dragon Keeper
Explanation:
In the far western mountains of the Han Empire in ancient China, an aging dragon, his wife (who soon dies), and a young slave girl are used, abused and neglected by the cruel Master Lan. Nameless and alone, the slave girl is without hope and her only friend is her pet rat, Hua. After one of the last remaining Imperial Dragons, the mate of the aging one, suddenly dies, the slave girl feels guilty and responsible. She is forced to pickle the dragon for her slave master, Lan, and finds her guilt growing. She finds herself coming to the last dragon, Danzi. Ping is ordered to obtain some wine from the emperor's palace, however, she gets carried away. Instead, she eavesdrops on the Emperor's conversation with a dragon hunter called Diao. The imperial guards discover Ping, who was hiding, and pursue her. The two (Ping and Danzi) escape, but when the emperor finds out that his other dragons are dead, Master Lan blames it on her and she finds herself chased by the imperial guards, who believe she is an evil sorceress. The dragon, Long Danzi (meaning courageous dragon), tells the slave girl her true name: Ping (meaning duckweed). Ping and the dragon must go on a dangerous journey across China to Ocean, an apparent magical healing place. She must protect a mysterious stone that is vital to the dragon's legacy. A necromancer and a dragon hunter named Diao, who are determined to kill the dragon and take the dragon's stone, are chasing her and the dragon. While traveling with Danzi, Ping learns many things that will, in time, help her with her struggles. Ping also learns the value of friendship and courage and discovers her destiny as a Dragon Keeper. She befriends the young emperor, Liu Che, and gets accustomed to life at Ming Yang Lodge. Long Danzi abandons Ping for Wang Cao, suddenly mistrusting his instinct that she was a Dragon Keeper. Ping chases after him, but after they are reunited, they have to fight Diao, who injured Hua, and killed Wang Cao. After killing the Dragon hunter, they go to the Ocean. After reaching the ocean, Danzi tells Ping he must go over Ocean to reach a river of life and will take Hua, who was hurt by Diao, with him, so that the river can heal them both. The stone (now found to be an egg) hatches into a purple baby dragon. Before Danzi leaves, he gives the baby a name: Long Kai Duan. Ping is now left alone with the baby dragon, the last imperial dragon and the first independent dragon.