#Animeboye

[animeboye]

Dragon's World Past Chapter 9

Chapter 9:  An Unexpected Mission

The next day, Saulstrance journeyed to the human realm by himself to tell Cyrus about everything that occurred since they saw him. The two of them went down to the lakebed where Saulstrance shared with Cyrus his story. Saulstrance explained to Cyrus that he was told that Agcro, a killer from his world, had taken the lives of his parents and Saulstrance chose to set out to find Agcro and hear the truth from him. He recalled, after capturing Agcro, how overjoyed he was to learn that his parents might have still been alive.

“So where is Agcro now?” Cyrus asked.

“He’s locked up in my master’s fortress. My master sentenced him to execution in a couple of days.” Explained Saulstrance.

“Execution?” Cyrus asked surprised.

Saulstrance nodded. “I can’t say I’m surprised. He killed so many innocent dragons including some of my master’s guards. After everything he’s done, I’d say it’s too fitting for him.”

Cyrus agreed. “I just don’t understand what could make someone want to kill another person or dragon. I mean, there have been times where I’ve been angry and hated people but not enough to make me want to kill them.”

After Cyrus’ statement, the two friends fell silent. They stared out at the lakebed for awhile before Saulstrance stood up and was about to open up a portal. Before he could, however, Cyrus called his name. He asked Saulstrance if, before he returned to his world, perhaps they could have a race. Cyrus mentioned that he had been practicing flying and he wanted to see how good he had become. Saulstrance smiled and agreed to his friend’s request.

The two of them journeyed to the forest where they first met. Once there, Saulstrance changed into his dragon form and Cyrus changed into his half-dragon form. The two launched themselves into the air, erupting through the trees and into the sky.

Cyrus pointed to another forest in the distance. He told Saulstrance that they would fly over that forest and land back in the one below them. Saulstrance agreed to his friend’s terms and like that, the two of them were off. Saulstrance had never seen Cyrus fly before so he had no idea just how good he truly was. Comparing the size of his wings versus the size of Cyrus’ wings, Saulstrance concluded that he was more than likely the better flyer since his wingspan was greater and therefore more capable of supporting his body.

The two of them flew through the sky as quickly as they could. For a time, Cyrus was able to keep up to Saulstrance much to the latter’s surprise. As they neared the other forest and circled around it, however, Cyrus gradually began to go slower. His wings were beginning to cramp. He tried to ignore it and keep up with his friend however the more he exerted himself, the further he fell behind. Slowly, his wing flaps began to come to a halt until inevitably, they did. Cyrus plummeted from the sky, screaming as he did. Just as he was about to win the race, Saulstrance noticed this. He flew back to Cyrus, flapping his wings as hard and as fast as he could. Just as Cyrus closed his eyes and prepared for the inevitable, Saulstrance swooped down, saving Cyrus in the nick of time. Slowly, Cyrus opened his eyes, noticing that he had been saved by Saulstrance. With Cyrus on his back, he flew for the forest. There, Cyrus hopped off his friend’s back and thanked him profusely for saving him.

“Are you okay?” Saulstrance asked worriedly.

“Y-Yeah.”  Cyrus panted, holding his hand over his heart as he tried to relax himself.

After awhile, Cyrus calmed down. He removed his hand from his chest and took a deep breath.

“Thank you Saulstrance. I guess this wasn’t such a good idea.” Said Cyrus, taking several more deep breaths.

“You’re not kidding.” Saulstrance replied.

“I just thought that…if I tried to push myself, then maybe…I could make my wings stronger. Then maybe you, me, Eig’nia, and Tourajé could all go flying together.”  Cyrus explained in a disappointed tone.

“I’d like that and I know they would too but not at the risk of almost getting yourself killed!!” Exclaimed Saulstrance, his eyes widened.

Cyrus looked down, feeling ashamed. He had been scolded by his parents before but never by one of his friends. He thought that everything would be fine. After all, if he was ever going to become stronger, he’d need to push himself as hard as he could. Although, perhaps this time, he pushed himself a bit too hard Cyrus thought to himself.

Grateful, he thanked Saulstrance for saving his life. Saulstrance apologized for going off on him and explained that he wasn’t angry at him, he just got scared. The last thing he wanted was for any of his friends to get hurt, or worse. Cyrus nodded, showing Saulstrance that he understood. He hugged Saulstrance, thanking him again for saving him.  In response, Saulstrance wrapped a wing over Cyrus. In dragon form, this was his way of hugging.

As the two friends hugged, suddenly Saulstrance’s tail began to move on its own. Taking note of this, Saulstrance moved his wing from his friend and looked towards his tail. It was writing something in the ground: “IT IS TIME TO COME HOME”. Saulstrance realized that this message was from his master. He opened a portal before himself and Cyrus, bidding farewell to his friend. Just before he stepped through, Cyrus asked Saulstrance when he might be back. Saulstrance wasn’t too sure of the answer himself but he promised his friend that they’d see each other soon.

Cyrus smiled. “I hope so. And next time, bring Eig’nia and Tourajé. Then we can all go flying together.”

Saulstrance smiled back. “Okay, but we’re not going to fly as high as we did today. The last thing I want is to see one of my friends get flattened.”

“Ha ha ha.” Cyrus laughed sarcastically.

Saulstrance nodded and smiled. As he stepped through the portal Cyrus waved goodbye. Once the portal had disappeared, Cyrus headed for home.

Later that day, Saulstrance sat in his master’s library. The library had clawmade shelves that continued all the way up to the ceiling and these shelves contained scrolls collected and written by the past Leaders of Zalphonia. No dragon, not even Léruc himself knew just how many scrolls there were. There might have been thousands, perhaps even millions.

Saulstrance had collected several of these scrolls and had sat them on one of the large rocks that were in the center of the library. These rocks were used to allow dragons a place to study. There were also a couple smaller rocks set upon the much bigger rocks to keep the scrolls from rolling up while studying.

Saulstrance grabbed a scroll from the collection. He unraveled it and set four rocks on its sides, two at the top and bottom. He looked at the writing which was in a language he had never seen before. Wondering what it said, Saulstrance read it to himself.

“Ichtal salum matsirc zelen. Tremel…” Saulstrance stopped.

None of this made sense to him. Saulstrance had no idea what he was saying. To him, these words just seemed like a bunch of gibberish. Did they even mean anything? Although he couldn’t understand these words, Saulstrance chose to continue to read them. Perhaps in one of the other scrolls, he’d find out what these words were supposed to be. He placed a claw under the word he left off on and moved it under the word that came next. He continued.

“Mitol selmec, kugan…”

“I never thought I’d see a dragon as young as you take an interest in the ancient tongue.” A voice said to Saulstrance.

Breaking away for a second, Saulstrance looked to the entrance of the library and saw his master Léruc standing there. The old dragon walked over to his disciple and sat down next to him.

“The ancient tongue?” Saulstrance asked.

“It is the language our ancestors spoke in. A very, very long time ago, our ancestors did not know of the existence of the other world, the one the humans call Earth. They spoke in their own language. And unlike us, they didn’t know of portals or how to conjure them. That changed when one day, a dragon somehow opened a portal. The dragon that created it and the others that were there for its creation had no idea what it was. Curious, they stepped through the portal and arrived on Earth where they learned of the humans. As years passed, more and more young dragons traveled to Earth, or as they dubbed it, the human realm and it is said that the more they went, the more they forgot their native tongue. The older dragons didn’t like this as they felt that letting their children be too exposed to human culture would become a threat to their ways. For a time, travel to the human realm became forbidden. But, as always happens, the older dragons passed, the younger had hatchlings of their own and with the older dragons gone, the younger dragons were free to journey back to the human realm, this time with their offspring. Each new generation of dragons became more and more exposed to humans and their culture as well as their language until eventually, we got to where we are today where we speak the same tongue as humans and our old tongue has become all but forgotten by most.” Explained Léruc.

Saulstrance was astounded. He never knew that there was another language that his ancestors spoke. He always thought that the language he spoke was the same his ancestors did.  Now he was even more interested in what these words meant. The only problem was…he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to learn exactly what they meant. He asked his master if he might know what these words were supposed to mean.

“Hmm…” Léruc thought. He looked over the scroll Saulstrance had been reading and tried to find a passage he could translate.

“I’ve studied a bit of the ancient tongue myself Saulstrance but unfortunately, there’s not much I can remember. Let’s see…Ah! Here we go!” Said Léruc, pointing to a passage near the end of the scroll.

“Kenzum i saul strance intael fo wy tazel.” Léruc read aloud.

Saulstrance was shocked when he heard his name spoken in the passage. More curious than ever, he asked Léruc anxiously what that passage meant.

“Translated it says: ‘may the fiery light look over our world. The fiery light the scroll speaks of is a dragon who is powerful, kind, and watches out for his fellow dragon. Assuming your parents got the idea for your name from this scroll, then they must have expected that you’d become a truly strong dragon.” Léruc explained.

Saulstrance smiled in response to his master’s words. It made him feel good to hear that. Although he always believed that his parents expected he’d become a good and kind dragon, it felt good to hear someone else acknowledge this too.

Skimming through the scroll, Saulstrance found a random passage. He asked Léruc what it meant and then proceeded to read it aloud: “E ken’ti semzal tu rinh echtun akch.”

Léruc snickered. Saulstrance looked at his master puzzlingly. He wasn’t sure what was so funny. He asked Léruc what he was laughing about. Léruc explained that it was just what the passage said translated.

Laughing again, Léruc read out loud what the passage said.

“Translated, it says, ‘I can’t seem to find my cave’”.  Said Léruc with a bit of a chuckle.

“What?” Saulstrance asked in a deadpan voice, not believing what his master said. “Is that really what it says?”

“Perhaps.” Léruc teased in a playful manner.

Saulstrance fumed. He wanted to know for real if that was really what it said. Before he had the opportunity to ask however, he noticed the expression on his master’s face suddenly become more serious. Saulstrance wondered what that was about.

“Saulstrance…I actually came here because I need to talk with you about something. When you get the opportunity, could you come and meet me in my chambers? I have something I need to discuss with you, Tourajé, and Eig’nia. They should be here momentarily.” Léruc said in a grave tone.

“Okay.” Saulstrance said.

Léruc returned to his chambers to wait for his students. Saulstrance placed the scrolls he had been reading back on the shelves and hurried to Léruc’s chambers. There, he saw his friends and his master waiting for him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t keep you guys waiting, did I?” Asked Saulstrance.

“No, we just got here ourselves.” Eig’nia said.

“Please sit down Saulstrance. We have something very important we need to discuss.” Said Léruc with an unsettled look on his face.

Saulstrance sat down next to his friends. It was a short while before Léruc spoke. At first he paced back and forth fratically, letting out an occasional sigh every now and then. The three dragons had never seen their master so shaken up before. Whatever it was he needed to talk with them about, it must have been something very serious.

Finally, Léruc spoke. “…I’ve received some…disturbing news. Raolef, the Leader of Aanki, the village to the west, has declared an attack on the human realm.”

The three dragons were shocked to hear that. Were their master’s words true? Although they didn’t know the Leader of Aanki, they never would have thought that he or any of the other dragon realm Leaders would try to declare an attack against the human realm. Curious, Tourajé asked his master how he acquired this information.

“In the beginning, it was simply a rumor that had slowly spread amongst a select few. When word of this came to me, I sent one of my guards to Raolef’s fortress as a spy to acquire more information. As fate would have it, these rumors ended up being true. My guard overheard Raolef speaking with his apprentice and several guards about their plans.” Léruc explained.

“I…I can’t believe it.” Eig’nia said, shocked and a little disheartened to hear that one of her world’s own Leaders was really plotting an attack.

“Sir, did your guard find out when Raolef was going to attack the human realm?” Saulstrance asked.

Léruc shook his head. “No. From what the guard said, Raolef never specified when the attack would take place. Regardless, we can’t allow them any time. We have to stop the attack before it can begin.”

Saulstrance and the others agreed. They had to stop Raolef’s plan right away. They couldn’t allow anything bad to happen to the human realm, especially when Cyrus and his family lived there. Eig’nia asked how they would best be able to get to Raolef .

“Yes…you won’t be able to just barge in and beat up all the guards. You three will have to sneak in. When you get to his fortress, stay high in the sky and make sure there are no guards patrolling the top of the fortress. That will be your way in. Once inside, you’ll need to remain out of sight. The ceiling will be your best bet. Fly overhead and use the darkness to keep yourself hidden. Once you locate Raolef, kill him.”   Léruc explained.

“K-kill him?!” Tourajé gasped.

“Yes…Raolef must die if the human realm is to be saved.” Said  Léruc.

“We…we understand…it’s just…” Saulstrance tried to say.

“We’ve never killed anyone before. I don’t know if we can.” Eig’nia said, not liking the idea of taking someone’s life.

Léruc understood and empathized with his pupils. He didn’t want them to bloody their claws either however, it had to be done and they were the only ones who could do it. He needed his guards around to keep an eye on Agcro and he was too old and had grown too weak to be able to stand a chance of stopping Raolef on his own. Thus, it fell upon them to see this mission through.

“Now then, there is one final part to this that I hadn’t had the chance to mention: once Raolef has been assassinated, make haste to the human realm and hide out there for a couple days. His Champion, apprentice, and guards will be looking for you. Hide in the human realm and I’ll contact you three when I feel it’s safe to come back.” Léruc finished.

The three dragons nodded in understanding. With their orders given, Léruc dismissed them. He told them to return home and prepare as their mission began next morning. He also instructed them to keep what he had just told them a secret from their families. He wanted to keep the information he had just given them contained as best he could so as not to cause any panic.

That night felt like the longest night ever for Saulstrance and his friends. They all sat outside, staring up at the night sky for what must have been hours. They asked themselves if they would be able to do this. Could they really bring themselves to kill another dragon? Would they get killed in the process? They were only three dragons going up against a Leader, his Champion, his apprentice, and his guards. The odds weren’t exactly in their favor. Even if they did as their master instructed and snuck through the fortress, there was always the chance that things could go wrong.

After some time had passed, the three of them went back inside and drifted off to sleep. Tourajé slept next to his little brother Utzie, extending a wing over his younger sibling to keep him warm. He smiled at Utzie and looked over towards his parents who were sleeping right across from them. He hoped that this wouldn’t be the last time he’d be able to sleep with his family.

With a light yawn, Eig’nia squeezed between her two sleeping older siblings. Just like  Tourajé, Eig’nia’s parents were sleeping right across from her and her siblings. Being in between her brother and sister made the young dragoness feel safe. Just like Tourajé, she hoped that everything would work out alright and she would be able to keep sleeping together with her family.

Eventually, morning came. Eig’nia and Tourajé said goodbye to their families and rushed off to meet up with Saulstrance. They gathered outside their master’s fortress.

“Is everyone ready?” Saulstrance asked.

“I am.” Eig’nia answered.

“Me too.” Tourajé answered as well.

“Then let’s go.” Saulstrance said with determination in his voice.

[animeboye]

Mid Dragon's World Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Going to the Mall

That night, Alex, my dad, Theian, and I sat at the dinner table, waiting for Z'haer, Eig'nia, and Girido to return. My stomach was growling at me. It was telling me that it wanted food and it wanted food now. Dad had a chicken cooking in the oven that felt like it had been in there forever. I moaned as I slammed my head down on the table, feeling lightheaded.

"Jakol, head up." Dad commanded.

As soon as I heard him say that, I immediately swung my head up. My dad looked at me with an angry kind of look for a few seconds then turned his attention to Theian.

"Theian, how did their first day of training go?" Asked dad.

"Rather well. Alex shows a lot of promise. His strength should become a valuable asset to you in the future. Jake, however…While he shows potential, he's uneasy about using his powers. I hope to be able to change that." Theian said.

"Oh? And how do you plan to do that?" Dad asked, sounding interested.

"I'm not sure yet. But I'll think of a way." Theian answered.

"Hmph!" Dad smiled. "I admire your enthusiasm Theian. I will continue to leave their training to you."

"Thank you, sir." Said Theian.

Just then, the oven timer dinged and a knock came from the door both at just about the same time. The door opened and into the kitchen walked Eig'nia, Girido, and Z'haer.  They sat down at the table just as dad was pulling the chicken out of the oven. Dad brought the chicken to the table and sat it down. Then he took off his oven mitts and set them on the kitchen counter. I put my hand over my mouth, smiling, trying to keep myself from laughing too loudly. The thought of a dragon wearing oven mitts just seemed so funny to me. I didn't even know if dragons who were in human form could handle a tin just out of the oven with their bare hands. I guessed not if dad had to wear those every time he cooked.

Dad brought out seven plates and gave us each one. He took a knife and cut into the chicken, giving us a piece each. As soon as we were given our food, we immediately started eating, but before I started to eat, I got up and grabbed myself a glass of water and then went back to my seat.

"So how did things go? Did you find a good place to start?" Dad asked Eig'nia, Z'haer, and Girido, taking a bite of his chicken.

"Not yet sir. So far all the places we've inspected were much too big to begin the operation. We will be moving our search further out west tomorrow." Said Eig'nia, setting her knife and fork on her plate.

"Excellent. I look forward to your results Eig'nia." Dad said, smiling.

"Yes…" I heard Eig'nia say quietly. Strangely, she sounded a little sad.

For a few minutes, we were all quiet. No one said a thing while we concentrated on our food.  Suddenly, Girido sat his chicken leg down on his plate as he chewed. Once he swallowed, he placed his fork in his plate next to the chicken leg and leaned forward in his chair.

"So boys, how did your training with Theian go? Was he yelling at you the whole time?" Girido asked in a mocking voice.

"N-No, it was fine." I answered him, unsure of what else to say.

"Really?!" Girido said, pretending to sound surprised. "Goodness me! I guess Theian isn't such a bad guy after all!"

Theian jerked out of his chair, knocking it over, his left hand tightly clenching his fork as he looked at Girido angrily.

"Girido, how about you shut your goddamn mouth before I shut it for you!" Theian roared, looking like he was about to pounce on Girido at any moment.

"Ohh hoo!!" Girido laughed. "I'm SOOOO scared! Just sit down. You're embarrassing yourself in front of Lord Saulstrance."

"That's enough children." Z'haer butted in, sounding irritated by their fighting. "We're all working towards the same goal. So as long as we're working together, we might as well make nice."

"I can agree with that." Eig'nia replied, biting off some chicken skin.

Without saying anything else, Theian shrunk back into his chair and continued eating. For the rest of dinner, no one said anything. Once we were done, we just went straight to bed. I said goodnight to Alex who said goodnight back. Then I told Theian goodnight but he didn't say anything. He made his way to the door, followed by Girido, Eig'nia, and Z'haer. I closed the door to my room and went over to my window and watched as Theian opened a portal that he and the others went through.

I laid down in my bed, putting my arms behind my head, looking up at the ceiling as I thought about what happened at dinner tonight. I felt pretty bad for Theian. Girido knew how easy it was to make Theian angry and whenever they were together, he'd always try to make him mad. I didn't think Theian did anything to deserve that. Sometimes I wished that Girido would just leave him alone.

As I continued to think, there was a knock at my door. The door opened as Alex walked into my room. He sat down on the side of my bed and turned towards me.

"Hey man. Sorry Girido had to go and ruin your birthday." Alex said.

"It's okay, he didn't ruin it. It's just…I don't know…I think he's just a real jerk. I don't like him very much." I said.

"Just be glad dad didn't make you too work together." Alex added.

"I know right?" I said, sitting up and laughing. "It would've been worse if dad made him and Girido work together! Just think!"

"They'd end up killing each other!" Alex exclaimed.

"Yeah." I agreed.

Alex stood up and walked towards the open door. I laid back down and was about to close my eyes before Alex said my name.

"Oh! And, Jake?" Alex said.

"Yeah Alex?" I responded.

"Happy birthday, lil' bro."

I smiled. "Thanks, big bro."

Alex left my room and headed to his. I heard him say goodnight to dad as he passed him the hall. Just as I was about to turn off my light, dad came in, standing in the doorway. I turned over on my stomach and saw him looking over at me.

"So did you have a good birthday son?" Asked dad.

"Yeah. It was okay." I answered.

"I see that Alex got you a pretty neat birthday present." Dad said as he walked over to my PS5 that was still in the box.

"Hmm…Playstation 5…" Dad said as he picked my PS5 and studied it, turning the box over every few seconds and reading out loud what was on each side.  Being old and a dragon, I guessed that he didn't know much about video games. I wondered, if I was able to get dad to play some games, would he be any good?  …Probably not.

Dad placed my PS5 back on the ground and took a seat on my bed.

"Sorry that Theian and Girido ruined your birthday dinner." Dad said.

"It's okay. They didn't ruin it." I said, telling dad the same thing I told Alex.

"In addition to your video game, Alex and I also got you a chocolate cake. We were going to have some after dinner but…Well, maybe we can all have some tomorrow."

Dad stood up and walked to the door. He looked back at me one last time before leaving my room.

"Get some good sleep, Jakol. You have another big day of training tomorrow."

"I know." I said, shutting my eyes immediately after he said that.

"If training goes well tomorrow, I'll let you stay up until midnight so you can play your video games."

"Really?!" I said a little loudly, my eyes bursting open in excitement.

Dad shut off the lights and closed my door. I closed my eyes again and started to feel sleepy. I opened my eyes one last time so I could get a look at my PS5 once more. I blinked several times and then fell asleep.

The next day, Theian woke me and Alex up at around 9:00 in the morning so that we could get to the mall sooner.  Our training went until about 1:00. By then it was time for us to head to the mall.

Theian changed into his dragon form and instructed us to climb on. He crouched down so that me and Alex could get on his back.  Once we were aboard, Theian stood up and opened his wings.

"You know, I really don't think this is such a good idea." Theian muttered, lowering his head.

"Aw c'mon Theian! It'll be fun!!" I said in an excited voice, smiling widely.

"Fun for you kids! What am I supposed to do if some humans see me in this form?" Theian asked, sounding testy.

"Don't worry about it Theian! We'll cross that bridge when we come to it!" Alex said, sounding like he didn't have a care in the world.

"You kids are just trying to annoy me now, aren't you?" Theian sighed. "Oh well."

"Hold on tight!" Theian said and before we knew it, we were flying at superfast speeds straight into the air. First, we were thirty feet in the air, then fifty, one hundred; soon we were more than three hundred feet above the ground. I looked over the side just to see how high up we were. My body started to shake in fear as I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms tightly around Theian's neck. I knew I had wings and that if I did fall off, I could either fly back up or try and fly to the ground, but I didn't know just how long my wings would be able to carry me and I wasn't about to try.

We flew through the air, soaring high above the many houses, apartments, businesses, we were soaring over everything! I looked down again and saw all the people walking below us. They didn't even look like people, they looked more like ants. Even though I was still a little scared, I had to admit, I was having a lot of fun. Me and Alex, we were the only kids who ever got to ride on a dragon's back. I smiled at that thought. I thought it made us pretty cool.

"YEAH!!! WHOO!!! WHOOOOOOO!!!"  I shouted and cheered at the top of my voice, pumping my fist in the air a couple times.

"Isn't this awesome Alex?" I asked, turning around to face Alex and pushing my bangs back.

"Yeah! You havin' fun too Theian?" Alex asked, sounding excited, pushing his hair back too.

"It's not bad." Theian answered.

"Now hold on tight. I'm gonna show you kids something cool." Not sure what Theian meant but following his instruction anyway, I grabbed hold of Theian's neck and Alex wrapped his arms around my waist. Theian flew slightly higher and did two backflips. My legs pressed tightly against the sides of Theian's neck while Alex's dangled off the side.  I screamed, fearing thatmy arms wouldn't be able hold on and I'd fall off.

Once Theian stopped, I put my hand over my chest, taking as many deep breaths as I could. My eyes were wide and my heart was pounding.

"You okay Alex?" I asked.

"Ye-yeah." Alex responded, panting almost as badly as I was.

I shut my eyes, taking in one gigantic breath and exhaled. I looked down and saw that we were almost directly above the mall.

"Ooh, Theian! That's it! That's the mall!" I said, pointing ahead of us.

"Alright. Now the question is: Where can we land?" Said Theian.

"There's a parking garage built underneath the mall. We could fly through there." Alex said.

"Are there people in this parking garage?" Theian asked.

"Nah! Usually they're upstairs buying stuff." I said.

Theian flew around the mall, looking for the entrance to the parking garage. Once he found it, Theian swooped down into the garage, coming in for a rough landing as he collided into a car and me and Alex fell off of him. I looked at my knee and my elbow that had been scrapped. Although they weren't bleeding, they still hurt quite a bit so I rubbed them, trying to take some of the pain away. I saw that Alex was rubbing his arm and leg too. When I looked over at Theian, who had changed into his human form, I noticed that the car he crashed into was squished so it looked like one of those little box shaped cars. Two other cars had their backs destroyed and almost taken completely off by Theian's powerful tail.

"Umm…Oops?" I said nervously as the three of us stood up.

Panicking at the thought that one of the owners would come down and see what we did to their car, I looked around, hoping to find the escalator leading into the mall. I noticed it at the far end of the parking garage so I ran towards the escalator with Theian and Alex following behind me. We rode it up and a few seconds later, we were standing in the mall.

"Huh…Sure are a lot of people here." Theian said, walking forward and looking around in amazement.

"Haven't you ever been to the mall before Theian?" I asked.

Theian shook his head. "No. In fact, until now I never even knew what a mall was."

"Seriously?!" I asked, finding it hard to believe what he was saying. "Geez just how much time HAVE you spent in our world?"

"So Alex, you ready to buy me those games you promised?" I asked, smiling as I turned around and walked backwards.

"Yea-Yeah, sure…" Alex said dully.

"You okay Alex?" I asked, stopping in front of him.

"Huh?"

"I asked if you're okay." I said.

"Oh, yeah, sure I'm fine!" Alex said. "Well, come on Jake! Let's go get you some games!" Alex said, marching ahead of us.

Even though Alex said he was okay, I knew he wasn't. He always acted like this whenever we were around humans. When it was just us he was usually pretty happy but whenever we'd go somewhere like the movies or Gamestop, he'd always become really angry. I didn't really know much about what happened to Alex before my dad adopted him. He never wanted to talk about his past. All dad ever told me was that Alex's real dad, a human, did something terrible to his mom, a dragon, and that's how he came to live with us.

Theian and I followed after Alex as he made his way towards Gamestop. As I walked into the store, I bumped into a boy about my age who was just leaving, knocking his game out of his hand.

"Aw man I'm sorry!" I said as I bent over to pick up his game for him.

I handed the kid's game to him. He was about my height and had slightly tan skin and dark brown hair. He wore dark grey shorts and a white shirt with nothing on it. He thanked me and ran out the door, saying goodbye to the guy working at Gamestop who he called Billy.

As I walked over to the PS5 games, Billy asked me if I needed help finding anything. I told him that I was just looking right now as I kneeled down and glanced over the games. Not finding anything I wanted on that row, I stood up and browsed another row. This time I came across two games: One was Street Fighter 10 and the other, which was also a Street Fighter game was DC Heroes Vs Street Fighter, both of which were about $49.99. As badly as I wanted both games, I knew that was a lot of money so I'd probably only be able to get one. The question was which one? Both games sounded really good but eventually I settled on DC Heroes Vs Street Fighter since that one not only had the Street Fighter characters but also characters like Batman, Superman, Green Lantern and all the other DC superheroes.

