I charged at a full sprint, shouting at the top of my lungs with my axe, Aesa, raised in the air. Light from the torches gleamed off the steel and embedded silver throughout the blade.
I knew this was the moment that I would die, but I would rather die charging the enemy than by hiding and being burned alive.
The torches gave enough light to see by, so I did not have to worry about tripping on anything. The emerald green eyes narrowed as they watched me, the flames of the torches reflecting in them. It watched me as I drew closer, bringing its long neck back and posing like a snake ready to strike. The dragon had an odd sense of being both relaxed and ready to attack, like it knew that I wasn't a threat, but that it would not let me leave, either.
I knew that I had a better chance dodging an attack than attacking head on, so I stopped about twenty paces away, screaming. Asmund’s head was raised in the air above me, petrifying me where I stood.
But then, something unexpected happened. Asmund, the mighty dragon, cocked its head to the side as it stared at me. It made a series of low chortling sounds, almost like a puppy wanting to bark at me.
It tilted its head in the other direction and stretched its head towards me, taking one step, bringing it a handful of feet away. Its red scales shimmered in the light of the flames, becoming mesmerizing, but I blinked and forced myself to watch its eyes. If I was going to dodge its attack, the eyes would likely be the first to betray its movement.
It didn't attack.
I breathed heavily, exerted from the run, and the adrenaline, but it did not do anything. I lowered my axe to my side, and that is when the dragon made its move.
Its tail flicked from one side to the other, and I brought my axe up to guard from the attack, but the dragon just gave a low growl as its tail flicked back and forth, its head drawing closer.
What was going on here? Was the dragon smart? Could it understand me? "Hello?" I asked, feeling stupid talking to an animal, even one as majestic as this.
I stared into its eyes, and they changed somehow. They seemed to look less cat-like, with the vertical slit pupils almost looking round.
"Can…” I stammered, “Can you understand me?"
The dragon responded with a growl, but I did not know what it meant. I couldn't help but to laugh; all of that tension and fear for a dragon that may as well have been a house pet. Albeit a giant house pet. Maybe a castle pet. City pet?
I touched the smooth scales on its snout; they were warm to the touch and felt like steel covered in silk. Extremely smooth, but not to be confused in any way for anything weak.
"The others are going to be shocked," I said.
Imagine the possibilities of having a dragon on your side. Winning wars would be easy: kingdoms would fear you, all from taming this one animal. It was an odd thing to think about, but with how the dragon was acting, it was hard not to see just it as any other animal.
I started towards the exit, carefully, trying not to startle the dragon. It did not seem to mind in the least. It almost looked happy to let me go.
"This is too easy," I said, lowering my hand near my new dagger that was hanging on my belt.
That was when everything changed.
The dragon's eyes narrowed, quickly forming into slits again as it stared at me and at the dagger in my waistband.
My instincts warned me, and I started reacting before I knew what was happening. My axe came up and struck the underside of the dragon's jaw, the force of the impact throwing me to the ground.
It roared even more fiercely than earlier, making my ears ring, stunning me.
The dragon stood over me, one claw digging into the ground within arm’s reach as it raised its head. It sucked in air sharply, and I could see the mouth start to glow.
I shot up and ran under its belly just as it let out a massive blast of flame. The heat burned my back as I ran away, causing pain with every movement. Aesa’s handle was almost unbearable to hold, but if I dropped the axe, I would die.
I turned just in time to see the dragon charge me, its steps causing the ground to shake. I dodged as it got close, but its head whipped around and knocked me to the ground again.
"Stop!" I screamed, but it did not help. Whatever rapport I had acquired with the dragon seemed to be gone. It attacked again and again. Each time, I was just barely able to deflect the claw with the axe.
The pads of its claws must not have been armored because blood coated the blade, but Asmund did not seem to notice.
I dodged below another blast of fire, but my Kyrtill, my over-tunic, caught on fire. I dropped to the ground and rolled away from the dragon, putting out the fire and at the same time putting as much distance between us as I could.
Aesa's blade edge glowed with a soft orange, and its handle smelled of burnt wood, but I held on as though my life depended on it, because it pretty much did.
The dragon's head thrust toward me, and I spun away, allowing the axe to swing until it made contact with the underside of its scaly neck. Asmund drew back in pain, ripping the axe out of my hand as Aesa stuck between scales in its neck.
Another deafening roar echoed off the chamber, so loud that landslides of gold started to fall from the gold mountains. The dragon came at me again: claws, teeth, and tail, all swinging toward me in rapid succession. I dodged the first two, but the tail landed squarely in my chest, breaking a few ribs as it threw me to the ground.
I struggled to breathe as I lay beneath the dragon. Asmund spun around, and after a few seconds of searching, it spotted me and started to move closer.
I tried to grab for anything around me that I could use for a weapon, and my hand fell on the dagger in my belt. I instantly felt the hum of power, and it just barely gave me enough strength to stand up.
"Leave me alone!" I tried to shout, but my chest was in too much pain. I did not think I would be able to reason with the creature, but I could see no other way out of this.
It roared again, and then attacked, its jaw finding its target and fully surrounding me. Just as it started to close its mouth, in the blink of an eye, I struck the roof of its mouth with the dagger.
In retrospect, it really was not the smartest idea. The dagger wasn't large enough to penetrate to anything vital, but with the hum of energy that flowed from the dagger, I felt almost invincible.
I don't really know what happened after that. As soon as the dagger made contact with the dragon a bright flash of light blinded me, and I passed out.
That morning, I had set out as a boy with the goal of coming back a man. One thing was certain - when I regained consciousness, I did not feel like a boy anymore.