A soft but cold draft passed by the rusty iron bars surrounding her cell. The rather thin fabric that cut off just above her ankles didn't help much to keep her warm the past few days. With her fingers all blue from the frost, Elisa rubbed her sore wrists. A pair of tough, cold handcuffs had kept her to the left side of the cell. All of this made no sense to Elisa, why was she the one held captured? The unknown clan that had rushed through her village picked up several others, but none of them were kept for so long. Yesterday 2 little boys and their mother got picked up by two guards dressed in lousy crafted armor. The iron was dented and didn't even look smooth unlike what her father had always worn during the war. Before them, and this is just by listening, a group of teenager girls left the cells as well. Their horrible screaming and crying sneered through Elisa's brain, making her head throb.

"You. Get up!" With a groan the guard stepped inside and tugged the shackles on the wall. It made Elisa grunt silently, getting up from her stone bench. "Where are we going?" The words barely left her lips, since she couldn't feel much of them. Without another word the guard opened up the lock around her wrists, and instead of giving them some air, he bound them up again with thick rope. "I guess this is it.. Am I going to die?" A hand grasped Elisa her hair and pushed her out of the cell. "A-Auch! Get the hell off me!" She mumbled, turning her head to the left, making his grasp loosen up. Another push at the back of her head made her step down a stone stairwell, all the way down to some sort of old temple. There were loads of people sitting around, some getting on their feet when the guard pushed Elisa down a path in the middle. Some cheered whilst lifting up their axes or swords. Towards the center of the temple, he held his pose, and awaited the arrival of 5 white cloaked, hooked men. "The sacrifice, my master." The guard spoke loudly when they all stood around the duo. "S-Sacrifice..?"

"The Old One will be pleased," their leader said. His voice was raspy, that of an old man. He had a dagger sheathed on his belt; his eyes were an unnatural shade of green. "Tie her up there." He motioned to a table carved from a single, massive black rock. Thick rings of iron with rope were at each corner of the table... and on its surface was dried blood. The temple was carved into the mountainside, leading to a cave, perhaps thirty feet tall and just as wide.

Elisa was tied to the stone table, and the crowd grew silent. The robed figures began chanting in low, rhythmic voices, but the sound echoed and grew louder as it went down the tunnel. Deep in the heart of the mountain, the Old One awakened. There had bern more sacrifices as of late, a fact he was quite happy with. He let out a low roar, and the hooded figures ceased chanting, moved aside.

The Old One took some time to reach the cave entrance, but when he did, Elisa's captors bowed deeply, the more devout with their foreheads on the ground. He was a massive dragon, his head almost touching the ceiling of the cave. His scales, once a brilliant crimson, were dark maroon. His body had a fair share of scars, namely one that had blinded his left eye; but the other glowed a malevolent orange, and hed a look of... amusement? Pleasure?

"Such a pretty young thing," he crooned. "You have pleased me once again, holy man." The head priest murmured a quiet thanks, never daring to look up at the Old One. "Now, girl..." He brought his head closer, examining her with his good eye. "How much longer you live now is determined by how you answer this question: looking death in the face, do you accept it bravely and silently, or kicking and screaming? I need some entertainment from my prey."

The more Elisa lifted her arms and legs in refusal, the bolder the guard threw her around onto the table. It was not before long she felt herself tied to the stone table. It felt rather chilly agianst her back, making her shiver slightly. When the chanting began, Elisa tried to turn her head around to see what was going on in the temple. For a long time, it just remained calm and quiet, except for the low voices of the old men.

The sound of crumbling rocks down a hollow cave came closer and closer, up until a roar filled the empiness. "A.. Dragon!" She could feel the warm breath of the creature ooze down on the stone table, slightly making her chill disapear. But not for long.. A huge pupil filled her eyesight and as he spoke Elisa let out a slightly cry. Her eyes were squinting to keep her tears inside and she turned her head to the other side. As his low, deep voice started to fill the temple once more, a tear ran down her cheek and she lifted up her head. "Is-Is that a trick question? Because if I intent to accept my death, you wouldn't be very amused, and eat me whole without hesitation. If I kept strungling, I'd actually give you what you want and live slightly longer but not by far long enough. What's in it for me?" With a deep sigh, Elisa let down her head once again after she spoke, and closed her eyes. "Look at me, debating with a dragon.. What a joke.." She mumbled softly, but surely noticeable.

