User blog:ChaosWyvern-i/Dragon's Return I

It was a small village, barely a speck on the most detailed of maps. Life was routine here: wake up, feed the dwindling livestock, send off the hunters and fend off the rare band of hungry monsters- generally slimes or goblins, occasionally a minotaur or polevik on the more challenging days. It was needless to say that not much happened there, even after a visitor appeared on the outskirts of the forest bordering it.

Adding feeding the dragon trapped under a large stone came easily to the village, even if most of the villagers were confused as to how a dragon, and very powerful one at that as far as they could tell, got trapped under said rock in the first place and how they didn't notice it sooner. These people were experts at noticing things outside the norm after all, it was second nature to blaming the daughter of the chief for the various acts of mischief that no other child would dare commit without fear of a fierce scolding. With that said, the people adapted rather quickly and feeding the dragon became routine enough after several months.

From the dragon's perspective, these people seemed a little off kilter, but were nice enough. It took some convincing to prove to them that it did not require a maiden sacrifice every week or so* or that it liked to eat entire sheep, goats or cattle raw and whole**, it had standards after all. What confused it the most was why the villagers assumed it was hungry and thus started feeding it. It didn't particularly mind, but did these mortals not have a sense of fear or was it simply not threatening, trapped as it was? The dragon only shrugged to itself and went back to staring into the eyes of the village problem child, yet another peculiarity of the people taking care of it.

To the chief's daughter, the aptly called problem child, the dragon was a source of amusement, much to its chagrin. She had the perfect mix of innocence and mischief to cause trouble with no end, yet get away with it and still be remotely trusted by everyone in the village. The dragon understood the real reason behind the continued trust, but kept that to itself: it wasn't sure it was a good idea to let a known troublemaker know about the magic they had*. The dragon didn't particularly like the girl- or young woman now as years had passed- and was generally confused or annoyed by her antics. Most irritating, however, were the periods of time in which she would stare into its eyes for hours on end, unblinking**. The dragon was often the winner, having no need to blink as most humans did, but that is a story for another time. It took several more years before it finally warmed up to the girl.

The dragon amused the idea that it was the kid friendly protector of the village, though it knew it could just as easily cause harm if it flexed what little power it still held. Time had made it soft and easier to approach, so much so that it gained more than snatches of emotion. It began to enjoy the company of the children around the village, often letting them play on the accessible parts of its back or head, but warned them if they were being too bold. More of the older villagers would come to it and talk about their troubles before leaving, unaware that they had been granted a boon to aid them with their problems as they left. The girl continued to visit, now fully grown, and would simply rest against the dragon's flank and play sweet songs on the lyre she had been given by another a few years prior. The dragon could only smile at these rosy colored moments, it knew they would end someday, but for each day they remained it only grew more content. It wasn't until another few months passed before it realized it was happy, truly happy, for the first time in so long. The realization made it smile once more as it drifted to sleep.


 * In fact none at all as it would simply send whoever was chosen back to the village unharmed, often with a confused look on their face. There was one exception to that rule, but that person tried to force the dragon to eat them.


 * The dragon actually preferred its meat boneless, well seasoned and well done with a side of candied fruit, but it was hard to convey that when most of the villagers assumed it was a feral beast with no understanding of their language.


 * That and it wasn't entirely sure it could speak without causing an uproar. It had been silent for a long while, using eye movement, breathing shifts and the occasional rumble from its wounded diaphragm to convey its thoughts. It was quite committed to this silence thing, it wished it could have done this centuries ago.


 * The dragon amused the idea that she was an observer or godly vessel during such times. While neither of those were good per se, they made the hours less disconcerting and otherwise unnerving.

'''A/N: I briefly mentioned this idea to Thry not too long ago and decided to get it started. If what has happened so far is confusing, clarity is not far away. This story will likely be on the slow side, but that is not to say there won't be faster moments. This chapter, as well as the next few, will likely just set the tone for the story, the real meat of it not coming for a while longer. I will say this, the protagonist of the story has yet to apoear, if that means anything to you, but several people should have an idea of who they are.'''

'''The reason for the "*" and "**" are ideas that connect to the marked train of thought, generally the dragon's. These will either be a source of character insight, humor or possibly both... That and superscript is hard to set up via phone >.<".'''