Over the damp and black mud of the Dead Marshes, the four dragons flew closely tailed by a land dragon. looking on the marshes one could see only a few feet before them because of the thick fog cast off from the large pools of muddy water that spread across the land, but from high enough in the sky even the smallest child stuck out among the dark mud and heavy fog. It was a Warden unit, a group of men and women who had made a pact with a dragon binding their souls together making them Soul-Branded. often seen as a gathering of warriors and mages the Wardens where respected among all of the capital dry lands and the Histfros, a frozen wasteland. considered the same as nobles to some a Warden was a high position to posses. But likewise the process of becoming a Warden was a deadly endeavor as both taming and binding the dragon varied differently for each one.

The dragons flew in formation resembling a zigzag. looking to the front dragon you would see the large body of the black and violet Overlord dragon, a dragon that stood as a man does, its large scales reflecting the cloudy overcast above and its fuchsia eyes strait ahead completely trusting its master. the second dragon a Juggernaut, a four legged dragon slightly smaller than the first with gray and pale white scales that give off a dull gleam. the third another Juggernaut though larger than both the black and gray dragons. with four horns of gold extending about a foot off the back of her head she was the oldest dragon of the group. the last dragon was the smallest of the flying group and a Serpin, legless, easily not even a young dragon yet. shinning solid tan, its hide tight around its muscled stomach and was without a secondary color to show it knew magic of any kind. the Cobalin dragon following on the ground was a large beast for a flightless dragon. its mango and yellow scales built around great muscles much like the other Cobalin.

The rider of the black dragon, Laictus "the Eclipse", was rather young, as where his companions, much to young to be in charge of a group of young Wardens. He was between sixteen and nineteen by his looks with long black hair tinged by an occasional white bunch that gave his hair a two tone look to it. his aqua left and fuchsia right eyes had a bored look about them as he pursed his lips in annoyance. his right eye had a large scar coming from above his hair line to the corner of his mouth pulling it into a slight unnatural grin. his right hand wrapped tight in gauze even up the arm under his black leather coat. under his coat he wore a thin brown cloth over the steel and iron chest guard, the leather leg armor with multiple pockets leading to worn iron and leather boots.

The sound of wing beats sent shivers down Laictus as he pushed his dragon forward. He had been put in command of the group of three that followed behind his ebony and violet dragon; the "Wind-Sorceress" Mari, "Fire-Drake" Burton, "the Jester" Kinsey, and Dilfar "the Stout". This was the Wardens unit 15, Dragon slayers. Bearing the brown symbol of a sword and fire rune the group was finally full fledged Wardens on their first mission.

Twisting the reigns of the ebony dragon Gondri he brought himself 180 degrees around and over Mari. "Seems we might be able to finish this without any fighting." she smiled to Laictus from under her helmet.

With an annoyed look he looked down, or up in his position, "any mission where 'this will be an easy mission' is repeated more than twice is a lie. We have simply not met what is waiting yet."

"You have gotten to learn to relax Lact!" the man riding the red dragon behind them shouted, "You will live longer if you just learn to roll with it."

"No if you "roll with it' you are likely to end up dead quicker." the outburst and screech came from the tiny blonde child in the back of the formation struggling to keep up Kinsey.

With a grin and chuckle Laictus cast his gaze upward beside Mari's gray scaled dragon to the ground. Spying a mango colored wingless dragon rode by a short fat dwarf steadily keeping pace with his winged companions he gave a silent nod to encourage his chubby friend.

No sooner had the group finished their banter did the arc of witch burn split the group. "See...No wonder the seniors passed on this mission if its passing through witch territory." clicking his tongue Laictus tore Gondri away for his position. Taking one final glance at the ground as he rolled himself around until he was under the group. pushing forward on the dragons neck he shifted into a dive toward the origin of the magic. Spotting the witch from a good few meters from the ground Gondri leaned himself to the right allowing his master time to ready his sword pulling it from its scabbard and arching himself into one with Gondri's wind tunnel. Severing the neck from the head of the witch Laictus glanced back with a grin toward his unit allowing Gondri to landing on his own. He shifted himself in the saddle over Gondri's neck after their landing and dismounted to the outside of the few trees that dotted the dead marsh and the crude altar the witches had created from the remains of a chard cottage.

