The Dragon Ninjas

Prologue

The time for dragon protectors is greatly needed then they were needed in the past. Former allies of Enthranx have turned against the glorious country evoking a war upon the country. No dragon protectors had been chosen at the time making Enthranx almost vulnerable. The Enthranx army has managed to keep their former allies from waging the battle at the heart of the country where all citizens had fled to the Enthranx castle for protection. Dark lords enlist their dark creatures into the service of the attacking countries making the need for dragon protectors.

But who can they use; dragon apprentices have come in short this year. Not a lot of them can afford to be a dragon apprentice. Some of them are too busy worrying about the family business to really care about their powers. Everyday, Dragonmaster Ryan looks for a way to bring new dragon protectors into service and everyday he fails. He looks to the heavens for his answer but nothing has come to him.

After being tired for weeks, Dragonmaster Ryan falls asleep in an armchair. The Enthranx gods help him with his struggles casting a dream into Ryan's mind. Ryan dreams of two teenagers in a village with the skill to use their powers. A village not so far from the castle, untouched by the invading armies as they are hidden in the mountains. The dream tells him to wait in the middle of the city and watch anything go by. The two teenagers will come to him just as they are being chased by civic legionaries.

"But we need a team of them, not just two teenagers?" Dragonmaster Ryan mumbles in his sleep. The dream starts to tell him of their three friends who possess the skill of the powers to become dragon protectors.

Chapter One: The beginning

In a village hidden in the mountains, everything is peaceful and quiet as the citizens begin to wake up from their slumber. They start their daily lives the usual way doing what must be done. The baker has started to make the dough for his rolls hoping he has enough for his many customers. However in the courtyard of the baron's manor, things are not as they should be. Two figures silently sneak in the dark making their way to the iron clad gates. The two figures belong to two teenagers trying to escape with a valuable object. They both wear dark cloaks covering their clothes underneath. Only a slight glimpse of a silk tunic and silk pants can be rarely seen.

They manage to make it to the gate opening just an enough for them to pass through. Their hearts beating fast hoping that nobody else can hear the loud thumps. They both wipe the sweat from their foreheads, even though it is a cold night. They tried to sneak out silently but one of the hinges makes a loud squeaky sound. The sound wakes up the guard making him shout at the two teenagers.

"Seishiro, stop right there!" shouts the guard reaching for his sword. The two teenagers jump at the shouting turning around to the guard.

"Ráfaga de fuego!" shouts Seishiro shoving his hand at the guard. A burst of fire shots out of his hand smacking the guard right in the chest. The guard crashes to the stone pavment. "Come on Mei, lets get out of here."

More guards start to scream waking up the civic legionaries from their post. Mei clutches the valuable object tightly to her chest holding the valuable object close to her. Seishiro grabs her hand leading her down the street. The civic legionaries start coming out of the alleys chasing after the two teenagers. A civic legionnarie jumps out from behind a wagon shoving Seishiro away from Mei. The civic legionnarie moves his hand for the valuable object clutched at Mei's chest.

"Bola de fuego!" shouts Seishiro flicking his hand at the civic legionnarie. A ball of fire shoots out of his hand hitting the civic leggionnarie in the face.

The soldier crumples to the ground ending in a digusting heap of smoking mess. The two teenagers run for it but more legionaries come out of the alleys trapping the two of them in the streets. They circle around the two teenagers trapping them in a circle of spears. Seishiro wields his ninja sword allowing the black blade to reflect in the sunlight.

Dragonmaster Ryan stands in the middle of the village leaning against the fountain. He feels the cool splashes of water on the back of his neck. He had been studying the villagers waiting for any commotion that might cause the need of civic legionaries. Craig, Captain of Enthranx guard, and Harold the squire stand next growing more impatience. Out the corner of his eyes, Harold sees the uniforms of the civic legionaries. He tugs on the sleeves of Ryan's robes pointing at the civic legionaries. Ryan eyes them out of the corner of his eye motioning to Craig to check it out. Craig sneaks into a alley climbing up to one of the rooftops. He kneels down onto a beam preparing to jump down into the fight if help is needed.

"This is unfair. Twenty of them against one swordsmen who is just a child." Craig mumbles under his breath. "However, the child seems to have some experience with the sword. I only wonder what his companion has clutched at the chest."

Seishiro twirls the ninja sword in his hand ready to strike at any given moment. The faces on the civic legionaries are bored knowing what the child is going to do and say. Their black armour shines in the sunlight casting wide shadows on the ground.

"Get out of my way and the all of you will be spared from my wrath." snaps Seishiro.

