1 Chapter One - Days Break

The sun blazed over the peaks of the mountain range. The rays beaming across the wheat farms that were nearly ready for harvest. Birds singing could be heard in the valley, the trickling of water as the river slowly curved around its bends.

In the middle of the wheat farms a few houses, barely enough to be called a small village resided. The villagers starting to wake up and get ready to go and do their normal jobs, from farming to making new clothes.

People were gathering at the well just beside the village spire.

"Morning Ken, it's a brisk morning! Can you see the fog starting to come off the wheat?" A tall, well-built man asked another.

"Aye, it's going to be a good day. I can already tell. Where is Noah? He hasn't slept in has he?" Ken replied while rolling his eyes.

"He woke up earlier than the rest of us and went to practice swinging that wooden toy of his."

Both men looked at each with an exhausted look. Noah had been practising swinging the wooden sword he received from one of the Dragon squad that protected the villages in the local area. They would rarely visit the town and when they did it would be a kind of festival. Everyone would take a day off and set up stalls for food and the local drunkard would sing songs of the many victories that the Dragon Troops had accomplished over the long reign that Dragon Emperor has had.

When Noah was a small child he lost his father in a hunting accident. It was months before the family knew for sure what happened. Another hunter in the village found a body in the mountains where they hunted game. He had taken the village chief to the side of Noah's house before whispering to him how he found the body. Tangled up and missing both a leg and part of his arm. He could barely recognise the face, the only reason he knew it was Noah's father was the bow laying close by engraved with Noah's family symbol. A circle with three lines, one at the top and two at the bottom left and bottom right going into the middle of the circle without touching.

A small boy overheard the whole conversation that was going on outside of his house as he was in the middle of getting water for his mother. Tears started falling from his eyes, covering his mouth with his hand as he ran back into the house trying to find his mum to hug her.

His father had been his hero, always smiling; always helping others in their time of need; going the extra mile for his family just to make sure that they were always in reasonable situations at home. He even had a friend in the Dragon Troops which was a difficult thing to have as most Dragon Troops were nobles trained since being children to roam the skies and protect the Empire.

Noah's father had met his friend in the Dragon Troop up in the mountains, both the rider and dragon were injured heavily. Noah's father nursed them back to health as best as he could for two months before returning to the village and riding to the capital to tell the Dragon Troops so they could send the proper reinforcements that the trooper needed. From then on his father and the Dragon trooper would exchange letters every few months through the mail paths from the capital city.

Noah would often get to hear stories of the trooper from his father, especially during stormy nights. His father had a flair for stories and would tell the scariest ones when there were bolts of lightning and claps of thunder in the background. Which in, the empire happened a lot more often than in most countries. The spire in the middle of town seemed to attract all of the bolts of lighting, each strike would make the symbols on the side glow and let out the heat before they slowly dulled back down after the storms died down.

The news quickly spread through the village that his father was gone. It was a big shock to all the villagers who had all been helped at some point by the man. The village tried to help both Noah and his mother as best as they could but the faces on both of them were sunken and could only be described as soulless.

Hunters were strong men, leaving the village from anywhere of a week to 3 or 4 months. To know that Oran, Noah's father, wasn't going to come back with a big haul and help set up new buildings or even more importantly to see him hug his wife and child again. It hurt everyone that such a loss could break the family.

A few months later there was a Dragon Squad coming to the village, everyone was getting ready and prepared as usual. Noah and his mother stayed inside their house. Nereem, Noah's mother, was working away at a blanket, using a loom in the spare room. While Noah was staring at the Dragon Troopers letters trying to read them.

It was rare for people of the village to know how to read and write but Oran learned this skill from the Dragon Trooper while he was helping him recover. He was trying to teach Noah before his untimely passing but Noah was always more interested in the stories being told than the words and the letters. He had started to deeply regret not learning as these letters were one of the few heirlooms he would have to remember his father.

On the day of the Dragon Squad visit, both Nereem and Noah stayed inside of the house as the celebrations went on. They could hear music and the cheers of the villagers as the dragons flew over in preparation to land.

A little while later, there was a strong knock on the door.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

Noah looked at his mum who was obsessing over her work as she usually was these days and stood up, sighing, before going and answering the door.

Outside the house stood a tall man, maybe 1.8 Metres [5.9ft] He was covered in a dark cloak, but you could see something shine underneath it when he turned back to face Noah. The stranger had dark brown eyes, thin lips and hollow cheeks. He started to smile at the young Noah who stood with his mouth agape at the sight.

"Can I help you, Sir?" A small whisper came out of Noah's mouth.

There was a deep laugh from the man at the door. The cloak shaking. "You must be little Noah! It is a pleasure to meet you, young man. My name is Isan Heridaki, I am the man your father saved in the mountains."

A small pause happened between the two as Noah processed the information in front of him, he was only 8 years old and was still a little intimidated by the man in front of him. Yet once he realised what that meant he had a smile on his face. 'A Dragon Trooper, the top of the top men and women of the country that fight for the Empire. Wow'

The young Noah turned and went to go get his mother, Isan followed the child and closed the door behind him to keep the heat in. He had long been a Dragon Trooper and was used to more extravagant houses than this, but he would never say that out loud. This was the home of the man that had saved his life.

Following the young boy into one of the four rooms, there was a large room mainly taken up by a loom that was being worked by a woman in her mid 20's. She could only be described as most likely the most beautiful villager he had seen in his time of visiting. She has flawless skin and not a blemish in sight. Her eyes were a beautiful hue of blue, like a deep lagoon. The only thing that stuck out about this woman was how her skin seemed tight on her bones, it was if she hadn't been eating the correct amount. She also had dark moons under her eyes from a lack of sleep. A bowl of porridge was beside her but it looked stone-cold, presumably brought to her by Noah at breakfast.

It was just starting to come close to lunchtime. So it should have been eaten long ago.

"Good morning Ms Nereem. I am Isan, your husband saved me in the mountains."