Secrets of Pyrrhia \\ Wings of Fire Short Stories collection

Never a Monster

Tinder couldn't stop glancing up at the sky, and every sounds set off alarm bells. He was sure he had ventured the entirety of Pyrrhia by now, but it seemed like he hadn't made a dent. He definitely hadn't found the Dragonslayer. It had been almost two years, at least if he was counting correctly, and though he had heard of Valor, the Dragonslayer's city, he couldn't find it.
The Invincible Lord had sent him out on a valiant quest, to find the Dragonslayer, and bring him back within the walls. Then everyone inside the city would be safe. Even though the indestructible city was already the safest place for humans, teaming up with the Dragonslayer would "Increase our safety Ten-fold!", or at least that's what the Invincible lord had told him.
The more he had traveled, the more resentful Tinder became. Resentful of the Dragonslayer, who he had started to think was a mere story. Resentful of Ore, knowing she hadn't gone with him. Moons above, he was resentful of his mom, who had named him after flammable pieces of kindling. Tinder was 25, he should be finding a partner and settling down, not scouring Pyrrhia for a child's tale. Yet he was most resentful of the Lord, who'd sent him on a fools errand.
As the moons rose in the sky, he felt his anxiety flare. Trying to find the Dragonslayer in broad daylight was hard enough, but avoiding dragons in pure darkness was maddening. His lantern had broken with 1 month of him being out here, and though he could trade for more, he hadn't seen a human town for weeks. His map was fraying along the edges and a massive tear had slit it. Not like the map was that helpful anyway.
He swore the makers had thrown darts at the map, wrote "here be dragons" where they had landed, and called it a day. EVERYWHERE HAD DRAGONS!!!! Was it really a revelation to say that this area had slightly more dragons than usual?!? He did use the guide though. He had seen so many dragons on his journey, and was an expert on identifying the different types.
He found the blue dragons mesmerizing, and thought they were his favorite. They had large gills protruding from their necks and webbed claws. He would never want to see them close enough to notice this by himself, but was fine to study the pictures. By far, his least favorite were the jungle dragons. His guide knew nothing about them, and he had never seen them. He was pretty sure jungle dragons were the most dangerous.
He would never admit it to the Lord himself, but he wondered if he should return to the Indestructible City? Life was safe sure, but rigid. He was horrified out here, but back home he was...stuck. Stuck forever inside the walls, in a house alone, never able to leave. At least out here, he actually felt like he was alive. When he'd first left, he had intended to be a hero. But was it worth it? To live like a caged bird for the rest of his life, albeit a very safe caged bird.
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Ore was just a few feet away from him, her brown eyes not meeting his. "I'll find him before we know it! He'll want to kill the dragons just as much as the Invincible Lord, and I doubt you can hide for long with the reputation of 'Dragonslayer ." Tinder was breathless. His quest to find the Dragonslayer was about to start, but before he would leave, he needed to ask.
"Ore, you know I love you." Her eyes finally met his, confused and a bit shocked, and he realized he'd never verbalized his feelings. Yet, there was no better time than now. "I have to go, but will you go with me?" He squeezed her hand, and she pulled it from his. Tinder was taken aback, and Ore sighed deeply. "I know that you can't refuse the Lord's request....but I can refuse yours. I'm sorry Tinder, but I can't go..."
"Don't you love me too?" Tinder was betrayed. "I do," Ore said, her tone becoming defensive, "I just think I would rather stay alive than help you on your little vanity quest for a children's story hero." "He's real!" Tinder shot back. "You're just too scared to leave these walls! Don't you care about killing the dragons?! They're sick, demented monsters that eat us, and when we find a man who learned how to kill them, you just want to sit back?!"
Ore's temper flared. She wasn't used to such intense criticism, especially not from her boyfriend. "I'm not willing to get myself killed for you! Especially not for a made up story you want to chase!" "You really think that in a world with so many dragons and humans, there wasn't a single man who was able to kill a dragon?!" "Are you insane?" She spat. "Dragons are twenty times the size of us, have thick scales, breathe fire, and Oh! Forgot to mention that they EAT US! For sport! So sorry if I don't believe in some man half way across the continent enough to die on my way to find him!"
Tinder was furious. He could feel the rage billowing off of him. He knew full well he should walk away from the conversation. He wasn't in the right mind to have an argument, but he couldn't hold back. "If you don't come with me on this quest, you can consider us over." Her eyes flattened, all the fire in them dying. She sighed, "Are you serious?" He gave her a cold, hard stare. "Fine", she said, "Consider us over. Try not to die on your stupid quest." She stormed off, and Tinder felt hollow.
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Tinder still regretted that conversation. He shouldn't have snapped at Ore, he should've made up with her, and he shouldn't have gone on this quest. He was more lonely than ever, and Tinder felt like a part of his soul was left back with Ore, stuck behind the impenetrable walls of the indestructible city.
      When Tinder awoke the next morning, it was still dark. He was shaken and confused until he heard what had woken him. A sharp piercing scream. A human scream. He started sprinting, but everything was dark, and he could feel his heart pounding faster than he could keep up.
"Hello? Who's there?!" He cried out. No one responded, yet Tinder ran faster, his sides crying out in pain. What was wrong? Was there a dragon around the corner? Could his death be at the hands of another human? He pushed on.
