The Awakening of the Fire Dragon

[Bella Pious]

It had used to be an old habit of hers, like an old friend, to stay and stare at the ocean shore.
Not anymore.
Probably she didn’t get the time. Or probably she couldn’t bear the loneliness it would bring.

Sometimes she did risk a brief glance when she spotted the blue water, but the wind of her life had taken a turn and now she knew she had to sail forward... just focus ahead. The Ocean in her memory might have been calm or might have given torrent from time to time, but it had remained timelessly unchanged. Like the happy times and sad times of her life, like the friends and families had and lost, like the man she had thought lost and then married to, her life, in a conclusion, remained pretty much the same. In the end, it was just herself, alone. Names and faces and significant moments were not forgotten, but were hidden in treasure chests, buried at the bottom of the ocean of her mind. It felt as if she had had to carry them with her, her ship would sink, too.

After the Great Tribulation, she and a few remaining members of her family chose a remote and quiet place to live. Then the Imperials took over the island of Magincia and grew in population, so they moved to another quiet town. She had seen too many faces in this world, and learnt that a genuine and self-less friendship was too rare a treasure to behold. People only cared for their own interests. People were kind when you had something they could gain from. This thought weighted her heart down. But this wasn’t the time to be drowned in thoughts; she shook her head to turn her mind on the object ahead – an angry, fire-breathing dragon.

“Come on! Bella, tame it!” Daren shouted, shielding himself from the fire with some stone pillars.

Right. Tame the beast. This was probably the only right thing she had chosen to do. Little Bella had pushed all the books and bottles aside in the alchemy class, walked out to the field, and taken a path of a tamer. THIS was where her true passion lied, though she had denied it and put others’ need before hers. In return, the loneliness others had taught her well, and the time she was given in solitude was long enough to make her own will scream out loud. She never thought she could feel this way; she had always thought she would have grown sad and soft, but instead she felt something different, arising from the ocean in her heart, and that thing was growing with heat.

“Look at the beast you are holding, Bella. Anyone who can tame that thing is NOT soft.”Philip had said.

[Bella Pious]

At almost every night, when everyone else in her house was sound asleep, she would sneak out and have a little adventure of her own. Her big, black mare would not draw attention at the dark hour, and she kept away from other people’s track as much as she could. However, she found it hard to avoid running into the Imperial Officers, as there were always some who patrolled the land. Those people, who called each other “Brother”, wore the bright colour of a phoenix. They were usually polite and with fine manners, but she could feel the closeness of their circle. Only one of them she counted as friend, and the others she had not known well enough to let her guard down. “Maybe they felt the same towards me,” she thought to herself as the guards let her pass the Moonglow gate, “and not without a good reason, too.”

After all, she did marry to one of the ex-High Priest of the Cult. Back then, the only religious people who would still greet her with a big, warm smile and open arms were Dalton from the Imperial, and Neal from the Nature. Not that she still minded the curious and cautious stares from people, but she couldn’t help missing her old friends. Philip had hinted her of the returning of Dalton, and she was hoping to spot that familiar face – if she lingered at this bright, phoenix town a little longer. Otherwise, the color was a bit over-whelming to her taste.

Soon enough, she started to recognize a few faces of the Imperial Officers, and one in particular. He seemed to be an elder, with long, greyish beard, and a pair of wise eyes. He was not a wordy man, but on his patrol should he spot Bella, bending sadly beside a slain nightmare, he would attend to her side and apologize for the misfortune. That’s some humanity in this wealth-filled town, and it seemed so -- oddly enough -- odd.

[Vaux27]

"Leave the bags there if you will Brother, I shall take care of them", he exclaimed. The weary deer masked gentlemen replied, "Very well then". As he climbed back upon his steed and left the temple entrance he lifted his hand to wave farewell. The clouds covered the moonlit sky over the sleeping city of Moonglow. Yet another day of preparation was coming to an end, and many days ahead of schedule no less. He lifted the bags full of merchant goods and stored them safely away in the chests. Readjusting his robe dawning the titian-like holy color, the man caught a glimpse of an owl out of the corner of his eye passing by the entrance. He had seen it before, it was Brother Ondoher's royal parchment messenger. With two snaps of his finger the bird landed on his extended arm, he quickly took the piece of parchment from his talon. He read swiftly, "Maven, continue to patrol the city of Moonglow. We must remain alert in these times."

He returned to his holy steed and set out for his nightly task. These lands were vowed to be protected by Esuna's followers now, and so it would be carried out by him. There are always constant dangers to be wary of just outside the cities' gates, devious creatures lurking in the shadows. As Maven exited the south gate he could see a figure standing next to a horse. He paused to collect his thoughts before approaching, gripping the reigns of his steed. A slight kick to it's side started their motion towards the individual, squinting his eyes slightly. His vision was already depleting at his age, and the darkness of the night wasn't helping either. A faint voice responded before his next thought, "Hello". Maven removed his grip from his tome and answered back, "Greetings, what brings you out so late?". She looks down at the fallen nightmare, the dark steed laid motionless as she knelled down to apply bandages. Maven knew now that she not only meant no harm, but was also some sort of vet.

