Dragon Academy

Interlude

The city of Asaka glittered under the night sky. The two moons were in full bloom, creating a twin-circle effect that shone down on the residents below. The shingled roofs of the peasant houses - non-flammable, as was the standard - were far below the clock tower the man stood upon.
The man was a wall, to put it simply. His frame could've filled a small room, with arms as thick as tree trunks and a belly that cascaded over his belt like a boulder. This massive figure was covered up by his fine clothes, embroidered with gold trinkets and silk of a dark green colour. Perched on top of all the mass was a squashed-in face, with brutish features that did little to hide his equally-brutal nature.
The man turned to the shadows behind him, addressing them directly. "So," he said in a voice like knives on rock, "how long are you going to hide in there?"
The large man turned around fully to face the shadows as a figure emerged from them. "I hide when necessary, Burgehart," the figure responded. "Unlike you I do not relish being in the centre of attention. Though with a figure like that it isn't difficult."
Burgehart chuckled. "Ah, but a smaller figure could not contain all I have to share with the world! You should know this, Mantle."
A sound of disgust escaped the figure. "I'm simply hired to do what I do. I don't chit-chat. Speak of which, do you have it?"
Burgehart grimaced and dug around in his coat, pulling out a curved dagger with a dragon's head for a pommel. "I hope you realize how much this cost. I traded at least three priceless heirlooms to obtain it."
The blade disappeared from his hand, and soon Mantle was practicing swings with it. "The blade is authentic?"
Burgehart grunted. "Yes, the price certainly qualifies that. Genuine dragon's tooth." He shifted uncomfortably. "Are we concluded here then? I'm a busy man with things to do."
The dagger disappeared inside the cloak Mantle wore. Burgehart watched the small bit of the cloak that made it into the light, and he swore on his grandmother that the cloak had scales. "Yes, we are done here. Go along, Burgehart."
As Mantle turned to leave, Burgehart called out, "Wait! What are you going to do with a dragon's tooth dagger?"
Mantle turned and edged his face into the light, and Burgehart's mouth dropped open. Instead of a face, the man wore a massive silver dragon mask, with deep black eyes and a scale of each colour embedded in the forehead.
"Why," Mantle responded, "change the path of history, of course."