It was a beautiful spring morning, one not meant for a near decapitation—thus, the lethal glare Boa sent Changmin's way as a claymore lodged itself into the trunk of the great oak, an inch from her neck. "Apologies, captain!" Changmin exclaimed at once, his face turning red as he bowed to his senior. "I was not...um..."

"Do be more careful, if you are capable of it, milord." She leaned away as her flushed partner grounded his feet and pulled with all his might. "That sword has seen many battles before, and I assure you it's as sharp as it was the day the blacksmith delivered it to my quarters. If you cannot swing that weapon with more accuracy, you may find yourself off this party and servicing the king inside his castle."

"Captain," the youth exclaimed again, bowing deeper. But in his mind, he raged; he was only a year younger than his superior's two and twenty years. He came from a noble family higher in rank than Boa’s had been. Because of his participation in bringing down a particular dangerous and deadly Red Spiker who had laid waste to his previous liege’s manor, he was knighted on that bloodied field before Boa and the other Dragyn Knights. He stood equal with their ranks until the captaincy had been handed to the senior knight—the lady who fell a Grand Dragyn when she was but sixteen years old! Notwithstanding was the matter of her womanhood (but bring that up in conversation with her, and being thrown out of the royal hunt was the least of one’s worries).

Why, then, was he spoken down to like a common stable boy?

"Sheath your sword then, Sir Changmin. We are hunting, not fencing like a couple of pages." Boa turned her head briefly from side to side, assessing the area. "The others have gone on for reconnaissance, at my request. We remain here to receive their report. I do value your skill as a warrior, make no mistake of that, but I expect better behavior from those on my squad."

Better behavior. How long ago was your last kill, milady? But he would not sneer; that went against the Code, and he could not let himself sink to such a level. "I am deeply sorry, Captain."

Boa nodded, accepting it finally, and then rose to her feet, stretching her arms out to relieve the stiffness. "You are forgiven, of course. But please be careful." Her eyes appraised the younger knight openly—somehow, that gaze made Changmin want to look away, embarrassed. "As I said, you are indispensable to me."

Priceless. Invaluable. Indispensable. Words she often dropped when describing Changmin, but oh, how this knight longed to hear "powerful," "determined," even just "strong-willed!" Instead of sounding like a courageous knight he was made out to be a piece of jewelry Boa would not part with. Sometimes he felt that way, too. Was that his role in the hunting party? As a pretty accessory to make the captain's list of achievements shine brighter? When they were not called to war, they acted as the primary group of royal hunters. He, Changmin, handled the great bow better than any sword, especially on horseback. Of course he was indispensable, but were there not better terms to use?

He had always wanted to become a Dragyn Knight. Even knowing that his upbringing would lead to the process of becoming knighted, he played with toy swords as a child and memorized as much of the Oath as he could when anyone asked. Thou art a guardian to thy king, thy country, and thy own self. Thou art a warrior divine, an extension of the hand of the one true Deity. Thou art a hunter, the spear that will bring the deer to thy lord’s table. Thou art a slayer who shall look the beast in the eye and fear not. Thou art a Dragyn Knight.

The dreams he had when he was little only aided his determination. They scared him. He did not have dreams of riding through the dense forest, shield in hand with the colors of the king waving from his spear, or of fire and brimstone rising and falling around him as he ventured into the den of a most hated creature. No, he dreamed of the night and the stars and flying with them; he dreamed of riding one of the beasts like a common warhorse and facing the castle that lay to the north of his home.

As if he would bring destruction upon it.

Dragyn Knights had no business doing any of it. He needed to prove he could battle and slay as the other men and women could. His dreams as a child still haunted him. What had they meant? But did it matter? Here he stood, a warrior among equals—what good was it pondering over memories from long ago?

Lost in his thoughts, he did not hear the leaves crunch behind him, and Boa barely had time to draw her hunting sword before one of the other men on the squad fell headfirst from a bush, covered in that ran down his leg. He gasped for breath as the captain squatted beside him. "Captain!" the knight rasped out, clutching his broken arm. "We w-were...ambushed...!"

"Where?" Ever the soldier, Boa’s eyes flickered above the injured man's head into the shadows of the forest. Having snapped out of his reverie, Changmin drew his bow and notched an arrow into the string, waiting for someone—or something—to barrel into the clearing too. "What ambushed you? Where? Who—?"

"A dragyn," the knight quivered, grimacing in pain. "One…we have n-never before…encountered…it…it came from...the…" He coughed and blood mixed with that same ooze dribbled down his lips. "My captain..."

"Save your breath," Boa said in a low, concerned voice; she glanced up at Changmin. “Put that away and give him aid. I must check on the others and see to this menace.” Her voice, though soft and steady, was threaded with a note of urgency. Always an order, never a request. But she was his captain. The tiniest irritation trembled through Changmin before his oath came to mind and he stooped to help the injured knight onto his shaky legs. With a half-grimace, Boa saluted them before disappearing into the trees. The sound of her tread was gone in mere minutes.

