Dragon Rider

Chapter 1: Retribution

Spear leaned forward, her heart pounding. Her hands tightened around the weapon she was named for, a long, silver spear that sparkled in the moonlight. She licked her lips, sweat beading on her brow. Tonight was the night, the night that she'd been training for her entire life. Tonight she would slay a dragon, the evil creatures that had destroyed her kingdom, Trebador. That was what the legends said, anyway.

Every child from her clan had heard the tales of the monstrous creatures who slaughtered and killed and stole the souls of children for sport. She had grown up hearing the tales of how the 16 clans now scattered throughout the Amalya Forest had once been a great empire, until the queen of the dragons, a great, purple monstrosity, had used her black magic to destroy the kingdom in one night. She then turned all the survivors against eachother in what was known as the War of Deciet. After the war was over, the remaining people had formed 16 clans and fled into the woods, hating and fearing one another. Wars still raged on and off between the clans, so at age 15, the strongest, fastest and most promising children from each clan were sent to their clan's training grounds, where they proved themselves worthy of being a soldier by completing a task.

The difficulty of the task ranged from clan to clan. In the Clan of Light, they had to find their way out of the middle of a desert, with no food or water. In the Clan of Water, the children had to retrieve a gold nugget from the treasure hoard of a huge sea serpent.  Each clan had a difficult task, but the task of Spear's clan, the Clan of Shadow, was legendary. The recruits had to fight a dragon. If they brought back a piece of scale or claw, they became foot soldiers. If they brought back a limb, they became generals. And if they somehow managed to kill the dragon, they would become the direct heir to the throne of the clan. No one had killed a dragon in centuries, though. But that was exactly what Spear planned to do.

Slowly, silently, she crept around the hill she hid behind, feeling her way to a yawning cave that portruded from its side. Hardly daring to breathe, she crept into the cave, a gleam near the back of it catching her eye. Spear's heart skipped a beat. There, in front of her, lay a huge, battle-scarred purple dragon. Purple. The color of the beast that killed her kingdom. I shall be remembered for this for generations! She thought, sneaking around to the monster's head. She raised her spear. I, Spear, slayer of the purple dragon! She threw her spear down, about to send it straight through the dragon's eye. But before the blow could land, her weapon was knocked from her hands by incredible force. A long, scaily purple tail coiled around her waist and hoisted her off of her feet.

The sleeping dragon burst from the cave and stood up straight in the moonlight, great emerald eyes leering dow at the prize that struggled in its grasp. Spear looked up and gasped. Before her stood not a huge, hideous beast as she had imagined, but a beautiful creature covered in scales of amethyst. To large black horns portruded from its head, and from its feet extended long, razor-sharp talons. Its green gaze was not of wild fury and bloodlust, but of wisdom and a touch of amusement. Spear gritted her teeth. No. This was an illusion. She had been warned back at camp of how these creatures could disguise themselves with illusion to appear as beautious creatures of wisdom and grace. Spear leered up at the dragon. "Go on. You've got me. There's no way I can escape. Now finish it, beast!"

The dragon simpy turned her upside down. "Beast? My, my. You kids these days, you have no manners at all. Back in the old days, assassins at least had the grace to stay calm before I killed them." The dragon said, smirking. Spear froze, her heart hammering in her chest, blood flowing to her head. "Y-you can talk!" She cried. This went against everything she had ever learned about dragons. They were supposed to be stupid, crude, territorial beasts. There was no way they were smart enough to speak the tongue of the clans! The dragon snorted and dropped her on her head. Spear sat up, seeing stars."I have a name, human. You may call me Valarius."

Valarius sat back on her haunches and watched with some amusement as Spear scrambled to her feet and stared at her, eyes wide, jaw gaping. Valarius. The queen of the dragons herself. Spear shook her head. "No. Valarius destroyed our kingdom thousands of years ago. She's dead." The amethyst dragon stared down at her with mocking green eyes. "You have no idea how long dragons live, do you? I've got millenia left in me." She laid down with a hefty sigh that almost uprooted a tree. "But I'll soon die of sleep deprivation if you don't go away. Scram. Beat it. There are some shed scales in the cave. Take one back home with you. Be a soldier. Let me get some sleep." And with that, the great purple dragon closed her eyes and flicked her tail dismissively.

Spear took a step toward the queen, her fist shaking in rage. "You killed countless innocents. You started wars that rage to this day. You destroyed an entire kingdom in one night. I'll make you pay!" She drew her dagger and ran at Valarius. She would not turn tail and run home with some false trophy. She would avenge her fallen kingdom, not caring if she died trying. "FOR TREBADOR!" She cried. Spear thrust her dagger into Valarius's wing and cut a large hole into it. With a roar of pain, Valarius grabbed with her foreclaw and shook her, forcing her to drop her weapon. Spear struggled against the Dragon Queen's iron grip. Valarius held her up to her face, her eyes blazing with emerald fire. "You dare attack me, human?!" With a roar, she threw Spear into the hillside, creating a small crater. Spear gasped, coughing up blood. Valarius loomed over her. So this is the end... Spear thought. At least I died fighting for what was right... And then the world went black.