I’m not sure how long I have been walking? This dense forest seems to go on forever. I guess you could say I’m more running. I had to escape. The time I had spent there was more than enough for anyone. Truth is, I wanted to burn that castle down, why did he send me there? I feel like there was a better use of my time.

The ground trembles, the thundering crack of trees flying. My stomach drops, twisting in place. My body froze where I stand. I want to turn and look but I... I don’t want to see what just landed.

Only one thing in this world makes that landing. If I had known that they had one, well, I would have done things a lot different.

I have to look, right? I can keep walking forward maybe it doesn’t see me. No, their eyesight is second to none. Even with the help of magic, I still can’t see that good. I know it can smell me, so why is it not attacking. Just a quick glance, then run?

Turning slowly, have to be smooth, too fast and it may attack. Don’t want that. There it is, black and red scales. I don’t see a rider on its back, that’s a good thing. So why not try to kill me? It could in a heartbeat. I’ll fight, I’ll throw every spell I know.

“Child, why do you disrespect me?”

It’s voice, smooth, female. It also has a sense of honor; She knows that she stands at the top of this world. The only one that can rival her power is another of her kind.

I turn around dropping to one knee, my head bent over, don’t look. I can feel my hood cover my whole head.

“I’m sorry, I did not know who was here. I mean you no disrespect. I am nothing more than a faithful human.”

“Did you not notice that you walked right into my land?”

Her voice hissing, I can feel that she’s getting closer, with each step shaking my body. What am I going to do? From one fire to another, at least I’ll die quickly this time.

“I did not know that this is your land. I am just trying to get home.”

“Did you not come from your home? You are part of those horrible humans in that castle?”

Humans? Castle? Ah.

“No your Grace, I am fleeing them. My King sent me to help them with their issues that they could not solve. As you said, they are horrible people.”

I have to show her I am not with them. I’m afraid that if she thinks I am then I’m pretty much dead. I can’t afford to die today.

“It seems you have manners, more than any of them. Now tell, why are you coming this way? Shouldn’t you have known you were getting close to me? You have powers, do you not?”

It makes sense that she can tell that I can use magic. She’s made of magic? That’s the rumors I have heard. Most humans never get this close to a dragon and live to tell the tale. I really want to peek at her and see more details but I’m stuck here.

“I was too busy making sure that they would not follow me. They may send a message to my King, but I know I will be safe once I reach home. I will head back and find a new way home. I am sorry.”

“No, you will continue the way you were going, as long as you pay the price. Just so you know, they are coming this way so I will have to deal with them.”

She’s willing to let me walk through her lands but only at a price. The Havricks are heading this way. I’m stronger than their mage but that’s only one on one. I know dragons to be very crafty and without mercy when dealing with humans, so what is she planning?

“Yes, I would be an honor to pay any price your Grace may ask of me.”

“Good, head north-west from here and you will find my cave, I will meet you there.”

“Yes.” Thump, thump, my heart is beating too fast. I’m being invited to a dragon's cave. They say that the treasures in a dragon's cave are untold of. Just to see them is more than I could ever ask of. I must hurry if I want to see her treasure.

The pressure from her take off pushing me to the ground. Her mighty roar blasting out. I quickly look to the sky to see her. Her large red wings flapping in the light blue sky. Wow.

I have been walking for half a day since I met her. I’m looking for her cave, but I have been unable to find it. I haven’t seen her fly by either. I know that I’m heading north cause the Havricks are south of home and I keep walking towards the setting sun.

By the size she was, Im sure that the cave will be pretty big. I see a small mountain a little farther to the west. I think it’s going to take another day to just reach there. The more I look at these trees, the more I keep thinking that I know where I am. But there is no way that the forbidden forest would reach this far.

Growing up, we heard tales of people that went into those woods and that they never came back. I used to think that the stories were made up to keep kids away but if she’s been living here the whole time. We need to keep people out of here. I need to find a place to sleep; there are other things that go bump in the night that are almost as scary as a dragon.

I have fought blood elves and werewolves. Those two are the worse. It didn’t matter how hard you hit them, unless it was a kill shot they just get back up. I do not want to run into any of those tonight. King Casper Anvil hunted vampires to the point I’m not sure if there are any left.

Thinking... I should sleep in a tree. I’m not sure what sleeps in these woods and when they wake up. So I need to find a tree, if I’m up in the tree at least I should be able to hear them coming. I wish I could just keep walking, there are only two hours until the sun sets and I don’t see the cave, so I’m sleeping outside.

Once I find a tree, then I have to climb it, ugh. Then I need to carve some magic into the tree. That way I may be able to hide through the night without a problem.

I’ll walk until I see a tree that does what I want. Then I will have to just lie low for the night. AI would love to eat but I don’t have any food and I don’t have time to hunt or have a fire, just says here I am.

There it is, a Thunk Oak they are the best trees to sleep in, they grow tall and only have branches after the first thirty feet. Most creatures can’t jump that high in one jump, so I will feel them climbing up.

There it is, my bed for the night. The smooth bark only broke from a stag rutting its horns on it, it must have been an elder stag in order to get its horns on both sides of this tree.

If there’s an elder stag around here that means that this should be pretty safe. Elder stags are really protective of their territory, I heard that they can fight head\-on with an Alpha werewolf or Vampire. Good, just have to add and seal.

Grandfather... This was the first thing you thought me when you found out I had magic. I press the staff’s crystal into the tree. Most people think that we have to draw circles and chant stuff in order to do magic. I laughed so hard when I heard this the first time.

