Thunder crashed and lightning split the sky. The blue haired young man
found himself in the middle of where, he couldn't distinguish. All he knew
was he was soaked, tired, and being pursued. Suddenly trees behind him
started to snap, and break, and he turned to watch them, then fled in
terror. Branches whipped past him, hitting him with backward recoils as he
pushed farther and farther from whatever he was trying to escape. Thorns
slashed at him, cutting and bruising him, yet he didn't care. All he knew
was he had to get away. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a cliff rose up from out
of the blue. Stopping, the young man just prevented himself from running
off the precipice that threatened to dash him on thousands of jagged rocks
below. Suddenly, A roar split the sky, and the young man turned to face
whatever was chasing him, fear livid and alive in his eyes. A crack of
thunder and flash of lightning revealed the menace as it burst through the
trees. A Dragon, well over 30 feet stood there, teeth bared, talons
flashing menacingly. Slowly it advanced, and the young man backed away,
yelping almost,
"W…what do you want! get…away from..!!!"
He never got to finish the sentence; he had run out of room and time. Slowly he began his downward plummet off the cliff, he barely had time to scream. Everything went black.
Ryu sat up with a start, sweat beading on his forehead. The dream again, the forest…cliff…everything as it had been a few nights before. He shivered as he remembered the most horrifying part of all…the Dragon…the giant Dragon. Hopping out of bed, he stretched with a yawn. The sun was just rising, and Ryu soon forgot the fears and dreads from last night as soon as its pure, clean light bathed him in its warm glow from his window. Smiling to himself Ryu got dressed and washed up for breakfast. With an invigorated "Wahoo!" Ryu hopped onto the banister leading down the stairs and surfed his way down. Landing with a nice front flip, Ryu walked into the kitchen, where his Grandmother was cooking a cake for his sixteenth birthday.
"Hey that looks good gramma!" Ryu said as he leaned over to try and get a taste.
"Hey! Watch it young fella!" his grandma retorted as she gave him a firm whack! On the hand with the wooden spoon.
Ryu grinned as he pulled his hand away and replied, "Sorry gramma Lida, I guess I got a bit carried away…"
Lida chuckled. Ryu in his age still hadn't lost the usual rambunctious ness of his early youth as a small kid full of energy and questions. Time had flown, and despite the sleepy village where they lived, Kyria, seemed oblivious to it, it still showed its effects on the people. Lida stopped her trip down memory lane just in time to stop Ryu again from trying to sneak another taste. Sighing she replied,
"Alright you, take some fruit from the basket and be off for awhile I need to finish this!"
Nodding Ryu replied,
"Sure, I'll see ya later!"
And with that, he was gone even before Lida could get the words, "and try to stay out of trouble this time…" out of her mouth.
Ryu dashed out of the house and into the streets. Despite today being a weekday, things still were oddly quiet, the markets not as usually busy. The Manillo traders stood there idly chatting to themselves, and if a potential customer came by they eagerly scrambled for that persons business...and money. The village was home to quite a few clans, however, humans were the most dominant. Ryu knew that the lowest clan population was the Worens and the Angels, as both had cities of their own. Wyndia was located quite a few hundred miles from his sleepy hamlet, but he had been there, shopping with Lida once or twice when he was younger. Worent, however, he had never been to. He had heard stories from the Manillo's that despite their fierce demeanors, the Worens were actually a rather nice race, and they only fought in self-defense. They were, however, hot under the color, so to speak, and could be angered easily. There was one race that Ryu heard very little of…and only in stories and myths the villagers passed down. The Brood. Supposedly they had been a race of people possessing the power of Dragons. The ability to command, and even change into these magnificent beasts at will was something he had heard they could accomplish, and he wondered how they could remain sane or not let so much power corrupt them. Shuddering, he remembered his dream, of the Dragon...tall, mighty...dangerous. Sighing, he was about to go into the row of shops to pick up something he might like, when suddenly he heard familiar female voice behind him say,
"Hello Ryu…"
Turning around confirmed his suspicions, and he replied,
"H…hi Kira…"
That was all he could get out before both were locked in a passionate embrace that was followed up by a fierce kiss.
