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Souls Eternal Flame

(This story takes place in a modern, near future type era. Humans and dragons co-exist, although there are mixed feelings amongst both races, i.e., some think the other species should be destroyed, while others are fine with the other species. Also, all dragons have the ability to shape shift, for now, I'm going to say it's a magical ability. I shall not go into detail about where exactly the stories will take place, but let's just say America, for now. The main character, Nikoli, (pronounced as Nikolai), or Nik, (pronounced as neek), is a Black Dragon, although in this series, color doesn't determine alliance, or abilities. Color is just what it is, color. All abilities are learned by the individual, and are not determined by race.)

He stood now, on top the remains of an old factory. He smiled as he felt the wind pass over his body, and at the sound of the factory's roof supports creaking underneath his immense weight. He stood at a proud 34 feet tall, and was 68 feet long from the tip of his nose, to the tip of his tail. He also boasted a wing span equal his length, which gave him surprising agility in the air, despite his size. His scales carried no blemishes, no scars to mar his body, no unsightly marks of any kind. If dragon society were like human society, he could have been one of those male models for a clothing line, big and muscular, with a handsome face and easy eyes. Those eyes of his were his most outstanding feature, a piercing emerald green, which was a surprising contrast to his dark color. His name was Nikoli Soulfire. Born from a strong bloodline, which had gained fame for their prowess in battle during the Great War in the old days. Wherever he went, members of his kind either treated him with the utmost respect, or tried to bully him for his name sake. It all didn't matter to Nikoli. No matter where he went, or what he did, or even who he was with, his life was an empty one. He had few friends, and his family, well he didn't speak to his family, and he had his own reasons for that. He knew what he lacked, love. He didn't love anything, or anyone. He felt hollow inside, and this is what drove him to abandon his homeland, and go in search of this thing called love. Finally he decided to take a chance and go into the settlement, and he spread his massive wings and leaped off the roof of the decaying building he had been perched on, the supports groaned as his bulk left it.

The flight only took a couple of minutes and he landed outside the settlement, a good hundred yards from the main entrance. Nikoli waited a moment, taking in the settlements defenses. A massive wall, easily twice his length, in height was erected around it, with a gate that slid open to allow creatures, or machinery as large as himself, to pass through. There were guards posted on either side of the gate, which was open, and both guards were dragons, which relieved Nikoli, for sometimes, humans didn't take kindly to a dragon waltzing into their establishments. He began his walk to the settlement, as he neared it, he saw a sign behind one of the guards that said, "Welcome to Oro del Corazón", he shook his head at the unfriendly looking guards, what a contradiction. As he neared the entrance, the guards stepped forward and extended a fore claw in a motion to stop him. "Halt, what is your business here, and what is your name?" Said the one on his right, a big Blue, not quite as large as himself, but big enough that he was clearly use to being dominant. T

he other dragon was a copper, a bit smaller, but carried thick scars on his body, and by the way her carried himself, was use to a life of fighting. With a smile, Nikoli answers,

"My name is Nikoli, and I am but a nomad, a wanderer, and explorer, whatever you may wish to call it."

The copper eyes Nikoli suspiciously and says, "Bullshit, I don't believe you for one minute. No one comes out here just for the sake of it. Now, tell us what the hell you are really doing out here."

The Blue nods in agreement and waits for Nikoli to respond. With a heavy sigh, Nik shakes his head and says, "That is the truth, I don't seek trouble, if anything, I seek friendship, companionship. Not hostilities."

