The Character Gauntlet entry prompts

warning: No native english speaker!

Prompt 6:“You have a grand gift for silence, Watson. It makes you quite invaluable as a companion.”

Two days later, late at night Bendegoz went home from the inn, where he just was to drink and laugh a bit. Forget the conversation with his daughter that day. The moonlight shone down onto the foggy streets and sometimes there was a burning torch to be seen. However, Bendegoz didn't notice the shadowy figures standing around the corner. They gazed at him and, when he was gone, followed him through the lonely streets.
Bendegoz did nothing then to think about his battery fail from two days ago. He went sick of it, for he had worked on it all those years. His daughter kept talking about this 'resistance' group of hers. Had she nothing better to do? He went through a small alley and up a rocky hill. At the end of that hill was his house, with a view onto the plains and mountains far away. His house had a weird look to it in the dark. Its silhouette was not like any other house in Daeventrus. No one else had a giant telescope attached to their rooftops.
He opened the door and got inside. Willow was still sleeping. A small candle lit up the corner. Before he could take of his jacket, he was grabbed from behind, a strong arm around his neck. His eyes went wide open and were filled with fear. Now, other men came in the house and closed the door. They were all masked and heavily armed. Bendegoz was put down in a chair and received a smack to the face. The man that had held him, now kneeled before him, looking him right in the eye. "That thing on your roof..Where have you got it from?" he asked, while other tied Bendegoz' hands to the chair. He didn't answer the masked man. Only stared him in the eyes. "Were you a scientist at Dormport?" Still no answer. "Are you still working for Heirax?" The silence made the masked man angry and he stood up. "Must we beat the answers out of you, old man?" he asked. Then he motioned to another man standing behind Bendegoz and he came up with brass knuckles. Bendegoz' heart started to pump faster and he could feel his body heating up. "Gag him and then beat him. I'll be checking upstairs." He gestured to 3 men who came with him.
The man gagged Bendegoz with a blanket and put on his brass knuckles. His fist then swings high up and down on Bendegoz' face. His screames were muted. After 10 minutes of painfull torture, he received two blue eyes, a broken nose and several other bruises. The man was done and went into the kitchen to clean his hands. Bendegoz let down his head, groaning, feeling sick. His eyes were burning and he couldn't feel his nose anymore. The leader of the group came downstairs, holding paperwork in his hands.
"An Heirax scientist you are. And a pretty good one I must say. These documents say that you were the one that worked on those transporter ships. For transporting resistance slaves. And you built that ugly thing on top of your house."
I did indeed work on those ships. But I was forced to.
"So perhaps we should just let you live. You could be of use to us." He said, smirking. That very moment, the door swung open. Another group of people entered his house. What did they think? To enter his house this way! No respect for someone's property.

That's when he saw his daughter appear. She looked different. Strange in a way, like bendegoz never saw her. She was armored and looked like a bandit. Bendegoz struggled in his chair, murmuring as he saw Ylia coming towards him. She took the blanket out of his mouth, and he took a few seconds to catch his breath. "Glenn, this wasn't suppose to happen!" She was furious. "This is my father, you son of a b*tch!" and she stood up, trying to intimidate Glenn, the leader. But he wasn't impressed. "Sorry Ylia, didn't knew." he smirked. "You knew! I told you a hundred times!" she yelled. His smirk faded. "Forget the old man. Let it go. You are now one of us. And by the way: he worked with those Heirax dumbasses. We will only need him for the system and nothing more."
Ylia turned to her father, looking down, ashamed of her mistake. Telling her 'friends' that her father's house was a good option.

Word count: 749

Prompt 5:"I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was."

