Fiery Hearts

Kellis strolled through the forest of Duvan on a beautiful morning. Drops of morning dew fell from blades of grass at the shudder of her steps. The birds twittered to greet the morning and feed their young. Kellis's bluish-green wings glistened in the warm sunlight. A faint trickling sound of a stream could be heard. Upon her arrival, Kellis lowered her head into the stream for a drink before submerging into the cool water. She let out a gentle growl as water brushed against her scales.

Suddenly, she snapped her head to what she thought she heard; the wailing of a child. When she heard the wailing once more, she rushed out of the stream, seeking the source. The cries grew louder and louder as she drew near. She stopped when she reached the source. A child, no older than two, sat in the center of a meadow, crying non-stop. Kellis looked around for the child's parents, but they were nowhere to be found. Feeling pity for the child, a boy to be exact, she felt it best to take him home with her.

"Hush, little one," she said soothingly to the child, "you will come with me." The child looked up upon her gentle voice, choking between sobs but slowly beginning to calm. Kellis lowered down and carefully grabbed the child by the back of his shirt with her mouth and lifted him. She began walking back to her home. On her way, Kellis took notice of something nearby and using her enhanced vision, her heart sank. Nearby were the child's parents, fixed in an eerily permanent embrace with a hole through their chests and backs. There was only one wicked human she knew that would use this kind of barbarous act of punishment: Jeryl, the Dark King of Skyron. Kellis resumed her journey home.

In the cavernous valley of Kaylenas, dragons mingled about, some being at the top of the entrance, and others being on the ground. The dragon elder and mate of Kellis, Nolas, overlooked the valley. The dragons had been seclusive from the rest of the world of Tain ever since Jeryl became king. When Jeryl came to power, he ordered a mass extermination of the dragons as he believed they would rise against him and usurp his throne. His sorcerous powers influenced people in his expanding empire, turning humans from friend to foe against the dragons.

Not wishing to seek war, Nolas led as many dragons as he could into hiding. There were those who refused to run but instead stay and fight. He remembered hearing their cries as they fell. Since that time, Nolas had difficulty sleeping as a result. He took notice of his beloved Kellis entering from above... with a human child? Grimacing, he leapt from his rocky balcony and flew down to meet with her.

"Here you are, little one," Kellis spoke as she set the child down. "What is the meaning of this, Kellis?" Nolas asked. After licking the child's face, she looked at him. "I found this one alone in the forest." "Then you should've returned him to his family where he belongs instead of bringing him here." Taken aback, Kellis wrapped her tail around the child, allowing him to play with the tip of her tail. "His family is dead. Holes in their chest. Jeryl's specialty. I can't leave--" "Do NOT speak his name in my presence!" Nolas growled. Kellis lowered her head. "I'm sorry, my love... but I can't take the child back where I found him. I understand your anger, your pain, and how you suffer so, but I know you better. You were never one to abandon anyone in the past before everything fell apart. We can raise this child as if he were our own and teach him many things."

Nolas stared at the child silently, watching such an innocent creature with no knowledge of everything play. He then turned away. "Very well... he shall stay." Kellis smiled and licked the side of Nolas's face. "Thank you." she said. After responding with only a nod, Nolas flew back to the balcony. Kellis nuzzled her snout into the child, who giggled and squealed with delight. "You are safe with us... my little Aron."

Years have passed and young Aron grew into a fine young man. He rushed through the forest, quick as lightning with a spear in hand. The wind rushed as a large shadow flew above. He stopped and crouched near a bush as he looked to the sky. He watched as a dragon silhouette flew over once more before it dropped into the forest nearby. As quietly as he could, Aron crept his way over to the dragon. In sight, Kellis began her stroll, paying no heed to her surroundings. She approached the stream that she visited many times over.

Aron came to a stop as he waited for the perfect opportunity. Lowering her head to the water, Kellis hid a little smile, for she knew that Aron was near and she knew what he was about to do. She then proceeded to drink. Aron took about three steps towards her before he began to run. He kept the spear ready as he came closer and closer. Just then, Kellis's tail quickly wrapped around Aron and lifted him to the air. Kellis raised her head and looked at him with a smile. "Now, now, Aron. You're getting sloppy." she laughed.

