Chapter Text
Light from the gibbous moon drifted down like a gentle mist into the rose scented courtyard of an old mansion. Beneath a large garden tree with twisting branches, a tiny bluebird lay sprawled on the ground. One of its wings was bent with the awkwardness of a broken bone. The soft sound of silk slippers shuffled through the grass, a shadow soon falling over the bird.
“Poor thing”, the voice of a young woman cooed gently. She bent down to her knees and gently lifted the bluebird in her hands. Round eyes blinked up at the human, fearful and in shock. A finger lightly stroked its feathered head in attempt to calm the bird.
“Let’s get you patched up.”
With the bluebird carefully cradled in her hands, the woman hurried back up the stone steps and through the columns with flaking white paint before disappearing through one of the mansion’s many doors.
An early morning ray drifted through the window and onto closed eyelids. The young woman rolled over with an annoyed groan, pulling the soft covers over her head as brown tresses peeked out from underneath the blanket. Minutes later the door creaked open as her maid bustled into her rooms and opened the windows to let more sunlight pour in. The light glinted off fine dresses hanging over the changing screen and glittering jewelry setting out on the vanity. Also on the vanity were half a dozen jade combs, one of which sat atop a flute case otherwise coated in a thin layer of dust.
“Lady Abi, are you not awake yet?” The maid called out.
“I’m coming”, Abi yawned and reluctantly shifted the blankets off.
Thus Abi began her normal morning routine. She drowsily allowed the maid to fuss over her hair, brushing and pinning chestnut locks up in a half-bun. The maid then helped slide on her clothing and tied the sash into a neat bow, the multiple layers downplaying Abi’s already modest figure. Abi pretended not to hear the older woman’s mutterings about her choice in outfits. While the cloth and design were refined, the maid thought her mistress should wear styles that flattered Abi’s womanly features more. It was an old disagreement that the maid had no hope of winning. Eventually both maid and mistress deemed Abi’s appearance satisfactory, Abi slipping on her favorite pearl necklace as the final touch.
The noblewoman walked over to the birdcage next to her desk, which was littered with the estate’s account books. Inside the cage sat the little bluebird with its broken wing splinted and bandaged. The bird stared up at her as Abi changed its water and feed. With a happy chirp it hopped over to the meal of seeds and crickets. Abi smiled slightly as she lightly brushed its head with the tip of her index finger. She then carefully closed the cage and turned around.
“Another dull day”, Abi muttered dryly.
The first half of the day proved to be as dull as Abi predicted. She spent most the morning delegating tasks to servants. Once that was done, Abi returned to her rooms. There the unfinished estate accounts were waiting on her desk. It was another few hours of calculating food, tailoring, servant pay, and other expenses.
Warm sunlight filtered through the half-closed window, the soft breeze carrying the scent of flowers. Abi longingly glanced out into the courtyard garden. The bluebird chirped and blinked at her from inside its cage. Whim overcame Abi as she opened the wire door and gently picked up the bird. She left through her rooms’ side entrance that opened right into the garden, a little time outside sounded refreshing to Abi.
The stone walls around the estate were high and worn with age. The rose bushes were blooming in bright red and wafting their pleasant aroma into the wind. Abi sat on the grass under the camphor tree dotted with tiny white blooms, watching as the bluebird hopped around curiously. It didn’t even try to use its healing wing. From what she had studied that meant it was unlikely to fly properly again.
“Perhaps I should give you a name”, she mused.
The bird tilted its head and tweeted. Most of its feathers were a bright blue but it also had a red crest on its chest. Where the blue and red intersected the feathers were an unusually vibrant shade of violet, like a purple bellflower. Abi’s fingertips lightly tapped her chin as she considered names.
“How about Bora?”
The bluebird chirped again and hopped up on Abi’s knee, allowing her to once again lightly pet its head. Abi decided the interaction was a sign of acceptance.
