The sword master was typical of his heritage, he lived a well-balanced and quiet lifestyle in the remote mountain range, surrounded by nothing other than his blades. He did not accept to see anyone unwilling to make the journey to him on foot themselves. For them to earn the right to a sword, one must prove their sword skills befitted the blade, for they were not simply sold no matter the riches of the seeker. They called him sword master because his blades were the finest in all the kingdom and beyond its borders. No matter how the power shifted in the region, the master was to always be honored. —???

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Father had resumed his nap, we were still waiting for my little siblings to awake from their slumber. I was the first to wake up, and for some reason that made me proud.

Glancing at my siblings, I assumed they were facing the same nightmarish dream as I did, and inwardly bid them good luck. Father did not seem to care much and was content in basking under the sun with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, I remembered the state of my injuries in which the lack of pain made me forget about. I then hastily brought my gaze downwards to examine my body. Sure enough, the wounds had closed but did not completely disappear.

On my chest was a large x shaped wound, while a peek at my shoulder was enough for me to see the wide bite scar that the Werewolf had left in its desperate state.

'At least it looks cool, and I survived right?' I thought trying to find solace in the fact that I was still alive and kicking, while the damned thing was dead.

Letting out an inward sigh, my eyes were drawn to the large body of water. A faint sense of something called to me, it beckoned me to come closer. It felt like the sweet whisper of a lover as I was instantly drawn into it.

Curious but still cautious, I turned to glance at my mountain of a father, his eyes remained closed without a single care in the world. 'Did he not hear that? Or did he simply not care?' I wondered.

That sweet voice still called to me, it wanted me to come closer. My body moved unconsciously to follow, this time I did not do anything to stop it. I was curious as to see what the thing was.

With each step closer to the lake, the voice grew clearer. At first, it was nothing but a small whisper at the back of my mind, now that I stood at the banks of the large body of water, I could hear it as clear as day.

It sounded like someone, or something was talking to me in a strange unfamiliar tongue. I brought my stare down to the water as I examined my reflection for the first time since I came into this world.

Blue scales, a pair of piercing snake-like Golden eyes, and two large horns that curled to the back of my head. I nodded in satisfaction at my reflection, there was no discomfort facing my new features, quite the opposite.

My human face became nothing but a distant memory, all that remained was a Dragon. I took a deep breath, as I inhaled and exhaled, vague memories from my human life still lingered, yet I no longer felt any sense of attachment from them.

'I'm a Dragon.' I let out a low growl as any sort of anxieties I had about my situation disappeared. I was ready to start my new life to the fullest, this time not as a human in a Dragon's skin, no, as a full-fledged Dragon.

"Roar!" I raised my head to the clear blue sky and let out a cry as I announced the beginning of my new life!

My father who had his eyes closed all this time, suddenly opened them and glanced at me for a second before he resumed his nap. The voice that called for me seemed to grow excited at my roar.

The familiar energy I felt from my heart when I was in the dreaded realm stirred under the influence of my emotions as well. It constantly moved about excitedly, almost as if it was sentient.

I could feel it moving through my limbs. My attention was caught by a different type of power that surrounded me. I did not see it, as much as I was able to feel it. The energy was calm and steady, hiding behind that gentle surface, however, was a terrifying surge of strength.

It brushed against my scales with tenderness, filling me with warmth. I felt like I was in the presence of an old friend, a friend I never knew was there, and a friend I never knew I had.

I gently willed it to come closer, I tried to talk with it, I did not want to order it and so I simply 'asked' it to come. To my joy, the energy reacted with such enthusiasm as it rushed to my surroundings with so much force, I was almost able to see it with my bare eyes.

Although still invisible, I had an inkling of what it looked like, I closed my eyes and tried to imagine it. A gentle blue color akin to that of my scales danced around me like an excited child.

I slowly raised my paw, and the energy followed. It seemed to be waiting for me, waiting for my command. At that thought, my mind unconsciously recalled the memory of an ancient Dragon using magic to rain down terrifying spells on his enemies.

'Was this energy the same? Is this what they call magic?' I wondered as I imagined myself soaring through the skies while unleashing terrifying thunderbolts.

Suddenly at the idea of a thunderbolt, the energy began to churn as it gathered into a small ball above my palm. I abruptly opened my eyes to stare at the scene above my clawed limb, a small ball made of bluish energy materialized itself before me.

This time I could see it clearly. The ball whirled about as small sparks of electricity flashed within it. For a moment I stood shocked at the abrupt scene, I simply imagined it and the energy obeyed.

It was not a master-servant relationship, no it was more of a friendship, I simply asked for its help and it heeded my plea. I could feel the energy within my body rushing forward from my heart slowly making its way through my veins before it gently trickled outside my body and into the small bluish ball hovering above my paw.

'Is this magic?' I inwardly mumbled, still fascinated by my first ever act with this mysterious energy.