In a world where mountains pierce the sky instead of buildings and road's are of dirt and stone that twist for endless miles between wild wood's and open fields of pure emerald green all under a sky that can be as blue as any river and redder than any sun at the end of the day this is a world of true beauty but also great fear for not only great beast roam the lands but the very sky itself beasts that can level any land or village if it chose to do so with it's breath of fire, they dwell in the very mountains where man fears to tread unless they are leaving an offering to upon it's land an offering that's of the female kind so that their villages and lands remain untouched by their flames and in a village that sit's at the foot of one these very mountains they are preparing to do just that though the woman that's been chosen to be the next offering to the dragon who call's this mountain home has no intention of being offered up to such a beast for the sake of the village.
"Please don't make this any hard than it has to be Alora!" the village elder more or less snarled into her ear as she struggled against the rope that now bound her hands behind her back" you should be honored you were chosen"
"Honored?!" she snarled back as she struggled to free herself of the rope the crowed forcing her towards the base of the mountain"your nothing but cowards! fearing a beast that we could very well over power by numbers alone!" digging her bare and torn feet into the ground from where they had been dragging her which gave her the chance to free herself from the elders grip though the rope remained in place"but do you do anything no!you cower even at it's shadow that blankest the land when ever it make's the choice to leave the safety of it's mountain"
"Your the cowered Alora!" one of the young men shouted from among the crowd around her.
"He's right you have the chance to save us all and you only care about yourself" an other shouted.
She could not believe what she was hearing from those who'd offer up even nameless women who'd be passing through the village to a beast of fire that chose to hide itself within the mountains at which the village sat just so that it would't chose to burn their fields or home's with it's flames instead of killing it freeing themselves of having to live in constant fear no she was not the cowered here! but it was like her please would always fall upon deaf hears in till they chose to not be ruled by their fears like she had chosen, feeling hands clasp her shoulders again trying to force her from the spot she'd rooted herself to Alora threw her body forward catching meany of them off guard and knocking them to the ground as the ball of hot rage not only burned in the pit, of her stomach but in her throat but as she rose to her feet she paused as she felt the kiss of a cold blade at her throat causing the faintest trail of blood to line it's blade.
"Do you think the beast would mind a dead offering?" the one holding the blade to her throat asked amusement clear in it's owners voice "it would make her easier to eat after all"
"No!" the elder shouted to be heard over the crowed" the offering must be..." he did not get to finish as a thunderous roar echoed down from the mountains causing those who had been so willing to offer her up to it to the beast to scatter in every direction, though it would do them no good if it chose to unleash it's flames just like running would do her no good but that did't mean that Alora could't try but the light of the sun was soon blocked out by a large shadow appeared over head as the beast swooped down talons firmly locking themselves around her body and soon, ground gave way to sky as it took her higher and towards the mountains peek's as the village below grew ever smaller.
Being gripped by the beasts talons was't painful and though most would be filled with fear she was't as she had already chosen to not be ruled by her fears like the other villages and was instead of trying to think of a way to already escape the beast once it landed though it would be getting back down the mountain would be the real task though she would not, return to the village that offered her up to it like a slab of meat like so meany before her but as it cleared the clouds that kept the peek's from view on the ground Alora found that the ball of hot rage that burned in the pit of her stomach and throat was now replaced with something else due to what greeted her, as it was not just a simple rocky peek's there was a lush green valley which was as green as the lands at the foot of the mountain thin streams that ran across it almost like veins bringing life to where ever they touched, the beast started to go lower again with her still firmly held in it's talons like it was almost allowing her to get a closer look at the ground just under them and the birds that more or less looked like ants compared to it flutter from the tree's as they passed over them before it arched upwards slightly extending it's back leg's as it landed at the entrance to it's cave though it did not put her down instead it walked on it's back leg's still holding her tightly in it's talons, again she could't help but glance around hoping to remember the way out as well as hopes of catching sight of any kind of weapon that she could use though that seemed pointless as no one ever dared to clime a dragons mountain let alone fight it, but rather shockingly she caught sight of one though old it could still prove useful.
Alora was't sure what she'd been expecting what a dragons cave would like maybe bones of those who had been offered to it before through the countless years even one's of animal's maybe but no there was nothing like that in fact it was as breath taking as it's valley had been due to how large the cave was and the way light seemed to find it's way inside though she could not tell where it was coming from and instead of mounds of gold that was rumored to be within their caves it was just large rocky masses and moss that seemed to glow just like firefly's and small pool's of water that had gathered in groves of the cave, slowly and almost carefully the beast placed her down on one of the smaller rocky mounds which allowed it to lower itself back onto it's front legs again before moving to the largest mounds and laid itself down the light that was some how making it's way into the gave allowed her to see the beast fully due to the fact that she had't seen what colour it even was since it had only looked like a shadow to her when it grabbed her, now granted she had not seen a dragon up close before though she had heard of them ranging from red to blue and the deepest green but this one was neither of those no in fact it seemed to be a mix the underside of it seemed to be almost golden in colour while from the top of it's head down to the tip of it's tails was a purplish red, though it's horns were not as large as most of it's kind were said to have they were curved slightly and almost tucked right against it's head, as for it's size well since it was able to cast a shadow so easily over the village it was well big though it's body did not fully fill the gave but the thing she found most striking about the beast apart from everything else was it's eye's from what she'd heard they were meant to have either yellow or red which struck fear into the hearts of men but they were instead a pale green.
"It's rude to stare" the beast said lowering it's head towards her though she did not back away from it like most would of done, along with the fact that if she'd done so she'd of fallen from the mound it had placed her on.
"Your the one that's starring!" Alora snarled not shaken by the fact that the beast had spoken to her since just about all dragons could speak as well as any human.
"I am not starring" it growled at her moving it's head closer again giving her an even clearer view of it's pale green eye's" i'm making sure that you were not harmed by your fellow villagers"
"You were watching" she said.
"Of course i was" the beast to almost chuckle" Dragons do have great eye sight and hearing"
"Just like any beast" Alora muttered causing it's almost chuckle to fade to a deep growl as it moved it's head closer once again that she could count every one of it's fangs due to it being angered by her words.
"I am far more than just a simple beast!" it growled it's pale green eye's fixed on her and narrowed like it did't expect her act any other way"you should also be a little more great full to those who kept your neck from being sliced open by one of your own"
"They were told ..." her voice died when a roar like laughter escaped it.
"Told what? that the offering had to be alive yes i gathered he would of said something like that if i had not shown myself" it manged to get through it's laughter" but would of that really of stopped them from slicing your throat if not for me think about it" at this point the beast lowered it's head onto it's mound though it's pale green eye's were still very much fixed on her sighing she lowered herself down onto the mound the moss made it much softer than it appeared though she did not turn her back to the beast for god knows what it might do if she did.
For over a thousand years Drayce had called this mountain home and in all that time human's he still found human's to be the strangest of all the creatures that called this world home, for they unlike dragons did not respect each other no they fought killed and betrayed one and other every single day even now they offered up their own to appease them in hopes of keeping them from burning their lands though he was not one to do such thing's himself there were those that did and took great joy, in causing humans nothing but fear but like there were those who'd spend their day's studding from book's written by those who had come before or learn magic and some just liked to keep their distance from human's as much as they could though that was far easier said than done but never in all his long years had he come across a human with such fire not only in their voice but in their eye's before, which was why unlike the other's who had been offered to him through the years which he let go by telling them the quickest and safest way down his mountain he rather wanted to keep this one around since it would make thing's well rather interesting ..yes interesting in deed.