FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Arcturus sat down on the grassy land that grew near the mouth of the cave’s entrance. The sun hung in the air, sending its warm rays to bathe the human in its pleasing embrace. He took a deep breath, taking in the smell of the salty ocean. With a sigh, he gazed over the surrounding forest, with towering trees that bore the darkest bark and greens of every variety sprinkled in their leaves. Howling Tempest had allowed him to venture this far from her cave, yet he was still being forbidden to leave. Arcturus realized that despite her warmth, pleasing touch, and food, he was very much still her captive. He wondered how long it would take until someone from his clan came looking for him. How long until this place was swarming with dragon hunters of all kinds. How long until this family of dragons would lay dead around their own home.

His attention was drawn to a section of large rocks scattered around the grassy field. Like stone monoliths, they rose from the earth in a formation that reminded Arcturus' of teeth in a dragon's maw. The three hatchlings were climbing the tall stones, leaping from top to top with little growls as their talons dug into the stone each time they would catch hold of their destination. The activity repeated several times until the hatchling with the red striped talons did not find purchase. The hatchling kicked frantically for support, then fell with a yelp of surprise, landing right onto his wings. When the dragon stood up, he went to stretch his left wing, but suddenly stopped, let out a pained whimper, and tried to lick at the stiff pain that rendered his wing immobile.

The human hesitated for a moment as he watched the dragon try to move his wing several times, only for the hatchling to have the same heart-stinging reaction as before. With the latest bit of whining, Arcturus could no longer fight the impulse to help somebody in need. He ran a hand along the leather strap of his pack, and strode over to the little dragons, who separated themselves from their brother. He saw their eyes look to him with fear, as if he was going to kill them and turn them into belts or boots. Even the red striped one tried to get away, but Arcturus offered a soothing sound like their mother had done. This caused the hatchling to cease his struggles for just long enough for Arcturus to grab the limb that was troubling the dragon such.

He felt his way along the smooth scales, much softer than the female’s. The hatchling’s armor felt like leathery plates rather than solid material. With the next pass of his hand he saw the hatchling close his eyes and offer a whine. It did not appear that anything was broken. Arcturus's eyes traced along the limb as the little dragon tried to pull it away from him. It was then when he remembered having something similar when he was smaller.

“Your wing is dislocated.” Arcturus said softly, patting the dragon's scales gently. “I can fix it...but it might hurt for a moment. Try to be strong, ok?”

The dragon nodded without a word, looking up to him with emerald eyes full of worry.

“Alright. Ready?” He asked, paying no mind to the other two snouts that descended on his hands, curious on what he was going to do. “One…two…three!” He shoved the wing joint back into the socket with a small yelp of pain from the red striped hatchling.

“There. The worst part is over.” Arcturus retracted his hands and dusted them off, a smile coming to his face as the little dragon rose to all fours and started bounding around with a smile on his snout. He opened and closed his wings several times, letting out a little happy roar.

“My wing feels right again. You were right!” The hatchling cheered, stopping to stare at Arcturus, tail flicking eagerly behind him.

“Thank you!” The female hatchling nudged him with her snout, an act that caused him to push back against her, laughing.

“It was no problem, really. I could have been faster, but I had to feel my way around the wing to be sure, cause I just couldn't see....um...that bone that connects the wing to the back. It’s called…uhhh, it’s the…I forgot the name, but maybe you can help me? Uhhh…” Arcturus slapped his face with his palm. He wanted to feel heroic, yet instead, all he did was embarrass himself further. He gestured to the dragon he had helped, too shy to even ask the hatchling’s name.

“I am Xervir!” The red striped hatchling proclaimed, slinking over and nudging the human, running his scales over his clothes. “Thanks again for the wing fix you did. It feels so much better now!” the hatchling looked over to his siblings, his eyes no longer filled with fear, or worry, but full of mischief. “Do you play games, human?”

“Arcturus.” He laughed.

“What kind of game is Arcturus?” The yellow striped female asked, tilting her head to the side, and ruffling her wings. “Does it involve wings or tails?” She opened up her left wing and gestured to the soft membranes.

“No…that’s my name.” Arcturus chuckled, thumbing his chest.

“That can't be a name.” The blue striped hatchling replied, licking his jaws like his mother did. “You look more like a Zenthyn.” The dragon nodded. “Yup, most definitely a Zenthyn.”

“I agree.” Xervir laughed. “It suits you much better than this weird name you claim to have.” The hatchling sat down onto is haunches, his snout tracing along Arcturus' clothes, until his gaze fell onto the pack that he had.

“I don't know about Zenthyn...” The yellow striped hatchling suddenly put both of her forelimbs up on the human as she moved her snout ever so close to his face. “I think.... he looks exactly like a....like...mmrrrrr.” She gave a quick giggle before suddenly licking him across the face and scampering away. “I'd say an Ordis.”

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Arcturus wiped away the slimy strand of saliva.

“You have to be faster than that, Ordis!” The female leaped around happily.

“Ordis?” Xervir asked, turning to his sister and baring his teeth. “That is a stupid name for a healer!”

“It's better than spell-wrangling Zenthyn.” She rolled her eyes and swished her tail, hitting the grass. “Right Arcturus? Ordis is a much better name, right? You don’t look like a wizard at all.”

Arcturus nodded with a laugh, causing the two male hatchlings to pout and glare at their sister, who was just smiling and puffing out her chest.

“See? The human prefers my name.” She strode over to sit beside him, scooching close, and looking up to him. “Ordis here is on my team from now.”

“Your team?” Arcturus chuckled nervously, concerned he had just entered a game he did not understand.

“Does he have any weaknesses?” Xervir asked, his snout getting close to sniff at his clothes. “Well…your scales are really soft...I bet you’re ticklish like our wings!”

“Your wings are ticklish?” Arcturus laughed, causing Xervir's eyes to widen.

“N-no.” The dragon backed away from him, folding his wings closer against his back. “Mrrr...no… of course not. Why would they be ticklish? Dragons can’t be tickled.” Xervir looked away as if he did not care. “That would just be silly...right?” The dragon snapped his gaze back towards him with a smile. “Get him! Let's find out human tickle spots!”

“Hey!” Arcturus managed to shout out before he was suddenly bombarded and tackled over by three eager hatchlings. He laughed as their little claws raked across his skin, one or two piercing into his skin by accident, but he paid it no mind, as Xervir found that, by licking the human’s neck, Arcturus recoiled with laughter.

“His neck is ticklish!” The dragon proclaimed to the other two roaming snouts as Arcturus desperately tried to push them away.

“Stop it, you…little bundles of scales!” The human reached out with his fingers through the bouts of shrieking laughter coursing through his chest. The dragons did not relent for a moment, as one found the back of his leg made his entire body spasm and giggle without care. His eyes began to tear up as the dragons continued their tickling, until his fingers found Xervir's wing membranes. It was then when Arcturus wiggled his fingers. A wave of accomplishment surged through him as the dragon suddenly fell backwards with cackling laughter, causing the other two to suddenly stop.

“He’s down! On him!” Arcturus gasped out, pointing to the fallen dragon, hoping his siblings would join in as he began to tickle the dragon on the ground. He was pleased when they both joined him with their snouts and claws as they ran them along Xervir's soft membranes. “Go go go! Show him no mercy! Give no pause to your assault!” Arcturus ordered with the gruff voice of an army commander, delighting in the dragon's whines, his cute small kicks, and his smile as he cackled into the morning air.

“Nooo! S-ssssstop! I’m not…you shouldn’t-” He shouted out, his tail wiggling under the merciless assault. “Raawwwwaaaaaahhhh I’m not the enemy!”

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?” Came the loud booming voice of their mother. Arcturus and the others grew silent as they unwound themselves from one another once the dragoness strode over with powerful steps, her tail swishing back in forth, and her eyes full of anger. “What were you all doing together?”

“We were playing with Ordis here.” Xervir rolled over on his belly, refolding his wings. “They all then ganged up on me to tickle my poor wings with-”

“WHY ARE YOU PLAYING WITH THE HUNTER?”

“Hunter? But I wasn’t-“

“Shut your snout, human. I heard what you said about assault. You want to poison my hatchlings with the vile things you learned from your family?” She snapped her mouth at him, thrashing her tail, and growling from her throat. “I have you here in my clutches, under my roof. That does not give you the right to play with my hatchlings. I have not forgotten what your family had done, and still keeps on doing.”

Arcturus looked to the others as Howling Storm continued to scold them, their little snouts drooping as her chastising words sank in through harsh growls.

Arcturus’ eyes began to mist. Was this how his life was going to be from now? To be the puppet of this dragoness? Get shouted at? To be berated, snarled at? To be tossed in with his father’s hatred? He could not help being who he was: a kind, cheerful boy who never dreamed of harming these hatchlings.

“I…I wasn’t…trying to…” Arcturus turned his head back to the female to sniffle by himself. Tears began to stream down his face as he lowered himself to all fours and began to cry in earnest.

The female ceased her snarl, growls, and reprimands. Arcturus felt her snout press onto his back, and she let out a warm puff of air through his ruffling hair.

“What moves you to tears, little one? Was I too harsh?”

“It’s…” Arcturus sniffled. “It’s that...You welcomed me under your wing last night.” He lifted his head, the tears still coming down his cheeks. “And now you snarl, hit, shout…We just played together, is all. I never tried to hurt them, or…or teach them bad stuff.” He wiped his eye with a sleeve, sniffling. “Why can't I play with the hatchlings? I swear I don’t want to hurt them! I thought…I thought we are friends. We were having so much fun together…”

“Yea!” Xervir went to speak.

