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7:52pm Sep 17 2011 (last edited on 7:54pm Sep 17 2011)
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Normal User
Posts: 247
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Excruciating
pain overwhelmed my entire left side. My translucent, fragile head hit
the inside of my shell. I scratched at it, my soft claws scraping
against the egg. I sighed. I couldn't get out. Was this normal? Or was I
different? Was I just too weak to crack the shell and break out? I
pathetically tried again, straining my wings to break the shell.
Nothing.
Voices. I froze, perking up my ears. It seemed there were other dragons, just outside of my egg!
I
grunted as my egg was roughly thrown around. I could slightly make out
figures though my pearl egg. My dark turquoise eyes widened as I saw
other eggs clustered by me. We were in some kind of ...sack?
What was happening? I began panicking, as I could barely see through my shell. I listened for voices.
"The Dark Lord shall be proud. We snagged at least two dozen of these eggs."
"Yesss." It's slithering voice sent shivers down my spine. "Master shall be pleased."
Finally,
we were set down. The swaying had ceased. The sack was brutally grabbed
and emptied by a dark, silver dragon, as far as I could see. My egg
tumbled out harshly. My left side began aching once again.
My thoughts silenced as I heard the Dark Lord's breath, rasping, nearing me.
"Very
well done, Felix, Isaac." The Dark Lord spoke. His dangerously deep
voice echoed into the forest behind us as he chuckled. His footsteps
came right towards me.
"Isaac, what's this?" His breath was rancid, flowing through my shell. I held my breath, as I knew he was asking about my egg.
"It
seems as though you've picked up some kind of deformed egg. Take the
others, but leave that one here. It's of no use to us. The weakling
inside is probably dead by now, anyway." He rasped.
The noise slowly left my ears, as I drifted into unconsciousness, snuggled up in my egg.
•••••••
My limbs trembled as I weakly stretched, limited by my shell. I had to do it. Today. I had to break free of this egg!
I
began expanding myself, stretching, pushing against the walls that
surrounded me. I shrieked in surprise when my arms popped through the
egg. My head followed, and soon my entire body was out of that thing.
I couldn't process everything at once. The sights, the smells, the sounds, the feeling, the taste, oh!
How
murky and blurred had I seen through my shell! My eyes sparkled at the
wonders I saw. Colors so clear! Everything in detail! Velvet crimson
leaves on trees, foamy seas below! It was wondrous. I almost fainted
when I took a deep breath, taking in the scents.
Lilac, lemon, rosemary, salt, rain! Cicadas chirping, crickets and beetles buzzing, animals rustling through the forest.
As I took my first step out of my white egg, I collapsed. Pain flooded my left leg.
Oh
no, this must've been from when my egg was crushed. My entire left leg
was crippled. A single, salty tear swelled in my eye. I hopped on my
right leg, thinking I would eventually heal. I nestled into a lump of
leaves, and fell asleep.
•••••••
I became
lonely when I saw there were no dragons around me. Not one. Not even an
egg. How could this beautiful scene be deserted? As if someone had read
my mind, an emerald green dragon swooped above my head gracefully. My
lips cracked into a smile, watching the sheer delicateness of her
flight. I dreamily watched as the dragon dived swiftly through the
water, taking off with a large fish within its teeth.
A bright
scarlet dragon, the color of a lucky lantern, joined her in flight. They
settled down by the water, sharing the fish. I stumbled, trying to walk
towards them. Instead of hopping on my right leg as I usually did, I
strained my wings and flew.
It wasn't natural for a baby dragon as myself to fly, but I had to. I couldn't walk, so I relied on my wings.
I awkwardly tumbled by the two dragons. They were watching me with humor in their eyes.
The red one warmly grinned at me.
"Hey
there, fella! What's your name? I'm Louis, and this is my sister,
Laurel." So, the red one must be Louis, and the green one Laurel. I
stood in wonder, admiring their names, when I remembered. Louis had
asked me my name.
My joints locked. Name? I didn't have a name. For heaven's sake, I didn't even have a mother.
"Uh, I-I-I, don't know. What my name i-is." I stuttered, looking down, blushing.
The emerald one, Laurel spoke. "You don't have a name? Well, we'll have to name you. Any ideas, Louis?"
"Paul, Xavier, I don't know." Louis replied, deep in thought.
"Oh, I know! Poncho! Isn't that perfect? What do you think? After all, it is your name." She turned to me, her eyes meeting mine.
