[Started on February 20, 2022]

[21:03 hours, Philippines]

=== (DISCLAIMER/ANNOUNCEMENT) ===

I know nothing of the games. They never intrigued me. I only know things presented in the show of Dragon's Blood. That said, for those who finished its second season, you may or may not know why I was not happy with the ending.

With that said, I have to add at least one OC and one character from another series to make this story into what I like. (Hint: The character from another series is not human and isn't even A main character.)

Also! Functioning armour! You know… armour that actually works? AND battle strategies! Oh yes. You'll probably see a lot of that once I have everything in place.

And as usual with all my works, I detest sticking to canon. What's the point of making fan fiction if you're sticking to the original like glue? We'd be better off just reading/watching the original in that case.

Rambling aside…

I hope ya enjoy!

=== (Prologue) ===

"Davion, Davion, Davion," a man tuts. His face is obscured by a blurry shadow, his body is mostly hidden by a crimson cloak, yet a sword hilt protrudes from the said cloak.

Davion, the poor boy lying on the snow-covered ground, knows that that sword is just one of many that the man carries. The boy, pitiful shape that he's in, looks beyond the man standing over him. "S-sir… Kaden… please tell this guy that I'll die if I continue his training."

Kaden, a man in black armour, hums. Leaning against a tree, he looks at the man in red. "The boy says that he'll die if he continues with your training."

"Nonsense!" The man laughs. "This training is easy!"

"M-my… dying state begs t-to… disagree, Sir."

"Bah, you're not dying," the man in red chuckles as he pops his neck. "Oh, that was louder than usual," he muses absentmindedly. "Anyway, Davion, my boy, my squire. This training? This IS easy. I mean, helloooo? You're fighting a human. Imagine! If you can't survive this, what makes you think you can survive fighting a dragon. You know a dragon, right? Umbrella term for big flying lizards? Things that go roar? Flappity-flap-flap, boom?"

"Yes, ugh," Davion groans.

"Well, great! So? Get up! Dragons won't give you a chance if you freeze, boy-yo! They'll probably eat you for wearing the scales of their kin. Especially those with sentience."

"What?"

"Dragon history lore with someone else! Come on! Let's go! Up-up! Chop-chop!"

"You… You're a damn slave driver!"

"You have time to complain. Now get up. Or I cut your legs and leave you to whatever dragon roams these lands… is it a frost dragon? It has to be a frost dragon, right?"

Davion groans as he looks to the other—more silent—man and asks, "Is he… always this eccentric?"

"Oooooh! Big word! Eccentric! I like this kid. KADEN! I like this kid. Can I keep him?!"

The man in black sighs. "Yes."

"I can?!"

"W-wait! Who did you answer!?"

Kaden, while known for being usually stoic, gives a ghost of a smile. "Yes," and then he leaves.

Unknown to any of them, this act sets forth a ripple that will change the fate of many. Both for better and for worse.

=== (Apprentice of the Eccentric Dragon Knight) ===

=== (Chapter 1: Fated Encounters) ===

On a hilltop, a man in silver and red plate armour watches as an earth dragon tears a bunch of militiamen apart. He sits atop his steed. Behind him is another mounted man atop another horse. "Bram, bow and quivers."

Catching the 200-pound draw-weight composite bow and three fully loaded quivers, the rider in armour sets one quiver to his back hip and the other two to the sides of his steed.

He looks at his squire with a brotherly smile. "Keep close enough and ready my sword and spear." He spurs his mount into the fray. "Hya!"

Galloping down the hill, Davion draws his first arrow. WOOSH! He lets loose, the arrow takes flight.

ROOOOOOAR! The dragon is blinded in its right eye, its face turning to its right to see the insolent human who dares to blind it!

Keeping to the dragon's right, Davion draws another arrow. He lets loose again! This one hits the same eye at a different angle making the dragon roar in pain again! But he doesn't celebrate. Instead, he guides his horse closer, and just in time too!

"Hya"

His mount jumps over the tail! Thankfully close enough to the dragon's body.

The dragon realizes its miss! Its head turns to its left now, his maw and claws ready!

But Davion moves faster. He lets loose another arrow.

ROOOOOOAR! The dragon is blinded in its last eye. A cornered beast!

A cornered beast that Davion doesn't allow to escape or take time to recuperate. "Bram! Spear!"

The nearby squire is almost too stunned to toss his knight's sword on time. Almost.

Tossing Bram his bow and catching the bladed staff, Davion times his attack perfectly.

