Title: Mondlicht Skalen (Moonlight Scales)
Pairings: Canada/Prussia with mentions of Germany/Italy and others
Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Drama
Warnings: Yaoi, violence, angst, eventual character death, dragon!characters
Summary: Matthew's people had been at war for decades with the dragons. Will the appearance of a mysterious stranger show him the way to end the war for good?
Prologue
For centuries humans and dragons lived easily side-by-side. Neighbouring every settlement of humans was a herd of the beautiful and dangerous creatures. There was a time when the very mention of dragons would send humans running for any kind of protection they could find. Then, one day, a handsome young man came face-to-face with a Grandhorn.
The dragon's long horns were adorned with fine jewels, a silver chain holding a bright emerald glittered against the golden scales of its forehead. All of which marked the beast's status. This was the alpha of a nearby herd. Callixtus gazed at the Grandhorn in awe, unfazed by the feral hiss passing through its dagger-like fangs.
When he dared to approach the Grandhorn had snapped its jaws warningly, barely missing his hand. However the man remained undeterred and proceeded forward until his outstretched hand settled against its snout. At his touch the beast froze mid-snarl, too stunned to even consider reacting to the intrusion. A cocky grin curled teasingly at Callixtus' lips. "All snarl and no flame. I knew there was no reason to fear you barbaric brutes." his musical, lilting voice was tinged with a mocking taint as he dared to move his hand in a stroking motion over the snout.
He hadn't been expecting the dragon's next move. It roared in outrage at his audacity, knocking Callixtus to the ground with a heavy blow to the chest with its snout. Before he could even regain his breath he was pinned down by a lumbering clawed foot. Two of the arm-length talons dug into the ground either side of Callixtus' face, preventing him from moving the slightest milimeter but not quite obstructing his ability to breath.
An irate snort sprayed noxious smoke and an unpleasent liquid into the man's face and, self-confident as he was, not even Callixtus dared to make any attempts at struggling. "Arrogant foolish boy! Are you driven by insanity or do you simply seek to quicken your path into the afterlife?" It leaned in closer, pressing ever so slightly harder against his chest. "I always knew your kind were hopeless, but clearly I had no idea just how far your foolishness truly flies. For your callous disrespect I should end you right here and now!" When the man opened his mouth, whether to retort or protest the dragon neither knew nor cared, it pressed rougher against his abdomen.
"Luckily I find myself impressed by your lack of fear. Far greater men than you have bolted at the mere sight of me in the sky." With this the dragon slowly removed its foot, growling lowly to warn Callixtus against any sudden movements. "Tell me your name, boy."
He smiled broadly as he shakily rose back to his feet. Though his knees still trembled at the foreign sensation of the blood rushing back into them, he stood tall with a victorious rise of his shoulders. "Callixtus. And do you have a name? Or should I simply call you Dragon?"
The great pools of acidic green venom narrowed in a silent warning and the long sinuous tail swished dangerously. "Bernhard." It would be years before they would cross paths again.
In the aftermath of a ferocious battle between man and dragon, Callixtus lay dying amongst the casualties. His chest had been torn harshly and his broken leg stuck out at a sickening angle. He was so busy coughing and spluttering more blood in an attempt to cry out for help, that he didn't even notice the hulking mass of golden muscle ambling over to hs side until the tip of the long tail settled on his shoulder. "A lesser man should have died of those wounds by now." The gruff voice held a surprising note of almost fond softness around the edges.
Callixtus' eyes snapped up defiantly to meet the Dragon's face. He grit his teeth, preparing for a finishing blow that the beast didn't intend to give. "Be still little one. Rest assured I do not intend to harm you farther." The tail-tip slowly stroked at his cheek. "Honestly, I don't believe there is another as stubborn as you. I watched you fight while the others were fleeing. It is rare to see such bravery even among my kin – your death would be a grave loss, I believe."
Without another word the dragon raised its forepaws and dug a claw deeply into one scaly paw. "This may hurt little one, I can't even assure you this will work. However I must ask that you trust me for the moment – this may be the only way to save your life." It watched him hesitate, waiting for the weak nod before dragging the claw downwards and holding the bleeding palm over Callixtus' torn-up chest. As soon as the first drop hit an agonised scream gurgled past his lips. He thrashed at the burning, back arching with each drop of thick blood that splashed into him.
It didn't take long for the pain to drive Callixtus into unconsciousness – his body still writhing in agony until the dragon withdrew its palm. Gingerly it used the bloodied claw to hook and remove one of the head-dresses adorning its horns and laid it on Callixtus' hand. Slowly the man's breath calmed and his body stilled. "You'll live, Callixtus. And with my blood flowing in your veins we are bound for our remaining years."
They weren't the last to form such a bond.
In fact, upon seeing how easily the pair worked together, the practise quickly spread among the herds and clans. From each clan a Grandhorn would choose a worthy human with whom to share their blood. Over the years the human would also come to share their own blood with their dragon partners.
Once bound a human's life was extended to match that of their Grandhorn. In exchange the dragon would gain the ability to change into a more human form. With the bonds, slowly peace began to settle between the two races. Each herd stuck to a particular human clan, every time the herd gained a new Grandhorn it became custom to choose their human from the same clan as their predecessors.
However the bonding wasn't without its draw-backs. Partners found they could no longer produce offspring; in a few cases some of the Dragons would grow unreasonably possessive and jealous in regards to their human.
No longer was the bonding a simple case of keeping the peace that originated with Callixtus and Bernhard. In essence they were taking a vow of infertility and monogamy. Willingly giving up the prospect of a future family and any possible romance, even if they had a lover before being chosen for the bonding.
This was the way the world worked. For centuries this became the accepted norm. The sacrifices of these selfless individuals allowed human and Dragon to live peacefully side-by-side.
Until that fateful day in one of the Northern settlements.
A howling roar echoed woefully through the mountains as a golden Grandhorn nudged a lifeless body with desparation filling its ice-like eyes. He changed in order to cling to the smaller male's form, bringing him close. The Grandhorn's eyes were wide as he rocked back and forth, lips parted in an attempt to get air past the landslide in his throat. "It's a nightmare! This isn't real! Just a nightmare! Why won't I wake up?"
His voice rasped the mantra harshly over and over again. Icy blue pools flashed dangerously as he clutched the corpse so tightly that blood began to seep out through small puncture wounds. "They did this to you, didn't they?" he murmured, finally ceasing his rocking. His hand shook frantically as he ran fingers through muddy hair. "Don't worry, they won't get away with this. I swear that I'll join you after I teach them. Wait for me there, I promise you'll be avenged. These wrong-doings will not go unpunished. So just wait for me a while longer."
From that day on the peace was shattered.
A/N: Okay this is my first ever PruCan so go easy on me! I have no idea where this idea actually came from but I liked it and decided to just go with it. Hopefully you guys will find it interesting as well!
Just in case it wasn't too clear Grandhorn is just the name for the leader of a dragon herd and they can be of any gender. They are called this because they are the only dragons that adorn their horns with finery - as a symbol of their status.
Callixtus is Ancient Rome and Bernhard is Germania. You're free to use your imaginations as to how their partnership was while they were alive, as this was only brought up to set things up for the rest of the story.
Anyway I hope you enjoyed this, please let me know what you thought!