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The unicorns are coming, and the dragons are readying for war |
| [Introduction]
It is a time of great strife for the dragons. They are about to engage in an epic battle with the unicorns over land rights. Firstly, we must all introduce ourselves. After that, our esteemed leader, Tenea  , will hand out our assignments, and we will update the council on our progress. DRAGONS OF THE WORLD, UNITE! |
| [The Blue Dream] In a well-hidden but extremely large cavern, the Dragon Council was meeting. Each of the members were to make an introduction, then begin to plan for war. A mid-sized midnight blue dragon with sky blue eyes, a crown of spikes, two sets of mammoth wings, and a spiked tail stepped forward. "Good evening. I am Rhia. I live in the icy Northern Wastelands. I breathe fire, and am most at home in the cold. Some have called me noble because I like to look out for those weaker than I am. You may judge for yourself. The color of my hide allows me to blend easily into the night sky, so I am very good at scouting and spying. I prefer to work alone. I have never had much of a problem with the unicorns, as they are far too delicate to endure the bone freezing winds that howl around my solitary mountain peak. But I will do whatever task our esteemed leader, Tenea - college student assigns me to." Being of few words, Rhia stepped back to let another take the floor. It was the leader, Tenea - college student . Rhia bowed her head in respect, as did all the other dragons gathered. The heat from so many powerful beasts was beginning to warm the cavern and the air was getting a bit stuffy, but there was much to do this night, so they all set aside their discomforts. The leader spoke. [Tenea - college student] Tenea stepped forward, her light blue scales glinting in the one ray of sunlight that streamed through the cavern. "Thank you for the introduction, Rhia," she said, bowing her head and then looking over the gathered dragons. "I have been thinking long and hard over what we dragons should do to prepare for war with the unicorns. I believe this is the right course of action -- they are trespassing on land that has been ours for centuries upon centuries. "The Firedrake of Ice , I would like you to lead the defense of our home. I trust that you will assemble a team of dragons that will be able to guard what land we have been able to hold onto. "Rhia, I would like you to fly beyond what mountains we are accustomed to and see if any other dragons will join our crusade. I believe you are the best, and maybe only, dragon for this job. "Flara is Depressed.. , I think that you should lead the scouts. We need to keep track of the movements of the unicorns, so that we may know when best to strike. "And Orion's Moon , you are known for your cleverness. I charge you with coming up with attack strategies, and new ideas that we can use to attack the unicorns. I want them to be surprised when we first attack. "You four are my trusted leaders, and I look to you to lead your individual teams -- or any allies beyond the mountains -- so that we may drive the unicorns away from our land." Tenea looked around at the dragons assembled. "I will trust my leaders to pick the dragons that they think best to work under them. Those not picked will start training under me. Combat will come sooner than we all would like! So let's get started!" [The Firedrake of Ice] Sithyll watched as the others were given their assignments. Defense, eh? Not the most exciting task, she mused, but one that most certainly had to be done. And so she would do it, to the best of her ability. She was like that. The meeting ended shortly, and each dragon went their separate ways, on their separate tasks. Sithyll, amethyst scales flashing in the waning sunlight, winged her way back to her mountain stronghold, a deep network of caverns where she lived and worked. And read. She had a remarkably large library, one of the largest collections known to dragonkind. And it was this that she went to first, once she had landed. There were books of fiction, history, weather, prophecies (most of them flawed), biiographies, religious books, and dozens more, all carefully catelouged in her gigantic library cave, the heart of her networked caverns. It was a tall shelf approximately two thirds of the way to the back of the cavern that Sithyll wanted. This was the section of books on wars, and instructional books on the construction of devices of war. She didn't bother with the trebuchets and catapults, knowing know easily a nimble unicorn could dodge them, or blast the rocks with their far too magical horns. Ballistas though, and walls for defense, with boiling oil and exploding mines, these she could use. Of course, many of them would have to be adapted to dragon uses and sizes, but they were a start. Carrying a heavy load of books carefully wrapped in enchanted leather, Sithyll launched from her caverns to travel to the largest dragon city in existence, and the place where most of the defenses would be needed. It was also where she expected to find her helpers, who would build the devices while she drilled troops in practical defense. It was going to be a long night. [Flara is Depressed..] Flara crouched in the corner, watching all the other dragons and listening to what Tenea and Rhia said. Her black and blue metallic scales shimmered in the dim lighting. As she was told what she should do, she grinned, her large set of teeth gleaming in the light. She loved being out there, scouting, where the action was. She stood up and flexed, then paced around a little. "Scouting, eh? Sounds good. I think I'll circle around here, then swing around in larger radiuses each sweep." As they walked out of the cavern Flara stretched when she had the room. The stuffy air had made her uncomfortable, so she leaped into the air, her scales blending in with the night sky, her sapphire eyes glistening, carefully watching for the unicorns. Flara thought back to the council, and smiled, thinking about how she loved to fight. Flara started moving her wings faster and rose higher into the air. She circled around, first at a mile radius of the mountain where the dragons had met, then started stretching the radius. **just a question, in this campfire can we "think speak"? I mean, communicate with our minds? [Orion's Moon] Sitting in silence, the dragon's iridescent scales of deep forest green, undertoned with soft azure blue, reflected in the flickering bonfire burning on the white sand beach. Contemplating her purpose and direction, Orion’s Moon gazed out into the oncoming waves of the restless ocean hoping for answers from the falling evening mist. Smelling the salt from the open ocean, she felt at peace and the silence was comforting, a soft blanket of contentment allowing her to be alone with her thoughts. Unicorns, she thought, what a waste of purity. She snorted and curled her upper lip, wondering if there would be any way for a surprise attack against the one horned mules. Not by air, she concluded, too obvious. But, by sea might be something they wouldn’t be expecting. She tilted her head to the side and let her eyes linger on the sparkling stars in the sky, counting the ones she had been to. To her amazement, she smiled and found an idea laid before her in the form of the constellations above. It might just work, but I will need some help. Inhaling deeply, she felt her lungs fill, then exhaled, spraying water onto the fire to extinguish the blaze. Rooting through the ashes with her nose, she lifted the moonstone medallion from the remnants of the fire and slid it over her head and down her neck. Warmth spread through her body from the heat of the medal and captured fire within the amulet, freeing her from the icy depths of her blood. Cursed as a mutant water dragon instead of an ice dragon like her clan at birth, she needed the heat to keep her from freezing in the upper atmosphere of her normal flight patterns. She rarely visited with the ice breathers, but she had no other choice tonight. With a last glance at the stars, she extended her wings and took to the sky. [airplane1285] Must keep moving, I thought to myself. Never let them get you. Keep flying away from them, fly in the night so your scales will blend in with the night sky, hide during the day. This was the routine for him for several weeks now. Running and hiding. Those horse animals with their horns had attacked his nice, solitary home and forced him to flee or surrender his life, so naturally he fled. He made a vow that day that he would have revenge on those animals. When and where, he did not know, but he did know that he had to live to make that day come true. The dawn sky was a wounded looking purple. Got to find a place to cover myself. There! A cave in the mountain, I will hide there for the day. [The Blue Dream] Rhia looked up, startled. A strange dragon had just entered the cavern, dragging his wet feet over the floor she had just cleaned in preparation of leaving the council chamber. Rhia did not mesh well with strangers. She preferred her solitude, only coming to these meetings out of respect for the council. But she supposed she would have to try to help this dragon, since he had a rather hunted look in his eye, and had probably not slept for days. "Hello-" she began, intending to offer him a bed for the night, but she never got past that first word. As soon as his tail cleared the entrance, he collapsed. Rhia hurried to reach Tenea before she left. "Forgive me for interrupting your departure, Tenea, but there's a dragon passed out in the council chamber. I'd stay, but you know me. I'd rather not have to deal with someone I don't know. I'd like to start my journey anyway. I want to reach Draco Pass before nightfall." With that, Rhia spread both sets of wings and gracefully rose into the sky, an iridescent splash of dark blue against the lighter, crystalline azure of the morning sky. Before Tenea could protest, Rhia was out of sight. [Tenea - college student] Tenea walked into the great chamber and saw the dragon collapsed on the ground. After some attempts to wake him up, she saw that he was stirring. She called in some Healers and had them take him to a bed. She would question him when he awoke... [The Firedrake of Ice] Sithyll surveyed the work with satisfaction. They had gotten most of the plans worked out to dragon sizes and shapes, and the city would soon be well on its way to withstanding any unicorn invasion. They had worked through the night and well past noon, and now the sun was setting once more. Sithyll yawned, her amethyst fangs glinting, and shook her head to clear it. She knew she should rest, but wanted the work to continue while she slept, any delay making her squirm with anxiety. She wandered over to survey the testing of a modified ballista, a gigantic thing of wood and rope that would launch an arrow like a tree trunk at the enemy. They had infused the gigantic shafts with an explosive sort of dragon magic, so that it would shatter upon launch and split into dozens of tiny lethal shafts no thicker than a normal human arrow. No unicorn, they hoped, would be able to dodge or blast every single one of the deadly arrows. The string snapped forward and the shaft flew at an awesome speed out over the test plain. With a resounding crack, it split and a cloud of arrows spread out, peppering the plains, many of them impacting the straw unicorn dummies set in the field. Sithyll smiled tiredly, and yawned again. One of her assistants glided over. "Go to sleep already, you're no use like this, and believe me, despite what you may think, enough of us can read and think that we won't need you until you awake." The assistant smiled to take any sting from his words, and Sithyll grinned back. "All right, I'll go already. But you all had better not mess up and let the unicorns through. I'd hate to wake up with a horn to my throat." With that, she flew off into the gathering gloom, heading toward her private caves and several solid hours of sleep. [airplane1285] I woke in a strange place around twilight. I had no idea where I was or what I was doing here, but I knew that I couldn't stay that long, I have to keep moving. As I started out to find the exit of this place I heard what sounded like other dragon voices, I decide to take that chance and investgate so I went around the back of the cave to look around. |
