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A man stalked through the undergrowth, taking slow and measured footsteps. The marshy ground below stuck to his boots, and insects insistently buzzed around him, trying to distract his focus from the task at hand. The wind sighed and breathed through the underbrush. Wet leaves slapped against his leather-armoured legs. A humid heat sweltered his head, drops of sweat dripping from a mop of brown hair.

On his back lay a shining round metal shield that reflected the surroundings with startling detail, with a single white stone in the middle. In his right hand, he held a spear made of the same metal and a sword on his left hip that was sheathed with a simple leather-bound hilt. His body was clad in leather armour, and a pouch occupied the other hip that swung back and forth with each step. His eyes were focused forward, every movement attentive and full of purpose.

Ahead of him the cries and sobs of a child shattered the serenity of the forest. A growl followed, terrible and dangerous, which only forced the child to cry all the more. The man began to move quicker, making less attempt to keep quiet as the noises from the kid would hide his approach. Ahead of him lay a small clearing, where the ground raised slightly out of the marsh. As he got closer the man allowed himself a better understanding of what was going on.

A group of humans occupied the middle of the clearing, a dozen or so, of varying ages. The one crying was little more than a baby, one or two years old, with his mother trying desperately to get him to be quiet. Standing over the humans were three dragons. Their dark mossy green scaly hide glittered like gems in the sunlight, and around the inner parts of their legs lay odd assortments of colour. One had a bright yellow, another red, almost pink, and the last a bright blue. Their tails were occupied by a scorpion-like tip that flicked dangerously along the ground.

Two of them were speaking in low tones with each other, their disgruntled language sounding more like unintelligible grunts and growls then anything else. The last was the one threatening the rest of the humans, teeth bared as it glared at the mother and her crying child. The man frowned as he overlooked the situation. Three acid dragons would be difficult to overcome, especially by himself. He would need to wait for a better opportunity. So, he lowered himself to the ground, hiding in the foliage as he waited, listening.

He was one of the few humans he knew that was able to understand the dragon language and managed to overhear a bit of the dragon's conversation.

"Me? Why do I have to head back?" the one with red around their legs exclaimed.

"This is a great find Juwil. We'll need help carrying them all back," the one with yellow replied with a dismissive snort.

"Yeah... but then we'll have to share. Look, there are four for each of us. I'll even take the one with the hatchling," Juwil growled.

"We can't carry four humans for more then a couple of leagues at the most. They are too heavy."

"Well, we can do short flights then..."

"That'll take days! We don't have days. What if we come across a group of fire dragons? Or light dragons? No, you are the fastest out of us three. You could make it back there by the end of the day, gather some more, and then get back here."

"But... but I'm the only one who can speak their language. How will you communicate with them?"

They both looked at their growling friend.

"I think they get the idea," the one with yellow said with a slight smirk.

Juwil looked at the humans a little nervously, "Fine! But keep an eye on them at all times. I'll get back here as quick as possible."

"Good."

With that the dragon leapt into the air with a flap of its wings, before accelerating away from the clearing in a westerly direction, heading for the ocean. The man watched it go, smiling slightly himself. Two dragons were much more manageable. The one with yellow turned away, walking back to where its friend watched over the humans. They began to speak, but it was too far away for the man to hear them.

Taking the opportunity, he moved, slowly crawling out of the underbrush and standing up. The dragons both were facing away from him, talking to each other as the humans shuddered in their shadow. One of them saw him, and stared, wide-eyed, as he pulled back his arm, the spear in his hand, before launching it at one of the dragons. The spear spun through the air, aimed directly at the back of one of the dragon's heads. A normal spear would have hurt, maybe broken a couple of scales, but this was no normal spear.

It pierced through the dragon's skull, cutting through scales and bone like a sword through flesh. It continued through, the end of the spear erupting from the dragon's mouth, blood splattering outward. For a moment everyone was still, before the dragon collapsed to the ground, unmoving. Not waiting a moment, the man charged forward, drawing his sword as he attacked the other dragon. It was the one that had been speaking before, with the yellow around its legs.

It sputtered a cry of surprise, hopping backwards as the man struck the dragon's wing. The sword was of the same metal as the spear, and it cut through the dragon's wing as though it were paper. It hissed, opening its mouth and spitting a stream of acrid green acid toward him, not really aiming but rather just trying to warn its attacker away. The man jumped back, avoiding the stream of acid. The dragon quickly put some space between itself and it's opponent, moving away and crouching with a snarl, the wing that had been cut hanging limply from its joint.

The two stared at each other for several moments, the man reaching around behind himself as he pulled out the shield on his back. Two leather straps went around his arm to hold the shield in place. The dragon roared suddenly, throwing another spattering glob of acid but this time far more accurate. The human caught the attack on his shield, the glowing stone pulsing as instead of simply hitting the shield and running off, the acid was absorbed into the stone.

"What the...?" the dragon sputtered in surprise.