After a long walk through Daeventrus, Bendegoz returned even more tired and let himself fall into the chair. Willow was still outside, greeting people who came by the house. Bendegoz had built a massive telescope back in the days he was still working for Heirax. Before he was fired. He had built and put it together at the labs in Dormport, and insisted on taking it home after he was fired. So he took the giant thing home and installed it on top of his house. Now, he could finally look at earth's beauty. He just needed one more piece to do it. But he never found it to this day.
Thinking about that made his head spin, he couldn't wait any longer. Bendegoz was just sitting there in his chair with nothing to do. So why not search for the damn last piece? So up he went, and outside into the sunlight. The warmth of it bothered him, it created a headache as result of the Ale. He had not had Ale in a long time, so he just needed to get used to it. He went across the market, his attention drawn towards the food. But there was no time for food. Only time for that one last piece. He went into a shop. An old, hairy man stood behind the counter, taking off his glasses as Bendegoz came in. "Aha, Bendegoz. What makes you come here?" he asked.
"I'm searching for something." Bendegoz said, while searching through the racks of goods. "Well, tell me what you're looking for so I can get it for you." he frowned. Bendegoz appeared a bit confused to him.
"A battery of some sort.." he murmured.
"That's a lot of info-"
"Wait it was...did I just forgot what I was looking for?" he glanced around, confused. He gazed at the man, "Did my memory just failed me?" he gasped.
"Well, if you do-" Bendegoz was already outside before the man could finish his sentence.
He ran back home, hobbling over the cobblestones. And ofcourse, it had to happen some time, he fell face first unto the hard stones.

He arrived at his house with a bleeding head, but it looked worse than it was. Willow however, was concerned. He let out a loud roar, and then came trotting towards Bendegoz. "Not now!" But Willow did not understand and he grumbled as he followed his boss. He started licking his arm but received a slap to the head. "Not now Willow! Are you deaf?" As Bendegoz raced inside, Willow remained in front of the door, confused. What had he done wrong?
As soon as Bendegoz came rushing in, he bumped into his daughter again. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "And how did you get in?"
"What happened to you?!." she gasped.
"I fell.."
"My god. Here, let me take care of it." And she reached for his head. "No." He pushed her aside and rushed to the cellar. The cellar was as huge as a hangar, but filled with pieces of machinery and other mess. In the far corner stood a giant generator, dusty and dark, out of works for a long time.
Bendegoz pulled open drawers and closets looking for something that reminded him of the battery he needed. But there was nothing. With his hands in his hair he gazed around the room.
Back in the livingroom, he searched underneath the pillows. "Dad.. don't act so silly." Ylia said, as she sat down on a chair.
Willow was now also inside and again going after Bendegoz' arms. Bendegoz turned around, irritated. Willow roared slowly. Suddenly Bendegoz noticed something shiny in the back of Willow's throat. Yhuo's were the only creatures on this planet that had a very open throat. You would be able to see almost down into the stomach when it opens its mouth. And that's what Bendegoz saw, a shiny battery that was stuck there. For how long was it stuck? And why would he eat such a thing?
Bendegoz got right in with his hand, and found the battery. "So that's what you wanted to tell me." he said, and he walked up to the kitchen. He dried the battery with a towel, washed his hands and immediately got back downstairs. There he inserted the battery into the generator, pushed a few buttons and after the generator came to live, he ran upstairs. Ylia was used to it, her father being messy and confused but always obsessed with that planet earth. So she remained in her chair, nipping from a glass of blue liquid.
On the upper top of the house was the telescope, sticking out of the roof. It was like a giant house abscess. The telescope was connected to the generator in the cellar, who was up and running, and Bendegoz was getting excited. All those years he teached children about earth, thinking he could not fix it, the battery was always following him. Everywhere.
The telescope wasn't aimed at earth yet and he had to install data and numbers to get it there. After a few seconds it was done and updated. The whole room became filled with holograms, and in front of his face appeared one of earth. Bendegoz gazed at it in awe. Had he finally done it?
He sat down in an old dusty chair, mentally preparing for what he was going to see. There was a loud roar and rumble that continued for a few seconds. It was the telescope outside that was turning in the right direction. Those seconds became minutes and Bendegoz wondered what was going on with the telescope. Was it too old? Had it layed low for too long? But a small light at his right turned green. A sign that the telescope was gazing at earth and ready. So Bendegoz slowly leaned forwards, his eyes going towards the lens.
At the moment he reached it, which was only a second but seemed like minutes, it happened.
Everything went dark. There was a sound of a machine turning down, blowing steam and finally fell silent. Bendegoz, still leaning forward, just sat there for a second. "No.." he shivered. "This can't be!" and he jumped out of his chair, rushed down to the cellar again to see the battery burning. "NO" he cried. As he came closer, he saw it had exploded. Ofcourse, it had been in Willow's stomach so long; it was a miracle it still worked for a minute!
Bendegoz rubbed his face with his worn hands. He was devastated. This was the moment he was waiting for, he just looked in the wrong direction all those years and then gave up.
"Dad. Please stop with this. It's driving you mad." Ylia came down to the cellar. "It's an obsession with earth and you need to stop. How many times have I told you; there's nothing on there!"
Bendegoz gazed up, with wet eyes. "And how do you know there's nothing? Have you ever been there?"
"No. But you neither. So stop it. It's not going to happen."
"Our people have been there 60 years ago! It can happen, and it will!" Bendegoz was getting frustrated with his own daughter.
"Yes, but what did they find? Nothing but rocks and broken buildings." she yelled.
"You will never see the earth like I do." he murmured and he went to the livingroom. Ylia went after him. "You should just get rid of that telescope-thing and the rest, you can store something else in that room!" she said.
Her father stopped and gazed at her over his shoulder. He had a furious look on his face.
"Never." He walked at her. "What about you? With your 'resistance' and all." he said.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't think I'm too stupid to see. What you had there around your neck, was a resistance symbol." He came closer. "I don't know what you are doing with that 'friend' of yours, but I don't like it!"
"I've got nothing to do with the resistance!" she yelled back at him.
"Behind my back you're just planning on something, I know it." And Bendegoz continued his walk. "You'd better watch out. Before we know it, the whole city will drown in a wave of Heirax soldiers!"
"They will never come here, what would their business be here?"
"If you continue like this, you wil be their business!" And with that Ylia fell silent. She started thinking. Gazing out of the window, her eyes tearing up. But then she said: "Okay, I'm done with this secret. I'm indeed with the resistance and there's only me, no friend." Bendegoz giggled. "I knew it."
"They are coming this way dad, and they plan to make a headquarters here." Bendegoz stopped and stared forward with his eyes wide open. "I was thinking..Your cellar seems like a good option."
Bendegoz turned around slowly, shivering of anger.
"That is not going to happen! You may think soldiers won't come here, but when they do I got a big, BIG problem. If they find out, and they will, you and your people will be executed." Ylia saw something that looked like fear and sadness on his old face. "They will not find us, I promise."