With one game picked out, I figured I could probably get one more. This time I wanted to get a game like Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. I remembered hearing that a new Final Fantasy came out a while ago that was kinda like Kingdom Hearts called Final Fantasy Versus 13 so I glanced around the middle shelves, looking for the "F" games. After searching for a little bit, I came across the game. As soon as I spotted it I picked up the game and placed it on top of my Street Fighter game. With my games picked out I took them over to Alex who was standing by the counter. Alex took the games and gave them to Billy.

"This it?" Asked Billy.

"Yeah." I responded.

Billy rang the games up.  They ended up being about ninety dollars together. Alex reached into his pocket, pulling out only forty dollars. I reached into my pocket to see if I had any money I could give Alex. I pulled out all of my money which was only thirty dollars. I didn't have enough to get both games.

"I don't have enough…" I said, disappointed.

"Well if you want, I could hold onto this for you for a couple of days." Billy offered, patting his hand on the game twice.

"That's okay." I said as I grabbed Final Fantasy Versus 13 and put it back on the shelf. I walked back to the counter.

"So just this today?" Billy asked, holding up Street Fighter.

"That's all." I said.

"Alright, then that will come to $51.10."

Alex handed all his money to Billy and I gave Billy two of my tens. He gave me my change and put my game in a bag which he handed to me.

Once we left Gamestop, I started to think about how badly I wanted to play that new Final Fantasy game. Of course DC Heroes Vs Street Fighter was cool enough but I thought it would just be awesome to get both games.

"Hey man, sorry I couldn't get you that other game." Alex said.

"It's okay Alex." I smiled to him, handing him the change Billy gave me. "I'll get to play it…someday."

As we strolled through the mall, my stomach growled.

"Hungry?" Theian asked.

I really was. After all, I didn't get to eat much today. All I had to eat was some breakfast and that only lasted me during training. What I really wanted to eat right now was a big, juicy cheeseburger, some French fries, a malt. Just thinking about all that food made me even hungrier.  Then I realized: Disco Burger!

"Hey guys! Wanna eat at Disco Burger?" I asked.

"Disco Burger"? Theian asked, not understanding what I was talking about.

"Yeah it's a restaurant. Follow me, I'll show ya."

And so I led Theian and Alex to Disco Burger. When we got there, Theian stood a couple feet in front of the entrance, looking up at it with an amazed look at his face.

"Come on! Let's go in!" I said

The three of us went into the restaurant. Inside, we had to wait in a line of five people. We waited for about a minute before we were seated. We sat at a table next to a window. Alex and Theian sat together in the booth on the left side of the table while I sat in the booth on the right. Alex and I grabbed ourselves each a menu while Theian continued to look around, still intrigued by this place. I grabbed a menu for Theian and handed it to him.

"What is this?" Theian asked.

"It's a menu. It shows you what kind of food the restaurant has." I explained.

"Huh…" Said Theian, sounding a little interested.

Theian opened his menu and looked through it. After a little while a waiter came to our table.

"Hello, my name is John and I'll be your waiter for today. Can I get you anything to drink?" The waiter asked.

"Can I get a coke?" I asked.

"Okay, a coke. And you?" The waiter asked Alex.

"I'll have what he's having." Alex answered.

"Another coke…And you?" The waiter asked Theian this time.

"What are these 'beverages'?" Theian asked.

"Umm sir, beverages are what you drink. You know, water, soda…That kind of stuff?"

"Okay…and what is 'soda'?" Theian asked again.

"You…you're joking right? You really don't know what a soda is?"

"I'm sorry!" I said, laughing uncomfortably. "He's my uncle! He's a bit weird. He's not from this world."

"Clearly…"  The waiter said, rolling his eyes.

Theian growled, looking angry at the waiter. He turned his head to the window.

"I'll just put him down for a coke too."  Once the waiter was done taking down our orders for what we wanted to drink, he went to go and get our sodas. A little while later he returned with three cokes. I grabbed my coke and gulped it down until there was only half a glass left.

"Aw man! That's good!" I said, sighing loudly.

"Whoa!" Alex said, amazed at how much I drank in such a short time.

Theian brought his glass to his lips. He took a sip of his soda, smacking his lips together a few times.

"Hmm…It's like water…but it's got a flavor to it. How's it made?" Theian asked, taking another sip.

"Umm…Umm…Well…" I said, not knowing the answer to that myself.

"Uh…" Alex stalled, also not knowing the answer.

"Well..., I don't…really know." I finally said.

"But…do you like it Theian?" I asked.

"It's not bad." Theian replied, taking another drink.

It was about another five minutes before the waiter came back to take our order. By then, me, Alex and Theian had finished our sodas. Much to my surprise, Theian somehow managed to finish his soda before I could get done with mine. I was watching in shock as Theian finished his soda in one gulp without even stopping to breathe.  I ordered a cheeseburger with a side of fries, Alex ordered the "Disco Double", a burger with twice the meat and twice the cheese, and Theian, not knowing what anything else on the menu was, just ordered the same thing I did. The waiter took our menus and our empty glasses and went into the kitchen. He returned a little later with our glasses refilled. He told us that our order would be ready shortly. A little while longer, he returned with our food

I ate several fries while Alex took a big bite of his Disco Burger. Theian, however, held the burger in his hand, looking at it like he was trying to figure out what it was.

"Theian, you gonna eat your burger?" I asked.

"Of course! It's just…I wonder what these are made from?" Theian said.

"They're made from cows." Alex said with his mouth full.

"This? This was made from a cow?" Theian asked, pointing at his burger.

"Well yeah." Alex said.

"This isn't a cow. I've eaten cows much bigger than this." Said Theian, setting his burger in his dish.

"Wait, you've eaten cows before? Like, cow cows, not burgers?" I asked, having a hard time believing what Theian was saying.

"Of course. I've eaten live cows, dead cows. I've also eaten stuff other than cows." Theian answered.

"Like what?" Alex asked, becoming interested.

"Hmm…Snakes, foxes, rabbits…I've even eaten bears before."

"What!" Alex said, smiling in disbelief. "No way! You haven't eaten a bear!"

"And what if I have? How would you know if you weren't there?" Theian replied.

"Do other dragons eat animals?" I asked.

"All dragons do. There are some dragons who will go only after small animals like rabbits or foxes. They are normally children or dragons who aren't necessarily the best hunters. There are also dragons who are against eating live animals. They will only take the carcasses of animals that are already dead. But then you have the dragons who like to hunt bigger targets. These are the dragons that will go after prey such as lions, tigers, bears. They're the risk takers.

"Whoa!" I said in amazement. "There are dragons that hunt lions?!"

I couldn't believe it. It sounded so awesome and yet so unreal. I knew I'd never be brave enough to try and take on a lion or a tiger or a bear. I'd be way too scared. But if Theian was strong enough to beat a bear, then he was even cooler than I thought he was.

"Theian! The next time you go hunting, please, take me and Alex with you!!" I pleaded.

"No." Theian answered quickly.

"What? Why?" I whined.

"Because it's too dangerous, that's why! If something happened to you boys, what would Saulstrance do? Besides, what good would a kid who's too afraid to use his own powers be on a hunt?"

Hearing Theian say that really hurt my feelings. I grabbed my burger, turned away from him and started eating it again without saying anything else to him. Theian just didn't understand. None of them did. It was my powers that made people hate me. It was my powers that kept driving friends away. I didn't want to use my powers because I was sick of them hurting people. Deep down, I didn't want people to see me as a monster. I just wanted them to see me as a normal kid.

When we had finished eating, our bill came to $18.75. I payed for all our food, leaving me with only a dollar and twenty five cents left.

Our flight back to the house was a quiet one. I didn't have anything to say to Alex or Theian. I just couldn't stop thinking about what Theian said to me. Over and over I kept hearing in my head, "What good is a kid who's too afraid to use his own powers?"

"Jake?" Theian called to me.

"Yeah?" I said in a slightly sad voice.

"Look, what I said at the restaurant…I'm sorry. That was a terrible thing for me to say."

"It's okay." I said, accepting his apology.

"But I still stand by what I said. I don't want you or Alex coming with me on my hunts. The kind of animals I hunt are too dangerous for you boys and I don't want anything happening to you. Saulstrance put me in charge of you two and that means I also have to watch out for your safety."

"I understand." I said, smiling.

While I was still a little hurt by what Theian said, his apology made me feel a little bit better. And even though I still thought it would have been pretty neat to see how a dragon like Theian hunts, I knew I shouldn't keep arguing with him. Besides, right now it was time for something just as neat.

It was game time!

[animeboye]

New Dragon’s World Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Heading Out "Gah! What's your problem, Sarah?!" Titus exclaimed. "My problem?! What's yours?!" "What are you talking about?" Titus asked, not understanding why she was so mad. "I mean why are you being so mean to Rick?" Sarah explained. "Well…I…" Titus stuttered. "I…I just don't trust him. That's all."   Sarah sighed angrily. Just as she was about to speak, she noticed everyone looking at them. "We'll talk about this later. But I will tell you this: You be nice to Rick, Titus? Got it?! He helped me through the most painful part of my life." Sarah whispered. Sarah opened the door to Lucas' car and got in, riding shotgun. Everyone walked up to Titus, confused about what just happened. "Everything OK?" Ben asked. "Let's just go…" Titus said equally as angry as his wife. Titus and Lucas started their cars back up and drove away from the park, continuing their journey.  Sarah rode with Lucas this time, as did Rick. Sean and Tim both offered to ride with Titus, his parents and Drake so as to make room for Sarah and Rick. Titus kept a stern eye on the road, his anger swelling. "Dad, what's wrong with Mom?" Drake asked worriedly. Titus let out a long, bothered sigh. "Drake, your mom and I just had a little argument. Things will be okay. Alright, buddy?" Titus smiled. "You and mom aren't gonna get divorced?" Drake asked worriedly. "Of course not! I love your mom…and I love you, son." Drake nodded, smiling, reassuring himself things would be fine between his parents. Just then, he heard noises in the back of the car. He swore that he had heard something moving around amongst the luggage. He leaned over the seat, noticing that it was Crystal who was hiding in the back! "Crystal!!" Drake exclaimed. Crystal shushed Drake so as not to be found out. She rearranged all of the luggage so that it covered her entire body but left just enough room for her to breathe. "What's wrong, Drake?" Sean asked.

Everyone except for Titus looked at Drake. "Oh! I just remembered that Crystal wanted me to call her when we get to the next town!" Drake said, lying. "If you want Drake, I could give you my cell phone and you could call her now." Titus offered to his son. Drake shook his head and thanked his dad for the offer. He figured that once they got into the next town, he would ask Crystal everything. In the meantime, with little to nothing to do, Drake shut his eyes and slowly drifted off into sleep, as did Sean and Tim. For that time, the three friends slept together peacefully… Titus looked back at the three sleeping together and smiled as did his parents. For the next couple hours, no words were spoken…so not to wake them up. Several hours later, Drake awoke. He stretched and yawned as he looked outside. The scenery was different. Drake noticed that they had made it to the countryside. Everywhere he looked, it was nothing but fields. Fields that stretched as far as the eye could see. Drake looked on in awe, a smile on his face. He had never been to the country before. Even though there wasn't much to look at, Drake's childish wonder and excitement to see new places was enough to keep him interested. Shortly after, Sean and Tim woke up too. "Good morning, guys." Titus said. "Morning? It's almost dark." Sean corrected Titus, rubbing his weary eyes. Tim yawned and, likewise, rubbed the crust from his eyes. "Where are we, Uncle Titus?" He asked. "We're in the country, boys." He responded. The brothers looked out the window to catch a glimpse of the scenery. They watched as they passed by a barn. They looked at the passing rows of corn and the windmill that hung high into the air.   "I wonder if there's a town around here." Titus' mom asked. "Yeah…I don't even see a town coming up." Titus added. Just then, Titus began browsing through his CDs and came across a burned CD titled "Sunday's Best". "Hey, what do you guys say we listen to some music for the time being?" Titus asked. "Sweet! What're we gonna listen to, dad?" Drake asked, interested. Titus handed the disc to his son who read it out loud to himself. "Sunday's Best?" Drake asked. "Yep. I listened to these guys all the time back in high school. Sadly they were never too popular. Real shame too because they had some really awesome songs." Titus said. Drake gave the CD back to his father who put it into the disc drive. The first song that played was "The Californian". While the song played, Titus and Drake tapped their fingers to the beat of the song. After the song was over, the next song, "White Picket Fences" was just starting. As the song continued, Titus and the others came up to a small town. "Langesh".  It was a small, bustling place with a population of about 15,000.  The buildings and houses were all very old and small, the tallest of the buildings being the town hall which rested right in the middle of town. In the back of Titus' car, Tim started to squirm around a little. He whined and moaned as he put his hands near his midsection. "Hey, Tim, are you alright?" Drake asked. "You feeling sick, man?" Sean asked his brother with concern. "No." Tim whined. "I need to go potty!" As Tim's whines grew louder, Titus looked around for somewhere to stop. A restaurant, a gas station, anywhere. He came across a gas station and pulled in. Everyone got out of the car as Sean took his brother by the hand and walked over to their father's car, just as everyone else was getting out. "Hey, what's wrong, Tim?" Lucas kneeled down to his youngest son's level. "I need to use the bathroom!" Tim whined loudly. Lucas ran into the bathroom, holding Tim's hand as Sean went with them. In the meantime, Titus figured this would be a good time to get some gas and directions to the next town. Sarah and Rick got out of Lucas' car as they stretched. Rick went ahead as Sarah looked over to Titus, a look of anger on her face. Titus didn't understand how she could still be so angry at him. He walked over to Sarah, concerned and worried. "Can I talk to you?" Titus asked meekly. "If it's about how you don't trust Rick, I don't want to hear it." Sarah said. "Look, Sarah - -" "No, you look, Titus! I know Rick a lot better than you. I don't care if you don't like him, but dammit, you treat him like you would treat Lucas or Ben!" Sarah exclaimed. Titus just growled. A small fire building up in his throat. He tried to calm himself. He took a deep breath as a miniscule flame came out with it. "Alright. You know why I don't trust him? I just find it a little strange that you haven't seen him for twenty-odd years and all of a sudden, out of the blue he reappears in your life? That seems pretty suspicious to me." Titus explained. "Well…" Sarah was about to say. "Not only that, but what if you fall in love with him again?" Titus asked with worry. "Well I- - Wait, what?" Sarah asked, confused at what her husband meant. "What if you suddenly decide that you love Rick so much and would want to go back to him?" Sarah had a really confused look on her face. She couldn't believe what she just heard Titus say. She was surprised at how immature her husband sounded. "You're kidding, right?" Sarah asked, truly hoping Titus was kidding. "Titus, I DO love Rick! But I love him as an older brother. I never loved him romantically. Neither of us had that much of an attraction to one another! Go ask him! He'll say the same thing!" "And besides!" Sarah continued. "If I was in love with Rick, do you think I would have married you and had your child?!" At that moment, Titus started to feel like an idiot.  While he realized his hatred for Rick was misplaced, he still wasn't sure about how he really felt about him. Sarah went ahead and joined up with Rick, Ben, Jessie, Kyle and Jackie. In the meantime, Titus filled his car up.  As Titus filled his car with gas, Drake sat on the edge of the seat, the car door open as he looked around and waited for his dad to go inside the station so he and Crystal could talk. "Hey, Drake!" Crystal whispered. "Shhh! My dad's still out there!" Drake whispered back. "Say something, Drake?" Titus called out to his son. "No, Dad!" Drake answered. Titus put the pump back in its holder and went to join the others in the station. At that moment, Drake ran over to the back of the car and opened the trunk, helping Crystal out. She wore a light blue shirt with a dark green overall dress over it. Crystal stretched her sore arms and legs, at the same time flexing them to get the feeling of stiffness out. As soon as her limbs were feeling better, she hugged Drake tightly, happy to be there with her two best friends. Reluctant, Drake returned the hug, unsure if he was happy about Crystal being with him or upset. For a brief moment, the two just stared at each other without saying a word. Both Crystal and Drake had no idea of what to say to one another. "Hi, Drake." Crystal said to kick off the conversation. "Uhh…hi…" Drake said, rubbing the back of his head. "Hey…Crystal, what are you doing here?" Drake asked. "I just wanted to be with you and Sean!" Crystal exclaimed. Crystal continued. "And I wanted to tell you something." Lucas and his sons walked out of the bathroom when Sean saw Drake talking with Crystal. He couldn't believe what he was seeing! How was it that Crystal was here with them? He ran ahead of his dad and younger brother as Lucas and Tim went to join with Titus and the other adults. "Drake, when you told me you loved me, I - -" "Hey, guys!" Sean interrupted as he ran over to Crystal and Drake. Sean looked at Crystal, not believing it was really her. He simply stared right at her, as if she had something on her face. Crystal grew increasingly uncomfortable with Sean staring at her. To make sure it was really Crystal he was looking at, Sean pinched her cheeks to be sure. Crystal's feeling of uncomfort turned to annoyance as Sean continued pinching her cheeks. "Ow, Sean! Stop!" Crystal commanded. "Drake, this can't be Crystal! How'd she get here if it is?" Sean asked, still not convinced. "I AM Crystal, you idiot! Will you please stop pinching my face already?!" Crystal exclaimed angrily. "Oh, sorry!" Sean said, embarrassed. Crystal rubbed her cheeks, which had turned a slight red from Sean pinching them. "So how did you get here?" Sean asked. "I hid in the back of Drake's dad' s car like an hour before you guys left. I told my parents you were going on vacation and that your dad said I could come too, Drake." Crystal explained. "And they believed you?!" Drake and Sean said at the same time in amazement. Crystal nodded proudly. "You know, I'm really glad we're all together." Crystal said, smiling with glee. Sean nodded. "Me, too!" Drake nodded likewise. "Me, three!" The three friends gathered into a circle. Drake placed his hand in the center. Followed by Crystal placing hers on top of Drake's. And finally, Sean placing his hand on top of Crystal's. "No matter what! We'll always be together!" Drake exclaimed. The three cheered in agreement. Meanwhile in the gas station, Titus and his friends browsed the store's selection for some snacks. Tim browsed the store's selection of candy, picking out three of each of his favorite pieces of candy. When Lucas saw how much candy his son has picked out, he nearly had a heart attack as he saw Tim carrying the candy bars on his shirt like a tray. He told Tim he could only get two candy bars or he'd get a stomachache. Reluctant, Tim put most of the candy back until he had only two candy bars left. Lucas went over to Sarah, who he asked to keep an eye on Tim while he went to go fill up his car. As Drake, Sean, and Crystal talked with one another, they saw Lucas leaving the store and making his way towards them. Crystal ran behind Titus' car as Drake and Sean stood by the cars and talked together as of nothing was out of the ordinary. "Hi, Uncle Lucas!" Drake greeted. "Hello, Drake. What are you two doing out here?" Lucas asked. "We were just talking, dad." Sean smiled, beads of sweat trickling down his face. Lucas began to pump gas in his car as Drake and Sean peered over to the left of Titus' car to see Crystal hiding.  Then they peered back over to Lucas, still fixated on his car. They moved in front of Crystal, hoping Lucas wouldn't see her. Sean continued to watch his father filling up the car. A short time after Lucas was finished, Crystal was about to get back in the car, when they saw Lucas walking over to them. Drake and Sean's hearts began to race. They tried to help get Crystal back into the car as quickly as they could but it was too late. "Hey, boys, I'm going back in for a little bi- -" At that moment, Lucas caught sight of Crystal's leg just as she was climbing in. "Hey, who's…?" Inside the gas station, Titus was paying for the gas. "That'll be $40.00." The employee said. Titus reached for his wallet and pulled out two twenties. "Say, could you tell me how far it is from the next town?" Titus asked. "Well the closest town is about 25 miles from here. But if I were you, I wouldn't even go." The man said. "Why not?" "You haven't heard what happened up there?" "No.  Not a thing. Is there something we are supposed to know?" Titus asked. "Well this is just what I have heard but last night, the entire population…disappeared." The man explained. "Disappeared?" Titus asked. "Yep. They say not one person remains. I was thinking on going up there myself. See an old friend of mine. But I guess that won't be happening anytime soon…" Titus didn't even have to guess who was behind the town's disappearance. He knew right away who was behind it all. So…Titus thought…the dragons were finally setting their plans into motion. Titus knew they had little time left…but he had no idea just how little. The information he had received made Titus frantic with worry. At this very moment, the dragons could be collecting humans. "Sir, you said it's 25 miles from here? The town I mean?" Titus asked. "Yes, sir. Wait! You're not really gonna go up there, are you? What if whatever got the town gets you and your friends?!" "Well then we'll just have to fight it." Titus said with utmost confidence. "How?!" The man asked. Titus just smiled, not saying anything. Everyone got some snacks and beverages for the next leg of the ride to Death Valley. As soon as they paid and got ready to head out, they were stopped by the gas station employee. "Hang on a second!" He called out. "If you're dead set on going to that town, I'd suggest finding a place here to crash for the night. You don't know just what might be out there at a time like this and with the neighboring town's population up and missing, it never hurts to be safe, you know?" Titus nodded in agreement. And just as everyone was paying for their food, Lucas came running in. "Luke, you alright?" Titus asked. "Titus, you need to come out here for a sec." Lucas said. "What's going on? Is this town being attacked too?!" Titus asked once more. "No, it's not that bad but just come on!" Titus wondered what it was that had Lucas so riled up. While everyone else paid for their food and drinks, Titus and Lucas ran out to see what was the matter.

[animeboye]

Yeah, I know, I'm really late with this, but well, I've been working on it throughout all of 2024, taking breaks in between to work on other projects which will be added on here someday. This marks the first time I've ever drawn Titus along with his dragon family. A buddy of mine suggested that for when I publish this series, I give Titus a set of biological siblings along with his dragon parents, which I think should be a good idea. I'm not going to introduce them into the web novel right now since, as of writing this, the main series is nearing conclusion, so it'd be too late to properly bring them into the story, but they will make appearances in shorts that I've been writing for Dragon's World which I'll be uploading here eventually, so you'll get to know who Titus's brothers and sister are. From the top, we have Minasha on the left and Cerquil on the right. On the bottom row, we have Entol, the sand-colored dragon, Alkhia, the green dragon and only girl of the siblings, Titus himself, the main character of Dragon's World, and Dontrot, the darker blue dragon. These four all hatched from the same clutch of eggs, which, in their world, sees them as quadruplets. Something that is just as unusual in their world as it is in ours. The background I used was provided by Adobe. If I remembered where I found it, I'd provide a link to credit the original artist, but I don't. Sorry, but if the artist sees this pic, please let me know, provide me a link, and I'll credit you. Everything else was made by yours truly.

Anyway, hope 2024 was good for everyone, and I hope you like this pic. It took me a long time to get it finished, but I hope it was worth it. See you in 2025.

[animeboye]

Dragon's World Past Chapter 12

Chapter 12: No Home to Return to

Tourajé, Saulstrance, and Eig’nia returned home just as the sun in their world was beginning to set. They couldn’t have been happier to be back. This had been the longest amount of time that they were gone from their homes let alone their world. Eig’nia and Tourajé couldn’t wait to see their families again. They wondered how they’d react once they heard that their children saved both worlds. Wouldn’t they be surprised!

Eig’nia and Tourajé chose to accompany Saulstrance to their master’s fortress to inform him that they had returned. As badly as they wanted to see their parents and siblings, they figured that it could wait just a little bit longer.

“We’ve been gone for so long. It feels a little weird being back.” Said Tourajé, looking up into the sky.

“It does, doesn’t it? It was only a week but it feels like I’ve been gone forever.” Eig’nia added.

“We’ve never been gone from home for so long. It’s going to feel great seeing everyone. You guys will get to see your family…and I’ll get to see Master Léruc.” Smiled Saulstrance.

Eig’nia nodded. “Well then, what do you say we go report in to Master Léruc and go see our families?” The dragoness smiled.

Tourajé smiled back at his friend. “I’ll race you.” He said with a confident smile on his muzzle.

Laughing together, the three friends raced to their master’s fortress. Once there, they were surprised to see their families were already there waiting for them. Did they come to welcome them home or was there another reason for them being there?

Feeling overjoyed to be seeing their families after so long away, Eig’nia and Tourajé hurried over to their parents and siblings.

“Tourajé!!” Utzie exclaimed happily. He was about to run up to his big brother when his father stretched his front leg in front of him, preventing him from doing so.

Tourajé’s smile quickly faded when he saw this, changing to a look of confusion and worry. He looked at his and Eig’nia’s parents. Neither set of parents seemed particularly happy to see their offspring. Nervously, the two dragons approached their parents.

“Mom…dad, is everything okay?” Asked Eig’nia worriedly.

Eig’nia’s father gave a rather melancholic sigh. He glanced at his daughter with shame in his eyes and turned away from her.

“We…heard…about what you three did.” He said.

Saulstrance, Tourajé, and Eig’nia looked at each other puzzlingly. Could Eig’nia’s father have been talking about what happened with Raolef?

“Tourajé! Please, tell us what Lord Léruc said isn’t true! Please tell us you weren’t the ones who killed Lord Raolef!!” Tourajé’s mother pleaded desperately, sounding like she could start crying at any moment.

“Well…” Tourajé was unable to say anymore.

“So it’s true then…I…I cannot believe this.” Eig’nia’s mother said, horrified.

“Hang on!” Cried Saulstrance as he stepped forward. If his friends felt like they couldn’t explain themselves, then he would do it for them.

“We did what we had to because…because Lord Raolef was planning to launch an attack against the human world!” Saulstrance tried to explain.

“That’s preposterous!” Tourajé’s father exclaimed. “Of all the dragons, Lord Raolef would be the last one to want to attack the human realm!”

“But it’s true!” Saulstrance retorted. “Lord Léruc said he was going to attack the other world!”

The dragons’ parents and siblings couldn’t believe what they had just heard. As if it wasn’t bad enough that their own children had assassinated the Leader of a neighboring village, now they were pinning the blame on their own Leader and master.

Tourajé and Eig’nia’s families had nothing left to say to them. Distraught and filled with disbelief, Eig’nia’s parents and siblings brushed past her without so much as a look in her direction.

“Mom! Dad! Ruxie! Outol! Please wait!” Eig’nia begged desperately.

Her family stopped and she thought that maybe they would turn around and listen to what she had to say. Her father turned his head slightly. This brought a slight smile to Eig’nia’s muzzle. Perhaps they were going to listen after all.

“You have no right to call us that. You’re not our daughter anymore.” He said in the coldest voice Eig’nia had ever heard.

Her father’s words cut through the dragoness like butter. She felt a lump in her throat as though she was about to start crying any second. She lowered her head to the ground and began to silently sob to herself as her family walked away, not taking so much as a look back.

Tourajé’s family was the next to depart. His father walked over to him and unfurled his wings. Something fell to the ground. It was Tourajé’s sword. Tourajé’s father grabbed the sword and set it in front of his son. The two of them looked at each other for a moment before his father turned his back to him and said:

“Don’t come around our cave anymore.”

Tourajé watched as his family departed. Utzie looked back at his older brother with a sad, worried expression on his face. Tourajé looked away from his younger brother in shame. The dragon trembled as, just like his friend, tears streamed down his face.

