The Dragonborn

A small suprise

---------after 3 years-----------

“Edric, do you think it will be okay to let Reagan play with him?” said his wife, Amelia, as she looked amused at her little toddler, playing catch with the little tail of a baby dragon that was born on the same day.
“Don’t worry Am, I do not think, that he would ever hurt him, it is his protector Astaroth. Asta would never harm him. “, he chuckled.
Young Reagan started to climb on the little dragons back and calling him,” Astaa, play Asta play”. His parents stood there and watched them both play with each other, without a care in the world. “Who would have thought, that our kind could be this close one day”? He heard his old friend Fafnir speak in his mind.
He looked at his son, and then at Fafnir, the big drake was lying next to his small one, and looked relaxed. His long tail was occasionally hitting the ground softly, it reminded him of a happy dog. He smiled on the thought of the great Fafnir in the body of a dog. ‘It surely would look funny to see the great one in the small body of a dog, he surely would not be so proud anymore, if he was a dog’.
‘As I was saying, there is a storm brewing within your people’,said Fafnir slowly in his mind. “What do you mean, there is a storm brewing? Lately we surely had a lot of wars, the enemies that want to take over this country have gained strong allies. If we cannot stop the the orcs forming a pact with the trolls and the centaurs,while gaining the strong basilisks on top of it all, it will be very difficult to turn the tides. Even with the help of the elven clan and the valkyries. The dwarves are yet to choose, with whom they want to be allies. I am sure, that the dwarves already had a request for forming an alliance with them”. Fafnir grunted at the thought. ‘Yes, that is true my friend. It will be hard to win this fight. However, I the great one, will be at your side’. Edric started laughing. “Am, I think it is time for us to go back home, it is still winter and Reagan will surely get cold soon”. Amelia nodded at her husband’s  thoughtfulness. “Let us head home, my love”. Fafnir started to lift his heavy body off the ground. ‘I do hope, that you do not think that you will go home on those oversized fourlegged rats home. Get on my back, I will bring you home safely. I do not trust those humans that you came here with’. Fafnir looked at the carriage  with the humans tending to the horses.”Leonard, you can already head home. We will be riding on Fafnir”, said Edric.

“Yes, my lord, as you wish”. He turned around and started preparing the carriage for his departure. Slowly he started to turn away and cursing under his breath. “of course, that dragon would ruin everything”. His plans to assassinate the royal family with his friends that awaited their return up ahead in the forest, failed. There was a large bounty, that they would have received for the kings head.
“Cursed dragons”. After a 2 hours ride his friends jumped on the way of the carriage. He stopped the horses and gave them a sign. “The four legged dragon has put an end to this plan, we have to come up with a new plan", said Leonard begrudgingly. “This cursed beast!”, said the other assassin. “This assassination already takes far too long, we should hurry, before that dragon finds out about our true plan”, said a man with a mask on his face. His sleek figure, dressed in a long black coat  with his long black hair hanging roughly on his shoulders. “Yes, master, we know. I could have not thought, that the dragon would want to fly them home, I thought, he would want to stay with his family, I saw that they have hatchlings. “Of course, he would stay with his master! The dragon’s  have the power to feel what is happening within this kingdom. I am sure his protector Fafnir already felt the betrayal within Edric’s people. It is not hard to see, that they are starting to revolt against their own king. This is what humans do, always start revolts, wreak havoc. It is the easiest thing, and the only thing that is almost in every history. For a new era to begin, the old one has to come to an end”. He took his sharp dagger out of his pockey and looked at the sharp metal. “We will have our chance. Patience is the key to all”. With the last sentence he turned his back and vanished within the thick forest. “Master surely is not happy with the outcome”, answered Leonard sadly. “Yes, he has waited a long while for this plan to work out. He was the one that came up with the idea of this assassination”, said Lia, a girl, that was sitting next to Leonard. “I know, I know Lia. We should get going, we do not want our king to suspect anything”. With one final look at the spot his master stood at, he started to continue his journey to the castle.

