Dragon Prince: Warrior

Chapter One: In the Mountains

As the sun had started to rise from the golden and blue sky, the people of the village had started to awakening and getting ready to start their day. The adults had started heading towards nearby markets or started heading towards work. The teenagers had started working their morning jobs or meeting up with each other in their favorite hangout spots. While the kids had started helping their parents, playing with their older siblings or playing with their pets.
But in the woods, the rustling, frozen leaves crunched as a dark blue-cloaked figure walked quietly through the almost soundless woods. A little cluster of light rain clouds had passed through the evening, dampening the ground and filling the air with the scent of fresh snow. The distant mountains were delicately sprinkled with the fading mist from the rain, like faint white frosting on cake slices. Puffs of fog appeared in the air at their every breath. Their eyes, which were almost hidden by the hood of their blue cloak, searched through the trees, looking for something.
The wind was howling vigorously like a pack of wolves at a full moon. The snow was packed in a thick layer and on top walked a pair of feet slowly and carefully. Walking through the trees, the figure looked around their surroundings into the early dawn for any sign of danger. Pulling their cloak closer to their figure, the determined figure walked on, on their back was on their archery equipment and their breath visible in the ice cold air. Carefully descending the mountain slope, they continued walking through the forest not to far away, moving with the shadows as one.
Despite the cold weather of the mountains, it's uniquely beautiful around them in the figure's hidden eyes. In the gathering dusk, the icicles glowed like firelight marble, covering most of the snowy forest and the valley. Snow dusted around them and the ground all around them; more crystalline flakes were falling more quickly from the sky. Soon, an incredible mountain range appeared before her after they continued walking through the mountain pass, rivaling the Mountains of Katolis in height and breadth. Its surfaces were frosted with bright snow from the peaks to the bottoms. The snowy landscape was dotted with sheer cliffs and pure blue lakes. Ahead was a valley, and the snow seemed to be trampled from wild horses, revealing pine trees and bushes. She saw a white bear in a cave from a safe distance, a herd of elk were hidden amongst the forest, a couple of winter foxes went into the woods, a few white owls swept past her, and a pack of wolves had slicked across the tundra. But, at the foot of the mountain pass, was a massive frozen lake. The wind was strong, and it pushed the fog towards the mountains and blew the snow around her hard.
When the figure continued her stroll, the figure stepped into the sunlight on the forest's path, revealing the girl. The girl is none other than Sierra.
She soon came up a hill to see a mountain village. The small, quaint houses were covered in at least a foot of snow, and smoke rose from the chimneys. A towering mountain with a flat top created a backdrop for the town.
Sierra walked through the village and nodded respectfully towards the greeting villagers.
The cottage was slightly hidden by the nearby forest. Outside of the cottage stood three horses (a dappled gray stallion, a palomino pinto mare, and a dark bay mare) eating hay. In the front yard, there was a small piece of land and behind the cottage was a barn and a larger paddock. Inside of the pasture are two cows, three pigs, and three goats.
She led the animals away into the stable. The cows were led into the united stalls, as did the pigs, goats, and chickens. But as Sierra led the horses towards their separate stalls, a buckskin mare with a white rose-shaped white spot on her forehead poked her head out of her stall, watching them curiously. The mare is Rosie, Sierra's late mother's horse and nursing a buckskin colt named Dash. Sierra patted the animals and went outside to have a breather outside by the fence.
She closed her eyes and focused on her surroundings. Sierra heard birds singing, people chatting, animals playing with children, and...galloping hooves? She opened her eyes and looked towards where the snowy ground was shaking from.
"Runaway horse!" Sierra jumped back as a fiery chestnut horse galloped out of the road and into the forest.
"Oh brother." Sierra rolled her eyes to the sky before she went into the stables to get her horse. She started searching for a horse to ride when she heard a familiar, shrill whinny from one of the stalls. At first, Sierra flinched sensitively of the sound, but something in the horse's eyes reassured her. Her eyes were so mild. Brown made Sierra think of owls and tree hollows. She seemed to be studying her, as though she could see straight through the girl. Her fear was replaced with curiosity.