When the sun was at high noon, Abi took the newly christened Bora back to her rooms and headed toward to the main hall for lunch. She had just sat down at the table when her father hobbled into the room. Perhaps her father, Yoo Min-chul, had once been considered a handsome man. However, old scars were marred across his face and neck from a youth spent on the battlefield. One of his eyes had been gouged out; the gaping hole hidden by bandages. The other eye was clouded by age and nearly unseeing. He leaned most his weight on his cane as he took another limping step forward.
“Hello, father.”
“Abi”, he curtly greeted as he slowly lowered himself into the chair.
Without a word Abi began preparing their daily tea with slow and practiced movements. While waiting for the boiling water settling in the cooling bowl to reach the perfect temperature, Abi precisely scooped finely ground tea leaves into the kettle. The warm water was then poured back into the pot, the leaves stirring up and creating a pale green liquid. Once the tea was properly steeped, Abi carefully poured the drink into two cups and subtly pushed one of those cups into her father’s reach. Min-chul took three shaky sips before setting it back on the table. A couple of servants filed into the room, placing trays of duck stew and seasoned vegetables before them. The servants then bowed and lined out of the hall. The daughter and father pair ate quietly, barely glancing at each other.
Eventually Min-chul broke the silence, “I heard that uppity king in the north is to be executed.”
“Apparently a few of the influential noble families turned on him”, Abi stated before taking a few bites of her lunch.
Abi thought it was a fascinating tale, as if out of a story. A minuscule kingdom surrounded by Clans and independent lordships had been on the verge of collapse as the elderly king had no surviving heir, not even a daughter. The nobles living under the king’s rule would either tear the kingdom asunder aiming for the throne or the kingdom would fall to one of the neighboring Clans seeking to expand their territory. However, a man with rumored red hair and using the name of a dragon god as his own had suddenly appeared as if from nowhere. The dying king had been somehow convinced of this man’s godhood and declared him successor. It seemed to be a clever ruse used to trick a senile and superstitious old man. But if so, the new king had not done it as a greedy grab for power. In the short time he had been on the throne, the king’s decrees outlawed slavery and limited the taxes nobles could impose on their subjects. With their authority being stripped away, it was no surprise that some of the noble families had betrayed that king.
“Serves him right”, her father huffed, pulling her out of her musings, “Claiming to be a dragon god.”
Abi replied idly yet with acid on her tongue, “Because no man has ever claimed to be something he isn’t.”
With his one eye her father sternly glared in her direction, “One day that tongue of yours will get you into trouble.”
Abi met his glare with an unfazed expression, “Then perhaps you shouldn’t have indulged me.”
“Perhaps I shouldn’t have”, he sighed heavily with knitted brows, “You are already eighteen, Abi. Are you even trying to find a husband? I don’t have much time on this earth left. When I die, the Yoo Estate and Clan leadership will pass to your second-cousin. If you haven’t settled into a new household by then, it will be within his rights to decide who you marry or even force you to leave the estate without support.”
Abi frowned as she thought of how, on the few occasions her father’s cousin visited the main estate, the servants would be nervous and scurry about to avoid him and his ire. His attempts to shut her out of Clan business even when she was acting as her father’s official representative was a near constant struggle for her. Unless she challenged him by using her father’s authority, his eyes would glance past her as if she were nothing more than a decorative vase or garden ornament.
“I am well aware of the fact that if you were to die today my place here would rely on his mercy. I am also well aware that your cousin is not known for his mercy”, appetite suddenly gone Abi pushed her plate aside and stood up, “I have matters to attend to.”
Abi laid her head on the windowsill and stared vaguely off into the night sky as a warm breeze flowed into her rooms. Bora, perhaps sensing her gloomy mood, sat on her shoulder diligently grooming strands of chestnut colored hair. The conversation with her father from earlier lingered in her mind, bringing a pout to her lips.
“How humiliating…”
Abi didn’t feel overly attached to the estate she had grown up in. She wouldn’t mind leaving here one day, assuming she ever met a man she could tolerate enough to marry (really, Abi knew she should be grateful that her father was allowing her to choose; his cousin wouldn’t be so thoughtful). It was the principle of it. Abi was the one that had stepped up to run the estate after her mother died and her father’s health declined. It was frustrating that some distant relative was going to one day waltz in and claim everything that she had worked for as his own. That she would be dependent on the same relative was salt in the wound.
