Draconia - An MCU Story

1 - Heritage

A stifled a loud yawn and adjusted my glasses as rain pattered onto the years old windows that belonged to the Museum of London. Sleep had managed to escape me the previous night due to an unruly thunderstorm shaking my bed space nearly clean off the top of my building.

'Struggling Summer?' Roy, my elderly manager, chuckled lightly as he gently placed back one of the old texts he had been studying. My own gloved fingers reached up to the desk lamp and tugged it a little closer to the page in front of me as I tried to decipher the faded letters scrawled onto the moth bitten paper. An etched drawing of a green serpentine dragon was the only thing I could easily make out.

'The Draconians would've made my life a lot easier if they had used better quality pencils.' Brushing a strand of brunette hair out of my eye line and back behind my ear, I flipped the page to another drawing of what looked like the heart of a cavern.

'Well some things never change even after millennia.' Roy pointedly picked up my own notebook and displayed it to me. The ink from my notes was smudged into an incoherent mess where the edge of my palm had scraped across the paper. 'Your people would be so proud.'

'Ha ha, you're so funny.' I snipped jokingly, grabbing my notebook back and snapping it shut. Roy smiled fondly at me and then dropped his gaze to the ancient text in front of me.

'I do wish I could join you tomorrow on your expedition.' He sighed heavily and leaned a little onto the chair in front of him. A sad expression cast over his eyes for a brief moment as he realised how old he had become. I softened my demeanour almost immediately.

'I'll take lots of photos for you Roy. Nobody has ever entered this place anyway, I'm just going to check out the outside and bring back more information for our tour guides to use.' My eyes rolled back towards the paper that lay on the table. The cavern drawn so magically into the pages seemed to speak of some kind of ritual to the ancient Draconian people but I had yet to fully grasp the dialect of my ancestors. My mind raced at the thought of being so close to those whose blood now ran through my veins. I had known for my whole life that my relatives were from Draconia, a transient civilisation of people rumoured to of had magical powers lended to them by dragons. Of course it was all nonsense and outlandish folk tales from centuries ago that had gotten out of hand however, I was still excited at the thought of visiting one of the few remaining ritual caverns in the world.

'Just don't go bringing a dragon back with you!' He chuckled, tilting his gaze up to the wall clock and then gesturing to the exit with his head. 'Go on, head off early and I'll see you on Wednesday.'

Nodding, I carefully closed the text in front of me and placed it back onto the shelf. I removed the latex gloves that protected the book from my inky fingers and threw my rucksack onto my back. Heading out of the library and into the rain outside, I popped up an umbrella and started my short walk home. London was still busy even rain drops splashing onto the pavement. Black taxis tore through the streets and bright red buses weaved their way around careless pedestrians crossing the road without looking up from their phones. My long navy blue trench coat kept me warm from the chill as I approached my apartment building and dipped inside.

Entering my little studio flat, I dropped my bag in its usual spot and began to rifle through the cupboards in the kitchen. A boring evening of beans on toast and gameshows on TV sufficed as I ate my food then repacked my backpack with everything I would need for the following day. The cavern was an hour or so drive out of the main city and had long been inaccessible to the general public. I'd managed to secure the ability to assess the outside through my connections with the museum and displaying evidence of my ancestral ties to the area. It would be interesting to see how the Draconian's had lived their lives and how mystical tales of dragons had managed to bleed their way into their history. My own hypothesis was that they were a clan of people not well liked by nobles, so fabricating that they were able to cast magical spells and summon dragons would be enough for lay people to persecute them. Satisfied that everything was ready, I changed into pyjamas and hopped into my bed. I had a busy day coming up and couldn't wait to finally get some answers about my ancestors.

***

The drive out to the forest was long but exciting and my heart thumped with anticipation as I parked up at the tall security gates that prevented anyone unauthorised from entering. A youngish blonde woman approached my car immediately as I got out, a gleeful smile on her face.

'Miss Wivern! I am so excited to have you here!' She shook my hand a little too enthusiastically. 'You must be so pleased to get a chance to see your bloodline's grounds!'

'Haha, yes it is quite exciting. I didn't catch your name Miss?'

'Miss Alister, I am the guide for this area when our VIPs come to visit. And I must say, this is the first time someone of Draconia heritage has ever stepped foot onto the ritual site. There are so few of you in the world now. It's a tremendous day for us historians!'

Her bulging eyes and ecstatic grin made me feel a little uncomfortable but I politely nodded and followed her into the undergrowth of the forest. It became silent and peaceful very quickly, the din from the motorway almost completely shut off by the towering oak trees that pushed up into the skyline. Ahead, I could see the outcrop of the cavern pushing out of the mossy rock face and had to stop to grab some photos. Miss Alister prattled on and on next to me that I started to tune her out and instead focussed solely on what was finally right in front of me.

Welcome home.

I jumped at the deep voice emanating in my ears. Miss Alister looked at me puzzled.

'S-sorry, I got a chill for a moment. Please continue.'

'It's quite alright.. as I was saying, the cavern has been sealed since the 12th century and....'

There is a way. But only for you.

The voice boomed at me once again. It seemed as though Miss Alister didn't hear a damn thing as she continued to chat on and on, spouting incorrect facts about my people. Suddenly her phone rang, the digital noise spoiling the natural peace that had settled in the forest.

'Hello? Duncan? Duncan can you hear me? Bloody service is terrible out here. Give me 5 and I'll call you back.' She pressed the red button and turned to me. 'I'm just going to head back to the gate, the service is better there. You're okay for ten minutes right Miss Wivern?'

I nodded slowly, still not entirely sure what was happening. This seemed to satisfy Miss Alister who marched off in the opposite direction towards the security gate. As soon as she was out of view, a gust of leaves shimmied up off of the soil and overgrown branches parted a pathway towards the cavern. Rocks that previously blocked the entrance fell away and an instinct within me felt compelled to follow the path.

Enter.