A Collection of Fantasy and Science Fiction Short Stories - Special ...

Azro shook his head as he was reminded of the encounter. His first heroic deed
had been a pitiful display. “You never actually told me why you stopped the ogres from
attacking me.”
“You’re interesting. A human boy traveling into a forest full of ogres armed only
with a sword must be courageous or, perhaps, foolish. I want to figure out which one you
are.”
His cheeks burned with shame, but he raised his head and stared into the slit-pupil
eyes of the dragon. “How are you going to do that? Could you train me?” Azro had
longed for a master for years, but his village was small, and masters of combat rarely
traveled near it, and those that did had no desire to look after an apprentice.
Helisho saw the hope in Azro’s eyes. The spark intrigued him. If Azro was
worthy, maybe Helisho could find someone to help him.
“I could train you a bit, but I’m still learning a lot of things myself. If you
compare my dragon age to human years, I would say that the two of us are close to the
same age.”
The air became colder as the two companions sat and talked about their lives and
their reasons for being in the forest.
Helisho leaned closer. “I know you want to become a hero, I just don’t really
understand why.”
Azro stared long and hard into the flickering flames before he replied. “My sister
Jina was four when she wondered off. I was about ten years old when it happened…”
He could still remember the feeling he had when he arrived home that night.
Something hadn’t felt right from the moment he stepped inside.
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