"Show a little constraint will you? What if someone had gotten hurt?" looking over his shoulder to were the witch had been. "well....someone else."

midway through his second statement he had noticed something strange about the witches, witches usually ran rank by the most experienced and older as the matron but this group had a young woman of maybe twenty as their head. her silk like ebony hair and overuse of charcoal around her eyes made her already black eyes blend into her pale skin before the arcs at the end turned up. she wore the same dress as the other matron of the gatherings Laictus had seen before but she filled hers much more pleasantly. her body seemed to move like a wave as she made her body turn toward the dismounting Warden with a glance of surprise at Gondri then regaining composure after looking back to Laictus. taking a step to his left to drop his sword arm to his side Laictus eyed the woman up and down, half appraising her look half sizing the danger she posed. As she looked to him without the feeling of wishing him harm Laictus waved his hand overhead in a circular manner with three fingers extended and the thumb pointed in, meaning to circle overhead and the land bound to watch from the cover near him.

The groups matron walked forward her black eyes lying on Laictus as she kept both him and the black dragon in her sight. Waving her hand at her waist in a shooing fashion she sent the others about their business, "just seeing who is a threat to my sisters and who is a friend."

"hell of a way to make friends, does it work very often?" Even if Laictus felt he could take this woman he was uncertain about the group that had seemingly disappeared, they seemed high in numbers and he was certain his concern was written on his face.

"No...no one has seemed to pass yet." she gave a small shake of her head ringing the golden hair ties. Gods her voice was attractive.

"So what say we dismiss one another then" Allow my companions and me to pass and we will not need to shed anymore blood." the red dirt of the usual land he was accustomed to was not present in the marsh and he worried of his feet sticking in the thick mud, he was in an awful predicament for any sword fighting.

The woman looked to him in a strange fashion; up and down, eying every muscle every scar, and finally resting her eyes on his. "they may leave, you will stay. i will conduct research on you in return for my sisters life." she carried a cold tone as she motion her followers back as they closed in again from the fog.

Raising his hand Laictus waved his followers to leave and even though confused and hesitant they did as told and left, the leaders word was law. he was alone in a witch camp with Gondri he hated the idea of fighting this many mage-born women, witches at that, to the death. putting his palm on Gondri's snot, he put slight pressure to show the dragon he wanted him to lie down, and followed the matron to her bedroll and what resembled a laboratory.

it was unsettling to say the least entering a witches work space, the occasional dried finger or at least what he hoped was a finger and not what else it resembled, animal bones of nearly every shape and size, and children being taught how to mix these 'ingredients' he was inclined to simply follow her until his companions made it far enough away.

The laboratory had been made from what appeared to be the remains of the cabins main room and the bedrolls arranged along the walls in an outward fashion. Along the walls sat multiple bottles of what appeared to be mixtures and the occasional poison in neat sections that he could only assume separated the don't drink and drink bottles.

Looking back ahead of himself Laictus looked the woman over again watching the golden hair tie ins sway as she walked. Her narrow back and smooth skin coupled with the arch of her shoulders through the thin black robe made her look all the more feminine.

'She certainly is shaped nice but her mannerisms and prescience could use a little work, if it wasn't for that she would be perfect.' Laictus worked the thought over in his head as he continued to followed her ever silently.

"So, do I get to know why I am to be studied" Or am I just to be quiet and let you work?" he gave a look of being unamused.

"if you do not speak it will hinder my research, I need you to speak. I wish to study the man who did not slay the first Overlord in almost a hundred years but instead tamed him." never turning her head to speak to him as she led him into the large room that from the smell must have been the kitchen, "They say that the bond between a Soul-Pair is so strong that even an Archmage couldn't break the bindings. If so, what could a man do to bring about complete loyalty from such a beast' Why do the dragons submit themselves to the whims of men like yourself?"