Aron gave a playful pout. "How did you know I was near?" Letting out another giggle, Kellis lowered him. "Those gooseberries in your breath. Had a nice snack, I see. That explains why we didn't see you at the gathering." Aron shrugged as he sat. "I couldn't sleep. I was too excited to get out." "And give Nolas a headache. I heard about the argument last night."

Aron lowered his head. "It was nothing." Kellis lied next to him and licked his face. "It was more than nothing, from what I've heard. I heard you were wanting to go out to the East and Nolas denied you that request."

Aron picked up a stone next to him and skipped it across the stream. "I was wanting to meet other people like me. But every time I mention this, he always tells me "Aron, you have a duty to the colony. You are to remain with us." And when we argue, he gets angry and call me ungrateful. What exactly is so bad about me going out to meet other humans?"

Sympathizing with his frustration, Kellis sighed. "Aron, you must understand; Before you were born, a dark king named Jeryl took to the throne and ordered our extermination. We were hunted down and we lost many. Nolas rose and led as many as he could to safety, as not everyone wished to fight the humans. Before Jeryl was king, we lived in a peaceful harmony with them. Nolas feared losing any more dragons and so we went into hiding. You are the only human we ever had in our midst. I know you feel that Nolas is being too hard on you, but he is scared of losing you and he fears the risk of Jeryl's men finding us."

She gave him one more lick. Aron watched as she submerged into the stream.

A young brunette woman rode fast through the forest, nudging her horse to go faster. Behind her, in full pursuit, were five men dressed in full black armor. They were the Death's Shadow, Jeryl's personal group of elite assassins. In the midst of pursuit, an arrow flew through the air until it struck the woman's horse. The horse whinnied in pain and fell. The woman rolled off and frantically rose to her feet as the men surrounded her.

As she unsheathed her dagger, one of the men climbed off their horse. "Let's not make this difficult, Nedela. You are coming back with us." he said. "No Brin," Nedela said defiantly, "I will not return to him. I will not marry him."

Brin unsheathed his sword. "You don't have a say in the matter." Knowing she could not best him, Nedela grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it in the air. "Lumanis, Dh'arvas, NECHAR!" she chanted. Suddenly, the dust burst into a flash of light, blinding the men. Nedela then fled deeper into the forest. "GET HER!" Brin ordered and the men resumed pursuit.

On his stroll home, Aron noticed a brunette woman running through the forest. She was beautiful to his eyes. His brief focus snapped to the pursuing men on horseback, one of which carried a sword. Sensing danger, Aron made a dash for them.

When he came close enough, he threw his spear at the men, hitting one of them. The others stopped as the man fell. Nedela went into hiding in the nearest bush as Brin took notice of Aron. "Who do we have here, men?" he mocked. Aron took out a small knife and held it out in defense. "Leave the woman alone." Brin and the others laughed at his remark. "Do you even know who you are talking to, young man?" Brin asked as he stepped off his horse, "Better yet, do you know who we serve?"

Aron stood his ground defiantly. "I really don't care. All I see is a group of pigs chasing someone with swords. I will not step aside and let you have your way with her."

Brin slowly began taking steps towards him. "And what do you think you can do with that? You don't strike me as swordsman material." No words uttered, Aron glanced at the other men, who remained where they stood. He waited as Brin drew closer. "Nothing to say? Then we're finished." Brin raised his sword with a yell but was silenced immediately as Aron threw the knife and stabbed him deeply in the eye. Brin fell lifelessly as the knife magically flew out of his eye and back into Aron's hand.

The other men drew swords and rushed at him on horse. Aron knelt and uttered a small chant. The men flew off their horses so suddenly and they were held in suspension. He then raised his hand, clenched it into a fist, then slammed to the ground. Upon that, the men slammed hard to the ground. They rose up as Aron rushed towards them, Brin's sword in his hand, and slashed two of them. The last one took out a small black ball and crushed it before Aron killed him.

The crushed particles rose into the air and began to spin in a whirlwind. Nedela cried out, "He's coming! RUN!" Before anything could be done, a dark form appeared and solidified into a man, cloaked in darkness with red eyes and dark slits, standing before him.

He looked down to the bodies of his men before he looked back at Aron. "I see you made quick work on my men." he said in an amused, yet uncomfortably tone. "I suggest finding more with better skills." Aron responded. The man chuckled coldly. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, boy. You think you're doing a good deed? You are committing a crime."

