Bride To His Darkness

{Music recommendation; Controlled Chaos by Secession studios & Greg Dombrowski}

"Tragedy?" Jack inquired, his eyes taking in the ruins before them, as well as the melancholic silence occupying the abandoned village. The breeze seemed to carry a secretive whisper, and that made Maurice gasp as though he...although not quite sure, he could perceive a voice from the eerie wind.

In a state of pensiveness, a distant rumbling sound drew their attention back to the situation before them, a loud growl– seemingly as loud as a Lion’s roar, echoed ominously through the dilapidated street. A sense of foreboding loomed overhead as Maurice instinctively backed away, his gemstone already placed in the hilt with the same pulsating rings looping around his blade. As if timed, the ground beneath their feet shook, and a gust of wind suffused with a sulfuric stench swept through the area, whilst making their eyes water in reaction.

As the haze cleared, granting them a more vivid sight of what they were about to encounter, Maurice’s eyes shook in terror as he laid sight upon the beastly creature standing in front of him. Jack, who had subconsciously taken a step back, lost his footing to a bent root and dropped to the ground on his butt, but his face was as white as a sheet, momentarily frozen by fear.

Emerging from behind a dilapidated cottage was a dragon. its massive wings were spread wide, casting a chilling shadow over the devastated landscape. The dragon stood tall on its hind legs, its colossal body covered in glistening obsidian scales that shimmered menacingly in the dim light of the fading sun. Its sharp gleaming teeth protruded menacingly from its jaw, exuding an aura of pure danger.

Its reptile eyes burned with a flaming intensity, glowing an ethereal shade of orange that pierced through the miniature figures on the ground. Fear gripped the heart of the trio’s, most especially that of Maurice when he noticed their reflection in the Dragons scaly eyes, but to his surprise, it didn’t unleash his fury on him. Instead, it fixed its gaze on Bryn and Jack who were slowly retreating back, their alarmed expression displaying in its fiery eyes. The Dragon’s growl grew louder as it moved its right forelimb, whilst revealing rows of threatening spikes that ran down its spine.

"It...ignored me." Commented Maurice in a bewildered daze. Smoke billowed from the Dragon’s nostrils, the acrid fumes snaking into the air like an ominous omen. Before anyone could raise out their suspicion, the dragons mouth opened, and building fire in its throat made the three teammates aware of what was about to shot in their direction, but once again, the Dragon ignored Maurice and shot out series of inferno in Jack’s and Bryn direction, whilst they had to roll to the other side to avoid being burnt into crisps.

Maurice, who was dumb-stricken by the unexpected turns of event, found himself torn between the fear of losing his teammates and the bewilderment of why the Dragon had seemingly targeted them instead of him. He hesitated for a moment, contemplating on what to do, but the sound of Bryn’s voice snapped him out of that trance.

"FIND THE GEMSTONES!" He shouted, "WE’LL HANDLE THE DRAGON!"