Ensgar’s forge was hot and loud. As soon as he opened the door, Volsten felt the heat-and saw the blast of fire from the bellows. It lit the room in intense orange, but when it died, the forge was dim. The high pitch of clashing metal filled Volsten’s head. Goddess, I hate forges!

Ensgar, the mountain of a man, the old bastard, stood with hammer cocked over the anvil, red hot metal waiting to be struck. He glanced at Volsten. Another clash of metal.

“You don’t look like a Tallows!” he shouted.

Volsten found a wall and leaned against it. “Don’t worry,” he shouted back. One never had the comfort of a quiet conversation with Ensgar. “He’s still waiting outside.”

Did Ensgar laugh? Volsten couldn’t tell. “Surprised he’d let you in first, knowing him.”

“Yes, well, he promised vengeance in a way that only Zevin could.”

Ensgar moved from the anvil to the bellows. He pulled the long string, and the firepit roared to life. “Why are you back here, anyway? I saw you just a few months ago. That sword can’t have broken already!”

“Ah, you see, due to unfortunate events, it’s no longer in my possession.”

“Imagine that,” Ensgar said. “One knight comes in with a sword and dagger so worn that it’s all but useless. The one that follows doesn’t even have one!” He wiped sweat from his forehead. “Shows you how much some people care, eh?”

“I wouldn’t say so. Perhaps it was an unfortunate decision between an old lady and my sword that led me down this path.”

Ensgar bellowed a laugh louder than the roaring fire. The laugh was deep and fatherly, as one would expect from such a large man. “I wish I’d known you were out there. I would have let you in. Then Alexandria could have beaten you on the head for saying that bullshit!”

As if she could. “Funny you should mention that. She looked ready to beat something.”

“Oh, she was.” Ensgar pulled glowing metal free. “That girl has no patience, and I like that! She’s got no time to spend waiting when there’s evil afoot.”

Hammer met metal. They would have to shout again. “Oh please. What evil does she face?”

“Have travels messed with that head of yours? You may not want to, but you do know what the guild does. I recall a young boy that wanted to be a part of it more than anything else.”

Volsten cringed. Goddess that was a long time ago. He was just an ignorant little boy back then. “Yes, but things change. We can’t all bow to the guild. I’m not the first or last to shun them.”

“You aren’t,” Ensgar said. He actually stopped hammering this time, leaving only the sound of the firepit. “But name me one knight that did.”

Volsten threw hair out of his face. That was a good point, and he could think of none.

“Exactly.” Ensgar ran a hand along his beard. “Alexandria’s going to have a statue in this city one day. I believe that. I believed that about you too at one point.”

I didn’t come to be beaten over the head with Melridge! “I came to talk swords, Ensgar.”

“I know what you want. It hasn’t been long enough since you last came for me to forget.”

“Then I assume all else is the same?”

Ensgar eyed him. “Not the time, and that’s what Alexandria was angry about.” He paused. “Three weeks.”

Volsten thought he misheard. “Did you say three weeks?”

“Aye, I did.”

The idea of staying in Tregar for that long was almost unbearable. “Why? You’re faster than that!”

“I am. But every knight in this damned city wants a new blade. The guild’s got an eye on the ‘war’ now, and every sir wants a piece.”

Right. That. Deep in the heart of the Westland, a place he hardly ever visited. Listening to those in Tregar would have anyone believing that the rebels were a group of savages and disgruntled noblemen with no hope of victory. The closer one came to the Westland, the more positive the words said about the rebellion became.

Regardless, Volsten cared not for it. The king’s army was an interesting time, but not something he liked all that much. “Idiots, the lot of them.” Volsten said. “The guild tells them to jump, and they do.”

“Or, and this may be strange to you, they have loyalty!” Ensgar shouted the word. “When you became a knight, didn’t you swear to defend the crown and Adamore against their enemies? Here you have a chance to do that, and you bloody spit on it!”

Volsten scoffed. “I’m not spitting on anything you old bastard! What good does it do me to die for him? What good does it do me to kill some hapless peasant, too scared to hold his sword straight? Will the king shower me with praise and money? Ha!”

