Dragons of Soma

There weren't always dragons in the Valley of Soma. For generations, there have been folk stories of mystical creatures that could shift into the form of humans & granting wishes, but those were just stories, and they were not dragons...right?

The large heavy rock glowed in her small hands, it felt like it had a pulse. Its warmth seemed to be connected to her very soul. Looking it over, there were strange markings all over it & looked very similar to a heart, but it was made of stone. Her fingers traced the markings, trying to figure out what they meant when loud shouting broke Lyina out of her thoughts. "Fuck" Shoving it back into the large sack and strapping it to her back, Lyina pulled on a black cloak and lifted the hood hiding her face & hair.

Sounds of soldiers banging on doors and sleepy villagers yelling in shock rang in her ears. Sneaking out the back of the shack, Lyina crouched down, slowly heading to the forest. A loud crash caused her to look back, lights flashed all around her. Silver hair fell across her face, glowing like a star in the night sky. Quickly hiding it away, it was just long enough for a soldier to see it.

"Over there!" Several soldiers began crashing through the bushes and into the forest. Swearing Lyina broke into a sprint, her eyesight has always been extra sharp at night. She is usually quick and nimble, but with the weight on her back, she was off balance and clumsy. Desperately she ran towards the river, it would be the only way she could escape alive. The sound of an arrow hitting a tree beside her made Lyina trip, barely catching herself she looked back, eyes wide as they were much closer than she expected.

Her mind was spinning and her thoughts were broken down to basic primal thoughts, "Run", "Hide", and in the far back of her mind "Fight" echoed in a dark, smoky voice. Tripping, she fell and rolled down the side of an embankment, smashing into the trunk of a tree. Desperately trying to catch her breath, Lyina crawled towards the river, blinding-sharp pain in her side with each movement. She could hear the soldiers almost on top of her, tears pricked her eyes.

"Down here!" One of the men spotted her, gasping she pushed herself harder, praying to the gods for help. "Please, help me." Her voice shook as another arrow whistled past her, followed by another that pierced her shoulder. Screaming in pain Lyina fell to the ground, blood flowed down her back, seeping into the bag and slowly flowing across the stone.

Soldiers surrounded her, arrows and swords pointed down at her, "No more fight in you, little rat?" She froze, *No, not him...* A tall slender man broke through the surrounding men, smirking. Covered in black and green robes, black hair slicked back into a high top-knot, and a perfectly trimmed goatee. Lyina glared at him, spitting the dirt out of her mouth. "Inquisitor." she hissed, hatred filled her eyes, she would never let him win.

"No smart remark? After all of this?" He reached down, grabbing her wounded arm, wrenching her upright, she screamed in pain. "Was it worth it? Did you enjoy this little game?" His grip tightened pulling her closer, he whispered in her ear. "I will have so much fun breaking you." Turning Lyina bit into his cheek hard, screaming the Inquisitor shoved her off him, she fell to the ground landing on both the large stone and the arrow. Biting her tongue hard, refusing to scream, Lyina wiped the blood off her smirking lips, "You will never break me." Holding a part of his hand to his cheek the Inquisitor growled, "We shall see, take her!" Two soldiers came forward, grabbed her arms, picked her up, and brought her towards him. Pulling out a small jade dagger, he smeared his blood onto the blade and whispered an incantation in a strange langue she did not recognize. The blade began to glow green, he looked up at her with hooded eyes, smiled, then stabbed her in the chest.

Lyina screamed then passed out as light shot out of the wound and into his own, he repeated the incantation and quickly removed the dagger, the wound healed instantly. Her limp body was being held up by the two men. Snapping his fingers the Inquisitor turned to leave. A low growl reached his ears, turning around he saw the men frozen in fear. Lyina's eyes were wide open, glowing green, staring unblinkingly toward him. "Sir..." The two soldiers holding her stepped back, fear in their eyes was very evident. Her crimson blood turned golden, her hands began to move and crack as talons appeared and her hands got covered with black-green scales. Horror flashed across the soldier's faces as they all backed away. The Inquisitor smirked, "I knew it." Touching the dagger, he whispered another incantation, causing her eyes to glow yellow and forcing her to pass out yet again. She fell to the ground with a sickening thud. "Bind her. We have work to do."