When I woke up, drenched in a cold sweat, I noticed I was not on the snow-covered iceberg. I was in a cavern, soft grass under my feet, geometric rock patterns lined the walls,and a great icy ceiling rose high above me. Baby dragons flitted here and there, pausing only to glance at me before returning to their play. Glancing around, I noticed thousands of dragons that perched on outcrops of rock and grassy platforms. Many more flew about under the icy dome.

I picked out several species I knew, along with several others that were new and foreign to me. A faint thought pricked the back of my mind, and I realized my memory had returned. Every detail of that horrible night flooded back to me, and I sat there, face in my arms, knees tucked to my chest, crying at the thought of my lost kin and extermination of one of the rarest species of all dragonkind.

I heard a shuffle behind me, and I whirled around, prepared to fight. My nerves were still frayed in fear from the attack last night. I was staring into the eyes of a dragon, the rich golden orbs shifting, observing my face, evaluatuing threat. A low growl rumbled in it's throat, pupils narrowing. I backed away slowly, my foot landing dangerously close to the edge of the cliff face. Pebbles tumbled down the cliff. I turned back to face the dragon, now looking down upon me with fury in it's eyes. A black blur landed between us, snarling and growling, wings flared up protectively in front of me. The great orange dragon paused, confused. I was finally able to see the creature whom had accompanied me since last night.

Comet. That was her name. Comet, my dragon. She was protecting me.

The orange dragon recovered from its surprise, and advanced once again. Comet roared, planting her feet on the ground, eyes challenging. A masked figure appeared from behind the orange dragon, holding a hand up. Peering from the slits in the mask, the figure reached a hand toward Comet, who snarled and backed even closer towards me. The figure halted, and rose up. They pulled their hand back, straightening.

I laid a hand on Comet's back, stroking behind her neck. She glanced back at me, a small, affectionate rumble coming from deep in her throat. I stepped in front of her, facing down the masked figure. I knew it couldn't be Drago, but if this were a dragon trapper...

"Who are you?" I gulped, trying to steady my shaking hands. "You aren't taking Comet. You'll have to go through me first."

The figure's reaction startled me. Instead of lunging at me, they laughed. The figure laughed, placing a hand over their stomach. They removed the helmet, and the face of a woman gazed back at me.

"I'm not here to steal your dragon. In fact, I'm quite fascinated. I've never seen a Night Fury before. Are they not the rarest species of all?" She approached Comet, running a hand over her snout and stroking under her chin. Comet cooed happily and nudged the woman's open hands. I opened my mouth to speak, but felt only tears well up in my eyes. I averted my gaze, peering down into the hot spring below us.

"They're...gone..." I barely managed to whisper.

"What?" She asked, looking up at me. "That's preposterous! That's...impossible..." Her voice trailed off as she caught the solemn look upon my face. "No..."

"We tried to be peaceful, tried to be fair. He left is no choice. We had to refuse. And then...he attacked. Dragons broke through the roof, setting our village aflame. No one survived..." I paused, feeling unworthy of my next phrase. "Except me."

"But if you all had Night Furies, how come they didn't protect you?"

I hesitated, nervous to release the secret that my people had kept for centuries. Ever since we had landed on our Isle of Night, my ancestors bonded with the Night Furies and befriended them. They had discovered a special magic on the isle, allowing them to bind their souls to the dragons they partnered with. We became known in legends as the Soul Binders, an ancient and tribal village full of dark magic. Some feared us, others sought to discover our secret, hoping to control dragons for themselves. Drago was one of them. He demanded we teach him our magic, or he would bring the wrath of dragons upon us.

We refused. He attacked. And I alone carry the secrets of my ancestors in my mind and in my blood.

The woman stared up at me, studying my face, able to see the sorrow etched into my brow, and into my eyes. "You must be a Soul Binder."

I looked at her suddenly, startled by her comment. How did she know? "But...how did you?..."

"Everyone knows the powers of the Soul Binders. The ability to join a dragon and human soul into one, partnering with your dragon for life. This is common knowledge." Her smile faded, and a serious look crossed over as she turned towards me. "What most don't know is how dangerous this is. Binding the soul means binding the life forces of the two, and if one were to die...the other would perish alongside them. For a peaceful village, such as yours on the Isle of Night, this did not perturb you. You did not expect the hostility of others towards you, for you were keepers of peace and found no reason to fight. But when the fighting did occur, your dragons failed to help you. And they perished. What happened?"

I closed my eyes, trying to remember where the dragons were during the meeting. They wre not in the hall with us, but they weren't too far away. "Fishing. They were fishing. The ocean isn't too far from our shores and our Night Furies grew up eating fish. While we were in the meeting, our dragons went to the shores to fish. Drago attacked us while our dragons were away. They all perished before our dragons could come to save us, causing the death of the Night Furies as well. The only reason I escaped was because..." I glanced over at Comet, whose wide eyes gazed at me. She knew what I was thinking, and what I was saying, and I could feel her own sorrow as I relayed the story.

"Comet never left my side. She stayed outside the hall, perched on the roof, waiting for me. When Drago's dragons broke into the hall, Comet dashed in and saved me. Recused me. Protected me. I wouldn't be here without her." I walked over and ran a hand down her snout, stroking her nose affectionately. She gave me a gently nudge and I wrapped my arms around her neck.

"What is her name?" The woman asked, smiling at me.

"Comet. And I'm Lucaria. Who are you?"

"I'm Valka. I live here, in the lair of the Bewilderbeast." She glanced around, laying her eyes upon the great orange dragon standing behind her. She placed a hand on the dragon's leg, and smiled up at it. She turned back to me. "This is Cloudjumper."

Comet cocked her head and walked up to Cloudjumper, staring up at him. Cloudjumper looked down, his eyes widening with curiosity.

"You said a Bewilderbeast live here?" I asked Valka, looking up at the icy ceiling above us.

"Yes, he built this dome to protect these dragons. They all live under his command." She walked towards the edge of the cliff, and I suddenly realized that the large white object I had thought of as an iceberg was the Bewilderbeast himself.

"Wow..." I breathed, unable to peel my eyes away from the royal dragon below me.

"Every nest has it's queen, but this is the king of all dragons!" Valka exclaimed, opening her arms wide. I smiled to myself, quite happy to be in the presence of such a rare and incredible dragon. But I remembered my sorrow and turned away, comforted only by Comet's presence. An idea pricked my mind, and I contemplated what it might mean. I took a deep breath before turning around to face Valka, who was looking at me with curiosity in her eyes.

"Valka...I have a question."