Ensgar’s hammer struck the metal hard. “Me! There it is! What good does it do you, eh?”

“Three weeks, Ensgar.” Volsten vaulted from the wall. “I’ll have my sword, you’ll have your pay.”

If Ensgar responded, Volsten didn’t hear, and didn’t care to. He threw the forge door open to a surprised Zevin.

“That was much faster than Melridge, at least.” Zevin said as he stood.

Volsten took his spot on the bench. Something moved in the alley across the street. Volsten squinted, but the alley was dark. If something did move, it did so quickly.

“Guess Ensgar’s making everyone angry today. You looked like Melridge coming out of there. Without the beauty, of course.”

Volsten grunted. “He doesn’t know when to shut up.”

“Wait for me here, friend. I’ll be back before you know it.” Zevin disappeared into the forge.

Volsten leaned against the bench and closed his eyes. Zevin wanted to speak more about Vora. Probably women in general, and he had no desire to do that. Not now, at least.

For a few minutes he waited, and when Zevin didn’t come out, he left for Hilda’s Inn.

*

Darkness. That was all Xyra could see. Maybe not all. There were shapes in the darkness, tall and round, with others sticking out from them, thin and irregular. Where was the moon? The blue would sing to her every night in the forest. Now it was nowhere to be seen. And there was the unmistakable smell of blood, so strong that it blinded her nose to all else. That terrified her.

Along with how cold it was. She’d never felt anything like it, as if someone drained away the warmth of her skin and body, leaving her shaking and rigid. Move, she thought. Only, she couldn’t. Something held her, and the more she strained, the colder the air. Was it the air itself? There was nothing on her arms to hold her. So why couldn’t she-

She could see. It was still dark somehow, but there was light. The sky was black, with no tiny jewels of light, and no sun or moon. Those shapes turned into trees with barren branches, all circling whatever she was stuck to.

She looked down. A scream caught in her throat. It wasn’t air that trapped her, but blood. It snaked about her naked body in strange ways, never touching, but flowing just beyond the skin. There were strange symbols on her stomach and chest, things that she had never seen before.

Xyra turned her gaze to the grass circle around her. Her heart jumped at what the darkness once hid. Are those…bodies? They had to be! She saw no wings or tails among them. Were they human? It didn’t matter. They were dead and covered in blood.

As she watched them, the bodies began to move. Xyra thought that should make her happy, that they weren’t dead. But they moved wrong. They didn’t even look like they were trying to get up.

Blood gushed from them and into the air, and the bodies moved no more. Xyra struggled against the flow of blood that kept her in place, to the same conclusion as before. She would not escape. The blood was still rising from the bodies, turning into tendrils of awful, awful red. Then they shot towards her, and this scream didn’t catch.

Xyra opened her eyes. What…a dream? She played with the soft blanket that covered her. No. A nightmare.

She sat up. Her heart still pounded within her chest, but she knew that she was safe. The door opened, and a small, pale, black-haired head peeked through. Kita.

“Hello!” Xyra said, putting the nightmare behind her.

Kita flinched, and after glancing at her once, didn’t bother to look again. “B-breakfast!” She slammed the door after her.

“Okay,” Xyra said to herself. The room Vora gave her was quite spacious, and with a bed so large, it needed to be. It took Xyra a moment to scoot to its edge.

She pattered into the hall. Before long, she was lost. Miss Vora led her to the room, but only once, and trying to return to the steps from the other way confused her. The doors all looked the same!

Thankfully, she found someone. This was an older woman, with lots of lines on her face. As far as Xyra could tell she had been sleeping, and only awoke because Xyra opened the door a little too loud. She was wary of Xyra, as they all were, but at least she smiled. She led her through the halls and to the stairs that she remembered traveling with Miss Vora.

The woman herself didn’t bother with the steps. She pointed in the direction of the eating room and disappeared. Xyra decided then and there that she didn’t like human homes. Why would they live like this, among empty rooms and confusing halls? Dragons saw no need for that.

Miss Vora was already at the table, still wearing the same gown as the night before. She noticed, and a smile stretched across her face. “Good morning, Xyra!”