"The difference," the Old One growled, "is whether or not I give you a quick, painless death." He cut through a rope with a claw. "Make your decision quick--" The dragon stopped speaking as a trumpeting roar filled the air. The people looked up in time to see an orange and red blur slam into their 'god'. The Old One bellowed in rage, a snarl curling his lips, exposing his fangs. His attacker was a younger dragon, about half the Old One's size.

"Damned whelp!" the Old One roared. "I smelled you weeks ago, invading my territory!" The younger dragon's tail flicked back and forth like a cat's, a smile on his face.

"Thst was the point, lazy old salamander," he said, and then snorted in disgust. "No... you don't even rate being called a salamander. You're just a lazy lizard, growing too fat too fly by eating girls." He swung his tail, knocking over a cluster of warriors sneaking behind him; the bladelike bone spike on his tail drew blood.

"Respect your elders, hatchling!"

"Make me," the younger dragon said, taking off into the sky. The Old One gave a furious bellow, taking off after his challenger, unaware that he was playing into his opponent's hands.

Before Elisa could respond, the sound of a thrilling roar filled the temple once again. This time, a slightly higher roar, compared to the Old One. The dragon that had arrived had a beautiful sun-like skintone, and was smaller than the other dragon by far. But he did not have the excessive amount of scaring which made him look younger. Ofcourse, Elisa had not much to compare it with, as this was the first time she had encountered two dragons on one day.

As the Old One swung is tail back and forth and had lost his focus on her, she noticed her legs actually hung freely on the slightly tilted table. It was the rope her executor had cut right before the arrival of the other dragon. Pushing herself slightly up from the table, she felt the sore muscles in her arms from being tied up too tightly. In the right corner of her eye, the cloaked men had sought for a safe place, which made Elisa the only on the platform. "Now is the time.. I should try to escape!" But as she started tugging the ropes and rubbing her wrists against the rough material, Elisa felt it was futile. Unless she found a way to cut of her hands, escaping was out of question. The panic started to control her emotions as she completely lost it whilst tugging the ropes. "I can't die like this!" She mumbled softly in between her teeth.

The young dragon knew that the odds were against him if the two of them fought on the ground; true, he was more maneuverable, faster, but if that behemoth caught him, it would be over. He could hear the Old One bellowing after him, taunting, insulting him in different tongues. But he ignored them, even the one that roughly translated to, "Your father was a peasant's jackass."

But soon he'd disappeared in the clouds above the mountain. And as his opponent entered the cloudbank, he knew that it would be over soon.

---

The Old One, blinded bh anger, failed to see the younger dragon's strategy in time. The attack came from the left, where he was blind. Razor-sharp talons raked across his underside-- the weakest part of a dragon's body, other than the eye. But before his jaws could snap shut on the orange dragon, his smaller foe was gone in the clouds.

The largest dragon has left the temple with a few sweeps of his wings, leaving everybody in a heap of dust. The wind he had created with his wings had flown up and onto all our cloaks and heads. As many coughed and tried to sweep down the dust from their clothes, the whole temple was rather 'foggy', making it hard to see one another. The frenzy Elisa had been in a few moment ago had echoed away making her calm down again. Suddenly, she noticed the struggle had loosened up the rope just slightly, enough for her hands to slip out. This was probably the first time her dusty clothes did not matter to her. Quickly whilst holding her breath, she lowered herself in between the crowd. A small put pointy knife was quickly stolen from a young hunter to her left, and a dusty cloak that had been throw to the ground also seemed handy.

Disquised in the menly outfit Elisa made it out safely. Although she had met up with several orks on the way out, and one of them has threatened her slightly. A cut across her left cheek was all she had gotten out of it, but that was nothing compared to her near-death expierience.

The evening sun lowered in between the trees just outside the cave. A ray of sun blinded her for a moment, but Elisa just closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth. "Ahh.. Freedom.." But little did she know..

