Melting Heart: Becoming a Dragon

Emren slipped between the dark alleys of Fellrock, silent as a breeze. Tomorrow she would finally find her justice, that damned dragon would pay for what she'd done to Aizi.

Oh Aizi… her heart hurt at the thought of her daughter. She hadn't seen the girl in eleven years. She had not gone a day in that labor camp without dreaming of and longing for the day she would finally be free to reunite with the kitten only to find her missing and then likely dead. Not that she would be a kitten anymore, she supposed, if she were alive, but she would never get to see her daughter as anything but, now.

She thought she had a deal with The Roots. She thought her daughter would be taken care of if she took the fall like they demanded. It should have paid off her debt and more. Aizi never should have had to worry about a meal, let alone live on the streets and pick pockets to survive. Her blood boiled at the thought. Every single member of that Roots branch deserved what was coming to Amjazel. She just wasn't sure if she would be able to pull it off a second time, and she needed to be on The Roots good side for her ploy against the dragon.

As she reached her destination she knocked on the door with three hard raps in quick succession followed by a kick at the bottom of the door after five seconds had passed. Muffled stomping could be heard from behind the door until it cracked open, revealing the face of a fox man. “You the one Teuri said was comin’? She vouched for ya, but you still gotta pay the non-family price.”

“That’s fine.” She growled back. Doing business with The Roots at all made her want to throw up after what they’d done to her family, but there were few alternatives she could turn to. No one else would stock what she needed and not sound the alarm when she asked for it.

“Right, come in then.” The fox swung the door open the rest of the way and gestured for her to enter. “What are you looking for today?”

“It’s something… unusual. You might need to brew it custom.” She closed the door behind her and looked around. The shop was absolutely filled to the brim with various potion bottles, vials, and herbs. The whole room reeked of smoke, incense, and the acrid scent of whatever concoction he was working on. Her nose wrinkled in response, causing her whiskers to flex as well. The clutter and stench both set her on edge more than she was already.

“Try me, I like to experiment. I have quite the collection over the years.” The fox leaned back against his desk and gestured around him. “If not, I can have it done in no time at all.”

The lynx considered her words carefully. What she was planning was as sacrilegious as it came. Amjazel wasn’t just a dragon, she was a daughter of Tiamat. A first generation dragon, nearly 900 years old. Emren probably wouldn’t even survive the attempt in the first place, but she at least needed to make it to the attempt, for Aizi.

The viewing was in only two days. She’d excelled in every measure in her classes, won every fight, completed every competition at the pinnacle of the chart. Those scores were supposed to be available to any dragons searching for a prospective rider, surely Amjazel must have seen her name, maybe she’d even recognize the family name and knew on some level that this was coming. Despite it all, without the needed alchemical concoction she would surely never be able to do anything of note against the beast.

“I need a poison that can kill an ancient dragon.”

Mouth, eyes, nostrils, wings, between the toes. Mouth, eyes, nostrils, wings, between the toes.Mouth, eyes, nostrils, wings, between the toes. Emren mentally recited all of the weakest points in a dragon’s defenses, the places her weapon could actually pierce and not bounce off harmlessly or worse, break. It would only take her one, maybe two, strikes to get enough of the poison into the dragon’s system for it to be lethal. She’d chosen a spear as her weapon. The extra range could save her life against a beast like this. She’d elected against substantial armor or a shield. The weight of those would only slow her down, and a dragon as old and powerful and Amjazel would easily tear through either defenses. Emren’s best bet was just to stay as far from Amjazel as she could and avoid taking a solid hit. If the spear broke or was disarmed she had a backup dagger as well, with what little was left of the poison coated on it.

Soon, Aizi. You’ll be avenged soon. Her fists clenched over the haft of the weapon. She had soaked the head overnight in the vial she’d bought in a vain hope that it would stick to the weapon better and make it deadlier. Truthfully she wasn’t sure if that’s how it worked, but she was unwilling to let any possible advantage slip her by.

It was time. Today she would finally be in in the same place with Amjazel, and have a chance to challenge the dragon. She had her speech recited in her mind, memorized down to the inflection and pacing of every word. Amjazel needed to know how she’d put the final nail in the coffin of this family. If Emren survived this then The Roots would be next, or her old handlers at least. She was more likely to kill a dragon on her own than to take down the entire organization. But a gal can dream, She smirked to herself.

