PROLOGUE

"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed." - Carl Jung

Tor'ka slowly opened his heavy eyelids and released a long yawn as he was finally pulled from his healing sleep. It felt like he had slept for ages and he wondered how much time had truly passed. Opening his eyes fully he almost lost his breath; he was surrounded by dirt as if buried alive. He shifted his massive body back and forth and found that he was completely encased.

The cave must have collapsed, he reasoned as he shifted a bit more.

The dirt didn't seem that hard to move, it'd be nothing for him to crawl through the dirt to the surface. A huff of annoyance escaped him as he began to wriggle and claw his way to his freedom.

~~~*~~~

Lyra Rivers growled angrily and kicked another can out of her way as she stormed her way through the local park. The cobblestone pathway scuffed her already dirty white sneakers and she kicked a rock out of her way.

She hated him. She hated him more than anything she had ever hated. He had torn their family apart. And her mother hadn't helped. Lyra's eleven year old body coursed with rage and she slammed her backpack harder onto her shoulder as her eyes tried to burn holes in the pathway. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes and she stumbled her way deeper into the park. Walking here by herself in the middle of the night was not the best idea she had ever had, but she couldn't have stayed in that house one more night.

She kicked another rock in her way and sent it flying into a tree with a loud 'thunk'. The tree vibrated with the noise and began to shake rapidly back and forth as the ground beneath her rumbled. She froze in place afraid to move or even breathe. Had she really been strong enough to break a tree? Her thoughts fled as the ground beneath the tree swelled and cracked. The tree fell to the side as the swell became more animated and grew even higher.

Her eyes widened and her scream pierced the air as she fell to the ground and the dirt fell away from the swell to reveal a creature of myth and magic. An enormous black dragon emerged from the fresh crater in the in soil. It let out a massive yawn that sounded much like a roar and stretched its wings as far as they could go letting the dirt and dust fall from them. It was a magnificent creature to behold. Its shoulders were huge and muscular with large powerful arms that ended in sharp clawed hands. Its upper body seemed very similarly shaped to that of a man's only much more exaggerated with muscles. Its abdomen narrowed drastically into a small waist that revealed well muscled thighs as it pulled the rest of its body from the hole. Though its hind legs were a good deal shorter than its front, at least half the length, they were still thick with muscles and accented with horrifyingly sharp claws. Its wings must've been at least fifty feet from wingtip to wingtip and webbed with a grayish leathery flesh. Its neck was long and muscled like a snake, leading to a strong jawed head. The head pulled forward to a blunt point that snorted out smoke with each breath, and at the back of its head where one would expect ears were two sharp horns that had jagged bends in them like twigs. Its entire body was thickly coated in black scales that armored its body; even its underbelly was protected. Its long tail lashed out behind it in irritation as it shook its massive body trying to relieve itself of the dirt that coated it.

"Oh…my…god…" she whispered as the creature towered above her.

Hearing her voice the dragon bent its head down until its bright blue eyes were staring directly at her from her own level.

"Child, what year is this," it bellowed curiously.

Lyra almost lost her voice at hearing the creature talk but held onto it at the thought of being burned to a crisp for not answering him. "It-It's 2009," she stammered.

It seemed to consider this as it pulled its head away and her breath was pulled from her lungs. The full moon above the park was a perfect background for his majestic form.

"Wow," she breathed.

Terrifying as the situation was it was also amazing. She finally stood up without removing her gaze from the magnificent being before her. "You're a dragon aren't you…like a real dragon!"

The creature scoffed lightly letting out a puff of smoke. "Of course I am; what a foolish question. One might think you'd never seen a dragon before."

"I haven't," she blurted out in confusion.

