A Thief's Beginning

Go forth, dragon, for you must strike.

Or be bathed in the flames of fire's light...

In the black of night under the cover of shadows sat a winged quadruped, awaiting the one he'd taken to calling prey. Shielded by the darkness of tall buildings, he made his move towards the target, a dragoness who just so happened to be wandering around the dimly lit city. Choosing the perfect moment, the quadruped scampered behind a stall she was pacing by.

Grinning, he saw the item he was waiting to collect; a bleak purse made of the finest of leathers strapped to the target's neck. It made a soft jingling sound, the one item everyone wanted and needed, him especially, contained within its soft walls. Taking a single, sluggish step back, he leapt out of his cover and in one fell swoop, swiped the wallet off their scaly neck. The dragoness paused wide-eyed as she started to realise what had happened in mere seconds.

"Stop! Thief!" she yelled as she tried to sprint after him. It was of no use, however, for he was long gone into the night.

The quadruped checked his prize, unzipping the contents of the leathery wallet in an alleyway. Gems of all different colours were splayed across the stone path. Smirking deviously at his fortune, he started to make his way back home, a broken sewage pipe located on the outskirts of the city. It hadn't the best of living conditions but he tried his best to make it seem so. After all, it was better than nothing.

He collected the few jewels in the purse and started to walk out onto the streets before he was stopped by a shadow coming into view. The quadruped backed up slowly as held the pouch tightly against his heavily beating chest.

"If it isn't no-breath..." a smug voice came forth. The name had grown on him since he was a whelp. He was unsure of any kind of element he might have for it had never came to him. "And look here! He has something for me!"

"Back off, Seth," he named the brown dragon before him. It was hard to make out his features in the dim light, but he easily remembered him being ugly. "I took this one fair and square..."

"Oh, I took this one fair and square!" Seth mocked him. "Hand it over, no-breath..."

"Would you stop calling me that?" He glared at him. "Then I might think about it."

"Have it your way!" He took a long, charging leap at him. His bigger size easily would've overpowered the quadruped if not for the dragon's agile feet. A sidestep to the right had Seth crashing into a dumpster. He tossed a single red gem at the feet of the dazed dragon, if only to pity the brown dragon. He wasn't sure if it was really worth the trouble; he left without hearing him so much as groan.

He shot into the sky with a quick beat of his wings, wiping the perspiration slithering through his scales and down his face with a paw. Peering downwards, he looked on at the huge city of Avalar. Buildings of all different shapes littered the streets in organised rows; the power of the electricity dragons ran throughout it's walls, lighting the city dimly. He'd always found the sights whilst flying outstanding; he couldn't even begin to conceive making a city as fantastic as this.

And it was all his to wander around. He enjoyed walking the marketplace. When night fell, however, it was a different situation.

He traded in the marvellous sightseeing for burglary and rabid scavenging. The quadruped hadn't really the best of lives; he couldn't even remember his parents well. But he always tried the best he could to make his years as great as they possibly could be.

Minutes later, he was standing at the circular door to his pipe. It jutted out from the walls as if an ocean was supposed to be there. He didn't mind it's position, only finding it odd to find such a strange occurrence on the outskirts of Avalar. He pushed it open and slowly paced inside.

It was dark except for a candle he'd kept lit with the strike of a match. He wasn't keen to do anything else that night, he'd collected a hefty profit from the unsuspecting dragoness after all. Blowing out the tiny fife, he leapt into his bed, the cold ground, without another word.

He lay on his back, thinking of the truly exciting night he'd just managed. Soon enough, the quadruped fell into a deep slumber.

It was as dark as the void; a chilly feeling rushed up his spine. He was suspended in mid-air, standing on nothingness, thinking about why he was here. His mind raced as he looked for something that wasn't there: an escape route. Only the colour black swirled in his vision.

"Where am I?" he spoke to himself, feeling utterly insane. A resounding boom filled his mind with dread.

Peering down, he saw the great city of Avalar. What shocked him was the fact that everything, every building and every citizen, had been caught in a blazing inferno. He stared on wide-eyed as he started to realise the events unfolding before him.

He seemingly materialised inside of the burning city. Stood in the town square, he turned back and forth to see stalls burning to cinders and dragons having their own innocent lives taken greedily from them. The encroaching fire suddenly made a path towards him. He jumped back, paws burned by the unforeseen movement.

