A lone farmstead sat on a mountain plateau, protected from the winds by the lush conifers deep in the forest. Trees surround the house and barns. Inside, kneeling beside the fresh fire was a young man who appeared to be in his early teens, tall and lanky with a shock of short curly dark hair. It had been three long weeks of steady snow and the harsh north wind buried the fields under deep drifts. Those within the confines of the farmhouse ventured out only to tend their livestock and bring in firewood for the stoves.
High atop the mountain sat a blue dragon. Sebastian looked down on the farmstead with longing. His meagre supply of firewood was nearly gone.
An old man sat in his chair by a roaring fire in the fireplace, his face a rictus of pain. His gnarled hands gripped the arm of his chair. The explosive crack of the wood on the fire made Eldrick jump. It sounded like a large tree branch had snapped and fallen on the roof.
“Eldrick, bring me my medicine, then go check on the livestock. I do not like the sound of this wind,” grumbled the old man.
“Sergei, you never like the sound of the wind."
“When you have seen as many years as I have, you learn a wind that sounds like this tends to bring trouble. The last time we had a storm this bad, I was about the age you are now. That was the year we had a drought in the summer and were beset by brigands.”
Eldrick retrieved the jug of brandy and brought it to the old man. Donning his heavy wool jacket, he left to go check on the livestock. The door was ripped it out of his hand and slammed into the side of the house as he opened it. Leaning into the gust, he closed the door and made his way across the yard to the barn.
Maybell, the pinto bay mare, was fractious and took a few moments to calm down. Eldrick, filling the manger with fresh straw and adding a few oats, turned to check on the old milch cow. She chewed her cud, ignoring the howling outside. Once he finished tending to those in the barn, Eldrick headed to the chicken coop to check on the hens, who seemed unperturbed by the weather.
Eldrick heard a sound, like a torrent of water raging down the old river bed. Turning to look up the mountainside, he saw a huge plume of white barreling down on the farm. Caught halfway between all possible shelters, he dove behind the woodpile. Turning the barrow used for wood over on top of himself, he braced for the imminent impact.
The roar of the snow as it cascaded down the mountainside grew deafening. Eldrick struggled to hold onto the barrow so it wouldn’t be torn away, exposing him to the torrent crashing down on the farmstead. After what seemed like an eternity all became silent. Try as he might Eldrick couldn't move the barrow. Breathing became difficult as panic overtook him. His fleeting thoughts were of how his mentor would be disappointed in him.
As he blacked out, he breathed "I failed."
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Sebastian, hearing what sounded like a huge thunderclap, looked up. The sky was clear and bright blue. Peering down the mountain, he saw a huge wall of snow raging toward the farmstead. Knowing the kind of damage an avalanche that size was capable of causing, he took wing and followed it down.
With his *superior visual acuity he saw a small figure running from an outbuilding to the farmhouse as the wave of snow *crashed down. They dove behind the woodpile and turned something over themselves mere moments before the farmstead was buried in snow. Realizing people were in danger, he *performed a wing-over converting his glide into a dive.
As the snow crashed over the woodpile, Sebastian *feared he was not going to arrive in time to save the young human. With fear driving him he folded his wings and plummeted toward the ground. As the wind whipped past him, he ploughed into the snow pile, nearly *breaking a wing in the process.
“Hold on! I will get you out of there,” Sebastian sent.
Digging frantically to clear the snow off the barrow and woodpile, he realized others were buried under the snow as well. *They were inside the buildings with larger air pockets and thus, had more time.
*He figured it took him about ten minutes to reach the barrow. Panic overwhelmed him as he understood the person *may already be dead. Flinging the barrow out of the hole, Sebastian reached down, lifting the trapped person and leapt out of the pit. Peering at his rescuee, shock hit him. The person couldn’t be more than twelve or thirteen years old, lanky and rather effeminate looking. The short black hair looked hacked off by a knife wielded by someone who didn’t know about cutting hair, as it was all different lengths and a regular mess.
Looking closely Sebastian noticed the young man wasn’t breathing. At least he thought the person was male. Wishing he had mastered shape-changing, he hoped he could revive him. Listening, Sebastian could hear a heartbeat. Thanking the Great Dragon, he carefully breathed into the young man’s mouth. After a few breaths, the young man started to cough.
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Eldrick, feeling air enter his lungs, tried drawing a deep breath. *Once the racking coughs receded, he drew a full breath of precious life-giving air. He opened his eyes amazed he was still alive. All he saw was a monstrous blue snout, dagger-sized teeth, and large blue eyes peering down at him. Freaking out, he scrabbled back putting distance between himself and the monster.
"I mean you no harm little one. I am very pleased to see that you did not perish in that avalanche. *My name is Sebastian."