"Come on Seishiro, we do this every other day. We are getting bored of bringing you to your father the baron." says a legionnarie. "I don't know how she can stand you all the time."

"Fine, have it your way." speaks Seishiro. A smile forms around his lips. "Huelga de fuego!"

The blade of his sword begins to grow red, fire conjuring around the metal. The civic legionnaries' faces break into an interested state getting rid of their boredom. One of them advances onto Seishiro holding his sword right out at him. He swings for Seishiro's legs but Seishiro jumps out of the way. He strikes the legionnarie in the chest hearing a nice crunching sound. The soldier falls to the ground, his chestplate crushed to his ribs. The smile forming around his lips becomes a wicked grin. Craig jumps down to the ground whacking Seishiro on the back side of the head. Seishiro crashes to the ground, the flames disappearing from his ninja sword. Craig looks to Mei seeing the fear in her eyes. He winks at her and the fear quickly disappears into an angered look. Suddenly, Craig is kicked to the ground with the blade of a sword holded close to his throat.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't slit your throat or burn you to a pile of ashes?" growls Seishiro moving the blade of his sword a inch closer to Craig's throat. He is buying time to think up of a spell to use on Craig.

"It is Dragonmaster Ryan. He says you are the one to lead the new team of dragon protectors." says Craig. "I'm only doing what he is telling me to do."

Mei looks down to Craig wondering if he is telling the truth. Seishiro is unconvinced that Craig is speaking the truth edging the blade of his sword close to Craig's throat. Mei has only minutes to make up her mind or Craig will be killed. Why does he have to be overprotective? thinks Mei to herself, I hope this is the right decision.

"Seishiro, stop! I think he is telling the truth!" shouts Mei.

"How can you be sure?" asks Seishiro.

"I am not sure but we just cannot kill him." speaks Mei trying to make Seishiro stop.

Seishiro sheathes his ninja sword helping Craig up. The civic legionnaries gang up on Seishiro throwing him down to the ground. They bind his hands with rope and one of them plants his foot on Seishiro holding him to the stone road. Craig steps in front of Mei protecting her from the civic legionnaries. Dragonmaster Ryan and Harold rush to the side of Craig holding a dagger in their hands.

"You can have the girl. We only need the baron's son." admits one of the civic legionnaries. "That would be Seishiro here."

Craig looks down to Seishiro who looks away, ashamed of who he is. The baron is hated by everyone in Enthranx as he tries to influence Queen Lavender to tax everyone. The civic legionnarie pulls Seishiro off the ground pushing him down the road.

"Wait, lets us come with you. We need to speak to Baron Jason." speaks Dragonmaster Ryan.

The civic legionnarie only shrugs at them and the three of them follow them. Mei runs up to Seishiro walking next to him. A smile forms around Seishiro's lips but it quickly goes away as he sees his father. Baron Jason stands in front of his manor with a disappointed look on his face. Dragonmaster Ryan eyes Jason with evil eyes hating that man for everything its left.

"I can't believe you were managed to be caught again. How many times do you need to be captured before you learn?" spat Jason. "You will never be able to leave."

"I will never stay here. I hate this boring life." shouts Seishiro.

"How much poison has your wife put into your brain. I always knew your marriage to that peasant girl would be a mistake." concludes Baron Jason looking at Mei with the same look Ryan had gave him. "And who may they be?"

"I am Dragonmaster Ryan and these are my companions Craig and Harold. We are from the city being on a quest to recruit new dragon protectors." says Dragonmaster Ryan who cannot believe that Seishiro are Mei are married. But they look so young, he thinks to himself, maybe I have founded the wrong people.

"I have not received word of your coming. If I was given some sort of notice, I would have prepared a more suitable welcoming." speaks Jason. "Sam, take my son to his room and post two guards at the door so he will not try to escape again."

"What about the girl?" asks Sam, gripping tightly to the rope tied to Seishiro's arms.

"Throw her in the room with him. I have no need of the company of a peasant." says Jason rolling his eyes. "Dragonmaster Ryan and companions, please follow me into my humble home."

Dragonmaster Ryan does not hear the rest of it watching Sam push Seishiro into the manor. Seishiro glares at his father, every hatred of him shows in his eyes. Sam shoves Seishiro down numerous corridors making him slam into the brick walls. Seishiro glares at Sam letting the treatment go on. Seishiro and Mei are shoved into their room and Sam slams the door. Seishiro trips over a fur blanket on the floor slamming his head on the end of a table. A nasty bump starts to swell on his head reddening each minute. Mei slowly rolls him over cutting the ropes with a dagger on the table. She gets off the ground walking over to a oak cabinet. Mei opens the cabinet taking out two cups and a bottle of whiskey. Mei pours the whiskey into the two cups filling the cups to half a glass. She puts the whiskey back into the cabinet feeling Seishiro's breath down her back.

