Blackheart

The Black Dragon

In the midst of a peaceful, sunny day, a guard sat in a verdant green field, staring vacantly off into the distance.

The man was wearing a simple set of commoner's clothes. On top of his shirt, he wore a tabard with the crest of Jherin on it.

Jherin, a fledgling town full of craftsmen and laborers, was still finding its footing, being quite a young town with a short history. It was in the countryside and fairly remote, being in the fairly undeveloped Southeast. The only largely developed place around was Palethorn, and at the moment...

The guard tapped his foot as he took a swig from his bottle of ale. The scruffy-looking man wasn't supposed to be drinking on duty, but as several members of the guard had been skipping shifts, leaving early, and slacking off, he had been burdened with so many other men's jobs that he couldn't be bothered to care anymore.

He scratched as his rough stubble, still in the process of growing into a beard. The town was so peaceful. Crime was nonexistent. The rolling hills outside of town were quiet and serene. Even his superiors didn't seem to care anymore, and staring up at the fluffy white clouds and bright blue sky above...he could hardly blame them.

It was the perfect day for relaxing. He leaned back until he was flat on his back, watching the clouds on this comfortable hill as the breeze cooled him. He could feel his eyelids grow heavy, and soon enough he was lying in the grass, eyes shut and hands on the back of his head.

In that moment, he felt no stress, no worries or even the slights inklings of negative thoughts or feelings. For a brief moment...life was wonderful.

The sound of violent winds broke him from his short-lived serenity. He opened one of his eyes, staring up into the sky again. Nothing. The strong sounds of whipping winds continued. Suspicious now, he sat up, taking a moment to wipe the dirt off of his tabard.

He looked off into the fields, confused. The sounds of violent winds continued, now accompanied by strange noises he'd never heard before. He realized if the winds were picking up enough to make those noises, he should be able to at least feel it...

He continued pondering this until he realized it had suddenly gotten much darker. A brief moment of confusion was followed by grim realization as he found that it hadn't gotten darker; there was something above him casting a massive shadow.

Slowly, he lifted his head to the sky. The man's eyes widened as he saw, directly over him, the underbelly of a dragon.

For a moment, he thought that maybe he'd gone insane. Maybe his imagination was running mad with those cloud shapes.

After a second passed, the dragon flew by him and then whirled around to face him before beginning to descend.

With the beast's wings flapping over him, now he understood where the noises were coming from. His clothes whipped about as he nearly flipped over from the sheer force of the winds.

Not that any of that was on his mind. His thoughts were a searing whiteness, sheer shock and terror rendering him unable to move or even think.

A real life dragon, descending upon him. He couldn't even appreciate just how terrifying it was at the moment, his mind still shut down from the shock of the scene.

The dragon landed on the grassy field, directly in front of him and facing his direction. The beast had green scales and sharp, blue eyes. Its wings folded up on its back as the monster gazed at him.

His own gaze was far different. The man's eyes were as wide as plates, and his mouth ached from how agape it was in its horror. He was frozen, lying on the ground with his hands against the earth, limbs stiff.