Prologue
In The Eyes of the Dragon
Patrolling the rooftop of the city of Lancaster's art museum wasn't what newly appointed, Second Lieutenant Vance Kendrick had in mind for his first assignment with his new team. He was on guard duty, and he had never been so bored.
He had just been promoted to be on one of the Sevaro teams within the military organization called, E.L.I.T.E. (Expert Level Integrated Tactical Espionage). Only the top seven best teams within E.L.I.T.E. are called, Sevaro. This new promotion was something Vance was very proud of. He wanted to make a name for himself.
The light of one of the moons shined down on Vance, he looked up at the cloudless canvas above, admiring the night sky. He then looked at his new Sevaro uniform. On the left side of his chest; it was an emblem of a bow and arrow pointing in the Northeast direction. Only members of Team Archer had this symbol. He rubbed his fingers over the emblem, showing it his appreciation for being part of the team.
Vance let out a long yawn as he walked over to a chair he had placed on the roof. He sat down, picked up a metal cup that had stale cold coffee inside. He wasn't really thirsty but it was something to do and it would at the very least keep him awake. He gulped the rest of it down.
He sat the empty cup down and picked up the newspaper next to him. It was the Lancaster Journal, the local paper. Vance squinted his eyes. The moonlight wasn't enough for him to read the words. He held the paper in his left hand and raised his right hand over it. His right hand slowly started to glow red and flames erupted around it. Vance's stable control of his magic was one of the reasons why he was promoted.
Vance continued reading the article that he started earlier. It was a piece of commentary about the possible negative social impact that magic users might have on the planet, Meridian. Vance thought it was interesting but he didn't put much faith into the article.
Magic users have always played a great role throughout history. Over time the countries of Meridian started to unite and form an Alliance with each other, to stop war and make an attempt for peace. They combined their resources, even united parts of their military, with E.L.I.T.E being one of The Alliance's military.
Vance was a firm believer that their magic abilities were given to them to not just help people but to benefit the whole world. The abilities to create; fire, wind, water, lightning and other natural elements have been very beneficial for all of mankind. He stared at his hands as if they were proof enough to prove the article wrong.
A person's elemental power is focused in their hand. When an elemental power is demonstrated the hand that's used also glows a certain color depending on what power is used. And a person's ability to do magic is also limited due to the fact that magic requires a lot of one's physical energy.
Though magic is generally accepted by society it is required that one has a license to perform it. Which someone would earn after passing the Magical Qualification Exam.
Vance could understand part of where the writer was coming from in the article. Deep down he knew it was because people possessed such incredible abilities such as magic that there has been many struggles, many unnecessary wars.
The article progressed into talking about how the practice of using magic should be disbanded. It wasn't the first time Vance had heard such an idea. In fact there were a few groups spread out across the world that wanted people that could use magic, stopped. Most of these groups were even more radical in their ideas and have wanted to lock up magic users or worse.
Vance put the paper down in disgust of the ideas as the fire around his hand went out. He then picked up his cup expecting to take another sip but he forgot it was empty. He stood up and walked over to the ledge of the building with the cup in his left hand. His right hand started to glow blue this time as he hovered it over the cup. Water started to slowly pour into the cup as he washed it out.
When he was done he put the cup back down next to his chair and rubbed his hazel eyes and let out another yawn as he looked up again. He could tell the sun was getting ready to rise as the hints of orange slowly started to stretch across the sky. It was almost morning and the recovery team would be there soon.
Before Vance joined the team he heard that Sevaro operatives got the most dangerous assignments. Not to say guard duty was easy but this specific kind of work seemed something a group of children could do. But the thing that bothered him the most was that Vance wasn't even sure what he was guarding in the museum. When he asked the commander of his team what they were guarding he was told not to worry about it and hope for a very easy night.
