The False Hero

The False Hero: Chapter 6

Legends of the Matriarch

By Raymora Mayven

It didn't take much longer for Raymora to find his way towards the Nivren, the city where the guild was located. Not that he could really tell the time, however he did note that as he reached the city's gates the sun was starting to rise.

However, before he got too close to the gate, he checked to see if the mark was still there. He only uncovered just a little bit, which was just enough to see the bright shine of the mark. With a sigh, he replaced his paw back into the folds of his pants, continuing towards the gates.

Metal doors made from steel, recently polished blocked his way. The wall itself was composed of wooden spikes stranded together-the first line of defense for the city. It was similar to the training camp that Raymora spent his first years outside the winterlands in, but unlike the camp the walls had no battlements. Instead of rows of archers, only two guards stood at the gates.

A dog and a panther stood guard. The canine wasn't much taller than Raymora, but he was much more muscular than the dragon. Wearing a large breastplate and steel leggings with a long sword strapped on his back, along with his broad shoulders and stern expression gave away his identification as Captain Orlin.

The panther had identical armor to Orlin, minus the ranking marks that Orlin had on his shoulder plates, but instead of a longsword, he held a silvery pike in his arms. Raymora could tell he was new, his eyes shifted from place to place and the moment the dragon approached them, he thrusted his pike forward to discourage any more advancement.

"Knock it off Tek, don't raise your weapon unless needed to," barked Orlin.

The panther fumbled with the pike, muttering a frantic "Yes sir" as he loses his grip and drops the weapon. He stumbles back from it, cowering from the snarling canine, who was looking at him with building anger.

"How did you even pass training?" he snapped, which Raymora found funny because he often finds himself asking the same thing. However, the moment passed as he knew that it had something to do with that mark.

From what he had heard, Orlin was never in a good mood, and he never treated anyone with respect. He decided that now was not the time for discussion and quickly hurried past them, giving Tek a nod of sympathy as the canine howled in his face. The panther smiled in appreciation and turned back towards his Captain.

As Raymora walked through the gates, he heard the commanding voice of Orlin. "Stop right there," he said, making his way to the dragon, Tek following in his path.

Raymora was worried that Orlin had somehow noticed his mark, but realized that the dog was looking at his injuries.

"Hmmm, looks like you've seen some action" he noted, watching the dragon as he nervously turned around. "What happened to your wings?" It was a simple question, but Raymora didn't have an idea how to answer it. Back in the cave he did come up with a plan to explain, but he had forgotten it entirely. Typical Raymora.

Trying his hardest to keep a blank face, he matched the light green eyes of Orlin. He needed to be very careful on what he would say, dragons weren't really accepted by the other races. They viewed him as a dangerous, bloodlusting creature. He nearly choked on his next words, having to catch his breath after they left his maw.

"I wasn't paying attention and crashed into a tree." he stuttered, gesturing towards his cracked horns. To his surprise, Orlin laughed and turned towards Tek.

"See what I mean, everyone says we should be worried about dragons taking over the world, but look, they're just a bunch of dumb lizards" He preteneded to lower his voice, but it was clear he wanted Raymora to hear.