Four years had passed since Zyon arrived at his new home. While he was still jumpy around crowds, he had transformed from the scared boy he was at first. Now he was confident and bold. Zyon raised a hand to his throat, placing it over the necklace of Night Fury scales. As he did, his thoughts turned towards the dragon that saved his life four years ago. He hadn't seen the dragon since but he longed to. Just to find out why it had spared him. He turned and stopped. There she was, that pretty girl he kept seeing. The only issue was that either he was too nervous to talk to her or something happened. He tensed as her eyes landed on him, curiosity clear within them.
"Zyon!" Zyon jumped and whipped his head around to see his mother staring at him, a knowing smirk on her face. His cheeks darkened and he started back to the house, his mother patting his back and laughing as he glared at her. Asger looked up from his wood carving and raised an eyebrow. Zyon started upstairs as his mother, Amelia, told Asger what happened. He could hear the man's loud laughter even from upstairs.
"Why do they tease me like that? It's annoying." Zyon rolled onto his side and curled up, his eyes closed. As his breathing evened out, in his head the world turned white.
Zyon looked around the white landscape, his eyes narrowed against the brightness. Hints of pale pink and very light gray split the pureness of the white. Soon, the white was reduced even more as the colours darkened and were joined by orange and yellow. Gradually, the colours purified and darkened, with black, greens and browns joining in. Soon the yellows, oranges and reds merged and began to move, flickering and flowing as the gray began to emit in waves from the bright flames. Dark shapes moved around in front of and behind the flames. A tall man, his face stained dark gray from the soot raced towards Zyon, his eyes wide from shock. Zyon whimpered, fear pumping through his body.
"Zyon!" His father wrapped his hands around the small boy and lifted him up. Zyon watched as his father and small self raced away while dragons milled about. The large reptiles filled the sky as the small village burned. He turned to see his mother trying to help a mother and her infant to safety. Tears came to his eyes at the sight of his parents. Soon, he followed them towards the boats. Although he knew what was coming, he couldn't help it.
As he stood on the boat, being passed through by the people in his dream, the boats sailed away, everyone watching their home burn as the dragons milled around in the air above. The island began to fade and the survivors collapsed, still in both relieved and horrified shock. They had just survived a huge dragon raid, but at the same time, they had lost their home. Zyon turned towards the south in unison with the residents of the boat. He glared at the fleet of boats, the very same fleet that stole everything short of his life from him. As the boats grew, everyone turned and began yelling and waving, trying desperately to receive aid from the ships. The shaking boy wanted desperately to tell them to stop, to turn and run. However, no matter how many times he screamed and pleaded, no one heard him. He turned, tears now running down his cheeks. The first catapult launched its ammo.
As the massive rock barely missed the furthest boat from Zyon himself, everyone stopped shouting in hope and started screaming. They had no means of defense. At the time, Zyon was the youngest surviving child. The second youngest was the age of seven. The boy watched in horror, now sobbing, as his life was once again stolen from him. His parents stowed young him in an empty barrel, trying to shush him. A boulder hit the bow of the boat, sending everyone stumbling and even sending a few off the side. As the attack continued, most of the ships sank. The one's that didn't had had all the people on board either severely injured or killed. The men onboard the ships combed the wreckage for anything of value. The barrel containing the young Zyon was fished from the water, mistakenly taking it for a valuable item. As his vision faded, Zyon watched as the barrel was pried open.
Zyon shot up with a loud shriek, his room now shrouded in darkness. Amelia raced into his room and right to his bed. Without saying a word, she wrapped her arms around his shaking body, feeling him jump. He pressed his head against her shoulder, his shivering getting worse. Although he had become partly desensitized to it, this particular nightmare made him shake for two reasons. While the first was obvious and public, the other was well hidden. That nightmare meant trouble was about to occur. Suddenly, there was a loud boom from outside. Both of them jumped and turned towards the window.
Amelia pulled him up and downstairs. Asger looked up, all three wincing as another boom of thunder shook the house. They raced to the door to see the whole town being drenched with rain. Rivulets poured down the streets and pooled in small dents in the road before continuing due to force. Asger pulled the two of them out of the house and up the hill towards the great hall. Zyon looked up in time to see the sky split in half by a sharp bolt of lightning. A huge clap of thunder shook the ground. His hand slipped from Amelia's as he stood there, staring at the lightning storm. As the lightning crackled and snapped, his eyes widened as a sense of fear came over him.
"Look out!" Zyon was snapped out of his trance as someone smashed into him. He rolled to a stop, his clothes quickly getting soaked. Zyon pushed himself up onto his knees, rubbing his head. When he looked up, however, his eyes widened. It was her. The girl he'd liked for the past year and a half. Her green eyes were narrowed as she stared at him. Zyon gulped and stood up, water streaming from his clothes. He held out his hand only for her to bat it away and stand on her own. He watched as she ran towards the hall. Sighing in defeat, he followed her.