The commander of his team was Captain Cameron Tucker. Vance had heard lots of great things about him and felt honored to serve with him. When Vance met Cameron for the first time he had warmly welcomed him, he had a look of a natural leader and Vance could tell right away that this would be a man that he could follow.
One thing that made Team Archer interesting was his other teammate, Ethan Masters, a childhood friend of Cameron. Ethan also held the rank of Captain, but for some reason he had never transferred to become captain of his own team, something that is normally not permitted. Vance thought it was probably out of loyalty to Cameron but he wondered how he managed it. Vance found it sometimes hard to strike up a conversation with Ethan because he always had a book in his hand. He usually kept a small book in his pocket somewhere.
"This is Sydney checking in on the second floor." Second Lieutenant Sydney Galloway said over the radio.
The voice startled Vance as he quickly reached for the radio that was attached to his uniform.
"This is Ethan checking in on the third floor." Another voice said.
Vance reached for his radio nervously, "This is Second Lieutenant Vance Kendrick, all clear up here." He said.
"You don't have to be so formal, Vance. It's just us." Sydney said very softly over the radio.
Though Vance was the newest member of the four-man squad of Team Archer, Sydney was the youngest. He heard that Sydney graduated early from one of The Academies, prestigious universities where those gifted with magical abilities go to train their skills. She was considered a child prodigy by age five, when she easily used magic to turn a swimming pool into her own personal water park. The ability to use magic like that can take someone years to master. After she graduated from The Academy, she immediately applied and joined E.L.I.T.E. She wasn't the kind of girl Vance was use to seeing in E.L.I.T.E, she was very cute, curly blonde hair, with light blue eyes.
"Is it really necessary for us to check in every 10 minutes?" She asked.
"Yes, so stop whining." Replied Cameron Tucker, "And I got news, the recovery team's ETA is 15 minutes."
"Didn't you say that about 30 minutes ago?" Ethan asked.
"You of all people should know how reliable military intelligence is." Cameron replied.
Vance chuckled on the roof at the comment. The thought of the recovery team coming soon suddenly gave him a new rush of energy, his assignment was almost over. He kept pacing the rooftop of the five-story building.
As he was walking around alone on the roof the only thing that he could think about besides sleep was what exactly was he here protecting. He knew that Captain Tucker volunteered his team for this assignment to protect something. And whatever it was, it was on the third floor.
At the bottom of the building Cameron Tucker was sitting near the front counter by the main entrance. He was sitting next to the museum's security chief watching the camera monitors. Cameron had the rest of the museum security go home. He wanted to have only his team there and didn't want to have to worry about anyone else in case something bad was to happen. Out of all the missions he had been on he knew that this volunteer mission was one of his most important ones.
The Chief put down his fourth cup of freshly brewed coffee and turned to Cameron. "This all seems a bit excessive just for some foreign artifact."
"Trust me, it's better to be safe than sorry," Cameron said still staring at the monitors. "I just wish we could take the artifact now but since it belongs to a country outside of The Alliance we have to follow protocol." A bead of sweat was working its way down from Cameron's brown hair, either from anxiety or the room temperature.
The Chief just shrugged it off and continued to drink more of his coffee. As he sat his cup back down; all of the camera monitors turned off.
Ethan stood in the middle of the third floor reading his pocket size world culture book. He started staring over the top of his book, and quickly directed his eyes right back down. He had been doing this for awhile now. After a few minutes Ethan placed a small marker inside the book and put it in his pocket. He walked over to what was the reason for their mission. Set on top of a pedestal, sealed in a glass case, and surrounded by metal bars stood the Dragon of Divinity. The description labeled on the pedestal said that the statue was hand crafted around a thousand years ago, with a scaly dark green complexion and piercing sapphire eyes. It's not known what ancient tribe made this, but it was discovered in an archeological dig near the Kingdom of Cerulia.
