Dragon in Disguise

Skyotes were notoriously hard to get rid of. Because they were so smart it was hard to scare them away, and if they found a favorite nesting ground they never seemed to leave permanently. It was certainly possible to fight them, but they were great team fighters, and would never attack up front, more in nips and scratched until the enemy just couldn’t go on. Death by a thousand cuts style.

Viren ran through everything he knew about them in his head, which wasn’t a lot. Little was known about them, and Kastra wasn’t super interested in the specifics of rare wildlife. ‘I could burn them out,’ he thought, ‘Except I don’t think Bob would be to pleases about that.’ He could go in, sword swinging, and try to fight them out. He would most likely come out on top with his sword skills, and his water magic would disable their fire well enough, even if it worked a lot better with a large body of water.

‘But even if I come out on top, I’ll likely be injured, and besides, I really don’t want to kill them.’

While he was trying to think of a solution, the napping Skyotes had woken up, and were barking at each other quietly. One growled playfully to another one, and soon they were pouncing and jumping around. They rolled into the one eating the mouse, who startled and fluttered a few feet away. Its wings spread wide, and the multicolored feathers swirled in the breeze. Then it whirled around and yipped at the other two. Even though many considered them annoying pests, that didn’t stop them from being beautiful and fascinating.

‘I could try scaring them away.’ That… that was actually a really great idea. In most situations it would be really hard to scare them away, and it was anybody’s guess on whether they would stay away.

However, chances were a dragon could scare them away permanently.

…

The clearing the Skyotes were staying in was far enough removed that no one would notice a dragon scaring away a bunch of winged coyotes. Viren chuckled softly at the thought of what chaos that would cause. Not a whole lot of people knew what Skyotes were, and dragons were rare, and generally seen as savage beasts who ate people. ‘Totally not true, but it’s hard to argue when the old wives start telling their tales.’

At least some people knew dragons were intelligent and generally minded their own business… though they still considered them beasts and didn’t really know about their ability to turn human… but he was getting distracted. ‘Alright, scare the Skyotes, get my coin, and get outta here. Easy.’

He shifted into his dragon form, crushing some stalks of wheat as he did, and leaped into the clearing. Every Skyote scrambled up and jumped away, the sound of wings flapping and rustling filling the air. Viren crouched in a hunting position and growled. His tail swished behind him threateningly. Several Skyotes whimpered and cowered, but some crouched, growling and barking.

Viren snarled and stalked forward a few steps, baring his teeth and flexing his claws. The rebellious Skyotes stopped barking and cowered back with their buddies, but Viren wasn’t quite done yet. ‘Still have to make sure they never come back!’ Then he leaped on the Skyotes, who yelped and flapped away franticly. A few feathers drifted through the air. The terrified Skyotes scatted amongst the crops, desperately trying to get away from the terrifying dragon.

The said dragon shifted into human form, grinning as he did. ‘What a rush!’ he thought before heading deeper into the fields to make certain they were gone.

…

By the time Viren emerged from the wheat field it was dusk. He was certain he had fixed Bob’s pest problem. Those Skyotes would not risk coming back, that was for sure. Bob was working his garden and was on his knees in the dirt tending to it. “I’ve taken care of the creatures.” Bob stood up and turned around, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he did.

“Oh, Really? Didya get a glance at what they were?”

“Ah, not really. Definitely scared ‘em real good though.” Bob nodded resolutely.

“Well, as long as their not destroying my crops, I suppose that’s good enough fer me.”

…

Bob paid Viren and was even nice enough to give him a ride back to the city. He dropped him off with a thank you and then headed back to his farm. Viren thought about returning to the small inn he was staying at, but then decided against it. Instead, he went to the market, which was less crowded now that it was a bit later. ‘Time to buy that dagger I wanted!’

He wandered around the edge of the circle, enjoying the night air while also keeping a lookout for a good weapon shop. Although he didn’t have much money to spare, he wanted a quality dagger. Eventually he came across an open shop – not a stall – that was right in front of a forge. Two people were at the counter, and no one was in the forge. It looked like a nice enough place, so Viren walked over.

One of the sellers perked up when she saw Viren approaching. The other glanced over at him but didn’t react. He was sitting on a stool reading a book, though the other one was standing. They both seemed about Viren’s age. When he got close to the counter, the girl beamed at him.

“Welcome to Lily-Fire Family forge and shop. How can we help you today?”

“Well, I was hoping to purchase a quality dagger.” She grinned, and there was a glint in her eye.

“Well sir, I can assure you all of our wares are of good quality, and we do indeed have daggers. The only question is,” she put her elbow on the counter and leaned forward. “How much are you willing to pay?” At this the boy sighed and closed his book.

“Tessia,” he said, “you know we aren’t supposed to haggle.” She stood up straight and groaned.

“But I could make so much extra!” Then she sighed. “Fine. Benny here is our resident weapons expert. Talk to him about your dagger.” The boy stood up and leaned over the counter.

“Just Ben,” He started. “So, what kind of dagger are you looking for?”

“Something big enough to fight with in close combat, but preferably small enough to conceal to some extent.” He seemed to think for a second.

“I think we have something in stock for you, but it is double edged.”

“That would be preferred, actually.”

