Dark Knight

The early morning sun slowly overcame the shadows of the night. As the wind picked up, Ipid’s only resistance from the cold was his fur cloak, but the loose clothing he wore provided him with little protection. Being short and stocky also helped as he struggled to keep behind the young soldier ahead of him.

Ipid constantly recalled why he was doing what he was doing. Born small and not as bright, he was only half the size of a typical man.. As long as the short person could remember, all he wanted to be was one of the elite Dragon Knights.

The Dragon Knights were the protectors of the realms. To become one of the guards, you had to slay a dragon, and make a suit of armor from the scales; which would provide you with the powers of the dragon.

After being turned down for Dragon Knight training, Ipid had followed a trainee to his training sessions and mimicked the training from a distance. Manix, the trainee, had treated Ipid badly from the start. He made fun of Ipid for his size and mental ability, but Ipid still followed his every move. Ipid stuck to Manix even as they climbed up the mountain trails to the dragon’s cave.

Manix kept up a steady pace, hoping to leave Ipid behind. The warrior had no need for the little man and was tired of being bothered with questions.

“When us get to dragon home?” Ipid yelled to get through the howling wind, but he got no answer. He knew that he wouldn’t get an answer, but didn’t care. He pulled out a small dagger from the folds of his cloak, and looked it over.

The dagger had a well-polished, golden blade that was sharpened on both sides. The hilt was made of the finest silver with the image of a dragon etch into it. Diamonds, rubies, and emeralds were set into the hilt, as well as runes carved into the hilt and blade. It had once belonged to Ipid’s dad, a former Dragon Knight.

Ipid’s dad had been the only one that believed in Ipid. With his mom dead from child birth, his dad took care of his till the time he died. His dad was killed protecting the realms from an attack, and Ipid had kept the dagger to remember his father. He also kept the dagger to give him faith in what he did and could become.

* * *

Darkness was fast approaching when the two reached the cave’s mouth. The wind died to a slow breeze, but the temperature was steadily dropping to near freezing. Winter was on its way.

Manix had planned his attack with the coming winter, hoping that his dragon prey would be going into hibernation. The warrior hoped he would find a sleeping dragon and making a silent, quick kill of the reptilian beast.

But they didn’t stop at the cave, Manix, with Ipid trailing behind, went on to find some shelter to wait out the night. Manix would wait for the first light before he made his kill. The two had found a small cavern several feet above the dragon’s lair, and made camp for the night.

* * *

The sunlight pierced through the darkness, quickly bringing light to the moonlit world. Today was the day for Manix to get his kill. Today, Manix would no longer be a trainee, but one of the Dragon Knights.

* * *

The excursion from the entrance to the dragon’s lair was easily accomplished. Manix had scouted out the dragon’s lair a hundred times, each when the dragon had gone out to find food. And the dragon had long ago clear out everything in the cavern that would get in its way.

Just outside of the of the dragon’s lair, Manix reached into his pack and pulled out a large net. He carefully attached it the walls of the cave, creating a net wall.

“This net cost me all my money. Its magic will keep the dragon from fleeing this way,” Manix said, not to Ipid, but to reassure his self.

Ipid stayed by the net wall as Manix stepped into the well-lit dragon lair. The little man knew he was not ready to fight a dragon and felt he would only get in Manix’s way. He decided to stay by the net and watch from the distance.

The Dragon Knight trainee had no trouble seeing the large white-scaled beast lying in the middle of the room. Huge piles of gold, jewels, and weapons surrounded the dragon on almost all sides, only the one facing the cave entrance remained cleared.

Manix drew his sword and readied his shield as they closed in on the dragon. Manix had full confidence that the beast was sleeping, but unconsciencly readied himself for battle.

Hoovering of the dragon’s head, the warrior raised his sword for the deathblow. The swung the sword downward, but all it hit was the hard ground. The dragon moved out of the way of the blow with lightning speed.

Manix stood stunned as he realized that he was way over his head. He slowly stepped back towards the exit as the beast turned its attention to the would be attacker.

Light shone down on the white-scaled beast from the hole in the ceiling causing the dragon to grow in an almost godly glow. The beast unfolded and refolded its wings as if to stretch after a long sleep. It quickly glanced over its treasures to make sure the intruder had not taken anything. The trainee was almost out of the dragon’s lair when the beast turned its attention the fleeing warrior.

The heat from the dragon’s flaming breath was almost to much to bear. Manix barely got his shield up soon enough to block the blast. When the attack paused, Manix was forced to drop his only protection. The shield glowed red as it fell and hissed as it hit the damp, cool ground.

Ipid knew what was going on all the time. Before the attack began, he found a way around the net that only his little body could get through. Now he waited by the net to see if Manix would ever return. He was slightly relieved when he saw the warrior run at the net, but his relief was replaced with fear when the saw the dragon behind Manix.

Manix couldn’t believe that he had sealed his own doom. The net was made to keep the dragon in, but not to keep him out. Realizing this was his fate, the warrior turned to face his destiny.

Time seemed to stand still as the final seconds of the battle came to pass.

The dragon closed in on its would be assassin with little effort. The beast pulled its head back and opened its mouth. With the speed and accuracy of any marksman, the dragon let loose a great ball of fire towards its prey.

Manix gripped his sword like a spear as the dragon approached him. This was his last hope in defeating his superior foe. The second the dragon opened its mouth form the attack, Manix launched his sword at the dragon’s head.

The sword passed through the fireball, transforming it into a molten bolt. It easily passed through the dragon’s mouth and into its brain. The heat from the sword killed the beast instantly.

Ipid moved faster then Manix could ever imagine. Using his father’s dagger, he cut though the net just as the attack began. With all of his strength, the little man pulled Manix through the net. The two toppled over and fell to the ground. The combined weigh of Ipid and Manix was too much. The lucky souls flew through the floor into a tunnel underneath them just as the flaming ball passed over them.

When they hit the ground, all went black and they slipped into an unconscious sleep.

* * *

After spending what seem like days, the two adventurers found their way out of the lower tunnels. Ipid and Manix returned to the dragon’s layer to collect the riches and the scales of the beast, needed for the armor.

When they finally left the lair, they left as friends. They left what could be the greatest adventure of their lives.