A low rasp attracted his attention back to the wounded man. “…after…”

“Pardon?”

“Go…after her…” He held a shaking finger, and horror struck Changmin as he realized most of it had been bitten clean off. “The captain…does not know…the dragyn was…we thought…a shadow…” And he slumped forward, his weight causing Changmin to lose balance for a second. He decided that leaning the knight against a tree would suffice, and soon he had gauze and cleansing alcohol in his hands, tending to what he could of the injuries.

But that warning…

Unease settled in Changmin. A shadow? Perhaps he meant a dragyn from the Shadow Land, the region beyond their country—it was one of infamy and campfire tales, but none had ever ventured to it. Those who had were old and frail, and continued to pass down tales of great dragyns that terrorized all, even their own kind; of fires that burned whole forests and never stopped; of the air, too thick with fumes and smoke to breathe; and of the Dragyn King—he who ruled all the airborne reptiles. But he was a myth. Most of it was, in all honesty. Nevertheless, the people lived in fear that they would be invaded one day and lost to history as the dragyns took over.

He did not want to believe, but it was tough to not tremble with them. As Changmin’s grandfather had said when he was a boy, “All stories hide a truth in their roots, terrible and wonderful and memorable in their own kind.” People twisted stories to serve their own purpose: never speak to strangers; the bonds of friends will outlast those of family; do not wander alone at night—

Boa’s scream of terror echoed in the forest around him.

Alarm seized him, and he took flight into the trees. He tore through branches and brush, hacking away at what he could with his hunting sword; regret at leaving his claymore near his comrade came for only a second. More shouts carried his way, but they were almost immediately silence. Another scream pierced the air, and he stripped away the underbrush in an absolute panic. His captain was the best of them; there was no doubt of that. How could she be afraid? What sort of dragyn could make her terrified? Make her scream?

“In the name of King Yihyang, I order—” The knight’s exclamation cut short, and the wood fell silent.

Changmin froze in place, listening hard for any sound at all. Where was she? Where were the others, and the one who had just called out? In broad daylight, this was most eerie; had the dragyn killed them all? Captain…

Something moved in the trees ahead, hidden in shadow. All feeling escaped his body, and he went perfectly still, hardly daring to breathe. His hand clenched slowly around his sword, and he tensed his leg, ready for—

A man emerged. A tall man who bore no danger to him. Only a man. My parents would be ashamed at me for raising a sword to an innocent. It went against the Code to lift one’s blade to an innocent, and so he dropped his arm, hoping his expression conveyed his contrition.

“My deepest apologies,” the stranger said humbly, inclining his head with a somber expression. “If I frightened you, it was not my intention.”

He was odd, no doubt of that. Brown hair with glints of gold in the sunlight fell across his forehead into his eyes, and startling dark eyes surveyed him with interest. His face was slender like a woman’s, but cut into angles that would make a sculptor jealous. Black and grey gear clung to every crevice of his body, made of a material that looked foreign. It stretched along his chest and arms, tucking into expensive leather gloves with metal studs on the knuckles. The same black material disappeared beneath heavy boots one would normally see on a Dragyn Knight, meant to keep the scorching heat from the ground of a nest at bay. The outfit would have befitted a Knight, perhaps, but he was not part of their squad—or any other, as he wore no sigil. Most odd, indeed.

“You did startle me, good sir, but the fault is mine.” He needed to get past this man—and how was he not scared of the noise himself?! Must get through. The others…

“This part of the wood is very dangerous,” the man continued, tilting his head and looking at Changmin with a mixture of curiosity and puzzlement. “Whatever could have brought you here? I recommend you turn back, sir knight. That sword will do you no good in these trees.”

Changmin fought back a retort; as a Knight there were certain guidelines and manners he had to uphold. “I beg your pardon, truly. But I must leave.” Not so courteously, he began to shove past the man, but a firm grip on his wrist stopped him again. “Let me go. Did you not hear the scream earlier?! My squad—”

“I would discourage you from going further,” the man heeded, eyes burning with intensity. “I did hear the commotion, and that is why we should leave here now.”

“MY SQUAD!” Changmin bellowed, and the stranger flinched. “In the name of the king, you will release me or I shall have you arrested for interference of a hunt!”

For the second time in a few moments, Boa’s shrill cry for help resounded in the air. “CAPTAIN!” Changmin yanked his arm free, his sword hand nearly slicing the side of the man, who stepped back. “You have interfered with a knight’s duty,” Changmin stated, his voice trembling with anger. “For that, you will placed under arrest—”

Good lord, I did not think you Knights were capable of such dragging speeches. It looks like Father was right about that. Enough.

The voice came not from the stranger, but inside Changmin’s mind, and even as he began to swing around in the direction, the peculiarity of it registered with him. The man’s voice…in his mind? Something heavy and solid struck the back of his head and as he fell forward, he swore a whisper in a language like fire flew past him and then the darkness swallowed him whole.