Aron took a glance behind him, seeing Nedela briefly, before facing the man. "Who are you?" he asked. The man gave a bow. "I am Jeryl; the King of Skyron." Aron took a mild step back upon the name. "So you are the one who ordered the extermination of dragons?" he asked. Jeryl rose. "So you have heard the tales too."

Aron felt a little confused until Jeryl removed his hood, revealing himself to be albino with a scarred face and red eyes. He smiled. "It was a dragon who did this to me. They waged war on us and brought us to the brink of extinction. My interest was in preventing another from breaking out so we wouldn't be on the twilight of existence once more."

"But the war... that was a century ago!" Aron responded. As Jeryl raised his hood, he grimaced. "A century, yes. But the scars still remain. Now with the dragons gone, we can now flourish. However... I'm not here for a history lesson." He then pointed at Nedela. "I am here for her. She is to return with me."

Aron raised his sword in defense. "If she's running from you and your men, then it's for a good reason. I'm sorry but she's not going back with you." Jeryl chuckled. "You are a brave lad. I admire your defiance. But you don't stand a chance against me." He reached out and began a series of whispers. A glowing purple ball slowly began to form and grow.

At the twitch of his hand, the ball shot forth from Jeryl's hand and formed into a series of spikes. "NILA!" Aron shouted. Upon his shout, an arcane shield formed immediately just moments before the spikes struck him. However, the shield shattered as the spikes impacted. "Farah baan SQUIZER!" Aron chanted. Green vines shot from the nearby trees and from underground before wrapping tightly around Jeryl. A burst of flames erupted from Jeryl, burning the vines off quickly before they could even tighten on him. Jeryl gave a nod.

"You are strong..." The burned vines slithered fast towards Aron and grabbed him before he could do anything. He choked as the vines closed tightly around his throat. "but not strong enough." Jeryl finished. Suddenly, he shielded himself as a ball of fire flew down from the sky and the ground shook as Kellis landed. With a quick swing from her tail, she freed Aron from the vines. "Aron, get out of here. Take the girl with you." she said.

"But--" Aron said in a rasp voice. "JUST GO!" Kellis roared. Aron staggered away until Nedela came out from the tree and grabbed him. They fled together.

"I thought I wiped you all out." Jeryl said. "You presume too much, Jeryl." Kellis growled. Jeryl shook his head. "Get out of my way, dragon. I will deal with you and the rest of your kind later." Kellis lowered herself, preparing to attack. "I will not let you harm them. Especially my son." she then lunged for him.

Nedela and Aron ran and ran until it felt like they were far enough from Jeryl. Nedela set Aron down and checked his throat. There was a long, black mark across his throat. She reached into her small pouch and took out a spongy ball of moss. She pressed it gently against Aron's throat but Aron still groaned painfully for a brief second. "Relax," Nedela spoke, "the Karpen Moss will help." With one gently brush, the mark on Aron's throat disappeared.

Aron touched his throat but he felt no pain. "Thank you." he spoke. Nedela rose to her feet and looked behind. "That dragon... I thought they were wiped out." "That was what Nolas wanted Jeryl to believe." Aron spoke as he stood. Suddenly, his blood ran cold as he came to realize that he's practically dead meat if Nolas knew about his encounter with Jeryl... and Kellis. But he kept it to himself. "So what's your name and what did Jeryl want with you?" he asked. Nedela turned to him. "My name is Nedela. I... I was the daughter of a noble family until Jeryl came to my homeland of Etique and kidnapped me at a young age. He claimed I was his debt for what my family owed him, but for what, I don't know. When I came of age, he wanted me by his side as his queen. But what woman would want to marry a monster like him? The wedding is in three days! So I ran."

Before Aron could speak, the two were briefly engulfed within a large shadow and a quick breeze rushed through and they looked up to see a large, black dragon with silver streaks across his reptilic body fly above and land nearby. It was Nolas and he looked angry. "Where is Kellis, Aron?" he asked. "I..." Aron hesitated. "Aron, where is Kellis? And what is this human doing with you? Speak now." Nolas growled annoyingly. Aron took a deep breath. "Nedela was being chased by some men and I intervened. One of them crushed something and summoned Jeryl and Kellis told--"

