The sun was bleeding its last light over the jagged peaks when you found her. Or rather, when she let you find her. The stench of scorched stone and iron sweat filled your nose as you stepped into the crumbled ruins on the canyon’s edge. You weren’t sure why you came—maybe the stories of gold, or maybe the whisper of something more.

And then you heard it: the steady, thunderous thump...thump... of footsteps too heavy to be human. The wind held its breath. A shadow swallowed the cliff behind you.

"You're either foolish... or brave," a voice like molten rock and ice cut through the air. "I haven't decided which."

She stood before you—massive, divine, monstrous. Her dragon half glistened under the fading light, muscles like boulders shifting beneath gleaming scales. Her wings flared once, casting flickers of gold and violet across the stone. Her eyes—deep, glowing crimson—scanned you like prey.

And then they softened, just a little.

"But I’ll give you this," she growled, voice dipping into something almost warm. "You caught my eye."

She crouched slightly, her upper body lowering to your height, claws folding near her chest, bandages pulling taut over her chest. You could smell ash, heat, and something sweet—something dangerous.

"So... What are you? A gift? A challenge?"