Crackling flames licked at hanging tapestries depicting all manner of impossible things, the fire unweaving the threads of history and burning them. Landscapes of green blackening and faces of proud men shrivelling under the heat, while ash falls onto marbled floors only to be swept away by the breeze from a gaping hole in the crumbling stone wall. For an instant the light of the outside dimmed and a winged shadow crossed over the floor followed by the deafening roar of an enraged beast.
The scene suddenly shifted around to view things from an opposite angle and the single window, with shattered glass, reflected the room back in on itself from a surface centred with a slit of pitch black surrounded by embers of burning anger.
A tolling bell sounded loudly overhead, causing eyes of pale green to snap open with a harsh intake of breath. It was the same dream again, yet more vivid than the last. Objects were becoming clearer, the fire hotter and the dragon more pronounced. There was an inkling of something other than anger in the great drakes eye, but it was almost impossible to decipher. It could have been great many things or nothing at all.
Sitting up in her bed, Evelyn ran a hand through her blonde hair, exhaling an exhausted sigh as she did so and felt the coolness of her breath on her arm. It use to be warm like a normal person’s once, but not matter what she tried, it wouldn’t heat up in the slightest. She wouldn’t have cared so much if that was the only abnormal thing about her, however it wasn’t. Her fingers touched the feathery tip of her right ear which was exactly the same as the left. Strange. If anyone else saw them… if her father saw them… A shake of her head cleared the thoughts. She didn’t wan’t to think about them.
Standing up, the small slayer prepared herself for the day and soon found herself overlooking the great hall from the second storey balcony. It was early, the sun only just peaking over the horizon and not many people were up. It was a fact that not many got up before the second bell of the morning and this suited Evelyn just fine. The quiet was nice, the quiet didn’t expect or demand anything of her. It just let her be.
Heavy footsteps announced her to the presence of another person walking towards her. They were familiar and so she turned around. “A good morning to you, father. I wanted to speak with you yesterday but-“
“Your Northern patrol. How did it go? Anything to report?” The baritone interrupted as if she had not yet spoken a word and she immediately straightened her posture.
“No, Master. It was all quiet and as I predicted, the drakes have moved further south to escape the cold. There won’t be trouble here until it warms.”
“Good. I’ll send a team out after the slow migrating ones, we could stand to have more materials.” He stopped there, but if Evelyn thought the conversation was over, she was wrong. “Mrikel tells me that there was a nesting of ice wyrms, that had not yet been taken out…”
“Ice wyrms are hardly a threat, they’re no bigger than a pony and have a temperament of a sheep-“
“What do we do here at Dragon Sodality?” His voice took on a slightly harsher tone and he leant down to be a little closer to her level. Evelyn turned away and once more looked over the hall below.
“… Slay dragons…” She answered slowly after a composing breath.
“Indeed.” Turning on his heel, the master strode away from his daughter, leaving her to sigh into her hands, her elbows resting on the railing.