THE HUNTER AND THE HUNTED

A long, long time ago…

When the world is young and full of fascinating creatures, dragons explored the earth, visiting the unknown realms, seeking for wisdom and treasure. That’s when they found it, the Heart of Magic, the one and only magic gem that yields unlimited power. It gave dragons strength, with which they conquered the world.

But eventually, they lost it. The gem was stolen, they believe, by a filthy, cunning thief, a human, who won their trust with lies and plots, and stole it, claimed it his own.

Hence the Great War started. Blood were shed, hearts were broken, countless lives were lost. The rage of the Mighty Dragons teared down mountains and caved new seas, but that didn’t stop the humans. They were too many, and now the Magic is at their side. At last, dragons lost the war, their people either killed or slaved. Humans took the reins.

******

In the bustling city of Yvytal, many people wandered about. Grown-ups shopped around for necessities, children were playing about, even some adventurers and hunters went around selling some raw goods or simply relaxing in diners, bars, or even inns. Above all in this wonderful city…

“Hey! Get moving, you stupid beast!”

There was a dark side to it. That dark side was slavery. The slaves were not humans, but the treatment towards them was still inhumane. These people in rags seem human enough, but if there were some differences between them and real humans, aside from the collar around their necks and their thin bodies, it would be the scales, horns, wings, and/or tail on their body. The slaves were all chained to a cart filled with various goods, as they tried to pull it and their master, who was resting on the cart, to their destination.

One slave with light blue scales tripped on his feet and fell to the ground, exhausted and weakened by the workload. Rather than be concerned for the boy, however, their master whipped him.

“Hey! Who said you get to rest?!” he demanded. “Get up this instant!”

One of the older slaves, this one with dark blue wings, protectively knelt by the child’s side. “Stop it! He’s just a kid!” he shouted. “He hasn’t eaten a thing for a few days. You can’t just expect him to do as told!”

The master narrowed his eyes at those words. “Oh? And we have a slave talking back to his master, do we? I think someone needs to be reminded of his place, number 692!” He snapped his fingers, and the yellow stone on the collar of the slave that spoke suddenly lit up. Next anyone knew, electricity was unleashed from the stone, causing the slave to cry out in pain. While the other slaves stared at the scene fearfully, the civilians around them simply had unamused or excited expressions on their faces. Cruel as it was, as these slaves were not human, such a reaction was a given. Especially, considering the race of these slaves.

“Hey! What’s going on here?!” came a voice.

With another snap of his fingers, the shock had ended, and the crowd parted, making a path for a pair of soldiers. Once the pair arrived at the scene, the concerned expressions they had instantly left their faces.

“Oh. It’s just a dragon slave,” one of the two said.

That’s right. These slaves are dragons, forced to become humans after a certain war ten years back. Because of that war, many lives were lost, and dragons were either put down or enslaved. The group of dragon slaves here were but a small portion of the total around the country.

“Is there a problem, boys?” the slaves’ master asked.

“No. No problems here,” the other soldier answered. “Apologies, sir. We assumed it was the usual quarrel between adventurers. Do continue.”

“Don’t mind if I do. Oh, number 692~” The called slave looked up at him with a glare, knowing full well this human, as well as all others, was enjoying the scene. “That’s quite the look you have there. How about we fix it?”

Just as he was about to snap his fingers again, an arrow came and struck his hand, causing him to cry out in pain instead. This got everyone’s attention, as the civilians gasped in shock at what happened to the dragons’ master, while the two soldiers turned to the source of the arrow, and saw someone on the rooftop.

This person wore a black cloak over them. Their hood was up, concealing their identity, but they had a bow in hand, covered by a pair of dark brown gloves.

As soon as the figure was spotted, they quickly rushed away from the scene.

“Stop right there!” one of the soldiers said, pursuing the criminal.