Kira…what could Ryu say about her? She was a raven-haired beauty, she was smart, could out-bargain even the stingy Manillo, and she...she was his everything. The two had met about three years ago. She had moved into the neighborhood, and was looking for someone to show her around. She literally had "bumped" into Ryu. He was immediately smitten with her, and it could show. From that day on, he had been quite tame around her, and everyone noticed. Even his friends Kray and Faren teased him constantly about it. But it didn't matter to Ryu, she, when she was around, was all that mattered...
Ryu pulled out of the kiss nearly breathless, he still hadn't gotten used to the way she kissed, but still he enjoyed it. Smiling Kira replied,
"So how's my blue haired bimbo been?" She ruffled his blue hair affectionately.
Ryu grinned his usual grin and replied,
"The usual…lonely, suffering, in agony when not with you."
Kira giggled, replying,
"Ryu, you big tease…"
Ryu rolled his eyes in his usual affectionate matter, and stuck his tongue out at her.
"Nyah, well, of course…where would you be without me?"
Kira giggled flirtatiously leaning into his arms once more replying,
"The same as you, lost, lonely…in agony…" and with that she kissed him again.
Reluctantly Ryu broke the kiss, still grinning, saying,
"Hey you coming to the party this afternoon...I saw gramma baking what looks like a really good cake…"
"Course Ryu," Kira replied with a wink,
"I wouldn't miss your birthday if the world was ending around me."
Chuckling Ryu replied,
"Aw well, if it was the end of the world, I couldn't think of a better place to be than around you, even if it wasn't my birthday."
Kira smiled and fluffed his blue hair once again, then fell alongside him. They soon reached the shop row, just a short walk away from where they had met.
"So why you here? Thought you had chores to do?" Ryu asked.
Kira shrugged, "Eh, I decided to get away for awhile...slipped out, my parents still are sleeping." She giggled, then frowned a bit, "Speaking of sleeping, I heard rumors that you were having trouble sleeping…"
Ryu stopped dead in his tracks. Who would know? It was not possible...others knew of his dreams? But how could that be? They were just that, HIS dreams, nobody else's.
"Ryu?" Kira's worried voice and look broke him from his trance.
"W-w-who told you that?!" he snapped, and Kira looked startled, even afraid of his sudden, almost violent retort. Then, suddenly, Ryu realized what he had done. Regaining his color, he immediately apologized to her.
"Sorry Kira…I guess I haven't been…myself lately…lack of sleep I guess."
Kira nodded, a bit meekly he could tell, and soon had her head snuggled up even closer than before against his shoulder. Sighing, Ryu stroked her black hair quietly, and the two lovers continued their walk, quiet for some time.
Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end. After an hour of walking, and usual closeness Ryu bid goodbye to Kira, who had to go back home to do some more chores that she had forgot about in her time with him. Sighing Ryu felt the empty void that only she could fill return, and with that he decided to go see his friends. After a few minutes of walking, Ryu reached Kray and Faren's house. Krays family had died when he was little so Faren's family had adopted the young Woren into their home. He was an armful, but still fun to be around. Knocking on the side of the open door, Ryu peeked his head in saying, "Hello, anyone home?" Faren's mother Loren soon answered the door, and smiled as soon as she saw Ryu's familiar face.
"Come in Ryu, the boys are in the den wrestling," she said with her usual gusto, "Careful though! You know that Kray and his strength!"
Ryu nodded, and smiled a bit to himself when he remembered what Kray did last time they wrestled. Kray had been winning, like always, when Ryu had jumped him from behind. Kray taken totally by surprise had immediately gone on the alert, his Woren fur immediately sticking up on end. This in turn, made him look incredibly funny and both Ryu and Faren had cracked up at their puffball friend. Suddenly he heard a yelp and went down the hall quickly to see what was up. What he saw was almost as funny as Kray puffed up. Kray had pinned Faren under his weight. Sitting on Faren's back he was also tickling Faren's nose with his tail in a slow and very torturous tickle torture. Ryu burst into laughter. Faren howled as Kray continued to tickle,
"Not funny Ahaha! Ryu! Help! Hehehe! Hahaha!"
Soon after, Faren yielded, the tickling becoming too much. Chuckling Ryu walked up to Kray and replied,
"Well, that's a new one, frankly if that had been me, I'd a bitten it off."
Kray chuckled a bit breathlessly and said with his usual lopsided grin,
"You bite, you die."
Ryu laughed replying, "Oh yeah!? C'mon!"