The man grinned, taking a running step forward as he charged at the dragon, sword brandished in a challenge. The dragon roared again, striking at him with the poisonous tail tip. He retaliated with the sword, swinging it so that it sliced right through the end of the dragon's tail. The scorpion tip fell to the ground as the dragon screamed in pain. Taking the opportunity, the man stepped forward and swinging his shield in an arc at the dragon's throat. The edge cut through scales, scouring a long gash along the dragon's breast and neck. It whimpered, the wound cutting through its senses, blinding it with agony as it fell forward. With a final strike, the sword went up through the dragon's throat, and right into its brain.

The man stepped back, pulling the sword away from the corpse. Red blood dripped from his blade as he turned back to the rest of the humans. They stared at him, shock on their faces. Even the child had fallen silent, clinging to his mother's leg. The man sighed and used the dead dragon's horn to wipe away a larger portion of the blood before sheathing it. He would clean the blade properly later.

"You are free to go," he told the group, who still seemed to have no intention of moving.

"Y... you are the Dragonslayer?" a man stepped out from the group, his voice shaking slightly.

"I've been called that," the Dragonslayer responded, walking toward the other dead dragon.

He gripped the spear handle, close to where it had penetrated through scales, and with a grunt pulled it out. More red blood covered the front half of the weapon. He shook it off, and hooked the shield onto his back, before turning once again to the humans.

"What is such a large group of you doing out in the open like this?" he asked the man, "You know how dangerous it is."

"Our... our village was attacked. We were the only ones that got out."

The Dragonslayer sighed inwardly, it was a common story nowadays, "The group of mountains to the east. There is a human safe haven there. Well-fortified. It would take an incredibly powerful dragon to break through. You should be safe there."

"Thank you," the other man bowed his head in gratitude, "And thank you for saving us. We... we would have been eaten otherwise."

The Dragonslayer grinned slightly at that, "Dragon's don't eat people. Most don't anyway. These ones wanted you for slaves I believe."

"Oh."

"Still, better free then a slave," the Dragonslayer turned to leave, "Travel only at night, stay under the trees. It should take you about three days of travelling. The one that left shouldn't be back here for another day, so it will give you a bit of a head start. Try to avoid fires, but if you really need them, hide them underneath some foliage."

"Wait... you're just going to leave us?" the woman with the child spoke up, "We can't protect ourselves out here."

"Follow my instructions and you will be fine," the Dragonslayer responded easily, "You are not the only wanderer's here and not the only ones in need of help."

"But what if we come across another dragon?"

"Follow my instructions... and you won't."

"And what about food? We have barely enough for another day."

"Look, ma'am, if you are unable to forage for food and survive out here then you may as well allow yourself to be captured by dragons," he replied evenly, levelling her with a stare to say he wasn't going to be changing his mind.

She didn't like his answer but didn't rase anymore questions.

"We should be alright from here," the man from before said, "Thank you again for your help."

"Don't mention it," the Dragonslayer said, "It is what I do."

With that he left the group to their own way, disappearing once more into the underbrush.

* * *

Later that night the Dragonslayer situated himself in a small cave. The soft salty smell of the ocean accompanied the breeze. He guessed he would reach the ocean by the next night. Over the entrance of the cave he had placed several long branches and sticks, which he had then covered in leaves. There was an opening to the right, where what little smoke escaped from his fire was allowed to escape.

He was sitting back against the wall, his boots drying off by the fire. His weapons were leaning against the wall within arm's reach. Roasting on the fire from a makeshift spit was a reasonably large lizard he had managed to snag earlier that afternoon. His stomach growled slightly as he waited for his meal to cook. He knew that if a dragon approached too closely to his hideout then they would likely smell the meat as well, but he was too hungry to care. The chance of a dragon patrol this close to the water was low.

As he waited he picked up his sword, taking out a cloth from his clothes, and wetting it from his water pouch. He then took out a cloth and began methodically cleaning the blade, taking special care to work out the patches of dried blood. It was rather easy to clean. Nothing really stuck to it, and it retained its sharp edge without any work from his as well. That was the advantage of working with dragon steel. It was too hardy to really be damaged by anything except other dragon steel.

As he cleaned the blade he found himself falling into a soft trance as he recounted the events of the day. It was becoming more common to find homeless refugees among the swampy forests. Human villages were being destroyed by the day and more and more people were being taken by the scaly fiends. It was frustrating, but there was little he could do except save those that he could. He knew it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty whenever he came across a ransacked village. If only he had been quicker.

He was simply thankful he was in the right time at the right place earlier that day. It had been the child's crying that had warned him in the end. There was no guilt in killing dragons. They may be intelligent, clever, and not intrinsically evil, but in the end, they saw humans as lesser beings. It made them more willing to treat them differently then what would be usually acceptable. But he couldn't exactly blame them. If humans were in the same position they would behave in the same way.

He sighed as he finished cleaning the sword, placing it back by his side and moving over to grab the spear when the fire in front of him suddenly flicked, as though struck by a gust of wind. The Dragonslayer hesitated a moment as he stared at the flames, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. The fire danced back and forward, as though laughing at him, as though they had come to life.