Her ears twitched as the ringing of a bell echoed through the sandstone halls to announce the viewing. Her hands clenched so hard over her spear that they hurt. Her heart was pounding. Was it pounding a moment ago? She hadn’t expected nerves to come up on her so quickly. Who was she kidding? This was a fool’s errand wasn’t it? Her mind drifted to her daughter, her darling Aizi… the way her little whiskers would always quirk when she smiled, the way she always hugged her own tail or Emren’s tail when she got excited or scared, the way her face lit up when Emren finally came home…

Their life together had been stolen. One by one everyone in their life had destroyed every bit of happiness the two had fought to eke out. Even after surviving on the streets for years and learning her own form of self reliance Aizi had been cut down, not by a Roots member or guard, but by some sacred daughter of Tiamat? Bah! The whole ministry could burn for all she cared. Dragons were supposed to be protectors, that’s what she’d always been told, but one failed pick-pocketing attempt had ended her daughter’s life. Whether or not Amjazel committed the act herself or dumped her in a jail where she rotted away it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t get away with such a heinous betrayal of everything the ministry had promised that Tiamat and her children were supposed to represent.

One step at a time Emren rose to her feet and started out the door. Her heart was beating so hard she could hear it. Her legs were jelly, but it didn’t matter. She was out for blood, and no nerves would stop her.

There were more dragons than she had been told would be joining them today. Fatima Mattar, the ministry official who seemed strangely focused on any of the ‘chosen’ students in her class, had said there would be eight there today to pick a rider, but she counted at least fifteen. It was supposed to be a very competitive session for those actually here hoping to bond with a dragon. Luckily she had no such compulsions.

There were two purple dragons here today too, would that end up being a problem? Amjazel was likely to be the larger of the two, but it did give her pause. What if she challenged the wrong dragon? Amjazel was a daughter of Tiamat, but there were dragons of generations further down who would be older and larger still. Amjazel was supposed to be Tiamat’s youngest daughter, and the goddess had made the first dragons almost five thousand years ago, and some of the originals and their children were still around and even larger. Generation and age did not correlate so strongly in immortals.

Fatima Mattar had taken the stage and begun her speech as Emren leaned against a pillar far from the center stage, but as close to a stairway to the top as possible. She didn’t listen too intently, her focus was on the dragons above her. One of the purple dragons was staring at her… did it recognize her? Did it know what her plan was? She was only sure of one thing, that one had to be Amjazel.

It seemed as if Fatima’s speech was finally coming to a close. Emren caught just the tail end. “Do not be intimidated, they are all here for the same reason you are, to find a partner.” Except she wasn’t here for that reason, she smirked. “When Tiamat created the first dragons she realized they needed companions. Not only to be their hands and their voice, but their link to the mortal world. It can be easy for her children to become isolated and distant from mortalkind. It can be difficult to relate to mortals after living such a long life,” Yeah, Emren would certainly say so. “So, please put yourself out there. Be your truest self and you’ll find a dragon easier than if you put on a show. In two days you’ll all return for the selection. Bring a gift if someone really catches your eye! Now, go! And… well… mingle!” The woman chuckled to herself and came down from the stage.

The crowd of students quickly began to flow toward the staircases leading up to the rooftop where the dragons had perched. A few of the smaller beasts even hopped down from above to meet with the stragglers. Emren had already made a sprint for the staircase as soon as she heard ‘go’, and was the first one to the top. She ducked under and around a curious green dragon waiting at the top, sidestepped a gold nearly twice the size of Amjazel, and hopped over the tail of a diminutive blue before she came face to face with her.

It seemed as if Amjazel was waiting for her. Her eyes had remained locked on her through Fatima’s entire speech and for Emren’s dance across the rooftop to reach her. The lynx pulled her spear from her back and pointed it at the dragon. It was her defining moment, either she would kill an ancient first generation dragon today, or die trying. If she survived surely her name would go down in legend. “Amjazel! For the death of my daughter, Aizi, if you even remember her. The ministry has always spoken of the love Tiamat and her children hold for mortals, but that has been shown to be a lie after your callous disregard for my daughter’s life. Today you will die. Face me in a duel, or admit you truly viewed my daughter as nothing but an insect!” Her hands were shaking. She couldn’t believe she got the words out with how tight her chest felt, but she had issued the challenge. That was enough.

