Time for Some Explaining! Everyone I'd like to come clean that I have been... unnecasarily foolish. I set up a secondary account to sort of peddle this story for some reason and start fresh since this account is kind of all stocked up with what I'd consider "Bad" Work. So if anyone recognizes this unpopular piece I Lugitorix, am Collaboriter. And I'll be taking back this account at the tip of my sword!
Prologue
In a barren wasteland, where the earth is dry, and drifts lighter than clouds at even the humblest gusts of wind. In the dark it is cold, and in the light it is a blaze of hatred, and the beacon of solar power. It can lead some to desolation, and others to places of their wildest dreams. The expanse of the desert covers hundreds of miles, thousands in width alone... home to bizarre creatures. A land dotted with Oasis, and small droughts of life. A land of promising feats... but also a land of danger and death.
A singular form flies aloft over one of the tall, awesome dunes. As it settles upon the loose terrain where the wind cannot reach it. It is a flag, a flag baring the symbol of Malefic power. A symbol of Malefor.
In the distance a fire has erupted, inaudible at the great distance, but the glow, and the smoke travels all across the land. In just three miles distance, the land becomes green. A lush oasis in the center of a gigantic dry spell. It was incredible... plentiful in water, numerous in farms, with great leagues of grass and tropical trees. The the flames engulfed most of the inner area...
Where a massive city stood.
As a catapult launched it's flaming ordinance across the sky, the densely packed forces of evil had long engaged in a bloody day-in-day-out siege upon this great city. It was unbelievable. Walls spanning miles across in a gigantic circle, encompassing giant buildings from the lower district to it's wealthy upper-class district. From slums to Towers, all built outward from it's unbelievable center-piece. A massive stone butte, thousands of feet tall, and a few hundred wide. It was solid granite, with amazing towers plugged into each of it's seeping flats. The outer walls alone were an impressive construction, fifty feet at regular level, seventy feet at each tower. Trebuchets mounted atop the walls either burned in their destruction, or returned their opposition's firepower at whatever fold they could muster.
Entire wall sections were crumbling, or severely damaged, brick, and mortar falling out to the streets below, or the terrain outside.
But the city was not without it's own trump card. They had something that the Dark armies could never muster. A creature that started this war, and one that would end it.
Dragons.
The wing of angels almost, dragons of all shapes and sizes. Adults, dressed in armor light-to-heavy. Mostly Earth, Fire, and Electricity. Why would ice dragons come here? It was a raw hell for them to live in such a hot environment; so very few bothered at all. There was that oddball in the masses.
The walls were scrambled with troopers. Though in this land, it was not moles who had built this city- at least they didn't have a massive role in it-instead it was creatures of similar quality. Armadillo replaced the smaller mole creatures; with tough hides, short arms, but considerable mobility, and good grip it was no wonder how they managed to scale construction sites in order to build upon the granite, and stone. They occupied much of the city alongside the dragons, but also along Dingo's(Cheetah-like Creatures) Or cheetah themselves who happened to find a home in this vast expanse of fiery desolation in order to provide the best of Avalar's Archery skill to the floundering melee armies.
Or Badger-like creatures call the Bergata, slightly shorter than Cheetah or Dingo's, but built for the fight they'd been thrown in the last few generations, making the desert their home, and this Great City their capital as citizens beneath the dragons.
All of them side-by-side holding the seeping walls. No more than one or two ladders up at a time given the size of the enemy force which was staggering! But the city... it burned under the artillery. People below screaming, running for their lives as small sections of their homes were invaded or quelled. The entire lower district was a swarm with either their guardians... or the minions of the Dark Master.
Apes.
Mostly the smallest form of these ancestors-forsaken beasts managed to get inside, but when they did... armed with swords, daggers, or bows? They could create a big enough threat. But it was the medium sized ones that formed the main infantry. Jumping around, or just charging down open streets, howling, and barking madness. They threw burning torches through windows, letting the infrastructure light ablaze, and soar into the open night sky, shielding the stars and forming a glowing, black carpet of terror.
Wherever the catapult munitions hit... pray there was no one beneath it. Carts were overturned, and corpses of good and evil littered the streets where the hardest fighting broke out. Otherwise there was still the clash of weaponry.
"HAAAHWOO!", one of the greatest apes bellowed, the largest forms of them. Hammer-wielding beasts, cracking their violent weapons upon those smaller than they themselves, leading the lesser fodder to victory by sheer overwhelming force.