The duo just stared at him for a moment, until finally they both stepped aside and allowed him to pass. Nik nodded graciously to them, and said his thanks to them as he stepped through the gate. Once inside he looked around at the settlement. "What a dump." He mumbled under his breath as he examined the rundown buildings that dotted the crumbling, pot-hole filled streets. Clearly this was a place that was built in haste, and never properly maintained. He shook his head and proceeded in to the settlement, where he made the mistake of accidentally bumping into a native that was moving hastily walking by. It was a small Red Dragoness; she gave him a snarl and cursed at him, and continued on her way before Nikoli could offer an apology. Nikoli shook his head, so much for the settlements name, which meant Gold heart, or Heart of Gold, at least that was the translation. Nik wondered the streets, until he came across a building with a sign in the window, however the window was so dirty, he couldn't read it, so out of curiosity, Nik stepped inside, discovering it was a pub. "Of all the pubs in town, you come to this one," Said Nik to himself as he surveyed the interior, which was simple, and surprisingly clean. There were three patrons inside the pub, oddly enough a human, and two dragons, both male, one white, the other a black like himself. The human sat off by himself, and the two dragons were in a quiet conversation. When Nikoli reaches the bar, the two dragons eye him briefly, then continue their conversation, the human didn't acknowledge his existence. Nik waited for the bartender, for he hadn't seen one when he had first walked in, and after a minute or two, a green dragoness walks out from a door to the right of the bar and goes behind it and approaches Nik.

"Never seen you around here before, you new here sweetie?" She asked her voice soft and sweet sounding, she wasn't bad looking either, a long tail, and the two horns on her head had a graceful curve to them. Her body was lean and muscular; her wings seemed a little too long for her body, but one had to really look to notice.

"I am, I came from up north. I found this place when I was flying over the forest, and decided that since I was out exploring the world, here would be a good place to stop at." Said Nik, before she could ask him what he was doing out here.

The dragoness nodded and said, "What's your name darling?"

"Nikoli." He answered.

"Well Nikoli, what can I get you, some human ales? Or Dragon's mead?" She asked.

"I'll take some mead." Answered Nik.

The dragoness nodded and left the bar and went into the room she came from. When she returned she had a dragon sized mug, and pitcher of mead and placed them both on the bar in front of him. She then poured some mead into the mug for him, and passed it to him. Nik picked up the mug and sniffed at the mead, it smelled good, and was cold. Satisfied that it wouldn't harm him if he tried it, he took a small gulp and smiled at how sweet it was. It reminded Nik of honey mixed with coconut, with a little bit of alcoholic flavor.

"This is good. Thank you." He said to the dragoness.

"You're welcome sugar, my name is Deni, let me know if you need anything else, ok babe?" She said to him, and with that she turned her back on him, and started wiping down the counters on the far side of the bar. As Nik drank his mead, he took the small, single strap bag he carried with him, it was a simple thing, tan and travel worn, but it served its purpose, and opened it, he reached into the pouch in which he held his money, and extracted a few gold coins and slipped them quietly on to the bar. He quickly finished and when Deni was looking his way, he flagged her over.

"What can I do for you now, babe?" She asked.

Nikoli smiled and answered

"I was hoping you could tell me if there was a place for me to put up for the night, or next few nights. And, I also could use a guide for the next couple of days."

She smiled and said,

"Well, around the corner there's a place that rents out rooms, and if you need someone to show you around, sweetie, all you had to do was ask. I get off at midnight; if you want I'll meet you out front when I get out." She said.

Nikoli smiled and nodded, he motioned to her where he put the money, and stood up and stretched.

"Well, in that case, I'll go rent a room and meet you here at midnight. Thanks Deni, I'll see you then." He said, and with that he turned and walked away as she thanked him for the money and went back to her duties.

Nikoli walked out of the bar and went in the direction Deni had told him. Sure enough, the place was right where she said it was. So he went inside and after a few agonizing minutes of bartering with the host of the place, managed to procure a room for a week, a bit pricy for his likes, but what options did he have. He was quickly shown his room, where he was then left alone upon the opening of the door. Nik sighed, placed his bag on the bed, and went into the washroom to clean himself off, and too relax and enjoy some quiet. Once finished with that, he went back to the bed and plopped down on it, figuring he would take a quick nap before meeting Deni when she got off. Little did he know, he was going to need all the energy he could get.