Amjazel merely tilted her head and lifted her chin at the lynx’s words. “That’s quite an accusation, and quite a large demand.” Emren’s knees almost buckled as the words slammed her across the mental link. She had practiced with other students in her magic classes, and even the instructor’s bonded dragon on the days he could join them, but that dragon was younger, and his mind far less intense. She felt as if the dragon had placed a single paw atop her mind and was slowly pressing down, crushing her thoughts. Amjazel wasn’t even angry, offended, or afraid, she was amused. “Why would I ever accept such a challenge?” Every other dragon atop the roof had turned their attention to the two of them, even Fatima had appeared from seemingly nowhere to watch intently. “All of us together could incinerate you in a blink of an eye.”

“Because- because-” She had truly thought that a challenge to her honor would be sufficient. Naroviri nobles would rather fall on their blade than reject a duel. Of course dragons wouldn’t follow the same rules. She was still struggling to bring herself back to her senses after the strength of Amjazel’s mind had wiped away her focus. She had to think of something qui-

“I accept.” The dragon stood. “When and where will our duel take place?”

Emren breathlessly pointed at the street outside the school, a massive avenue big enough for the largest of dragons to fit with ease. It should do for a proper arena at least. “There, and right now.” Why had the dragon accepted? Was honor observed here as it was in Narovir’s upper crust? Or did she just want the pleasure of squashing the insignificant ant herself?

“Then I shall await you, former mother of Aizi.” The dragon blew hot air over her and leapt from the building before gliding to the street below.

Emren’s blood boiled at the words ‘former’. The dragon must be cruelty incarnate to mock the mother of a child she’d essentially killed herself.

Once she caught her breath and pieced her senses back together she sprinted for the stairs to follow after. The huge gold dragon tried to block her with a growl, but Fatima stepped in and waved it off. “Amjazel accepted the duel, do not interfere here.” The woman locked eyes with the dragon for a few moments after and it backed off. The locked gaze like that was a surefire tell that the two had communicated telepathically for a moment. Emren knew there was something they didn’t want her to hear. Most telepathic conversations were ‘open’, meaning they were shared with anyone nearby who had the training to pick up on them. These two had intentionally hidden whatever it was they needed to say to each other from her. There had to be something else up with this.

The gold dragon rested its gaze back on Emren as she slipped by it. She was keeping an eye on every dragon present, who knew if another might strike anyway. After all, who was this ministry official to tell these dragons what to do? “Kill my younger sister, and you’ll come to regret it. I promise you this.”

“Thought you weren’t supposed to interfere? She accepted the terms.” Emren winced at him. If Amjazel’s mental contact was like a paw crushing her mind the gold dragon’s was like being crushed under a sandstone slab. “You can’t threaten or kill me just for winning a duel.” She could barely get the words out. The gold dragon’s mind was oppressive.

“I will not lay a claw on you, and neither shall our family.” There was a smirk in his voice. “I offer a warning, not a threat.”

“I’ll take my chances.” She finally reached the staircase and slipped down and around to the front to make a full sprint for the street. It was her moment, now was her time to prove her love for her daughter. When she reached the afterlife Aizi would see how much she loved her, she would see how much Emren had sacrificed for her well being. Then they could be together again.

“Are you sure any of that is true?” Amjazel boomed in her mind. “What does this truly do to serve your daughter? Will it bring little Aizi back to you, or are you just lashing out at whatever you can to make your life feel worth something?”

Emren stopped short as she reached the main street again and laid eyes on the dragon. She had quadrupled in size since their meeting on the roof. She had learned in her dragonology classes that a dragon of Amjazel’s age should be one hundred and fifty feet long or so, but knowing this and seeing it in person were two different things entirely. The dragon’s presence absolutely filled the entire vicinity, the confidence in her eyes only magnifying it until she seemed to be the size of an entire ziggurat. Emren was feeling worse about her chances every second.

“Surprised? Golxier and I both use spells on ourselves to make us smaller when visiting the rider school.” She began to pace along the street, really putting her weight into every step and shaking the ground beneath Emren’s feet. “It can’t exactly fit us like this, I’m sure you understand.” She stopped short and lowered her head down closer to the lynx. Her largest horns alone were as long as Emren was tall. “Now, if you’re going through with this, how do you intend to start? Fifty paces? One hundred? Well, I may find myself outside of the compound if I do a hundred.” She chuckled in Emren’s face. The audacity of this dragon made Emren want her dead more and more. She was here to avenge her daughter, and Amjazel was merely taunting and mocking her. Emren resolved to force the dragon to take the situation seriously.

“Opposite ends of the street will do.” She spat out through grit teeth. The dragon was overconfident, but that worked to her favor.