While those thoughts bounced around in her mind, a dark blue shadow flew across the inky black sky. The shadow appeared almost serpentine as it twisted and twirled through the air. Abi leaned forward, squinting brown eyes in an attempt to get a better look at the flying beast.
“What is…?”
Her skin suddenly broke into a cold sweat. It was like a large, fearsome creature had its eyes directly on her. No, the eyes were not just on her but staring into the very core of her being. A numbing sensation enveloped her. It was even hard to breathe. A primal impulse awoke in Abi. She fought against the eerie numbing sensation, struggling to sit up straight as she gasped. The feeling of being watched by pinning eyes lessened slightly. Abi took a shaky but deep breath.
Human. Come.
A voice like rolling thunder reverberated in Abi’s mind, the sharp image of a forest clearing springing forth. Abi recognized the clearing as one not too far outside the estate, a place she had often sneaked away to play in as a child. Almost as if she were in a trance, Abi stood and walked out of the room. Bora tweeted in confusion a few times before hunkering down on her shoulder. Abi silently walked out into the courtyard and toward one of the lesser used side gates.
“Lady Abi?”
A gate guard with soft features had noticed her approach. Abi barely glanced at him, her attention completely on reaching the forest clearing, “I’m going out for a while.”
Confusion and concern quickly spread across the guard’s face. His voice was lined with worry, “This time of night? That’s dangerous, Lady Abi. I’m sure Lord Min-chul would-”
“Open the gate”, Abi ordered in a tone so cold the guard flinched and rushed to comply.
Even so the guard questioned her one more time, “There have been sightings of bandits lately. Lady Abi, what if you are attacked?”
“I’d be captured and held for ransom, or perhaps killed”, Abi shrugged as if wasn’t important and then passed through the stone gate.
With the thick forest canopy blocking the light of the crescent moon, the trail was pitch-black. Abi moved slowly, gripping tree trunks to avoid tripping. Branches and thorns clutched tight to her robes and sleeves a few times, forcing Abi to pause and untangle the fabric. Bora chittered softly, nervously in her ear. The bluebird understood something dangerous lay on the path ahead of them.
Eventually Abi stumbled into the clearing, faint moonbeams filtering through canopy opening. There waited a massive dragon coiled as if to strike. Its scales were a deep blue that glimmered with a soft divine glow and moonlight. Its eyes were the most captivating, overwhelming gold Abi had ever seen. Those ethereal eyes rooted the young woman to the spot like a prey animal frozen in fear.
Abi gulped once before speaking with bravado, “You requested my presence, dragon god.”
Human, do you know of King Hiryuu?
The dragon god’s voice once again resounded in her head like a clap of thunder. Brown eyes widened with understanding as Abi answered, “He’s a man who recently rose to power and claims to be the dragon god Hiryuu descended as a human.”
It is no mere claim. Our brother descended for his love of humans. However, humans have betrayed and forsaken him. We rescued him from death by those despicable hands yet Hiryuu has refused to return to the Heavens. So we are each seeking out a Warrior to protect and serve him.
Abi’s heart pounded wildly as the weight of this truth bared down. She lightly bit her lip before asking, “What does this have to do with me?”
You are worthy to be called Seiryuu. Drink my blood and receive the power I grant you.
“I know nothing of combat”, Abi pointed out in an uncertain tone, “I am not a warrior.”
It is not strength of body I seek but strength of will. Even being cautious not to take life or cause harm as I was, few humans would have the willpower to withstand my gaze. An overwhelming will that can make full use of my blood lurks within you, human.
Abi’s mouth hung slightly ajar, though she quickly noticed and snapped it shut. If a dragon god thought her strong enough, then surely it must be true. From what she had heard of Hiryuu, Abi thought he seemed like a king that she would be willing to serve. Such a pact would solve the delicate situation she had found herself in as well. Brown eyes steadily met the golden hue of the dragon’s eyes as a silk covered foot took a step forward.
