Chapter 2

The wind carried Ryuijin by his outstretched wings; under his left arm, he held the box from the shop, tucked securely. His wings flapped hard as Ryuijin moved his body into an upright position, the grass swaying in the wind he pushed with his wings, and the grass beneath his feet crunched as he landed.

Withdrawing his wings, Ryuijin cradled the box in his hands, walking past small rock plates, all placed neatly with a flower nestled upon each one. Reaching an open patch, he knelt, placing the box on the grass, opening it up, revealing the dragon horn still intact but the ends slightly damaged from when it was slashed from its owner’s head. Ryuijin took the horn into his hands, the horn cold against his skin and yet warm with memories. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply, focusing on the feeling of the horn: every nook, every dip and every memory it gave him. “Ozwin,” the name danced along his lips as he opened his eyes, smiling down at the horn. Ryuijin dug a small hole, just big enough for the horn to nestle in. The winds danced under his palm as he raised it over the hole, magic glittering above, burying the horn underneath the dirt and a small rock plate. “Ozwin,” he spoke proudly, the name appearing in shining letters on the plate. “My fallen brother, may you find peace as you return to the Earth.”

Allowing for a moment of silence, Ryuijin nodded, bidding farewell to the grave for now and turned to look up at the tower before him. His mind pondered as he stood in the centre of hundreds of graves, all filled with something found from a fallen brother or sister. “How many years has it been?” he whispered to himself as the wind blew against him, his wings catching with the wind, swaying slightly. “How many years since that day?”

The memory of the day was as clear in Ryuijin’s mind as if it happened yesterday.

In the dragon’s village, the royal knights came without warning, the captain of the knights standing front and centre, unrolling parchment held tightly in his hands. His voice echoed off the mountain mounds, “As decreed, all dragons are sentenced to death by extinction,” he proclaimed. “Do not resist!”

At this time, Ryuijin was a mid-aged dragon, only 100 years old, and stared on in horror as the knights began to collar the others in his pack. His heart raced as one of the guards approached him with a sickening smile, a collar and chain held proudly in his hands. Ryuijin tried to back away, his back being held by the claw of one of the elders. He looked back; his eyes, full of fear, met with the calm demeanour of his elder. “Remain calm, young one,” the leader spoke, leaning his head down and gracefully accepting the collar around his neck. “Our kind has been disgraced. We must accept the fate that has been bestowed upon our kind.”

At the foot of the mountain, the knights erected a platform, placing the first of the elder dragons onto it, the chain pulled through the hole at the front, tugged by knights at the bottom of the platform, strangling the dragon against the hard oak.

The knight that stood above the dragon raised his sword high; his gaze focused the dragons and knights on the ground. “To all who bear witness,” He spoke loudly, his voice carrying through the dragon valley, reaching all that stood below him. “Know that as of today, the dragons are hereby sentenced to extinction by horn removal.”

Ryuijin jolted upward at the feeling of the cold steel of a collar wrapping around his neck. The knight holding the chain attached to the collar stared in disbelief, gritting his teeth as he pulled on the chain harder, causing Ryuijin to whelp as the collar tightened around his neck. There was a dragon so unwilling to follow his elders' lead… he was rebelling. “Ryuijin,” The elder gasped, his brow furrowed, eyes reddening. “Do not disobey the humans!”

Ryujin growled lowly, his attention turned back to the platform, watching the knight above his captured brother, the knight's face turned up in a sickening grin. Another knight approached behind, holding a large axe, large enough to remove the horn of a dragon. “Please don’t,” Ryuijin cried as the knight swung the axe down, the blade impacting with the base of the horn with such force that the horn was removed in one clean swoop. The captured dragon wailed, the others around him lowering their heads in respect as the blood splattered across the platform.

Low growls gurgled from Ryuijin’s mouth, the knight below him staring up, his knees knocking. His gaze met Ryuijin’s eyes, causing the knight to scream and scurry away, past the captain that strode in front, his stance strong as he stood before Ryuijin. “You’re next,” the captain cackled.

“No,” Ryuijin roared, shaking the valley, his neck tensing hard, breaking the collar around him.

The captain shook his head, his smirk never faltering as he pulled the chain from his waist, the links clinking together as he swung it in the air like a lasso. Ryuijin took a deep breath, his cheek puffing out, gathering the air and heating it in his mouth, but the captain was too fast. He threw the chain at Ryuijin’s left horn, pulling the chain tightly, knocking Ryuijin off balance and interrupting his concentration, with warm air spilling from his mouth. “Now, now, dragon,” he laughed, watching Ryuijin struggling against the chain. “Come take your punishment like a good little lizard.”

Ryuijin thrashed his head, trying desperately to loosen the chain the captain continued to grip tightly. He cried out, feeling his horn wiggling from his head as if it were a child’s loose baby tooth. His chest tightened, heart pounding as he continued to fight. Just obey Ryuijin,” the elder begged, but it was no use. Ryuijin couldn’t have his life end this way. He wouldn’t allow for a human to determine how he lives or dies.

With a final thrash, his head whipped back, howling in pain as his horn was ripped from his head by the roots, completely removing it. Blood dripping down his face, blurring the vision in his left eye, barely able to make out the outline of the captain. The world around him started to fuzz, his wings expanding and flapping hard, a mind of their own as he flew high above the valley, knights calling for his capture. “I’m sorry,” he whispered to himself before turning and flying off to somewhere, anywhere that may be safe for him.

The captain turned to his command, teeth clenched as he spoke. “Be quick!” he ordered, throwing his arm to the side in a large gesture. “Rid these dragons of their horns before we have further rebellion.” He turned back to the sky, taking note of the direction Ryuijin flew off to. He held up his sword; “Here this dragon, I will find you and I will fulfil my duty as captain!”