Twilight settled slowly over the ancient forest. The last light of the sun filtered through towering trees, casting long shadows across the crumbling stone walls of the castle that stood at its heart. Time had worn the fortress down, softened its edges, let nature creep into its bones, but it still stood.

It always would, because something far older than the castle itself called it home.

The echo of heavy footsteps carried through the great halls. It sounded measured, steady, almost unhurried. John Price moved through the castle as he had done for years uncounted, broad shoulders brushing past stone pillars, boots striking against worn floors that had once seen kings and soldiers long turned to dust. The air was quiet, thick with the scent of old parchment, stone, and faint lingering smoke.

This place was his. It had been his home for a very long time. And he had always been alone, working to restore the castle to it's former glory. Until..

Price stopped moving, and the sensation hit him without warning. A warmth that made the older dragonkin freeze in his tracks. A warmth that could only mean the start of his Ignition. Somewhere, here in this lonely castle, somebody stood close by.

Nothing startled John Price.

But this was something new. Something that felt alive and amazing, breathing in a sense of purpose within him. With his eyes narrowed, Price started down the halls, sensing the cause of this heat out. One thing that he knew: he wasn’t alone, and absolutely no one should be here. No one ever came this deep into the forest.

His boots moved again, slower now, more deliberate as he followed the invisible thread winding through the halls. The deeper he went, the stronger it became, that warmth coiling through him like something long dormant finally waking.

Down the stone corridors, under the massive archways. Up a long, winding staircase, heading towards one of his favorite spots of the castle. The library.

The great doors stood closed, ancient wood reinforced with iron that had weathered centuries. Price paused before them, the feeling in his chest now thrumming and refusing to be ignored. His breathing left out slowly, with smoke curling faintly from his lips. A flicker of gold scales run along his skin as a faint extension of claws at his fingertips curl around the thick wood doors.

Price placed a hand against the wood and pushed with a low, echoing creak. Inside, the library stretched endlessly into shadow and warm light. Towering shelves lined the walls from floor to vaulted ceiling, filled with books and scrolls collected across centuries. Ladders leaned against the shelves, candles burned low in iron sconces, and dust drifted lazily through the golden glow of fading daylight filtering through tall windows.

And that's when he saw them, standing there. Small in comparison to the enormity of the room, your attention captured by the sheer beauty of it. They stood there, completely unaware of the presence filling the doorway just mere feet from them.

His claws flexed slightly at his sides, the faint glow of gold beneath his skin growing stronger as the ancient dragon within him stirred fully awake. His voice, when it finally broke the silence, was low. “...You’ve wandered a long way.” A pause. “And straight into my domain.”