I opened my eyes, lying underneath leafy trees. The smell of cooking fish made its way to my nose. Birds were humming their tunes, accompanied by Amrak singing a song.

  "Birds, oh birds, singing as they fly, shaking the steppes beneath the sky..."

  It was a northern song. Her accent was a bit off, but it reminded me of my hometown. For a moment, the trees above me felt like a roof, and the smell of cooking fish reminded me of my home. "How long had it been since the invasion, and why was this woman out of everyone singing our songs?" I thought to myself, still lying in place.

  I was yet to stand up when I heard footsteps approaching, followed by the voice of the old man.

  "He should wake up around now." He said. "Ah, had this one known he would stumble upon a dragon in this place, this one wouldn't have left home without a few tomes." He added.

  "He better wake up soon; the little one has missed him quite a bit," added the woman.

  I wondered if the little one they spoke of could actually be a dragon. This might well have been a prank played by the two of them. Alas, there is no way to figure it out but to stand up and check for myself.

  I tried to rise up, but my bones were powerless. I could move my fingers, yet the same power could not reach my arms nor my torso. It was the same for my feet. I managed the toes, but another council decided on the independence of my legs.

  I struggled to stand when the woman shouted with excitement, "He’s awake! Look, little one, that blithering idiot is your father." I tried to speak, assuming I wouldn't be able to, but my mouth appeared to be eager to move unlike the rest of my body. With that eagerness, I answered: "Hey, that's not very nice to say." She, ignoring that I spoke, continued: "Yes, yes, father had a dragon egg and hid it from us. Yes, yes, he did. And he almost had us killed, didn't he, little one?"

  I tried a bit harder to stand. This time I was able to move my arms and I slowly started rising. As my struggle continued, I wondered whom the woman was talking to. The idea that it was a dragon fascinated me but the previous paralysis had given way to a newly found crippling pain deep in my bones.

  The old man, hearing the commotion, came to check on me. He stood over my face and knelt, his beard running down to my eyes. He looked at me for a while and spoke: "You caused quite a commotion yesterday."

  "What do you mean?" I asked. "We need to run from the Imperial guards soon. This one expects them to be here by dawn tomorrow." He replied, his words unwavering.

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  At last, bearing the unbearable pain, I stood up to see Amrak. She was holding a small, furry creature with wings and branch-shaped horns. The same eyes that stared deep into me looked once more into my eyes. It flapped its wings like it wanted to fly, but Amrak didn't let it. Only after a bit of struggle did it escape from her grasp and run towards me, jumping on my face. I was taken aback by this mysterious creature but I felt a sense of comfort.

  "What will you name him?" Asked Amrak.

  I held the dragon with my two hands and took a good look at him. It was looking at me, its tail wiggling like a happy dog. It eventually came to lay on my knees. Its fur was softer than any noblewoman's hair. Its eyes sparkled like crystals, more valuable than any rock you could come across at the side of a road. It spoke, occasionally, making different sounds. Amongst them, it said "luu" the most often. A word of excitement, or so I thought.

  I started thinking of a name to give him. Maybe a northern name? Symbolic of my people. The name of our neighbourhood dog came to mind, but that would be too vulgar for such a noble creature. I needed to think of a name that would not let it be embarrassed anywhere.

  I looked at the old man to see if he had any ideas. He, catching my glance, started talking to himself out loud:

  "There exist two types of dragons. Those belonging to the deep seas and those of the skies. This little one appears to be airborne." He said. Still, I could not think of a name for the creature now lying comfortably in my lap. "Evren" was a word I thought of. Or could it be "Büke"? They were words for dragons common in many nearby tongues.

  "Dragons accept only one name for their whole lives." Said the old man, breaking my spiral of thought.

  "Well, that makes things much easier," I replied sarcastically.

  "How about rong?" Amrak commented. "It's what we call dragons in the East." She added. The old man then suggested "Azdaha", a southern word for dragon.

  They suggested noble names, surely honourable for dragons. Yet, I decided not to name this creature based on its genealogy alone. I wanted something deeper. Something that was more than what it was born as. Something he chose himself.

  I picked up the sleeping dragon. For a moment, it seemed disgruntled. But when we locked eyes, it calmed down and gazed into my eyes with that deep, steady look. At that instant, the dragon opened its mouth and made a noise. "Luu."

  "Aha! I know what to call you!" I exclaimed with great excitement. "Surely not." Said Amrak with a surprised yet disappointed tone.

  The old man stepped in front of me before I could think about my decision. He quickly slashed my hand with his rough knife in the exact same spot he had slashed it yesterday. I wanted to yell and complain, but his words were faster than mine. "Yell out the name of this noble creature, O young Dragon Master!" he exclaimed.

  I thought for a second. I didn't have much blood and frankly I didn't want to dirty the dragon with it. While I was trying to think for one last time, the dragon gazed deep into my eyes as it had done many times until now. At that instant, a single word filled my head as if it was carved out of gold into every sliver of the dragon's being. "Luu," I shouted. The old man, without a second thought, shifted his gaze to the dragon which also shifted its gaze unto him.

  "O, young dragon. Do you accept Luu as your name?" The old man said, followed by a cheerful exclamation from the dragon:

  "Luu!"