And with that he lunged at his friend. Soon Ryu and Kray were laughing and rolling around, each frantically trying to wrestle the other into submission. It wasn't long before the inevitable happened. Kray, being the strongest quickly wrestled Ryu into a lock, and down Ryu went, hitting the floor with a resounding THUD! Faren, who had been watching, cracked up again, as Ryu had landed face first.
` After the boys had gathered their breath, and regained their composure they immediately went into the kitchen, the match having worked up their appetites. Loren, ever ready, had prepared quite a heart meal for them and they ate well. While they were eating, Kray, ever mischievous brought out the inevitable question.
"Hey Ryu, talked to Kiiirraaa todaaayyy?" and with that he burst into laughter.
Faren followed up his friends tease by making kissy faces and taunting,
"Ryu and Kiraaaaaaaaaa sitting in a tree!"
Ryu sighed, mumbling,
"Yeah well, I don't see you two with girlfriends..."
Kray and Faren immediately stopped teasing him, but both were still grinning ear to ear.
Loren walked in chuckling, saying,
"Boys, be nice to Ryu, I think its sweet that he's got someone to love…plus it helps keep him out of trouble…" and with that she shot an glance at Faren who flushed deep red and sunk lower into his chair.
It was Ryu's turn to laugh, and soon all three of the friends were chuckling and telling jokes they had heard recently. Most were pretty lewd, but that was normal. Soon the sun started sinking into the horizon and Ryu bid his friends a goodbye. Kray and Faren saw him off, telling him,
"We'll see you later tonight at your birthday party Ryu!" and of course Kray threw in the usual sling about Kira being there.
Ryu rolled his eyes and waved goodbye to his friends. Walking along quietly, Ryu pondered what had been bothering him since earlier that morning.
Muttering to himself Ryu said,
"How does Kira know what's going through my head...she said someone told her, but no-one can read minds here...it just doesn't make any sense!"
He got home shortly after, still fuming and puzzling over the strangeness and awkwardness of it. His grandma was waiting patiently at the front door. When she saw Ryu she said,
"Ah, Ryu, there you are! Been wondering where you were, come on, help me with the room."
Ryu nodded and followed his grandmother into the room she had been preparing for his birthday. Looking around Ryu was dazzled to see how neat his grandmother had made everything. Ryu grinned and looked at his grandma.
"Gramma, this…this is great! How'd you manage to get all this ready in just one day!?"
Grinning his grandmother replied,
"Oh the usual elbow grease, a little cleaner here, a bit of mopping and sweeping there, you know, the usual deal."
Ryu nodded, still amazed that his grandma could still clean like there was no tomorrow. Ryu was brought back from admiration as Lida's voice said behind him,
"Oh Ryu, I need you to run an errand for me...in the hills are some sweet berries that I'm running in low supply of, can you go pick some for me?"
Nodding Ryu replied,
"Sure Gramma, I'll be back in a few!" With that he picked up the nearby basket and headed out.
Walking alone into the setting sun gave Ryu time to reflect on many things that had happened in his life. However, before he even got a chance to really reflect or ponder anything that crossed his mind a gruff voice spoke to him.
"Hey kid…which way to Kyria?" Looking up, Ryu came face to face with a horde of Imperial soldiers. Ryu's mind raced as he muttered,
"Imperials…what are Imperials doing here?!"
The Imperial looked down at Ryu, narrowing his eyes saying again,
"Hey squirt I asked you a question! Now are you going to answer or do I have to make you tell me!"
Chuckles rose up through the ranks of soldiers alongside the man, but he silenced them with a wave of his hand. Ryu's eyes darted quickly, surveying their numbers, too many to take, he didn't stand a chance, not without help. Sighing he gave in,
"Kyria's just south of here...it would help if you followed the road..." He answered a bit snidely.
The mounted Imperial smirked and replied, "Good whelp…thanks for the instructions little man…"
With that he chuckled one of the most sinister chuckles Ryu had ever heard and waved his men onward. Watching them go Ryu felt his spine shiver, he didn't like Imperials, nobody did, they were cold, cruel, and ruthless, and supposedly very, VERY ambitious. Sighing Ryu puzzled why the Imperials wanted Kyria, it was just a small town, owing its allegiance to nobody. Soon, he got to the berry bushes. Quietly he started picking berries, but something was nagging him, something in the back of his head telling him to go back home, that everything was not well. Looking up from where he was picking berries, Ryu looked toward Kyria. Everything wasn't all right, in fact, something was wrong, smoke was curling into the sky, and it wasn't from the village chimneys. Dropping the basket, Ryu shouted, "Grandma!" and dashed back toward town.
