Adreahnna, Dri to her friends, woke up in her tiny house just as the sun was beginning to rise. Grumbling to herself about having to wake up early, as she did every morning, she rolled out of bed and dressed for another day of fishing out on her boat. Her boat. She smiled to herself, thinking It's been three months since the Neptune was mine, now all I need is to start a family. Looking in the mirror as she combed her hair, she reflected a bit on what she saw. I am twenty-three this next week, and I don't even have a potential boyfriend at this point. She sighed and pulled her thick black hair into a ponytail, trying to quell thoughts of her family, the one she'd lost. She wanted to rebuild so desperately, but it seemed slim that she ever would.

True, she was the only person in all of Cassardis with pointy ears, but she didn't think that was the reason no guy EVER was interested in her, beyond the friend-zone at least. She looked back into the mirror, at her left eye. Her eyes were a lovely shade of clover green, but the left side of her face had a black scar running from her forehead down to her cheek, going right through her eye. She had gotten that as a touching reminder from the bandits that murdered her parents five years ago after they had done some business at the encampment a few miles north. It was nothing short of a miracle that she retained that eye and the most ugly part of her body. Then again, it's not like anybody really wanted me like that before anyway. She shook her head free of sad thoughts and finished getting ready for her day.

When she docked in the late afternoon, she was extremely pleased with herself. She had had an excellent day, with an excellent catch. Hauling the fish to Heraldo for his grocery, she hummed a merry tune her mother had taught her when she was still a little girl. The sale took very little time as Dri and Heraldo had a long standing price on any fish she wanted to sell him. Walking away with her money, she decided to head down to the docks to clean up Neptune for the night.

On the path to the docks, she watched as two small children, a brother and sister, running and playing in the streets. She smiled at their young antics, before continuing down the path. Or so she thought. "Hear ye! Hear ye!" she heard behind her. Turning around she saw some of the duke's soldiers at the town's gate. Soldiers? Here? Whatever for? Her curiosity not being put off, she decided to go see what the men were talking about.

"The prophets 'ave spoken friends! The dragon's return is nigh! Join the hon'rable duke's ranks and help us be rid o' the fell beast! The day's come to lay down rod and reel and take up the sword!" Dri rolled her eyes. I'm sure the dragon will be very impressed at the soldiers you've amassed for his lunch. I should've just headed down to the docks.

Before she left, however, she caught sight of her best friend Quina. Quina and Dri had grown up together, and their friendship lasted til this very day. They waved to each other, and Dri was about to walk over and start a conversation, when suddenly debris flew in from the docks. Quina ran to stand behind Dri, not just because she was scared, but because Dri had protected her many times when they were kids.

One of the fisherman ran from the docks, tripping on his way. "I-i-It's the dragon!" he shouted, causing gasps to come from the crowd that had formed by the gate. Some of the fisherman ran forward after a few minutes, Dri being one of them. Dammit! I had just gotten my boat too! If she lost her boat, she'd be back to being a hireling or working odd jobs around town again to make it through. As she looked in the sky, however, all of her thoughts quieted and her heart sank. Flying through the air, heading straight toward Cassardis, was the dragon.

A/N Hey I'm Back! I'm going through some updates real quick and then I will continue on with the story. You may want to reread as I am changing timelines and what not.