"Shall you be going to bed anytime soon?" A frail voice lilted through the air, drifting faintly through the partially opened wagon door.

Sadon, sitting in the front of the wagon, turned partially so the apprentice could hear his voice and said, "It is a perfect night, Leth. I think I shall stay out here longer."

The teen responded quietly, "Do you want company?"

"No, no." Sadon waved his hand dismissively. "I am quite contempt to stargaze by myself. You must get your rest, my boy."

"Wake me if you need anything. Goodnight." With those parting words, Letholdus shut the door on the back of the wagon, leaving Sadon alone at the reins.

The sorcerer, left only with his thoughts for company, gazed peacefully at the night sky. Though he enjoyed traveling through bustling cities because it meant that he would encounter new people, his heart truly belonged to nature. The stars, in all their infinite quantity, possessed more beauty than even the largest diamond or shiniest crown. And the thick, towering trees, having stood in their spots for decades, spoke of wisdom unknown to mankind. To top it off, a cool breeze blew gently against his face, rustling his almond brown hair. Yes, it was a perfect night, one that was gladly worth staying up for.

Sadon also took joy in talking with the animals he encountered. His horses, who called themselves Terragon and Aswlyn, were not bound by any reins, only a harness to connect them to the wagon. They needed none, as they were able to effortlessly communicate with their master, who they saw as more of an equal. When he was not chatting with the horses, Sadon would call to the birds. These winged creatures, in his opinion, were the greatest of messengers as they could travel to the ends of the earth and gather more knowledge than the human mind could process. Deer, so gentle and yet so playful, also made for great companions.

It was as he was conversing with a deer, much later that night, about the recent shift in weather that indicated the coming of winter, that it happened. It, the catastrophic, traumatizing event that would cause his life to change and the course of history to alter.

In the far distance, the untouched night sky was suddenly alight with a fiery explosion. One hundred times larger and brighter than any lightning strike, it seemed to resemble a sunset. The entire tree line was illuminated, bathed in a red light. He was too far away to hear any sound or see anything more than the fire, but it was not hard for Sadon to guess the source of it. It would take a fool to not suspect a dragon; they were the only beasts in the area capable of initiating such a rain of fire.

Sadon knew what he had to do and immediately sprung into action. He attempted to use his magic to read the mind of the far-off winged creature. Unfortunately, dragons, possessing such strong will, were some of the only creatures to be able to resist the prying magic of a sorcerer- even one as powerful as Sadon- and block off their thoughts. That, mixed with the vast distance between the mighty beast and him, made this nearly impossible. After straining himself as much as he could, the only feeling he could get from the dragon was burning anger, nearly as strong as the fire spewing from its mouth. He had a feeling that it was not simply a clump of trees the dragon was taking it's anger out on.

Flinging open the wagon door, he hollered at the top of his lungs, "Leth! Wake up!"

As he waited for the young man to stir, Sadon began communicating with the horses. The area they were traveling through was mostly wilderness, and its few towns were sprinkled far apart with no major cities for numerous miles in any direction. If this dragon were burning down a town, there would be no one to help. The quickest way to get there would be flying, but Sadon wanted to give the horses time to prepare themselves.

Seconds later, out stumbled a groggy, confused Leth who was attempting to shake the sleep out of his eyes. "What's wrong?" he yawned.

"A dragon."

Those two words were all it took wake Leth. The teen's eyes went wide in horror as he reeled back. His scarred arms raised to instinctively cover his face. "Where?" he cried in a panic. "Where is it?"

Sadon saw the boy being gripped by terror and he began to regret waking him. But he would need his help. "Miles away. I fear it is attacking a town."

"Don't tell me you plan to go towards it?!" By now, Leth had seen he dragon, in the far distance, illuminating the night sky with its blazing fire. He hid partially behind the door, gripping the frame tightly.

The sorcerer looked at his young apprentice. "The dragon is attacking a village, I know it. We must go to its aid."

"Go by yourself!" Leth was slowly creeping back inside the wagon, trembling.

"Don't be like that." Sadon gave him a stern glare. "You are alive because I wasn't fearful of a dragon. How could I come to your aid then, but not to the aid of these people now?"

There was a shift in Leth's eyes. The fear, the crippling fear, was replaced by something much more confusing. It was a muddled mix of emotions that seemed to be headed by a shaky determination. Hesitantly, he nodded. "Fly swiftly."

Sadon nodded and Leth disappeared back inside the wagon.

Steeling his nerves, which even rattled nervously at the sight of the dragon, Sadon began gathering his strength. In and of itself, flying the wagon was not a magical feat that would require much effort. What would drain him would be the distance they much travel and the speed at which they must do it. From his lips spewed words that belonged to an ancient language, one rarely used and even rarer understood; he spoke the language of magic.