“Tourajé…” Utzie said sadly. He had never seen his big brother cry before. Seeing this made Utzie feel sad too.  He wanted desperately to stay with his brother but his father forbade him from going anywhere near Tourajé. Reluctantly, Utzie followed his father’s orders. He looked back one last time as he and his parents left Tourajé behind.

In all the time he had known them, Saulstrance never saw his friends this way. Seeing them so sad, so broken, made him feel horrible. He wished there was something he could do for them. The question was: what could he do?

As his friends continued to cry to themselves, Saulstrance slowly approached them. He thought carefully of what to say to them. Especially in a time like this, he couldn’t say the wrong thing.

“Eig’nia… Tourajé…it’s okay.” He said softly. “I’m here if you—“

“Sure! It’s so easy for you to say it’s ‘okay’, Saulstrance! You don’t even have a family! You have no idea what this is like!!” Tourajé screamed, his eyes filled with rage and sorrow.

Eig’nia and Saulstrance gasped at the same time. Tourajé let out a gasp of his own shortly after.

“Oh my god...” Said Tourajé with a shocked, horrified look on his face once he realized what he had just said. “Saulstrance, I’m—“

With tears beginning to fill his own eyes, Saulstrance ran from his friends. Just as his master stepped out of his fortress to see what was going on, he noticed Saulstrance run past him into the fortress.

“What is going on out here?” Asked Léruc sternly.

Tourajé explained to his master what had just happened and what he said to Saulstrance. Léruc was shocked and saddened by this news. He took pity on his pupils and nuzzled against them as a means of showing his concern.

“I understand how you two must feel. But Tourajé, think of how you’ve made Saulstrance feel. He only wanted to help. He’s worried about you and Eig’nia.” Léruc said softly and sadly.

“I realize that, sir. I don’t have any excuse for what I said…” Said Tourajé, feeling ashamed of himself.

“You need to go and apologize to him posthaste.” Léruc commanded.

Tourajé agreed and the three of them walked together back into the fortress. They guessed that Saulstrance would  be in his room so they decided to head there first. Their guess was right as they noticed Saulstrance sitting on the ground, crying to himself, his back turned towards them. Seeing his friend like that made Tourajé feel even lower. He wondered how he could have even said what he did to Saulstrance. He had to make things right between the two of them. Slowly, he entered Saulstrance’s room.

“Saulstrance?” He asked.

Saulstrance didn’t answer him. He still sat there, sobbing to himself.

“Saulstrance.” Tourajé spoke a little louder.

Finally, Saulstrance turned to him, tears still filling his eyes. He looked at his friend with an angry yet sad look in his eyes.

Tourajé sighed. Saulstrance was really angry at Tourajé yet he couldn’t blame him for being angry.

“Saulstrance…I just wanted to…”

“LEAVE ME ALONE!! I HATE YOU!!” Saulstrance screamed at Tourajé.

His words pierced through Tourajé like an arrow. Tourajé didn’t attempt to say anything else to Saulstrance. Right now, there was nothing he could say that would make up for it.

“You think this is any easier for me, Tourajé? Ever since I was a hatchling, I wished I had a mom or dad, or a brother or sister like you guys. I wished I could know what it was like to have parents be proud of you or disappointed. To have an older brother or sister be there to protect you or to have a younger brother or sister look up to you.” Saulstrance said through his tears.

“Saulstrance…” Tourajé said, almost speechless. He knew how much being an orphan affected Saulstrance but it still hurt him to hear regardless.

“Now please…just leave me alone…” Saulstrance said in a tearful, defeated voice.

Tourajé’s finned ears and wings flattened. He turned away from Saulstrance, looking back just one final time, and exited his room. The young dragon looked at his friend and master, a saddened and unsure look on his face. With the way he had treated Saulstrance, Tourajé wondered if Saulstrance would ever want to be his friend again.

“He’ll come around.” Promised Léruc. “But for right now, perhaps it would be best to give Saulstrance some space.”

Tourajé looked down and nodded. Together with Eig’nia and Léruc, Tourajé walked away from Saulstrance’s room but not before looking back one final time.

As they walked down the hallway, Tourajé asked Eig’nia and Léruc what they think they should do considering that neither Tourajé or Eig’nia any longer had homes to return to.

“Just like Saulstrance, your parents will come around, and you will be able to return home. However, it will take some time. When something contradicts someone’s perception, they have a hard time believing it or choose not to.  Right now, your parents can’t bring themselves to believe Raolef would stage an attack on the human realm. But someday, they will open up to the truth. Until then, I’ll take care of you two just as I have with Saulstrance.” Léruc answered.

“Thank you sir.” Tourajé and Eig’nia said at the same time. The two of them were eternally grateful for their master’s kindness.

Léruc showed his pupils to their chambers. Here in these rooms they would stay until their families had come to accept the truth behind their actions. The two dragons thanked their master again. They felt slightly better knowing they still had someone looking out for them.

As night fell upon the dragon realm, Eig’nia and Tourajé were sitting in their rooms, thinking of everything that had happened. They wondered what they would do now. Raolef’s plans had been stopped but was everything really over? What if his apprentice or Champion planned to continue where their master left off?  Tourajé buried his head in between his front legs and tried to think of something else, something more hopeful. He thought of the day when he would be able to return to his family. Though he knew that day would most likely not be coming anytime soon, he still hoped it would.

In the meantime, Eig’nia stood up, deciding to take a walk. She walked down the hall, passing two guards on the way who asked her if she was okay. Eig’nia nodded, letting out a small sigh. They promised her that if she needed anything, they’d be there for her. The dragoness thanked them and continued on her way.

Continuing to walk through the fortress with no specific destination in mind, Eig’nia suddenly came up with an unusual idea: she would go and visit Agcro in the master’s jails. She wasn’t even sure herself why she would contemplate doing such a thing. Perhaps she just wanted someone to talk to and for whatever insane reason Agcro seemed like a good idea.

She made her way to the cell room and there he was: Agcro, still bound by his legs, his tail, and his neck. Agcro was surprised to see her. Since being imprisoned, his only guests had been the guards.

“Hello there, young dragoness. To what do I owe this visit?” Agcro asked sarcastically.

“I guess…I just needed someone to talk to. I’m sure you heard about what happened.” Said Eig’nia, sitting down in front of Agcro’s cell.

“That you and your friends killed the Leader, Raolef? Yes, I heard. News spreads quickly around Zalphonia. By now, I wouldn’t be surprised if all the dragons knew of your actions.”

Agcro shifted his head so that he was looking at Eig’nia. He had a sinister, proud smile on his muzzle.

“So tell me: how does it feel for you three to have become even worse criminals than I am?” Agcro asked, the smile on his muzzle growing wider.

This question infuriated Eig’nia. She glared at Agcro, baring her fangs.

“We are NOTHING like you. We didn’t kill innocent dragons like you have.” Eig’nia said in a very angry voice.

“A predictable response. Still whether or not he was innocent is irrelevant. He was still a Zalphonian Leader. To the dragons of our world, that makes you bad enough to be considered worse than me.” Agcro said, still smiling wickedly.

Eig’nia scoffed. She tried to calm herself as she realized she was letting Agcro get to her. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before continuing to speak with him.

“I do have to thank you and your friends however. Thanks to your little attack, my execution has been put on hold until further notice. So I get to enjoy being stuck in here, my limbs and neck bound, barely able to move.” Agcro said, his terrifying, toothy smile fading.

Eig’nia wasn’t sure if Agcro was truly thankful or was upset by it. At first he sounded like he truly was glad to have been left alive but his last words sounded as though he was either angry or annoyed at them. She couldn’t figure him out.

“Right now, you feel conflicted, don’t you? ‘Did I do the right thing? Will I ever get to see my family again? What will the rest of Zalphonia think of me’ the dragoness wonders.” Said Agcro.

As much as Eig’nia hated to admit it, Agcro was right. Those were exactly the things she was concerned about, especially the part about getting to see her family again. She knew they had to do it in order to protect both worlds but she just couldn’t help but feel as if there was another way.

“Our world might never forgive you or your friends. Even if they do come to terms with what Raolef had planned. Regardless, you and your friends ended his life and now you must live with that.”

Eig’nia thought it hypocritical of Agcro to be lecturing her on taking a life when he had taken so many other dragons’ lives without any sense of guilt or regret. Who was he to be telling her this? She felt that she was done talking to Agcro so without saying anything else, she stood up and began to make her way out.

“So you don’t wish to speak anymore? Very well. I’ll be here if you wish to talk with me again.” Said Agcro just as Eig’nia stepped out of the room.

Eig’nia made her way back to her room. She didn’t even know what possessed her to consider speaking with Agcro. Just thinking about some of the things he said and the way he seemed to be taking joy in tormenting her about what they did made her angry. Still, she had to admit to herself that he was right about one thing: the three of them did take Raolef’s life and whether or not he was good or evil, they would still have to live with what they had done. She just hoped that they would never have to resort to killing someone ever again.

Saulstrance, Tourajé, and Eig’nia didn’t speak to or see each other for the rest of the night. They also ate their dinner by themselves in their rooms. With everything that had happened, they decided it might be best to just let each other be alone for awhile.

Some time later, just as daybreak was beginning to set on Zalphonia, Tourajé awoke. He peeked into the hallway to see if any guards were coming by. To his relief, he didn’t spot a single guard. Quietly he walked through the fortress. Once he was outside, he unfurled his wings and flew into the sky.

A couple hours passed before Saulstrance and everyone else awoke. As both Eig’nia and Saulstrance stepped out of their rooms, they were met with frantic guards who alerted them that Léruc needed to see them as soon as possible and that it was an emergency. They knew this couldn’t be good. They hurried as quickly as they could to their master’s chambers where he was waiting for them.

“Master Léruc, is everything okay?” Saulstrance asked worriedly. Léruc shook his head.

“Wait a minute. Where is Tourajé?” Asked Eig’nia.

“That’s just it: none of the guards have reported seeing Tourajé since last night. They also claim he wasn’t in his room. All that was there was his sword.” Léruc exclaimed to his two pupils.

This deeply worried Saulstrance and Eig’nia. It wasn’t like Tourajé to just disappear without saying anything. Saulstrance thought back to everything that happened to Tourajé and Eig’nia and when he told Tourajé that he hated him. Could Tourajé have left on his own because he was planning to…

No! Saulstrance thought to himself. Tourajé would never consider something like that…would he? Saulstrance feared that what he said to Tourajé may have pushed him. He had to find Tourajé and quick. He just hoped that nothing bad had happened to him.

“Saulstrance and Eig’nia, I give you a new mission: locate Tourajé, and bring him back here. With the state of mind he was in yesterday, I don’t want to think about what he may be planning to do.” Léruc said with a saddened look on his face.

“Master, you don’t really believe that Tourajé would try and kill himself, do you?” Eig’nia asked, looking equally as sad at the prospect of such a thing.

“He might…” Saulstrance said, looking at the ground.

“Telling him I hate him last night didn’t help any. Maybe he feels like he doesn’t have anyone left.” Saulstrance guessed, feeling a tremendous wave of guilt wash over him.

Saulstrance told himself that this was no time to be feeling bad. He had no time to waste. He proceeded to rush out of the fortress as quickly as he could. All he could hope for right now was that Tourajé was okay.

[animeboye]

Dragon's World Past Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Dragons at Dinner

Saulstrance, Tourajé, and Eig’nia traveled through the portal in a hurry.

“Eig’nia!” Cried Saulstrance. “Is there anyone behind us?”

Eig’nia looked behind herself. She breathed a sigh of relief when she discovered that no one was following behind. She informed her friends that everything was fine. There was no one behind them. They too sighed in relief.

Shortly after, the exit appeared before them. With a blinding flash of light, the three friends found themselves in a very familiar setting: they were in the same forest where they first met Cyrus. The sun was just beginning to set, small beams of light poking through the wooded area. Pretty much everywhere else in the forest was dark.

The dragons changed into their human forms and journeyed through the woods as they made their way to Cyrus’ house. As they came out of the woods, Tourajé couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. However, although he still felt uneasy about taking Raolef’s life, there was something else now that was bothering him. It was something that Raolef said right before his passing: “I leave the rest to you…Zano and To…”

It was the last name that was bothering Tourajé. He wasn’t quite certain but he had a feeling he knew what the rest of that name was. He just hoped that for his sake, as well as Saulstrance’s and Eig’nia’s that he was wrong and that that name didn’t belong to the dragon he was thinking about.

“Hey! Tourajé” Saulstrance called to his friend.

“Huh?”

With his concentration having been broken, Tourajé found that he was falling far behind his friends who were standing before the exit to the woods. Tourajé apologized for falling behind and rushed over to his friends.

“Are you okay, Tourajé?” Asked Eig’nia.

“I’m fine. Just a little shaken up, that’s all.” Tourajé lied, trying his best not to make his friends worry too much.

Despite Tourajé’s reassurance, both dragons knew that there was something else going on with him. Concerned for his friend, Saulstrance asked Tourajé if he was sure he was okay. Tourajé said again that he was fine and that they didn’t need to worry about him. Although they were still obviously worried, Saulstrance and Eig’nia decided not to pester Tourajé about it anymore. If he didn’t want to talk about it then they felt that it wouldn’t be right of them to try to force him to tell them.

Cyrus’ village was only a mile away from them. Once they arrived, they immediately headed for Cyrus’ house, bidding hello to the villagers they passed, including Robert who, despite his old age, was able to defeat Tourajé in a sword wielding contest. The older man asked the three dragons turned humans how they had been and asked Tourajé if he had been practicing with his sword. Tourajé shook his head and explained that he hadn’t had time as of late. Robert, disappointed to hear that, still understood and urged Tourajé to practice when he got the chance. Tourajé assured him that he would and promised him that the next time they dueled, not only would it be a great rematch but he would win. Robert laughed heartily. He truly and deeply admired the young dragon-boy’s confidence.

Bidding farewell to each other, Robert, as well as Saulstrance and his friends parted ways as the latter continued to Cyrus’ house. Once there, Eig’nia knocked at the door. After a moment, Miranda came to the door. She was more than happy to see her fellow dragon kin again. Although she had seen Saulstrance only a few days ago, it had been a little while longer since she saw Tourajé and Eig’nia. She urged them to come in and get comfortable. She poured cups of water for the three of them and brought the cups over to the dragons who had taken their seats at her kitchen table. She sat down at the other side of the table across from them and as they proceeded to take a drink, she asked them what brought them back to her village so late in the day.

Saulstrance sighed. “We’re here because…we need to hide.”

“Hide? Who do you need to hide from?” Miranda gasped, caught off guard by what Saulstrance had told her.

“The followers of the Leader, Raolef.” Eig’nia explained.

“We, or more specifically, I…killed him.” Tourajé concluded, a tone of disappointment and regret in his voice.

Miranda didn’t understand. “Why? Why would you kill him? I mean, I didn’t live in the village that he was Leader of but from what I heard about him, he seemed like a fair and kind ruler.”

“We never really knew much about Raolef but according to our master Léruc, what you said wasn’t quite the case.” Eig’nia said, gripping her cup a little tighter.

The three dragons went on to explain what Léruc told them about Raolef: that he was planning to launch an attack against this world and that, while they weren’t sure just when the attack would commence, they couldn’t allow Raolef to go through with it. They snuck into his fortress, taking great care to avoid his guards, and attacked him. Just as they had finished what they were sent to do, they were discovered by Raolef’s guards, his Champion, and his apprentice. It was then that they fled to the human realm where they believed they would be able to hide for the time being.

Miranda was speechless. She hadn’t the slightest idea. While still confused and trying to make sense of what she was just told, she figured that if what they were telling her was true, then she should thank them for saving not just her, Cyrus, and Bill but also the entire world. In the time that she had spent in the human realm, she had truly come to love the world she called her home. It would have pained her deeply for something to happen to her friends and family.

“Oh! It looks like Cyrus and Thomas are back!” Miranda said, beaming as she saw her son and husband from out the window.

The door opened and Cyrus and his father stepped into their house. The two of them were both surprised and overjoyed to see Saulstrance, Tourajé, and Eig’nia had come to pay them a visit. Cyrus eagerly greeted his friends and asked them what brought them here so late in the day. Although the three dragons felt slightly annoyed that they would have to explain everything again, they still went ahead and told Cyrus and his dad the same thing they told his mom.

After having listened to the story, Cyrus and his father were just as surprised as his mother was. And just like his mother, while they weren’t sure how to respond to this information, they were still grateful to the three dragons for saving them and their world.

Both Saulstrance and Eig’nia blushed bashfully, looking away from Cyrus and his family. Tourajé, however, didn’t feel the same excitement and admiration that his friends were feeling. He rose from his chair and proceeded towards the door.

“Tourajé, where are you going?” Asked Eig’nia.

“I just need to get some air. I’ll be back in a moment.” Tourajé replied before shutting the door behind him.

The five of them looked at each other, unsure of what was bothering Tourajé.

“Is Tourajé okay?” Cyrus asked, concerned for his friend.

Saulstrance shook his head. “I don’t think so. He was like this when we arrived and for some reason, he wouldn’t tell us what was wrong.” He explained.

“Do you think it’s because he took Raolef’s life?” Asked Miranda theoretically.

Saulstrance and Eig’nia both believed that that was only part of it. While killing Raolef bothered them as well, they weren’t nearly as shaken up as Tourajé was. They believed there was something else that was bothering him. What that something was though, they couldn’t guess.

Cyrus wondered if it might be a good idea to go find Tourajé and see if he’s okay. Saulstrance decided against it. He believed that for right now, it might be best to just let Tourajé be. Perhaps being by himself was what Tourajé needed right now as both Saulstrance and Eig’nia believed that maybe it would allow him to clear his head. Then afterwards, maybe Tourajé would come clean with them and reveal what it was that’s been bothering him.

Night soon fell upon the village. All that could be heard were the sounds of the crickets chirping and the watermill’s wheel turning. Tourajé walked through the village, drinking the peacefulness in. It helped to quell his worries for that moment as he took in a deep breath and exhaled. Feeling less worried and anxious, Tourajé made his way back to Cyrus’ house where the half-dragon boy’s parents were finishing preparing dinner.

At Cyrus’ house, Cyrus and his friends were sitting at the table as his parents brought their dinner over to the table. The dinner consisted of two fish Cyrus and his dad caught the other day cut into several portions, three loaves of bread, and several large slices of ham. To drink, they were given cups of water. Just as they were placing the last bowl on the table, the door opened and Tourajé came into the house. Sighing with relief, he took his seat next to Saulstrance where he found his dinner ready and waiting for him.

“Are you feeling any better, Tourajé?” Cyrus asked his friend.

“Yes a lot. I just needed to clear my head. Walking around your village definitely helped with that.” Said Tourajé, smiling at Cyrus, showing the half-dragon he was grateful for his concern.

“Rather peaceful, isn’t it? That’s one reason I love living here.” Said Thomas as he sat down in his chair.

“It reminds me a lot of home. Every night is always so calm and quiet. It really helps wash away your worries.” Tourajé said.

Once everyone had sat down, they began to eat. This experience came as a surprise to the three dragons. Not only were they disguised as humans but they were eating as humans too. Aside from fish, they had never even seen the food that was presented in front of them. Saulstrance reached for a piece of bread. He held it in front of him, studying it for a bit. It didn’t feel like anything he had ever felt before. He held it up to his nose and sniffed it, finding no odor. Finally, he brought it to his mouth and bit into it. It didn’t have much taste to it but it was still able to overwhelm the dragon based on the factor that it was something completely new that he was eating. Saulstrance finished his loaf of bread and grabbed two more.

“Hey now, save some for the rest of us!” Thomas laughed, grabbing a slice for himself before Saulstrance could get it.

They all continued to eat until every single morsel of food had been cleared from the plates. Although it had just been dinner, Saulstrance, Tourajé, and Eig’nia found it to be a rather interesting experience. They hoped that maybe they might get to do it again sometime.

The dragons helped Cyrus and his parents clear the table. Afterwards, the four friends decided that, before bed, they’d go outside and watch the stars together.

As they lay in the grass, Cyrus put his arms behind his head and watched with his friends. Stars covered the entire sky and a big beautiful full moon shone down onto them. The four of them were transfixed on the sky, not uttering a single word as they laid there, soaking it all in.

Cyrus closed his eyes and sighed. With a smile on his face, he opened his eyes and turned and looked at his friends. He was happy to be with them. Although he loved life in his village and the human side of himself, he was glad he was getting to experience what it was like as a dragon. Before they came along, the only other dragon he knew was his own mother. He wondered if Eig’nia, Tourajé, and Saulstrance felt the same way about getting to experience being humans.

“Cyrus. Have you ever seen the rest of your world?” Saulstrance asked curiously.

“No. There’s a town a couple miles from here that my parents and I go to sometimes to buy stuff but other than that, I’ve never really seen the rest of the world.” Cyrus answered.

“Do you ever wonder what’s out there?” Eig’nia asked this time.

“Sometimes. I know there are cities that make the town I told you about look tiny and there are far, far, more people in those cities than there are here.” Explained Cyrus.

“No way!” Exclaimed Saulstrance in utter disbelief.

“It’s true!” Cyrus exclaimed as he jerked upwards and glanced down at Saulstrance.

One by one, Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé also sat up.

“ Do you ever want to see the rest of this world, Cyrus?” Tourajé asked.

Cyrus shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe someday. But for right now, I’m happy just living here. Because this is where my friends and family are.” The young half-dragon smiled.

Cyrus yawned and rubbed his eyes. He was beginning to grow drowsy. His yawning made the three dragons yawn as well. They had gotten so caught up in star gazing and talking that they hadn’t even noticed just how tired they were. The four of them decided to call it a night. Saulstrance and his friends knew that where they would be sleeping: it was the same bedroom they stayed in during their first visit to the human realm. They bid good night to Cyrus who wished them a good night back.

Entering the room, they saw the same to beds as before, waiting there for them. Saulstrance wondered which one he should take. Since there were only two of them that meant that he would either have to sleep with Tourajé or Eig’nia. Eventually, he decided to take the right bed but just before he could take more than a step, Eig’nia made her way over to the bed that Saulstrance had planned to take. He figured that maybe he would be sleeping with Eig’nia. Saulstrance didn’t see a problem with it. Eig’nia was just as good a friend as Tourajé. It didn’t matter to him whose bed he slept in so long as he actually got some sleep.

As Eig’nia climbed into bed, she saw Saulstrance approaching the bed she had claimed.

“Uhh, Saulstrance, no offense but I think it might be best if you sleep with Tourajé tonight.” Eig’nia said, feeling uncomfortable having a dragon sleeping in the same bed as her.

“Why can’t I sleep here?” Saulstrance asked, not understanding why she didn’t want him sleeping next to her.

“Because I’m a young, innocent dragoness!” Exclaimed Eig’nia.

As she turned her back to her friends to try and get some sleep, Saulstrance and Tourajé looked at her, not understanding what that was supposed to mean. Feeling unusually awkward after Eig’nia’s comment, Saulstrance went over to Tourajé’s bed and climbed under the blanket. Shortly thereafter, the three dragons fell asleep.

The next day, Cyrus awoke three and a half hours before his friends. After having breakfast, he asked his parents to let his friends know that he was going into the woods to practice flying. As soon as Saulstrance, Tourajé, and Eig’nia woke up, Cyrus’ parents informed them that he was in the woods practicing flying. Before Cyrus’ parents even got the chance to ask them if they wanted breakfast, they rushed out the door and headed after Cyrus.

In the woods, Cyrus sat on a log, panting. He had spent so long training almost nonstop that his wings were beginning to cramp. Cyrus thought about how badly he wanted to fly. He could already fly somewhat but he wanted to be better than just “somewhat”. He wanted to be good enough to fly with his friends and his mom. He wanted to be able to fly with them. Cyrus wasn’t about to give up though. He was going to keep practicing as hard as he could until he was good enough to fly like his mom, Saulstrance, Tourajé, and Eig’nia.

And as he thought about them, Saulstrance and the others came up behind him. Tourajé placed a hand on Cyrus’ shoulder startling the young half-dragon and snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Geez!” Said Cyrus breathless. “Don’t do that!”

Tourajé was just as startled as Cyrus. “Whoa! I’m sorry!” He exclaimed.

Cyrus sighed. “It’s alright.”

Saulstrance and the others sat down on some logs that were next to the one Cyrus was sitting on. Eig’nia asked Cyrus why he came here to practice flying. Cyrus explained to them that he wanted to teach himself to fly as well as they and his mom could. He might have had human blood but he also had the blood of a dragon coursing through his veins so, he figured, he should learn how to fly like a dragon.

“Is that the only reason?” Asked Tourajé, believing there was more to what Cyrus was saying than he was letting on.

“Well…the thing is…I also want to learn so that we can all fly together. But also because…I’m a little envious.” Cyrus explained, feeling a little ashamed to have said that.

“Envious of what? Us?” Eig’nia asked, not understanding what Cyrus meant.

“Yes! Of you guys and my mom! I can’t even fly half as good as you four can. My wings are just…not strong enough.” Cyrus said sadly.

Hearing this made Tourajé, Saulstrance, and Eig’nia feel sorry for their friend. They had no idea Cyrus felt this way. They wished there was something they could do for him.

“Maybe I’m just not supposed to fly…” Cyrus said in an even sadder voice. He sounded like he was almost on the verge of tears.

Saulstrance went up to his friend. He sat beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Cyrus…maybe you’ll fly someday…and maybe you won’t. But you shouldn’t try to fly just because we can. We’re us and you’re you. Don’t try to learn to fly for us. Learn to fly for yourself.” Saulstrance said, trying to help his friend.

“While we’re here, we’ll try to help you as much as we can, Cyrus.” Tourajé promised.

Saulstrance nodded in agreement. Eig’nia promised Cyrus that she would help too. Cyrus was deeply moved by his friends’ kindness. He smiled and thanked them from the bottom of his heart.

A week had passed since then. During each of those seven days, Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé would journey to the woods every afternoon with Cyrus to teach him to fly and there they would stay until it had become dark. Cyrus could tell his wings were growing a little stronger each day and the more he practiced, the farther and farther he would get from the ground. Eventually, he was able to fly above the forest, and ascend past the trees. He would fly higher and higher above the trees and he would realize that his wings weren’t tiring in the slightest. Cyrus was elated at this. He couldn’t believe how far he had come thanks to his friends.  It was such an incredible feeling being able to fly even higher than he ever could before and knowing that he had his friends there to help him out.

“Nice job, Cyrus! Now try to come back down!” He heard Tourajé call up to him.

Cyrus decreased his wing beats as he descended back into the forest. Being careful to avoid catching his wings on a tree branch, Cyrus eventually touched ground where he was met with praise from his friends who were almost as ecstatic as he was at the incredible amount of progress he had made in the past week.

“Very well done, Cyrus!” Tourajé said proudly. “Keep practicing and you’ll get better and better!”

“We knew you could do it!” Saulstrance said, smiling.

“You’ve really come a long way. How do you feel?” Asked Eig’nia.

“Really good actually. My wings don’t feel quite as tired as they used to get if I tried to fly that long AND I’m managing to fly over the forest!” Cyrus exclaimed, his smile growing ever wider.

The three dragons felt proud not just of Cyrus but of themselves for helping him. Just a week ago, Cyrus was deeply saddened at the prospect of never being able to fly. Now, he seemed like a completely different person. He was more confident, more happy. He seemed as though he thought he’d be able to do anything.

