Author's Preface
Ryan and Fido followed Alice through the narrow stretch of the mountain range. Ryan glanced toward the peaks surrounding them.
"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the mountain range that splits the continent? And what lies just over there is the Dragonlands?"
Alice didn't confirm or deny it. She simply kept walking. "My village is just over the next peak and down the mountain."
Ryan looked over at Fido. "She's hiding something for sure. The first chance we have to verify we're being played, we're getting real answers out of her."
"Understood, master."
The three of them made their way down the last peak of the mountains until they finally reached flat land. Ryan stopped and looked back, out of breath.
"Man, who would've thought all those marches would come in handy here?"
Ryan turned and looked forward. Alice was already walking ahead. She led them into the center of a village. Ryan stopped and slowly spun around, taking in everything around him. The wooden houses were moldy and rotten. The ground looked like it hadn't received water in centuries. Buildings were missing roofs, while others had massive holes in their walls.
Ryan narrowed his eyes. "There's not one villager, not one voice. This place looks like a war zone from a time forgotten."
He looked at Alice for a moment, then snapped his fingers. His five generals appeared around her. Bubba stood with his warhammer raised high. Fido bared his teeth and growled. Veyra had her bow drawn, wind magic swirling around the tip of her arrow. Thimble stood on Ryan's head with her hands on her hips. Meatloaf stood with his massive shield raised, aura flaring around his body.
Alice took a moment and looked around at the shadows surrounding her. A faint smile touched her face. Ryan stepped out from behind Meatloaf. He snapped his fingers again, and his tendrils appeared, encircling everyone.
"Now, I suggest you tell me what the hell is really going on. I don't mind helping, but I will not be lied to, manipulated, or willingly led into an ambush. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt."
"You passed." Alice smirked at everyone.
The air around them suddenly changed. The wind became cold and heavy. Magic began to surround Alice in a torrent of wind. A vortex formed around her and stretched toward the sky.
Everyone, including Ryan, tensed, but none of them gave up any ground.
Suddenly, a massive wing burst through the vortex. A moment later, another wing appeared on the opposite side. Then a massive leg slammed into the ground in front of Bubba. Another came down in front of Meatloaf. Both impacts sent dust and dirt flying through the air and left craters beneath their feet. The vortex exploded outward. Ryan and his shadows were struck by the wave of wind and magic, each of them sliding backward nearly twenty feet. Thimble desperately held onto strands of Ryan's hair while everyone else raised their arms to protect their faces from the wind. As the dust and debris slowly cleared, the shadow of something massive stood where Alice had once been.
Ryan stared with his jaw hanging open and his eyes wide. "No fucking way. An actual fucking DRAGON!"
A massive creature stood before him, nearly fifty feet long. Blue scales covered its body, while light blue eyes pierced through the remaining dust. Massive claws dug into the earth. Its wings stretched nearly a hundred feet from one end to the other, and a tail as thick as a bus swept across the ground behind it. Ryan slowly walked toward the dragon.
Thimble pulled on his hair. "Not a good idea, master. That's a dragon. It will eat me."
"Relax, Thimble."
Ryan continued forward until the dragon's enormous head lowered toward him. "You're still Alice, I presume?"
The dragon laughed. "You can call me Alyssara."
"Mind telling me what the hell is going on?"
"Mind telling your shadows to stop staring at me menacingly? I mean you no harm."
Ryan snapped his fingers, and all five of his generals disappeared back into his shadow. He threw his arms wide.
"There. Better?"
"Better."
Alyssara lifted her head. Another torrent of magic and freezing wind surrounded her, and just as quickly as the dragon had appeared, it vanished.
The little girl stood in its place once again.
Ryan stared at her. "Okay, Alyssara. Can you tell me now what the hell is going on?"
The little girl smiled, turned, and walked into the building behind her. Ryan followed. He sat across from her at an old wooden table. The two stared at each other for a long moment before either of them spoke.
Alyssara finally sighed. "I apologize for deceiving you. We dragons aren't meant to enter the lands of your people. But I had to."
"Why?"
"What I told you was real. My father and brother have truly gone missing."
"And you went to a guild full of elves looking for help?" Ryan stared at her. "Are you dumb? How the fuck are we supposed to help fucking dragons?"
"You are correct. Two-legged creatures cannot help dragons."
"Glad we're on the same page."
"I didn't come searching for them. I came searching for you."
Ryan pushed himself back from the table.
"Looking for me? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Your people have prophecies, yes?"
"Yeah, we do."
"We aren't exempt from them either. We may be dragons, but we also have a god. My father told me that if anything were to happen to him, I must find the Man of Shadows. He said the Man of Shadows would be of great use to me."
Ryan stared at her. "Be of use to you? Wait, wait, wait. How the fuck does your father know me?"
"He doesn't. He only knows what he was told by our god. That a Man of Shadows would be of great help to our species, as he once was millennia ago."
Ryan hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What the hell is this?" He looked back up at Alyssara. "Look, I'm fifteen. I haven't been around for millennia."
"But you are the Man of Shadows."
"That means nothing to me. I'm not sure what any of this is, what it means, or how you expect me to help."
"I am not sure either. I was reluctant at first as well. I cannot fight my uncle for the throne, and I cannot find my father either. I finally decided to seek you out. Then I heard whispers of you in Thordin. I watched your duel in Aldemere. I followed you to the guild and set up a way to get your attention."
A tear ran down her face. "Please, Kade. I need your help."
Ryan exhaled loudly and leaned back in his chair. "Fuck... fine. I'll help you. But I want to be compensated for this one. You're a fucking dragon, after all."
Alyssara laughed. "If you help me, you will be handsomely rewarded. My father is the king, after all."
"Yeah, yeah. Just lead the way."
Ryan shook his head and followed her outside.
Once they were clear of the building, Alyssara transformed again. Ryan stared up at the massive blue dragon towering over him.
"I can't fly. You expect me to keep up with you?"
Alyssara reached down with one of her claws, grabbed Ryan, and tossed him onto her back. He landed just behind her head. "Hang on tight."
She snapped her wings downward, and they shot into the air.
"LET'S FUCKING GO!" Ryan shouted.
"Are you okay, Kade?" Alyssara asked.
"Okay? I AM FUCKING GREAT! I'M RIDING ON A FUCKING DRAGON! GO, TOOTHLESS!"
Ryan pointed toward the horizon.
Alyssara grinned before releasing a deafening roar. Her wings beat against the air, and she flew toward the horizon, carrying Ryan toward the Dragonlands.