Dragon Heart

The story of the half-blooded viking prince, born of both a brave viking chief and a fierce dragon, is one told throughout all the lands North of the Galenaer Sea. The tale has always been told to little ones at dinner time over food and a fire to let them know about the many things one man can be capable of if they accept themselves for who they are and unlock their true potential. It can also be told as a frightening story to scare the children into behaving or even a tale of romance at wedding ceremonies if told in a certain way, and everyone has heard each version at least once. But the part of this story that only a few people know is how this fierce and powerful half-dragon, half-viking prince came to be. For how could a Viking chief come to do anything with a dragon when their great races were at war? How could they even look at each other without killing each other, much less fall in love with each other in the process? Well, there was a period of peace before the Viking prince was born. A moment in time when, the story has it, dragons and humans were friends just so this powerful hero could come to be born. And his parents’ story could only be told as one of pure romance with a tragic ending, though everyone who has heard it can agree that the tragic ending was only the beginning of the great tale that would be passed around for ages to come. The tale of the human boy with the dragon heart. ~(***)~ The story before the story. Part 1 of 2 parts. Island of Yulae, North of the Galenaer Sea 18 years before the Viking Prince’s story of bravery: Norman held his sword tightly in his hands, walking through the brush of the woods outside his village as he tried to find the golden muse planted on the outskirts of his village for young princes to find when it was their time to assume their father’s place as chief. Having been hunting in these woods for many years before, Norman knew almost all the paths through the trees and where they led to, so finding the golden muse statue was something he could accomplish in his sleep. As he walked through the woods, he listened for dragons, sometimes hearing their heavy breaths as they slept in caves or splashes of water as they swam through a nearby lake. Dragons never liked to show themselves because of a past of war between them and humans, but if he was quiet enough, he could watch from afar or behind a tree how they acted when they weren’t afraid of their unknown company. He was on a mission today though, walking through a trail covered in moss and shaded by red maple trees that led to a clearing made just for the muse that had been used to bless a chief’s reign for centuries before him if they prayed over it before their ceremony. Norman never believed in the powers the muse held over a whole village because it was only made of gold, a material incapable of powers people claimed it to have, but he still followed with tradition, wanting to make his father proud, who had died a few weeks ago in a battle against a clan far off in the East. If praying over a silly statue was all he had to do to make a village respect him and believe in him like they did for his father and the long lineage of powerful chiefs before him, then he was willing to stray from his beliefs just for that. When Norman found the muse, overgrown with vines but still glowing in the sunlight that shined through the large oak trees all around, he kneeled down before it, lowering his head and whispering under his breath, “Please watch over my father’s village that is now my own. Help us prosper in times of peace and even in times of war, and allow us to continue on as how we so graciously lived when my father was in command.” Norman glanced up at the statue, smiling a little to himself, when he noticed something in the trees beside him, watching him with teeth as large as his yellow eyes. Norman glanced to the right of him at the creature and asked softly, “Do you want to sit with me? I’m out here to pray, not to hunt, so you’re safe.” The creature shifted in its place, seeming uncomfortable now that it had been spotted. It kneeled down lower into the bushes as if Norman wouldn’t be able to notice it anymore, so he only laughed a little and sat down in the grass wet with water from this morning’s storm, crossing his legs as he continued to speak to it, “Come out! If you are so curious about me, then come out and see me up close. Or are you going to eat me?” The creature’s eyes narrowed and it huffed, finally standing up and walking out of the tree line slowly to accept Norman’s invitation to investigate his presence. It was a dragon with large wings by its side and scales that seemed blue in the shade but rose golden when it stepped out into the light. Its face was decorated with scales too, that were a pale pink, while its heavy tail that trailed behind it was a darker shade of the same color. Norman couldn’t help but stare at it with an awed expression, looking into its curious big eyes and only being able to conclude to himself that it was quite possibly the most beautiful dragon he had ever laid his eyes on. Norman’s eyes widened, and he fell silent when it walked out towards him. He couldn’t help but scoot back a bit because dragons were definitely known to be carnivores whose favorite meal was viking, but he wasn’t frightened enough to run away. He could only stare up at it and whisper under his breath, “Woah…” The dragon tilted it’s head and froze in front of him, looking him up and down before leaning close and sniffing him, causing Norman to tense up since those razor sharp teeth he had noticed earlier were now much too close for comfort. He clenched his teeth and shut his eyes, not reaching for his weapon though he was ready to duck and run just in case the thing breathed fire or snapped at him, but the dragon only sat down and looked at him expectantly, tilting its head and letting out a soft roar as if it was trying to speak to him. Norman’s eyes widened and he wished he spoke dragon, but he honestly had no idea what it was trying to say to him. He was breathing heavily now, still not sure if the dragon was planning to eat him or not, though he was glad there was some space between them. He tilted his head to match the dragon’s actions, mimicking a roar back to him to see if maybe that was a word in ‘dragon language’. The dragon only seemed to grimace at this though, lowering its head and huffing again before standing up again and quickly creeping towards Norman once more, this time too fast for Norman to react before it knocked him over and pinned him to the ground with it’s claws on both of his shoulders, staring at him with wide eyes and leaning even closer this time as if he was observing his every feature, trying to memorize him or study him for reasons Norman couldn’t even think of at the moment. Was he going to be eaten? Was the dragon studying him to see if he’d be a good meal? Thinking about that thought made Norman reach for his axe attached to his belt, wanting it by his side just in case the dragon tried anything, but before he could pull it from his belt, the dragon’s eyes snapped to the weapon and it let out a loud roar in panic that hurt Norman’s ears so much he had to quickly pull away, “Ok, I’m sorry! You don’t have to yell! Stop yelling!” The dragon fell silent again thankfully, but huffed at Norman with narrowed eyes, the air from his nose feeling like wind against Norman’s face. He gripped onto the grass under him and nodded his head as if he understood the dragon, “I know I said be curious and see me up close, but pinning me down is unnecessary, don’t you think?” He looked up at the dragon to see him shake his head and let out a sound under its breath as if it was trying to mock the way Norman spoke. Norman fell silent, taken by surprise that this dragon just tried to mimic him and quite possibly had an attitude which was something he thought only humans were capable of. He was about to laugh and ask the dragon if he just mimicked him, but before he could, the dragon on top of him suddenly shut its eyes and raised its wings, letting out a cry of pain almost as its shape began to change. Seeing the dragon’s wings starting to disappear and its scales starting to fade, Norman almost lost his breath in fear of what was going on. He almost panicked thinking the dragon was dying in some way, but he quickly remembered his elders in the village telling him about how dragons were capable of shapeshifting into other animals, either to find the home of their prey or as a safety tactic. This was always used as a way to remind children not to trust everyone they meet, so he sometimes passed it off as a false tale, but right now he may have been witnessing the proof that dragons really did shift into other animals, a power only they possessed.