The Hidden Village

The Dragon Girl

Chapter 1: The Hidden Village

In the farthest corner of the world, hidden beneath the misty veil of the Cloudspire Mountains, there lay a small village called Eryndor. From above, it looked like a scattering of huts built from stone and wood, their roofs covered with moss, their gardens filled with wildflowers. The villagers were humble farmers, hunters, and craftsmen. But they all shared one rule: never wander beyond the forest’s edge.

Among the children of Eryndor was a girl named Lyra. She was unlike the others. While most children had hair dark as earth or pale as wheat, Lyra’s hair shimmered like burnished copper in the sunlight, with streaks of silver as if the moon itself had kissed it. Her eyes were emerald green but, when she grew angry or afraid, faint flecks of gold danced in them like sparks.

The villagers whispered about her. Some said she was blessed. Others said she was cursed.

Lyra herself knew only one truth: she was different.

She lived with her grandmother, an old herbalist named Selene, who kept many secrets of her own. Their hut was filled with jars of herbs, strange crystals, and scrolls written in languages no villager could read.

“Lyra,” Selene often said, “the world will not always be kind to you. But you must be kind to it, even when it fears you.”

The girl would nod, though she didn’t understand.

One crisp autumn morning, Lyra ran to the forest’s edge chasing a white stag. Her bare feet brushed the fallen leaves, her laughter echoed in the silence. The stag turned its glowing eyes on her and, for a heartbeat, it bowed—as if in recognition. Then it vanished into the mist.

Lyra’s heart raced. Something stirred inside her chest, a warmth, a fire. She clenched her fists, and for a moment, she swore she saw a wisp of smoke curl from her palm.

Startled, she stumbled back.

That evening, as she and her grandmother ate stew by the fire, Lyra asked,

“Grandmother, have you ever felt… something inside you? Like a storm wanting to break free?”

Selene studied her, eyes old as stone.

“My child, there are truths about you I have not spoken. But soon, you will need to know them.”

Lyra frowned. “What truths?”

Before Selene could answer, a horn’s cry shattered the night.

The villagers screamed. Flames lit the sky. Bandits from the Iron Claw raiders had descended upon Eryndor. Their leader, a scarred man with a wolfskin cloak, rode into the square shouting,

“Take everything! Leave no one standing!”

Lyra’s heart pounded. She wanted to run, but something stronger rooted her to the spot. Her eyes widened as one of the raiders raised a blade toward a crying child.

“No!” Lyra screamed.

And in that instant, the world changed.

Her skin glowed faintly, scales rippling across her arms like molten bronze. Her voice deepened into a roar that shook the air. From her throat burst a stream of fire.

The raider fell back shrieking, armor melted to slag. The others gasped and stumbled away.

The villagers froze, staring at Lyra in horror and awe.

Lyra stared at her hands, trembling. Smoke curled from her fingers. Her secret was no longer hidden.

The bandits fled into the forest, but the damage was done. Eryndor’s people looked at the girl as though she were a monster.

One man spat, “She’s not one of us. She’s a creature!”

A woman clutched her child. “Keep her away!”

Lyra’s throat burned—not from fire this time, but from grief.

Selene stepped forward, placing herself between Lyra and the villagers. Her voice rang firm:

“She is no monster. She is Dragonborn. And her destiny is far greater than this village.”

That night, Lyra sat by the fire, trembling.

“Grandmother… what am I?” she whispered.

Selene touched her cheek gently.

“You are both human and dragon, child. A bridge between two worlds. And soon… you must choose where you belong.”

Lyra’s eyes burned with tears. She gazed into the flames and saw shapes—wings, mountains, battles yet to come.

In that moment, she knew: her life in the hidden village was over.

Her adventure had just begun.

✨ End of Chapter 1 ✨

Do you want me to continue with Chapter 2: The Flame Within, where Lyra begins to understand her dragon powers and faces the first step of her journey?

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