Beasts of Light, Beasts of Night

Scales sparkled as the soft moon light graced its presence on the sleeping world. A black tail slid through the grass, cutting the green sea in a flowing sweep before being stilled. A profound silence was upon the scaled group, circled around a glowing moonstone. Not a creature stirred, no breeze blew, for tonight’s vigil was a scared, old, tradition.

As moon high approached the group slowly became more attentive and raised their reptilian heads toward the sky, gazing at the stars, searching, waiting. The eldest rose suddenly, quietly. She slowly, stiffly made her way over to the azure moonstone.

At the base of the stone she stopped and stretched her body as far up as it would go. Her eyes shown with the reflected cold moon and star light as her old, quivering voice called out,  “Oh guardians of the night, let us hear you.” With a speed and grace unknown she thrust her head down, pressing her nose into the moonstone.

On contact the stone erupted in light while energy crackled and fizzed in the air. The light danced in the air much like a cold, ice blue fire while blue lightning whizzed outward, fading before it reached the snouts of the waiting dragons.

The energy and light faded, the encroaching darkness greedily taking up the ground where the light once danced. Dark shadows turned into the beasts of the night, their haunting grins and grotesque features able to strike fear into the heart the bravest man. No one wins against the beasts of the night.

The elder pulled away from the moonstone with a sharp jerk and a ragged gasp, clearly panicked. “Why? Why must it be this way? Why must you leave us?” she wailed to the stars, anguished. She whipped around to face her people, and in a hysterical wail cried “They’ve left us! We’re done for!”

The other dragons jerked back, as if hit by a shield. A hushed muttering spread around the circle, leaving fear and panic in its wake. Little ones were gathered by their mothers, some looked back over their shoulders to see how much time they had left to live before the darkness took over. It wasn’t much.

The beasts of the night stalked the edge of the diminishing circle of light, hunger and a wild furiousness gleaming in their cold, shiny black eyes. Some licked their lips in anticipation of the meal and all awaited the first strike.

         First strike, take a bite, first strike, beware beasts of light. . . they chanted in the harsh hisses of the shadow language. The beasts of shadow closed in, snapping their jaws and laughing in their creepy way while the dragons huddled closer, and closer together around their precious moonstone.

A pop was heard, the light vanished. A scream was heard as the darkness closed in and ate up the ground, the grass, the beasts of night obliterating everything. No one wins against the beasts of the night, beasts of light.