Chapter 1

"Mommy!" Cried a little girl as a young viking woman with long black hair started to leave the little hut that both she and the little girl lived in. At her daughter's voice she stilled in her walk never turning around to face her daughter. The daughter looked no older than 5, had long onyx colored hair that went to the back of her knees, crystal blue eyes, fair colored skin, a very thin tan colored shirt and brown pants on her, and no shoes on her little feet. "Mommy," she said in a begging tone. "Please don't leave me alone mommy…."

The woman still never turned to face her daughter but said only one word in a hallowed voice, "Goodbye." Then she left the hut closing the door behind her quietly.

The little girl couldn't follow her mother after that and fell to her knees and wept, wondering what she did to drive her mommy away and leave her alone forever. She knew her daddy never returned from a trip he did to get her a birthday present last week and now her mommy left too. She had no one now. Her family didn't live in a village, in fact they were the only ones on the island that their home was on.

The little girls spent a while on the floor weeping but soon she had no more tears to shed and just lied there blankly staring at the bookshelf by the fireplace. She stared and stared at the shelf and her eyes zeroed in at only one book. She slowly got up still feeling hallow and walked over to the shelf, her movements slow and reached for the book. As she looked at it, her eyes filled with tears again as memories with her daddy came up. He read this book to her at nighttime telling her all about the wondrous creatures that were inside. This book was called, 'The Book of Dragons.'

The girl opened it up, looked at the pages, and one by one took in all the work put into the detailed drawings. She couldn't really read yet but her daddy read this to her so many times she knew it by heart. The only page that confused her was the one dragon which was never recorded in history for anything other than its plasma fire, which the telltale sign was the enormous screech it gives off beforehand.

"Nightfury," the little girl whispered before her eyes closed and she lay down, falling into a dreamless sleep.

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The next morning the little girl got up around mid-day and decided to leave the hut for a while. She couldn't stay there forever and she needed food so she put on little boots that were by the door and her warm black bear fur vest and tried the door. She wasn't tall enough for the handle to open the door though. The little girl looked around and saw her old toy chest in the corner so she went over to it, emptied it out, and put it by the door. She got on top and it was just tall enough for her to grab the handle and pull it open. She took a deep breath in and then went outside.

At first the sun blinded her but she soon adjusted and looked around wondering which way she should go. After a moment of wondering she decided to go straight and adventure around out there first. So she took off into the tall trees that made up the start of the forest around her.

The little girl walked deeper and deeper into the forest taking in the beauty of the trees and flowers, watching some of the forest animals, listening to the strange sounds, and enjoying her time. Soon though, she realized that she was lost and had no idea how to get back to the hut and it was growing a bit dark due to the dark clouds overhead. The little girl walked off into the direction she thought she had come from but after walking for what seemed like an hour, she still was lost. Thunder rolled overhead silently promising the rain that would soon happen and the little girl tried again to find the hut.

BOOM!

The thunder cracked hard this time and soon rain started pouring down on top of the forest and the little girl. She looked around but due to the thickness of the rain she could hardly see anything. She looked to her left and to her right and took off running as another loud boom happened overhead. She saw then the flash of lightening and screamed in fear. She kept looking around for something and then, out in the corner of her eye, she saw a cave and dashed to it. She tumbled in at last and her eyes closed in fear as the thunder and lightning grew worse. The little girls curled into a ball and whimpered as the night drew on but soon unconsciousness took hold and she fell into a deep slumber.

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When the little girl woke she realized that she was still in the cave and quickly sat up only to be disappointed by the looks of things outside. Trees were knocked over and the rain was still coming down hard. She really didn't want to go out again and get lost once more so she started to look around the cave. It was fairly large and seemed like it was more of a tunnel system than an actual cave so she decided to explore a little bit as her curiosity got a hold of her mind.

She walked only a few meters in when a faint blue light showed up further into the cave system. The little girl tilted her head in wonderment and walked slowly towards the light. She got closer and closer but soon felt a heat from a fire warming her up and so she turned a corner hoping some people were there and stopped dead still.

The cave was beautiful. Gems and gold glittered in corners of the room, handcrafted furniture was placed carefully about the cave room, there were fish in a small bucket by a wall seemingly caught recently, and in the middle of the cave was a medium sized fire that glowed a magnificent sapphire blue color. She walked in slowly and carefully took her boots and jacket off, in order to not get anything tracked in, and put them by the entrance wall then slowly investigated around the cave. She looked carefully at the jewels but didn't touch, too enthralled in their beauty to disturb them, and smiled as she saw one jewel in particular. It was a blue diamond that reflected the fire in a mesmerizing way. Her daddy taught her of jewels and told her that her eyes were the perfect replica of the blue jewel.

