Well, it’s time.
Time to leave
It’s been wonderful.
It really has.
I’ve had good times
Wonderful moments.
Drank a little too much.
Danced for quiet a bit.
Met an old friend
Lost a friend
And gained a new companion on my journey.
Aaah
Wonderfull.
Except
You know
For the whole
Being chased by Fauns through town.
That part is, you know
Not so wonderful.
So
to take it from the start
To tell you how this happened
I’ll need to be upfront.
I never asked for this
I wished it could have been different.
But...
Yeah, just
Remember that.
The room was on high guard.
The sudden exclamation from the human sent shivers down the spine
How is this possible?
Why did she hide this?
Is she threatening us?
The fauns collectively thought
But the culprit in question
Had one question of her own.
How do I slither my way out of this one?
I’ve really gone andgoofed up.
Looking around, everyone seems to be tense.
Some even giving me outright hostile glares.
The only one who isn’t
Are those that are supposedly the old fauns “allies”
And the old faun herself.
Who’s looking more shocked than angry.
And mister Butler
Who has one hand on his face
And the other in a firm grip around his bow.
Actually
There are a lot of elders holding bows right now.
Trying to swallow saliva from my dry throat
This might be my queue.
My queue to leave.
The handsome faun spoke up
And weirdly enough, smiling.
“Human, why have you kept this hidden?”
A simple question
Or it should be.
“I did- I did not mean to keep it hidden, it just sorta... Happened?”
I said, whispering the last words.
A loud murmuring from the gathered elders
More taking out their bows
And some leaving.
Ohcrap.
Looking up to mister dragon, I could not see any sort ofreaction
But he where a lot brighter now than before.
Oh craaaaap.
“Human, I will only say thi-“
“SILENCE EVERYBODY! STAND DOWN!”
A sudden exclamation
A powerful yell.
Shaking everyone.
“There is no need for violence! The human and her... compatriot, has been nothing but kind and helpful to us, she has shown no hostility towards us!”
The old faun almost screamed
Sounding calm and assertive
But as I looked at her
She looked nothing like calm nor assertive.
More on the brink of a total mental collapse.
Wide nostrils
Opened eyes
Sweating profusely
Holy
I’ve never seen her like that.
The gathered elders seemed to listen to her words
Some even lowering the bows, but only some.
“Venerable elder, You have been a voice of reason for so very long, but we can clearlysee that age has taken its toll on you. This is not for you to decide anymore.”
The handsome faun responded
Giving an eerily big smile as he stared at me and the old faun
The old faun looking
Shocked
Maybe scared?
Not taking her eyes off the phoenix for a second.
“No, listen to me. This is not the time for hostilities, we should calmly ask her about where they met and how we can continue our friendshipin the future.”
The old faun spoke, not screaming.
But holding nothing of her usual assertiveness.
Merely a facade.
“OUR FRIENDSHIP? She has lied to us since the start! Why would see seek friendship when she comes to us with that, abomination!”
He yelled
Pointing an accusatory finger at the phoenix
Who in response
Gave a sharp look, staring dagger into the handsome faun.
Making him shrug back
Smile vanishing.
His hands turning white
Tightening as he stared back at the phoenix
Eyes narrowing.
“Pl-please, don’t take offense to his words, he does not know any better.”
The old faun said
Voice turning more and more shaky
Almost sounding like the beginning of someone crying.
This change of her emotion seemed to be picked up by the gathered elders.
Looking towards the phoenix
All bringing their bows out, some holding runes of power
Some even aiming slowly.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
But the one who reacted the strongest
Was the handsome faun.
Who seemed puzzled by the old fauns words
Looking between her and the phoenix.
His eyes turning from wide to narrowed
Frown turning surprised
Surprise turning to fear
His face turning deathly pale
And his eyes turning wide again.
Hands drew blood as he held them tight
Fingernails puncturing perfect skin.
This seems bad
I slowly drew my bow
Placing an arrow while chanting an explosive spell.
I really don’t wanna use this.
