. : D R A G O N B O R N : . (a MCSM fanfic)

Chapter 16: Foretold

Special thanks to FlareTheGryphon for the awesome fanart (above)!  You helped me find my inspiration again <3

***

"Soren?"

"Yes, Lukas?"

"There's one thing I don't understand..."  Lukas frowned, flipping through the pages of the book as they made their way up into the mountains.  Dark clouds hung heavy overhead, and he held his jacket ready to shield the ancient pages should they open up to release a storm.  "This book... it keeps talking about a... a Dragonborn?  What is that?"

"Not what," Soren corrected, "Who.  It is said that a legendary hero will rise to unite both species-- born of man, yet tied to dragonkind as well.  This hero-- the Dragonborn-- will hold the fate of both species in their hands, and will either bring peace to the land once more, or doom both species to their ultimate demise..."

"Whoa." Lukas looked impressed.  "Is... is it real?  An actual prophecy, I mean?"

"Of course it's not real," Petra muttered grumpily.  "It's just a stupid legend."

Soren shot her a warning glance.  "Petra!" he chided, "Show a little respect for the old stories?"

"What-- it is!"  Petra retorted, making a face.  "A hero born of man, but tied to dragonkind?  What does that even mean?"

"How should I know?" Soren huffed, "We didn't exactly give the dragons the chance to stick around and explain it now, did we?"

Petra grumbled and lapsed into irritable silence.  Xann pinned his ears, looking back at her with worry, but she gave no further remark.

Lukas bit his lip, side-glancing her.  "True or not," he murmured, "There has to be a reason for it..."

"Hope, maybe," Ivor chimed in.  "A prophesied hero, real or not, would bring hope to a beaten and scattered nation.  At the very least, the Dragonborn would be something they could look forward to..."

"Or fear," Lukas pointed out.  "According to Soren, the Dragonborn is just as likely to destroy everyone as save them..."

Ivor shrugged.  "Optimists like to look for the best possible outcome-- likely or not.  That's why I like to consider myself to be a realist."

"That's not the word I'd use," Soren sing-songed under his breath.  Ivor shot him a withering glare.

"We may not know if the prophecy is true," Harper interjected, "But it may not be our biggest worry..."

"Isn't it?" Petra growled, "It's not like we were just exiled from our homes, after all..."

Harper raised an eyebrow.  "Now don't you start.  I won't have us all winding up at each others' throats..."

"I'm not wrong, am I?" Petra snapped, "We can't go back!  We can only go forward-- and we don't even know where forward is going to lead!  Maybe you don't quite get it, but we've all lost our homes!"

"I know we can't go back now," Jesse murmured, "But it'll work out-- we'll find a place for Xann, and then we'll go back and explain ourselves.  We just... need to do this first..."

"And what makes you think they'll even listen?" Petra challenged, voice rising in pitch, "We took the side of a dragon over them!  In their eyes, we're traitors!  We've hardly got a prayer of being accepted back into the town-- let alone of returning as heroes!  Jesse, we've lost everything!"