A Short Story Of Flame and Craft

Trial

He had waited for this day as long as he could remember.

And it would probably be his last.

Two shields: one front, one back. A sword, long and thin; most questioned how he could kill anything with it. He only smiled back, tapping a small pouch on his belt. They became curious, but they soon lost interest when the realized he was pointing to a pair of shears next to the pouch. That was all he had to his name.

All he would carry into the dragon's lair.

"A creature approaches," bellows the beast within. "Does it know only death lies within."

"It does."

"Then why approach?"

"You should know, being of greed, that all humans bear that green-eyed monster in their hearts."

"So you still approach?"

There was no response but the sound of footsteps. Both knew it would call the challenge, as the small human came into the vision of the massive red dragon.

"Two large shields, but a pitiful sword. Looking to exploit a weakness, perhaps?"

"They say this alloy resists dragonfire."

"Well, we shall see!" And the dragon drew in breath, spewing out a river of flames. The human tried his best, crouching down behind the shield on his back, but he could only last behind the heat for so long; thankfully, there was a small cubby nearby, so he dove into it, crawling away until the flames could not touch him.

"Where are you, human?" The dragon roared through its halls. "Planning something devious?"

"Maybe!" The human tossed out his front-most shield, but the dragon quickly leaned back.

"Is it a trap? No, perhaps a bomb?"

"Hold up! It's almost done!" Then the human took his small pouch, slowly pouring out the contents onto the shield's top. "Okay, it's done!"

"What? What do you plan to do with sand?"

"Uh, why don't you set it on fire and figure out?"

"Hm. I'll bite but once, mortal." The dragon blew its flames over the shield, and for a second smoke waffled through the air. Was the human testing her? Looking for a distraction? No, the human slipped out towards the shield with his sword, slowly spinning it on top of the sand. And, somehow, the sand was picking up onto the human's blade.

This was her chance: she could blow her flames again while he was distracted! She breathed in, but before she could blow out the flames, the human was gone again! And now she could see, through her flames, the human slowly spinning the tip of his sword through the flames!

"You mock me human, but I shalln't make that mistake twice!"

"Just a moment!" But the dragon was already charging its way through the halls to the cubby. There, she saw the human crafting something at the edge of his sword; no doubt something devious to destroy her when she wasn't looking. Seeing he was still distracted, she softly grabbed the nape of his neck with her claws, dragging her back to her piles of gold. And as she prepared her jaw to crush the thing within her jaws, she saw something sparkle in front of her. Was it his sword? He was holding it upside down in front of her: no doubt a magical incantation underway, with how those shears were held up near the tip.

But then she noticed what was sparkling: it was the sand at the tip of his sword, reflecting her piles of gold beneath her. And in a flash, the shears tapped the edge of the sword, and the sand began to fall, but the human was faster, catching the sand in but one of his hands as both the sword and the shears fell to the ground. It was then she realized, as the human seemed to be offering her the sand, that it was in some sort of shape. She squinted, looking closer, to realize the sand had morphed into the shape of a dragon.

"What kind of magic is this?"

"No magic, for all that glitters is not gold."

"Is it alchemy?"

"No. The monks called it 'glass'. I am but a former blacksmith's assistant, where I would work with heat as strong as your own flames. In my last hour, you have allowed me to make my greatest work yet. Take it as a gift, for I will have no need of it in death."

"Then what did you expect to gain here? Pity, so you could take my gold?"

"No. It was both the greed in my heart and the greed of men that drove me here. I had wished for power, so I could things like the small dragon before you, but all the other humans ever wanted was gold. I could not live in a world as greed-ridden as that, so I thought to find a dragon such as yourself, and be complete one last time."

"Few have come to me with gifts, mortal, but none that glittered like gold. So let us make a pact: you will make more of these, and when you are near death, I shall eat your dying flesh."

"I understand, my lord. I will bear this pact with all my heart!"