Dragon :)

A cold breeze whispered through the cracks in the ancient stone, ancient etchings, depicting dragons, and ceremonies-stories passed down from generation to generation, and eventually, tragically lost to time. The only source of light the torches fastened to the walls, and the souls of the three Enivi walking down the hallowed halls of the temple, their hooves clip-clip-clopping on the weathered floor. Three courageous adventurers who dare to brave the mysteries in the temple, hidden away for centuries. The Enivi in the lead, a brilliant red Ortusi, by the name of Brina, a short some-what stocky gray Lunaesi, Roland, with his even shorter, browner, boyfriend, Darius. The three had come across the disheveled temple facade on their way out of Brina’s city, and decided to explore.

Much to Brina’s chagrin, Darius’s curious nature led to them falling into a long, seemingly never ending hallway.

“You just had to go and touch the puzzle.” Brina growls from the front.

“H- How was I supposed to know that it would open up a hole in the floor?!” Darius squeaks up from the back.

“Can we just focus on finding a way out of here, please?” Roland groans in the middle of the two’s ongoing argument.

“Well if you would let me examine the walls-”

“NO!” Brina and Roland shout in unison.

“No more puzzles, please-the last thing we need is to fall through another trap do- oof. Brina?” Brina had stopped walking,rather abruptly. Her blazing white soul lit up a cavern that was far bigger than the hallway in which they were now, unlit by the torches found in the passage behind. “Woah.” 

“Something is breathing,” Brina whispered.

“B- breathing? What do you mean?” Darius shrieked.

Something from deep within the darkness shifted. A glint of red reflected in the soul light. Then the eyes opened, glowing with a brilliant yellow, the heart began glowing orange hot, deep within the chest, branching out in veins as the dragon awoke. A deep, shaking breath and then the voice of an ancient being lost to time speaks for the first time in eons.

“Welcome, children. What brings you to my treasure trove? Unforetold riches, or simply a good story to tell to the many friends you make along your travels.” The voice wasn’t menacing, or riddled with malice, but simply bored. Roland squeezed past Brina, who was frozen with some mixture of shock, fear and jubilation. “Ahhh, you, young one, are especially small…and remarkably fluffy.”

“Great dragon we seek knowledge. We seek nothing of your horde. With your infinite, hard earned wisdom-please, what knowledge may you pass unto us?” The dragon chuckled.

“How flattering. You would make a good leader. Yes…yes, a brilliant leader.” Roland blushed. His whole life he had been told he would never amount to much in politics, and now an ancient power was calling him brilliant. “Thank you, for making me laugh for the first time, in a long, long time. Very well, little puff ball, I will bestow you with the knowledge you seek.” The dragon took a breath and breathed her brilliant fire into the air-illuminating piles of treasure, glinting gold in the orange light. The dragon’s might is truly revealed, her long scarlet body wrapped around the room, tucked into crevices on the cave wall, her head adorned in a crown of red feathers, framing her scaly crimson face-aged with boredom and loneliness. Various tunnels out were also illuminated, dark and ominous, no hint to where they lead.

At the fire, all three of the Enivi jumped back, fear painted across their faces. Darius was too panicked to notice the numerous contraptions among the treasure. Brina too focused on protecting Darius to panic. The dragon’s golden eye’s glittered in the reflection of her trove. She shifts, and shuffles through the gold in front of her. The treasure jingles and falls as her monstrous claws dig through the eons of gathering. Until her talons found the shred of knowledge-a tattered ancient scrap of a scroll, with faint, inky lines drawled across the wrinkled surface. The dragon tossed it over to Roland.

“There, little one. A map given to me by adventurers not unlike yourselves eons ago. I hope it serves you well.” Roland examined the map.

“It…it’s torn.” The dragon’s eyes glinted at this remark. Roland backed up. “N- not that that’s a problem, I just wanted to know if you knew-”

“No. I have no idea what happened to the rest of the map. It was like that when they gave it to me. Maybe it will be a new chapter in your story. Now leave me to my boredom-there is little you can offer me.”

Darius screeched a reply, still behind Brina. “W- we would love to, but, uhm, how?”

“Ah the scrawny one has found his voice. There are numerous passages out of here, but which leads where you’ll need to learn yourself. But I’ll not hinder you any longer. Take your guesses and be gone.”

“Please, great dragon. I beg of you, spare us the risk- at least a little.” Roland found the courage, and stepped forward, imploring the dragon for help.

“I know not which direction you need go, but should you need to return, I will welcome you without questions. Be gone, I have pondering to return to.”

The dragon laid her head lazily against her claws and watched apathetically as the three debated which passage to take. They eventually decided on a tunnel with a soft breeze drifting through. And with that, they were off, leaving the ancient being to her horde.