Thunder roars through the clouds as you venture deeper within the woods. The sky is as ominous as it is threatening, and you’ve been on horseback for many hours now. Your poor horse is struggling to keep your weight for much longer, and is begging for rest.
You look at your map. You know for a fact that you’re no where near the end of your journey, nor are you close by any marked village. The weather doesn’t seem like it’s going to improve any time soon, so your best option is to find shelter and wait for it to pass.
The sound of rain on your suit of armor is never a good sign. It’ll get rusty, and will need replacement. So, while the canopy does offer some safety from the rain, a lightning strike will gladly take that safety away and replace it with a blast of electric demise. Besides, you’re definitely the highest object of metal in a large radius. So, the longer you’re out in the open, the more you’re endangering yourself.
Knowing that you’ll inevitably have to delay your arrival, you eventually decide to seek shelter for real. You traverse deeper into the woods, the thunder still rolling around in the clouds above you, rain blasting down taking away any hopes of visibility you still had.
It is slowly becoming night as well, so as you venture onwards on foot, carrying your trusty horse by their reigns, you spot something in the distance. The rain, and overall darkness that the canopy offers, makes it tough to make out what it is, so you step closer. Before long, you can see clearly what it is: An unmarked cavern. Safety. Shelter. Warmth.
You wrap your horses’ reign around the trees and step inside the cave, raindrops dripping off of your suit of metal, their sound resonating through the hollow cave. At first, it looks like a hollowed-out segment of rock. But as your vision adjusts, you notice that the grotto doesn’t have a visible end. Like an open maw, its’ darkness beckons you deeper and deeper.
Knowing that you’ll have to make a campfire to rest by anyways, you return to your horse and reach down the saddlebags, searching for your tinderbox and torch. With some luck, you manage to scavenge a few dry sticks and twigs, gathering them in a circle in the center of the cave. You grab hold of your tinderbox and light up the campfire.
The warmth of the flame immediately restores some of your sanity. You place the helmet of your armor on the cavern floor, allowing your face to take in some of the healing warmth of the flames. The crackling embers soothe you. The sound is familiar. It’s safe. Once you’re nice and dry, you peer outside the cave. It’s very clear that the thunderstorm will linger for at least another few hours, as will the rain. Might as well spend the night in the cave, you decide.
You grab the torch you took out of your saddlebag and light it up using the flame of the campfire. You stand up again, the sound of your metal suit echoing through the cave. With nothing to do to kill the time, you decide that the only thing to do to beat boredom is to venture deeper into the cave. Nothing serious, you don’t want to get lost. Just… mild exploration. Never hurt nobody.
Your torch bounces off the cavern walls. You feel a slight unease as a mild sense of claustrophobia fills your soul. Your common sense doesn’t agree with venturing deeper into a cave – let alone an unmarked one. Still, you travel further. You take a deep breath, you close your eyes, and allow silence to settle into your mind. “I am brave. I am royal. I am Knight Evhyr of Suv’ani. I am brave. I am royal.”
The mantra resonates, your heartbeat calms down, and you straighten your back. The sound of metal clanking as you move through the snaking hallways of the cave echoes deeper and deeper. The occasional bat tells you that you’re not alone in this cave, which is a calming thought. If they can live and breathe here, so can you.
You continue to venture deeper into the cave. The hallways creep on and on, descending deeper into the earth at a slow, doable slope. Still, you’ve been walking for a solid ten minutes now, which – especially given the fact that this cave was undiscovered thus far, is interesting.
As you keep on moving, you’re suddenly disturbed by something. You could swear that you heard a deep rumbling sound coming from further down the hallway. You stop moving, the gentle crackling of your torchflame and breathing the only sources of sound for a while. However, as you remain frozen in place, concentrating on what you heard, you hear it again. You’re certain. A deep, growling sound.
It’s far away. It’s very, very soft and low. But you’re absolutely convinced. Doubt creeps into your mind suddenly. Should you really advance? You know now that there’s something else that calls this cave its’ home. It could be a bear in hibernation. Or perhaps a pack of wolves. You’re prepared for both, your suit of armor and claymore sufficing for both occasions. Yet killing beasts isn’t honorable. Especially not for a knight of Suv’ani.
