Tears of a dragon

1. Prologue

Three years ago- Dusty's POV

"All I remember is the eternal dark, the sound of death....
And the pain... That refused to stop."

"Who am I?" I asked myself. "WHO AM I?!"

As I screamed I slammed my head into the wall again. These stone walls had been here for too long. They had always been here, to constantly remind me of who I am... a disgrace to mother nature, entrapping me, chaining me, leaving me to wither away in this oppressing dark.

I tried to say something, but naught but a whisper came out.
"I am... someone..."
I puffed up my chest, and tried to speak again.
"I am a... Dragon!"
Those were the words that finally came out, these words of self-encouragement that tried to convince me that I was, in fact, a dragon. As I spoke, a terrifying roar met my ears, cutting off my track of thought. I flinched. It took me a couple of seconds to recover, and when I did, I realized I had stepped on my own tail.

As I was removing my foot from my tail, I noticed that something was sort of... off. As I saw it, I couldn't believe my own eyes... the tail I knew, which always has been covered in hardened scales, now possessed... spikes! I quickly forgot the sound that scared me, and I began inspecting these strange new growths on my tail. A row of spikes, sharp and deadly. When did these grow? How long have they been on my body? How did I not notice them until now? My head filled with questions, and my mind wandered off. The more I thought about it... the more it made sense!

I thought they were deformed scales, but they must've been spikes all along! Just pressed tightly together, hidden, like a pinecone. Apparently, I am not as miserable as I thought.
"I am a dragon." I finally spoke these words with true confidence, filled with courage and determination.
I examined my spikes, and was filled with renewed belief in myself. I knew very little about my own species, let alone my own race and our traits. But I knew that all the other dragons I've fought all have had their own unique traits...

And this must be mine.

There was another roar, and slowly but surely the immense metallic gate that kept me inside this horrid jail opened, bit by bit. As white light poured through the crack, I was blinded. I was always blinded by the sudden light. It always pierced my eyes like an arrow pierces flesh, or like teeth pierce scales. I blinked a few times to regain my vision, and Istepped out into the arena. This was the perfect time for me to test my new weapon. My opponent could be anyone... anything. An animal, a dragon... something else? Maybe even a pack of wolves. The last time I met a pack in the arena, well, I nearly lost my leg.

But no, this time it wasn't wolves. It was something else.

A fire-breathing dragon.

As I took a few steps outside of my cage, a few quick paces in the open air, another door opened.
I saw a dragon about my size barreling out from within its own cage. Its skin was thick, and it's temper short. It had an expression on its face of extreme fury, as if it had done nothing but seethe and boil inside its stone prison. It had short legs, and it was built like a barrel. Round, large, heavy. Like a tank. For a brief second, a thought arose in my mind.
"I might not survive this." But I didn't have time to think. The fat dragon came flying towards me, preparing to shoot my neck off at any second. But then... he suddenly stopped, and landed in front of me.
He took a proud and threatening stance. I was only mildly terrified, but nonetheless, it worked.

Something caught my eye. His leg. It looked gnarled and scarred, and layers upon layers of dried blood had painted it a deep brownish red. There were teeth-marks in there, matching his own. A wave of horror came over me. This was not just a heavy, large, and angry dragon. He was also starved. Hungry for flesh. I could see what he wanted. He wanted meat, he wanted blood.