SSS: The First Legendary Beast Master

Rain drummed against the stable roof. Bran slumped against a post. Counted heartbeats between thunder. His third night without sleep. The stable's shadows twisted into faces. Into claws.

In the lantern light, Hana sat cross-legged before Meera. Her small hands moved deliberately into gestures. Sign language. Help. Thank you. Beautiful. Each gesture precise, practiced. Meera mirrored them with careful movements of her clawed hands. She was getting more used to being in half form around Hana.

Mace's thoughts cut sharp. We should run. Tonight. While we still can.

"No, no." Hana corrected Meera's gesture. "Hand up higher for 'beautiful'. Like this." She demonstrated again. Fearless. To many humans, the half form was a myth. The ones who knew it wasn't, were still disgusted by it. As though, having a beastkin look human was a perversion of humanity itself.

We're not running. Bran's thoughts came sluggish. Warren has hunters watching every road. Besides, noone expects me to tame the dragons in one sitting.

I know that, Bran. But our combined knowledge of dragonfolk is still almost nothing. Just tricks to get them to calm down. What if Warren has tricks too.

Hana signed two gestures.You. Beautiful. The sign language had started after the tunnel raid. Hana had found Meera in half-form, washing blood from her fur in the midnight rain. Body human. She wouldn't have recognised her if not for the ears. The tail. It was easier cleaning in half form than wolf form. The blood slicked off quicker.

Instead of screaming, she'd gasped in wonder. Started making up signs the next day. Meera had resisted at first. Called it cub-play. But the girl's determination wore her down. Now they practiced whenever they could steal moments alone. It was strange. A language without words. A language that transcended species.

"You're dying." Tolk's ghost crouched in the corner. Throat still a red ruin. "Can't sleep because you know what's coming. Smart. Dead men don't need sleep."

Pain lanced through Bran's skull. His knees hit straw. The stable fractured into kaleidoscope images. Ariana's face. The ritual circle. Blood on stone.

Hana traced a new sign in the air. Danger?. Her eyes darted to the stable door. Handsome hunter? It was the best approximation for Warren in their limited new language. Meera nodded.

Meera's red eyes narrowed. Her clawed hands moved. We should kill the dragons before morning, she thought in the group connection.

Are you mad. Mace thought back. He growled.

Bran was silent. Either in thought, or fighting back whatever demons had been haunting him lately. He looked at Hana and Meera communicating and had an idea.

What if I tame them before?

What do you mean? Meera asked.

I mean, I have something no other tamer does. I can speak to them. Maybe we can come to an agreement. I can get their chains released too if they cooperate. If they tether with-

No, both Mace and Meera thought together.

Mace continued. The drakonfolk are not like other beastfolk. Some say their Beast King, the Nightslayer is equal in power if not stronger than the Monarch of prey.

Meera added. Even if you really are a fledgling Beast King, there is no guarantee you can tether with dragonfolk. We don't know what that may do to you.

We have no choice. Bran's reply came in dry. Defeated. The only way to stop Warren is to get ahead of him. I am sorry, but I won't lose anyone else.

Silence followed for a long time.

Hana silently watched the pack. By now, she'd guessed that there was something greater between the three than the bond of a tamer and his creatures. She never asked. They never addressed it. The girl's fingers twisted anxiously. Meera. Need. Help?

Meera gestured back. Not . Your. Problem.

Hana's brows furrowed. Want. Help. Meera.

Meera had seen this tiny human overpower a hobgoblin champion. She wasn't one to give up once her mind was set.

Meera turned to the group and spoke in the beast tongue. "She can help. Maybe get you close to the dragons."

Bran and Mace were silent at first. They looked between Hana and Meera, who had just used beast tongue instead of the mind connection.

"I trust her." Meera said, half surprising herself.

Bran pressed his palms against his eyes. The stable spun. His wounded side throbbed with each heartbeat. The cut had gone deeper than planned. Maybe infected.

Perhaps it was the insomnia. Perhaps he was just tired of hiding, because in the next moment, Bran spoke back in beast tongue. "Okay. Maybe there's a way for her to help actually."

Hana's eyes went wide. Mouth opened in a gasp. Soon, the pack was speaking to each other in the beast tongue.