Your fingers clench around the hilt of your blade. You’re unsure about whether or not you should venture onwards but there’s something that beckons you deeper. It’s almost subconscious, you can’t place if it’s a certain scent or energy or sound but… you should really turn around now. Although…
For a second, your mind rushes. Your thoughts are bombarded by an intrusive thought that you can hardly call reasonable. Unfathomable treasures and riches. You’ve heard tales of cave walls filled with gemstones and gold. You, your family, the generations after that… they would never have to lift a finger in their life again.
A smile settles on your face for just a second, as the dream-like fantasy becomes a tangible truth. But the rumbling sound returns and you’re snapped back to reality. Your sword is drawn. When did you do that? Why did you do that? You sheathe it again and look over your shoulder. You know the way back, all you have to do is follow the opposite direction of the flame. After all, the air will always flow deeper into the cave, thus blow your flame in that direction. That’s what your training told you.
With newfound confidence and a tinge of delusion, you step deeper into the cave.
As you advance, you notice that the rumbling sound gets louder and louder. A total lack of carcasses seems to deny the earlier suspicion of the cave depths being home to wolves or a bear. You would’ve found traces of their prey by now had that been the case.
The next theory that pops up into your mind is a subterranean waterfall. Perhaps the sound is the powerful crashing of waves against the walls. Perhaps there’s another cave entrance nearby and the thunderstorm is powerful enough to make the raindrops reverberate through the stone. Though, the lack of petrichor appears to negate that possibility as well.
Oddly enough, the deeper you venture, the stronger the desire to turn around should become. It’s been a solid twenty minutes since you left your campfire now, and should you want to return in time to get at least a few hours of sleep and awaken before sunrise, turning around now is the best option. However, the slithering halls’ beckoning only increases in strength.
The delusional allure of potential riches is only becoming stronger. You don’t know why, you’re consciously aware of the fact that it’s a delusion – had this cave been a natural resource of gems you would have found some smaller ones by now surely.
Suddenly, there’s a shift in the air. Your suit of armor echoes heavier. The torchflame moves less as you do. The air grows humid. You feel a shiver run down your spine, yet power on. At the end of the snaking hallway, the walls seem to widen. As if you’re approaching a chamber. The flames do their best to illuminate the massive hall in front of you, yet fail to reach the end. However… if your eyes do not deceive you… the colour of the glow that bounces on the walls, carried by the light of your torch, has turned… golden.
You come to a stop mere centimeters before the walls diverge. The room appears massive. Despite being near the entrance of the room, your torch does not carry enough light to reach the end. However, your heart is racing. Because in the middle of the cavern are piles of gold. Coins, jewels, goblets. More than enough to last for many generations.
Immediately, your mind begins to yell at you. You should return to your horse, grab a burlap sack and fill it up. You don’t listen though, instead you’re charmed by the sight of the plentiful riches in front of you. With a loud clang you step forward, almost tuning out the low rumbling sound that has become strong enough that it vibrates your entire being.
You step forward, entering the room slowly but surely. Your vision is blurry as you tear up from the sight. Are you dreaming? Surely. This cannot be real. Your gaze travels from your left hand, where you see the walls diverge and circle around. The edge of the cave room is closer than you would expect, so that could only mean that it opens up further to your right hand. You take another step as your gaze travels through the cave and you…
Freeze.
Your mind crumbles. Your body trembles. Your heart stops. Time dilates as your brain ceases to properly function for a second as you lay your eyes upon impossibility. If it were an option, you would choose to stop existing, or having ever existed in the first place – your mere presence upon this globe unworthy at the divine sight that has you in its grasp.
As your eyes lock onto the center of the chamber, you slowly regain your bodily autonomy. Still, your breathing is shallow. Your heartbeat is dangerously fast. Your mind is racing… faltering. No thoughts or delusion could come close to comprehending the situation you’re in. All you can do is exist and process information as it comes.
The room you’re in is massive. It’s at least fifty meters deep in all directions. And in the middle, upon massive piles of gold, gems and various riches, you see the peak of godly creation in a corporeal form. It slumbers, evidently the source of the rumbling sound. Every breath it takes seems to reverberate the countless piles of gold coins and treasure, shaking the walls, shaking you to your very core.
Your arms are shaking. Your blood has frozen over in fear. All those years of training, all those stories and myths that you considered fake instantly proven right. Whatever it did to your mind seems primal, because your body feels like it’s not yours.
