Please leave a review and I hope you enjoy this story! Alright! I feel ready to start this story! Like before each new chapter shall be posted on SATURDAY (not including this one).
Chapter One: Under the Devil's Shadow
The Barbaric Archipelago was a place of blood and death. A place where humans both feared and despised the dragons. Many dragon raids costed lives on both sides and no matter how hard they tried; the humans could never reach the Nest. It was the home of the dragons and, unknowingly to the humans, the home of the truth. The reason why the dragons raided human villages laid slumbering at the bottom of a non active volcano. The Devil of dragons; a cannibal. It demands a mountain size amount of food and when a dragon falls just short; it eats them whole. No dragon can escape once it hears the Devil's Hum; a low toned vibration emitted from the Devil that messes with a dragon's natural compass and forces them to fly towards it.
Every dragon wants freedom, but they also fear the Devil. They're ants in size comparison. Freedom soon became a dream; foolish dream. But there's a fine line between foolishness and bravery. And that's what this story is about and what one dragon is about to put to the test. Meet the Night Fury; the smartest and fastest dragon under the Devil's claw. When the humans started making contraptions to kill dragons he tasked himself with destroying them so no more lives were lost. The Night Fury was black as night and, with his signature purple fire, he could set fire to any village without anybody knowing who was doing it. But, in reality, the Night Fury wanted nothing more than to just fly high in the sky; away from the Devil. It was a childish thought with the chaos around him.
In the Night Fury eyes; humans were savages. Yes, the dragons did raid their home, but the Night Fury has both seen and heard how the humans enjoyed killing dragons. Some saw it as sport while others lusted for the kill. There were times where the Night Fury himself didn't mind destroying their homes; ruining their lives. But once he returned to the Nest he was reminded as to who the true monster was.
The start to this story starts like any other night and another raid. Deadly Nadders, Gronckles, Hideous Zipplebacks, and Monstrous Nightmares swarmed a small human village. They burned homes and killed livestock. Humans scrambled to put out the fires and to save their livelihoods. The Night Fury flew silently in the dark sky; waiting for his chance to destroy the humans weapons. He had lived this night over and over for years. The Devil of dragons demanded a food raid every other night. This particular village they were at now was hit the most out them all, mainly because it was the closest village to the Nest.
The cranking of wood and metal caught the Night Fury's ears. The humans have started using their massive rock throwing weapons. That was his cue. The Night Fury did a u-turn and dive bombed the target. He built up his fire at the back of his throat and the sound of his unique fire filled the sky. The humans ducked for cover, they knew it's power. The Night Fury released his fire and it flew into the weapon. Wooden and metal parts exploded into the sky as the weapon fell apart. The humans that were on it jumped into the freezing sea water below. The Night Fury shot past the burning weapon; he had to make sure that it was done for good. As he flew away the Night Fury spotted another identical weapon. The humans were racing to get to it, but the Night Fury would beat them there. He exploded that one then flew high into the sky. The human's nets and swords couldn't get him from way up here.
The Night Fury circled the village; most of the dragons were now leaving with half of the humans food. Another successful raid. The Night Fury groaned. He didn't want to return to the Nest, but he could already hear the Devil's Hum calling him back. But just as he turned to leave something caught his eye. The Night Fury had little time to react as a large net enveloped around him. It entangled his wings and his tail fins. The Night Fury screeched as he fell out of the sky. He twisted and turned in hopes of trying to break free, but soon he found himself smacking into trees. He roared in pain when his tails fins got pinned between broken branches. But luckily, at the speed he was going, the branches snapped and he was freed. The Night Fury hit the ground and bounced a few feet forward before coming to a stop.
He groaned at the pain his body was in. He could feel the tight ropes around his body. He could break free, but the pain from the fall stopped him cold. So he sat there; listening the distant fire of the village far away. The Night Fury looked around. The forest itself was quiet. He wondered how long it'd be when the humans came to him. Which one would kill him? The one that sees it as sport or the one who lusts for the thrill? All the Night Fury could do was wait. A half an hour passed and nobody came. Did someone shoot him down and not notice? The Night Fury began to wonder if starving here was his death. He sighed; at least he wouldn't be under the Devil's shadow anymore.
But just as the Night Fury welcomed his death a sudden yelp and flicking of a branch caught his ear. It was a human! Somebody was coming. The Night Fury instinctively struggled to break free, but then quickly stopped. He closed his eyes and held still as the human approached him. He heard the human speak to himself. The human was actually quiet surprised that he shot the Night Fury down. The human started to gloat proudly then he placed a foot on the Night Fury. The black dragon instinctively jumped. The human gasped as he jumped back, startled by the sudden movement. Curiosity got the best of the Night Fury. He wanted to see his killer. So he opened his eyes.
The Night Fury was a bit stumped. This human in front of him wasn't like any he had seen before. This small boy couldn't have been the one that shot him down; could it? The boy stood trembling in his boots. His hands shook in nervousness and fear as he aimed his tiny sword at the Night Fury. The boy cleared his throat, "I'm gonna kill you dragon. I'm gonna...rip out your heart and take it to my father..."