She gazed at it so lost in thoughts and memories she never noticed the huge black shadow by the entrance sniffing her jacket and then watching her with emerald green eyes. After a few minutes the figure huffed loudly causing the little girl to whip around and stare and it with fear in her eyes. She whimpered as she looked at the figure and knew immediately that it was a dragon from the outline of it so she looked down awaiting her fate.

"Hello young one." The dragon said in a deep wise rumble that signified it was a male.

The little girls whipped her head up at the voice and slowly said, "H-hello."

The dragon did a low chuckle making the little girl relax a little at the sound. "No need to fear me little one. I do enjoy company now and then."

The little girl relaxed more. "I-I'm sorry mister…."

"No need for apologies young one," the figure got up on all fours and walked slowly into the cave revealing its form in full light. "I've not had company for a very long while. After being so old, you get a bit lonely." The dragon walked over by the fire and laid down. "Come and sit. I can tell you are a bit cold." He gestured to her slightly shivering form and patted the spot across from him with his tail.

The little girl got up and went over to the fire, sitting down once she felt the warmth emanating from it to her skin. "Thank you." She whispered.

"It is no problem young one. May I ask your name?" The little girl looked down and shook her head. "Oh? Why not?"

"Mommy and daddy told me they will name me once I turned five." She said quietly.

"Ah. That is an old tradition. When do you turn?"

"I turned five last week."

The dragon narrowed his eyes in curiosity. "You still have no name?"

The little girls looked up with tears in her eyes again. "Daddy disappeared and mommy left me."

The dragon hummed in thought. "Would you like a name?" He asked staring into her eyes.

The little girls eyes widened tears slowing down. "A name of my very own?"

"Of course."

The little girl looked down in wonderment then back up at the dragon. "Yes please mister."

The dragon chuckled again and closed his eyes humming a little bit in thought. "How about Azora?"

"Azora?" The little girl asked tilting her head.

"Yes. It means a blue and clear sky. Your eyes reming me of that."

The little girl, now officially named Azora, smiled widely and nodded. "I love it mister! Do you have a name?"

"My name is Maaran. It means mighty and powerful knight." He looked at her gently. "Now, Azora, what did you mean when you said your mother left you?"

Azora lost her smile and the happiness faded from her eyes. "Yesterday she left. I don't know why mommy left but even crying didn't stop her. She always hugged me when I cried." Tears started coming again and Azora hid her face. "Mommy only said goodbye and left me alone in the hut." She cried harder.

Maaran got up, walked over to Azora, and gave her a comforting nuzzle the best he could. "I'm so sorry Azora." He said gently. "If you would like I will be here for you."

Azora turned and hugged him the best she could cried even more. "I-I-I'd like that, Maaran…" she whispered.

Maaran smiled and nuzzled her even more. As the time went by, Azora soon fell asleep and Maaran was gathering his thoughts of her situation. She had literally no one. The island was unexplored by any other humans and even if she found a village to go to they wouldn't accept her immediately. The humans were always notorious for casting out outsiders even if they were a part of their own village. He didn't see her being happy being stuck here on this island and the dragons here wouldn't think twice about attacking her to defend their territory. 'There is only one solution….' He thought. 'I just hope she will accept it.'

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Morning came with Azora and Maaran starting their day with breakfast of fish. Maaran heated hers up with his fire after descaling and skewering it for an easier chew time. Azora ate her fish slowly, taking little bites in order to not to overstuff herself. Maaran was lying beside her, still was thinking about Azora's situation trying to figure out any other way to help her other than the last solution but no matter how hard he thought about the different ways to help her return to humans each solution he thought up was countered by another negative outcome.

Maaran was dragged out his thoughts by a hand on his front right paw and turned to look into worried blue eyes. "Yes little one?" He asked.

"You look sad…." Azora said in a whisper.

Maaran's eyes softened at her worry and he smiled. "Nothing to worry about." He comforted.

Azora looked at him a few more seconds before smiling and nodding. "Maaran," she said backing away a little bit. "How can you talk?"

Maaran chuckled at her curiosity. "Little one, my kind survives for years and some species of dragon that are chosen to live long have the gift to learn how to speak in human tongue." Azora had a look of pure amazement on her face.

"Your kind must be really smart." She said.

"The Aglovale Helmar are smart but sadly they are not numerous."

"Agov….huh?"

"In human tongue it means Nightfury." He watched as her eyes widened in wonderment.

"A nightfury!" She cried out with giddiness.

"You seem excited little one." He said curiously.

"My book back in the hut tells a little about dragons but daddy always said that almost nobody sees a nightfury."

"Ah, I see." Maaran sat up tall. "Would you like a lesson?"

"Oh yes please." She said eagerly sitting up straighter her attention fully on Maaran.