The dragon froze. It couldn't be. The humans from his time…had succeeded? He had been mortally wounded in a battle for his life when the humans decided to overthrow the dragons. Though both races had lived in peace for years the humans began to fear that they were the weaker of the race and had sought to kill all the dragons. Apparently while he was sleeping they had won.

"So I'm the last one…" he murmured in sadness. Though he'd be able to live for a few thousand years he would eventually die and with him his race would end forever.

Lyra's eyes softened and she took a few steps forward to place a gentle hand against his arm. "It's okay," she offered.

He turned to look at her and seemed to see her for the first time. She was a very young girl, maybe only a decade old with huge green eyes that seemed to have stories written deep within. Her face was soft featured with a small nose and round little pink lips. Silken hair the color of sun-faded hay fell neatly around her face and just past her shoulders. He could tell she would be very beautiful in time. Her thin adolescent body was draped in pure black garments. A thick long-sleeved shirt with a hood coated her upper body while a pair of unflattering pants hid her legs. The only things not black were the dirty white shoes on her feet and the small brown satchel that hung from her shoulder.

The girl offered him a hopeful smile that he just couldn't deny.

"My name is Tor'ka," he offered quietly unable to think of anything else to tell her at the moment.

Her smile brightened. "I'm Lyra!" She could not help but giggle in excitement, all fear completely gone from her being. She was talking to a dragon, a real live dragon. And he was talking back!

Tor'ka nodded and pulled to his full height as he spread his wings preparing to take off. "I wish you all the best Little Lyra."

"You're leaving?"

"I won't stay here in this place. If I am to survive for as long as I can I will need vast forests, things to hunt, and much less civilization than there appears to be here." He gazed out at the buildings and the noise beyond the trees that sheltered the park.

"Take me with you," she demanded foolishly, her cheeks puffed out in determination.

"You don't know where I'm even heading," he reasoned almost with a laugh.

"No, I don't," she said as the tears started to return to her eyes. "But if I just keep walking here it doesn't matter how far I get sooner or later someone will find me and then I'll be right back where I started. And I don't want to be there ever again!"

He cocked his head at the girl in curiosity. She couldn't be young enough to be making it on her own yet; perhaps she was being forced to marry as many of the women of his time were. "I think you're being foolish," he told her frankly.

"I am not!" She stomped her foot like the child she was a glared at him. "Take me with you!"

Just like the child she was her moods seemed to swing without regard and she was determined to have her way. However he could not justify taking this human girl with him. He held no grudges against their kind for what they had done; it was no fault of the people here now. But the fact of the matter was, she was still a child with raging feelings. She was too young and far too emotional to understand the importance of her request.

"I will not," he told her firmly as he turned his back to her. He had decided that this park was too closed in for a safe take off; he'd need to find open ground first. "You would only burden me, and I don't believe you understand what you ask. Go home to your family."

Her began his walk away from the small child who frowned fire into his back. She threw her backpack down in anger and began to throw rocks at his massive retreating form. They bounced off his hide and she swore she could've heard him chuckle.

"I hate you!" she screamed at him.

With his long strides it did not take long before he was out of sight and she was left by herself scowling into the darkness. That massive monster had been her one shot at true freedom; she wouldn't be able to walk very far and she knew that no self respecting adult would sell her a ticket to go anywhere. A crackling in the bushes interrupted her thoughts and she spun around. Her eyes glanced nervously from bush to tree and back again but nothing moved. She knew there had been gangs around this area lately taking whatever they could from people stupid enough to walk by no matter their age. She had nothing of value and no money; so there was only one thing left that she did have that they might want. A whimper escaped her lips and she began to run.

