Caledorn stood for a moment, not quite believing what had happened. It almost had seemed to easy. After waiting for nearly a thousand years, he had killed Aldernari without much of a struggle. He remembered back to when he had first seen the dragon...
=======Flashback: 1667 S.A.========
The air was filled with smoke and blood. Elves fled through the streets as the village burned.
A young, dark haired elf ran with his family and turned to look behind him with his bright green tear-filled eyes. A huge winged demon flew through the smokey skies, breathing fire upon the fleeing elves below. The young elf, Caledorn, stumbled and tripped on a pile of rubble. His vision was blurry from the tears, but he tried to get up as fast as he could. He felt the ground tremble at the dragon's approach. His mother ran back and helped him up, and they ran away as fast as they could.
A burst of flame hit the ground ahead of them as the dragon roared and flew overhead. Caledorn looked on in terror as the flames consumed his father, leaving nothing but ashes behind. He screamed and cursed at the dragon, but it didn't care. A deep growl that sounded like an evil laugh came from the dragon as it burned the city and snuffed out the lives of hundreds of elves.
Caledorn forced himself forward, putting a protective arm around his mother and younger sister. He looked over his shoulder again and saw the dragon sweeping around for another attack.
    "Quickly!" He yelled and pulled his mother and sister into a half destroyed building. They watched as a burst of flame ignited the city street and heard the whoosh of the dragon's wings as it flew overhead. Caledorn knew they couldn't stay in the building, and they all ran back out into the street just in time, for the building collapsed not a minute afterward.
   The three elves ran for cover as the dragon came around again. They heard screams as five elves were incinerated just down the street. Caledorn's sister was crying, and Caledorn pulled her close to him.
    "Shhhhh...." He stroked her head gently. Tears were freely falling down his face too, but he knew he had to comfort his little sister. She buried her head in his shoulder as the dragon flew overhead again, a wave of heat hitting them.
   "We have to go Caledwen," he said softly but urgently. His sister showed no signs of moving so he picked her up and carried her back into the street, sticking close to the burning buildings. His mother followed closely behind.
   The earth shook, and Caledorn stopped immediately as the massive dragon landed in the street in front of him. It laughed evilly as it saw the three elves.
   "Well, little elves... You have the dwarves to thank for this," the dragon said, a wicked smile playing at the edge of his mouth. "They let me freely through their lands, and said I could plunder what I wanted, as long as I didn't harm them." The dragon chuckled. "I suppose dwarves really can't be trusted, am I right elf?" His eyes glowed with a cruel light.
    Caledorn didn't know what to do, he had no sword. But he put his sister down and stood in front of her and his mother, shielding them from the dragon. The dragon raised an eyebrow.
   "Self sacrifice? I like that... But it's really quite worthless," the dragon raised a huge claw and batted Caledorn aside. He pinned Caledorn down and looked at him.
   "I'd rather you watch your family die before I kill you though... It's much more entertaining for me." The dragon turned to his mother and sister and let forth a burst of fire. Caledorn screamed as he watched, unable to do anything to stop the dragon.
   The beast laughed, then turned back to Caledorn. "You know, none of this would've happened without the dwarves... It's a shame really, they only care about themselves and their gold." With that the dragon released Caledorn and flew off into the night sky.
Caledorn ran over to the ashes and fell to his knees. It wasn't possible...
Just then he heard crying from the building directly next to him. He went in and saw his sister there, curled up in a ball and crying. Caledorn ran over to her, and she collapsed into his arms. He didn't know how she had survived... Their mother and father were both dead... At least Caledwen is alive. The thought brought him some comfort, but it didn't keep him from crying. He cried for hours, holding his sister who had now fallen asleep. When he finally stopped, he opened his eyes. They were filled with a hateful light. The dwarves will pay.
    And they did pay. Caledorn trained for months with a single purpose in mind. Every day he remembered what happened, and each day his hate for the dwarves grew. When he was ready, he left for the dwarf colony.
Before he left, his sister Caledwen tried to stop him. But nothing would stay his fury and he left her in Rivendell angrily.