Just then, Tourajé’s tail began to move on its own. The four of them watched as Tourajé’s tail dug into the ground and wrote something. With the leaves covering the ground, it was a little hard to make out what it was writing but as Tourajé moved the leaves aside, the message became a bit clearer.

“TIME TO RETURN” his tail had written.

The three of them knew what this must have been: Master Léruc had somehow taken control of Tourajé’s tail to give them this message. They had been with Cyrus for so long that they were actually feeling a little disappointed that they had to leave now.  And, since they had been in human form for so long, they were starting to become somewhat used to living as humans would.

“I guess we have to go.” Eig’nia said a little disappointedly.

“Oh…” Said Cyrus, equally as disappointed.

Saulstrance opened a portal that would take them back home. Just as they were about to step through, they turned back to Cyrus, who was waving goodbye to them but with a slightly saddened look on his face.

“Don’t be sad, Cyrus. We’ll be back!” Eig’nia promised.

“I know you will. I guess I wish you could have stayed a little longer. Well, the next time you see me, my wings will be so strong, they’ll be stronger than all three of you combined.” Cyrus boasted, even though he knew such a feat was more than likely impossible.

Tourajé smiled at his friend’s declaration. Cyrus was reminding Tourajé of himself with that statement. The three of them thought that maybe Tourajé was beginning to rub off on Cyrus.

Looking back one final time, the three dragons bid farewell to Cyrus who bid farewell back to them. Once Saulstrance stepped through, the portal behind them closed, leaving Cyrus in the woods by himself. He smiled, thinking of how much progress he had made on his flying and how much of it was thanks to his friends. He promised not just them but himself as well that the next time they would meet, he would be an even better flyer!

[animeboye]

Dragon's World Past Chapter 10

Chapter 10:  Dragon’s Creed

As the three dragons prepared to set off, Léruc stepped out from his fortress to wish them luck. Saulstrance smiled and promised his master that they’d make it back. As the three friends opened their wings and prepared to take off, Léruc stopped them once more.

“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this but the fate of both worlds rests with you three. Should you fall, both worlds will fall into disarray.” Léruc said gravely.

“We understand sir. We promise we won’t let that happen.” Eig’nia said with determination in her voice.

“Very good.” The old dragon smiled at his students. “And Tourajé?”

“Sir?” Asked Tourajé.

“You want humans and dragons to be able to live together, correct? I desire the same thing. However, as long as Raolef and his aspirations still live, our goals won’t be met. Explained Léruc with a glum look on his face.

“I understand sir.” Tourajé said.

Saulstrance and his friends lifted off the ground and into the sky.  Tourajé predicted that it would most likely take them about two hours to reach Aanki. With that window of time he thought that it would be a good time to go over their master’s instructions once more before they reached the village.

“Understood? Remember, we can’t be seen once we’ve entered Raolef’s fortress. If we are, we won’t be able to fight against him, his guards, or his apprentice and Champion. Like Lord Léruc said: we need to be sneaky.” Tourajé instructed.

Saulstrance and Eig’nia nodded together, showing Tourajé that they understood. Eig’nia giggled a bit. Curious, Tourajé asked the dragoness what she found funny. Eig’nia explained to her friends that it wasn’t that she thought something was funny. She just thought that Tourajé, with how serious and mentorlike he could be, would make a pretty good Leader. Eig’nia also concluded by noting in a somewhat teasing fashion that Tourajé was kind of cute when he was like that. Her comment made Tourajé’s mouth drop open. He looked away, blushing in embarrassment. Eig’nia’s comment about Tourajé being “cute” didn’t sit too well with Saulstrance however.

“Hey! I can be cute too! AND I’d be just as good a Leader as Tourajé!” Protested Saulstrance jealously.

“Aww don’t worry Saulstrance! You don’t need to be jealous!” Teased Tourajé playfully.

“I—I’m not jealous! I just…I just think I’d be a good Leader too! That’s all!” Saulstrance stuttered.

“I think you would both make good Leaders.” Eig’nia smiled.

“But which one of us would be the better Leader?” Saulstrance asked, sounding as if he was starting to take it just a bit too personally.

Tourajé groaned. He told Saulstrance that he didn’t need to turn it into a contest. Eig’nia explained to the both of them that she believed they would both make good Leaders but for completely different reasons: Tourajé she believed would make a good Leader because of his strength and determination and Saulstrance because of his kindness and dedication towards his friends and others. Tourajé agreed with his friend. He believed that the features Eig’nia just described him and Saulstrance as having complimented each other very well. As she thought about it more, Eig’nia began to wonder out loud what traits she had that would be good for a Leader to have. She didn’t have to think about it for too long as her friends immediately told her what features they thought she had.

“You’ve always been very supportive.” Tourajé smiled.

Saulstrance agreed. “And you can be a pretty unconventional thinker. Remember how you beat Mayza during the exams ten years ago? I don’t think I would’ve thought of that.” The reddish orange scaled dragon laughed heartily.

Eig’nia smiled at her friends and thanked them. She was more than happy to have them in her life. No matter who became their master’s apprentice or became Leader, be it Saulstrance, Tourajé, or Eig’nia herself, she felt that she would be happy with the outcome no matter what.

After about an hour and a half, the three dragons arrived at the village of Aanki. There were a few dragons out and around, one flying overhead while two others drank from a small stream. There were also four hatchlings who were playing together, two of whom were rolling around together in a ball while the other two laughed and ran after their friends. Eig’nia smiled as she watched the four hatchlings playing. She thought they were pretty cute. Saulstrance looked around the small village. He noted that it didn’t seem all that different from his own village. It was just as peaceful and serene. Tourajé, in the meantime, looked around for Raolef’s fortress. He noticed what he deduced must have been the fortress poking over a plateau. He headed in that direction with Saulstrance and Eig’nia following behind him. As Eig’nia followed behind her friends, the two hatchlings that were rolling around crashed into her left front leg. They were broken out of their rolling around and lay spread out on the ground.

“Oww, oww…” The little dragon said to herself as she rubbed her front paw over her back leg, trying to soothe the pain.

“I’m so sorry!” Eig’nia said in a panic as she helped the little dragons up. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay now. That just hurt a little.” The young dragoness answered.

“I’m okay too!” The dragoness’ friend exclaimed.

“That’s good.” Eig’nia smiled.

“I’ve never seen you around here before. Are you from another village?” The young boy dragon asked.

Eig’nia nodded. She explained to them that she was from the village of Riotak as were her friends.

“We’ve never been to any of the other villages. Is yours far away?” The little dragoness asked.

Until now Eig’nia had never been to any of the other villages either. Considering how long it took them to get to Aanki, she would have had to say that it was pretty far.

While Eig’nia talked with the two hatchlings, their friends ran up next to them, asking them what they were doing. They explained that they were just talking with…and they paused. They realized they never asked the older dragoness her name.

“I’m Eig’nia.” Eig’nia introduced herself. “And what are your names?”

“My name is Minasha. This is Cerquil, Ontrix, and Angela.” Said the little dragoness, introducing herself and her friends.

Eig’nia was surprised when she heard the name of the last hatchling. Angela? That didn’t sound like a dragon’s name at all. Curious, Eig’nia asked Angela where her name came from. The small cerulean colored dragoness didn’t understand the older dragoness’ question. In a confused tone, she simply said that her name came from her parents. Eig’nia corrected her, explaining that she meant what made her parents choose to name her Angela. This was a story that Angela’s parents often told her: when they were younger, they used to journey to the human realm quite often. On one of their trips there, they met a kind old woman who was named Angela. This woman was the first and only human who Angela’s parents revealed their true selves to. With each consecutive visit to the human realm, they would teach Angela a bit about their world an in return, she taught the dragons about hers. One of the things she taught them was where her name came from. She explained that her parents followed what was known in their world as a religion and that a big part of this religion were beings called angels. Her parents named her Angela after these creatures because they wished for her to grow up to be as kind and as loving as the angels spoken of in stories. A few years after having met Angela, the old woman passed away.  In remembrance of her, they gave their first child her name.

Eig’nia found it very touching that this little dragoness’ parents would do that. She complimented Angela on her name, telling her she thought it was a very pretty name. This made the little dragoness grin.

“Thanks! My mom and dad said they once thought of naming me something else but they couldn’t remember what the name was.” Angela said.

Looking back towards her friends who had been waiting for her, Eig’nia quickly remembered they had something to do. She had gotten so caught up in talking with the hatchlings that the mission had completely slipped away from her. She bid farewell to the dragon children and went over to her friends. They continued on their path to Raolef’s fortress.

“They seemed like cute little hatchlings.” Said Saulstrance.

“They were.” Eig’nia said back with a smile. She looked back at the hatchlings one last time, noticing that they had gone back to playing.

“They remind me a bit of Utzie.” Said Tourajé, stopping and turning to the hatchlings.

Saulstrance and Eig’nia also turned around. It made them happy to see hatchlings like those four so happy and innocent. They didn’t know about what their Leader was planning and they didn’t have to deal with the inevitability that they would have to be the ones to end his life. Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and  Tourajé hoped that they’d never have to deal with the kind of things they were about to either.

“Hatchlings like them and my little brother are the major reasons why I want to see humans and dragons able to live together. So that they can learn and grow in two peaceful worlds.” Tourajé explained.

“And that’s why we’re going to stop Raolef and his plans. That way, we’ll be one step closer to helping you achieve your dream, Tourajé!” Smiled Saulstrance, a confident, determined look in his eyes.

“Thank you.” Tourajé smiled at his friend.

The three continued on their way to Raolef’s fortress. They walked for a short time, then flew into the sky high above the fortress so that Raolef’s guards wouldn’t see them. They circled over the fortress, observing the top. One guard stood atop the fortress, keeping a close eye out for any activity below. Getting past him was not going to be easy. They tried to think up a plan. Knocking him out probably was not the best option. What if one of the other guards were to come to speak with him and noticed him unconscious? That would raise alarm. They couldn’t just fight him either. The commotion would alert the others. Behind the guard on the ground there was a large wooden door with a round handle at the bottom. They wondered if they might be able to sneak past him and get in without him noticing. They quickly decided that that probably wouldn’t work either.

Just then, a blessing in disguise presented itself. The door opened as another guard emerged. The two guards talked for a second then together the two of them went back into the fortress. With the coast clear, the three friends descended. They landed in front of the door. Before opening, the three of them overheard the guards talking from inside. Their voices grew quieter and quieter until eventually, they couldn’t hear them anymore. This was their time to strike. Clenching the door handle in his mouth, Saulstrance pulled the door open. The three of them quickly hurried inside before the guards could take notice of anything suspicious.

It was pitch black inside. Saulstrance couldn’t even see his friends even though he knew they were right in front of him. Slowly, they crept down the steps, taking great care not to make the slightest wrong move. The stairway was long, it felt like it went on forever. What made it worse was that they still couldn’t see. They each kept a wing pressed against the wall to help guide them along. As they continued on, a feint glow made itself known to the dragons. There were several lit torches ahead of them. They just barely lit up the way. It was at this point that they decided to continue the rest of the way by flying. Slowly, they flapped their wings and raised themselves all the way up to the ceiling where they were once more obscured by darkness. They continued to slowly flap their wings as they moved along the ceiling.

Continuing further on, they were met with a slightly greater glow than the ones given off by the torches that hung on the walls by the stairs. They had come to a room occupied by three guards. There were several torches lit in different corners of the room. The guards lay in front of these torches.

One of the guards stretched his wings, yawning as he did so. The other guards yawned as well with one of them chastising the others for yawning as it was making him yawn too.

Eig’nia and Tourajé kept an eye on the guards as Saulstrance quickly looked around, trying to find a path for them to take. His work was soon done for him as another dragon came into the room.

“Courkin, Lord Raolef needs to see you.” The dragon said.

“Right now, Zano? I was just about to relax.” The dragon now identified as Courkin whined. “Let’s go, Courkin! If you don’t go see him right away, then that’s going to reflect badly on me!” Zano exclaimed.

Courkin sighed. He stood up and followed Zano. Saulstrance, Tourajé, and Eig’nia tailed the two dragons, expecting to be led straight to Raolef.

“I must say, Zano, the life of a Champion sounds pretty rough if you gotta take the fall for us.” Courkin said.

“It’s a small price to pay. Besides, you know Lord Raolef can be stern with us but it’s just because he expects us to give our best for him. Deep down, he is kind.” Explained Zano.

“I know he is. I just believe he should take it a bit easier on us. Especially on his Champion and his apprentice. You two have it rougher than us guards and the captain combined.” Said Courkin, sounding concerned.

“Maybe so, but that’s because, when Lord Raolef’s time as Leader comes to an end, one of us will take his place.” Zano said.

With the kind of plan Raolef had, his end as Leader would be coming sooner than later Tourajé thought to himself. Although all three dragons were determined to stop Raolef, Tourajé was the most determined out of all of them. After all, if they failed, both worlds would fall into disaster and he couldn’t let that happen.

They continued to follow Zano and Courkin for a time. Eventually, the two of them entered into another room. This room had to have been where Raolef was they thought. Sure enough, their hunches were confirmed as Zano spoke his master’s name, letting him know that he brought Zano with him. Raolef thanked his Champion and dismissed him. Saulstrance and his friends watched as Zano left the room and headed back in the direction he came from.

Saulstrance and the others couldn’t make out what Courkin and Raolef were talking about but they knew it must have been important as they had been taking a rather long time. Eig’nia wondered aloud if perhaps they were discussing their plans for the attack on the human realm. Saulstrance wasn’t sure but replied with a “maybe”.

They kept an eye on the room, anxiously waiting for them to step out. They continued to grow antsy. How much of an evil plan did an evil dragon really need to go over? Saulstrance couldn’t take anymore waiting. He was ready to rush into Raolef’s room and just take him and Courkin out. Before he could even make the attempt however, both Raolef and Courkin stepped out of the room. Raolef dismissed his guard and ordered him to return to his post.

“Yes sir.” Courkin said with a small nod.

As Courkin hurried back to his post, Raolef returned to his room. Once they were sure the coast was clear, the three dragons made their move. They quickly swooped into Raolef’s room and lowered to the ground. Raolef stood with his back turned to them.

“And who might you be?” The dragon asked.

“We’re the protégés of Lord Léruc. He sent us to put a stop to your plans.” Announced Saulstrance.

“My plans? What are you talking about?” Raolef asked.

“You don’t need to play dumb, Raolef. Our master told us you planned to launch an attack against the human realm.” Tourajé said in a somewhat angry tone.

Nothing was said for a moment. Then suddenly, a loud sigh came from Raolef. He swung around so that he was facing the three intruders.

“Is that what he told you? That I was going to attack the human realm?” Asked Raolef somewhat defensively.

Saulstrance and his friends didn’t respond.

“Listen to me. I have no desire to attack the world of the humans. You’ve been lied to.” Raolef said with a serious look in his eyes.

What Raolef said greatly angered Saulstrance. Who was this dragon to call Léruc, the dragon who took care of Saulstrance his whole life and raised him like his own child a “liar”?

Enraged at Raolef’s words, Saulstrance pounced only for Raolef to step back. He smacked Saulstrance in the face with his tail, knocking him off his feet and crashing into the wall. Tourajé and Eig’nia knew that wasn’t a good sign. They had to end this right away. Any more commotion would surely attract the attention of the guards, Champion, and apprentice.

The two of them charged at Raolef. As they attacked, Tourajé was yelling at himself internally. Why didn’t he just attack Raolef when his guard was down, when he didn’t expect them? He felt incredibly stupid. Unfortunately for Tourajé he was a bit too focused on his messing up. This allowed Raolef the opportunity to attack. He smashed into Tourajé, sending the younger dragon colliding into the same wall that Saulstrance had crashed into.

“Oh no…” Tourajé groaned. They were making far too much noise.

Both Saulstrance and Tourajé got back on their feet. They watched as Raolef continued on the offensive as he fought Eig’nia. The dragoness was just barely able to avoid his attacks.  Tourajé and Saulstrance knew they had to help her. The two of them both tried to quickly think up a plan. They had to put a stop to this. Everyone had surely been alerted by now. If Raolef’s guards as well as his Champion and apprentice got there before they completed what they were sent to do, then they would be done for. The three of them knew there was no way that they could take on so many dragons.

Just then, an idea came to Saulstrance. He whispered his plan into Tourajé’s finned ear.

“Hmm…” Tourajé thought to himself. “That might just work. Alright then. Let’s give it a try.”

Eig’nia was finding it harder and harder to avoid Raolef’s attacks. Eig’nia felt as though she was becoming more tired whereas Raolef didn’t seem as though he’d tire out anytime soon. The dragoness panted, trying to catch her breath. As she continuously slowed down, Raolef seized her neck in his jaws. He opened his wings, flew up, and crashed back down, smashing Eig’nia into the ground.  The dragoness lay by his feet, beaten and battered.

“I truly am sorry. But I can’t be killed here. I still have something I need to do. I don’t blame you or your friends. You’re young. Had you not followed Léruc, you three may have had a bright future ahead. “ Said Raolef, sounding surprisingly melancholic.

Just as he was about to move in to finish Eig’nia off, he felt something sharp go through his body. He coughed up some blood. Looking back, he saw Tourajé behind him. The younger dragon’s tail had gone through Raolef’s body and pierced his heart.

“N…N…no!” Raolef barely managed to say in a weak, sad voice.

Tourajé removed his tail from Raolef’s body. As the dragon fell to the ground and lay in a growing puddle of his blood, Tourajé watched, unsure if what he did was truly right. He wondered if there truly was no other way. Could they not have just locked Raolef up like they did Agcro? Did it really have to be…this? It seemed like such an easy decision to make at the moment but now he wasn’t so sure.

Saulstrance and Eig’nia also approached the dying dragon. As Raolef coughed up more blood, they also couldn’t help but wonder if what they did was right. Raolef had offended Saulstrance with what he said about Léruc but even then, Saulstrance still knew that wasn’t a reason to kill someone.

“Well, you got what you wanted. Are you hatchlings…happy?” Raolef said as it became more and more difficult for him to breathe.

They couldn’t answer him. The truth was…they didn’t even know themselves if they were.  They had stopped him from attacking the human realm but they just couldn’t help but feel that there might have been another way.

“In the end…I still don’t blame you three. You’re just…hatchlings. I lived a good life. I tried…to become smarter and stronger…I wanted…to devote…myself…to my village…no…my world.” Raolef said with tears in his eyes, yet sounding content…and at peace.

“I…leave the rest…to you…Zano…a…nd…To…” Before he could finish his sentence, Raolef passed.

The three dragons stood around Raolef’s body. Noticing that Raolef’s eyes were still open, Eig’nia put her paw over his eyes and closed them. They didn’t have anything to say about what had just happened. There was nothing they wanted to say about what happened.

Just then, they could hear commotion coming from out in the hallway. They couldn’t stick around any longer. They had to escape right away. Just as Eig’nia opened a portal for them and they were about to step through, the guards as well as Raolef’s Champion and his apprentice had come to see what was going on. None of them could believe what they were seeing. Their master, Lord Raolef…was gone…and they knew who it was that killed him.

“STOP THEM!!” The apprentice cried. “THEY KILLED LORD RAOLEF!! DON”T LET THEM GET AWAY!!!”  

As the guards charged at the assassins of their Leader, Saulstrance, Tourajé, and finally Eig’nia stepped through the portal. It closed before everyone in the room.

“Dammit! I’m sorry sirs, they got away!” The captain of Raolef’s guards said.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll hunt them down myself. And I will make them pay for what they did.” Raolef’s apprentice said, a terrifyingly angry look on his face.

[animeboye]

Dragon's World Past Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Revelations

Immediately upon returning to Léruc’s fortress, Agcro was escorted to a cell by Léruc and his guards. Inside the cell, there were six shackles bolted to the floor and they were used to bind Agcro’s back and front legs as well as his tail and neck.

As the door to Agcro’s cell was shut by Léruc’s guards, Léruc himself approached the cell. He glared at the sight of Agcro, less than enthusiastic to see him. Léruc couldn’t forget his five guards whose lives Agcro took. He returned Agcro’s glare with a glare of his own.

“Good to see you again, “Lord” Léruc. It makes me happy to see you still alive and kicking.” Agcro mocked.

“You watch what you say to Lord Léruc!” Said one of the guards, furious to hear this lowly criminal badmouthing his master.

Léruc tried to calm his guard, assuring him that it was alright. And so, the Leader took one step closer.

“I see that some things have changed since I escaped. The chains are a nice addition although I don’t much care for the one on my neck. It’s a little straining.” Agcro said, looking back at his left hind leg and shaking his chains a bit.

“I had my guards put those in all the cells to prevent anymore potential escapes. In some ways, your escape was actually a moment of inspiration for us.” Léruc explained.

“I suppose so.” Agcro singsonged. “So then, how many guards will you have watch me this time? Five, ten? Or heck, why not just have all of them watch me. Just have them sit right where you’re standing, watching my every move.”

But Léruc didn’t agree with Agcro’s ideas. He already knew what he was going to do with him.

“This time will be different, Agcro. This time, the story of The Carver will finally come to an end. However, there’s something I need you to do for me first.”

In his room, Saulstrance sat with Eig’nia. The others were taken to the resting chambers to recuperate. Eig’nia watched her friend as he pondered over everything that happened. He recalled how he strangled Agcro, very nearly taking his life in the process. Just thinking about that and the faces of his friends as a result made Saulstrance feel sad. He didn’t want to kill anyone, even if it was someone as horrible as Agcro. He knew that if his parents were still around, they wouldn’t want to see him become a killer.

“Saulstrance, are you okay?” Asked Eig’nia, showing concern for her friend.

Saulstrance nodded once. His mind was still preoccupied with what happened just a short time ago.

“Are you thinking about what happened with Agcro?” Eig’nia asked again.

“Yeah…” Saulstrance said breathlessly.

Eig’nia felt bad for Saulstrance. She knew that Saulstrance would never intentionally try to kill someone, be they human or dragon. Eig’nia knew he had a good heart and she believed Saulstrance knew that too, even if he didn’t think so at the moment. She tried to think of something to take his mind off of what happened. She decided to ask Saulstrance about his new power.

In an instant, Saulstrance’s mind changed focus onto trying to figure out this new power. What did it mean and how was it possible for him to have another ability he never knew of? He and Eig’nia thought about it together, passing around ideas. The ideas they had were that maybe one or both of Saulstrance’s parents possessed two powers so that’s how he had his two. They also entertained the idea that his parents might have only had one power each and he was just lucky to be born with both his parents’ powers.  Finally, they also theorized that maybe it had nothing to do with his parents at all. Perhaps Saulstrance was just a rare kind of dragon that was born with two abilities.

Saulstrance groaned in annoyance. He wished he knew for sure what was happening to him. If only his parents were still alive…maybe they’d be able to give him the answers he sought.

As Saulstrance and Eig’nia continued discussing everything that happened and that they learned, a guard entered Saulstrance’s room.

“Saulstrance and Eig’nia, Lord Léruc has summoned you. Will you please come with me?” The guard said.

“Sure.” Saulstrance said.

The two of them followed the guard to the cell room where Léruc and the rest of his guards waited for them. Saulstrance asked his master how Tourajé and the others were doing. Léruc informed his protégé that his friends were just fine and that they were resting soundly. Saulstrance was happy to hear that they were okay. He remembered that when they returned, Just about all of them except for Saulstrance and Eig’nia collapsed as soon as they made it to the entrance of their master’s fortress. He had been worried for all of them, especially Shashala. After all, Shashala was very nearly killed by Agcro and was out of it for the entire fight. He decided that he’d check on them after he was done speaking with Agcro. For now, it was time for Saulstrance to get from Agcro what he sought him out for: to hear from his own mouth the truth behind what happened to his parents.

“Well well, if it isn’t the little hatchling who beat me up and dragged me here. Who would’ve guessed that you were Léruc’s pet?” Agcro chortled.

Saulstrance said nothing. He scoffed at Agcro. The bound dragon noticed this. He could tell that Saulstrance couldn’t stand him and after what he did to him, very nearly killing him, he could say the feeling was mutual.

“So then, have you come to wish me goodbye before your “kind” and “wonderous” master forces me to depart for the great beyond?” Asked Agcro in a mocking kind of way.

“Not quite.” Saulstrance answered in a low tone, his already low tolerance towards Agcro dropping even lower.

“I want to hear from you the truth about what happened to my parents. My master told me that you were the one who killed them. Now I want to hear it from you and I want to know where they were and what you did with their bodies after you killed them.” Saulstrance ordered, his voice filled with anger and hate.

“Well I could tell you what happened. It’s just that I’ve killed so many dragons that any one of them could have been your parents. Give me their names and maybe I can help.” Agcro said.

Saulstrance didn’t know his parents’ real names. Seeing how both his mother and father worked under Lord Léruc, Saulstrance knew that he knew what their names were. He looked at his master, anxious to hear what his parents’ names were.

“Their names…were Malnya and Zangou.” Léruc answered.

“Malnya…and Zangou…” Saulstrance said to himself. He repeated his parents’ names to himself a couple times under his breath in an attempt to ensure he never forgot them.

“Yes Saulstrance. Malnya was your mother and Zangou your father.” Explained Léruc.

Hearing those names, Agcro spent a long while trying to recall if he ever killed any dragons by those names. Every single kill he remembered vividly as if it only happened yesterday. He remembered the names of all his victims and how they met their ends at his claws.

And yet, he couldn’t recall ever killing any dragons named Malnya or Zangou. He told Saulstrance and the others that those names didn’t ring a bell. Saulstrance, however, didn’t trust what Agcro was saying. He told Agcro that he better not be lying because he’d know if he was.

“I remember the names of every single dragon whose life I’d taken.  Every. Single. One. I don’t recall ever killing dragons by those names. Sorry to break it to you, but I’m not the dragon you’re looking for.” Agcro answered to Saulstrance’s assertions.

“Saulstrance…I know this might be hard to believe…but I think Agcro might actually be telling the truth.  Besides, with the way things are for him right now, I don’t think he’d really have a reason to lie to you.” Eig’nia said.

Could Agcro really have been telling the truth? Did he really not kill Saulstrance’s parents? Saulstrance thought to himself: if Agcro didn’t kill his parents, then could it be possible that…?

A small smile began to form on Saulstrance’s muzzle. Everyone around him took notice of this and asked him why he was smiling. His small smile suddenly becoming bigger, Saulstrance excitedly answered that if Agcro wasn’t responsible for killing his parents then maybe they were still alive. Léruc, however, wasn’t quite as hopeful.

“I’m not too sure, Saulstrance. A very reliable source informed me of what happened. Besides, even if they were still alive, where are they and why haven’t they come back for you?” Léruc asked skeptically.

Saulstrance didn’t quite know how to answer that. He figured that perhaps his parents had to do something really important and that they would come back for him later. At least, that’s what he wanted to believe. Until it was truly confirmed that his parents were dead, Saulstrance wanted to believe deep in his heart that they were still out there somewhere and that one day he would be reunited with them. Or, if it came down to it, he would search the entire human and dragon realms himself and wouldn’t stop until he found them.