The beasts—which had reared their head from the pain of going blind in their last eye—cries as Davion's spear pierces through its lower jaw, into its mouth, and through its upper snout! Such efficiency! How dare this human defeat it in such a time! How dare—oomph? Something lands on the back of its neck. Something… Someone! ROOOOOOOAAAAAAR!

Davion uses his hidden blade to stab the dragon before having to hold onto its horns as it dives into the earth! "Shit."

They emerge in a cavern, the dragon crying out in rage as Davion stabs and stabs! Even while burrowing through the dirt using magic to shift the earth around its body! Davion stabs and stabs! Tenacious human!

Before it can act, Davion jumps down! Using its horn as a pivot, he slams his hidden blade into the dragon's neck and uses the momentum to carry him through!

The dragon lets out one last massive roar of rage before falling; dead.

Davion, for his part, pants before looking around the cavern system using his hidden blade which glows blue—enough to illuminate most of his immediate surroundings.

It will take a while before Bram and the others arrive, and while he may be somewhat worn, the training of dragon knights does well for their constitution.

That and that eccentric master of his was a slave driver that made sure his body adapted to the harshest of conditions… Like being able to function in tip-top shape for an entire week without food! "Who the hell does that anyway?!" Shaking away his begrudging memories, Davion takes the spear, mutters a prayer to the dead dragon as thanks and hopes that it will find peace, before setting off to go even deeper.

The find of a nest of massacred hatchlings sets him on edge. But when he finds an opening from the nest that leads to a giant cavern that goes straight down, he uses five arrows from the quiver still on his back hip to make a makeshift torch.

Thankfully it was still full enough for the arrows to not fall off when he got dragged down this rabbit hole earlier. Well, dragon hole, to be more precise.

Throwing the torch, he realizes that only one thing could have managed such a feat.

"Eldwyrm…" he muses to himself. "Shit." He makes his way back making sure to cover and conceal the path through the nest using what little he can find. No good of having idiots find the place.

=== (Apprentice of the Eccentric Dragon Knight) ===

"Fucking shit." The captain of the militia kicks the dead dragon—SHING—only to find a thick-bladed sword to his throat.

"Disrespect my kill again and you're next," Davion warns, his eyes narrowed on a glare that just dares the man to try.

"Disrespect?! This thing killed four men and another ten are wounded!"

"Which is why you"—Davion keeps his sword on the sword-clip on his back—"are lucky you and your men got away with only that. It could have been worse."

"Bah, whatever, dragon knight."

Rolling his eyes, Davion looks to Bram who is currently skinning and prepping the dragon to be moved.

"Hey! There's more here!"

Davion sighs. They found the nest. As to be expected. Hopefully, they don't find the eldwyrm tunnel.

"Hey Davion," Bram calls. "Check this out. It's like this path was hidden."

"Shit." The dragon knight gives a mental groan while his face shows nothing. If anything, disappointed he might be with Bram finding his work, he's also proud the young squire found it. A show of promise, talent, and in his opinion, worthy of being called the Greatest Squire of all Dragon Hold.

"Bram," Davion calls.

His squire throws a torch down.

"Well, I regret using those five arrows now."

"An eldwyrm dug this," Bram realizes.

"Asleep," Davion clarifies.

"Asleep? How would you know?" the captain asks.

"Because we're not dead," Davion says.

"Asleep, then. So, we can kill it," Captain Fruhling says, wary of facing another dragon, and an eldwyrm at that.

"If you want to die, Captain, be my guest," Davion glares. "But I am perfectly content with being alive for one more day. Just know that if you wake it, any friends and family you have in the village will burn, and it will be all on you."

Bram gulps when Davion meets his gaze. He realizes something very important after that short moment of their eyes locking… Davion covered the path here and he found it. He doesn't miss Davion's smile that comes next, however.

"Come on. Let's celebrate living to die another day," Davion quips. They make their way back to the town.

The captain watches as Davion mounts his steed. The captain, for his part, looks on with a murderous glare before scoffing. "Coward."

=== (Apprentice of the Eccentric Dragon Knight) ===

The trip back to the town is a fairly quiet one. The arrival, however, is noisy. Townsfolks line the streets in celebration as a cart with the dragon's head is rolled into the village followed by Davion and Bram who ride side by side, and the remaining militiamen who guide the second and third cart in.

"All these people… just for you," Bram smirks jealously.

"For that," Davion corrects whilst motioning to the dragon's head. "This morning they were terrified, tonight they feel safe. All I'm doing is delivering their trophy."

