Aleron observed the big city underneath him. It was the biggest city in the south, according to Khuzaimah, the main capital of the south. The old wyvern had mentioned a name but Aleron had carelessly forgotten about it again. The big city did not look half as glorious as Khuzaimah had told him it would be. It looked rather bleak, dead, grey and worn down. There were not even dragons defending it! For Aleron to be able to come so close had surprised him as well after hearing how the city used to be from Khuzaimah. It was a mere shell of the grandeur it used to be.

There were people living there, but there was no life and no joy coming from the streets down below him. Even in the smaller villages closer to the border was more life and joy than here. The streets were filthy, smelled and there were even humans sleeping in them. The streets had become the home for a lot of people who had fled their villages that had been destroyed or attacked. And yet with so many people, silence filled the air as everyone went on their business. Was this what war was, what war actually did?

War was something Aleron only partially understood. Khuzaimah had tried to teach him about it, but all Aleron concluded was that there were two parties fighting over one thing and it came with destruction and bloodshed. Strange considering the winning party would have control over something that was completely ruined. Not much of a price. Though he had seen the destroyed villages and the darkness which was slowly consuming the south, war itself had still been just a word without meaning to him. The only plus-side there was to war was the Golden Dragon who would end it... according to the legends. And Aleron still harbored his dreams of fighting beside the legendary Dragon despite his life and Khuzaimah telling him off all the time. 

The only reason Aleron had come here was because of the two dragons that were rumored to come. From what Khuzaimah had told him, they would come to assess the situation in the south and would decide whether or not reinforcements were needed to defend the south. After watching the city for a bit, he flew away and perched himself up on a mountain nearby so he had a clear view of the city, the castle and the North where the dragons would probably come from. The only problem, if he could see them, they could see him. It was something Aleron had thought over many times but in the end, he had simply disregarded it as a risk he was willing to take. The dragons would have riders and thus would act differently than wild dragons. He hoped for a chance these bonded dragons would not attack at first sight.

Aleron had no idea how long he had been dozing off. The sun was shielded by thick grey clouds indicating rain so he could not tell time but he had woken up by a change in the air. There was a sort of tension in the air he could only sense when there were dragons nearby. Aleron looked up and peered towards the North. A low instinctive rumble formed in his throat. All his senses were sharpened by the potential danger that was so close. He could actually feel the poison in his tail flowing to the tip of his sharp spike that was hidden at the end of his long tail. He could not spew fire but wyverns did have other tricks that would hurt. He extended his ear flaps so he could direct his hearing and soon picked up on the silent movement of air caused by powerful wings and the soft chatter of two humans. It was not long before he also managed to see their forms appear on the horizon. 

A purple and a red dragon, just as Khuzaimah had said. He could see and hear them even though they were still ways off, but they would be able to see and hear him as well now if they paid attention. Aleron remained perched on his spot, ready to take off if needed as he observed and watched the two dragons approach. It did not take long before he could easily spot the riders on top of the dragons.

Both of them females.

One with long blond hair sat on top of the purple-ish dragon and the other with brown hair pulled tight in knot rode the big red one. Aleron blinked a few times as his eyes lingered on the red dragon. It was big, ferocious and in his head, something tried to click but it didn't just yet.

He moved a little, rustled his wings and that's when he caught the attention of the red one. Their eyes met and Aleron knew he had made a mistake. He pushed himself upwards spread his wings and propelled himself in the air. A big blast of fire hit the spot where he had just been sitting and he could feel the heat of the flames explode underneath him.

Yep, bonded dragons were still dangerous!

He could hear the riders shouting in shock. One shrill voice, in particular, was not happy with what was going on but Aleron ignored the voices and focused on flying and evading while getting away as fast as possible. He was a Wyvern, faster and more agile than a big bulky dragon especially when they had riders. 

Aleron weaved himself through the air, moving swiftly from left to right and up and down without falling into a flying pattern. He needed to be quick, unpredictable and out of there as fast as possible. He did not look back as he felt a fireball soar right past him twice more. He could hear the angry shouts though. One of the humans was livid with rage and Aleron almost believed it wasn't directed at him for some reason. Maybe that was a good thing. 

He felt the wind, adjusted his course on it and rode the currents so he would have to do less actual flying himself. It wasn't for long Aleron knew the dragons had stopped their pursuit and he could slow down. Khuzaimah had been right though, those dragons were not just passing by. They were here to assess the situation in the south.

*

After returning and having a talk with Khuzaimah, Aleron was back out in the sky again. It had softly started to rain now and he enjoyed the soft pelting water on his scales and wings. Water brought life so he really didn't mind it. 

He had passed the small village where he had dropped off the girl. She was healing and already looked a lot better. Her face always seemed to light up when he arrived but the parting was one of the things he hated. She would cling to him, beg him not to leave her as if she was scared he would never return. While all other humans seemed to dislike the rain, the girl had not been bothered at all as she tried to climb on top of him again and again. Eventually, the elder woman who was taking care of her had to pry the girl of the wyvern with a little force while she tried avoiding touching the scales of Aleron. The villagers accepted him, but none dared to touch him. Aleron did not wish to be touched by any of them as well so he was fine with it that they kept their distance. The girl was the exception. The girl of which he still had no name. The village was named Orchis, after the flowers they grew and exported to the capital. It somehow had bothered Aleron that he knew the name of the village before knowing the name of the girl, but why he could not place. Names were just... names... They held no power except when the name was Joseph. That name held power over him. 