"Another plan failed." admits Mei.

"Don't worry; like I always say when there is a will, there is... Okay I forgot." admits Seishiro. "Now pass me the whiskey."

Mei holds one of the cups inches from his face, a smile forming around her lips. Seishiro leans into to get the cup but Mei grabs his hand pulling him in close. Their lips touch, as Mei drapes her arms around her husband's neck. Seishiro kisses his wife moving his hand towards the cup on the table. Mei twirls away from him dangling both cups at the tips of her fingers. While those two are fooling around, Dragonmaster Ryan and Jason are having a serious decision particularly on Seishiro's fate.

"Your son might achieve the highest order of our society. You cannot hold him back from being a dragon protector." shouts Ryan. "Enthranx needs his help in the war."

"If you want him so bad, you can have him. I have no need for that insolence child especially since he married that peasant girl." admits Baron Jason. "I don't see how he can love her. She can't even act like a proper lady."

"Is that all that is wrong with her?" asks Dragonmaster Ryan trying to figure out more about the marriage between those two.

"I wish not to speak of it anymore. You may get my son and his wife and leave this place." speaks Jason turning his chair around to look out the window.

Dragonmaster Ryan and his companions quickly leave the room heading in the direction of Seishiro's room. In half an hour, they are on the road to find the friends of Seishiro and Mei. The day comes short as nightfall comes upon them ending the trip for a day. The five companions stop for the night hiding themselves deep in a nearby forest. Seishiro watches Craig try to start a fire finding his struggles amusing. Mei walks behind her husband smacking him on the back of the head. Rolling his eyes at her, Seishiro brings his hand over the pile of kindling starting a fire with a spell at the exact moment Craig struck two rocks together. A smile forms around Seishiro’s lips, as Craig starts to gloat.

“So you are looking for dragon protectors?” declares Seishiro. “What kind?”

“We are looking for Dragon Ninjas as the prophet of legends have spoken a year ago. Too early for the dark lords to know about it. Moreover, it helps to be blessed with a spiritual dream.” speaks Dragonmaster Ryan. “Know anyone else who would be good for the job?”

“Makie would be perfect for the job as Sky Dragon Ninja. She is fast on her feet but she is kind of and very talented with a ninja fan and the wave throwing star.” speaks Seishiro. “She should be meeting us very soon if she doesn’t forget.”

“Why is that?” asks Ryan. “How could she forget?”

“Makie has a lack of attention span and her eyes are adjusted for those great heights. She uses her powers over wind to allow her to fly without the help of a creature. She loves to see at a bird’s eye view of things so she misses important details.” declares Seishiro.

“Okay, so she has a screw loose in her head. But why would she be meeting you?” asks Harold.

“She was coming to visit and help us escape if the morning escape failed.” tells Seishiro. “She should arrive around midnight now if she doesn’t land at the village. Now if you excuse me, I am tired so I am going to sleep.”

Seishiro lays down into his sleeping mat using his bag as a pillow. His ninja sword lies beside him ready to be use at any moment. The night goes on peacefully but that’s only because everyone is keeping their mouths shut. Mei sits next to Seishiro lifting her husband’s head up to her lap. The leaves rustle in the night, as if someone is watching them. Seishiro opens his eyes reaching for his sword. A mysterious person jumps down from the branches holding ninja fans as a weapon. Their eyes catch their gaze, each of them waiting for one to make the first move. A smile forms around Seishiro’s lips, as he sheathes his ninja sword.

“Good evening, Makie. What did you take and what is my father sending after us?” asks Seishiro.

“Shut up, it is hard finding your trail when up in the sky. You have twenty of the sentries best assassins are your trail, which thanks to these amateurs,” advises Makie. “The others are waiting for us in the safe haven.”

“You mean the Mountain pass? That place is not safe at all.” inquires Mei.

“They are safer up there than we are down here. We have to break up into groups if we are going to get the assassins into smaller groups.” implies Makie. “Moreover, we need to leave now or five minutes.”

“Right now would be perfect if the assassins are whose I think they are,” says Seishiro. “Dragonmaster Ryan, I will meet you at the Enthranx castle in two days. The assassins want something that I have and I will not have innocent people in danger.”

“You only have two days and that is final. After two days, I will assume you have abandoned us and I will order you to be hunted down,” commands Dragonmaster Ryan. “Now get out of here.”