As you stare at the being, your fingers have once again grasped onto the hilt of your claymore, unsheathing it and standing at the ready. Your legs are trembling, your very soul feels like it’s struggling to remain corporeal.
You take a deep breath, and try to recall your mantra. You are brave. You are royal. You are a knight of the Suv’ani empire. You are Knight Evhyr Sola. Your leg takes a lethargic step forward, as if it were made of steel and stuck in tar.
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that you are clad in steel, but never has moving felt this much of an impossibility. Then again, this cave seems to have proven impossibilities an impossibility itself – proven by the creature that was still asleep in front of you mere moments ago. You swallow upon that realization. Whether it was your noisiness or fate, but it has awoken. The dragon is awake.
Their deep, golden eyes find your irrelevant form immediately – a foreign body within their realm. They move forward slightly, their glistening scales illuminating the cave with help of the reflection of your torch.
You are frozen in place as they come in motion. Your mind is in disarray, every nerve of your body screaming at you to run. To turn around, flee back into the hallways of the cave and never return nor speak of this place. However, you stand firm. You are Knight Evhyr. You are brave.
“St… stay back, beast!” you shout. Your fingers are still shaking, but your grip on your claymore is true. “I know I am severely outclassed, but I shan’t fear to strike you down.”
As they allow themselves to return to full wakefulness, they spread their wings throughout the cave. The created shadow looms over you as it stretches, reaching out from one end of the cavern to the other. Their form is massive, their presence is massive, and their sights are set on you.
You know in every fiber of your being that, should the dragon desire so, your life would end right then and right there. But… You might be projecting human emotions onto a creature you thought were myth mere minutes ago, but you could swear their gaze betrays… curiosity. A curiosity similar to that of you when you were a child, spending hours staring at the ants as they marched through the castle courtyard.
“Mortal.”
Their voice is booming, heavy, distinguished. It reverberates, seeps into your every pore, and again your mind nearly shatters at their mere presence.
“What brings you to my nest? Answer me.”
The question is all-encompassing, filling all of your mind. They command you to answer. You’re compelled to respond.
“Sh-sh-shelter.” You stutter, not telling the entire truth.
Their head looms closer as they take a single step forward. It is only now that you see how massive their claws are. One talon could easily pierce your chestplate, chest, come out the back and still have room to spare.
“Do not lie to me, mortal,” they say. The dragon senses that you’re hiding something. Part of the truth. As if they see right into your very soul, yet still demand a verbal honesty.
“I…” your body trembles again. You lower your claymore as hopelessness at the situation begins to settle. You know that there’s no point in fighting back, or fighting at all. Your life is fully theirs now. “I was sheltering from the thunderstorm… and the allure of the cave brought me close.”
Your words begin to flow as if you aren’t even speaking yourself. The dragon’s golden eyes seem to coax your mind into spilling information, chaining down the fear that has wrapped around your tongue and soul.
“Something about the cave drew me in, as if I knew there would be treasure in its stomach. I was not aware. I did not mean to intrude. If I must leave, if you allow me, I will never mention this place ever”, you say.
Your words are true. You didn’t even formulate them with your mind, but still knew that the second they left your mouth, they were the truth. It isn’t even desperation that drives you, the second you saw their presence, you had resigned your life.
“Thank you for your honesty”, the dragon replies. Their words confuse you, implying it wasn’t their influence that made you answer in the way that you did. Still, you remain frozen in place as they approach you with another step. One draconic step, already enough for them to get right up in your face. It would take one movement for their jaw to unhinge and consume you whole.
The fear settles into your body again, combined with an undeniable reverence as you imagine being scooped up and turned into sustenance within seconds. But the dragon appears uninterested, instead their eyes remaining locked firmly upon your form as you stand there immobilized.
“You tremble before me, afraid of your life. It is… to be expected. But I do not wish to end take your soul as long as you don’t force me to, human”, the dragon says. As they speak, you see their split serpentine tongue. It invokes fear, and brings doubt to your mind whether their words are true. Yet you see no reason not to trust them, so you continue to listen to their words.
“I have not been visited by one of your kind for… many years. I have not been visited in many years by anything but bats, for that matter”, they say. Their eyes seem to reflect a… sadness. A tinge of loneliness? You almost start feeling sorry for them.
