The Silver Dragonborn

The ground shook beneath your feet. As you come to, the mumbled sounds turned into blood curdling screams, men, women, and children alike. A nauseating smell fills your nose, like when your father would tan a fresh hide over the flames near the barn. Your eyes open and you see the chaos that has ensued; people are running in all directions, mothers grabbing their babies, fathers carrying their sons, livestock running free. You hear someone yelling in the distance, “DEMONS!” “THEY’VE COME FOR US!” You look to the morning sky, and you see what looks like a large bird flying towards the village. You knew what it was... a dragon. Your father always told you to get to the nearest house into the room under the floor if there ever was a dragon attack. You get up and look around. You begin to call for your father, “MOTHER?! FATHER?! WHERE ARE YOU?!” Tears stream down your face and as you begin to panic. You look for a house to go to, but each one you see down the road is on fire. As you turn to look the to the other side of the road, a familiar man locks eyes with you, it was Saron the baker. His concerned look turned to menacing as he began to stomp towards you yelling, “This is YOUR fault you little witch! They are here for you!” You try to step backwards and trip, falling onto your back. “The dragons never attacked this village until you and your parents showed up!” You screamed again, “FATHER! MOTHER! HELP!” As he is walking towards you, Saron says, “With your silver hair, blue eyes, and that mark on your face; you are a family of witches! You all should burn!” You try to crawl back as fast as you can but he gets to you, grabs you by the shirt and lifts you up. You try to swing at him, but you’re only three years old; even kicking and screaming you have no chance, and then you see it. He pulls a knife from his belt. Your eyes widen in fear. “NOOOOOO!” As his draws his blade down, you close your eyes. But nothing happens. You feel something wet splatter across your face. You open your eyes and you see the blade of the knife, inches away from your nose. It’s stuck in something, an arm? You are then thrown to the ground by Saron landing on your side. You look up and see Saron pull his knife out of your father’s arm. You see the blood on the knife and dripping down your father’s arm, but you look back at his arm, and see the wound...isn’t there…? Your father punches Saron square in the jaw, Saron falls back a step, tripping over a body of an elderly woman. Your father looks to you, his golden hair up in a high bun, his beautiful emerald eyes looking almost through you. You look up and see a now Silver dragon flying low over some of the houses, blowing what looks like ice breathe, putting out some of the houses on fire. Then a Blue dragon comes from above, kicking the Silver dragon, clawing all down its back. You look back to your father terrified at what you’ve seen; he seems to have actually become angrier, he eyes flashed a darker green, then he yelled, “Run to the forest Amirina!” “Father, I can’t! I’m scared!” “GO! I’ll come after and find…” Saron had gotten back up and stabbed him in the abdomen. “NO!” “Amirina, please go!”

You turn your back to him and begin to run. You don’t even see where exactly you’re going. Your heart is pounding in your ears, the forest is a blur, you just keep running. You get to a point where you can hardly catch your breath and you stop. You look up to see where you’ve ended up. You don’t recognize the area, but you listen and hear the rapids. You usually play down stream of the rapids, just under the waterfall, often while your father fishes and mother washes clothes. You walk through the tree line and head towards the river to get some water. You cup your hands, bringing the water to you lips, and for a moment you forget… Another few drinks of water and you think how would father find you? Where was your mother?

A loud boom fills the forest, you squeeze your eyes shut and cover your ears. The ground shakes underneath your feet and you tumble to your knees. You hear a loud splash and look to see that the Silver Dragon you saw in the sky is half submerged in the river, cut up with claw and bite marks bleeding, and charred scales. You look up and see the Red Dragon circling above it. You crawl quickly underneath a bush. A halfhearted chuckle plays through the air like the big drums during a festival. “I don’t understand you ‘shiny’ dragons. Why do you waste your life fighting for these humans? These creatures are nothing more than livestock and entertainment from time to time. They have no actual intelligence and they won’t ‘save’ our species. Not that we are going extinct, just your kind.” There was a slight silence then another chuckle, this one sounding more menacing than that of the first. You turn around looking for someone behind you, no one is there. Where did that voice come from? Who is talking? “You just know everything don’t you Rezegon?” Your eyes snap back forward. That was mother’s voice! She’s here! “MOTHER! I’m here where are you?!” The Red Dragon had landed across the river close to the Silver Dragon’s head, which laid ashore.

“Mother? A child? Here in the forest.” The Red Dragon stares right at you, you stand there frozen unable to move. The Red Dragon walked just to the edge of the other side of the river. “Why do you have magic? HOW do you have magic, you little snack?” “MOTHER?! Please help! I heard you!” Tears again began falling down your cheeks. Did you imagine it? “If you touch a hair on that child, I will rip you to shreds and..” The Red Dragon kicks the Silver Dragon’s face, ending your mother’s voice mid-sentence. You watch this happen, “Mother, are you a dragon?” An eerie silence fills the space. “WAS a dragon is more like it…” The Red Dragon looks right back at you, he throws his head back, you can see his throat begins to light up, from the bottom moving to the top. He swings his head forward and opens his mouth. A fireball forms and is thrown towards you; you’re frozen, you can’t do anything but close your eyes and scream. A few seconds pass and nothing happens. You open your eyes and see an ice wall in front of you, obscuring your view to the dragons. You throat hurts and feels like it’s on fire, as well as your birthmark under your left eye. “Humans can’t make fire or ice!” You peek around the wall and see the Red Dragon’s nostrils emitting smoke. You look back at the wall and see it’s been melted but there are still inches worth of ice left.

As the Red Dragon leans back again, you begin to feel faint, dropping to your knees and barley catching yourself from hitting the ground with your hands. You can hear the rumbling deep in his throat, you next hear someone yelling. “Amirina!!!” It sounds like your father and your mother both. Before your eyes completely shut, you feel yourself being grabbed and pulled away from the ground. You open your eyes and notice your father’s hands, after that you completely pass out.

You wake up and open your eyes and you find yourself look up into the canopy. The sun is setting and the sky is brightly lit with shades of red, purple, orange, and yellow. A breeze comes through the trees and you shiver. “Are you cold dragonborn?” A soft, almost whispering like voice spoke. You reply, “I am yes,” as you sit up and look around. As you’re turning to look behind you, you see a part of a scaled tail, shiny golden almost polished scales. You freeze.. “Don’t be afraid little one. I promise I am here to help.” A blanket is dropped next to you and you fully turn around. Even bigger than the first two you saw, you see this magnificent gold scaled dragon, with black talons, and huge sharp teeth. She appears to be lying down. She leans a little forward and breathes out. The warmth from her breath replaces the chills you were feeling. “What do they call you little Dragonborn?” You hesitate, thinking you should run… “My name is Amirina.” “That’s a beautiful and very strong name.” You look at the female dragon and plead, “Do you know where my mother and father are? I think.. I think my mom is a dragon, a Silver Dragon. She was fighting a Red Dragon just a bit ago!” Saddness overcomes her features as she looks away toward the sunset. “I know not where your parents are or if they survived, but I was sent here to bring you.” “Bring me where?” “I will be bringing you to your rightful home Amirina. I know this is hard to understand, but you are a very special girl.” You look to the sky then back to her, staring deep into her gold flecked eyes. “Will my father and mother be joining us?” The golden dragon looks back to you and you see what looks like a tear drop from her eye. “I don’t know Amirina, but I surely hope so. My sister is strong and your father being one of the strongest dragon hunters known to this world…” Her voice catches in her throat. “We can only hope for the best. But your mother and father risked their lives for your safety. Please come home with me and all will be explained in due time. The council is awaiting your arrival.”

Written by: Lauren Luick you