Word count: 1547




Prompt 4:"I am the shadow on the moon at night, filling your dreams to the brim with fright."

Bendegoz didn't even notice he fell asleep. He just closed his eyes and thought about absolutely nothing. Before he knew it he was in a dark wasteland area. He was surrounded by certain buildings, couldn't make out what it was exactly. It was like every way he looked was blurry, except for the ground. Then, suddenly next to him stood Willow. Appeared just out of nowhere. Bendegoz stepped forward. Willow followed him. It felt like he wasn't walking at all, but the ground underneath him was moving. So he went on and on. In front of him, through the black mist, appeared a huge gothic church. It was slightly demolished, and one side had fallen.
When he entered the church, there was something he didn't expected. The inside was clean and straight, not demolished in any way. 12 doors were on each side of the wall. And three doors above his head. "Time for a drink!" Willow says and gets into the second door above his head. Now Bendegoz was alone again. Alone in the dark.
It was not for long that huge waves of water entered the hallway and came rushing at Bendegoz. Then, out of nowhere, a pale white horse appeared. An animal from earth? How wonderful! He had heard about these creatures of beauty and wished his entire life to see one. And there it was, coming at him slowly through the streaming waters. Its head held high up, breezes proud. Bendegoz wanted to touch it, so he started to walk. It was, surprisingly, pretty easy to walk through the streaming water. Almost like he was walking on the street. The water did not go into his shoes, didn't liquor his trousers. When he touched the horse's nose, it was not soft, like he expected it to be. His smile faded. The touch was cold, almost as cold as a dead body, little thorns poked him.
What was this? Invisable needles?