The town was in blazes. Fire poured from windows and roared down the street as it quickly devoured straw roof from shops, and anything else that would burn. The acrid smell of smoke choked Ryu as he came closer and it stung his eyes. Looking around Ryu forced himself into the blaze yelling,
"Gramma where are you! Gramma!"
Coughing, Ryu pushed himself further into the fire, however since he was not made to whether effects of fire, Ryu soon felt himself growing weak in the knees and dizzy in the head. However, Ryu stubbornly pushed on, refusing to give up. Soon he reached what had been his house. Flames roared all around him yet he went in. The heat was intense, it licked at him hungrily, eager to devour more than just wood and normal flammable material. Yelling at the top of his lungs Ryu screamed,
"Gramma! WHERE ARE YOU!"
There was no answer. Only the crackling of flames greeted him. Suddenly something creaked above him, and Ryu hightailed it out of the house. Seconds later with a terrific roar of crumbling material the entire building collapsed as fire devoured the very supports that had held it up. Ryu coughed some more and fell to a knee.
"I'm going to die here," he thought. Then suddenly, something else in his mind clicked telling him,
"NO! You cannot die now! This is NOT your destiny!"
Coughing Ryu couldn't tell one thing from another, but he pulled all his strength together and ran for the exit, the fire chasing after him greedily, eager to devour more and more. Just seconds after Ryu passed through the gate, it too fell apart, blocking all chances for escape for those still trapped inside, if there were any still alive. Ryu watched weakly as the only home he had ever known was slowly consumed by the ravages of the fire. Suddenly, Ryu heard a cackling behind him. It was the same Imperial Commander he had met only a few minutes before. Ryu tried to get to his feet, but escaping the flames had sapped most of his strength, and so he slumped down again, tired and exhausted. The Commander came up to Ryu, the same smirk on his face that he had when he had first asked for directions.
"So," he started, "it looks like blue boy survived…I should've killed you after getting directions from you…luckily I can correct that mistake now."
With a sinister smile he unsheathed his sword and started advancing on the weakened youth. Ryu, now fighting back tears as memories came flooding back of all his friends cried out,
"Why you bastard! WHY! We never did anything to you!"
The Imperial stopped for a second, the sinister smile not leaving his lips as he replied,
"We were ordered to find Dragons, by any means possible, burning this trash heap of a town leaves nobody to spread rumors of what we're up to...but that doesn't matter anymore…now that you're going to die anyways!"
Ryu clenched at the sand, everyone he had known, loved and cherished was gone and it was all the Imperials fault their entire fault!!! Realizing the commander was raising his sword; ready to kill him was the final straw. Ryu screamed, but it was the most unearthly scream he had ever heard coming out of his own lips. It sounded like a monster in agony, more terrible than a mortal wound. Suddenly blinding, white-hot pain took over, and everything went black, the commander's sword never even had time to fall.
Ryu's transformation began immediately. The ground shook as immense power pulsed from Ryu's body, and began to rumble as a huge ball of flame covered Ryu. In a matter of seconds the shaking was over, but the worst was still to come. Out of the fire came an un-earthly roar, and followed by the roar an immense Dragon burst from the flames. Its scales were of the purest white, talons as sharp as the sharpest blade, and power as immense as a God. The Commander stood looking at the Dragon, murmured the words,
"The boy...he's a Dragon?! Not possible!"
They were the last things he ever said. With another roar the Dragon went berserk. With a swoop of its talons, the commander was quickly torn asunder, his body ripped to shreds. The other Imperials, hearing all the commotion came to see what was the matter, and when they saw the Dragon realized their fates were to die as well. The Imperials puny and significant lives were snuffed out as the Dragon let loose with a slew of magic abilities untapped by mortal man. Superior Simoon and Mjollnier spells slashed away at the men and they died slow and painfully, their bodies vaporized to nothingness by the magical onslaught. The Dragon roared again its appetite not yet satiated by the destruction it had caused. It needed more blood; it needed to kill again! With another unearthly howl it turned its attention on a nearby group of travelers camped out for the night. They too died quickly, the Dragon tearing through their camp like a hot knife through butter. Within seconds everyone around had been incinerated by the massive outflow of energy caused by a Dragons Breath attack, and if not then, by the gigantic explosion that followed. The Dragon, energy running low, returned to the ruins of Kyria. Settling down, it laid its head down on the charred ruins of what had been Kira's house. Something that seemed to glisten like a jewel fell from the Dragons eye, and it let out one more mournful cry before its eyes slid shut, its breathing slowing to nearly nothing, and as the sun rose over the horizon, the Dragon slept.
