The Dragon Keeper(On Hiatus)

Chapter 1

Sage ducked as flames shot overhead. He drew his sword and weighed it a few times. He jumped back as another stream of fire shot at him. His armor was too big. It was heavy and felt like a furnace from all the heat. He began to wonder why knights even wore armor if they knew dragons could breathe fire.

"Your end is near, evil creature!" Sage lunged at the dragon, ready to slay it, but before he got close enough, he froze. The inferno burst from the dragon's mouth, ready to engulf him.

Sage sat up. His forehead was beaded with sweat and his breathing ragged. He got up and crept over to the window. Quietly, he lifted the latch and opened it, letting the crisp fall air soothe him. A dream, he reminded himself. It was only a dream. Yet, that dream haunted him almost every night. He wanted to be a knight more than anything, but how could he if he was afraid of dragons. After all, knights slayed dragons. Sage was too fearful to even get near one. A dragon had killed his parents. His aunt had always told him that if he didn't do as he was told, the dragon would come back for him. So Sage lived every day in fear, both of the dragons and his aunt, but that was about to change.

Today, Sage was 13, so he would become an apprentice. In Aldenburg, when a child turns 13 they are to be trained in a profession chosen by the taskmaster unless they wish to continue to work in the fields which rarely happened. Sage never would choose to work in the fields, but he knew his aunt wouldn't want him venturing out on his own. Though he wasn't so sure he cared what she wanted at the moment, then he reconsidered. What if he left and the dragon came after him? Sage let out a shaky breath and tried to think positively. If he was a knight's apprentice, he wouldn't have to worry about the dragon because the knights would slay it. He looked back out his small window and peered at the moon sinking over the horizon. A sliver of a smile crept onto his face as he quickly pulled on his farm clothes. If he got started on his chores now, he'd be able to go to the taskmaster before his aunt remembered it was his birthday.

The fields were chilly even with the sun rising overhead, but Sage had to tend to them or else they would starve when winter arrived. He fetched several buckets of water and carefully watered the crops, being sure not to overwater them. Next, he headed to the henhouse. It wasn't very big, but since they only had a few chickens on their small farm, it didn't much matter. Sage looked around the small enclosure where the chickens were allowed to roam. When he didn't see Crowley, he cautiously went in to collect the eggs. Crowley was the evil rooster who guarded the hens and their nests. In Sage's mind, Crowley was the reincarnation of a dragon, bent on tormenting him. Sage collected the eggs and threw some feed down for the hens. He turned to leave the enclosure, but in front of him stood the solid black figure of Crowley. Sage took a deep breath and glared at the large rooster.

"I don't want any trouble, Crowley," he said calmly. But Crowley didn't care. He only cared about keeping his hens and their babies safe. Crowley took a few steps toward Sage and let out a warning crow. Sage held his ground. "Look, Crowley. I know we've never gotten along but today I'm 13, so I'll be given a job and be out of your feathers forever. So can you just let me leave without any problems?" Sage pleaded. Crowley considered it and let out an evil crow. By the time Sage managed to escape the enclosure, two of the eggs had fallen out of his basket and he had several scratches along his ankles and arms. "Stupid rooster," he muttered.

Sage went down to the barn that housed their cow. It wasn't so much of a barn as it was a glorified shed. The red paint had long since faded and vines of ivy crept between the broken planks. Sage patted the old dairy cow and sighed. It was only a matter of time before she was dried up and was shipped off for meat. He pulled up a stool and placed a bucket under the utters. He tried milking her and sighed again. She was completely dry. Sage wasn't surprised. The cow had been providing less and less milk over the past few weeks. He gave the old cow a sad look as he left the barn and headed back towards the house.