---

Hana pressed against wet stone. Lightning flashed. Illuminated the armory's back wall. This was the task Bran had given her. The loose stones looked solid in daylight. But she'd found the gap last month. Hiding from boys who called her beast-lover for suggesting the beast-kin might have feelings too.

She worked fingers into the crack. Pulled. The stone block scraped outward just enough. Cold wind whistled through the gap.

The tunnel beyond was black. Narrow. Barely wide enough for her shoulders. She'd explored it twice before. Found the hidden chamber with strange weapons. She later realised it was the hidden armory of legendary rated weapons. Never told anyone but Meera.

Thunder crashed. She squeezed through. Stone scraped her ribs. Her clothes caught. Tore. The passage ahead was pitch dark. Her fingers traced rough wall. Found familiar notches. One step. Two. Three.

Something skittered past her foot. A rat maybe. She bit her lip. Didn't gasp. Meera wouldn't gasp.

The tunnel curved left. Opened into a small chamber. Lightning flashed through a high window. Glinted off metal. Off scales.

The dragon scale shield hung on the far wall. Black scales gleamed like oil. The edge of one scale nicked her palm as she lifted it. Sharp. Still hungry after all these years.

Too heavy. She dragged it instead. Metal screamed against stone. The sound echoed forever.

Footsteps above. A guard's lantern beam cut through a crack. He couldn't access the room. He could however, alert Liana. She froze. Counted heartbeats like Meera told her. Ten. Twenty. The light moved on.

The mist powder sat in clay jars on stone shelves. Their symbols glowed faintly. She chose the fullest one. Hugged it close with her free arm.

The shield was too wide for the tunnel entrance. Her heart stuttered. Stupid. Should've measured first. The high window though... Just wide enough maybe.

She stacked wooden crates. Loose stone blocks. Built a wobbly tower beneath the window. The shield scraped stone as she lifted it. Her arms shook. Almost dropped it twice.

Standing on tiptoe on the highest crate, she worked the shield through the window. Edge first. Then stuck. Half in, half out. Rain pattered against metal.

A guard's boots scraped gravel outside. Getting closer. She pushed harder. The shield caught on the sill. Wouldn't move.

The footsteps stopped. Right below the window. She held her breath. Pushed one last time. The shield broke free suddenly. Clattered into bushes outside.

The guard's lantern swung up. "Who's there?"

She dropped flat against stone. Counted heartbeats. The beam swept over the window. Moved on. Boot steps faded.

Getting out was harder. She squeezed back through the tight tunnel. Must've been an abandoned drainage tunnel. Clutched the jar close. The crack seemed smaller now. Her clothes caught again. Ripped more.

Outside, rain plastered her hair flat. She dragged the shield from the bushes. Through mud. Past the smithy. The tanner's shed. The stable door creaked once as she slipped inside.

Meera's crimson eyes found her in the darkness. Clawed hands lifted the heavy shield with ease. Gestured thank you.

Hana sank into warm tail fur. Her whole body trembled now. But she'd done it. Helped the pack. Helped Meera.

Thunder growled again.

---

The dragon keep's iron door creaked. Bran's hands shook against rusted metal. Three nights without sleep hammered his skull. His vision doubled. Trebled. The torches on the walls split into writhing snakes.

Mace's thoughts touched his mind from the guard tower. Handler's making his rounds. Meera's got him.

Through their connection, he glimpsed Meera in half form. Dark cloak. Hood up. Looked very human. Stumbling towards the handler like a drunk. The man reached for his sword. She dropped the act. Moved fast. One blow to the throat. Another to the temple. His body crumpled silent. Unconscious.

Fifteen minutes till the next patrol.

The dragons lay chained in adjoining cells. Varra and Kyrios. Massive heads. Scales black as midnight. Golden eyes tracked his movement. Steam curled from their nostrils. The female's belly pressed against stone. Protective. Wrong angle for chains that should let her lay flat.

Steam hissed. Kyrios's throat glowed orange. Magic chains tightened. Burned white-hot against scales. He roared through the pain. A burst of flame hit Bran's shield. Dragon scales deflected dragon fire. Bran poured out the mist powder. Dragon vision impaired but leaving his own eyes and throat burning too.