Seishiro and Mei grab their packs off the ground following Makie into the forest. The light of the fire becomes a distant object, as the numerous trees start to block the light. Without the glow of the fire, darkness surrounds them like a blanket making it hard to see the trail. Makie squints down to the ground in front of her trying to find the trail as they reach a three-way trail. Makie hears a twig snap in the distance making her full alert. Makie reaches for a wave throwing star picking one from her pocket. She hears another twig snap somewhere on the left of her making her turn in the direction. An assassin moves out from behind the trees holding a saber in his hand. Makie throws the wave star right at him but the assassin deflects it off his blade. The assassin snaps his fingers and more assassins come out from behind the trees holding nets in their hands. One of the assassins throws his net at her and Makie jumps over the net only to be captured another one. She guesses the assassin holding the saber is the leader of the group. She squirms to be free from the grasp of the net but the weights on the end of the net hold her down to the ground. The leader assassin moves toward her, the blade of the saber shining in the moon light. Makie looks behind him finding her friends to already captured. She sees Seishiro reaching for something in his coat pocket pulling out a red stone, almost the colour of fire. Makie brings her arms over head as so does Mei.

The assassins see the stone but a little too late. The stone is already glowing, as Seishiro pulls the energy of fire from the stone. His eyes blaze with fire and the glowing dims down to nothing. Seishiro grabs the net burning it to ashes. He stands onto his feet wielding his ninja sword. Two assassins pull out daggers from their boot charging at Seishiro. They try to cut him swinging their daggers around like crazy men. The daggers are longer than usual showing off the mark of Seishiro’s father. Seishiro’s eyes shift into an angered look blasting the two assassins with a fireball spell. The leader assassin charges at Seishiro swinging his saber at Seishiro’s head. Seishiro blocks the attack with his sword grabbing the assassin by the tunic.

“I am giving you a warning. Run now and I will spare your lives. Stay here and I will surely kill you.” speaks Seishiro in a threatening tone. “Tell my father that if he sends anymore assassins after me, I will kill him.”

“Yes sire” declares the assassin in a quivering tone of voice.

Seishiro throws the assassin down to the ground who starts running away. His fellow assassins follow him jumping to the safety of the branches. Seishiro cuts the ropes to the nets helping Mei to her feet. He conjures a small flame to his hand giving some light to the paths. He leads his companions down the path splitting to the right feeling a cold breeze of mountain air coming from that area. They walk down the path for hours getting muscle cramps in their legs. Soon, the sun starts to shine through the trees and the flame in Seishiro’s hand dies out returning to the stone. However, the three of them collapse to the ground unable to handle the pain in their legs for much longer and they are very exhausted. They close their eyes slowly giving in to exhaustion. A splash of water brings them back sputtering seeing a male person in blue clothes standing in front of them.

“Fai, what are you doing here? You should be up at the mountain passage,” sputters Seishiro.

“Yeah right, like I’m really going to need the facts that leaving Makie to do that would be a disaster. I do not need to know the facts that it could go wrong.” speaks Fai. “Now get up, we aren’t far from the mountain pass and that village or what use to be the village.”

“What happened to the village?” asks Mei.

“You’ll see,” admits Fai.

The four friends walk down the path feeling a strong magic presence in the air. It felt like someone powerful in the arcane arts making them nervous. They hurried up their path trying to lose whoever is following them. The presence had scared them as dark aura filled the air. The four companions heard a twig snap behind them turning their pace into a run. They bolt down the trail reaching for their weapons. A metal spear flies right past Seishiro’s head sticking right out of a tree. The shouts of many squads filled their ears, as thousands of warriors followed behind them waving war axes and swords in their hands. They wield their weapons prepared to fight for their lives. However, more warriors arrive in front of them and at the sides of them. The warriors surrounded them making them form a tight circle. Seishiro brings Mei behind him who cannot control enough power to summon the weapon she wants to her.

“Seishiro, I can fight these idiots.” speaks Mei.

“No, you are not going to fight until you get your weapon,” whispers Seishiro. “Makie and Fai, we are outnumbered and we have don’t have enough to manuveur around.”

“Can’t you use some sort of spell of your element?” asks Makie.

“Not enough room and I might burn down the forest if I miss. However, if I use short range encounters like really get close to them I could use the fire strike spell but I would have to put it to my blade.” admits Seishiro pondering on the subject. “Fai, how much energy do you have left of your stone?”

“Not enough for a battle.” speaks Fai. “Plus the branches are too close to each other, even if you are careful one false move would still lit the forest on fire.”