"I love it! Poncho!
Thanks, Laurel." I managed to break into a smile. She smiled back at
me, clearly pleased with my approval. Her grin was breathtaking, so
sweet and loving.
"Hey. So, Poncho," Louis began, exaggerating the syllables of the name Poncho,
"how did you learn to fly so early? I mean, you're obviously only a few
days old, most dragons can't fly until months of training."
I warily told Laurel and Louis the story of how I got here, the crippled leg, and how I relied on flying. They looked concerned.
"Wait, did you say the Dark Lord? ...oh no, he must be ordering his slaves to steal dragon eggs." Louis thought aloud.
"For
the war, of course. To hatch the eggs himself and raise them as
soldiers. Isn't that revolting?" Laurel stated. I was confused.
"Wait, a war? Between who?" I asked. Laurel and Louis stared at me in shock.
"Laurel, you better explain. I'm bad at wording things." Louis spoke.
Laurel
turned towards me. "Yes, there's a war. It's between the Dark Lord,
this, well, dark dragon, and Saphira, a sky dragon. They've been
battling for territory ever since I can remember. The Dark Lord is
fighting cruelly, stealing eggs and such, while Saphira is training her
warriors and teaching them magic. Both sides are extremely powerful.
Dragons such as us," Laurel paused to gesture at Louis and herself, "are
neutral. We do not choose sides, so neither side can hurt us."
It took a couple of moments for all of her words to sink into my tiny brain.
"Wow!
So, if my egg hadn't been crushed, and I hadn't been crippled, I would
hatch to a vile leader? And be in war? ..I'm starting to be grateful for
this crippled leg. It's gotten me strong wings, too." I said gleefully.
For
once, I looked at my left leg and smiled. What I thought was the worst
thing possible, was the best thing possible. I sadly questioned myself,
what else was being masked as bad?
Laurel glanced at my left leg, too. "Why yes, I suppose." She said with small smile. Louis had seemed awfully quiet.
"Dude. Like, Poncho isn't
trained. Or anything. So, what if me and you teach and train him?"
After looking at Laurel's face, "Aw, come on. It'll be so much fun.
We'll actually have something to do instead of sunbathing all day." As
Louis spoke that, Laurel started to agree with him.
"Yes, yes!
I'll teach him history of dragons and read him books, teach him how to
read. You'll teach him how to fight. And with skill, please," Laurel
eyed Louis.
I was unbearably happy. They were going to teach me how to fight and read! I trembled with delight.
•••••••
"Now,
concentrate. Put your focus into it.", Laurel chanted as I struggled to
lift a single drop of water with my mind. I strained my mind until I
could hold the water no longer. It dropped delicately to the tip of a
yellow tulip, splashing itself into dew.
Laurel seemed deep in thought. "Well, you're obviously not an Air or Water One, maybe you're an Earth One, like me."
Laurel
was trying to figure out what kind of dragon I was. There was Air,
Water, Fire, Earth, the basic elements. She'd ruled out Air and Water by
now. Usually, a dragon's color corresponded with their element. But
that wasn't the case with some dragons.
Laurel was an Earth One,
matching with her glistening emerald scales upon her body. She was
mentoring me in magic, but she had to know which element I worked best
with.
"Alright. Watch this sapling's roots. ...Now, calmly and slowly, upraise and nutrition them." Laurel said to me.
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Upraise and nutrition them? How do I do that?" Laurel sighed unhappily.
"Well,
that rules out you being an Earth One, too. If you were One, you'd know
right way how to nutrition the roots." As Laurel said that, the sapling
straightened itself and its leaves glowed a hazy, healthy green.
"Whoa, did you do that?" I asked ignorantly. Of course she did, stupid. She didn't reply, anyway.
•••••••
"Sweet,
man. You're a Fire One, just like me!" Louis crooned. With saying that,
he let loose a trailing line of flames through his 'ooh'-shaped mouth. I
smiled, but I had to admit, I was a little disappointed.
"A Fire One? Don't all dragons have fire?" I asked Louis skeptically. He looked at me, jokingly outraged.
"Well...yeah,
but we're special.", Louis paused to raise one of his eyebrows, "I
mean, usually it takes a dragon to be at least a hundred years to breath
a puff of smoke, let alone fire. Even after they've 'mastered'
breathing fire, it's nothing compared to us. They can't hold it long, or
control it. Using such a skill in battle usually gets them killed. They
just aren't built for that. But we are." Louis flashed a mischievous
grin. "Follow me. I wanna show ya somethin'." Louis batted his enormous
webbed wings and took off, gesturing me to follow.
