Writing Prompt Wednesday #3

1. The protecting Dragon had lived in peace on its mountain perch for centuries after defending the village from attack. But tonight the mob approached in the dark intent on killing it. https://selfpublishinghub.com/fantasy-writing-prompts/

    Rineclaw sat at the top of his mountain, stretching his large white wings out as he overlooked the city. It was peaceful, far down below. A tiny bit of light protruded from windows, covering the city in a soft orange glow. It was peaceful.
    The attack had been centuries ago-maybe even a thousand years. It seemed like no time had passed to Rineclaw, but there were no people below who had been alive for the attack.
    It was quite a feat. A huge frost giant had coem down from the mountains above-Rineclaw’s mountains-to attack the village. Rineclaw knew now that it’d been looking for a magic staff that the lowly town’s wizard possessed, but he hadn’t known at the time. From far above in his mountain, he’d seen the attack. People running and screaming in panic. Some were smashed by the frost giant’s club; some were frozen by his breath.
    Rineclaw knew that he had to do something. He flew down from the mountain hovering above the village. More people saw him and screamed and pointed, but Rineclaw ignored them. He wanted to get the Giant out of there without hurting him, so he flew over and started pulling on the back of its ragged tunic.
    The Giant had turned on Rineclaw, uttering out confused, garbled giant. Rineclaw couldn’t understand what he was saying and he didn’t know draconic, so this was his only hope. Rineclaw tried to lift the giant into the air, but he was just too heavy. The Giant had spun around with his club, dealing a devastating blow to the side of Rineclaw’s head.
    Dazed, Rineclaw fell to the ground. He watched as the Frost Giant continued forward in his destruction and he knew what had to be done. In a fury of fangs and claws, Rineclaw demolished the once-powerful Frost Giant. Then, he noticed the people.
    Though some still looked at him in fear, most looked at him in respect and gratitude. They cheered for him, even after he’d just killed something so terrible. Rineclaw was confused, but he nodded in respect. The people kept cheering.
    In the crowd, Rineclaw had spotted a young girl-no more than ten years old-sitting atop her father’s shoulders. He nodded to her and said, in draconic, “Farewell, child. Keep them safe.” With that, he had flown back to his mountain, never to be seen again.
    That had been years ago. Now, Rineclaw watched the village everyday as they fell asleep. The last light in the village went out and he closed his eyes, falling into sleep.

    He knew something was wrong when he awoke. It was still dark outside, but there was screaming. He could see a bundle of orange light gathered at the base of the mountain. Panicked, he looked towards the village to see if there was any sort of danger, but he saw nothing. What was going on?
    He only grew more and more confused as they came closer to him. In the dim light, he could see pitchforks and torches. He began to hear their angry voices calling out to one another. 
    Rineclaw began to make his way down the mountain. He didn’t understand why they were here, but maybe he could find out and help them. 
    As he flew over them, he took them in. It was a group of around 50-100 people carrying an assortment of torches and weapons. They whispered and yelled at each other, harsh directions and though Rineclaw was not fluent in their language, he caught the words, “Dragon” and “kill.” 
    A thick wave of dread ran through Rineclaw’s stomach. He wondered for a moment if they were searching for his help on killing something else, but quickly dismissed that thought. They were trying to kill him and he knew it.
    He cursed himself for being so naive. Of course they wouldn’t remember him. Humans were violent, hostile creatures that cared less about respect and more about destruction. They said that dragons were the evil ones, but they were wrong.
    His thinking was cut off by the sight of another figure-a young boy running after the group. He was yelling, “Stop!” and “No!”
    He soon caught up to the group and Rineclaw saw a violent exchange between him and the leader of the mob-ending with a slap across the face and the boy falling to the ground. The group continued on without another word.
    The poor boy sat in the snow, a large gash on his cheek. Rineclaw got the impression that this boy was trying to help him, but he was still wary. Who knows what’d happen if he showed himself? The mob could come back or he could be wrong about the boy… No, he wasn’t wrong. This kid wanted to help him for some unknown reason. But that didn’t mean that there weren’t risks.
    At that moment, the boy glanced up at the sky, spotting Rineclaw. He looked startled for a second, and scared, seeing the hulking white dragon in the shadow of the moon. Then, he did something that surprised Rineclaw. Speaking Draconic, he said, “Farewell, child. Keep them safe.”
    Rineclaw was taken aback, but he landed next to the boy. He said, “She was my ancestor. My people have forgotten how you saved us.”
    “That’s a shame,” Rineclaw said. “They wish to kill me?” The boy nodded. “What is your name?”
    “Phillip.”
    “And you wish me no harm?” 
    “No.”
    “Good,” Rineclaw said. “Then we can talk. I am Rineclaw. It impresses me that you know my tongue.”
    “My family has been taught Draconic since you saved us. Others have not been so respectful,” he said with a seething look to where the mob had disappeared from. 
    “I can see that,” Rineclaw said. “We have to leave. They may come back.”
    “Where can we go to?”
    “There’s other places,” Rineclaw said. He knelt down so Phillip could climb onto his back. “Climb on.”
    Rineclaw felt the extra bit of added weight as Phillip sat himself in front of his wings. “Hold on,” Rineclaw said. Phillip gripped onto Rineclaw’s horns. With that, Rineclaw stretched his wings out and sailed into the night sky.

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