Howling Storm silenced his little squeak with a pointy claw. Then, her eyes turned back to Arcturus. “Because, little human, we cannot ignore the truth. You belong to the Lu-“ Her eyes then widened before him as she froze in place. The only movement she was making was her tail, wagging back and forth, and her chest rising and falling with her breaths. She then lowered her snout and averted her gaze. “By Bahamut's grace, I have been most unwise.” She turned away, her tail wrapping around the boy and pulling him towards her.

“Hatchlings...continue to play.” She turned back to her offspring, offering them a warm smile. “I am sorry about my outburst. Continue to have fun together. I will return the human shortly...I just need to talk to him a bit.”

Arcturus wondered what she wanted to talk to him about, but quickly scampered after her when the little dragons all nodded to her and resumed their wrestling match with one another. He followed Howling Tempest for a few more minutes, until she turned around, sat down on her haunches, and patted a spot on the ground by her tail.

“Sit here with me, Arcturus.” She said softly. “Please.” Her voice softened even more. Arcturus saw her eyes fill with the same fondness she had shown to her hatchlings. How could he resist? He took a seat within the curled confines of her tail, and she gently pulled him closer and brought her snout close to his face. “I am sorry for stealing you from your home against your will.” She said after a long sigh. “I only wanted to make sure I could get my family away from danger without you raising the alarm.”

“But I was the one who-”

She silenced him with a warm nuzzle along the side of his head. “You are a sweet boy, Arcturus, but I never fully trusted you. Your family name still blinded me from seeing the truth.” She pulled away to show him her paw. There was still a dark red mark on the underside, where his dagger had found purchase. “Perhaps you would not have been so terrified to lash back at me if I unveiled my plan. I realize that was my first, and greatest mistake.” She sighed again before returning her snout to his face. “Can you forgive me?”

“I'm sorry for stabbing you.” He quickly replied, ignoring her question as his eyes returned to her paw. “I was so scared…”

“I know.” She licked him across the face. “It was not your fault, and truthfully, I admired the courage you have shown. That, despite being placed in such a dire situation, you chose to fight your way out. You held your head high and stood your ground against me even if you had no hope of winning.” She chuckled and nuzzled him gently with her snout. “It was a very dragon thing to do, little human.”

Arcturus touched her enormous snout and held it close to his face when her words came to a stop. Then, he pressed his head gently against hers, sighing under her warm embrace, basking in the soothing air that rushed out of her flaring nostrils. “So, what happens now?” He asked softly, a sense of disappointment running through him when she rose her snout above him to look back to her hatchlings. They were still rolling in the grass with a series of growls when she called out in the same tongue.

The three hatchlings suddenly stopped and quickly scampered over with blinding speed, until they were right beside their mother's tail, paws pressed against the scales, and little snouts close to Arcturus, filled with smiles and grins.

“I think I would like you to meet my children.” She smiled, “properly, this time.”

“He already knows my name!” Xervir shouted, puffing out his chest and thrusting a wing talon in his direction. “He relocated my wing when it got hurt!”

“He did?” She smiled to the dragon. She flicked her playful tongue at him, causing Xervir to giggle out. “That is a most helpful human to have!”

“Uh-huh. He is a very good healer. Then we played wrestling, and I found out he’s even more ticklish than us!” Xervir than wrinkled his snout and glared at Arcturus. “And then he recruited Briva and Emmess against me.”

Howling Tempest just chuckled, pointing to Xervir. “This little bundle of joy is Xervir.” She then brought her snout over to the yellow striped hatchling, and licked along her spine, causing the little one to laugh in return. “And this one is named Emmess.” The dragoness did the same thing to the navy striped hatchling, who turned to smack her snout playfully in an attempt to thwart of her assault of affectionate licks. “And lastly, this one is Briva.”

“Hi...I am Arcturus, and I am not a game,” He laughed, waving to the smiling hatchlings.

“So...” Xervir rose his head up to his mother, followed by the others joining beside him. “Can we play with him? Please?”

“Please, mother?” Emmess added, tapping her paw against her mother's scales. “We promise to not hurt him! Well...” She looked to the tiny scratches on his skin. “Besides scratches, but those were accidents! Honest!” Emmess' tail wagged like a blur behind her as she spoke.

Howling Tempest's grin only got bigger as her eyes went to Arcturus, then back to the hatchlings, who seemed to be bouncing on their paws as they waited her response. “He is all yours, little ones. Try to be gentle. He does not have the resilient scales we bear.”

“Hey, that is not true. I have clothes and-and I’m more than capable of handling a couple of dragonlings!” Arcturus suddenly exclaimed.

“Oh really?” The dragoness inched her snout close to his confident face. “Guess we’re about to see if you are indeed as strong as you say. Get him!”

The little dragons growled heartily at the challenge. They leaped on the human at the same time, once again tackling him with laughter and soft paws.

“Got you now, human!” Briva shouted out, giving a little growl in the back of his throat.

“Go for his tail, Ordis!” Emmess cackled as she fought Xervir away with her tickling talons. “That is his tickle spot!”

“On it!” Arcturus wrestled with the navy stiped hatchling, who now squirmed to get himself free when the human’s deft fingers descended onto his tail.

“No! You won’t get my tail, healer!” Briva kicked back with his hind leg, knocking Arcturus back onto his butt, allowing the hatchling to bound away with laughter. “You can’t catch me, Ordis!”

How could he resist a challenge like that? Arcturus pulled himself free, letting Emmess keep Xervir pinned to the ground with her tickling attacks while Howling Tempest watched over them. The thought occurred to him, that she was watching over them all. Like...they were all one big family...and he was part of it.

Need to focus. No time for thinking! Arcturus shook his head and chased after the hatchling, who cackled and leaped around in glee.

Arcturus spent the rest of the day with the hatchlings as they practiced tag with one another, even if that game always ended with the hatchlings turning on him and tackling him once more to the ground with a series of cute dragon sounds. They then explored the surrounding forests, although every so often, when they would look around, he would see that Howling Tempest was always nearby like a sentinel, ever watching. He smiled at her diligence each time, and went back to following the scampering little dragons through bushes, plants, flowers…he even joined them by rolling in a large field full of grass. They all ended that little play on their backs, looking into the sky. Arcturus pointed out clouds to them, and asked the dragons what they saw. They all would reply with food, animals, or other dragons in flight. He was having so much fun with them he did not keep track of the time, and it felt like the day had passed in a blink of an eye. The sun was already sinking below the mountains in the distance, basking the land in the pleasant fiery caress of a gentle flame.

Arcturus sat outside the cave’s entrance, with all three hatchlings pressed up against him. He giggled as he put his arms around the scaly bunch. He figured that, if anyone were to come see him now, it would look like the dragons had adopted him right into their little clutch. Arcturus fought off another wrestling match that had started when Emmess had poked Bravis on his snout with her paw, laughing the entire time as he assisted his teammate in the affair. He thought back to his time with his own family, the grueling training, the demands of his overly exigent father, and the hatred he was trying to impart onto his son. With a sigh, Arcturus caressed the dragons as they all piled on top of him in a giant hug of affection. Their scales warmed him up to the very core of his being. How could his father be so wrong about such a magnificent species? Dragons were not all evil like he had said. Part of him wished to stay with this family forever, for how bad could it really be, to live among dragons?

He ate again alongside the small family when Howling Tempest brought back another meal for them to eat. She cut him off a section and used the same magic to cook the meat as her hatchlings worked away with little rips and tears. Arcturus diverted his eyes from the grisly work as he chomped away at his own morsel. When that was finished, another round of licks came from Howling Storm, to which Arcturus found himself laughing, not minding the shower of saliva in the slightest. His reaction even caused the dragoness to pull her snout away with a rumbling pleased noise from her throat.

“You seem to have adjusted quite well.” She looked up fondly to her hatchlings that had started to yawn and cuddle against one another. “They seem to adore you. I wish their interactions with mortals were always this nice.” She gave him one last lick before retreating to her nest. The dragoness nestled herself into the nest as the hatchlings bounded for her and wiggled under her wing.

“Come on, Ordis! Sleep here, where it’s warm.” Bravis squeaked, waving him over with a yawn.

Arcturus looked up to Howling Tempest's smile, then to the three hatchlings that looked at him with smiles and expectant eyes. How could he resist? He leaped into the collection of scales, and sighed with obvious fulfillment when they all squirmed and packed themselves around him tightly. He closed his eyes from the feeling of contentment he felt, and when Howling Tempest's wing wrapped around them all, he truly felt like he belonged here, as one of her clutch.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Come on, wake up.”

Arcturus felt a warm snout press against his chest, causing his arms to raise and grab hold of warm scales. With his eyes still closed, the boy unleashed a satisfied sigh. He was still in the warm embrace of his new family. Nothing had changed.

It wasn’t a dream.

Arcturus was so relaxed now that he almost felt like dreaming. The pleasant feeling of all the hatchlings still cuddled with him, the warmth from the dragoness they were snuggling against. He could not bring himself to move away from such serenity.

“You have to get up, Arcturus.” The dragoness nosed him again, a tad more forceful than before. The last poke caused him to open his eyes as the three hatchlings scampered off him with little whimpers of dissatisfaction.

Arcturus rolled off the dragoness and stretched his limbs with a yawn. That had been one of the best sleeps of his life. Resting under a dragon’s wing was surprisingly warmer than his bed, and even more comfortable. He found himself looking back to her stretching form, wishing to be back within her embrace. To be held so lovingly as he slept. It reminded him of his own mother, and for a short moment, Arcturus wondered what today held in store for him. Would they get a chance to explore the forest again? Would they fly with the mother in the sky? And more importantly, would she take him with her when she decided to leave this cave behind? His eyes widened when he realized he did not mind the last option at all.

I can live among dragons, Arcturus’ fascination rose further the more he pondered on this. I can fly with them, learn so much. And the best thing is, I never have to hold a sword in my life ever again!

