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Peralian, or Peral as he liked to be called, had wandered out of the misty valley where his family lived. He was old enough to do so without telling the parents… at least that’s what he thought! His mother wanted him to wait a while, learn more about magic and fighting before he went exploring. Ma didn’t listen to her parents… Gramps told me she used to ditch school all the time! Peral thought with a grin, so that means I can do that too! At least the exploring part… And it’s not like I’m going far, just going to stretch my legs!

The young hybrid, blue eyes casually scanning the area as he walked, was growing up and losing a lot of his baby fat. At 10 years old he was lean with hints of muscles due to the active life style he lived. He helped his mother a lot in the kitchen and in the small garden she was attempting to grow. It was hit or miss with whether or not a plant lived… his father was turning out to have a better hand at it much to his amusement.
Mornings were spent in practice and learning, Kadryn and Kirosh splitting what they taught day to day. They learned the basics of math, how to read and write, and history and then for an hour afterwards they were taught the basics in combat. Even though Peral wanted to just focus on one or two, his mother insisted he learn the basics in all.

“You never know when you will be attacked and cannot be certain you will always have your weapon on you. It is better to have some knowledge so you can at least defend until you can flee or reach a weapon you know how to actually use than to focus in one weapon only and die because you cannot use what is at hand.” She would say when he asked why he was being forced to learn sword, hammer, mace, staff, bow, axe … the list went on.

“At least it’s let me know what I do not want to use.” Peral muttered to himself as he stopped by a wild apple tree to grab a ripe green apple. “Hammers are nice… really useful in breaking things.. but not sure I want to carry that around.” He already knew he wanted to be a mage… but having a weapon would be cool too. He had a hammer… though it was a gift from his grandfather to use in smithing... not killing. And he had a bow, his father had made it for him so he could learn to hunt.
In fact, it was by his side right now, since he wasn’t completely stupid. And speaking of stupid, he thought, I should string this… because if I come back with some food maybe Ma will stop being so… protective. And maybe they’ll let me go hunting more often.
Matching action to thoughts, he pulled off a string and readied his small hunting bow. His thoughts circled about the weapons though and not paying too much attention to his surroundings. Not the hammer… and as much as he liked the really destructive power of the mace or axe… it just didn’t seem right. Maybe I’ll just not train in any weapon, he thought. Focus mostly on magic… He wrinkled his nose at that. That was boring! And why couldn’t he master two different styles? No reason he couldn’t balance magic with weaponry. Though.. I wonder which type of magic I’ll have. Ma hasn’t gotten into too much about magic, guess they’re waiting for me to grow up a bit more.

His eyes, half focused missed the tracks in the mud, but his ears caught the hissing. He halted, attention fully focused on the world around him now, eyes scanning the mists, hands pulling out an arrow as he turned his head about, trying to catch the sound again. Now that he was looking, he saw the tracks of dragons... or Khehora since they weren’t that big. Did Khehora live this close to home? He thought with an eager grin. He wanted a bonded. Mother would not approve... she thought of it as slavery… but think of having a strong friend at your side! He knew one day he and his twin would go their separate ways, and that hurt to think about. Maybe having one about would… make it not hurt so much.
Slinking over to the canyon walls, he crept along them till he got close enough to peer through the mists and spot the figures crouched about something on the ground. He gave a small pout when the mists ebbed and gave him a clearer view. Not Khehora. Which meant no eggs to steal. Instead... dragons! Which was almost just as good! Small ones too, he thought. Maybe I can take them… He knew dragons were dangerous, had accompanied his parents on several hunts… but it was just three small ones! But, he looked at his boy, I’ve only got a small hunting bow. Is it going to be able to go through thick scales? He frowned and sat down, peering up and about, trying to find something to help him in the fight. He didn’t think his bow had enough draw to punch and arrow through armor, which meant he had to find some other way to kill them!
He grinned when he spotted the large rock sitting precariously on the slope above the dragons. Perfect! And if they didn’t get hit by it… then he could try to use his bow. Maybe he’d get lucky!
Quietly, creeping slowly up the ridge, Peral prepared a plan in his mind. Their eyes, hard to hit, but unarmored He could do that. They’d be looking up at the rocks too, making for an easier target… not that it’d be easy at all! He crawled a little past the rock then turn and ran at it, using his body as a tool to get it rolling. With a dull thud he hit, and felt the rock shudder and the gravel holding it give. Slithering backwards to not roll down with the rocks, he grabbed his bow and readied and arrow.
He chuckled as the rock slowly, ponderously began its rumbling decent. It caused the rocks in its way to scatter, creating a small rock slide that crashed with increasing speed at the startled dragons below.
Two of the dragons managed to get airborne enough to dodge the incoming landslide, one was buried beneath it; a startled cry broken off with a sickening crunch as the large boulder connected.
Peral, waiting above, had his arrow nocked and ready, eyes narrowed slightly as he aimed and waited for a head to look up and not down at its buried companion. The arrow flew straight and by some turn of luck, struck through an eye. Peral gave a gleeful cry as the dragon crumpled and fell down onto the rocks below. He’d did it! Ha! He could his a dragon in the eye! Da was gonna be so proud!
The last dragon, bewildered by the ambush, fled. Something it hiding in the mist and dust cloud had just picked off its clutch sibling. Peral laughed and scampered (carefully) down the slope to gather up his orbs. It took a bit of digging, but eventually he came up with his prize.
Just wait until I show my family!

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