The Chronicles of Trove

A Talent for Irena

B. A. A.

(Any resemblance to a sound of a fluffy animal is strictly in the mind of the author, who has endured taunts for many years)

Chapter 1

A little dragon pup, separated from its Dracolyte owner, was perched on a tree branch. It was trying to enjoy the sun, and it was cute to watch. Its cute little face and the way it breathed out those little puffs of smoke... what could be cuter, other than cats and dogs? But that was not to last. A poacher came and scooped up the dragon pup and put it into a cage. The little whine it made was so heartbreaking that it made others cry. But, however, that was not close to how Erael was feeling. In 6 months, he would be banished to the Void, where Q'bthulu and the evil Moon Goddess supposedly lived. Of course, those who went into the Void never came back, so Erael was going to try to activate his Trovian talent, if he even had one. The reader is probably wondering what a Trovian talent is, or where the character Erael even lives. So lets back up. The world Erael lives in is a fantastic world known as Trove. What is a Trovian talent? A Trovian talent is the talent that hints at what the class a Trovian will accept. For example, a person who communicates fluently with faeries is going to be a Fae Trickster, and a person who wields fire without any signs of pain is going to be a full-fledged Dracolyte. That person may also have been born with wings and a tail. Erael's friend Cami is one. But, with enough talk, let's get back to Erael. He has jet-black hair, fair skin, and metallic purple irises. If it hadn't been for the test that determined a creature's true race, he may have been mistaken for an Everdark creature. What most people did not know was that Erael had been found next to a Shadow Tower Portal, which was highly unusual. He was also found with an Azulian Dragon ling. He got out of his bed and walked to the kitchen of his family's house. There, his father Roland, a Shadow Hunter was cooking breakfast. Roland and Erael's mother divorced when he Erael was very young, so Erael did not remember anything about his mother. Currently, Roland was cooking food that supposedly came from the Everdark, which is the real name for the Void. Currently, this breakfast was some kind of shadow dragon egg. It looked like a shadowy gloop, but it tasted very good. Although Roland did not say it, he was worried that Erael would be banished to the Void. If a person did not show a Trovian talent by the time they were 12 years old, then they would be banished. Currently, Erael was 11½ years old. As soon as Erael finished his shadow-ish breakfast, he exited his shadow-themed house to play with his friend Cami. Cami is a Dracolyte-in-training, and what made her unique was that she was a direct descendent from the legendary dragon Thallasion. So while most Dracolytes had bland brown robes with a gold trim, Cami's robes were deep sea blue with acid green trim, and while most Dracolytes shot fire from their hands, had a fire dragon ally, laid down fire-bombs, and transformed into a full-fledged fire dragon when provoked, Cami shot bright green acid from her hands, had a sea dragon ally, laid down acid bombs, and turned into a smaller version of Thallasion when provoked. She could also breathe and swim underwater. Her only disadvantage was that it was a little hard to walk on land, and she had some difficulty breathing oxygen. Pretty much, Cami's life on land was somewhat uncomfortable, so she lived underwater. Erael got onto his Azulian dragon and headed off to the Treasure Isles, where Cami lived. Normally, Erael would not have had something so valuable as an Azulian dragon, but this particular one had been with Erael when Roland and his used-to-be-wife found him. But Erael liked the Azulian dragon, and it sure liked him back, so the dragon got to stay with him. It turned out that all dragons could communicate telepathically, and the dragon thought-spoke to Erael that its name is Azul, and that, strangely enough, it could not remember anything before ending up at Erael's, and that a mysterious voice had told her that she needed to stay with Erael. But anyway, that was 4 years ago. Have you shown a sign of a Trovian talent yet, Erael? Thought-spoke Azul to Erael. "No, I haven't, Azul. I'm beginning to worry. I don't want to be banished to where Q'bthulu and the evil Moon Goddess live." Replied Erael. "It seems that you, Cami, and Father are the only ones who understand, Azul." Do not forget that the Sun Goddess understands also, Erael. "Oh, yes, the Sun Goddess. I'm sorry, Azul. I'm just so paranoid." It is okay. Remember that the Sun Goddess forgives everyone. After a 10-minute flight, Erael and Azul arrived at Cami's home. Azul worked her magic to allow herself and Erael breathe underwater. The only problem was that Cami was one step ahead of them. She anticipated their coming, so she decided to pull a prank on them. "Cami," Erael yelled into the water. "Come out!" "That is not a proper way to address a girl, Erael! Spray them, Thass!" A sea dragon ling swam out of the water, but instead of squirting water from its mouth, it belched light green smoke. A normal Dracolyte dragon ling ally belched out regular smoke, but Cami was no ordinary Dracolyte. The light green smoke was sprayed into Erael's eyes, and they burned like acid was poured into them. He plunged into the water to flush the smoke out. Cami playfully grabbed Erael's leg and dragged him down. Although Azul kept a blank face, everyone within a 30-meter diameter could pick up on her telepathic chuckling. "Ablubbbb! Hbbbb mbbbbb!" was all Erael could say underwater, the water distorting his voice. Eventually, Azul dived in and sent a very high-pitched sound to Cami, and she let go of Erael to put her hands over her head, which did not do anything to stop the sound. Azul abruptly stopped the sound, seeing Cami in pain. Then she extended her magic aura to allow Erael to talk underwater, like Cami. If only he had telepathy! Then he wouldn't have to rely on Azul. Cami glowered at Azul for a moment, but then she reverted to her carefree expression. She and Erael swam to the surface. "Have you discovered your Trovian talent, Erael?" "No, Cami, I have not." Erael replied to Cami. Cami had long, sand-blond hair, ocean-blue irises, and fair skin, and an unusual face that made her so attractive. She is 6 months younger than Erael, making her 11 years old. As Erael was remembering how he first met Cami, a massive skeleton hauled him up and threw him into the water. This was the work of a Tomb Raiser. But who could be that callous? The skeleton grabbed Erael and squeezed him to where Erael heard crunch, and he felt a searing pain where the skeleton had grabbed him. This was the dirty work of Haede, the bully of the zone Erael and Cami lived in. "Haede, why don't you mess with someone who is your own size!" Cami yelled at him. "Aw, it's sea girl standing up for talentless! 'Why don't you mess with someone who is your own size?'" Haede mimicked. He was about to break another of Erael's ribs when 3 brilliant blue circles surrounded him. It was one of Roland's Sun Snares. Roland had gone to the Open Seas to ask Thallasion a question, because apparently Thallasion was a wise dragon, when he saw Haede bullying Erael. "I'm sorry Mister Roland! My skeleton just got out of my control!" Haede pleaded. Roland could see the lie right on his face. "Could you please release me? I can't move! It's uncomfortable! My legs are starting to burn!" "Maybe you'll think of what you did to my son while you wait for someone to find you." Roland said coldly. "Erael, have Azul take you to a restoration station," he added. Erael promptly mounted Azul and took off.