I lifted
myself up with such ease and smoothness, I couldn't help but feel proud.
It was effortless to bat my wings. Like a knife slicing through butter.
Louis was at least a mile away from me now. I focused my eyes on him,
clearly targeting him. With that, I zoomed after him. Time seemed to
slow down as I zipped through the air and looked around me.
At
the pace I was going, everything should've been a blur. I was amazed to
see it was marvelously clear, as if I was still. The feeling if flying
was incredible.
I reached Louis in less than a heartbeat.
"Wow!
You got here mighty fast. Anyway, this is what I wanted you to see. The
lake." My sunlit eyes glowed as I saw the sparkling water below. For
the first time, I saw my reflection.
My body was a pale white,
milky, almost. My eyes were a light turquoise, glistening in the sun's
rays. My wings were ma.ssive. They were as white as snow, a bit unfitting
in this summer scene.
I gently turned to the side, and saw my
left leg. It stood lifelessly, dangling like a dead limb. My right leg
was strained and muscular, as I used it alone to walk or run.
"You gonna admire yourself some more, or how 'bout we start training?" Louis joked. I flashed at a grin and turned towards him.
"Well,
you clearly can't battle on the ground...ya know, 'cuz of your leg. So
we'll start by battling in the air. You gotta have crazy strong wings to
last out there." Louis flexed, getting ready. I tensed and prepared to
leash out my wings.
After a moment of suspense and intrigue, Louis snarled, "Go!"
It
happened so quickly, I wasn't sure I could do it. But I beat my wings,
going upward, over the lake. Louis charged towards me, lashing out his
claws. I don't know what came over me, but I snarled swift line of fire.
The
feeling. The rush. It left me breathless. I'd had never felt so
dangerous and uncontrollable in my life. I let a roar rip through my
throat as I battled Louis.
I looked down and saw the reflection
of the battle on the surface of the water. It was magnificent. As my
eyes trailed up towards the south, I saw Laurel sitting by herself. She
was focused on a white daisy.
She was so graceful, yet so strong.
And so wise. I couldn't help but watch her beauty. Her soft smile, her
stunning eyes. They were amber, speckled with cinnamon.
White-hot
burning pain slashed me as Louis clawed my shoulder. I shook my head
quickly, trying to focus on battling, not Laurel. I finally
surrendered, exhausted by the training. Every muscle, every fiber, every
cell in my body was dead tired.
I slumped against a tree. Louis charged at me again, this time playfully. As he flew he shouted, "Whoo, wasn't that fun, Poncho?
We need to do that again tomorrow." He settled beside me, resting.
"Kid, I gotta admit it. You got spunk." He chuckled, nudging me in the
rib with his elbow. I laughed along with him, too exhausted to stop.
•••••••
After a couple of months of teaching and training, Poncho became extremely powerful. He was intelligent, skillful, and strong, despite his crippled leg. It never slowed him down.
Louis and Poncho became life-long pals, laughing till dawn, and fighting like brothers. Laurel also became very close with Poncho, but in a different way. She began to reveal feelings for Poncho. He couldn't have been happier.
But everything changed, just in one day, all was lost.
•••••••
A
sharp razor sound woke me. Laurel was already awake, also wincing at
the noise. Louis was snoring beside me, his snout scrunching up every
time he breathed in. I poked him in the side.
"Hey, man, why you
wakin' me up? Ya know I'm not a morning person." He looked at me
groggily. "And ugh, what's that da.mn awful noise?!"
The sound
became louder, buzzing in eardrums, vibrating in my stomach, melting my
brain. I closed my eyes in discomfort. The piercing noise only got
worse. I yelped in surprise when an enormous tree collapsed in front of
us, nearly killing us. Panic-strucken, I glanced at Laurel. Her eyes as
wide as a deer's in headlights. She stood frozen stiff, a horrified look
in her eyes.
Odd creatures with machines were tearing down the
forest. They were strange in color...some brown, yellow, pastel, and
cream. They wore blue helmets and had some kind of device that sliced
through the trunks of trees, making them collapse.
Laurel whispered, trembling, "They're here. They've found us." I rushed over to her, flooding her with questions.