Léruc dismissed his students. As they left the cell room, they overheard their master tell Agcro that he would be sentenced to execution in five days. Saulstrance didn’t like the idea that his actions would be the indirect cause of someone’s death but at the same time, he realized that if it were to make his world, his home a safer place, then maybe it was for the best.

The two young dragons decided to pay a visit to Tourajé, Mayza, Shashala, and Roasch and see how they were doing. So they made their way to the resting chambers where they found their friends fully rested and chatting and laughing amongst each other. It made the two of them very happy to see their friends doing better. They went over to their friends and sat down next to them.

“Hi everyone!” Saulstrance happily exclaimed.

“Hi, Saullie! You seem a lot happier than before. Did something happen?” Mayza asked.

Saulstrance explained what just happened to his friends. He told them that he just spoke with Agcro and when Saulstrance asked him for the truth about his parents, Agcro assured him that he never did anything to them. The others were a little skeptical on whether Agcro told Saulstrance the truth or not. They asked him how he could be sure Agcro didn’t lie to him. They also asked Saulstrance the very same question Léruc asked: if his parents were still alive, then why haven’t they come back for him? Just like before, Saulstrance was unable to come up with an answer. All he could say was the same thing he told Léruc: that he just didn’t want to give up like that and that he wanted to believe that his parents were still alive and out there somewhere.

Mayza lowered her head, nuzzling against Saulstrance. “I know you’ll find your parents someday. If you believe they’re alive, then I believe it too.” She said empathetically.

Roasch smiled and nodded.  “I agree with Mayza, Saulstrance. Your parents are still alive, and I’m sure they really miss you.”

Everyone else agreed with Roasch and Mayza. They said pretty much the same thing to Saulstrance. Saulstrance smiled at his friends. He was more than grateful for their kind words, thanking them and promising both himself and his friends that he wouldn’t give up until he found his mother and father.

And then Léruc stepped into the resting chambers with two of his guards behind him. He had a stern look on his face. He called Saulstrance’s name and walked towards him. Saulstrance knew he was in trouble. He knew that look and tone all too well. They were the same look and tone Léruc would use on Saulstrance when he was younger and had done something bad.

Now standing before his master, Saulstrance nervously looked away, only for Léruc to say his name once more. As Saulstrance’s eyes met his master’s, Léruc swung his tail, smacking Saulstrance across the face. The younger dragons all gasped at once and sat shocked for a short time.

“You FOOL!!” Léruc roared fiercely. “I told you last night that you were NOT to seek out Agcro. You disobeyed me Saulstrance. Not only did you disobey me but you put your life as well as the lives of your friends in danger with your actions.”

“I’m sorry sir!” Saulstrance pleaded. “I…I just had to hear the truth from him. I wanted to know from Agcro what he did to my parents.”

Léruc sighed exasperated. “Even still, what you did was reckless. You’re lucky that none of you wound up dead.”

His master’s scolding made Saulstrance feel ashamed of himself. He knew what he did might have been wrong and he knew this in the back of his mind ever since he went after Agcro. Even still however, he also knew that he did good as well: he caught the dragon realm’s most dangerous criminal and because of that, it seemed unlikely that he’d be able to get away again. He also believed that his master knew that too.

Léruc nuzzled his head against Saulstrance’s, his angered demeanor changing to a more worried one.

“I just don’t want anything to happen to you Saulstrance. If I lost you, my heart would be broken.” Said Léruc.

“You won’t lose me. I’m not going anywhere.” Saulstrance assured not the dragon he knew as his master but the dragon he knew as his adoptive father. He didn’t want Léruc to worry about him. He didn’t want any of them to worry.

Later that night, when everyone was well rested and ready to return home, Saulstrance and Léruc stood outside of the fortress with the others.

“Saulstrance, remember: if you ever need our help, we’ll be there for you.” Roasch smiled, placing one of his wings on Saulstrance’s back.

“I know.” Saulstrance smiled back.

Next, Mayza went up to Saulstrance.

“Saullie…I mean, Saulstrance, like I said, I know you’ll find your parents. Just keep believing that you will.” Mayza smiled compassionately.

“Thanks, Mayza. And don’t worry; I won’t stop believing until I finally get to see them again.” Saulstrance said.

After Mayza had finished, Shashala went up to Saulstrance. The two rivals looked at each other, noticing the determination in each others’ eyes. They stood still, just staring at each other for a minute before Shashala spoke.

“Saulstrance…” Shashala said. “…Grow stronger.” And with that, Shashala took his leave.

Everyone looked at Shashala as if he had just said something truly outlandish.

“’Grow stronger’? Shouldn’t you be saying that to him?” Mayza asked, referring to the fact that Saulstrance had beaten Shashala more times in combat than vice versa.

But Saulstrance didn’t take Shashala’s words as an offense. He knew that this was just Shashala’s way of saying good job. He knew that both of them would continue to become stronger but he also knew that he couldn’t let Shashala become stronger than him. After all, if he did, then Shashala’s win count would eventually pass up Saulstrance’s and he couldn’t let that happen.

Mayza and Roasch bid farewell to their friends and departed for home. As they disappeared into the night, Eig’nia and Tourajé turned towards their master and friend.

“Well, I think it’s about time we head home too. Our families are probably really worried about us.” Tourajé said.

“Yeah.” Eig’nia agreed. “Good night Saulstrance. Good night Lord Léruc.”

“Good night.” Saulstrance said to his friends.

As they watched the two dragons depart for home, eventually vanishing into the night themselves, Léruc placed a wing over his adopted son. The two dragons smiled at each other and went back inside. Since it had gotten so late, Saulstrance decided to turn in for the night. As he walked to his room, he smiled to himself, more than glad to know that his parents might actually be alive. He couldn’t wait for the day that he’d get to see them with his own eyes. Until that day came, he would continue to train under Léruc, growing smarter and stronger with each passing day.

Crawling into his nest, Saulstrance wished to himself for his parents to continue to watch over and guide him the same way his master…his adoptive father Léruc had been.

[animeboye]

Dragon's World Past Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Six Reunited

Tourajé and Eig’nia dashed out of their master’s fortress and raced back to the village. They hoped that they still had time and that Saulstrance hadn’t found Agcro yet. If he had…no. They couldn’t think about that now. Eig’nia and Tourajé had to keep their minds on the task at hand and that was to gather those three to help them find Saulstrance.

“Tourajé, are you sure this is a good idea?” Asked Eig’nia. “I can understand asking the other two but are you sure about asking him? Especially considering how many times he and Saulstrance have—“

“I know he and Saulstrance have had their differences but right now we need all the help we can get. Saulstrance will just have to deal with it.” Tourajé said, sounding serious and determined.

Back on top of the mountain, the scarred dragon studied the two younger dragons. He asked them again what they were doing all the way up here but they didn’t answer. Saulstrance gulped, his gaze fixated on the dragon he was certain was Agcro.

“Are you Agcro?” Saulstrance asked.

“Perhaps…perhaps not. Why do you wish to know?” The dragon retorted with both a cryptic response and a question of his own.

Shashala watched without saying anything. He wondered if this dragon who stood before them really was Agcro the Carver. If he truly was Agcro, then it wasn’t a good idea for him to be there. He started to back away slightly. Saulstrance noticed this. Shashala may have been his rival and at times annoying but Saulstrance didn’t want to get him anymore involved or even worse.

“I apologize. You hatchlings must not have heard me. I asked you why you wished to know who I was.” The dragon said in a condescending tone.

Neither of them answered. Saulstrance turned his attention from the mysterious dragon back to Shashala.

“Shashala, listen. I’m going to charge him. When I do, you take off and try to get as far away from here as you can, ok?” Saulstrance said, explaining his plan to his rival.

The other dragon couldn’t believe what he was just told. He knew that if this dragon was truly Agcro, then he had to get away as soon as possible but he didn’t need Saulstrance to tell him that. At that moment, pride got the better of Shashala. He shrugged off Saulstrance’s plan, a decision he knew in the back of his mind was stupid of him to make and told him that he’d stay and fight with him.

“Don’t be stupid, Shashala! We both know you won’t be able to beat him!” Saulstrance exclaimed.

“And you think you’ll be able to beat him by yourself?? Don’t try to be the hero Saulstrance. What makes you think you’ll stand a better chance on your own than if we fought together?” Asked Shashala, all the while mentally kicking himself and yelling at himself to just leave.

As Shashala and Saulstrance bickered back and forth at each other, the scarred dragon stood there and watched. With their guards down, now was the perfect time. It was time for him to kill.

“The two little dragons fight amongst each other. Their guards dropped. Allowing the Carver what will no doubt be an easy kill.” The dragon who had just claimed himself to be Agcro said softly to himself.

He lunged at the two fighting dragons and with his tail, seized Shashala by the throat. The Carver’s tail constricted around Shashala’s neck, cutting off his oxygen. A psychotic look appeared on the Carver’s face as he continued to strangle Shashala, bringing him to his knees as he tried his hardest to gasp for air. The scarred dragon turned to Saulstrance and flashed him a smile that brought a chill to Saulstrance.

“You asked if I was Agcro. Well boy, you would be correct. I am Agcro the Carver.” Introduced the dragon who had just confirmed his identity as Agcro.

It was just as Saulstrance had thought. This dragon was indeed Agcro. Now that he knew this for a fact, he was ready to make Agcro pay but not before getting the truth straight from him.

“If you’ll be so kind as to wait just right there, I’ll soon be finished with your friend. Then I’ll take care of you.” Agcro said as he continued to asphyxiate Shashala.

With the only thing on his mind being that he couldn’t let Shashala die, Saulstrance jumped at Agcro and bit into his tail. Agcro roared in pain as his tail uncoiled from around Shashala’s neck. Shashala dropped to the ground, barely conscious as he tried to get air into his lungs. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing Saulstrance with his mouth still wrapped around Agcro’s tail. Agcro was trying desperately to get Saulstrance off but to no avail.

“Let go you runt!!” Exclaimed Agcro.

But Saulstrance didn’t let go. He continued to hold on until eventually he drew blood from Agcro’s tail. Angered by this, Agcro headbutt Saulstrance which was finally enough to cause Saulstrance to let go.

Saulstrance staggered back, then proceeding to be smacked in the face by the very same tail he had just bitten into. Some of Agcro’s blood ended up on the side of Saulstrance’s muzzle. Regaining his composure, Saulstrance wasted no time in making sure Shashala was okay. He rushed to his side and called Shashala’s name a couple times. Finally, the dragon opened his eyes yet again and looked up at his rival. He couldn’t keep them open for long and passed out. Saulstrance breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Shashala was still alive.

Agcro roared in shock and anger, startling Saulstrance. He quickly swung around to see Agcro holding his tail in one paw as he winced in pain. His eyes bulged, his claws digging into the ground. The longer Agcro starred at his bleeding tail the angrier he became. He turned to Saulstrance, shaking violently as he held his tail in front of Saulstrance.

“Look at what you did! LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!!!!” Agcro roared at Saulstrance.

“What’s wrong? You like causing pain but you can’t take it?” Asked Saulstrance tauntingly as he prepared himself for a fight.

Agcro growled. He was absolutely furious. “I’ve changed my mind: I was going to save you for last but after what you just did to me, I’ll kill you first!”

Saulstrance wiped the blood from his muzzle and charged. A fireball shot from his throat, causing Agcro to jump out of the way. Agcro followed up by breathing ice on the ground. The ice spread towards Saulstrance, encasing his paws and trapping him. With this, Agcro raced toward his prey, readying himself for the kill. Saulstrance used his fire to melt the ice surrounding his feet. His attention having been on defrosting his paws, Agcro took this opportunity to grab Saulstrance by the neck with his tail just as he did Shashala. However, instead of choking Saulstrance, he used his tail to throw Saulstrance to the ground. As Saulstrance got back on his feet, he found them once again being incased in ice. Just like before, Saulstrance was ready to evaporate the ice with his fire breath but before he was able to breathe his fire, Agcro grasped his paw over Saulstrance’s muzzle.

“Not this time, little dragon. This time, I’m going to send you to see your parents. Then you can ask them yourself if I killed them. Now then, what did your friend say your name was? Saulstrance?” Said Agcro as he prepared to carve Saulstrance’s name into his stomach.

As Agcro brought his claws closer to Saulstrance’s stomach, he wrapped his tail around Saulstrance’s neck just as he did with Shashala. Saulstrance struggled to get free as he tried to think of something, anything to save himself. He didn’t know what he could do. His legs were frozen and he couldn’t exactly use his fire to free himself and with Agcro’s paw covering his muzzle, he wasn’t exactly able to bite him in order to get free. There was nothing he could do. His only potential hope lay with Shashala who was currently incapacitated. Saulstrance quickly realized that this may be it. At the very least, he’d be able to see his parents.

Just as Saulstrance had given up all hope, something smashed into Agcro, knocking him off his feet and removing Saulstrance from his grasp. Saulstrance fell to the ground and as he looked up at the figure who saved him, he realized who it was.

“Tourajé!!” Saulstrance exclaimed, happier than ever to see his friend.

Using his own fire breath, Tourajé evaporated the ice that bound his friend. Saulstrance smiled and nuzzled the side of his head against Tourajé’s. Saulstrance asked Tourajé what he was doing here but before the older dragon was able to answer, a voice called to them from the sky.

“Hey, don’t forget about us!!” Said a familiar voice.

Three more dragons descended, landing before Saulstrance and Tourajé, one of whom was Eig’nia. The other two were dragons Saulstrance hadn’t seen in a long time yet he was able to recognize them right away.

“Mayza?! Roasch?!” Exclaimed Saulstrance, surprised to see them.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Roasch said with a grin.

“Are you okay, Saullie?” Mayza asked, nuzzling against Saulstrance.

“Well, I’m…wait, ‘Saullie’?” Asked Saulstrance, confuddled by the nickname Mayza had given him.

Mayza giggled affectionately. Then she, Roasch, Tourajé, and Eig’nia looked around in an attempt to determine what had happened. When they turned around, they gasped in shock when they saw Shashala laying on the ground not moving. Everyone rushed over to him, calling his name in an attempt to wake him up. Slowly, Shashala’s eyes opened. Just like his rival, he was both surprised and grateful to see them. He smiled and thanked them in a weak voice. Saulstrance smiled back.

“You’ll be okay, Shashala. We’ll protect you. I promise.” Saulstrance said in an assuring voice.

“Ok, are you guys ready? We’ve got to beat this guy and protect Shashala. So let’s do it!” Tourajé exclaimed.

Tourajé, Roasch, and Mayza took to different corners of the sky while Saulstrance and Eig’nia remained on the ground. Agcro looked around at each of the five dragons, finding them amusing. He was looking forward to killing them.

“Four new victims had come to play. They thought they’d be able to beat The Carver but they were mistaken. It was a mistake that would cost them their lives.” Agcro said to himself.

Saulstrance and Eig’nia began by charging at Agcro. Saulstrance attempted to bite Agcro but was unable to as Agcro quickly stepped back which unbeknownst to him, was exactly what Saulstrance wanted him to do. Saulstrance leapt back and swung his tail. It smacked Agcro right in the face, sending him rolling back some feet. Not wanting to allow Agcro to get back on his feet, Eig’nia attacked next. She attempted to tackle Agcro but was stopped as a large block of ice shot out of his throat, hitting Eig’nia and sending her flying back. Before the dragoness could retaliate, Agcro launched himself up and slammed into her, sending her flying towards the edge of the mountain.

Before Agcro could try and finish Eig’nia, Tourajé, Mayza, and Roasch swooped down and tried to attack Agcro. One by one their attacks were blocked. They flew back into the sky, figuring that they would try another method.

Tourajé swooped down from the sky, once again attempting to attack Agcro. Just like before, Agcro blocked the younger dragon’s attack only this time, Agcro followed up with an attack of his own. He clenched his paw into a fist, hitting Tourajé in the snout then finished by slamming his tail over Tourajé’s head.

With Agcro’s attention on Tourajé, Roasch and Mayza used this opportunity to launch a surprise attack. The two dragons tucked their front and back legs in and spiraled downward, striking Agcro in the back. He roared in pain as he staggered forward then turned around and glared at the two dragons, growling loudly.

Eig’nia flew back over to where everyone else was and Tourajé returned to his feet. They all closed in on Agcro, knowing that if they all charged him at once, he wouldn’t be able to block all their attacks. They had him right where they wanted him…or so they thought.

Before they could attempt anything, Agcro breathed ice on the ground. It spread towards the five dragons and covered their paws. They weren’t worried as they were about to melt the ice with their fire, just as Saulstrance had done before. Agcro however knew they would attempt to melt his ice yet again. He ran towards them and smacked them all at once with his tail. He then proceeded to slam his head against Saulstrance’s, sending him crashing next to Shashala. Saulstrance’s paws were still encased in ice.

“Saulstrance!!” Tourajé exclaimed.

As Tourajé swung back around, he found Agcro’s face an inch from his, eyes wide and a wide crazed smile on his muzzle. Before Tourajé could react, Agcro used his ice breath to cover Tourajé’s head. Agcro continued this until his ice completely spread over Tourajé’s body. Eig’nia, Mayza, and Roasch watched this with horrified looks on their faces. Roasch, who was the closest to Tourajé was about to attempt to thaw him when Agcro used his power to cover him in ice as well.

The only ones who were left now were Mayza and Eig’nia. Saulstrance, whose paws were still encased in ice, watched helplessly as Agcro approached his friends. He melted the ice that covered his front paws and slowly tried to stand up. He found this hard to do however with his back paws still frozen over. Struggling to keep his balance, Saulstrance looked back at his paws and then over to the others. He watched as Agcro carefully observed Mayza and Eig’nia. He must have been deciding which one to freeze first. As soon as Agcro’s attention returned to Mayza, the dragoness jerked her head towards Eig’nia and used her own fire breath to free her.

“NO!” Agcro cried in anger.

Thanks to Mayza, Eig’nia was able to get free. She flew over to Saulstrance and melted the last chunks of ice that had trapped his paws. As he stood up, Saulstrance noticed as Agcro finished trapping Mayza in ice. He turned to them, visibly upset that Eig’nia had gotten free.

“One got away…But that’s okay. After all, if you don’t do something soon, your friends’ organs will freeze along with the rest of them and then they’ll truly die.” Agcro explained, smiling at the thought.

Seeing this dragon smile at the thought of his friends dying made Saulstrance angry. He had to free them but how could he do that and keep Agcro preoccupied at the same time? Then it hit him.

“Eig’nia.” Saulstrance whispered. “I’m going to try and distract Agcro. And while I do, you need to free Tourajé and the others. OK?”

Eig’nia nodded in understanding of her friend’s plan. She hoped that this plan of Saulstrance’s would work. Otherwise…no, she couldn’t think about that.

Saulstrance thought of how the best way would be to keep Agcro’s attention long enough so that Eig’nia could save everyone. He figured the best way to do it would be to make him mad. Saulstrance then wondered how he would do it. He contemplated hitting him with something such as a rock. The only problem being…there were no rocks around. He thought of what else he might be able to use and as he looked down, the answer hit him.

With his powerful claws, Saulstrance dug into the ground. After several attempts he was able to unearth the part of the ground he had been digging. Because he needed all four of his legs to be able to move, Saulstrance stored the dug up ground in his mouth. He and Eig’nia looked at each other one last time before setting the plan into motion.

First, Saulstrance charged at Agcro. He swung his tail at Agcro who opened his wings and flew over him. Saulstrance took to the sky as well. As the two dragons battled overhead, Eig’nia slowly and carefully approached her frozen friends.

“Don’t worry guys. I’ll have you out of there in no time.” She said to them.

As Saulstrance and Agcro flew past each other, Agcro noticed Eig’nia about to unfreeze her friends. The murderous dragon flew as fast as his wings could allow. Just as Eig’nia was about to begin melting the ice, Agcro crashed into her, knocking the both of them to the ground. As Agcro stood up, he turned to Eig’nia and said:

“I am not letting you ruin my work!!”

Agcro approached Eig’nia, ready to freeze her along with the others but before he could, Saulstrance crashed into Agcro, just as he had crashed into Eig’nia. This once more knocked Agcro off his feet and sent him flying a couple feet away. While Saulstrance was successful in saving his friend, the part of the ground he was carrying in his mouth had gotten stuck in his throat. He gagged, trying to spit it out. However, it was already too far down his throat. It moved further down, eventually dropping into his stomach. Once it was over, Saulstrance panted as he realized what happened: he had just swallowed the part of the ground he had dug up. A worrisome look appeared on his face. He wasn’t looking forward to when it would eventually come out.

Agcro once more returned to his feet and glared at Saulstrance and Eig’nia. As they prepared themselves for battle, another figure rose to his feet and wearily approached the dragons.

“Shashala!” Exclaimed Saulstrance, surprised to see him back on his feet.

“Saulstrance…you deal with Agcro…while Eig’nia and I set everyone free.” Shashala instructed.

“But Shashala, are you sure? I mean you…”

“You guys have all been fighting as hard as you can. I can’t just lay back and do nothing…So please, let me help you save them.” Shashala said with a truly determined look in his eyes.

Saulstrance could tell Shashala really wanted to do what he could despite what had happened to him earlier. Against his better judgment, he agreed to let Shashala help Eig’nia.

As Shashala and Eig’nia prepared to free their friends, Saulstrance ran towards Agcro. A blast of fire erupted from Saulstrance’s throat. Agcro’s wings unfolded as he flew into the sky, barely missing Saulstrance’s assault. Saulstrance also took to the sky as he fired another fireball at Agcro who dodged that one as well. Agcro retorted with a blast of ice. Saulstrance unleashed a mighty stream of fire, melting the ice in no time at all. He followed up with another fire stream meant for Agcro. Much to Saulstrance’s surprise, Agcro countered this with his own stream of fire. Saulstrance didn’t understand. How was it possible for a dragon to have two powers? He had never heard of such a thing before.

While Saulstrance tried to make sense of what he had just seen, Agcro used this to his advantage. With just a little more strength, his fire overpowered Saulstrance’s. It struck Saulstrance, sending him plummeting through the sky and crashing into the ground. As Saulstrance slowly regained his footing, Agcro dropped from the sky and body slammed into the younger dragon. Saulstrance roared in pain, eyes bulging as he collapsed once more to the ground.  

Agcro walked in front of Saulstrance. He looked down at him with a triumphant smirk. It was over. All that was left for Agcro to do now was carve his victim’s name into his stomach and then…

Saulstrance felt as Agcro’s tail moved under his neck. This caused him to launch himself right up. Without knowing it, something erupted from Saulstrance’s throat, hitting Agcro in his right eye, blinding him. Agcro roared as he fell backward and held a paw over his eye. Saulstrance wasn’t sure what just happened. He looked at the spot where Agcro was standing and noticed the dug up ground he was keeping in his mouth. It was on fire! Saulstrance wondered…could he have done that?

Still holding his paw over his right eye in intense pain, Agcro sat up, looking at Saulstrance angrily.

“That…So then, you’re just like me. You have another power too.” Agcro said, angry at Saulstrance yet curious at this new revelation.

“Another…power. What do you mean?” Asked Saulstrance, not understanding any of what Agcro had just said.

Agcro chuckled, amused. “Of course, it would seem your powers aren’t quite as contradictory to each other as mine are.”

None of what Agcro was saying made any sense to Saulstrance. What did Agcro mean that he had another power? Saulstrance thought that all dragons had only one power, either being able to breathe fire or something else. He had never heard of a dragon who had two powers before.

As Saulstrance and Agcro had been talking, Eig’nia and Shashala finished unfreezing the last of their friends. The sight of this made Agcro furious. Even with his blinded eye, he charged towards the five dragons in a blind rage. Before he could try to do anything though, Saulstrance flew over Agcro and body slammed into him, just as Agcro had done to him. As the two dragons wrestled, Saulstrance had managed to wrap his tail around Agcro’s neck. He strangled Agcro, who was gasping, trying to breathe. Saulstrance didn’t let up though. He kept strangling him, shaking in anger as his eyes widened and his teeth clenched.

The other five stood watching in shock. This was not the Saulstrance they knew. The Saulstrance they knew would never act like this. This was too much. Eig’nia walked up behind Saulstrance.

“Saulstrance!” That’s enough!” Eig’nia demanded.

Everyone else slowly walked up behind Eig’nia.

“Wasn’t the whole reason you came after him because you wanted to know the truth about what happened to your parents? If you kill him, then this was all for nothing!” Eig’nia exclaimed.

Slowly, Saulstrance began to regain his senses. He released his grasp on Agcro as the unconscious dragon fell to the ground. Panting heavily, Saulstrance tried to calm himself as he looked back at everyone. He half-expected everyone to have terrified looks on their faces after seeing him like that but what he saw instead were looks of sadness. Saulstrance sighed sadly and looked away, ashamed that he let them see him like that.

Eig’nia placed a wing on Saulstrance’s back in an attempt to show him empathy and understanding. Tourajé followed, placing his wing over Eig’nia’s. Then Mayza did the same, followed by Roasch and finally even Shashala. Saulstrance looked at them and then closed his eyes. He thought that after what he did, he didn’t deserve to have friends like them.

“I’m sorry…” Said Saulstrance softly.

With Agcro unconscious, they decided it might be best to take him back to Lord Léruc’s before he wakes up. Despite how weak they still were from their fight, it would take all six of them together to transport Agcro to their master’s fortress. As they journeyed back, Saulstrance tried to push what had happened with Agcro out of his mind for the time being and focus on what he sought out Agcro for in the first place: to hear from his own mouth the truth about what happened to his parents. Saulstrance wondered what Agcro would tell him as soon as he woke up.

[animeboye]

A Weird, Yet Cool Dream

I normally use this account for sharing stories (namely Dragon's World entries) and art, but in this case, I wanted to share a dream I had earlier this August with all of you. Strap in and enjoy. Taken from my DA journal, this is my weird, yet cool dream.

In the dream, I was younger, back in my teens, and I was starting at this weird school. The first part of the first day goes well, but then, just as it's about halfway over, I'm in photography class (I don't know why I'd be dreaming about taking a photography class since I've never taken one before) and our first assignment is to photograph our classmates so we can see what kind of monsters they are under their human disguises. The details of this assignment leave me shocked, because this means I've somehow ended up going to a school for kids who are actually monsters and this worries me because I start to fear that if I get photographed by one of my classmates and they find out I'm just a regular human, they might try to hurt me or even worse. So, before the school day comes to an end, I decide that I need to go talk to the principal and explain to him the truth about what I am. I don't recall the exact details on what I told him, but it led into him revealing to me that the school actually has a way to turn me into a monster so that I can fit in amongst the other kids without worry. He brings up a list on his computer and shows me what they have to choose from. Some of the choices I remember were vampires, werewolves, etc. but, of course, me being me, the one that caught my eye was dragon. I point to the dragon, telling him that's what I want to be...and that's where I woke up.

And sadly, that's as much as I experienced in the dream. I wish I could have gotten to witness more of this dream and see where it goes from there, maybe get to try out having a dragon form, but unless I somehow have a part two to this dream, this will probably be all I get. I might consider making it into a story, but if I do, it won't be for a while since I still have plenty of others to finish up first such as Dragon's World. I'd like to know what you think, if that might be a cool idea for an actual story. Perhaps I could try to expand on the dream.

[animeboye]

Dragon's World Past Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Tracking a Killer

Night fell upon the dragon realm when the three dragons returned. Before returning home, Eig’nia and Tourajé went with Saulstrance to report to their master on their time spent in the human realm. Once at their master’s lair, they entered his chambers where he eagerly welcomed them back.