Please don''t turn violent
Please.
Then the handsome faun spoke
Words that sounded
Insecure.
“It is.. It’s you”
At that, mister dragon scoffed.
“Hrmpf, I am no “you”, Faun. I clearlyremember you calling me “Sir Blue” when you were little. Show a little respect. That is the least you can do as I have deigned you all with my presence."
Atthat the chamber went ballistic.
Screams of fear
Of surprise
Of Confusion.
No one shot, but the room was trembling.
A single twitch of a feather and the room would explode in action.
You could almost taste the fear.
“EVERYBODY CALM DOWN! DONT SHOOT!”
I screamed.
Trying to instill some sort ofcalm in the mass of fear and confusion.
And it seemed to work
The room seemed to still.
Stay so verystill
Stiller than a windless lake.
Wow.
I managed to do something.
Okay, okay.
Think think.
What should I do?
“Everybody, there is no reason to fight. Me or mister dragon won''t do anything reckless. As long as no one here does”
I said:
Trying to instill some sort oforder.
But my words fell on deaf ears
As most just
Stared at mister dragon.
No one moved
No one spoke
My face turning red.
The old faun was switching between many facial expressions in a matter of seconds.
And the handsome faun seemed to go paler by the second.
And before anything happened
I took a look at mister Butler.
Seeing two very determined eyes
And giving him a bright smile in return.
“It will be okay”
I whispered.
And then suddenly, the handsome faun spoke
“KILL THE DRAGON!”
He shouted:
Scampering backwards as he wildly tried to climb the seats behind him.
A shout thatwas on the brink of tears
A shout that brought everyone into action.
An explosion rang through the hall.
One that I made
One that blew pebbles and dust
Making nothing visible.
Loud magic
Shouts of power
Blasts of wind, fire, water and earth eked out at random.
Arrows flying past
Burning
Paralysing
Or blinding.
Screams of pain
Shouts of anger
Yells of order
All being coalesced in a chamber of confusion.
No one could tell friend from foe.
And in it all
Me and mister dragon ran.
We ran in a straight line.
Hoping
That no one would hit us.
No
Hit him.
Please
This will end so very bad if you do.
Slowly the smoke cleared
Kicking and punching my way through, quickly finding myself by the wall.
“Destroy it”
Ordering the dragon
“I do not takeorders.”
Aaagh, why do you have to-
But before I could finish, a blast of wind shot me into the wall.
Blackening my vision and impairing my hearing.
Quickly rolling around, I found myself trying to look for the source of the wind.
But only seeing stars.
Hearing a blast where I had just rolled from-
Crapcrapcrapcrap
Standing up wobbly, I took out an arrow
Aiming blindly.
Hopefully, not at someone friendly.
A few seconds later, my vision cleared.
Enough to see that I was
Protected?
A very slimy film of water was protecting me and mister dragon.
And the cause?
A very grim looking old faun.
And beside her, a butler that shot arrows faster than anyone she’s ever seen before.
A quick glance at the “battlefield” and she could see chaos.
The dust cloud had been blown away, and from it shesaw a mass of elders.
All firing different elements at each other
One side aimed at her
The other seemed to protect her.
Adding their forces to the old faun.
But their side was small.
Too small to win.
“SHOOT THE DAMN WALL!”
She shouted again.
Angry eyes piercing the dragons
Who in response
Huffed.
“AAAAAH”
She screamed, aiming her bow at the wall.
Letting out a scream of frustration as she loaded her arrow with mana
One second
Two se-
But before she finished
A loud scream of pain rang out behind her.
A quick glance
And blood splattered her face
A faun lying by her feet
No one she knew.
Three seconds
And she let her arrow loose.
A loud blast
A new wave of rocks pelted the battlefield.
Hitting few but not hurting.
Luckily, she managed to create a small hole
But not very big.
Looking around, she searched for her friends.
Seeing a bruised butler
And a very sweaty old faun.
“We need to go-“
She tried to shout, but was interrupted by explosive thunder.