As the fires traveled up to even the second set of walls, citizens, and even dragons alike poured into them for safety... unlikely the enemy could reach this far, but the lower district was lost all together. Though the outer walls were not taken, and allies held them firm it was the holes, or breaches in the weakest areas where plenty of apes could get in and form a considerable strike-force.
There had to be at least three hundred inside the city alone. Terrorizing, and butchering as they saw fit. And there was easily a thousand more well on the way. Some could even spot the intruding soldier from key points atop the highest towers.
Good news; "Aireos!", cried a harsh female voice, as dragoness, dark red in color, wicked in appearance, and cut to blazes landed before him, her black wings folding tightly.
An old white dragon, older than even Ignitus stood before the inner gatehouse, watching the crisis below with worrisome eyes. He didn't expect to hear that voice, "Delybis? You've come! So soon.", he could have hugged her, but that was more likely to anger her. But she could see the joy in his weary eyes... Aireos was the acting Wind Guardian, and the highest power in the city itself, "Scorpio burns!... Tell me you don't return alone..."
"No!", she latched to the outer walls. With spikes running down her back, and hard neck frills, and terrifying red eyes... she was a Fear dragon. And the Guardian of such element, "Aquarus leads his army from the North, it will strike the enemy's left flank even now!", she lifted her head, smirking hard into the distance, "Even now I can see the apes in route!"
Anyone could hear, and even see through the black smoke and over the walls as a larger army ran head-on into the enemy's right Northern Flank; As the entrance to the city faced North-East. The number of the new army was enough to completely overwhelm the apes, despite their enemy's numbers... the surprise charge was too much for them, and already they'd begun to break away from the city walls. All those whoops, and howls of blood turned to cries of retreat.
"Then Scorpio should live to fight another day.", Aireos boasted, standing tall, and puffing out his strong, broad chest, "Very very well done, Delybis.", he exhaled very roughly, and chuckled... but it became a sad sigh, "So much death.. All the same."
"There is always consequence, but now we must relish the victory!", the fear guardian pressed her claws upon his shoulder, before looking to their now cheering soldiers along the inner-secondary walls, "Hahaa!", she moved away, crying out with them.
Aireos was indeed happy... that the city, and it's people had been spared as a whole, but it was those who had been lost which clamored around in his heart. He hated it, all of it... how the night sky glowed red on some nights; Whether off in the distance somewhere, or like it was now... right at home. He leaned his head out across the entire city, seeing where the last of the apes were being weeded out, and either exterminated, or taken prisoner, and to be tried... or released based on Scorpio's mercy system. After all it was the Guardians, and the council together that decided their fates... it would likely end in unanimous clutter of opinions... some erratic, others violent, and a few merciful ones.
The times were harsh on all, "Quickly... Someone get a team together and put out those fires!", the Wind guardian ordered, turning around. He wished to retire for the night... too exhausted to see this through til morning, his weary eyes began to close and a yawn crossed his maw. Something stopped him however, amidst all the cries of victory, and recovery.
It prompted him enough to look back, "Mm?", he looked at Delybis... she didn't look like she'd noticed. What was this feeling? The elder dragon returned to the edge of the walls, looking down to the burning streets below, "... What?...", at first he did not understand, but it was the sight of several apes; running through the fires, and scampering for safety... toward the breaches in the outer wall.
They were carrying something... something small, the largest of them. The white dragon's eyes could just make it out, before his curled frills stood on end, and he then leaped hard off the balcony!
"Aireos!?", Delybis called out, stopping at the edge to watch him swoop down. Her and a few others stood, not following, "What's gotten into him?"
It couldn't be! No, the apes would never, "No!", the Wind dragon pried his maw open, slathering the steady burn around the group below, clearing the ground so that he may land between them, "How dare you!", he accused, snarling at them, mostly at the largest ape, wielding the short-ax, and clothed in iron armor, "You had my mercy! Now you will regret this!"
The largest ape bared it's fangs, and raised his ax, "HAAHWOO! You not very smart! Old dragon! We outnumber you! You die... NOW!", he pointed the blade. In his left arm, tucked against his leather armor was something that would enrage any righteous dragon.
It was an egg. A small red egg... Scarlet to be more exact, even in the glow of the fires around them it was fairly easy to determine it's color. It must have been abandoned in the attack, or stolen from it's place in it's home. Whether it was Aireos' son did not matter even... he would defend the small egg with his life, "Disgusting monsters!", he growled, as the small apes charged him. With a simple flare of his wings, a violent gust of wind would take them off the ground, and into the air, shrieking and screaming in fright, parting them from the battle, and into the horrible flames to seal their timely fates.