"Who's
here? Who are they? What do you mean, they've found us?" Laurel looked
too frozen to answer. Louis stepped in to answer my questions. His voice
too, slightly shaking.
"...The Humans. They're monsters, ruining
everything they touch. A long time ago, me and Laurel were just babies,
humans took over our land. They killed many dragons", Louis paused as a
tear trickled down his scaly cheekbone, "including our mother. All
dragons retreated, we flew here, we've been safe for centuries. And now
they've found us again, come to ruin everything. They don't understand!
They're killing the Earth! Putting up cement buildings, killing animals,
enslaving their own kind! They're all selfish, greedy, and stupid. Too
stubborn to change." His sentence ended with great fury in his eyes.
I
blinked a tear also. Laurel finally came back to life. "We have to get
away from here. Let's go to the Raven Mountain. It's too high for humans
too even breath, so it'll be safe enough."
Louis began protesting. "But that's where the Saphira's Kingdom is, her territory--"
"I
know that. We just don't have another choice now. The humans will kill
us without mercy." Laurel snapped back. "Now, come on, let's go!" She
heaved her wings, and began to fly. Louis and I followed without saying a
word.
I was still in shock from the..humans. How could a creature be so vile, so cruel? So uncaring? It infuriated me.
•••••••
For
the next few days, we did nothing but travel. Not a word was said
between any of us. Nothing was fun anymore. My eyes faded into a bleak
grey. Laurel's became a lifeless brown. And Louis's, were the worst.
They were pitch black. No sparkle, no hope.
As we flew, we would
occasionally see the horrid doings of humans. Entire forests slaughtered
like pigs. Ugly grey buildings were put up in some spots. Garbage,
everywhere. Sewers, trash, it was awful.
This whole place had
been perfect. Picture perfect. Robins and bluejays would sing to each
other. Flowers would glow and bloom. Color-melting sunrises would be the
thing to wake up to, and starry skies to fall asleep to. Now, there was
nothing but pollution, a thick smoke smothering any beauty there was
left in the air. Bubbling streams, pure and fresh, were now toxic,
filled with trash and chemicals. And dragons. They used to be
everywhere. Now, there were none to be found.
As strong as
dragons were, humans easily overpowered them. Baby dragons were killed,
eggs smashed, families torn apart. Some dragons were even enslaved. The
deal was, work for them, or die. Naturally, dragons chose death. But
that didn't stop humans from forcing them into work, and torturing them
if they stopped.
I hated humans. If it wasn't obvious. Didn't they realize that we were people too? We had souls and lives and family!
But
I had to gulp my words, there was no room for them in the dead silence.
As I glanced at Laurel, I noticed her eyes were watery. Trembling lines
of salty water slid down her petite face. I felt horrible for her. She
had lost her mother to these creatures. I snarled defensively, thinking
of humans.
It turns out, many other dragons were planning to
return to Raven Mountain, like ourselves. As we flew, we were joined by
different dragons. Different shapes, personalities, colors, ages. An
entire flock had gathered up around us.
From rare time to time, a
measly group of humans would attempt to attack us. Older dragons easily
scared or killed them off. Most of the time, I didn't even pay
attention of my surroundings. I was too engrossed in my thoughts.
But
that all changed the day an arrow from a human struck a tiny yellow
dragon flying beside me. I had met this charming little thing, and had
become friends with him. I was so outraged to see them strike at a young
one, I went ballistic. I strayed away from my flock of friends. I spit
fire and smoke angrily at them until every last one in the little
dragon-hunting group was dead.
The little yellow dragon, went by
the name Ca.ssius. His wings were very weak, as fragile as thin twigs.
Easily snapped. As we had flown by, we had watched painfully, as
Ca.ssius's mother was taken by the humans. She had eggs by her side. The
humans crushed them all and put Ca.ssius's mother to work as a slave to
them. It was one of the most horrifying things I've seen. I had felt as
if my heart had rotted. That instant, I swore to protect the little guy,
after all he'd been through. He began to fly with us, escaping to the
Raven Mountains as well.
Ca.ssius was wounded, but not as bad as I
had thought. The arrow had come through his right foot. He could still
fly, and that was enough for him. I was almost astonished to see him
always so happy. Hope glowed in his eyes.
•••••••
"Hey look, Poncho,
we finally made it!" Louis nudged my side, I practically fell over in
mid-flight, I was so stunned to hear his voice. His eyes had returned to
their old hazy yellow.