He could be a painter, selling off beautiful depictions of the dragons he would encounter along his journeys, at various markets, to people who found dragons equally captivating. Maybe even change a village’s whole perceptions of dragons. How would his father feel then, when he, Arcturus Lund, would make the world love dragons instead?

The boy’s little heart all but fluttered at the beautiful images his optimistic mind could conjure.

“You have to go home this morning.” Howling Tempest said softly as she noticed his stare. “We are leaving, and you cannot stay with us.”

Arcturus’ dreams all came crashing down upon hearing those fateful words.

“Wh-what?” He blinked, unsure if he heard that correctly.

“I have to take you back to your real home, Arcturus. Please. Don’t make this more difficult than it is. It’s…hard for me to part ways so soon after…” She sighed and looked to the cavern walls.

“B-but, you can’t do that!” Arcturus protested as his heart sank into a shadowy pit of disappointment. “I don't want to go back home! I have all the training, the testing, the expectations, and then there’s my father. He wants to kill all of you!”

“Nonetheless, it is where you belong, little one.” She lowered her snout, her eyes not daring to look him in the eye. “I want to keep you here, with us, but your family is big and powerful. They would send out scouts to track us down, then parties, whole squads of armed warriors…there would not be a single place in the world where they would not hunt us, and I don't wish to put my family in that kind of danger.”

“But they won’t find me! Can't you just take me with you and fly away?” He asked, tears starting to form in his eyes as the little hatchlings all gathered around him.

“Can't we keep him, Mother?” Xervir asked. “We will take good care of him!”

“Make sure he gets fed!” Bravis added with a smile.

“Ordis is not some pet to keep around.” Emmess rolled her eyes, pressing herself up against Arcturus with a purr. “I'd like him as a brother. Who wants to adopt him?” She raised her paw, followed by the others doing the same thing with a bout of laughter.

“Please...” Arcturus whispered. “I don't want to be like my father. I don't want to be a… killer. I don't want to hurt dragons, least of all…murder them for no reason!” The tears stung his eyes now, rolling down his cheeks as he collapsed. The three hatchlings wrapped themselves around him as Howling Storm lowered her snout to him and gave him one long lick across his face. Arcturus sniffled, and with blurry eyes, saw that she too had tears in her amber eyes.

“I wish I could take you with us Arcturus. You are different from your kin, a child fair of heart, with a warm spirit unlike any other human I met. One that allowed you to cast off your father’s words and free me. Thanks to you, I am not dead, and my family is reformed. I will always be grateful for your deeds.” She gave him another lick across his cheek. “But I cannot take you, for your father would hunt us to the end of the earth, slaying us for taking his son away from him.” She nuzzled him next, pressing her warm scales against him. “If you go back home, we have a chance.... I am sorry Arcturus...know I truly wish to take you away from all the things that trouble you...and I would want to make you one of my own, but…” She pulled her head away, wiping the tears from her bronze cheeks. “The only thing I can give you now is my name. Rasionynth.”

“Rays…ion..ynth.” Arcturus stumbled with the words, trying several times but failing at each one. “What good is a name if I can’t come with you guys? Can…” Arcturus wiped the tears from his eyes. “Can’t I call you Howling Storm? It’s the first name you gave me when…when we became friends.”

“You may, little one. But I would keep saying my real one…practice makes perfect after all.” She licked him one more time as he wiped away his tears. “Now come...I wish to show you something before we part ways.” She rose up and guided all four of them to one of the cavern’s walls.

Arcturus looked up to the grey stone, finding something that once again surprised him. Along the wall were pictures of all sorts, drawn, it seemed, with a claw of some kind. Most were at the same level of the hatchlings. These drawings were of things like trees, animals, the sun, the water, little stick figures for humans. He looked to the hatchlings that were on their haunches, tails wagging with big smiles as they admired their handiwork.

“Here.” Rasionynth rose her claw and dragged it along the stone swiftly, drawing the shape for a human, and three little shapes for her wrymlings. He could tell by the little wings and smiles on their snouts. Lastly, she drew a bigger dragon around them all, with her tail curled around their playing form. “Now...no matter where we go...part of you will remain here, with us, in the same place we called home.”

Arcturus approached the stone carefully, running a hand along the surface. The shapes were rudimentary, lacking the refinement he displayed with the brush, yet the gesture touched him deeply. Howling Storm drew art for him, same way he did for her shortly after they met. He felt more tears come to his eyes as the pain in his heart grew at such touching gesture. “I…it’s beautiful,” Arcturus sniffled. “Please…take me with you.” He looked one last time in her kind, beautiful eyes. “We can do so many things together! I can teach you how to draw with the brush, and-and color the sketches. It doesn’t have to end like this. Please, I don't want to go back.” He continued to look up to the dragoness, whose amber eyes started leaking honest tears.

“I know.” She picked him up gently with her paws and pulled him against her warm scaled chest. “And it kills me to let such a fine painter go.” She then wrapped her head around him, and pulled him tighter against her, as he felt her body began to shiver. They stayed like this for a moment before he was set down against the stone. “Well...” She looked up to the exit. “We should be off then. Get close enough to Drenedar before your family’s scouts spot us.”

Arcturus nodded. He had to be a man. If he truly cared about these dragons, he had to let them go.

Putting the stern look of a warrior, Arcturus went to follow her as she strode right past him with a swish of her tail, her onyx claws clicking on the stone with each step. He stopped after several steps, an idea forming to his mind as he remembered his pack. “Wait!” He shouted out, throwing his pack onto the ground.

“What is it?” Rasionynth turned around, tilting her head to the side.

“I know a way to keep you with me as well.” He pulled out a small journal that he always kept in his pack. With a leather cover, and a belted binding, the book was as fine as it could get. He set it on the cavern floor and pulled out his vial of ink. “You just have to let me put ink on your paw, and you can press it against the pages here.” He smiled to the hatchlings and gestured to the vellum.

“Mama, can we get our paws dirty for Ordis?” Emmess looked up to her, her eyes misting. “I want to play with him one last time, before…”

“You may.” The dragoness nodded, causing all three of the hatchlings to cheer in joy.

One by one, Arcturus helped the hatchlings get their right front paws covered in the black ink, then letting them press it against the paper. They giggled about how cold the ink was, and it was amusing, how each dragon felt the need to press their nose against the vellum and sniff their handiwork. Arcturus finished off their art with a signing of their name right below the paw marks. When the task was finished, they all followed Rasionynth out of the cavern and into the morning light.

There was a slight fog in the air that made the surrounding countryside look lost in a sea of murky white. Arcturus took a deep breath of the crisp air, sighing in remembrance. His senses would soon be overfilled with horses, gryphons, and the smell of dragon hunters. He turned to the hatchlings, who bound to him and wrapped him up with their wings. Each one had tears in their emerald eyes as they wished him a hearty farewell.

“You will see us again at some point, right?” Bravis asked, his head drooping.

“Please mother, will he see us again?” Emmess looked up to her mother with expectant eyes. Her tail twitched slightly.

“I…do not know where out next home will be.” Howling Storm sighed, “But I think Drenedar is a fine place to settle. I heard of a blue dragon that might help us find a place to settle. He goes by the title of Swirling Storm, if my memory serves.”

Emmess looked back to Arcturus and licked him gently across his face. “You hear that, Ordis? Just look for this Swirling Storm one day.” She nuzzled him with her snout. “Find him, and we can be a clutch again!”

“I will…one day…” Arcturus ruffled her frill with his hands, tears still pouring from his eyes as he wished them all goodbye. When Rasionynth picked him up and brought him into the sky, he never thought it would have been as hard as it was to say his farewells. He started to cry once more as he pressed his face against her scales, wishing to be held within her forelimbs forever, and never go back to the family of slayers that he was bound to.

* * * * * * * * * *

Rasionynth settled him down within a mile of the fairgrounds. She made sure to keep low to the ground and hug the trees as she flew. When she said her goodbyes, she did so with tears, licks, nuzzles, and hugs. “Remember to keep your heart true, Arcturus.” She licked him one more time across his face, like he was one of her hatchlings. “And if you want to be a knight, to protect instead of punishing... you go be a knight.”

He nodded, caressing her scales one last time. “Good bye Ra...sionynth.”

“May the summer winds lead you into a life of prosperity, Arcturus.” Rasionynth spread her wings, and with a mighty flap, the majestic dragon was gone, her shining scales soon disappearing, leaving Arcturus alone near the edge of a vast forest. He looked around to see in the distance the large collection of multicolored tents, and the black smoke rising from the fires. He found his next few steps hard to make, like his legs were weighted down by stone to stop his advance. He glanced back, hoping to see that the dragoness had changed her mind. However, all he saw were trees. All he heard, silence.

“Be a man. I need to be a man.” With a deep sigh, he picked up the pace and made his way back to a family he no longer wanted.

Arcturus wandered into the collection of mortals. No one seemed to pay him any mind as he got lost in the sea of sounds, people, and smells. That was until he came across the familiar tent of his own kin, where he was assaulted by hugs, ruffled hair, and caring eyes.

“Where did ya venture to, lad?” Came the voice of one of his uncles, a farmer from the southern regions near Trost.

“Ye worried us half ta death, ye wee basterd!” Said one of his cousins, a gryphon rider from Whitedell to the east. She carried a concerned look in her radiant hazel eyes. “Found a lass an’ spirited her away into the forest, eh? Needed a bit of lone time fer yerselves.”

“I was…I was…” Arcturus tried, but he could not get out a word thanks to the storm of questions flung at him. Where he had gone, what he had gotten up to, if he had a fling with the gryphon nanny’s niece. Even if he could do something that ridiculous, he could not tell them the truth. How could he, when it would put the dragoness at risk?

