Vallen Shepho clutched his stolen loaf of bread closer to his chest as he ran toward the hill. If could just reach there, he could escape into the forest. He glanced back at the guards who chased him and almost tripped.
*All this for a loaf of bread?* he thought.
He had taken the bread to feed his younger sister, but he could hardly stop and explain that to the guards. He reached the hill and glanced back again to see how far away the guards were. He stumbled again and this time he fell to the ground, surrounded by the tall grass. The guards' shouting grew closer. Vallen tried to stand and winced in pain. He had twisted his ankle when he fell.
Kareen raised his head at all the shouting going on near him. He pushed himself up to his feet and limped to the edge of the hill. Several stick creatures stopped short at the sight of him. They started to scream and ran back toward the cave grouping. Kareen caught sight of something else moving on the ground closer to him and walked toward it. Another of the stick things was laying on the ground. He sniffed at it curiously.
Vallen looked up as something sniffed his hair. He froze in fear, then realized that the creature intended him no harm. It was several feet taller than he was and looked like an overgrown lizard with wings. His eyes softened in compassion when he saw the awkward way the lizard held its wing against its side. He stood and laida hand against the lizard's head.
"Come with me," he urged, stepping toward the forest.
Kareen followed the stick creature to the edge of the forest, watching as he pulled a claw from his boot and cut off a branch of a tree. The creature peeled the bark off and braided it together, using the braided pieces to tie the branch to his wing.
"That will help it heal, OK?" Vallen said.
He checked the wing one last time to make sure it was set correctly.
"Thank you," the lizard finally spoke.
Vallen jumped, "You can speak!?!?"
"I am learning," the creature replied, "I am Kareen."
"My name is Vallen," the teenager offered.
Kareen cocked his head and gave Vallen what could pass as a smile. Vallen smiled back hesitantly, then retraced his steps to where he had left the bread. Kareen followed him, staying just behind his shoulder.
Kareen followed Vallen to a run down shack inside the forest. Inside, Vallen broke the loaf of bread in two and handed the larger half to a young girl who huddled in the corner. Her eyes were wide at the sight of him, but Vallen calmed her down with a few whispered words. He turned to the young dragon.
"This is my sister, Velde," he said.
Kareen nodded at her, trying to look friendly. From her tentative smile he guessed he had succeeded. Maybe he didn't have to conquer the country to find happiness. Maybe he could find it with these two young ones.
13 years later...
Vallen, now twenty-eight years old, crept slowly through the tangled underbrush, bow at the ready. Since he had met Kareen, Vallen had loaned himself and the dragon out as warriors for hire. They now lived in a proper house and did not have to worry about not having enough food. Having the only dragon on this side of the world paid very well. But it did have its problems as well. Vallen had noticed lately that Kareen was more...edgy, more violent when they were fighting. But he trusted the dragon with his life and here they were. He was working for the Queen of Addronry for free so she would give Velde an education. They weren't allowed to work for any one else until his little sister finished her training. Luckily, Velde had told him that she was almost done. He heard a rustle in the brush ahead and pulled his mind back to the mission at hand. He fired an arrow into the trees ahead of him and was rewarded with a cry of pain. A group of thirty men spilled out of the undergrowth and charged toward him. Vallen fired arrowafter arrow, hitting target after target. He ran out of arrows and drew his sword, locking it with another man's sword.
*Where are you, Kareen?* he thought.
Kareen swept his tail around in an arc, sending the men running at him flying into the trees. He roared at the archers who still fired at him, his rage boiling up. He could sense Vallen was in trouble and these puny stick men were keeping him fro his best friend's side.
*I'm coming, Valen!*
Vallen spun around and blocked a thrust then kicked at a man coming up behind him. He fought like a madman, but still they kept coming. A blade slipped through his defense, leaving his left arm useless. Then another got through, sending him to his knees. The leader of the men approached him, grinning wickedly as he raised his sword for the final blow.
"Kareen!!" Vallen cried.