"W…what do you want! get…away from..!!!"
He never got to finish the sentence; he had run out of room and time. Slowly he began his downward plummet off the cliff, he barely had time to scream. Everything went black.
Ryu sat up with a start, sweat beading on his forehead. The dream again, the forest…cliff…everything as it had been a few nights before. He shivered as he remembered the most horrifying part of all…the Dragon…the giant Dragon. Hopping out of bed, he stretched with a yawn. The sun was just rising, and Ryu soon forgot the fears and dreads from last night as soon as its pure, clean light bathed him in its warm glow from his window. Smiling to himself Ryu got dressed and washed up for breakfast. With an invigorated "Wahoo!" Ryu hopped onto the banister leading down the stairs and surfed his way down. Landing with a nice front flip, Ryu walked into the kitchen, where his Grandmother was cooking a cake for his sixteenth birthday.
"Hey that looks good gramma!" Ryu said as he leaned over to try and get a taste.
"Hey! Watch it young fella!" his grandma retorted as she gave him a firm whack! On the hand with the wooden spoon.
Ryu grinned as he pulled his hand away and replied, "Sorry gramma Lida, I guess I got a bit carried away…"
Lida chuckled. Ryu in his age still hadn't lost the usual rambunctious ness of his early youth as a small kid full of energy and questions. Time had flown, and despite the sleepy village where they lived, Kyria, seemed oblivious to it, it still showed its effects on the people. Lida stopped her trip down memory lane just in time to stop Ryu again from trying to sneak another taste. Sighing she replied,
"Alright you, take some fruit from the basket and be off for awhile I need to finish this!"
Nodding Ryu replied,
"Sure, I'll see ya later!"
And with that, he was gone even before Lida could get the words, "and try to stay out of trouble this time…" out of her mouth.
Ryu dashed out of the house and into the streets. Despite today being a weekday, things still were oddly quiet, the markets not as usually busy. The Manillo traders stood there idly chatting to themselves, and if a potential customer came by they eagerly scrambled for that persons business...and money. The village was home to quite a few clans, however, humans were the most dominant. Ryu knew that the lowest clan population was the Worens and the Angels, as both had cities of their own. Wyndia was located quite a few hundred miles from his sleepy hamlet, but he had been there, shopping with Lida once or twice when he was younger. Worent, however, he had never been to. He had heard stories from the Manillo's that despite their fierce demeanors, the Worens were actually a rather nice race, and they only fought in self-defense. They were, however, hot under the color, so to speak, and could be angered easily. There was one race that Ryu heard very little of…and only in stories and myths the villagers passed down. The Brood. Supposedly they had been a race of people possessing the power of Dragons. The ability to command, and even change into these magnificent beasts at will was something he had heard they could accomplish, and he wondered how they could remain sane or not let so much power corrupt them. Shuddering, he remembered his dream, of the Dragon...tall, mighty...dangerous. Sighing, he was about to go into the row of shops to pick up something he might like, when suddenly he heard familiar female voice behind him say,
"Hello Ryu…"
Turning around confirmed his suspicions, and he replied,
"H…hi Kira…"
That was all he could get out before both were locked in a passionate embrace that was followed up by a fierce kiss.
Kira…what could Ryu say about her? She was a raven-haired beauty, she was smart, could out-bargain even the stingy Manillo, and she...she was his everything. The two had met about three years ago. She had moved into the neighborhood, and was looking for someone to show her around. She literally had "bumped" into Ryu. He was immediately smitten with her, and it could show. From that day on, he had been quite tame around her, and everyone noticed. Even his friends Kray and Faren teased him constantly about it. But it didn't matter to Ryu, she, when she was around, was all that mattered...
Ryu pulled out of the kiss nearly breathless, he still hadn't gotten used to the way she kissed, but still he enjoyed it. Smiling Kira replied,
"So how's my blue haired bimbo been?" She ruffled his blue hair affectionately.
