Chapter 1: Beginnings
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I had always been fascinated by dragons. The way their scales were said to flash in the sun, their powerful wings which carried them anywhere their hearts desired. The fire that burned inside, that empowered their magic and made them the ruler of their domains. What person could hear such stories and not be filled with admiration?

Well, the hunters in my town, apparently.

“Dragon hunt! Dragon hunt! In the name of the Duke, an expedition is being organized by the Hunter Order to set forth and drive this scourge from its lair in Dusky Peak!” The senior huntsman, Abel, was well known for his sonorous voice and often handled the town crier duties. Nobody could pretend they hadn’t heard his proclamations; it was impossible.

I sighed and got up from my small desk where I had been idly daydreaming. I barely had time to adjust some of my papers before the door to my office was slammed open by Abel. I flinched.

“You heard me, didn’t ya, boy?” His expression made his statement a rhetorical question. “The Duke’s orders have come down and the hunters won’t be without divine assistance on this hunt. Prepare your things, we set out for the peak this afternoon. It will be a four-day journey, there and back. Pack accordingly. None of your frilly dresses now, good hiking attire only.” He left before I could do more than nod along, my eyes not meeting his.

I grumbled to myself once I knew he was safely out of hearing. “They aren’t frilly dresses, they are robes of office, you asshole…” I had hoped that taking up the mantle of priest of Teara, the forgotten god, would garner me some respect among the town. Unfortunately, this just seemed to provide more ammunition for the hunters who liked to torment me. I had never gotten along well with other men in town. Oh, I certainly tried; spent a whole year trying to build my muscles and throwing myself into masculine pursuits with an obsessive drive, in the hopes they would just leave me alone if I could prove I was like them.

It didn’t work. I still have some of the scars on my shoulder from when I crashed into the rocks; the hunters decided that if I was working so hard to be stronger, I must be ready to face them in mock fights to prove my worth. My protests fell on deaf ears and they hurled me off a cliff. I was lucky to survive with some scrapes, only my pride in tatters. Still, there is often an upside to any misfortune: my time spent recovering allowed me to talk with the town healer, Maple, who also maintained our library. She was kind enough to let me read any books I wished while I healed, and it was she who suggested that I maybe take up the mantle of town priest. The mayor had been concerned that we had had no envoy of the divine for some time. And while the town worshipped a whole pantheon of deities, it was deemed sufficient for me to select just one to devote my efforts to, so the town could be seen showing proper respect.

I chuckled to myself as I packed the necessities I would need for the trip. I had spent a good month combing the archives for details on the various gods and the only one who drew my attention was the forgotten god, Teara. Not much was known about this god. They were part of the pantheon for sure, but were worshipped directly by few, if any. It was a well-known fact that gods drew their power from their worshippers, but there were two gods who stood apart from this arrangement: Felgran and Teara. The former was the god of Order, of Civilization, and also served as the mediator for the gods. It was known that he did gain additional power from his worship, but he wasn’t beholden to it like the other gods were. This was so he could execute the duties of his divine station without being swayed or having his power undermined by schemes.

As for why Teara remained a divine force with nary a worshipper in sight? It was unknown among the people of the duchy. Once in a while, someone would think to ask the priests to commune with the divine, to see what the secret was. But the priests in the capital could obtain no answers but cautioned against showing disrespect to Teara.

Such a mysterious god appealed to me, and there were no prohibitions against serving them. I never mentioned aloud that one of the perks I saw of worshipping a forgotten god is I got to make it up as I went, there not being any recorded traditions or strictures I needed to follow. 


I did my best to comfort the townsfolk and keep the temple in order (which was devoted to all the gods, not just mine) and for the most part my duties were peaceful. Well, not peaceful, but fulfilling perhaps.

The only downside was that while the hunters sneered and scoffed at my chosen profession, on account of it not being sufficiently manly for them I guess, they also made sure to demand my services on their hunting expeditions; even a priest of a forgotten god came with access to powerful healing magic. The fact I could also heal the wounds their abuse left was a bonus in their eyes.

Don’t ask me how that works. I started studying magic seriously as soon as I became a priest and found that healing magic came much easier to me than it did for the other mages in town. You didn’t need a divine patron to wield such magic, but having one tended to make learning such things much smoother, at least that was my theory. I took my aptitude and swift progress with magic to be a sign that at the very least, my god was amused by my efforts rather than being insulted at my audacity. I never heard my god’s voice, like other priests talked about in letters I traded with the capital, but the time I spent in quiet reflection every day always came with a sense that I was being watched over.