Kareen spun when he heard Vallen's desperate cry. His black eyes flickered with flames as he attacked the men surrounding him. He broke through their ring and raced toward where Vallen's scream had come from. He arrived just in time to see a man shove his blade through Vallen's heart and his best friend collapse to the ground. Something in Kareen snapped and he charged forward, showing no mercy to the human. When his rage subsided, none were left alive. He laid down at Vallen side, resting his head on the man's unmoving chest and looking like a lost puppy.
"Vallen, I can't lose you. You're the only one who ever cared about me," he whispered.
Then he remembered a tale that the hatchlings had told when no adult dragons were around. Once upon a time, a dragon had befriended a man. One day, the man was killed in a battle and the dragon had given his heart to the man, bringing him back to life. He sighed, there was nothing else he could do. Kareen opened the flap to his heart and murmured the words that would bind he and Vallen together. A blinding light filled the woods and, when it faded, Vallen took a gasping breath. Followed by another. Kareen smiled and nudged him.
"You're alive!!" he exclaimed.
Vallen opened his eyes, "Wha-what hapened?" He placed his hand over the flame-shaped scar that was the only evidence of his wound, "My heart hurts."
"You mean our heart hurts," Kareen corrected him.
"But...how??" Vallen asked.
Kareen showed his teeth in a dragon-grin and said, "Long story, my friend."
Vallen pushed himself up off of the ground.
"Let's get back to Queen Ziarra and report our success," he said, climbing onto Kareen's back.
The dragon nodded, spread his wings, and the two soared into the sky.
*Prologue*
The small female dragon crouched over her nest, snarling at the large male approaching her. He growled and stepped closer, eyes gleaming with malevolence. Fen, the female, curled her tail protectively around her eggs. The male stretched out his neck and Fen snapped at him. He drew back and circled around her. Fen struggled to keep an eye on him and her eggs at the same time. The male, seeing his chance, charged forward and slammed into her, driving her off her nest and trampling all but one of the eggs. A furious fight between the two dragons ensued and Fen fought her way back to the last of her eggs. The male sneered and knocked the egg off the edge of the cliff and into the ocean. Fen watched helplessly as her unborn offspring disappeared beneath the pounding waves.
*True Friendship Never Dies*
Vallen sat on the shore watching the waves pound against the sand. From what Kareen had told him, this was the place where he had landed after he escaped Torm-wrath. Vallen felt no pain at remembering his friend's death, for he could also remember the good times they had had together. Yet he was still restless and he still missed his best friend. He knew he couldn't have gotten over Kareen's death if it had not been for his little sister.
Vallen leaned back and stared into the sky, wondering what Velde was doing now. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a group of seagulls hovering over an area of the beach a short distance away from him. His interest aroused, Vallen stood and walked over the where the gulls were. They scattered at his approach and Vallen saw a large round sphere laying on the sand. He stepped closer and realized the thing was an egg, but he had never seen one that big. There was no way it could be a bird's egg. He circled around it and noticed a crack on one side. As he watched, it grew bigger until the whole top of the egg was loose. He saw the tip of a nose as whatever was inside the egg knocked the top off, then the egg fell over. A small creature, roughly the size of a small dog, tumbled out of it and lay on its side. It scrambled to its feet and opened its tiny wings, staring at him with curious brown eyes.
Vallen gasped, it was a dragon!
The baby tottered toward him and bumped his leg with its little head, sitting at the impact. It looked up at him again, its brown eyes sparkling. Vallen smiled and sat down in the sand. The little dragon climbed into his lap and Vallen's smile grew wider.
"What should I call you?" Vallen asked the dragon out loud.
The baby curled up and went to sleep, the sun pleasently warming his scales. Vallen rubbed the dragon's back thoughtfully.
"I'll call you Kansbar," he said softly.
The name fit the dragon sleeping in his lap. It meant 'protector of fire.' Vallen let the baby sleep, his heart finally at peace.