Ryu grinned his usual grin and replied,
"The usual…lonely, suffering, in agony when not with you."
Kira giggled, replying,
"Ryu, you big tease…"
Ryu rolled his eyes in his usual affectionate matter, and stuck his tongue out at her.
"Nyah, well, of course…where would you be without me?"
Kira giggled flirtatiously leaning into his arms once more replying,
"The same as you, lost, lonely…in agony…" and with that she kissed him again.
Reluctantly Ryu broke the kiss, still grinning, saying,
"Hey you coming to the party this afternoon...I saw gramma baking what looks like a really good cake…"
"Course Ryu," Kira replied with a wink,
"I wouldn't miss your birthday if the world was ending around me."
Chuckling Ryu replied,
"Aw well, if it was the end of the world, I couldn't think of a better place to be than around you, even if it wasn't my birthday."
Kira smiled and fluffed his blue hair once again, then fell alongside him. They soon reached the shop row, just a short walk away from where they had met.
"So why you here? Thought you had chores to do?" Ryu asked.
Kira shrugged, "Eh, I decided to get away for awhile...slipped out, my parents still are sleeping." She giggled, then frowned a bit, "Speaking of sleeping, I heard rumors that you were having trouble sleeping…"
Ryu stopped dead in his tracks. Who would know? It was not possible...others knew of his dreams? But how could that be? They were just that, HIS dreams, nobody else's.
"Ryu?" Kira's worried voice and look broke him from his trance.
"W-w-who told you that?!" he snapped, and Kira looked startled, even afraid of his sudden, almost violent retort. Then, suddenly, Ryu realized what he had done. Regaining his color, he immediately apologized to her.
"Sorry Kira…I guess I haven't been…myself lately…lack of sleep I guess."
Kira nodded, a bit meekly he could tell, and soon had her head snuggled up even closer than before against his shoulder. Sighing, Ryu stroked her black hair quietly, and the two lovers continued their walk, quiet for some time.
Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end. After an hour of walking, and usual closeness Ryu bid goodbye to Kira, who had to go back home to do some more chores that she had forgot about in her time with him. Sighing Ryu felt the empty void that only she could fill return, and with that he decided to go see his friends. After a few minutes of walking, Ryu reached Kray and Faren's house. Krays family had died when he was little so Faren's family had adopted the young Woren into their home. He was an armful, but still fun to be around. Knocking on the side of the open door, Ryu peeked his head in saying, "Hello, anyone home?" Faren's mother Loren soon answered the door, and smiled as soon as she saw Ryu's familiar face.
"Come in Ryu, the boys are in the den wrestling," she said with her usual gusto, "Careful though! You know that Kray and his strength!"
Ryu nodded, and smiled a bit to himself when he remembered what Kray did last time they wrestled. Kray had been winning, like always, when Ryu had jumped him from behind. Kray taken totally by surprise had immediately gone on the alert, his Woren fur immediately sticking up on end. This in turn, made him look incredibly funny and both Ryu and Faren had cracked up at their puffball friend. Suddenly he heard a yelp and went down the hall quickly to see what was up. What he saw was almost as funny as Kray puffed up. Kray had pinned Faren under his weight. Sitting on Faren's back he was also tickling Faren's nose with his tail in a slow and very torturous tickle torture. Ryu burst into laughter. Faren howled as Kray continued to tickle,
"Not funny Ahaha! Ryu! Help! Hehehe! Hahaha!"
Soon after, Faren yielded, the tickling becoming too much. Chuckling Ryu walked up to Kray and replied,
"Well, that's a new one, frankly if that had been me, I'd a bitten it off."
Kray chuckled a bit breathlessly and said with his usual lopsided grin,
"You bite, you die."
Ryu laughed replying, "Oh yeah!? C'mon!"
And with that he lunged at his friend. Soon Ryu and Kray were laughing and rolling around, each frantically trying to wrestle the other into submission. It wasn't long before the inevitable happened. Kray, being the strongest quickly wrestled Ryu into a lock, and down Ryu went, hitting the floor with a resounding THUD! Faren, who had been watching, cracked up again, as Ryu had landed face first.
` After the boys had gathered their breath, and regained their composure they immediately went into the kitchen, the match having worked up their appetites. Loren, ever ready, had prepared quite a heart meal for them and they ate well. While they were eating, Kray, ever mischievous brought out the inevitable question.