Next to him now stood his daughter, shy, fragile but strong minded. He gazed at her. She gazed back. For minutes they just stood there looking at eachother. She opened her mouth and whispered:"You will never...." Then she screamed "...be a king!" right in Bendegoz' face. He stepped back, shocked. "Saaleck was..." she whispered once again "...True king!" she screamed. "Come here, let us embrace." said Bendegoz, not really knowing what he just said. His daughter went farther away and farther. Bendegoz wanted to reach for her but he could not. "I will protect you! I will take care of you!" he cried at her. "I won't let you go Ylia, never!"
In the far distance she now was, and Bendegoz had to squeeze his eyes to see her. The room, water and horse were gone, only darkness remained. Only he and his daughter, but with a huge distance between them. Suddenly, Willow put his teeth in Ylia's arm. But she stayed where she was, while bleeding heavily. Bendegoz panicked, but could not reach for them. Willow's jaw got around her neck, his jagged teeth crushing her, ripping her apart. Bendegoz cried and swinged his arms. He had promised to protect her, but he just stands there, like he doesn't care.
Then there was darkness.

Bendegoz' eyes opened slowly. He blinked a few times, and squeezed his eyes against the sunlight that came in through the window. He glanced at the clock. He just had a 5 minute long nightmare. Night-mare. Did that explain the pale horse? Or was it a white deer? Or maybe a mix between them? He couldn't remember even if it was just 2 seconds ago he woke up. His eyes were hurting. His heart pounding. He was trying to remember what he just dreamed, but it was gone. Everything except for the pale horse and his daughter being eaten by Willow. Willow would never do such a thing. He is the sweetest Yhuo of town!
"I need a drink." and he got up, waddled to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of Ale.
Minutes later he got up the street, just going for a walk along the Lebuinos and the old medieval stores. Willow followed him towards the square, where Bendegoz almost bumped into his daughter. "Oh dad, it's you." she glanced at the bottle of Ale her father was holding. "What are you doing with Ale?"
"I needed a drink." he smirks.
"No, you don't." She grabbed the bottle, "I need a drink." and she took a sip. Then Bendegoz noticed the her necklace, silver and shining. There was the symbol of the resistance. "What is that, Ylia? Why are you wearing that?" Ylia looked down at the necklace and hid it away. "It's nothing, I got it from a friend." she said.
"And who is that friend?" Bendegoz frowned. Willow shook his head and snorted. Ylia acted as if she didn't heard the question and walked up to Willow. Willow grumbled as she came closer. "Don't do that Ylia." Bendegoz said.
"Why not? He's a sweet Yhuo right? You said it yourself. The sweetest of town, wouldn't hurt a fly! " she mimicked.
"Well, he's rather grumpy as you can hear. As grumpy as me."
"Whats wrong with you dad? Firstly; you walk around the street with a bottle of Ale. Second; You're acting all suspicious about me. Third; You tell me I can't pet Willow!"
"You are right, I'm just tired." he sighed.

Word count: 904


Prompt 3: Bonjour! There goes the baker with his tray, like always...

"Earth. Isn't she beautiful?" Bendegoz was almost cheering but the kids in the group in front of him, seem to have no interest. Some started to yawn. "Okay, so...The Earth or 'Erath' is known to be inhabited by humans." They were sitting on a hill, in tall grass, sun on their faces. Bendegoz was standing at a Table-Robo. Yes, a table that could walk on his own. The Table-Robo showed a hologram of 3D model of earth, slowly spinning around its axis. Bendegoz was 60 and these lessons took all his energy. "Almost 60 years ago, a group of people got on a ship and traveled to earth. Ofcourse they did take something back." He got a piece of stone out of his back and held it up high. "This is a piece of rock from earth itself." Bendegoz was more interested in it himself than the children. He stepped forward and handed the piece over to a kid. "Feel it. Touch it. Can you describe how it feels?" Bendegoz asked.
"Uhm,..rocky?" the kid answered. "Yes, indeed...rocky.." This class was kind of a disappointment. He wish he had an adult class. People would pay more attention. Still, there was a slight look of interest on the kids' faces. "Well, on to the animals" and he took the stone from the kid, placing it on the Table-Robo. "Does anybody here knows an animal from Earth?" It became silent. Obviously, no one wanted to answer. To help them, he displayed a hologram of a duck. Still no answer. Then he showed a bear.
"Yhuo!" Someone answered. "No, it looks like a Yhuo, but it's not. It's what they call a: bear."