Looking to the source, she was stunned.
Seeing
A small red dragon.
No bigger than a tall human, but bulkier
And way more frightening.
How is this possible?
“ENOUGH”
The dragon shouted.
Voice creaking the foundation of the chamber, making all those close bleed from their ears.
But it succeeded
Everyone stopped.
“THIS FIGHT IS MEANINGLESS, WE ELDERS SHOULD NOT FIGHT EACH OTHER!”
The dragon continued
Spreading its arms wide
Arms that looked more like wings
Spreading to the width of two tall people standing on top of each other
Showing its fangs as it glared at the gathered elders
Scales glimmering from a nearby burning arrow
“WE MUST SEIZE AND CONTINUED IN PEA-“
It tried to say:
But was stopped
Stopped by itself
As it had started to scream.
Screaming in agonising pain
Burning from a very blue flame
Making all those standing close run from the heat.
The walls bursting into flames.
But just as quickly as the flames had come, the scream stopped.
Switched to the sound of falling bones and melted flesh.
And the scattered screams of elders trying to run for their lives.
“How dare you take that form. No Dragon has given you that right, Faun”
Mister dragon said.
Floating in place, wings spread far
And blue dribble dropping from his tiny mouth.
The battle ensued once more.
More ferocious than before
Desperate
Like animals on death’s door.
The elders used all their mana
Water spewing
Fire burning
Wind cutting
And earth shattering.
But she did not see the battle
As she was already long gone.
Holding a very upset dragon by its tail
And six very, very frightened fauns behind her
Six elders
Two friends.
No one spoke.
Letting the situation speak for itself.
But all staring at mister dragon.
As he bounced through the air, shouting in anger.
“LET ME GO AT ONCE HUM-“
“SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUTUPSHUTPSHUPSTUHPSTHUSPTU”
She screamed back
Closing her eyes as she ran
Running blindly through the streets.
Streets that were empty.
How could this happen?
Why did this happen?
What
Have I done?
She thought
Feeling something worse than pain
Something trulyhorrible
Remorse.
Soon, she stopped.
Throwing mister dragon in front of herself
Glaring daggers at him.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”
“Hrmpf, you must be more spe-“
“YOU KNOW WHAT THE FUCK I’M TALKING ABOUT”
The dragon stopped at that.
Looking at her with
Something more than confusion
Maybe
Admiration?
“He dared to copy our dragon’s sacred ritual. A right only reserved for those chosen by us. Us Dragons”
“I DONT GIVE A FUCKING SHIT ABOUT YOUR FUCKING SHIT RITUAL! YOU KILLED SOMEONE IN COLD BLOOD!”
“I did only what was right”
“NO, you killed someone”
Her screaming, turning quieter
More cold
“If you have to be factual. Then yes, I did kill someone. I fail to see how that matters.”
“You killed someone in cold blood, how can you-“
“You have also killed plenty. I seem to remember you killing ten rats in that village we came from.”
“That was different, they were trying to kill me”
“Everyone in that room tried to kill me”
“And you would not even get a scratch from them”
“True”
“So why would you kill him?”
“He deserved it. He has used the ritual to gain powers that are not his to take”
“No one deserves death! And that shit ritual? You fucking stupid dragon, all the fucking elders has gotten that shit ritual”
A short silence emerged
She stared at him with burning hatred
And he started glowing brighter
“They haveWHAT?”
He shouted:
Glaring widely at her
Then looking behind her
Towards the six elders
“DONT THINK ABOUT IT!”
She screamed, bringing out an arrow
Filling it with mana
With all the mana she had
And then more
Filling it with primal energy
Energy that she kept deep
Deep inside her.
Something strong
Something she has had since birth
But rarely used.
Then
Someone spoke up.
Stopping her.
“Oh my dear Dragon god. Please forgive our great transgression. But we had to. When the dragons disappeared, we had no one we could turn to.”
The dragon floated closer.
Burning just as bright.
The old faun going down on her knees, followed by four other elders.
