Chapter 10: Resolved To Act

The old man vehemently shook his head from side to side while Teus nodded intensely.

“No, you got it all wrong!” The old man exclaimed, though Teus was quick to refute.

“No, no, no I understand it perfectly! There’s still plenty more survival skills you have to teach me before I run in unprepared. But together we can show the world the truth! This marks the adventure of Teus and mister…?”

Teus paused after realizing that he did not even get the old man’s name. His gaze nervously shifted between the old man and the scarf.

“Mister…?”

The old man looked dumbfounded, his mouth open ready to explain the intended meaning of his words before Teus had interrupted him.

“...Mister Fluff and Puff!”

…

The child had an ear-to-ear smile on his face, the old man was befuddled.

“What?” The old man held his head on a tilted angle in confusion.

“Well, I didn’t get your name and I figured I‘d remember you by the scarf…that’s fluffy and puffy.”

“Uh…Why didn’t you just ask for my name?”

Teus’ face blushed out of embarrassment.

“Ah, sorry, I guess I could have done that!"

The child frantically gathered the breath for his next sentence of asking this stranger for his name before he was promptly interrupted.

“No, it’s fine. I actually think I prefer Mister Fluff and Puff anyway. I like the ring to it.”

The old man repeated the name as he chuckled to himself, deciding to let the previous incident slide. Teus on the other hand then had a sombre expression etched onto his face while playing with his purple scarf.

“...I won't forget about how kind you were to me today, Mister Fluff and Puff.”

The boy said, tightly gripping his scarf. The old man let out a soft groan before giving a gentle smile and replying with a whimsy grin.

“Don’t sweat it. Just keep that scarf as a reminder, and don’t lose it, okay Teus?”

****

Teus awoke from his dusty old cot in the hospital with a shortened breath and a cold sweat as he sprung forward. He laid in the cot, now sitting up straight and with a slight cough to clear his throat. It did not take long before he remembered what happened to him.

“I completely lost it…!”

Silence engulfed the room as he thought back to the captain of the Beast Breakers.

“You’ve likely heard this saying before, and I’m sure you don’t like it. But it’d suit you well to remember that you’re just a peasant, nothing more, nothing less. Don’t let meaningless dreams delude you. Life gets easier when you accept your role.”

His words stung like salt poured onto an open wound. He gripped the blanket covering him tightly as he bit his lower lip. Though this was far from what aggravated him the most.

The memory of Raud slipped to the front of his mind as he taunted him. The image of him leaving while holding his scarf was seared into his mind and made him burn with rage.

“Consider this your penance, and let it be a reminder to not act out of line ever again!”

He threw the blanket off of him before springing to his feet.

“I can’t let him get away. If he’s still in Thorinhil, I can track him down and I’m sure I can find a way to get my scarf back. I just need to find him…!”

Teus frantically looked around the room, before realizing he was not at all familiar with this setting.

“First step being: figuring out where the hell I am!”

He quickly inspected the area. The room was dark and vacant, but a softly flickering lamplight helped him see. The table across from him held bandages made of cotton and he noticed a distinct smell of herbs in the air, a mix of them.

He heard the faint, muffled voices of nurses speaking to other patients down the halls. That’s when he realized he was in a room inside a hospital. 

“A hospital…? Who could have possibly afforded this?”

Teus, immediately distracted, looked down at his body and patted himself down, inspecting if there was any lasting damage done to him after the attack. After a while a deep sigh of relief left his body as he felt that he was all in one piece.

“Phew, I thought it was way worse! I thought I was gonna die back there! Looks like he doesn’t hit so hard after all!”

A loud thud shook the floor beneath him, causing him to lose his balance and drop to the ground. This force was not from any sort of natural disaster, but a result of brutal combat. It was clear beyond a shadow of a doubt, the breakers were at work.

“...No time to figure that out now, if I don’t hurry, those Beast Breakers are gonna kill that dragon and get out of here!”