Leaving the large ape alone. Admittedly? He was harshly intimidated, "Rrrr!", it growled, "Whether not you win. I destroy egg! I go free and egg will be yours.", he held his crude weapon to the small item... the hatchling's life was at stake.
"Give me that egg.", the wind guardian warned him, "Or you suffer a fate worse than death!", showing his horrible fangs.
"HAAHHWOOO!", he beat his chest, lifting the small thing into the air, threatening to smash it, but just as he could swing down did a streak of blue soar over him. Snatching it out of it's grubby paws, and turning over the next few buildings, "What?! Ahh!", it was suddenly less ballsy, looking to the ancient before, "Wait!", he stepped back.
Aireos did not have the most devastating attacks, but he was potent in his own way. Approaching now with warning eyes.
"No! Stay back!", the creature pleaded, "AARGGHH!"
That blue dragon landed up atop the second wall section, egg in his paw, He had a body to match the very element he was founded upon. Water. With swirling, blue fins, rising out of his cheeks and down his tail, a soft white underbelly and wings. Aquarus looked it over for damage... his ocean blue eyes closing, and he let out a hard sigh of relief, "Praise the ancestors youngling.", he was young, possibly the youngest of all the guardians... a lot on his paws that came with such a job. What was he doing in the desert?
The egg did little to answer him, it was nearing it's hatchday, but it was not active just yet, "I wonder where your parents are..."
"Aquarus.", Aerios greeted, landing with nimble, old claws, "Is it alright?"
"Clear as underwater currents, my friend.", he turned, holding it up to him. The ancient white dragon gently took it from his claws, "Notify all. You must find the mother, or the father. I will take it safety for now.", he had the right idea, spreading his grand wings, "What evils they planned for the child...", he mumbled.
"I shall. And Aerios!", the water dragon raised his glorious wing in happiness, "Scorpio lives another day!"
"Praise the ancestors.", the master replied, chuckling very gently, and nodded before he created a gust of wind, and soared over the second wall of the city.
Scorpio... the Desert city of Avalar. Perhaps the second or third largest city in all the realm next to Warfang. Not built for the dragons, but build by all including Dragons. Built around that massive butte formation, the dragon actually flew so high he swooped over the coliseum at it's, before diving, and gliding down, under a bridge between two towers... before soaring out over a majestic city of the sand. With occult building designs and incredible use of columns and archways, not to mention dragonic elements, Armadillo(Dwarven-esque), and even dense ghetto-like areas. While the sky was dark with fiery smoke... it would have been far more special if it was the beautiful, star-gazing sky on most nights.
Only one portion of the city had been invaded... it would have been impossible to muster every soul into the second layer of defenses in so little time.
And besides... the entire area was clear of fire. In fact it looked rather peaceful save for the part some worrisome souls popped out to gaze upon the fires coming from the other areas. Others would hold their personal weapons in their arms just in case... some would barricade their homes. The war did not take kind tolls on the mentality of weary citizens. But at least they would be safe. All Aerios had to do was find what he was looking for.
He'd been there so many times, soaring down into the lower distract, just up against the second inner wall. The elevation between the second level and first level of the city here was a tad odd... one had to take a large highway-wide ramp to get to the gatehouse of the second defenses. Tucked in the corner of a large lookout tower, which much space was a Cathedral. It was so old, and near rundown. And it should have been. It had survived eight generations... one of the last buildings at the time the city was constructed. Made almost entirely of solid stone, or granite. The wind guardian swooped in, landing at the front gate where he was greeted by a frail old female.
She was older than he, deep blue, wrinkled scales, and tender reading glasses. Her body beyond any hope of flight, even running for that matter, "Aerios... Come to see me on such a night?...", she didn't act very surprised to see him... other than her concern. Was the city lost? Was he here to tell her to leave and take what she could with her. But her old eyes looked down upon the egg, "Ohhh... Oh dear..."
"Not an orphan yet. We are searching for the parents. But I trusted you would be the best to take care of it until then...", he bowed his head very gently, giving the egg to her possession, "Saved it from a terrible fate."
"'He'... Aerios."
"What?"
"The egg is a male. Just in case you were wondering...", she held it very gently in her wing, cradling it ever so lovingly as though she were the mother.
It would always alarm him how keen she was to determine such a quality. But she was always correct on the gender. Therefore he had little right to call her out on it. He bowed his head, "Forgive me, Cerana.", calling her by her name.
"Come in.", she welcomed, turning, the old double doors opening at the whisk of her free wing... it was very spacious inside. With a tall ceiling, chandeliers from a hundred years ago, marks where rose of stone benches used to be, replaced with tables and even bed areas. There were so many separate rooms that came with it. It truly was a marvelous place, "We shall take it to the infirmary..."