Blood pumped inside his heart faster and faster, adrenaline filled his mind. He heard someone call out.

"Help! Please!" It was feminine, shrieking for needed assistance. He sprinted towards the sound and found a yellowy dragon underneath a huge beam of wood.

He ducked and weaved through the flames until he reached the dragoness in need. Placing his claws on the beam, he pulled as powerfully as his slender frame could muster. It was of no use, however. The thick timber plank just wouldn't budge.

"C'mon!" he yelled out in pure frustration. Putting in his maximum effort, he managed to get the wood to move. Unfortunately, it was to no avail.

"I-I can't..." He stuttered more so to himself than the dragoness. "I... I'm sorry..."

"No, you can't leave me like this!" she screamed, teary eyed.

He backed off as she pleaded him with unmoving eyes. The quadruped was truly sorry but there was nothing he could do for them. Not wanting to see his predictions unfold, he turned around and tried to find a way through the approaching flames as smoke covered his vision. There was a scream.

Turning out of pure curiosity, he found a burning dragoness shaking violently as she tried to stop the fire from burning her. Tears filled the quadruped's vision as he watched on at the horrific sight.

"Help!" she yelled out in agony.

"Roland!"

His vision cut to black.

Awakening in a cold sweat, Roland found himself panting furiously. He realised it was all a nightmare. Making a move to get up, he shivered violently once he was on all fours. The quadruped could only think of the dreadful dream, of the dragoness burning before his eyes. What had it all meant? He'd been told that all dreams had meaning but what of this? Roland had no idea what to think...

Treading heavily towards the disc-like door, he barged it open with his skull, watching as the sun's morning light poured into the metallic pipe. He was blinded by daylight, placing a paw over his exposed eyes to block out any rays. He took a few steps in the other direction and found himself treading into a separate compartment of his pipe.

The sewage lines were home to a complex maze of tunnels, some accessible while others weren't. He'd gotten quite used to the smell inside, his nostrils just wouldn't pick up the stench.

Yesterday he'd forgotten he actually had a bed, there was one sitting right in the corner of the squarish room that he'd stolen previously. How he managed to get a bed back home was beyond him but it was welcome nonetheless.

There was a timber desk, rolled up pieces of parchment and an ink bottle that'd been spilt on one side of the room and a red, velvety wardrobe on the other. A cracked mirror made of silver rested in the corner leftmost of him. He glanced around the space and made a move to rest on the comfortable appearance of his bed.

As he'd thought, soft and comforting. It's sheets were a crimson red in colour and were well-kept unlike most of the objects around the room. If there was one thing Roland valued above all else, it was his slumbering.

He leapt off moments later feeling satisfied. Next, he checked himself in the broken mirror.

Red scales covered him from head to toe, scrawled with the muck of the city. Four golden horns protruded from his head, the two in front were larger and had a slight curl compared to the others which were further back on his skull and closer together, curling in that same motion. Roland held up his wings, a red membrane and a dark grey webbing were shown in the shattered mirror. His dark reddish frills were amuck; he brushed them back with a claw. He turned around to gaze at his tail, barbed with a golden blade that resembled a short scimitar. The one thing he admired most about his own appearance were his eyes; a deep, vibrant gold.

He smirked at himself and played with the thought of taking a bath in a nearby pond. Eventually, he convinced himself to head outside, spreading his wings to increase his momentum. The sun had risen over the cloudy horizon, spreading it's warm light over the fields and into the great city walls. Finding the small stream he'd thought about, he dived in.

It was freezing but refreshing. The dirt found itself in the clean pond, staining it a light brown colour. He was out as soon as he'd leapt in.

Roland made it back to the pipe and paced inside, surprised at his fantastic landing. Almost always he would end up crashing into the floor or a wall. This time he'd stuck it with apparent ease.

Grinning at the sight of the purse recently stolen, he took it in his paws and pulled the strap around his neck. It fit snugly, almost weighing him down with the surprising amount of jewels that'd actually been contained within. He ended up deciding to head into the city to buy things rather than burgle them. Morning robberies never went well; he knew from hard experience.

Careening out of the large pipe, Roland set his destination for the market square. He did a few somersaults in the air before arriving. The landing spot was the top of a small cottage within the residential area. It was as far as he could go whilst flying before being spotted in the air. Despite being dragons, Avalar had made it a crime to fly in the streets. He disliked walking but he didn't want to break any rules where people could see him. Plus, the law stood just in case dragons accidentally crashed into buildings and other citizens... Something he'd managed a lot.

