Rhosyn Drysi is not much of a name for a red dragon. They say there is power in a name. How much power can there be in a rose and a thorn? Trust me, not much. The old sorcerer who so named me obviously had a warped sense of humor. I came by my name when the old wizened man had held me carefully if not cautiously in the palm of his gnarled hand. According to that old man, nothing is quite as painful as a newly hatched, hungry baby dragon's bite. I had sunk sharp teeth deeply into the meaty flesh of his thumb. (He carries the scar to this day) The sorcerer had likened the drops of rose-red blood to my ruby coloring and my small needle-like teeth to that of thorns. Aside from the ridiculous name, I am a creature of great power.
The old wizard was kind and did not mistreat me. He taught me the language of man. With him I learned the meaning of respect and honor. Though that lesson came hard and much to late. Each day I would hunt, taking down deer so the old man and I could feast. With me he never knew hunger. Our abode was a large cave high up on a mountain, above the Avalon forest. He was the only human I knew. In my own way I loved the old man, but there were times I felt a strangeness when I looked at him, staring into his blue eyes I sometimes wondered if he saw the flame of something wild and unpredictable within my own crimson eyes. I wondered if he could sense my desire to be with others of my kind.
I was mostly content with the old man. If only whatever it was that called to me would leave me be… I could be content with the life I had. The old man was good to me and yet, it was not enough for me; I wanted my freedom. With unfurled sixty foot wings, I soared high above the mountain top, riding the air currents. The warmth of the sun felt good against my back. The ruby red scales sparkled in the light of the sun. I could see the emerald lushness of the forest below and beyond the forest, stretched a white beach, along that beach the blue sea was endless. I had promised to hunt within the boundaries the old man had set, to go no further, ever. Without a second thought, I broke my word. If I could only have known then that it would break my heart as well.
Enjoying my mid-meal in a grassy field, my sharp teeth tore into the soft underbelly of the sheep, swallowing the creature whole in a bite or two. When suddenly an arrow flew past my head, another struck deep within my left shoulder, whilst a third bounced off of the armour plating on my neck. Three men were flinging arrows, shouting at me. They called me a monster, a beast, a devil. Oh, how their words wounded my pride. A rage flew up and out, fire soared. When I left that field, I left behind the charred bones of those frightened, angry men. I also left behind a small piece of myself. What had passed for human. Upon my return the old man knew what I had done.
He cast a spell, a binding, that would change my dragon life forever. To protect me from myself, to teach me what it truly meant to be human, he made me a human. By day I was a human girl and took my natural form at night. He healed my wound but broke my heart. Not a week had passed when one morning the old man did not awake as he normally would do so. I prepared his body and did the things that had to be done. When night fell I took flight, never looking back. Somewhere in Avalon there had to be a sorcerer who could set things right. I was born dragon and had dragon magic of my own, perhaps a barter could be exchanged. And so my quest began.