Varra lurched up. Chains shrieked. Her flames came weaker. The effort cost her more. Behind her coiled body, a nest scraped into stone. Three eggs. Black shells gleaming like oil. The smallest still soft-shelled.

"We'll protect them. When they hatch," Kyrios whispered in beast tongue, "we'll teach them to ride storm winds. To dance between lightning."

"If they hatch." Varra's tail curled tighter around the nest.

Ten minutes.

"Wait." Beast speech burned in Bran's throat. Adjusted to the rougher dragonspeak variant. Each word felt like swallowing fire. "Your eggs. Are they why you fight the handlers?"

The flames stopped. Steam curled from their nostrils. Kyrios's scales smoked where chains had burned him.

"Who sent you?" Kyrios's beast speech hit like thunder. "Our king?"

Pain spiked through Bran's skull. The room spun. He tasted copper. "I don't work for the Nightslayer."

"Who then?"

"Noone. I have a proposition, " Bran replied.

Seven minutes.

Varra's voice pressed. Ancient. Burning. "Come closer child. This dust of yours has infected the air."

She gasped . "Human, how? What sorcery."

Bran recoiled. Body weakened by the second. Blood dripped from his nose. "I don't understand it either. All I know is that there's forces in this world bigger than you or I. And we have to stand together to survive them. I have a proposal."

"Quiet, child, " Kyrios roared."I AM OLD AS TREES. I have seen charlatans like you before. I don't understand this trick. But I know human magic when I see it."

His throat was glowing orange.

"Wait, wait." Bran yelped. Body was beginning to buckle under the strain. Shield felt heavy. He wasn't sure he could last much longer.

Five minutes.

Meera's mind touched his. Second handler coming early. Accompanied by Warren's men. Hana is stalling them.

Through their connection, he saw Hana. Spraying mist powder. Stealing a sword. Running away. Buying time.

Kyrios's eyes narrowed.

"I can break your tethers." Bran's legs shook. "Bind you to me instead of the Nightslayer. I can promise your children will never be forced into a war or into chains."

Varra's eyes filled with longing. "How can you promise that. The tether is eternal. Do you serve one of the five Beast Kings?"

Sheild loosened from Bran's grip. He was at his end. Either a deal would be struck, or he would die here. He let his mind open. Reached out the way the Monarch of Prey would. And then, Varra stepped back. Just a tug on their thread. A pull on their tether to the Nightslayer. It was all he could manage.

"Kyrios. Do you know what this means." Varra looked to her partner. The dragons argued for a moment. Bran pieced together events from their conversation. Kyrios had strayed too far from their home a year ago. Varra was sick . Close to laying her eggs. Kyrios wanted to stock food. A bit too close to human lands. The humans took him by surprise. From the description, the leading hunter was Warren. Kyrios was injured, thought he was free of them when he flew away. They followed him back to his nest. Took them both. They were planning to escape their beast king even before capture. Varra was convinced this was a sign of the gods. Kyrios reluctantly gave in.

"Suppose we agree, little Beast King. What of the humans?" Kyrios's asked.

"They believe I am a tamer. Even now, two wolfkin walk about, free of chains. All you have to do is play along with a charade for some weeks. And then, you will be free to roam. Free of chains. Free of the Nightslayer."

Varra's eyes lit up at the words.

Three minutes.

Kyrios inched closer. Testing. Tasting. "You're a newborn king. Unstable. The change burns you even now."

"Better a fledgling king." Bran spat blood onto stone. "Than a ruthless one."

Two minutes.

Varra's chains clinked. Her wings spread wide. "If you fail, they'll kill our children."

"If I succeed," his vision blurred, "they'll ride storm winds."

Silence dragged on.

One minute.

Meera's thoughts spiked with alarm. Handlers caught Hana. Taking her to Liana. Warren's men are coming.

The dragons exchanged looks. Steam curled from their jaws. Finally, Kyrios spoke. "Let's speak the words. Before dawn comes."

Bran's hands rose. Shaking. The oath's first syllables burned like acid.

"By blood and bone"

The second felt like knives.

"By fang and fire"

Thirty seconds.

"I submit to your will "

His vision went dark.

The dragon keep's door creaked open.