Requiem of the Fallen: Dragon Child

Helmund

There was an eeriness this night; I could feel it lick upon my skin. Once more, I sniffed the winds above the settlement, finding naught but cold and old stone. Reluctantly, I Shifted back into my human form, quickly guiding the siblings down the steep trail to the settlement.

Helmund, as I recalled say, was a tense attempt by Draigana and human alike to get along a little before all out war broke out. The moment battle lines were drawn, all the residents retreated deeper into safe territory, leaving the town standing as though someone had cast a spell to preserve everything they left behind. Last I had been there, furniture and the occasional valuable sported a thick layer of ice, untouched by any of the most enterprising looters. No doubt the layers would be thicker now.

Unwilling to trust my nose despite its proven reliability, Leon and I kept our weapons out and Megaera close behind. Though it was the southernmost settlement, it was still cold enough that any manner of creature would take shelter in the smallest huts. Only after we selected and cleared a home did we put our swords away.

"There should be a dried-out supply of firewood safely secured under the hearth," I said. "Megaera, see if you can find where they kept the quality silver too heavy to take. There might be a cauldron in there." The girl nodded, scampering away to the kitchen.

"Found them," Leon declared, taking out a loose brick and grabbing a handful of logs. "We might have enough for a few days." I nodded, helping him to clear out the snow from the fireplace before taking out my tinderbox. "What do you have in rations?" I asked as I slowly coaxed the fire to life.

"Rabbit," was the immediate answer, "with some moose left over from a fur trapper. Some herbs and berries, but not much of those."

"I've some venison and rabbit myself; the herbs I have are for seasoning stew. Might as well, I think we'll need all the meat we can get. There's a well out back." I jerked my head in the general direction of the back door, and Leon took the hint and went out to get the water. Megaera returned soon after, a large silver pot awkwardly carried as far off the ground as she could. I placed it  on a hook over the cheerful flames, telling her to take out all the meat and cut them into bite-sized pieces. She did so, as her brother came back with a full bucket of cold water.

Together, we scratched out an acceptable dinner bubbling pleasantly outside of the fire and took many helpings into our tins to eat until we were full. For the first time, the atmosphere about us was lighter, more gay, and we were tempted to tell stories, as our forefathers once did around the fire.

Tempted, but no. We were not of the same clan, the same family. It would be too different.

We unfurled our bedrolls in front of the fireplace, unwilling to be far from that warmth. Megaera and I were close to the flames, Leon carefully angling himself so that he may protect the womenfolk in case of danger. I recalled my older brother doing something similar once, when I was smaller. Before I had proven to him, time and again, that he slept like a fat noble and could sleep through an avalanche. I mentally snorted to myself; men.

In the morning, we left that house behind and explored deeper into the town. Megaera was fascinated by all the things she hadn't seen before, and often looked to me to explain their mysteries. I answered as succinctly and quietly as I could, conscious of the vulnerabilities of exposure.

Our encounters were limited to the occasional snow fox, its white fur nearly indistinguishable from the snowdrifts, and one sighting of an impressive Grey owl, large and perhaps hunting the fox. We took shelter in a different house this time, unwilling to betray our position to possible watchers.

The next day, we left Helmund and headed north once more, myself aiming for shelter in the hidden caves of the Cordath mountain range. It was also once home to a hidden community of Draigana before the war ended in human victory. Leon and Megaera seemed peaceable to what they could only see as my endless wandering, but the bounty hunters might be less likely to follow where they knew only of from myth and hearsay. According to them, dragons still lived beyond the mountains.

Helpful, but inaccurate. The blessed creatures had abandoned this land long ago, and we would prefer if they stayed that way.

Once more we Shifted, taking to the skies.