"Everyone be alert! The cameras just went out!" Cameron's voice boomed through the radio. Before Ethan could do anything there was a strange sound coming from the room. He looked around franticly trying to figure where it was coming from. It sounded as if something was being cut. He looked down at his feet and saw a green circle forming around the pedestal. When the circle connected the pedestal fell slowly through the floor.
"They're here!" Ethan screamed into the radio as he ran towards the stairs. "They're on the second floor!"
"Are you sure? That's where I am." Sydney said. She was running through the hallway looking for any sign of intrusion. She stopped suddenly when she heard glass shatter behind the doors of an exhibit that read, Lost Treasures. She quickly opened the doors and saw a man standing there lifting a dragon statue out of its glass case. As the man stood straight up, Sydney noticed how tall he was. He had crimson red hair and was wearing dark black clothes.
"Remarkable isn't it? The man asked holding the dragon in his left hand and staring down at Sydney with his piercing green eyes.
"Put it down, nice and easy."
"I don't think so." He said. "You haven't even drawn a weapon yet, little girl." As he looked her up and down and noticed she wasn't carrying any firearm.
"Don't underestimate me." Sydney said confidently while she was balling up her fist.
"So you think you have some skill with magic, huh?" The man said sarcastically. "You have no idea what you're in the middle of little girl." With his right hand hanging down he pointed his finger at the ground. His hand was glowing bright green as the floor beneath started to crack. It moved swiftly towards Sydney. Before she had a chance to move the ground exploded right from underneath, the shock threw her in the air right out of the exhibit as her body slammed against the hallway wall.
Ethan was running through the hallway just in time to see Sydney fall unconscious on the floor. He ran up to her and saw that she was still breathing. She'll be okay. As he ran in, he saw the man stop abruptly at his presence.
"Dante?" Ethan asked.
"Well, it's been a long time." Dante said.
"I should have recognized the recklessness." Ethan looked around the room and then up at the hole in the ceiling. "How did you get in?"
"I've been here the entire time, cooped up in that tomb over there." He motioned his head towards a large open tomb in the back of the room.
"So where is the rest of the gang?" Ethan asked.
"Oh, they'll be along shortly. Everything is going as planned."
"You really don't think you'll get out of here do you?"
"Oh, I know so." He quickly bent down as his right hand was glowing green the ground started to crack and break apart towards Ethan. Ethan casted the same ground magic back towards Dante. The two powers collided and exploded sending them both crashing onto the floor.
Ethan slowly got up. He looked around the room to find antiques smashed everywhere. He used a podium next to him as leverage to lift himself up. As he did, his hand accidentally knocked off a huge bowl that was sitting on top. He watched helplessly as it shattered on the floor.
"I really hope that wasn't expensive," he said aloud to himself.
"Actually, that was a priceless work of art dated back before these nations even officially formed." A sweet female voice said. But Ethan knew the owner of that voice was going to be anything but delightful. He turned around to see a blonde woman in an emerald colored outfit.
"I hope E.L.I.T.E pays you well," she said
"Oh don't worry Syrin, all this stuff can be written off as collateral damage." Ethan smiled, hoping he was right. He then heard a low moan come from the room. He looked around to find Dante slowly rising to his feet. He was still cradling the dragon in his hand, which seemed undamaged by his fall. Ethan, getting ready to capitalize on Dante's disorientation felt his body tossed through the air. He hit the ground with a thud. He slowly turned his head towards Syrin, whose hand was pointed at him and glowing silver. He then understood what had just transpired; she used wind magic against him.
"You should have known better than take your eyes off me," Syrin said slyly. Dante slowly walked towards her still carrying the statue.
"Let's go." He said. "I have been here way too long, and this floor could give out anytime now." They both ran for it, not giving notice to Sydney's body in the hallway, which was finally starting to come around. Her eyes opened slowly just in time to see the pair of thieves take off down the hallway.