I turned to see what he was talking
about. My ears flattened as I saw the enormity of the Raven Mountain,
still margining, its black peaks towering over the sky, shadowing the
world.
Dragons flying with us began to descend and land, their
claws griping against the cold, jagged stone. Laurel and Louis began to
do the same, I followed.
You could hear water dripping echoing
for miles in the dark cave. The only source of light was the entrance.
For the first time since the drilling noise, I relaxed. I exhaled
deeply, and sprawled myself next to Laurel, who seemed to be getting
back to normal. Before I could say anything, she kissed me. It was so
quick, so stunning, I wondered if I had imagined it.
I staggered
off to Louis, swaying as I hopped on my right foot. I was dazed. I could
still feel the light pressure on my lips. It must've not been my
imagination, for it seemed Louis had seen the whole thing and was a
little shaken up, too. He pounded my in the back.
"Score! Nice one. Imma have to start callin' you "ladies' man", dude." Louis praised. I uneasily smiled, chuckling nervously.
Before
I could reply, a deafening roar filled the entire cave, practically
shaking the earth's core. Thunderous footsteps were felt through the
dark. Something huge had entered the cave. Laurel whimpered beside me. I
protectively held her, shielding her with my wings.
I could
faintly see a ma.ssive black dragon trudging through the cave. I couldn't
quite see the largeness nor face of the dragon. A torch was quickly lit
with bursting flames by one of the smaller dragons. I stood in awe at
the monstrous Dark Lord himself, his soulless eyes fixed on me.
•••••••
He
snarled. "Ah, you must've been the ole' crushed egg I left behind,", he
rasped, eyeing my leg. I shivered as I recognized the awful voice. "So
sad to see you are strong as you are now. You could have served me
splendidly." His wrinkled lips pursed and his eyes winced. He puckered
his entire face at me, as if he could just spit.
I was still
frozen, protecting Laurel. I took my wings off of her, and hopped on my
right leg, to the front of the Dark Lord, icily glaring at him. He
didn't dare threaten me or my family. As I thought that, I was caught
off guard. Family. I hadn't thought of that word in a long time, if
ever. I already considered Laurel and Louis as my family. Happiness
swirled inside of my stomach.
The Dark Lord's head lowered, his
eyes still on me, as if to snap at me at any instant. Just like a snake.
I crouched defensively, preparing to fight him.
My eyes widened
in disbelief as the Dark Lord walked away from me, muttering, "I have
better things to do than mess around with some...kid." He was going
deeper into the cave, where no dragons bothered to go. "Saphira! Come
down here this instant." He ventured further into the darkness of the
cave, wavering out of sight.
I turned to Louis and Laurel. Louis seemed dazed, while Laurel looked as if she were pondering over something. She turned to me.
"Poncho,
I need to think about what's going on here. This mountain is Saphira's.
She and the Dark Lord loathe each other. It's not even sane. They would
murder each other at the chance. Why would the Dark Lord travel all the
way here? And in enemy territory?! It doesn't add up." Laurel's
delicate forehead crinkled in frustration. I tried to help.
"Well, maybe they've decided to negotiate over their war?" I crumbly suggested.
"Negotiate?! Poncho,
if Saphira could die to kill the Dark Lord, she would've. So would've
the Dark Lord, but vice-versa. They're both just stubborn. They can't
stand the idea of each other, let alone talk calmly each other in the
same room." Laurel talked so quickly, without breath. Her eyes wildly
widened and looked at me.
We were frozen, stunned as we watched Saphira and the Dark Lord pa.ss by us. We could slightly hear their conversation.
"Saphira, we're enemies for life. How can you propose this?"
"Well,
we alone cannot do it, and you alone cannot do it. So it only makes
sense to put us togeth-" Saphira's voice was interrupted.
"Together? It's against nature, woman."
"Those
CREATURES are against nature. They're threatening our population and
destroying the land. We'll be extinct in a matter of months."
After
a long silence, the Dark Lord replied, "...well. I can't believe I'm
saying this, but I agree with you. We must unite." Saphira's reaction
was jovial. "But, I only agree under one condition. After we settle
this, we go back to loathing each other and our war. Deal?" The Dark
Lord laid out his scarred black hand. Saphira's delicate, soft, blue one
laid on top of it. They squeezed hands in agreement.