In front of him was a large dragon, its long tail whipping behind it. It looked unlike any dragon he had seen, with yellow scales along its body and bright blue bursts along its back. It was chasing after a human man.
Tinder knew he should hide, but two were in an almost empty clearing, and the man looked like he would fall over soon. His skin was heavily tanned, and he had a dark beard, but he slowing down, and he wouldn't reach the bushes. Something seemed off about this dragon, but Tinder couldn't put it into words. The dragon was closer now, and Tinder felt his stomach lurch.
He ran out into the clearing, yelling at the top of his lungs. The man turned his way and looked bewildered, but the strange thing was so did the dragon. Its scales turned an orangey-purple color, and Tinder felt his eyes widen. The screams became real, and the dragon began stalking towards him. He ran, the man near him now completely disappeared.
His lungs screamed in pain, and he felt like he would throw up, but he kept running. "Here!" A sharp voice called towards him, but there were no humans around him. Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his, but there was no hand to in his. Just empty air, but he was definitely holding something. He shrieked and fell over, and watched the dragon come scuttling over. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable end.
But instead he heard cooing, and a loud "Rawrble thort!" He opened his eyes, and the man was standing in front of him. The dragon was babbling at him, a female dragon if he remembered his anatomy correctly. Her scales turned pink and gold, and she seemed happy that he had stopped running. Instead of eating him and the other man though, she simply sniffed the two and circled them.
The man shouted, and the dragons scales were shot with acid green, but then returned to pink, and she babbled happily, what sounded like dragonish laughter. Tinder's head was spinning, and he called out to the man, "Why isn't she eating us?" The man turned towards him, as if remembering he was there. "She may not eat humans...?" he said, just as bewildered as Tinder felt.
"She looks happy, or am I going insane?" Tinder pondered out loud. He raised his voice, and tried to mimic her noises. "raWrKle" he cried, and she excitedly spread out her now golden wings. Tinder was now throughly confused and slowly walked towards her. She held out her claws towards him, and he froze. She gestured for him to walk further, but Tinder didn't budge. He wasn't crazy enough to walk into the talons of a dragon.
She pouted, small grey blue spirals spreading across her body, but she didn't attack him. "I think she just wants to play." the man said, still bewildered. "I've never seen a dragon like her." Tinder marveled. "What's wrong with her scales?" The man gave a low whistle. "Well, I'm not a dragon expert. I've never seen one like her."
"How long have you been out here?" Tinder asked. The man squinted at him, and sighed. "About 4 months. I'm making my way to the dessert. What about you?" "About 2 years. I'm supposed to find the Dragonslayer and bring him back to the Invincible Lord. You don't happen to be best friends with him?" The man actually looked taken aback, his face going a bit numb. The dragon behind them whined and circled more, and Tinder realized she was smaller than most dragons. Was she still a young dragonet?
"Well you caught me," the man sighed again, "I do actually live in Valor. My name's Stone." He held out his hand and Tinder shook it. "But I'm not really close to Heath." "So you've met him!" Tinder cried. Would he be able to get home? Stone laughed, but it felt off. Like someone making a joke about themselves leaving everyone else uncomfortable. "You could say that. Heath is my brother, but if I were you, I'd head home.
Tinder felt ecstatic, but his heart quickly dropped. "Why?" Stone looked upset, but seemed to bite down on his words. "Heath isn't the most reliable person, and I guarantee you he doesn't want to work with the Invincible Lord. He'll probably have you killed for saying his name." Tinder felt defeated. "I can't return home without him. I might be killed if I return without news."
He felt the tears before he realized what was going on. He just looked down to see them falling, and hastily whipped them with his hands. The dragon drew closer to him, murmuring sadly as more grey and blue swirls bloomed onto her scales. She moved her tail close to him, and wrapped it gently around his waist. He looked over at her, his brain feeling like a swamp. His thoughts were slow and thick, popping before fully formed.
Stone looked sympathetic, and Tinder finally noticed the large tail that was dragging him closer to the moping dragon. "What are you doing?!" He yelled as she pulled him higher with her tail. She settled him on her back, resting in a divot on her shoulders. "I don't think she's hostile." Stone said, looking fascinated. "She does appear to be a bit little, though. I wonder if her shifting scales are normal?"
Tinder looked at this dragon, and he actually laughed. She craned her neck at him, and he continued laughing. He had set out to find the Dragonslayer and now this little dragon had taken a liking to him. As he giggled, the dragon's scales turned a light purple, with splashes of pink. She looked like she was smiling.
"I can't go back home, and I can't go to Valor." Tinder said to Stone. "I highly doubt this dragon will kill me, so I think I'll stick with her. If you're looking for a place to go, you could come with us?" Stone shock his head. "I still need to head to the dessert. I have to find someone, but I'd recommend you be extra careful from now on."
He wrapped a long chain of silvery black metal around his arms, and vanished, but Tinder was already confused enough for the day. His sleep had been interrupted and he had "almost died", not to mention that he couldn't return home. He was barely holding everything together, but he was done crying.
He let out a low whistle and tapped the dragon he sat upon. "Can I just follow you?" He knew she couldn't understand him, but she roared happily anyway, her scales unchanged. "I think I'll call you Poppy" Tinder said, his words slurring with his sleepiness. She started walking and Tinder became light headed.