Risenfall

One

 It had been seven years since My hatching, and in that time, I had learned many things. For starters, this world is cruel, and we are all better off dead. Much like my brothers and sister. They're the lucky ones, dying at just the age of three. My Mother and Father didn't last much longer after them. They died near the end of the 'Dark Wars' as everyone calls them, killed by a small group of... Monsters, beasts who wanted nothing but to kill, kill, kill, and render our world lifeless. It might be a little too early to delve into my oh-so'traumatic' past. So let's start instead with well, Me.

My home wasn't too bad, not as good as my old one, but it got the job done. It might have been a small cave with just two rooms, in a mountain, but it was mine! At least it's on one of the largest mountains in our world... The view was pretty good from there, even if it was only halfway up the mountain. A lake rests at the base, fed by a small stream of water that flows from the north. I liked to rest there some days, studying my own form in the lake's reflection. Black scales, with a line of golden ones running along my side starting at the back of my deep umber eyes to the tip of my tail. With little white freckles just below my eyes running from one side of my snout to the other. My horns curve gently downwards with small and flexible spikes running between them down to my shoulders, where my two wings rest. If you haven't guessed by now, yes, I am a dragon, and my name is Jewel.

There's really not much around me in terms of civilization, I live on a small continent off the south-western coast of the oh-so-great 'Kingdom of Drakes.' They have a colony here but chose not to extend it to where I, and many others live. We were forced to fend for ourselves. If it weren't for the Wyrms off of our northern coast, the only dragons that would be alive here would be the ones under the Dragon Empire's control. We're not completely uncivilized, thanks to the aliens who came to our world seeking refuge, some small towns and villages had cropped up here in my homeland, such as the one I liked to visit down south a little ways.

"Enough self-exploration..." I sighed to myself before getting up from my favorite patch of moss next to my lake. "Time to head into town," I sighed to myself. I really hated being around other dragons. It didn't take very long after taking to the sky using my wonderful wings to reach town, only twenty or thirty minutes, depending on the weather and where I started. The town isn't too big, I don't even recall it having a name. Most of the dragons here live in the forest, mountains, or wherever they please, so most of the buildings are mostly a part of the market.

Lucky for me, I really only needed to go to one merchant, and even then, not very often. I'm probably the reason he's even still in business, most dragons here don't have a need for the goods he sells. I never liked walking among crowds... even when there isn't one, like today, so I just fly straight to my destination at the far end of the marketplace. Drove's stand is a pretty basic one, with a simple backroom blocked off with a sheet of fabric, where he stores his merchandise. The outside area has little to no decoration, with just some colors splashed in to help catch someone's eye. No blues though, the pigments for that color probably would cost too much.

"Ahh, Jewel! My favorite gem! What can I do for you today?" An older, and larger male dragon with dark grey scales, horns that curve upwards, but the right one is cracked in half, and muted yellow eyes. "Good evening Drove, I'm just here for this," I said as I placed a small scroll onto his stand along with a few coins that I had collected over the years. "Off on another one of your adventures then? Let me take a look at this," He said with a pleasant smile as he took the scroll and coins. As he unrolled the small piece of paper, his face scrunched up as he concentrated on reading what I was asking of him. "If it's too hard to read, I can rewrite it," I said, shuffling on my talons. I never liked making him read if I could help it.

"No, no, it is quite alright, I need the practice anyways. Hmm, give me a moment I might have what you need," He said before heading into the back, bringing the scroll with him. This was always the most awkward portion of buying from Drove... having to wait for him while he looked in the back... alone... 'Don't look weird, don't look weird'. I would frequently think to myself, self-conscious of myself being the only one at this booth. I always got nervous when in public, never liked being stared at, even if no one ever did. "Hmm please hurry," I had whispered to myself, getting antsy sitting alone.