The Dragon's Chase

Chapter One

In a world surrounded by magic, there are few without. Many people were born with the gift of magic, providing the kingdom of Chimor with a prosperous several hundred years. Chimor has not been marred by famine, drought, nor fire. No disaster has befallen it, leaving its people happy. However, all is not as it seems. Those few without magic are criticized and ridiculed for something that they cannot hope to control. It is in the seven hundredth and fifty-sixth year of this kingdom does this story take place.

Ava Blanchien was born in the year seven hundred and thirty-nine to parents who both possessed powerful magic, though they were a poor family. She was one of no other children for the family. Unfortunately, their only child held no magic. She grew up ridiculed by her parents, them hoping that she would show some sign of magic before her tenth birthday. When a child turns ten, if they had not shown signs of magic by then, there is no hope for it. Children usually showed signs of magic at birth, but often it took time to set in. Ava showed no such signs.

Thus, Ava grew up hated by her parents. There was no escape for her growing up, as people would even berate her on the streets and she had nowhere to go. Her only solace was a kindly old woman who lived in a shack by the river at the edge of the village of Fiauna, where the Blanchiens lived. This elderly gift was named Rosette Sourir, but most everyone called her Rosy. She was kind to everyone in the village, possessing control over flora. Rosy ran a flower shop, selling a wide variety of plants to the people of Fiauna. She also told stories of the way things used to be. Ava adored listening to Rosy tell tales of the ages of dragons and men, hearing about how things used to be long before she was born.

Ava typically wandered the village as often as possible, trying to stay away from the home where she was not welcome. Unfortunately, she had a reputation of not possessing any magic and she was the only person in the whole village without it. She found safety and warmth in the home of Rosy, who would feed Ava and regale her with tales of the olden time. It is on one of these days where our story picks up.

"Rosy," Ava began, sitting in a plush chair by a fire. "Can you tell me another story? Please?"

"Hush, Child," Rosy replied, running a hand down Ava's head, feeling the soft brown hair beneath her fingers. "I've told you all my stories, you know this."

"I know, I just love hearing them," Ava confessed. "Can you tell me the one on dragons again?"

Rosy let out a soft laugh as she sat down in a wooden rocking chair across from Ava, angled towards the roaring fire. "You always wish to hear the dragon stories. There are many, it is difficult to pick which one."

"Surprise me, then," Ava told her. "Please? I love them so much."

Rosy let out a soft smile. "I will gladly tell you one, if it is your wish."

"Yes, please," Ava told her, leaning forward. She was currently sixteen, it was the eve of her seventeenth birthday. "Tomorrow's my birthday, I'd love to hear another story as a present."

Rosy let out a small chuckle. "I suppose it is more than fair. Though I must warn you, I am old and forgetful. I may not remember the whole story I decide to tell you."

"You'll always remember, Rosy," Ava told her with a smile. "I love these stories."

"Very well," Rosy replied with a soft smile, turning her gaze from the fire to Ava. Her emerald eyes gleamed with the wisdom that came along with her many hears and her silver hair was down, falling straight to her waist. Her face was aged well, but it was possible to tell that Rosy was once a great beauty. She was still beautiful, even without having ever married or had children of her own. "There once was a large race of dragons, who reigned supreme. Thousands of these dragons ruled the earth. Humans were their playthings to some, companions to others. There were those humans brave enough to ride dragons, but they were always those without magic. These were the warriors, fighting to preserve the good of mankind and dragons. They marked the unity between races, the peacekeepers. Dragons distrusted magic in the presence of humans, as magic disrupted them. There was a great war among the dragon race and the human race, the humans winning and triumphing over all due to selective breeding to weed out those trusted by the dragon race and killing their own kind. The humans possess much magic because of this, while the dragons weedled away, unable to find food or help. They perished, not one having been seen in over a hundred years. Some still speculate that the dragon race live on, in secret, away from the prying eyes of the human race. Others, however, insist that the dragons are gone and will never come back."