Flame Rider I: Rise of a Warrior

Chapter 1: The Chosen One

“Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” 

― George Burns

Lordernaft, 5/12/2987

Jerica’s Point of View

“Come here, Wolf,” I called kindly, “it’s time for bed.”

A small boy of about 2 years old started to crawl away from me. As he crawled he quietly made his way towards the kitchen. But before he got there, my husband picked the boy up and began to tickle the boy.

We were living in a small but comfortable home, with a bedroom for us adults, one for the boy, a family room, a kitchen, and a library. There was also space for my husband’s and my own dragons, which for the most part slept outside.

I came towards the boy and Phillip. I was tall with a slender body, my eyes were green and sparkled like a pure emerald, and long silk like hair that was sea green in colour. Phillip was also tall, with board shoulders, and a firm but kind face. His hair was black, and his eyes were red. My husband also resembled his elfish ancestors. I had pointed ears like an elf, instead of the round ears of humans. Both Phillip and I had tan skin.

The boy had my husband’s elfin features; but his eyes were that of my own. He also had red hair that looked as if it was burning.

“Alright Phillip, Wolf needs his sleep. So say goodnight,” I said.

“Goodnight my Blood Wolf,” said Phillip, “Jerica will take you to bed now, ok.”

The boy nodded sleepily. I took him from Phillip and hugged him while I took the boy to his room. I put him down on his bed and kissed his forehead.

As I walked back to the family room I heard my dragon speaking into my mind with his thoughts.

‘Someone approaches the house,’ he stated, ‘I think it is a Dark Rider.’

‘It is definitely a powerful Dark Rider,’ said Phillip’s dragon, in a low and powerful voice, ‘and he is bent on killing the boy.’

When I entered the family room, I saw the same look on my husband’s face that I knew he saw on my own.

“I’ll stop the Dark Rider,” Phillip said. “You protect the boy.”

I rushed toward our room, to grab our swords there, before rushing back to the boy’s room. I only stopped to give Phillip his sword.

When I got to the room the boy was in, he was awake, but unlike a normal human baby, he was quiet, only staring pleading at me. It was comforting to think that he thought of me as mum.

“It’s okay Wolf, everything will be just fine.”

***

Phillip’s POV

At the front door, I was muttering a string of Lordernaka, conjuring several magical enchantments on the house, myself, my wife, and the child. Afterwards I shifted my sword into a more comfortable position.

Suddenly the dragons outside started to rustle about a bit. Then I heard the sound of claws clashing with a sword, and a bright light lit the sky as one of the two dragons let loose a long torrent of fire. But the fight had already been decided, before the conflict had even begun.

 ‘He is too strong,’ admitted Jerica’s dragon, ‘I am afraid he’ll…’

Abruptly, with two almighty roars, the dragons fell silent. In the Family room, I felt as if part of me had been removed, never to heal again. No one was supposed to kill a dragon and live to tell the story. No one other than a Shadow One, or the Dark One himself. And only the Dark One could kill two dragons at the same time.