Chapter 1 - Night of Questions
The moon hung high, pale light spilling across the grassy field where three figures lay under a massive ancient tree.
The air was calm, crickets sang, and the only sound besides them was the faint crackle of the campfire nearby.
Strom lay with his hands behind his head, staring at the stars. His spear rested against the tree trunk, close enough to grab if needed, but tonight he wasn't thinking about battles.
Wraith, sitting cross-legged, lazily tossed a small pebble into the fire, watching sparks fly.
Sam leaned back against the roots, reading one of his glowing mana scrolls.
Strom: "You ever think about how peaceful nights like this feel... fake? Like something big is waiting to crash down on us?"
Wraith: "only you can ruin chill moments like this." (laughs)
Sam: "That's because he's paranoid, and I am literally reading advanced mana collapse theory. I'm the only sane one here."
Wraith: (grins) "Sane? You? You talk to your scrolls like they're your girlfriends."
Sam: "Hey! They listen better than you guys."
The group laughed, letting the breeze carry away the stress of the past months. After a long pause, Strom shifted, his expression growing serious.
Strom: "Actually... I've got a question. And I know exactly who can answer it."
Sam (suspicious): "If this is about why I'm the best mage alive-"
Wraith (snorting): "Best mage? The best at exploding your own hands, maybe."
Sam: "HEY, those were experimental spells."
Strom stood up, holding his Dragon Aura pendant tightly in his palm, the faint glow reflecting in his eyes. His voice was low but carried a weight neither Wraith nor Sam had heard before:
Strom: "Mom."
From behind, a familiar warmth rose as blue flames swirled into existence. Dravyss descended, her massive form shrinking until she stood before them in her humanoid guardian form-elegant, commanding, and a little intimidating under the moonlight.
Dravyss: "Son? What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Strom (hesitant): "I... I need to know something."
Dravyss tilted her head, sensing his unease.
Strom: "You killed everyone who chose the Dragon Aura stone in the past. That's... what people whisper, anyway. So why... why didn't you kill me when I chose it?"
A heavy silence fell. Even Wraith and Sam, usually quick to joke, stayed quiet.
Dravyss's expression hardened-not in anger, but in pain. She turned away slightly, her hand tightening on her arm.
Dravyss: "I don't want to answer that, please." (her voice low, almost breaking)
Strom (stepping forward): "Mom, please. You're the only one who knows the truth."
Sam: "Yeah... If we're going to follow you into crazy battles, I think we should understand why."
Wraith: "We trust you... but Strom has a point."
For a long moment, Dravyss stood silent, her glowing eyes dimming slightly. Then she sighed and sat down on the grass, for once looking... small.
Dravyss: "Fine. I'll tell you. But you won't like the answer..."
Dravyss: "It all began... long before any of you were born. Before this planet even mattered to me."
Chapter 2 – The Guardian & Wizard
The campfire flickered, reflecting Dravyss's eyes as her voice carried the weight of centuries.
Dravyss (present, quiet, reflective): "I was not always... your guardian, or even a protector of this planet. I was a knight—one of the strongest in my homeworld."
The world around Strom, Wraith, and Sam blurred as Dravyss's words drew them into a vivid flashback.
---
The Dragon Council
The skies of Aeltharion blazed with twin suns, and floating mountains stretched toward the heavens where colossal dragons soared freely. Below, an ancient palace of obsidian and glowing crystal housed the Dragon Council—elders stronger than Dravyss could imagine.
Young Dravyss stood tall, her scales catching deep sapphire light, eyes burning with fierce determination.
Dravyss (past, commanding): "We fight a war far from our planet, protecting our homeland from creatures that would see it destroyed."
In a distant world, Darkius—then a dragon wizard, not yet corrupted—studied forbidden arcane arts in a black stone tower.
Darkius (past, voice echoing): "They treat us as gods, yet deny our right to rule? Then I will take what is ours."
He forged a stone infused with his essence—the Dark Stone—crafted to manipulate dragon auras themselves.
The Dragon Council discovered him, witnessing the unnatural experiments on innocents. They sought to stop him, but Darkius had already crossed the line; his powers were tearing the surroundings apart.
With a force greater than Dravyss could comprehend, the Council shattered Darkius's stone and cast him aside, leaving him for dead.
Dravyss (present, voice cracking): "When I returned from war... he was gone. They called it justice... but it felt like betrayal. Because... I loved him."