An hour later, Bendegoz got back to old Willow, who was standing in front of the school building. Children stood around him, patting him on his giant old head. He did not mind the children at all, the only thing he saw was his owner arriving. He snorted. "Okay kids, enough now. He's pretty old so he needs his rest, we still need to travel to Daeventrus and it's a long way there." Bendegoz said, while placing his bags behind the saddle. He got up. He turned Willow around, towards the gates of Earlsgrey. Willow slowly started walking. His big paws thumping on the ground. They came along a group of Heirax soldiers. They gazed at him, as if he was a prey. The Heirax army was one if not strongest army of the Galaxy. It was an Imperialistic empire though, that ruled its own planet with brute military force. But it was also known that soldiers of the lowest ranks received pretty bad treatment. But that wasn't their flaw. The Heirax army had lots of lower class soldiers, so if they 'removed' a soldier, ten new ones could be replaced. And so it was, that this civilization lived by the strict rules of the king and his army.
Luckily Bendegoz never had any problems with them. The only thing he once had was that he was fired from the labs in Dormport by the king himself. But that was long ago.

He was now heading towards a small town called Prymeus. There was a bridge which he needed to cross to get to Daeventrus, his home.
Near Prymeus, the weather started to change. It became stormy and, like always, Willow would not hurry in any way. So they arrived dripping wet at Prymeus. It was getting dark, so he decided to stay here for the night. It was a quiet town, laying in between the tall mountains and woods, a river running besides it. Bendegoz stopped Willow near an old inn. He got off and gazed up to the sign. 'The Bonjour Inn' it read. As soon as he reached the door he noticed a penetrating smell. Alcoholic and sharp. Behind him was a man. As drunk as one can be, he stepped forward. "You look like someone I know..." he said. Bendegoz frowned. "I don't think we have met before?"
But the man ignored his question: "...With the glasses and the jacket and the bald head and all."
"Pardon, but you must be mistaken." He turned around to walk to the door, "Oh, and I'm not bald." He said, offended. He had hair indeed, but it wasn't much. "You should not go in there" and when he said 'there', he started to sound less drunk.
Bendegoz stopped. "Why not?" The man came closer, as did the smell of alcohol. "Heirax soldiers are inside, causing trouble." He whispered.
"No matter. I need a bed." And he continued, opening the door of the Bonjour inn. The man stayed outside. There was chaos inside. A bottle came flying right at him and he dodged it right in time. The bottle hit the drunken man in the face, as he was standing at the entrance. He fell down. Fortunately, Bendegoz didn't notice, and continued towards the counter. People where being thrown on the ground by Heirax soldiers. They were brutally beaten. Bendegoz gazed at them for a few seconds as he came along. A man was yelling, pushed against the hard surface, with three soldiers on top of him, holding him down. They had worn grey armor, a helmet covering their face making them look like robots. Almost acted like robots too.
The drunken man came in, and threw himself at the fight. Bendegoz reached the counter, "Can I rent a room for one night?"
"I'm sorry, but we are not able to provide rooms tonight." She glanced at the soldiers. "Soldiers are checking the inn, they think we have resistance people here." The fight began to calm down as Bendegoz walked out. He saw the 'drunken' man on the ground, soldiers holding him down. "Saaleck was true king!" he yelled. But the soldiers ignored him and one of them held up a necklace. A necklace with the symbol of the resistance.

So there he was again, back at the road with Willow, thinking about what just happened. Heirax soldiers in Prymeus? They must be worried about the resistance. Growing larger and larger.
Willow decided to sleep under a hanging cliff. So Bendegoz had no other choice then to do the same. The rain had ended, but the night remained cold. He could now hear all the creatures that lurked here, like they were watching him. But he didn't worry; he had Willow. And Willow is a great guard dog. The silence was interrupted by jet ships heading over the cliffs. Heirax soldiers, returning to their capital: Dormport. Luckily, that was far away and the soldiers did not bother much coming to Daeventrus. The next morning was dreary and Bendegoz didn't liked it. He couldn't wait to get home now. So they crossed the Prymeus Bridge, and went across the mountains until they reached 'Olde Daeventrus'.