"I cant answer for a dragon can I" Seeing as I am very much human I don't read minds nor can I ask them and expect an answer." He was being sharp and sarcastic out of pure habit. "But I can tell you it is different for everyone and for myself it wasn't very moral or normal. Its a personal matter that you shouldn't concern yourself with." his eyes traced across the burnt wood that made the cabin's interior before falling onto the matron's back watching the shadows from the fire dance across it.

This woman had a certain grace to her a person so engulfed in darkness should not have. it was almost as if attending a theater performance watching her interact with a bottle.

"Do you not remember or choose not to?"

Her question hit hard as Laictus bit down on his cheek. "both.." it was like the growl of an animal pushing through his clenched teeth.

"I....see.'she took a swallow from the bottle casting it to the side a small stream falling from the corner of her mouth.

Laictus had stood beside the doorway and against the wall of the wide room just in ear shot of the witches outside. Taking in his surroundings he had noticed many of the out of the ordinary things witches tended to mark their territory with runes that forced outsiders to avoid the marked area but he did not notice any, instead he had noticed Ocular stones to channel magic under tables and door frames. Ocular stones meant one thing, this was a trap.

He had his head canted when he noticed the movement approaching him. Looking back in front of himself he was just in time to send the signal to Gondri to abandon him before the woman cradled his head pushing the liquid in her mouth into his own.

Pushing the woman away he spit the liquid back to the floor as the sounds of wing beats went overhead. Clicking his tongue again while bent over he looked to the woman's face with a smirk, "How stupid of me." the illusions work done the witches and small things of the hut disappeared around him leaving only the two of them. His companions had never seen the witches or the woman they had thought him insane as he dodged nothing, struck out at air and spoke to a lone woman in full offensive stance. "You put a lot of thought into this..."

"If you will not tell me I shall simply find out on my own." drawing a square in the air with her finger she made the room turn a dark haze of blue that pulled at Laictus begging him to sleep. Slamming into the hard wood floor of the cottage Laictus soon found himself drifting deeper into a dream.

"I'm sorry....I must know how to pursue such a beast if I am to meet my goal." Standing in the blue mist the woman brought his head to her lap and placed the square over his chest.

The black haze Laictus floated in was hateful and burned, his nostrils where assaulted by the scent of burning wood and flesh, the screams of pain he had so long ago forgotten. He began to thrash about using what little strength he could manage to beat the memories back.

"Litt...Bit.." the voice Laictus heard felt so familiar, it felt warm and welcome to him. But it had a cruel sting that made his stomach turn.

"Little-Bit!" his eyes snapping open Laictus groaned through his grogginess. "Nightmare" Well every thing is fine now, don't worry you are safe now." coming into view Laictus saw a ceiling he had long sense forsaken to his darkest dreams. "come now miss Naira is down stairs waiting for you. No use lazing about over one bad dream." the voice belonged to a rather plump and cheery woman with dark gray and white hair. Dressed in an apron and working clothes she was the Open Wing Inn's barmaid Martha.

Scanning the room with his eyes Laictus noticed the rooms glow, like it had been put right in the path of the rising sun. the bed he laid on was soft and full of down that tickled his back as he moved his stiff shoulders over its thin cloth skin. The room smelled of freshly baked bread intertwined with cooked meat and the hint of a recently uncorked bottle of wine drifting from under the floor boards.

The walls where a thick maple board that had been nailed tight to keep the rain out and the warmth of the sun in. two windows of thick fire blown glass sat snug in their holes letting the rays cascade down the wood and onto the still waking boy.

"ugh....Martha' you....why is she here so early' Its suppose to be my day off..." his eyes heavy and thick as he pulled his body onto his arms.

"come now." pulling the cover off she gave Laictus a grin from ear to ear. "its not everyday a young man turns ten!"

'Wait ten.....what was I doing" I was with Gon....who was I with' Was it a dream"' he looked at the woman in a quizzical manner as he remained confused and lost.

