Adventures of Paku the Dragon: The Shroud of Shadows

Chapter 4

In the morning, the pair wakes up early, ready for their first real adventure. They decide to explore the keep, finding it surprisingly clean.

"I wonder what happened here?" asks Paku.

"Housekeeping must have come in over night." Patch jokes.

"Good morning to you two. I hope your sleep was well." Naria says, as light shines through the windows. "Today, we will begin to train your prowess with fire."

Excited, Paku begins to smile. "I'm ready for anything!"

Lady Naria leads the two through the hallways of the keep, where they find a huge arena.

"This is where we'll be training today. It's the only thing left working in the keep."

Some training dummies are there, as Paku takes a fighting stance.

"Conjure the fire from your belly, and use your lungs to propel it through your mouth, and breathe fire upon these mock enemies." Naria says to Paku, who prepares to breathe fire at the training dummies.

"I'll be right beside you." Patch states as he steps forward.

Paku exhales, and feels his stomach fill with fire. His body heats up, and he feels the flames rush up his throat, into his mouth, and down his esophagus, making it feel like a mini volcano erupting inside him.

He exhales with all his might, as Paku breaths a small spout of flame, managing to catch one of the training dummies on fire. He is still new to the art though, and chokes on the smoke a bit as he swallows some of the fire.

"Not bad for your first time. Your fire breathing is definitely growing. But you need to control it. Breathe slowly, and focus on your breathing." Naria says as she walks towards Paku.

Paku nods his head, focusing on the next training dummy. He calms his mind, focusing on the breathing, slowly inhaling, slowly exhaling. He opens his eyes, as the fire erupts in his belly again, flying through his throat as Paku exhales with more might than before, breathing a steady stream of flame that manages to light multiple dummies this go around.

"Excellent Paku. Keep practicing, and I see a strong fiery future in you." Naria says.

Paku nods, the positive reinforcement making him feel good about himself and allowing him to practice more productively.

The pair continues their training, as Paku learns how to control his powers, and learning to use them wisely.

"You showed that dummy." jokes Patch as Paku sets another training dummy on fire with his breathing.

"That was awesome! I didn't think I could do it." Paku says proudly.

"You are doing well Paku. Now, allow me to show you how to shoot fireballs. These will allow you to attack enemies from a further distance." Naria says, as she spits out a ball of fire from her mouth and incinerates one of the training dummies.

"Woah!" Patch says with shock. "She's pretty good."

Naria smirks. "Yes, I'm quite the fighter."

"Let's try something else." Paku says excitedly. "How about you try to hit me with a fireball?"

"I'm not so sure about that one Paku. I don't want to hurt you." Naria cautions, but Paku is excited.

"Come on, I can dodge it!" Paku says.

"Alright alright. I'll do a small one, so it won't hurt you too bad, alright?" Naria warns, as she breathes a small fireball towards Paku, seeing if he could avoid it.