Suddenly the fire jumped from its place on the ground, causing the Dragonslayer to let out a curse. It swirled up into the air, forming itself into humanoid figure before solidifying into a man. The man glowed with an unearthly inner fire, as though his blood was molten rock. His eyes showed his inner flame, and a smirk crossed his mouth as he looked down upon the Dragonslayer with amusement. His hair was reddish-blond, short, and he had donned a simple yet elegant red tunic that only seemed to enhance his fiery soul.

"Terrinian," the Dragonslayer said, "I was hoping you had forgotten about me."

The fiery man laughed out loud, his voice echoing with celestial power, "How could I forget my dear friend? Was it not only yesterday when we were last together?"

"It's been three years," the Dragonslayer responded with a huff, looking solemnly at his now smothered campfire, "Three years of blissful silence from my campfires."

Terrinian followed his gaze, "Ooh, sorry 'bout that."

With a quick wave of his hand the fire reignited, resuming its duty of cooking the Dragonslayer's meal. Satisfied that his meal had not been ruined, the Dragonslayer returned his gaze to Terrinian.

"So, what does the God of fire want with me this time?" the Dragonslayer asked.

"God? You are still insistent on that? I have told you many times I am no God of fire. I am fire. One can scarcely be the God of oneself," Terrinian spoke with an air of self-righteousness.

The Dragonslayer grunted in response, "You didn't answer my question."

"Do I really need a reason to visit my dear friend?" Fire asked with a slight smile.

"I would hardly call us friends."

"Oh, you are so cruel. Three years hasn't changed your mind in giving me your name?"

"No."

"Aah, so you are still going by 'The Dragonslayer' then."

"To those that wish to call me that."

"And I see you got some new weapons to help with your noble conquest," Terrinian gestured toward the spear, sword, and shield.

"I rescued a metal dragon from three fire dragons. She had been forced to rid herself of her shell for fear of being cooked alive," replied the human, "When I saved her, she said she owed me a favour. So, I asked for these."

"A fair trade for a life," Terrinian marvelled, "And rather well made."

"They have been useful to my cause."

"I have no doubt," Fire gestured toward the bloodstains still blighting the spear, "And they have seen recent use I see."

"Acid dragons and a group of unlucky humans," explained the Dragonslayer.

"Aah! So our noble hero strikes again," laughed Terrinian, sitting down on the opposite side of the fire, "Killed any equilibrium dragons yet?"

"I plan to stay as far away from those monsters as possible."

"You know, if you keep this up, you may not have a choice."

The Dragonslayer shrugged, "If it comes down to it, I will do what I can. But for now, I will live like I am."

"Still not afraid of dying, eh?"

"No."

"Ah! The truth in those words always makes me so startled. I will catch fear in you one day, Dragonslayer," Terrinian promised in a light-hearted tone.

"You can try," the human responded, not so light-hearted.

"Well... you still haven't met Athaer. At least, I'm pretty sure you haven't. Has it really been three years?"

"No, I haven't met Athaer. Nor do I wish to."

"Fear?"

"A general wariness of the dragon that has quite nearly thrown the entirety of the dragon kingdom into war all by her lonesome."

"So you are scared of her! I knew it!"

"Less scared of her in person. More scared about what a dragon like her could mean."

"What she could mean?"

"You said it yourself, she has as much mastery over her own fire as you do over yours. A mortal with that power... its cause to worry."

"Oh, here you go again," Terrinian sighed, "And let me guess, it's my fault?"

"Yes."

"I may have trained her, Dragonslayer, but she achieved her power on her own."

"Isn't the teacher responsible for the student?"

"No, not unless they specifically tell someone what they should do with their abilities. I simply taught her how to use them... to the fullest of her capability."

"And now she threatens the entire world because of it."

"She still would have done so without my guidance."

"You don't know that."

"You forget human, my brother is Time himself. We do talk."

"And yet you still refuse to acknowledge the danger represented by Athaer."

"Don't you go blaming your frustrations on me human. There are many things at work that you do not understand," Fire said, losing his carefree tone.

"All I know is that my people are being enslaved in droves. The dragons are preparing for something, Fire, and you know as well as I that Athaer is in the centre of it all."

Terrinian sighed, "I forgot how obnoxious you can be. Still, I guess you are the most interesting human I've had the pleasure of meeting for several millennia."

"Thank you."

"I am unsure if that was a compliment or not," Terrinian said thoughtfully, before looking back at him, "Well, I am really not in a mood to be solemn at the moment. I'm looking for something fun. I will come back to you when I'm ready for a more philosophical argument."

"Please don't."

"Until next time, my dragon-slaying friend," with a wave Terrinian dissipated back into flames, leaving the Dragonslayer alone by his fire once again.

He stared into the flames for a long moment, before cursing, "Damned elements."

He picked up the spear and began to clean that as well. 

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Hello! This took a little longer than I wanted to finish, but alas here it is. I hope you enjoyed it. Vote if you did and comment on what you thought about it. For the next story, you have a choice between the two that weren't chosen last time.

The Last Shadow - Shade the shadow drake (6Yrs BTA)

Exile - Zyal the earth drake (45Yrs BTA)

So tell me which one you want next, and that one will be the next to be written. But you have to vote XD.