“Yes...Where did you get off to, son?” Came the demanding growl from his father, who pushed aside many of the Lund clan with a sneer on his face. “Where did you run off to? Is it true you went romancing some lass? How thoughtless is that? Did you not hear one of the dragons went missing? You could have been killed, boy!”

“Father…I…” His mind raced for an answer as he kicked himself mentally for not running over a comprehensible story. He figured he was just so distraught over not staying with the family of dragons, it had simply slipped from his mind. “I was hunting a boar in the woods!” He rubbed the back of his neck and gestured to his soiled clothes. “Damn thing sent me on a chase, and I got a little lost. Stupid, I know, but I wanted to prove I can be a warrior just like you, father.”

“Awk, you poor thing. Are you hungry?” His nanny squawked as she pulled him right against her fur. “You must have been alone, cold, and oh, so, so hungry! I will whip something up for you with a slice of a claw.” She poked him in the stomach with her talon. “Can't have you hungry for the trials ahead, young man.”

He looked up from the concerned gryphon to his father, whose stern eyes never shifted from him. For a moment, he was concerned what was running through his father's head. Thankfully, the man did not yell, nor did he scream. Markis just gestured for him to follow. “Come. Don’t make me ask a second time. We need to share words.”

Arcturus gulped as he let go of his nanny in order to follow in the footsteps of his father, who strode away from their tents. He looked back briefly to see the rest of his clan dispersing and going back to the festivities around them. He picked up the pace and stepped in tandem with his father, who looked down to him with the same stern gaze, eyes filled with disappointment.

“A boar? Is that the best you could come up with, whelp?”

Arcturus froze. “F-father…I swear it’s-“

“Do not patronize me, boy! I know it was you who freed the dragon.” He finally spoke with a growl as they came to a stop in a place far removed from anyone else. “What...on this fair earth… were you thinking?” Markis thundered as he slammed his palms together. “How many times have I told you of the destruction spread by their wretched kin? They are evil, vile, twisted monsters that wish only to see us killed to the last!”

“T-that is not true!” Arcturus shouted back at his father, clenching his left hand into a fist. “I got to see how dragons truly are. She was kind and caring and good unlike you lot!” Arcturus blurted out, his face stern, just like his father. There was no point to play the role of a coward any longer. He had to be a warrior. The same steel-hearted fighter that stabbed a full-grown dragon in the paw. After all, if his father divined the truth, he might as well go all out. “She was nothing like you said, and you are too blinded by what happened to your brother to see-“

Arcturus was thrown backwards as his father backhanded him to the ground. “Gah…”. He picked himself up, glaring up the man who had raised him as he rubbed his warm cheek. “This just proves my point.”

“Point? Point?!” Markis paced around. “You are my son, you daft child! How dare you disobey me like that?” His father picked him up by the scruff of his shirt. “How dare you accuse me, your own sire, of being infested with-with hatred to protect a beast?” The man spat that word as if it was poison. He let Arcturus to go continue his pacing, a look of disbelief present in his eyes. “I can’t believe it. My son…my only son…my warrior would never betray his family for a dragon! I bet she enchanted you, boy.” He pointed an accusatory finger at Arcturus’ numb form. “Weaved some spell we could not block in time, or-or used her silver tongue to fill your young, gullible mind with a hoard of lies.” He continued with a growl.

“If that is true… why did she not end me, father? Remove the evidence, as it were?” Arcturus shot back. “Explain that to me. Try to think for one. Single. Moment.”

“Easy.” His father moved in again, taking his belt off as he did so. “After she fled our camp, she used you as a fockin’ token. A distraction. Did not want me to go after her out of vengeance. Now she gets a chance to fly away, far away from here, far enough where even our scouts can’t find her. You denied us more than a dragon, boy. You stole our right to judge the beast for its crimes…and for that…you shall be punished.”

Arcturus grimaced when his father struck him with his belt as hard as his arm could muster. The stinging lash made him gasp out and squeeze his eyes shut. “Gahh!” he could not help stifle the weakened cry when his father continued to hit him again and again and again, the firm leather connecting with various parts of his body.

“Dragons....*thwack*...Are....*thwack*...Evil....*thwack*.... I am doing this for your own good, boy!”

Markis lashed three more times. “Even if you hate me. Even if you curse me. You are still my offspring, and I know what’s best for you!”

Each strike against his back was a strike right to Arcturus' heart. His gasps of pain filled the air as his father continued to lash him mercilessly, spouting off more lies about dragons. “Do you want to end up like my brother? That what you want? To get yourself killed?”

“Your...brother?” Arcturus gasped out, his brow sweating. He gave a weakened pull against his father, but still could not find the strength to liberate himself from all this torment. “You...never mentioned...that he…”

“He liked dragons, just like you, boy.” His father narrowed his eyes. “But instead of returning the kindness shown to him, the beast my brother decided to call friend killed him where he stood! Was that a proper reward for a kind-hearted man? Hmm? I will make sure you never end up in that position.”

Markis shoved Arcturus to the ground. “Lesson’s over. Pick yourself up and get ready for the tournament ahead. You WILL do your best and beat the others, and when it's all said and done, we will drill into your head the evils of dragons until you forget all about this little slip in judgment. I will make sure you are never tempted by such evil ever again.”

Arcturus groaned as he pulled himself to his feet once more, wincing in pain from the plethora of marks left on his back. He wanted to narrow his eyes and glare at his father. Tell him how futile this beating was.

But Arcturus stopped himself from doing something stupid. It would do him no good, to fight fire with fire. That would just give his father another reason to continue his beating with that awful belt. So Arcturus just nodded to the man, “I will do as you say.” He hung his head, clenching his fist, then let his father grab him by the shoulder and lead him back to the others with a firm, painful hand on his shoulder.

“I'm doing this for your own good, son. One day, you will thank me for this, and you will teach your own son of the lesson I have imparted upon you this day. I love you Arcturus, and I won't let those beasts take you away from me. They’ve already taken far too much from our family. I will make them pay, understand? They will all pay their due.”

Arcturus kept his head bowed until he was finally let go to his tent. He rubbed his shoulders and winced in pain. His thoughts went back to pleasant warm scales, affectionate licks, and the pleased sounds of the hatchlings. With those thoughts present in his mind, he was able to push back the pain from his wounds he collapsed onto his bed. He knew it would be only a moment of rest, and a few bites of lunch, before his father came back for the usual training.

Arcturus wondered what he would be doing tomorrow at the tournament. He knew the top reward would be to slay the remaining dragon. That had to be it. But how could he slay the creature now? He just had the best day of his life with the dragons that were supposed to be his mortal enemies. What if this one was just like the female he had set free?

Arcturus closed his eyes with a sigh as he thought to the gold dragon's scales. He made a vow internally to find the creature. He would free him, just like he had done with the female. He only opened his eyes when he detected the alluring scent of roasted lamb, as his gryphon nanny shortly called out to him.

“Arcturus! Come eat your lunch before it gets cold! Your father wants to go test shooting with you after!”

Arcturus sighed, opened his eyes, and strode outside to eat his meal. He sat down at a wooden table and wolfed down the roasted lamb, corn, and peppers that were mixed together on his plate. He sighed and savored the flavor. It was at least better than magically roasted stag. The spices made things so much better in his opinion. However, the relief did not last forever, and he soon found himself washing the meal down with a swig of water. He bowed slightly to his nanny, who ruffled her feathers and offered him a kind smile. Arcturus stood straight up and made his way to the target range, where he knew his father would be waiting with his stern face and crossed arms.

Arcturus spent the rest of the day working with his father, trying his hand at an energy crossbow lent to his father by the king. The weapon was usually something only reserved to those in the military. Arcturus liked the feel of it in his hands as he lined up his shots and easily blasted apart the targets that were brought before him. He rolled his eyes and groaned the entire time as his father continued to question him on dragon weak spots and how vile they were. With that done, he went into a drawn-out rant that included all of the horrible deeds they had done, most of which he'd witnessed with his own two eyes. Arcturus willed himself through by thinking of the dragoness and her hatchlings, so no matter what his father was throwing at him, it met a mind hardened by love and determination. Protected by the pleasant memories of the dragoness Rasionynth.

That night, Arcturus quickly gathered his things around his room, ready to set out to find the other dragon. He just knew that all he needed to do was talk to the gold scaled beast. In his mind, the dragon would tell him a story about how he had been wronged by the hunters, and placed here to be killed unjustly. Surely that was the case, just like the female had been?

Arcturus took a deep breath as he pictured the dragon flying away into the sky, roaring happily after being freed from his bonds. It brought a smile to his face when he went to open his tent, only to find a guard sitting on a chair, watching his flaps.

“Evening lad.” The pockmarked guard in chainmail smiled, waving to him from his chair.

Arcturus quickly pulled his head inside, wrinkling his brow. His father must have placed that guard to make sure he never left his tent, knowing he would want to go find the other dragon. Damn it!

He went to the other parts of his “room” and peaked under each wall, only to find each one had a different guard placed in front of them. Double Damnation! He crossed his arms, as each of the sentries was positioned in just the right way that there would be no way around them, no way through without getting spotted.

Arcturus eventually collapsed onto his bed with a sigh, pulling his journal from his pack and opening it to the page with the paw prints. He looked to the ink, remembering how happy he had been that morning. How he wished he could have stayed with his better family. He eventually felt tiredness take him, and he closed his eyes when he could not fight off slumber any longer. He wiggled once in his bed, his dreams filled with dragons flying high in the bright sky.

* * * * * * * * * *

Arcturus made sure to wake up early; early enough so that when he was peeking out from his tent, the guards that had been so vigilant a couple of hours ago were now fast asleep.

Perfect.

