Dragoon: Dawn of the Dragon

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Drake had laid out his new outfit on his bed, he kept his gaze on it, looking up and down at the solid black jumpsuit with the mask up top. "Unbelievable" he thought to himself. He felt his heart skip a beat, unsure whether it was fear of what awaited him, or sheer excitement over the fact he was really going to go through with his plans. No one in the history of mankind had ever pulled off what he was about to do, of course no could breathe fire or conjure it with their hands either. Sitting in his chair with his legs crossed, with a fist covering his mouth like a great thinker, he contemplated as to what to call himself and nothing seemed to sound right. "The Dragon.....nah too plain....The Flame..........I may as well be called Sue.......Black Fire......better but no......Dark Fire.....an oxymoron, almost too perfect but sounds evil and I'm not evil. I think I'm over thinking this." He quieted his mind for a moment and got up to go outside and go for a walk. As he walked outside he shielded his eyes from the sun, it was mid afternoon the sun seemed a bit intense. It would be a few hours before his mom came home and he didn't want to be there when she discovered that the tool shed had just been grilled. Even though he knew he could touch fire without being burned, his mother's words were the one thing he knew would burn him. Drake walked up to the side of the road just like the night of his birthday party but instead of walking towards the forgotten barn, he stared intently at the dense pine forest. As if hypnotized by the woods themselves Drake crossed the road without looking to see if traffic was obstructing his path, which was odd to him since he always looked even though the street was barren most of the time just because his mom always told him better safe than sorry. Reluctant to not get hit by a rogue vehicle he continued to walk down the gradual incline of wheat grass, dandelions, and clover towards the edge of the forest. Walking confidently like his entire world was about to make sense as soon as he walked in those woods. As far as he knew it seemed that way. A cool calm wind came across the dale, the smell of fresh pine filled Drake's nose soothing his nerves. He stopped in his tracks to take in the fresh air before continuing towards more knowledge of his beginnings.

Drake slowly crept into the dense forest not knowing what awaited him, but was hopeful for answers. Answers to why he was left here, what happened the night he was left, was he really part of some cockeyed ritual? The answers he sought were so close he could feel it. Crushing fallen branches he almost marched through the wood lifting his legs high to avoid getting snared by bigger fallen branches, some entire trees. He could hear warblers calling each other, distant sounds of other birds cooing and flapping their wings. A few glimpses of rabbits and squirrels fleeing from view of him caught his attention. The forest was very alive, but felt almost dead like the trees themselves didn't want Drake there, yet were truly powerless to stop him. He continued to go deeper into the forest, so deep he could barely tell where he came from. After a while of pushing through flora, and getting smacked a few times by random branches he failed to keep secure with his hands as he tried to pass through he came to a clearing that looked like it should have housed the sword in the stone. The angled light from the sun shining through the density made it look ethereal. He spun himself around to take in the serenity of this place. He noticed some of the trees were barren at the tops, which made him think this was the place since his mother spoke of the fire she saw which would cause the trees to be barren at the tops if they were burned and not maintained in some way.

He walked up to every tree that surrounded the clearing as if interrogating them like witnesses to some horrific crime. While he still placed a palm on one of the mighty trunks, he turned his attention to one point in the clearing, what had been covered in moss and dead pine needles looked like a small circle of rock. Drake quickly stepped over to the circle and knelt next to it, he stared blankly at the empty space. He put his hand to it, he felt sticks inside of it, that had been covered from mud that was created from years of rain. He knew this was his temporary crib which housed him in flame. A tear came down his face as he stood up and walked over to the tree he was standing at before, he hugged the tree like it was his own mother, crying into the pine, almost hoping it would lend a friendly branch to embrace him as he was to it. He couldn't believe that it was here that he was found. Wiping the tears from his eyes his thoughts drowned him. Why was he left here? Where were his real parents? Was the other part of his mother's story true? She told him of the charred bodies yet he did not see any sign of human life within the clearing.