“So how was the human realm?” Asked Léruc, interested to hear what his students had to say.

They proceeded to tell their master everything they had experienced while in the human realm. Although they did mention that they had stayed with a family, they remembered their word to Cyrus’ mom and left out the parts of her being a dragon and Cyrus a half-dragon. When they got to the part about Tourajé entering a contest, he excitedly held up his tail which was holding his sword. He brought it up to Léruc and set it at his feet. The older dragon grabbed the sword in his talons and studied it. As he examined the craftsmanship of the blade, he noticed that Tourajé’s name had been carved into the sword. Léruc smiled as soon as he noticed this.

“Here you go, Tourajé. You should be proud. Take good care of that sword.” Said Léruc, handing the sword back to his student.

“I will sir. Thank you.” Tourajé bowed respectfully.

“Now then, you three must be pretty tired. Go on home and get some sleep. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Léruc said.

Eig’nia and Tourajé bid farewell to their friend and master and set off for home. Once they reached their respective families’ caves, they found their families waiting for them. They were eager to hear what Eig’nia and Tourajé did during their time in the human realm.

The two of them shared what had happened with their parents and siblings and Tourajé presented his new sword to his family. While his parents found their son’s sword interesting, his younger brother, Utzie was the most excited about it. He begged his older brother to let him hold it. Tourajé, who was never one to turn down his little brother, handed the sword to the little dragon, instructing him to be very careful with it. Utzie held the sword with his tail and tried to swing it around a few times but found it difficult to do so being not much bigger than the sword. With a startled yell, he fell face forward, dropping the sword in the process. Tourajé helped his younger brother back onto his feet and took his sword. He placed it by the side of his nest.

Eig’nia and Tourajé wished their families goodnight and dropped down in their nests. Shortly after they fell asleep. At that same time, Saulstrance was also preparing for bed. He walked to his room, passing one of his master’s guards.

“Hi there Saulstrance. How was the human realm?” The guard asked.

“It was interesting. I hope I’ll get to see more of it.” Saulstrance answered.

The guard smiled. “You know Saulstrance, you remind me so much of your father. You look just like him…and you both talk so much alike.”

Saulstrance was shocked by the mention of his father. How did this guard know him?

“You…you knew my father?” Saulstrance said surprised.

“Indeed I did. In fact, your father used to be the captain of Lord Léruc’s guards.”

Saulstrance’s surprise continued to grow. He couldn’t believe that his own dad used to be the captain of his master’s guards. He wondered if his father was the captain then why didn’t Lord Léruc ever tell him?

Saulstrance noticed a sudden look of sadness on the guard’s face. “He was a great leader. We all looked up to him, your mother especially.”

“My mother?” Saulstrance asked, surprised by the mention of her.

The guard nodded. “Your mother was Lord Léruc’s aide. She was a kind and beautiful dragoness. She was very devoted to her job and your father. What happened to them was…tragic.” The guard said with a sorrowful look on his face.

Saulstrance’s heart sunk. What did he mean “what happened to them” and why was it tragic? Immediately, Saulstrance deduced that the guard meant his parents were…

“Wait. When you say ‘what happened to them was tragic’, you don’t mean…” Saulstrance asked nervously, even though he was already certain he knew the answer.

“Now Saulstrance, this is based off only what we’ve been told but according to Lord Léruc, your parents were victims of Agcro the Carver. Apparently, they were attacked right after you were laid.” The guard explained.

Normally, Saulstrance would have been upset upon hearing of his parents’ deaths but he was actually more surprised than anything. He never knew anything about his parents and would always wonder just who they really were. However, even though he was told that they were supposedly killed by this “Agcro”, that wasn’t good enough for Saulstrance. He needed to hear the truth straight from Agcro’s mouth and to do that, he needed to find him.

“Agcro the Carver…do you know where he is now?” Asked Saulstrance.

“I…I’m sorry Saulstrance. I’ve already said too much. Go to sleep and try to forget everything I told you about Agcro.” The guard said in a panic, quickly walking away soon after.

Saulstrance did as the guard said and went to bed. However, he wasn’t about to forget what he was just told. He finally had a lead on his parents and he knew he needed to follow that lead. It didn’t matter to Saulstrance if Agcro was dangerous or not. Even though he now knew his parents were gone, if he could find out from Agcro just what he did to them, then Saulstrance felt as though he’d be able to move on.

The next day, Saulstrance met with Eig’nia and Tourajé outside their master’s fortress. He explained to them everything he learned last night and what his plans were. Neither Tourajé or Eig’nia had heard of Agcro so they eagerly agreed to help their friend find out the truth behind his parents’ deaths. Saulstrance told them that before they put the plan into motion, he had to let Lord Léruc know what he was planning to do. He declared that their search for Agcro would start tomorrow at the same time.

That night, as Tourajé and Eig’nia were eating with their families, they shared with them that they were going to help Saulstrance go after Agcro. At the mention of Agcro’s name, their parents stopped eating and looked at them with shocked looks on their faces. While Eig’nia’s older siblings had heard of Agcro, Tourajé ‘s little brother Utzie hadn’t. He watched awkwardly as everything went deafly silent.

Their parents couldn’t believe what their children had just said to them. They had hoped they would never learn of that dragon and believed it would be better if their children never found out about him. Unfortunately for them, that had changed. Since they now knew Agcro’s name, their parents decided that they might as well explain to them who Agcro was.

At the same time, Saulstrance and Léruc ate together in what Léruc called “The Feeding Chamber”. Just like his friends, Saulstrance explained to his master that he learned of Agcro and that he killed his parents. He told Léruc that tomorrow, he was going to go after Agcro so that he could hear the truth from Agcro’s own mouth. After Saulstrance finished sharing his plans, Léruc turned to Saulstrance in shock.

“You will do no such thing!!” Thundered Léruc, his voice echoing throughout the room.

Some of Léruc’s guards rushed in as soon as they heard their master shouting to find out what was wrong. They stood by the entrance and watched as Léruc and Saulstrance stared directly into each others’ eyes. Suddenly, Léruc entered into a coughing fit. His guards rushed over to him to make sure he was okay.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” Léruc said as he stood back up.

As soon as Léruc regained his composure, he returned to his feet and looked directly at Saulstrance. The younger dragon noted the severely serious look in his master’s eyes.

“Saulstrance, listen to me and listen good: you are NOT to go after Agcro, do I make myself clear?” Asked Léruc sternly.

“Master, did you know this whole time?” Saulstrance asked suspiciously.

“Saulstrance, do I make myself clear? You may not go after Agcro.”

“PLEASE! TELL ME!!” Saulstrance pleaded.

Things went quiet for a time in which neither Saulstrance, Léruc, or Léruc’s guards said anything. Léruc finally broke the silence with a defeated sigh. He sat down across from Saulstrance but before Léruc spoke to him, he turned to his guards.

“You may leave now. Tell the other guards that I will be speaking with each of you until I find out who told Saulstrance about his parents.” Léruc commanded.

The guards departed from the room, leaving the two dragons. Léruc turned his attention back to Saulstrance. The older dragon’s fixated gaze made Saulstrance feel uneasy.

“Sir, why did you never tell me the truth?” Saulstrance asked.

“It was…in order to protect you. I feared that, should you find out, you would most likely try to get revenge.” Explained Léruc.

“Even still…now that I know the truth, you can’t really expect me to just do nothing!” Saulstrance exclaimed. This marked the first time in his life that Saulstrance had ever raised his voice to his master.

“THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I EXPECT YOU TO DO!!!”   Léruc exclaimed even louder than Saulstrance.

Saulstrance flinched. Intimidated, he looked away, shivering a little from his master’s shouting.

“You don’t have ANY idea who Agcro is, do you?” Léruc asked, his eyes bulging from their sockets, looking as though they might pop out at any second.

Saulstrance didn’t answer. He looked down, too scared to look at his master. Léruc noticed his pupil’s meekness but continued on anyway.

“Agcro is…more of a monster than a dragon. It is said that he has killed more than twenty-five dragons. It didn’t matter if they were hatchlings or elder dragons. If he found a suitable victim, he’d kill them.” Léruc explained.

Saulstrance cringed. He had never heard of a dragon killing old or young dragons for fun. In fact, he never heard of a dragon killing another dragon ever. How could anyone do something so terrible he thought to himself.

Léruc continued to tell Saulstrance about Agcro. He hoped that telling Saulstrance more of what Agcro had done might be enough to change Saulstrance’s mind about going after him.

“Saulstrance, if you know about Agcro, then I assume that you know of his nickname ‘The Carver’. Do you know why he gained that name?” Asked Léruc.

Saulstrance looked up at his mentor and shook his head. The guard he talked with last night made mention of Agcro’s nickname but Saulstrance didn’t think to ask what it meant.

“Just before Agcro kills someone, he asks them their name. And after they’ve died, he carves the victims’ names into their stomachs. This trademark has earned him the nickname, ‘The Carver’ amongst our kind.”  Léruc continued to explain.

His master’s explanation of Agcro made Saulstrance feel a little ill. Ever since he was little, he always believed that his world was a peaceful one. He never would have imagined that such a cruel creature resided within it. Even then, he still needed to hear what happened from Agcro himself. Saulstrance felt that he would never truly be able to move on until he confronted Agcro for himself.

“Long ago, my guards managed to capture Agcro. However, despite this, five of them lost their lives trying to catch him. For me, that was…one of the biggest mistakes I had ever made. I didn’t want to allow something like him to exist in this world so I sentenced him to execution. Any regular dragon would have been scared out of their minds knowing they were about to die. Not Agcro however. After I told him, he just smiled as if welcoming it. That twisted smile on that scarred muzzle of his is something I’ll never forget. To further add insult to injury, just moments before execution, Agcro killed the guard who was assigned to watch him and made his escape. Let me tell you Saulstrance: Agcro’s escape, along with the deaths of those six has haunted me since that day. That’s why I’ve never sent any guards after him since then. I can’t bear the thought of losing anyone else I care about.” Léruc concluded his story.

“But if you haven’t sent your guards after him since, couldn’t Agcro still be out there somewhere killing more dragons? Or…do you think one of the Leaders’ guards caught him?” Saulstrance asked.

“I would assume the second option is the most likely one. Ever since your parents were killed by him, all reports of his activity had ceased. That would suggest one of three things: 1.He’s been captured by one of the other Leaders and possibly executed. 2. He’s hiding out somewhere in the human realm. Or 3. He’s dead.” Answered Léruc.

Although Saulstrance knew that Agcro’s death would be a good thing for dragons and possibly even humans, deep down he hoped that Agcro was alive so he could make him pay for killing his parents. Saulstrance then realized that even if Agcro was still alive, he wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for him and all he knew about Agcro, other than his nickname and real name, was that he had a scar on his muzzle. That wasn’t enough information. He needed to find out more about him.

After his master had gone to sleep, Saulstrance snuck into the library. There, he searched through Léruc’s archives, hoping to find something about Agcro. He read through several scrolls, hoping that one of them would tell him something. After searching through seven scrolls, he found one that contained information on Agcro. Saulstrance read it to himself:

“Name: Agcro. Age: Unknown. Village: Unknown. Scales: gray. Eyes: red. Agcro has been sentenced to death for the deaths of twenty-five dragons, dragonesses, and hatchlings. Notable features include a scar on the left side of muzzle and crimson claws on front paws while back claws are white. Claims they were stained by the blood of his victims.”

This was just what Saulstrance needed. While he still didn’t know precisely where to look, he at least had an idea of what Agcro looked like. He folded the scroll up once more and inserted it into his throat as it traveled down into his body. If Saulstrance was going to find Agcro, he’d need that scroll to help him.

He snuck out of his master’s fortress and took to flight in the cold morning air. Saulstrance was ready to search all of his world and the human world if he needed to. As he flew, Saulstrance didn’t notice that a familiar face had caught sight of him. This familiar dragon took to the air and followed behind Saulstrance, curious as to where he was going.

Hours later, Léruc awoke to unsettling news from one of his guards: both Saulstrance and the scroll containing Agcro’s information had disappeared. Léruc realized right away what had happened: Saulstrance had taken the scroll with him and set out to find Agcro on his own. While this angered Léruc, he was more disappointed in his pupil than anything else. Disappointed that Saulstrance was so desperate to hear the truth from Agcro that he’d go so far as to steal from him. As he bolted out of bed and rushed out of his room, he called for his guards and ordered them to summon Eig’nia and Tourajé.

A short time later, Eig’nia and Tourajé appeared before their master. Still sleepy, they yawned and rubbed their eyes. Léruc briefed them on what happened.

“Think of this as your first true mission.” Said Léruc. “Find Saulstrance and bring him back here before he finds Agcro. The chances of him finding Agcro are very slim but in the off shot that he does, he won’t stand a chance.”

“We understand sir. But, Agcro is as dangerous as you say, it might be best to get some extra help.” Said Tourajé.

“That is true…It sounds as though you already have someone in mind, Tourajé?” Asked Léruc curiously.

“I do. Well, actually I have three dragons in mind.”

As that was going on, Saulstrance was walking through a dragon village. He kept an eye out for any dragon that matched Agcro’s description. Some of the dragons he came across did have gray scales and red eyes and some even had red claws however none of them had a scar going across their muzzles.

Saulstrance sighed and flew up to the top of a mountain where he laid down, his wings stretched out over him. He sighed. Agcro must not be here he thought to himself. That just left him the rest of the dragon realm to search…and possibly the human realm too. Saulstrance whined to himself, not liking the idea of having to search all throughout his world and the other world.

Just then, he heard someone calling his name. Looking up into the sky, he watched as the dragon descended, landing right before him. As he looked up, he realized right away who this dragon was.

“Shashala!” Saulstrance exclaimed, surprised and, for once, glad to see him.

“What are you doing?” Shashala asked.

Saulstrance sat up and explained to the other dragon everything that he had learnt about his parents. He mentioned that he had set out to try and find Agcro so he could hear the truth from Agcro’s own mouth. Then all of a sudden, Saulstrance thought of something: what exactly was Shashala doing here? When he presented the question to Shashala, the other dragon explained that he had been following Saulstrance for the past couple of hours, curious as to where he was going. Shashala’s first thought was that maybe Saulstrance was secretly seeing another teacher to help train Saulstrance to beat him. He explained that that was why he followed Saulstrance: so that he could find out what kind of things Saulstrance was learning so he could apply Saulstrance’s lessons to himself.

Saulstrance looked at Shashala with a puzzled expression on his face. He was surprised that Shashala would go that far just so that he could potentially discover a way to defeat him. Then Saulstrance remembered that ever since he first beat Shashala during the exams all those years ago, he had always been obsessed with trying to beat him. Ever since that day, Shashala would occasionally approach Saulstrance and challenge him to fights. Most of the outcomes resulted in Saulstrance winning with an occasional win or two by Shashala. However, these occasional wins weren’t good enough for Shashala. He needed his wins to pass Saulstrance’s.

Shashala leapt up and, like always, demanded that since Saulstrance seemed to be taking a rest that they fight. Saulstrance sighed in annoyance. He guessed it never occurred to Shashala what it meant to rest. Just as he was about to decline the dragon’s offer for battle, Saulstrance spotted a figure coming towards them. The sight of this figure made Saulstrance uneasy. As he neared the two dragons, a shocking jolt went through Saulstrance’s heart. He observed the dragon carefully. He had grey scales, red eyes, and his front claws were a crimson red while his back ones were white, and his most notable feature: a scar on the left side of his muzzle. This was it. The dragon he was looking for was right before him. This had to be him…Agcro.

“What are you two hatchlings doing up here?”

[animeboye]

Dragon's World Past Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Mighty Sword of Tourajé

Tourajé’s words made Cyrus happy. He plopped down once more in the grass, thinking about how great it would be if he lived in a world where he wouldn’t have to hide his true self. In that short moment, Tourajé’s dream had become his dream as well.

The three dragons layed their heads down in the grass too. They lay together in a circle and closed their eyes, enjoying the gentle breeze and the calm gurgling of the river. They collectively sighed and before they knew it, they were fast asleep.

Awakening a little later, the four of them noticed that it had gotten a little darker. The sun was beginning to set. They stood up, brushed the grass off of their clothes and returned to Cyrus’ house. Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé pondered. They weren’t sure how much longer they would be able to stay in the human realm. They had already been there for a pretty long time. Their master was probably starting to wonder what was keeping them.

Just as Saulstrance was about to say Cyrus’ name, Tourajé’s eye was caught by something. He spotted three men setting up what appeared to be a ring.

“Hey, Cyrus, what are those guys doing?” Asked Tourajé.

“Let’s find out.” Cyrus answered.

The four of them walked over to the men who were setting the ring up. Curious, Tourajé asked one of the men what they were doing. The man explained that every year, the village would hold a sword fighting contest as per tradition. The winner of the contest would receive one hundred and nineteen pounds sterling. While Tourajé didn’t know what pounds sterling were, he did know that he wanted to join in their contest so he asked the men if he could. Upon hearing Tourajé ask if he could join, the other two men stopped what they were doing. They looked at the young dragon turned boy as if he were crazy. They never had anyone as young as him compete. That was because they didn’t allow anyone that young to compete. To enter this competition, the combatants had to be twenty-one or over and despite Tourajé being twenty, in his human form, he appeared a bit younger.

“Listen young man, we admire your enthusiasm but swords aren’t toys. Have you even held a sword before?” Asked the man.

“No, but I can learn pretty quickly.”  Tourajé responded.

“That isn’t the point. You can’t compete. Maybe when you’re a little older but for right now, I cannot allow it.” The man said sternly. And with that, he turned around and went about resuming his duties.

The man’s back turned to him, Tourajé glared. Why did it matter if he was young? He was strong, he knew he was. After all, would a “kid” have become Lord Léruc’s apprentice? But Tourajé felt he knew what the real issue was.

“Are you going to be competing?” Asked Tourajé.

“Indeed I am. As will these two.” The man answered.

“Then I know why you won’t let me join: you’re scared you’ll lose to me.” Tourajé said with a cocky grin on his face.

Cyrus gasped. He wished Tourajé hadn’t just said that. The men stopped what they were doing and turned to face Tourajé and the others.

“Excuse me?” The man asked, walking up to Tourajé and folding his arms, trying to intimidate the young boy.

Tourajé didn’t budge though. He knew that if the man knew what he really was, then he’d be the one intimidated.

“If you aren’t scared, then let me join.” Suggested Tourajé, egging the man on.

The man knew Tourajé was trying to get under his skin so he’d eventually slip up and let him join by accident. He wasn’t about to let himself fall for it. He explained again that Tourajé was too young to join. Yet again, Tourajé would not accept it. Noticing this, one of the other men suggested that he just be allowed in just this once.

“But the tradition has always been--”

“I think we can break tradition just this once. Besides, the kid really wants to have a go at it and it doesn’t seem like he’ll take no for an answer.” The man’s coworker said.

The man gave a defeated sigh. Feeling agitated, he reluctantly gave up, declaring that Tourajé could be allowed to enter the contest but that this would be the only time anyone younger than twenty-one would join. In addition, this would also be the only instance where Tourajé would ever be able to compete. While Saulstrance and the others thought that seemed unfair, Tourajé didn’t complain. He agreed to the man’s conditions.

The man laughed. He was impressed that someone so young would agree to that. He half expected Tourajé to pout and whine about how unfair that was. Even though he’d never tell him, the man was beginning to develop a little bit of respect for Tourajé.

“The contest will be held tomorrow afternoon. If I were you, I’d get as much sword practice in as possible before then.” Informed the man.

“You don’t have to worry! I’ll get so much practice in that I’ll beat all of you no problem!” Tourajé boasted, trying to make himself seem impressive and intimidating.

The men had a hearty laugh at the boy’s declaration. They wished Tourajé luck and went back to setting up for tomorrow.

That night, Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé stayed at Cyrus’ house. They sat around the dinner table with Cyrus and his parents. This marked the first time the dragons had ever eaten dinner the human way. Usually, their parents would just go hunting for dead animals in the human realm and bring the carcasses back to their realm for their families to eat.  Behind the table was a fireplace. The fire illuminated the otherwise darkened room. For dinner, the six of them had roasted chicken with a side of mashed potatoes. To drink, they had cups filled with water.

As they ate, Cyrus told his parents that Tourajé would be entering the contest tomorrow. They were just about to take another bite of their food when they heard the news. They paused for a moment, stared at their son for a moment, then turned to Tourajé who was looking back at them, confused as to why this was such a big deal. He understood that no one under twenty one was allowed to join but was it really that surprising that they allowed him in anyway?

“Tourajé, do you even know how to use a sword? Do you even know what one is?” Asked Cyrus’ father.

“Well…no…” Tourajé answered both questions, feeling a little embarrassed for joining a competition for something he knew nothing about.

“…Oh, dear…” Cyrus’ dad said worriedly. “You’re going to have a lot of preparing to do before tomorrow. In that case, I’ll help train you. After dinner, meet me behind the house. I’ll teach you how to use a sword.”

“You’ve used a sword before?” Eig’nia asked.

“Of course. I use to enter these contests myself.” Cyrus’ dad said.

“Dad used to be pretty good when he was younger. He doesn’t compete anymore but he should still be able to help.” Cyrus explained.

Smiling, Tourajé graciously thanked his new friend’s dad for offering to train him. He quickly finished his dinner and rushed out to the back of the house, urging Cyrus’ dad to hurry up.

Cyrus quickly finished his dinner as well and went to join Tourajé outside. He saw Tourajé standing there, staring up into the night sky. He walked over, stood next to Tourajé, and joined him in sky gazing.

“So, do you really think you’ll be able to win tomorrow?” Asked Cyrus while still looking up at the sky.

“In all honesty? Not really. I mean I didn’t even know what a sword was until a few hours ago.” Said Tourajé, sounding surprisingly unsure.

“But then why did you want to enter so badly?” Cyrus asked, not understanding what Tourajé was trying to accomplish.

“Well, I think it was because I want to challenge myself. That, and because I want to learn as much about this world as I can.” Explained Tourajé.

Just then, Cyrus’ father stepped outside. In his right hand he held a sword. He asked Tourajé if he was ready to train. With an eager look that was all too apparent on his face, Tourajé ran up to his friend’s dad and declared that he was ready. Cyrus’ father handed Tourajé his sword, instructing him to take it.

As Tourajé studied the sword that he held in his hand, He rested his other hand over the blade. It was smooth and cold to the touch. There were a couple nicks in the blade, no doubt meaning that it had been used quite a bit and was probably pretty old.

Tourajé couldn’t explain it but holding that sword made him feel stronger. It also made the dragon feel more confident. He had to wonder if perhaps this was how it felt being human. As a dragon, he was much stronger than anyone in this village but as a young human boy, he wasn’t quite as strong as most of them were. Tourajé pondered if maybe it was his human side beginning to take life.

“So Tourajé…” Smiled Cyrus’ dad. “How does it feel?”

“It’s…incredible.” The dragon-boy said awestruck. He swung the sword once, causing both Cyrus and his father to step back.

“Careful!” Cyrus’ father exclaimed. “You don’t want to swing that around anyone. Unless they have the proper protection, it could seriously hurt them.”

“Really? I’m sorry…” Said Tourajé shamefully.

“That’s okay. You’ll learn. For right now, let’s get your training underway.”

Meanwhile, inside the house, Cyrus’ mother showed Saulstrance and Eig’nia where they’d be sleeping. It was a small guest bedroom with only two beds, meaning that two of them would have to share a bed.  Cyrus’ mother sat on the edge of the bed on the left hand side while Saulstrance and Eig’nia sat on the right.

“It’s so hard for me to believe that you two kids are really dragons.” Said Cyrus’ mother.

“Why is that?” Saulstrance asked.

“I haven’t seen or even spoken to another dragon in almost twenty years.” Cyrus’ mom answered.

“Not even your family?” Asked Eig’nia with a bit of concern in her voice.

Cyrus’ mom shook her head. “Not even them. When I met my husband, Thomas and discovered that I would be having his child, I couldn’t return to the dragon realm. Our world doesn’t think too highly of half-dragons. I couldn’t take Cyrus back with me and risk his safety so I decided: from then on, I would be a human woman by the name Miranda and raise my son as a human as well.”

“But Cyrus knows he’s a half-dragon.” Eig’nia said, confused by the last part of Miranda’s story.

“I know but I couldn’t hide that from him. Ever since Cyrus was born, I felt that it wouldn’t be right to hide from him what he and I really are.” Miranda answered.

Cyrus’ mother, who had revealed her human name to be Miranda, stood up and headed for the door. Eig’nia also stood up and went to lie down in the bed Miranda was sitting on. She pulled the covers over her and shut her eyes.

“Good night, Saulstrance and Eig’nia. And…can you do me a favor? When you return to the dragon realm, can you please not let anyone know you met me? Please? I just don’t want anything to happen to me…or my family.” Miranda asked, almost sounding as though she was pleading.

“You don’t have to worry. This is just between us.” Saulstrance smiled in an attempt to assure her that he’d keep his word.

“Thank you.” Miranda smiled back, grateful for their kindness. She closed the door and retired to her own room.

For Tourajé and Thomas, most of the night was spent practicing swordplay. Cyrus watched for awhile as his dad tutored his new friend in the art of swordsmanship. Eventually, the half-dragon began to grow tired. He turned in for the night, leaving his father and Tourajé to continue their training.

The training lasted for two more hours before both Thomas and Tourajé decided it was time to call it a night. Tourajé handed the sword back to its rightful owner and the two of them went back in the house, more than ready for a good night’s sleep.

The next day, Tourajé woke up before everyone else. He decided to get in some last minute training before the contest began. He would train for ten minutes, take a break for another ten, and then train again. He continued this process until it was time for the competition.

The citizens of the village had all gathered around, anxious for the competition to begin. There was a small ring in which seven men stood inside, brandishing their swords. These men would be competing in today’s contest.

Saulstrance, Tourajé, and Eig’nia, along with Cyrus and his parents squeezed through the crowd and Tourajé took his place among the seven men. The chatter died down as soon as Tourajé stepped into the ring. All eyes were on him as people wondered what he was doing. They didn’t have to ponder over it too long though for as soon as all the contestants had gathered together, the holder of the contest who was one of the men Saulstrance and the others met yesterday, announced the beginning of the contest.

“Before we begin, I’d like to announce that this year’s contest, we will be experiencing something that, until now, had never been allowed to happen: everyone, meet our youngest ever contestant…what is your name?” The man said.

“Tourajé.” Answered the young dragon.

“Tourajé. And Tourajé, exactly how young are you?” The announcer asked.

“I’m twenty.” Tourajé answered again.

Despite that Tourajé had been truthful, the villagers didn’t believe him. He looked much too young to be twenty. They assumed he was more around fourteen or fifteen. They also didn’t believe Tourajé was his real name. They wondered if he was either making up the name or if he was from another country. The younger members of the village didn’t like that Tourajé was allowed to compete when they themselves were never allowed to. They jeered and protested, claiming how unfair it was that someone who wasn’t even from their village was allowed to compete in their village’s competition when they never could. In spite of all that, the competition commenced.