Grandfather use to train mages when he was alive. He would teach them all sorts of things and told them when they reached his age would they be able to cast magic like him. I had asked him if he thought he was wrong for doing that, he said no.

He told me that people needed a teacher. Whether it is easy to cast magic or not, if you teach them how to do it better they are less likely to blow themselves up. He never charged them a lot but he worked hard with them and most of them in turn were loyal.

“Hide.” The clear crystal fills with light. The flows into the tree and the tree begins to fade into the back ground. I need to be careful, I only have five crystals with me right now and once they run out, I’m screwed.

I really need to start carrying more crystals with me. I have two fire, one water and one earth and my clear one. They are all mid\-level crystals, I can cast about twenty spells pre crystal. The four types are full and the clear one has about fifteen left. It also depends on the size of the spell.

In order to hide the tree for the night cost me three. It’s pretty simple, the stronger the spell the more of a crystal they use up. I know spells that can use up whole crystals, that is not cheap. I don’t want to worry about dying tonight, so it was worth it.

I slide a pair of daggers out of their sheathe. I may know magic but you can’t beat a cold metal knife to the face. It’s the truth, at some point you may run out of crystals and you still need to live. I may only be in my mid\-twentieth but I have trained more than my magic.

I plunge the daggers into the huge tree and work my way up. This was a better work out then I thought. It’s OK, once I find a branch I can go to sleep and once the sun comes up I can find her. It’s not every day that a dragon invites you to their cave.

Time to get some sleep. I’m not sure how much father I have to walk tomorrow. She never said how far her cave was, oh well. I’m not going to give up. I will find that cave.

“AHHHHHHH!” I jump up while on the branch. Her screams echoing through the woods, the howl of werewolves chasing her.

“Dang it, I thought I was going to get a full night of sleep.”

Going to switch the clear crystal for a fire and put earth in my buster. Guess it’s time to get dirty.

I’m not sure who was that is but I can tell you it is not a monster. It is a monster. A monster chasing someone. Why is there someone in these woods? The dragon found me right away. I know I did not hear her land.

I roll off the branch. Racing towards the ground. The wind rushing through my long hair. I can’t see my hair cause it’s just as black as the night sky.

“Ramp.” Point the buster at the ground. Earth rose, meeting me halfway. I land rolling down. I spring to my feet running down the rest of the way.

Grandfather would never just let me study magic. I spent countless days training my body. Most day Grandfather would run my body to the point of breaking. Then later at night, I taught myself spells and how to cast them. Once I hit fifteen, he started to teach my magic; I overwhelmed him with how fast I picked it up. What did he think would happen? He and my mother are both mages. I poured my life into it.

Her screams echo into the woods again. This way, I can barely make out the large back shadows rushing through the woods. I run through the trees chasing the black shadows. Their howls ringing in my ears. I hate having to deal with werewolves.

There are two types of werewolves; the first ones are cursed. Henry Smith betrayed a wolf that had saved him. Mother Earth turned Henry into the wolf to be hunted down. Henry then bit everyone he came across, turning all of them into the same, mindless beast as him.

These werewolves play an important role in the ecosystem, they hunt and kill anything that moves. They keep the stags and other game in control.

I dodge between two trees and crash through a couple bushes. I come to a stop; I perk my ears up, unless they caught her, they should make a noise.

Snap!

I turn around, staff and buster both pointing toward the snap. Clam down, not everything out here will try to kill you. Think about something. What was I think about before? Werewolves.

The other kind are ones that become one, they learn to become a werewolf. From my understanding, they use a lot of earth crystals with the help of dark ones.

Werewolves from this type differ each to other, that’s because each person has a different way they imagine the way they would look in beast form.

Snap!

“LIGHT!” I shout as soon as I can, a golden fireball launches from the tip of the staff. The little fireball reaches its highest point. Now. The golden fireball explodes into many little ones cause the area under it to lighten up.

Now, I wish I would have just kept running. One, two, three... Seven. Maybe I should have just stayed where I was. I was safe. Instead, I now have seven full-sized werewolves to fight. I’m sure I can handle them. I just to make sure I use the right moves.

Four to the right and three to the left. They all seem to still so I should make this easier. I point the buster in front of me.

“Shackle.” The earth reaches up, thick vines of earth wrap around each werewolf. They are trying to fight it. I need to hurry and finish them before they break free.

I raise my staff into the air; I point to between the lot of them.

“Lava pillars.”

Red spots soaking into the ground around the werewolves. Little spurts of lava splurging out. The heat slowly climbing up, the werewolves crying from the pain. Now is the time. I slam my foot down.

The cracking of the ground being ripped apart. The thundering lava launching from the ground. Fire grabbing ahold of the werewolves, they howl in pain. I set back from the power of the attack. Used too much power.

Why do I feel wet? I know that I did not wet myself; it’s not even the right spot. I place hand and pull it way. The light from the fire showing my a sticky red, red? When in the heck was I attacked?

I turn around; I scan the dark woods, the fire only shining in so far. I glance back to see that two of the werewolves could break free before they died. I need to better pay attention.

The moon is setting and the sun will come up soon. The werewolves will sleep if they made. I need to get moving. I don’t want to run into anything that comes to look for left overs. I’m not sure what happened to the other person who was here but I hope that she made it out of here in time.

Boom! Shattering trees? Come on, no time to waste. I dodge through the trees again. The earth-shaking with each step. I know that it’s not the dragon but I’m afraid that it could be a drake. I can not handle one of those not even on my best day. I should have just stayed with the dragon.

Thank you for taking the time and reading my story. It means so much to me. Please let me know what you think!