The mountain air fills my nose. I've been walking for three days already. A week ago, a large group of large cats came out of the mountains, chased away by the dragons. One of the cats, a puma, attacked and killed my father. I decided I wanted revenge. So, I went into the mountains. Two days ago, I found a dragon. Since then I followed it. The dragon has a broken wing, so it can't fly. According to my map I should be close to the dragon nest. The path in front of me goes to a mountain pass. After an hour of walking I'm on the pass. In front of me is a valley. In the valley dozens of dragons are going about their lives. I decide I will wait for the night to fall before executing my plan. I take cover under a tree and sleep the day away. I've got a long night ahead of me.

It is nightfall. Most of the dragons have retreated into their respective caves. I climb down the pass, into the valley. I look around. I pick a cave to enter. After some climbing I finally enter the cave. The cave has seven passages. I cannot see the end of the tunnels. This cave doesn't show on my map. This might be my lucky day. I pick the tunnel left of the centremost tunnel. The tunnel leads to a cavern. In the centre of the cavern a nest of dragon eggs has been build. And guarding it, a dragon. I'm lucky enough that the dragon is dormant. I pull my weapon. I had a sword made specifically for me. Even though my home is in the most modern city ever build, I don't trust technology to much. A gun would make too much noise, even with a silencer. So, I got my own sword. I sneak up on the dragon. When I'm about 3 meters away the dragon stirs. My hearth hits the soles of my boots. It feels like hours before I dare to move again. The dragon only stirred in its sleep. I almost sigh in relieve. I close on the dragon. I take an estimate where the dragon's hearth should be. I ram my sword into the dragon's body. To my dismay only the tip of the blade pierces the dragon's scales and skin. The dragon wakes up with an angry roar. The moment the dragon sees me, his claw shoots towards me and hits me full in the chest. I fly. Within the second I hit the cave wall head first. The smack knocks me out cold. I have failed.

Slowly I wake up. My head feels like someone is banging it with a hammer. Both my chest and back feel sore, and I cannot move my arms. It takes at least a couple of minutes before I manage to open my eyes. I can see I'm stuck in a cave. Two meters away a couple of dragons are discussing something. My head hurts so much I can't make any sense of it. I try to move my arms again. It is impossible. I look to my right. Then I see why it is impossible. My arms are chained to the wall. Well, chained is not exactly the right word for it. My arms are locked in manacles attached directly to the cave wall. My arms are in a V shape. Both my upper arms and wrists have manacles on them, making moving impossible. The manacles are about 2 centimetres wide, and millimetres thick. They are completely smooth and have no blemishes on the surface. The only hole in the manacles is a keyhole. I look around the cave, hoping to find a key. Sadly, the dragons are smarter then I thought. No key in sight. So, the next hour or so I just wait. That's when a third dragon enters the cave. The two dragons immediately give the third dragon attention. 'Good day, commander!'

'At ease, soldiers. Anything happened that I should know of?'

'He waked up a couple of hours ago. He investigated the manacles, but he decided he wouldn't even try. He surrendered to his fate after that. So everything's been quiet.'

'Good. The human delegation arrived. Its time for his judgement. He may be lucky if he doesn't get executed. So get going.'

One of the guards takes something from his neck. It's a small keyring. The guard takes one of the keys and unlocks the manacles. The moment both my arms are free I try to run. The commander is faster. He hits me in the face with his claw. I hit the ground hard, momentarily stunned. The two guards use the time to quickly grab hold of me. The commander speaks to me. 'You disappoint me, human. I expected more of you.'

The dragons lead me out the cave. One of the dragons grips me tight and takes off. The dragon goes to the left. After some time we land. A couple of dragons with spears wait for me. Am I going to die? The spear carrying dragons point their spears towards me. 'Undress and go stand with your back against that statue.'

I take a quick look at the statue. It is a gold and gemstone covered statue shaped like a dragon taking off. The beauty of the statue is blinding. One of the guards jabs me in the side with his spear. 'Now. Undress and back against the statue.'