“It is of no matter. Companionship is fleeting for immortal beings like myself. I flourish in these short moments, so in a way I am thankful for you finding me, despite your hostility”, they continue. Immediately your realise your grip on your sword. Their personality and tone of voice betrays that there truly are no violent intentions in their mind.
“Oh, ah… apologies…” you mutter, sheathing your claymore. It feels like utter insanity to disarm yourself in front of a dragon, yet you trust their intentions. Their words feel honest, their words strike true.
The dragon seems content with your movement. They look around the cavern, seemingly to admire their own hoard, and eventually their gaze returns to you.
“Mortal. You have not disturbed my riches. Your subconscious greed might have brought you here, yet you didn’t act upon these desires. It might simply be because you did not have the opportunity to, or – I suppose this is more hopeful – because your honor exceeds your desires”, they say.
You search your mind for the answer. You know that you weren’t able to move before the dragon awoke, yet you are genuinely unsure whether you would’ve considered stealing from them as soon as you knew it was a dragon’s hoard.
“Regardless, you are in luck. Your honesty and behavior have gained you my favor. I bestow upon you a present, I request that you take it”, they say.
Their left wing spread, and from a pile outside of your vision, they produce a necklace. Their wing closes around you like a blanket, and the necklace dangles above you as they wait for you to take it. The chain appears to be pure gold, and the gem embedded in the center is a deep blue. A sapphire, you theorize.
You don’t know what to say. The dragon has shown you more pacifism already by not taking your life after intruding, and now it is giving you a present as well. You look at them, as if wanting to ask if it really is okay rather than eagerly grabbing it at the first opportunity.
The dragon senses your hesitation and laughs, the sound echoing loudly through the cave, making the coins shake and clink in their piles.
“Fear not, human. You are truly free to take it. Though I appreciate your hesitance. It proves that I was right not to kill you on the spot”, they say.
The sudden change in their tone of voice gives you goosebumps, as you are immediately humbled, and reminded that they could have killed you at any given moment. However, you don’t want to seem ungrateful. So you raise your hand, grab the necklace from their wing, and inspect it.
It feels surprisingly heavy in your hands. The gem holds a lot of weight, and it’s cut to perfection – near infinite reflections as you stare into it. The chain itself is gorgeous, every link crafted to perfection. You slide it from hand to hand, and then put it around your neck.
The chain is cold to the touch, the gemstone resting on your collarbone. The cool feeling spreads, but it isn’t uncomfortable. You move your paw away from your neck as the necklace rests and… paw?
There’s a fraction of second where doubt settles into your mind. You’re not sure why, because… you’ve always had paws… right?
His scaly arms feel rough against the cold, hard metal of your armor. For a second, you panic. How are your horns supposed to fit inside your helmet? Your paws instinctively travel to your head, each individual claw tapping against the familiar keratin. You sigh a breath of relief when you remember that you left the helmet at the campfire.
Suddenly, the heat of the torch becomes uncomfortable. Not just the flame, but also the light. You can see just fine without the light, so why bother carrying it? You drop the torch, and as you look down to the floor as the torch rolls out of reach, you notice that your footpaws are way too small to fit inside your greaves. They don’t even support your digitigrade anatomy.
The dragon is silent. They just watch on as your gaze travels across your own body, their other wing now also flung around you, like a tent that’s surrounding you on all sides. Keeping you safe, keeping you warm. Right where you’re supposed to be. You’re safe with them. They care about you so much, after all.
You step out of your greaves, your bare footpaws finally able to breathe properly. Your claws tap on the stone floor, and for the first time in recent memory your footpaws feel comfortable. Natural. This is how it should be.
You wiggle each individual claw and a smile appears on your snout. Your sapphire scales have spread across the entirety of your chest now, and… no, wait… They’ve always been there. You’ve always had scales, right?
A cold droplet falls from the ceiling, landing right in your neck, rolling down your scaled back. You look up and notice how the ceiling of the cave is mostly open. It isn’t stone that covers you, but bushes and canopy. Of course, how else would the dragon be able to access and leave their nest? As you stare upwards, you feel an uncomfortably tight feeling creep up behind your back.
You immediately notice what’s wrong. It makes sense, you’re wearing this silly suit of armor, completely constricting the movement of your thick, scaly tail. Why did you wear armor in the first place? Your scales offer you plenty of protection against the piercing threats, after all.