The line ups for the matches were drawn up and handed to each of the participants. The first two opponents entered the ring with swords in hand. As they fought, Tourajé looked over the piece of paper with the line ups written on it. He noticed that his match would be the very last one of the quarterfinals. He also noticed that his opponent would be a man named Robert. He looked around at the other men who were competing, wondering which one of them was Robert. As he looked around, he noticed one of the men in attendance was the man he met yesterday, the one who was setting up the ring. Tourajé had figured he would be one of the contestants. He hoped that he’d get a chance to face him.

The first match came to an end with a man named Thomas being crowned the winner. Thomas helped his opponent back to his feet and thanked him for a fun challenge. As they cleared the ring, the next two combatants stepped in.

“You may begin when ready.” Said the announcer.

Tourajé and the others watched in amazement as the two men fought. The way humans battled seemed so much different to them than the way dragons did. Tourajé also noted that it seemed as though humans also had much more diverse ways of battling each other than dragons.

After the last two matches, it was time for Tourajé to step into the ring. He could barely contain his excitement. As he entered the ring, to his surprise, he noticed that his opponent for this match would be none other than the man he met yesterday.

“Wait. You’re going to be my opponent?” Asked Tourajé with surprise in his voice.

“Now, now, don’t sound too alarmed. My name is Robert and I requested that I face you. After all that boasting you did yesterday, I just had to see for myself if you were really as good as you think you are.”

The announcer entered the ring and presented Tourajé with a sword.

“Tourajé, as this is your first time competing, you’re going to need a sword. So I ask that you use this one.” Said the announcer as he handed the sword to Tourajé.

Tourajé stared at the blade in wonder. He gripped the handle tightly as he felt power surging through his fingertips. Just like yesterday, Tourajé felt like he could do anything while holding a sword.

“Now Tourajé, since this is your first time competing, I am obligated to tell you the rules: you and your opponent are each given a sword. Your goal is to either knock your opponent’s sword out of their hands or knock them out of the ring. Causing severe harm to your opponent or worse, killing them is not allowed. There is no time limit. You either lose when you fall out of the ring, lose your sword or give up. Is that understood?” The announcer explained.

Tourajé nodded. The rules seemed simple enough. All he had to do was get this guy out of the ring or make him lose his sword. Didn’t sound too hard.

“Very well. You can begin when ready.”

Tourajé and Robert both gripped their blades. They circled around the ring, anticipating each others’ move.

“Just so you know boy, you don’t have a chance of beating me. I may be old but I’ve fought in these competitions for over twenty-nine years. And seeing as how this is your first and only time competing, you don’t have even a slim chance of winning.” Robert boasted.

Although he didn’t want to admit it, Tourajé knew Robert was right. He didn’t have a chance in beating him. If this guy really fought in this as many times as he said he did, then this match was over as soon as Tourajé got in the ring with him. Regardless, Tourajé couldn’t just give up. Even though he knew he would lose, he still wanted to give it his all.

Tourajé charged at Robert, his hands gripping the sword’s handle as tightly as they could. Robert took a defensive stance and just as Tourajé was about to swing his sword, Robert blocked with his sword. The swords clanged together as Tourajé struggled in a futile attempt to break through Robert’s defense. Tourajé withdrew his sword and tried again only to experience the same result. With his sword, Robert pushed Tourajé’s back, causing the dragon-boy to stagger back. With Tourajé off guard, Robert knew this was his chance to strike. He went on the attack and before Tourajé knew it, the sword flew out of his hand, landing at the edge of the ring.

Tourajé’s mouth hung open. He looked down at his hand that had been holding his sword. He couldn’t believe how quickly that match went. It was over. He lost.

“And the winner is…ROBERT!!!” Announced the announcer.

Everyone in the village clapped and cheered for Robert. Tourajé lowered his head, went over to his sword, and grabbed it as he left the ring. He didn’t say anything or look at anyone. He just solemnly took his leave.

Tourajé went to sit down by the riverbank. He tossed the sword on the ground in frustration as he proceeded to lean against a tree. Feeling ashamed for losing so quickly, he slouched down and buried his head in his legs.

A short while later, he heard someone call his name. It was Saulstrance. He and the others had come after him, unsure why he left so quickly.

“Tourajé, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Asked Eig’nia, concerned for her friend.

“No, I’m not.” Tourajé pouted.

“Well what’s wrong? Is it because of the fight?” Eig’nia asked again, trying to figure out what had made her friend so upset.

“Of course it is…I knew I wasn’t going to win but I didn’t think I’d lose that quickly.” Tourajé said sadly, feeling ashamed of himself.

“But Tourajé…” Cyrus’ mother chimed in. “We think you did pretty well. Especially for a dragon who had only been human for about two days. You shouldn’t be sad. If anything, you should be proud.”

“I agree with her.” Said Cyrus’ dad. “You know, I remember the first time I lost in that contest. I felt the same way that you do right now. But I kept practicing and practicing until I got good enough to win.”

“Yeah but you were still allowed to compete. I can’t anymore.” Tourajé replied.

“Perhaps not.” A voice said from behind them.

The six of them noticed Robert standing behind them. They asked Robert why he was there if the contest was still going on.  Did he lose a match? Robert laughed heartily, assuring them that he didn’t. He had made it to the finals which were going to take place within an hour. In that time, he wanted to find Tourajé so that he could talk with him. He sat down next to the disappointed boy and grabbed his sword.

“Listen, you shouldn’t feel so upset. For your first time with a sword, you weren’t that bad. Your sword skills do need work but I think you’ve got potential.” Robert smiled at Tourajé.

Tourajé looked at him, sighed, and then looked away. Robert released a sigh of his own. He guessed there was only one way to get through to Tourajé: share with him his own experiences from when he first entered the competition.

“You know, I didn’t win the first time I took part in this competition. Heck, I didn’t even win my second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth times. But even though I didn’t win, I knew I was getting a little better each time. As long as you keep practicing with the sword, you’ll become even better too.” Robert said empathetically.

“You really mean that?” Asked Tourajé.

“Of course! Now I do have to stand by what I said. You can’t compete in this contest anymore but…how about this? Keep practicing with that sword. Grow stronger, and when you think you’re good enough, come back and challenge me again.” Robert said.

Tourajé smiled. Robert smiled back, feeling glad that his words had gotten through to him. The two of them shook on it and Tourajé promised him that he’d get stronger so that they could sword fight again.

Everyone returned to the contest where the finals were about to take place. Both Robert and his opponent fought as hard as they could. In the end, Robert was victorious. Applause erupted from the villagers. Saulstrance and the others joined in. Everyone who had taken part in the contest reentered the ring and joined Robert and his opponent in enjoying the applause. Saulstrance gave Tourajé a little push, urging him to go up there and join them. Tourajé looked back at everyone who were all urging him to go up there as well. Taking in a deep breath, Tourajé ran through the crowd and leapt into the ring. To their surprise, Saulstrance and the others noticed that Tourajé was smiling. This made them smile too. It made them grateful to see their friend back in good spirits.

Some time had passed. The sun was setting on the small village and the three dragons knew that it was time for them to be going home. They couldn’t wait to tell their leader all about what they experienced in the human realm. However, before they were able to do that, Robert had something he wanted to do for Tourajé. He had asked to borrow Tourajé’s sword for something. Just what that something was though, he wouldn’t say. He returned some time later, apologizing for taking so long. He handed Tourajé something wrapped in cloth. When Tourajé removed the cloth, he noticed that it was his sword. However, there was something different about the sword. Tourajé noticed that his name had been carved into the blade.

“That sword is yours now. Take good care of it.” Robert smiled.

“I will. Thanks Robert.” Tourajé smiled back.

The two of them shook hands and bid each other farewell. Saulstrance, Tourajé, and Eig’nia, along with Cyrus and his family returned to the forest in which Cyrus had found them. They didn’t want anyone to see them opening a portal back to their world.

Inside the woods, Saulstrance and his friends bid farewell to Cyrus and his family. Cyrus asked them if they’d ever come back. They assured the boy that they would and that this wasn’t the last time they would see them. Just as they opened a portal and were about to step through, Cyrus asked them to do something for him: he wanted to see them in their real forms as dragons. Since no one else was around, the three of them didn’t see the harm in it. They closed their eyes as they felt their bodies begin to change back. When they opened their eyes, the noticed the look of surprise in Cyrus and his parents’ eyes.  As hard as it was for Cyrus’ parents to believe that these three kids were dragons, it was even harder for Cyrus himself to believe it. After all, aside from his mother, he had never met a dragon before. He smiled to his friends and waved goodbye to them. He told them that they better come back and that he’ll be waiting to see them again.

“Goodbye Cyrus!” Saulstrance smiled, before stepping through the portal.

As the last of them stepped through the portal, it closed, leaving the half-dragon boy and his family standing in those woods by themselves. Although he had only known them for a short time, Cyrus had come to really like the three dragons. He knew this wasn’t the last time he’d see them.

[animeboye]

Dragon's World Past Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A Whole New World

For the next ten years, Saulstrance, along with Eig’nia and Tourajé continued their studies under their master, lord Léruc. Each day they grew a little stronger and a little wiser and, in what was seen as in the blink of an eye for a dragon, ten years passed.

Tourajé was playing outside in the front of his family’s cave with his younger brother, Utzie. Laughing together, the older brother chased the younger one around.

“You can’t catch me, Tourajé!” Laughed Utzie, opening his wings, about to fly.

“Oh yeah?” Tourajé said, taking his brother up on his challenge. He grabbed Utzie by the tip of his tail, pulling him back down to the ground as the little dragon struggled to fly.

“Hey no fair!” Exclaimed Utzie, flapping his wings fiercely.

“Weren’t you the one who said we couldn’t fly?” Tourajé asked his little brother in a teasing manner, removing the end of his brother’s tail from his mouth and grabbing it with his paw.

Utzie gulped, knowing he was busted. “Well…”

“Gotcha!” Exclaimed Tourajé.

Pinning his brother to the ground, Tourajé tickled his younger sibling. Utzie screamed and laughed at the same time, pleading for his brother to stop. The little dragon wasn’t necessarily ticklish but somehow his older brother always knew just where to get him.

The brothers’ parents stepped out of their cave. It warmed their hearts to see their sons playing and laughing together. They remembered how much Tourajé protested and hated the idea of having a younger sibling so to see the two of them so happy together made them happy too.

The siblings’ laughter and play died down when they saw three dragons approaching. Tourajé recognized them as three of Léruc’s guards and to his surprise, Eig’nia was with them! However what he wasn’t sure of was why they would be coming to his cave.

“Tourajé?” Said the guard up front.

“Yes?” Tourajé asked.

“Lord Léruc has asked to speak with you, Saulstrance, and Eig’nia. If you would accompany us to his fortress.”

“Did something happen?” Tourajé asked, growing a little concerned as he feared that something bad happened.

“It’s nothing like that. He just wanted to speak with you three.” The guard explained, noticing Tourajé’s alarm.

Tourajé agreed to go with them. He told his family that he’d be back in a little bit. He, along with Eig’nia, followed the guards back to their master’s fortress. They couldn’t help but ponder over what Léruc could possibly want to speak with them about.  Tourajé asked Eig’nia if she knew anything but she told him that what they told her was the same they told him.

Once they made it to the Leader’s Fortress, Léruc’s guards led the two dragons to Léruc’s chambers where he and Saulstrance were waiting for them. Tourajé and Eig’nia sat down beside Saulstrance.

“So you must all be wondering why I called you here.” Started Léruc.

“Yes sir. Is everything okay?” Asked Eig’nia.

“Everything is fine. I have just been thinking about how much time has passed. Ten years can seem like a really long time but for us dragons, it can also feel instantaneous.” Léruc said.

The three dragons looked at each other with confused expressions. Was this the whole reason Léruc summoned them? Just to reminisce?

“Umm, sir? Is this why you asked us here?” Asked Tourajé.

“Not quite. I have something more important I wish to discuss with you. Do you remember when I mentioned the ‘other world’?” Léruc asked.

Léruc didn’t expect any of them to remember any mention of the other world. After all, how would they? He had never discussed the other world with them in any of his lessons and had only mentioned it once briefly when they were hatchlings. However, much to his surprise, one of his students did in fact remember the other world: Tourajé.

“I do. I’ve also read a little bit about it. Unlike our world, this one is inhabited by many different species. The most dominant of these species is called ‘human’.” Explained Tourajé.

“Human?” Parroted Eig’nia.

Tourajé nodded and then resumed his explanation.

“This is the most interesting part: these humans are able to walk on only two legs!” Tourajé exclaimed, sounding as though he didn’t quite believe it himself.

Saulstrance and Eig’nia protested. There was no way that was true. How could there be a species that only needed two legs to walk? Saulstrance decided to try it himself. And so, slowly and carefully he raised up, lifting his front paws off the ground. As he tried to stand on two legs, Saulstrance wobbled around, trying to brace himself. Eventually he couldn’t stand up on his back legs anymore and fell backwards.

“I just don’t understand how the humans can do it.” Said Saulstrance as he sat up.

Léruc chuckled. “Don’t worry Saulstrance. You’ll understand once you see them.”

“Lord Léruc, you sound like you’ve been to the human world before.” Eig’nia said a little suspiciously.

“I’ve been there a few times. You may not believe this but their world is even much bigger than ours.” Léruc said.

“It is?!” The three of them said together, surprised.

“Indeed. And just as how our world’s name is Zalphonia, their world’s actual name is Earth. I could explain more of the world’s workings but perhaps you would rather see Earth for yourselves.” Said Léruc, knowing his pupils would be excited at the prospect of seeing a new world.

He was right. Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé went wide eyed after hearing that they would get to visit this other world. They talked amongst each other, asking one another different questions such as what kind of things they thought the human realm had, what the other species that lived there must be like, and how big they thought the world must be. Excitedly, Eig’nia asked her master when they would be able to go. Léruc informed them that he would be sending them there tomorrow.  This news made them even more anxious.

Having said everything he felt needed to be said, Léruc concluded the meeting. He sent Eig’nia and Tourajé home, telling them and Saulstrance to get much rest for tomorrow.

That night, Tourajé and Eig’nia told their families that they would be visiting the human realm. Utzie gasped, a wide beaming smile on his face. He desperately wanted to go with his big brother but knew, and was disappointed that he was unable to.

Eig’nia’s siblings also shared a similar feeling of disappointment with that of Utzie. Despite being older, they had never gone to the other world. They never would have guessed that their youngest sibling would be going there before they did.

The three dragons lay in their nests, thinking about what the human realm must be like. What were the humans like and how could they walk on only two legs? How many of them were there and what would their world be like? These were just some of the questions that swam through their minds. After awhile of imagining the human realm, the three dragons fell asleep.

The three of them woke up bright and early that morning. Eig’nia and Tourajé met up and together, headed for their master’s fortress. When they got there, they found that Saulstrance was up but not Léruc. Tourajé asked Saulstrance where their master was. Saulstrance informed his friends that Léruc was still asleep. Because they were incredibly anxious to get to see the human realm, the three dragons decided to go and wake their master up.

They stepped into Léruc’s room. It was almost pitch black save for a small puddle of light by the exit. Loud snoring came from the sleeping dragon, something that surprised his students.

“I had no idea Lord Léruc snored so loud.” Eig’nia whispered to her friends.

“Should we wake him up?” Asked Saustrance.

“Of course! We want to see the human realm don’t we? And Lord Léruc is the only one who knows how to get us there! So let’s get him up!” Exclaimed Tourajé.

Just before they got the chance to wake their leader, Léruc groaned groggily. He slowly opened his eyes, surprised to see his students standing by his nest side.

“What are you three doing here?” Asked Léruc, still half asleep.

“We’re ready! We want to see the human realm, sir!” Saulstrance exclaimed.

Léruc moaned again. He raised his head slowly and quickly lowered it back into the nest.

“What time is it? Has the sun illuminated the sky yet?” Léruc asked.

“Uhh, not completely.” Eig’nia replied.

“Then let me sleep. We shall discuss your going to the human realm once the sun is high into the sky.” Said Léruc, shutting his eyes again.

“But sir!” Saulstrance was about to protest.

“No! Sleep now! I’m an older dragon, I need my sleep.” Léruc grumbled.

The three of them realized that they weren’t going to win this one. Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé quietly left their master’s chambers and went to Saulstrance’s room where the three of them fell asleep together.

Five hours later, the three dragons awoke and met with a fully rested Léruc in the hall. It was there that he would explain to his young subjects how they would be getting to the human realm and what they should do once they got there.

“Now then, it’s time for what you three have anxiously been waiting for: your first trip to the human realm.” Léruc announced.

Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé could barely contain their excitement. The moment they had been waiting for was finally here. They were finally going to get to see what the human realm…what Earth was like.

A portal opened up before Léruc. The three dragons had never seen anything like it before. They wondered how it opened up and whom, or what made it.

“This is a portal. We dragons use these to travel back and forth between Earth and Zalphonia. In order to open a portal of your own, you must first clear your mind. Afterward, focus and imagine a portal forming in your mind. Go on, give it a try.” Léruc instructed.

Eig’nia stepped forward. Just as her master instructed, she cleared her mind then imagined a portal forming. Tourajé and Saulstrance were surprised when they saw another portal forming next to the one their master had previously opened.

“Nicely done, Eig’nia. Tourajé, Saulstrance, it’s your turn now.”  Léruc said.

Saulstrance and Tourajé did just as Eig’nia and Léruc before them. They cleared their minds of any thoughts and focused on creating a portal. To their surprise, two more portals opened up beside Eig’nia’s and their teacher’s.

Léruc was impressed. It astonished him that they learned how to create portals so quickly. But of course, he thought to himself, creating a portal wasn’t that difficult. Even still, he knew he had made the right choice in naming them his apprentices. He closed his portal and walked in front of the portals his pupils had created.

“Now that you know how to create portals, it’s time for you to journey to the human realm. Go ahead and close your portals. Just imagine the portal closing.” Said Léruc.

They did just as their master instructed. They imagined their portals closing and as they did, their portals closed right before their eyes. With that done, Léruc opened another portal.

“This portal will take you to the part of the human realm I want you to go. Once you’re there, locate some humans. That will be important for if you’re going to walk among them.” Léruc continued giving his instructions.

“What do you mean by that, sir?” Asked Tourajé, confused by the latter part of his master’s instructions.

“We dragons have an ability that allows us to take on human forms. It’s necessary for if we ever visit their world. To humans, we’re creatures of myth. They would never believe their eyes if they saw one of us for themselves.”

Léruc concluded his lectures. Before his pupils could step through the portal, he told them that the process of changing into a human and vice versa was the same as creating portals: they just had to visualize themselves changing into a human form. With that, he wished them a fun and safe journey to this new world.

Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé stepped through the portal. Once they were inside it closed behind them. They looked around, finding themselves floating in an endless void of nothing. What was this and where were they they thought to themselves. Then suddenly, their bodies began to move forward as if drawn by something. They didn’t know what was happening or where they were going but they didn’t fight it. They just allowed themselves to be pulled towards…whatever it was that was pulling them.

After a moment, a bright light shone, temporarily blinding the three dragons. As soon as they opened their eyes, they found themselves surrounded by trees. The trees’ leaves were thick, preventing all but small circles of light to break through.

“Where are we?” Asked Saulstrance as he stood up.

Standing up, the three dragons looked around. They had never seen so many trees before. Was this the human realm? If it was then where were all the humans? They decided to look around to see if they could find any humans.

After searching around this new environment for awhile, they stumbled upon two creatures they had never seen before. They noticed that these creatures had oddly colored scales, only…they weren’t scales. They were something else. They wore strange material over their bodies and one of them was carrying what looked to be a weapon while the other carried five parts of a tree in his arms. The dragons wondered if these were the humans their master mentioned. They also weren’t sure why one of them was carrying a weapon with him.

They observed these creatures for a short while. They were surprised to find that these creatures were capable of talking just like them. They stood there for awhile and talked a bit before finally making their way into another part of the woods.

Once they were gone, Saulstrance, Tourajé, and Eig’nia agreed to try changing into their form, certain that these were the humans Léruc mentioned. And so, they closed their eyes, imagining the creatures they just saw. Without their knowing it, their bodies started to change, their mass decreasing and their draconic parts such as their wings, horns, spines and tails being absorbed into their bodies.

They opened their eyes. The first thing they noticed was that their front legs were now in a different form. Their claws had shrunk and were now colored pink. Likewise, their paws had shrunk down a bit and were donned not with talons but something that seemed like talons. They weren’t sure how to describe these new appendages.

Looking behind themselves, they discovered that their wings and tails were missing. Their jaws dropped, eyes widened. It was then that they realized what had happened: they had turned into the same creatures they saw just a little bit ago. They had become humans!

Much to their surprise however, they noticed that unlike the humans that they had just seen, they weren’t wearing the same material that they were. In fact, they weren’t wearing anything at all.

First, they tried to stand on their fours. However, because of their new bodies, the dragons turned humans now found it strange to be doing so. Slowly and carefully, they tried to stand up on only two legs. Once they were on just two legs, they were surprised to find that it actually felt more natural now. They decided that they would try and walk around in an attempt to get used to their new posture but before they could, a loud scream came from behind them. Startled, the three turned around and saw a boy standing behind them. This boy was about their size in their human forms and, as they guessed, was probably about as old as they were too. He wore material sort of like the ones the humans from before had on.

“Who-who are you guys?!” The boy asked, feeling weird to be seeing three naked people out in the woods. “And…why are you naked?”

[animeboye]

Dragon's World Past Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Eig’nia and Tourajé

Saulstrance and Eig’nia followed Léruc and his guards to the resting chambers. It was there that Léruc would share with his three new underlings his plans for their studies.

The two hatchlings bounced up and down in excitement. They could hardly wait to hear what their new master’s plans were for them. The little dragons grinned at each other and ran past Léruc and his guards only to be called back by their Leader.

In the resting chambers, Tourajé and Roasch had both just woken up. They were laying in nests which served as the resting chamber’s beds. There were ten nests in the resting chambers, five for each row. A dragon who served as the doctor had been taking care of the two children after their battle.  Both dragons sat up in their nests, stretching their wings and their legs as Léruc walked in with his guards and his new apprentices.

“Ah, good, Tourajé. You’re up. Saulstrance, Eig’nia, if you wish, you may take a seat in the nests.” Said Léruc, sounding pleased.

Saulstrance and Eig’nia climbed into the nests across from Tourajé and Roasch. They listened closely to what Léruc was about to tell them. Before he began, however, he turned to Roasch.

“Roasch, what will you do now?” Asked Léruc.

“What do you mean, sir?” Roasch asked.

“Well, you may not have become my apprentice but that doesn’t mean your journey ends here. Perhaps you have a new goal in mind?”

“Well actually…I do.” Roasch began. “I thought about it for a bit and I decided that I still want to serve under you. Except this time as a guard.” Beamed Roasch.

Léruc was impressed with Roasch’s resolve. Even though the little dragon wasn’t able to become his Leader’s apprentice, that hadn’t discouraged him in the slightest. In fact, it seemed as though Roasch was more determined than ever now.

Roasch tried to stand up so that he could leave and allow Léruc to discuss with Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé. As soon as he was back on the ground, Roasch collapsed. Immediately, Léruc went to help his still weak subject. He lifted Roasch up with his muzzle and lowered him into the nest. Léruc told Roasch that he didn’t have to leave just yet and that he could wait until he was better. Roasch smiled, grateful for his Leader’s kindness and thanked him.

“Now then, on to business. Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé, you three have passed the exams and become my apprentices. From here on, you shall be studying under me. However, there will be more to it than just learning from me.” Léruc explained.

“Like what, sir?” Asked Saulstrance.

“You will also be working for me. As you grow stronger and wiser, I will be giving you harder and harder tasks and missions. And who knows? You may even get to see the other world someday.”

“The other world?” Eig’nia asked with surprise in her voice.

“What other world?” Asked Tourajé curiously.

“You’ll find out eventually. As for right now, why don’t you three get acquainted with one another? After all, from this day forth, you three are comrades so it will do you good to get to know each other.” Said Léruc.

Léruc left the resting chambers with his guards. Soon after, Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé did as well. Saulstrance showed them to his room. In there was a small nest which served as his bed. Several torches illuminated the room, one of which hung directly above Saulstrance’s bed. Next to his bed were several scrolls which Saulstrance would read every night before falling asleep. The scrolls all contained different stories some of which were believed to be lore relating to the dragon realm.

“This is my room!” Announced Saulstrance with a smile.

“Wow!” Eig’nia and Tourajé said at the same time.

“So it’s true then: you really do live with Lord Léruc.” Said Tourajé in amazement.

“Yeah, he’s…kind of been like my father ever since I can remember.” Saulstrance said.

“Where are your real parents then?” Eig’nia asked.

“I…I don’t know. I never met my real parents.” Saulstrance answered, sounding unsure.

The whereabouts of his parents was something the young dragon always wondered about. However, every time that he would try and ask Léruc where they were, all he would always say was not to worry. Saulstrance never understood what Léruc meant when he told him not to worry. Could something have happened to his parents that Léruc didn’t want him to know about? Saulstrance chose not to worry about that right now and instead try to get to know his new friends.

“So, Eig’nia and Tourajé, what are your families like?” Asked Saulstrance.

“I think my family is pretty good. I’ve got my parents, and an older sister and older brother.” Eig’nia explained.

“Well, right now, it’s just me, mom, and dad but my mom’s having another hatchling.” Explained Tourajé, looking a little sad.

“Aww! You’re gonna have a little brother or sister, Tourajé? You’re so lucky! I wish I had a little brother or sister.” Eig’nia exclaimed, more thrilled than Tourajé was at the news.

“I don’t.” Tourajé said, looking down. “I liked it better when it was just me, mom, and dad. I don’t want to be a big brother.”

“At least you’re gonna have a brother or sister.” Saulstrance protested, sounding offended by what Tourajé was saying. “I don’t have any brothers or sisters. I wish I did.”

Tourajé frowned. For all his complaining about his new sibling, he never considered how Saulstrance must have felt considering that he never had any family. He never could have guessed how lonely Saulstrance must have been. Feeling ashamed of himself, he apologized to Saulstrance who smiled at his new friend, accepting his apology.

Some time later, Léruc entered into Saulstrance’s room, declaring that it was time for Eig’nia and Tourajé to go home. He told the young dragons that they should go home and share their accomplishments with their families. Excited at the thought of what their parents and siblings would say, Eig’nia and Tourajé eagerly ran out of Saulstrance’s room, quickly wishing their new friend goodbye.  But before he got the chance to say goodbye to them, they were gone.  

With a yawn, Saulstrance went to lay down in his nest. Léruc sat down beside the nest, smiling proudly at his protégé/adopted son. He placed a paw on top of his head, smiling wider.

“You did good today, Saulstrance.” Said Léruc.

“Thanks sir.” Smiled Saulstrance, happy to be complimented.

“You and your friends have a big day tomorrow. Get plenty of sleep.”

“I will.” Saulstrance said, yawning just before shutting his eyes.

With a small gush of breath, Léruc put out the small fires, making the room darker. As he turned towards the exit, he looked back at Saulstrance who had quickly fallen asleep. Then he left the slumbering hatchling’s room.

It was bright and early the next day. Saulstrance, Eig’nia, Tourajé, and Léruc gathered in front of the Leader’s fortress.

“Today begins your first lesson under me. Eig’nia, Saulstrance, and Tourajé, are you three ready?” Announced Léruc.