| [ShtaraStarDreamer]Sora woke up from her sleeping room, a separate room in the back of her warm cavern. She was from the clan of Fire Dragons, hatched on the warmed cast-off scales of her mother, the Queen dragon, Silori. At the age of eighty she had matured enough to look for and find this warm cavern situated near the middle realms of the volcano known as Corintha. The cavern, millenia ago, was one of the many lava cracks the giant volcano used to release its load of magma from deep within the mantle of the earth. Above and below her, other dragon caves and cavern systems abounded with clan members as well as siblings, both older and a few younger than she. She stretched her wings as she woke. Feeling a rumble of hunger in her midsection, she decided to find a small breakfast nibble. Afterward she would be checking out the area for signs of unicorn encroachments near the base of the volcanic mountain range she and her kin called their own territories. Lately the unicorns, always breeding it seemed, had had to find more territories to feed their growing numbers. Looking down from her heighth Sora saw the unicorn stallion Carnati with his six mares and half a dozen foals. Irritated at this last advance of her years-old enemy, she spat long streams of fire in his direction, knowing of course, they would fall far short of singing his black hide. This was ENOUGH! She thought to herself, it was time to do something! One more year of this and the unicorns would take over the last pastures of the Kias, the delicacy all Dragon Kind loved the most. A fragile deer-like mammal, exquisitely sweet and succulently tender. It was time to head for the Dragon city, Torii, it was time to find out if any other dragons in the world were tired of the Unicorn Invasions of the dragon realms. She had heard a rumor from her sibling, Tann, just the week before that some dragon clans were talking war. War! Well, it was definitely what the unicorns deserved, and she for one, wanted to be in on it! If the rumor was founded in truth. |
| Sithyll was nervous. Not because she was worried about her safety; no unicorn could harm her this far up in the sky, even with magic. No, she was worried because she was away from the city, Torii, away from the main defense work. She always got antsy when she had to entrust others to do her job, even when she knew full well that they would come through. She shook her head to clear it and looked down at the ground so far below. She was looking for all possible approach routes to the great plains where the primary battle would likely commence. Torii itself was situated higher up in the mountain range and would therefore be relatively easy to defend if the unicorns could just be contained in the plains. Ideally, she wanted to cut off all but one semi-obvious route through the woods so that the defenses could be concentrated at one point. It was a long shot, for the woods were where the unicorns felt most at home, and it was nigh impossible to fool one of the beasts anyway. But she felt she had to try. Yet, as she stared down at the extensive forest, despair began to wash over her. It was too thin, too spread out for the unicorns to be guaranteed to take any one route. She would have to spread her defenses thin, as much as she hated to, while the unicorns could come from anywhere. True, scouts would be watching, but a dragon can only fly so fast. News would not reach the city much quicker than the unicorns themselves. She turned to go, wanting to consult her books once again. It should be possible, she mused, to bury a number of explosives at the edge of the treeline to take out the first ranks of unicorns. It wouldn't be as effective as she wanted, for those would probably only be scouts, but it was something. As she turned, however, she spotted what appeared to be a member of the clan of Fire Dragons, winging its way toward the city at top speed. Not recognizing the dragon from the meeting earlier, Sithyll dived, curious as to just who this was. |
| Sora suddenly saw this dragon approaching, though still far away as yet. She backpaddled her wings in the sky, abruptly slowing down, then stretched her long neck downward in a graceful curve, bleeding off more speed, she waited respectfully as would be expected from an adolescent of Sora's age. Excitement threatened to overwhelm her. Firmly she clamped down on her emotions, it would not do act like an unresponsible child. Oh my, she thought as she saw the other's amythist scales flashing in flight, was this one of the famous Ice Dragons? Like the Fire Dragons, the Ice Dragons breathed fire, but they preferred the cool to cold climes of the Northern Realms, while her clan preferred the constant warmth of the Southern Realms. Even to the extent of snuggling as close to a still living volcano as it was possible to get. However, all dragonkind knew there was something special about Ice Dragons. It was rumored that when you had an Ice Dragon for a friend your life would be extended triple in years. Of course, that was probably just a false rumor. But she remembered even her mother spoke almost reverently of the Ice Dragons of the North. So wise, mother had told her brood. They always were searching for knowledge of new things beyond the ken of the Wise Ones. "Even know too (Mother's voice dipped into a husky whisper), her newest brood of which Sora was one of, sucked in their breaths, recognizing the Queen's story-telling voice hinting that something of great mystery was about to be revealed to them. "...great magic is said to travel with the Ice Dragons of the North. They are said to have once made friendship with an alien race on a planet many star years distant. That alien race, in the end betrayed their friendship and the Ice Dragons returned, but oh the knowledge they brought back with them! Befriend any Ice Dragon you meet, children, you will not regret it." "Hello," she ducked her head in respect to the Ice Dragon. "My name is Sora, daughter of the Queen, Silorii, I'm from Corinth the Mountain of Fire, in the Southern Realms. I am bound for Torii to see if the rumor of war between Dragonkind and Unicorn is true. Can you tell me?" |
| Sithyll paused, uncertain. It was rare for someone to act so deferential to her; most dragons where she lived took her as she was, just one of the several of her clan living near Torii, where it was nice and cool year round. True, her scales often shook others off. Many were unsure as to just which clan she belonged, for the delicate amethyst color hinted at possible interclan breeding. But she was, at heart, an ice dragon, having lived with the clan for many decades before finally moving out on her own. She shook herself and focused on the newcomer, this Sora. As she prepared a greeting, the analytical part of her mind noted that her earlier observation had been correct: the dragon was of the Fire Clan. That was good; while many dragons breathed fire, those of the Fire Clan were most adept at fire magic, and their flames burned hotter than anything known in the world. This Sora would be a definite asset in the coming war. Ignoring that part of her mind for the moment, Sithyll gave a bow of greeting to Sora, made deeper by the fact that she was the daughter of the Queen of the Fire Clan. "Greetings, Sora. I am Sithyll, of the Ice Clan of the Arlan Mountain Range. I am in charge of defense of Torii and surrounding lands in the coming war. Yes, the rumors are correct: war is coming, all too soon. The Unicorns are enroaching on our lands, and soon they will all-out invade as they seek to expand their living space. We must protect our lands if we are to survive, and in doing so, we must fight. We could always use more help, if you are willing. Sora nodded eagerly. She started talking about how the Unicorns had begun to take over the Kias fields, and how the fields were nearly gone, and how much she hated what was happening and how eager she was to help. She fell silent after a few minutes, when Sithyll didn't say anything. She seemed almost embarassed, and Sithyll had to fight to not break out in a grin; she had been talktative too in her youth, and even now, many of her friends would groan good-naturedly when she began a story. "Come on, you'll want to be where the action is. I'm done here, so I'll fly with you back to the city. Wait until you see what we've started there. Maybe you can help with the mines; we don't have many fire dragons up here, and we could use a stronger fire in the spell." |
| It was hard for Sora to hold her excitement back. She fairly shook with happiness that the Ice Dragon not only treated her with respect, and not as the adolescent she still was, but seemed to even be happy she was here. They needed her! Despite her inner control, she shook her body in the near ectasy of acceptance. Sithyll did not speak much as they flew toward Torii, so Sora held her own tongue as well. But the truth was she was fair to bursting with questions, still it would not do to show just how young she actually was. She felt at last her real 'adult' life had finally begun. And what were the dragons plan in this war. What role would she play and how would she accomplish her missions? Oh my, she wished Tann was here with her. Her brother seemed wise beyond his years, sometimes; when he wasn't teasing her like the adolescent he was. But so he should, Tann would eventually mate with the Princess daughter of Corella, Queen Dragon of the Sorsii clan of the fire mountain, Candan, a thousand miles to the south and west of Corinth. The Sorsii clan was second most powerful of the twelve clans of Fire Dragon. "Ooh," she couldn't help but say, "Torii is so large. I had no idea its extent." Then, "What are those herds down there? No! It couldn't be! You have Kia in herds here?" |
| Sithyll had to work not to laugh out loud as she watched the young dragon flying to her left. She knew well the feelings of excitment and wonder that Sora was feeling, having gone through something similar before in her life. She had been a young dragon, moping about because there was nothing she was old enough and strong enough to do. Then her older sibling had come over and asked her politely if she could help him to herd the Kias in for the evening. She had been so full of herself that she had nearly frozen one of the poor beasts to death, but it was still a memory she looked back on with fondness. Sora's excited exclamation shook her from her memories. "Well, it is the capitol city, Sora. Of course it is large. Down there you can find the greatest collection of minds, bodies, ideas, and magic in any known dragon land. It is sad that the main battles will take place near here; it would be all to easy to lose something or someone of immense value. We were even considering evacuating some of the city. "And as for the Kias herds, we have worked long and hard to keep them here, literally carving out a grazing field for them in a safe location near the city. I'm afraid they may have to be evacuated as well, which would be a terrible thing to face, for the foolish creatures would die of fright to be carried to safety by us. Of course, they have good reason to be scared of us." Here, Sithyll grinned widely, for the taste of the creatures was like nothing else in the world. Then her smile faded as she saw the commotion going on in the city below. What was going on? There was definitely something wrong, for dragons were milling about, all trying to fly away from a tall column of smoke that rose from the ground near one of the outer walls. Ignoring her companion, she dove down at the commotion. It would not do to have problems of this scale in the middle of war preparations. |