She smirked as she walked towards the mare and placed the riding equipment on the stall. She is dark bay as melted chocolate, and her mane and tail is silky and black as the night sky, but she has a white lightning-shaped blaze.
"Hey Derby." The mare whinnied to Sierra. "Ready to help me track down a nervous horse?"
Galloping into the depths of the forest was Sierra riding on Derby racing through the forest. A little cluster of light rain clouds had passed through the evening, dampening the ground and filling the air with the scent of fresh rain. The distant mountains were delicately sprinkled with the fading mist from the rain, like faint white frosting on cake slices.
They were running together, as though they're one in the same. Sierra felt the wind whooshed through her. She was intensely aware of Derby's movements underneath her. She felt herself smiling and Derby let out a loud whinny. Sierra raised herself up slightly as the grassy ground disappeared underneath them for a bit. Derby had leapt over a log. She felt her hair flowed behind her and her stomach lurched. She almost felt as if she and the mare were both flying. She tightened her grip on the reins and Derby slowed down for a moment, long enough for her to regain her balance again and calm down her excitement. Sierra took a deep breath, calming herself down and nodded to Derby, who nickered softly and continued the ride.
Derby soon came to a stop and Sierra started looking around the area, checking for any sign of the runaway horse.
"Dang it," grumbled Sierra. "Where in the heck did that horse wandered to?"
As she started searching, Sierra saw a trail of hoof-prints leading her into the forest. She looked at the spooked horse. She sighed as she dismounted her horse and took out the leading rope.
She carefully stepped towards the horse and let him watched for. But the horse reared and she stopped, waiting for the stallion to calm down. The stallion soon calm down and Sierra started walking towards the wild stallion.
"Easy boy," Sierra said soothingly to the nervous stallion. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
The stallion snorted as he watched her warily stepped towards the stallion. Sierra decided to calm the anxious stallion by a lullaby that she likes. Sierra breathed in deeply and gently sang the lullaby to the stallion.
"Earth moves the air.
And the wind feeds the fire.
Magic is here,
If you dare to believe.
Sail out the sea,
On an ocean of mystery,
And bring your heart
To the ones that you need."
Sierra carefully stepped towards the stallion and the horse lowered his head as Sierra clipped the leading rope onto the stallion's halter. She led the stallion towards Derby and tied the leading rope to the saddle-collar. She mounted Derby and rode out of the woods back towards the village's stables, leading the nervous stallion back into his pasture.
"Thanks Sierra," said Riven, a member of the village's guard.
Instead of replying, she just nodded and led the mare back into her master's stables. She almost never speak to others, considering that she had a rough life in the past and prefers to keep quiet most of time.
Sierra soon went inside of her mother's study. There's a large desk made of solid wood with books and quills strewn across the top and stacked in piles. The walls were covered with bookshelves that almost reached the ceiling. But there was a foggy window at the far right corner. Sierra shuddered from the slight drop in temperature as she stepped into the room. She had a feeling she should be in the room and shouldn't be in the room. But she started looking at the books anyways, going with her strongest instincts.
She found a lot of books about Xadia, Rulers of the Five Great Kingdoms, forts, villages, and so on. When she found the last book showed a fair amount of wear, appearing to have been well-read with illegible comments in the margins. But her curiosity for Xadia is something else. Sierra found a blue-covered book on the table. She quietly read the golden title, "Magic of the Sky." Sierra flipped through a few pages and a note had slipped out of the pages.
She took it out and read out loud, "Dear Sierra, This book is for you. I believe you have Sky magic within you. This is one of my final gifts to you. Whenever you are ready, go to Cursed Caldera and find the miracle healer. Love Mom."
Sierra felt tears run down from her face and smiled at the note as she slipped back behind the cover of the book, knowing what she should do.