Arcturus slunk by one of them like a silent shadow. He made sure to change his clothes before heading out. The boy wrinkled his brow as he grabbed hold of the dark green tunic and the charcoal leggings he now wore. Arcturus shook his head and began his search, paying no mind to the sun that was just beginning to crest over the horizon. He checked the outskirts of the place, just like he did before introducing himself to the female bronze dragon, Rasionynth.

Only now, he was on the trail of a different dragon. Arcturus first went to her tent, thinking logically that the golden dragon’s tent would be close to hers. It also had to be big enough to accommodate the size of such a looming creature. Arcturus scurried from tent to tent, quickly peaking under the cloth for any sign of the golden dragon. With each failed attempt, he would look up to the slowly rising sun and wonder how much longer he had before one of the guards would grab him from behind and shout all sorts of profanities in his ear.

I have to do this, Arcturus fought the pit in his stomach and pressed on. I’m a man. And men aren’t afraid.

On the fifth such tent, he came face to face with a dark brown colored cloth. It was held down with many ropes, and bore a guard garbed in chain mail, just like it had been with Rasionynth’s tent the nights prior. This man even bore a spear in his hands as he shifted his elven head from side to side. Arcturus realized someone must have told the men to be more vigilant after the first dragon went missing. He snuck past the man, going the long way around to the other side of the tent, where he lowered himself into a crouch and felt with his hands at the taught cloth. He hooked a hand on the underside of the material, then gave a great tug, but nothing happened. The tent fabric was being held down too tightly, and no matter how many tugs he gave, it would not budge.

No no no…come on. I can’t just let him die, you stupid piece of cloth!

Simmering with apprehension and anger, Arcturus stood up and crossed his arms. He did not come this far to be stopped by this overly tight tent. He unsheathed his dagger, and like a hunter, plunged the sharp tip of the metal into the fabric. With several loud tearing noises, he cut a circle into the material and made his own entrance.

Arcturus bounded into the tent, his eyes adjusting to the dim light that illuminated the insides of the tent. He squinted and looked around the boxes, the hay, and what looked like torture equipment. The ground around the place seemed to have been ripped up with claws. Arcturus frowned as he realized that the knives, blades, and other such sharp objects had blood on them, most likely carved from the innocent dragon.

Don't worry, my friend. I will set you free from this unjust torture. Arcturus navigated through the maze of items, each drop of blood or torn ground slicing another painful gash into his soul. When he came to the golden dragon to see him bound and bleeding, his heart nearly cracked, for the beast that had looked so beautiful the day prior was now covered in thin red lines. Scales that had looked so majestic now bore cracks and dents, in some places looking like a spiky mess of twisted flesh. His feathered wings were bound just like the female’s had been, and his limbs were chained together with a large lock in the middle that needed a key. Oh no. Unlike the female, there would be no undoing of straps or any way through them.

The golden dragon looked up to the boy with his worried, emerald eyes. His pained eyes filled Arcturus with so much guilt that it made him dizzy. They had done this. His clan, people he knew, had inflicted untold pain onto the dragon before him. A dragon that was most likely not at fault to deserve such unjust punishment. His mind went to the bronze female and her hatchlings, longing for their presence as he took a few tentative steps. The golden beast said not a word and simply watched him, most likely confused as to why this human was slowly approaching him.

“Hello.” Arcturus spoke clearly, his voice soft and gentle. He even bowed slightly to the dragon, thinking it was the polite thing to do. He felt his heart quicken and beat with excitement as he neared the scaled creature.

“My greetings, little hunter.” The dragon replied, his whiskers flicking as he rose his head slightly.

“I... I’m not one of them. Mhm. I’m not a hunter.” Arcturus replied without skipping a beat. “I have actually come to free you.”

“Really? What have I done, to deserve such stroke of fortune?” The gold dragon tilted his head as much as he could to the side. He did not stray his sight from the boy that continued his approach. “What compels you, young hatchling, to seek me out and lift my burdened heart with tales of freedom?”

“Uhm…well…there’s this…” Arcturus gulped on his words as the golden dragon fidgeted slightly against the bindings. “Let’s just say I have come to an important realization recently. I have seen…no. I’ve been proved that not all dragons are the shadowy evil monsters from my father’s twisted tales.”

“Mmm, intriguing words you bring to my ears. Perhaps this is the day when righteous justice finally dawns upon a land basked in darkness.” The dragon gave a deep rumbling sound from his golden scaled neck akin to tumbling stones.

Arcturus cracked a meek smile at that. “Yes,” He said as he was filled with the same exhilarating confidence he tasted when he freed Rasionynth. “I am just trying to do the right thing.”

“Then by all means, little one.” The gold dragon gestured to his bindings with a smile. “If you think you can free me from these shackles, go for it. I will make sure you are rewarded appropriately for your kindness.”

“W-wait. Before I do it, may I know what your name is?” Arcturus made sure to stay away from the creature’s head while he found his way around the metal bindings and the lock that fastened them together. His fingers traced along the cold smooth metal for a weakness. A few moments later he sighed with a frown as he realized they were fine craft. Probably the finest he had ever seen. The same kind his father would use if it were up to him, and in this case, it probably was.

“You may have my title, savior of dragons. Please refer to me as the Shining Sun.” The dragon swelled his chest out proudly, his scales clinking together. Shining Sun then let out a pleased sound like a purr that made Arcturus giggle. Did all dragons make such cute noises? Arcturus could easily compare them to oversized cats after he lived among a real dragon family for two blissful days.

“That’s a pretty name to have. Hold on a bit. I have to see…what I can do to…” Arcturus continued to examine the lock. He had practiced picking them from a young age, it was yet another skill his father had drilled into him. However, with each passing second, it was becoming clearer that he would not be able to undo this lock without the blasted key. His only hope was to pickpocket it from the guard outside, if in fact he was the one who possessed the key to the lock and not a fake.

He was about to tell the dragon this when he heard the voice of the last person he wanted to hear. The voice of the only man that could make his blood run cold.

“Arcturus! Where in the blazes are you?” Came the loud booming voice of his father from the entrance of the tent. His face was contorted into a snarl and was the brightest red known to mankind. The fuming man stomped his way across the tent as Arcturus froze up. “What?! What in damnation’s name did I tell you!?” Markis barked through his teeth. Within two stomping steps he was upon the boy, roughly pulling Arcturus away from the dragon, who looked away and snorted his disapproval.

“F-father, I-“ Arcturus could barely find the words to defend himself. What he was doing was much too obvious to explain. There would be no lie that could get him out of this. He had done this knowing the risks.

“Father, you are wrong! They are not all evil! If you’d just let me prove this to you, please! He’s a living being, and if you’d talk to him just for a moment-”

“Silence, you gnat!” Markis slapped his son across the face. “You dare to tell your father what to do?”

“Please…” Arcturus winced. “If you…if you’d just treat that dragon like a fellow human…”

“He’s not a human boy. That there, is a beast!”

Arcturus refused to back down. He spouted more of his young wisdom, but every word, every plea fell on deaf ears as he was tossed to the ground by his father, who stared down on him with the hungry, evil stare of one of the dragons that he hunted with such passion.

“We will drive this poison out of you, Arcturus.” Markis grabbed some rope and bound them around his boy’s smaller hands. “I will make sure you don't end up like my brother, even if you kick and scream the entire time. I will not let the dragons take what I have from me, Arcturus. They might have my brother, but they won’t rip my only son away from me!”

“Please…if I mean anything to you, just…just listen to my words.” His voice cracked as his father finished his bindings around a wooden pole that was thrust into the earth. “Dragons are not inherently evil. In many ways, they’re just like us, with families and-and loved ones. They only want to live, father!”

“That’s a load of hog shit.” Markis thundered as he shoved a finger between Arcturus’ eyes. “What does a boy know of war, eh? What do you know of loss? The dragons use you as their plaything because you’re too fockin’ stupid to see the truth!”

“Please…” Arcturus winced. “If I mean something to you…if you ever loved me… just listen to my words. Mother…you know mother wouldn’t have wanted this. You know this, father. You know it!”

His eyes began to mist as his father backed away, disappearing for a moment, only to return a few moments later with a cat o’ nine tails. Arcturus' eyes widened at the thin ropes held tightly in his father’s white-knuckled hand.

“N-no. No father, please, don’t torture me!” Arcturus cried out in desperation. “Think of mother. What she’d say if she was here right now?” He desperately called out as his father grabbed his shirt and raised it to expose his back. He then held the device back, ready to strike.

“She would smile at me.” The man’s gruff breath fell over Arcturus’ back. “She’d approve of anything I’d do to save your life, boy. Now let’s set you free of the poisonous words the beast injected inside your head.”

His father lashed out with the device.

Arcturus winced and cried out as the tails of the device struck his skin. The vigorous lash made his whole body tremble as he fought to stand up.

Then another came. And another. The whip crackled upon his back like the forks of lightning that split the sky apart during a storm. Arcturus’ vision blurred as his father continued his incessant whipping, each stroke bringing a fresh wave of pain that made the young boy scream his guts out. However, despite his screams, despite his words, his father continued with the flogging.

Arcturus’ thoughts struggled to become coherent words through the nightmare he was living. Each time he got several words out of his shaking mouth, they were cast from his mind by the forceful arm of his father. He was left gasping after the twentieth such whip, the feeling of warm blood dripping down his ragged skin strangely soothing.

“Now boy...tell me again about the wretched dragoness you foolishly spirited from the grasp of deserved punishment. What happened? And what do you think of her? I want to hear it all, down to the last word, until I am sure her poison leaves your body.” His father said, his voice laced with hatred.

