_ _ _ planet naria_ _ _ _ _ _ _

The frosted sky painted faint azure. tiny white specks, what was widely known to man as snow, swaying in the breezy climate, slowly dismounting to earth and glazing the earth with their beautiful color. Zooming further from the surface as the grains met the soil, a disoriented exhibition of snowy avalanches launched to the frosty atmosphere, creating a phenomenal landscape of no other.

“Rustle” “Rustle” “Rustle” ”Rustle”

Zooming to the faint sound that could be heard in this exhibition of avalanches, on the snowy surface of one avalanche, five, strong well-armed men, coated in defenses of different manners and colors, each with their own weapons, stride across the ice in search of a mystery, ascending towards the peak.

Azraf was left behind the group, he was the youngest and weakest of the men, and he was new to this kind of adventure, as he toiled to move his half-frozen feet, striding along, pushing against the heavy wind, reflecting in his eyes, was a deep look of determination.

Behind the others, he found himself in his thoughts.

He imagined back to the words of his father one year ago.

“ because you are my son, you are the next chosen descendant of the skythunder lineage. Our ancestors carried a long history of glory as of the greatest magicians and protectors of naria. your responsibility is to bring honor to the lineage therefore, you have to go on a journey to prove yourself, a worthy man .”

“ father, I was trained to fight by your men since I was a child, and I always go with you to hunt, now I even hunt on my own, why do I still need to prove myself?.”

“I know that, unfortunately, the lineage think nothing of these accomplishments, because in our tradition, for a new lord to be crowned in our lineage, he has to go out of our kingdom, feris. in a quest to slay a mystical creature, this is the true purpose that I trained you for .”

“am sorry that I didn’t tell you about this before, I had no choice, you were not ready, it is also within the rule of the lineage that those who are not ready should be kept in the dark.”

“ In my time, I also went on the expedition at your age, then I came back with the head of the cloud manticore, I made your grandfather so proud of me, he treasured me like a gem. Nevertheless, even for me, it was not an easy feat but you’re a tough young man that I raised, I trust that you can do it, can’t you?.”

“certainly I can, father.”

“then go, make me proud, prove to the whole people of naria that you are fit for the next lord, to carry the glory of the ancestors.”

“look behind, these men are your escorts and your assistance”

“Gentlemen, do you mind introducing yourselves?.”

“I am oman shivsat.”

“Autler grieves.”

“Racket crimson.”

“Noise toughler.”

“very well son, take this orb, it is the relic and also the symbol of our lineage, you will find it useful in the time of need, keep it with you at all times, do not ever lose it, do you understand?”

“Alright, father.”

“Well then, carry on with your journey, I will be waiting to hear the promising news.”

“goodbye father, I will make you proud.”

______________________________________

“boy….haste, we need to get there before sunset.”

As he steps hardly on the snowy ground, immersed in his fantasy, out of the blue, a husky voice sounded in Azraf's ears. Interrupting him from his thoughts. He diverted his sights ahead of him to see the speaker. A two meters tall and bulky man in red armor that was assembled of scales. The man who wrinkled his attractive face that has a long beard on it, as he stared back at Azraf.

“as you wish, sir Autler,” Azraf said nattily, he forced his legs to stride even quicker, apparently, he appreciated the reminder, knowing that his thoughts had slowed his movement.

“don’t you think that your being a little hard on the boy, he’s new to this after all?” One of the walking men who was not tall nor short with a built body remarked, he was Racket Crimson. He rested his palm on Autler's shoulders while he remarked.

“what do you know, the young lord is twenty years old, he’s not a child, these walks shouldn’t be a challenge.” Autler proclaimed snappily, his breath becoming hotter.

“shouldn’t?, try going to roots of hell and bringing me the head of an underworld devil and you'll understand his predicament ” unsatisfied with Autlers insinuation, Racket made an example to prove his point.

Azraf behind, shook his head in helplessness, and irritation, these two are at it again, an endless debate which stemmed from their rivalry over who is the better man for the hunt however, this did not mean that the two were enemies, instead, they were life and death companions that banded together with a strong brotherly bond.

On their journey here, he got to understand the temperament of everyone in this lineup, especially these two, any time they pick a subject to argue upon, it will always end in a long time, it made the whole journey more lively but one can’t deny that anyone will get annoyed by the frequent disturbance, luckily, this time, it didn’t last long thanks to a hero who saved the day.

“shush it off, you two squabbling fools, the time is against us, we haven’t a moment to waste.” Oman shivsat, a short man with a fine beard and mustang in front of them admonished.

Azraf knows this man to be a spirited, war maniac, and a heroic fellow who is very courageous, far too courageous. if what is required of him is to jump into the fire, then so shall he. there’s nothing Azraf had seen that made this man hesitate.