He attacked from below next, but this one was intended to kill. The young dragon buried his talons up to his skin in the Old One's belly, effectively eviscerating the old dragon. However, in the Old One's death throes, he managed to rip his opponent's wing membrane. Devoid of lift, both began falling. The orange dragon managed to fly away, towards the mountains he'd come from. However, he wouldn't fly far, and he was rapidly losing blood. After a time, his torn wing gave out, and he fell, crashing through trees until he came to rest in a small grove like a scaly meteor.

Meanwhile, down in the village, the people were upset. Their guardian/'god' had been slain, butchered like a common animal. The devout wept as if they no longer had a purpose in life. The Old One's body crashed a short distance from the mountain in a bloody heap, organs strewn around him. The priests gathered around the body, unsure of what to do now.

The sun was lowered in between the branches of the trees. Elisa couldn't spend a moment longer this close to the cave, it would be too risky. Her hands held her cloak shut as the wind whoo'ed through it, giving her the shivers again. It was nearly autumn and it hasn't been the best summer as well. If Elisa couldn't find a safe and warm place to stay for the night, she might catch a cold. Or even.. "No, no, let's not think about that shall we?" She spoke, as if she had someone to talk to. Shaking her head slightly, disaproving her behavior, her feet made their way inside the forest, far away from this nightmare.

About 30 minutes into the forest, a large object came down from the sky a few miles away from her. A little closer to her, right at the entrance of the cave, another much larger object came down. And this time she recognized it: It was the Old One. "The little guy did it! What a hero I'd say.." And she smiled genuinely, much likely for the first in weeks.

The younger dragon tested his body. Nothing was broken, but he had cuts and scrapes all over his body. His wing troubled him the most. He wouldn't be able to fly until it healed, which would be a week, assuming he got to his cave soon. He licked at the wing membrane like a big cat. One reason dragons were hunted here in the West, he noted, was because of the medical properties associated with them. For example, a dragon's saliva contained clotting properties, allowing for wounds to stop bleeding faster.

He stood, a new scent coming to his attention: a human, female by the scent. He took another whiff. It was the sacrifice. Go figure she'd run, but she certainly didn't have to run in the direction of his cave. He snorted and took an uneasy step forward. He growled when he used his injured wing-arm, feeling the pain.

The walk drained her energy so fast, Elisa decided to take a rest underneath a tree for a moment. The three she chose was quite large, excellend to lean into. When she sat down, she let her eyes hover her surroundings. It was already dark, making the woods quite scary. She pulled the cloak over her knees as she pulled them up. "Maybe I should spend the night here, just until dawn?" It was a rather hard decision whether to stay here or not. There was absolutely no clue about where she was, and if there would be a friendly face offering her a warm house. So her best choice was to stay here.

Not long after, Elisa fell asleep.

The scent was growing stronger now. Was she following him? He turned and followed the scent for a while. What's her agenda? Trying to thank me? he thought, slightly irritated. He held his injured wing-arm off the ground, making him limp a bit. Soon he'd found the young human, curled up asleep under a tree. So, she'd just been getting away, with no intent to thank her savior? On one hand, he was a bit irked. On the other, he was somewhat relieved. But a collection of scents caught his attention, followed by a growl. He turned his neck in time to see a pair of glowing red eyes peering at him from the darkness.

The wolves in these mountains were different than the norm. They were larger, with thick necks anchoring muscles to powerful jaws; at the shoulder, they were as tall as a man. They had no fear of man at all, and some packs actively hunted humans. They were known to be driven into a frenzy by the smell of blood. And where there was one, there was more. The dragon turned, brushing his tail against Elisa on purpose, and let out a warning growl to the wolf he saw, and the other ones he smelled.

"I'm going to eat you, little girl.." "Hahahaaa, you have nowhere to go now!" I was brushed against the wall, blocked from any exit. Two orks stood in front of me, trying to jerk the clothes off my body. One took my arm, eying it as if it was some delicious meat. "Please, no.. Let me go! I am no food!" I yelled, but no sound came. "Please!" Tears ran down my cheek whilst the orks came closer and closer. "Please.."