“Mghh…nrrrhhh.” Arcturus knew what his father wanted him to say. He wanted to hear the same lies that came from his own vile mouth on the subject. He wanted to hear about the dragon's evil, and how she had manipulated an innocent boy in freeing her. He wanted to hear that his son, the soon to be great dragon hunter, had not been swayed by the beast. “She was…a monster.” Arcturus whispered, his hollow eyes staring into the ground. A bead of saliva made its way down his lower lip, trickling onto the ground beneath.

“When her words failed to succeed…she enchanted me with magic. Twisted my mind. Made me… think of dragons as if they are my brothers.”

“Correct. Correct!” Markis beamed with evil satisfaction. “I’ve seen the effects of such spell before, and you are describing it perfectly m’boy. More. Tell me more, son. What did she do next? Tell me how you freed her.”

“I…I just did.” Arcturus said with the same helpless, confused voice.

“No. They can twist the mind. The mind, son. Your head.” His father tapped at his own skull. “But they can’t control your body. So tell me again. How did your hands find their way to her bindings?”

“Her claws…” Arcturus gestured towards the golden dragon’s sharp talons. “She threatened me with evisceration. Told me that…she’ll skin me like a deer and hang my pelt in her cave. I was afraid. Had no choice. She told me of all the gruesome spells she could cast on me if I didn’t obey.”

“Wretched creature.” His father spat on the ground and stroke his chin to vent out some of the anger that made his temples tighten. “To threaten my son like that. My son!”

“If I wasn’t a Lund, she would have killed me where I stood!” Arcturus cried out. The words that flowed from his mouth made him hate himself with each passing moment. Lying was always distasteful for him, but he just wanted the pain to stop.

“You…you’re lying to me, aren’t you?” His father grabbed the boy by his chin and sneered into his face. “I can see it in your eyes, boy. You’re only forming words to appease me, but you don’t truly believe them, because your head’s still with them! With those blasted, deceitful, worthless creatures that took so much from our family!”

“Father, that’s-I’m saying the truth. I can’t lie to you. Come on. Did…did I ever lie to you?”

“Yes, son. You did. And not just once. Aaahhh, no matter.” The man sighed, pulling back the cat o nine tails again. “We can keep this up all morning, until your eyes speak the same truth as your words. If I ever catch that dragoness…oh, my young, stupid boy…you can bet she will be getting more than she ever bargained for. This flail, see this?” He flaunted the blood-dripping tool before Arcturus’ frozen face. “I’m going to craft a flail ten times the size with teeth sharper than any dragon’s, so I can rip the scales from her body, like this!”

“No, father pleeeaaasse! AAAHHHHHHH!” Arcturus screamed out to the heavens as the coldness of the whips once again kissed his bleeding back. He collapsed onto the ground, a squirming mess of hisses, groans, and endless pain. He cried out to any god that would listen, but no matter what deity he called on, the man above him silenced his desperate pleas with rivers of pain. It continued for so many strikes that Arcturus completely lost count. He only remembered standing slowly up, wincing at all the pain he had endured. His hands shook as his father undid the bindings and thrust a red potion into his hands.

“Drink it down to the last drop. We need you at top performance for the events we have prepared today.”

“I…” Arcturus could not find the strength to resist his father and just took a long swig from the horrible tasting liquid. He could not find the taste, but it reminded him of curdled milk, and he forced himself to swallow the entire potion if only to rid himself of the infernal pain. He finished with a gasp, and a wipe of his mouth, finding his strength starting to return. The lingering pain from his wounds soon started to fade away as the magic potion swirled through his body like Rasionynth’s comforting licks.

“Perhaps not now…but I hope that, one day, you’ll come to understand that what I’ve done is for your own good.” His father spoke almost the same words that he had used when he had whipped him the other day. Arcturus just looked to his father and nodded, internally hating the man that was staring back at him expectantly.

“I understand.” He lied again, handing Markis back the empty bottle. Arcturus looked around to see the dragon was now missing from his resting place. However, the metal bindings were still lying on the ground, including the lock that had stopped him. They must have traded those bindings for something that could be more easily moved. Someone had obviously come to retrieve the beast while he was being tortured by his father.

Arcturus narrowed his eyes when he was led out into the light of the day. The sun hung midway towards the center of the sky, among a vast, vibrant blue expanse that knew no clouds on such a fine day. The warm rays bathed the entire collection of tents in a warm glow as tournament goers walked through the boisterous crowd, chatting away about the upcoming events.

Today came the day of the festivities, at last. The noise of the crowd was almost deafening, and Arcturus was led right through the thickest crowd. The folks parted before him and his father like water, signifying the respect they had for the name Lund. Arcturus lowered his head and looked to his boots as he heard a mention of his name in passing. It seemed like an eternity before he was tossed back into his old ‘room’, ordered to get ready.

“The games will be starting any moment now, son.” His father crossed his arms and waited for him outside. “You will do your best. I know it. Then, after you defeat the rest of those buffoons, you will stand proudly at my side. We’ll face the beast together, but it’ll be your hand that gets to finish off that spawn of filth for good.”

Arcturus scowled as he gathered his things. He strapped on a darkened, worn leather vest that bore the symbol of his family stitched into the hide. He ran a hand along the surface, disgusted by how it looked, and how it made him feel sick to his stomach. Arcturus imagined a dragon would look way better on his chest.

The thought flew from his mind when he grabbed his steel sword, thrusting it into his leather scabbard, then tying it with a belt around his waist. With that done, Arcturus closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he tied a dark green cloak around his neck. He would win this little talent of contest, and he would stand at his father’s side, just not for the reason the old man expected. In spite of his words, Arcturus still had a mind of his own. When he was supposed to kill the beast, he would set the dragon free, to prove his father, the Lunds, and all of the attendants how wrong they were. He would let everyone see with their own eyes that not all dragons were monsters.

And then, Arcturus, savior of dragons, would stand proudly up there, a satisfied smile on his face and a final look of defiance thrown in the way of his stupefied father. Arcturus opened his eyes and nodded to himself, rather liking the mental image of that. Without another word or thought, he strode out into the sun and took his place at his father's side.

Arcturus took to the center of the arena surrounded by cheering people. He was lined up with many other young aspiring dragon hunters from all around the kingdom. Their own faces were full of good cheer and expectation, and were thrilled when the dwarven announcer had proclaimed the winner would indeed be the one finish off the golden dragon. Arcturus watched as they had wheeled out the dragon on a cart, bound in leather. The crowd had gasped at first, then suddenly roared their approval at the excitement that was going to soon follow.

Arcturus? He just gripped the hilt of his sword until his knuckles went white. Make sure to watch me, father...I will win...and then the dragon will be out of your torturous hands for good.

The tournament started with a target practice of any weapon the combatants chose. Arcturus went with a hand-sized energy crossbow like the one his father had him practice with. He lined up his shots carefully, and nearly got bullseyes the entire time, only getting outperformed by an elven child with a bow and arrow. They next moved onto beasts. This involved setting each hunter against a magical beast the trappers had captured for the purpose of this contest. Arcturus was set against a pair of blink wolves. These brown canines could teleport short distances as they hunted their prey. Arcturus made short work of them, easily side stepping or avoiding their attacks. He met their throats with his metal blade, wincing as their blood stained the green grass. When the last wolf had fallen back with a whimpered cry Arcturus, offered a short prayer for the creature that was being used in such a gruesome way. He finished it off with closed eyes, ending the thing's pain once and for all. With the deed done, he cleaned his sword and ignored the praises that were being sung about his performance, along with the cheering of the crowd.

The day continued with challenge after challenge. Some were mental ones, involving testing the weak spots of creatures, others were more physical in nature, like the beast contest. In each one, Arcturus was one of the best contestants, once again only being followed by that elven lad that had bested him in the target practice portion of the contest. The last challenge presented before them was a tie breaker, to decide which one of them would be able to slay the beast. The elven warrior, or the human hunter? The crowd went into another screaming frenzy when Arcturus held up the training sword they provided him for the upcoming duel. There was no need for the contestants to maim themselves, after all.

He took a deep breath and focused on the golden scaled dragon that needed him right now. He could not afford to lose to this elf. A child that was most likely three times his age. If he did, that dragon was going to end up with a slit throat, or a sword straight to the eye. “For Howling Storm,” Arcturus mumbled under his breath as he bounded at the elf with his sword held high.

The elf sidestepped his attack easily, striking at him in a horizontal fashion.

Arcturus crouched, the sword passing over his head by mere inches as he brought his own sword up, striking the elf right in the chest. He backed away with a smile as they separated and started to circle one another. Arcturus held his sword out as the elf narrowed his eyes and did the same.

They then met again and again. Wood on wood clacked out, only to be drowned by the cheers around them. Arcturus grit his teeth as they went at it like a blur, trying to find a weak point in the elf’s defense.

With a pinch of luck, Arcturus found it. He took a step back as the elf swung down at him. The wooden blade missed his torso, and Arcturus struck him twice with his own sword. Once on the shoulder, followed by a quick strike to his left leg.

“ARCTURUS IS THE WINNER!” came the shout of the dwarf announcer, adding to the screams of the excited crowd. A few men strode over, grabbed Arcturus' wrist, and rose his hand up for all to see.

I did it! Arcturus smiled to himself. Just like I knew I was going to!

He glanced back to the bound golden dragon, his heart not letting up for one single moment. He had gone from one battle to the next now that he won the contest. Arcturus did not pay any mind to any of the words the dwarf was speaking until he mentioned finishing off the bound dragon in the company of his father. Arcturus was given back his steel sword and was led over to the golden creature as the whole crowd grew silent.

Arcturus looked to his father, who wore a grin from ear to ear. He could see pride swell in his eyes as he looked back to his son. It made Arcturus almost happy to see that look on his father's face, but he frowned when he realized it was only because the man thought he was going to follow in his footsteps and murder the dragon that was displayed before the cheerful crowd.

