Step Seven: Alightment

Humans will become gossipers. This intention to ruin others' lives by the mere exchanging of words is mainly what will cause the downfall of, quite possibly, the human race as a whole. The ability to do this soon becomes a normality for people who have let others belittle them by the same 'art'. She looked at the rising sun as it came up over the horizon. Her tears fell into her hands, sliding into the ground. She screamed at the vastness of the sky as she gritted her teeth and stood. Nore looked down the long, country path that she had only seen as a line of dirt beneath her for all her life. The trees lining it swayed gently in the autumn breeze. She stood at the beginning of it, unable to move. Finally, sighing heavily and tolling her last Draconian words, she started walking. She drew the hood over her face where no one could see her face. Then an idea came into her head. Humans lived here…the ones that had murdered her family. She smiled a little and continued. The breeze didn't bring a smile to her face as she thought of her father and her family at home. She wondered what was happening and tried to search out one of their minds, but High Home was to far away for her to reach them. She seemed to walk for hours when she finally came to tall, stone walls. She stared up at them, shielding her eyes from the sun. Two guards were walking along the wall as the giant wooden gates opened and another guard stepped out. He approached her with caution as she hid her face under the shadow of the hood. "Who are you and what business have you here?" She stated no reply. "Woman…man…I asked you your name and business in our city." "I wish to rest." She looked at the ground, her voice eerily silent. He nodded and escorted her inside. She snickered as they shut the giant doors. "Tell me guard…what would you do if you saw a dragon?" "I am ordered to slay the foul beast on sight." "Wrong answer…" Nore drew her sword and stabbed the guard without sound nor time to breathe. He fell without anyone seeing as she snuck into the shadows of the tall stone buildings. Wait a minute, she thought, stone? She ignored it for now and sought out another victim. This village was very small and she quickly dropped three more of it's inhabitants. No one seemed to notice. It was a good way to go about it, but it was to slow for her. Stepping into the main road, holding her bloody sword, people stared. Everyone stopped to look and see her. She lifted her head and threw her hand in the air and opened her mouth. She let out a loud chiming noise as a ghostly image unfolded out of her hand. It was giant and it was nothing they had ever seen. The image threw it's arms out and let out a horrid scream. Everyone in the village clamped their hands over their ears as hearts inside chests burst and window shattered. Nore watched with hate as they all slowly died around her. Children cried themselves to death and mother's screamed out their last prayer. Everyone writhed in pain…and died…all around her. She closed her hand and licked her sword clean. "Mmm, you humans have better blood than I thought." She sheathed it, grabbed an apple from a fruit cart and walked down the winding, cobblestone road to the other side of the village. The guards lay on the wall, white eyed. "And now I think my business is done here…" she said as she laid a seed on the ground. She opened the great wooden doors, throwing them into the open plains as the seed spread thin, red roots to anything it could find. As soon as Nore had stepped out of the gate, a waft of wind sped past her and lifted her cloak. The village began to burn…red flames all over. The wind stirred the ash into the air and sent it everywhere. It rained down upon her, burning her face. But it reminded her of home and opened her arms to it. She laughed evilly and spied the guard shack beside the stone wall. A small, scrawny horse was tied to it. She smiled at the animal as she walked towards it. Touching it, it turned into a bright red stallion, with bulging muscles and a bad temper. She hopped into the grand saddle and as she left she muttered, "That's for my uncle…" She kicked the horse as he reared and thundered down the road toward the other villages. She held her hand ready, with giant flames coming forth from them. She would kill all the humans until none remained. But the stone village had baffled her. Humans didn't even know how to properly build a wooden house. She thought about this until she came to the next village. She spied another guard coming out of the open gates to greet her but she pelted him flat with a shot of flame. Everyone in the town ran, screaming the devil had come. Arrows flooded the air but Nore shielded herself with the cloak. They glanced right off as she shot them back. She grinned as the horses' giant hooves echoed on the cobbles. Nore made the village a living Hades. It was a city of fire when she burst through the doors on the other sides. Carcasses of humans littered the main road and laying burning. She cared not. Only waited until she reached the village. But, looking around, she noticed many other advancements. On the horizon, rose a great castle. She stopped the horse and looked. How many years am I? She thought as she calculated in her head. Then she realized the error. She was 1796. Her eyes went wide. They had been killing dragons longer than she thought. In human years she was 1796...but in Draconian years she was 17. This made her anger grow to new heights. The horse grew restless, fueled by her anger. Nore's eyes grew to a fierce glow, one eye red and one eye white. The flame in her hand engulfed her arm, spreading to her shoulder. She raced onto the next village, torching it like the last two. She ran all over the plains, killing village after village of humans…finally reaching the castle.