The campfire hissed; even the night wind seemed to pause.
Strom (shocked): "You... loved him?"
Dravyss (nods slowly, whispering): "Love can blind even the strongest."
---
Council Confrontation
Dravyss (past, pleading): "It's not fair! This isn't justice!"
Council Head (stern): "Do not be mad, Dravyss. We made this choice to save our home from darkness."
Dravyss (defiant): "I will bring him back."
Council Head (cold): "If you step beyond our world for him then don't come back again."
Strom (present, softly): "And you came to find him... right?"
Dravyss (low voice, resolute): "Blinded by love, I believe everyone deserves a second chance. I came here for him."
She searched for galaxies, chasing the faint echo of Darkius's essence. Decades passed before she reached Earth—young, fragile, unaware of its dangers. And then... the trail vanished.
With Darkius's stone broken, she lost him, and time began its relentless march: hours, days, weeks, months, years… centuries.
Finally, she sensed a familiar aura surrounding a human wizard.
There he stood—not as a dragon, but as a broken yet living human, with a witch by his side.
Dravyss (past, breathless): "You survived..."
Darkius (past, weak smile): "I survived... because of her."
Dravyss realized he had a new life, a family, and a happiness she could no longer touch.
She chose to stay on Earth. Over the years, she hunted monsters, made friends, learned of humans, traveled among tribes, and immersed herself in their cultures.
One day, Darkius arrived bleeding, barely alive, holding his three-year-old son.
Dravyss (present, tense): "He asked me to help him."
Darkius (past, desperate): "They killed her, please, Dravyss! Help me—I want to see her for the last time."
Dravyss (angry, shaken): "What happened to you?"
Darkius (weak, pleading): "Humans... they burned her alive. I am not strong enough. Please, I need your help."
Her blood boiled at the sight of his son's tears, but when they arrived, the place was empty. Nothing burned; silence reigned.
Darkius transformed into his dragon form, striking first. He sought the Dragon Aura within her chest.
The sky over Earth tore apart as they clashed, twisted spells lighting the night. Dravyss struck him down easily, yet the cry of a child cut through the chaos. His son.
Her claws hovered above Darkius—frozen.
Dravyss (past, whispering, torn): "I cannot make him an orphan."
Jack's cries forced her to step back. She could not kill him, but she knew Darkius would never stop. So she sealed herself inside of the Blue Stone, hoping that, maybe, he would change someday.
---
Present – The Campfire
The flashback faded; the campfire returned. Dravyss's head hung low, hands gripping the grass.
Dravyss (present, voice steady, pained): "That is why I killed those who sought the Dragon Aura… they carried the same darkness I once saw in him. I could not let it spread. But you, Strom... when you touched the stone, I felt only pain and loss. Not ambition. That is why I spared you."
Silence fell. Even Wraith, usually quick with a joke, remained still.
Strom stepped forward and hugged her tightly.
Strom (softly, relieved): "So my life... is just mercy."
Dravyss had no words. Only the firelight reflected in her tear-filled eyes.
Chapter 3 – The Final Truth
After Dravyss sealed herself in the past. Darkius standing in an abandoned field, broken and furious. His human form trembled, hand clutching the scar left by Dravyss's strike.
Darkius (past, furious, trembling): "You... left me? For them? You chose them over me."
Jack (young, confused): "Did we lose?"
Darkius (past, whispering, determined): "No, son... this is only the beginning."
His eyes burned with obsession. Without the Dragon Aura stone, his power was halved—almost nothing. But regret did not touch him; hatred became his fuel.
---
Obsession With the Dragon Aura
Dravyss can't escape from that Stone until someone is ready to bear its powers, and Darkius got advantage because of that.
Years passed. Darkius studied every text, every stone, every forbidden spell. He uncovered one undeniable truth:
Darkius (alone, muttering, cold): "The Dragon Aura can reshape destiny itself."
But one stone was sealed inside Dravyss's spirit. Without her, he could not reclaim his lost might.
Darkius (alone, scheming): "If I cannot claim her... I will claim her essence through others."
And so the massacres began.
Darkius became a legendary wizard, teaching magic to his human students and letting them choose their powers. But any who touched—or attempted to control—the Dragon Aura were hunted mercilessly by Dravyss.
Some chose different elemental stones, only to die moments later by their master, The Wizard but only one man managed to escape:
James, Strom's father.
