I live on an island named Zima. It's a medium sized island named after winter. Appropriately named for the island's weather. 

The weather here can only be described as 'just nearly freezing to death', with it being raining and storming for a majority of the months and snowing for the last three months. The island is constantly tormented with rain, snow or hail storms and a general gloomy atmosphere due to the fog. 

My name is Raymond, I am currently six years old and on this cold, rainy day I am in the library keeping warm with a fire lit in front of me.

There's not much to do on this island, even more so when it rains, but I'm not entirely bored. I'm currently reading about herbs and medicines because I'm assistant to the village healer, Ruth, and to be a good assistant I have to be knowledgeable on different sorts of herbs and remedies. Stuff like potency, doses, and how to differentiate between harmful and safe plants are very important. I've already memorized the basics, passed Ruth's quizzes on scavenging, but the next quiz she'll give me will be on recipe making and I want to write down the ingredients to recite and practice myself. 

BOOM!!

Thunder booms outside and I turn the page to the last chapter, 

Chapter 20: Pig Dots 

I write this down as the heading and begin to skim the text.

…mildly contagious…red dots…pink rough skin…cough

I don't need to read the symptoms or what causes Pig Dots because I studied and memorized that a long time ago. It's five seconds later that I find the cures I need and hear another loud clap of thunder.

Cures:

Eel purée recipe

•Puréed eel guts (x1)

•Squashed blood berries (x4)

•Ox tail thorns 

Sulfur Soup

•Broth

•sulfur mushrooms (x6) 

•Oysters (x2)

I recoil in disgust. I've had Pig Dots eight times and each one's been worse than the last. I was always bedridden so I couldn't do anything but draw and read. It helped a little in the end, my art improved and I was able to surpass my studies in identifying plants and herbs. I write the recipes down in my notes and with that I've finished my studies. 

BOOM!!

Another sound of thunder and a strike of lightning.

I can't leave the library because of the weather outside. The only thing I'm wearing is a black and red striped cotton shirt, baggy bear skin pants, and a red wool hat, the assumble of clothes does not keep me warm. I think my clothes are so big and baggy because they're from my older brother. He's a really, really, big, scary kid. 

Anyways, since I'm inadvertently stuck in the library and done with my studies there's nothing for me to do but find another book to read. 

Thunder claps and I stand up, medical book in hand and walk through the shelves to put the book back. It's in the sixth section and second aisle of shelves that I climb the shelves to put the book back into its rightful place. 

I then go to the eight section's third aisle which contains fictional books. As much as I love to learn, I also like reading fairy tales. My favorite genre is mystery. A really good mystery book will be able to make its reader think and reread sections to put together clues, keeping the reader in the dark just like the characters. Sometimes, the book can trick even the reader! So I climb the shelves of a bookcase looking for the series of books that I've been reading for the past month. 

"Who Did I Murder?" it's called. I'm currently on the second book out of six and I'm loving it so much!

Thunder claps as I grab the book, climb back down and walk all the way back to my place in front of a lit fire. I open the book and begin to read. 

•••

I don't know for how long I was reading the book but I was over half way finished with it when a horn began to sound.

    "Do I know this horn? I think I do." 

I reach into the crevices of my mind trying to remember where and when I could have possibly  heard this horn before when it sounds again with screams from outside accompanying it. 

    "Oh! I remember now!"

I close the book and stuff it into my bag after 'dog earring' a page and quickly make my way to the exit. Once I'm outside I'm quickly thrown into a world of chaos as warriors and dragons are locked in a heated battle, fire everywhere making the air difficult to breathe.

"Dragon raids!"