The guards were in disarray, finally noticing the smoke coming from all their villages. They readied themselves inside the gate, mounting horses and buckling armor. The king was even mounted on his great white mare. He looked at the guards atop the wall as they shouted and pointed. Something was coming. Nore was fast approaching the gates, but stopped a fourth of a mile away. She stood there…on her fire red stallion, waiting for them to come. The guards were baffled. "M'lord, she had stopped her advance." "Who is she?" "I do not know sire. She seems to be a devil or aberration for her arm is aflame." "God help us…" The king signaled for the gates to be opened. Then the knights charged out to meet her. She stood calculating in her head. When they were close enough, she turned into her counterpart…only she chose black. Her massive tail wiped the first line out. The king withdrew himself, surprised by her sudden shape. Horses ran away, dragging their knights with them. Still, most advanced upon her. She shot frozen breath forth from her mouth, making a ton of ice statues before her. She smiled as a knight came behind her and stabbed her horse, bringing it down. He was the only one left…and he stood glaring at her. She glared right back. Baring her teeth, she rushed at him but she somehow missed as the knight stabbed her shoulder with his sword. She roared in pain and let her wings loose. She lazily flapped into the air, turning human with ragged clothes on. Her hand immediately went to cover the deep cut. Blood poured out her fingers. She grit her teeth and looked back. The knight was going to the empty castle. She turned around to make sure everyone except this interesting one, was dead. Surveying the area, she nodded as she saw bodies burnt and mangled. The peculiar one was walking into the castle. She turned invisible and flew in, the doors being open. She alighted on one of the many roof beams and watched him. Her rage to claim his life was great but she knew with a wound there was no way to beat him without her full magic. Somehow he had known she was weak when she had magic on another object. This angered her even more. She finally grew tired of watching him and silently flew out. She flew on and on, still ravaging more villages. But she grew weaker as her supplies diminished and her wound grew infected.

She went on for years, feasting on human bodies and ignoring the many slashes on her arms. The deep one from the knight was badly infected and grew more sickly looking everyday. It was raining now, as she walked down an unknown lands' country road. No village was in sight, her pack was empty and she held her arm. The constant casting had caused her to become very sick. She hadn't slept for fear of being followed and killed…even though she left none alive. The rain pelted at her even though it wasn't a hard rain. Her blood left a trail which she regretted. She finally collapsed in the middle of the road. She almost closed her eyes, but knew she had to get off the road. Nore dragged herself with one arm to the lane and turned into the ditch, safe but she hurt all over. Gritting her teeth, she closed her eyes and drifted into fever dreams. But she was never fully asleep, for when it was well into the night, she felt tiny hands on her shoulder. She blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. When she looked to her left, where her arm had been ravished, she saw a small little boy bandaging it to the best of his ability. She said nothing, only watched his thin form help her. It baffled her so much she dared not alert him. When he was done, he smiled at her. She just blinked at him. "Oh good, you are alive! I am glad of that!" She had no energy to answer. Only nodded slowly. "Aye miss, you are dreadfully hot. Must have caught a cold out here in the rain. Can you stand?" As she tried to, her hood came away, revealing her horns. Quickly her hand flew to them. The small child laughed. "Those are nice! Why do you hide them?" She was surprised once again. Quietly, she muttered, "Aren't you going to kill me?" "Oh no! I would never kill you miss! You're…," he blushed, "to pretty to have such a fate." She smiled softly. He put his tiny hand in hers and helped her up. Her arms felt better and she thanked him for it. Nore mind was curious again. Why didn't I kill him at first sight? He is a human after all, she thought. "C'mon, you can stay with us!" "Us?" "My sister and me! We'd love it if you had supper with us too!" She let him lead her on. For what reason, she knew not. He dragged her up the road a ways then turned into the forest beside the road. It was a sparse forest, not many trees…more like a grassland. Up ahead of them was a small abandoned wooden house. There were rags over the windows and the door was just a large piece of bark. He led her on smiling and singing to himself. I hope he doesn't want to eat me, she though as he opened the door for her. It was very dark but she could make out another small form in the darkness, sitting by a small candle. "Oh Krane! You're back! And you brought a friend!" "Yeah Mary! And guess what! She's gots horns too!" "Neat, may I see miss?" The small little girl, no bigger than the boy came up to her as she knelt down and shined them in the firelight. She ran her little hand over them as her mouth gaped open. "They are lovely lady. Oh, you look hungry! Please, come and eat with us!" She led Nore to the candle and sat down, leaning up against the wall. She was actually smiling. Ok, maybe the little ones aren't so bad, she thought. Mary handed her a piece of bread and a few berries with a wooden bowl of water. The two little kids prayed for a moment and then began eating. The food was not entirely pleasing to her stomach but she ate it anyway. The water was cool in her mouth after burning all those villages. She saw they wore rags, burned a bit and had holes in them. The little girl was in a cotton gown and the little boy had on his working trousers which looked the same as the young girls'. She wondered about the burned spots and finally summed enough energy to speak. "Why do you live here? And why do you wear those clothes…with burns on them?" The two children looked sad as the Krane replied, "Our father and mother were killed. Someone came through on a fire demon and burned the village. We were in the cellar, canning vegetables when we heard mother scream. Mary and me waited for the thunder of hooves to pass then went to go see mama. But when we came up…there was nothing but red fire…and mama wouldn't move. Mary found papa…but he didn't wake up either. So we ran, but the gate was burning. We knew we had to get out because the fire was coming closer to us so we jumped through, burning or clothes a wee bit. We had no food but mama and papa raised us good. So we came here. We had played here a lot and there were serpents and rabbits we could eat if we needed. And that's why miss…" Nore's heart shattered as Mary started to cry. She opened her arms up and wrapped them around her. The little girl clung to her robe and buried her face in it's soft fabric. Krane also came over, careful of her left arm and sat with his sister. They all huddled together as Krane asked, "Will you stay with us miss?" Nore thought about it. She began to cry as well, though Krane did not see for the candle went out. "Yes, I will stay." He smiled and fell asleep beside her. She stayed awake all night. She vowed never to kill again…for she now saw that the humans suffered the same feelings when they lost their family. But sleep did claim her and her eyes lazily shut. She and the children slept the next day as well.

