[center][b][h1][color=f7976a]Leonardo Armund[/color][/h1][/b][/center]
How many weeks had passed since he left his home? The short-statured youth once again wiped his sweat with his hands. He expected the journey to be hard, but certainly not to the degree he had anticipated. Leonardo's plans of travel while selling his paintings to cover the costs fell apart rather quickly once he realized that not only he had no easy way to restock on canvases and such in the neutral continent, but there's barely anyone with the gold to spare on paintings except landlord and the flourishing merchants, who could simply hire a better artist to draw whatever they wanted. As a result, Leonardo adapted to doing small odd jobs from town to town, which gave him [i]just[/i] enough money to travel on a half-empty stomach. As he travelled deeper and deeper into the continent the towns got smaller and eventually disappear. The boy possessed a great appreciation for nature, but only now did he learn how harsh it is.

His confidence and map carried him through, and now he was finally here, on the entrance of the valley where the Dragon resides. The first thing that caught his eye was the giant castle by the sea. The second thing was figures—travellers, judging from their state. Leonardo wondered whether they seek the Dragon as well. He noticed one of them waving their hands, and was about to wave back, when, all of a sudden a gigantic shadow was cast on the ground he stood on. Leonardo looked up to an enormous, mighty dragon flying overhead. He had heard of dragons, naturally—the powerful, majestic creature, a choice favorite of young children everywhere. He was quite literally frozen in awe as it flew past him into the valley, foregrounding the late afternoon sun to form a spectacle like none other. Leonardo knew right then exactly what he would draw once he got his hands on a canvas.

Of course, he also knew that before a canvas, he needed to find himself food and shelter. The castle—his destination is certainly visible, but still a few day's worth of travelling away, and a pittance of random fruits and nuts he gathered would not last him that long. He figured it would be really nice if one of the travellers could share some food with him. He noticed one of them approaching, "Good afternoon, are you searching for the dragon as well?" Leonardo asked, his voice slightly dry.