As the duo entered the side stairwell, Dante darted down the stairs with Syrin following him, until she heard another set of footsteps right behind them. She turned behind her to see Vance come around the corner from the upper level of stairs. He quickly jumped back when he saw her, unprepared that he was going to run into anyone just yet. He stood there with his mind completely blank. He stared down at Syrin, who was only smiling at him, and in that brief moment he forgot everything that he was suppose to be doing, and all he could do was smile back. And just as quickly as he had fallen into the trance, he snapped back out of it. He looked at her and saw she wasn't carrying anything. She couldn't be one of the bad guys could she? He thought.
He soon received his answer. Her hand was glowing silver and quickly blasted a strong gust of wind at him, knocking him backwards. By the time he looked back up she was gone. His head felt dizzy, but he knew he couldn't black out now. This was his first mission, and he was out to prove himself, to his teammates that he would be able to do this just as well as they could. I'm not going to let them escape! Feeling new motivation, he slowly stood up and pursued them.
Syrin walked through to the first floor. She saw Dante lying on the ground, still cradling the dragon.
"What happened?" She asked running up to him.
"Stop right there, Syrin!" Cameron ordered. She stopped suddenly and saw Cameron standing in the middle room. She could see the door behind him that led to the main entrance. She would do another wind attack, but against Cameron she knew it would be useless.
"Trying to think of your next move?" Cameron asked. "Trust me, you have none. The peace officers are already on their way." He had ordered the security chief to leave the building and call the law enforcement when the cameras failed.
Suddenly, the doors behind Cameron flew open. Two more people walked in wearing dark clothes that he recognized. One of them was tall and muscular; with tan skin and long dark brown hair. Cameron knew him as El Sigma; and the man next to him, a face he has never forgotten- Warren Cassidy, the leader of the group.
"Did you not think I had this planned out to perfection?" Warren quickly asked Cameron, giving him a sharp look.
"I'm not sure how you knew about the dragon, but you're not leaving here with it." He said as he turned back around just in time to see Dante get to his feet. Four on one, not very good odds. He acted quickly. His whole body started glowing silver; he lifted his hands in the air and out came a rush of wind. It blew the entire room into disarray. Paintings blew off the wall and glass cases shattered. The four took cover in different places.
Vance came into the room just in time to see what was going on. He had never seen wind magic done like that. Cameron wasn't just using his hands to make wind; he was using his whole body to generate its power. And at that moment, Vance knew that his captain wasn't just any magic user. He was an Elemental, a person whose whole body was in tune with a natural element that gave him superior magical strength, and this was the first one that he had ever seen.
Dante, who was hiding behind a pillar, was still holding the Dragon. His hand was glowing yellow, as if about to strike Cameron. Vance, acting on instinct, balled up his right hand, which was now glowing red, and shot a fireball. It exploded next to Dante, who was tossed into the air and dropped the Dragon.
Cameron, looking over his shoulder, saw Vance and then noticed Dante knocked across the floor. He looked up and saw the Dragon statue flying around the room, hurled around by the gusts of wind. Cameron slowly died the wind down.
The statue fell towards the floor but El Sigma quickly grabbed it. He held it with a look of self-satisfaction on his face and then ran out of the room.
"I got him." Cameron said as he ran after El Sigma, but was quickly cut off by what seemed to be a river of fire that suddenly streaked through the air. He turned to his left to see Warren; his whole body was now ablaze with a red glow.
"I wouldn't worry about him." Warren said.
Vance looked at him and couldn't believe his eyes. He was another Elemental! As shocking as this was, he had to keep his focus. Someone just ran away with the statue that he assumed was what they had been guarding this whole time, so he bolted after him. Warren saw Vance run after El Sigma, but before he could do anything, he saw Cameron conjurer up his wind magic. Warren summoned up his power of fire and hurled it towards Cameron. Their magic collided in midair.
Dante crawled toward another side door that lead to another exhibit. He was being very careful not to raise his head to high, to avoid being burned by the roaring flames being blown throughout the room. As he reached for the door it quickly swung open. He saw Syrin standing there.