They entered the through the main gate, which was huge compared with Earlsgrey. It was decorated with ancient figures and mythical creatures. But no dragons. They waddled through the narrow, stoney alleys and ended up at a large square. Before them was a large medieval church, round and decorated. The church was named Lebuinos, and one of the largest churches of Chomaseth. Along Lebuinos they went, through another busy street full of Yhuo. A pleasant smell came flowing through the air. Food. Though he was very hungry, he went on, towards his house.
"Goz! Goz!" he heared someone yelling behind him. It was a good friend of his, also very interested in Earth, but far more talkative. He came running with his mouth full of...whatever it was. "And? How was it?" he asked, all smiling. "Meh. The group was not interested at all." Bendegoz answered. His friend came walking besides him. "Oh? I don't get it. Children should learn about earth, now more then ever."
"I know, but it just wasn't their thing." Bendegoz' voice was monotone, for he was tired. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll go back home. I have traveled a long way and need sleep, because sleeping on cold stone wasn't exactly comfy." And on he went. Leaving his friend behind in the busy street.

Willow squeezed through the front door and Bendegoz came after him, yawning. Willow lay down on a soft pillow, while Bendegoz dragged all the luggage inside. Willow was not like a cow, he belonged in a house, like a dog. Or that's what Bendegoz decided. It was, obviously his house, and he could do in his house whatever he wanted. He took off his glasses and threw his jacket across the room onto the couch. It was the silence that pleased him. For he had no kids, no other people at home and Willow was pretty quiet. While the silence pleased him, he himself was snoring. He was already asleep.

Word count: 1472


Prompt 2: Memories! All alone in the moonlight!

The road was long. It vanished in the distance behind the high hills and went up the mountain. Bendegoz, an 18 year old slender guy, sat on his Sin-Yhuo. The bear-like creature ventured its way forth slowly, waggling through the mud. Bendegoz sighed. "Come on Willow, go faster will ya?" But the Yhuo snorted and kept its speed. It was indeed a long way home and it would not be before latenoon until they'd return. So they waggled on. They ventured across the cliffs and over rocky fields. Far behind them, lay Dormport, Chomaseth's capital. It was built inbetween huge mountains on a cliff. Tall towers could be seen through the mist. But the longest was The Spear. It was made by ancients. The old stones twist like a narwal horn into the air, with the sharpest point reaching about 150 meters high up. But people built upon it; Metal armor covered it now. Inside, there was a strange man. Bendegoz didn't who he was or what he was doing there, but he had heard things about him. Iit looked like he was the main power source of the system and its security. But right now, Bendegoz was too tired to think.

Suddenly Willow stopped. "What are you-" The beast lay down with a thud. Bendegoz remained on his back. "What's the matter with you today?" He leaned forward to reach the Yhuo's head and patted him. It snorted. He lay his scaley head down, along with his thick, fish-like whiskers. "Well," Bendegoz sighed "I've got all day. It's not like I have to go to Visore early tomorrow." And he turned around and lay down on the beast on his back with his hands behind his head. The sun's light fell upon the sapphire scales of Willow, making it shimmer blue and purple.
But it became a signal beacon for Gatorm, who was right above Bendegoz in the sky. His ship came down fast and dust flew up. Bendegoz, who was just enjoying the sun, glanced up. The ship's engines were still running as Gatorm jumped out and walked towards Bendegoz. "Son!" He said. Bendegoz looked up again. "What are you doing here on the middle of these great plains, sleeping like there's nothing to worry about?" Finally, Bendgoz made a move and got of the Yhuo's back.
"Willow won't walk. He just stopped right here and lay down!"
Gatorm frowned and walked up to the front of Willow. "The stubborn beast..." He leaned forward with his hands on his knees. "Willow? Are you there? Someone?" He grabbed its whiskers and tried pulling its head up. Mostly, Yhuo's will stand if one does that. But not Willow. The men back at the ship laughed.
"Bendegoz, could you lend me hand please?" He walked to his father and pushed his hands under willow's head. "Common Willow! When we get home, I will make you something good. Skinflints perhaps?"

