The Girl and the Wyvern

Part 1: An Unlikely Instance

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A mote traveled high above the clouds, soaring at speeds that would astound most. Those glancing up as it glided past didn’t dare mutter a word, for a town of panic would surely draw the beast’s attention.

It was layered in scales of deep emerald which glistened in the bright highland sun. Dense muscles worked to keep its massive body aloft, as slitted amber eyes scanned the bluffs below for unsuspecting prey.

It was a creature of notable infamy, Rahan — named by the Council of Elders’ high priest and meant ‘unbridled fury’. It was a name that cast shivers of terror throughout the common folk of Bristov.

Rahan often scoured the outskirts of the lush countryside, as it had been his territorial hunting ground for many years more than any man had lived. In truth, no one knew just how long he’d flown above these lands. Long enough, however, to produce a strong impression of fear and hatred.

Still soaring above, he curled abruptly to the left with his neck twisting like a serpent’s.

Ah, he thought. Lonesome prey. Within an expansive meadow that edged against a steep precipice, he spotted something swirling about. It jumped around a boulder that jutted from the wide, green patch.

The predator collapsed its wings and streamlined its body. Like a jade meteorite falling from the sky, he plunged to the earth before extending his wings to halt his immense inertia.

To the fault of haste or disregard, an uncommon mistake was made by the ancient beast. He was surprised to discover the stray object was not a fawn, nor was it a loose goat, but a human — a child. The gust produced by his enormity sent the child back into a cushion of tall grass. An expression of sudden terror clung to her face.

Humans were not typically a meal he preferred, but a necessity brought on by hunger. They lacked the satiating effect that cattle, sheep, or even horses shared. Still, he’d flown all this way and it was unbecoming for a wyvern to waste such an effortless meal.

Rahan drew back, clutching the boulder with talons resembling polished obsidian and released a roar that echoed across the valley. His throat was a chasm of expanding flesh vibrating behind rows of serrated teeth. This was the dragon’s wail, which marked the beginning of the end for so many unfortunate victims.

The girl lay paralyzed in the high grass as fear had taken hold of her senses, keeping her stricken. Slowly, Rahan descended the boulder, crawling closer and closer to the trembling child. Saliva, activated by an irrepressible lust for hunger, now coated his mouth and dripped from his jowls.

Still, the girl could not run.

A deep, rumbling growl resonated from his throat as he completed his approach. A final thrust from his hind legs sent the body forward with his jaws widening, ready to receive the girl.

Before his eyes rolled for the final clutch, he glanced ahead to ensure the capture of his prize, but the small human did something that bewildered the dreaded Rahan. As if she had morphed from a quivering sprite into a roaring lion, the girl stood with eyes locked on her hunter and unleashed a furious scream.

It was not often that anything challenged Rahan. Most would flee, or remain petrified. He cared not which his prey chose, for the outcome was always the same. But this delicate creature standing before him chose defiance. It puzzled the wyvern just enough to draw it back three steps and stare.

Does this ‘thing’ challenge me? He thought. Or, is it corrupted by some unknown disease?

A soft breeze swept across the grass, whipping the young girl’s bronze hair up along with it. And there the two remained for a time, still as statues in a meadow.

This was an unprecedented moment in the history of dragons, where curiosity, it seemed, would overcome instinct. It was a moment that would alter the course of history in these rolling lands, and forever change the lives of the girl and the wyvern.

To Be Continued…