Enna breathed deeply, feeling her composure return. “That is all in the past now. I came here to ask a favor of you, as a repayment of your debt to me for saving your life.”
“A favor?” Something akin to a chuckle rumbled around her.
“I want you to fly northward into the mountains, and I want you to leave these people alone.” She could not see the dragon, but she felt something large very close to her side. Enna resisted the urge to lash out at it yet.
The dragon grew silent for a moment. “Repayment for saving my life, you claim.” He seemed to roll these words slowly, considering each one. “No.”
The fear Enna had felt at seeing the dragon for the first time began to well up in her again. She had hoped it would not come to this. “I spared you!” she hissed. “I could have left you to die there, but I chose to exercise mercy. I knew you were not just some mindless monster! You can think, you can reason! I ask you again to leave here,” she pleaded. “Be more than others think you to be.”
Once again, the dragon paused for a terrifying few moments; Enna could almost hear the sound of the dice of fate rolling in her head.
“I have thought about that,” the dragon finally replied, “and I do not fully know what I am. Your friends saw me as a beast. The ‘priest’ who held me saw me as a god and a tool. My instincts tell me to hunt, to prey on the weak.” Enna could pinpoint its voice now- the dragon’s echoing bass came from directly in front of her. “You see me as something else, and I think you are the one who is right. I will be my own creature.”
“And what sort of creature is that?” She asked.
A sudden strike from her side threw Enna onto the ground. Her sword sprang from its sheath in an instant, swinging in a wide arc in front of her. She felt its razor tip brush against something, followed by a hard grunt. Something smacked against her right hand then coiled about it. Enna heaved with all of her might against the beast’s pull, but its strength soon overwhelmed her and sent the blade flying into the darkness. “I will be all of them,” the dragon hissed into her ear. “I owe you nothing, human. You may have saved me, but I spared your life when you entered my domain. My debt to you is paid. But you are right; I am no mere beast to prey on cows and sheep. I am divinity, of the lineage of emperors, and I will have my subjects. Here is my proposition: I will rule over this land like the kings of old, and the people here will pay tithe to me. In exchange, I will cleanse them of the filth which fills their roads and stalks them in the night. They will be my peons to command in a new empire free of your human dregs. Is that good enough for you? Am I still a horrific monster in your eyes?”
In response, Enna drew a dagger with her free hand and plunged it into the tail binding her sword arm. She felt warm blood spurt onto her wrist as a terrifying howl split the air. With her grip freed, Enna shouted and rushed forward blindly, her blade cutting the air before her. A mass moved in the darkness ahead of her, and Enna moved to follow, her sword swinging wildly through the inky blackness. Enna felt a sudden smack against her side, sending her careening. As she gasped for breath, deep claws dug into her mail until her face smacked into the rough stone. Her head rung with pain, but through the fog she felt large hands gripping her wrists as something maneuvered over her body.
“You bear an inner fire,” the dragon spoke through panting breaths. “Such zeal could serve my empire well.”
Enna struggled against the claws binding her, but to no avail. “Empire?” she spat in Thengaren. “The people will never listen to you. They won’t even be able to understand you! I’m one of the few who know your tongue, let alone who can speak it!”
“You are right,” the dragon admitted. “I will need a herald. You will do.”
Enna’s skin chilled. “What?”
“You will be my herald. I will command, and you will carry my orders to my people. You will tell me what they do and say. It is simple, and it is not a request. Either you do this for me, or I will gut you like a doe.”
“And is this how you will rule?” Enna asked. “You seem to give little choice to even those you wish to be loyal.”
“There are always choices,” it replied. “Today, you choose whether you live or die. Few have such a privilege in their time”
Enna felt water rippling under her gasping breaths as the stone scraped against her cheek. “I thought you could be different,” she hissed. “Are you not better than your forebearers?”
The dragon’s low voice stirred next to Enna’s ear. “I am,” it breathed. “Let me show you.”
Enna heaved a few more breaths; the pendant poked against her chest. “Fine.”
“Speak clearly- your life is at stake.”
Enna paused for a moment longer “I will be your ‘herald’,” she relented.
“Good.” The dragon released its hold on her body, allowing Enna to finally breathe freely. She heard metal skid across stone, disappearing far into the unknown. “You will have no need of weapons in my new kingdom,” the dragon said. Enna rose into a sitting position, wincing as she rubbed her wrists. “Wait here,” the dragon commanded. No sound indicated that the dragon had moved, but Enna did feel somewhat more alone. She stood, listening carefully and trying vainly to hear a sword lying still on the ground.
She didn’t have much of a chance anyways, as soon a bright light suddenly filled the cave, momentarily blinding Enna. Her head swam with pain, but the dragon offered no apology. When she recovered, she could see the dragon in full detail now. It stood over twenty feet from nose to tail, covered in ebony scales which reflected the light of the bit of sunsteel the dragon had tossed on the ground. She could see that the underside of the dragon was a lighter shade than the rest, though even those scales looked just as impenetrable as stone. The dragon’s large yellow eyes stared fixated on her as the it bobbed its head, examining her from every angle. Streaks of dark blood ran from its wounds, and the dragon hissed as it saw her eyeing them.
“These are your work, now fix them.”
Cautiously, Enna stepped over to the dragon’s form and kneeled beside it. One hand traced the cut on his chest as the other patted hopefully at her empty sheaths.
“Sing,” the dragon commanded.
Enna’s mouth opened, and music flowed from her lips. The air about her vibrated with energy as spirits came to her call. She soothed their troubled thoughts, directing them instead towards the presence of pain. The invisible aids quickly went to work, knitting the beast’s scales together and soothing her own aches. Soon, the song died down, and the air returned to its clammy, brisk chill.
“Mmmm,” the dragon hummed. Its claws rubbed where the cut had been. “You are skillful. Touch my scales- they are as hard as before. Enna gave the dragon a confused glance. “Feel them,” it commanded. Enna furrowed her brow, but leaned forward and rubbed her hand over its massive chest. The plates did not give under her hands as she pressed upon them, but felt sturdy as iron. As the dragon inhaled, his breast swelled beneath her palms.