Eldrick shook his head in confusion, certain he was hearing things. *Somehow the monster was communicating with him, though the mouth never moved.
“What are you?” he exclaimed, not expecting a response.
"Me? I am a dragon."
Mustering his courage, Eldrick examined the strange creature. It was covered in small interlocking scales of blue and copper from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail. He was about the size of a medium-sized horse, maybe a bit bigger. His leathery wings were deep indigo in colour. He had four legs like small tree trunks which ended in clawed feet that looked like they could eviscerate a full-sized bull, with ease. *Those blue eyes held both intelligence and compassion.
"I think we should dig the house out soon. I can sense the distress in your father."
“My father? Oh, you mean Sergei. He is my master, I apprenticed to him when I was six when he came looking for a new one. He was only interested in choosing the brightest child. He had been through eight other villages without finding anyone until he found me.”
"Has he taken good care of you?"
“What do you mean by that? He has fed me, kept a roof over our heads, clothed me and taught me valuable lessons in both compassion and the druidic arts. If THAT isn’t taking good care of me what is?” Eldrick exclaimed.
"Okay, I was just asking. I didn’t mean to upset you. We should hurry and unbury the house, or at least the doorway."
Eldrick, considering the suggestion, nodded in agreement. Heading toward the house, he realized he didn’t have any tools for the job.
“I can't dig,” Eldrick muttered.
"I can. I just need to know where the door is."
Eldrick, pointed to the ground. “It should be somewhere around here. But first, we need to clear the chimney before the smoke kills him".
"Stand back then. I am going to do something I don’t usually do."
*Drawing a deep breath, he belched flame, melting three feet of snow from the top of the house. The flames were hot enough to turn the snow to steam.
Once the chimney was clear of snow, smoke started billowing out. Both started digging through the snow with their hands and feet. Working quickly, they found the roof of the portico, *working their way to the edge. The setting sun leant a purple glow to the sky by the time they cleared the door. Even though they tunnelled through the snow, Eldrick thought it was warmer than it should be.
Eldrick reefed the door open, fearing the scene on the other side. As it swung open, *the smoke billowed out frighteningly thick. Peering into the room, Eldrick scanned for Sergei. Seeing him lying prone on the floor with blood pooling around his head, Eldrick feared his mentor was dead.
"Let me in. I should be able to help. I can hear his heartbeat. It's faint, but there."
Stepping into the room, Eldrick was hit by a racking series of coughs as the smoke filled his lungs. Dropping to the floor he filled his lungs with cleaner air as the fit subsided. Sebastian ran across the floor to the old man and gently carried him outside. Sebastian spent a couple of moments breathing for him until he was breathing on his own. Listening carefully, Sebastian heard the thin thready heartbeat becoming stronger.
“He will live.”
Eldrick watched as the house emptied of smoke and Sebastian started tunnelling towards the outbuildings. Using a combination of flame and claws he created a protected pathway.
Sebastian returned to the farmhouse to assure those within that everything was secure. Sergei met him at the front door with a pitchfork.
“What do you want? We're poor folk with not much meat on our bones. If you were thinking of making a meal of us, we won’t be much more than a light snack nor taste very good.”
"Good sir, if I had wanted to make a meal of you, I would hardly spend the effort to save your lives." His mental voice was filled with pain and suffering. With drooping wings, Sebastian turned to leave.
“Sergei, he did rescue us from the avalanche and see to our livestock. He created tunnels so we could traverse the area without having to face the elements. Have you noticed how much warmer it is in here?" Eldrick placed a hand on Sergie's shoulder. "The least we can do is offer him something to eat instead of trying to threaten him. I mean, he breathes fire and is covered in scales. Do you think your pitchfork is going to be able to do much harm?”
“Boy, I have seen more summers than you," Sergei turned his head to give Eldrick a hard stare, "and have dealt with dragon wiles before. They've been known to create a situation just to be a hero and get whatever it is they want." Returning his gaze to Sebastian. "This young male may have been the cause of the avalanche in the first place. I have sensed his presence in the mountains for a while now, living near the summit. If you thought it was cold down here you should try living up there," he shuddered. "Colder than a frozen heart and barer than a newborn baby’s bottom. There is nothing to eat or burn up there.”
Eldrick looked shocked to learn that the dragon had been living up there and he hadn’t had a clue. One of the lessons in which he was trying to master lately was the sensing of life around him.
“My young apprentice does make a compelling argument, you did save our lives. I truly hope you didn’t have anything to do with the avalanche. But anyway you are welcome to stay as long as necessary. I do hope you are willing to help around here, we have more work to do to keep us all fed and comfortable. “
Sebastian turning had a look of pleasure and reassurance in his eyes. "I have cleared the woodpile so we can easily get to it."