- EDRIC POV
On their way back home, Fafnir felt a very dark aura in the forest. He felt an imminent danger lurking within the shadows of the deep forest. However, he did not want to scare Edric, so he stood silent. Sometimes silence was better than any words. He knew, that Edric surely would feel it, but he felt shocked when he heard the little child speak. “See papa, death”, he said, while pointing into the forest. They all looked at the young boy in shock. “What do you mean, Reagan?”, said Edric shocked. How could his son know that word? There was never a single hint at the word his son just spat out. “Papa, danger”.  “Reagan! What are you saying there ?! Who teached you that?” said Amelia, slowly becoming enraged, that someone had teached her son those horrible words. Who would teach  a young child such words!? He was not even old enough to eat alone, yet he learnt such words. ‘I felt it, too’, said Fafnir slowly, in Edrics mind. ‘There is something in this forest that was lurking in the shadows, as I had expected. Your people are turning against you. Stop trusting them and listen to me’. Fafnir still could not understand, how the child could feel it. His assumption, however, was that the child gained more than just the sight of the dragons. ‘Moreover I think that child of yours, has more than just the sight of my kind’, continued Fafnir.
“How can that be? I felt danger, but I could not sense more than that, does this mean, that Reagan possesses more than what we can see? Do you know anything of what is happening to him right now, Fafnir?
Fafnir thought for a long time, however, even Fafnir with his abundant knowledge, did not know what to make out of this little human. It was the first time, that someone had gained the powers of the protectors. In all the years he has lived, he never encountered something like this.
As they arrived in the castle Fafnir came to a halt. ‘Maybe you should just let him grow  up closer to us, it might be that he gained more than what we can see, which will come to shine if he spends time with us’. Edric nodded slowly, taking his old friends opinion into consideration, while watching his Queen taking their son inside. He sat down next to Fafnir  and answered him slowly “Who knows, what the future holds. Maybe I should listen to you and Nenaias”. Fafnir grunted softly at his response. ‘Nenaias is a wise man, what did he say to Reagan’s situation?’. “He said that I would be too overprotective,  I do tend to be more cautious than others, however, with you on my side, I do not think that something can happen to this country, or Reagan”. Upon hearing him say this, Fafnir felt the pride within him swell. It was true, that he would protect them and this country. He still remembered vividly, how Edric had studied day and night to be able to make the protection for his kind.
He remembered the day Edric came to them. At first they wanted to kill him, as they had wished to do with the previous dragonbornes. Those puny little humans had become too greedy, they had killed thousands of his kind and used them as weapons against them. It was a terrible era, which came to an end with the death of the last dragonborne.
However, with the leadership of Edric this country prospered and his kind was able to live in peace once again. The bond between him and Edric was so strong, that sometimes, being in each others presence was enough for them to understand each other.
‘Reagan will be a great king, just like you’, Edric looked at his guardian. “Astaroth will also become a great guardian, just like you, Fenrir. Thank you, Fenrir. Without you, I could have not achieved all this”, he said while pointing at his kingdom. “These vast land has flourished, however, I fear with the current wars, we will not be able to lead a peaceful life as we did so far”. “However, I will do my best to protect everyone, to protect you”. Fenrir looked at him thoughtfully. He wanted to tell him, that the pact they had, would lead to his own demise as well, if anything happened to Edric.
With the bond that they forged, the pact they have done, their life became one.

With the first rays of sunshine, Edric started to prepare his black steed for the long journey he was about to start. It was time, that he paid a visit to the land of the high elves. Nenaias was already awaiting his visit, as the imminent war required them to come up with a plan.
The road was filled with dangers, not only did Edric have to be cautious about the trolls lurking in the forests, he also had to beware of the griffins. As he was deep in his thoughts, he did not feel, that Fenrir had already come to his side. He slowly nudged Edric on his back. ‘You seem to be in deep thoughts, what happened?’. “I was thinking how to lead my men and you safely into the land of the high elves. We don’t  only have to deal with the griffins, afterall. The trolls might be lurking in the shadows as well. I do not want to take any risks of loosing any of our men, as the war is about to start”. Edric sighed.’You have me, the great Fenrir, on your side. Why would you worry about that? I shall burn them into a crisp, if they dare to show their face. As for the griffins, they do not like to be in the presence of us dragons. So you do not need to worry about those oversized chicken”. Edric chuckled at Fenrir’s description. “While I do know, that you will surely protect us, I have to decline your offer, Fenrir. I want you to stay here and protect this kingdom. If the word gets out, that the king and his guardian are not present in the kingdom, the Orcs might launch their attack. I want you to protect your future king, your home”. Fenrir stood still. He did not want him. He wanted to go alone, with those humans that he had warned them from. ‘The others can protect this land and the future king, I am protecting you, you are my king. I will not take a no, I will not leave your side Edric. We made a pact, in which I swore to you that I will protect you, and you swore to protect me. I cannot leave your side”. He sighed deeply and looked at Fenrir’s red lizard eyes. When did Fenrir become so obsessed  with protecting him? He promised him, that he would never put Fenrir into danger, when he made the pact with him. Fenrir was not only his guardian,  he was his friend, his brother. Moreover, Fenrir was the eldest dragon and he was the strongest dragon so far, Astaroth is his direct descendant , being his son, however it would take him atleast 10 more years, until he would be a full fledged dragon, that could protect this kingdom. Although he had great potential, he was not having his complete powers as a dragon yet, he could not even spit fire yet. The other dragons, while accepting the humans, did not like them. He was not sure, if they would be able to protect them, in case of an emergency. The only one he could trust, was Fenrir.
“Fenrir, stop it! I am your king and I command you to keep this country safe! I will not take you with us, that is my final decision”. Fenrir roared in response, startling the nearby peasants that were preparing the horses. ‘I will not stay here ! I am coming with you!’. Edric ignored his response and continued to prepare his horse. Next to Fenrir Eclipse was his most trusted companion.  His shiny black coat glimmered in the sharp sunlight, reminding Edric that it was time to leave soon.
He took a long breath, he knew he had to keep Fenrir busy, so that he could not attempt to follow him. “Fenrir, I want you to get the dragon armor together, then we can head out together tonight, is that alright?”. ‘The dragon armor? You have put it in pieces across the country, it will take me atleast 5 hours to put it all together. But if we go at night, I will be able to get it for you. I shall make myself on the way then, we shall see each other tonight here’. With a final look at Edric, Fenrir opened his leathery black wings, in the sun h looked like an obsidian mass, his shiny red eyes glimmered in the sun, as he looked into the sky. With a small grunt he took off. Edric looked after the obsidian dragon taking off and with that he got onto his horse, and started to ride with his men towards the woods that would lead them onto the path of the high elves.