As he took fastened steps toward the window to see that it was indeed, night time. The dragon attack had commenced. And so did the rules of the breakers, those who held authority of the king. If Teus was not found inside the four walls of a building, he could be put to death.

Another rumbling caused his body to almost hit the floor before he held against the window frame for support. The shaking of the ground caused a loose paper, that was previously secured on top of the table, to slip and gently fall before Teus’ feet.

Teus’ eyebrows jumped out of curiosity as he read the top.

“Teus, please read…”

He crouched down and reached the note and unfolded it to find a message from the shopkeeper.

“Teus, I know what you’re thinking… Don’t try to get your scarf back from those Beast Breakers. You already saw first hand what they can do to you. There’s a dragon on the loose that they need to eliminate from Thorinhil. I know that scarf meant a lot to you, but there is no way that you’re going to be able to get it back. Just try to stay in the hospital for as long as you can and wait it out. Don’t do anything stupid. For once, please think before you act.”

For a brief moment, the words of the shopkeeper rang true, as much as he wanted the scarf back, the risk of him dying was equally as high. He sat on the floor looking at the letter for a little while. Before his hands squashed it, rolled it up and threw the letter in a nearby garbage bin. He grit his teeth and pounded the ground with his fist.

“But…There’s just no way I’m letting them take something so precious away from me!”

Over the soft booming and thuds off in the distance, his eyes were practically blinded by a flashing cerulean light. The dragon core, still perched on the counter next to him, had begun reacting once again. The counter it was on began to wiggle, just barely, as the core juddered and vibrated in one spot.

His confused face soon turned into one with a streak of remembrance. He had seen the core glow moments before he lost his consciousness.

“I got it to glow again…but how?!”

He stood up and snatched the flashing gem off the counter. His mind raced with thoughts.

“The captain said something about resolve and intuition right? Is it reacting to my conviction in the moment?”

His eyes became focused on the core as its flickering became more rapid. Within seconds the room that was once dimly lit had been completely engulfed in a luminescent shine, the core violently quivering in his hand.

“It is, isn’t it!?”

Then the light glowing aura that surrounded the core got more thick and dense. It burst forth and sent Teus stumbling backwards towards the ground. The core continued to float in the air, unaffected by his release. He collapsed onto the garbage bin behind him as he continued to watch the core in astonishment. 

Something began to form around it, or more accurately, someone. 

Within the instant Teus closed his eyes to blink he saw the being before him.

It’s light formed into a shape. Long horns protruding from the skull, scales that appeared sharp enough to cut diamonds. Eyes ablaze, watching his every motion. 

A large and colossal apparition of a dragon’s head floated in the middle of the room. The core still being in the center and surrounded by the blue ethereal mist. Holding a commanding presence, exuding dignity in every aspect of his structure. Though the dragon appeared large in size, Teus questioned if this apparition was showing a repressed form, or if his true self was even larger.

The dragon spoke as he looked at Teus inquisitively.

“I’m surprised…your will was actually strong enough to forcibly summon me from my slumber...”

Teus still was not able to form words. He was swept away in the shock of seeing his first dragon.

“...I…summoned…him…!?”

Without delay the dragon continued.

“My name is Galmarion, the burstbringer. I sense that you have been trying to summon me for a while, Teus…”

Teus quickly placed his hand on his knee to support himself upward. He was still processing the magnitude of the situation, he needed to get a closer look at what was in front of him.

“It's really you! Y-you’re the dragon from inside the dragon core!?”

“...Indeed I am.” Galmarion replied flatly. “I sense that you have been seeking my power, so I am here now to determine if you have the necessary resolve to wield it and be my master.”

Teus’ fist tightened, he confidently looked the dragon in the eye.

“Yeah, my resolve is rock solid. If you’re able to sense that much, then you should know that the breakers have my scarf right now, we might not have longer to get it back-”

“Foolish child!” The dragon’s voice carried a booming sound, causing the tables in the room to shake. “Don’t take this matter lightly. My power is a storm, you will either shape it or be shaped by it…! I am here to test your resolve is there.”

Teus’ forehead began to crease with annoyance as he snapped at the dragon.