He approached the dwarf colony. The dwarves let him in, having no idea what was coming. Caledorn walked to the middle of the main thoroughfare. He drew two daggers, and cut down a dwarf. He was filled with wrath as he killed dwarf after dwarf. The dwarf guards came out, but their whole force couldn't stay Caledorn's wrath. He killed them all. He moved through the city like Death himself, not stopping until every last dwarf was dead. When he was finished, his eyes were cold and his face expressionless. He turned away from the city and left the bodies to rot.
=======Present time: 2999 T.A.=======
   He still lived with the pain. He felt regret from killing the dwarves, but he never showed it, keeping an emotionless demeanor at all times. Nobody knew what had happened except for him and his sister. Caladwen had left Rivendell and went to Lorien, and he had never seen her since.
  Suddenly he was snapped from his thoughts. Aldernari had moved. He swore he had seen it. He cautiously moved closer.
   A scratching sound came from behind him, and he whipped around just in time to see the dragon's spiked tail swinging toward him, the bottom of it scraping against the ground.
   He ducked, but not in time. The sharp end of the tail struck him in the face, leaving a huge cut in his forehead. He fell to his knees in pain, holding his head.
    The dragon rose up and turned to face him.
   "Did you really think I would die so easily, elf? The dwarves may have, but I am not so soft as them." Caledorn flinched at this comment and looked up to face the dragon.
   "You've killed more innocent people than I ever have Aldernari! You can't justify your wanton destruction!" Caledorn shouted in a deep voice.
    "I don't have to justify it elf. I have no qualms about killing... But you... You will live with the guilt of what you've done for an eternity. Which is why I let you live all those years ago. I knew your rage would blind you." The dragon growled and wore an almost smug look. "But now I think I will kill you."
    With that Aldernari swung his tail again. Caledorn swiftly dodged it and slid toward the dragon, trying to ignore the pain in his head. He swung with his dagger, but it glanced harmlessly off the dragon's scales. He did a flip and landed on top of one of the dragon's wings. He slashed and cut the wing, making it impossible for Aldernari to fly. The dragon roared in pain and swung a claw at Caledorn. He nimbly dodged, but as he did he noticed something.
    On one of the dragon's claws was a ring. Caledorn recognized it immediately and was in shock. Adernari took advantage of the momentary distraction and swung with his other foreleg, knocking Caledorn to the ground.
   "Do you recognize this ring?" The dragon said as he raised up the claw it was on. "This is one of the Seven. Contrary to popular belief, they weren't all destroyed or lost." The dragon watched the elf intently.
   Caledorn was still surprised, but managed not to show it. Instead of answering the dragon he sprang forward, slashing at the dragon's face. Aldernari moved out of the way and clawed at Caledorn. They continued attacking back and forth, neither one gaining the upper hand. The dragon suddenly breathed flames, and Caledorn ducked to get out of the way. He slid under the dragon's belly and stabbed upward with his sword. Aldernari roared in pain as the blade sunk into his stomach, and jerked away, the dagger still stuck in him. Caledorn drew his bow and let off a shot. It glanced off the dragon's hide. Aldernari almost looked disappointed as he stalked toward the elf.
   "You know, I expected you to put up a better fight." The dragon tsked.
   "Says the one who has a dagger sticking out of his stomach," Caledorn quipped dryly.  The dragon hissed angrily and leapt at the elf, who immediately sprang to the side. He nimbly jumped on top of the dragon's head, and fitted an arrow to his bow.
   Aldernari lifted his head up in an attempt to make Caledorn fall, which was exactly what the elf wanted.
   He threw himself upward into the air and landed on top to the dragon's mouth. Aldernari opened his mouth and tried to snap at him. Caledorn jumped up and released his arrow, right into the dragon's mouth.
   Aldernari choked as the arrow went into his throat, convulsing as he slowly collapsed to the ground. Caledorn slid off the beast as he fell and landed on his feet. Now it was over.
   He moved to the beast's side and looked at the ring on Aldernari's claw. He retrieved his dagger from the dragon's stomach and cut the entire claw off, then pulled the ring from it and put it in his pocket.
   The battle was far from over, and Caledorn knew he was needed elsewhere. He hurried away toward the battle.

Well! Now you guys know some more about Caledorn, and Aldernari is dead! What do you think of Caledorn now? Do you think he should have kept the ring?