"What is it, you got a fever?" putting her hand to his head she felt his temperature and with a tap on his behind she pushed him to the edge of the bed chuckling, "Don't you think can just pull the wool over my eyes there, young man. I know when you just want to keep dreaming."

"Yeah, yeah...Martha knows everything." grimacing as he stepped from the bed he had nothing but his nightclothes on and the socks he had to keep the winter chill back.

With a thud she brought her open hand down on his forehead in a gentle but stern manner, "I don't know everything but I do know that naughty boys get less for breakfast than good ones." bringing her hand back up to pull her white and dark gray hair in a pony tail she began to open his drawers gathering his clothes.

Forgetting entirely the events at the Dead Marshes, Laictus had crouched by his bed and dug out a small silver knife laying it on the bed to be equipped after he finished dressing himself.

"I'm still surprised your mother still hasn't found that yet." giving a side glance to the knife. "That isn't a toy, you know?" She had a bad habit of making her statements into questions but she was a good woman none the less and meant well by her prying. "Just don't go about hurting yourself with it, understand?"

She had already set the clothes he wore the night before into his drawer and had started on his bed as he already turned the corner of the door.

"Mm, thanks Marty!" And he was already down the first few steps toward the bar.

The snow was colder than usual as Laictus made his way toward the third stable building. Inside stood both horse and Dragon alike awaiting their riders. The wood of the stable was less polished and stained as the wood of the inn, not that the wood was weaker in anyway it was solely rough cut.

The ground was a thick cobble that was kept swept once every three days. The cobble was laid in large squares that met with the wooden support beams for the roof every six foot that made a buildings base nearly the size of a small warship. They where very expensive but not many Inns or bars for that matter had a stable large enough for dragons and the riders where more than happy to pay extra for a place to allow them to rest while they do so. Each building had on the left four stables for horses and one large stable for the dragons on the right extending from one side to the other.

Siting against the wood of the stable rafters it was his favorite spot in the inn and he always was here when he needed to think, and now he had a definite need for thought. Was he right or wrong" Should he turn her down or should he accept' Though he knew his answer he was still apprehensive.

He had been so wrapped in thought he hadn't noticed the white scaled snout approaching him and it's grunt caught his attention startling him. "Hol'gard! You nearly scared me to death! What if I had fell?" the white dragon was Naira's partner and the first dragon he had met. He was a gentle dragon compared to many and his soft purr often was the sound he had fallen asleep to. He hadn't noticed the dragon nor the hand extended under him in case he fell.

"Come on who taught you to joke around like that?" he put his palm to the dragons snout and felt the ruff scales drag along his palm and wrist in a nuzzle. "Will you help me down" I will brush and wash you." Hol'gard always loved to be given baths.

Holding Hol'gard by the snout in a hug like grip and was lifted from the rafters to be put on the ground. After his landing he moved into the center lane running his hand over the noses of horses and tipping the buckets that held the excess food into the trough for them. The dragons where only feed by their riders, it was the same as a solemn ritual, but Naira had let him feed Hol'gard and the two of them had grown close.

Finding the brush and buckets he made his way back to the pure white dragon. He was a juggernaut and a proud one at that, he was large barely able to fit in the stable and he was charismatic everything one would think of a regal white dragon.

Setting the bucket beside him he gave a pat to the dragon in a way to ask for water. The magic the dragon used called a small ball of warm water, enough to fill the bucket, and dropped it in for him to use as base water. The soap inside coupled with the drop of water made a warm foam for him to dip his hands into, and the reflections where always pleasing as he moved his hand about under the foam and suds.

As always the soft bristles of the brush swam under his scales pulling dirt and sometimes blood from them. Lowering his wings when it came time and lifting them so he could climb his back and work his way down, it was all a system the two knew from years of practice. It was when he would lower his head so he could wash under his neck that the true depth of his clear silver slit eyes truly could be seen. Seeing yourself in his eyes like a mirror with an entire sky full of stars made one disappear in them.