“And I’m telling you that I already have it! What do you need to test!?” 

The dragon ignored Teus’ last comment and after a short pause continued speaking.

“Without enough will to wield the power of a dragon, one will simply squander. I refuse to be bonded to the weapon of such an incompetent being. If my power is what you seek, human, We must forge a soul bound vow. That is the only way, I will lend you my power after defeat all those years ago.”

Teus blinked in confusion, slightly embarrassed to ask his next question.

“...What is that?”

“The binding of our souls. You must sacrifice something immensely valuable in exchange for a portion of my power. The more valuable, the more potential you will possess. Then I will accept my soul being sealed into any weapon of your choice.”

Teus began stroking his chin quickly as he thought of what he could possibly offer a dragon. Galmarion continued.

“And before you start, we dragons won't take any physical treasures or anything. We need something more valuable than that.”

“Ah, then what do you take in exchange?”

“Hmmm… You seem like the ambitious type right?”

“That’s right.”

“Mmm…If that’s the case, I highly recommend sacrificing the soul of a loved one.”

Teus’ eyes shot open in disbelief.

“W-what?”

Galmarion casually continued undeterred.

“Try to think about the soul of your most beloved person. Or members of your family. I’ll also honor your volition if you offer the souls an absurd amount of people. Perhaps a small town. You can sacrifice a portion of a soul, but that wouldn’t get you that much power-”

“I absolutely refuse!”

Galmarion looked puzzled. Teus’ face was red with anger and eyes had an unmistakable look of being insulted; he would even think to do something like that.

“Why can’t I just find you treasure or something?”

“...”

“...”

“Treasure has no value to us. As I am now, I can only feed off the essence of souls. And I’ll only give my power to someone I respect, if you mean what you say, show me what you’ll sacrifice for it.” Galmarion watched Teus boil with rage as he continued.  “As a dragon I will respect you more if you offer the life of someone you truly cherish. Something you will never get back. If you can’t offer that to me then you will never be my master.”

“Enough! I’m not going to kill anyone for the sake of power!”

“Power’s only duty is to kill.”

“No! Power is used to protect people!”

“By doing what?”

“...”

“...”

“I don’t care! I refuse!”

“All power comes at a price, even for dragons, young one.”

“Then it’s a good thing that I’m a peasant and I’m not used to paying for anything!”

The air in the room got colder as Galmarion’s eyes glowed. The aura swirled around Teus like a mist as the dragon’s voice bellowed.

“Careful, you arrogant child. I highly doubt that you can force a dragon to your whims.”

Teus gave a cold glare back to Galmarion.

“You also didn’t think I could force you from your slumber, but I did that didn’t I?”

There was a pause for silence in the hospital room. The dragon was utterly infuriated. Galmarion’s face twisted into a deathly serious scowl before murmuring his next words.

“You are no master of mine…I’m going back to sleep…”

The blue light was absorbed back into the gem and all the mist and evidence that there was an apparition had vanished inside of the dragon core. The core fell from the air and bounced off the hardwood floors, now returned to its original state.

Teus went to pick it up with a slight frown. For a moment he was silent.

“I wish that could’ve gone better, but I’m not negotiating with a literal monster.”

A deep silence took up the room.

“Does that mean the cost of my dreams is…?”

He paused for thought a little longer, flashbacks to when Raud had kicked him earlier that day returned as he remembered how he got the core to react.

“No, no one needs to die. I’m certain of it, if I was able to forcibly summon him, then I’m sure I can command him as well. I’m sure this is what the captain meant by showing resolve, right?”

He dropped the dragon core into his pocket and made his way towards the window.

“I think I know how I’m going to get my scarf back!”

Without a second thought, he unlatched the frame and leaned outside the building, his foot firmly placed on the window sill. The cool breeze washed over his face before he jumped out of the hospital and landed on the dirt road.

Another boom resounded from north of Teus' location. His ears quick to pick up on the direction of the battle, he quickly bolted towards the noise.

“Let’s do this!”