The Forgotten Language

Thousands of years ago:

Zafira looked straight into the soul of the human before her. A kindred of the dragons in human form. These were none other than the Princess of the dragons and Rune at their first meeting.

Rune felt the immense power of the dragon in front of him. A colossal beast, far superior to the ones he was used to, in both size and beauty. It's presence was domineering, and demanded respect.

Her hard gaze locked on Rune,"Human! Tell me why I shouldn't end your live where you stand!?" A booming voice echoed in Rune's mind. His legs buckled and cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Zafira scrutinized the human. His soul was clean, it wasn't tainted even by an ounce of darkness. This, before her, was a human who walked the true path of nature.

Her gaze softened but remained vigilant. Humans were known for their tricks and backstabbing. She looked intently at the human before her. She was puzzled why the beasts of this forest has allowed this human to disturb her slumber.

Well, she was a princess, and her pride couldn't allow her to lower herself to ask the beasts why this human was here.

Rune has never felt so weak in his whole life ever since he started cultivating. He had always been a top notch in any circle he found himself in. He had always felt powerful, confidence in his abilities. But now...this was indeed a new experience.

Maintaining a respectful visage, he dutifully answered " I have no reason why you shouldn't kill me, seeing you and letting me go would put you in grave danger. But I don't wish to die your majesty. Let me be your servant until my last breath. I will serve you in the best way I can "

Zafira was taken aback. This wasn't what she expected from the human. She expected him to pull some tricks. But she has felt the truth behind the words this human has spouted from its mouth. There was no deception nor reluctance.

" What is your name human?"

Rune got onto his knees and stated his name. He was nervous and tense in the inside. He only hoped this beast wouldn't be able to see through him. If he was to die here, it would be an honour to die by the hand of such a Dragon.

I'm Princess Zifara, the Last of Dragon kind. You can stand up Rune. Zifara's words echoed into Rune's mind. He stood up and dusted himself off. This was another attribute of the pure blooded dragons. They could speak directly into any sentient animal's mind.

Why are you here Rune? Zafira was a good judge of character. She was sure Rune had no ill intentions. He was a good person by nature. No sane person would dare approach her without a death wish.

Rune sheepishly looked around. He scratched his temples finding it hard to voice that his curiosity got the better of him. To his relief, the Princess let him off the hook . She didn't pressure him. She simply turned, closed her eys and rested.

Rune stood there for some time. He contemplated if he should leave or stay. He wasn't sure if that was a dismissal. If it was and he stayed, well, things may go south very fast. And if he tried to leave without being given permission, that would be burying his own grave.

Zifara looked at the awkward human. He was funny. She never thought she would feel this way for someone whose kind had annihilated her family. When she thought about it, she couldn't help but be sad.

And now, this human had made her smile. She decided to play with him a bit. She flicked her tail in his direction aiming at his legs. To her amazement, the human effortlessly flipped backwards, leaving her tail barely missing him, and landed on his legs in a crotch.

Her earlier assessment was right. This was a warrior. But this?.... This was beyond what she expected. She had always thought humans were weak. But now looking at this, it was an eye opener indeed.

She flicked her tail back at Rune's head at an increased speed. She fainted for his ribs, and when he jumped up, she smiled and twerked the ridged tail up aiming his chest.

Rune was bewildered by this turn of events. The first time he had barely dodged. And now the speed had increased. What was she trying to do or say.

This time he jumped up evading the tail, or so he thought. The tail changed direction and aimed at his chest. Reflexes of rigorous training kicked in. He groped the tail and pushed himself downwards while the tail sailed over his head.

He let go as soon as he got the chance and turned around looking at the princess' tail. His soul power raged inside him, yearning to join the battle.

Zafira smiled at herself. She was enjoying this. The monotony of sleeping and occasionally breathing dragon fire on the dragon egg made her feel miserable.

This Rune was a welcome change. Variety is the spice of life indeed. She thought to herself. " I accept you as my servant, Rune!"

Rune was speechless. Was that a test of my mettle just then, the tail thing?. He didn't say anything other than that he was honoured and all that gibberish required of him.

Of course Zifara saw through him but didn't say anything, she liked this new toy. She had never had one.

And so, in the days that followed which turned into months and then to years, Rune would visit Zifara and play with her. They would battle and play hide and sick.

At first Rune was skeptical about the hiding and seek game. But after he had failed to find Zifara in two days, he was humbled. Him, the specimen of the human kind, failing to find something as huge as a dragon, and even failing to find it's tracks, was left feeling like a fool.

And so the games turned into lessons: fighting, tracking and hunting. The duo became friends. They were inseparable. Every morning Rune would rush to Zifara. And Zifara couldn't wait to see Rune each morning. None of them looked forward to the evening where they separated.

One day Zifara visited her human friend's domain and found an interesting tower atop the mountain. It was built from stones. But what interested her the most were the characters embedded in the stones. These were runes! Her specialty, her talent! And the ones she was seeing looked barbaric and as if curved by a mule. And the efficiency of these runes was very low, she deducted from a cursory glance.

Yes of course, they served the purpose of making the tower strong but it was, to say in plain words, very lacking.

And so she began teaching her friend the basics of runes, the Rune Language!