How It Began

She was ready.

She needed to know.

Time seemed to slow as she waited for the dragon to begin to speak. The words that would elucidate her to the truth. The nature of the curse that they both shared. The truth about Sthuna himself.

She gave him time. He seemed to be struggling as to where to start. But he found his centre eventually - and not where she thought he would start.

“Dragons are very different from humans. When we hatch we… Imprint on the first person we see. Imprinting is intense. That first person that we see becomes a very powerful connection in our lives. They can drive us to do all sorts of things. Good or bad. And… The Empire of Arhra’Toar can’t simply trust that a dragon parent would properly use that imprinting. So… When dragons hatch, we do so before a designated Keeper.”

Eyna’s brow knit together. She didn’t agree with the sentiments. But this wasn't the time for disagreements.

“Keepers are assigned to dragon eggs by rank. A dragon born to a greater stock will have a Keeper that is of a higher status. If a dragon of the Imperial Army rises in stature so too will their Keeper. Therefore, Keepers are incentivized to cultivate their charges.”

“At the top of the hierarchy, a single Keeper will have only a single dragon charge. At the bottom of the hierarchy, a single Keeper may have many dragons under them. But these Keepers, by contrast, must be skillful in handling due to the number under them.”

“I was hatched unto Keeper Aarik Alksen, Keeper of seven. I was his only acere wyrm. Acid carrier. All of his other chargers were ignis. Fire. Acid is… Undesirable. Harder to place in the lower ranks. Fire is a widespread breed, with an easily discernible place and utility.”

“It was difficult to place me in the military. It was my obligation to prove myself time and time again. Aarik was not… Forgiving. He was ambitious. And from the moment that I hatched, I was a detriment to those ambitions. He drove me hard in pursuit of status. And yet refused to acknowledge what I was capable of. We… Disagreed. Often. Violently.”

His tail tightened around her arm. It was clear, even if Sthuna did not notice himself, that he was agitated by the topic.

“There are finite circumstances under which a dragon can be separated from their original Keeper. One is petitioning to join a ranked squadron, under a higher status Keeper. But the dragon must first prove themselves. They must demonstrate cunning and capability. But above all else - loyalty to the cause. The army must be certain that the dragon will be dedicated even after they move away from the Keeper of their egg. That they possess logic and reasoning beyond the impulses of instinctive imprinting.”

“I… Always wished to be away from Aarik. To be free of him. So I sought every opportunity given to me.”

“My moment came to me seven moon cycles from this day. A hunt focused on a great beast that had escaped the sweep of the Imperial Army. It was specifically chosen as an opportunity for war dragons to prove themselves because it was vicious when provoked… But otherwise docile. The perfect chance to lay clever traps that displayed one’s capability.”

“And I…”

“I took the challenge for the opportunity that it was. You have to understand, Eyna. I accepted, knowing that I would be killing my quarry. That success meant bloodshed.”

His teeth gnashed together.

“Do you know what an Xolotl is?”

Eyna quietly shook her head.

Sthuna gave a great heaving sigh, as if he were carrying a great weight upon him. She supposed that he was.

“This was the thing I hunted. Xolotl are… Powerful things. Rare. If you don’t know what they are, it’s hard to emphasize just how powerful. In my world, everyone knows what they are. Their very names are an omen of death and sickness.”

The skinless head of a dog, lips curled, teeth black as night. It moved like a nightmare. A thing conjured from darkness and disease.

Eyna had to close her eyes for a moment, reeling against images that burned into her brain. Things that she herself had never before seen. It was the same sensation as when she and Sthuna had first aligned their respective marks. Things sliding into her mind, unbidden.

Water slid down the walls. Dripping rhythmically.

Like the fibers of a dream, it was unclear when it began. Only that the mind was fully immersed in a time and space that had no beginning, but a clearly defined center. She saw it just as surely as if she were there. As if she were Sthuna, and his remembered world was her present reality.

It was cold. Frigid. Delicate webs of frost extended across the ground and panes of fractured glass. It was painful to breathe. Every drag of air through battered lungs was a red and raw thing. Each outward breath was a ghost that lingered in the chilled air for a moment before dying.

Eyna had but a moment to reach out, claws curling around his own, before the dream was all that existed between them. Then it consumed both of them in totality, a black tide that washed them away. Together.

The dragon stood in a room of blackened stone. The sky outside was dark. Cold seeped through every broken pore of the old fortress, torn and shattered like desiccated teeth. Sthuna had spent a relentless month hunting down his quarry. Now that he had it cornered, the hunt fever was rushing through his blood.

He lifted his head, twisting his sinuous neck as he tasted the air. He had the scent. His quarry wasn't far. It left a trail of blood that smelled strongly of smoke. Burning cedar.

A harsh crack came down over his snout. He snarled and whirled on his Keeper.

Aarik was a man who was both tall and broad of stature, his face drawn in sharp and wicked lines. Hair the color of spun gold, and piercing blue eyes. He might have been considered handsome, even princely, were it not for the cruelty etched into his very skin.

Sthuna could count the bright red blood vessels in his eyes. Burst, often, from his bouts of anger. Sometimes even from his joy. Second son of a second son, Aarik was doomed to a life of mediocrity, riding the coattails of success he could only strain from his dragons.

Aarik curled his lip. A nasty, aggressive expression. Unpleasant. And Aarik’s interpretation of a smile.

“Let's see what you've got then. Come on now.” The drink in his throat gave him a rough rasp. He brought his hand down again on Sthuna's snout. “Said it was here, didn't you? Right here. That foul thing you think you’re catching.”

Sthuna fought the urge to bare his teeth right back at Aarik.

A lifetime of punishment had taught him it wasn't worth it. Aarik would merely use it as an excuse to inflict greater unpleasantness. So he merely scraped his limbs against the stones, wings rustling. Let Aarik think he was a cowed, submissive pet. Let Aarik see what he wanted to. One way or another, this would be the day that Sthuna’s dreams were made real.

He slunk through the shadows with his Keeper close behind him. The law required Sthuna to be supervised by his Keeper through the trial - but the man was loud. Obnoxious. His heavy boots clattered through the stones of the old ruins. It only added to Sthuna's irritation. Any one of those sounds could easily alert his prey. And that was to say nothing of the smell.

Not that Aarik cared. If Sthuna failed, he would use it as a reason to punish him. If Sthuna succeeded, Aarik would receive the lion’s share of the reward. One would think that the reward would be sufficient incentive for Aarik to be a little more subtle. But his pride was a fresh sting. The notion that Sthuna might be superior without him was a possibility he could not abide.

And so they were trapped in this half formed thing. Detesting one another, yet in conflict to separate.

… No matter.

Sthuna was determined.

He snaked his way through the ruins. His wyrm comrades had tried to pin the Xolotl by taking to flight. A dragon’s natural advantage. But the creature was clever. It moved by storm, drawing fierce lightning that dominated the skies.

Sthuna set himself apart, sliding like a silvery snake on the ground. He was too great a beacon with his vivid scales in the air, anyway. But down here, on the ground, he could freely pursue the trail left by the Xolotl.

This would be his new beginning.

With excitement pounding in his hearts, Sthuna gracefully darted deeper into the ruins.