As her three comrades start arguing about what they should do, Mei starts chanting a spell pulling energy from her stone in her pocket. The stone floats out of her pocket levitating right in front of her. The light shines out of the stone making the formation of a weapon. A black swordstaff appears in front of her and Mei places her hand on the swordstaff.

“Now that I have a weapon, can I join the fight?” asks Mei.

“Whatever. Fai, how much moisture were you able to manipulate into a spell? Makie, what about your gust spell?” inquires Seishiro. “My fire spell is ready for casting.”

“Just be thankful that there was a storm last night, I manage to pull enough humid for the water spell and put some energy into the stone for back up source of power.” implies Fai.

“I cannot manipulate enough energy of my element because the trees are blocking any source of view of the sky so I running on half of my stone power.” speaks Makie. “Want me to scare them in case we don’t kill them all?”

“Be my guest,” admits Seishiro.

“Evil warriors, I would run away this instant before you taste the wrath of what we can do. Our skill of our weapons and magic are superior to whatever you can dish out.” shouts Makie in a threatening voice. “People across the land have given us the name Dragon Ninjas. Dragon for how strong we are in magic and swordplay. Ninja for how swift our attacks are and how secrecy as barely the people we don’t attack don’t know us.”

Scared faces are feature on every warrior, as they take a step back from the now called Dragon Ninjas. However soon the warrior gain some courage as they step closer to the Dragon Ninjas. The Dragon Ninjas produce grins on their faces gripping tightly to the handles of their weapons. Fai holds his blowgun in his hand putting a dart into the rod. The dart is full of a deadly poison and will instantly kill anyone. Counting down to five in his head and right at hitting five, Fai fires his water spell upwards thrusting up his hand. Seishiro fires his fire spell doing the exact same thing as Fai. The spells collide with each other creating mist above the Dragon Ninjas. Makie does a sweeping arm motion spreading the mist across the small battleground. The Dragon Ninjas bolt forward with Seishiro and Mei in the front. A warrior comes in front of them and Seishiro stabs the warrior in the chest. Another warrior comes at the right of them and Mei cleaves the warrior’s arm before stabbing the warrior in the eye. Fai shoots the dart from his blowgun getting a warrior in the neck. The warrior falls to the ground, the purple trademark of the poison growing huge on his neck spreading to the rest of the body. The Dragon Ninjas moved farther into the mist removing anyone who got in their way. However, the mist clears away sooner than it should as a wizard wearing dark robes stands in the middle of the battlefield. He wields the sword at his side conjuring a spell to blow all the mist away. The surviving warriors stand behind him having nasty grins on their faces. The Dragon Ninjas feel that dark aura around the wizard declaring him as a dark lord.

“I am Dark Lord Mexities, bow down to me and I will spare your lives.” speaks the dark lord. The Dragon Ninjas shake their heads at his offer. “Fine your pathetic fools, you shall be killed.”

Dark lord Mexities bares his pointy teeth knowing his new foes will not dare attack him. He knows that they can fill the dark aura that surrounds him feeling their fear. However, Seishiro attacks him not being able to back down from a fight. Mexities raises his sword to Seishiro's attack showing no absolute effort as he blocks the attack. Seishiro jumps to the side casting a spell.

"Tiro de la llama!" speaks Seishiro. A shot of fire erupts his sword going straight for Mexities's leg.

"Bloque de la sombra!" shouts Mexities.

A dark shield appears in front of the fire spell stopping the spell in it's path. Mexities turns the fire spell into an attack on Seishiro magnifying the attack by one hundred percent more powerful. The spell is fired at Seishiro aiming for the head. Seishiro rolls out of the way of the attack barely keeping his head. Fai puts a sleeping dart into his blowgun bringing the end of it to his lips. He points the blowgun at Mexities blowing into it. The dart comes flying out of the blowgun heading straight for Mexities. However, Mexities conjures up his shadow shield again stopping the dart from reaching him.

Seishiro sneaks over to Mexities holding a kunai dagger in his hand. He stabs the dark lord in the leg burying the dagger in deep. Seishiro runs back to his friends calling an retreat. The Dragon Ninjas retreat into the woods running away from the battle. Seishiro leads them into the dark parts trying not to be seen. However, in the dark parts that they are running through the ground is soft leaving muddy footprints behind. After thinking they have putted up on a good distance from their enemies, they stop in their tracks leaning up against a tree. The snowy mountain comes into view making them go on the move.