“Good morning, Miss Vora,” Xyra said. She sat next to Vora and eyed the food before them. There were a lot of vegetables, and a few things that Xyra didn’t recognize. “Oh, what’s this stuff, Miss Vora?”

“I’m sure you know your vegetables, so I won’t bother with those.” She pointed to a round, brown thing, with deep lines on the top. “Bread.” Her finger moved over to bits of yellow and white. “Eggs. Scrambled. These can be made in a few different ways. You know, bread can too. And there are different ways to make salads as well now that I think about it.”

Miss Vora seemed to be lost in thought, and Xyra didn’t want to interrupt. Instead, she focused on the room. She didn’t pay much attention to it last time with how hungry she had been. It was a big room. That was true of every room in Miss Vora’s home, except for the study. The walls were blue, with little yellow markings on them. Above them was…something. Xyra couldn’t tell what it was. It hung from the ceiling with tiny arms that had glowing crystals on each. So pretty!

As confusing as they could be, human homes could still be beautiful. Her cave wasn’t beautiful in the way this place was, but that didn’t soften the longing for it. How desperately she yearned to see her sister again. Mother and Father…she wanted to see them too.

“You’ve never had bread before?” Vora asked.

Xyra turned to Miss Vora, who held the bread-thing in her hands. She shook her head.

“Do you want to try it?”

“Sure, I’d love to!”

Miss Vora tore a piece of bread and held it for Xyra to take. She took it gratefully. Soft and warm. She nibbled a small bit of it. “Mmm!” She swallowed. “What is this made of? It’s good!”

“Peasants,” Vora said.

“P-peasants?”

“You know, poor people.”

Xyra froze. No… She looked at the small piece in her hands and imagined the screaming faces as they were mashed together.

“See? It wasn’t so bad.” Vora plopped another piece of the bread into her mouth. Her head fell backwards, and she made a weird sound. “They add so much flavor!”

Xyra whined, and the bread she held bounced onto the table.

Miss Vora laughed. “Oh relax, will you? It’s not made from people."

“Oh…that was a joke?”

“Yes, dear. Do you know what wheat is?”

Wheat. Wheat. Wheat? Xyra repeated it in her head. She’d never heard the word before. “I don’t think so.”

“It’s a plant that we humans grow for food, among other things. It’s what we use for bread.” She held the big piece out again. “Do you want more?”

Xyra couldn’t help but blush. There were so many things she didn’t know about humans. Miss Vora thinks I’m a stupid dragon. “Yes, Miss Vora.” She pinched a large piece. The bread was delicious, and now she didn’t think of screaming when she ate it.

Miss Vora took the pile of vegetables and put a few on her plate, then on Xyra’s. The eggs she put only on her own. Eggs. It didn’t look like any egg she’d ever seen! Then, she took a large, smooth jug and poured it into a smaller one. What came out was clear water. “Are you thirsty?” Vora asked.

Xyra swallowed another piece of bread. “A little.”

Miss Vora slid the pitcher of water over to her. Xyra did as Miss Vora and poured it into the small little thing next to her. Before Xyra could stop it, the water reached the top and spilled over onto the table. She stopped pouring, but the damage had been done. “Oops…”

“You think that’s enough?” Miss Vora giggled.

“Yes!” Her cheeks hot, Xyra grabbed the cup with both hands. Slowly, she lifted it to her mouth, and began to sip at the water. A lot of it spilled onto her gown. The rest went down her throat in loud, slurping sips.

“You’ve…never used a cup before, have you?”

Xyra placed the empty cup down on the table. “No, but I liked it!”

She felt a hand stroking the back of her head. “…Miss Vora?”

“Yes, dear?” Miss Vora stared at her with strong green eyes, and her chin rested lightly on a hand.

“You’re petting me?”

“You don’t like it?”

Miss Vora looked so calm and happy. Xyra didn’t want to upset her. “N-no…it’s fine.” And she didn’t dislike it, not really, but it made her feel like a pet.

“I’m sorry, dear.” The stroking stopped. “You’re just so beautiful.

Xyra ate her bread in silence. If Magenia saw her now…

Miss Vora clapped. “Let’s finish up and meet in my study. I have something very interesting to show you, my dragon.”