| Sora saw the smoke about the same time Sithyll did, so Sithyll's sudden departure didn't surprise her. Concered, she started a slow descent in a wide circle around the problem area beneath. What, she wondered, is going on? Even as she wondered this several dragons of various clans came flying by, nearly upsetting her smooth descent. "What's happening?" Sora yelled at a small green dragon. Rudely, the dragon deigned to answer and just kept going. "Hrmphhh," Sora grumbled to herself. "He could have answered me. There is no danger this high." About that time, far beneath her, a "Whump" sounded and an ominous cloud of black smoke and fire came boiling up from the city below. With her heart thumping in momentary panic, Sora put on a burst of speed, heading away from the trajectory of the upward bearing smoke and fire. Seconds later she realized she had paniced without reason. Her flight path was still far above the highest the belched smoke cloud could reach. More concerned than ever now, she dove in a steeper angle, to come down near, but not too near, the conflagation below. Then, to her shock, she saw a small herd of unicorns hightailing it as fast as their nimble hooves could take them toward the skimpy forest not far away. Unicorns! Had they brought the war home to Torii before even the first confrontation had occurred? To teach them a lesson, she dived straight downward at high speed, inhaling as she descended. Coming up to their backsides before the audacious creatures even knew they were spotted, she exhaled all the fire her kith and kin had put in her to do. Two of the tailing unicorns screamed in dying agony, a third screamed too, as its backside burned raw of skin and hair. It too would probably die of its wounds later on. The two leaders, their heads tossed back to see her, felt the blasting heat from her firey breath. Only the lead unicorn had the sense to throw defensive magic toward her from his sparkling blue horn. Feeling the tingle of the horn's magical power, Sora abruptly pulled up to escape its reach. Moments later, looking down, she saw the three survivor's make it to the thinly draped forest land. "There!" She said to their disappearing image, "that should tell you what you have in store if you dare to bother our city again." Sora abruptly twisted around to find Sithyll again, and to see how much damage the unicorns had wrought in their daring raid. |
| Balbo could hear the comotion from his possision in the infirmery chamber, The last thing he remember he was flying through Draco Pass and was jumped by unicorn mages, he was recovered by someone and brought here. He cannot yet see what damege happened due to the bandege the healer placed over his eyes. "Son!" a voice came out of nowhere, "i need you to stay here, im going to check what happened." "Ok, i'll stay here i guess, is it safe to take off the wrappings?" Balbo asked the voice as it left the room. "Yes, but dont leave, i still have questions for you," the voice yelled from the next coridor. He went to find the leather bandege hearing the sould of metal against metal, which is strange cause of the whole scale thing. he took off the wrappings and threw them to the cavern floor. His scales were once a brillant blue, that scorched th sky as he zoomed by, once the fastest of his clan, is now covered with metal. Feeling rather distrot, he stumbled into the next room dragging his heavy feet. He slammed into the back wall and cracked the wall with the weight of his body. "Whoa, I didnt feel anyhthing, but look at what i did to the wall." He flexed his hand in front of his eyes watching the sharp metalic blades cling together and shine like any steel that is found in this world. He reared up and crashed into the wall once more with his shoulder, creating an even bigger crack in the rock wall. "What the HELL are you and what are you doing in my room?" A tall silver moon scaled dragon stepped in and stared at Balbo rather angry. "Good Question, im so sorry," he said bowing adding more metal scraping sounds to the already noisy area. "can you tell me what is going on up on the surface?" "The unicorns attacked, burning down one of our towers, no if you please, get out!" The silver dragon grabbed the metal abomonation and literally threw him out. Balbo Staggered out of the hallway and tried to find the way to the surface, his new gift, or curse may be used against the ones that gave it to him. |
| Sithyll braked suddenly as she neared the smoke column. Like Sora, she could see the unicorns racing away, but she ignored them in favor of a damage assessment. A scout tower had exploded, scattering shrapnel and bits of flaming debris for dozens of dragonlenths in all directions, injuring numerous dragons, several of whom she recognized as having been working on the defense systems when she had left to do her scouting. First things first she told herself and steeled her will against the cries of the injured; medics could take care of them far better than she could. Inhaling deeply, she focused her mind and blew a cloud of icy air over the burning remains of the tower. Instantly, the flames vanished and the smoke began to clear. Water droplets formed on the now-icy stone fragments, and the ambient temperature dropped noticeably before rising again from the numerous dragons milling about, either injured or tending to those who were. The fire dealt with, Sithyll turned her attention to more important matters. Spotting the dragon she had placed in charge of organizing the lookouts, she glided over and landed in front of him. "What the hell happened here?" The dragon gulped, as if worried she might blame him, then led her off to a quieter area. "The unicorns happened, ma'am. It seems they had a teleport stone in here. Who knows for how long. They used it to bring in maybe half a dozen of their numbers, give or take a few. They appeared behind us, and had planted their spell before we could react. The first most of us knew about them was when the tower exploded; we were watching outward, not it. Poor Riehc was perched there, too. No remains, not even a wingtip to bury." He bowed his head; he had known Riehc a long time, and while they were not necessarily close friends, they had always worked well and easily together. Sithyll allowed him a moment of silence before she pressed him again. He shook himself and opened his mouth to continue. At that point, however, a great monstrosity of metal approached them, seemingly a dragon with metal scales, although such a thing was unheard of as far back as Sithyll could remember. She made a mental note to check her history books, then forgot about it as the metal dragon reached them. Sithyll opened her mouth to say something—she wasn't sure what—when Sora arrived. "What is that?!" she whispered to Sithyll after a few seconds of stunned silence. |
| In front of her stood a dragon with what looked like metal scales, of all things! How was that possible? She swung her eyes from the odd creature in front of her to Sithyll and back again. "It's apparently a metal scaled dragon," Sithyll answered. "I've never heard of such a thing," Sora said, then, "How could such a dragon exist?" Sithyll answered, "I don't know but I wonder if it could be used to our advantage. Metal could be the perfect shield against the magic of the unicorn's horns. I've heard magic is stopped cold with metal. If it's true this dragon could serve our side very well. Very well indeed." "Now," Sithyll turned to her, "I hope you are not discouraged just getting here and seeing the damage done by the unicorns on your first day in Torii." "Not a bit! I saw the unicorns running away and followed them. I set two on fire, they're dead, one is sorely wounded, and I must admit two escaped into the forest." "You got killed two of them? That is great, Sora. You are the first of us to draw blood in this war. I'm just sorry to say they're the first to draw blood on us. How they managed to get a transport stone in here in the first place puzzles me." "Anybody have an idea how this was accomplished?" She asked looking around to all the dragons, both wounded and healthy. |
| "If you mean the explosion, thats the easy one, but the trasport stone thats different," said Balbo as he ventured closer to the clump o dragons talking, "the explosion was actually a simple heat charm, id hate to say this but the heated the air inside the tower until it could not hold the preasure, and *POP* for the lack of better words, they used it against the castle i was living in when they found me." Sithyll shuddered at the word "POP" it difenitly wasnt the right word, "Hey! i lost a dragon in that POP, and when did you become an expert on unicorn magic?" "What do you mean?" Balbo sat with a metalic clank. "As far as we know you could have brought them here your self." Sithyll said getting steadly closer to the metal one. "My apologies, first the attack and then you im alittle up nearved...What is you name, metal one?" Sithyll said bowing. "There is no nead to bow, for i am still far to young to be considered useful. Balbo is what my Friend named me." "Balbo then, and actually you may be more useful then you think. Let us meet later in the conferance room, near dusk. Agreed?" Sithyll said looking from one dragon to the other. "Agreed" Both nodded and went to be of use. |
| When Balbo had gone, Sithyll turned to Sora. "Well, now that you're in Torii, what do you think?" She asked with grim humor. Sora looked around at the medics taking care of the wounded, at the watchdragons erecting a shielding spell, and at the grieving friends of Riehc. "I...I suppose I have come at the right time to be useful." "That is definitely the truth. So let's get to work. Since I met you first, I get to take you, so you're on the defense team with me, at least until the next Council meeting. And I haven't heard from the others much lately, so who knows when that will be. "So follow me. I need your fire magic for the next stage of the defense operations. I'm hoping to recreate something I have seen used occasionally, to great effect. The basic idea is an object buried beneath the ground that explodes when an enemy comes near it. It is not very honorable, but war is never honorable. Come, we're going to the temporary R&D center we established. Let's see what that magic of yours can do!" |
