The last half an hour Tao had been preparing himself for his journey. He had now been told, exactly what he had to do, but he still had no idea how to do it!

“But you should never tell people that you’re the Dragonborn, because most people will be frightened about the fact, that the dragons are hunting you, even though some people will see you as a hero and help you in any way they can,” the old woman told him, while Tao was packing some of his belongings down in some kind of old backpack. He just needed warm clothes, some food, a few tools, and a sleeping bag, that’s it. He didn’t want to carry anything else because then it would just get too heavy.

“I-I don’t know if I can actually do this,” Tao murmured as he had finished packing. He then turned to look at the old woman with scared eyes, “I’ve never really been too far away from the village. I like the nature but…”

“I know this is very frightening, Tao. But if you don’t do this, the whole village will be in danger, and you need to find your way to the White Mountains, understood?” the woman put her hands on Tao’s shoulders while she looked at him with a pair of comforting eyes, as she assured him that he was going to be alright. It was his destiny to do this.

“I’ll do my best… For Bao,” Tao murmured to himself, nodding a little bit as he agreed with his own words. If he didn’t do this, the world wouldn’t be safe, and Bao would be in danger, too.

“Good boy,” she smiled as she held forward a small coin purse, “Take this with you.”

“I-I can’t take that, ma’am,” Tao said, being a bit surprised at the sudden action from the old woman. He could clearly see, that the coin purse was pretty full of money, and he would definitely feel bad if he accepted it.

“Please do, I am one of those people who want to help you in any way possible,” she smiled warmly, making Tao swallow a bit down his dry throat as he accepted the coin purse.

“T-Thank you,” he stuttered before bowing slightly to the old woman.

“Just promise me one thing on your journey,” she said as she crossed her arms over hear chest again, making Tao look at her with a careful and aware glare.

“Sure, ma’am.”

“You should always be aware, that dragons all have different powers! This dragon in the village could breathe fire, which is very normal for a dragon,” she shrugged, “Some dragons breath ice or just air…”

“So…?” Tao asked carefully, making the woman sigh a bit.

“The most common dragons can breathe elements, but… There’s a few very, very rare dragons, whose powers you probably wont be able to see, before they reveal their own powers for you, or you kill them,” she said without looking away from the young boy who just nodded.

“So promise me, that you don’t trust anything that seems unusual! Because dragons can have any power, big or small, and they might all try to find the perfect bait for you, to walk right into their trap!”

“I-I promise I’ll be careful!” Tao quickly said as he bowed for the woman, “Thank you for helping me, ma’am.”

“Tsh… This is nothing! You’re the one who has to fight dragons!” she laughed softly and patted his shoulder, “Go say goodbye to Bao, I know it’s tough, but you have to leave soon.”

Tao bit his lower lip as the woman told him, that he should say goodbye to Bao. That would probably be way harder, than actually killing a dragon. Especially because Tao had promised her, that he would never leave her. He really wished, that she could go with him, even though he knew that it probably would just be a bad idea.

All of this had come so suddenly, and Tao did want to get more answers about who he was, and why he, of all people, had gotten this power.

“I’ll go say goodbye to her,” Tao murmured as he bit his lips while walking towards his and his sister’s room. It would definitely be the hardest task in his journey, to say goodbye to his beloved little sister. But he would come back someday, right? They wouldn’t be apart forever, would they?

Tao really wanted to know whether or not he would actually return, but no one knew – his travel was quite dangerous.

“Gege, what’s going on?” Bao asked as she tried to wipe her tears away from her red cheeks, not wanting her big brother to see her cry. Tao just sighed softly as he sat next to her on her bed, hugging her close with an arm around her waist.

“Bao, your gege is going away for some time, so you’ll have to stay at Mrs. Li’s house, understood?” Tao said, his little sister’s cheek gently while he forced a small smile onto his own lips.

“But gege! I want to go with you! You said we should never be apart!” protested Bao, feeling how her tears started to gather in the corners of her eyes once again. Tao just smiled still, while he shook his head slightly.

“You can’t come with me, it’s something I have to do alone, okay?” Tao said, some of Bao’s hair away from her face, “They’ll take good care of you while I’m gone, and I’ll come pick you up immediately when I get home.”

“What about baba?”