He sprung off the cottage and into the front yard. No one seemed to eye him so he paced forward like nothing had ever happened. The residential areas were bustling with an immense variety of dragons, all their own colour, size and structure. Whelps all the way up to dragon elders treaded heavily. The sound of chatter was dreadfully loud.

Paying it no mind, Roland found himself in a light jog to get to the market square. Paws tapped along the pavement and steady breathing escaped his muzzle. It was obviously inaudible but he felt it rather than hearing it. Soon enough, he reached his location.

The market was teeming with dragons, even more so than the residential area. Stalls and shops were crowded up by lines of reptiles and guards waited patiently for any kind of trouble to occur. Staying wary of their presence, Roland thought of an item he might like to buy. He gazed greedily into the wallet, quickly counting the amount he had to spend.

Two hundred and fifty, the total came to. It'd be enough to keep him living for a year but he wanted something to treasure. Most of the furniture items he'd bought had been ruined by constant use. The crowd came and went; he was exposed within the mess of dragons. But he didn't mind, it wasn't like anyone knew who he was.

Roland selected a stall with food items on display. He was feeling peckish and wanted a luxurious meal rather than the dull, cheap bread he'd always buy. He lined up, waiting for the reptiles to disperse.

His turn came, a dragoness three times as big as him was slouched over a desk. A wide array of food selections were splayed across the bench and in barrels. What he was interested in was a scrumptious apple pie sat on the far left.

After taking it for only a mere five gems, he continued, chowing down on the pie. It had a delicious centre, perfectly stewed apples, and the crunchy crust tasted slightly of cinnamon. He found himself lining up at another stall, ready to buy something else.

He heard someone yell amongst the crowd. A voice that was directed in his general direction. "Him! He stole my wallet last night!"

Almost gagging, he stared wide-eyed at the earth dragoness gazing at him. Her eyes were wide with vengeance. As soon as the crowd had fallen silent, every single dragon in the square stopped to peer at him.

He ran as fast as he possibly could, almost in flight to get away from the approaching horde of guards coming his way. He turned a quick right, back down the streets of where he'd once come from. The stomping only seemed to get louder.

Crimson inside of him rushed to his heart, beating faster and faster as his breaths became ragged with exhaustion. Perspiration dripped from his scaled brow, stinging his eyes. With one last push, he found himself soaring into the sky as trained instinct set itself in motion.

A green dragon found himself getting close to him, his wing's soft beats were nothing compared to the powerful flight of an adult dragon. Roland cursed under his breath, diving to lose him and gain extra momentum.

He found himself with a sudden idea. Racing towards the ground, he gazed behind him as the dragon tried to take a hold on his barbed tail. Clearly focused on catching his target, Roland simply changed his direction as soon as he was about to hit the ground. There was a loud slamming sound. He grinned to himself.

The dragon had dived muzzle-first into the dirt. Roland found himself pitying his unfortunate fate but he had no time to lose. Whilst the other dragons giving chase tended to the wounds of their comrade, he flew into a small crevice a tree and rock had made far from them.

It had felt like an eternity before the guards left him with unsatisfactory results. Staying inside the small hole was cramped and his heart had been beating in his mind the whole time. He took a peek at the outside world before flying out, a smirk on his face.

Now back at his home, Roland checked himself out. He was covered head to paw in dirt once more and scratches littered his scales but he felt nothing other than exhaustion. Sighing, he went to lay down.

For reasons he was unbeknownst to, he didn't feel weighed down. He checked his neck and was shocked. The pouch had slipped off of his neck in the fray...

Grumbling at his stupidity, he rested his skull on a soft cushion. There was nothing he could do about it now. He was almost about to doze off on the spot but he heard an echo resound within his pipe, the banging of a wooden door. His heart almost stopped. Had the guards followed him back? If so, he was a very dead dragon...

Creeping quietly towards the entrance, Roland looked through a slight crack in the frame. He was relieved to not find a single guard but frustrated to find Seth staring down the door. What could he want?

Hesitantly opening the door, he found the dragon gazing at him. "What?" Roland asked, slightly annoyed to see an unfriendly face.

"Ah, Roly!" he yelled out in feigned delight. "How great to see you..."

"Cut to the chase, Seth," he cut him off.