“hoy, you shivesat oxen man, I know what you're trying to do, you're saying this to make you look more….”

“Enough of those words!!, look ahead, the entrance to the thunder dragon layer rests in front of us as we speak.” Looking further ahead, an old man with gray hair and beard clamored, a deep frown creased in his wrinkled face. He was the one and only, Nois Tougher also called old man Tougher by the company.

The only thing Azraf learned about this old man was that he was always serious and straight to the point, no one in the group ever messed with the old man, because his their leader and more because they feared him.

The fellows promptly stiffened listening to old man Toughler, each drew out their weapon and put on an alerted semblance, slowly ambling along the difficult snow surface of the avalanche.

Azraf drew out his sword and looked ahead, gazing at a giant, dark majestic cave entrance in front of the old man.

“Father, it's time I face the dragon, it's time I bring back glory,” Azraf said in determination.

“Mark my words men, we shall march in quietly without making as much as a baby sound, in order not to awaken the monster from its slumber. Once we succeed in that feat, you all know what is next, we'll do what it takes to slay the dragon, and hopefully, we shall bring back a dragon head to feris as a damn trophy.”

The old man told everyone the plan in the time that they were all prepared and ready to proceed into the entrance of the cave.

Azraf and the other men, all nodded as they followed the old man into the cave.

Moving in the dark dragon layer, the men treated their steps meticulously, doing their best not to awaken the slumbering presence.

As they marched, a faint sound of heavy, rhythmic breathing plagued their ears, shrouding their hearts with pressure.

step by step, the men walked, slowly creeping to the monster, walking on a rough and littered floor, in the dark.

The closer they were to the monster, the more loudly its breathings entered their ears, in the ought to bring them anxiety, never the less, the men steadied their hearts, enduring the torment until finally, here it was, right in front of them. An enormous sleeping blue dragon was the display of monstrosity in itself.

In the eyes of the men, they saw more than its color, they saw its, sharp horrible teeth that was hidden between a crack on its wide lips as it heavily panted, its horns that stabbed out from its forehead, and its faintly visible talons underneath its massive being.

“the three of you, bring out your ripping chains, we are going to bind it and hold it down so the young lord will have an easy kill.”

“ but, what..” Racket tried to question, struggling to accept the idea.

“ do as I say.” old man nois shut him down with a firm command.

Understanding the determination of the old man, the rest of them brought out the chains with no further questions asked. Azraf, on the other hand, tightened his grip on the sword in his hand as he breathe in heavily, once the dragon is held in place by the old man and the other four men, it will be his turn to act.

Azraf quietly watched as the four men stealthily spread out and surrounded the dragon, each holding on to their chains which had long hooks on them.

The men held the hooks in their right arms which drew back to their behind, building up enough force to fling them to the dragon's limbs which they aimed at.

“whoosh!” “whoosh!” “whoosh!” “whoosh!”

Swiftly, at the same time, the men lost grip on the hooks and the hooks latch onto the dragon's body, penetrating its blue scales and entering its flesh. Soon a loud deafening raw that could be heard from even outside the dragon layer, tor out from the dragon's mouth.

"Insects, how dare you intrude!!"

The whole dragon layer trembled upon the reverberation of the howl.

“the creature is awake, pull!. Try to pull its limbs apart so it won’t be able to move properly and begin the biding incantation magic spell to weaken it.” Shouting in a flurry of excitement to the other men. the old man did when the dragon awakened.

After letting out the roar, the dragon jerked from the ground and flicked its wings, striving fiercely in a total rampage, in the attempt to free itself from these distasteful ants that attacked it. Amid its struggle, it could not get rid of the chains, it couldn’t even destroy them. as it appears, the chains were not made of common materials.

Azraf gawked at the monstrosity, turning and tossing about, bearing its teeth, swinging its tail, and swinging its talons at the group of men who relentlessly pulled all its limbs from four different directions, preventing its blows from gaining their bodies. His hands still gripping his weapon waiting for the time, waiting for them to finish casting the magic spell.

The monster finally could not rectify it any longer, it was inadequately injured due to its struggle against the hooks, and its pride, shattered. It opened its maw and a clap of thunder resounded as lightning flashed from within it.

Azraf's heart was calm. if the dragon’s breath was fired upon him, he will find it easy to survive as any kind of thunder will hardly affect those from the lineage of skythunder. Just when the dragon released its breath, a voice rang in his ears which brought him even more at ease.

“ release the spell.”

Old man Nois howled.

Flash, from the chains, a bluish transparent barrier was formed, surrounding the dragon before it could breath out electricity from within its gut.