In a world of magic and fantasy lives, a young girl is different from the rest. In this world, everyone has magic powers, whether cast spells or bend nature to their will. However, one girl does not possess any magical powers or any powers at all. Because of this, she has been made an outcast by her village. Even her family has given up hope that she will ever be like them.
One day, the famous dragon rider, Lance, comes to their village. Dragons are very dangerous, vicious beasts that cannot be tamed. Although they are immune to magic, a particular seal makes a dragon obey whoever gave it to them.
Lance greets the people and basks in his glory. Having never seen a dragon, the young girl goes up to observe Lance's dragon. She's careful not to frighten it. She's amazed at this beautiful creature. Suddenly, the dragon starts to roar and rampage all over the village. The people quickly run for cover from the crazed dragon. Lance goes to regain control of the dragon and notices that the seal has been tampered with.
When he regains control of the dragon, he asks, "Who is the last person who was near the dragon before it lost control?"
A villager points out Destiny's young girl as the last person near the dragon before the incident.
"Tell me, did you do something to my dragon?" he asked.
"No," she answered. "I didn't do anything to your dragon. It just suddenly went crazy."
Lance was skeptical at first, then he asked if she tampered with the seal. Destiny answered, "No, I did not tamper with the seal. Even if I wanted to, which I wouldn't, I couldn't."
"And why not?"
"Because, good sir, I have no magic powers. I have no magic in me whatsoever."
The villagers began to laugh at Destiny. For it was ridiculous for someone to be born without magic. It was there a way of life, their culture, their existence. Someone without magic power is seen as an outcast, not meant to be a part of society. This was Destiny's life. A girl with no magic is seen as an outcast by her own village, her own people.
Lance began to laugh as well as he mounted his dragon. "I bid you all a fond farewell." All the girls gave disappointed looks and begged him not to go. Lance chuckled. "Fret not, my lovelies. I shall return to you soon. You have my word." He then blew them a kiss, which caused them all to faint.
Destiny, however, was not impressed by him. She was the only one not like the others. Even the smallest infant would have magical powers. Why was she the only one?
As Lance flew off on his dragon, he couldn't help but think about the incident that occurred in the village. His dragon went out of control. The seal was specially designed so dragons would obey their master, who placed the seal on them. So why did his dragon go nuts? He thought of Destiny; maybe she had something to do with it. But then the thought of what she said crossed his mind. She didn't have any magic powers at all. So how could a girl with absolutely no power cause his dragon to react so savagely?
He dismissed the thought and assumed it was because the seal was old. After all, he's had this dragon for years. But still, the fact that the seal was almost broken was alarming enough.
***
Destiny
He didn't have to laugh in my face. Honestly, not like I wished to be like this. But why am I like this? Why am I the only one?
"Destiny!"
The sound of my brother's voice broke my thoughts. "Destiny, come on! It's your turn to cook dinner!"
"I'm coming."
At least I can do one thing right. That's right, I can cook, clean, sew, mend, and even sword fight, but I can't cast spells. I have no magic power in me whatsoever. My parents are ashamed of me; my brother looks after me; he's a year older than me, so he's bent on keeping me safe. Lastly, there's my grandmother. She's a bit odd, but she treats me like I'm her daughter, not her granddaughter. Which, in my opinion, is a good thing. Between the five of us, my brother and grandmother treat me fairly. My parents are...well, let's just say they don't want anything to do with me.
"Okay, Axel, what do you want to eat?"
"The only dish you can make."
"Hey!"
"What? You suck at cooking."
"Keep talking, and you won't get anything."
BAM!
"Ow! What?" Axel asked, rubbing his head.
He turned and saw grandma holding her walking stick. "Oh, hi, grandma."
"Don't 'hi, grandma' me!" she scolded. "You should be ashamed! Oppressing your sister. I raised you better than that!"
I snickered, trying to hold in my laughter. Axel getting scolded by grandma was the best thing. He can face trolls, barbarians, an angry mob, and even a dragon, but he can never win against grandma.
Forgot to mention that Axel has a horse. The horse is a boy, so he named him Spirit for his hyped attitude. And unlike my brother, Spirit is actually kind to me. I may not own a dragon, but Spirit is a good friend and treats me fairly well.