•••••••
Saphira
and the Dark Lord's armies united, creating an extremely powerful
alliance. The humans also prepared a large number of their kind to
battle. A war was broiling, itching to start.
Poncho,
Laurel, and Louis couldn't stand and watch at the sidelines. They
confidently join the dragons in battle. The dragons were obviously
outnumbered, but that didn't stop them.
They were determined to win against humans. Humans had ruined everything! They deserved to die.
•••••••
"Ready,
go!" Saphira's voice called out to the Water Dragons. They were forming
an elastic shield, to be used in battle. "Now, focus. Only think about
the spherical shape, the form."
I walked further to see Air Ones
practicing wind. I watched, fascinated, as they easily stirred up a
small tornado, hovering above the rocky ground. Beside them were the
Earth Dragons. They could shoot rock-hard vines straight out of the
ground, instant killers. Geez, I thought, these humans don't stand a
chance.
I trotted over to Louis, where the Fire ones were huddled.
"Hey, man! Where ya been? Trainin' started like two hours ago." Louis scolded.
"I overslept." I sheepishly admitted. Truth was, I couldn't sleep. There was so much on my mind. Laurel, humans, training, war!
I shook off my morning grogginess and began practicing controlling my fire, following what the others were doing.
•••••••
Saphira watched and observed our practice. One day, a wise look on her face, she walked up to me.
"Poncho, you do know you're not a Fire One, right?" She said with a chuckle. My forehead scrunched in confusion.
"I-I'm not?" I managed to stammer.
"No,
darling. You're a Pure One." she softly told me. I was still
disoriented. What was a...'Pure One'? As if Saphira had read my mind,
she answered.
"A pure one is a dragon that does not fit in the
standard categories. And by categories, I'm sure you know I mean Earth,
Water, Fire, and Air. Your kind is exceedingly rare. I believed they
were extinct until I saw you." She spoke to me, but her mind seemed to
be somewhere else.
I looked her hard in the eyes. "How do you know I'm a...Pure One?" I questioned, having trouble saying the phrase.
"Well,
for starters, the color of your skin and scales. They're completely
white, almost translucent at times. Only Pure Ones can have such a coat.
Also, you don't quite fit in any of the categories, like the other
dragons." Saphira replied nonchalantly.
"Er-so, um, what do these, uh...Pure Ones do? You now, for talent and battle." I questioned her.
"Poncho,
let me explain. Inside of you, there are two dragons. One is good,
always helpful and clever. The other is evil, plotting revenge and
bestowing pain upon others. The two are in constant battle inside of
you. Which will win? ....The one you feed, of course. Poncho,
you excel in anything you put your mind to. I suggest instead of being
within the basic categories, try magic. I believe it should suit you
well." Saphira's eyes softly crinkled as she smiled.
"...alright,
I'll try magic." I replied. I said it so nonchalantly, I was shocked.
Inside, I was giddy, excited...screechy, if you will.
Next thing I knew, I was underground, fascinated by glowing potions, elixirs, and books of powerful spells.
•••••••
A couple of weeks of training whispered by. Poncho had learned an impressive number of spells. Laurel, Louis, and him practiced battling every morning, strengthening their bonds.
But training could not be continued, the time for the war had come. Little did Poncho know, this battle would be the most legendary battle in the world.
•••••••
A slab of tart meat was flung across the fire, thrown by Louis. I arched my neck, and snapped the meat in mid-air.
"Hey!" Laurel sacked Louis in the stomach, "I wanted that one." she playfully growled.
We all sat around a small fire, feasting. There were other dragons with us, too, enjoying the warmth of the buttery flames.
Louis
crackled with laughter, throwing his head back and spitting shots of
fire. I smiled. This was my family. I felt as if happiness radiated from
my skin.
Today was the last night before the war.
•••••••
A
spear shattered against my armor, painfully piercing my rib. I roared in
anger. Laurel swooped from above, and took down another human.
There
was so much loudness. Humans screaming and parading around with their
machines. Dragons roaring, spewing fire, and clawing.
I had lost all of my senses. All I could think was 'kill, kill, kill'. My eyes blazed red, reflecting raging fire.
The
humans had easily figured our leaders were Saphira and the Dark Lord.
They targeted them the most. Such an amateur tactic. They had no skill,
no surprise, no organization. Just a mob of millions in a parade, with
arrows and armor.
I gasped in horror when I saw a human, hidden
in the trees. He leaped out, arrow ready, towards me. I saw it in slow
motion. The arrow whizzing through air, closer and closer to my heart.