The Dragon Ninjas reach the end of the forest coming right out in the open. They stop in their tracks wondering if they should walk out into the open. They would be vulnerable to any attack including if some dark flying creatures are in the area. They decide to take the risk crouching low to the ground as they make their way across the meadow. They spot their friend Setsune the Earth Dragon Ninja at the edge of the mountain sitting down on a rock. This sped up their pace making them reach in a matter of minutes. They find her meditating on the rock with her traditional naginata at her feet. Seishiro sneaks behind her making sure not to make any noise. He silently wraps his arms around her waist lifting her off the rock. Setsune grabs her naginata pounding him on the head. Seishiro drops to the ground rubbing his head where a bump started to develop. Setsune leads back onto her feet, her green clothes following her movements.

“Good evening Mei, I don’t how you can stand him.” admits Setsune.

“I find him to romantic and funny when he doesn’t try to be like a noble. He is improving the way he acts.” declares Mei. “So he might be able to be like a peasant and nobody expect us will be any the wiser.”

Setsune rolls her eyes at the idea of Seishiro being able to act like a peasant. They make their way up the mountain looking for the last member of the team. The Dragon Ninjas hike on the frozen ground feeling their feet get colder the minute. Seishiro is in the front drawing heat from the sun to melt the snow in front of them. Each of them is quiet as possible not wanting to cause an avalanche. It begins to get colder each step making the Dragon Ninjas dig through their packs to take out their winter cloaks. They quickly pull on the winter cloaks fastening the straps tight to their bodies. The Dragon Ninjas pulled the sewn-in ski masks over their faces trying to stay as warm as possible. They hiked through the deep snow trying to staying on their feet as a thick layer of ice is under the snow. They struggled to stay on their feet using knives as ice picks to keep them from falling all the time. The Dragon Ninjas slowly reach the top of the mountain finding the last member of the team in a cave.

Kuro, the Ice Dragon Ninja, sits at the back of the cave with his throwing spikes lying on a cloth in front of him. He holds a spike in his hand polishing to make it shine in the light. Seishiro throws a fireball, from what was left of the energy he made managed to draw from the sun, right at Kuro’s feet. Kuro raises his right arm making a wall of ice pop out of the ground. The fireball only melts the top of the ice wall making a grin come to Kuro's face. Kuro puts his throwing spikes back into his pouch next to one of his Sai tucking away the cloth into a pocket. The sounds of footsteps crunching the snow fill the cave making Kuro pull both Sai's. He walks to the entrance of the cave trying to see who it is. Mexities and his small army are walking up the mountain tracking down the Dragon Ninjas. Kuro looks over to his friends wondering what they have gotten into.

"Well, we have to fight them anyways. There is no way out of here expect the pass if you don't want to go back down the mountain." speaks Kuro. "However, if we can get to the other side we can take to one of the tunnels and make it down the mountain but our journey may cause an avalanche."

"I choose the second option. Their leader is way too strong to fight, even for me. Fai, try to take out as many warriors as you can with your darts." declares Seishiro. "Kuro, have any thing that can keep us standing on the ice?" Fai comes to the cave entrance armed with his blowgun.

“I have some foot spikes in my pack that we can use. They work in any kind of environment and are great for climbing,” advises Kuro. “Let me go get them.”

He runs down deep into the cave bringing his pack to the cave entrance. Kuro hands out two foot spikes for each member emptying his pack very quickly. The foot spikes can be attached to the boot by three straps. The spikes are miniature, barely even can be noticed. However, they can allow to hang off tree branches and stay standing on icy surfaces. The Dragon Ninjas quickly strap on the foot spikes tightening the straps around their feet. Fai spots a warrior a foot away from the cave making him take out the warrior with one shot. The warrior falls to the ground sliding down the mountain. A horn blares out not to far from their hiding spot, as the shouts of many warriors fill the air. The rest of the team wields their weapons preparing to fight. Minutes pass by as nothing happens making each of them curious. The Dragon Ninjas slowly walk out of the cave wondering where their attackers are. Makie puts away her ninja fighting fans taking out her bow. She looks to her friends seeing that they have conjured up the same weapon with a unique spell. Well expect Seishiro who managed to conjure up a crossbow. He loads the crossbow with an arrow. The Dragon Ninjas nock an arrow to the bow staying close to the rocky wall. Everything is too quiet spooking them very badly. Not even the single sound of crunching snow can be heard, as there would be with an army walking about the mountain.

Then the screams of warriors fill their ears as five warriors appear above them. Arrows begin coming right at them making the Dragon Ninjas bolt for cover. They duck behind some jagged rocks, far out of the warriors’ reach. Kuro puts up a thick layer of ice to protect them keeping them safe from the arrows. Seishiro slides over to the edge of the wall of ice raising his crossbow to his shoulder. He looks out the target sight taking a warrior to view. He pulls the trigger firing the arrow. The arrow gets the warrior right in the chest stumbling off the ledge he was standing on. Seishiro ducks right back behind the barrier loading another arrow into the crossbow. He does the same process repeatedly until there is nothing left of the warriors. Seishiro rests up against the icy barrier taking in deep breaths. He checks his quiver finding only 15 out of 30 arrows remaining. He loads another arrow locking the arrow in place.