"Fine." He glared at him. "I have a proposition."

This was unexpected coming from the brown dragon. It would always be either an insult or a snarky remark but not today. He wanted help from him...

And Roland wasn't believing it for a second...

"We know that isn't true..."

"I think you'll find that it is." Seth reassured him. He was eager to tell him about something, that was for sure.

Roland let out an inaudible sigh. "Fine. What is it?"

"An artefact. Worth a lot." Seth grinned. This immediately got the attention he was demanding.

"Interesting..." Roland pondered to himself. "What are we looking at?"

"The Orb." Seth almost chuckled.

"What? But that's impossible! I can't get into the citadel..."

"You'll find that you can tonight."

Roland was very intrigued with what he was trying to say. "You mean to say you're going to break in?"

"Kind of. You see, someone's doing the work for us... A deal, you see." The brown dragon took a step inside the pipe. Roland had no complaints; he was too keen to figure out what he was offering..

"Who's this somebody?" he asked.

"You don't need to know. All you need to know is the plan."

Glaring suspiciously, Roland huffed. "What's the plan?"

"The walls tonight will shatter, our associate has that covered. You just need to sneak in, grab the Orb and get out."

"And what's in it for me?" he questioned Seth.

"A hefty profit, fifty percent of the shares."

Roland thought about it for a moment. "How about sixty five?"

"Fifty five, no more no less." Seth looked at him, a frown on his face.

"Deal. I'll be there tonight."

"Alright, do you know where the Orb is?"

"I've seen it so many times now..." Roland had in fact seen the Orb before but not once had he been able to take it. This night would make him rich...

"Good dragon." He almost patted him on the head but the red dragon swatted it away. "See you later, no-breath."

Roland groaned before slamming the entrance shut, a loud metallic sound reverberated within the pipe. He cringed mentally at the noise he made. Unsure of what to think, he headed off to his bed.

There was the possibility that this was a trap but this was too great an opportunity to miss. If he could find a fence he'd be so rich he'd be practically swimming in jewels.

The Orb, as the citizens of Avalar had named it, was a priceless artefact that contained knowledge far beyond comprehension. No one had been able to crack it, not even Volteer had mustered the intelligence to wrap his head around it... A puzzle beyond everyone.

If he could get his paws on one of the most powerful objects in the world, he'd become so wealthy!

His greed fuelled him to go; theft was the only thing he'd ever known. He was going to get that artefact even if it was the last thing he would ever do.

Nightfall came once more after several excruciatingly long hours, cloaking the city under a veil of darkness. Roland found the streets to be very empty much like the previous nights. His target set in stone, he flew towards the centre of Avalar. The citadel was within sight.

It was a huge, chapel-like building carved from stone. Usually locked up, the building went untouched most nights. But tonight, Roland had other plans.

There was a way in - much like Seth had stated - a small hole he was capable of fitting his body through. Tensing up, the quadruped found his way into a huge, religious room. Roland never believed in any religion other than the Ancestors, which basically every dragon believed in. A lot didn't, but he also believed in the legends of old; the stories of heroes like that of Spyro, the purple dragon who had decimated the Dark Master and saved the world from the brink of annihilation. He'd always found him to be an idol of sorts; someone to look up to.

Shaking his mind from his thoughts, he focused on the tedious task ahead, sneaking past rows of seats as quietly as he possibly could. Without any noise, he snuck up a short stairwell and into a stone door behind it. Tables lined the room; a cafeteria of sorts. Making sure to stay hidden, he went by under the closest piece of furniture.

There was a voice, Roland heard it loud and clear, shivering in fright.

"...I hope so..."

"Yeah, when was the last time someone..."

He let out his held in breath and went forth to find the next door with relative ease. The Orb was easy enough to find but to get his claws on it would be impossible. He lacked the powers to get through steel; he'd tried before and was almost caught by a hasty guard who heard his claws rake against the thick metal.

Now that this associate was here, they probably had a way in. If they could destroy the tough stone walls, they could probably decimate the steel wall too. He wondered if they were using some kind of explosive because an earth dragon's destructive blast would never be capable of getting through a dense slab of metal.

He advanced further, keeping to the shadows that lined the floor. Roland found himself at the end of a long corridor and peeked into a deep set of steps that went through the timber floors. Peering around cautiously, he descended further into the depths of the citadel. By now he'd already remembered the complex layout of every room and knew that he was almost at his destination. The Orb was within his grasp, all he had to do was reach it.

