Bond of Souls

Introduction/Chapter One

                                       Introduction

     Long before the reign of man, when the earth was split into kingdoms and ruled by those who were the descendants of the ancient races, there were those of us who had a unique and rare gift passed through the blood lines called Drued le par' Draco. Translated through the old religion these words proclaimed, The Dragon with in the Druid. Our ancient magic coursed through our veins allowing us the most incredible and divine power.... bonding with dragons. In doing this our soul is completed. A never ending gap is filled. We become whole and are bound until death. It is our destiny, our dream, and our one and only hope in this life..... or so I thought.

Chapter One

     Once upon a time on a brisk autumn morning a woman awoke to the song of birds, the soft red of trees, and the screams of children. She awoke not afraid but determined. As she slowly arose from her bed scanning the chamber for danger, she realized that the blood curtailing screams were resonating from outside her balcony. She ran to the East wall and flung open the doors, her heart pounding, her breath shallow and fast, her pale hands sweating on she firmly gripped the door knobs and stepped onto the balcony. Her first thought was of how beautiful the sunrise would be in a few minutes time. The violets, purples, and blues. However, the only colors she saw now were the orange of flames, silver of swords, and the deep red of blood. She saw children bleeding, warriors fighting and dying, entire families being burnt alive in a single instant.

     The young woman stood in horror, petrified by the raw carnage she saw taking place beneath her. Dazed, she gazed around absorbing all that was happening. That was when she saw it. A gigantic dragon. It was fifty feet of raw muscle and power. Teeth like swords, claws like blood stained spears, roar more piercing than both, and the wings. For a beast so massive and terrifying, the wings were magnificent and beautiful. The graceful way they rose and fell as the dragon rose and fell with them. The horns could have been battering rams, but the things she noticed most were the eyes. Not full of anger and hate, but filled to the brim with fear and pain.

     CRASH!!! The sound rang through her chamber as the leader of the vashect's or protectors burst through the door panting. "General, you must prepare you. The dragon has broken through the gate and is attacking the inner city!" He proclaimed this with so much urgency she worried that more was happening then she was seeing.

     She turned to face him," I noticed. I was just about to ready myself and find the king. Fetch my hand maiden to ready my horse."

     She surprised herself with how calm and firm her own voice sounded after the horror she had just witnessed. She went to her armor glancing back at the window then wishing she hadn't. To see all the destruction again... it took all she had to look away without weeping.

     She started to put on her vest, but her armor seemed heavier now. The way it clung to her body as if her guilt weighed on her shoulders more than her breast plate. She kept thinking, If I had been woken up sooner. If I had the night watch, I know that I could have prevented this or at least fought with my men to defend this city!

     This was to be her first real battle and of anything she had to fight a fully grown dragon! With fire hotter than the hottest forge in Belladonna and not to mention it was half as tall as the castle itself! She pulled the last strap taut and grabbed a sword. She had many in different styles and materials, but now she chose Dashon. This earned name meant darkness and it had never failed her, not once. She sheathed him and opened the door to the stairs.

     With every step she felt more and more adrenaline pumping through her veins. As she walked she could see subjects cowering in their rooms watching as the castle was collapsing around them. She walked faster and faster practically running down the stairs before she stopped in her tracks.

     She went cold and pale feeling the blood drain from her face.

    She wasn't scared for what she saw but for what she realized. She was about to fight a dragon. Dragons are an endangered species. There hadn't been a dragon sitting in Belladonna for more than fifty years. The realization hit her like a stone wall.

     Dragons only roamed freely in one place... Hydralia. The people of this kingdom worshiped dragons as divine beings sent to maintain the balance in the world. Their leader, Elijah, is a sorcerer with power over their divine that is how he maintains his kingship. As she remembered his story she understood why she had seen fear in the dragon's eyes. This was not a rogue dragon, but was under the spell of the Hydralian king. A spell that was forcing it to attack us.

     This was an act of war!

     She ran with a new sense of urgency. She had to find the king and tell of what she knew before it was too late. She had to stop this before it started and ended the way she knew it would... with blood.

     She was tearing through the castle now, avoiding everything from mountains of rubble to corpses of the valiant and the cowards. Left, right, right, staircase, first door on the left she he had it all mapped out, the quickest way to get to the throne room where the king would most likely be in a time like this. Faster she pushed herself, faster, she had to find him, to warn him.

     Her legs were burning under the weight of her newly heavy armor. Her lungs burned as she ran the spiral staircase two at a time tripping over her own thoughts. Would this be war? How should she react? How would she even tell the king? She kept racing just a little faster than her mind when she reached the door.

     She calmed herself and attempted many times to open the door, when she finally did she was greeted by somber eyes. "My king! I know what is happening and why the dragon is attacking us!"

     His oaken stature wilted as if cracked, but kept looking at her with those deep-brown wooden eyes. "I have done something horrible, Freya." His eyes began to tear as he turned to his vacant throne. He screamed now. "I DON'T DESERVE THIS!!!" He threw his crown and ripped his family crest from it's royal perch.

     "What are you talking about? Did you not hear me, I know what's happening?!" She became scared, he had never acted like this before. He had always been so calm and collected. Now, he was breaking down before her electric blue eyes. "Your majesty..." She was wavering. "... are you alright?"

     "Speak plainly to me Freya," He said. "What are you thinking right now?" She couldn't bring herself to say what she thought.

     That he was losing his mind.

     The throne room was mighty and vast with dozens of beautiful arched, stained glass windows, and an open balcony overlooking the inner city. Sadly he headed for that balcony right now. She ran after him trying to stop him from whatever he was about to do. He ran to the arched railing and screamed, gripping the stone so tightly that his knuckles became white with anticipation. He turned slowly now to face her, his oaken eyes beginning to drip salty amber. "In my reign I have done terrible things," He whispered. "this is my fault." He lifted himself up to stand on the railing. She stood there petrified as he kept speaking. What could she do? What was even happening? He now stood straight up and saluted her. "I leave every thing I have to you general. You are my heir. My Freya. My daughter."

     And then he jumped. Plummeting to oblivion.

     The king... her father... my father... killed himself.

     That's how my story begins.

( I hope that you enjoyed my story so far and PLEASE give me feedback and criticism. I want to know how to make my story better. )