground and made a fist, clawing up dirt in one quick motion. Earth enveloped her completely, leaving a small opening at the top of this makeshift cage for her to breathe. He heard a gasp come from inside and he smiled to himself. Not many dragons could manipulate the elements quite so well as he. It seemed that she was surprised at how quickly she had become trapped.
His victory was short-lived. With a sound like a small explosion his cage erupted outwards. The girl hit the ground and rolled to her feet, taking cover behind a tree. Rakon was shocked, breaking out of his earthen prison is not an easy task by any means. Even for somebody that has power over earth, which clearly this girl did, it should have been more difficult. He wasn’t sure how strong humans were with the elements, but he suspected that this girl was stronger than normal.
While he was thinking about what course of action would be best, the ground started to move. Curious at this girl’s strength, he sat back and watched. The ground wasn’t moving like there was an earthquake, he could tell it was just the top layer. Almost as if the forest floor was turning to sand, the top layer was just starting to sway this way and that. Then it began to rise. There were many dust and dirt particles flowing around Rakon, first slowly then they began to speed up.
Within the span of a few seconds the area had turned into a dust storm. Rakon was impressed, the girl was strong. Not as strong as him of course, but still strong. He laid down to keep his head as clear of the debris as possible and focused on his connection with earth. He closed his eyes and focused intently, nothing at first… there. He could sense her footsteps, she was running…running… away from him. Without thinking he leapt forward and chased after her.
“No no, go back! Backwards you stupid dragon!” He berated himself for chasing after her, but he was just so intrigued. Within seconds he caught up to her, he sprung forward and landed in front of her, cutting off her escape. He caught a look at her terrified expression and felt a moment of guilt, then pushed it away.
“Stop!” he yelled at the girl. She had her sword out now held out in front of her, point never wavering. She did stop though, she wasn’t moving and didn’t look like she was about to run. Probably because she knew running was pointless.
“Come on then!” she roared at him “Do your worst you ugly spinetail!” Rakon reared back at that. Surely he didn’t deserve that, did he? He continued to stare at her, not sure what to do. He honestly hadn’t thought this far ahead, he had never encountered a human before outside of his cave. He knew what Emberheart would want him to do, he could hear his adopted father’s voice in his head now, ‘Kill the little human!’ he would say. Maybe he should, that would make Emberheart happy, and perhaps it would make him seem a little more fearsome to the other dragons. Alright, this was it. He was going to kill her.
“I don’t want to hurt you” were the words he heard come out of his mouth. Who was he kidding, he couldn’t hurt this girl, he felt bad when he squashed spiders in his cave.
She looked back at him, more than a little confused. This was probably the first time she had ever seen a dragon, and this was definitely the first time she heard of one not trying to kill everything in its sight.
“It’s true” he continued “I just want to talk to you. Where are you from? What are you doing out here?” The girl started to take a step backwards. She obviously had never been in this type of circumstance before. Rakon didn’t blame her for being untrusting. There were probably dragons out there that liked to play with their food and would do little mind games like this before going in for the kill.
He sighed, “never mind, you go on your way. It was nice to meet you, maybe I’ll run into you again sometime.” With a powerful thrust of his wings he threw himself into the sky, shaking his head along the way. He must be the craziest dragon there ever was. If anybody heard about what he just did, he would probably be beaten, or killed. It's against the dragon way to let a human go untouched, it just wasn’t supposed to happen.
Rakon decided he wanted to learn more about humans. He doubted he would ever find this girl again unfortunately. Humans were like ants, they were all the same more or less and they died often and easily replaced one another. At least, that was how Emberheart described it. He needed to get closer to people, and he thought he had an idea of how he was going to do it.