| Sora followed Sithyll, keeping her eyes and ears open as the two dragons made their way down to the R&D laboratories. Everywhere they went dragons were quiet, not excited as she would have thought with the recent violent events. Little dragonetts followed their caretakers with scarely a word, diffent from the excited little voices exclaiming over every new thing their eyes beheld. Young adolescent dragons lounged beneath great trees lining the streets and spaced about the many parks Torii could boast of. The older dragons, the adults and even the elder, more senior dragons, gathered in pockets here and there discussing the situation in quiet thought and few heated discussions. To Sora's eyes this was not a city sure of its victory, rather it seemed the first blow struck by the unicorns caused more damage to the moral of the dragons then the physical damage done by the explosion. What was wrong with them, she mused? The damage done from the blast was actually minimal with only one death, though many were wounded with varying degrees of severity. But the unicorn's secret attack had sent the city into imbalance, rather than shore up determination to win this war. She frowned, thining furiously, something other than war was wrong. Anybody could see it. Again, she wished Tann was here with her, or even better, her mother. Sora felt in dire need of her mother's wisdom at this moment. With moral this low, the war might be a mistake from the get-go. "Sithyll," Sora finally asked as they approached their destination halfway across the city from where they had started out. "Why does the city seem so quiet? Are you sure the dragons want war? I mean, look around us, they resemble a population that wants to be left alone, not do battle. If our kind does not want war, I mean, does not want to stop the Unicorns from taking our lands, we have lost before we even get started. |
| Balbo went off to explore the new city that he was thrown into, he saw parks of great size many dragons from the smallest to the most elderly. he sat under a large tree staring into the sky he wondered where his friend was at the moment, its been literaly ages sense he dropped him off in the world of dragons. No more will he fly to his rescue and save the day. "I cant do anything like this, well other then break down walls." Balbo said scraching the tree with his new metal talons. "Non-sense, what i wouldnt do to be young and ready to fight." An ancient Fire clan staggered closer to him, "you know, i have heard of a metal before, but i cant remember where i saw it. It was in a book about magic, or something to that effect. You should go check the liberary, they might have something useful." "Where can i find the library?" Balbo asked tilting his heade to the older dragon. "See that enturance there, my child. You follow that tunnel down about three floors then it should be on your left, NO right. Yeah." The oldtimer scratched at his chin, in thought. Balbo followed the oldtimer's advise and found the library, he found someone that looked like they worked there, so he stepped up to her. "Row 567, coloum 3, 'Magical Prophocies' " She said without even turning around. So Balbo went to row 567, coloum 3 and searched for the book that she said was here. Still kinda curious of how she knew what he was loking for he found the book and returned to the lady's back. "Yes, you may check it out, bring it back when your done." she said with a small sarcasm in her voice. He looked at her kinda sidways and exited the library and headed for the surface. On his way out he found what looked like a study room so he curled in a ball in a corner and open the book. "Metal is found to stop any kind of magic that is trown at it, but is very rare in dragon kind, there is accounts of horses, or snakes becoming incased in metal. Both showed greater use in the magic arts and weilded an arsenal of metalic abilities: 1.Strengh 2.The ability to withstand extreme heat and presure that may crush or implode orenary beings. 3.The ability to form metalic objects with apendeges EXAMPLE: froming shovals with hands,etc. These abilities can be both helpful and harmful, depending on how they are used." The book went on in a random rhyme that Balbo simple read and dismissed. "The Metal one is the Key Metal Key into the door Do not underestmate posibility Unlock the door, Wartime no more The Metal one is the Key" Balbo Placed the book into a metalic pocket on his side and went to go meet the others in the conferance room. |
| Sithyll looked sidelong at Sora, but did not answer, continuing silently until the reached the R&D center. And even then, she only spoke to gain access to her own private lab. There, she sat, motioning Sora to do the same. Finally, she spoke. "You are very observant, Sora," she said quietly. She did not seem to be praising the younger dragon, but simply stating a fact. "We are generally a peaceful people here in Torii, and there is not a one among us who would not prefer to avoid war if at all possible. But when war is inevitable, we will fight, and for the most part, we will win." Again, she was not bragging, but simply telling the truth as she saw it. "There should be no cause for the lowered morale, listlessness, and general apathy that you have seen today. But there it is. You've seen proof with your own eyes, and anyone who is here for more than a few days can tell that something is wrong. It's not obvious, for you'll still find dragons full of vigor, ready to smash the upstart unicorns to a pulp, but they are getting rarer and rarer. As best we can tell, the trend began a few months ago, before we were even contemplating war. We thought it was a disease, but all tests came up negative. A curse was our second guess, but our best mages could not trace any malevolent magic in the area, beyond the occasional spat between youngsters. "Then we got to thinking, maybe it wasn't malevolent at all. Maybe it was a side effect of something that did not intentionally mean us harm, but was harming us nonetheless. And that was the key. Somewhere else in this mountain range, there is something that is projecting on a magical level that dragons can sense. We don't know what it is, where it is, or why it's doing what it is, but we are pretty sure it is not the fault of the unicorns." "Whoa." Was all Sora had time for before Sithyll continued. "This, however, is larger problem than just apathy on the part of the dragons. We believe that the unicorns know what this thing is, and we think that it is for this that they invade our lands. I was set to defend this city, and by the Mother of all, I'll defend it, but we must find out what this entity is before it causes irrepairable damage to the minds and bodies of our people. "This, Sora, is one reason I asked you here, in addition to help on those mines I mentioned earlier. We have already sent out expeditions to locate this entity, but all have either come back in despair, or have not come back at all. "I haven't known you long, but you seem to have a sharp mind, and we could use a fresh perspective on this issue. I would like you to join the team researching this phenomenon and help them to discover a way to neutralize the effects of this entity so that we can study it, and, if necessary, destroy it. "So, what do you say?" |
| Sora sat for a moment, thinking of all Sithyll had said, then she looked in the larger dragons eyes. "I will do as you want, but first may I first go back to my clan and enlist the aid of my brother, Tann? And to tell my mother all that has transpired here. She is very wise and very knowledgeable. She is also getting very old, but her mind is as sharp as it ever was. I would like to bring her up on the facts as I have learned them." Sithyll got up and moved to a dingy window looking out on a small, enclosed yard with its own giant tree. She looked but she didn't see the yard outside the window. Deciding, she turned around. "I have heard of your mother, Silorii, the Queen of the Fire Dragon Clan. In fact, I believe my mother even met her once. Like you said, Silorii is noted for her wisdom. "Yes, go by all means and tell Silorii what you have learned in Torii, and bring your brother Tann back if he will come. For that matter, Sora, bring others back with you, if you can. We need all the dragons, especially the Fire Dragons we can get. Once you return I will send you and Tann onto your mission, to find the source or the cause of our apathy. Now go, I will look forward to your quick return." Sora bowed to the Ice Dragon, her heart singing within. She would have the chance to tell Silorii, her mother, all that had happened. Silorii would come up with something, she knew it! And if Tann, and maybe some of her friends would elect to come back with her, well, maybe they could do something to help all dragonkind. |
| *Sorry to say this but my minds wrecked so ill be back into mental stability next time hopefully, thanks for understanding.* |
| Sora wanted to leave at once, but Sithyll had her stay a few hours more as she perfected the mines. "With any luck, these will slow down the unicorn advances and buy us some more time. Now go. I know you're anxious to get back home and discuss this all with your family, so go, and may the fortunes go with you." With that, Sithyll showed Sora the exit. The younger dragon bowed once more, her jubiliation shining on her face. She had not only been useful to the ice dragon, but now she was going on an important mission to enlist others to help dragonkind! It was almost more than she could take in at once. Sithyll smiled as Sora winged away, happy that the younger dragon had found something to excite her. She would need all she could get if she was to spend much time in Torii. Even Sithyll was having trouble fighting the apathy that threatened to overwhelm her, and she spent most of her time away from Torii in her own mountain stronghold. She watched as a pair of youngsters squared off for a mock battle, something that every parent encouraged, as it built strong bodies and reflexes. The first one charged, and the second one . . . did nothing. He should have leapt into the air or dodged to one side, but he just sat there, staring at his friend hurtling toward him. Sithyll winced as they collided, even though she knew that neither would be seriously injured. She launched into the air and headed back to her home; she needed time to think. It didn't even occur to her that she had forgotten to do anything with the mines she and Sora had worked on earlier that afternoon. |
| "Sora! Where have you been?" Tann called to her as she entered into the area her Clan called their home territory. "Come with me, Tann," the young dragon called to him, back pedaling as she slowed in mid-air. "I've been to the dragon city, Torii, and I've got the gravest and the best news to tell all here in the Mountain of Corintha. Where is Mother? We need her wise advice." "Whoa, slow down. Why did you go to Torii and why do you need our Dragon Queen's advice?" "I will tell you, Tann, in good order. Now do you know where Mother is at the moment?" "Yes, follow me, I'll take you to her." They flew along in silence for a few minutes when Tann said, "Look!" He pointed downward. Beneath them a whole herd of unicorns, maybe twenty or thirty in the group, complete with younger colts and fillies, loped out of the forest and into a pasture where a herd of Kias were grazing. In moments, as they watched, the Kias were rooted out of their pasturage and chased toward the forst where food would be sparse and predators many. Without a word, both dragons dive-bombed toward the offending herd of unicorns. Mother's instinct, if that was what it was, wouldn't let Sora turn her firey breath onto the babies, but it didn't stop her from turning her fury onto the adults, mares and stallions alike. Tann, without hesitation burned whatever was slow enough to get in his way. Within minutes the two Fire Dragons had killed two thirds of the herd of encroaching invaders while the third, mostly the young, made it under the forest's canopy. To burn through the forest would be to endanger their Kias, so the dragons desisted and allowed the remainder to escape. Together they rounded up the frightened, though unscathed, Kias, herding them toward the north end of the huge meadow where no singed unicorn flesh whould frighten the timid creatures even more. "That should teach them to advance into Fire Dragon territory!" Tann literally wiped his claw-daggered 'hands' signifying his pleasure at a job well done. "This is what I've been about, Brother," Sora said as the two of them turned to resume their way toward Corintha. "The Unicorns are encroaching ALL Dragon Lands just as this one herd did today. Torii, the capitol Dragon City of the planet, is gathering all dragons that are willing to do battle in a War against the Unicorns. My Commander is an Ice Dragon by the name of Sithyll, she sent me on this mission to tell our clan all about it. Her mother knew our mother's mother. Anyway, Sithyll thinks the Fire Dragon's have magic in our firey breath and that we would bring a great advantage to the Dragons in the war. That is why I have returned right now. And to get mother's advice," she added, then taking a deep breath, said, "I want you and some of the others to come back with me." Tann didn't answer immediately, instead worked over what his sister had said. |