Soon enough, a huge metal slab lay before him. He wasn't too surprised to find a rough hole big enough for him to fit through. Checking cautiously for any intruders, he squeezed himself into the sharp hole.

The tunnel was long. Whilst down on his stomach, a couple of scales were torn from his body by sharp, protruding pieces of iron. It was agonising but he didn't mind the pain, not when he was this close to the fantastic prize that waited on the other end.

At the end of the tunnel lay firelight lighting the room in a very antique fashion. And in the centre of that room lay a silver pedestal after a couple of stairs. Need for wealth overtook his mind as he raced for the treasure. Whoever this figure was, they'd done an amazing job at getting him into the small room.

Embedded inside a hole was the priceless artefact itself. It was a creamy white in colour and was gilded shinily. Roland stroked the treasure with his claw.

Before he grasped it, however, he thought he saw something in the corner of his eye. He took a quick look and saw something unmoving on the ground, yellow in colour. More gold? He wasn't sure...

Roland moved to inspect the object. He went downstairs cautiously and turned the corner. It was then that he realised the full force of the situation he was in. He gaped at the sight displayed horrifically before him.

The last thing he was expecting to see was the freshly slain corpse of an electric dragon. His body was covered head to toe in wounds and his thick neck had been sliced open in several places. Shards of ice protruded from different limbs and crimson covered the floor around him in a disgusting pool. No one deserved to die like this...

Breathing heavily, Roland saw a figure move in the shadows. Hesitating slightly, he turned to find nothing at all. He did, however, hear the scuttling of paws along the stone floors.

The shadows moved again, revealing a pair of crimson eyes. There was nothing else to it, though, for the figure kept to the darkness. A voice rung out.

"Are you going to take it?" It came with a little bite and frustration. Roland wasn't able to tell if it was masculine or feminine for they hid it very well.

"D-Did you..." he started to say, trembling in fear at what was to come. The red dragon was generally overconfident and bright but he'd lost any kind of enthusiasm.

"Don't ask, just go!" they hissed venomously.

Roland couldn't help but gawk at the corpse of the dragon. Never did he want to see the dead figure of one of his own kin but his fears had come true. His paws stuck themselves to the floor, his heart racing.

There was the shuffling of paws and a sigh before the shadowy thing was gone. Unmoving, Roland stood silently in utter shock. Something changed in him that night, the greedy thoughts had all but disappeared. Instead, guilt overwhelmed him.

He was frightened by the sound of more footfalls, this time heavier. But he didn't move a muscle for he didn't have the composure. Instead, a dragon four times bigger than himself crashed through the wall behind him. How they'd managed such a task was beyond him, but he was a bigger problem to deal with right now.

Roland was about to move but before he could perform any kind of dodge, he was knocked to the floor with the swipe of a paw. He wasn't unconscious - not yet - but pain was overflowing his form. There was a loud cry that came from the south and he saw something being dragged out from the shadows.

Not getting a chance to see what it was, he felt his eyes close up.

His vision swam before him, his thoughts unconnected from reality. Roland awoke on a chilly floor with a painful throbbing in his cranium. Remembering the previous events, he checked his surroundings and was shocked to find that he was inside a cell. The walls around him were of a densely packed stone and the front was a section made of steel bars. He'd been in a holding cell before but not quite like this one.

What astonished him next was a dragon, around his age, who could be found knocked out on the ground close to him. She was scaled a light blue colour, her two ivory horns protruded without any kind of curve and her underbelly was of a soft grey. Her leathery wings were the same colours as her body and her tail was curled around her, barbed with a slick scythe-like tail blade. It just so happened to be covered in specks of blood.

Was this the murderer of that electric dragon? He was afraid to think he was being contained with a confirmed killer but at the moment she didn't look too dangerous.

Roland paced sluggishly towards her, getting used to his wobbly paws. "H-Hey."

She didn't stir whatsoever, her soft breaths continued to escape her slightly open maw. This time, he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Mmm..." she hummed, opening and closing her eyes trying to wake up. "Where am..."

Realisation hit the blue dragoness quickly. She stared on wide-eyed at the situation she was in. "The heck?"

"Y-Yeah... We've been, um... captured," Roland stuttered, trying to make himself seem nonchalant. His efforts were futile, however.