"Hey Ryu, talked to Kiiirraaa todaaayyy?" and with that he burst into laughter.
Faren followed up his friends tease by making kissy faces and taunting,
"Ryu and Kiraaaaaaaaaa sitting in a tree!"
Ryu sighed, mumbling,
"Yeah well, I don't see you two with girlfriends..."
Kray and Faren immediately stopped teasing him, but both were still grinning ear to ear.
Loren walked in chuckling, saying,
"Boys, be nice to Ryu, I think its sweet that he's got someone to love…plus it helps keep him out of trouble…" and with that she shot an glance at Faren who flushed deep red and sunk lower into his chair.
It was Ryu's turn to laugh, and soon all three of the friends were chuckling and telling jokes they had heard recently. Most were pretty lewd, but that was normal. Soon the sun started sinking into the horizon and Ryu bid his friends a goodbye. Kray and Faren saw him off, telling him,
"We'll see you later tonight at your birthday party Ryu!" and of course Kray threw in the usual sling about Kira being there.
Ryu rolled his eyes and waved goodbye to his friends. Walking along quietly, Ryu pondered what had been bothering him since earlier that morning.
Muttering to himself Ryu said,
"How does Kira know what's going through my head...she said someone told her, but no-one can read minds here...it just doesn't make any sense!"
He got home shortly after, still fuming and puzzling over the strangeness and awkwardness of it. His grandma was waiting patiently at the front door. When she saw Ryu she said,
"Ah, Ryu, there you are! Been wondering where you were, come on, help me with the room."
Ryu nodded and followed his grandmother into the room she had been preparing for his birthday. Looking around Ryu was dazzled to see how neat his grandmother had made everything. Ryu grinned and looked at his grandma.
"Gramma, this…this is great! How'd you manage to get all this ready in just one day!?"
Grinning his grandmother replied,
"Oh the usual elbow grease, a little cleaner here, a bit of mopping and sweeping there, you know, the usual deal."
Ryu nodded, still amazed that his grandma could still clean like there was no tomorrow. Ryu was brought back from admiration as Lida's voice said behind him,
"Oh Ryu, I need you to run an errand for me...in the hills are some sweet berries that I'm running in low supply of, can you go pick some for me?"
Nodding Ryu replied,
"Sure Gramma, I'll be back in a few!" With that he picked up the nearby basket and headed out.
Walking alone into the setting sun gave Ryu time to reflect on many things that had happened in his life. However, before he even got a chance to really reflect or ponder anything that crossed his mind a gruff voice spoke to him.
"Hey kid…which way to Kyria?" Looking up, Ryu came face to face with a horde of Imperial soldiers. Ryu's mind raced as he muttered,
"Imperials…what are Imperials doing here?!"
The Imperial looked down at Ryu, narrowing his eyes saying again,
"Hey squirt I asked you a question! Now are you going to answer or do I have to make you tell me!"
Chuckles rose up through the ranks of soldiers alongside the man, but he silenced them with a wave of his hand. Ryu's eyes darted quickly, surveying their numbers, too many to take, he didn't stand a chance, not without help. Sighing he gave in,
"Kyria's just south of here...it would help if you followed the road..." He answered a bit snidely.
The mounted Imperial smirked and replied, "Good whelp…thanks for the instructions little man…"
With that he chuckled one of the most sinister chuckles Ryu had ever heard and waved his men onward. Watching them go Ryu felt his spine shiver, he didn't like Imperials, nobody did, they were cold, cruel, and ruthless, and supposedly very, VERY ambitious. Sighing Ryu puzzled why the Imperials wanted Kyria, it was just a small town, owing its allegiance to nobody. Soon, he got to the berry bushes. Quietly he started picking berries, but something was nagging him, something in the back of his head telling him to go back home, that everything was not well. Looking up from where he was picking berries, Ryu looked toward Kyria. Everything wasn't all right, in fact, something was wrong, smoke was curling into the sky, and it wasn't from the village chimneys. Dropping the basket, Ryu shouted, "Grandma!" and dashed back toward town.
The town was in blazes. Fire poured from windows and roared down the street as it quickly devoured straw roof from shops, and anything else that would burn. The acrid smell of smoke choked Ryu as he came closer and it stung his eyes. Looking around Ryu forced himself into the blaze yelling,
"Gramma where are you! Gramma!"