The Night Fury looked at the boy. Different or not; he was ready to do it. As the boy raised his small weapon in the air every instinct told the Night Fury to escape; to struggle. Fear ran through the dragons veins as the boy hesitated. The Night Fury was accepting death, anything to be free from the Devil, but his instincts thought otherwise. The boy paused and looked at the dragon before him. He could see the fear plainly in the dragon's eye. The Night Fury fought his instincts and closed his eyes. Silence filled the next minute. The Night Fury began to wonder if they boy could even do it. "I did this..." he heard the boy whisper. The dragon was surprised. Was that sympathy he heard in the boy's voice?
The Night Fury stood still, waiting for the boy's next move. But to the dragons shock the tight ropes that trapped him began to loosen. His eyes instantly popped open and searched for the boy. The human was...freeing him!? The Night Fury quickly jumped and pinned the boy, his weapon flew far from reach. The boy looked up at the dragon, fear in his eyes. The Night Fury didn't know what to do. The boy had freed him, but that wasn't something the savage humans would do. Was he not like them? How different was this boy? Everything told the Night Fury to kill this human; it was something he hadn't done before. But, now he was taken back.
Panicked and confused, the Night Fury roared loudly in the boy's face then flew high in the sky. Up and up he went, leaving the startled human behind. What was going on!? This wasn't how the Night Fury imagined his first encounter with a human. The dragon had little time to think on it before the Devil's Hum drew him back to the Nest.
O
Hours later the night turned to morning, but the sun wasn't up just yet. The Devil laid snoring in it's lair, happy with the stockpile of food the dragons had delivered. The dragons took the chance to rest, but the Night Fury couldn't sleep. That human...that boy was on his mind. He had spared him. That was something a human had never done before. Was he the only one like this? Were there secretly more humans like this? If so...then maybe the humans could help. They could end the Devils life and be free too! But...how would the Night Fury get to them-to that boy? Even while sleeping the Devil's Hum vibrated throughout the volcano. The Night Fury groaned; cursing his sensitive hearing. Then an idea came to the dragon. What if he plunged his ears?
But what did the dragon have to plug them with? Dirt? Mud? Another thought came to the dragon. When the boy tried to kill him; every instinct told the dragon to fight. Yet he was able to ignore it. Could...Could the Night Fury ignore the Devil's Hum too? There was only one way to find out! The Night Fury stepped towards the edge. He looked down. The Devil was hidden by the smoke of the lava, but the daring dragon knew it was there. He looked up; the open sky beckoned him to come. The dragon opened his wings and quietly flew up and out. That was the easy part.
The Night Fury looked straight ahead. The village was Southeast from the Nest; the dragon knew that. He flew in that direction, but it wasn't long before the Devil's Hum started to draw him back. The Night Fury could feel the twitch of his muscles. His head began to grow fuzzy. Which way was Southeast? The Night Fury groaned and shook his head. No! He can ignore it! As the dragon continued to fight the Hum he started to breath heavily and his heart started to beat harder. The Night Fury roared loudly as he beat his wings hard and fast. The Devil's Hum would not win!
But he soon lost all sense of direction. The dragon didn't know where he was going anymore. He just had to get away from the Hum. He'd be able to tolerate it if he got far away. As far as the Night Fury knew, the Devil didn't know that he was gone. Which means that the effect of the Hum wouldn't reach the villages. Whenever they went out for a raid the Devil increased it's range.
The next few hours were a blur to the Night Fury. He found himself flying towards a very rocky and bare island. It was oddly very vertical. The Night Fury spotted the edges of a forest on the far end. A place to land; the dragon was thankful. He couldn't hear the Devil's Hum anymore. The Night Fury didn't know if there were humans on this island, but it would do for now.
Just as the Night Fury approached the island he heard a human shout. He turned to look and was surprised by a net. It flew through the air and snagged him. This one was different than the previous one. It had a long rope connecting the net to some sort of weapon. The Night Fury began to fall. But before he hit the water the humans started cranking the lever of the weapon. The dragon hit the water but was now being pulled towards them. The Night Fury didn't know what to do, but maybe he could reason with them.
The humans pulled the trapped dragon up to them, delighted with their catch. The two oohed and awwed at the Night Fury; but their eyes read "lust". The dragon groaned; the exact opposite of what he was wanting to find. But then another human approached them. His man must of been the leader since the first two humans quickly stood attention. The man walked up to the dragon. He had red hair and dark green eyes. There were two tattoos of three lines like claw marks, one across his left eye and the other on his upper right arm. His hair was pulled back in a braid and a shiny helmet, long horns on it, covered most of his head. His brown, short-sleeve shirt and tan and green tunic were somewhat filthy. The symbol of another dragon called the Skrill was on his belt buckle. "Well hello there..Mr. Night Fury," the man chuckled with a twisted smile.