“Okay, we are going to have to switch to the second option. That battle may have put us closer to causing an avalanche so I do not want to risk our chances,” speaks Seishiro. “Spread out in single file across. Keep your bows drawn and with an arrow nock to the string.”

His friends nod to him understanding the seriousness of their situation. The Dragon Ninjas rise to their feet spreading out across in a straight line. They hike up the mountain using the foot spikes to help them. They reach the peak of the mountain, horrified of what they see on the ground below them. The mountain village destroyed to a bunch of rubbish; a once elegant place always filled with laughter reduced to the sounds of the death cries of villagers. The Dragon Ninjas slide down the mountain coming to what use to be the entrance of the village. It was more horrible up front then what they saw from up on the mountain. Nick goes down to one knee picking up some soil.

“What can you sense?” asks Setsune.

“Exploding powder was spread across the city, from this gate to the other four gates. Each trail was light at the gates trapping the villagers in the burning village,” declares Seishiro. “After the villagers were killed, a massive army of thousands troops marched through the village.”

“Which direction do you think they are heading in?” inquires Fai.

“They seem to be taking to the eastern trails. They are probably trying to get as close to the castle as possible,” implies Seishiro. “We will take to the old trails but we need to lose items to reduce weight. Empty any items that you do not need.”

The Dragon Ninjas rummage through their leather skin packs removing any items they do not need. They remove most of the extra clothes they have throwing them into a pile. Seishiro sets the pile on fire drawing the energy from a small fire in the village. Before moving on, Seishiro snaps the bow part of his crossbow off needing to reduce more weight. With their packs being lighter than before, the Dragon Ninjas head into the destroyed village keeping their bows drawn in case of any ambushes. They stay in the middle of the village road wanting to stay away from any obstacles and the rotting smell of the dead. Everything seems to be too quiet for them, especially since they can feel someone watching them. The Dragon Ninjas silently walk through the village hoping they can elude whoever is watching them. Soon, they decide it is safer to be near the obstacles, just to be able to hide behind something in case of an ambush. They begin moving in fast ways making it out of the village alive. They putted away their bows knowing nobody would be taken to the old trails since the last time they were used. The old trails have gotten a bad reputation especially since a visiting king lost a battalion of troops on the trail. That's why the new road has built with towers all along the new road. Only the bravest and the dumbest people ever travel on the old trails.

The Dragon Ninjas walked along the middle of the trail staying away from the trees. Ever since the visiting king lost his battalion, a strange mystical aura was always on the trail making it always mysterious. They could not tell if it was a good aura or a dark aura. The Dragon Ninjas could feel the aura grow thicken in the air, as they come farther down the trail. They stop as they reach the middle of the forest defined by large boulders in a circle with one larger boulder in the middle. Each rock in the circle has a torch built into the rock. Seishiro takes out a torch from one of the boulders.

"Fuego a la antorcha." speaks Seishiro lighting the torch with a fire spell.

The blazing torch sheds some light to the circle showing what the boulder in the middle truly is. The Dragon Ninjas circle around the boulder discovering what has been giving the strong sense of magic aura the moment they walked on the trail. They stare at the boulder sensing something they already know about it. Seishiro puts down his pack bringing out his valuable object from his pack that happens to be in the shape of an egg. He uses the torch to scan the boulder for somewhere to put the valuable object finding the spot on the top of the boulder. The valuable object fits into an outline and a strong presence of magic fills the air alarming the Dragon Ninjas. Runes begin to glow on the boulders making the presence of magic grow even stronger. A storm wages around them trapping them in the landmark.

The runes move right on them changing the appearence of the Dragon Ninjas, horrified as they do not know what is going on. It seems like pass on, as the runes change most things about them like their weapons and the way they dress. Their clothes become more ninja-like and the weapons they would always use in a battle start to turn into a shinobi sword. The runes disappear finishing the final touches to the Dragon Ninjas. The Dragon Ninjas stare at each other, amazed at what has happened to them. A rocking sound from the middle of the area catches thier attention making them look at the egg. The egg is rocking back and forth with so much brutuality it is hard to watch as cracks start appearing all over the egg. The egg lights up like the sun shoting a beam up to the heavens. Shortly, six beams shoot down from the heavens almost hitting the Dragon Ninjas. Six stone dragon statues appear in front of them showing off many cracks that start to light up like the egg. The statues start to move freaking out the Dragon Ninjas. They draw their weapons going into an attack stance.