| Balbo spent most of the afternoon in the library reading and looking for anything about metal dragons, there wasnt much. When it was time to meet Sora and Sithyll in the conference room he headed in that direction, looking of his shoulder just as Sora winged off into the distance with Sithyll watching her from the edge of the flight deck. Shortly after he saw Sithyll fly away in another direction, looking rather weary. "Did they forget?" Balbo stopped and looked around, "no one in this town looks like their too excited, or alive for that matter, like they all got sick or zombie-fied." He continued wondering around the city, but he stopped in his tracks as he felt something hit him, turning around he found nothing. He felt it again, but once again nothing was there. It felt like something was repelling the metal of his body, he circled and found that the farther North-east he went he felt these pings on his skin, like something pushing him the other direction. He would have to tell the other dragons when they got back, and for him he would have to wait for morning, he was the fastest flyer but still not the best at night, and he didnt know how the new apperance would take to the skys, not to mention...he just noticed that he had no wings. HE turned and streched his neck to no avail. He remembered the text he read. "3.The ability to form metalic objects with apendeges EXAMPLE: froming shovals with hands,etc. These abilities can be both helpful and harmful, depending on how they are used.'" He cleared his head and thought hard on his wings. He remembered the large blue sheets of blue scales. HE heard scrapping metal and looked behind him to find his back opening up and two strait wings jet out to his sides. He lowered his body close to the gound and jumped into the air and letted himself high into the air. he floated for a split second and then fell like a rock. |
| Once she was back in her mountain stronghold, Sithyll started to feel better. It seemed that the apathy magic had trouble piercing so deep into the mountain where she had made her home. She made her way to her library, yawning. Maybe she would read a little, and then sleep, to tackle the problems in the morning. She didn't even get to read. As soon as she hit the couch, she fell into a deep sleep. It wasn't until late the next morning when she awoke, feeling only somewhat refreshed. Something seemed to be missing though, so she forced herself to stand. Nothing was out of place, so she shrugged it off and left the library. Then she suddenly remembered: Balbo! They had all been supposed to meet, and she had sent Sora home and gone home herself! She hoped the metal dragon hadn't gotten into too much trouble with the normal dragons; who knew what they would think when they saw an all metal dragon walking around? |
| Tann had still not answered Sora by the time they landed amid a dragon conference going on. Their mother, as usual, sat before the rest, though not at the moment saying anything. Kantor, an older male was talking. "...and that's about it," Kantor said. "We have to do something and quick, or we're going to have to, somehow, learn to live with these invaders." The Queen turned as two of her children entered, Sora and Tann, two from the nest before her last. Dragons mated only every forty years or so, and her last nestlings were just now about to go looking for their own cave. They would spend a few years in one of the larger communal caverns before venturing out on their own. In the meantime, her mating time was drawing close a bit faster than she really wanted. It wouldn't be for another couple of years but to dragons, two years was not that long. But, on the other hand, she missed having her nestlings to look after. "Yes, Sora and Tann, my children, what brings you here to the elders conference?" |
| Every dragon stopped what they were doing and stared at the fallen pile of metal, not knowing if it fell from anywhere a few came closer to investegate. "Sorry. just me," Balbo said the pieces of his head coming together like a puzzle " trying to figure something out, thats all." The other dragons barley made any kind of reaction and returned to their wandering. "Alright, well that was a bust, so flat wings wont help anything." Balbo stated to himself, "what were those things that he used to tell me about? Something like.....engine, hmmm, maybe if i could blow fire out behind me i could use that to go forward." Balbo put him self back together and strained to form tubes on the underside of his wings. "I need Sora here, but maybe i can manege." |
| Sithyll landed beside Balbo, who was sleeping agaisnt the side of a building. She had heard from bystanders about his attempts to fly and of the strange things that were happening to his body, but it hadn't hit her just how strange those were. Instead of being a traditional dragon, he now had strange wings, tubes under them that connected somewhere in his body, a flatter tail which looked like the rudder tails that water dragons had, except that this one had a peak at one end, a sort of vertical stabilizer. She had no idea what he was trying to do, but it was certainly odd. "Balbo, wake up!" She said quietly. He didn't move. She shouted, but he seemed oblivious to the world. She even kicked his flank, but he didn't move at all. As a last resort, she walked to his head and smacked him with her paw. The only result was a bruised paw. Something was clearly wrong. She thought for a few seconds before it hit her: shapeshifting did not come naturally to a dragon of any sort, and shapechanging spells were always massively draining on the caster. To have gone through this many small changes must have added up and finally drained Balbo of energy until he collapsed. She would have to warn him about doing it too often, lest he fall out of the air some day. For now, though, there was little she could do, since the metallic dragon looked very heavy, and she didn't want to try moving him in case he was injured from his collapse. All she could do was sit there and wait for him to wake up. |
| Instead of saying anything, Tann just looked at Sora. Clearly he was going to let her do the talking. She cleared her throat, nervously. This was her first time at the BIG council of elders, and she hadn't been invited. "Hello, Mother, Elders," she nodded first to the Queen then to each elder in turn before continuing. "I've just returned from Torii, the Dragon Capitol, and all dragons, and all clans of dragons, are going up against the Unicorns that are invading our territories. A war!" She was stopped as the elders began to murmurr among themselves. Her mother leaned to her right neighbor, then to her left neighbor, to converse or perhaps answer questions. Finally, as one, the elders stopped their talking and the Queen turned to her. "Tell us, child," she said, "who leads this war? Who are the leaders behind it?" "Mother, I... " Sora swallowed, "I know only of the Ice Dragon, Sithyll, who sent me here to tell all of you this, and... And to bring back those I can to aid the war effort. Sityll, Mother, is the daughter of an old friend of your mother." "Really?" Interest sparked in her emerald eyes, but she went on with, "So all the other dragon lands are being invaded too?" Sora nodded, "Yes! And before I left they even blew up a transtone in the corner of the wall surrounding Torii! I caught a half dozen of the raiders on the gallop, thinking they would escape into the forest, but I brought all but two down." "Then you have already tasted some of this war?" The Queen's eyes seemed to twirl in agitation. By her ideas of youth, Sora was still far too young for such a dangerous thing. And, Sora was a Queen's daughter, a Princess of the Fire Clan! |
| Bablo rolled over, still in dream land, "Leave me alone man its not even night time yet." Sithyll took Balbo's head in her talons and shook. "Wha, what?" Balbo opened his eyes and stared at Sithyll like he didnt know her, "Who in the hell are you, and what you do with Allor?" Sithyll shook him one more time hoping to figre out this mess. "alright alright, im up, what are we doing to day?" Balbo stood up, still kinda wobbly, "is Seth after us again, tell him to F$#@ off." Sithyll looked at him funny and wapped him a good one with her tail which she really regretted afterward she rubbed her tail as Balbo regained himself. "bout time you came around, Who's Seth?" Sithyll said trying not to let him she her dameged tail. "huh? ohh yeah he was somthing that was going after my friend and i, he was very annoying." Balbo said finally figureing out where he was. "You noticed that you cant make to many changes at one time, right?" she asked pulling him closer to the north passege, i mean you could have dropped from the sky." "Is that concern, im touched, but i know and now that ive fugured what i needed to change i can do it with out becoming zombie dragon, OOOOOOOO. scary" he said raising his arms ans marching in a strait line. "I dont nknow what a zombie is, but can you fly?" she asked pointing towards the night sky. "I dont see why not, why, where we going?" he asked looking kinda scared back at her. "Back to my mountain estate you need to rest and so do i." She said flinging herself to the nights winds. "Ill meet you there, be right behind you." he backed up and formed his strait wings. bounding forward and running as fast as his metal feet would take him he fired off the mock engines he formed under the wings and slowly rose along side of Sityll, "see told you id make it." |
| Despite the seriousness of the situation, Sithyll could barely keep from falling out of the sky with laughter. It was almost painful to keep a straight face at the spectacle that Balbo made. He looked ridiculous! No dragon had such straight wings, except when gliding, and he had fire coming out the back instead of out the mouth. He looked like some cockamamie contraption that should never be able to fly, but somehow he managed. She made sure to keep her eyes forward to avoid looking at him and perhaps hurting his feelings with her laughter. When they arrived at her home, she sat him down in the den and went to the kitchen to fix something to eat. A closed-off corner of the room was kept frozen through her magic, and she plucked various frozen meats and vegetables from it. Dumping everything in a giant pot, she set about making a thick stew. It wouldn't take much work, and she would have time to talk with Balbo while it cooked. She also heated some water, using a flash spell she had stored on a scroll. The water boiled isntantly. She dropped some tea leaves in it and took the kettle to the den, along with several cups. Back in the den, she noticed that Balbo had already changed his form back to a more traditional dragon shape, sans wings. Sitting down across from him, she poured the tea. Once they were both comfortable, she spoke. "Now then. Many things are happening right now, not the least of which is you. I have no idea who you are, where you came from, or why you are as you are. So the first order of business for me is to learn that information. Please, tell me about yourself." |