"A long time ago, back before humans came into the world, the Aglovale Helmar were numerous and prosperous. They thrived in packs but some loved the solitude and over time some of the Aglovale Helmar found what humans now call soulmates. However this came at a price later because as humans grew more numerous, the Aglovale Helmar grew fewer and more rare. Soon our species had to adapt and thrive in a different way but even though it worked at times, it was the choice that was the deciding factor."

"Choice?" Azora asked.

Maaran took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "One day, our ancestors discovered a way to change a living being into a Aglovale Helmar but the living being had to have the choice to become one otherwise it would suffer. The first human to try it was actually my father and with that choice he discovered a huge consequence."

"A con….con…" Azora tried to pronounce the long word questioningly.

"A bad outcome."

"Oh."

"The consequence was to live until you found your soulmate. No other can take their place and it could take hundreds of years to find their true soulmate. My father found his when he traveled to distant lands finally having his peace when humans invaded and attacked his home."

"Were you born a dragon?"

"No. I was found as a young boy a long time ago, gravely injured during a war and was given the choice." Seeing her look on her face Maaran knew immediately what she was going to ask

and continued on. "I never found my soulmate myself Azora. I've had many temporary mates but none were my soulmate."

Azora looked down sadly. "That must be hard." Suddenly her head Popped back up with a smile. "But the wait must be worth it once you find your mate!"

Maaran let out a full blown laugh. "Yes it will be." He calmed down a bit. "Now my species can die before finding a soulmate but thats very rare. It's when we are killed or a very deadly illness that we die but immediately after we are brought back to continue our search."

"How old are you?"

"Almost twelve thousand."

"Do you get lonely staying here?"

"At times young one, at times."

Azora suddenly looked determined and Maaran almost fell over at her next statement. "I want to be one."

Maaran blinked and blinked again in shock. "Azora…." he said lightly. "I couldn't ask you to change this young…"

Azora looked Maaran in the eyes and smiled sadly. "Maaran," she said. "I want to keep you company…and to keep me from being alone."

"You are wise for being so young."

Azora smiled, this time in happiness. "Nope! I just want to be kind!"

Maaran smiled. He was a bit worried due to this being the last resort option for her to live and prosper happily but inside his heart he knew that this would've happened one way or another. "Very well," he said. He started to continue when suddenly Azora hugged him as tight and as best she could. He purred and they stayed like that for a few minutes before Maaran continued. "Now, Azura, this transformation from human to a Aglovale Helmar is a painful process and it will revert you into an infant about a few days old." He pulled away slightly to look into her eyes. "This will be tough, it will be painful, and I will have to teach you for a time before you will be ready to go into the world."

"Okay." She said.

"Stand by the fire. What I need to do will require a special fire and I don't think we need the cave burnt to a crisp now do we?" Azora giggled as she hopped over to the fire pit area and stopped a little bit away from the fire. "Alright." Maaran closed his eyes digging deep into his soul and after a moment he blew out a soft blue colored flame stream onto Azora's body.

Azora bravely closed her eyes and stood still. At first it was a warm and soothing with a feeling of peacefulness surrounding her very being but then the pain started. It began on her skin as it peeled off and grew scales slowly from underneath muscle, her clothes burned off as she started feeling her bones crunch and resize as she got smaller, her hair fell around her burning to ashes, her head changed shape, her ears gravitated to the top of her head growing taller as two tiny frills grew beside them on top of her head, two more frills appeared on each side of her face, her eyes are in size and her nose and lips changed to suit her new form, her arms and legs turned into strong four legs and paws with sharp claws, her tail erupted from her bottom full with the fins, small spikes grew down her spine and ended on her tail, and last but not least two bulges erupted from her shoulder blades and grew into two tiny bat like wings.

The process took about two hours to complete and for each second, Maaran purred and growled trying to comfort Azora through the pain she felt. When it was done, the flames died out and Maaran quickly went up to her small fragile new body and started to lick her to stimulate her heart and keep her alive as she slipped into unconsciousness. He then huddled close to her and kept her warm and close to his heart. After a few more hours she woke up and luckily, to Maaran's surprise, her crystal blue eyes hadn't changed color which was rare. "Hello young one." He said gently as she looked, or tried to, at her new body. "Would you like me to get you a reflection tool?" Azora nodded and Maaran got up and walked over to one of the coin piles. He dug for a little bit before pulling out a man sized mirror and putting it against the wall. He went back to Azora and gently picked her up by the scruff of her neck then took her over to the mirror.

Azora looked at her new form closely as she hung from Maaran's mouth and nodded in satisfaction at what she saw. Maaran put her softly and chuckled as Azora tried to stand and get used to her legs. "Azora," he said gaining her attention. "I will teach you everything I know. You will not be able to talk for a little while but I will tend to everything you need for now." He leaned down close to her little face and gave her a little lick making her tumble a little bit. "We start tomorrow with the basics, alright?"

Azora nodded and got into a sitting position giving Maaran a little lick in gratitude before settling down for a well deserved nap.