Fire in the Night

Chapter 1

~Varghul's POV~

     I lay curled upon my small bed, the mid-afternoon sun shining through the small window as I write in a brown book. 

"It has been ten years since the Dragonsouls had found me on their doorstep and taken me under their wing. Fharir and Sandra, my adoptive parents, have nine children in total. Two are twins, Holly and Molly, a set pf triplets named Mora, Kilgar, and Sork. The rest of their children, including myself, are adopted children. Sora is the oldest of all of us and she is already married and expecting her first child. Zali is older by a few months than I am. Kimra recently was adopted when Sandra found her adrift in a river. Although I am ten years of age, I am an excellent sword fighter and hunter, though my use of a bow is sloppy. I stand out the most from my adoptive family. My skin is too pale and my hair too dark. 

  Fharir says they found me after a dragon had tried to take me away, but had died of its wounds. Apparently it was a Night Fury. The village threw the dragon's body into the ocean. On more than one occasion, I have found dragons in the cave that I love to explore. Mostly just Terrors reside in the caves. I am training to become a warrior of my tribe, to help defend against the dragon attacks. The attacks do not occur as often as they do on other islands, but when they do occur much damage is caused. The island is mountainous, with several streams and lakes and an inactive volcano on the far shore. Once, I found a nest of Terror eggs and showed Fharir. When I returned to the spot the next day, the eggs were gone along with the nest. When I questioned him, he explained that while the dragons did not attack often, this island should not tolerate the building of their nests. He left the eggs on the far shore and they were gone within the hour. " 

 After I finish writing, I place the charcoal on a wooden table and the book under my bed in a small chest.  As I walk out of my room, I tie my long hair back with a thin strip of hide. I grabbed the blue-banded sword from the weapon rack and head down the stairs. Once I reach the bottom, Sork steps in front of me. His recently cleaned armor shines as he grins at me. "Hey, Varghul! Do you want to go fishing? I hear the salmon is swimming upstream soon!" Shaking my head, I sigh. "Sorry, maybe some other time? I-" Sandra appears, her expression cross. "Varghul! You should be training! Why are you still inside?" I dip my head respectfully to her, "I am sorry, Sandra. I lost track of time. I will head out now." As I hurry to the door, Sandra glares after me. "Yes, you will. And, you will NOT return until sundown. If you do or Fharir and I do not see you training, you will be punished accordingly." I nod, sighing softly as I head to the training area and begin. After several hours of training, I pant heavily and check if Fharir and Sandra are around. When I notice they are not, I quickly take a canteen of water and take several long gulps of the water. I relish the feeling of the cool water as I drink. A minute later, I resume training. I continue, my eyes narrowed with concentration as the sun begins to touch the ocean. 

As I head back to the large hut, I pass a man that I know all too well. His breath smells of mead as he stops me. "Hello, little girl. I trust when your father deems you ready for marriage, you will take my son as your spouse." I roll my eyes. "Very funny. Besides, I have my whole life ahead of me as a warrior. I do not have time for having a family!" As I chuckle, I can see that I have upset him. His glare worries me and I quickly add, "However, I will be sure to take your son into consideration when I do decide to marry." He gruffly walks off, glaring at me. I continue on my way, stopping by the forge as I pass it. "Hello, Hauk! Can you sharpen my sword? I do not have time to do so and it i in need of sharpening and some repair." I hand the blacksmith my sword and two gold coins. He nods and takes them. "Come back tomorrow and the sword will be ready. I also expect you to bring me some tea you promised me... two days ago." Nodding, I smile. "Of course! I just have to find the time to gather the ingredients..." Hauk grumbles and begins sharpening. "A young woman like yourself should be enjoying life, not spending all day training!" I shrug and walk into the hut, greeted by an enraged Fharir yelling at Sora. "I thought I told you not to go gallivanting off with that man! Now you are moving in with him?!" As he slaps her, my eyes widen. Sora glares hatefully at him, "And THIS is why I am moving in with Darkli! He can support me better than you ever have!" She storms past me and out the door. I quickly head towards the stairs, him stopping me. "And you! You should have been back earlier!" I bite back a sharp reply and instead reply calmly, "My sword needed to be sharpened so that I will be more efficient in its use. I am sorry for coming home so late." He growls at me, it almost animalistic, as he pushes me up the stairs and into my room. "No dinner for you and you train immediately after you wake. No breakfast. You WILL be back for midday meal, and then you will go back to training." Fharir leaves the room and slams the door. As I wait for him to go to his room, I change out of my armor and into warm clothes. I sigh as my stomach rumbles and I lie on my bed, sleep soon overtaking me.