Finding Magic

Chapter One

The knight dropped his weapon on the lush plains of the field. He stood in the middle of battle as dusk approached. He glanced from his fallen sword to the fire-breathing dragon. Raising his hand, he tried to cast a spell, however nothing left his palm. There was no thrum of magic flowing through him. He lowered his hand and sighed. The red dragon opened its mouth, preparing to incinerate him

Moments ago he was fearing for his life, about to cast an ice spell from the tip of his blade against his enemy. But instead his mind wandered off and he wondered: why do dragons breathe fire? They were just fat, enchanted lizards. Magic made little sense sometimes.

Especially now, when his magic left him and he didn't care. The knight thought of his what he would eat tonight. When the dragon's flames rapidly scorched the Earth in it's path towards him, the knight realised he didn't care much for his dinner either. He had no magic, no appetite, and soon: no life.

"God has forsaken me. Huh," he said aloud to no-one.

"Renato! Get out the way!"

Somebody charged at the knight, shoving Renato to safety before the flames reached him. The somebody was Pepi, Renato's twenty-one year old squire. Pepi's unkempt beard and frizzy hair made him look like he'd been away from civillation for years. He'd been much too busy helping Renato and the townsfolk these past few months to take care of his appearance. Upon seeing the knight dodge the attack, it paced and snarled, roaring so loudly it shook the ground.

Pepi's eyes looked back and forth between the dragon and Renato, who he lugged along while running away. Night was approaching quickly and stars peppered the sky above. The dragon turned its attention to the town's defense walls, beginning to climb.

"What the hell were you- nevermind. How do we get rid of this dragon? It's trying to get inside the walls and eat the cattle!"

"Tell it to go home," Renato suggested.

Pepi rolled his eyes. The situation was hopeless. None of the knights had come out to help Renato due to their incurable illness. It was just the two of them on the field. Renato was the only one who knew how to fight but now, for whatever reason, he couldn't. There was no time to ask why. Pepi stood up and jogged towards the dragon. He waved his arms to get its attention. The dragon coiled its tail and narrowed its eyes at the human with a clear death wish.

"Please!" Pepi shouted. "Leave us alone! Our cattle are underfed, you wouldn't want them! They're walking skeletons!"

The dragon's entire body froze, no longer attempting to climb over the wall. Then it wandered closer and closer to the human and blew flames through it's nostrils, burning the grass in front of Pepi. Its bright yellow eyes looked directly into Pepi's hazel ones, with its thin pupils dilating into ovals. The dragon raised its neck and unfolded its great wings, blocking out half the sky and the stars. With a huge gust of wind the beast propelled itself into the air. Was it going to fly into the town? Everyone would be doomed.

But the dragon flew away. Pepi lowered his arms from his face after the wind of its wings faded, placing a hand over his pounding heart. The dragon flew far into the distance and into the night.

Pepi returned to the rock where Renato sat.

"Is it gone?" Renato asked. "That was quick."

"Maybe I suddenly developed the ability to talk to dragons. Or maybe the dragon left because the temperature dropped. Lizards hate the cold no matter how big and fiery they are."

"I don't understand why they're in Etral. This country isn't the warmest place for anyone, let alone big lizards."

"Let's go speak to the posh folk and tell them the dragon's gone." Pepi began to guide Renato by the shoulders towards the Lord's manor.