Master of Dragons, Part 1 (complete)
Chapter 27

Athelstan smiled, but it was nothing but bitterness. “Some have tried. However, just as the dragons cannot interfere with our world, we have our limitations as well. We cannot do anything to humans with a dragon’s power, which limits many of us.” His eyes opened, the color reminding her of a cats eye in the daylight. The green orbs turned to her, and she could see the yellow flecks in the depths. “I may be over a few hundred years old, but my skill in fighting has always been terrible- unlike you. You have great skill for a wom-” He paused, brows furrowing. “Sorry. Just- great skills.” His cheeks flushed, eyes averting to the sky once more. “Sex really doesn’t define you, does it?” He mumbled; his voice muffled by the growls of playfulness from the two dragons. No, it didn’t, did it? Although, the roles woman and men played in society were idiotic. Sex should not define anyone.

“So that’s why the bonded people hide in the land of Moon?” She asked, eyes on the two playing beasts. Her dragon pounced again, missing the rolling ball that was Venrir. She made a small howl of frustration, before lopping after him.

“It is the only safe place for us. Although, not everybody stays, some of us travel.” He motioned to the field, then to the expanse of sky. “After all, this world is beautiful, it would be a shame not to see it.” He laughed, again it was bitter. After a small pause, he continued. “It is dangerous. Humans want our flesh, blood, and bone. You will need to hide your dragon, and bond marks. You will be hunted otherwise.” His tone was even and controlled, his expression more so. “Your swordsmanship will be a great use to you in this world, young one.” Young one. He looked to only be a bit older than her, yet he was the oldest human she knew. Or knew of! In none of the books did it explain the bonded ones having long lives. It didn’t even touch on the marks, nor magic. She was glad, to meet another person who could teach her all this. She would be fumbling in a world she didn’t understand otherwise.

All this time, she thought of all dragons as all-powerful, and to be near gods. Yet, there was so many limitations! “Why can’t dragons interfere with the world? Why can’t you use magic against humans?” She asked.

“You really don’t know anything, huh?” He gave a long sigh. “If a dragon uses their power to interfere with the world, they will be taken back to the heavens. The Celestials refuse to have any more dragons interfere with this world and lose themselves. Which, ties into the second question.” He took a pause. “This is going to be a long one. Do you know how to world was created?”

There were a few theories of how the world was created. Elric took liberty of teaching her the different theories after he found her coming out of a Church of Man a few years back. The one he believed, so happened to be the one that stuck the most with her. ‘I have studied many theories of the creators. However, I can only believe one, where everything was created by the First Dragons. They were the gods that shaped the world. They created everything; the plants and trees, the rivers, lakes, and ocean. They created air for us to breath, and then created the sun and moons. Then, after our world was shaped, they created animals, beasts, and all sorts of life. Finally, they created the Land-Born to live in it.’ Elric was laying on his bed, eyes closed, looking like he was asleep if it wasn’t for him talking. ‘The proof is current dragons. To our knowledge, their eggs can only be found. The shells are unbreakable and can be dormant for hundreds of years. Once born, they grow rapidly and have powers beyond any other documented source.’

From what Athelstan was telling her, Elric’s theory was sounding more and more accurate. So, she explained to him exactly what Elric told her.

Athelstand nodded. “Perhaps you were not as dumb as I thought. Often, only Landborn know of the First Dragons.” Athelstan’s tone didn’t mean to sound insulting, but she felt a bit defensive. However, did she have the right to feel upset? There was a lot she did not know. “Landborn were created complete, and with the love of all the First Dragons.” Created complete? What did complete mean? She opened her mouth to ask, but Athelstan shushed her and continued. “What your friend left out, was humans. You see, humans were created by the Dark One and the Light One after the Landborn. But the Light One stole humanity before they could be completed and brought them to live here. The others could not understand the action of the Light One and pleaded for them to return to the heavens so they could finish creating the humans. However, the Light One refused, having fallen in love with their incomplete creation. The Dark One was the First Dragon’s last hope. He came down to-” Athelstan suddenly sat up, head turning to the setting sun. He quickly stood, grabbing her arm and hoisting her up in the process. Instantly Venrir and her dragon were at their feet, attention on them.

“What’s w-wrong?” She tried to ask, but Athelstan’s attention was on something she couldn’t see.

“Friend or foe?” Athelstan asked as he looked to Venrir- who suddenly transformed into a very naked man. She quickly looked at her dragon, not wishing to look at his nudity. Her dragon was looking up to her, eyes full of endearment. The little dragon stood up on her hind legs, placing her paws on her thighs. Ah, she wanted to be picked up? Verrine did just that, scooping the small dragon into her arms.

“The dragon is a baby. The man I am unsure, but they are not bonded. It is safe.” Venrir stated, the sound of rustling coming from where he stood. She was in fact not brave enough to check what the sound was.

“Another baby? So soon?” Athelstan’s voice became a dull sound in her back of her head, her ears suddenly ringing from the sudden blood rush. The air began to cackle, and she took a step forward. Her dragon hummed as her arms tightened around it. She took another few steps forward, eyes trained on the distance. Her dragon yipped, before wiggling free from her arms. It bounded forward towards the sun, and she broke into a run following her. It couldn’t be, could it?

In the setting sun was a figure, one so familiar. Still, it was so far that she shouldn't have been able to tell who it was, but somehow she knew. How? Why? It didn’t matter, the closer she got, the faster she needed to go.

Then, she jumped into his open arms, plowing them both into the ground. Her dragon yipped, hopping around them, and stopping by the bag he placed down before she tackled him.

Elric laughed, his arms wrapping around her tightly. “Well, this is a nice way to say hello.”