The three dragon kids erupted into thunderous cheers. All three of them were incredibly eager to know what their Leader had planned for them.

“Your first lesson is going to be about teamwork. In addition to learning together, you must also learn how to work together. During this exorcise, I want you to pay attention to each other. Learn each others’ strengths as well as weaknesses and determine how you can make up your teammates’ weaknesses and build upon their strengths.” Léruc explained.

“Yes sir!” The three dragons said together.

“Now then, for what your test will be: you three will fight against me. However, this won’t be a regular fight. I want you to find a place to hide and come up with a plan of attack. Tied to my tail, you can see three pieces of fabric tied to it. Work together, and try to claim all three. And once you do, we then can move on to the next lesson.” Léruc finished explaining.

The three of them nodded, showing their master they understood his instructions. He told them that he was going to close his eyes and wait until they were out of sight. The three of them huddled together and whispered amongst each other as they tried to think up a good place to hide. With eyes still shut, Léruc informed the three hatchlings that he could overhear them. Startled, they flew off together and tried to find a place where they could hide. They noticed three trees alongside the fortress. Thinking fast, Tourajé swooped down. He informed Saulstrance and Eig’nia of his plan: they would hide in the trees and wait for Lord Léruc to pass by. When he did, Tourajé would jump out first and snag one of the pieces of fabric without Léruc knowing. As a backup plan, if he were to fail, he would try to distract Léruc, allowing Saulstrance and Eig’nia to snag their pieces.

With the three in agreement on the plan, they each hid in separate trees. They waited anxiously anticipating Léruc to come by looking for them. So they waited until finally, off in the distance, Tourajé could see Léruc coming up. He alerted the other two, telling them to get ready. Once Léruc’s back was to them, Tourajé would sneak down and snatch a piece of fabric followed by the other two.

Léruc walked past them. Now was the time. Tourajé dropped out of the tree and snuck up to his master. Once Léruc’s tail was down close enough, Tourajé tried to grab one of the strands of fabric in his jaw, but to no avail. His master’s tail lowered again and Tourajé tried once more to get himself some fabric. Once again, he was unsuccessful. On his third try, Léruc’s tail slammed down on Tourajé, knocking the tiny dragon off his feet. Saulstrance and Eig’nia knew that this couldn’t be good. Tourajé had been spotted!

“That was a nice attempt, Tourajé. However, there was one fatal error in your judgement: you never took into consideration that your opponent may be anticipating your moves. I will give you this though: you were smart in trying to attack when my back was turned. Now then—EIG’NIA! SAULSTRANCE! I KNOW YOU’RE CLOSE BY! IT’S TIME TO COME OUT!!” Said Léruc.

For a brief moment, things were quiet and then suddenly, Eig’nia leapt out of the tree she was hiding in. She stood in front of her master, looking down in disappointment. The little dragoness was certain Tourajé’s plan would work but their master was just one step ahead of them…or so he thought.

“So where is Saulstrance then? I do hope he’s not planning on using the same tactic as Tourajé!” Exclaimed Léruc, swinging around, expecting Saulstrance to be behind him.

To his surprise, Saulstrance wasn’t behind him. He had expected Saulstrance to try the same tactic as Tourajé. Suddenly, it hit Léruc: if Saulstrance wasn’t there, then he must be…!

He swung around again and sure enough, there was Saulstrance. To Léruc’s frustration, not only had his pupil tricked him but he was also able to acquire his fabric piece. Saulstrance stood among his friends, smiling widely and proudly at his master as he held the fabric in his mouth, his tail wagging around excitedly.  Léruc was both proud of Saulstrance and also slightly annoyed that he was outsmarted by a dragon so much younger than him. He then noticed that Eig’nia and Tourajé didn’t have their fabric. When he asked why they didn’t try to get their fabric when Saulstrance did, Eig’nia explained:

“Me and Saulstrance were talking about it and we decided that one of us would trick you while the other stole the fabric from you.”

“Quite clever I must say. Yes…As I’m sure you three know, there are going to be times where you won’t be able to rely on strength alone to defeat an opponent. You will have to rely on three things: each other, your cunning, and your other attributes. Do you understand?” Coached Léruc.

“Yes sir!” Said the little dragons together.

“And Saulstrance, even though you were able to get your fabric, you still have to help Eig’nia and Tourajé get theirs. After all, as I’ve been saying: if you’re to work as a team, you must help each other even if one of you succeeds. It isn’t truly a team unless each member is successful.”

“I understand, sir.” Saulstrance said.

Their training continued for hours. In that time, neither Eig’nia or Tourajé were able to steal the fabric parts tied to Léruc’s tail. Saulstrance had also done his best to help his friends but he was ultimately just as unsuccessful.

Annoyed, Tourajé launched himself into the sky and dove behind his master. He leapt up and tried to snag a piece of fabric only to have his master grab him with his tail and throw him into the air. Tourajé propelled higher and higher into the sky, eventually becoming able to stop himself. His temper becoming worse, Tourajé flew high above the clouds, then spiraled down once he was behind Léruc. This time it had to work. He had the clouds to use as cover. There was no way he could fail.

As he got closer to the ground, he noticed that Léruc’s attention was on Eig’nia and Saulstrance as he fought the two. This was perfect! All he had to do now was stealthily take the fabric without Léruc knowing. But without turning around, Léruc’s tail lifted. He wrapped it around Tourajé’s right front leg and, with just enough force, but not enough that he seriously hurt Tourajé, slammed him into the ground.

Tourajé had no idea what just happened. His plan should have worked! Léruc didn’t even turn around. He shouldn’t have known he was back there. Yet…he did.

“Tourajé, if you’re going to survive in battle, you cannot be so predictable. If one tactic hadn’t worked against an enemy, what would make you believe it would work a second time?” Léruc asked, looking ashamed for his pupil.

“Well your back was turned, and you were focused on Saulstrance and Eig’nia so…”

“So you thought you would be able to sneak by and claim the fabric, huh? Listen: even if your opponent can’t see you, they can still anticipate you. I had a feeling you would try that again, and I was right.” Léruc explained.

Tourajé looked away, grumbling to himself. He thought his plan was perfect. He was sure it would work. But instead, his plan ended up being too obvious. He was both ashamed and upset.

“Well my little hatchlings, we have been going at this for a long time. Perhaps we should call it a day and then—“

“NO!” Tourajé and Eig’nia exclaimed together, interrupting their teacher.

“Saulstrance was able to get  his fabric piece and we can do it too!” Eig’nia said.

Léruc took note of the fire in their eyes. He smiled. It was a very admirable trait for dragons their age. He couldn’t just say no to determination like that. He allowed them to continue and promised that they wouldn’t stop until all of them had passed the test.

Determined to pass, the three of them took off and disappeared into the sky to come up with a plan of attack. They couldn’t very well just attack Léruc and get the fabric that way. He was much too bigger and stronger than them. They needed another way to beat him.

And then it hit Saulstrance: they might not be able to beat their master but maybe there was a way to immobilize him. Saulstrance explained his plan to his friends: he would act as the decoy. He would fly directly at Léruc and shoot fire at him. This would leave Léruc’s backside vulnerable allowing Eig’nia and Tourajé to sneak behind and claim their pieces of fabric.

The other two dragons decided it was worth a try. They lingered in the clouds, waiting for their chance to strike as Saulstrance descended. Léruc was down there, waiting patiently for them to come up with a plan of attack. He was surprised when he saw that Saulstrance was alone. This time he wasn’t sure where the other two were what they were planning. He quickly glanced behind him to make sure they weren’t trying the same trick again. To his surprise, neither Eig’nia nor Tourajé were there.

“Hey! Master!” Saulstrance yelled.

Returning his attention to his young pupil, Léruc suddenly found himself assaulted by a stream of fire, courtesy of Saulstrance. Just as Saulstrance had planned, Léruc used his wings to cover his face, thus leaving his back exposed. As Saulstrance’s onslaught continued, Tourajé and Eig’nia snuck behind their master. Because of this distraction, the two dragons were able to remove the fabric that Léruc tied to his tail without him knowing. Once they had done so, Saulstrance ceased his barrage of fire, allowing his master to move his wings away from his face.

“And what did you hope to accomplish by doing that, Saulstrance? All you managed to do was leave some small burn marks on my wings.” Asked Léruc, flexing his wings to try and get the slight burning feeling out of them.

Saulstrance giggled. “Oh I accomplished more than that.” He said knowingly.

Realizing what Saulstrance meant, Léruc turned around and saw Eig’nia and Tourajé standing behind them, the fabric pieces clenched in their mouths. The two of them smiled, knowing that they were finally able to pass their first lesson. Léruc, on the other hand, wasn’t quite as happy. He couldn’t believe that three hatchlings were able to outsmart him on not just one but two occasions. Despite his chagrin, however, a part of him was proud of the trio. If there was one thing this lesson had shown him, it was that these three little dragons were very smart for their age and that he had made the right choice in naming them his apprentices.

“Well, with that, I suppose the lesson is concluded. Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé, you have all passed your first lesson.” Léruc declared.

The three of them cheered proudly. It had taken them a long time but finally, they all managed to succeed.

“You three really worked well together. Your teamwork and strategizing really helped you in this lesson.”

“But master, I thought you wanted us to fight you?” Asked Tourajé confused.

“That is true. However I wanted you to rely more on your brains than your brauns. I may be old but were this a real fight, you three would not have stood a chance against me. And there will be times where you’ll fight someone who’s just too strong for you to handle. However, just because your opponent may be stronger that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t beat them.” Léruc explained.

“What do you mean?” Asked Eig’nia.

“You’ll learn as you grow older. It’s better if you learn that for yourselves instead of me telling it to you. For now, it’s starting to get late so let’s call it a day. Tourajé and Eig’nia, we’ll see you two back here tomorrow morning.” Said Léruc.

“Okay!” The two nodded.

The two of them said their goodbyes to Saulstrance and Léruc and flew for home, anxious to tell their families about their passing their very first lesson with the Leader.

Saulstrance stretched his limbs and yawned. He raised a paw and wiped the tears out of his eyes.

“Tired?” Léruc asked.

“Mmm-hmm…” Saulstrance said, still rubbing his eyes.

“You did really well today, Saulstrance. I’ve never seen you push yourself so hard before.” Said Léruc impressed.

Saulstrance smiled. “It was because I didn’t want to disappoint you guys. Not you, Eig’nia, Tourajé, or mom or dad.”

Léruc smiled back. He told Saulstrance that the only way he’d ever be disappointed with him is if he didn’t try. This made Saulstrance smile wider.

The two dragons walked back to the fortress. After both another big stretch and yawn, Saulstrance tiredly asked Léruc if he could carry him. Without hesitation, Léruc agreed to carry the worn out hatchling on his back. He lifted Saulstrance up and together they headed into the fortress. Léruc promised Saulstrance that in celebration for passing his first test, they would have a huge dinner, bigger than any they ever had. Saulstrance’s eyes lit up upon hearing this and he demanded that his adoptive father walk faster so they could eat.

[animeboye]

Dragon's World Past Chapter 1

Chapter 1: My Name is Saulstrance

Six years later, an exam was held by one of the rulers of the dragon realm, the Leader, Léruc. Six very young dragons were gathered at their Leader’s hall. The purpose for this exam was to determine three possible candidates who would go on to study under their Leader. Eventually, the Leader would determine one of the three who would go on to become his or her apprentice and if the chosen dragon wished, they could also become the Leader’s Champion or even take the Leader’s place if they passed away or resigned. Normally, the Leader in question would appoint someone they knew and trusted, such as a friend or member of their clan. It wasn’t too often that they held exams.

The six dragons were all very anxious. Each one strongly believed his or her self to be the one who would become Lord Léruc’s apprentice. Among these dragons was a small orange dragon named Saulstrance. Having been raised by Léruc since birth, he wasn’t sure why his master would have him take part in the exams. Saulstrance assumed that, perhaps Léruc didn’t want the other hatchlings to think that Saulstrance was receiving special treatment.

The dragons talked amongst each other until it was time for Léruc to give his speech. As he stepped forward, followed by his two guards, the hatchlings became quiet. Léruc carefully observed each of the six dragons before speaking. The old dragon noted the confidence in these childrens’ eyes which he found greatly admirable. Afterwards, he cleared his throat and spoke.

“In the beginning, we had eighteen young, bright eyed dragons before us. We are now down to six. The six of you have all shown great promise and if I had the choice, I would accept each and every one of you as my pupils. But, as per tradition, only three of you will go on to study under me. Thus brings us to the next and final part of the exam: a tournament. You will battle each other one on one in a series of three battles. The victors of each battle will go on to become my pupils. Remember: these fights aren’t just about defeating your enemy. They are also a chance for you to demonstrate your powers as well as your ability to plan. Devise your plan of attack not just before battle but also during. Fight well, little dragons.”

Once Léruc had finished his speech, the six dragons applauded. The dragon Leader introduced in which order their matches would play out. The first match was between two dragonesses named Eig’nia and Mayza

Eig’nia was a small dragoness with silver scales and piercing golden eyes. Mayza was also about the same height as Eig’nia. She had cerulean scales and dark blue eyes.

“Before the battle begins, close your eyes and lower your heads.”  Léruc commanded.

The little dragonesses did as they were instructed. This was seen as a sign of respect for your opponent in wishing them a good, fair fight. When that was done, the two of them took their stances and prepared to fight.

“Good luck, Mayza.” Said Eig’nia with a smile.

“You too, Eig’nia!” Mayza smiled back.

Mayza leapt forward, swinging her tail at Eig’nia. Eig’nia jumped back, just barely missing being hit by her opponent. A fireball spluttered from Eig’nia’s throat. Mayza rolled out of its way. She jumped up and swiped her claws at Eig’nia, scratching her face. A little bit of blood trickled down Eig’nia’s face as her cheek stung slightly.

“Oww!” She whined, putting a paw over her cheek to stop it from stinging too much.

“Oops!” Mayza giggled. “Sorry, Eig’nia!”

“That’s okay.” Eig’nia smiled deviously. Without any warning, Eig’nia suddenly shot a fireball of her own at Mayza. Without thinking, Mayza leapt out of the way and before she could get back up, Eig’nia pounced on top of her. The cerulean colored little dragon struggled to get free as her foe laughed triumphantly.

“I got you, Mayza! Say uncle!” Eig’nia demanded.

“No!” Mayza exclaimed.

“Say it!” Eig’nia demanded again.

“No!!” Mayza exclaimed again.

“Okay then…” Eig’nia said in a singsong voice.

Eig’nia leaned in closer to Mayza so that their heads were just a few inches from each others’. Eig’nia puckered her lips up as slowly drool started to leak out. Noticing this, Mayza gasped and struggled even harder to get free. She stopped for a moment and noticed that Eig’nia’s drool was getting closer to her face. Moaning in fear and disgust, she soon realized that she didn’t have any other options. It was either give up or get drooled on. Neither one sounded good to her but at least if she gave up, she wouldn’t have another dragon’s spit on her face.

Before she could say “I give up” though, it was too late. Eig’nia’s saliva spilled onto the side of Mayza’s muzzle. Poor Mayza shuttered in disgust before letting out a long, ear piercing scream which gave her enough of a chance to kick Eig’nia off of her and send her flying back. Mayza jumped up and quickly rubbed her paw against her face to try and get the spit off.

“Eww, eww eww!” Mayza exclaimed, wiping Eig’nia’s drool away with the back of her paw.

As Eig’nia stood up, Mayza glared at her as she tried to wipe the spit that was now on her paw off on the ground.

“That’s it…” Mayza said, sounding like she meant business.

“I QUIT!!!” Cried Mayza, about to storm away. But before she could get too far, she was asked by Eig’nia to wait. The little dragon turned around as Eig’nia went up to her.

“I’m sorry about that. Really.” Eig’nia apologized.

Mayza frowned at Eig’nia but that frown soon turned into a smile. She nuzzled her face against Eig’nia’s to show her that she wasn’t angry with her.

“It’s okay. It was still pretty gross though.” Mayza chuckled.

“Yeah. I guess it was.” Eig’nia chuckled back.

With their battle finished, the two dragonesses shook tails, congratulating each other on a good battle. Although she was sad that she wouldn’t be able to learn under Léruc, she was also happy at the same time. She didn’t understand why she felt this way but she was glad she did. She left the hall with a grateful smile on her muzzle, and whispered “Good luck, Eig’nia” to herself.  Mayza looked back just one last time to hear Léruc announce the winner of the fight.

“Eig’nia, the first victory goes to you. While it was a rather…disgusting victory, it is a victory nonetheless. Besides, you used intimidation on your opponent which is also a way to win a battle.” Léruc announced.

“Thank you sir.” Eig’nia said, bowing in respect.

“And now, we begin the second battle. Tourajé will battle Roasch.” Announced Léruc.

Tourajé was slightly older than the other dragons there. While most of the other dragons there were around five or six, Tourajé was ten. He had dark brown scales and reddish brown eyes. Roasch was also older than the other dragons and was only two years older than his opponent. He had dark grey scales and purple eyes.

The two of them closed their eyes and bowed their heads. With a wide smile on his muzzle, Roasch wished Tourajé a good fight, the latter doing the same.

Tourajé swiped at Roasch with his claws. Roasch rolled out of the way and swung his tail at Tourajé who dropped down, barely avoiding being hit by it. Tourajé leapt up and launched a fireball at Roasch who took to the air and flew high above the others. Tourajé followed suit, spreading his wings and launching himself into the air. He chased after Roasch, shooting several fireballs at him. The grey little dragon swooped down out of the way and flew past Tourajé.

The two dragons flew throughout the hall, colliding into and shooting streams of fire at each other each chance they got. They did this for awhile until finally they landed back on the ground. They headbutted each other, Roasch’s horns resting above Tourajé’s. Roasch and Tourajé struggled, each one trying to overpower the other. Everyone kept a careful eye on the two young dragons as they continued to struggle back and forth. Tourajé would push Roasch back a bit and vice versa.  This continued until Roasch summoned most of his strength and managed to send Tourajé toppling back. Immediately, Roasch tackled his opponent, sending him flying backwards.

Tourajé landed on his wings, causing the little dragon some pain in his back. Slowly, his wings moved from under his back and spread out on the ground. Before he could get back on all fours, Roasch leapt on top of him, stepping on his wings and his hind legs to prevent him from moving. Tourajé struggled to get free while at the same time, trying to make sure he didn’t end up ripping the leather in his wings.

“Give it up, Tourajé! Keep struggling and you’ll end up wrecking your wings.” Said Roasch proudly.

Tourajé tried to think of something. He thought that he might be able to use his fire but that probably wouldn’t be enough to get Roasch off of him. He couldn’t move his front or his back legs and he definitely couldn’t fly out of this predicament. Then suddenly, something caught his attention. He hadn’t realized it before because his mind was too focused on trying to get free: Roasch hadn’t stopped his tail from moving. Tourajé smiled as Roasch took notice of this. He was surprised that his opponent would be smiling. Who would smile during something like this and especially when they were about to lose? It didn’t make any sense to Roasch.

“Why are you smiling?” Asked Roasch.

“Because I’m about to win.” Tourajé answered confidently.

“What are you talking about?” Roasch asked again, not understanding what he meant.

Tourajé wrapped his tail around Roasch’s left leg. With a tug of his tail, Roasch lost his balance and fell to the ground, allowing Tourajé the chance he needed to get back to his feet. With his tail still wrapped around Roasch’s leg, he braced himself and flung Roasch overhead, sending him crashing several feet in front of him.

Slowly, Roasch struggled to stand up. But before he could, Tourajé opened his wings and flew a few feet into the air, right above Roasch. He stopped flapping his wings and plummeted, body slamming into Roasch and knocking him out. Tourajé lay next to his unconscious opponent, panting, tired from his battle. He was amazed by how well he and Roasch fought.

“Good fight…Roasch.” Said Tourajé weakly.

“Tourajé, it is my honor to declare you the victor of the second battle. You and Roasch both battled spectacularly. Each of you fought hard and when presented with the chance, you took it upon yourself to finish the fight by knocking out your opponent.” Léruc said.

“Thank you sir.” Tourajé smiled, feeling happier than ever to be complimented by the Leader of his village.

Léruc ordered two of his men to take Roasch and Tourajé to the resting chambers so that the final fight could commence. The last fight of the exams was between Saulstrance and a green dragon named Shashala. While all the dragons there wanted desperately to become their Leader’s protégé, Shashala probably wanted it the most out of all of them. He always aimed to be the best at anything he did and saw getting to become Léruc’s apprentice as the ultimate chance to prove himself to everyone. No matter what, he wasn’t going to lose. He was going to get that third spot.

“Saulstrance, I hope you don’t hate me after our fight’s over.” Shashala said snidely.

“Why would I hate you?” Asked a confused Saulstrance.

“Well you see Saulstrance, you’re the one everyone thinks is most likely to win since you were raised by Lord Léruc. However, since I’m your opponent, that won’t happen. I’m going to beat you and get the third spot as Lord Léruc’s apprentice. And maybe if Lord Léruc is feeling nice, he’ll let you study with us every now and then.” Shashala boasted.

Saulstrance rolled his eyes. There was no way he could allow himself to lose to someone so annoying. No matter what it took, he was going to beat this guy and acquire the third spot as Lord Léruc’s apprentice, just like Saulstrance knew his master wanted.

The two dragons bowed but neither of them closed their eyes. Saulstrance kept his head up slightly, glaring at Shashala with an annoyed look on his face. Shashala noticed this but didn’t pay any mind. He thought the same thing that Saulstrance was thinking: he was going to get that third spot and become Lord Léruc’s apprentice and no one, especially some orphan dragon, no matter if he was raised by Lord Léruc was going to take that from him.

Saulstrance and Shashala opened their wings and took to the air. Fire and lighting filled the hall, striking the walls and the ground with one stray bolt of lighting almost striking Eig’nia.  Léruc ordered Eig’nia to come over to him so that she’d be safer. He worried that this fight could get a bit out of hand. Eig’nia ran as fast as she could, avoiding occasional fireballs and lighting bolts. She stood right beside her master as he placed a wing over her to keep her safe.

The two dragons dropped back to the ground. Saulstrance drove his fist into Shashala’s face and the latter bit into Saulstrance’s left front leg as deeply as he could. To get him off, Saulstrance released a stream of fire from his throat, aiming it right in Shashala’s face. Shashala roared in pain, releasing his jaw’s grip on Saulstrance’s leg and falling backward.

With a mighty swing of his tail, Saulstrance smacked Shashala in the side, causing him to roar in pain and sending him rolling ten feet. Growling, Shashala stood up. He was becoming furious. This fight was proving to be much more difficult than he would have liked. However, he knew he couldn’t let that scare him. He had to win, no matter what.

Another bolt of lighting shot from Shashala’s mouth, causing Saulstrance to jump back as the bolt struck where he was standing. In response, Saulstrance expelled another stream of fire which Shashala also avoided. The two of them leapt at each other, swiping the other across the face with their claws. They then headbutted, a small stream of blood trickling down their heads. It was at that moment that both dragons began to feel dizzy. In trying to defeat the other, both of them had ended up pushing themselves to their limits. Shashala, however, had overexerted himself far more than Saulstrance. He staggered, trying to maintain his balance. He knew this wasn’t good. He had used up way too much energy though he was certain that Saulstrance had too and he hoped that Saulstrance had used more energy than he did.

Saulstrance noticed Shashala was having trouble keeping his balance. He saw this as his opportunity to win. He ran towards Shashala and pulling the remainder of his strength into his tail, smashed it into Shashala’s face, knocking him off his feet.  The green dragon struggled to try to get back to his feet but collapsed. He tried again, reminding himself that he had to get up. He had to win this fight.

It was no use. Shashala’s legs gave out under him and he collapsed again. He squished his eyes and growled under his breath.

“It would appear that Shashala can no longer battle. Therefore, Saulstrance is our third victor.” Declared Lord Léruc.

Saulstrance’s eyes lit up upon hearing that. A big smile formed on his muzzle. He did it! He was finally going to get to learn under Lord Léruc. Even though he lived with him, Léruc always told Saulstrance that he would teach him if he took in an exam he was going to hold and won it. Now, that moment had finally come and he couldn’t have been happier. Saulstrance was certain that if his parents were there, they would have been just as excited as he was.

However, not everyone was happy about the victory. Shashala glared at Saulstrance. That was supposed to be HIM celebrating. HE was meant to be the apprentice to the Leader of the village, not Saulstrance.

“Saulstrance, you fought with all your strength and you gave a splendid show. You should feel honored to have—“

“Wait!” Shashala called out, cutting off Léruc.

“ I want a rematch! I can beat Saulstrance! I know I can!” The little dragon pleaded.

“Shashala, you fought well too. Although you may not have won, you still fought admirably and that is something to be proud of.” Léruc smiled.

“So what! That doesn’t mean anything if I don’t win!” Shashala protested.

“Shashala, just stop!” Eig’nia chimed in. “Saulstrance won fair and square. Don’t be such a sore loser.”

Hearing that made Shashala even madder. He struggled to his feet again and slowly walked out of the hall. He looked back one last time and stared at Saulstrance, growling and wearing an intensely angry face. This wasn’t over for Shashala. He was going to beat Saulstrance someday and prove to Lord Léruc that he deserved to be his apprentice and not Saulstrance.

“And with that, the exams are concluded! You three have shown that you are the ones best suited to becoming my pupils. You will learn under me and perhaps one day, one of you will succeed me as the village’s Leader. From this day forth, let it be known that the dragons Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé are my apprentices.” Declared Léruc proudly.

Saulstrance and Eig’nia cheered. All of their hard work had finally paid off. However, unbeknownst to them, the events that were to occur in the years to come would end up shaping their futures. This was only the beginning.

[animeboye]

Dragon's World Past Prologue

Dragon’s World Past Prolouge

It was a tradition in this particular world: when a hatchling was about to be born, their parents, as well as the closest friend of their parents would be there to witness the child’s birth. Having witnessed this, the parents’ friend (or friends if they had a mate) would then become the child’s “nest parent” or parents. If the parents’ friends had any children of their own, then their children and the children of their friends would become “nest siblings”.

However, on this particular night, there were no parents or friends around to witness the birth of the dragon contained in this lone egg. It sat alone, in a cold, dark cave nestled in a nest that sat below a dimly lit fire. A cold wind ran through the cave, disturbing the fire but not being strong enough to put it out.

Suddenly, the egg began to move. Slowly, it began to crack as a small dragon with orange scales emerged, its cries echoing throughout the cave.  The little dragon’s cries brought attention to it as a shadowy figure stood at the foot of the cave, its wings stretched out in order to keep the newborn dragon from becoming any colder.

“You poor thing.” The figure spoke in a soft, sympathetic voice.

The shadowy figure moved closer towards the dragon as the fire cast a dim light over it, revealing that the figure was an old dragon. This dragon’s scales were white and its spines and the leather in its wings were black as well as its underside.

The old dragon moved closer to the newborn hatchling and wrapped its wing around the newborn to shield it from the cold.

“You’ve been here all by yourself. No parents, no siblings, no one to welcome you into the world. Well, I promise to look after you. After all, it is what your parents would have wanted.”

Although the older dragon knew the baby dragon’s parents, he was not related to them. Still, he sought to take care of the child as if he were his family. This child, whose parents left him with nothing but a name. And that name was…