As the storm raged, everyone was sheltered in the Great Hall. Zyon stood in a corner, watching as the other kids chatted. He wanted to join them but with the exception of Maria, they didn't really like him too much. Sapphire was more impartial than any of the others. However, the Chief's son Leo hated him the most. Another rumble from outside made him jump. He hated thunder with a strong passion. The black-haired girl turned towards him and narrowed her eyes. Maria smiled and nudged her, sending her towards him. Zyon stiffened and swallowed stiffly, trying to calm his nerves. She stopped and stared up at him.
"Look, I'm only over here because Maria told me to. I don't like you and I like you even less after you froze in the middle of the road. Now that that's out of the way, my name is Heather. Yours?" Zyon's mouth had hung open after she started her mini ramble. Shaking his head, he took a deep breathe just as a loud boom sounded right above them, making the ground tremble and the whole building tremor. Startled, Heather yelped while the force of it made Zyon stumble.
"Woah, that was the biggest on so far. I'm Zyon." Heather nodded before pivoting on her heel and starting to walk away. He panicked and called after her.
"Look, I'm sorry for freezing! Lightning storms scare me, okay? They make me tense and I freeze." Heather stopped, and turned around, staring at him in surprise. Tentatively she walked back over.
"You're the first boy I've ever met who's willingly admitted to being afraid of something. Normally I have to force them." Zyon grinned sheepishly and looked down, rubbing the back of his neck. Maria walked over and soon the three were talking like old friends. Heather smiled, though there was still a hint of dislike in her eyes. Zyon looked up and stiffened as he spotted Leo making his way over, the rest of the small group following. The girls turned and sighed, while Heather rolled her eyes.
"Hey, Zyon. Why are you talking to my girlfriend? Hey Maria." Before Zyon could say a word however, Heather spoke up her voice trembling with anger.
"Leo, just because you're the Chief's son doesn't mean I'm your girlfriend. Leave the three of us alone or I will tell your dad you've been harassing me again." Leo froze and his eyes widened. Growling, he turned on his heel and stomped away, his crony Trent following. Trent was short for Trentimond. Sapphire smiled at hem before turning and running after them. The window lit up as another jagged arc of lightning split the sky. Maria sighed, glaring after her twin brother before turning towards Zyon.
"Honestly, I love my brother but he can be a jerk." The other two nodded, Zyon staring after him as a feeling of hopelessness swept over him. Yes he had a crush on Heather but if the Chief's son was interested, what chance did he have?
The storm ended a few hours later. A huge flash-flood had demolished most of the less stable houses. However, most of the village was still standing. The Chief, a massive man by the name of Gether, walked out of the Hall, his head turning as he swept the damage. After a few minutes, he turned around and started to order specific people to specific tasks. The teens were assigned to clean up, cleaning the broken wood and bent metal of the houses. Leo pushed past Zyon, bumping his shoulder hard. Glaring after the boy, he rubbed his shoulder. Maria sent him a sorry look before running after her brother. A grin split his face as he watched her yell at him, a cowed look on his face. Heather walked past him, her thick hair tied into a braid.
"Chief! You need to come see this." Gether turned and ran towards the voice, his eyes panicked. Zyon and Maria looked at each other before following. When they got there, the problem was clear. Half of the armory was destroyed, weapons and shields lying around. Maria yelped and ran forwards. Zyon knew exactly what she was looking for and why she was so desperate. Her mother had gifted her a pair of swords just before she died when Maria was five. Ever since, they had barely left her side when she was off the island. The swords were a pair of dual broadswords, a type of blade the was like a pair of identical twins. So similar yet so different. She was actually very good with them. A triumphant and relieved yell from the wrecked building.
"I'm so glad these swords survived the flood. As you know, they're precious to me." Zyon grinned and turned, his dark eyes sparkling. While neither of them had feelings for the other, in these two years they had become like family. He turned and followed after her, grabbing at the swords. As the night turned to day and the day dragged on, the weapons gradually got repaired and replenished. Zyon looked around as he sat on the ground with the rest of the teens on their break. He looked around and spotted the blacksmith heading towards the forge. He stood up and chased after the man. Once he reached the forge, he could see the blacksmith working on a combination weapon, a particular one with a sword on one end and an axe on the other. The sword blade was made of a jet black stone while the axe head was made of a pale material that gleamed in the sun. He recognized the metal as a type of strengthened silver. The blacksmith looked up and grinned.
"Oh, Zyon, you're right on time. I just finished your weapon. Here." Zyon grinned and grabbed the large blade. The foot-long handle between the two heads was made of gold with small beads of obsidian inlaid to help with grip. The blade itself was about two feet long with a flat edge while the axe was round with a gap between the two top points. Both were extremely sharp and gleamed. The blacksmith handed Zyon the sheathe for the large weapon, cleverly disguised as a modest axe sheathe. Strapping it on, the weight felt good and the strapping was solid and sturdy. Zyon grinned and thanked the man.
"Hey, Zyon. Everyone's going out hunting. Want to come along?" He looked up to see Sapphire staring at him.
"No thanks, Saph. I'm going to go break in my new weapon." She smiled and nodded. Zyon headed towards the kill ring.