Coughing, Ryu pushed himself further into the fire, however since he was not made to whether effects of fire, Ryu soon felt himself growing weak in the knees and dizzy in the head. However, Ryu stubbornly pushed on, refusing to give up. Soon he reached what had been his house. Flames roared all around him yet he went in. The heat was intense, it licked at him hungrily, eager to devour more than just wood and normal flammable material. Yelling at the top of his lungs Ryu screamed,
"Gramma! WHERE ARE YOU!"
There was no answer. Only the crackling of flames greeted him. Suddenly something creaked above him, and Ryu hightailed it out of the house. Seconds later with a terrific roar of crumbling material the entire building collapsed as fire devoured the very supports that had held it up. Ryu coughed some more and fell to a knee.
"I'm going to die here," he thought. Then suddenly, something else in his mind clicked telling him,
"NO! You cannot die now! This is NOT your destiny!"
Coughing Ryu couldn't tell one thing from another, but he pulled all his strength together and ran for the exit, the fire chasing after him greedily, eager to devour more and more. Just seconds after Ryu passed through the gate, it too fell apart, blocking all chances for escape for those still trapped inside, if there were any still alive. Ryu watched weakly as the only home he had ever known was slowly consumed by the ravages of the fire. Suddenly, Ryu heard a cackling behind him. It was the same Imperial Commander he had met only a few minutes before. Ryu tried to get to his feet, but escaping the flames had sapped most of his strength, and so he slumped down again, tired and exhausted. The Commander came up to Ryu, the same smirk on his face that he had when he had first asked for directions.
"So," he started, "it looks like blue boy survived…I should've killed you after getting directions from you…luckily I can correct that mistake now."
With a sinister smile he unsheathed his sword and started advancing on the weakened youth. Ryu, now fighting back tears as memories came flooding back of all his friends cried out,
"Why you bastard! WHY! We never did anything to you!"
The Imperial stopped for a second, the sinister smile not leaving his lips as he replied,
"We were ordered to find Dragons, by any means possible, burning this trash heap of a town leaves nobody to spread rumors of what we're up to...but that doesn't matter anymore…now that you're going to die anyways!"
Ryu clenched at the sand, everyone he had known, loved and cherished was gone and it was all the Imperials fault their entire fault!!! Realizing the commander was raising his sword; ready to kill him was the final straw. Ryu screamed, but it was the most unearthly scream he had ever heard coming out of his own lips. It sounded like a monster in agony, more terrible than a mortal wound. Suddenly blinding, white-hot pain took over, and everything went black, the commander's sword never even had time to fall.
Ryu's transformation began immediately. The ground shook as immense power pulsed from Ryu's body, and began to rumble as a huge ball of flame covered Ryu. In a matter of seconds the shaking was over, but the worst was still to come. Out of the fire came an un-earthly roar, and followed by the roar an immense Dragon burst from the flames. Its scales were of the purest white, talons as sharp as the sharpest blade, and power as immense as a God. The Commander stood looking at the Dragon, murmured the words,
"The boy...he's a Dragon?! Not possible!"
They were the last things he ever said. With another roar the Dragon went berserk. With a swoop of its talons, the commander was quickly torn asunder, his body ripped to shreds. The other Imperials, hearing all the commotion came to see what was the matter, and when they saw the Dragon realized their fates were to die as well. The Imperials puny and significant lives were snuffed out as the Dragon let loose with a slew of magic abilities untapped by mortal man. Superior Simoon and Mjollnier spells slashed away at the men and they died slow and painfully, their bodies vaporized to nothingness by the magical onslaught. The Dragon roared again its appetite not yet satiated by the destruction it had caused. It needed more blood; it needed to kill again! With another unearthly howl it turned its attention on a nearby group of travelers camped out for the night. They too died quickly, the Dragon tearing through their camp like a hot knife through butter. Within seconds everyone around had been incinerated by the massive outflow of energy caused by a Dragons Breath attack, and if not then, by the gigantic explosion that followed. The Dragon, energy running low, returned to the ruins of Kyria. Settling down, it laid its head down on the charred ruins of what had been Kira's house. Something that seemed to glisten like a jewel fell from the Dragons eye, and it let out one more mournful cry before its eyes slid shut, its breathing slowing to nearly nothing, and as the sun rose over the horizon, the Dragon slept.