Suddenly there was a loud gunshot. Willow got on his feet so quickly, Bendegoz didn't even notice. He hit his head against the Yhuo's nose. Willow ran away, wild, snorting, roaring with Gatorm following him, stuck at the reins. Bendegoz glanced at the ship. One of the men had shot his gun into the air. "You swag-bellied whoreson!" Gatorm yelled. The men laughed. But after that, surprisingly, Gatorm started to laugh too. So there they were, all laughing around. Bendegoz was the only one who couldn't laugh at all.

10 minutes later Willow was pushed onto the ship, for it had a deck with fences. As soon as he got on the ship, he lay down again. The ship wobbled from its weight. They took off. Bendegoz covered his eyes from the dust. The beautiful landscape of chomaseth could now be seen. High mountains going far east and west. Woods covering wide plains.
There! Giant leather wings among the cliffs down below. It flew with great speed inbetween the rocks. Gatorm caught Bendegoz' glance. He looked down. "Dragon! grab the bows!" he yelled. Gatorm was from an ancient line of dragon hunters who are now forbidden since Saaleck's reign. Still, he and his men continue to hunt, for it is what they love to do. So tonight they would probably be eating dragonlung. Great.

Their house was on the beginning of a mountain or high hill. A small path led further into the mountains. From here, the great plains could be seen, and Dormport in the far distance. An amazing few. Far from the big cities and crowded places. Down below them at the foot of the mountain was a village: Livid. A peacfull town with a small church.
The night came and Bendegoz went outside with his flute. When he opened the door, fresh wind blew in his face. Not too cold, not too warm, perfect. And there was the moon, shining down on Dormport. The second moon was close by. But Dormport was shining on its own. The light of the fires could be seen from even here. He walked along the barn that held Willow inside, then through the tall grass and sat down on a stump. Now was the time for sweet music. So there he was, playing his flute in the soft night air. It looked like the sound reached far away and touched the mountains on the other side. Like it could be heared down in Livid. Or even in Dormport.

But it did reach a far distance. Because Bendegoz now heared something else. It was like a flapping of wings. Coming closer and closer. Bendegoz gazed up, but there was nothing. It seemed like it was flying around his head. Suddenly, in the moonlight, flew a shadow with great speed, it looked like it was going to land. And it did. A large green dragon circled down. Bendegoz didn't know what to do.
He just sat there, staring in awe. It flew right above the treetops, and landed in front of Bendegoz. His hair whirled up, like the grass and leaves. The dragon came closer almost immediately after it landed. His big, 4-horned head lunged towards Bendegoz. He took a step back. Still, he had the urge to reach out to the dragon. "Why did you come here?" He asked, thinking the dragon could talk. The dragon grumbled and gently took the flute out of Bendegoz' hands with his teeth. "Do you like music? Do you like the singing of the flute?" The dragon turned around and shook his head. Bendegoz trotted after him. "Please be carefull with that! It's from my grandpa, and I like to keep it in one piece." That reminded him. His grandfather was the only one in the dragonhunter line that loved dragons. As much as Bendegoz. The dragon dropped the flute and it landed on the sand. Sand? He came closer and grabbed the flute. "Well, you kept it-" He noticed something on the ground. It was under the sand. Bendegoz dug up a small chest. "A chest? You got to be kidding me." When he opened it, there was a tooth and a photo in it. Curious, he took the photo and saw what it was now. He was shocked. On the dusty picture stood a young fella, and a dragon that looked exactly like this one here. Green, four horns. This must've been his grandfather with his dragon. Unbelievable. This very dragon outlived Bendegoz' grandfather and lived to see his son and grandson growing up. Maybe he was even older. He never heared stories from Gatorm about this. Ofcourse, his father was full of dragon hate.
This dragon told the stories already. His horns were broken and his mouth scarred. In the wings were holes, and his claws were worn. The eyes were the only thing that had remained pure and bright after all those years.


word count: 1337





Prompt 1: Welcome to the jungle!

