Author's Note:
[The story officially kicks off in Chapter 1, but as author, I highly recommend starting with the Prologue.]
"Wheeeeewww!"
"Taaaaa!"
A sharp twang followed the sound of arrows slicing through the wind.
"Mine went farther than yours!" Aeron shouted as he tracked the arc of his shot.
Ronan rolled his eyes, not ready to accept defeat. "Lies. Mine nearly hit the third oak! You're just dreaming!"
Both boys laughed, sweat glistening on their foreheads as they ran to retrieve their arrows.
The forest around them was alive with chirping birds, rustling leaves, and the sound of a stream, though distant. They had no idea how far they'd gone. One shot led to another, then another, and soon they were deep into the woods.
They started aiming for birds, trying not to miss a single shot.
"Watch this," Aeron said as he narrowed his eyes a bit and released another arrow with a smooth pull. The arrow sliced through the air and disappeared into the trees, but it went in a completely different direction.
"I'm going to get that one!" he said, already sprinting through the thick forest before Ronan could reply.
"Don't be long!" Ronan shouted after him.
"..."
Aeron followed the arrow's trail for what felt like kilometers.
He moved fast, brushed past bushes, and jumped over roots until he spotted the arrow. It is embedded deep in the bark of an old tree. He walked up to it, pulled it out, and just as he turned around, he froze.
A cold, strange feeling crawled into his gut. He could feel something ahead.
A presence. A pull.
He stood still, his eyes narrowing, and his heart thumping louder. Then, slowly, he took a step forward, and then another. The trees became thicker, older. The light around him dimmed, and all he could hear was the distant rush of water.
And then... he saw it… A waterfall.
Aeron gasped.
It wasn't huge, but it was hidden behind rocks. He crossed the shallow water beneath it. His eyes widened as he looked beyond the curtain of falling water.
There it was… A cave.
A giant, dark cave, hidden so well it felt like a secret the earth itself had kept.
"Who would've ever found this?" he whispered to himself, walking closer.
He stretched his hand to touch the stone wall. It was cold and wet... Felt so real
Aeron blinked. His hand tingled. The stone itself seemed to recognize him.
And then…
[Flamebond Sync Initiating...]
A pulse shot through his fingertips. His knees nearly buckled.
But just as he stepped forward
"Aeron!"
The voice echoed through the thick forest.
"AERON!"
Ronan.
Aeron clenched his jaw and looked back at the cave. He was boiling with curiosity. His hands were shaking. But Ronan's voice was closer now, and much louder.
With a sigh, he turned and ran back.
He met Ronan halfway.
"Where were you?!" Ronan shouted, panting. "You were gone so long, I thought you'd gotten lost!"
Aeron gave him a look. "Have you forgotten who you're talking to? I don't forget roads."
Ronan frowned. "Still... next time say something. I was close to going back home alone."
"I understand, but listen…" Aeron grabbed his arm, eyes wild with excitement. "I saw something, Ronan. Something unbelievable. There's a cave, a huge one, hidden behind a waterfall. It was like the earth was hiding it on purpose."
But Ronan shook his head. "No, no, no. Not today. I promised my Father we'd be back before dusk. If we're late again, he won't let us train for weeks."
Aeron hesitated. He looked toward the forest, back to where the waterfall lay. It was pulling him again.
"Alright," he said. "But we're coming back. You have to see it."
"Next time," Ronan said, already walking. "Let's go."
But Aeron couldn't shake the feeling. Even as they walked back, even while eating lunch, even while pretending to sleep, his head was full of thoughts.
That cave… That pull… It just wouldn't let go.
That evening, Aeron couldn't rest.
"..."
"..."
Very early in the morning, when everything was still calm, Aaron slipped out silently. He grabbed a long stick and a small flint stone and ran.
He ran faster than he ever had, past the woods. His feet knew the path now. It's as if he were pulled, again, toward something he didn't understand.
He reached the waterfall.
Without hesitating, he crossed the stream and stepped behind the falls.
And entered the cave.
It was pitch-black.
But Aeron knew how to make a torch. He wrapped a cloth around the stick, lit it with the flint, and the cave was filled with warm orange light.
What he saw made his breath catch.
Markings.
Strange ones, carved into the stone walls. Symbols of animals, people, and things he couldn't name. Creatures with wings and claws. Shapes that glowed faintly in his torchlight.
He kept walking, deeper and deeper. The cave was massive, felt ancient, powerful, and sacred.
