A True Warrior

In a world full of monsters and villains a warrior is the only thing standing between the innocent and certain death. My whole life I had done nothing but kill. In fact, when I was young, I was not given a choice- I had to kill or I would be cast out into the dangerous world by myself. I never quite understood how they chose their warriors and everyone else. From my very first memory I had a weapon in my hands, fighting was second nature only to breathing. I was told that I had natural talent, in my opinion when something is beaten into you every waking moment how does it not become natural. So, at 30 years old I was the most seasoned warrior the village had ever seen. Most died off before the age of 20 but for some reason whether it be skill or dumb luck, I was still alive.

However, one day a villager came running into the square screaming about a dragon. My first thought was not to jump up and go running to see what was wrong, my first thought was to close my eyes and hope that it just goes away.

“Dragon! Dragon! I saw it when I was walking under the mountain!! It will kill us all!” Victor yelled.

Somewhat dramatic if you ask me- I mean what kind of meal does a human make for a dragon anyways!

“Cass- where are you? Please we need you!” Moana questioned.

Ugh you always need me- you needed me last week when a ram got angry, and head butted a farmer. So, I slowly got up stretching and popping my joints. I truly was much too old for this nonsense but the new warriors where hardly ready to face a threat that breathed fire.

“Yes, I am here. Are you sure it was a dragon and not just a big bird?” I asked.

“Unless birds are red and breath fire- it was a dragon.” Victor snipped.

“Okay look I was just making sure- let me get my stuff and I will head out.” I grunted.

Now the life of a warrior was a solitary one, per the rules you were not allowed to have a partner or children as you were going to lead a short life. As I walked to my hut to gather my things no one spoke to me and most just went about their duties. I know that I was not expected to return, and they did not want to engage with a warrior thinking of their demise. I was never treated like a hero I was just more of a tool that they used when they needed it. Honestly, it was better this way I never had any friends except other warriors that had all passed on. Once the last member of my group had been killed by a troll, I became a recluse that only emerged when a threat arose. The younger warriors worked the daily activities while I was lucky enough to take on all the supernatural beings.

I put on my armor and grabbed a multitude of weapons; I had only faced one dragon and it was green and small for it’s kind so who knows what would work on this one. I walked out into the cold rainy day and felt eyes of the village watch me leave. I would have turned around and waved but I was long past the hero goodbye, I was not a hero I was a killer and that was nothing to be proud of.

The mountain stood in front of me, and I sighed loudly- why was it such a long way up! Halfway up I took a rest, no reason to run to my death after all. The rain had let up slightly and as I sat in the drizzle and snacked on some berries I heard a voice- in my head.

‘What are you doing on my mountain? Turn back now and I won’t kill you.’

I looked around and laughed, so dragons can communicate. This was probably something the village would need to know but I couldn’t do everything for them.

“Look dragon, I must try and defeat you, so you won’t kill my people. No hard feelings just business.” I said gloomily.

‘You will not win; I will burn you to a crisp’

“Probably, and if you could like stab me with your claws, I would appreciate that as it would hurt less.”

‘Wait why aren’t you telling me how you will win and how you will kill me in a terrible way?’

“Are you kidding me- I am just a person and you are a beautiful powerful creature of the earth that could level villages and worlds if you wanted to. So, I am just going to rest a bit and then I will be up to die at your claws.”

It went quiet and I finished my food and once again continued the trek to the cave. As I climbed, I thought back on my life. I had faced many “monsters” in my time and had the marks from them all. A giant had slammed me against a tree which left a jagged scar across my back, a basilisk had chomped down on my leg which still burned as I walked, a werewolf had sliced open my face during my first ever outing and the scars left a light white glow on my cheek, and an ogre drove a bone through my shoulder that pinned me to a tree. There had been many more that I either chose to forget or just blended into the background of my life’s story. I knew that they would tell my story for years to come, or at least until someone killed this dragon. In my last few years when I went out on a mission, I hadn’t gotten scared or even worried in fact it was almost a relief to face a monster that I could see and have a weapon that could kill it. It provided a distraction to the horrors that gathered in my mind that I couldn’t escape or kill with a sword or axe.

I steadied myself and grabbed my weapons tight as I entered the cave. I was hit with a wave of heat and the smell of death. I continued forward and heard a breath come from a deep dark corner.

“Show yourself, no need to hide from me.” I stated.

‘Why did you come, why can’t you just leave me alone?’

“I have told you why, now come on let’s get this over with.” I demanded.

It stepped out and I was taken aback, the scales were a brilliant red and gold that mesmerized me as it moved. Its eyes were a deep emerald green with flecks of silver, and it was bigger than the biggest tree I had ever seen. I had to force myself to keep hold of my sword as it towered over me.

‘I can give you gold and riches if you just leave and never return.’

I sucked air, “I don’t need any of that, I am a warrior, and my duty is to rid the land of creatures like you…”

‘So be it, as you asked, I will make this quick.’

I dropped my sword, my axe and took off my armor. I was tired and I couldn’t hurt this magnificent creature, the world needed these creatures, and it didn’t need someone like me.

‘The world needs you.’

“What did you say?” I questioned.

‘The world needs you; it needs people that think like you. I can read your thoughts and I am sorry you are so melancholy.’

“Are you telling me that you want me to live? I came here to kill you, if you can read my thoughts, you know that!” I exclaimed.

‘I see that, but I also see how you feel, and you do not believe in what you do, but you do it out of obligation to your village. Why would you not live for yourself?’

I chuckled, “Live for myself? My dear friend that is not something that you do. I never thought I would see the day that a dragon understands me more than my own people!”

I sat down and sighed, I shook my head and chuckled. At least I got a little bit of laughter before I entered eternity.

‘Stay with me, I need someone to protect me from the humans. And perhaps I can protect you from yourself. We are more alike than you think.’

10 years after I entered that cave I am still here. Battling those who feel the need to extinguish my friend’s life. Turns out that dragons have quite a bit of magic in them. I haven’t aged a day over 30 and my physical pains are gone. The cave is much bigger than excepted so my sleeping quarters are far away from the fire breather. Also, dragon scales are great for armor and blades, as anyone that comes to my door finds out. We keep to ourselves mostly but when we talk it is always for hours and it is always like talking to an old friend. I keep my friend protected with my one and only skill- swift and efficient killing. You wouldn’t believe how much easier it is to kill real monsters that hide behind a human façade.