As the magic of the restoration station took hold, Erael wondered if he even had a Trovian talent. And if he had one, how would he know what it was? He would need to find someone, or something highly intelligent to find out. That was when it dawned on him. He would go visit the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing.

Before Erael left his house, he went to his room for one more thing. It was a pot of wild oats. He put it securely into his backpack, as Roland would make him throw it out if he found it. As he headed downstairs, Roland stopped him. "Son, before you go," he said, "I want you to have these." Roland pulled out a sack filled with glass bottles containing a red liquid. "These are Elysian flasks. Whenever you drink one bottle, an eighth of your body is restored, and any curse or illness you have is removed.

"To refill the Elysian flasks, you must visit a Rejuvenation Station. Because I doubt that the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing has one, I am going to give you a portable one. However, just because you have a Rejuvenation Station does not mean you should squander your Elysian flasks, as a Rejuvenation Station can only be placed at a civilized house. Now, do you… what is that?" Roland saw a wild oat sticking out of Erael's backpack. "Son, what have I told you about wild oats?" "I'm sorry, father." Erael replied. "Are those the oats you sow in coarse dirt and water them with your own urine?" "Yes, father." "Well, I know that summoning a nymph is very neat and beautiful, and I myself tried to summon one through wild oats myself, but I forgot to water them myself, and the nymph escaped. You must realize that a nymph is hollow inside and lacks human thoughts. There is only one girl out there who is the match for you." "Her name is Cami."

Erael set out for the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing's castle the next morning. If only he knew what he was getting into!