You’re about to be proven so wrong, father. Arcturus returned his father's grin as he was brought before the beast. He unsheathed his sword with a hiss, the sun shining brightly off its metal surface. He took several deep breaths as his hands shook at what he was about to do. He saw the golden dragon look away and close his eyes, clearly resigning himself to his fate. Don't worry, Shining Sun. This human hatchling is going to save you, and you can fly away and live your dragon life in peace. Have mates, hatchlings, do whatever you wish.

He twirled the sword in his hand as his father started his speech.

“Dear warriors, beloved clansmen, families, and friends. We thank you all for participating in these glorious events. It truly is a chance to show off the best and brightest among us while we hone ourselves for the battle ahead.”

Markis then clenched his fist. “For we must all remain at our best to fight against the looming threat of dragon kind. For years, we have tried to teach them a simple lesson. Tell them that we humans only want to live in peace. But such savage beasts know not the sweet embrace of calmness. They thirst for blood. Our blood! The same blood that courses through the veins of our children, who now have the distinct honor of carrying forth the flame of our unyielding justice. Behold, Arcturus! Winner of today’s tournament, and soon to be slayer of dragons!”

Markis smiled as the crowd erupted into frantic cheers.

“See? They love you,” the whispered and gestured to his boy with a wave of his hand to address the crowd once more. “There is a time in every child’s life when the boy must become a man. Today, it is my honor to see my son take the first powerful steps into a much larger, and far more dangerous, world. By finishing off the vile gold dragon we have dragged before you, Arcturus is going to prove that he is indeed ready to carry the mantle of a true Hunter. Turn your eyes upon his wretched prey. Behold, Inferno’s Bite!”

Markis all but had to point at the captured dragon, and the crowd started to boo, throw insults, vegetables, and whatever objects they had on hand at the helpless dragon.

“Your feelings stir within my chest as well!” Markis thundered, “for the horrible creature that now stains the grounds of our tournament with his festering presence laid waste to an entire village. A village full of good people, same as you. Why? Because the honest, kind hearted people refused to fall into his schemes.”

Markis took a deep breath, then pressed on. “They fought against the beast’s greed, paying no gold for misplaced protection, because they put their trust in their rightful king -our king- to protect them, as he promised to us all. Sadly, it had not been so. After the dragon dispatched the scant number of guards that gave their lives in defense of their village, this terrible monster killed every last woman and child, then burned the whole village to the ground, bathing its accursed deeds in the same wretched flames it draws its name from!”

The whole crowd gasped, while others called for the beast’s quick death.

“I know, fair people. Believe me, I know what must be done. There’s only one thing a rampaging monster deserves.” Markis pointed to the dragon once again. “That is why we have the beast here, right now. Displayed before your very eyes, to be made an example of by none other than the winner of the tournament. My son!”

His father turned to him with a smile. “Please finish off the beast, just like I have taught you.” He pointed to his eye and gave Arcturus a wink, a signal he wanted Arcturus to plunge his blade right into the gold dragon's eyes, delivering his steel blade right into the beast’s brain and finishing it off for good.

This was it. This was the moment of truth. Arcturus felt sweat come to his hands as he raised his sword. He took an anxious breath from his lungs to steel his nerves. Am I really going to do it? Defy my father and all the young hunters right in front of their parents? His thoughts flew to his mother, and her own love of dragons. She was a gentle creature. As good and kind as Howling Storm. He remembered falling asleep under the bronze dragoness' wings, with her three hatchlings pressed against him. Yes...I am going to do it...I am going to become a knight. Be an example to the others. Teach them that hatred is not the only way to peace.

“No, father.” Arcturus said with a resolute voice. “It is you who is the monster, for condemning an innocent creature to its death.”

The man’s eyes widened with shock. A wave of power surged through Arcturus. Moving his eyes towards the dragon, he slashed down rapidly into the leather bindings, easily cutting them in two with the razor-sharp sword. “THESE DRAGONS ARE NOT EVIL!” He slashed again, and again, until Shining Sun's bindings were reduced to tatters.

“Arcturus! What are you doing, my son?!” Markis Lund snarled as the crowd gasped in horror at the newly freed creature. The golden dragon shook his head and stood proudly onto all fours, spreading his majestic feathered wings for all to see.

“I am doing the world a good thing this day!” Arcturus turned back to the crowd with a large grin. “We need to move away from old concepts. We need to understand that dragons are just like us!” Arcturus winked back at his father and sheathed his sword. “No matter what words you sneak into my ear, no matter how much you whip me…” He gestured to the dragon as people began to scream. “I will prove you that dragons are not the monsters that-”

His words were cut short as the golden dragon opened his maw to unleash a large golden ball of fire that flew straight towards the crowd. To everyone’s horror, the flaming meteor collided with the stands and exploded with a bright flash of white light. It sent splintering wood in all directions, bodies flying, and horrible screams cried out into the air as the same people that cheered moments ago were now melting before the very eyes of the boy who freed Shining Sun.

“N-no…this…this can’t be hap…happening…” Arcturus felt his whole body go numb as the golden dragon took flight and fired another ball of fire into the crowd, claiming more lives with his engulfing flames. Thick smoke started to billow up from the stands, making Arcturus drop to his knees in terror. What had he done? His eyes looked to the bodies, broken, unmoving, scattered in the crowd, and he clutched at his heart when he spotted the burned, tattered colors of his own clan. People that left the comfort of their homes and came to the tournament to watch the new generation train over a laugh and good food. People that had never hurt or even dreamed of inflicting pain upon a dragon in all their lives. Friends, relatives, acquaintances, now dead because of a stupid boy and his naïve actions.

“The debt is paid,” Shining Sun landed near Arcturus. “Run now. Find your bronze female.”

“Wh-“ Arcturus choked, his chest so tight he could barely speak. He knew? How in the blazes could this monster know of Rasionynth? How could he even speak of her after he unleashed such destruction upon innocent people?

“The drunk told them everything.” The golden dragon growled back at the stunned Arcturus. “He knows, boy. Your father heard every word you spoke to her. He’s been testing you from the beginning!”

“Shut your blasted lying mouth!” Markis shouted with the same spiteful voice he used during the flogging. “I’ll carve your blackened heart out, hear me? I’ll rend the limbs from your pitiful body and thrash your mangled scales beneath my boots!”

“Rrrraaaaahhh!” The dragon quickly looked at the several men that started to surround him. He swiped the first attacking force with his tail, buying himself a small reprieve to look at the stunned winner of the tournament. “What are you doing, you stupid boy? Fly away from this wretched place. Free yourself from their shackles before it’s too late.”

Run where? Arcturus was more confused than ever, head feeling on the verge of bursting from the sudden turn of events.

The dragon snarled as he forced back another group of attackers. He threw several looks at the boy’s petrified body, and when Arcturus failed to move, the beast gave a mighty shake of his head and flapped his mighty wings, beating hard against the air, lifting himself higher above the stands. It looked like the dragon was going to get away, as it roared into the afternoon sky. His tail flicked behind him as the sun shinned off his scales, almost mocking the human that had let him go. How in this world could something so beautiful cause so much destruction and death? How?

“Fire the blasted cannons already!”

Arcturus was brought back to reality by the forceful sound of his father’s voice. Like a light in a vast sea of darkness, it broke through the screams of terror. It made Arcturus look up to the dragon once more, who was almost gone now, probably smirking to itself. That’s when he saw a group of nets fly towards the dragon at a speed he thought impossible. They collided with the golden dragon, wrapping themselves around his scaled body, binding his wings in such ways that rendered him unable to keep himself in the air.

The dragon hissed and fell from the sky like a stone. Arcturus could not see where he had landed, but he could hear his pained roars as hunters undoubtedly converged upon on him with poisoned weapons, wicked blades, and righteous hearts.

“Come this way.” His father grabbed him roughly by the scruff of his neck, easily dragging the boy across the field. “You have embarrassed our family in a way I never thought possible.” He hissed, his words filled with hatred. “That you have defied me so crudely.... despite your punishments...speaks louder than any lie! Look what you have done, you dumb child!” He gestured out to the charred stands, covered in the corpses of spectators and clansmen alike. “Look at how many died for your little show of defiance!”

Arcturus could not look away. Not when his eyes began to mist. He did not mean for this to happen. He had not meant to trade so many lives just to prove a point. “I…nghh, I’m...I can’t…” He stammered, words failing him as his father violently pulled him again by his neck.

“We will work on this every day, if needs be. No son of mine will be led astray by the vile lies of the dragons. I want you to remember this day, Arcturus.” His father brought him to the golden dragon that was now being bound once again, his pained hisses and snarls of protest useless against the army of hunters. The creature was flailing, but it was no use. The many gryphons and other mortals had it completely pinned, Arcturus' eyes were drawn to the numerous arrows that had been plunged into its hide, no doubt covered in dragon bane poison.

“Like what you see? You should. Here. Have a closer look.” Markis roughly shoved his son towards the dragon as the hunters finished binding its snout to the ground.

Arcturus felt so small and alone when the other hunters looked to him. He could see their accusing eyes judging him for what he had done, so full of hatred. He truly felt like he did not belong among these men. These…strangers. He wanted to run away, like the dragon said, never look back and forget this entire thing ever happened.

“Blame nobody but the monster standing before you. My son, though addled in other ways, has done no evil, for he was enchanted by the beast’s foul magic!” His father spoke loudly and clearly for the crowd. “I should have seen the signs, and that is my failure. We all know the magics these things can conjure to twist the minds of untrained boys. But we have snapped him out of it.” Markis snapped his penetrating gaze towards Arcturus in a snarl. “Isn’t that right, boy?”

Arcturus nodded through tears. What else was he supposed to do?