“Great, wait a second while I grab it.” He went into the forge and out of sight. Tessia was silent for a second. Only a second, though. Or maybe it was half a second.

“So, anything else we can supply for you today? Some horseshoes, perhaps?” ‘Don’t forges usually sell horseshoes to stables?’

“Um, no.”

“But you never know when you need an extra horseshoe, wouldn’t it be useful to have an extra on hand?”

“I… don’t have a horse.”

“Well, then maybe you would be interested in a teapot! We have several quite nice ones for sale, and for a good price too!” She gave a winning smile and a wink. Viren sighed. When would he even find the time to use a teapot?! Or the money to spend on tea for that matter. He might have some decent coin, but that didn’t mean he was rolling in it! Luckily, Ben came back before she could try another sales pitch. He dropped the sheathed knife on the counter and pulled it out of its sheath.

The entire thing was made of what he assumed was iron, though the handle was wrapped in leather and a slightly darker shade. It was double edged, about as long as Viren’s forearm, and as wide as three finders. One side was straight, and the other was also straight until about a centimeter and a half below the other side. There, it abruptly turned in diagonally, meeting at the top in a sharp tip. The blade was a bit thinner than that of a standard sword. He picked it up to inspect it. It was sharp, and the metal gleamed in the lantern light.

“How much for it?” Tessia grinned, until Ben gave her a sharp look. Then she sighed.

“Twenty coin for the dagger, sheath and a whetstone.” For how much she wanted to bargain, her tone was surprisingly final. Viren was thankful for that.

“I’ll take it.”

“And are you SURE you don’t want anyth-”

“No, this is all, thanks.”

…

Starla was lying on her bed in her room, staring at the ceiling. The morning light streaming through her window was blocked by her silk curtains. She had just returned from the mission a few days ago, and after the briefing and return dinner things had gone back to normal. Their new intelligence would be a great boon in the battle against Kastra, but the thing that affected Starla the most was that frightening night. She shuddered as the memories came back to her. The shaking, that blood red thunder… But it had revealed something about him, something important, at least to Starla.

‘He was angry.’

Sure, it was terrifying, but in the words of Dan the shadow, it was a tantrum! The thought of the Dark Lord Kastra throwing a tantrum… ‘I probably shouldn’t be so shocked about this… but my image of him has been cold, calculating, and composed. That hasn’t changed of course but this?’ Then of course, Starla’s endless brooding on the matter had led to the question of what had made him so mad.

What could have possibly caused him to be so mad as to lose control of his magic?! ‘I suppose,’ she reflected, ‘It doesn’t matter all that much. It was just… unusual, I guess. Something worth thinking about.’ She got up with a sigh. “Not worth sweating over too much though,” she murmured to herself.

She changed out of her nightgown and into some simple mage robes. They were originally a sign of status among mages, though that was now only practiced among those born from nobility. Starla wore them for a much more practical reason. They allowed for a full range of motion while still allowing her to maintain the dress required of a young female of noble birth. She had nothing against gowns, and quite liked wearing them, but for sparring or even a more relaxed day her robes were perfect.

This particular set had a pair of simple leather leggings, a cream-colored sleeveless undershirt that reached halfway to her knees, and a royal blue overdress with pale yellow accents. The overdress had loose flowy sleeves that stopped just above her elbows, a torso that fit comfortably and buttoned in the back, and a skirt that had four sections rather then one big skirt. The sections were separated by four slits that would have been scandalous if not for her leggings and undershirt. The fabric covered her front side, back side, and left and right sides. The entire thing allowed for easy movement and easy magic use.

After dressing in her robes, washing her face, and putting up her hair in a high ponytail Starla left her room and went to the kitchen. There were official breakfasts every morning, but some preferred to get their food directly from the kitchen. When she arrived, the large double doors were propped open, and delicious smells of freshly baked break and jam wafted out. She knocked on the door frame, and an assistant quickly made and gave her a plate before dashing off to help one of the cooks. She ate as she walked to the combat yard, hoping to find Khastri. Her daily life included a lot of training, from how the palace was run to economics to history and math lessons. That also included keeping up with her physical training, and her cousin was one of her favorite people to spar with.

She reached the entrance of the combat yard and handed her empty plate to a servant who walked off in the direction of the kitchen. The combat yard was situated right behind the castle. Technically there was one huge courtyard surrounding the entire castle, but the back was dedicated to combat training. The sides held various buildings, some used for storage, and some used for housing. The front was the busiest, and many things were going on there at any given time. The palace was on top of a hill, and below and surrounding that hill was Aureum’s capital. The castle was surrounded by a brick wall, on top of which soldiers patrolled. In the combat yard a group of guards practiced archery, and some were doing exercises, but in the middle, there was a large group of soldiers surrounding two people sparring.

As Starla watched the two people sparring one of them defeated the other. Anther soldier stepped up to take the fallen one’s place. They began sparring, and the thunking of wooden swords filled the combat yard. Before long, he defeated that one too. She stepped forward, announcing her presence with a simple greeting.

“Hey Khastri.” He smiled and turned to her, composed as ever.

“Hey cuz,” he greeted. “You here to spar?”

“Yup.” He smirked.

“Sorry, I meant to say eat some dirt when you lose to my superior skills.” A competitive gleam entered Starla’s eye. The battle was on.