Bram, for his part, gives a look that says, 'you sure about that' before looking to a group of nearby ladies... a group of nearby ladies that giggle before synchronously calling out, "Davion~!" Giving his knight a knowing smirk, Bram says, "Oh, no. Not for you."

"All right. It's… a little bit for me," the dragon knight concedes.

They soon reach the town center where quiet fills the streets and where the knight and his squire dismount and the militiamen cheer.

The surviving militiamen, that is.

A woman's sobs break through the silent night causing Davion to frown. It deepens slightly when he catches the sight of a boy. A boy who he knows is breaking just as much as the women, yet chooses not to show it. Walking over, he says, "Your father was a militiaman."

The boy gives a glance before the words sink in. "Yes sir," the boy says as if what happened was to be expected.

Davion knows the look too well. "He was a brave son of a bitch. You look like you're a brave son of a bitch, too." the boy can't help but look at him now. "Like him," Davion says and notes the slightly surprised look on the boy's face. "Here, I want you to have this. Dragon fang."

The boy stares in wonder. "Dragon fang?"

"I've got one just like it, see?"

Indeed, the boy sees it—a necklace with a dragon's fang.

"Usually, I'd tell you that when you're ready, when you're of age, that you should take yours to Dragon Hold. But my master… the man who trained me, crazy as he is, is looking for a new student right now. Do you want in?"

The boy's surprised eyes lock with the dragon knight. "Wait, right now?"

"Only if you want to, kid."

Looking to the ground in thought, the child thinks hard. On one hand, he can stay until he's legally an adult in this town—or at least a teen. On the other, he doesn't have anyone else aside from his mother; his mother who probably won't even allow him. "Can I take my mother with me?"

Davion smiles. "That depends. Is she a good cook?"

"Yeah!" The child cheers. "My mom's the best cook."

"Then ask her if she wants to go and then tell me in the morning." Davion stands and ruffles the boy's hair. "My master always appreciates someone who can cook."

The child beams. "Thank you, Davion Dragon Knight, Sir!"

=== (Apprentice of the Eccentric Dragon Knight) ===

Davion smiles as he takes a swig from his mug. He listens on as Bram retells his victory over the dragon in exaggeration.

"He'd have been dead without me."

Davion smirks. "Yep. A hundred times over."

"A hundred times!"

While all this goes on, Davion realizes he has no more drink. He goes over to the bar to order some when the barkeep greets him. "One more, please." The barkeep gives him the drink which he immediately takes a swig of. All the while, his mind goes to his earlier actions of the day—and more importantly on how he managed to do all of them.

"A knight is more than a swordsman, Davion! A knight is someone who is trained to fight to the best of their abilities!" The voice of his master rings throughout his head. "And you, dear boy, are either going to be decent with every weapon imaginable, OR I feed you to the dragons!"

Crazy bastard, that master of his. But Davion won't argue with the results.

A woman's voice halts his reminiscing. "An Icewrack white, please. Two glasses."

Davion almost chokes. "I gotta stop you there, miss." He turns to see a woman cloaked in… well, a blue-green hooded cloak with the hood pulled up. "They don't have that here," he clarifies when he sees her send him a glare.

As if on cue, the barkeep slams two mugs of beer in front of her.

"Two crowns."

"What?!"

Davion sighs. "I'll pay for it."

"Really? Shit, all right, it's free then."

The woman raises a brow beneath her hood. "Wait, so, if it's me, I pay for it, but if it's him, it's free?"

The barkeep gives her a questioning look, but answers anyway. "Well, yeah. He's Davion the fucking Dragon Knight what killed a fucking dragon—" he points to the dragon head now being displayed atop the bar "—That fucking dragon."

"That's a lot of fucking you got there," Davion notes, an amused smile tugging at his lips.

A new voice enters the chat. "Aye, it's a lot of fucking and frolicking for this fucking dragon knight."

Said dragon knight sighs. "Captain Fruhling. How great of you to join us."

"Che. There's nothing to join. You killed this beast but you can't kill the other one? The big one?"

Davion sends a glare his way. "An eldwyrm is no mere beast, Fruhling. Only one dragon knight managed to ever kill one by himself. Otherwise, not even ten, not even twenty of us can kill an eldwyrm. Waking that thing means death for everyone here and many miles more! Let. The dragon. Sleep."

"Excuses."

Were this not the tavern, Davion would have dared him to "say that again," but he reigns himself in. "Go home, Fruhling," no use starting a commotion, after all. "Go home and get some rest. Don't even think about going after that eldwyrm."

