do fantasies always work out?

i do not know how this works

After a long, arduous adventure, the wizard set out for a place to rest. Her back ached as she headed towards the nearest village, unaware of the villagers’ plight.

“The grand mage of the east!”

“She’s finally here, I prayed for this moment for so long!”

The commotion took her aback. Although she was accustomed to the noise her presence would usually generate, the discomfort was exacerbated by her depleting stamina.

The village chief bowed down before her, unable to contain his tears.

“We’ve waited so long for a moment like this, please save us from that heinous beast. Please! He destroys our farms, he robs our lives, and he leaves us with nothing. Surely you could deal with that monster! You’re the mythical mage of the east!”

The mage took a second to concentrate and consoled the chief with the only words she knew would help.

“I will help you.”

With just these 4 words, a noise erupted amongst the people present, and people rushed away to celebrate the occasion.

While the villagers cheerfully assembled their vast dinner and celebrations for the mage’s arrival, the mage attempted to get a quick scan of the region.

The village appeared normal, but a deeper look unveiled something grave. A freshly burnt crop field, surrounded by the ashes left by burning houses. As the mage delved deeper, she found large footsteps, accompanied by the sparks left on items that still burned bright. Charred cattle, and burnt bodies as far as the eyes could see. The only reason she could even walk on these ashen fields was because of the barrier she cast on herself. These bodies were doomed to be left alone. Let alone the massive famine that these events probably caused, the sheer destruction overwhelmed the human senses. The burnt fields outnumbered the fields still rendered safe.

Such sights weren’t grotesque for the mage. They simply became a part of her chaotic life. The life attributed to mages was never supposed to be anything but chaos. They lived, they learned, they fought, they helped, they died. That’s how it went, and the mage knew that’s how it was.

Upon returning, the mage was treated to a mighty dinner. Alcohol of the finest category, bread made of the most delectable taste, and meat of the most succulent variety. The village chief trembled as he watched the mage. His eyes followed every movement of the mage, as though he was waiting for her to just run away at any given moment. He waited for the mage to say something more. Anything more to take away this sensation of false hope. This was the first time his village managed to light up. The first time in months that they’d set up food like this ever since the beast came along.

After finishing her meal, the mage proclaimed. “With me here, there is no fear to be had. I have slain many a foe, I have saved many villages from disaster. Tomorrow shall be no different. Rest easy.”

The relaxed and calming voice of the mage was enough to console even the weakest of hearts. The people were overjoyed. They took out more drinks, and people danced and sang songs about the mage’s adventures throughout the night.

At a distance, a villager finally found comfort in his bed. After so many nights of terror and uncertainty, the shaking in his hands and body had finally stopped. For the first time in months, he yawned. “I’m glad the mage finally came.”

The next day.

The mage set out early in the morning when the sun shone brightest. She walked toward the area hinted at by the village chief, and prepared her spells and grimoires accordingly. The battleground was barren and had nothing but ash and dust surrounding a large mountain with a decently large cave heading inward. The mage brought forth her staff from her inventory and walked toward the cave’s opening. A violent gust prompted several birds to take flight. The bitter scent of smoke combined with the smell of rotting meat and blood was enough to make any normal person faint.

The wizard aimed her staff at the abyss and fired a spell at the void, unleashing a concentrated golden ray of light setting everything in its path ablaze.

A thump, followed by the shaking of the mountain. Then, a roar erupted from within the cave, as the mountain trembled even more. A haunting belch followed by the scent of fire combined with the corroding smell of stomach acid. The top of the mountain cracks open, with secretions of acid and fire burning open a hole. Then, the stench of smoke intensified, as the previously bright sun was overwhelmed by the rapid spread of fumes overshadowing the entirety of the area. The earth vibrated, as a most horrid roar tore through the mountain as if to annihilate all that stands between the mage and this monstrosity. The Mountain tore open, with the massive debris brushed off like minute pebbles.

The wizard casts a sight spell and looks up, to find the void staring right back at her. Her eyes met with a predatory instinct to kill, plunder, burn, and crush. She was staring at a smoke dragon.

The wizard prepared another spell, aiming at this spectacular beast. She fires a burst of water, so pressurized it could melt steel. A limb falls to the ground, as the beast groans in pain, and falls to the ground. In a moment, the earth jolted once again as the dragon crashed to the ground, with its mouth completely covered in smoke. Unable to see the wizard, the dragon fires an incendiary ray, aimed nowhere, turning the entire area to ash and dust. The wizard puts up a barrier and fires off a ray of electric light at the dragon. But it simply brushes off the damage, the area of contact turning flesh into cooked meat.

The beast attempted to assail its enemy with their hand and tail, stomping and causing the ground beneath to shake and tremble with every movement. Its clumsy movements failed to do any damage, as the wizard simply set up spells repetitively, slowing the dragon down even more with every hit.

This battle of attrition seemed to declare a clear victor. The mage with her overwhelming experience, would simply cast spells, as the dragon fails to even find her within the smokescreen its body generated. But in a battle of attrition, how could a human ever hope to beat a dragon?

The mage, in a moment of drowsiness, prepared another spell, but could not prepare a barrier in time. The dragon, faintly aware of the mage’s next spell, caught the wizard unguarded and smacked them with his tail. The wizard smashed head-first into the mountain. A quickly casted barrier protected her from the collision, however, it could not prevent a concussion, as the wizard’s dreariness and confusion intensified. She could not make out the dragon’s sluggish movements towards her, nor could she make out the dragon’s mouth opening.

Reflexively she casted a barrier around her head, but the teeth sank deeper with every second. “CRACK”. The first barrier broke. “Crack’, went the second, with the wizard unable to garner even a moment of thought. The sharp teeth laced with acid pierced her head.

She screamed violently. Her skin slowly tearing apart as her barriers were only able to slow the teeth down. The stench of gastric acid and incendiary flames violated her nose. Her head slowly tore with each second, as blood trickled down her eyes. The teeth sank ever deeper. She did not beg for mercy. She screamed, twisted and turned, hoping to get away from the snares of this dragon like a worm attempting to get away from a hawk. The teeth pierced her stomach, her body, and her legs.

SNAP!

CRUNCH. CRUNCH. The dragon fell. It could not sustain its life presence in due time. It disappeared. Leaving a dark blue robe torn to shreds, with a mixture of blood and acid, and fragments of bone as the beast dissipated into ash.