“Very well, I shall fulfill your death wish when you count to ten, how does that sound?” She began to saunter toward the north side of the street to leave the south for Emren.

“Sounds great.” Emren fought to bring her mental walls back up. She had been under the assumption the dragon wouldn’t be able to hear her before, but she had seemed to overhear… some things. Did she know about the poison? She could only hope not. Amjazel seemed overconfident to the extreme, hopefully her pride would be her downfall. The words ‘death wish’ bothered her though. Surely she didn’t have a death wish. She had too many plans to fulfill, if she killed Amjazel there were still the Roots to take revenge on, or at least the branch she had worked with before. She wanted to see Aizi again more than anything, this much was true, and she had fantasized some about seeing her soon… But did she really want to die? Whatever, it was too late now. None of that mattered. Whatever would happen would happen.

Emren reached her side first. With the adrenaline pumping she couldn’t stand to do anything slow right now. As Amjazel reached the opposite end she dramatically turned around and slammed her haunches to the ground. “Ready when you are.”

“Ten.” She lowered her stance. “Nine.” She pointed her spear at the dragon. “Eight.” She wondered if she was making a mistake. “Seven.” A thousand doubts crossed her mind. “Six.” Her hands began to tremble. “Five.” Her gasped as she lost control of her breathing. “Four.” All her years with Aizi flashed before her mind. “Three.” Her rage at the fate of her daughter consumed her. “Two.” She pushed away all her doubts and worries to focus on what she needed to do. “One.” She dedicated herself completely to the memory of her daughter, and charged.

Amjazel stayed perfectly still as Emren dashed down the street at her. She seemed entirely unconcerned on the cat’s approach. Once they were a hundred feet apart Amjazel’s jaws parted, creating a foot wide gap between her lips, and shot a thin spout of flame out at her opponent.

Emren dodged to the side easily. The heat was intense, it was like standing inside of an oven, but it was clearly not the most powerful flame the dragon could produce. Despite the power on display she was still on her two feet, and that’s what-

She was so busy commending herself, and blinded by the bright stream of fire, that she didn’t see the tail coming as it slammed her legs out from under her. The tip of the spear struck the stone and the haft shattered as she flipped head over heels and smashed her face directly onto the street. Amjazel stood and began circling her as she reeled from the casual strike.

“Ah yes, truly, you have demonstrated your dedication and love for Aizi already, haven’t you.” She flicked the spear head down the road away from them both with a claw. “She’d be so proud of her mother seeing her smash her face in her memory. Do you think so little of her that in your mind she’d want to see you suffer and die for her instead of living what life you have left to the fullest?”

“Fuck you.” Emren spit blood from her mouth, along with a few shards of one of her teeth. Would she even be able to stand again after that? The world spun around her as she punched one fist down onto the stone and pushed herself to her knees. She had to get up now, she was an easy target like this. Amjazel could snap her up any moment- but why hadn’t she?

Her knees screamed at her as she stumbled back to her feet. She wasn’t even sure she’d registered them slamming into the hard stone street before, but the ache in them now all but confirmed they had. Her eyes darted until they locked onto the spearhead on the ground behind Amjazel.

“Go on.” Amjazel growled at her. “See if you can get it. The poison was your plan, wasn’t it?”

So she did know, Emren cursed. She still had her dagger, but it would be far more difficult to wield against the monolithic enemy. The spear’s haft was shattered, sure, but there was a good three feet left to work with. She began her sprint for her best hope. She only needed to-

A spout of flame erupted again as she dashed for her weapon. She stopped short and shielded her face, her whiskers and some of her fur had been burned away and she had to pat herself down to extinguish flames that had caught around her shirt and pants. By the time she was finished she found that the spear head was simply… gone. The wood was ash, and the metal had softened and fused to the stone below. Any poison on it had likely been entirely incinerated.

Tiamat’s tail I’m dead. She narrowly dodged a lazy swat from the dragon’s forepaw and rolled away from her. She’s just playing with me. She doesn’t even have the decency to take me seriously and kill me. Once she’d made it to a safer distance again she drew her dagger and moved into an even lower stance.

