Chapter One – The Summons

Sir Aldric of Highvale had fought in more wars than he cared to remember, but the summons from King Theodric was different. This was no border skirmish or bandit raid. The royal messenger’s words had chilled him:

“A dragon has taken the king’s daughter.”

Aldric rode through the crumbling gates of Eldraleth, the mountain valley where few dared to tread. The air smelled of ash. The sky, tinged with smoke, trembled with distant roars. He tightened his grip on his sword, Stormfang, its steel etched with runes said to bite even through dragon-scale.

The villagers he passed on the road whispered of the beast. Black as midnight, eyes burning like furnaces, wings broad enough to blot out the sun. They said the creature had carried off Princess Elenya in one swoop, ignoring the soldiers’ arrows as if they were gnats.

The king had promised riches, land, and eternal honor to whoever returned his daughter. Yet Aldric was not here for gold. His oath to protect the realm bound him tighter than coin or crown.

As night fell, Aldric reached the foot of the mountain. A trail of scorched earth led upward, blackened trees crackling with embers. He unsheathed Stormfang, its metal glinting in the firelight.

Above, a shadow circled the peak. A roar shook the valley, and the knight knew the hunt had begun.

Chapter Two – Fire and Scale

The first attack came swift as lightning. One moment, the slope was silent, the next a torrent of flame poured from the sky. Aldric dove behind a boulder, heat searing his armor. Stone cracked and splintered.

When the fire cleared, the dragon descended. Its wings thundered, kicking up a storm of dust. Scales shimmered black and crimson. Smoke curled from its nostrils.

“You are bold, mortal,” it rumbled, its voice shaking the ground. “But boldness dies in fire.”

Aldric charged before fear could root him. He swung Stormfang at the dragon’s foreleg. Sparks flew as steel met scale. The beast roared in fury, tail whipping like a battering ram. Aldric was flung against a rock, ribs screaming.

Yet he rose, blood dripping from his brow. “Release the princess, beast, or face my blade until the stars burn out.”

The dragon’s laughter was like rolling thunder. “She is mine, and through her, so shall be your kingdom.”

It snapped its jaws, teeth long as swords, but Aldric rammed his shield into its maw, forcing its head aside. The clash rang through the valley like a war drum.

The dragon reared, wings blotting the stars. Flame gathered in its throat. Aldric tightened his grip, knowing one wrong step meant death.

Chapter Three – The Damsel’s Cage

High within the mountain’s cavern, Princess Elenya awoke to the sound of battle echoing through stone. Her prison was no mere cell—it was a cage of molten crystal, glowing with inner fire, suspended above a chasm.

She tugged at the bars. Heat burned her skin, forcing her to recoil. The dragon’s magic kept her bound. Yet she was no helpless girl. Elenya had studied the arts of the court mages, and though she lacked their full training, she whispered the incantations she remembered, weaving sparks of light into her hands.

The dragon had taken her for a purpose. She had overheard it muttering spells, ancient words that spoke of sacrifice and power. Her blood, mingled with royal lineage, was the key to unsealing some deeper horror buried beneath the mountain.

Elenya would not let her people suffer for her sake.

Through the cage’s bars, she saw flashes of battle—Aldric’s steel flashing against the dragon’s fire. Hope surged within her. The knight was no ordinary soldier. He fought like a storm given flesh.

“Hold fast, Sir Aldric,” she whispered. “I will not be your burden. I will fight too.”

Her light coiled brighter in her palms, a fragile ember against the dragon’s inferno—but it was something.

Chapter Four – Blood and Flame

The cavern trembled as Aldric fought his way inside. The dragon’s tail lashed pillars of stone into rubble, but the knight pressed on, cutting deep into softer scales at its underbelly. Hot blood hissed on the cavern floor.

The dragon shrieked, shaking stalactites loose. One crashed beside Aldric, splintering his shield. He rolled aside just as another burst of fire scorched the ground where he stood.

Above, he saw her—the princess, trapped in her burning cage. Their eyes met. Her hand pressed to the bars, glowing faintly with magic.

“Elenya!” he shouted.

“Strike the chains!” she cried back, her voice carrying through the roar.

The cage hung from a single molten link fused into the ceiling. Aldric sprinted across crumbling stone, flames chasing at his heels. With a mighty leap, he drove Stormfang into the glowing chain. Sparks exploded. The dragon roared in rage, lunging to stop him.

But Elenya thrust her glowing hands against the bars, chanting desperately. The light surged, feeding into the sword. With a final crack, the chain shattered.

The cage plummeted. Aldric dove, catching the bars as they struck a ledge. His muscles screamed with the weight, but the princess scrambled free, tumbling into his arms.

“Now we finish this,” Aldric growled, setting her down gently.

The dragon descended upon them, a mountain of fury.

Chapter Five – The Heart of the Beast

Side by side, knight and princess stood against the terror of Eldraleth. The dragon’s fire blasted the cavern, but Elenya raised a shield of light, the flames breaking around them like waves on rock. Aldric charged through the heat, his sword glowing with her magic.

He drove Stormfang deep into the dragon’s chest, between its scales. The beast howled, thrashing, its claws raking stone and flesh alike. Aldric clung on, climbing higher, stabbing again and again, each strike fueled by Elenya’s enchantments.

The dragon writhed, slamming him against the cavern wall. Bones cracked. His vision blurred. Yet he held fast.

“Now, princess!” he bellowed.

Elenya lifted her hands, pouring all her light into the wound. A blazing spear of radiance shot forth, exploding through the dragon’s chest.

With a scream that shook mountains, the beast collapsed, flames guttering to embers. The cavern stilled. The air smelled of smoke and blood.

Aldric staggered, falling to one knee. The dragon’s corpse lay in ruin, its scales cracked, its heart extinguished.

Elenya rushed to his side, placing her glowing hands upon his wounds. “You will not die here, sir knight. Not while I breathe.”

Her magic knit bone and sinew, enough to steady him. He gripped her hand, their eyes meeting in silence.

Chapter Six – Return in Glory

When dawn broke, the villagers of Eldraleth awoke to a sight few had ever dreamed: Sir Aldric and Princess Elenya, walking side by side down from the mountain, behind them the smoke of the dragon’s demise curling skyward.

The people cheered, wept, and fell to their knees. News spread like wildfire—the dragon was slain, the princess saved.

At the gates of Highvale, King Theodric himself embraced his daughter, tears glistening in his eyes. He turned to Aldric, voice choked with gratitude. “You have done what no army could. You have saved us all.”

But Aldric shook his head. “It was no single sword. It was courage, and it was magic, and it was hope. The princess fought as fiercely as I.”

Elenya lifted her chin proudly. “I will never again be the prey of monsters. My people shall know their princess stood in the fire, and lived.”

The king smiled at her, and the crowd roared.

As the sun rose, Aldric sheathed Stormfang at last. The world was safe—for now. But deep in his heart, he knew other dragons, other evils, waited in the dark. And when they came, he would be ready.