"Come on!" She yelled as she quickly pulled him through the door. As they went through the door, Ethan and Sydney walked through the stairway door. They stared in amazement at Cameron and Warren standing on opposite sides of the room, blasting their Elemental magic at each other. The powers were clashing together and creating an inferno.
"We need to move right now!" Ethan exclaimed as he pulled Sydney back through the door to look for another way out. The heat of the fire was starting to get too much for Cameron to handle.
"What are you doing? I know you are stronger than this!" Warren yelled. "Well just because you're holding back doesn't mean I will." Cameron felt Warren's fire getting stronger. He knew he was going to have to come up with something quick.
Vance continued his chase of El Sigma down the street as the peace officers sirens echoed in the distance. But suddenly he heard a loud explosion. He turned around to see the first floor of the Museum explode into flames. In complete shock he didn't know what to do. Should I go back and check on the captain? He turned around again just in time to see El Sigma turn the corner into a dark alley.
El Sigma turned the corner only to notice that there was a wall blocking his way. His first instinct was to smash it down but then the rubble just might make another wall for him to climb over. And he knew that the E.L.I.T.E solider would be turning around the corner soon. He had to act quickly. He lifted the dragon to his face, as if examining it.
Vance turned the corner just in time to see El Sigma running his way, who stopped short when he saw him.
"You will stop right there." Ethan demanded.
El Sigma held the dragon in his right hand and then started to toss it lightly, as if to taunt Ethan. "If you want it so badly," El Sigma was saying slyly, "then you will have to catch it!" He tossed it up in the air, and ran for the wall. He used all the energy that he could muster to jump as high as he could. His hands barely reached the top of the wall as he started to pull himself over.
Vance paced franticly while watching the statue fall. He outstretched his arms and his hands barely caught the statue.
He held the statue next to his chest and relished in his moment of success. But it was short-lived. He looked up just in time to see El Sigma sitting on top of the wall in the alleyway, he pointed a finger at Vance and a small bolt of lightning struck Vance in the chest.
It was only a few seconds that Vance was knocked unconscious. He started to move again. He could hear loud voices getting closer. He slowly got to his feet, still clutching the dragon in his hand.
When he appeared in the street again he saw the rest of his teammates running towards him with Captain Tucker leading them.
"I got the statue!" Vance said excitedly. Feeling good that his first mission didn't turn out so boring after all, and it was a success due to him. He handed Cameron the statue.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yes sir." Vance replied. "What happened back there?"
"The fires caused an explosion, but nobody's hurt. Warren and his men have disappeared again." Cameron sounded disappointed.
"Did you know that they were coming?" Sydney asked.
"I wasn't sure."
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway! I got the statue back!" Vance said still feeling the excitement. Cameron was staring at the dragon unhappily.
"We have a problem." Cameron said looking at Ethan and showing him the statue.
"I see that," he responded as he looked over the dragon closely too.
"If we don't find them, they're just going to get closer to The Atlas." Cameron said handing the dragon back to Vance. "I'm going to give the peace officers a description of El Sigma and they will start their own search downtown."
"Why downtown?" Ethan asked.
"The Alliance parade will start in a few hours and what better place to hide than in the middle of all those people. You two go start the search now." Cameron motioned at Sydney and Ethan. Sydney looked as confused as Vance. She though their mission was a success too, but she quickly followed Ethan who was running down the street.
"I want you to stay here and take a breather until I get back." Cameron said to Vance. He then rushed off to talk to the peace officers at the museum. Vance stood there, confused. How did I fail? And what is The Atlas? Vance looked at the dragon; he turned it around slowly and saw what was wrong. What were once piercing sapphire eyes within the dragon, were now nothing but empty dark sockets.
And at that very moment, across town in the residential district of Lancaster, Aidan Riley had woken up out of bed with a great idea.