"What the hell were you doing back there? You just stood in place!" she yelled angrily towards him. He jumped in fright at the sudden outburst.

"Y-You killed him! I... I was shocked..."

"That's no excuse!" She advanced slowly towards him, fangs bared as he backed up against the wall.

"I had no idea someone was going to be murdered!" Roland lowered himself, scared by the dragoness. She was truly out of her mind.

His statement made her stop in her tracks. "You had no idea?"

The brief change in mood startled him. "Y-Yeah, I didn't..."

She sighed. "Still no excuse. We had a deal that someone would collect the Orb whilst I did my..." She turned away from him. "It doesn't matter now. My work is done."

Her voice had shifted to one of a depressed nature as she slumped down in front of him. Roland lifted a single brow. "Is something wrong?"

"You don't need to know!" she shouted furiously at him. Almost immediately she calmed herself down.

"I... Okay..."

Despite only just awakening, Roland felt exhausted. His shaky legs wanted to give way under his bodyweight. In the corner of the room was a large bed of hay that he rested his weary body on.

It was uncomfortable but better than the stone ground he'd felt. It wasn't covered in little cracks and dust like the floor, anyway.

"There'll be a trial tommorow," the dragoness stated out of the blue. Trials in Avalar generally happened as soon as someone was captured so it did kind of make sense... As strange as that was...

"We can only hope..." Roland started to say something but was cut off.

"There's no hope for us..." She gazed at the flawed ground in what looked slightly like sadness. "I'll probably be executed."

"Executed? That sounds a little harsh." Roland raised his brow.

"I did kill a dragon." She shrugged. "They probably won't even give me a lawyer."

Roland, in spite of hardly knowing her, pitied the ice dragoness. "I hope you'll be okay." He got strange feelings from her. She seemed to be uncaring of what she had done and what might happen to her. It made him horribly uneasy.

"Thanks, but I don't need your pity." The dragoness scowled at him.

"Just trying to be a little positive." Roland rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to prepare for the absolute worst. You should too," she stated, "they probably think you had something to do with it."

"What? But I didn't even touch him..."

"You were standing over him when he was killed and you were trying to take the Orb..." Narrowing her eyes, she took a quick glance at him. "Treason has never been favoured amongst dragons."

Roland let out a breath inaudibly. "I guess you're right."

There was awkward silence for a few moments. Roland racked his head as he tried to think of a possible escape route. Unfortunately for him, there didn't seem to be a way to squeeze through. The walls were too solid and the ground was too durable. The bars were pressed so tightly together that not even a bird would fit through them. Nowhere in the roof, no windows, no nothing...

He groaned, starting to think this was the end for him. Having his life taken from him was a frightening thought but probably one that he deserved. The proposition Seth had made for him was obviously too good to be true and he'd fallen for it like the idiotic sheep he was. Seth had put him up to this and he wanted a way to avenge himself...

But would he get another chance? He wasn't very sure.

"Say..." Roland asked out of nowhere at all. He had a sudden urge for knowledge. "What do you go by?"

"What's it to you?" she replied.

"We might as well get to know each other... Not like we have anything else to do."

"Good point," the dragoness admitted, "Ashlyn."

"Roland." He smirked at her. Unlike what he'd stated, he didn't usher another word. Instead, he was seated as he silently stared into the wall on the other side. All he could see was an unlit sconce and another wall. It was probably the most interesting thing he was capable of doing.

Eventually he became bored and wondered about the day to come tommorow. If anything, he'd probably be under the same charges as Ashlyn and thus meet the same punishment as her. But he doubted he would actually be executed... He wouldn't be let off scot-free but who would slay a child?

His mind and body became weary as the night sky settled in. The dusty cell only got darker under the night's cloak and Roland found himself closing his eyes. Yet, his brain wouldn't let him slumber peacefully.

Roland's cloudy thoughts continued into the night. Why had Ashlyn slain the high priest? Why did he freeze on the spot? What would actually happen tommorow?

They went by unanswered and Roland was left staring into nothing, his mind blank of any form of notion.

I'd just like to say welcome to Dragon's Ruin and thanks for reading the first chapter!

I'm well aware that I have a review under my own name here. A friend of mine was trolling pretty hard...

Also, you'll probably notice that the first few chapters are a little awkward to read. I might update them at a later date, but for now, just know that it gets a little better the further you read.

Anyway, on with the story!