Just about every single dragon, teacher, and student in the school had come out to watch. She felt humiliated. Why couldn’t this heartless monster just finish her off so she could be spared the shame of a halfhearted fight. She rushed forwards again with a scream. The humiliation and anger were beginning to overwhelm what little sense she had left. A paw swung down again, and this time she failed to dodge as it swept her off her feet and launched her into the dirt at the side of the street. She brought her dagger down on the foot as it smashed into her torso, but she missed her target between the toes and the blade glanced off the wine-purple scales. She barely maintained her grip as she spun into the bushes. How could Tiamat be so unjust to allow this to happen? Dragons were supposed to be the bridge between Tiamat and mortals, and their riders the bridge between dragons and mortals. How could such a supposedly kind and loving god raise such a ruthless and malicious daughter?

She was sure now that she was reaching her limit. She couldn’t maintain her breathing any longer, she was coughing up blood onto the vibrant green leaves she’d become entangled in. That last attack against her had surely shattered her ribs and sent their shards into her lungs. At least… die on your feet… you failure. She pushed off the branches, snapping many in the process, and reached her knees again. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to stop, even through the adrenaline. She struggled back to a standing position and limped back to the fight.

It was time for her last ditch effort. People always talked about how cool throwing your weapon could be in training, but the instructors had always pressed people to understand one simple truth: disarming yourself was almost never a good idea. Throwing a weapon could only work if you had spares, or if you were absolutely sure you could kill your opponent in one shot.

Neither were true for her of course, but what other options did she have? She planted one foot in front of her and prepared herself to throw the dagger straight into the dragon’s left eye. She stared into it and felt only… pity. There was no hint of hatred, anger, or amusement any longer. To the dragon, Emren was just a poor suffering creature. Maybe she would finally get put down soon if she were lucky, at least then she would be with her daughter. One arm drew back with the dagger, either this would win her the fight, or seal her fate.

Before she could thrust her arm out and release it the paw came down again and flattened her to the ground. The dagger spun out of her grip and across the stones. She couldn’t even tell where it had gone. That was it. She’d lost.

Amjazel had certainly not put all of her weight into the strike, but it was more than enough to pin her down. The dragon brought the tip of her snout down to her opponent and growled, revealing her maw full of serrated foot-long teeth to her. Emren shut her eyes and turned away initially, but after a moment of fighting with herself she managed to turn back and face death head on. “Go on, f-finish it.” The words were barely audible to herself, her lungs were so full of blood they hurt to get out, and her throat made a concerning gurgle as she uttered them. Each syllable felt like she was being stabbed in the chest. She wished the dragon would hurry up.

“Not until you answer a question, Emren.” Her head shifted and a single eye bore down on her. All of Emren’s mental defenses were torn away like a curtain in a windstorm and Amjazel’s mind filled every single space in her being, sniffing out every inch of who Emren was down to her core. “If you could see your darling Aizi now, what would you tell her?”’

Amjazel’s brutality truly knew no bounds. Tears streamed down Emren’s face at the question. Her lips opened, and she tried to speak, but a painful bloody gargling was all she could let out. She was drowning in her own blood, she couldn’t even answer the question.

“Use your mind, dear. They taught you that at least, did they not?” The paw pressed a little lighter. Amjazel’s tone had taken an unexpected turn. Did she sound… worried about Emren?

“I’d tell her… that I am sorry. That I never should have abandoned her.” Her chest shook as she tried to sob, shooting pain through her shredded internal organs. She was seeing black around the edges of her vision. “And that- and that I love her.”

“Then tell her yourself dear.” Amjazel’s mind withdrew, and she lifted her paw. “Mother, heal her, please. I would hate for my new rider to die on her first day.”

Fatima Mattar ran out from the crowd to their sides and placed her hands on Emren’s forehead and chest. “Don’t worry, Emren, your daughter is quite safe. Are you sure about your choice, Amjazel? She did try to kill you.”

“She is a fool, but a well intentioned and skilled fool. And she also loves my daughter as much as I do. I know that I can work with that.”

The pain eased back from sharp spikes of agony into a dull throbbing, from a dull throbbing into an ache, and finally back to nothingness. Even her old injuries from the labor camp seemed to ease away. “Where-” She coughed up more blood across the minister’s face above her.

“Sshhhh, shhhh.” Fatima helped her into a sitting position, not paying any mind to the blood splatter. “Your lungs are healed, but not all of your blood has been put back. Rest, we’ll take you to her soon.” She slid an arm under Emren’s knees and back and lifted her as easily as a pillow. Emren fought to stay awake, but even after the healing her energy was sapped. She could only hang there, useless, as Fatima climbed up Amjazel’s tail and onto her back.

Emren could feel the swaying as Amjazel began to walk, to where she had no inkling, but she had some small spark of hope that it was to her daughter.