So, you attempt to reach around your back, but the suit constricts you. Your arms are way too small to reach over your back after all, especially with this armor. It’s way too big for you. The question repeats in your head. Why did you wear this silly thing?
The dragon chuckles. They see you struggle, your tail becoming more comfortable and constricted by the second as your perspective changes. You barely notice the change and… No, you don’t notice any change. There’s no change, you’ve always seen the world like this. Haven’t you? Yes… yes, you have.
“Let me help you, little one. I see your struggles” they say, as they suddenly douse you in a powerful flame. You flinch, engulfed by deep blue waves of fire. They mix with your scales, their color eerily similar. The flames also resemble the dragon’s scales, though significantly more.
But the fire doesn’t hurt. Of course they wouldn’t, your dragon would never wish harm upon you. Why did you flinch in the first place? A divine being would never mean harm on one as loyal as yourself.
As the flames subside, you feel a slight tingle as the armor melts off your body. The flames have melted through the armor, and the dripping steel stings your scales. The dragon notices your discomfort.
“It’s okay, little one. The stinging will fade. I promise you. Just relax…” they say, their golden eyes piercing directly into yours. Their words carry the same weight as before, and you know that there’s a deep truth buried within them. But… as you stare into their eyes, they faintly begin to glow. Your body immediately feels numb. Soothed. You nod without saying another word, as the last bits of molten steel drip down.
You’re left standing in front of them in your completely natural state. No armor, no clothes. Just scales and freedom. Your tail swishes, relishing in its’ newfound freedom, no longer restricted by the armor. Happily, still somewhat dazed, you look over your back. Your tail swings to and fro, just like you’re used to.
Completely unbothered and drowsy you look at the dragon. Each individual scale upon their body seems more divine. Their form is perfection… You’ve never seen something, someone, as beautiful as them. The fact that you’re even allowed to witness his form is a miracle. A blessing. To be welcomed among their hoard is an even bigger one.
In adoration, in awe, you stare up, deeper into their glowing golden eyes. Your mind grows silent. Your kobold brain focuses on its sole purpose. You were made for this, you were born for this. One single word resonates through your mind and body. Worship.
Instinctively you get down to your knees. You crawl forward, until you’re centimeters away from their claws. Your paw drifts towards their talon, grasping at it with the utmost care. You look up at the dragon, as if wanting to ask permission.
The dragon just looks down at you in silence. Their expression is content, and their wing drifts towards your neck again.
“Ah… what a shame. What happened to my gift, little one?” the dragon asks, as they gently lift the necklace off of your head, over your horns, and into the air. The blue sapphire has grown dull, the gold has lost its color, and it crumbles to dust as they hold it in front of your eyes.
Your mind is filled with sorrow suddenly. You don’t know, what happened to it? How did you get so careless to let such a gracious gift fade away? You feel yourself almost tear up, your lip trembling as you try your hardest not to cry.
The dragon chuckles. “Oh, little one. It is okay. I don’t harbor any bad feeling towards you. It isn’t your fault. But… if you wish to make it up to me anyway…” they say, looking down upon you. Their glowing golden eyes once again pierce right into your skull, and the sorrow fades as if it was never there. Your thoughts slow down even more, becoming fuzzy and foggy… The human cognizance you once had has long gone. Memories have faded, crumbled, melted.
You are… you… you are…
You stop moving for a fraction of a second. Memories of a sentence drilled into you return in fragments, though you can’t place them. You can’t place their origin. You can, however, stare into the gorgeous divine eyes of your dragon master. You can, however, improvise.
You are brave. You are loyal. You are Evhyr the Kobold.
A smile reappears on your face. A smile reappears on the dragon’s face.
“Go on, little one. Serve me. Worship me. Accompany me. It’s been so long since I’ve had a thrall beneath my wings, I hope you can forgive me.”
Their words enter your brain and permeate, though you can’t place the meaning. Forgive them for what? They need no forgiveness… they need to be revered.
Your body feels warm. At peace. You move automatically as you begin to touch, rub and massage the dragon’s limbs. This is bliss, and you feel a comfortable drowsiness settle as your movements slow down. As the thunderstorm begins to fade in the canopied sky above you, the last bits of human memory fade.
All that remains is your name – your kobold name, that is. As it always has been. As it always will be. And as the dragon wraps his wings around your heavy body, your eyelids droop shut and you sink into a wonderful, warm sleep.