“In the beginning, the gods where silent to us, left us to our own devices. We had no choice, either the ritualor death.”
He was close
So very close.
Burning of the few hairs the old faun had
The four others were bowing low
Shivering in their skin.
The butler had shuffled near the human
Eyes of sorrow as he looked to her.
Then the dragon stopped
Close, but not close enough to burn
“Then why did the other fauns try to kill me”
The old faun bowed
Hands low on the ground.
“They have forgotten, forgotten of your love and power. Of how we worshipped dragons. They only know of the stories of gods who spoke ill of dragons”
At that, the dragon stood quiet
Floating above them
With an angry human standing behind him.
Seconds passed
Shouts could be heard in the distance.
Searching for the culprit of the attack
Looking for the holder of the blue flame
The one who wrought such suffering in this city.
He, in question.
Was silent
Looking down on the old faun
Who, in turn
Looked up.
Tears and snot covering her face.
“My lord, my god. I’m so sorry.”
She said:
Then bowing again.
“Give me time, give us time. We shall fix this. Please, give us time and we shall once again bow before your greatness.”
Silent words
Almost a whisper
But louder than anything
Making both the butler and human turn towards her.
Both wide eyed
Both thinking
How?
How can someone as strong as her be brought to tears?
Then they differed
One showed fear, feeling overwhelmed by the dragon.
The other
Seethed with more rage
A fire deep in her heart.
Then the dragon spoke.
“Very well”
Two simple words
But enough to make the old faun breath a sigh of relief.
Standing up, with the four others in tow
Giving a big, bright smile
Looking to the dragon
Then to the human.
Giving her a new smile.
A smile that said:
“Show no fear, no hate. Dont worry. I will make it all all right.”
Then she turned, walking towards the storming elders.
Walking towards elders with fury in their eyes
“We have to go.”
The butler said.
Dragging at the human
Who looked at the old faun as she walked to certain doom.
Standing still
Mister butler not strong enough
As if trying to pull a stone statue.
Everything has gone so wrong
Everyone is in pain
And it’s all my fault
It''s all.
No
It’s not my fault.
It’s his
That dragon.
I should have never tried to befriend him.
Never brought him on this adventure.
This is wrong.
I’m
I’m...
Such a failure.
Why must everything go so wrong in my life?
Why is there only pain where ever I go?
I don''t understand
I don''t...
“Leave”
She whispered:
Looking down on the ground
But getting nothing in response.
“Leave. Dragon”
“I take no orders-
“I SAID LEAVE YOU STUPID DRAGON. I NEVER WANNA SEE YOU AGAIN”
She looked up at the dragon
Eyes filled with tears
Body shaking in both anger and frustration
The dragon
Shrugged back
Flames dimming
“I will not leave, you still have a promise to full-”
“I REVOKE MY PROMISE. I don’t wanna see you anymore, I...I HATE YOU“
Three words spoken
Words heard many times by the dragon
But different this time.
This time
They left him feeling
Hollow.
“Fine”
He responded.
Flying up
High up
And up
The ground far behind him.
Taking in the air
Taking to the sky
Higher than the clouds
Going further
And further
Turning back to his dragon form
Flying even higher
And higher
Sky turning black
Air disappearing
Stars getting closer
But then
Being stopped
Hitting an invisible wall
Falling,before collecting himself.
Floating in the air
By himself
All alone.
Why did I bother with that human?
Such a bothersome creature
Being nothing but a pain.
He flew
Flying far, far away
Not really bothering where
Letting the background pass in a blur.
I should have killed her
How dare she speak to me like that?
Why did I not kill her when she woke me that time?
She has been nothing but disrespectful
She has been nothing but...
Kind
Funny
And...
Loving
Through the night
Rain would bless the land
Rain that seemed to not stop
Rain that seemed magicalin nature
Growing crops that should take years in just a night
Filling lakes to the brim
Birthing fountains of youths.
Bringing miracles
Creating foundations for empires
But nothing about it was a blessing.
For it
It was tears