"Whatever comes out of those statues, if it is poses as a threat to us we attack it without any fear." speaks Seishiro gripping tightly to the hilt of his shinobi sword.

With a giant explosion of light, which had knock the Dragon Ninjas to their feet, six dragons shaked the rocks remaining off them. The Dragon Ninjas stare at the dragons not believing what they are seeing. They had thought the last dragons left in the magical world had died out during the great war at the same time the Dragon Guardians lost their life. Seishiro is the first one to get back onto his feet then Mei who stands behind her husband. The six dragons turn their heads to them cracking a grin across their faces.

"Now, if it isn't my old friend Seishiro," says one of the dragons, "How have you been?"

"Bryon, its you! Bless the gods, it's was your who was inside that egg. I know I felt your presence each time I was near the egg." exclaims Seishiro. "You have to help us."

"Now, why would that be?" says another dragon.

"My father the baron is sending waves of assassins after us. I guess he isn't going to just let the heir to his estate walk away scot free and we need to get to the Enthranx castle by nightfall to meet the Dragonmaster." says Seishiro.

"We would be glad to help the all of you out since we are your dragons. Now just get into the saddles on our backs and we will fly you to the castle since we do now belong to the all of you." speaks Bryon.

All though wary of the dragons, the Dragon Ninjas climb into the saddles tightening the straps around their legs. Seishiro pats Bryon on the side of the neck giving him the signal to fly up into the sky. Bryon and the other dragons launch themselves into the sky flapping their giant leather wings. They glide on the thermals heading for the castle. Seishiro looks back to his wife finding to be clutching the sides of her dragon as she is terrified of falling at that great of height. Seishiro whispers something into Bryon's ear making the dragon chuckle softly. Tipping his wings over to the right, Bryon soars overtop of Mei and Seishiro reaches over to Mei pulling her into his saddle.

"Don't worry, my love. These dragons would never allow us to fall to our deaths in their saddles." says Seishiro kissing her on the back of her neck. He puts an arm around her waist bringing her body closer to him.

The smell of war fills the air irritating the Dragon Ninjas. Bryan increases his speed soaring onto a faster zephyr. Soon, they come over a battlefield with the Enthranx army being retreated into the castle. Seishiro tenses up at the sight of battle removing his arm from Mei's waist. He leaps off the saddle falling to the ground on the battle below. Mei only sighs to this action but she knows that Seishiro will keep the castle protected long enough for help to arrive. Seishiro lands in front of the invading army and the Enthranx army; his robes fluttering around him as dirt swirls up. The Enthranx eyes widened at the sight of the dragon robes staring at the new dragon protector. Seishiro wields his ninja sword and a red aura appears around the blade. Flames spout from the tip of the blade, as flames cover the blade.

Seishiro stands up to face the invading army; a grin comes across his face as he scans his opponents. He counts at least fifty enemies for him to fight finding no magic energy of them. Seishiro sighs to himself having again found easy opponents. Seishiro bolts at his enemies without any warning moving too fast for them to track his movements. He appears in front of a paladin swinging his sword at the paladin. The paladin raises his halbred in time to stop the attack but Seishiro spins to the left. He strikes the paladin in the chest from the right facing up against a knight.

"Mano que estalla!" shouts Seishiro placing his hand on the knight's stomach.

His hands glows bright red and then it explodes. A huge hole appears on the knight's stomach and the knight drops to the ground in a crumpled mess. Seishiro looks to where his hand once was seeing the flames already begin to fill the hole. The flames quickly die and a new hand, similiar to his old one, appears in the former hand's place. The invading army backs away from him not knowing what to think of him.

"Phonex de siete colas, te convoco!" shouts Seishiro pulling out a scroll.

However, something had snuck behind him making Seishiro panic. He puts away the scroll turning around to his next opponent. His eyes widened at his next opponent, which happens to be a human about the size of a premature grown troll.

"You look surpised to see me, Seishiro." speaks the overgrown human in a low tone.

"Cerberus, I can't say it is nice to see your ugly mug again." speaks Seishiro.

Cerberus chuckles out loud smashing Seishiro's head with a hammer. He picks Seishiro up by the neck walking towards the castle. The Enthranx guard move out of his way knowing when not to attack. Cerberus is allowed to walk through the whole city all the way to the Sacred Dragon Temple. Seishiro's team runs out of the Sacred Dragon Temple holding their weapons in their hands. Mei's eyes widened at the sight of Seishiro being unconcious.