White was this dragons color through and through, not a single blemish in sight on the alabaster scales only the subtle shift into a pale egg color when the thicker scales of his wings met his back. He bore no scars even after countless battles, if only to prove his power and Naira's skill, and his body was still strong and unbridled by the sag many dragons take from years of wearing a saddle. He was the epitome of the perfect dragon in Laictus's eyes.

"You are really dirty Hol, what did you get into?" He had been fishing pieces of rock and thick mud from under his folds on his ankle, "You know.....I think Naira is going to ask me to join the Wardens." The large silver eyes slid to the sky toward something in the distance in a scowl and low growl as he began but at the mention of joining the Wardens he turned to the boy nudging him with his head in a loving way, well loving for a dragon. "What now?" his little giggle was well received by the dragon as it gave him another. "You are weird Hol." another giggle and he went back to bathing the dragon.

Finishing he gave the alabaster scales a tap and started outside with the water, though not before he received a nip from the dragon and a nudge out the gate. He was filthy from the dirt and the splashes of the water.

He was in somewhat of a good mood as he started toward the inn. Outside he saw swaying chestnut hair kneeling preening the mountain flowers, she always did that when she was moping. Walking a little faster so he might have his first talk of the afternoon with her he rushed lifting his leg slightly higher through the deeper snow and final wrapping his arms under hers and burrowing his head in her hair and over the shoulder.

With a large grin he spoke to her lightly, "I didn't get to talk to you this morning! How is business today?"

She gave a soft throaty chuckle at him putting her palm to his cheek, she had been crying, "And a good afternoon to you as well. Sometimes I fear you will just take this place from me right under my feet." her eyes where red and she never wore her late husbands coat unless something was very wrong.

His expression grew grim and his grip tightened around her. "What is wrong momma".." though he asked he knew exactly what was wrong but he was to afraid to approach it.

For the last five years it had only been Laictus, Frey and Martha in their family. His father passed away from illness in the cold months when he was but a child leaving him and his mother alone until Marty came along. The three had been each others stronghold and without one they all would collapse.

"It is nothing little bear....You need to go wash up...I will still be outside for a while so go inside before it grows to cold to." turning her head Frey placed her lips to his cheek and her eyes remained glassed over still. He felt it in her kiss, she was giving her only son to a woman and he would never return. She was to watch him be carried away on the dragons back with Naira and it would only be her and Martha from then on, Martha was old and she would pass one day soon leaving Frey alone to watch the inn.

Swaying under her arm he put his head into her stomach and stayed there. Her hand rose to the nape of his neck and laid to rest there before she lowered her head and kissed his his hair.....the two remained that way for a long few moments in each others embrace. This was the last time this mother would hold her son and she would not let him go no matter what. He was her child, her world and her baby.

Before the two could separate the sounds from the stables of the dragons roaring and screaming in fear echoed against the mountains and onto the inn then the world grew silent for a moment except the sound of the wind. It was an ill omen for dragons to grow silent so abruptly it could only mean one thing; terror. They grew silent to hide after they sent the warning call to their riders.

Frey's eyes grew wide while she held the shaking child to her stomach still. Her head darting in every direction in search of danger. Usually an avalanche was the only thing that could run the dragons off so fast but the rumbling never came and the only sound was a sharp and quick roar before the inn began to collapse.

Diving on top of her child Frey abandoned herself praying in screams to her mind to the gods she served, "Not this child! You can have me but please not this child!? a warm red liquid flew over her shoulder before they hit the ground covering the child's face, then the inn was leveled throwing debris over the mother shielding her child.

The child was covered by his mother, he never saw the black and the red massive bodies tearing through the inn. He never saw the flames flare around him or the wood and interior collapse around him. And he never saw the board passing through his face tearing his eye out and ripping his soft flesh from his skull to his mouth. All he saw was darkness the red liquid had blinded him and he felt himself fly back then landing hard constricted and pierced. In the blink of an eye he was in a world of darkness....