To the uninformed viewer, Sadon would have appeared to simply be sitting peacefully atop the wagon, his eyes closed and his mouth moving rapidly. Perhaps, if they looked closely enough, this person would even see a slight shimmer begin to rapidly envelop the wagon. Whereas most would use their powers for flashy party tricks, Sadon did his best to keep his magic subtle and only strong enough to accomplish the task at hand.

The wagon gradually rose off the ground. At first, it levitated only a few feet, but in no time, it had cleared the tree tops. A strong gust of wintery wind began to carry it along in the direction of the town.

Sadon allowed the cold air to hit him fully in the face, relishing it. A simple flick of his wrist would have stopped it, but he had stopped worrying about being cold many years ago. He focused the majority of his attention on flying. They glided along swiftly, rapidly approaching the town.

As they got closer and soared higher, Sadon could see the dragon better, or more specifically the destruction it was causing. Part of the forest seemed to be ablaze with a glowing inferno, all of it illuminating the massive winged creature dominating the skies. Sadon's heart was gripped with fear. Not all of it was his, for the collective terror of the town was so immense that he could feel it.

The ride lasted only five minutes. Sadon, having gone days without tapping into his magic, found himself able to use more power without tiring too quickly. His muscles were only slightly aching.

The sorcerer flew closer to the blaze and was horrified to see that the burning portion of the forest was, in fact a town. He had known it from the start, but actually seeing it made him shiver in horror. The town, more of a hamlet, was situated on the shore of a tiny lake at the base of the mountain, and consisted of approximately forty thatched houses. They were all clustered together as if they were a handful of pebbles that someone had haphazardly tossed aside. What normally would have been a serene scene was now one of chaos as humans, that looked more like ants from the height at which Sadon soared, scuttled around. They ran, fleeing from the burning houses.

The dragon left when Sadon got closer. He doubted the beast was fearful of him. Instead, the thing had most likely gotten bored of its destruction and flown off back to its lair, not a care or interest in what it had done. Whereas it left, the fire which had spewed from its mouth remained. And it showed no signs of abating.

This was a site of the most horrible evil, chaos wrecked by a cold-hearted snake gifted with wings and blessed with fire for breath. It was creature possessed by greed, gripped by hatred. A dragon was a wretched beast with a fiery temper, and those who suffered the most at its' claws were humans.

Sadon landed the wagon as close to the scene as he could, settling for a spot on the overgrown, thin road that wove its way through the meager village. His ears were greeted by the fierce crackling of the mighty fire and the piercing screams of wounded and frightened villagers. His eyes were greeted by burning carnage.

As soon as the rickety wheels touched the ground and the horses' feet were reconnected to the solid dirt, he lept from his spot. His bones that normally creaked and popped with every movement he made, now worked effortlessly. The adrenaline and magic flowing through his veins powered him along.

Leth was not far behind. The teen, traumatized by horrific flashbacks to his own tragic past, struggled with the strong desire to return to the safety of the wagon. It took all his strength to push his own fear aside and focus on the innocent people that were being threatened by the blaze.

A Sadon drew closer to the fire, he began to encounter the terrified villagers. Many were running in the opposite direction, tears streaming from their eyes and sobs omitting from their lips, doing their best to dart between densely packed trees in the dark. Even the burliest of men were trembling in terror and falling to their knees, helpless. The heat from the forest fire was already growing painfully hot.

Time was running out quickly. Sadon could see that numerous houses, ablaze with bright flames, were beginning to collapse; he could feel the terror of people trapped inside them. He knew what he had to do, but if he could accomplish it without tiring his magic would be another thing.

Without bothering to warn or announce himself to the around him, he closed his eyes and began summoning his magic. Once again, the familiar feeling was coursing through his veins. It swelled inside him, both restoring his aching muscles and depleting him of energy at the same time. The feel of magic was an addictive thing and it made him uncomfortable to be using so much in such a short time frame.

Before long, the water in the lake began rapidly ascending. At first, none of the villagers seemed to notice, being too wrapped up in their terrified escape from the burning town. It wasn't until the water that formerly belonged to the lake rose above the treetops and became level with the top of the inferno, that people began to notice.

Screams of horror and surprise rose anew as the villagers all pointed as the hovering water. People froze in their tracks, all fear of the fire momentarily leaving them. For a split second, the woods were quiet. Everybody was silent, too confused and frightened by what they were witnessing to cry out. The only sound was the intense crackling of the blaze.

And then, Sadon released his magic and the water came crashing down.