Then it happened again…That feeling.
It came from ahead, much stronger now. He followed it until he reached the farthest wall. He waved his torchlight on the stone and began to search, tapping, pressing, and feeling.
Then, a hollow sound.
Aeron paused. He pushed and the wall gave way.
Stone cracked and broke under his fingers, and behind it, something glowed.
He cleared the rest of the wall piece by piece, his heart pounding.
Then, finally, he saw it.
An egg.
Large, white, glowing faintly.
Rough but warm to the touch, and about a quarter of his size.
His hand reached out, almost against his will, and when his fingers touched the egg, he felt it.
A heartbeat. Something inside.
Something... alive.
When his fingers brushed the shell again, heat surged through him. It was as if fire was rising through his blood.
Then…
An ancient voice echoed in his head, not quite human. It felt as if the cave itself were speaking through him, and words began to form in his mind:
[FLAMEBOND SYSTEM: INITIATED]
« Soul signature confirmed: Aeron »
« Bloodline detected: Dragonborne (High Flame Affinity) »
« Stage I Unlocked – EMBERSPARK »
| Fire Affinity +5%
| Soul Link Established
| Dragon Presence Detected
Aeron staggered backward, almost dropping his torch. Something was happening to him, inside him. His chest burned, but not like heat… like awakening.
Then more thoughts echoed in his mind:
« "Flamebond Awakened. You are the last light of a dying fire. Protect it. Grow it. Become it." »
The egg pulsed in response.
It knew him. It had been waiting for him.
He fell to one knee, overwhelmed.
He was no longer the same.
Something inside him had changed.
"..."
The sun was coming out, and he had to leave.
He took one last look, then ran.
As he raced through the forest, one thought repeated in his mind: What have I just found?
Aeron couldn't stay calm ever since he found that egg. He kept thinking about it, its glowing white surface, the strange warmth it gave off, the cave, and the markings, and the peace. It felt too real to be just some odd discovery. But that night, something unusual happened.
He slept.
Not just any kind of sleep. A deep, peaceful sleep. No dreams. No weird nightmares. Nothing. It was just so peaceful.
For months now, Aeron had been struggling with restless nights, strange dreams, waking up tired, sweating, and hearing things, but that night was different. It felt like the egg had done something. Like it gave him rest. A deep kind of rest that his body and soul had been begging for.
When he woke up, the first thing on his mind was the egg. Nothing else.
He ran straight to Ronan's house.
"Ronan!" he whispered loudly from the window.
Ronan opened it, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "What?"
"I need to tell you something," Aeron said.
So Ronan came outside, and they walked a bit away from the house.
"I saw something that day," Aeron started. "Inside the cave. I went back after we left."
Ronan looked curious. "What was it?"
Aeron hesitated, then said, "It was… an egg. A big white egg. Like this", he used his hands to show the size.
Ronan blinked. "A dragon egg?" he said casually.
Aeron's heart skipped. That word.
"A… dragon egg?" Aeron said slowly. It hadn't even crossed his mind. But now that Ronan said it, it all made sense. The voices and the glow.
Ronan's eyes widened. "Can I see it?"
Without hesitation, Aeron led him through the forest. Back to the waterfall. Back to the hidden cave.
When they entered, Ronan was awestruck.
"This place… Whoa… This is amazing," he whispered as he turned slowly in the dim firelight from Aeron's torch. "Look at the walls! These markings, are these dragons fighting humans?"
Aeron shrugged. "I've never really understood them."
Ronan moved closer, running his fingers gently over the shapes on the wall. "And these... they look like different kinds of dragons. Like this one here, huge wings. And this one has horns. See that? And that, maybe a beast of some kind."
But then, his excitement faded. A strange feeling crept over him. His smile disappeared. "I don't like this place," he said. "Aeron… we need to leave. Now."
Aeron frowned. "But wait, I haven't shown you the egg."
Ronan hesitated, then nodded. "Okay. Just quickly."
When Aeron led him to the corner and revealed the egg, Ronan gasped.
"Oh my God… It is a dragon egg," he said, stepping back slowly. "This… this is dangerous. Aeron, we have to go. I don't like this place anymore. This cave is mysterious. Something is off."
Aeron agreed, for now. They left. But Ronan had made a decision: He would never go back there again.
But Aeron… he couldn't stay away.
There was something about that cave. Something peaceful. A kind of calm he had never felt anywhere else, not at home, not even in the forest. Just that cave, and that egg.