~~~*~~~

Tor'ka wondered where he could go as he pushed his way through the few trees in the park. It had to be somewhere with plenty of foliage or caves for him to hide within and preferably somewhere with a lot of larger animals. Unfortunately he had no idea where he could find any of these things and he wasn't sure how long he could last in this world without them.

Lost in his thoughts he almost missed the small scream that could've curdled blood. He froze in his steps. True, he didn't know the girl at all but not turning around didn't sit well with him. He had come from a time when chivalry was everything and he still believed in morals. He turned around to make his way back to where she had screamed and hurried his pace a bit due to his slight nervousness. However that tension boiled into rage when he saw her again. A man many times her senior and size held her off the ground by her wrist cackling into her face while two others his size watched. He was pressing a metal object against her stomach that he was slowly using to lift up her shirt. Though Tor'ka couldn't quite make out what the object was it didn't matter. He knew what that man was about to do and the tears on her face were more than enough to fuel his rage. He bellowed a roar and watched as all three men noticed him with horror in their eyes.

"Jesus Christ!" The man holding Lyra let out a scream of his own before throwing her to side and aiming the metal object at Tor'ka himself.

A loud bang echoed in the park and Tor'ka felt a searing pain in his shoulder. He released another roar of anger laced with spark and flame. Without hesitating all three men bolted from the clearing and judging by the smell left behind Tor'ka guessed one of them would need to change his pants. Ignoring the pain above his arm he bent his elegant neck down to Lyra who had yet to rise and nudged her lightly with the front of his snout.

"Lyra, are you alright?"

In an instant she had flipped around and latched her arms in an awkward hug around his muzzle. "Thank you!" She buried her face against him. "I was so scared I didn't know what to do!"

"As long as you're fine now," he reasoned, his voice slightly muffled from not being able to open his mouth wide enough to properly pronounce the words. Using her grip on his face to his advantage he moved his head in an attempt to help her to her shaking legs. She nearly collapsed again when she let go of him but managed to regain her balance on a second attempt.

"Thank you very much," she breathed again. "For coming back for me."

"Think nothing of it," he replied.

Lyra noticed him wince as he straightened up. "You're hurt," she said as she rushed to get closer to his leg.

"It is nothing I'm sure," he told her. It would not take long for the wound to heal as it wasn't very big but it stung greatly and he wondered what exactly had happened.

"You got shot," she whined on the verge of more tears.

"Shot," he confirmed.

The idea had not occurred to him. In his time the only weapon capable long range damage was either a catapult or and bow. He had never seen such a contraption before and he stared at his wound in curiosity. Though in dragon years he was only young adult he had been around for hundreds of human years and in that time had developed a thick hide strong enough to reply any arrow. When he had been defeated it had taken many humans to weaken him before they could properly stab one of his joints. (Joints are a dragon's only weak part due to the fact that they are the only place armor can't build up because that would be too restricting of its movement.) However this metal contraption had fired something that had pierced his armory hide like it was nothing.

She nodded while examining the wound. "The bullet might still be there; can you lift me up so I can see it?"

"Bullet?" He tilted his head in confusion but lowered it regardless so she could step on top of his head.

She was careful to avoid his eyes and step directly onto his forehead between his horns. His raised his head and she struggled to keep her balance with the awkward movement before placing her hands against his shoulder. Lyra squinted as she tried to make out the details in the low light; luckily the lights from the city were bright enough for her to see the glint of metal just beneath his dirty scales. It hadn't pierced the skin very much so it would be easy for her to get it out.

"This will be weird but I need to get it out," she told him.

Tor'ka nodded and she placed her mouth against the wound so that she could suck the bullet out. It came out almost instantly and she stuck her tongue out in disgust at the taste.

"Got it," she said with a smile and she leapt to the ground and held out to show him the bullet proudly.

"That is a bullet?" His brow furrowed. "This insignificant little thing was what irritated me? This pierced my armor?!"

Tor'ka nearly howled in rage and frustration. What sort of world had he awoken to? Despite himself a small growl escaped his muzzle. It seemed though he had once been a reputable warrior now he was no greater than the creatures he himself used to hunt. The human being has risen quite far in a few years and it seemed that if he wished to survive this time he could never be seen by humans again. This wound may have been small but what's to say they didn't have any bigger weapons to create bigger wounds?

"You don't know what a bullet is?" Lyra asked curiously.

"You seem to underestimate how old I truly am," he told her as he straightened his neck again. "There were no such weapons in my time."

"Then let me come with you," she demanded her voice a sudden serious tone that made her sound years older than she really was.

His brow ridge arched curiously at her. "And what makes you think I'll have changed my mind?"

A spark seemed to ignite in her eyes as if he had just asked the perfect question. "Because you need me," she replied smugly as she straightened up and rapidly whiped the tears from her face with the back of her arm. "You don't know this world like I do. You don't even know where you could possibly hide, but I do. Right now we need each other. I need you to take me away from here, and you need me to teach you about this new world."

Her words were very logical and well spoken for someone of her years, Tor'ka thought. But she was right. Whatever her reasons were for leaving home they were none of his concern, and he did need someone to teach him these things. He wondered how wise it would be to take such help from a child but he then considered her words just then.

"You're very smart for your age aren't you," he said with a slight smirk.

She smiled at him. "I'd like to think so. It's probably because I read a lot."

"And you really believe you're smart enough to help me?"

"I do," she replied without hesitation.

He nodded kindly to her. "Then I believe we are in agreement, Miss Lyra."