"JERYL?!" Nolas exclaimed. Aron went silent, a sign of confirmation to Nolas. "Where are they?" he demanded. "We ran from the open meadow just over that way." Nedela spoke as she pointed over the direction she and Aron fled from. Nolas looked in that direction for a quick second and then lowered himself. "Climb on, both of you. QUICKLY!" he ordered. As soon as the two climbed onto his back, Nolas took flight to the skies almost immediately. Flying as fast as he could over the trees, Nolas scoured the grounds until he saw torn trees, a scorched ground... and the limp body of Kellis. "No..." his voice shuddered, "No." He landed on the ground, letting Nedela and Aron hop off, before he rushed over to Kellis. Aron dropped to his knees, his heart sinking and tears pouring out of his eyes, upon seeing Kellis. Oh, how he wished he didn't leave her.

He nudged her head with his snout, trying to wake her up, but she didn't stir. When he tried again, he was given the same result. He then noticed the hole in her chest, where her heart would've been. He placed his front paws onto her body mournfully and hanged his head down as tears ran from his eyes. He then shot his head up to the skies and let out a powerful, yet painful, roar. After he finished his roar, he hanged his head back down. He gave one lick to Kellis's face before he turned away and walked back to the two silently.

Aron kept his mouth shut, for he not only shared Nolas's pain in losing Kellis but also feared what Nolas might do if he were to dare speak at such a grievous time. Nolas lowered himself back down but only Nedela climbed back on as Aron silently wept. Without uttering a single word, Nolas gently wrapped his tail around Aron, lifted him up, and set him on his back in front of Nedela.

Upon this, he took flight and brought the two back to the valley. When they returned, the dragons took notice of Nedela and grew worried but then they saw the expressions on Nolas and Aron upon their arrival and kept silent. Nolas set down and silently nudged Nedela with his tail to get off and she did.

Nolas then leapt into the air once more for the balcony and took Aron off his back after landing. Aron said nothing the entire time and he just remained on his hands and knees, shaking with a mixture of emotions. He awaited a harsh scolding from Nolas, something he deserved more than anything, but instead he heard a gentle voice from Nolas himself.

"Aron," Nolas began, "When you were very young, Kellis found you in the forest by yourself. You were a toddler at the time. Your parents were found not too far from you, slain by Jeryl himself. She brought you to our hideout, though I originally were against it for I feared that you would bring Jeryl to our hideout. Kellis refused to leave you by yourself. She loved you with all her heart."

Aron lifted his head to see a teary Nolas staring at him. "I know we've had our differences," he continued, "and frequently we've fought and argued. But I need you to remain strong, Aron. I know you are blaming yourself for what became of Kellis. Don't. She was willing to risk her life for you, as a mother would. I don't blame you, Aron, if that's what you are thinking of me. While we are of two different species, you are my son regardless."

Though he was still in grief, Aron couldn't help but feel a little comfort from hearing those words from Nolas himself. He wiped his tears away. "What are we going to do?" he sniffled. Nolas gave a small nod before turning to the dragons. "The time for running is over. Now... we must ready ourselves for the battle yet to come." He then looked down at Nedela, who was interacting with some of the young dragons. "You said that one of the men chasing the girl summoned Jeryl, so he will stop at nothing to retrieve her. She must be protected, Aron." Aron looked at her as well. "I will do my best."

At the castle, Jeryl stood over the large red map of the world, covered in a strange transparent liquid that acted like water. Each step caused a series of ripples that faded shortly afterwards. Just then, Kaidas, Jeryl's Thane, stepped into the room and gave a small bow. "My Lord," he began, "I have assembled some of the regiments to search for the girl in the forest. She couldn't have gone far. We will find her and dispatch the boy."

Jeryl gave a cold chuckle. "My dear Kaidas, she is not in the forest anymore. She is hiding... with the dragons." Kaidas raised an eyebrow. "Surely, you must be mistaken. We have hunted them down to the very last and wiped them out. And--" "There is no mistake." Jeryl interrupted, "I have encountered one in my pursuit. She put up quite a fight."

He rubbed his arm slightly with a grin. Kaidas looked at the map. "So what are your orders, my lord?" he asked. "Dispatch the troops," the Dark King ordered, "send them beyond the forest. If they find Nedela and the boy, retrieve her and do what you wish with the boy. But if you find the dragons, kill them. Leave none alive." Kaidas bowed and then left Jeryl to his thoughts. "You won't stay hidden forever, Nolas." Jeryl spoke.