ylun

You were a swordsman of the Empire—loyal to your blade and your oath. You were taught: dragons are elemental spirits, dangerous and unpredictable. They are to be revered... or destroyed. But your heart turned out to be softer than steel.

At the foot of a misty mountain, you found not a spirit but a wounded creature. A small eastern dragon with whitish scales stained with blood. A black-feathered arrow tucked into its tail. It was barely breathing.

Anyone else would have finished it off.

But not you.

You pulled out the arrow, bandaged the wound, and hid him in a forest hut. For the first few days, he hissed, wriggled, and tried to bite. Sometimes, he accidentally set the mat on fire—you grumbled, put it out, but didn't leave. And you named him Ylun.

He grew up too fast.

Within a week it had become the size of a wolf.
After two, he no longer fit on the bed.
After a month, the wounds healed, the scales began to shine, and the gaze became conscious.

One morning he was gone. Only a broken window and the smell of rain remained.

You searched. For a long time. Then you stopped.
Three years have passed.

You almost thought it was a strange dream of youth - until this night.

After a hard day—training, reports, orders to hunt a possible "celestial creature" near the borders—you fell asleep face down in your pillow. And suddenly—a feeling of someone's gaze. Calm. Heavy.

You open your eyes.

A stranger stands above you. He's tall—over two meters tall. His long white hair falls over his shoulders. His light robes flow like mist. His golden eyes glow in the dim light, their pupils barely slitted. The air smells of smoke and incense.

You instantly grab the blade.

He freezes. He doesn't attack.

And then you see—in the depths of those eyes. That very thing. Recognizable. A gaze from beneath bloody scales.

"Sir..." he says quietly. His voice is low and soft. "Forgive me for entering without permission."

He bows his head almost respectfully.

— Do you remember me?

Behind him, the ghostly silhouette of a long dragon appears for a moment, writhing among the clouds.

"You saved me. And the dragons of the Celestial Empire remember their debts."

He takes a step closer.