When Fenrir arrived at the castle at dawn, he looked around himself. Gone was the black steed and the men that were preparing their horses and their ratio’s  for the long journey. Edric was gone and had left him behind. He roared furiously and started to stomp his way towards the castle gates, throwing the guards off of their feet with his tail. Amelia was shocked with the sudden uproar of the calm dragon, so she took Reagan  in her arms and walked towards the gates of the castle. “What is going on here, Fenrir!?”, she shouted. Amelia was not a dragonborn, she could not understand or speak to Fenrir, however she knew that he could understand her, from previous encounters. After taking a long look at the furious dragon, she started to understand what was going on. The big dragon had the armor in his mouth, the armor that Edric wore when he went into the battlefield. The armor that protected him. It was  crafted by the dwarven master crafter Gradruk, it was sturdy and had a high magic repellant, that was particularly strong against fire and water. The armor was having a beautiful pattern that was consisting of dark green and red scales. The leathery protector dropped down from Fenrirs mouth as he roared at Amelia, demanding to know where  his partner was.
Amelia shook her head slowly, she could understand where the rage of the beast was coming from. She slowly put Reagan down, who started to clumsily  make his way towards the mad giant. The furious beast looked down at the little figure coming towards him with open arms. And then he felt a soothing hug on his left leg. Amelia looked lovingly at her son, that felt the fury of the dragon and tried to calm him down. “If you are looking for  your partner, shortly after you left this morning he left for the land of the High elves”. Fenrir already knowing that she was saying the truth  felt his heart harden. Edric was in danger, and he was not there to protect him. With a slow movement he softly separated the toddler from his leg and took off as fast as he could. He had to go and find Edric, he had to protect him, because his own life depended on it as well.

Edric had crossed the biggest part of the forest, they had to fight off 3 griffins, which had cost them the lives of 10 men. He packed the beak and claws of the powerful creature into his bag and started to continue his path. Soon it became dark and his men were tired. Edric was tired as well, as it requiered him to battle strong enemies. He was the king, and he was always in the front rows of every battle. “On the hill ahead of us” ,he pointed at a small hill with a little cave,”we shall take our break for today!”. His men nodded and they started riding towards the small cave.
They cautiously neared the cave, as it could be home to a bear, or even worse, of yet another griffin. As the days were still cold, they sometimes seeked out warm caves to raise their younglings.
Luckily the cave seemed to be empty since a long time. Edric’s  men started to build a small bonfire, while Edric cared for his horse.
It was already very late, judging by the darkness it seemed to be well after midnight. Fenrir probably has found out about his plans of leaving him behind. Surely Fenrir did not take kindly to that.
He was slowly heading towards the cave, when he felt like someone was watching from the depth of the forest ahead of him. “Who is there?” he shouted. He was well aware, that his men would hear the commotion  and that they would soon join him to protect him, although he did not need their protection. Eclipse started to neighed loudly and started stomping on the floor, Edric went to his friend to calm him down and that’s  when he saw him. In the forest, a man with a white mask was standing. He was holding something shimmering in his hand, upon further inspection he noticed, that he was holding  a dagger in his hand, as he was about to take his own sword out, he felt his men storm to his side. The following happened so fast, that he was not able to react. His own men took his sword and pointed it at him. Edric was confused. He knew, that there were people, who wanted to assassinate him, however he did not think, that his loyal guards, would be one of them. Edric slowly backed away towards Eclipse, luckily he had not tied him yet to the tree. With a swift whistle Eclipse started to run towards his master, and stomped at the betraying soldiers. The soldier holding the sharp long blade, was kicked down and lost the blade, which fell close to the horses feet. The men were not able to retrieve the blade back and started to rush to the king, trying to assassinate him. Edric took his sword swiftly and with the help of Eclipse he started to flee the scene.
However, the masked intruder was closer to him, than he felt.  The deafening screams of his own men, filled his ears as he was in search of a safe place, in which he could hide until morning.
When morning comes, he will continue his way to the high elves, who will give him the necessary  help, against his men.
Suddenly a sharp object flew right past his left arm, scratching him, and hanging on a tree that they were passing by in a blurry.
He felt a sharp pain in his arm, and put his hand on it. It was bleeding, too much, for a little wound like that. He figured out, that the blade must have contained the venom of a basilisk.
He gripped his arm tightly, while trying to stay on his horse. His vision started to become blurry.