He was tortured. Beaten, over and over again. He screamed and yelled in agony. But he was no man. He was a mighty dragon. But dragons are creatures of evil and must be encaged. Or so thought the priest.
It was the year 1300. Food was scarce and people were poor. The same could be said for a small village in the south of France. It was there that Goldammer was held. Few people knew about it. Goldammer was the secret of the church. A secret that would soon be revealed.
But Goldammer did not stay small forever. He grew and grew, until he did no longer fit. Just as the rage he had, deep inside. One day of whips and curses it would be; the next day was holy-man's last.
In a storm of anger, Goldammer broke out of his chains and right through the floor of the old church. The priest was just giving his speech to a group of people when it happened. Fire and debriss came forging up from beneath as Goldammer pierced the ground. People ran in terror, thinking the devil had come. Goldammer clutched his massive claws into the decorated walls and climbed up. At last, his big golden head broke through the roof, causing one of the towers to fall. It came down on the dozen of people running out of the church, crushing them.
The priest hurried to the cellars to grab his stuff and run as far away from this town as he could. Now he could hear Goldammer massive roar, silencing all people who gazed at the beast in great fear. The priest ran his way back up. Debris fell down from the ceiling. Fire rose higher and higher. Outside was chaos. Goldammer, now finally free, flew over the town, unleashing his deathly breath upon the tiny houses. Cries of alarm ripped through the air. The priest was trying to make his way towards the doors, but terrorized people came running in, for goldammer was flying above their houses and they now sought refuge in the church again. They blocked the priests' exit. He had no other way out, fire surrounded him. People came begging for him to remove this evil, but he knew he could not. So he left them to die and tried exiting through the broken window. Goldammer crushed them as he came in, furious, looking for the priest. The priest was dangling and had trouble climbing up. He saw the dragon approaching with great speed. Goldammer's claw ended up right above the priests' head with a slam. He fell down and immediately crawled unto his knees, looking upwards to the dragon. "You cannot do this! You are tresspassing!" he yelled. He could now feel the dragons' breath upon his hair. As hot as the sun. "This is a holy place, you cannot be here!" But Goldammer did not care. "Sanctus..." his loud, rusty voice echoed through the hall. "Et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris!" Said Goldammer, knowing exactly the words of the priest.
The priests' eyes spread in disbelief. "'And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us' Yes, I know I said it." the priest shivered.
"Your death has come." answered Goldammer, ignoring what the priest just said. He cowered down in fear, his hands above his head, holding a cross necklace. "Begone! Begone S-" The priest dissapeared into the dragon's mouth.
That day, no man, no woman, no child escaped. Their bones crushed between Goldammer's jaws.
Now up he flew, with a terrorizing roar and a massive cloud of black smoke following him.

In the next few years, Goldammer destroyed many villages and even cities. He became what he is now known as: 'Mouth of hell.' In those dark days he found out about a great mount that would lead him to another place. He had to grow stronger some place safe, for earth was already full of humans. At last he found the mountain, entered it, and was send towards another planet: Heirax. It was a planet much like earth, but larger. As much as he liked to enter that planet, he simply couldn't. A strong force blocked his way. Saaleck, dragon king of that very continent, had come to defend his lands. He put up quite a match for Goldammer, who was still young then. Now Goldammer clamped his double rowed jaws around Saaleck's neck. His grip was strong. Saaleck tried one last trick. He blew fire, which came out of the biteholes in his neck, burning Goldammer in the face. He let go, and was hit afterwards by a swinging tail. Back to earth Goldammer fell. The dying Saaleck, returned to his planet. The people of Heirax were shocked to see Saaleck tumbling down the mountainside, crashing into the open fields.
A heavy cloud of dust filled the sky. The new king was already in the capital city when it happened. Looking out of the window, he gazed into the dusty valley. His armies now took over the land, setting up new rules. The Dragonhunters were created, for there were still dragons dwelling in the area. Their leader Gatorm, was strong and fierce.
The king now stood before the people. "Your king was weak and selfish. He couldn't take it anymore so he choose the easy way out! He threw himself into the deathly ray of the divine mountain!" He pointed.
Only few people knew he had actually fought Goldammer inside the portal. They had only seen it for seconds.
The king walked up towards the dying Saaleck, grinning. "Welcome to the jungle."

As for Goldammer, he was back on earth, angrier then ever. A great war had sealed him within the thick walls of a giant church, but he was still planning to get back to heirax.

word count: 988