---
The Night of Fire
The past night when Strom's life changed forever. Darkius lingered in the shadows, watching James with his family. His tone was unnervingly calm.
Darkius (past, cold, taunting): "You think you can hide from me... and live?"
What followed was horror. Darkius killed James and Rose in that cave, leaving Strom alone as a orphan. Then he tricked the boy, taking his care for five years to manipulate him—to groom him toward the Dragon Aura.
---
Return to Present
The campfire flickered low, the last embers hissing as the wood burned out.
Strom (low, trembling): "It was him... it was always him..."
Dravyss (softly, weighty): "I know. That is why I feared you touching the Dragon Aura. I thought it would consume you like it did him... but it didn't."
Sam (quietly, thoughtful): "So... Darkius isn't just some old villain. He's the reason you met Dravyss, the reason your life... turned out like this."
Wraith (crossing arms, grim): "Guess we know why everything always leads back to him."
Dravyss raised her head, eyes fierce, burning with the weight of centuries.
Dravyss (present, voice hard, commanding): "If Darkius still breathes... then it is my mercy, and it is my mistake."
Darkius (distant, mocking, whispering): "Yes... your mercy is a mistake." ( No one heard him )
The campfire flickered beneath the star-filled sky, its warmth unable to pierce the heavy silence. Strom, Wraith, and Sam sat still, processing the weight of Dravyss's confession.
Dravyss (present, calm but heavy, eyes lowered): "Whenever he brings a new student, I pray they are evil so I can kill them... but..."
Sam (softly, curious): "But Strom was different, right?"
Dravyss (voice steady, reflective): "Yes."
Strom (quiet, probing): "What's the difference?"
Dravyss (past, resolute): "I planned to kill anyone who dared touch the Dragon Aura. I was ready to become heartless for this responsibility."
Her words weighed heavily; even Wraith stayed silent. Sam looked at her not just as Strom's mother, but as a living legend—a protector who had silently kept their world alive for centuries.
Dravyss (present, pained, voice breaking): "That is why, Strom, when you touched the Dragon Aura, I almost killed you... I feared you might become like him."
Dravyss (voice breaking, sorrowful): "But I couldn't... because when I felt your heart... I saw no greed. Only pain. The pain I caused you because I stayed silent."
Strom (low, tender): "But you saved me mom, you saved me."
Dravyss (softly, firm): "My fear always told me to kill you. I spared his son too; I did not make him an orphan than how could I kill a child punished for what he did not do?"
Wraith (quiet, shocked): "Punished?"
Dravyss (grim, steady): "Strom could have had a better life if I had killed that wizard before. Only because of me, countless lives were destroyed."
Chapter 6 – Home
The wind was soft that night, carrying the scent of the nearby ocean. The fire had burned low, leaving embers glowing faintly. Strom, Wraith, and Sam sat in silence, minds heavy with Dravyss's revelations.
Strom (quiet, hesitant): "You've been carrying this... alone... for thousands of years? Mother?"
Dravyss exhaled slowly, her massive chest rising like a mountain breathing.
Dravyss (soft, weary, resolute): "A Knight's burden is silence, Strom. You cannot tell people who you have saved—only who you have failed. That is the weight I chose."
Wraith frowned, eyes cast down.
Wraith (curious, conflicted): "Then... why stay here? Why protect us? Why not leave again?"
Dravyss (soft voice, almost whispering, reflective): "Because this place gives me something that no stone, no council, no power could ever give me."
Sam (gentle, questioning): "What?"
Dravyss (steady, heartfelt): "A family."
Dravyss (voice firm, eyes blazing): "These people let me call this place home. And I will fight anyone—no matter how strong, even the Dragon Council itself—if they try to take it from me. I'll kill anyone for this place."
Strom (determined, nodding): "Yes. We will fight for our home."
All three stepped forward, hugging Dravyss's claw tightly. In that moment, each of them understood: if Earth maintained a balance between good and evil, it was because of her.
If she has ever left, the world would be drowning in grief. But because of her, no evil survived long enough to bring Chaos at Earth.
Dravyss (quietly, almost to herself ): "This... is my home."
Now everything is crystal clear that Strom wasn't a Hero who is chosen by Fate but...
He is just a child who is still breathing because a guardian shows mercy.
And now he grow up as a powerful knight because of a Wizard's Experiment.