I knew I couldn't move fast enough to dodge it. I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing for instant death.
The next instant, I knew I was dead.
•••••••
As I sadly opened my eyes, I yelped. The war was still in front of me, i could feel my heart beating with triumph.
I
turned, confused. Laurel stood near me, and the most twisted ex
pression
on her face. She was staring at something at my feet. I glanced down.
Ca.ssius.
He had thrown himself in front of me, saving my life. His weak, little
yellow body deformed. My lip trembled with anger. I shouldn't have
closed my eyes. I could've seen Ca.ssius and not let him.
"But-but,
I thought Ca.ssius stayed at the Raven Mountains. Y-ya know, to be safe
from da w-war." Louis sputtered, at my side. My hands balled into iron
fists. I smashed three humans in a row, mercilessly trudging towards
Laurel.
"It's my fault. It's all my fault." I muttered, playing the image of Ca.ssius in my head over and over.
"Poncho,
it's not your fault. Ca.ssius chose to save you, by his will. Stand here
with me and fight. Ca.ssius would be so proud of you. He's always looked
up to you. And he knew very well that your life was worth saving."
Laurel softly tried to comfort me.
"My life was worth saving," I repeated her, "but not dying over!" I wailed, tears swelling.
I
couldn't sit there and cry. I angrily wiped away saltwater with the
back of my hand. I quickly shook my head, as if that would rattle out
the awful picture of Ca.ssius's body on the ground.
I stood tall beside Louis and Laurel, and charged into battle once again.
•••••••
I
gasped and sputtered. Many dragons had escaped to a nearby cave like
me, to treat their wounds, eat a little, sleep and catch their breath
from battle.
An arrow had pierced my shoulder. A female red
dragon named Matilda roughly treated my wounds. She was the take-charge
kind of woman, never to back down. Her attitude was always defensive.
"Boy,
I sure do hope this war ends soon. I got young ones to take care of,
back at the Raven Mountain. Who knows how their coping with their
father. The man couldn't catch a dead bird if he tried, let alone a big
meal for the two." Matilda's rattling distracted me from feeling pain.
The
Dark Lord was beside me, also wounded. A sword had slashed through his
wing. I was amazed as he didn't wince once. He merely blinked as Matilda
tightly wrapped the puncture.
••••••
I
blazed fire from my bared teeth. A large group of humans had grouped up
to attack Saphira. I stood beside her, defending her when I could.
Saphira snarled viciously at the humans. They persisted, rounding up
more of them. I began backing away. They were herding us, like sheep.
I could vaguely recognize the insults they were spitting at us.
One
human, a woman, ran forward with a dagger in her bloodied hand. Her
hair was knotted, and her arms in cuts and bruises. She shouted at the
top of her lungs, I could slightly understand.
"You killed my
brother! You killed him! It was you!" She was screeching something
around that. Her tortured glare was towards Saphira.
She thrust
the small dagger forward. I leaped, trying to block its blow from
Saphira. This is how I should die, I thought. Saving a great leader. But
it was a second too late.
I could still recall that horrible sound of the dagger slicing through Saphira's heart.
I
kneeled by Saphira, sobbing once again. Why couldn't it have been me? I
thought. I could hear her heart rapidly faltering. A rasping whisper
came through her lips.
"Poncho,
the dragons cannot go on without two leaders. I choose you as the
leader in my place. I know you will not disappoint me." With her last
words, she weakly untangled a bracelet from her ankle. From it hung a
large claw, yellowed with age. Her last breath whooshed across my face.
I couldn't believe. I was the leader of the dragons. I quickly strapped the bracelet to my own ankle.
•••••••
I
don't know what came over me, but I grasped the female who had thrown
the dagger. I snagged her shirt in my teeth. I dragged her to a nearby
cave.
"Let me go!" The female thrashed around as I set her down.
"Why did you kill her?" I calmly asked her.
"Y-You can talk? Please don't hurt me. I'm sorry for killing your friend!" she pleaded, fear widening her crystal eyes.
"Why did you kill her?" I repeated, this time with a dark growl.
"Sh-she
killed my brother. He was m-my best f-friend. I had to get r-revenge."
she replied, stuttering. My heart softened as I heard her explanation.
Her best friend was killed.
I sighed, "That dragon you killed was
one of our leaders. She was one of the most noble dragons ever to have
lived." I sadly told her. "What's your name?" I questioned her.