| Sora soon found out she had made some major trouble for herself by going to the Queen Mother. Not only did her mother protest her being involved in this dragon war, but forbad Tann to go to Torii too. Panic swept through her scaled body but Tann had calmed her down. He reassured her that he could get "Mom" to reconsider, just leave it to him. Miserable, Sora crept back to her own cave to mope after a much needed rest. She considered eating but had no appetite. Then she thought about enjoying a tasty Kia. It too, didn't raise the expected appetite. All she could think of how disappointed Sithyll would be if she had to let her down. "Hey, Sis!" Tann came lumbering into the dimness of the cavern. She had only lit one lamp to push back the cave's natural blackness. "I thought you were going to talk with Mother," she said from the shadow of her bed. Surprised, he followed her voice. There, barely seen, his sister lolled on her mattress of this spring's grasses. "Why are you in the dark?" he asked. "Because I was trying to sleep," she answered, almost ignoring him and turning her back to her brother. Instead she asked, "About Mother?" "I told you not to worry, Sora. She always listens to me. We can takeoff for Torii tomorrow and with about fifty of fire dragons will go with us. Some are old people, but they seem to know a lot about weapons and stuff. Some are map makers that know the world real well, and the younter ones like you and I have other talents the war could use, I think." "What? How? Oh my gosh," she blathered, too excited to talk sensibly, "Tann you are a miracle worker. I don't know how you convinced Mother, since she wouldn't even listen to me, but if we can go, let's go NOW!" Tann laughed, "Hold up, little sister (actually since she was female she was twice his size), I gave Mother my solemn promise that you would sleep in your cave tonight. She said you looked like you were exhausted and had lost too much weight. So if we are to go to Torii, you'd better get down to the job of sleeping all night long." This didn't faze Sora, she was so giddy with excitement she was ready to do a fire dance right here in her cave. "Who is going?" She begged to know, "Who? Jonif? or maybe Kronen? Oh, I know, I'll just bet Kyrtyl is coming along, isn't he?" Instead of answering Tann just laughed again, reminding her, "Go to sleep, Sora. We leave at first light." He turned without another word and left her alone, still jittering with excitement. |
| Balbo stared at Sithyll with big worried eyes "Now do you want to know before or after i can to this dragon world?" "What do you mean, before you came here, isnt this where you were hatched?" Sithyll's jaw dropped and see almost dropped her tea. "No, infact i was never hatched, there was this god called Seth, that wanted to rule the world, at least the one i was on, and he creatd us mainly for soilders and flyers, thats what i was. I was the youngest flyer that he had. I think he based us off an old legend of dragons, or something like that." Balbo said not even flinching at his own words, while Sithyll was in utter shock. "So you were created by a god?" Sithyll twurled her talon in her tea. "Yeah by the Egyption god of evil, its a long story, but heres the jist of it. created by the evil guy, ran into the good guys helped saved the day. and about a month ago my friend, Allor and his buddies helped transport me here, have like a vacation." Balbo said leaning back in his chair. |
| Sithyll blinked. Her thoughts were swirling too fast for her to trust herself to say anything, and so she didn't. She drained her tea in one gulp, and set the cup calmly back on the table. "Excuse me while check on the stew." She said and rose, forcing herself to walk slowly out of the den. Instead of turning to the kitchen, she instead went left, along the tunnels of the cave network until she came to her beloved library. The section on mythology and gods wasn't as large as she would have liked, but then again, she rarely needed to look at it. Scanning the titles, she took out a book that looked like it might contain mention of this Seth. The book had been written by dragonseers who could see across the world boundaries, and so it seemed possible that one of the seers had written in a piece on this god, Seth. There was a brief chapter on the god, which she read standing up, eyes squinted in concentration. Nothing of Balbo's story was mentioned in her text; simply information on the god and the myth surrounding it. It did seem to be the embodiment of evil, but the rest could not be confirmed. She closed the book and sat for a while, thinking. Balbo's story was rather farfetched, and it did not explain why he was metallic, which, if his earlier actions had been any indication, was a very recent development. And where had this other dragon, Allor, gone? And how had they managed to breach the barrier between universes simply for a vacation? That was upper level dragon magic that only the revered Iridescent Dragons could manage, and they lived far to the north, nowhere near Torii. No Iridescents had been seen near the city for as long as Sithyll could remember in her centuries of life. But, there was also the question of why would Balbo tell her an untruth so hideously large as that? There was some piece of information she was missing, she knew. Some very large piece of information. Her thoughts turned to Sora and her mother, the queen of the Fire Clan. Perhaps that wise dragon would be able to help. Sithyll only hoped that Silorii would come, or would at least send a wise adviser who could help Sithyll unravel the mysteries that were rapidly piling up. Sighing, she turned and left the library, this time going to the kitchen to check on dinner, hoping that Sora would soon return with help. |
| Early the next morning Sora sauntered out of her cave and on to the rendezvous. Tann was there busily talking to a couple of his usual buddies, Fanfaw and Kreshel, the trio went everywhere together. There were at least fifty dragons waiting, and she thought she was early! "Tann," she called out to him, "if everyone is here, let's go." "Wait a few more minutes, Sora, Mother just sent Krshel, here, with a note. Here," he thrust it toward her, "read it." Dear Son, I have decided to accompany you and Sora to Torii to get a first hand report from this Ice Dragon, Sithyl. Please be good enough to wait for me. Mother Sora looked up at Tann, who was again talking to his two buddies. "Tann?" He turned to her, "Yes, Sis?" "How long ago did Kreshel bring it?" He got here with it not five minutes before you showed up. Oh!" his eyes swung away from her to focus onto something behind her, she swung around automatically to see who or what it was. "Mother!" She said, her excitement rapidly rising, "I am so glad you are coming. Did I tell you that Sithyll is the daughter of your old Ice Dragon Friend? I forgot her name, or did I know it?" "Shush, Sora, there you go again. Your mouth goes faster than my wings in a mating flight! Come on everybody," she turned to the group of dragons all giving her attention now. "Let's get going, it is a long flight to Torii." Oh, thought Sora to herself, as they flew over the countryside, Sithyll is going to be so surprised. Not only did I bring fifty more dragons to join us, but my mother, too! |
| Balbo was still sitting at the table when Sithyll turned the corner from the kitchen. "Oh and heres the funny part, here come sit," Balbo stood up as Sithyll sat down again, "ok now on my world, there is a story that dragons once lived there but then moved to here after they figured out that the humans wernt so happy on living together." Sithyll just looked wide eyed at Balbo's new excitment. "Then my friends and i found what was an old dragon's lair, but they left the portal open to this world. I knew a scorcerus that told me about htis world all the time being that she never saw a dragon either. but anyway. Sence i was the only dragon in the group, they had me investigate." Balbo said pacing, before Sithyll cut in. "Wait, what do you mean only dragon?" she said leaning back in her chair. "Yeah, we had ten people all together, Two elves one amazon, a valkery, five humans and one ogre. He was my best friend, the ogre i mean," He said looking into Sithyll's sceptic eyes, "Allor? remember me teling you about him, he was an ogre." "Thats one tail of a story, but that still doesnt explain the whole metal thing." she said matter-of-factly. "Well after i got here i ended up being a deserted dragon town far to the south. I started flying north just to see if there was anyone here and i got jumped when i was resting in the forest, i never saw a unicorn before and there was like thirty of them and they chased me for miles saying that they needed a new cratching post or something and around the pass of the moutains i dont know how many there was but it seemed like everyone shot me with something, and all i remember was falling onto the ground, then waking up in town." Balbo paced like a nervus sqirral. "Whoa, Whoa there slow down." Sithyll was now up out of her seat and trying to calm him down before he ran into something. |
Lista set a war cry out on the wind. One less unicorn to deal with and another day's work fulfilled. She was a white dragon with eyes of gold. Her wings were feathery like a birds, rather than the rough leather of most dragons. The beating of Lista's wings was a light ruffling noise. No one else would have thought it to be a dragon. She landed in a graceful, and agile manner about two yards from the feet of another dragon who was smaller but with the same features. "Good hunting?" She asked. Lista smiled and laughed lightly. "Wonderful as it could be my sister." Lista was a reckless creature with almost everything. It was the main reason why her sister, Adrix, loved her so much. Lista had taught Adrix all she knew. She learned to fly by copying her. It was a wild way: untamed, unpredictable, and unmatched by anyone, or anything. Adrix looked up, and Lista had her ears cocked, listening for something. "What is it?" She huffed softly. "A herd." "Well, let's check it out." Lista jumped up and flew just above the top of the trees in the forest. The sun was just beginning to make its' climb, barely visible on the horizon. The forest ended and changed to a rolling plain of grass and weeds. She crouched down, and listened. "So the plan is- Wait, I sense someone." The unicorn stoped. A unicorn mage... Not good for stealth. "I suggest that you all stay where you are, if you value your lives that is." One unicorn spun around and began to walk towards Adrix. Lista spiraled down out of no where pinning the unicorn to the ground. "Not a good listener are you?" "Leave my brother alone, filth of the sky!" The leader yelled. "Let us go in peace." Lista shot back. "You were the one to seek us out. Obviously you want a fight." "Fly Adrix!" Lista called as several sharp horned creatures came stampeding toward her. Adrix did as she was told, shooting into the sky out of reach. But Lista wasn't fast enough. Her blood stained grass red and Adrix couldn't bring herself to look back. The screams of the one she loved most were enough. Adrix didn't need to actually witness Lista's death... ~*~*~*~ It was the beginning of a beautiful day, or at least beautiful on the surface. There was a certain something in the air this clear morning, a presentiment to the day. Adrix knew it was there. She felt it and was apprehensive to know what it was. More than anything, she was ready to get going. Smoke leaked from her nostrils, while her tail thrashed and feet stamped. She was just as edgy as she was reckless. Without warning, Adrix shot into the sky, flying just like her sister had. She dove down. As she neared the earth floor, she sped up. She turned around, still moving down to the ground, as if she were going to crash. Her feet hit the ground with an earthshaking boom, and she shot straight up into the sky again. Her lean body spiraled up, and she began shooting fireballs in every direction. It was a tornado of flames, speed, and unbridled wildness. The only reason for this strange attack was to let off the frustration of loosing her sister. Tears flowed freely from her beautiful eyes and she was startled at the sight of another dragon. "How do you fly like that? The dragon asked. "I just do. My sister taught me." "Would you like to join our army?" "What army?" "The one fighting the unicorns." Adrix thought about it, she had no where else to go... why not wreak vengeance of the evil creatures who killed her sister? "Sure. But who are you anyways?" |