Anyway, you would think that being able to put someone’s arm back on would endear me to the hunters, who seemed prone to such accidents, but apparently they had decided it was something they were entitled to, and I rarely got any thanks. Well, that isn’t entirely true. The hunters themselves were assholes about it, but their families and the rest of the town were appreciative and kind to me... at least when the hunters weren’t around. Our town, Rivermist, was a quiet place in the foothills of the Cracked Mountains, a range that included the peak the dragon was sighted at. The hunters were the most respected group in our town, for they protected us from the bigger monsters that liked to lurk in the nearby woods and they also bolstered our food supplies. We had some decent farms but without the hunters we would be in trouble. So, everyone put up with their attitude. Sometimes I wondered why, given how many sought my office for healing and counsel after a run in with hunters. I wasn’t the only one they preyed upon.

They weren’t that bad. I told myself that frequently, like repeating it would make it true. It had to be true, for the sake of the town. I don’t know why I was considered a prime target for mockery, but barely a week went by without some kind of practical ‘joke’ made at my expense. They usually refrained from leaving me too damaged to no longer be useful but a few times...well I focused on the good they did for the town and that carried me through the nights when I lay awake in terror of my own memories. 

I was shaken from my reminiscing by another loud knock on my door. I finished throwing some clothes into my pack and opened the door. I was greeted by a well muscled woman with greying gold hair and robes covered in flowers. Maple smiled at me and pushed past me into the office.

“Heard you were being roped into the latest hunt, Sarric. First dragon hunt?” She looked up to see me nod affirmatively. “Well, I doubt they’ll actually slay the dragon, but a dragon hunt always tends to be exciting. And dangerous. I came by to bring you some things that might prove useful on the trip. I went on a few dragon hunts myself when I was much younger, and even driving away a dragon can be trouble in ways you won’t expect.”

I smiled as Maple launched into her lectures, stopping only to show some herb or mineral that pertained to the lesson at hand. I was orphaned at a fairly young age, and Maple had practically raised me. She was the mother I never had, teaching me her skills and caring for me like I was her own. Learning from her ended up coming in handy too. Healing let me be excused from having to practice combat training like the rest of the town. Anyone who could wield a weapon was required to drill with the hunters periodically in case of attack. The Duke and his forces were stationed far enough away to warrant the necessity.

I realized I was drifting again when Maple snapped her fingers under my nose. She was taller than me and built like a tree, solid and enduring. “Lad, I know that mind of yours is prone to wandering but this is important. A dragon isn’t simply a brutish beast that you can lure into traps. They are capable of taking on human form and they wield incredible magic. And most importantly, a dragon’s will is their own. They do not care for the laws of humanity and they claim territory wherever they desire. The goal of a hunt is to be irritating enough to make a dragon reconsider, but to also avoid provoking their rage to the point they feel inclined to make an example of you. Do you understand?”

I tilted my head to the side, taking in her words while something about them felt off. “I thought we were meant to slay the dragon and only drive them away if we were unable to finish the job?”

Maple sighed and shook her head. “Dragons are difficult to kill. They heal fast, they have a variety of shapes they wear like coats, and they are cunning.” She repeated these facts, trying to drive them home. “Truthfully, most if not all dragons will leave you be if you show them proper respect. They are somewhat vain, but fair. But the Duke wants this one gone and likely has his reasons. Maybe someone will get lucky on this hunt, take the dragon by surprise with a deadly blow, or reveal some hidden potential that lets them face off against such a powerful being, but I doubt it. No, Sarric, if at all possible, I think you should encourage the hunters to drive them away or bargain with them.”

I sighed at this last bit. “Maple, you know the hunters don’t respect me. They’ll never listen. The best I can hope for is getting a good look at the dragon before they kill me along with the rest.” As usual, I left out the details of just how much the hunters hated me. I didn’t want to worry her more than I already did.

She looked concerned but knew that I was right. “Well lad, maybe see if Teara can give some signs from on high to discourage them. I tried to warn Abel not to accept this hunt, but that man is stubborn as a mule and twice as foolish. Not to mention likely to ignore everything a woman says. I’ll pray for your safe return.” She grabbed me in a close embrace, patting my head as she did so.

I felt myself relax as she held me. Maple is the only one who made me feel safe like this; I find myself recoiling if others tried to hold me or shake my hand. Too many pranks I suppose. I let myself enjoy the moment and then slowly pulled away. “Thank you, Maple. I’ll swing by the library on my way out of town to say goodbye, and also pick up some books to read on the journey.”

She snorted at this. “Let me guess, more fanciful tales of dragons? Pity we don’t have anything a bit more concrete than legends. I’ll see if I can find any stories you haven’t already read several times over.” I smiled as she left. Maple was one of the only ones who knew of my fascination with dragons. Most people tended to view them as harbingers of evil, of destruction… only worthwhile as a challenge for heroes to face or a scourge to be driven away. Viewing them with admiration as I did was seen as yet another sign that I was somehow unfit in some way and needed correcting. I learned my lesson about sharing my fixation the hard way when I was young and I kept it a secret ever since. Only Maple knew that one of the reasons I chose to worship Teara was that the god’s symbol looked like a dragon fang surrounded by flames. I wore the symbol under my robes, against my chest, a comforting weight against all the nerves that were building up regarding the impending hunt.

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