A small wound appears on my side. I quickly do what they ask me. Then one of the other guards tells me to stand straight and put my arms against my body. Again I do as they ask. The statue of the dragon suddenly moves. The wings move down and fold themselves around me. The wings press me against the body of the dragon. Breathing becomes slightly more difficult. The statue then walks away, with me stuck in its wings. Left and right I see dragons shooting me angry looks. I ignore them. Instead I keep an eye on the route the statue is following, so I can find my way out of this valley. I can barely see the two guards on the left and right side of the statue. Suddenly the statue stops. The statue stands in the middle of a round clearance. In front of me, at least 5 meters away, stands a bronze dragon. It wears something that distantly relates to a robe. On my left hand I can see multiple humans, all with grim looks on their faces. On my right I see a large group of dragons with angry looks. The bronze dragon whacks a hammer on a rock beside him. 'Silence in the hall. Today we have gathered to judge this human.'

The dragons and humans both go silence. The bronze dragon now focusses his attention to me. His gaze unsettles me. 'Is you're name Arden Erestel?'

I nod. 'Yes, judge.'

'Then this court case can begin. Let the first eyewitness come forth.'

A dragon of average build, with purple colours comes forth and takes up position to my left. 'Your honour, I have come as you requested.'

'What have you seen?'

'Yesterday evening, as my watch started, I saw a shadow moving from Dextrels pass. I silently followed the shadow, hoping to get a midnight snack like a deer or something like that. I saw this guy. He was moving as silently as he could, but he was still very visible. He snuck into Arnestalia' s cave. Since the Leaders declared no one could enter someone else's cave without permission I couldn't grab him, but I went to the nearest guard station and got the guards as fast as possible.'

'You know midnight hunting is forbidden, right?'

'Yes, your honour.'

'We will come back to that later. Did he wear this sword when he came into the valley, and did he have any other visible weapons with him?'

The judge holds my sword in the air. The purple dragon takes one look at the weapon, and nods. 'He had that weapon with him when he entered the valley.'

'Thank you, Rannar. You may take a seat. Let the victim come forth.'

A yellow dragon enters the circle. She has bandages over her chest. Every step with her left front paw she hops a bit. She shoots me a scowl. The judge keeps the court case going. 'What where your activities last night, Arnestalia?'

'In the early evening I went to the store where I usually buy my meat and got myself a pair of rabbits for dinner. After that I went into my cave to prepare them and to guard my eggs again, which I would very much like to return to.'

'Where you sleeping at nightfall?'

'Yes, your honour. Though it is hard to estimate time in the egg cavern. I was sleeping early, because I haven't slept for days. I don't know how long I've slept, but it wouldn't have been long, when I suddenly felt a stab of pain in my chest. It immediately woke me up. I saw this... man... standing close to me, trying to grab the sword sticking out of my chest. I knew he wouldn't stop until he killed me. So I hit him in the chest hoping to deter him. The impact was larger than I intended, sending him flying against the cave wall. That was when the guard called in to ask if I was all right and to call out the human. I brought his numb body out to the guards, who then detained him.'

The next couple of hours multiple eyewitnesses are called forth. More then once the judge asks me if certain details are correct. Arnestalia takes up position to my right, looking very impatient. Since I'm immobilized I just listen to the stories. After all the witnesses have passed the judge addresses me again. 'Arden Erestel, you have been found guilty of trespassing into dragon territory, which has been declared forbidden territory in one of your treaties, breaking and entering, and attempt to first degree murder. Would a dragon have been tried in a human court, the dragon would have been executed on the spot. On the other hand, we aren't barbarians like you. The humans have demanded you are to be extradited to them. I on the other hand say that since you are on dragon territory, and committed crimes against dragons, you are to be judged by the dragons and punished by the dragons. In this the council supports me. So you are hereby sentenced to life in forced servitude. You will never leave dragon territory unless you have explicit permission of your master. Arnestalia, you will receive Arden Erestel tomorrow morning, after he has been marked as dragon property, as a repayment for his crimes against you. You may do with him whatever you wish, within the boundaries of reason. You are not allowed to kill or badly injure him. Neither is torture allowed. Anything else is allowed. If you torture, kill or badly injure him, you will be tried as you would be harming a fellow dragon without reason. This sentence is irreversible. Any humans who try to evacuate Arden Erestel from dragon territory will be sentenced to the same faith.'

The judge slams the hammer against the rock, so hard the rock splits in two. I drop my head. No rescue there. The human delegation bows before the judge and takes their leave. Most of the dragons are happy with my punishment. Some are calling out: 'Why no death sentence? They would do the same to us!'