The Kingdom That Fell

Chapter 1: So you want to be a Dragon Slayer?

    It's Morning already and I haven't slept a wink I thought to myself. Now I have to go eat breakfast and continue with my day-

I heard the floor creak,

"Who's there?" I called and heard no response. So I did what my training taught me. I leapt to my feet grabbed my sword and took a stance by the door.

"Who's there?" I called firmly his time. The door opened so quickly I couldn’t see who it was, I took a swing at the figure. But before I even could tell who it was he had blocked my sword with the axe in his and had another one at my thought. At this point I could tell who it was.

"What kind of greeting is that for a brother?" after telling me this he lowers his weapons.

"You're the one that took me by surprise" I tell him as I put my sword away. "Isn't it a bit of a cliché for a Paladin Guard to carry two axes?"

"First I'm not a 'Paladin Guard', I'm a 'Squad Commander' there is a difference. About the axes, each Commander can choose what weapon he uses in the field." He then reattached his axes to a contraption on his back. "Slayers only have both the standard sword and shield, dragon claws, or a fang scythe" He then sat down.

"Fang scythe?" I said in a questioning tone.

"They take a dragon's fang and attach it to the end of an long stick like a scythe.” Wait, did you even visit the Slayers Outpost?" He asked very questioningly.

"No, should I have?" I responded.

"After breakfast we'll go by there"

"Thanks, I thought about going, but I never found the time."

"You always found time to chase girls."

"I never got that far."

"You can make excuses like no one I've ever seen."

"Get out of here" I said with a smile, "I need to get a bag together."

"Okay, come down to breakfast soon, I'm making my omelets"

Before I went downstairs, I took a moment to look around the room and everything reminds about I was leaving behind to start my life. The trophies from sword fighting tournaments, my collection of dragon scales, the griffin feather my brother brought me the first time he visited, my first sword, I called it fang because it looks more like a fang then a sword. Knowing that this was the last time I would be here and that I would be given a new sword upon arrival, I decided to take fang instead of my sword I had custom forged in Niselwit.

As I walked down the stairs and saw my mother and brother sitting at the table, they looked like they had seen a ghost. The thing is, they have, I will be leaving to fight dragons! The most deadly creatures known in the kingdom!

My mother snaps her self out of it, "Come eat, food is getting cold." She says in a calm tone.

I sat down in my chair, this old oak chair my grandfather made a set of 80 some odd years ago, the same chair I've sat in for as long as I can remember, and for the first time I don't feel comfortable. I feel out of place, like I shouldn't be here, not out of place, like there's a tension in the room.

After a brief moment of silence I thought it would be a good idea to start some small talk.. "So Ryan, How's being a 'Squad Commander' going?"

"Good, there was a necromancer in Niselwit I was assigned to hunt."

"Let's not talk about witch hunts at the table okay?" Our mother interjected.

There was a bit more silence before Ryan asked, "Where's dad?"