“…Very well. I will drink your blood and become your warrior.”
The dragon god nodded its cat-like head and then used a claw to pierce blue scales. Blood – one drop, two, three drops – dripped down into a waiting chalice that seemed to appear from thin air. At the dragon’s beckoning Abi moved forward and picked it up. She stared at the swirling red liquid a moment before tilting the chalice back and gulping down the dragon’s blood.
Warriors of the Four Dragons!
The taste of bitter copper burnt her tongue as the thick liquid drained down her throat like fire.
You are now our other halves!
The dragon’s blood intertwined with human blood in an unsettling and excruciating boiling sensation. Abi staggered and swayed as the voice of the dragon god roared in her very soul, scorching the core of her being.
With Hiryuu as your master, you will protect, cherish, and never betray him for as long as you live!
A divine glow that matched the dragon god’s shimmered in the air around Abi. Her head throbbed in rhythm with her heartbeat as canine teeth enlarged, becoming fang-like. Brown hair turned sky blue at the roots, the new color cascading down to her ends like a waterfall. Firework-like lights flashed in her eyes, searing them so intensely that she soon became blinded.
Then ever so slowly her vision returned, though the throbbing pain lingered. Disorientation made Abi dizzy. Her perspective was wider. The previously pitch-black forest was now brightened and easily navigable. The stars in the sky seemed to have multiplied, turning the inky black dotted with light into a deep purple that brilliantly glittered. There were unfamiliar, impossible colors that no human had words for.
Movement in the trees behind her drew Abi’s attention. She clumsily stood, not even sure when she had fallen to the ground, and reflexively brushed grass and twigs off her clothes. Disorientation hit again as she realized she was literally seeing through the trees and brush. The gate guard was there, fallen back onto the ground and half hidden behind a tree trunk. His mouth hung gapingly as wide hazel eyes darted from Abi and the dragon god in sheer disbelief.
“Guard”, Abi called out in attempt to sound like she wasn’t about to faint from pain, “Tell my father it seems I’ve found a new household after all and that my personal maid is more than capable of taking up my duties.”
The guard stared at her transfixed – her now unnaturally blue hair, the red markings that adorned her cheeks, golden irises glinting iridescent in the faint moonlight – for a long minute before finally nodding. He then scrambled away through the brush, kicking up grass and dirt in his hurry. Once again Abi was left alone with the dragon god.
My Dragon Warrior, it’s time to go to Hiryuu.
Abi nodded and bent down to where Bora was waiting with ruffled feathers that made the bluebird look like a tiny puff ball. The noblewoman held out her hand, hoping the bird would willingly come with her. She couldn’t leave it in the middle of the forest with a still broken wing, but didn’t want to force it near a dragon. The bluebird hesitated a moment but then hopped up on Abi’s finger.
Abi swayed as she stood back up, slowly turning to the dragon god. It lowered its head with long whiskers flicking, wordlessly urging her to climb on. Abi reached out an unsteady hand and gripped one of the blue ivory horns as respectfully as possible. Her other hand cupped Bora securely. As soon as she was settled, the dragon god unraveled its serpentine body and took to the skies. They ascended at such a rapid pace that Abi feared she would fall, clutching the horn like a lifeline.
The earth sprawled below in a gradual curve as the cold wind gusted through her hair and clothes. Abi slowly adjusted to the flight, the feeling of exhilaration lighting her face. With her new sight, Abi could see the flickering fire lights of villages and fog rolling across hills. Animals and people scampered around in the night like tiny ants marching about.
Abi blinked as disorientation hit again, the hot throbbing reasserting its dizzying grip. She gasped for air that seemed all too thin as her chilled body shivered. Abi attempted to request that they fly lower but her voice was lost on the icy wind, if it came out at all. In the distance a stone castle carved into a hill came into view, the details hazy as her vision became faded and blurry. The castle was the last thing Abi saw before consciousness slipped away like water running through her fingers.