“He’ll have to take care of himself for a while… Don’t think about him, he’ll be fine,” Tao sighed as he hugged his little sister for the last time.

“I love you, gege…” Bao sniffed as she hid her face in Tao’s chest, not understanding why he had to leave her. She didn’t want to lose him, like she had lost her mom, and even how she “lost” her dad, too.

“I love you too, Bao.”

-----------------------------------

It was a quiet night after the dragon attack. The guards were still trying to move the dragon’s heavy bones from the place it had been killed by Tao. Some townsfolk were trying to find a way to rebuild their destroyed houses, while others asked their friends for shelter until they had found a place to live. It was at times like these, where people found out who their true friends were – just like Tao had found out. Being chased out your village isn’t something you’d think would happen, just because you were a “Dragonborn”, would you? Well but it did. Even though Tao had always been a good boy to help the villagers around town, without even asking for anything in return.

These thoughts were running through the head of the young boy, as Tao was walking, a bit away from the village. His backpack was over his shoulder, and his coin purse in his belt. He had brought a few of his weapons, such as his bow, as well as his staff – he had to be able to protect himself against animals as well as bandits! Besides, he could never know what kinds of creatures he might meet once he got to the White Mountains.

“Why am I even doing this? I have no clue about where to go!” Tao mumbled to himself, groaning slightly as he looked over his shoulder, seeing the lights from his village. It was too tempting to actually walk back there, but if he did, he knew that the dragons would come back for him, and this time they might even destroy the whole village even more.

He had to do this, for himself as well for the people in his village.

And Bao.

He walked for the whole night, without stopping. He was heading north, because that would be the easiest way to the White Mountains, since he didn’t want to cross any kinds of sea or ocean – he would be a too easy target for a dragon, if he was on a boat.

As it got later, and Tao had walked some miles, he finally decided to sit down, as he thought he was far away from the village, so eventual dragons wouldn’t think about looking for him there.

Or well… Tao felt like settling down for the night, but he suddenly felt slightly uneasy. He felt a few shivers running down his back, as he thought someone was watching him. He didn’t know whom, but he could definitely feel a pair of cold eyes on him, watching his every move, waiting for a moment to strike, maybe?

“T-That’s a bit strange…” Tao murmured to himself, as he decided to keep walking to avoid any kind of attack from the pitch-black darkness around him as he slept. He should probably find an inn to sleep, or something like that.

But where?

There was no village in sight, so he just felt really lost. Yes, he did have a map, but it didn’t exactly show the small villages, only the capitals and bigger towns.

“… What do I do?” Tao hummed to himself as he looked around himself in the dark, not feeling safe at all. No, he actually just felt like hiding in his own, small cave – if only he had one, then he would at least be safe.

“Okay… I have to keep moving,” Tao murmured as he quickly started walking in a steady pace, yet again. Still not looking back, since he would just be scared that someone was following him – or something.

It wasn’t really the greatest idea to be travelling at night, especially not alone. Wolves could easily surprise you with an attack, where you wouldn’t stand a chance. A whole group of bandits could be luring just around the corner, waiting for you to look away just for one second, before they would attack you, kill you, and steal all of your belongings.

However, even though both wolves and bandits were watching Tao’s every move, it wasn’t their eyes that Tao could feel, burning in his neck. The wolves’ eyes were the hungry, furious, while the bandits’ eyes were emotionless. The eyes Tao could feel watching him, were cold, as if they held some kind of grudge against him, or maybe just because the creature itself was quite a cold person?

Tao could feel how his need of sleep was taking over him, as he slowly started walking slower and slower, the time having passed midnight long ago. His legs were tired, his body was exhausted and it was a perfect time for a group of bandits to attack him. Tao wouldn’t be able to defend himself properly.

And so the bandits did.

They slowly, carefully and quietly sneaked up behind the oblivious young boy, and hefore he knew it, a dagger was being held against his throat. 

______________________

A/N: 

Cliffhanger much? XD ~ 

Hahahaha, sorry~ I couldn't help it. OuO ~ I like cliffhangers... 

I just wanted to say, that I read all of your comments, and they always make me really happy~! ^o^/ ~ And they encourage me to write more, which is why I update so much, hahaha~ 

Comments are (still) love~! <3 Let me know what you think! ^^/