"Destiny, are you okay? This brute didn't hurt you, did you?"
"No, no, grandma. I'm fine. Really."
"Oh, that's good. Because if that two-bit grandson of mine did hurt you…."
Grandma started to pat her stick in her hand with a smile, which sent shivers down Axel's spine. He ran out of the room before grandma could turn around. "I may be old, but I can still fight!"
I laughed. "If you can scare Axel, then you can scare any man."
"Too true, my dear, too true."
Grandma decided to help me with dinner. As we cooked, my mind started to wander and went back to the incident in the village. How everyone laughed at me when I said I had no magic abilities, no occult anything. Grandma noticed the look on my face and asked if I was okay. Of course, I tried to avoid the subject as not to worry her, but she saw right through me.
"Sweetie, I'm not like your parents. You can tell me anything," she said as she was cutting up the vegetables.
I looked at her, then my hands as I clenched them. "Grandma, why am I different?"
She stopped chopping the vegetables.
"Why am I the only one without magic? Even a baby has more magic power than I do! I just…don't understand. Maybe it would've been better if I wasn't--"
Before I could finish my sentence, grandma slapped both of her hands on my face.
"Don't you finish that sentence?"
I blinked my eyes in confusion.
"But grandma—"
"No! You are my only granddaughter, and in my eyes, you are special."
I closed my eyes and placed my hands atop hers, lowering them.
"Special? I'm not special; I'm just a mistake."
"Have a seat."
I didn't feel like arguing with her, so I sat down in the chair.
"Do you know the story of the Dragon Tamer?"
"Of course, everyone knows that story. They teach it in the history classes."
"Then, why don't you tell me about him? Since you know so much."
"Um, okay?"
It was strange. Everyone knew the story of the Dragon Tamer. If you didn't know it, you were the village idiot.
"The story of the Dragon Tamer takes place over 500 years ago. Back when the Duine Naga War was at its peak. The Ancients thought it was hopeless; so many lives were in this war. Until one day, a man with yellow eyes, much like a dragon's, managed to subdue the dragons with his magic powers. The people saw he was a Norina, which was the highest-ranking magic user. Peace returned to the world, that is, until he passed away. When the Dragon Tamer's life ended, the dragons returned to their original savage ways, continuing the war. The ancients created a special seal that would surpass the dragon's immunity to magic. Once the seal was successful in its testing, the ancients distributed the seal to the people to defend themselves against these beasts. Ever since then, peace has remained."
"Not bad. But let me ask you this. Did those ignorant fools teach you that the Dragon Tamer had no magic power at all?"
"What? He was powerless?"
She nodded. "Yes, he was."
"Then why did they tell us that he wasn't?"
"It's because people kept thinking that he was just like them, but he really wasn't. Only the ancients and a few believed him when he said that the dragons listened to him willingly."
"I never knew."
"Yes. I suppose you could say it's the hidden truth of the story."
"I can see people wouldn't believe him, grandma," I smirked. "I mean, who would?"
"That is true. The Tamer was a very kind man who earned respect and trust of the dragons. Especially Otamd."
I gasped. "The Untamed One? He was loyal to the Dragon Tamer?"
"Yes, he was. Very loyal. He was heartbroken when his friend passed away. Filled with grief, he started the war, and once it was over, he fled to Gotren castle. The home of his master and friend."
Otamd, the most feared of all the dragons, was loyal to the Tamer?
"Grandma."
"Hm?"
"Why are you telling me this?"
She placed her hand on top of mine and let out a sigh.
"I wanted you to see that even without powers, you can still be special. You are special, my eyes; even your brother doesn't think any less of you."
What she said was the truth. Axel may be annoying sometimes, but he still loves me. I smiled a bit at my grandmother's words.
"I do, grandma. Thank you."
She gave me a warm smile and hugged me as all grannies do.
"And don't let what those fools say to get you down! I'll pumble 'em the next time I see 'em!"
I laughed at my grandma's enthusiasm, then we continued cooking. While we were cooking, I couldn't help but think about Otamd. He was the only dragon immune to the seal because of his strong will. He cared about his master that much. I wonder if I could have a strong bond with a dragon one day.