| I shook my great golden head as the unicorn drew closer. My golden scales shimmered in the early evening light as I turned my green eyes to look at the other three golden dragons standing behind me in the trees. We were on our way to the council to meet with the great dragons when the others spotted the vain unicorn in the meadow. I, Mourning Sunne, am the youngest of the four dragons and had no choice in the matter. I had tried to tell them that we had to reach the meeting first but they didn't care what I said. My arguments were lost. My wingspan is small, like all golden dragons, and my body thin to accomidate her purpose in existence, which is quick and easy flight. My scales are medium sized and as hard as metal and I am the only gold dragon that can teleport with thought but we all breathe fire. Which, when I focused on the enemy before me once more I decided, will come in handy here. I snorted and the unicorn halted. "What do you want?" I asked as the unicorn tossed its mane. "Let it get closer, Mourning Sunne!" came Glimmerre's raspy whisper to my right which I immediately chose to ignore. "Go on," I snapped at the unicorn. "We have pressing business elsewhere." I heard a rustle and a cry as the three dragons flew out of the wood in a mad rush. We were surrounded by unicorns! "Die!" Glimmerre shouted with a mad roar as she lunged at the nearest beast. The others followed suit while I and the first unicorn stared at each other. I saw, at last, the truth in the beast's cold stare. "Beware!" I shouted, maybe too late. "Magic-" Even as the warning was begun, the magic lashed out and darkness welcomed me into its smothering folds. |
| After they had eaten, Sithyll led Balbo to one of her spare caves, since he still seemed slightly tired. After he was settled in, she flew out into the sky, wanting some time alone to think. She still wasn't sure she believed Balbo's story, and she made a mental note to get the location of the portal so that she could confirm its existance and, if necessary, attempt to close it. She flew for some time, ruminating over recent events and unconsciously flying further and further away from the lethargic emanations from deep within the mountain range. Eventually, she noticed that the sun was rising, and considered turning back, since it would not do to have Balbo awake with her out. She wanted to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't exhaust himself again. Before she turned back, however, she wanted to take a closer look at that strange creature in the distance. It flashed in the early sunlight as it spun and dove like no dragon or bird she had ever seen. Fire glowed in the air as it spewed fireballs in all directions, a deadly dance of...what? As she neared, the other creature stopped and Sithyll saw that it was indeed a dragon, albeit one of the sort she had never seen before. It had wings of feathers and white scales, and flew more like a hummingbird than a dragon. "How do you fly like that?" She asked, curious. "I just do. My sister taught me." Sithyll considered this. A dragon who could fly in this unpredictable manner could be of great use in a battle. "Would you like to join our army?" She asked on impulse. "What army?" "The one fighting the unicorns." Sithyll winced as she said that. She was in charge of defense, not recruitment. But it was too late, and the other dragon looked vaguely interested. "Sure," the white one said after a few moments. "But who are you anyways?" "Oh, forgive me. My name is Sithyll, from Torii. I'm in charge of the defense of our city in the coming war with the unicorns. Would you like to accompany me back to the city so we can brief you more on what we are doing? Or is there something you want to do first? If so, they just come back to Torii when you're done; I must be getting back. Do you know where to find it?" |
| Just as Sora's group of dragons, including the Queen Dragon herself, was in sight of Torii at last, she could see Sithyll flying beside the odd looking metal dragon, Balbo. "Wait, everyone!" She called out. "That is Sithyll flying with the metallic dragon, Balbo. She is my commander. Let's wait until she catches up to us." The Queen Dragon, Silori, pulled up as her daughter requested, the others followed suit. Moments passed and at last Sithyll caught up, though her companion lagged slightly behind. Sora's eyes got platter-wide as she caught sight of the odd things beneath Balbo's wings. Then she started laughing, the metallic dragon Balbo was spitting flame OUT HIS REAR END! "Sora!" Her mother hissed, "Mind your manners, daughter, I taught you better than that." "Yes, mother," she hiccuped, trying desperately to stop her laughing, "but LOOK at him! He has fire shooting out his TAIL!" Silori ducked her head, trying to hide the smile tugging at her own lips. Secretly she had to admit this was one strange dragon. Then she whirled around, Tann and half the other dragons were roaring with their own laughter. Even as Tann caught his mother's displeased look, he managed to shrug helplessly. "I apologize," Silori said as Sithyll came within hearing distance. "I tried to raise my children to better manners, but they have never seen a dragon with flames coming out his bottom end." Sithyll nodded, "I can understand that, Queen, I fought the laughter myself when first I witnessed it." "How do you know I am a Queen?" Silori asked, she had purposely left behind her royal garments and symbols of her status. The Ice Dragon dipped her head respectfully, "I remember you, Silori of the Fire Dragon Clan. When I was but a hatchling, you and my Mother were close friends." Silori looked closer to her, then gave up. "I am sorry but I'm afraid I draw a blank remembering you." She apologized. Sithyll said, "That is to be expected, Queen, I was but one of a nest of over fifty hatchlings." "How is your mother?" Silori asked. "I regret to say my mother, Queen of the Ice Dragons, passed to the other side over a century ago." Sithyll's eyes took in Sora, then. Her eyes passed over the adolescent dragon and traveled over the other dragons in the Fire Dragon band. Her breath caught, Sora had indeed brought more dragons back with her, as well as none other than the wise Queen Silori. Her eyes came back to Silori's. "Queen," she said, "would you do me the honor to hold conference with me later this evening? I have much to discuss with you. Tales of your wisdom has flown to our realms in the far north." This time Silori dipped her head. "I will be honored to, Sithyll of the Ice Dragons." The large group of dragons, with Balbo sputtering flames from his tail, continued on to Torii. |
| Balbo slowly let the flames go down as the other dragons got ahead of him mocking him as they went. He slowly sank farther and farther down towards the trees, his one true home, for the skys didn't feel welcome as of late. He crept into the tree line and reformed his body to its original shape. "You know what i tried to help i wanted to but i dont need this i know where to go to get home, and im punching my ticket." Blabo said facing the direction that he came from no more then four days ago, "I'm going home." |
"No wait, I don't know where it is!" Adrix said. "I'll just come with you. I'm Adrix by the way." "Always good to meet another dragon." Sithyll said with a smile. "I am of the Ice Dragon Clan." Sithyll waited for an answer from Adricx. "Which clan are you from?" "I never had a clan. It was just my sister and I for as long as I can remember. She said we were the only two creatures of our kind." "But what is your kind?" Sithyll asked. "I don't know." Adrix said a little sadly. Sithyll said nothing and the two dragons flew on to Torii. "Shall I tell you more of our mission?" Sithyll said breaking the silence. "Yes. I'd like to know as much as possible." |
| On the long flight back to the dragon city, Sithyll went over the recent events, from the early invasions by the unicorns, to the dragon council meeting, to the recent attack on Torii itself. Then, not sure if it was a good idea, she explained what she had told Sora about the thing in the mountains ruining the morale of the dragons. By the time her entire story was complete, they had arrived at Torii, and Sithyll was dizzy from watching Adrix's unique style of flying. She let Adrix loose in the city, hoping that the dragon's strange appearance wouldn't elicit too strong a reaction from the other inhabitants. Then she raced back to her cave and caught Balbo just waking up, recharged after a long night's sleep. "Good morning, Balbo. Did you sleep well?" She asked after catching her breath from the long flight. "Very well, thanks. You have really comfortable beds." He replied. Sithyll smiled. She had paid extra for those beds, but they sure were worth the quality of sleep she and her guests got out of them. "Well, now that you're up, how does breakfast sound? We could fly out and forage, if you'd like. I don't particularly feel like cooking right now, and I'm sure you'd like to practice your new method of flying a bit more." Balbo considered, and agreed. They left the cave after Balbo had transformed, and flew out of the city, heading out to the plains below the mountains. Sithyll was able to keep a completely straight face this time as Balbo flew in his unique way, which allowed her to concentrate on the ground below. She was looking for signs of unicorns just as much as she was looking for food. The two didn't necessarily have to be mutually exclusive, either, she thought grimly. After a while, they turned back, only to run into Sora and a large group of fire dragons, including the queen herself! They continued on to Torii, Sithyll and Silori exchanging serious words as the younger dragons tried desperately to keep their laughter in check. Sithyll was so engrossed in her conversation that she didn't notice Balbo drop back and vanish into the forest. |
| "Where is Balbo?" Sithyll said suddenly, breaking off all conversations going on in their flight. Everyone looked around, no Balbo was to be seen. Sora turned to see what Sithyll would say to the metal dragon's absence. "Come," the Ice Dragon ordered, "We must search for Balbo. He might look like a comedian but I am convinced of his usefullness in the war on the Unicorns!" With the recent laughter given to Balbo's expense everyone turned to search for the strange metal dragon. No one talksd, those who remained close enough to do so, most had winged off from the group to more closely search ground and forest. Guilt rode their heavy in their hearts, each one wondering if they were the one that had finally said the one thing to make Balbo leave. The solemn group of dragons searched everywhere. Finally, as the sun was dropping closer to the western mountains, showing its soon to be glorious colors, a voice, barely heard, called out, "I've found him!" Sithyll, faster than all the rest flew toward the faint call. |
