The bond of fire

Astrid sat on the crumbling remains of an ancient stone pillar, her breathing still uneven from the fight. The night air was thick with the scent of charred stone, scorched earth, and the faint metallic tang of blood. Around her, the ruins of Eldoria stood in eerie silence—a graveyard of warriors who had once tried to conquer the legendary beast that now stood before her.

Vaelros, the Drakon she had bested, lay coiled nearby. His massive body, covered in shimmering black scales, rose and fell with each slow breath. His injured eye still oozed golden blood, but he remained calm, observant.

"You are different from the others," he rumbled.

Astrid leaned back, resting her arms on her knees. "You keep saying that. What makes me so special?"

Vaelros studied her. "The warriors before you sought only to claim my power. You did not fight to conquer. You fought to prove yourself."

She scoffed. "You think I don't want power?"

"Perhaps," the Drakon said, tilting his massive head. "But you do not crave it like the others did. Their greed burned hotter than my flames. Yours... is different."

Astrid fell silent. He wasn't wrong.

Her whole life had been a battle. She was once a knight of the Celestian Order, an elite warrior trained from childhood to serve the High Kingdom. But betrayal ran deep in the veins of men. The same kingdom she had sworn to protect had cast her aside—framing her for crimes she didn't commit, branding her a traitor.

Exiled. Hunted. Forgotten.

But she didn't die. She refused to die.

Now, she walked a different path—one where she answered to no one but herself. And maybe… to this beast, now.

She sighed, stretching her legs. "Alright, Vaelros. You said I earned your respect. What does that actually mean?"

Vaelros let out a deep, rumbling chuckle. "It means you are no longer my enemy. But you have yet to prove yourself as my master."

Astrid narrowed her eyes. "So, you're saying I tamed you, but not really?"

"Taming a Drakon is not so simple, human." Vaelros shifted his massive form, his wings rustling against the rubble. "A mere battle does not make a bond. Our souls must be tested. You must wield my fire as your own. Only then will our fates truly intertwine."

Astrid raised a brow. "Sounds complicated."

"It is," he admitted. "And painful."

That caught her attention. "Painful?"

Vaelros' golden eye gleamed. "The Bond of Fire is not given—it is taken. If you wish to claim my power, you must endure the Trial."

Astrid felt her heartbeat quicken. She had heard whispers of such things before—ancient rituals where warriors bonded with mythical beasts. But those were legends, stories told to children.

Now, she was about to live one.

She stood, brushing the dust from her clothes. "Fine. What do I have to do?"

Vaelros unfolded his wings, their sheer size casting a dark shadow over her.

"Step forward and kneel."

Astrid hesitated. Kneeling had never been her style. But she wasn't foolish enough to argue—not when she was about to forge a bond with a creature of legend.

She stepped forward and dropped to one knee.

Vaelros lowered his snout until his forehead touched hers. The moment their skin connected—

Fire.

A searing pain shot through Astrid's entire body, as if molten lava had been poured into her veins. She gasped, her hands clawing at the dirt as her vision exploded with flames.

Her mind was no longer her own.

She saw visions—of ancient wars, of Drakons soaring through stormy skies, of empires rising and falling in fire and blood. She saw Vaelros as he once was, leading armies of his kin into battle, his roars shaking the heavens.

And then—she saw his end.

A great war. Betrayal. A kingdom that had enslaved his kind, breaking their wills, turning them into weapons. Vaelros had been the last of his kind to resist.

Until he was cursed.

The pain intensified, and Astrid let out a strangled scream. This was more than fire—this was history.

Finally, the flames receded.

She collapsed onto the ground, her breathing ragged. Her skin burned, but when she looked down, she saw no wounds—only new markings. Strange golden symbols now curled around her forearms, pulsating with heat.

Vaelros' deep voice rumbled in her mind. "It is done. You have endured the Bond of Fire."

Astrid clenched her fists, feeling something new within her. A heat that did not burn—but empowered.

She looked up at Vaelros and smirked. "I guess this means I'm your master now?"

The Drakon let out a low, amused growl. "It means you are worthy. For now."

Astrid chuckled. "Good enough."

She had come to Eldoria searching for power.

She had found something greater.

She had found a partner.

And this was only the beginning.