Bound At Heart

Prologue

A young man, no older than fifteen, ventured far and wide in search of treasures to help his poor family. Through enchanted forests full of faeries, through the drowning heat of the desert, through the gravitating mud of swamplands, he searched. He searched and scavenged and thieved and goods he found worthy to help his family. He had two weeks to find whatever he could. He loved the rush of thieving. The rush of desperately trying not to get caught. The sense of adventure was surely something he adored but he knew he was on a time limit. Some think of him as a common mischievous thief, others a hero; for he did share what he possibly could to the poor since he indeed was a kind soul at heart. He even stole medicine for his ill mother. His village doesn't have many doctors nor his family could afford an appointment to visit one – so, he made the note to hunt down something that would aid his mother.

There were three days left in his journey and that was plenty of time he needed to get back home. He already found himself near the borders of the rich, green enchanted forests. Trees grew exceptionally tall, the soil rich with life, the lakes, rivers, and lagoons glowed bright blue, and the flowers painted the earth in a beautifully scattered rainbow. The ground rose and fell and curved. All its life moved with the land. All the territories belong to the kingdom of Ezora, a kingdom where both Humans and Elves alike live in prosperity.

The young man lived in a distant part of the kingdom in a lonely village that rarely received much supplies; where people survived on farms and growing as many crops as they could despite the poor land. He knew he didn't have much there but he was happy.

He looked through his two satchels and he counted his findings. He held a good amount of copper and silver shillings he pick-pocketed from the common locals. He thought it was enough to buy and extend his land to grow and harvest more crops for profit.

His eyes landed upon two bottles of the correct medicine that he stole for his mother from an elderly doctor he came to know in the Plains. He discussed his mother's symptoms with the old man and he told him that his mother's life was at risk due to a fever that derived from the flu. Death won't be kind in its arrival if she doesn't take the proper medicine soon.

The man thought why the doctor would even show him the medicine she needed when there is a risk he might steal it. At nightfall, he did but got caught by the local guardsmen. The old doctor let him go, for he knew the boy couldn't afford medicine and turned the situation into an act of kindness.

Thinking back on that moment, it brought a smile to the man's face. He prayed that evening that his mother won't have to endure the worst symptoms of her flu and that she would be fine. His praying was disturbed when he heard a violent rustle of leaves within the bushes behind him. He instantly was found standing and his sword was held out.

"Who's there?" he asked in the direction he heard the rustle come from. He heard heavy thumps scatter. He hesitantly stepped towards the noise, sword ready. He found himself approaching a cave protected by large thickets and bushes full of roses. With the oncoming sunset, he couldn't see anything inside it and his curiosity wavered a bit, for he didn't want to risk the chance of encountering barbarians. However, something else was waiting for him in the darkness. Sickly green eyes with cat-like pupils began to glow and that same green glowed on the forehead of the supposed beast. Huffs and puffs of smoke came out of its nostrils. The beast was the man's height.

Before he could get a good grasp on his appearance, the beast lunged at him with a semi-high-pitched roar as it tackled him to the floor. It was a dragon! Its body completely blended with the black night sky. Piercing emerald eyes sit buried within the creature's horned, angular skull, which gives the creature a menacing-looking appearance. A crystal matching the color of its eyes that were planted center above its eyes, just below its large, angular ears. A row of small horns runs down the sides of each of its jawlines. Its terrifying bat-like wings were protruded; starting from just above its shoulders and end just passed its shoulder blades. It had thick skin and eerie bone structures make up most of the wing and small, sharp tips grow from each ending like massive spears.