As Focuse felt the smooth scales rubbing up against his leg and the surprisingly fierce wind blowing through his hair, he couldn’t help but realize that he had no idea where he was going. He was totally at the mercy of this wild beast whom he had just mounted. The dragon had clearly known the mountain better than any dwarf ever would and quickly directed them through a passage of concealed tunnels leading to the outside world. Sure, the outside world was stunning, what with all the radiant colors and the blinding sun, but after three hours Focuse was concerned. The wind was far too loud for any hope of the dragon hearing him. He decided to focus really hard and try to communicate mentally with the dragon the way the dragon had communicated with him.

With all his might he concentrated on this one question and repeated it over and over again in his mind, “Where are we going?”

The response came instantly. “We will be there soon, and no, we will not be stopping for you to pee.”

Focuse felt a twinge of embarrassment for he did have to pee. Was it really that easy for the dragon to read his mind?

A few minutes later the dragon spoke to him again. “I require a name.”

“A name?” thought Focuse. “Why am I the one who needs to name you?”

“It is customary for the one who hatches us to name us. Traditionally this would be done by my father but given the circumstances, the task has fallen on you,” replied the dragon.

Focuse thought for a moment. He recalled the ring of fire he had to reach across to touch the dragon’s egg. “How about Eagan?” Focuse thought.

“Eagan, meaning circle of fire. Appropriate. Very well, from now on I shall be known as Eagan,” replied Eagan.

“Great! So where are we going, Eagan?” thought Focuse.

“We are here,” replied Eagan, quickly turning the corner of a steep cliff.

Foucuse’s mouth dropped at the sight before him. There, carved into this mountainside was a massive hole descending into the mountain. It must have been the height of fifty dwarves at least! On each side were incredibly detailed sculptures of two massive dragons. They sat on their hind legs with tails dragging along the floor directing the way to those who enter. They looked fairly similar to Eagan, if Eagan was five times bigger. As they walked in Focuse was struck by just how small Eagan must have been compared to other dragons. After all he was just a baby.

As the pair descended into the dark tunnel Eagan thought to Focuse, “Do not be afraid. You are my guest, and an honored one at that.” Somehow Focuse felt a little bit better after that.

The two of them walked deeper and Focuse saw a dim light about fifty paces in front of them. They approached and entered.

Inside was a massive dome shaped cavern. It was smooth along the walls, only this time Focuse couldn't even see the ground for the entirety of the cavern was filled with gold and assorted gems. Piles stacked up to ten times Focuse’s height! He had never seen so much gold before in his life!

For the first time since he left, Focuse thought of his family. Oh, how his father would have loved to see this. It would have been everything his father had ever wanted. Their family would never have to mine again. In fact-

Just then his thought was cut off. Quickly a massive burst of coins flew out from one of the larger piles of coins. Suddenly the entire collection of gold was shifting. The sound was deafening as five separate heads emerged from the piles, followed by torsos of similar size to the statues at the entrance. Before he knew it Focuse was standing in the presence of five massive dragons looking down at him and Eagon.

They spoke aloud, “Who are you?”

“I-“Focuse began.

Eagon cut him off. “I am Eagon, born of Moria. My family is fallen, and I come seeking aid.” Focuse had never heard Eagon’s voice before. In fact, he wasn’t sure that Eagon could speak at all before this moment. It was deep and well spoken. Every syllable well accounted for.

“If only there were help to be given, young one,” replied the dragon who Focuse figured was somehow the leader. “We can hardly help ourselves at this point. We are all that is left of our once great race. All the rest of us have been slaughtered by the human scum Draxis. He has plagued us for almost a century and forced us few to cower in this cavern free from his gaze, for now. In fact, it is a miracle you made it here at all. If you are wise you will remain here for the rest of your days with us.”

“There must be something that can be done, noble one,” replied Eagon. “Some way to stop him.”

“We wish there was but Draxis is mighty. He has proven his strength against our once great people time and time again. There is nothing we can do. His defenses are impervious to a dragons attack,” replied the dragon.

“What about a dwarf?” Focuse almost yelled.

“Who is this creature that dare speak to the dragon king?!” the dragon boomed.

Eagon stepped forward, blocking the path between Focuse and the dragon. “This is Focuse, a dwarf of Moria. He is my provider. He hatched me by his own hand.”

“And does this dwarf wish to join our cause?” replied the dragon.

Focuse stepped forward. “I do.” He had no idea what was coming over him. His knees were shaking but after all he had heard he knew something needed to be done. How could he let Eagon spend his entire life in this cavern? Gold or not, that is no place for a dragon to live.

“Then take this.” The dragon turned and picked up a small necklace in one of his great talons. It had a silver chain and a ruby that was about as big as Focuse’s hand. “This is an ancient relic of our people; it was created to bridge the gap between dragons and creatures by merging them into one. Eagon, slice your leg and allow a drop of blood to fall on the ruby. Focuse, do the same, and when you both desire you will merge into one.”

“Journey to the land of Mordor and you will find him living there in a castle with a door made of dragon scale on the eastern ridge”

And they did.

Author's Note:

So, this portion of the story had two major goals. I wanted to establish this relationship between Eagon and Focuse and I wanted to set them on a task. The back and forth between them was meant to help the relationship. From the somewhat comic comments about having to go to the bathroom to naming Eagon the two bonded. I knew this would be important because when this amulet comes into play, they would have to become one. That requires a pretty special relationship to make something like that work. I thought a good way to reveal a bit more of Focuse’s character is his motivation for getting involved. He has such a big heart and he couldn’t bear to let a creature (even one he just met) spend its life in hiding. To me, that speaks a lot to his character.

Mordor is usually the hub of evil happenings and there is history of man living in Mordor so I figured this is where my villain needed to be.

I loved some of the things that Tolkien originally did with dragons, especially Smaug. However, I wanted to make a story in which the dragons weren't the bad guy. Dragons and dwarves always seemed to have a lot in common to me. The love of jewels and mountains to note just a few. Smaug is very intelligent, though, and I figured any creature that lived so long would have to be, so I adopted the same characteristic in Eagon.