"Madam, is this steed alright?" Maven asked softly as she continued her work. After a moment she replied, "He is now, officer". Maven then offered her a hand as she began to stand now, "My name is Maven Vaux, Abbot of Imperial". She nodded twice as the steed sprung to life, confused and wild with anger swinging his head about. Smoke now only bellowed from the beast's nostrils, it was clear he was still very much weak. She calmly placed her hands on it's head, softly speaking in it's ear. Maven couldn't hear exactly what was said, but the act of what he was seeing was fascinating and intriguing. "My apologies, my name is Bella Pious". Maven tried to act casual with her words, the Pious family's reputation preceded them. "A pleasure it is to meet you then, Mrs. Pious".

[Bella Pious]

Maven Vaux. She reminded herself the name.

That day she returned home a little later than usual. The cook was already setting the table for breakfast, and her husband, an early raiser, looked up from behind his daily paper and gave his wife a spoiling smile. She wasn’t surprised that he had known her little sneak-outs at nights because he was trained for years to be on guard for any sudden crisis. Plus with a glance on the sweating, smoke-breathing mare outside, and the burnt ends of her hair, it was hardly difficult to guess what she had been doing the night before. “I will need a bath first,” she quickly excused herself.

After a refreshing bath, she changed into a clean family dress and sat at her desk to reply the letters before the food was ready. When she saw who the sender was on the first letter, she frowned. “Only a fool would think he could repair trust like smith repairs armours.” a fierce voice hissed inside her head while she disregarded the note. She remembered in the old days, when she had been a young tamer, she had often gotten friendly assist and warm greetings from the people in Papua. But now-a-days, none of the faces she recalled in her memory was there anymore. After some business experience with the present Imperial, it started to irritate her that she was treated like an asset – valued by its usefulness and attended to only when needed. That was probably why, when she saw the warmth and selflessness in Vaux's eyes, she became curious about why this man would choose to stay there.

At breakfast, Talerco noticed Bella’s expression from across the table. “I guess you offered your hand in friendship and the taker just examined how real the gold it was on your ring. Again.” her husband teased. Bella ignored. Maybe I could write a letter to Mr. Vaux and inquire about Dalton's situation, she considered. “I did try to warn you to be careful when choosing your ‘friends’. You are too trusting.” Talerco stated calmly. And when he saw the flame in her eyes, he gave a low chuckle. Oh, it was funny how people had thought he was married to a little lamb.

[Daren Priesten]

The dungeon was quieter than usual, drakes lay slain on the ground in puddles of their own blood. Daren held his bright glowing green scepter and looked down at the creatures. He started his usual prayer until a small rock fell to the dirt from a pillar in the distance. Then silence once more. The silence abruptly ended as a loud roar was heard from the distance followed by a flash of fire. A dragon had spotted them! It's wings swayed and gradually made its way towards him, the plan was set in motion but the tamer he was supposed to protect was not in sight.

"Bella!" Daren shouted looking side to side while hopping onto his golden steed, the dragon grew closer, as did the heat, Daren quickly shielded himself behind the pillar and found Bella staring off into space. "Come on! Bella, tame it!" Daren shouted. Bella seem to come out of her trance and grabbed her tambourine and shook it and the creature seemed to become dazzled by the sound. The dragon started walking the other direction with its head moving back and forth. Daren could hear the dragon moving further away, and he could hear Bella speaking to it! It always amazed him, this lady surely had a way with such creatures. She was able to quickly calm them with her music and make them tame. That is quite a gift from Gaea, he thought.

The dragon's eyes seemed to have changed shape and it's scaly armor looked less frightening. He knew she tamed the beast. "Well done Bella, don't ever scare me like that again!" Daren gave a one armed hug. "Oh, I am so sorry, I have just had a lot on my mind!" she responded. "Now is not the time for such things" he grinned. The once ferocious dragon waddled its way behind them like a child following them playfully. "How do you do it, Bella?" he questioned. "I don't know, I just have this gift" she stated. "Aye, a gift from Gaea, she sees great things in you ma'am." he stretched his arm out over his head and back to his side. "Let us place this dragon into a proper stable now, shall we?" After exiting the dungeon he prayed to his goddess, a bright green portal appeared and they walked through the warm glow.

[Bella Pious]

"Farynthane is my name," the dragon had told her, and now Bella walked barefoot on the soft grass of Ocllo with it following her. Their daily communication session had gone on for weeks now. Even though the day did not break yet, she could still feel the livelihood of the wild. Her feet caressed the grass, picking up dews, and she got lost in her thoughts. The Orphanage where Bella got her name was funded by a Nature priest, Erik Stanqis, and she had always been fond of the Nature's way of living -- a simple, low-profile, peace-loving kind of living. Then there had been Neal and Elif, and now Daren's encouraging spirit was enlightening. She thought for a while and looked at the dragon and said, "a gift from Gaea, huh?" The dragon made a snort and she laughed. It was indeed a gift that she loved her job and could continue on the corse. But she did not believe in any of the Dieties, for the action of Their followers often meant death and blood-shed.

She patted the dragon. If it hadn't been for Daren's help she couldn't have made it, and many other dragons alike, understand how to trust human. Farynthane would most likely be slain. As she recalled the joy Daren and she felt saving one life, she also remembered the letter she threw away the other day. Bella could feel the anger of the dragons raising inside her. No, there was no way she would give away the dear lives she saved and pass them to userper's hands. It's time to reply the letter, and she also needed to write to the gentle elder, Mr. Vaux, to inquire about her old friend's whereabouts.

That night, before the day broke, two snow owls flied out from Trinsic and headed towards the Temple of Imperial.