"Susanna Rodkins." She nervously brushed out her knotted red hair with her dirty fingers.
"Well,
Susanna, you're in luck. If you help us, we can end the war without a
winning side. I know just how. But I need to negotiate with whoever your
leader is." I told Susanna confidently. I had thought up this plan
through.
"Our main leader, is, um." Susanna racked her brain for the name. "Jackson Riley! Yes, I'm sure that was his name."
"Alright then, here's the plan." I began weaving my story to Susanna.
•••••••
"Greetings,
Sir Jackson Riley. I'm sure you're wondering what you're here for.
Well, we quite simply, would like to negotiate." The Dark Lord barked at
Mr. Riley.
Mr. Riley, hysteria building in his system out of
fear, quickly shot back, "Alright, what would you like to-er-negotiate?"
I could see he was trying desperately to mask his voice with a husky,
confident voice. But yet still, I could easily tell inside he was
terrified of us.
"We want to stop this war. You people have
killed our females, eggs, and torn our families apart. We want you to
leave us alone. I propose you give us a portion of land. Your kind is
not to step foot there, nor we disturb you. ...what do you say?" the
Dark Lord arched an eyebrow slightly as he spoke.
"I say, I've
got the perfect place. I understand you want land untouched by us. I can
give you the 8th Continent, Iskari. It's just between Australia and
North America. Your kind can stay there as long as you want, however, if
your kind goes on any other continent where humans are, we have a right
to attack. Is this a deal?" My heart seemed to spark as I heard these
words. I let the Dark Lord reply.
"Well, I do accept your deal, on one condition. You cannot tell anyone who we are or where we are."
•••••••
Shortly
after, we flew in herds to Iskari. As the human had promised us, it was
untouched and unexplored by their kind. The air and water was fresh.
Lilies bloomed, canaries sang once again! We were home. I snuggled
against Laurel, who was fast asleep. Susanna had come with us, riding on
Louis's back. She had nothing, no family back at the humans' place, and
wanted to come with us. We agreed.
•••••••
And
so, you've heard the tale of Poncho, the legendary hero. You may
wonder, where the dragons are now. The answer simply is, they've never
left. They're all still there, at Iskari. Sir Riley had never given away
the location to anyone but the president. Iskari had never been shown
on maps, or globes. Everything is still the same as Iskari. Poncho,
Laurel, and Louis are there, as is the Dark Lord. Susanna lived a long,
happy life, and now lays under the sacred ground of Iskari.
There
is one change however. About two years after they'd been living in
Iskari, Laurel and Poncho had a surprise. Two tiny, speckled eggs lay
there, children of the heroes.
You've
been chosen as one of the lucky humans to read the tale. Do not share
the knowledge with anyone, for that could land you trouble.
•••••••
"Hi, babies!" Laurel squealed at our children.
"What should we name them?" I intently asked.
"We
shall name them," She paused, "...I don't know. Why don't you name her?
I've had my turn naming. I mean, I named you!" She chuckled.
I
pondered for a second. And suddenly, I knew what to name the two baby girls. "We should name them Ca.ssie, in honor of Ca.ssius, and
the other, Astra."
Laurel smiled.
•••••••
 Please click me! I'm dying!
EDIT: Oh crap I'm dead. Click me anyways, cause I'm awesome. |
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7:53pm Sep 17 2011 (last edited on 7:56pm Sep 17 2011)
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Normal User
Posts: 247
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I'm sorry about the horrible format. :( I'll try to fix it.
EDIT: Cannot fix. D: Sorry about that. It's still readable....*weak smile* Even with this flaw, the story still is what it is. I hope you enjoy it.
Please click me! I'm dying!
EDIT: Oh crap I'm dead. Click me anyways, cause I'm awesome. |
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5:51am Sep 18 2011
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Normal User
Posts: 9,641
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LOL. Were you copypasta'ing from Word? It does the same to me. >(
But great story anyhow! :3 |
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10:44am Sep 18 2011
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Normal User
Posts: 2,158
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I hate how copying from word does that :( But lovely story anyway.
.
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2:51pm Sep 18 2011
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Normal User
Posts: 247
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Det- Yes, it was from Word. xD And thank you<3
Thank you Wish. <3
Please click me! I'm dying!
EDIT: Oh crap I'm dead. Click me anyways, cause I'm awesome. |
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