Not all adventures have happy endings. The trouble is, not everyone knows that.
From a very young age, Kardia has been brought up on a steady diet of adventure stories. So when a dragon materializes in her house, and asks her to jump into a new world, she doesn't hesitate. (Okay, she hesitates, but only a little bit). When Kardia leaves her ordinary world for an extraordinary one, she doesn't realize what she's in for. With long journeys by foot (ew, exercise), and a far from ideal companion (hello, tiny dragon), Kardia enters a world where there is already someone out to get her. (Someone call the fire department, because this witch is on fire. Literally). It doesn't happen often, but sometimes, true loyalty and pure selfishness come in the same package.
Determining the title of this short story took considerable effort and time. Some contenders included:
The Consequences of Trusting (Non-Human) Strangers
Bite-Sized Adventures with Bite Sized-Creatures
Kardia's Strange Journey into a Strange World With an Even Stranger Company
Befriending, Backstabbing, and Burning Things in the New World
After sorting through these questionable titles, I picked the one which I thought was least questionable.
Jeez. Someone, help me pick a damn title. I cannot seem to do it myself.
Growing up as an apprentice healer in the castle, Ilia loved listening to the stories the knight-mages told. Tales of valour and glory, adventures in the wilderness, things she'd never see while she's trapped behind the stone walls. When knights show up with wounds from battle, and Ilia has new visions and nightmares, her powers flare wildly. What's happening to her?
Dragons are rare. When word reaches the castle that a dragon was slaughtered, her life is changed forever. Ilia feels something pulling at her inside. She must help. What can a mere student do when the best Knight-mages are already out there, seeking the last dragons to protect them? With her powers acting up, can she trust what she feels?
With nothing more than feelings to go on, Ilia leaves the safety of the castle, the only place she's ever known. Can she find and protect dragons before it's too late? Are her powers tied to the dragons somehow? If so, what happens if the last dragon dies? Will she die, too?