A lot of power. 

Aleron had been so lost in his thoughts about the girl it took him a moment to realize there were screaming and sounds of fighting going on. He was on the border, quite close to the capital when he saw the Trolls. Three of them trespassing on the lands of Cefril and attacking a caravan of merchants. Horses scattered, broken free from their reigns and fled the scene to safety. The trolls had no interest in them. Only for the four remaining humans. Two soldiers with their swords drawn and two merchants both with smaller daggers in their hands.

Aleron started his descent. He tucked in his wings like he did whenever he would hunt for fish and let gravity do the rest. He was the protector of the south for a reason. Finally, he would be able to do something good!

He was not fast enough to see one of the trolls lunge forward and attacking one of the soldiers. The human was no match for the troll thrice his size and Aleron saw the wooden club connect with the body. He heard the bones crack, smelled the blood and fear, and saw the man being flung against a tree with a sickening thud. Death was just another part of life, but there were better ways of leaving this earth Aleron concluded. Less painful ways. 

When he was close enough, Aleron roared as loud as he could. He exposed his teeth, readied his claws and felt the poison drip from the spike at the end of his tail. The trolls looked up, not expecting a wyvern to drop from the air like that. Aleron threw his back legs forward and just as his claws collided with the chest of one of the trolls, he opened his wings to keep balance and slow him down just enough the collision would not hurt him. He felt his claws sink into the thick leathery skin just before he folded his wing back in and used the claws on his wings to dig into the troll's neck. 

He might not have front legs, these claws worked just fine for these wings. As the troll toppled over Aleron glanced to his left and swung his tail towards the second troll who dared to come closer. It was over in a matter of seconds as the spike dug into the neck of the troll and Aleron injected his poison into the big one-eyed creature. The troll twitched, shuddered and froze on the spot before he slumped to his knees while clutching his throat. The third watched in shock, and just like the humans chose the option to run.

Victory.

He had won.

Aleron had fought his first battle and he had won with ease. 

He tossed his large head back opened his wings and let out a shrill vicious shriek to celebrate. It had felt so liberating. Aleron let out another roar, deeper and lower than the shriek just to make sure everyone in the vicinity would know. A wyvern had won. 

When the roar was answered by something else Aleron felt his heart stop. The sound chilled him to his bones. It was raw, powerful and without mercy. It was unlike anything Aleron had ever heard before. It made him want to flee, filled his inside with pure terror and his brain just stopped working. Like his brain, his body had stopped working as well it seemed. Aleron never saw the black beast coming until he felt the claws rake past his wings, the teeth dig into his long neck and the blazing heat as black fire seemed to consume him alive.

*

"I swear! The wyvern killed the trolls and saved us! We all have seen him before! He is always flying around the borders, keeping watch over us. I've heard stories from the villages, some don't even fear him anymore! That wyvern is here to protect us!"

Aleron managed to open one eye as he found himself sprawled on the muddy forest floor. 

Everything hurt. 

His wings felt like they were not there anymore his long neck as if it had been sliced off his body and reattached again The same went of his tail. He tried to focus his eyesight, tried to find the source of the voice.

Something red flashed, something purple covered it again.

"He's waking up." A gentle voice reached Aleron's ears. "What attacked the wyvern if it wasn't those trolls?" No sooner than the gentle female voice had spoken did he feel a pair of hands touching him. Aleron widened his eyes in alarm and growled while trying to bare his teeth.

"There, there. Stay still now." He saw a flash of blonde, a female human and the purple behind her changed shape to become a dragon. Aleron could only obey to the soothing voice.

"It was.. a dragon ma'am. A black dragon unlike I've ever seen before! He.. breathed fire. Black fire, deathly as the night!"

"Nonsense!" Another shrill fierce woman's voice interrupted the male one. "Smoke dragons no longer exist! This stupid wyvern is the same we saw before! He just decided he could take on three trolls and obviously lost!" 

Aleron tried to focus his eye on the other woman but a big red blur stood between him and the human. The red blur snarled at him, bared his teeth and Aleron could see the heat and flames. The red dragon that had tried to attack him earlier.

"Contain your dragon, Sorsha! He's just a wild wyvern and already on the brink of death! Let me heal him or I'll give you an ass-kicking you won't forget!" The blonde's voice had shifted from gentle to outright aggressive and loud. 

She was an angel.. there was no doubt about it as Aleron stared at the blonde dressed in white. An angel with a temper. Could humans be angels? Right then he felt his mind being invaded by more red. 

It hurt.
It burned.
It demanded access.

"I know who you are, Aleron. Your rider wanted me. I saw it in his eyes, saw the devastation when he realized you were the one supposed to bond to him. You are nothing. A rejected wyvern that can't even fight!"

That's when it clicked. The red dragon. The same one from six years ago. His arrogance had not changed one bit.

Suddenly the raging red pain in Aleron's head subsides as a gentle violet seemed to ease all of his discomfort in a blink of an eye.

"Vukan! Is this the wyvern Joseph rejected?! You'd better leave his mind right now before I will force you too!"

All human voices were stilled as the dragon ones filled Aleron's mind. It blinded him from the inside, flashes of red and violet clashing, fighting their own war over him... over his mind. War always ended in destruction. Aleron had seen and learned that much. 

All he could feel was pain as his senses dulled before he felt himself being consumed by darkness again.