“Now, we shall have my son take his share of rightful vengeance by finishing off the beast that had enchanted him so! The beast that settled itself free with the arm of my son, and loosened its destruction on the innocents of the crowd!” Markis grabbed Arcturus by the shoulder and brought him to the beast’s head. “Now, you are going to cut into every weak spot the dragon has, and only when I give the order, you will kill him. Do you understand, boy?”

“B-but…” Arcturus stammered, tears coming to his eyes, rolling down his cheeks as he looked to the dragon that had killed so many.

It’s my fault. All of it.

“You will do this, Arcturus...or so help me, I will have your clothes used to hunt down that dragoness that you so vehemently defend. Her scent is still in there, and you know how good our gryphons are at tracking their quarry. Why, you grew up amongst them.”

“Y-You wouldn't!” Arcturus gasped, his heart cracking as his father's face refused to falter. He knew that the man had meant what he had said with every fiber of his being.

“Do not think me the fool for not standing up to my own words. I am not weak, even if you’d like me to be. Now face your prey, hunter.” He turned Arcturus' head roughly towards the dragon. “Finish off the beast here, extract vengeance for all those who have fallen, and I promise to you that we will not pursue the bronze female. This dragoness of yours will be given a day to flee from my hunters. If she seeks peace, like you said, she’ll leave our lands. But should I hear even a single report of a bronze scaled terror inflicting pain upon another one of us ever again…there will be no forgiveness for her actions.”

Arcturus nodded as his father pulled away, and once again, unsheathed his steel sword with a hiss. He held it out in front of him as tears continued down his face. Despite the death the creature had caused, Arcturus still felt guilty for what he was about to do. Maybe if he was not bound the entire time, the gold dragon would not have felt the need to strike out in revenge.

“Now Arcturus! Show us the work of my craft! Show us all the weak spots of this dragon!”

Arcturus hesitated as he stared into the dragon’s clear eyes. There was no hint of malice there. No monstrous intentions that made his hairs stand on end. His mind jumped back to what the dragon said to him after he blew up the stands. Of how the drunk guard was not what he appeared. He was playing a role. The role of a spy hired by his father for a much grander test than what Arcturus had been led to believe.

He tried to…help me… Arcturus’ blood chilled at the gruesome realization that the convenient meetings with Rasionynth had been nothing more than a ploy orchestrated by his father. The simplest, surest way to test the strength of his son’s conviction was not to order him to kill a dragon. No. What his father wanted was for Arcturus to take upon the mantle of a slayer himself. To want to kill the captive dragons with his own hands, on his own volition.

But something went wrong. Nobody could expect -not even Arcturus- that human and dragon could find common ground. The unlikely friendship that grew between them threw a wrench in his father’s plans…That’s why he had been so driven, so angry.

He feared that he started to lose control of the same son he tried to groom into a slayer.

Arcturus looked at the sword he held in his shaking hand, then back at the dragon whose eyes have not moved in the past few seconds. There was something strange swirling deep within his eyes. Sadness that he would not be able to take upon the skies again. Regret that his life had to end here.

And shame that his actions condemned a young, kind-hearted, dragon-loving boy to a fate almost as bad as death.

You wanted to… free me… Arcturus’ chest tightened when the dragon moved his eyes to the sides, where a thick pair of leather straps bound his limbs, then back at him. I’m as much of a prisoner as you are…

The dragon’s lips twitched briefly. He could not speak or form any other sounds other than a defeated sigh. A shuddering sigh also escaped through Arcturus’ trembling limbs. The dragon’s closed eyes could mean only one thing. He had made peace with his sins, his past, his failures, as well as the inability to prevent this very moment.

A man must be strong, even when his heart feels on the verge of crumbling, Arcturus formed a steel-like grip around the handle of his sword and sniffled hard, forcing himself not to cry.

_ _

_“_Have you not heard me the first time, boy? I told you to show us the weak spots of his beast! Proceed. NOW!“

_ _

Arcturus shot his father with a piercing glare. “I heard you…father…” Arcturus' voice cracked as he plunged his sword expertly into every area that had been drilled into his mind during his father’s obsessive lessons. He started with the wings, easily slicing into the unarmored feathers, draping a curtain of blood over the dragon’s shivering joints. He coated their white plumage with a sick layer of crimson as he worked relentlessly on a creature that had not coaxed a single whimper. Each cut from his blade was like a dagger strike to his armored soul as he danced around the dragon like a storm of steel and destruction.

He rammed his blade against the base of the wing’s muscular joint, and hit, and hacked, until the whole wing toppled over the ground in a gushing spray of broken bones and spurting blood. The dragon shivered from every corner of his body. Only now, Arcturus realized that the broken whimpers were not his own sniffling, but the dragon’s cries, his eyelids jerking over his tear-flooded, half-closed eyes.

“Next one, son. Strike him when he’s weak!”

Arcturus ducked under the two men that lifted the dragon’s numb leg and dug his blade deep into the creature's pink, fleshy, unprotected genital slit. His sword sunk through the flesh far easier than expected, and Arcturus had to wrench himself back to avoid sinking his entire arm into the dragon’s soft insides.

“There we go!” He heard his father cheer as a pair of hands pushed him back to his feet. “Do you hear that, people? The beast is poised on wetting itself!”

The dragon stared at him with pained, flooded eyes. Thick strands of saliva poured down his jaw, and bubbles of froth gathered at the edges of his trembling mouth.

Arcturus stared back, feeling…nothing. His nerves went completely numb, making him immune to the sharp scent of blood and the pained noises that assaulted his ears. It was easier to perform when he distanced himself from his actions. This was not Arcturus the protector, savior of dragons, but the dark image of his father’s perfect future. A trained slayer that performed his duty with utmost efficiency. Oh, how proud Markis must have been now, to see his own heated vengeance passed down to his son. He was not one to care about pain and suffering, as long as it accomplished his goals. Why, he was the same man who used a good dragon and her hatchlings in order to cement his son’s transformation into a killer.

“Good, Arcturus, good! A fine display you’ve put up, but you have not yet finished your training. The wings and the genital slit are obvious targets, but some of the weaker spots are hidden from your eyes.”

With a snap of his fingers, Markis had two of his hunters unwrap the dragon’s snout. They grabbed onto the dragon’s upper jaw, then pushed, and pushed, until they spread the dragon’s jaws wide enough apart to reveal two sacks small sacks at the base of the creature’s tongue.

“The fire glands,” Arcturus said with a flat, emotionless voice.

“The very root of destruction. Pluck them out, son. Show this beast what happens when a dragon plays with fire.”

Arcturus stared at the dragon’s fire glands. The things that helped him kill so many of his kin. With a swift strike, he plunged his blade into the dragon's neck and slashed wildly from side to side until the things came off, forcing the dragon to literally choke on his own blood.

Arcturus backed off from the creature’s sickly coughs. This time, when he carved his way into the dragon’s flesh, he actually felt a small bit of pride. Like he was getting vengeance for the dead that had been piled up on the stands. The people that had only come to cheer him on.

“Fine job, m’boy.” Markis patted his son proudly on the back. “The dragon is starting to fade, like all things born of darkness. Kill him. Kill him now.”

Arcturus retrieved his sword and lowered his head, pushing the pleased thoughts from his mind. Now came the last moment. The last thing that his father wanted of him.

Arcturus carried his limbs to the front of the dragon. He pulled his sword back and stared into the beast’s emerald eyes with an iciness uncharacteristic of a boy his age. The dragon just glared at him, with no regret for its actions. No remorse for the scores of mortals that now lay dead because of its fire, because in his mind, fulfilling a debt was more important than human lives.

A small part of Arcturus felt bad for the dragon. The dragon used wrong methods to accomplish something he considered good, but that little bit was insignificant compared to the shock of seeing his clan mates perish. Arcturus could not forgive, nor forget the screams, the pain, and all that suffering. He plunged his sword as hard as he could into the beast’s eye, carrying himself right to the hilt of the sword and right into the dragon's brain, coating his arms and hands with a warm spray of fresh, red blood.

“There we go!” His father pronounced loudly, pride latching on every one of his words. “The beast is brought to deserved end, and justice is finally served by none other than my son! Who else is better fit to extract retribution than the very boy they used to inflict their hate upon us, eh? Arcturus!” Markis shouted, and the crowd cheered with him.

“Arcturus! Arcturus! Arcturus!”

The man clasped his hand around Arcturus' shoulder so hard it made him wince. “You’ve done well, but don’t ever think I’ll forget about your treachery. Clean your sword now, and smile for these people. You killed the damn beast. Might as well pretend you enjoyed it if you have any respect for the dead.”

The world faded away as Arcturus cleaned his blade and sheathed his sword. His nerves were numb, his feelings, shot. He heard fragments of what his father said; whispers lost among the pained whimpers of the dying beast. Part of him still lingered deep beneath the numbness. A fragment of the protector he wanted to become, not the killer he now was.

Arcturus forced his numb mind back to the dragoness he had helped save. He ignored the cheers of victory from the hunters, fools who still believed he was free from the dragons that had enchanted his mind.

As he walked back to his tent accompanied by his father, Arcturus looked up into the sky, wishing he was flying high and free as the golden dragon wanted him to, for all his father had done was cement his feelings on the subject. He was not going to be like that man, cruel and horrible. He was going to be a knight one day, protector of the innocent, defender of the weak.

“I…I’m sorry,” He closed his eyes and began to cry once he found himself alone in his tent. Warm, honest tears once again returned to his eyes as the pained cries of Shining Sun echoed in his head. “I had no choice. You knew that. I had no choice…”

Arcturus jerked when a dragon’s roar echoed in the distance. He looked through the flaps of his tent, past the sea of tents and the trees, wondering if what he heard was real, or if it was nothing more than a manifestation of his own, broken feelings.