And that they did, setting the egg gently upon one of many stone displays. Snugging it in the warm nest on top. Above a glowing red crystal, shining it's grand orange, yellow, and red lights upon all the eggs present, "I understand it is very close to hatching...", Aerios inquired, staring down at it. Sadly he gazed out over the other eggs... all colors and sizes, "There are so many..."
"It is such a shame... when their beloved parents to not return...", the elder dragoness let her head down very softly, closing her eyes, a tear rolling down, "I pray this one is so very lucky..."
"Aerios.", a new voice inquired, catching the guardian's attention, pulling his eyes away from the dreadful sight.
"You bring news?"
"Yes...", it was a cheetah. A female. Young and full of controlled spirit as she bowed respectfully, "The ape army is in full route.", but that was only the good news, "However... with General Babbit on the run... I believe Gual has mobilized two new generals in his place... We do not yet know their strategy. Only that their armies together at first light number possibly fifty thousand. With many commanders to lead many divided forces..."
"I see...", Aerios had hoped for news regarding the egg. But this was just as urgent, "We shall recall our own forces back to Scorpio... Inform Delybis. Send word to all our armies within one hundred miles of the city. We must be prepared.", he bowed his head.
And the girl would have left, bowing to him, her archery set strapped tight to her back, "Yes, Guardian.", but just before she took her leave, she stopped, yet again showing her respect as another dragon entered.
Aquarus once more.
"Ah.", the wind dragon lightened as he saw him enter... but the dreadful look on his usually kind face told him otherwise than to be happy, "Aquas... What is it?"
"The egg. Aerios...", he shook his head.
"Please Aquarus... You know I do not appreciate dramatic pauses...", a lump formed in the elder's throat, his brows furrowing, before his eyes closed. Here it comes...
"The egg... It did not take long...", the water dragon sighed, "The mother died months ago... shortly after giving birth to it.", like Aerios, Aquarus had a lump form in his own throat as well, "The father died not long ago... It has been orphaned at home for a week...", and they knew nothing of it...
Cerana gasped, and covered her maw with a wing, "It was left alone for so long?...", she'd heard so many tales of how eggs became orphans... she was a veteran of the trade. But that did not stop her sensitive heart from breaking. Tears welled in her kind old eyes, "Oh my...", she looked away, and down to the scarlet shell, stepping toward it, "The poor thing...", but she was relieved it was still alive.
"He has no family?", Aerios asked softly.
But the ocean blue dragon shook his head, his fins folding in like ears on a sad dog, "I'm afraid not, Aerios... No relatives that anyone knew of...", it was truly a sad moment. To know the hatchling would never have a real, blood parent... to be deprived, "Cerana...", the water dragon greeted in a kind voice, looking at his claws. As if he asked her. Along with Aerios' stare.
"Yes...", the female whispered in response, "There is always room... Here... with me...", she gave the shell a nuzzle, feeling the vibrations of a beating heart inside, nearly ready to hatch, "No hatchling will ever be deprived of life... not on my life...", her voice was watery, as were her tearing eyes. So many times had her heart succumb to these gruesome stories and conditions. It made the urge to love and care impossible to resist.
"Then... it is done...", Aerios stepped forward, while she stepped away, raising his claws, and gently clasping them down atop the egg, feeling the life inside, "The egg will remain here. In your trusted care... like all the others.", he bowed his head, closing his saddened eyes.
"I'm sorry, Guardian...", Aquarus stepped back, bowing respectfully. It was time for them to take their leave. No further reason to stay unless they wished to mourn. But these dragons did not have the time.
"Come... we must go.", was all Aerios said, wishfully bowing his head as well, "Good luck, Cerana...", the two leaving out the front while the elder female waved them off with her wing. Cerana's look shifted upon the new egg. She would always have her paws full... as she ran this grand orphanage... the only real orphanage in Scorpio.
As she looked upon the future dragon inside that defenseless egg, she lowered her snout, and gave it the most loving of kisses, "Sleep tight... little one...", turning, looking up to the red crystal giving incubated life to all the eggs inside, "All... my little ones.", at the slightest gesture of her wings, the light dimmed for the night... and she closed the large set of doors.
Leaving that egg alone with all the other lonely, parent-less eggs. There were so many, more than a dozen in such a cozy room. That egg... what wonders any of them could hold... but that egg, the newest of them all.
The shell cracked.
Followed by a quiet squeak for assistance...
End of Prologue
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