| Balbo slunked in the forest for a long time hearing the dragons overhead he assumed, looking for him, but he didnt want to be found by them. "They have another freak to look after now, and im no longer welcome here." he said to himself as he tried to hide in the shadows," blasted reflective body, if i wasnt my own skin id kill myself just out of spite." He ventured all afternoon in the forest, his true home as he saw it. it was a 3 day flight back to the portal and to home and maybe he could catch up with his Ogre friend. But sence he couldnt fly risking detection, he walked as fast and as quiet as he could. He tried to use his new transforming ability to make himself smaller, to no avail. "whats up with this new dragon, does she think she's a griffen or something? No maybe she's trying to be a stormwing." he said laughing to out loud, which cought the attention of the dragon above himand he yelled. "I've found him!" |
| (oh, crud, has it been my turn all along? Blast it, I don't think I got the email. Sorry, all) Sithyll winged toward the shout, both relieved and apprehensive. She was glad that Balbo hadn't been lost for good, but what would he think now? How could she have been so thoughtless? She could hear the laughter, she had simply ignored it. She should have stopped it, she should have told Balbo it was okay to look odd, he couldn't help it. Should have, would have. Hindsight, Sithyll mused grimly, is always perfect. Balbo was standing still where he had been found. He must have known that there was no way he could have escaped, not with that many dragons all around. Sithyll hoped that he would be open to conversation. She landed in front of him, tucking her wings to avoid scraping them on the trees. "Balbo? I would like to apologize for the actions of everyone else. They had no right to laugh—" Silori landed abruptly and shouldered Sithyll out of the way. "With respect, this is my job, ice dragon." Sithyll nodded and stepped away. Silori looked at Balbo, then suddenly, bowed to the metallic dragon. Ignoring the gasps of surprise, she spoke. "Balbo, dragon of metal, I would like to extend my deepest and most profound apologies for the actions of my fellow dragons. While they have never seen one such as you, they had no right to laugh and mock. I am ashamed that I did not act to stop the teasing, and I apologize sincerely for the wrong we have done to you. Sithyll here believes that you are a vital component in the war with the unicorns. I ask you, on the behalf of all dragons, to accept my apology and help us win this war." Then she sat and waited, and every dragon present held their breath. |
| Balbo was shocked, he stood there facing the beautiful Fire Dragon, Silori, staring open-mouthed. Finally, he realized his jaw was scraping leaves and closed it with an audible, snap! He shook himself, his metallic scales rattled. Finally he answered. "I am embarrassed I took the teasing too much at heart, your Queenship," he bowed long and deep to Silori. "I accept both humbly and gratefully your apology with one of my own. Also," he quickly added, "With full humbleness I accept and will do my very best to help win this war." Silori, stepped back a bit, turning now to Sithyl, "You were saying?" she asked. |
| As much as Balbo didnt want to help these people he didnt seem to have much choice, with the amount of strengh that was givin h still was no match for the dragons here now. "May i ask the featherd one a question?" he asked looking around a the glaring faces. "Of course." Silori said rather confused at the metal dragons aprehensiveness. He tured to the feathered one that was still hovering above the canopy, "not to sound rude but what are you? I thought i was going to be the only FREAK on this road trip. I've seen Griffins, Stormwings, Unicorns and every other kind of creature that two worlds can provide. So i ask again what are you?" |
“First of all, I am no freak. I am what I am!” Adrix said with contempt apparent in her golden eyes. “Do you always practice discourtesy in such a degree?” Balbo went to speak but Silori spoke instead. “I am sure he did not mean to be impolite, but I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we are curious to know your race.” “I have no race, no true known origins. It is like I told Sithyll. I have no knowledge of such things. However, I do recall a story told to me by my sister, Lista. Our guardian, Romeda, sat Lista down one night when I was no more than a hatchling and told her to watch and listen to the storm raging. Romeda said we had a magic no one, save we three, would ever understand to the full extent. Faster than the wind, more dangerous than lightning, and more graceful than water. Romeda said that purity came naturally to us and hope was our purpose. To give two nations, so inexhaustibly lost in their own hatred for each other, a hope for new life.” “A hope for new life?” Sithyll asked. “Yes. That was all Romeda ever said about the matter, and she took our secret to the grave. Lista said that she always had the feeling that Romeda knew what we were, but never said it to protect us from the outside world. It was almost as if she thought that maybe the world wasn’t ready for us.” |
| Sithyll pondered Adrix's words as the group flew home, silent now, with not even a residual snicker. Silori had taught everyone a strong lesson. Hope for new life? What could that mean? Was it related to the coming war? These thoughts whirled in her mind as they flew into the dragon city. Having found her, Sithyll had been the one to offer Adrix hospitality, and it was with a strong feeling of apprehension that she led both the feathered dragon and the metal one to her home cavern. Please let this turn out all right. she whispered in her head, and left the two in her den as she left to prepare something to eat for the evening meal. She kept a close ear on the two, but heard nothing. No fighting, no bickering, not even conversation. Curious, she checked back on them as the meal was warming, and was midly surprised to find them both dozing, Adrix exhausted from her display of grief that morning, and the constant flying, and Balbo tired from his odd method of flight. Smiling slightly, Sithyll left to two to sleep, hoping that they would be more acceping of each other in the morning. Downing her share of dinner, she left the remains in the kitchen in case one or the other awoke hungry, and went to sleep herself. "Sithyll!" Sora's voice echoed down the tunnels to the amethyst dragon's room. "Wake up! Trouble!" Sithyll opened her eyes slowly, wondering why she was awake. Then, with a shock, Sora's words sank in and she shot up, fluttering her wings to keep her balance. "I'm coming!" She roared back, and raced down the tunnel past the den, where the other two were still sleeping. She met Sora at the entrance to her caves, the younger dragon kept out by a security shield that had activated when she tried to enter. "What is going on?" Sithyll asked in way of greeting. |
| "The Unicorns have attacked again, Sithyll, this time they came RIGHT INTO THE CITY, ENFORCE! They are raising the city, Sithyll and NOBODY is doing anything to stop them! "What about your mother? The ones who came with you, and is Balbo just allowing this? Then, remembering her guests, she yelped, "Oh! Balbo is here in my cave, along with Adrix! Oh how stupid of me!" In a panic she took off leaving Sora to pace, still outside the cavern's security field. Moments later all three dragons came running for the entrance. Sithyll's eyes whirled with both fear and rage, while Adrix's showed only anxiety. Balbo's on the other hand showed only determined anger, not rage, he was composed regardless of his outward appearance, he seemed almost calm in the face of disaster. Without another word spoke between them, the four dragons leaped into flight, heading toward the capital city of Torii. Sithyll's mind was whirling with rage at the audacity of the unicorns. How dare they! she fumed. Then, considering what Sora had said about no one coming to do battle against them while the enemy tore down the city right in front of their eyes, Sithyll groaned. She knew what had happened, as far as the resistance was concerned. The strange field of resignation, of laxity, had overtaken the populace. She should have SEEN it. And she would bet her last daaman the unicorns were behind even this. Evil, that is what they were; pure unadulterated evil! She snorted in her rage and picked up speed. Sora, Adrix, and Balbo valiantly followed her. Their own anger helping to supply the needed speed. |
| The four dragons flew, and flew hard. their anger and ditermination, pushed their anger for each other aside and put the new battle in hand. The four reached the city before any of them realized it. The group split up to concentrate on different sides of the battle, Balbo pulsed his inherited engines and flew down into the frew. The rest went into different sections of the city hoping to cause the most damege. Balbo had a sudden thought he folded hes metal wings and disengaged his engines, he was still far in the sky when he started to roll him self up into a tight ball. unknowing to the unicorns below him. He zoomed to the ground at ungodly speed, the unicorns had no idea that a dragon sized metal ball was flying at them at supersonic-speed. The unicorns went from full formed animals to a lovely pool of magic discharge. the shock wave created by the impact of the metal dragon made the whole city shake even making the unresponsive citzens look up for curiousity. |
| What happened? Sora thought. Some kind of bomb had just slammed into the center of the city, into the center of a whole 'battalion' of unicorns. That battalion had tried, at the last minute, to form a shield against the hurtling ball of metal coming straight down out of the sky at them. Too late the unicorns found their shield not fully formed when the giant metal ball hit like a rock from the sky. In a crackling of broken magic and blue streaks like jagged lightening, the shield imploded over the unicorns that crated it. In an instand the animals' bodies glowed an eery blue before dissolving into so much blood and slime in the middle of the street. A few survived, barely, on the far outskirts of what had been a well-formed battalion. These that did still live were lying on the street, maimed, torn, and unconcious. Balbo, the metallic dragon, lay as if dead himself. His body, still looking much like a giant metal ball, lay in the middle of a huge dent he'd made in the rock of the street itself. There were radiating cracks spreading outward from Balbo. In one fell swoop, Balbo had killed most of the razing unicorns. As he lay there unknowing, the dragons gathered, themselves in shock. Sithyl crept closer, Sora stood with mouth still agape, beside her mother and Tann. No one, for the moment could say a thing. |
| "ooooww...note to self, never do that again." Balbo moaned through clenched metal teeth and uncurled himself onto the pavement. "Dizzy! dont let....the...bad...god..get ..me" falling into the puddles of goo and carnage he lay knocked unconcious. The other dragons where in such chock that they stood with the remaining unicorns, both staring at the unraveled dragon that lay in the street. |
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