A year had passed and the kids grew healthier with Nore's skilled magic to aid in hunts. There was plenty of food…and plenty of time to play. Nore's arm had healed within the week and now she taught the children little spells. They charmed butterflies to play with and floated above the ground. When Nore had turned into a dragon, they had not been scared. They were playing right outside the house this day, in summer. Nore sat reading and watching them from the step. They played tag and laughed aloud. The day drew on and Nore became more engrossed in her book, almost unaware of the screams. She quickly looked up. A wolf had a hold of Mary's arm and the other two were chasing Krane. Nore dropped her book and tackled the wolf on Mary. Mary sat crying and holding her arms, both bleeding badly. Then she heard Krane screams and saw one of the giant gray bodies pounce on him. Nore's eyes went wide as she watched ragged clothing be thrown into the air. Then his screams stopped. Mary screamed, watching the same horror as Nore. One of the wolves, with a bloody muzzle, came after Mary again. There were to many to protect her from. So Nore grabbed her up and flew into the air. But the wolf caught her ankle on her way up. Nore tolled her dragon bell voice in pain. She quickly turned her head and shot a flame at the wolf. It let go and spun around on the ground, burning to death. The other one still feasted on Krane's little body. Nore heart was aflame. She dove at it with her claws free. She slashed it's shoulder but the one she had tackled, tackled her out of the air, sending her tumbling to the ground. Mary was thrown from her arms, as she lay on the ground. The little girl screamed as Nore finally came two…but no tin time. The greedy wolves maliciously killed Mary and tore her body to shreds. Nore summed up all her strength and ripped them limb from limb. She sat tearing at them until the sun was set. Sitting in the pool of red blood, she breathed slowly. She saw horrid sights of the little ones and turned her head away, sickened at the sight of it. She got up slowly and started digging in front of the house, spilling tears on the tiny graves. When the moon was high, they lay in the ground as she knelt on their graves, clutching fists of fresh dirt. "I can't protect anyone…WHY CAN'T I FIND MY PLACE!!!" She screamed as she got up and ran…she just ran.

She went from village to village, sleeping in stables and in the inn if she had found a few coins. The towns people gossiped about her horns and her weird appearance. Her ears heard it all, but her heart cared not. None knew of her plight and none ever would. She only carried her sword, wore the cloak and Mistress Garb, and carried the journal she had started at Mary and Krane's house. It had been their gift to her when she turned 1897. The mother's shielded curious children's eyes when she offered a kind smile at the children and father's held weapon hilt ready. The made fun at her saying things like 'She-devil has come to us…look at those…those horns!' and 'Good Lord…that hair is unnatural!' Indeed, she did have her mother's hair, bright red but Nore's was straight. Even as she passed through a village, the chased her away, beating her with Holy Books and sticks. The children never came at her, only smiled at her kind face softened with hatred from them. She never hurt them but accepted the punishment. She had read some of these Holy Books and had seen 'thou shalt not kill' right in the front. Nore had decided to give up hate and killing things and accept that being shunned was her punishment for trying to take revenge out on them…even thought she still felt they deserved it. After that village and a lot more years, she was almost 21 Draconian, which meant she was about 2100. She had almost lost track as many dragons did after they were 2000 in human years. She was weary again and but her outer appearance looked perfect. She seemed to be in good health…except for the frown that crossed her face. She saw another village up ahead, surrounded by wooden walls and a giant wooden gate. No one guarded it and doors opened right up. Her heart twisted when she saw a quaint, short path leading to an inn, where many knights, mages, sorcerers, and other people were gathered talking and laughing. Then, as she approached the busy place, she spied a smiling dragon, laying down and talking amongst the villagers as if he was one of them. Her heart jumped and she let a smile cross her face. She walked on past the hanging sign that read 'WELCOME TO THE NAMELESS VILLAGE'