A rough, scaled texture brushed her leg when she shook awake. The horrible nightmare wasn't real, she then figured. Only until she noticed the smaller dragon standing in front of her. He was growling dangerously, but she knew it was not meant for her. "W-Whats going on here?" Elisa pushed herself up onto her feet, only to notice the large wolf a few meters away. It surely was after something, and that something might be her. Her first thought was getting into the trees, but as the seconds went by two more wolves added to the first one. "What shall I do.." She mumbled, not even sure if the dragon understood her. Quickly, she drew her pathetic knife from her belt, now noticing how terribly small it was.

"Get on my back," the dragon ordered quietly. He spread his wings, the membranes decorated by red and yellow eyespots. "These wolves will kill you if you don't. Make no sudden movements, and move slowly." He bared his teeth, breathed a small plume of fire. "You may want to cover your ears." And with that he let out a tremendous bellow, one that could be heard even in the village below.

Elisa felt a bit shocked the dragon had responded to her. Even though his order scared the hell out of her, she had no choice but to obey. With her knife still clutched inside her fist, she slowly took a few steps forward towards the dragon. When close enough, she let her fingers slip along his back. The texture of scales felt rough but at te same time rather pleasant. Once near enough, Elisa placed both of her arms upon his back. It might have looked clumsy, but with a few awkward tries, she finally got a grip and lifted herself up. Now laying flat on her stomach trying to not slip away, she could clearly see how big the wolves were. "They are huge!" She squeaked. Now that she had a leg on both sides of his spine, she tapped his back twice, letting him know she finally got on.

Makan nodded. "My cave isn't too far," he said. "We can--" He was cut off as an attack came from his right, and he snapped his jaws on a wolf's throat. The canine yelped before the dragon bit straight through the soft part of its neck. Makan tossed the carcass aside, spat out the fur and flesh in his mouth. That would hold the pack back... for now.

Makan took off in a northern direction. They were soon going downhill, the wolves trailing just out of eyesight. Soon they came to a cliff overlooking a lake, in the center of it an island large enough to fit Elisa's entire village.

The sight was unbelievely beautiful. It made Elisa wish she could've seen more of the world. "Waw.. That is amazing.." Her hand tightened their grip around his neck a bit, still a bit scared of the huge leap down if she would fall. "Where are we anywa-.." A yawn cut off the last word. "Oh I'm sorry.." She mumbled quietly.

"Just a short distance from my home," Makan answered. "That island. It would be a lot easier if my wing wasn't torn to hell." He sighed. "But I know another way that doesn't involve dropping." He began down another slope, careful with his steps. It took almost an hour, but they found themselves in a small bay. Makan could hear the wolves following.

"They won't follow," he assured. "There are much more terrifying things in these waters than me." And yet he swam, almost like an oversized crocodile. He paid no mind to the massive shadow that passed them underwater, simply because he knew that it was an ally.

When they were taking the road down to his cave, Elisa couldn't help but wonder. "Why did he help me? I mean, what would he possibly gain out of saving me? Maybe.. Having a nice human snack himself...?" A shiver ran down her spine and she shook her head.

"W-What the hell was that?" Elisa noticed the dark shadow underneath them, making her pull in her legs a bit more. She did not want to be grabbed by her feet but whatever monsters rested beneath them. Even though she was high above the water, after a few minutes her dress was drained. As the dragon swam, the water splat up onto her. It was ice old water.

"A distant relative," Makan answered. "Not all dragons are creatures of flame. The Sea Dragons-- you call them 'sea serpents'-- gave up their fire in order to dwell underwater." He came ashore. The island had cherry trees planted everywhere, and at this time of year, they were in bloom. The entrance to Makan's cave was nearly flush with the ground. But inside, rather than treasure and bones, his cave contained shelves carved into the stone walls, packed with books and scrolls in multiple languages.

On the other side of the cave were two springs: one with cold water, and the other with hot water. But most interesting of all were the musical instruments in a corner. Although old, they were in excellent condition. "This is home," Makan said.