Captain Fruhling spits at the dragon knight before storming off.

A 'tsk' of disappointment escapes Davion. Thankfully the barkeep hands him a rug. All is when since the spit landed on the armour. He'd have slugged the man in the face if it reached his face or cloth clothes otherwise.

Everyone has their own stretch of patience, after all.

"Sorry about that. Here, let me—what—?" Davion blinks. "Who are you?"

"Marci!" The first woman is just as surprised, if not more so. "I thought I told you to remain seated?"

Standing in front of them is a girl with orange hair tied in what can be described as a loose ponytail. She stands with her cloak slightly parted thanks to her leaning on one leg and resting a hand on her hip. Davion recognizes her clothing—from the Dark Moon Order? Her poise also intrigues him. A sign of impatience?

"Are you… by any chance the one who's looking to get a drink?" the dragon knight can't help but ask. A stern nod is the girl's reply. "Alright. Barkeep, give this girl as much as she wants. On me."

"Davion, was it?" The still hooded woman asks. "I suggest you think carefully on that idea. Marci—"

"It's fine," Davion waves her off. "It's my way of celebrating being able to live another day."

"And getting my Marci wasted is part of that?"

The girl sends her a glare.

"Alright, you know what? Fine, enjoy your drink. I'll be back there if you need me. And not too much, all right, Marci?"

The girl's eyes beam making the other woman's heart melt before she lets out a defeated sigh.

All the while, Davion looks on in interest. Then he realizes something! "Hey!" He manages to call out as the woman makes her way back to the dark corner. "What's your name?"

The woman pauses for only a moment. "Mirana," she says. Letting her hood down, she and Davion lock eyes for the first time; Mirana herself giving Davion a glare while Davion smirks, amused.

"Davion, but you already knew that I guess."

Huffing, Mirana storms away.

As for Davion, his eyes narrow at the men leering at her before sighing. There will be trouble later. But for now, her companion—Marci was her name—seems to be enjoying the beer. Quite a lot, actually. "Must be what Mirana tried to warn me about… well, I hope Master understands," he muses to himself. Turning his attention back to the girl—a very adorable one—Davion tries to start a conversation. "So, Marci, right?"

Marci raises a brow… but nods nonetheless.

"You want anything else with that or are you perfectly fine with beer? My treat?"

Marci's eyes beam! It almost threw Davion off his seat when Marci suddenly got closer at hearing the offer.

He chuckles and nods. "Okay then, order whatever you want."

And at this, Marcy frowns.

Davion quickly realizes his mistake. "Oh… you're…" before he can finish, Marci's slight nod allows him to catch a glimpse of her neck. "I see," he says more to himself than to her. "I can work with that. You want meat?"

A beaming smile and a nod.

"Beef or pork?"

Marci motions to the former.

"Ribs or steak?"

Marci smirks.

"Both?"

Both.

"Both?"

Both.

"Alright, both is good. Barkeep, ribs and steak for the lady, please!"

"Whatever you say, Davion."

=== (Apprentice of the Eccentric Dragon Knight) ===

Outside, atop a rooftop, a man shrouded in darkness hums at the sight of Captain Fruhling. "Pity the poor sod, for his fate is sealed."

The captain's eyes flash green as he grins.

"Terrorblade, Terrorblade, when will you yield?"

The possessed man marches off into the night.

"Well, I guess master will wish to hear of this… but what of poor Davion?" The man hums to himself… before grinning. "Nah, he'll live. This is more important."

And just like that, the man atop the rooftop vanishes.

=== (Author's notes) ===

This is far from my main fanfic. If anything, I had to pause my Wings of a Butterfly otherwise I'd never be able to finish this chapter because I already a lot of ideas for Wings of a Butterfly.

That said, since you're in this section of fanfiction already, might as well give the Dragon's Blood fanfics of annbe11 ("High Priestess Marci") and ErrantTalisman ("Dragon's Blood Book One: Bound in Blood") a read! Two great fics in the making! That and I think they're like me; they reply to all user reviews! I mean, I know all my reviews with substance got a reply so yeah, give them some reads and some reviews!

And don't forget to review here too, please! Hahahahaha!

Until next time, maybe? We'll see.

Oh, and if you're wondering, the category of "DOTA: Dragon's blood" falls under "anime", NOT "games".

[Finished on February 28, 2022]

[13:01 hours, Philippines]

[Proofread on February 28, 2022]

[14:41 hours, Philippines]