Lava

The heat of the hellhole this dragon called home was intense, and the heavy armor that Sir Neran was wearing only made that heat hotter. But going up against a dragon, he knew that there were only three things that the dragon could do to attack him. The dragon could bite him, smash him with its paw or tail, or burn him to death. The armor would help with two of the three. It was better than having protection against none of them.

There was fire and lava spewing out of every nook and cranny in the rocks, lighting the area up like midday. He and the dragon stood on the only solid patch of stone, staring each other down, daring the other to make the first move. There wouldn't be much room for maneuvering - at least for Neran. The dragon, on the other hand, could not only fly, but was unharmed by the lava. It could, and would, freely bathe in the molten rock for hours on end. And when it came out, the magma would slowly cool until it formed the powerful armor that protected it.

The dragon roared angrily, its voice shaking loose boulders in the walls, knocking them free and calling more flames and lava into the room. It would only be a matter of time before the remaining floor was covered in the deadly liquid and Neran would be wiped from existence. He would have to kill the dragon before then, or flee. Preferably both, and in that order. If he could defeat the dragon, and bring its soul back to the kingdom, they could use its power to end the endless winter.

Its head snapped forward, jaw opening and closing in an instant. Neran had no time to react, and yet he struck out, his blade catching the roof of the dragon's mouth in the short window it was open. The cut caused the dragon's head to jerk to the side, the snap of its jaw to just barely miss Neran's head. He stood unwavering, watching the dragon's every movement. He had trained long and hard to have the instincts and reflexes it would take to cut down a dragon. This would be his first - and preferably only - test of that training.

The dragon roared again, angrier now, and launched forward once more. Each time, Neran saw its movement before it came, and had his blade ready to cut and parry, just pushing the blow away while slowly dealing damage. But it wouldn't be enough. Not with how quickly the lava was rising, and how much faster it rained down with each increasingly irritated roar. He had to act quickly before it was too late. But he didn't have many options.

Especially not with the dragon rearing its head, preparing to burn him to a crisp. That one out of three odd was going to catch him now.